#I could see them playing a Monster Hunter style game

[razrogue]

i just wanna sit in your space...

Xavier and plushie model by @bhaalbaaby (thank you as always 💖)

[evelegy]

No one ever talks about how lonely of an experience Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is...

If you engage in video game media at all you might have a favorite gaming content creator or streamer, and they might have done their own little Oblivion playthrough to celebrate the remake's launch. How many of those playthroughs take the game seriously and how many people are making monstrous looking characters that stretch the limit of the character creator and then doing goofy stuff with the game's logic system and murdering NPCs?

I remember in 2005 I saved up money to get an Xbox 360 specifically to play Oblivion. I was so enchanted by the immersive world it tried to create and took it 100% seriously. It was a truly formative experience on what a video game could be and I was engaged by the narrative and mechanics and sense of adventure and discovery. I don't see anyone engaging with the game that way anymore.

The only way it seems Oblivion can be engaged with in twenty years later is in bad faith. It's a Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum of meme soil, weird bugs, and unexpected interactions of pathfinding, game logic, and exploits. All of these quirks operate in stark dissonance to the elaborate world the game creates and how seriously it takes it's story. The stark contrast that results from the atmosphere and narrative intersecting with random and chaotic events created by either the player or game itself creates a palpable sense of camp that has no equal. Given how much of the unintended immersion breaks are unchanged in the remake, it could be argued that Bethesda believes the camp is a core element of the experience, and they may not even be wrong to believe so.

What makes Oblivion a game worth preserving and showcasing to future generations? It doesn't have the tight gameplay of Mario 64. It doesn't have the mechanical depth of Dark Souls. It doesn't have the narrative choices and consequences of rpgs like Knights of the Old Republic. Oblivion does not succeed in, well, anything really. It's a collection of attempts to reach for the moon, but in all of them is a mocking failure by missing the mark. It succeeded in its time by demonstrating it's bag of tricks to an audience who did not know any better. It's world seemed endless, it's real time NPC movements felt like a decent simulacra of reality, and it's graphics showed off the power of a new generation of gaming. All of those things were easily surpassed in the span of several years, so now all that's left is the jank.

I can recommend Okami to people 20+ years after the fact because there are things it does unlike any game before and since and still feels great to play. I can recommend Monster Hunter Generations still in a post World/Rise/Wilds era because off the incredible depth of content it offers, visual style, and unique mechanics that didn't make the jump to fifth gen MH. Most of all I can recommend a game like the Mass Effect Trilogy or Dragon Age despite their age because of the *party members*.

Dragon Age: Origins is a fucking rough game to play in 2025. It's aged poorly in almost every respect, except for one. It's well written cast of party members and companions allow a proper lens for the character to get invested in the world around them because the people they care about are invested in it. They make the game worth playing and worth taking seriously because now you have a personal stake in the narrative's outcome. This type of game was perhaps perfected in 2023 with the release of Baldur's Gate 3. BG3 just throws you into the Dungeons and Dragons universe devoid of any bottom prep or even a lore codex and yet you still have these core companions to forge a bridge from the player to the universe. You want to smooch these characters. You don't want them to be sad. The venues to make them not sad exist in the world and require the player to understand that world and so the player becomes invested.

Oblivion has no such mechanisms. Your character forges no relationships. No companions. NPC's a vacuous mathematical masks you can kill or torment at your pleasure. You can force them to like you by playing an arbitrary speech minigame or get them to tell you anything by just bribing them with money. No matter what crime you commit, you can serve jail time or pay a fine and the world and people just continue on like nothing at all happened. It's all ignored. The land of Cyrodil is just a playground of paper dolls for the omnipotent player to stomp about inside of until they get bored. And so that's how players seem to engage with it now. Playing Oblivion for me in 2025 has certainly tickled my nostalgia at times but it is just such an unfulfilling experience because I care more about the formative time in my life when I played the game than I do care about the game itself.

[dany36]

need to properly lay out my thoughts regarding xcxde + chapter 13 in order to fully heal and move on from the biggest mess and insult to a fandom i’ve ever had the displeasure to play. so, after 120 hours of gameplay, below are my very long messy thoughts about the good, the bad, and the ugly about xcxde+ch13 (obviously with spoilers).

never in my WILDEST dreams did i ever think the official expansion and “conclusion” to one of the most interesting and intriguing cliffhangers i’ve ever had the pleasure to experience in one of my all-time favorite video games would leave me beyond disappointed, disillusioned, bewildered, and just. angry. but before we get into what sucked about the whole experience, let’s start out with the good.

the many QOL updates. i only played the original xcx once (back when it first released) and i didn’t remember a lot of details about the game, so obviously when i booted up my wii u file while taking a break from xcxde to check on some stuff, i was honestly pleasantly surprised at all the little tweaks they made that just make experiencing the first 12 chapters a much more enjoyable/easier experience. being able to change the time from the main menu, quick cooldown, the new explanations given to overdrive, having to trigger the flight module by jumping in midair instead of automatically triggering when just jumping once, playable BLADEs leveling up with you even if you don’t have them in your party, being able to switch active party members with ease in the menu, they got rid of BLADE levels which in turn means you don’t have to level up your field skills to be able to discover certain treasures across the world, and i’m probably missing more but those are just some of the ones that immediately jumped out at me. 

new “don’t worry” version. hey, if it wasn’t for xcxde we wouldn’t have the sick new improved version of don’t worry, so i’ll give it that. honestly can’t believe just how fucking good it is.

the graphics. xcx was already gorgeous to look at, but again, after going back to the wii u version briefly, it really does make certain environments even more stunning to look at, namely noctilum at night and sylvalum as a whole. planet mira is just a wonder to explore and the new graphics make it even more enjoyable to do so.

well, that was short, but honestly like 95% of xcx is so fucking good so i mean how much more could you improve upon perfection? :) so now for the bad:

hairstyles and some customizations for mims are still locked based on the base you choose. having played games like dragon’s dogma 2, monster hunter wilds, and baldur’s gate 3, the lack of customizations available was shocking but EVEN MORE so the fact that they’re further limited depending on the face base that you use. sure they added some hairstyles inspired by characters from xc2/xc3 but as far as i’m aware, that was the extent of the new “additions” made to the character customization. just…underwhelming to say the least.

armor is still gender-locked. again, it’s 2025, i know the game released almost 10 years ago but the fact that they didn’t think to remove this limitation is just….annoying. it was just disappointing to see how vastly different some of the fashion gear was between male/female characters, especially because a lot of the times i would see male gear that i would want to put on my female cross, but then i would try it on my cross and it would just look completely different both in styling and colors. eye-roll inducing.

