#Failed Adventurer plays Fire Emblem

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 4 MATCH 7

Chrom propaganda:

“Chrobin (Chrom x player character) is so many tropes in one oml. You have friends-to-lovers (Chrom and Robin are canonically best friends according to Nintendo), enemies-to-lovers (Robin is heir to the Grimleal cult, the enemy of the Halidom of Ylisse which Chrom is the prince, and later king, of), there's amnesia, time travel, official next-gen AUs, changed dialogue to lore important events in the game if you marry Chrom, and Nintendo keeps teasing us with the ship. Cheery prince who knows when to be serious, very strategically smart but very bad at communicating, a guy that can comfort you when you're down, make a fool of himself when you're not around, and he's just generally a very sweet guy. Also please consider the fact that you get to watch a cutscene of him dying in the prologue and despite the horrors he's just so supportive of the protagonist. Chrom doesn't care about where you came from or who you're related to, he cares for YOU. He gets KILLED by the protag and he reassures them that they did nothing wrong and pleads with them to get out, to a safe place. I lost my soul to Chrom, I physically can't play this game without romancing him.”

“He eats oranges with the peel still on, he's an absolute himbo. Also the writers accidentally made his daughter canonically trans so he definitely supports trans rights. And technically you can only marry him if you play as female Robin but their dynamic is still just as romantic if you play as male Robin (they literally call each other their other half and m!Robin and Chrom have a valentine's day duo unit in the gatcha, and in the anthology manga m!Robin asks Chrom to make polygamy legal so he can also marry Chrom's wife and they can be a family) so most people play the game with the gay mod so they can still marry him as a guy. He's incredibly stupid ("yeah, let's set all our ships on fire then walk through a volcano, you're so smart, Robin" "I know you've had prophetic visions about killing me and our daughter came from the future to warn us it would happen but I'm sure THIS TIME it won't because of the power of our bonds") but also really sweet. In the summer DLC they're fighting on a beach and when he sees Robin get excited over a weird creature they found he immediately forgets about the battle and starts trying to make a bunch of crafts (and failing) and cooking food (and failing again) and writing "Chrom and Robin were here" in the sand so that Robin could have some nice beach memories. I'm obsessed with this man”

Asra propaganda:

“He GIVES AWAY HALF HIS HEART TO REVIVE YOU okay but like. He's the MCs roommate and they were together for a few years before the MC caught a plague and died and he obsesses over a way to bring them back before succeeding by making a deal with a god to trade half his heart for MC and betraying the emperor. And then when MC comes back but without any of their memories, he takes care of them and teaches them how to live all over again and he never asks for anything in return. On all the routes where you don't choose him he's really supportive and helps you out despite your history and overall he's just really nice and supportive of the MC and is their rock no matter what route you go down. Also he has a pet snake named Faust and I love her she's so <33 

Idk I just appreciate him so much”

"He gave you half his HEART!! He would literally go to hell and back for you!! He wants to take you on adventures all around the world—doesn’t matter where, as long as he’s by your side!! AND he’s nonbinary!!!"

[evs-eme]

Dungeon Meshi

At the beginning of this year, the anime Dungeon Meshi premiered on Netflix.

"After his sister was eaten by a dragon and he lost all his supplies in a failed dungeon exploration, Laios and his group are determined to save his sister at any cost, before she is digested by the dragon and to stop "That will have to survive by hunting the beasts of the dungeons and feeding on them."

A long time ago a friend recommended me the Dungeon Meshi manga or also known as Delicious in Dungeon in English and "Tragones y Mazmorras" in Spanish (the same friend who got me into playing Fire Emblem) that was when the manga had finished, I read a few chapters and a short time later my friend tells me that Trigger is going to adapt the manga to an anime.

The manga is very good, a well-constructed classic fantasy world, with very funny characters going through extraordinary and ridiculous situations in their adventure, the anime has few chapters at the moment, however it is good, it is recommended.

Eme

LINK:

Deviantart Instagram Twitter Tools: Painted with watercolors Winsor & Newton and Daniel Smith, on Canson Montval watercolor paper.

[yellowocaballero]

Fire Emblem Three Houses: Byleth and Three Houses Search For Rat People

The only downside was that Byleth was feeling the usual background discomfort of spending time with all three House leaders at once. Something about mild knowledge of all the mutual murder attempts really put a crimp in the relaxing smoking sessions.

Alternatively, this could be a good opportunity to address the problem. Damage control was the name of every game. 

“We should bond,” Byleth announced. 

Half of the students tripped on their own feet. 

Dimitri, who was already walking at her elbow, turned to her and beamed. “That’s a great idea, Profesor! What do you want to talk about? I understand you and Felix talk about your feelings quite a bit. Maybe we could also -”

“I meant all of us.” 

“Oh.”

I'm playing Ashen Wolves. This fits into the continuity of Weekenders but is not canon and absolutely no knowledge of Weekenders is needed. This is just four pages of stupid jokes. Written in less than an hour. It's a goof. A gag. A chortle, even.

The tunnel was musty and obviously structurally unstable, and flecks of dirt rained down from the ceiling with every step they took. Hilda squealed whenever she imagined she heard the rustle of what might be a rat, frightening Ashe each time, making Lindhardt say something disparaging about dramatics, making Hilda look straight at him and squeal about the ugliest rat in the world in front of her, frightening Ashe, etc, etc. 

Byleth hadn’t expected to find herself here. Most of the time, when you were out after dark with a gang of teenagers getting tremendously high, the student yelling and ranting about the giant rat person who disappeared into a wall wasn’t actually onto anything. Claude was a trustworthy person, which was why Byleth believed him completely when he claimed the monastery encouraged students to smoke after curfew and that she should join them - oh, right, what’s up Prince Dimitri, forgot you follow this one around, etc. It went to show that a reputable man like Claude wouldn’t lie about giant rat people. But even the most trustworthy student could fall off a cliff and die in the underground tunnels, so Byleth reasoned that a good teacher followed students on their adventures.

The only downside was that Byleth was feeling the usual background discomfort of spending time with all three House leaders at once. Something about mild knowledge of all the mutual murder attempts really put a crimp in the relaxing smoking sessions.

Alternatively, this could be a good opportunity to address the problem. Damage control was the name of every game. 

“We should bond,” Byleth announced. 

Half of the students tripped on their own feet. 

Dimitri, who was already walking at her elbow, turned to her and beamed. “That’s a great idea, Profesor! What do you want to talk about? I understand you and Felix talk about your feelings quite a bit. Maybe we could also -”

“I meant all of us.” 

“Oh.”

“Wait,” Lindhardt said, “Felix talks about his feelings? I thought all he did was growl and insult people.” 

“Byleth has feelings?” Hilda asked. “Whoah.”

Surprisingly, it was Edelgard who thought carefully for a few seconds before nodding. “That is an excellent proposition, Professor. Inter-house unity is one of the noble goals of Garreg Mach, and I feel as if our year has failed in that regard.” Left unsaid: what did this year have that the previous years didn’t have, huh? Byleth? “Why don’t you go first, Claude? Tell us about yourself.”

“I love it! I’m a Gemini and my favorite food is - what’s your favorite food, Dimitri?”

“I would have to say cream soup -”

“Cream soup!”

“Wow,” Ashe said, fully genuine, “that’s such an interesting coincidence!”

Dimitri visibly struggled to determine if he was being made fun of. 

Edelgard turned to Byleth, who was currently fighting waves of pity for her most pitiful student. Or so the others had elected him. “What about you, Professor? What causes do you believe in the most?”

“Keeping my students alive.” Byleth had thought it was a relatively innocuous sentence, but it made Claude and Edelgard look thoughtful. Whoops. She hadn’t meant to actually give Edelgard anything to reward her obvious fishing efforts. It would just encourage the behavior. Byleth was trying to encourage less murder here. “Bonding idea. Why don’t we go around and say something we like about the other houses and its students?”

The crew fell awkwardly silent. Their footsteps echoed in the encroaching tunnels, only shuffling a little as Lindhardt struggled to avoid walking into any walls. Right. They might all still be a bit high. That would explain a little. 

As always, it was Dimitri who jumped to her rescue. “That’s a great idea, Professor.”

Quietly, Lindhardt moaned, “Does he think every idea of hers is good…”

“The Professor only has good ideas!” Ashe said heatedly. 

“I admire the Blue Lions sense of loyalty to their Professor,” Edelgard said, straight faced. 

“Who wouldn’t be loyal to the Professor?” Dimitri cried, fired up. Ashe nodded empathetically and pointed at him. “Her virtues are endless! Even setting aside the sublime nature of her physical form, I -”

“She’s in the room with us this time, Your Highness.”

“I am very strong,” Byleth said thoughtfully. 

“She’s very strong!”

Claude leaned back, speaking into Hilda’s ear. “I thought this would get less funny. It’s still funny. It’s getting even funnier.”

“Really?” Hilda said. “I think it’s sadder.”

“Give me three bullion and I’ll ask her out.” 

“Please! I have makeup to buy. And is three bouillon really a good price for your life?” She patted his head lovingly. “Charge five, sweetie.”

“You strike a hard bargain -”

“I can hear you,” Dimitri said. 

Immediately, Claude said, “I really admire the auditory talents of the Blue Lions!”

“Even if none of you choose to take the Professor’s request seriously, I recognize the value in reinforcing our old relationships.” Dimitri looked straight at Edelgard, who met his gaze evenly. “El. I haven’t had the chance to say it often, but I really do admire you. Your sense of justice, your strength, and your kindness - not many people hold all three traits, and not enough people find them all so equally important. I understand our lives have taken us in different directions, but you will always be as close to me in my heart as you once were. If that is something you consent to.”

Edelgard was staring fixedly at a wall. Her back was straight, but her shoulders were a little hunched.

Dimitri faltered, and his shoulders drooped too. “Ah…never mind. I’m sorry. I actually am sorry, that must have crossed a boundary. Please disregard -”

“You are a good person, Dimitri,” Edelgard said stiffly. “Forgive. My. Ah. Hm.”

Bored, Lindhardt said, “She’s awful with compliments.”

“Thank you for your contribution, Lindhardt.”

“Thanks, I didn’t want to give it.” 

But Dimitri just smiled again, half-shadowed by the dim light of Byleth’s lantern. “You mustn’t feel obligated to reciprocate. It is just a sentiment I wished to express.” Dimitri turned to Claude, who has an increasingly strange look on his face. “And Claude, I -”

“Please, please, please don’t -”

“ - think you’re very handsome.”

“Thank fuck.” Claude paused a beat. “Wait, what?”

Dimitri shrugged, as if he had said a normal thing. Hilda, Lindhardt, and Ashe were losing their minds. Edelgard had her face in her hands. “I don’t know much about you. What I do know…if you forgive me for saying so, I don’t overly trust it. But I can tell that you take a great deal of care in your appearance, and your efforts have paid off.” Quickly, he added, “I would not have complimented that if you hadn’t, or if you would not like others to notice your appearance, but it’s clear that you’re very proud of your looks, so I assumed it would be an appropriate point of compliment.”

Claude was undergoing a complex emotional journey, which Byleth could easily recognize for its sheer familiarity. Many who met Dimitri experienced the journey. It roughly approximated - ‘Is he so smart he’s stupid or so stupid he’s smart? Does he know how the words coming out of his mouth sound? Does he have an ounce of self-awareness? How is a real human being actually that nice?’. Byleth sympathized. 

Hilda brightened, pointing unnecessarily at herself. “Am I cute, Your Highness?”

“I spend my allowance on charitable organizations, Hilda.”

“Damn, you’re useless.”

Ashe gasped, waving his hands. “You can’t call His Highness useless, Hilda.”

“Why not? He’s not my highness.”

“It’s a fair statement.” Dimitri paused a beat. “I mean - her freedom of speech is fair.” 

Byleth gave him a supportive pat on the back for his attempts to obscure his abysmal self-esteem. He blushed. 

“I admire the Blue Lion’s sense of cohesion,” Claude said, having seemingly recovered from Dimitri’s earnest barrage. “I wish the Golden Deer and the Alliance knew how to work together and get along like you do. And I think you’re attractive too, Dimitri!”

“You do?” Dimitri asked, pleased. “That’s - very polite of you to say.”

Incredibly, Claude sobered a little. “Do you have any idea where you ranked on the polls, man? Stand tall.”

“Polls?”

‘ “Where am I on the polls?” Byleth asked, fascinated. Hilda made frantic slashing motions at her throat. “Oh. Not a teacher thing. I understand.”

“There’s a separate teacher one, Teach.”

“Yeah,” Hilda said, “and she’s on both.”

“And I admire the Empire’s passion!” Claude said loudly - either covering himself or covering Hilda. Byleth wondered vaguely if she should investigate this or if it would be, as Sylvain would say, ‘uncool’. Best not to make a big deal. Sylvain would start crying if he wasn’t at the top. “Edelgard, I also think you’re -”

“Think carefully about the end of that sentence, Duke Reigen.”