you're still just a rookie. this isn't really something "bad" but just something i think it's kinda funny/weird that, even though your cross has helped save humanity twice over now and even was able to pilot the ares prime, the gang still call you "rook". like oh ok, if saving humanity twice isn't enough to gain a rank up from "rook" then idk what will lol. i know why they do it but i think of what they did with granblue fantasy relink in that they call your character "captain" no matter what gender you play as and i thought that worked well enough, so idk maybe it would have been cool if they could have come up with some gender-neutral/non-specific-name term to give you other than....rook. lol. anyways just nitpicking here.

and of course, i’ve bitched about this one so much in other posts but i have to mention my biggest disappointment when playing through chapters 1-12: the downgrade that was the face redesign of elma’s mim form. when the trailer for xcxde dropped, of course i was BEYOND thrilled that the moment xcx fans had been waiting for YEARS to come had FINALLY arrived, even if nintendo/monolith did it in a way that i thought was disrespectful in that it was just randomly dropped and not part of any nintendo direct. to my absolute horror, when they showed what elma looked like, it felt like i had been punched in the face. sure i was getting the xcx switch port/remake that i had been DYING to see and bitching about to anyone that would listen, but my excitement quickly turned into despair at seeing just what they had done to one of my all-time favorite characters ever. and thankfully judging from other people’s reactions with good taste, i was not the only that thought just how OFF and honestly at times even UGLY her new mim face looks compared to her wii u mim (thank you to those folks out there because i seriously thought i was just being my typical supreme hater self). and it’s just baffling because i thought everyone else’s redesign looked ok or even better than in the wii u version (minus the fact that they made celica’s ears waaaay smaller because monolith are fucking cowards and god forbid her long ears make her look unappealing), but they decided to fuck around with elma’s face/hair even more than others and just make her look so fucking unpleasing to look at.

and it might sound like i’m overreacting but honestly seeing elma’s face in some of the cutscenes was just painful to watch for me, it was the ONLY thing that was keeping me from enjoying this remake to its fullest, so much so that (and i’m not joking) after pretty much every cutscene that would heavily feature elma, i would go to youtube and look up the same cutscene but in the wii u version just so that i can cleanse my eyes and remember just how good she looked. because honestly her wii u mim form was and is STILL GOOD, but no of course they had to fuck up her face features to fit in that awful new style that they have been pushing since xc2 came out because god forbid they try to have a unique style like with xc1 and the original xcx.

so of course i was completely BAFFLED. SHOCKED. but pleasantly surprised!! when elma reveals her true form in chapter 12 and….she LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE WII U TRUE FORM ELMA. bro. WHAT???? WHAT??????? yeah i was beyond fucking THRILLED: the moment i had been dreading for the entire ch1-12 playthrough was that elma would reveal her true form and it would look just as fucked up as her mim version. but no, they THANKFULLY left it completely alone and just used the EXACT same face model as the wii u version but just upped the graphics a bit to fit with the remake. like, WHY. WHY couldn’t they do the same thing to her mim form?? the facial differences between her DE mim form and true form are just staggering when compared to the wii u. they just had to fuck up a perfectly good mim elma for no reason other than….i don’t fucking know honestly. even her xc2 form looks better than whatever the hell they decided to do for xcxde, and i HATE the styling direction they went with xc2 overall so that just says a lot that i’d be willing to take xc2 mim elma over xcxde mim elma.

but i was like ok, if my BIGGEST complaint with xcxde is the fact that her mim form is just terribly unpleasing to look at, i can live with that because now that i can use her true form in-game, i don’t have to want to cry out in despair every time a cutscene zooms up on elma’s face. i can now do chapter 13 and enjoy the cutscenes at least, and then, after that’s said and done, i could continue to 100% the exploration of my beautiful and beloved planet mira that i just love to no end. sure i had been hearing from two people thus far that the new chapter was bad, but really, how bad could it be? i felt nothing with xc2’s ending and honestly was ambivalent about xc3’s future redeemed as well. like i was just so over the connectivity between the games at that point and how they were doing some bullshit cinematic universe across all xenoblades instead of them being standalone games like the tales of series and to an extent the zelda games. all i wanted was to find out what they would do with the cliffhanger at the end of the original game and find out really truly what it was about this planet. 

but man i was so wrong. so so so so so beyond wrong. because really the ugly about xcxde, a game in which 90% of it is so perfect and gorgeous to enjoy, is chapter 13. all of it, absolutely all of it, is just tedious, uninteresting, exhausting, eye-roll inducing, baffling, ANNOYING, and an absolute fucking pain to experience. if you’re an xc2/xc3 enjoyer, you might wanna stop reading here if anyone actually had the patience and interest in getting this far. :) 

actually, before i dive in to everything that i absolutely despised about this sorry-excuse of a chapter that just seems to be a monolithsoft’s senior executive shitty ass fanfic that they forced upon everyone, let me talk about a few things that i DID enjoy

new true form elma artwork along with a glimpse at elma’s planet and origins. in act 1 when they’re talking about elma’s planet, we get some cool new artwork of true form elma that just honestly blew me away. i was like wow, ok, maybe ch13 won’t be so bad. i’m glad they talked about elma’s planet a little bit and how it is that she escaped, because although in the original xcx they talk about how elma comes to the planet to warn about the war that will come to destroy earth, it was interesting (and honestly sad) to learn that her planet had been destroyed and so was trying to avoid the humans from suffering the same fate as her people. cus honestly i just thought she was just some benevolent alien that had come to help the humans have a chance of survival. and i mean yeah she’s still all of that but now with the added fact that we get a further look into what she suffered through was just compelling and added a layer to a character i already deeply love.

hearing lin and elma again. hey i’ll take the small wins. hearing lin and elma’s original VAs come back and give a performance that honestly sounded like no time had passed between ch12 and ch13 was just so good and pleasing to hear. what a fantastic pair of characters with stellar VAs to match. #blessed

omomo makes an appearance in act 2. i ran into omomo in ch1-12 while exploring sylvalum and her dialogue, which briefly discusses who she is and why she is at the north delusion summit (one of the coolest places in sylvalum imo) captivated me. i was like wow, this is what i fucking love about xcx where even a random npc you bump into in the overworld is able to convey a short yet emotional story on their own. so it was really cool and satisfying to see that they used her in act 2 when you’re trying to evacuate all of the xenoforms into the manon ship.

absolutely no forced romance between elma and al. honestly what i was most afraid of when al first shows up and elma’s attitude towards him is that of a resentful partner that was abandoned by her significant other and thus has to continue the fight for humanity’s survival alone without their help. ever since xc2 this series has loved to push male and female protags together in a way that just feels unsatisfying and forced, so of course when i see this conventionally attractive joe shmoe come out of nowhere and elma is being so cold and resentful towards him, i immediately felt weirded out. elma isn’t a very emotional character to begin with, and even when the most crucial moment in the story comes where they find the lifehold core and have to fight a horde of ganglion to get to it, she remains as calm and collected as ever. i mean, we’re talking about the moment that she and humanity have been fighting for all this time: survival in planet mira. but she still stays level-headed, and i think the only moment in the game we briefly see her lose her cool is when she’s pointing the gun at lao and is telling lin to get out of the way.

i mean sure she later warms up to him and we get some flashback scenes of elma crying out in desperation trying to convince al to not sacrifice himself in the fight against the ghosts and so we see that she deeply cares for him. and then even in the ending when al is rescued from void’s clutches, we once again see elma (and lin) get very emotional and teary-eyed that he’s (to my despair) still alive. this is honestly the moment i thought she was gonna give him a kiss or even a hug, but to my delightful surprise, monolithsoft had the decency to just leave it at that. i was so worn out and fed up by having to slog through rex/pyra and mio/noah when playing through xc2/xc3 that i honestly would have fucking lost it and burned my copy of xcxde right then and there if they had decided to push their friendship (for my mental sake i will choose to read it that way) beyond that. 

and thank fucking god that’s where the extent of the relationship between the two of them stopped, because, and to start getting into everything else that i despised about chapter 13, al is just one of the worst aspects of chapter 13. i have my problems with rex, but in the end to me he’s just a stupid annoying kid (and later an obnoxious man), and i didn’t like noah for several reasons but he was tolerable and i didn’t outright despise him when playing through xc3, just again felt annoyed at his interactions and reactions with the rest of the xc3 characters. but al? god where do i even begin with this insufferable excuse of a male protagonist that seems like that same senior executive at monolithsoft forced their own incredibly obnoxious, unappealing, condescending, unfunny, detestable OC to become a central point in this new chapter. 

like do i even have to talk about how fucking annoying and not funny his whole “how’s it poppin’” act is or can we all agree that’s just a given? who the HELL thought giving such an aggravating catchphrase and “inside-joke” to the new guy was gonna go over well? actually what am i talking about, this is the same franchise whose fans loved xc2 so i’m sure there’s people out there who just find this whole terrible marvel-like humor so funny and is going to be such a great inside-joke for the xcxde community “har “har”. god it was especially so grating when the whole gang is just standing in a circle and they’re going around being like “oh! oh! ask ME the question so i can have my turn running this so-called joke fucking further into the ground!” and those forced laugh tracks after each one? what the hell? at least with lin’s tatsu jokes we would get them spaced out and it was just something between the two of them, they certainly weren’t having elma or hell even MY cross join in on the “joke” and forced to become a part of it.

like the fact that this whole rehearsed act becomes a central part of al’s interactions with others and actually builds up for it to be an attempted heartfelt moment when they give you no choice at the end but to fucking say the line in order to “bond” with al and have both of you pilot the ares prime to defeat the big evil baddie, is just…….bewildering. it took away any potential serious emotional impact that scene could have had and it was just in my personal opinion ruined by monolithsoft’s insistence in making this gag so relevant in the story. and having the colonel also join in on the whole thing? oh boy.

“oh but dany it’s just one silly recurring gag, al doesn’t sound that bad then!” i WAS trying to be more open to al’s character despite this annoying joke, but his first affinity mission just took away any possibility i had at even remotely liking his character. usually affinity missions would always make me go from being indifferent towards a character to getting to actually like that character and being like, ok, you know what, you’re pretty cool! happened with yelv, neilnail (i was a bit iffy towards her at first but grew to like her by her second affinity mission), hope, frye and phog, and even fucking hb who is even more arrogant than al! but fucking al’s affinity mission? first of all, the fact that he insists on calling elma, aka the fucking colonel that everyone rightfully respects because hello she’s the whole fucking reason they’ve managed to be alive so far, “princess” is just disgusting, condescending, patronizing, and just….what the fuck? might be a localization issue, but seriously, is no one else bothered by that?? what??? at first i thought i had missed something in elma’s backstory in act1 where she actually might have possibly mentioned that she was something of a royalty (because honestly just playing through chapter13 was giving me headache), but no, this fucking asshole really does call elma “princess” as an attempt to what? be funny? another one of his fucking annoying-ass jokes? like bro, just shut up. if there’s one way to make me hate a male character is by giving female characters patronizing nicknames like that. just fuck off.

and then the affinity mission actually consists in al being like, YO, prove yourself to me because i don’t actually believe you’re as good as elma says, as if we have anything to prove to this asshole. they really did manage to show his most insufferable and loathsome side instead of showing a side that would actually get you to warm up to him like many other affinity missions have. and then when you beat his stupid ass he’s like “actually no you still failed to pass my test by some arbitrary measure that only i know about”. like the whole affinity mission makes it seem like you’re going to be al’s successor, they talk about him needing someone to “take over his duty” as if he’s gonna somehow die or that cross actually needs to step it up to the plate (more than we already have? lol), but like no dude. you’re still alive at the end so what was even the point of making such a big deal about finding al’s successor?

and thank god i didn’t waste my time playing through chapter 13 by actually trying to raise his affinity to be able to do his second affinity mission, because i just looked it up some moments ago and oh boy. you mean to tell me that this guy, that supposedly everyone loves because he’s some bigshot hero who came from the army and is the “chosen one” to pilot the ares prime, actually becomes some tantrum-throwing big baby when poor little hero boy can’t get some pizza and so he decides to actually insult service workers and yells at them in the same condescending tone until he gets what he wants???? hooooow. how is this real. how is this a character my cross is supposed to grow close to. he tries to relay the job of gathering the ingredients for HIS pizza to you and even at the end tries to take credit for the whole thing even though you helped him with it. whatfucking ever. i know every “hero” character has his flaws but my god. just can’t believe this is the route they decided to go with in regards to his affinity missions. talk about wasted potential. yes he talks about how much love he has for humanity and how if he sets a goal he pursuits it to no end and all these other “hero” qualities but like…..ok cool talk bro, you’re still annoying to deal with.

one other thing i didn’t like about how the game approaches your interactions with him is that, the game choices really try to either really really get you to like him to the point of fawning over him, OR for some reason push you to glare at him with envy. like nah, i’m not envious of this obnoxious hero, i just find him fucking annoying lol. thanks though.

and speaking of hero, and this might just me being bitter at this point about this joe shmoe, but i thought it was….hmmm….actually kind of bothersome how everyone is hailing him as the big hero when…really if it wasn’t for elma and her efforts, all these people would be dead and there would be no humans to speak of. yes i know others recognize that even in act1 where doug says that if it weren’t for elma they wouldn’t be alive, but idk i always saw elma as the main protagonist of xcx and our cross just riding along so seeing this self-insert OC come in and take all the glory for something that’s mentioned in half a sentence in the original xcx intro (that i always imagined was elma tbh?) and thus become the new focal point of this new story (when again elma is the focal point in ch1-12) just rubbed me the wrong way and was just not a good start for me towards taking a liking towards al, so i guess he was doomed from the start for me. so actually you know what, maybe i AM envious of him, but of the screentime he took from elma lol.