“ - a strong, independent woman!”

“I don’t think Dimitri’s attractive,” Edelgard said. This seemed to cheer Dimitri up. “I admire the Blue Lion dedication to hard work and training. I think the Black Eagles could learn a lot from their efforts.” She paused a beat. “Maybe that’s why Petra Macneary requested the transfer. Perhaps if the Black Eagles had satisfied her -”

“Oh Goddess,” Lindhardt moaned. “Get over it, Your Highness, it wasn’t personal.”

“Of course it wasn’t personal,” Edelgard said stiffly. “I just wonder why she returned my exit survey unopened -”

“What, did you ask her why she was canceling her subscription to Adestria? Do you think the political ho -”

“Regardless of the political motivations, Petra Macneary had an exceptional educational opportunity with us, and I am simply curious as to what was more important than her -”

“I’m just wondering who was hotter than Dorothea,” Hilda muttered. She glanced at Byleth out of the corner of her eye. “Nah, never mind.”

Dimitri glanced at Byleth out of the corner of his eyes. Byleth shook her head.

Dimitri coughed, gathering everybody’s attention. Delicately, he said, “We know how private Petra is. I’m certain she hasn’t been transparent about her motivations with any of us.” Everybody around them nodded slowly, even the dejected Edelgard. “But if I may hazard a guess…based off some overheard conversations, you understand. This is highly confidential. Perhaps I shouldn’t -”

“We don’t tell anyone!” Hilda cried. “Come on, what’s the dish!”

Dimitri sighed and leaned into Hilda’s ear, whispering loudly. “I understand her breakup with Dorothea was…explosive. Apparently they couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as each other anymore. She took drastic action, and Dorothea herself begged the Professor to help give Petra some space from their heartbreak. The Professor was sympathetic, and she helped Petra file the paperwork for the temporary class relocation the next day.”

Edelgard perked up. “You’re certain? The reason for her departure was romantic turmoil?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Dimitri said humbly.

“It wasn’t a matter of my leadership?”

“Your leadership’s amazing, El.”

“Or the political hostage situation?” Lindhardt asked, somewhat dubious.

Dimitri widened his eyes guilelessly. “Of course not. The Black Eagles gave Petra an exceptional educational opportunity. She said many times how grateful she was to receive the opportunity, yes?” Most of the team mumbled assent. Claude had a mysterious half-smile. “It was simply an unfortunate measure of circumstance. Her family opposed it, but…well, you understand a young woman’s heart.”

“Sounds about right for girl drama,” Claude said cheerfully. “You’ve had your own struggles too, huh, Hilda?”

“Oh, that’s so sad.” Hilda sighed, pressing her hands over her heart. “Of course I have. There’s this one boy in my class who I hate. I hate him so, so much. And yet I have to sit next to him in class. Every day. No matter how terrible he is. He’s so handsome and rich and such a great leader, but he doesn’t do a thing for me. If I could switch Houses too I would. Every day this man doesn’t ask somebody out for three bouillon I cry myself to sleep -”

“Five and I’ll do it.”

“Deal.”

“Ask who out?” Dimitri asked.

Before Claude could lie as quickly as possible and save his own skin, a chorus of voices broke in from the darkness. Their entourage halted, hands flying to their weapons. Dimitri moved to cover Byleth. Hilda cowered behind Claude, holding an ax taller than she was behind her back. 

“What the fuck are you guys talking about!” 

[fatuismooches]

𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 - 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬! ♡

hello all, my name is smooches, and i am the owner of this blog! i'm your residential harbinger enjoyer of course, and also your local provider for soft harbinger content! (also angsty content if i'm feeling particularly devious.)

♡ my pronouns are she/her and i'm an adult in college. i also love anime and manga. my favorite is jojo's bizarre adventure! some other games i enjoy are persona and fire emblem. and otome games of course (been a while since i've played any though lol.) i've also been reading and writing fanfics for years so it's something very important to me :)

♡ well, i feel like this is a bit obvious, but i created this blog simply because i enjoy reading soft fluffy stuff with my favs! specifically villains. i'm sure you can tell i'll die for the "villain is mean to everyone except their lover" trope. so yea... if you don't feel like the harbingers love you to the depths of their soul after reading my stuff... clearly i've failed.

♡ scaramouche is my favorite harbinger (i've loved him since 1.1) though dottore might one day take over that spot 😓 [edit: dottore has taken over as my fav, i'm so so sorry scara] some of my other favorite characters besides the harbingers include the archons, they are my beloveds (nahida is my daughter ofc). i really love neuvillette too! :D

♡ i despise the heat. i'm a cold weather loving girlie all the way lol. i love to go on walks while listening to music! i'm a leo and isfj as well. i'm quite shy online so moots just know that i appreciate y'all very much even though i'm too shy to talk first 😭 in conclusion i just really like to talk about my favs so i hope we can get along and you enjoy your stay on my blog 🥰

♡ I FUCKING LOVE DOTTORE WBEWJKFBEWJFKBEWFW if you've been here for even a few minutes you know I'm CRAZY about him.

♡ currently listening to: sis puella magica! <3

[sonicasura]

Some backstory for the Hard-Boiled Heavies in the Sonic IDW/Pokemon Crossover

When the Elite Eggrobo Squad un-earthed the Phantom Ruby it gave them all immense power and knocked a couple of screws loose.

However this is how Dr. Eggman described what happened, as what really happened is that the Phantom Ruby ended up giving the Hard-Boiled Heavies personalites, and the ability too think for themselves.

As Eggrobos they were driven only by there orders from Dr.Eggman, as the Hard-Boilded Heavies they gained the ability too think and adept, which was only held by a few of Dr.Eggman's creations.

How the Phantom Ruby did this unknown however it is possible that the Ruby disrupted what ever code kept them completely bound too Dr. Eggman along with imparting personalities upon the Heavies

The Phantom Ruby did cause Heavy King to sort of betray Dr. Eggman as Heavy King too control of the situation when he realized that Dr. Eggman's plans were failing in Mania. Heavey King wanted too take control of the situation and try and beat Sonic for Dr. Eggman and took the Phantom Ruby too try and do so. However Heavy King did not realize that he was slowly losing control too the Phantom Ruby which was trying too take over Heavy King's body. Later revalations about the Phantom Ruby would reveal that it would try and take over a host body or compel some one that had been granted it's power too do it's bidding which is what the Ruby did too Heavy King. Why is unknown perhaps the reality agumenting power the Ruby held was far more sinister than originally thought or maybe it is something else entirely?

After the events of Mania the Heavies were rebuilt, Dr. Eggman put in codes to keep the Heavies loyal too him, the code did not work and the Heavies kept there personalities and ability too think. However since a great deal of the Ruby's energy had disapated by this point and the Ruby was gone all the Heavies lost a lot of there more destructive tendencies and were all a lot more calm now and for the most part followed Dr. Eggman's orders.

They were all loyal too Dr. Eggman especially Heavy King and the Heavies helped Dr. Eggman on many of his schemes even though they always failed.

However one day the Heavies were all just… thrown away. Dr. Eggman saw them all as failures and refused too have useless robots around. The Heavies were all broken from a major battle with Sonic and Friends and despite being retrieved by Dr. Eggman were thown out into the Jungle left too rust and be forgotten.

The loyalty of the Hard-Boiled Heavies meant nothing to Dr. Eggman and the Heavies soon began too rust and shatter from the elements and would have been lost too time….

If not for one adventurous youth and the Pokémon finding them all in that Jungle

A little trivia I came up with

Shinobi likes too speak in Haikus when ever he can and really likes frogs

Rider actually admires Sonic for his Daredevil attitude and wishes too race against Sonic

Magician loves too watch old performances from famous Magicians and was inspired by some too start working on amazing card tricks and techniques.

It should also be noted that Magician can not be beat when playing cards, she could run a casino out of business by playing Black Jack alone

Gunner can fly on his own but really likes too hang of the side of his Helicopter, this is because Gunner loves too watch those 90's action heroes movies and thinks 90's action heroes stuff is some of the coolest stuff out there and tries too replicate it when ever he can

King loves Tactic based videogames with one his favorite videogames being Fire Emblem

Shinobi, Gunner, Magician, and King all agree that Rider is the best at Kart Racer Video Games

Rider can always be seen with her Motobug companion Jimmy

Shinobi is fantastic at making origami creations and even made origami replicas of all the Heavies

Gunner loves fighting games and has figures of some of his favorite fighting game characters

King has fantastic Bojutsu skills most likely because his main weapon is a Spector

King loves too watch shows that have royalty as the main characters

Gunner and Rider are both surprisingly very good mechanics, most likely because Gunner and Rider are always taking care and improving the Helicopter and Motobug Jimmy

I hope you like this and deal me your thoughts I love too hear them!

I LOVE what you got here. Honestly won't be surprised if the Phantom Ruby had a corruption sort of effect. I grew up with the Kirby series so any powerful artifact with unknown or ominous origins shouldn't be fully trusted. *Looks at the Master Crown*

I can see Sonic indulging Rider in fun races from time to time. The Hard Boiled Heavies would definitely get along with a good chunk of Trainer's Pokemon. Especially those who match their interests or abilities.

[athetos]

My thoughts on what movies for other Nintendo franchises would be like:

Legend of Zelda - abysmal. I have zero faith in a film adaptation characterizing link or Zelda properly. And there’s simply so much game to pack into a single movie, no matter which game you base it off of. They’d have to do an original plot, and I doubt that would go over well. If anything, it would have to be a tv show, and even then it will be pretty bad.

Metroid - sounds like it has potential, but I have a feeling it would fail. I don’t trust many people to write samus Aran. Metroid Dread would be the most likely to get a film adaptation, and it would definitely be scary and thrilling, but I feel that Hollywood would botch the execution fantastically. The EMMI designs would terrify me, though.

Fire Emblem - I feel this would land similarly as Zelda, in that there’s just so much to adapt, especially if it’s based off a more recent (and more popular) game, like three houses or awakening. Plus, with all those games having dating sim elements and player choices, plus the large casts, it would be a mess. I think a movie based off of perhaps the first game/shadow dragon would be alright, though. It wouldn’t be great if you had played the games and knew what was wrong in the adaptation, but for casual fans it would fare well.

Kirby - an animated Kirby movie would most likely underperform at the box office, but would be a big hit with fans. It would be a lot of fun, and kids would love it. You could give Kirby partner characters like Kirby right back at ya did. Maybe waddle dee would be the new minion…?

Star fox - assuming the style was aesthetically pleasing, I think this would be THE best adaptation. Fuck Star Wars, this is a star fox world now. A space opera with furries, what’s not to love? Just don’t adapt Star fox adventure, because I would be the only one to see it. Just follow the first game or Star fox 64, give us some angst and one-liners, drip feed us lore, throw in tons of Easter eggs, and set up a sequel that more prominently features Pigma or something. Easy.

F-zero - nintendo doesn’t even remember this exists.

Animal crossing - I’m sorry but this would be so boring. No matter what plot they make it would suck. I’m sure people will eat it up regardless, but I just can’t see it being fun. Am not sold.

Kid Icarus - has a lot of potential, but only if it’s animated. Would be a good movie to turn your brain off and watch while eating popcorn, equal parts laughs and “oooh”‘s. The writing needs to be fucking solid, though.

Pikmin - could be a fun family movie with jokes kids will miss that will make adults laugh. Not even in an innuendo way, but in a “makes references to stuff from the ‘80s and ‘90s” way. Very nostalgic and new all at once. Could be cozy. They’ll need to expand the cast of astronauts though, and maybe perhaps have some of the pikmin speak. Who knows.

Earthbound - I suppose the entire game could be condensed down into a single film, and I think it wouldn’t be amazing, but still good. However, it would earn hundreds of “omg this is kinda like stranger things!” Comparisons solely because it follows kids/teens in a retro world, which would make me so so mad I would turn into the hulk or the grinch or some other green beast.

Splatoon - it would be super colorful, flashy, and fun, and be a surprise hit. It could focus a lot on the lore that most casual fans are unaware of, and have a ton of original songs courtesy of the idols that would be on the radio forever. I have never played splatoon but I would see the movie the week of release.

[z-raven]

Gaming

I do find it interesting that I have liked games that other people didn't really like.

That is a ok in my book.

For example, I found Valkyria Revolution to not be as bad as other people said.

Also, I liked FFXV, so that is cool with me.

Mad Max game is also pretty good imo

Just like some games other people tend to love I don't like as much.

It is fine, but in my case it is mostly certain genres that I can't get into that much and that is why I cannot really enjoy those Fire Emblem games

And like time limits in games really causes me to feel stress and not be able to enjoy them

Like, when you have a certain amount of days to play through a game it just makes me not want to play it.

That is why I stopped playing Shenmue and Persona 5.

And of course weapon durability is annoying to me and every time I try to just use whatever weapons don't have durability.

Like in Breath of the Wild I basically just used bombs the entire time, because I didn't want to break my weapons.

And games like Metal Gear Solid 3 and future titles I pretty much never used suppressors due to the durability of them

And more recently Mr. X makes me not want to play RE2 Remake, because I don't like the idea of having a hulking monster chasing me around the police station.

RE3 Remake at least Nemesis was only in specific areas.

Speaking of RE games the fact that you had limited saves in the classic titles scares me, like running out of ink ribbons seems like something I would encounter a lot due to being overly cautious and saving often

I was always under the impression that in video games you should save as often as you can, so RE punishes you for doing that and I don't like that.

Like, when I play Kings Quest V or other adventure games the motto is save often

Another mechanic I don't like in video games is forced stealth, where if you get spotted once it is game over.

I tried to get into stealth games when I was younger and one of the reasons I moved over from Splinter Cell to MGS was that in MGS you don't have 3 alarms and then mission failed

[namig42]

Part 2 of this ask from @inaconstantstateofchange

Characters my OCs would Despise!

Wyndolyn

Since Wyndolyn is canonically an Overwatch player, there would be characters from the franchise she likes more than others. I do think she'd absolutely hate playing against certain charcters, and that would charge her motive for hate. Roadhog and Reaper would probably be two of the biggest offenders, but Roadhog I think would win solely because of that damn hook that goes through Zarya's shields, pulling her into pits and driving Wyn insane (definitely not speaking from experience).

Helena

I could see Helena enjoying shows like Adventure Time and Steven Universe and see her being frustrated with a character like Lapis Lazuli. Maybe it's because she sees a lot of the parts she hates of herself in Lapis. The anxiety, the tendency to avoid conflict and run away, and the difficulty connecting with others would make Helena hate Lazuli when she's introduced and when she starts living in the barn, but Helena wouldn't really understand what it is that frustrates Lapis. She'd just hate episodes where Lapis is featured and wouldn't give her character arc a chance. By the end of the series though, I think Helena could garner a new appreciation for Lapis and see herself in the gem, even if she still doesn't like her.

Dahlia

As an ATLA fan, Dahlia would hate most of the evil cast like Ozai and Azula, but I think she'd especially dislike Mai because she finds her so uninteresting and lacking development and interest compared to the rest of the cast. Azula might be awful, but at least she's interesting to observe. Mai is just... blah.

Vero

Vero hates slasher movies, so a lot of those classic killers like Micheal and Jason would annoy her to see onscreen, but the one she hates the most would probably be Freddy Krueger, partly because she hates his story, and mostly because she gets freaked out at the idea of something that can kill you in your dreams.

Sahed

Sahed would hate milk toast protagonists, so almost all the protagonists in Fire Emblem games. The biggest offender would be Corrin from Fates. He thought he'd love a protagonist that has different story options, but Corrin fails to deliver on any interesting development in any path, so he'd be pissed he paid for the supposedly "evil" route and got such a boring story out of it.

Velora

Velora, as a Stardew girly that has romanced pretty much everyone in town, would absolutely have characters she hates, and I think her number one offender would be Elliot. His flowery language and his demeanor remind her too much of an abusive ex that betrayed her (looking at you, Sahed).

Gardon

I could see Gardon being a big Game of Thrones fan and respecting most of the characters. He would definitely loathe the self-serving characters though, especially Cersei. He would not be able to get behind her story, even when they tried to garner sympathy for her later by showing how much she loves her kids. He would've been happy to see that castle crash down on her at the end of season 8.

Lin'rai

Lin'rai adores Adventure Time and Steven Universe as well, but she'd absolutely hate Ronaldo and Lars (yes, even after Lars gets his redemption arc). She is not here for the townies in SU and only really wants to see the gems and their arcs, and these two are probably the worst offenders in her eyes.

---

Lol, just took me over a month to finish this, but I hope it was worth the read! Thanks again for the ask!

[anadventurerisfail]

The Failed Adventurer plays FE:Echoes

So I’m just going to put my thoughts here after finishing the first act of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Velentia and the first map of the second act.  The difficulty is Hard and Casual, cuz I’m good but a coward.

And already ‘Echoes’ doesn’t look like a real word or is spelled incorrectly.

I am trying for this to be as blind a run as possible.  I skimmed through Serenes Forest’s FAQ section, so I already know some things.  Like the sidequests that the game DOES NOT TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT AT ALL.  Fortunately they aren’t that impactful, and i already gave the one guaranteed Ram Wine to Mila.  I took it’s suggestion of making Kliff a mage and Faye a cleric.  Tobin I made a mercenary (because he’s only in this for the money) and Gray I made an archer, to round things out.  Also the help with the Leather Shield dude and I decided to just play through the last map of Act 1 without trying for the Dracoshield.

Some fun moments include; Alm and Kliff critting when I was hoping someone else would get the kill, Gray being inaccurate as fu-, Faye being swarmed by enemies but staying alive with Nosferatu, Alm doing more crits, Faye about to be killed by the boss but turning around and critting him, Gray not hitting anything, Tobin doing no damage, Tobin holding a chokepoint and doing no damage, Tobin finally doing damage with the Lightning Sword (”Alm’s got nothing on this.”  Alm: Yeah, go Tobin), Alm still wrecking the enemy more than Tobin.  Poor Tobin.

Then I reach the end of Act 1 and start Act 2, which is the other half of the story and starts with completely fresh characters at level 1.  And I’m sitting here wondering “Why am I not mad that I am forced to not use these characters I have been using for the past ten or so encounters?  That I am forced to start from the ground again?”  I think there are two parts to it.  The first is that it is still early on in the game.  The second is the strength of the Prologue chapter.  It introduces us to Alm, Faye, Gray, Kliff, Tobin, and Celica, with particular focus on Alm and Celica, and in the events of it Celica leaves.  Act 1 features Alm’s growth, bringing along the rest of the village kids, but Celica is nowhere to be seen.  Then Act 1 ends and we go into Act 2 and we finally see Celica again and we start her answer to the call.  And I’m like, “Yeah, let’s see Celica be awesome, now.”

I wonder how well Sacred Stones would work if it was changed to have this sort back and forth between Eirika and Ephraim.  It would only be relevant for the second Act, really.  No, SoV is about both of their stories, whereas SS is about a singular’s story.  You just choose whose story it is about at the start of the second Act.

Unless the game outright points out the sidequests at some point, or I happen to be able to complete it by accident, I likely would never have found out about it.

[fireemblems24]

Verdant Wind Review

Here's my review of the chill side of Fire Emblem Three Houses.

This was my first route. So was Silver Snow, Crimson Flower, and Azure Moon. I played them all at the same time, and, honestly, I think that helped VW out.

Verdant Wind strongly stands out from the other routes due to it's more action-adventure feel and charming (and less problematic) lord. It's also the route that most completely explores the world's lore and wipes out every possible adversary. The plot and character development, though, leave much to be desired.

Verdant Wind is nearly the exact opposite of Silver Snow. While SS had a strong plot, is amazing conceptually, and feels like it knew the story it wanted to tell, VW has a weak plot that feels wholly disconnected from Claude's desires and what it wanted to be about got lost somewhere along the way. However, SS is borderline passionless, has no flavor, and lacks a character with enough charisma to carry the plot. It's here where VW excels.

I'm going to go through the negatives first, and they're pretty negative, but if you're a VW fan, please note this ended up my second favorite route despite everything below. Because what it's good at, it's very good at.

The key issue with VW is how disconnected everything seems. Claude's goals feel so removed from Edelgard and TWSITD's war and the game failed to make it relevant by either giving Claude and Edelgard or TWSITD a strong connection or use the multiple foreign nations (especially Almyra) to circle the plot back to Claude's desire to end Fodlan's isolationism and improve foreign relations all around. Instead, it ignores Claude's goals and gets rail roaded into being an SS copy.

While the story that SS and VW share works wonders for SS's set up, it's flimsy with VW's. Edelgard is a mere blimp in this route, making her emotional appeal to Byleth during her execution weird and misplaced. Getting rid of TWSITD runs counter to Claude's desire for different groups to set prejudices aside and work together. Having him confront a group that was hell bent on the destruction of everyone who wasn't them could've created interesting conflict for Claude, instead it's ignored completely.

VW, more than any other route, would need rewriting for it to live up to its potential. CF and SS were frustrating to me because they were a few tweaks away from being amazing. AM, in my opinion, is amazing, but also needs frustratingly easy tweaks to fix its holes rather than an overhaul. It definitely seems like the writers didn't know what to do with VW so they just threw Claude on top of SS and called it done.

And yet . . . VW has charm in spades. It's incredibly distinctive from the other routes given it's more relaxed and, dare I even say, fun mood compared to the dank, depressing clouds that hover over the other three routes. Claude and friends make jokes and talk about the power of friendship and beat up evil zombies and don't commit any serious war crimes.

For a while, I didn't really get it. VW seemed misplaced - this shonen swimming in the seinen pool. Three Houses really wants to be Holy Wars meets Game of Thrones, but it often fails because it also never wants the player to feel bad (sans AM). You can't both have a story be dark and morally grey AND have Edelgard make cutesy noises at you to distract you every time you kill someone the player might like. VW, though, lacks this weird mood whiplash because it never pretended to be morally grey. In VW, you (Byleth) and the people you're fighting with (Claude) have never committed any serious crimes. There's no heavy weight in VW by design, and it works to its favor because the tone is clear, cohesive, and consistent. It's also, frankly, a breath of fresh air when compared to the depressing nature the other routes dip into, something I appreciated more and more the longer I played them all back-to-back.

VW also has a lot of charm to it - and by VW, I mostly mean Claude, but not just him. Claude, despite getting shafted in terms of character development, manages to carry this route. He's charming, innocently roguish, naive, hopeful, and many other entertaining things. His personality is huge and makes up for the obvious failings in the plot and adds that "flavor" SS is missing. Seeing the Golden Deer students banter with each other also makes up for VW's lack in other areas. They have a strong presence in their route and are essential to shaping the overall tone. Also, quite a few of them - Hilda, Lorenz, and Lysithea - feel extremely relevant to the plot and more integral than the poor Black Eagles managed in either of theirs. Even if the Deer students throwing out nonsense, filler lines in VW, it's still lines that have distinct personality to them, that have characters engage with each other, and set a tone that sets VW apart from the other routes.

VW is also the most "complete" route, in that you take out all the baddies. However, the lore is fairly uninteresting (to me) and isn't uncovered in an interesting way. Instead, it's just dumped on you in the final chapters. I personally prefer a final boss that fits thematically with the story rather than one that completes the checklist of killing every threat to Fodlan. Despite that, it's still a valid positive that does matter a lot more to others and worth acknowledging.

In the end, VW may actually be the worst route in terms of pure plot construction, but it's far from the least entertaining to play and very popular. It's proof that my theory is correct - it's characters people care about and get attached to, not lore or plot as much. It's easy to see why some people love VW as much as they do, and it ended up being my personal second favorite despite it's hefty flaws, because it's just that charming and fun.

[maine-writes]

Vonvon's Space Adventure, Part 3

Another resplendent scene of Beach City. The azure waves crashed upon the golden sand, darkening it to an earthy hue. Steven and Connie eagery awaited the crystalline vessel descending from the atmosphere. Its ivory body glimmered in the sun, its strking eyes looking ever onward toward the horizon. To them at least, their darling child's weekend went without a hitch. But little did they know of the horrors that transpired on a distant world.

It began on a Saturday.

"So, where are we going again?" Vonvon asked.

Shortly after waking up from a rather restless night, Vonvon was brought aboard White Diamond's ship; a massive, crystalline upper torso. All they were told was that the Diamonds had prepared a "game" of sorts. After all, children enjoy games, at least that was what Spinel told the Diamonds.

White Diamond sat in her command chair, supervising her bridge crew. The central viewscreen above was focused on a strange alien world. White clouds swirled around the northern hemisphere, a vast ocean covered a majority of the planet, which had only three major landmasses.

"Vonvon." said the Diamond, directing their attention to the planet. "This was Exoplanet D-23, one of Blue's. Despite initial findings, she deemed the planet unfit for full colonization."

"So what happened to it?"

"She decided to use it as an educational facility. Gems under her supervision were sent here for training." She continued. "This was once a place where Sapphires would go to learn proper etiquette and learn how to decipher their visions. If I remember correctly, the Sapphire you are familiar with spent some time here herself."

When the ship landed, Vonvon looked out an idyllic, tropical landscape. To their surprise, the seas were relatively shallow, no deeper than several meters. There were extremely deep pools, however, which were noticably darker as their depths descended deep into the limestone below. Strewn all across the landscape were sandbars and the occasional solid landmasses, with crystalline trees sprouting out from them. The combination of the warm sun and salty breeze refreshed Vonvon's little body.