anyway enough about that tiresome oc, i don’t know how much i wanna spend time talking about the new villain void. like his motivations was about wanting to find out what death really is because he was imprisoned by the samaar for fucking around with the conduit and bringing the ghosts to appear. lol ok i’m sorry am i supposed feel SORRY for him?? ch13 did something that i aaaaabsolutely despise in storytelling: waiting to tell you about a villain’s background and  motivations after they’re dead in an attempt to humanize him. the last game i played that did this was tales of arise and i absolutely loathed it. what’s the point of you telling me what his origin was and where his motivations come from when i already killed him and he was fucking annoying to deal with the whole entire time. by this point i don’t care, he’s dead and i’m glad he’s gone. if you want to humanize a villain and make his death seem tragic, idk maybe try to do that THROUGHOUT the story’s arc so that his motivations aren’t a fucking afterthought??? it was so fucking when al is like “oh by the way i got this vision of void while i was trapped check it out” like monolith come the fuck onnnnnn you can do better than thaaaat.

his whole final form and fight was just stupid too, reminded me of xc3’s and how i was just so tired by the time it happened. i was so over void by that point that i didn’t find him scary or threatening at all, compared to what i felt when i first fought luxaar in his vita: this is the villain that really wants to end humanity at all costs. but void? just a bunch of big talk and taunting but just so overdone and childish. for being an all-powerful being or whateverthefuck he really was just standing there as he was being stabbed over and over by huge lances that were diminishing his power and going “oughh!!! my cores!!! :( “ each time he’d get hit. like. oh my god. i can’t believe i actually played through this.

honestly who cares about void, i don’t want to spend more than two paragraphs on him. i’ll just end it with saying that void was an overall unappealing, uninteresting, tedious villain, and yet another eyeroll-inducing aspect of ch13. execution just fell so flat for me. moving on!

one thing i don't think i HATED but just more like weirded me the hell out was...idk like i mentioned above, personally i always saw our cross as just another blade member who yeah sure had become famous around in the organization but we're still just a member in elma's team and we're not some big hotshot hero like they're trying to portray joe shmoe above. i mean, we barely even interact in the main story cutscenes, and when we do it's not really focused on cross. hell, our cross (as far as i can recall) doesn't even say anything during the last big cutscene with elma's reveal and certainly doesn't even appear when they're going into the database. and it's fine, like i said i always saw elma as the protagonist and we're just here for the ride to help in any way we can. which is kinda cool cus i don't think i've ever played another game like it!

but then in ch13...like...yeah of course they introduce mr big hero over here and the story now all revolves around him, but now monolith is like, trying to be like no no no you're also important in the story see! let's make you have all these interactions with this joe shmoe and have you prove yourself to him and omg you're gonna be the next big hero of the story and take up his mantle! when that was...never really even necessary to prove in ch1-12? like idk why they felt to push our cross so much into the spotlight towards the end there of us piloting the ares prime and then having us show off our crazy skell piloting and combat skills and omg oh no our cross is pulling a joe shmoe by fighting all these ghosts themselves! like...what. i mean, i thought it looked cool but...it felt so disjointed with how our cross blended in the story in ch1-12? like personally that just felt so out of character (lol) to me and was just monolith trying to overcompensate for having introduced one of the most obnoxious male characters in the game so they're like well we have to have cross do some cool shit so it's not all about joe shmoe when that was never a problem when it was all about elma (which tbh i don't even think the main story focuses THAT much on elma, she's just the leader) or even lao when he helps in stabbing luxaar. but no, GOD FORBID Xenoblade X tries to do something different from the numbered games in which your character isn't necessarily in the spotlight in the story and cutscenes because that was never the point to begin with!! just....yet another...incoherent follow-up that is chapter 13.

and now for the pacing of it all. i don’t know how to even begin talking about this aspect because, while yes there were some bits that were interesting (elma’s backstory for example), even though the arcs themselves were long in comparison to ch1-12’s story missions, i felt like….there was barely even anything interesting or engaging going on most of the time? the arcs are so cutscene heavy because of course they have to set the stage of the new problem the gang is facing, and everyone is talking about oh we have to evacuate all the xenoforms onto the manon ship and also make preparations for the ship to be able to escape using ares’s cores, so there is very little if any gameplay in itself during acts 1 and 2. i just felt like the arcs just dragged on and on and on with just filler that ultimately provided very little satisfaction to the overall storytelling. maybe it’s so jarring because, like i mentioned, the original story missions aren’t THIS cutscene heavy, and they’re way shorter in comparison, but provide much more compelling content and interesting content in between, while all three acts are just filled with URGENT we have to save this manon! and now for some al hijinks :) and now for some backstory! hey now go rescue these two random NPCs! idk the whole thing just seemed off to me and i was just NOT enjoying the pacing of it all.

and i was just baffled by the whole thing because, of course the question that any original xenoblade x had in mind was, just WHAT is it about the planet? that’s what we had been waiting to find out since 2015 and….the fact we don’t see ch13 even start to address what could be done to find out more about this was just weird! are we ever gonna get to find out what makes mira so special?

oh right. there was no time to address the biggest aspect fans had been waiting for all this time of course. because right away, your main mission starting within one minute of act 1 starting is to get out of the fucking planet you’ve come to know and love since it’s about to fucking disappear.

sigh.

you know, i could have just accepted the new unlikable hero, i could have accepted the uninteresting and tiresome new villain and its poor way of talking about its motivations, i could have been fine with the new acts dragging on and on and on and just the weird pacing of it all, i could have been fine with of course them wanting to SOMEHOW tie xenoblade x to the numbered games because god knows everything has to be tied nowadays, but here’s the part that hurts the most as an original xcx fan and the part that finally put the nail on the coffin on chapter13:

planet mira’s fate. how. hooooow do you base an entire game’s premise (both story and gameplay) around such a beautiful, unique planet and decide, you know what, FUCK the fans and their affection towards this planet, mira needs to die because who gives a shit about finding more about its many mysteries we left unsolved in the original game. like, did this new monolithsoft senior executive come in and be like, you know what, my self-insert OC had no hand in helping humanity build a new life in mira and new la, so let’s just throw all of it away and make them move to a NEW planet! honestly i just have to make up some villain in my head at this point because how do i even begin to start making sense of it???