They then looked to the distance, spotting great spires on the horizon. These were once the courts of Blue Diamond, where countless Gems would congregate and speak on matters and events from across the great dominions of Homeworld. These were places of culture and refinement.

"What do the Gems there do now?" Vonvon inquired.

"Whatever they desire, dear." Said the Diamond. "Blue still occasionally holds court here, mostly to hear about what they've experienced."

The child wondered if they were going to meet with these Gems. But it seemed as if the Diamonds had another idea.

White led Vonvon to a massive, dome-shaped construct that stood on crystalline pillars in the water. Inside, they were greeted by a crew of Gems and the other two Diamonds.

"Welcome to a Gem warfare command center." Yellow Diamond said, visibly excited for the day's activity.

"Command center?" Vonvon wondered.

"According to our studies on what sort of games human child enjoy," Yellow explained, "We've decided on allowing you an opportunity to command a small army for war games. Blue, White, and I will be commanding our own forces, while you try to take our command centers."

The Diamonds led the child to their small, human-sized command chair in the center of the room. It was elevated over a crew of diligently working Gems, who were making their final preparations and communications checks.

"Are the Gems okay with this?" Vonvon sheepishly asked.

"As you know, with the beginning of Era 3, Gems are free to pursue whatever lifestyles they desired." Blue Diamond assured them. "Some, however, didn't know what to do with themselves and so we organized a number of activities for them."

"Does Papa know about these sort of games?"

"W-Well, no." White Diamond said. "Your mother suggested that we not tell him of her idea."

Vonvon wasn't at all surprised that their mother suggested that militaristic Gems take part in these war games. But they did wonder if she took part in any herself. The more they thought about it, they began to wonder about the large rolls of paper that Connie kept hidden in the broom closet that somewhat resembled battle plans.

Vonvon was given an hour to prepare their forces as the Diamonds left for their command centers. The game seemed easy enough, command units to capture bases, and only after capturing all their bases can forces move on the command center. Units included artillery, cavalry, armored, infantry, logistical support, and air support.

As the Diamonds left, Vonvon excitedly waved them good-bye, joined by Spinel. But as soon as the doors closed, the child's demeanor instantly changed.

"Alright, Spinel show me what we have to work with."

Outside of the command center, Vonvon's grand army awaited. As soon as they saw the child, the thunderous echo of hundreds of Gems standing at attention and giving the child the old Homeworld salute filled the air.

"Good morning, General!" Said hundreds of voices.

Vonvon donned a pair of violently outlandish and dramatically pink visors, as pointy as they were outrageous, as they took a deep breath.

"Smell that, Spinel?" They said as they popped a lollipop in their mouth. "Smells like a good day for war."

Little did the Diamonds know, Connie had trained her child for this day. Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Chess, Risk, Monopoly, years of playing strategy games and dealing with Connie's competitiveness were about to pay off.

"I wonder what Vonvon did all weekend." Steven said as he and his wife watched White Diamond's ship descend from the upper atmosphere.

As the door at the front of giant crystal torso opened up, the pair were greeted by Vonvon and White Diamond, the former decorated in military medals, flashy regalia, and a flowing, dramatic cape.

"Mama! Papa!" Vonvon laughed as they ran to their parents.

Steven was relieved everything seemed to have gone well, but wondered about Vonvon's strange outfit.

"Had a fun weekend?" He asked, looking up to White Diamond.

"Oh, absolutely!" She assured him as Yellow and Blue Diamond emerged from the ship. "They're a regular chip off the old Gem!"

"They remind me of myself when I was newly emerged." Yellow Diamond added, wiping an emotional tear from her eye.

"Huh?" Steven asked. "What did you guys do all weekend?"

"Pretty sure they just played games, hun." Connie quickly interjected.

"Like Battleship?"

"Sure."

While Steven was distracted with an excited little Vonvon, who was babbling what sounded like nonsense, Blue Diamond caught Connie's attention.

"They caused a little damage in their first battle." She whispered to Connie. "So our usual game will have to be postponed until the repairs are finished."

"What game?" Steven inquired, curious as to what the two were talking about.

"Chess." Connie said.

"Chess? I didn't know Blue played chess."

"You child is surprisingly sharp." Blue said, consciously failing to mention the sea of carnage they left on the distant world. "How was the colony?"

"W-Well..." Steven began as a distant, orange dot appeared in the distance.

Slowly, the dot came closer, changing into a large, humanoid shape.

"Steven!" Jasper yelled as she approached. "I formally request that you expla-!"

Vonvon noticed both Steven and Connie sigh while the Diamonds looked on in both confusion. They then had an idea.

"Jasper Facet-9 Cut-1T4!" They barked.

The big, buff Quartz stiffened up, straightened her back, and crossed her arms in salute.

"What is the meaning of this insubordination?!" They continued.

"I-It is not insubordination!" Jasper explained. "As Steven's bodyguard, I only wanted to do my duty and prove that I am as capable as Connie!"

"Elaborate."

"I simply request an explanation for what Connie can do for Steven that I cannot."

"Oh, that's a good question." Vonvon innocently noted. "You are a big, strong Gem. Mama can swordfight, but I don't think she can crush rocks with a headbutt."

Everyone, including the Diamonds, looked to Steven and Connie, waiting for an explanation. They could feel everyone's gaze piercing their souls, unblinking, unwavering.

"I'll handle this." Garnet announced, appearing without explanation. As she whispered something to Jasper, the big, orange Gem glanced over at Steven and Connie, then down to Vonvon.

"That's disgusting!" She screamed.

"It's what humans do." Garnet shrugged. "Rose did it."

Jasper struggled to process the information she was given. She then approached Connie.

"You survived what Pink Diamond could not." She said, deflated. "You truly are more capable than me."

Fortunately, Vonvon and the Diamonds weren't curious enough to ask Garnet about what she told Jasper. But more importantly, Jasper wasn't going to bother Steven or Connie again.

@artsycooky13

[repentantsky]

5 Times Anime Games Picked The Wong Genre

We all love to play games based off of our favorite anime. There’s little more than can bring joy to a fan’s heart than to tear through the sky as Goku, beat an enemy from a distance with Luffy’s long arms, or play an intriguing mystery out in Stein’s Gate, but some anime games truly weren’t made for the right genre. Whether it’s because they went to an oversaturated genre, or the game itself failed to meet the pace that fans have come to expect from watching the show or reading the manga, these 5 games, regardless of how good or bad they are, just didn’t quite pick the right genre for the anime they were based on. 

5. All of SAO, a Visual Novel mixed in with Action combat. 

While I’ll be the first to say that I actually really enjoy SAO’s games, far more than the anime and manga if I’m being honest, the reason they’ve never really hit the high level of popularity that the rest of the franchise has is because they’ve always felt a bit cheap. It’s all well and good to make a new story for a game so that it feels fresh for those who tune in for the anime, or regularly read the manga, but forcing players to sit through hours of visual novel style story-telling from a series that tried it’s best to keep the slow moments as engaging as possible, and coming from a franchise who’s movie made more than 30 million on it’s own, was just a bad idea. Some of the games, in fact a lot of them, have less than 10 total cutscene’s from the story’s starts to their finishes. While this was okay to do back during the PS1 and even PS2 era where anime games like DBZ were still testing the waters and running a risk of losing profits, SAO didn’t start releasing games until the Vita and PS4, and at a high time for anime games on PC, where the idea was a proven commodity. Incorporating at least a few dozen cutscenes in every upcoming game, and any potential remaster or re-release would be a good idea, but playing most of the games can feel tedious as you’re forced to sit there in an action game franchise that still hasn’t mastered pacing. 

4. Fairy Tail should have been an action RPG. 

Fairy Tail’s fights can at times be a little slow, but the amazing visuals of the spells cast by characters like Natsu and Gajeel always emulated a high octane atmosphere when in combat. To see those spells fall to the slower side of a turn-based RPG, and this is coming from someone who loves their turn-based RPG’s, was a little disappointing. It would have felt much more like I was playing a Fairy Tail adventure, yet alone one taking right out from the source material itself, if I could have rushed into combat hitting all my enemies with fast fire based punches and kicks, or with various speeds and power with Erza’s many armors. Instead, we got a slow enough paced game that despite it’s overall fun factor and enjoyment, never really hit the atmosphere of the series it was based on. Everything about the game is without a doubt enjoyable sure, and in the long run, you can’t actually go that wrong with Fairy Tail as far as it’s fans are concerned, but you can always do better to, and a game that moved a little faster, would have been better fit for the long running anime. 

3. Jump Force, should have been a warriors style game.

There are a number of reasons why making an anime collaboration game yet another fighting game was the wrong idea. So many in fact that I could probably make a separate list for it, but I’ll run down some of the most important ones in this entry. For starters, J Stars Victory wasn’t exactly held in high regard around the world upon release, due to it’s pacing issues with each anime’s story therein, and while Jump Force did speed that up a little, the fact that the game has a hub not unlike Xenoverse 2, cheapens the experience for fans playing both games. Another problem is that almost all of the characters that have been in other anime games in the past, had already been in fighting games before, some dozens of times, so their being included in yet another one wasn’t all that interesting. Turning that around to, many of the characters had not been in a warriors style game, and still haven’t been, which could be fresh take for them. Instead, we got yet another bland fighter that uses mechanics from games gone by, that fans do enjoy, but probably would have gotten more out of if they could have tried them in a genre they were yet untested in. 

2. Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight, should have been a first person shooter. 

It’s possible, depending on the reader base for this list, that many haven’t played this game, but it’s the first on here that’s objectively horrible. Without a tutorial, and with it’s seemingly small budget trying to do too much, the game feels clunky and unnatural to play. However, since it released on PS3 at a time where people were adjusted to the universal controls of an FPS, it would have benefitted the game in terms of cost and possibly work load, to make it first person instead. I mean, it’s a Gundam game, you should feel like you’re piloting a Gundam, instead of looking over the shoulder of one. While a first person camera probably wouldn’t have saved it from some of it’s other issues, having an authentic feeling game most certainly would have helped it feel like a game that fans of Gundam would be able to relate to. Instead, the clunky mess was left forgotten, and wouldn’t likely even be found in the worst of all bargain bins.

1. Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains should have just been an action game. 

AoT as a series has been getting exceptionally popular lately, probably more than ever, but it’s had very few games, and the first one that ever came out, was a total letdown. The game, which didn’t even look all that good for a 3DS title, relied on repetitive missions and quick time events for players to land hits against Titans. That means, the fast paced action that fans were familiar with was completely stripped away in favor of having giant, slow moving circles show up that were almost impossible to miss, that you had to hit at the correct time, and it was this way for all of the game’s combat, Of course, Attack On Titan had to cram massive enemy’s on to a handheld of course, but that’s no excuse considering something as in depth and detailed as Fire Emblem Warriors and visually stunning games like Resident Evil Revelations looked great on the platform. Humanity in Chains felt like a cop out game that was released solely for the purpose of cashing in on all the people who watched fan made AoT games in their spare time, but that even those, looked and played better. 

And that’s my list. Can you think of any other games in anime that would have benefitted from being a different genre? Let me know in the comments below, reblog this list if it interested you, and feel free to leave a heart. Thank you for reading.  

[popculturebuffet]

Paul Dini’s Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves (Comissoned by WeirdKev27)

Well well boys, we’re back to Jingle Belle with another kevmission, though per his request i’ll be getting back to Life and Times Of Scrooge McDuck at long last. I also have some other stuff planned and all that, but for now, let’s focus on everyones faviorite elfen hellion as we dive back into Paul Dini’s Jingle Belle. 

I covered most of the behind the scene’s stuff last time so in short in case your just joining us, since this one’s got a bit more stuff to tag: Jingle Belle is an indie comic book character created by animation god Paul Dini, the daughter of Santa Claus and the Queen of Elves who acts like a standard rebellious teenager sterotype and causes trouble for her dad.  Last time I touched on the character a good two days ago, we looked at her first appearance, where she sent her family to Family Therapy. At the time I’d ONLY read that story, and hadn’t gotten that far into Jing’s world just yet. As you probably guessed despite plugging a decent amount of time into re-reading the rest of Scott Pilgrim (shout out to my good friend Mike for the early christmas present), on digital and in color and into the Switch port of the first Fire Emblem, I still got 2/3 of the way through the omnibus Kev gifted me of almost all her stories up to 2018′s The Handmade’s Tale.  Honestly not a lot has changed from the pilot.. while Jing’s designs changed a bit, she’s still more of a rebellious hellion, and while Santa’s no longer a slut shaming jackass, he’s still hard on her while her mom tries to keep the peace, The humor’s still edgy, if toned down enough to support returning whenever Dini felt like it but it’s largely the same for better or worse.  Overall the stories haven’t been bad but have been a bit reptitive to read in one giant omnibus. This really is down to the format they were made in: These were one off stories spread months apart meant to be picked up off the shelf with no real ongoing stories or character development and only some slight worldbuilding here and there. In short not bad stuff, just clearly not built to be collected in a huge omnibus like it was and not the first comic collection i’ve encountered with this problem and definitely not the last. 