it’s honestly a fucking insult and a spit on every original xcx fan’s face. first of all, the whole game puts SOOOO much emphasis on exploring every single corner of mira and mapping it all out and discovering its secrets. it’s unreal seeing just how much love and care the original developers put into creating such a fantastic otherworldy environment, giving us an experience that i honestly think no other game has been able to even come CLOSE to replicating because let’s be honest, you just take one look at noctilum or sylvalum and you just fucking fall in love with the whole damn planet. the game is always boasting about mira being humanity’s new home and so of course you come to love it and grow fond of it. you WANT to explore every single corner and install all of those data probes! the game incites you to complete its exploration to 100% because this is your new home! you have to get to know it! even elma says she wants to take a vacation to explore mira on her own time because the planet fascinates her to no end!

and there’s so much mystery surrounding it too, even before you get to the infamous cliffhanger at the end. elma points out in an early chapter how it’s weird that you’re able to communicate with all sorts of different species in English even though obviously you all come from different places. other NPCs point this out as well. so what is in the planet that is able to translate their words? professor B’s sidequests also talk about him wanting to discover mira’s secrets and that’s why he stays in this…current time and doesn’t go back to the future or whatever. and of course elma’s now-famous quote of “something about this planet” that gets repeated at least three times throughout the whole game. like, there’s so much build up scattered through ch1-12 regarding mira that, when you finally get to the cliffhanger at the end and you find out that the whole database has been destroyed since they landed on mira and it makes absolutely no sense that they haven’t flopped over and died.

so yeah, so many interesting and compelling things about mira left to answer that it’s just INFURIATING and OUTRAGEOUS for monolithsoft to just ignore ALL of that buildup, all of that worldbuilding, to just come in and be like “yeah actually we’re not gonna answer ANY of that, we don’t know WHAT the fuck we were thinking when we kept emphasizing it was something about the planet mira itself and so we’re just gonna create these convoluted, unsatisfying, rushed acts to get you to come to terms that you need to forget all about that and blow up the planet ‘cus we sure as hell are not gonna expand properly on what actually was the biggest, most intriguing cliffhanger in the series”. 

like. what. WHAT. seriously??? is this REALLY what the original xcx team had planned for mira’s fate all of those years ago when the cliffhanger first happened? i REFUSE to believe that the same team that worked on the original xcx is the same team that worked on this fucking mess of a poorly-written start-over fanfic bullshit. and if it is, maybe it’s time i stop giving this company my money because obviously after xcx, this company has just lost the charm and wonder that originally made me fall in love with the original xc1 and xcx. like haha yeah just kidding, there really was nothing about the planet and instead you all live on cus of the abyss…or the rift…or whatever the fuck holds all of your souls and that’s why you get to live on! like i think that was briefly talked about and then never touched again and i might have misunderstood but whatever, who gives a fuck? certainly not monolithsoft.

because WHAT is it with monolith’s obsession with going like “haha never mind! let’s just start over in a new world!” they did it with xc1 which fine whatever first game in the series, but then again in xc3, and now xcx?? the whole time playing chapter13 i kept foolishly thinking that somehow we would come back to mira cus it’s like lol, NO WAY they will do the whole “let’s start over!” for the THIRD time in the series and ruin one of THE most beautiful and unique aspects of the game. i even wasn’t making a big deal of omomo wanting to stay in mira and the other dude obsessed with mira’s lifeforms because i was like, haha no worries guy, somehow we will undo these dematerialization events and mira will be safe at last! ← not delusional at all. little did i know. little did i know that monolith has just gone off the deep end and they really would rather blow it all up than actually take some time to further elaborate on their original concept because god knows they’ve lost their magic touch for compelling storytelling/worldbuilding and can only think of one (1) way to end their games now apparently: just start over!

and it’s like, somehow they tried to have their cake and eat it too or at least (shittily) appease some of the fans with being like “haha no worries guys, we can find a way to preserve mira’s life and replicate it in the new world by just going over to each region and inspecting this one specific form to copy aaalllll of the lifeforms data!! haha isn’t that neat?” excuse me are you guys fucking dumb, what’s to say that they will even be able to survive in a new planet??? what the hell?? yeah just briefly inspect these datapoints and boom, problem solved!!! how fucking lazy could they have gotten with this? and that “new” planet that they find at the end? look i don’t know if it’s some planet that’s already established in the xeno series (i honestly don’t care), but how is it that they say hey look a new planet, that’s our new home :) ? like, yeah sure let me just go out into the universe and try to establish life in the first fucking random planet i find. jfc.

after SO MANY years of foolishly and anticipatedly waiting for a continuation to one of the most interesting cliffhangers i’ve ever had the pleasure to experience in a video game, monolith comes out and spits on, stomps on, and burns to ashes the world and lore the original xcx fans grew to love and care for all these years. and for what? to appeal to the horde of fans that came with xc2 onwards?? but of fucking course, they have no attachment to the game or the lore or the planet, so they're fine with just blowing it all up and pretending mira never existed. and i'm sorry but how are any new fans anyway enjoying this ending in any shape or form lol like what? just cus they got that fucking unnecessary tie-in to the numbered games? oh wow yay yippee they've connected dots that weren't originally meant to be connected anyway, time to eat this slop up!! i would be baffled to find out if there are any self-respecting original xcx fans out there who are actually okay with how things ended up for mira.

the one thing that had been nagging in the back of my mind the ENTIRE time that i was enjoying and having a blast with exploring mira again was that somehow, someway, ch13’s conclusion would take away my immense desire to finally 100% mira’s exploration. i didn’t even come close to it when i originally played in the wii u, and how could i call myself a huge xenoblade x fan if i have never even 100%’d mira? that’s why i was trying to take my sweet time with the original content, because it’s so fucking good and i didn’t want the new content to ruin it for me. but man, never did it even CROSS my mind that mira fucking disappearing would be something that monolith would even dare to do and call it a “conclusion” to one of the greatest mysteries in the series.

so yeah, last night when i completed ch13 i was fucking sad, i was DEVASTATED at what these idiots did to one of my ultimate favorite games and one of its unique aspects that i had come to love so much: planet mira itself. biggest "fuck you" i've ever seen to the original xcx fans that had just been waiting for a decent answer to "something about this planet" for all these years. but just like that monolithsoft senior executive can write his shitty little fanfic and call it a day, i am now choosing to ignore chapter 13 ever happened. to me, xenoblade x ends with chapter 12, just like it did originally all those years ago. ch13 talks about parallel universes? well, xenoblade x wii u lives in one of those parallel universes and the gang all lived happily ever after in planet mira, and elma finally got to take her long-awaited vacation to explore the world to her heart’s content. 

i REFUSE to let a company’s fall from grace in my eyes destroy a game that i’ve come to love and treasure with all of my heart. i WILL 100% the game in the switch version, and then i will put it away and never touch it again. while playing and moaning about DE mim elma, i kept thinking that once i 100% the switch version, if i ever do want to replay xcx (which i will, because xcx is life), i will just do it in the wii u version. sure i will lose all of the QOL updates, but i will gain good mim elma, long-eared celica, and i will be able to continue post-chapter 12 knowing there isn’t any insulting additional story mission content waiting to be picked up. and i think that’s a fair exchange.