That being said the stories are creative and still well put together. It is Paul Dini and he has wrote pretty much every story collected here with few exceptions, so it’s still good stuff, just as I said clearly not meant to be read all in one block like i’ve been doing. And today’s story happens to be one of my faviorites so far, breaking the formula up a bit by having Jing do something a bit diffrent and also involving hockey, a sport this story made me realized might actually intrest me on some level.. if in part due to letterkenny. 

God bless those two handsome idiots. So let’s ice up or skates, get those letterkenny refrences at the ready and see what the Mighty Elves have to offer. 

We start at Hockey Practice for Santa’s Hockey Team, The Elves, the kind of sentence that makes me really happy to type for money. Santa’s team is naturally for this kind of story and what the title references, are the last place in the bi-polar hockey league their in.. presumably ran by commissioner bi-polar bear. 

Again, I really love this job and that i’m actually getting paid for this this go round. Anyway, Santa’s team isn’t all that agressive because.. well i’ts a team coached by Santa, why would they be? But Santa’s still proud of his boys... as for his girl on the otherhand he gets a call and we soon find out via mugshots Jing dragged her two friends, up from just one in previous stories, to an air force base, somehow got arrested for hitting on enlisted men, not a crime, and stealing and crashing a helicopter, very much a crime.  Naturally Santa isn’t pleased, so we cut to a few days later where he’s letting her friends off making robo kitties, damn I want one of those now, while leaving Jing to do the packaging, though like most stern but fair dad’s he admits he dosen’t like punishing her and is right in saying there’s more to do with her summer vacation than you know, piss off the military. Santa needs his flight clerance dammit. Jing complains there isn’t much to do but feed the reindeer and make toys to which I say.. really santa? You haven’t set up anything else for your eleves to do? Making toys is their job. Build a fucking movie theater. And at the very least if not for them than for your bored and rebellious daughter to distract her from doing crimes. She’s still likely got a few hundred years of teenagering left, give her something else to do other than piss you off.  Santa does have a least a little something: Hockey! Which Jing’s cousin Rusty has taken up. Rusty showed up in the first story but I kind of glossed over him, he’s basically Jing’s Dorky cousin she frequently abuses. Not really much more or less to him. Jing isn’t on board mostly because their team always looses, to the other teams: The Penguins, the Polar Bears, The Snow Leopards and the Eskimos because they don’t really have killer instinct, which yeah is kind of necessary for hockey. To her..

But during her rant she does show Santa she’s got genuine talent for the sport, so he makes her a deal: Do a little favor for him, and she’ll swap that for making toys.. it’s a deal.. one she soon regrets but hey. 

Jing naturally makes an ass of herself pretty quickly beating the shit out of Rusty with her dad repremanding her and threatning to throw her off the team if she has another outburst like. That is until she runs into the Huskies Coach, Stan. 

I mean i’ts a hairy old man who makes a side bet with Santa Claus despite it technically being against commission rules, might as well be. So Santa tells Jing screw it, as long as it’s the opposing team violence is a-okay.  And naturally our first target is the world famous hockey player, aka snoopy aka a snoopy stand in. And being a big fan of peanuts i’m a sucker for a good peantus parody. Doubly so since Dini did his homework, and as I’d remembered and a quick google confirmed “The World Famous Hockey Player” was indeed one of snoopy’s many personas.

 Not that it was much of a stretch: just about any time snoopy played a sport he was “the world famous X player”, but still it’s a nice little nod. Not so nice is Jing within seconds slamming him into the air and under a Zamboni and getting sent to the box for it naturally. So clearly she’s the shorsey of this team, all chirps and ultra violence. 

Snoopy is thankfully still alive, if barely, though he’s off course been through much worse.

But while in the Box jing helps advise the team and a presumed combination of her beating the shit out of the other team’s best players and her team now not only having something to inspire them but a strategy means the Elves win for once! Santa and Jing share a hug, though Santa advises her not to go for his wallet, it’s still a sweet moment as she’s genuinely invested now.  So we cut to..

Okay Hank Ribbon seal is genuinely one of the best things humanity has made but as for Quiki I just... wow that joke is mildly racist at worst, confusing and unfunny at best. I mean... it really just makes no sense on any level and that’s with me not knowing a lot about hockey, but knowing just enough to know Kathy Lee Gifford existed. Just.. what even was that? I know Paul can do better than this.. because as my first review outlined he wrote a LOTTTT of Tiny Tune Adventures including my favorite episode. He also wrote most of the best Joker episodes for BTAS, so it’s not like the guy CAN’T be funny.. so I have no idea how he could fail so hard with this. Just.. what is this. Who thought this was funny? what was the joke? 

That.. utter bafflement aside, this newscast is used to push things ahead as the elves are on a winning streak, having also beaten the Polar Bears and the Penguins.. though weirdly we DON’T get a cameo by this guy despite having already had Snoopy show up. 

That’s my boy. But yeah there’s only two teams left with this, the Eskimos and tonight’s matchup the Snow Leopards, aka snow catgirls lead by Tashi Ounce, who Jing met at the winter games last year and lost too and thus has a whole rivlary thing going. In a really nice moment Santa stops to make sure Jing is okay going into the game. 

It’s part of why I REALLY like this story: Santa instead of just being disapointed in his daughter genuinely bonds over her over something and Jing shows she has a softer side to her. It’s some good character stuff, helps shake up the normal formula nicely. Back to the usual though she and Tashi naturally go at it, phrasing, and fight the whole damn time, with Belle eventually scoring the winning goal. Though noticably while Tashi is just as competiive as belle and lost this time.. she’s fine with it, knowing she’ll win next time and congradulating the opponent.  But before she can leave the rink, Tashi is approached by a mysterious figure with an offer and we cut to said figure’s lair... it’s THE BLIZZARD WIZARD! dun dun dun!.... yeah I haven’t introduced him the Blizzard Wizard is.. well exactly what he sounds like, as well as the former ruler of the North Pole. He enslaved everyone there to do his bidding and was essentially, a butt till Santa showed up, united all the various animals and kicked his ass. Since then he’s been reduced to basically a rankin bass villian, lurking near bye and scheming to get petty revenge on Santa for it. So essentially....

Minus the tragic backstory. He offers them a deal: The championship cup for him defeating the elves. As he puts it the cup symbolizes hard work, respect and team work.. i.e the things their throwing out to get payback. Tashi wants none of it, but the blizzard wizard has his slush minons capture her and with the rest willing to sell out, he gets to work. 

Bliz snows out the eskimos, and brings up accusations of Santa gambling, which he gets away from by.. having his wife donate the money real quick don’t ask just go. But he has a waiver signed by the other coaches so their playing his goons. But Jing isn’t phased and Santa asks her to give the lockeroom some inspiring words. 

10/10 no notes. But naturally Bliz has a sneaky trick up his sleeves.. to win.. specifically a hot french canadian player which.. makes jing fall to pieces flirting with him and makes her entirely ineffective. Okay time out.... huh so this is the timeless void known only to zack morris, that girl from the reboot I haven’t watched, and Regis Filbin. But yeah while I wouldn’t expect Jing to slaughter the guy it feels out of character for all she’d do is to giggle like an idiot instead of making a move. She’s been established as forward and knowing what she wants. I’m not against her being distracted by this it’s just the how that feels off especially since the opening reinforces this. She hit on air force guys. She’s not going to just be giggly and awkward. Jing may not be the most complex charcter but she’s better than this. Aside from the baffling Kathy Lee Gifford gag, this is the only thing I really don’t like abotu the story, and it lasts two pages before it’s resolved and in a 22 or so page story, that’s a good chunk of it spent on something that isn’t funny and that’s out of character even within story. That being said it dosen’t drag the story down entirely, still a good story. Just a bit uneven is all. 

But unsurprisingly Tashi escapes her earlier imprisonment offscreen to let Jing know not only the full extent of Bliz Whiz’s machenations, i.e. that the other coaches are in on it, but that the hockey player is really just one of Bliz’s minons uner a glamour. WIth that knowledge Jing asks why she’d help and Tashi shows her inner honor beneath the whole rival deal, pointing out she wants to win from a GOOD team next year. With the jig up Jing pulvirzes her former crush, claims to have been under a spell (no one byes it) and the elves clean house and win. Super fuckin shooter. As for Bliz Whiz he tries to steal the trophy but instead gets booted into the snow leopards box, phrasing... it doesn’t end well for him. 

And yeah while he comes back eventually, some how, apparently, for most of the stories after this he’s just.. dead. He was killed and then his remains eaten. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

But Jing admits she had fun, she and her dad bond and we get one last gag as he assumes she learned not to showboat only for her to block everyone else in the team photo. Falalallal we’re out. 

Final Thoughts: As I said, one of my faviorites. It’s really well paced, has a good premise and only one part drags at all and only that part and one gag really don’t land. The rest of it is really funny, nice and touching, and overall a nice shakeup from these stories usual pattern of “Jing getting into hyjinks”. While she DOES here, her and her dad are literally and figuartvely on the same team, and she does show a sweeter side genuinely bonding with her dad and it’s nice to see them actually enjoy each other’s company for once. It’s a nice change of pace and one I wish more of the stories had. I’m not saying they all have to be holly jolly but i’d be nice if more of them had a bit of heart to them is all. Tis the season and all that. Still for what it is, it’s a fun ride and I highly recommend it. We’ll probably see her again sometime this season but that’s a bit off.  For now coming up I have some ducktales to tell, a chapter in a man’s life story that’s long overdue, a holiday mess I wish I didn’t have to clean up, and in the distant future.. an old friend to reconnect with. Until then if you liked this review reblog it, comment etc all that good stuff, and you can send me asks with suggestions fo ra review or direct message me, or ask for my discord, to comission a review yourself. Until then, happy holidays. 

[crystalelemental]

Antagonists of Elibe

When I was writing up the Limstella character piece, there was a point I wanted to fit in but couldn’t find a good way to introduce without breaking the flow.  My wife insisted I should make a separate post about it, so here it is.  The main point is that, across both Elibe games, a big emphasis seems to be placed on empathy and understanding the other side of things, and how that ties in to the antagonists, how they’re presented, and why each outcome is so impactful to me, personally.

Empathy in Elibe Starting with the main prospect, I think empathy is kind of a central theme for Elibe.  Not in a specific sense, but in the broad sense of having empathy and compassion for all life, not just your own.  Our protagonists, Eliwood and Roy, are almost entirely defined by their kindness, understanding, and acceptance of others.

Eliwood’s supports with Ninian are entirely around this.  Ninian is hesitant with him at first, and with others, given her history.  Her mother was killed in a war with humans, the remainder of her people were driven into exile beyond the dragon’s gate, and as a high-profile oracle in their world, she deals endlessly with the dragons who seek revenge upon humans to reclaim their world.  Dragons and humans have always seemed to have bad blood for one another.  Yet here’s Eliwood, who can honestly tell her that her background doesn’t matter.

Ninian: “It’s strange.  All of you treat my brother and me so...normally.  Doesn’t it bother you?  Our powers, our looks.  We’re different from...people...” Eliwood: “Has that been bothering you?  What’s wrong with being a bit different from other people?  When I look at you, I don’t see other people.  I see Ninian.  A normal, kindhearted girl.”

The entire basis of their relationship is because they can look past the differences, and find commonalities.  They’re able to see the good in the other, and that in turn paves the way for Roy.

Roy is similarly able to see the good in everything.  He comes to the aid of others, and seeks to protect all life, not just his own.  This culminates in his battle with Zephiel, his proclamation of faith in the good in humans, and finally his decision to protect and save Idunn.  The entire focus of these games is about a family starting to correct the ills of the past, and reaching out to the other side in friendship.  Sound familiar?

I feel like Fire Emblem, as a series, really likes to play with this.  It’s the entire basis for the Tellius games, and is the central theme of Fodlan, which is why I believe Claude’s route is the true route.  But that’s something for another day.  The main reason I bring this up is to shift into the antagonists, and how their actions and histories play with the central theme.

Zephiel I’m gonna start with Zephiel, since I have the least to talk about with him.  Zephiel’s history is that, as a child, he excelled as a leader, a soldier, at pretty much everything.  Yet his father only hated him for it.  He believed that Zephiel could not possibly be his legitimate heir, and felt jealousy toward Zephiel’s accomplishments.  So much so that he tried to have Zephiel assassinated.  Twice, if Binding Blade’s explanation if different from the event in Blazing Blade.  Zephiel has grown up surrounded by hate, even within his own race.  Humans from different countries can’t even get along, and everything with them is about seizing power and siding with those who are strong.  The entire progression of Biding Blade is to accentuate Zephiel’s point: every minor antagonist sides with Bern for selfish motivations.  Humans can’t be trusted, so we should turn leadership over to dragons, who will do a better job.

Roy disagrees, and because we’ve lived the adventure with him, we can see Zephiel’s point, but we also see Roy’s.  Whenever something has gone off course, humans corrected the problem.  Turning leadership over to dragons to rule is just keeping the same problem, but changing which hand is holding it.  Dragon leadership alone would be no better, and the true ending route confirms this belief.  We learn about the earthly dragons, how they chose to lead and respond to the Scouring, and the lengths they went to.  They’re no better than humans.  They were willing to torture a child into becoming a living weapon for them, claiming survival.  But we know from Blazing Blade, if survival were all they sought, they could have fled beyond the Dragon’s Gate.  This was an act of domination against humans, and Zephiel’s aim was to facilitate that dominance.

Zephiel serves as a villain because he fails to empathize with the full picture.  He’s simply lashing out at humanity, which has done awful things to him, in fairness.  But he’s willing to deny any wrongdoing on the part of dragons, and willingly uses Idunn as a tool of war, just as the dragons did before.  That’s the villain path.  Even if Zephiel truly believed that humans are better off living under dragon control.  Even if Zephiel believes that dragons were less cruel than humans.  The fact that he’s willing to sacrifice and use the lives of others to achieve an ambition is where he’s gone wrong.  Life cannot be sacrificed for a greater good, and that alone is what sets Zephiel up as the villain.

Nergal Nergal is very similar to Zephiel, but in a different direction.  For those not familiar with his history, Nergal was alive at the time of the Scouring.  He was a practitioner of the dark arts, who had married a dragon, and even had two children with said dragon.  However, when the Scouring was picking up, his wife was captured by humans.  Nergal set out to get her back, but left his children on the Dread Isle near the Dragon’s Gate, and told them to pass through it if he hadn’t returned in ten days’ time.  Though he sought to keep them safe if he failed, the end result was that Nergal was too late to save his wife, and then too late to return to his children.  His family was gone.  For hundreds of years, he wandered the world, until he met Athos, a hero of the Scouring.  They traveled together for a time, and eventually found Arcadia, a hidden oasis in the desert where humans and dragons lived in harmony.  It was here that Nergal found the secret art of manipulating quintessence, known only to dragons, and likely divine dragons.  Using this art, Nergal would kill living creatures, and began to create Morphs, entities with human likeness, but allegedly no emotion or drive beyond serving their creator.  I talked a lot about whether this is true in the Limstella analysis, so please refer to that for the rebuttal.

The point is, given the history, Nergal is set to be a sympathetic villain, much like Zephiel.  He lost his entire family to a meaningless war, found a way to possibly revive his wife, then loses his reason for this and seeks only power.  It’s a tragedy, right?  Well, yes, but honestly I think there was no other outcome.

When you dig into Nergal, there’s one thing that’s clear: Nergal steadily lost himself.  It wasn’t all at once.  When Athos confronts him, it’s unlikely he’s lost himself completely by this.  And even if he had, starting out, Nergal knew what he was doing.  He weighed the choice, and determined that sacrificing other life to bring back his wife was a good trade.  There’s no empathy for other life, only its use for his own purposes.  He doesn’t see past his trauma.

What’s more, Morphs clearly have souls.  They think and feel.  Limstella’s dialogue makes this clear, Kishuna’s existence makes this clear, Canas and Renault’s supports make this clear.  Yet it’s very directly stated that Nergal creates his Morphs, then abandons them.  Unless they’re part of his ultimate goal, he has no use for them.  And he makes a lot.  When Kishuna was created, he was, I believe, #252.  This was when Nergal still had care for his successful creations, as opposed to the later flashback where he’s telling Kishuna to rot as a worthless creation.  Even before Nergal devolved to the point of only seeking power, he was creating life and casting it aside, as if it were nothing.  He even tells Kishuna that “it won’t do to refer to you as a number,” implying that most of his creations are just numbers.  He thinks very little of other life, even from the start.  There was never enough care for others, and thus this path to villainy was almost guaranteed.

The Limits of Empathy The previous two antagonists bring up a compelling thought: what are the limits of empathy?  When has a person gone too far to give consideration to the past and circumstances that led them here?  I think Eliwood’s confrontation with Nergal sums it up nicely:

Nergal: “It confirmed some things for me.  That trust brings betrayal.  That friends bring weakness!” Eliwood: “If that’s what you learned from your encounter, then you are a fool.  Do you believe for a moment, than when Athos struck down his dearest friend, he felt nothing?!  His heart was torn in two, and yet you refused to understand that!  Nergal!  I will defeat you! Here!  Today!  But, even now there is no hatred in my heart.  You, who were born human.  You, who lost the heart that defines your humanity...  For you, I have nothing but pity.”

There are two answers.  One is “never.”  Even at the end of their conflict, Eliwood never holds hate for Nergal.  After everything, there’s still a level of human connection that triumphs over hatred.  The second is, when they become dismissive of other life.  Nergal was always dismissive, and when Athos fought against him, all he learned was that friends betray you, rather than that his actions were wrong.

I’ve only played Binding Blade once (as opposed to the like 50 times I’ve played Blazing Blade), but I don’t recall Roy holding any hatred for Zephiel, or anyone else, either.  Rather, he recognizes that what they’re doing brings harm to people, and seeks to stop them because he must.

That’s the limit these games suggest.  When someone is actively endangering life, using life as a tool for their own gains.  That’s when you can’t let understanding of their circumstances stay your hand.  But it’s equally important to never lose that empathy, that heart that defines humanity.

Idunn Idunn is the odd antagonist out, and my personal favorite of the three.  Idunn’s history is...honestly the opposite of the other two.  She embodies the first answer but neglects the second.  Idunn is a divine dragon.  During the Scouring, the earthly dragons sought aid from the divine dragons, requesting the creation of War Dragons.  They were losing the war because dragon reproduction is significantly longer than human reproduction, and so they were essentially outnumbered.  War Dragons could be spawned by divine dragons, likely in a similar fashion to the creation of Morphs, and could turn the tide of the war.  The divine dragons refused the request, and left Elibe entirely.  Except one.

Idunn was the only one to hesitate.  As it’s explained in the endgame of Binding Blade, she felt empathy for the earthly dragons, and worried about their circumstances.  This allowed them to catch her, and subsequently destroy her soul, creating the Demon Dragon that would obey their commands to flood the world in War Dragons.  When the dragons lost the war anyway, Idunn was sealed away for 1000 years, until Zephiel awakened her.  Zephiel then used her to again bring War Dragons into the world, in an effort to turn the world over to dragons. 

Idunn is such a unique case to me, because the only defining personality trait we get from her is her empathy.  She couldn’t just abandon the earthly dragons without attacks of conscience.  Yet because of that, she was captured and betrayed.  The divine dragons were right to leave the earthly dragons behind, knowing what they would do.  Perhaps it’s because Idunn was young, or perhaps it’s because she was a divine dragon and had never associated with the earthly dragons or humans, but she didn’t understand that some people could be cruel.  She didn’t realize that, despite feeling that empathy for the dragons, there was a good reason to turn them down.

It also established another important point.  Jahn, the last dragon standing with Idunn, expresses that dragons don’t have emotions, and that dragons and humans could not possibly live together because of these differences.  He calls Brunnya incomprehensible, and seems to look down on emotion as a weakness exclusive to humans.  Yet we see that empathy from Idunn, we’ve seen Arcadia where humans and dragons do coexist, and in Blazing Blade we see Ninian and Nils, who are definitely expressive.  Jahn seems to have internalized this sense of hatred toward humanity, such that he rejects any possible similarities to connect with.  Jahn is a symbol of the hatred the dragons had toward humans, and likely that humans felt toward dragons.  Idunn and Jahn together paint the picture that dragons and humans are more alike than they seem, and that the earthly dragons made a choice to continue the fighting, and to continue hating humans.

This isn’t lost on Roy, either, whose final act is one of compassion.  In absolute threat level, Idunn is a bigger risk to keep around than Zephiel ever was.  Zephiel started a war, but Idunn had the potential to endlessly flood the world with war dragons, and end humanity entirely.  Yet in applied threat...Idunn was never a threat at all.  She was a victim of the war, someone who never sought to hurt anyone, and never had a choice in her role.  Comparatively, Zephiel and Jahn both cast aside consideration for her and others, and sought to use her as a weapon for their own ends.  Roy’s final act is stopping Idunn from carrying out her orders, but then saves her life, bringing her to Arcadia to restore her soul.  Chronologically, this is when the mistakes of Elibe’s past are finally righted, and relations between humans and dragons can begin on a grander scale.  In any other circumstance, had someone cast aside empathy when doing what needed to be done, Idunn would be killed and a threat removed.  It is specifically because Roy maintains empathy toward others, even his enemies, that old wounds can finally heal.

Conclusions Elibe is still my favorite.  Blazing Blade may have been my first game, but I really feel it holds up, even now.  While there are people who say the stories aren’t that strong, or that the casts aren’t that strong, I feel like what stands out with Elibe is how it integrates its themes and the understandable nature of their villains.  A lot of games in the series either don’t go for sympathetic villain, or try in a way that doesn’t quite hit home.  The Blades games manage to present villains with a compelling and sympathetic history, while simultaneously expressing that some people are beyond redemption.  And I think that’s a good balance to strike.  It’s important to always consider what impacts another, and what their lives were like.  But there have to be limits in what’s tolerated based on a sympathetic past, and sometimes you do have to stand against someone who’s wrong, no matter what they’ve been through.  But at the end of the day, the one thing you can’t abandon is that empathy for others.  Even when taking a stand against evil, hate can’t be the reason you do so.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Stories with Fandoms

bocajinsurgenc1

Hello there’  I decided to post a new post, given all the extra time I have! 

Let’s stay with quick things about myself!  -I am 23 years old and live in EST time-zone. -Usually, I have a part time job. Which is really part-time right now considering everything. -I ask that my partner and I write in 3rd Person, Past tense. -Reply/Post length can be set. As a bare minimum, I write a paragraph. More than happy to write more. 

-I am looking more than just having a ship together in a Roleplay. I want a plot. If that makes sense?  Not just romance.   Now onto the Fandoms.  Anything mentioned under, is a suggestion of thought I may Have on said Fandom. Of course, nothing here is needed to be used to build upon. We can build from the ground up.

Open to all sorts of genre themes like:

-Canon divergent,

-Canon-Rewrite/Rework,

-AU’s. What-If’s.

-Timey-Whimey problems. Groundhog Day,

and so much more.  Also, any Fandom with a *, is higher up on the list right now! All are open! *Star Wars: Considering (as time of writing this, May the Fourth two days ago), this is very fresh on my mind! I have seen all Nine-Saga Films, the Side Stories, and all the animated series of date. Not too caught on comics, thought. And my Knowledge, of the ‘Legends’ is very limited. So, ideally, I would want to stick to Disney’s Canon.  Open for all eras, to write with. Or, taking some of the Scrapped Battlefront IV art work of the What-If stuff and basing a story around them. Like Sith Luke and Leia, Redeemed Vader, etc. Or! I really liked the idea of a Imperial Navy Six like team, of Inferno Squad (Dice’s BFII). But, not have them jumps hip. Have them be Empire, ya know? *Final Fantas VII/Remake/Crisis Core:  I have finished the Remake and rather love it! I kinda hate seeing and hearing people on Youtube and online saying: Oh, its just Noruma adding his Kingdom Hearts logic to FF.  First, I don’t think KH is that hard to follow, and second. A HD remake of a story people already know, might not be so well received. Why not just play the original than? However! I love it! So, if we want anything to deal with the Remake, or the Crisis Core characters, I am so game. My good-boy Zack~ Kingdom Hearts: ‘None of this, makes any sense to me’ -Sora, Yozora.  Ahh, Kingdom Hearts. A series I love. Its precious to me. But, despite my love of all the games, and the story, I am more than happy to Re-work or Rewrite anything. Personally, I’d change up KHII alittle. Maybe go in a slightly more somber/dark route. Or, we can have our favorite characters in some AU, or Non-Canon adventure! Xion is my precious favorite character. Who is yours?  DC: First, I would mention I am a big fan of the CW shows. And, part of me (while I did enjoy Crisis on Infinite Earths, wanted a little more.) So, my first thought, would be to Re-write Crisis. One thing that really disappointed me, was the lack of Reverse Flash. He claimed, last Cross-over we would see him. And then just doesn't show up.  I would also, like more work in the fights and such. There wasn't much. Maybe more time with the Seven, who are stuck after they fail the first time around.  Another bit I wouldn't mind working with, would be the forgotten Synder Verse. I rather liked Batman V Superman, despite everything. It is one of those guilty pleasure type things. So, why not expand further where that universe was left off on? Power Rangers:  For this series, I have two major wants. (Of course, we can go in completely different route, too.) First, being a continuation of the 2017 Movie universe. I loved everything about that movie, and am heartbroken it will never go on. (Officially). Do what the cast suggested, and have a Female T.Oliver join the gang. Adapt more from MMPR.  The Second, would be a reWrite of Super Mega-Force (first by workshopping that name,) I am a fan of the Super Sentai Source of the season, and felt PR dropped the ball. We could create a new team for the pirate suits, have more Legendary Cameos and stories, and what not!  *Dragon Ball: From DB, to Z, Super, GT and Xeno-verse, I love most things Dragon Ball. I quite fancy the SSJ4 look, and Xeno style of Goku and Vegeta.  Though, in terms of plot ideas, I saw this Fan art of the Goku Black stuff from Super. However, Future Gohan was with Trunks, rather than Vegeta or Goku. I thought that could be a fun story! Or, we can play around with the Universe Six Saiynas. I rather enjoy them, so why not dive deep with Cabba, Caulifla and Kale? Persona 5/Royal:  The only Persona I have properly played; though, I am not fully done with Royal. (Aware of some spoilers, so no worries there). I love the world and characters quite a bit, so I felt the need to put this on the list, as the next entry as well.  Fire Emblem: Three Houses: I won’t lie, I haven’t finished all playthroughs yet. I was failing hard when the game came out, but given all the time I have had, I’ve been playing more! Another case of loving the characters and wouldn’t be against working out an idea!  *Pokemon: I know the games more, than anything else. Though, I have liked the concept of Re-Working Colosseum’s story. Give Wes a personality, actually. Not just the Silent-Protag trait. Maybe adapt some of the newer Pokemon into the region, as well. Explore what caused Wes to betray the Organization he worked for, what was the line they pushed that caused him to say, ‘I’m done, I can’t do this anymore,’ Perhaps we can even given him a reluctant attitude towards it. Not trying to stop Snag’Em, rather trying to keep his head down low at first.  Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Quick note, I am not fully caught up with Part-8. Thank you.  That’s it for now! Again, anything here is not needed. We can build from the ground up!  My contact stuff, as I do like using Email first, before maybe moving to a different platform, is: onesplendidbubble@gmail.com.  If interested in anything, let’s get in touch! Thanks for reading!