ok wow i need to wrap this up. i have other problems with ch13 that i could talk about but those were the major ones that made it a pain to get through and honestly i need to move on and forget it ever happened. if you somehow chose to read all of this, made it all the way through this rant and actually agreed with the points i made regarding ch13, then wow, thank you. i am hugging you and giving you a gentle kiss on the forehead.

so yeah, i still have a lot of love left to give to the original xcx fandom. there are still so many drawings i still want to do to pour out and express my love for the original game and world. i’m so tired of giving money to a company whose games and new content i haven’t enjoyed since the original xcx game released. unless their next game isn't more anime shonen generic slop meant to attract the widest audience possible who will just eat anything up no matter how horrible it is, i think i'm done with monolithsoft games for now. they can continue down this unsatisfying and tiresome path of storytelling in their games as much as they want, i will just continue to be in that fun little corner of the original xc1/xcx fandom since those are the games that captured my heart all those years ago.

alright, that felt good to finally get it all out. now to start working on my next xcx piece. man i love xenoblade chronicles x so fucking much.

[arc-misadventures]

Okay this could just be me remembering the lore wrong. But how old was Ozma when died in the Vtuber au? Since Salem should at least be in his late 60s or somewhere around that, well assuming Ozma didn't die young.

Well, there isn’t any lore, well much lore for the story in general.

But, I can certainly make some!

Ahem…

Before the VTubers, there was the MMORPG of, ‘The World of Remnant: Hunter’s, and Monsters.’ Salem, and Ozpin were actually players in these games, among the top players at that. And, because of their skills in the game, they were the elected heads of their respective guilds.

Salem was often referred to as the, Grimm Queen, and the leader of the Cabal. And, Ozpin was simply referred to as Headmaster Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

~~~

Salem became the, Cabal leader after the developers of the game came to her with an offer that she could become the canal leader after they notices her skills, and particular playing style that they thought would be fit for the position as the leader of the, Cabal.

Salem herself was a blonde hair woman with deep blue eyes in her early twenties. She started playing the game as a copping mechanism after dealing with a miscarriage that ultimately ruined her marriage as well.

Loosing herself in the game brought peace of mind, and of heart that she sorely needed. Being the cabals master also meant that she could adopted an almost motherly attitude, but strict way of dealing with its members. This way of dealing with the guild members added an air seriousness to its members. Reminding them that they were evil, but not evil.

And, she remained the leader of the Cabal until the very end. She lead her guild throughout the consequences of the, Apprentice Massacre,’ She led her guild in battle against the, Grimm Titan, and she was the last flame to be snuffed out as the, Scorpion incident struck the final nail in the coffin of the, Grimm Cabal..

But, her love for her character, and the, ‘World of Remnant’ endured. See various characters she knew given new life in a new form she decided to join in on the, VTuber crowd, and bring back her dear lady.

The world of hunter’s and monsters may have fallen to the ashes of time. But, Salem the Grimm Queen would endure.

~~~

Ozpin was to, put it simply: a huge nerd.

Like a massive nerd when it came to the lore, and history behind, The World of Remnant. So much of a fan that while the man of his late thirties never having a computer for gaming he immediately bought one just for playing, ‘The World of Remnant: Hunter’s and Monsters.’

He spent countless hours playing this game to the point that where it was often said among the various players that, Ozpin was made the headmaster of, Beacon was just to get him to slow down.

He lead, Beacon Academy with a calm, and wise disposition, that seemed to go on for hours, leading to the rumour that the mug his avatar was often seen carrying around was filled with coffee, and the man himself was a caffeine addict.

A rumour that those who were close to him, such as ErrantryPaladin, and other high rank Academy faculty members would confirm to be true.

He lead, Beacon Academy until the final days of the game. He stood side by side his friends that have played this game since it’s inception. He was among the first to join, and the last to leave.

Now that the, ‘World of Remnant: Hunter’s and Monsters’ was over, he got into the VTuber Scene, and became the Headmaster to his beloved Academt one again as the owner of the, Beacon Academy VTuber Agency.

Bringing back his persona as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy to usher in a new era for upcoming Hunters of The Wold of Remnant: VTuber Verse.

[sharb]

Sharb's SAGE 2023 recommendation list

SAGE is over and I've taken a look through some really good games this week. Wanted to shout out some of the ones I thought were really cute in no particular order.

With over 200 games I can't play through and recomend all of them so please if you're interested in any of these I recomend going to https://sagexpo.org/games.html andlooking at some of the other games available.

These are just the games I've played, if you don't see your game here that's not a comment on the game's quality, just what I had time to check out.

Remember to click the thumbnails to get access to the game's pages

I was immediately interested in B.U.D.D. for it's art and references to games like wonder boy, what really surprised me about it was the humor as it's actually funny in a cute way.

If you like wonder boy or classic sega adventure games I can't recommenced B.U.D.D. enough.

@cyanroxanne pitched this to me as a SHMUP for people that have trouble getting into SHMUP games, after playing the demo and taking a minute to figure out how the game works I actually had a lot of fun with it. I could definitely recommend this to people who wanna get started with the genre, really amazing art too feels like it's a treat just seeing what the next area looks like.

RPG games can be really hard to push on SAGE because of how many games there are to go through and how long they can take to complete, a lot of streamers tend to pass over them for the sake of time so they can cover more games.

So here's my RPG recomendation, Cubenen Gardens is a game being made by @thegamedawg who actually got me to play test his game months ago, the game's still in development but what I've got to mess with so far the game's strongest aspect is it's characters and world building as you help Micheal (the saddest sopping wet creature on the planet) navigate a mall trying to find a rare monster but gets wrapped in more and more conflict.

David gets keen is really short but it has a really strong gameflow to it, my only gripes with it is that the ability HUD could be given more clear graphics as your moves are represented by circles which can make it hard to figure out what they belong to without pressing their corresponding buttons.

Beyond that the grass stage is amazing, playing the level normally gives you a pretty average platformign game but when you start building up speed using your spin move on slopes you can get to insane speeds and just fly through the level skipping puzzles and enemies and clearing the level in seconds, it's really fun when you get the hang of it.

@wootinaboot

Meander land is a really small game by @whiskerfjords game's really fun to play casually, I thought the story and characters were really cute and I'm actually really excited to see what Whisker makes next.

Out-class Hunter from @7hrone returns again with a brand new level to check out, it's a return to Doom style third persons games, specifically SRB2, it's been fun following the development of this game and watching it improve each demo.

Lemme know if you can find the cool cactus, you'll know which one I'm talking about if you follow my games ;)

Prototype N is just a really really solid action platformer game from @arriettylunaris each level has a lot of thought put into it's design and the weapon combinations can be a lot of fun to mess with, I really can't recomend Prototype N enough.