[baphomet-media]

Top 10 Games I Played in 2019

Another year has gone by just like that, and here we are with another year’s worth of games played! There were some good releases this year, and I’m excited to talk about them all. Before that, though, let’s touch briefly on the criteria for these lists:

Any game that I played for the first time in 2019 is eligible, regardless of initial release year. Games that I started late in the previous year but spent most of the time playing in the year in question also count.

Ports, remasters, remakes, etc. of games that I have played before do not count.

I have to spend a certain amount of time with a game or the game has to make some kind of significant impact on me to be considered.

Lastly, these are just my opinion out of a very limited pool of games that I was personally able to get to this year, so if a game you played this year doesn’t show up, chances are either I didn’t have a chance to play it, or it just wasn’t personally as impactful to me as some of the others on the list. Now, on to the list!

10. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)

Developer: Intelligent Systems / Koei Tecmo

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Strategy RPG

Release Date: July 26th 2019

Before Three Houses, the only Fire Emblem game I played was Awakening on the 3DS. I mostly enjoyed it, but I couldn’t get into the marriage aspect of the game, and I felt that many of the battles a bit too lacking in any sort of story context other than “There are bad guys here, let’s take them out!”

However, Three Houses really succeeded for me where Awakening failed. The academy was a really great home base and actually gave some meaningful context to most of the battles in the game. I really enjoyed micromanaging the different lessons in the game and tweaking each of my students into exactly the build I wanted for them, however I felt the drawback of this was that there weren’t really a whole lot of different classes to really explore. Most of the game’s character classes are just stronger variations of lower-level classes, and it definitely felt like some skill categories became woefully underutilized as the game went on, so there was no point in training people for them. I also liked recruiting other students to my house, but I felt like the other houses students didn’t really offer anything that my current house already had, so some students ended up feeling mechanically similar to others.

The battles were exactly what you’d expect from Fire Emblem, and gave me a bit of a tabletop RPG vibe, which I enjoyed, particularly when there were large monsters to fight that took up more grid space than standard units.

That being said, the story was really interesting, and I really liked watching everything unfold. I picked the Black Eagles house (because Edelgard is great), but I felt like that story didn’t really do a great job of explaining everything, and expected you to just side with Edelgard on some of her more bold decisions with no explanation as to why what she was doing was right, which felt kind of unfair. The game really wanted you to go through and play each one of the houses stories, but with around 80 hours poured into a single house, I didn’t really feel like there was much point at the end.

Overall, I think Three Houses is a great fit for the Switch and I’m excited to see what the future of Fire Emblem on Switch will look like.

9. Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch)

Developer: Next Level Games

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Adventure

Release Date: October 31st 2019

When it comes to Luigi’s Mansion, I enjoyed Dark Moon on 3DS back in 2013 while waiting for Animal Crossing: New Leaf to drop, but I never really had much of a reason to come back to it. Still, I really enjoyed the exploration aspect of the game and the attention to detail really impressed me with how nearly everything could be interacted with.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Switch is more of what you’d expect from the Luigi’s Mansion series. The game centers around Luigi exploring a haunted hotel to stop King Boo and rescue Mario and his friends. While Dark Moon focused more on a few isolated mansions with different themes, LM3 brings things back to a single gigantic building. This time, each floor of the mansion has a different spooky theme, from ancient Egypt, to classical music, to a floor overgrown with plants. Luigi has to defeat the boss of each floor to reclaim the elevator button for the next floor as he gradually works his way to the top.

Like with previous games in the series, you can expect loads of environmental interaction, such as all the items you can suck up and mess with using the Poltergust, but LM3 brings some new mechanics to the series, including a launchable plunger than you can then pull on to yank certain objects around, as well as the remote-control Gooigi, who is as fun to use as his name is cursed. Gooigi is basically a slime doppelganger for Luigi who can be deployed at any point to assist Luigi with different tasks, or split up for local co-op play. He also has the ability to squeeze through grates and pipes, allowing all sorts of hidden areas that only Gooigi can explore.

LM3 is a game that oozes with charm (no pun intended), though the combat does get a tad repetitive. Also, I was a bit disappointed that there was not more interplay between different floors of the hotel. They’re almost exclusively completely isolated levels, which definitely takes away from the feeling of having a huge building to explore.

8. Blasphemous (PC)

Developer: The Game Kitchen

Publisher: Team17

Genre: Adventure Platformer

Release Date: September 10th 2019

Blasphemous is a game I remember seeing teasers for earlier in 2019, but saw little to no hype for otherwise. However, the concept and the stunning hi-bit pixel art immediately drew me in. The game is a 2D adventure platformer set in a gothic fantasy world reminiscent of Dark Souls. In fact, quite a lot of this game is reminiscent of Dark Souls, with a lore thicker than gravy that’s brimming with little tidbits of information in every NPC dialogue, every item flavor text, and in the bosses you encounter. The world takes inspiration from Christianity, though not actually being about Christianity itself, instead a fictional religion with many similar aspects (an approach I wish more developers would take).

In Blasphemous, you play as The Penitent One as you explore a rotting gothic world and learn more about a strange quasi-religious curse called The Miracle and other fascinating bits of the world. You explore such locations as rotting cathedrals, a frozen mountain, the interior of a colossal bell set upside down into the ground, and more. Along the way, your eyes will feast on some of the most gorgeous pixel art in games this year.

The Penitent One is able to battle with their sword and certain special abilities picked up along the way. While the combat is fairly simple at first, it gets much more deep and nuanced as you go along, dodging enemy attacks, parrying and countering, using spells to buff yourself or shoot projectiles, and much more. Personally, the game feels a lot like Dark Souls meets Castlevania, particularly Symphony of the Night. It’s definitely a lot of fun, though it may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to tone and difficulty.

7. Mario Maker 2 (Switch)

Developer: Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Action Platformer and Level Editor

Release Date: June 28th 2019

I was a big fan of the idea of the original Mario Maker on WiiU, so I was really excited when Mario Maker 2 was announced for Switch with a plethora of new parts, themes, mechanics, and features. I have a pretty big soft spot for classic Mario games, and level editors really get my gamedev side going, so this game pretty much checked all the boxes for me.

I was glad this time around to see an extensive singleplayer mode, where Mario has to play through Nintendo’s own pre-made levels to gain coins to rebuild Peach’s castle after the Undodog resets it all to nothing. It was a great introduction to the game, particularly showcasing what all you can do with the new parts. It was the perfect thing to get any creator’s brain tingling with ideas for their first level.

The editor itself is largely improved from the WiiU, though you’ll almost certainly need a capacitive stylus in order to really take advantage of the Switch’s touch screen, though it’s nice to finally have a Switch game with proper touch screen support, since it seemed like Nintendo had all but forgotten about this part of the device. There are tons of new improvements here, too, such as all modifiers for objects can be accessed by long-pressing on an object. One thing I wasn’t fond of though was the way the Select and Copy modes are accessed, needing to toggle through them and normal edit mode instead of just having a single button for each.

Unfortunately, the Amiibo costumes have not returned, which would have been a great use for Amiibo on Switch (anyone remember that the Switch is Amiibo compatible?), though with the recent release of the Link costume, it seems that Nintendo has plans in mind for these alternate forms.

Fortunately, if you’re not much of a creator, there’s still plenty to do in MM2, as there are tons of ways to play levels online, including an endless challenge mode with different difficulties, browsing top level lists, and a new speedrun mode where levels are available for a limited time and you can grind them to get your best time, playing against the ghosts of other players’ best times.

All in all, I’ve had fun with MM2, and I’m excited to see what Nintendo will bring to the game in future updates (please implement level playlists).

6. Baba Is You (PC)

Developer: Hempuli

Publisher: Hempuli

Genre: Puzzle

Release Date: March 13th 2019

Out of nowhere back in March came a little indie game known as Baba Is You. In this programming puzzle game, each level contains the rules of the level as physical objects that you can push around and recombine to manipulate how the game plays. Each rule statement can (usually) be broken down into three components: an object (such as Water), a verb (such as Is) and a property (such as Stop). Each one of these components can be pushed around at will, and if you line all three of them up you get the statement “Water Is Stop”, meaning that all water tiles in the level do not allow other objects to move over them. If you break this statement, the water loses this blocking property and you can walk over it. It doesn’t stop there, though, and there are tons of combinations and complicated scenarios that will leave your brain hurting after too long. While some of the puzzles are unfortunately rather obtuse in their intended solutions, and the game doesn’t always do a great job of teaching you the skills you’ll need to face harder puzzles, you at least have the option of completing multiple different levels, so it’s rare that you’ll be stuck on just one.

It also helps that the art for the game is a cute but simplistic hand-drawn style that makes it easy to distinguish all the various elements of each level. The only reason this game didn’t rank higher on my list is that I got stuck and I found most of the levels to be a bit too hard for me (shocking, I know).

5. Gato Roboto (PC)

Developer: doinksoft

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Genre: Adventure Platformer

Release Date: May 30th 2019

Gato Roboto is a cute Metroid-like adventure platformer that sees you taking the role of Kiki, a cat who has to explore an alien planet to rescue her master’s crashed ship. Fortunately, while Kiki is defenseless on her own, she is able to pilot a robotic mech suit to run, gun, and jump across different zones of the planet. While a Metroid-esque platformer is nothing new, it’s the charming 1bit graphics and the interesting interplay between power suit mechanics and suitless cat mechanics. Sometimes there are gaps that the suit can’t fit into or walls that you need cat claws to climb, so you’ll have to abandon your robot suit and proceed on foot for a bit. In true Metroid fashion, you’ll acquire many upgrades for your suit as you go along, including movement abilities and health upgrades.

The game is short, but very sweet, and the mechanics are super satisfying. You could maybe finish the game in a few hours, but the controls and speedrun potential will likely keep you coming back for more.

The only downside I have to the game is that there is at least one section where you have to explore extensively on foot, and since you die in a single hit while on foot, it makes for some frustrating moments when you just barely mistime a jump and graze an enemy. Also, at one point I managed to softlock the game by accidentally bypassing a barrier that the player isn’t meant to and getting stuck in a boss area when a required button doesn’t work after you defeat the boss. Fortunately, the developers managed to patch this, so I was able to continue playing after a while.

4. Hollow Knight (PC/Switch)

Developer: Team Cherry

Publisher: Team Cherry

Genre: Adventure Platformer

Release Date: February 24th 2017

I’ll admit, I was a bit late to the party on this one. Hollow Knight released back in 2017 on PC, and while I played it for a bit on there, I didn’t get far and just never had time to come back to it. However, when it was released on Switch in mid 2018, I ended up picking it up again some time later and gradually worked my way through it into 2019. Hollow Knight is a Metroid-esque adventure platformer with light Dark Souls elements set in a dark and dismal world of a fallen insect kingdom. You play as a lone knight who seeks to explore the Hallownest and learn its secrets. Armed only with your Nail, a rusted sword, you explore the caverns and abandoned civilization beneath the town of Dirtmouth.