I can't get over how much character personality this game oozes, feels like around every door I'm going to run into something new I like either being a character or a game mechanic that's just fun to mess with, each character brings their own moves and their levels take advantage of a lot of their movements.

I'd compare this to those old 90's Disney game adaptations but this game easily out does them in terms of design as the designs look like they were ripped right out of an old 1940's cartoon shorts.

Peak meme aside, I actually had a lot of fun playing this, Super Freaks is a fun lil platformer game with references to a tonne of other works, you probably saw this game referenced countless times this Sage but it is just really goofy fun, tho I would really recommend playing this with friends if you can, game feels like it was designed around the kind of multiplayer chaos, if you saw the stream I was part of you can see why.

Sorry to all my friends who have heard me talking about this game all week non stop and seeing me reverse engineer SMBX 2 to [redacted] but this was easily my favorite game this SAGE if not the most replay-able, I keep booting this up just to try and make it thought the level as quick as I can.

So if you're like me you've probably been seeing @punkitt-is-here s pony comics or more specifically, the Susan Tax payer comic and the charm, humor and personalities of all of them absolutely coats this game.

It requires a bit of set up, you have to download SMBX2.0 separately in order to play this and SMBX has it's own set of issues that kinda bleed over into some of the issues in the game that need to be ironed out but beyond that this is a really fun demo to play and I absolutely can't wait to see where this goes.

Techpack currently is one Namco inspired arcade game, Tech has put a tonne of time and research into how to nail the old arcade style. The only thing holding it back right now is that the only game available is really simple and short, but man I'd be kicking myself if I didn't mention the presentation on it alone is enough for me to recommend checking this out, really reminds me of the old Namco collection games on playstation.

Now put my rabbit in as one of the cameos :gun_emoji:

Ok that's all the indies I could cover, some honerable mentions that I've been wanting to check out include

kid bubblegame JLFJ 2 Veggocalypse Mekanikko

As for the fangames I've played

Here's a game I wasn't expecting I'd be recommending, Mushroom Kingdom Fusion has been in development for over 15 years and always felt to me about quantity over quality but this new demo really impressed me.

The game is starting to take shape and there's actual structure to everything where as before it was just an open sand pit for them to figure out what to do with.

There's still a lot to be done but what's here is just a blast to mess around with. something really satisfying about struggling with a level, switching over to Samus and just blasting all the enemies and bosses away, tho I assume these characters will be unlocked in the final game as most of them are completely over powered.

This does bring me to one complaint though, Mario needs a buff. Mario is by far the hardest as he has few defense options and a lack of a health bar that almost everyone else have a huge advantage over him, and Mario having a health bar isn't too far removed from games like SMB2 and the modern 3D games.

But regardless I never thought I'd play this game and actually try to beat levels so I could see more, secret hunting is finally rewarding and expanding and finding more of the world is really fun. The game's length is absolutely HUGE, one world is about the size of an average Mario game which is insane.

And I'm really happy to see that loading has been optimized tho I don't know if that's because I'm running a machine that's not made 15 years ago.

@velacosmos has been working hard on creating a new Demo for SAGE and this one actually surprised me.

Taking influence from mario maker 2, Shang Mu Architect is a Freedom planet challenge level maker. which is quite impressive on it's own but has a tonne of extras.

Namely now there's actually a story mode to go along with the game, truth be told I'm not too big into freedom planet's cast to really know how well this game captures their personality but I still think it's really cool to actually have something that doubles as a proper freedom planet fangame since as far as I'm aware we're yet to see an actual game that actually follows the original games style.

Your mileage is definitely going to depend on how much you enjoyed the original freedom planet but I definitely think this is worth checking out.

Of the top of my head way back when stealth was pitching a mobile port of sonic 3, I swear I remember one of the ideas was expanding the match stages into full fledged level.

Sonic 3 Chronicles is an interesting "what if" scenerio where after angel island instead of falling into Hydrocity Sonic and co continue past the cutscene area and into the endless mine from match making.

I never really thought of those match stages as being connected to the main stages but this does a rpetty decent job of introducing new gimmicks and mechanics to go along with those stages.

The game is definitely rough around the edges and needs a lot of tightening up but what's here is a cute game that does it's best to follow sonic 3.

Also Mighty is here... I don't know why but thank you.

Gatoslip is a hack of Sonic the hedgehog created by @vadapega a very small demo with a tonne of personality put into it.

Yes, this is a hack, you're going to need an emulator in order to play it. Now which emulator do I recommend?

Probably the steam workshop if you still have your copy of sonic 1 before SEGA took it off the store page.

Vada's always been an inspiration for my art and it's great to see him finally go for something that really expresses his personality. The writing's great, the battles are really cute and I love the strategies for defeating enemies. Game's filled to the brim with visual gags with one gag in particular giving a lot of "replay value" (you'll know what I mean when you beat it)

can't wait to see where this ends up.

Again check out

https://sagexpo.org/games.html if you haven't yet, this just scratches the surface of what's available and there's a tonne of great games I looked over in this list.

[theinstagrahame]

This is the post where I show off the stuff I've gotten in the last month-ish. And it's been another good one!

(I mean it's always a good one, I have excellent taste)

Coffee and Chaos: I'm tickled by the concept of a coffeeshop AU, and I know that this game isn't explicitly for that. But it's also not *not* for that. Comes in a like conference-style folder, with all the bits you need to play tucked into the sides, which is also a great presentation that I felt deserved a shout-out!

Far Horizons Guide to Cults: I'm friendly with some Far Horizons folks, but wanted this book because it's awesome. A book containing notes and pre-made cults that have goals and drives beyond just "Be A Cult". I am intrigued by the occult, and I hope this gives me more nuance.

Neurocity: Picked this up on vibes alone, but I'm hearing more and more rad things about the creator. It's dystopic, a little cyberpunk, and the book is dripping with style. Can't wait to dig deeper.

You're In Space and Everything's Fucked: Station and Struggler's Guides: The title alone sold me, but I like what Dinoberry Press puts out in general. This is a solo survival space horror game with a cool respawn mechanic. I also splurged on the fancy version because the covers are very cool.

Dead Belt: The pleather folio for this honestly is what sold me, but the game itself is really cool. Salvage ships by laying out cards, exploring, and managing your air and tool resources. Try not to die. I haven't really succeeded at that last part yet...

Exquisite Corpse in the Maggot's Keep: Technically, this isn't a TTRPG, but it's go so many TTRPG folks in it that it might as well be. It's a choosable path adventure written by a variety of people in (if I remember the pitch) exquisite corpse style.