The game has tons of exploration, and allows the player to explore Hallownest at their own pace with minimal signposting towards destinations. Additionally, the game has an interesting map mechanic where you start off completely without a map and have to rely on memory to navigate the tunnels, however very quickly you’ll be able to purchase a blank map where you can record rooms you’ve been to at each save point. However this map only works for the current area, so for each area you discover, you’ll have to start this process all over, finding a map so you can chart out the area. While this sounds like a pain at first (and definitely can take some adjusting), it’s actually really interesting as you feel like you’re really discovering a forgotten realm and charting out your own personal course through the world. There are also plenty of points for nonlinear progression, as many areas are often open to the player at once, so it’s up to them to choose where to go (or just stumble across new areas at random like me). Each area offers vastly different visuals, from a mushroom-filled series of tunnels, to an elegant garden, to dank sewers, to a city drenched with perpetual underground rain. In each area you’ll explore every nook and cranny to find upgrades and new abilities.

Along the way, you’ll find many badges that you can equip, a la Paper Mario, that give you various passive bonuses and abilities, however you are limited in the number you can have equipped at a time, so strategic planning of which badges to use is crucial.

One of the game’s main features is challenging boss battles. The further you get in the game, the more the balance shifts from exploration to combat, with the late game mostly revolving around hunting down multiple different bosses. Many bosses are optional, however, and some are even hidden, so many players might miss them entirely. Personally, while I found many bosses to be fun challenges, it got kind of tedious to constantly be fighting bosses at every turn, which led to me not completely finishing the game.

3. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (Switch)

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

Genre: RPG

Release Date: September 27th 2019

I’ll admit I slept on Dragon Quest XI when it released for PC and PS4 back in 2017. It was constantly on my “maybe someday” list, but it wasn’t until the Definitive Edition released on Switch back in September that I decided to give it a go, and boy am I glad I did.

DQXI tells the story of a young man who finds out one day that he is the reincarnation of a legendary hero called The Luminary, who is said to defeat an evil known as The Dark One and bring peace to the world. However, he soon finds himself hunted by a corrupt kingdom that has branded him as The Darkspawn, claiming he is responsible for bringing The Dark One to the world and causing disaster. Thus, our hero travels the world, meeting friends along the way, and finding out what it means to be The Luminary.

The game’s plot may seem a bit generic, but that’s the thing. The whole conceit of DQXI is that it’s a classic JRPG at heart, but with a lot of modern touches to make it feel accessible today. So while there are plenty of turn-based battles, MP gauges, and a story that’s simplistic at the surface, there are loads of surprises throughout and lots of mechanical tweaks that drastically improve the quality of life of the game. For instance, as characters level up, they gain skill points that they can spend on a grid of skills to improve their abilities in different disciplines. Usually, each character has a sector of the grid for each weapon type they can use, as well as one section full of character-specific buffs and special abilities. By the end of the game, you’ll be able to unlock nearly every ability, so it becomes more of a matter of deciding which abilities to prioritize based on how you want to customize each character.

Speaking of characters, there’s a pretty full cast of characters to enjoy, and I found myself loving all of them, such as the spunky Veronica, the flamboyant Sylvando, or the warrior princess Jade. Each character has their own battle style, too, including casting spells, using strong weapons, buffing the party, and more.

The game will easily get you over 100 hours of playtime, with myself clocking in at around 120 hours so far. I’m not quite done yet, but I’m almost there. See, there’s a ton to do in DQXI aside from the main story, including crafting and improving items in a quick minigame at your Fun-Size Forge, gambling in the casino, horse racing, side questing, and exploring various parts of the world.

As for quality of life features, there are such things as the Horse Hailer, which allows you to immediately summon a horse on the overworld for quick travel, early access to the Zoom spell, which lets you teleport back to any town, important location, or campsite you’ve visited throughout the world for free, campsites being free healing, a speed-up option in combat, multiple auto-battle options, the ability to quick-heal in the menu, and more. It’s hard to really list everything, but there are tons of instances where you’ll think “Oh, that’s really handy”.

The visuals of the game are fantastic, with lots of that Akira Toriyama style that’s become synonymous with the Dragon Quest series. The characters are all really well designed and memorable, though some of the NPCs have a bit of a case of same-face, which is especially jarring considering that the game’s world is inspired by many diverse real-world cultures, making it odd that people from a Japanese-inspired area look exactly the same as people from an area based on northeast Europe. Still, I think the game otherwise does an excellent job at respecting world cultures, and even incorporates real-world languages into different regions. For example, the in-game city of Gondolia is based heavily on Venice, Italy, and the people of that city sprinkle bits of Italian into their dialogue. It’s a charming touch.

The music for the game sounds really great if you enable the orchestral version. Unfortunately, the game originally released with only a synthesized version of the soundtrack, which sounds terrible by comparison. Unfortunately, I felt that although each of the compositions were very memorable and pleasing, there sometimes didn’t feel like enough of them. The overworld, city, battle, boss battle, and dungeon themes are exactly the same wherever you go in the world, and I felt like that was a missed opportunity to really spice up the soundtrack with more unique themes to each area.

Overall, If you like JRPG’s, you’ll definitely like DQXI. My only complaints are that it can be a tad on the easy side, and that there are a few points of no return in the story that cause certain quests to be locked out without warning.

2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch)

Developer: Bandai Namco Studios / Sora Ltd.

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Fighting

Release Date: December 7th 2018

Was this really a surprise? A new Smash Bros. game releases the day before my birthday? Of course I’m gonna love it! I had been hyped up for Smash Ultimate for months preceding its release, going as far as watching any gameplay videos on YouTube I could find from various demo events and tournaments around the world. Even after the game’s release, there have been tons of content updates, new fighter DLC, and just so many reasons to come back to the game. It doesn’t hurt that one of the most accessible fighting games of all time is available on a handheld system (literally the only reason I played Smash 3DS). Smash Ultimate stands out in more than just its portability factor, though. While it largely recycles content from previous games, it can be seen as the “Ultimate” Smash Bros game, bringing back every single fighter from the series history, nearly every playable stage, and tons of familiar modes. Not only that, but new content is also present in terms of fighters, stages, and more. Long awaited characters include the Inklings from Splatoon, Ridley from the Metroid series, King K. Rool from Donkey Kong, and surprise guests, including Simon and Richter Belmont from Castlevania. On top of that, a plethora of DLC fighters and stages have been added, with the 5th DLC fighter still upcoming and shrouded in mystery.

Most prominent of the new additions is the game’s approach to a story mode. Unfortunately not as robust as the Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, The World of Light is still a welcome addition. In this mode, a strange angelic being called Galeem has turned all of the Smash fighters into evil controlled puppets, except, of course, for Kirby, who sets out to free each of the game’s 70+ fighters from Galeem’s control across a large board of levels, each connected by pathways. Each level features a battle against a copy of one of the game’s fighters possessed by a Spirit, essentially the essence of a video game character, and you have to free the Spirit and claim it by defeating the possessed fighter in a themed battle. This was a really nice way of including references to characters across not only Nintendo’s history, but the whole history of gaming as well, including some characters who do not otherwise appear in Smash, such as Shantae and Rayman. These Spirits, once collected, can be equipped to your character to not only improve your power level, but also offer different buffs, such as resistance to certain attacks, powering up your Smash attacks, starting you off each battle with an item, etc. I definitely enjoyed the World of Light mode, though I felt like it was a tad on the shallow side, and battles could get fairly repetitive after a while.

Fortunately, Smash really shines on its core mechanics, and the most fun I’ve had from the game is exploring all the different characters and finding which ones I like best. My current main is Ganondorf, though I still love playing as Ness and Lucas. Really, this is Smash at its best, and a number of much-needed mechanical tweaks, such as dodge fatigue, directional midair dodging, holding smash move charges, and an overall faster pace make this my favorite Smash game yet.

1. Persona 5 (PS4)

Developer: P-Studio

Publisher: Atlus

Genre: RPG

Release Date: April 4th 2017

Okay, wow. What a game. I’ve never played a Persona or Shin Megami Tensei game before, but buzz for Persona 5 was everywhere, and with the inclusion of P5’s Joker in Smash, I had to check it out. Even though I got to the game nearly two years late, I’m so glad I did.

Persona 5 is an RPG where you take on the role of a high school boy (he doesn’t really have a default name, but the most common name for him is Ren, so that’s what we’ll use) who has gotten tangled up in some legal trouble after intervening in a drunken assault on a woman he witnessed on the street. Turns out, this guy was something of a bigshot, and Ren soon finds himself placed under a form of rehabilitation where he is forced to transfer to the illustrious Shujin Academy in Tokyo. While at Shujin, Ren must live under the guardianship of a man named Shojiro who runs a coffee shop. Ren must stay out of trouble at school and live honestly.

However, trouble almost immediately finds Ren again as he discovers a lecherous teacher is mistreating many of the school’s students, and while investigating, accidentally slips into a strange dimension called the Metaverse, where the twisted perceptions of corrupted people are manifested into reality, and a sprawling Palace exists for the evil teacher. There, Ren meets a strange talking cat named Morgana who offers to help Ren if he will help Morgana find the Treasure at the heart of the Palace. Turns out, the Treasure is the manifestation of what caused the person’s desires to become corrupted, and stealing it causes them to lose their distorted emotions and confess.

Thus, Ren becomes a Phantom Thief, infiltrating Palaces and stealing Treasures by night and masquerading as a humble high school student by day. The Palaces are effectively the game’s dungeons, and this is where combat and exploration take place. Along the way, he’ll discover the power of his Persona, effectively an avatar of the user’s personality that enable them to unleash their true power inside the Metaverse, as well as use special abilities. And of course, you’ll recruit many friends to the Phantom Thieves, all of whom have their own motives and Personae. However, Ren has a special power. Instead of just being limited to one Persona, he has the ability to capture many Persona from the Metaverse by recruiting the game’s enemies or fusing Personae he already has to make more powerful ones. Thus the game has a light monster-collecting aspect to it, as each Persona can be leveled up to unlock new abilities, fused with others, and much more. What’s cool is that each Persona must be persuaded to join you by knocking it down in battle and then speaking to it in whatever way you think it wants to hear.

Outside of Palaces, you’ll investigate your targets, infiltrate a mega-palace called Mementos, as well as managing your free time. You see, Persona 5 allows you a limited amount of time to do everything you want to do, and it’s crucial that you manage your student life as well. This means spending time studying for exams, reading books to improve stats, working part-time jobs for money, playing minigames, and most importantly, hanging out with different NPCs, your teammates and supporters, to boost their friendship levels. As you get higher in friendship with each NPC, you’ll unlock new abilities, some of which are truly game-changing. I really enjoyed this aspect, as it felt like a puzzle trying to figure out how best to use my time. Almost nothing felt wasted, but I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to do everything, so I was always thinking about how best to optimize my time. Unfortunately, you can’t do everything in a single playthrough, but fortunately you can carry a lot of your progress over into New Game+. Some features are actually restricted to NG+, so it makes it feel like that second playthrough is really necessary if you want to see everything.

While the dungeons and the battles are mechanically fairly straightforward JRPG faire, the battles are interesting in that each enemy species has its own strengths and weaknesses, and exploiting weaknesses can knock down the enemy and allow you to take an extra turn, which can lead into strong combos. Furthermore, once all enemies are knocked down, you can perform a powerful All-Out Attack for massive damage. It honestly doesn’t get too much more complicated than that, but there is enough depth to the system to keep you engaged until the end of the game.

Each of the game’s characters are extremely well-designed, and I loved pretty much all of my party members, though Yusuke didn’t click with me as well as some of the others, despite being voiced by the amazing Matt Mercer. My favorite, of course, was the imperious Makoto, who appears little more than a bossy student council president in reality, but explodes into flurries of righteous blows in the Metaverse, alongside her robot motorcycle Persona.

Of course it’s impossible to talk about Persona 5 without mentioning the absolute masterpiece that is this game’s presentation. If you know anything about the game, you’ve likely seen the striking art style used in all of this game’s art and UI. It’s honestly every bit as eye-catching and jaw-dropping as it seems. The music is an utter masterpiece as well, with all manner of swingy jazz tunes, somber piano pieces, heart-pounding rock tracks, all of which come together with the visual style to give you something unlike anything you’ve ever played before and to truly make you feel like a suave Phantom Thief.

I managed to not only get through the main game, but get all the way through a NG+ playthrough back-to-back to get that platinum trophy and not once did I feel bored doing so. I clocked in at around 200 hours in total and it was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. If you like RPGs, time management games, good anime-style stories, or just good games, do NOT pass this one up, especially the upcoming Royal version that’s releasing in March.