Best Left Buried: Throne of Avarice and In Calamity's Wake: As we already know, I'm a SoulMuppet fan (as in, I've written for their other big series, Orbital Blues). The main book, Throne of Avarice, was written by a creator whose work I've been trying to get more of. I haven't read Best Left Buried as fully as a game, but I am really excited by the excuse to dig in.

Between Clouds: I like air islands and big monsters and found family. Partially, I grabbed this because a friend got really excited about it, and it seemed like it could be fun to run a campaign with them, but I'm also curious about the Year Zero Engine, and glad to see people using it.

Kitchen Knightmares: Grabbed this as an add-on for the You're In Space crowdfund, but I'm glad I got it because it's loosely inspired by This Discord Has Ghosts In It, and that game rules. I might be able to pitch this to my friend group, who enjoyed Discord Has Ghosts.

In a Mirror Brightly/Handbaskets: First off, plug for the RTFM podcast, because it's very good. This two-games-in-one book is created by the two hosts of that show, who are great designers and seem really lovely. But, two wildly different vibes in a single volume is a great idea.

You Meet in a Tavern, You Die in a Dungeon: I've been following the creator for this since some of my earliest days in the RPG scene, so I was happy to help make this a reality. Feels very tropey, and I mean that in the best way possible.

In Other Waters: Tidebreak: Honestly, I have barely scratched the surface of In Other Waters, the PC game this is based on. But this is a Mothership solo hack that returns to that world, and it had me curious based on that pitch alone.

Aaand because I'm a doofus who forgot to include it, here's one more book! PLUS A guest appearance from my new desk mat.

Teeth: Been into Forged in the Dark lately, and as much as I enjoy Monster of the Week, the pitch for this seemed like it was more my speed. You're monster hunters, trying to keep the occult under wraps, while keeping secrets of your own. Plus, horror comedy!

The mat is the cover art from Friends at the Table's current season, Palisade. It's an Armor Astir campaign following up on some of the characters from their Partizan series.

[ryqoshay]

Tri-Arame: Side Story - Ebullient Hell?

Primary Pairing: AiRina Words: 655 Rating: G Time Frame: Sometime during Ai's 1st year of college, Rina's 3rd year of HS Prompt: Ebullient

---------

Summary: Ai checks in on Rina's new game

Author's Note: Primary entry for the 4th

---------

“Rinari!” Ai called as she bounced into the bedroom.

“Ai-san. Welcome.” Rina replied from where she was sitting at her desk.

“Watcha workin’ on?” Ai grabbed the back of Rina’s chair so she could watch from over the top of it. “Oh, making a new game?”

“Mm.” Rina confirmed. “It’s a bullet hell style where you hunt different monsters, like vampires and werewolves and such.”

“Is that the main character?” Ai pointed.

“Mm. She’s a dhampir.”

“So kinda like a half-vampire?”

“Mm.”

“She looks… kinda familiar.”

“I based her off of Ai-san.”

“Ai-san?”

“Mm. She is very ebullient.”

“A bullet?”

Rina shook her head. “Sorry, I meant to say she is very cheerful and full of energy.”

“Ai-san as a genki vampire hunter?”

“Mm.”

“Ai love it. And I can’t wait to…” she cut off as she snorted a little.

“Ai-san?”

Ai started laughing. “I just thought of something, Rinari is making an Ebullient Hell game! Get it?”

“Yes, that was a good pun, Ai-san.”

“Oh! Oh! And bullets are full of kinetic energy, so it could be an Ebullient Bullet Hell!” She continued to laugh heartily.

“Ebullient could also refer to boiling or agitating something.” Rina pointed out. “Although that is a rather archaic definition for an already esoteric word I only recently learned.”

“So would melting silver count as boiling or agitating?”

“Perhaps.”

“And you’d have to melt the silver to make bullets to fight vampires and what not, so now we have an Ebullient Ebullient Bullet Hell!”

“So it would seem.”

Although Rina continued to program away as her girlfriend lost herself to a fit of giggles, she found herself more at ease than before Ai had arrived. She loved listening to Ai’s laughter and knowing she had done something that contributed to her happiness.

“Oh, is that a cave level?” Ai suddenly asked.

“Mm. It’s one of the harder ones.” Rina explained. “You have to use the light from your lantern strategically to reflect off and refract through these crystals to see some enemies and weaken others.” She demonstrated by moving the character back and forth to show how the light moved.

“That’s so cool.” Ai marveled.

“I considered making the different colored crystals different elements.” Rina continued. “Red would probably be fire.”

“Setsu would probably love that.”

“Mm. Purple could be lightning or poison. Green could also be poison, or maybe healing for the player instead. But as a dhampir, you can already heal yourself by drinking blood”

“That sounds like it could get complicated.”

“Mm. That’s why I haven’t implemented it yet. I wanted to ask Ai-san and Setsuna-san their opinion.”

“We’ll have to invite her over soon then.”

Rina nodded in agreement.

“So what other levels have you got?”

“Well, you start in your home village as it is being raided by monsters.” Rina said. “You clear them out and chase the remnants out into the forest. Eventually you make your way into the ruins of an ancient monster city. And there you find the entrance to the cave.”

“So four levels so far.”

“I’d like to eventually have seven.”

“Maybe one could be where you fight a psychic monster inside your own mind?”

“Like a nightmare level?”

“Exactly.”

“I will add that to my notes.”

“Oh, this all sounds so much fun. I really can’t wait to play.”

“The starting level is mostly complete. Would you like to try it?”

“Can Ai?”

“Mm.” Rina tapped a series of keys, causing the screen to change to a top down view of what looked like the player character’s room. She then stood and offered her chair to Ai.

“Controls?” Ai asked as she sat.

“The game will explain them.”

“Awesome.” Ai rubbed her hands in anticipation. “Thanks, Rinari, for letting me test your new game.”

“I am happy you want to play.”

“Of course I wanna play Rinari’s games. They’re always fun.”

And with that, Ai began her playtest.

---------

Author's Note Continued: The pun was the first thing that came to mind when researching for ideas for the prompt. And puns mean Ai, which worked out well, because as pointed out in the entry itself, Ai herself fits the definition of the prompt.

Then I saw an opportunity to get some more potentially pesky prior prompts out of the way; dhampir and esoteric. And I ended up using a lot more; far more than any other entry in the event.

But at least I got to write some fun AiRina. I do so very much love writing them. And I'm honestly a bit sad that I didn't include them as much as I probably could have this year. Perhaps I will just have to make up for it in some other IFH event.

Prior Prompts Used: Ruins Vampire Lantern Crystal Seven Forest Heal Esoteric Purple Nightmare Remnant Dhampir Soon

[boxkeith]

Video Games I Played in October 2024

October was a rather hellish month, but I didn’t pull the trigger on playing any idle games so I’m not completely a lost cause. It doesn’t help that my game consumption this month was mostly putting 20+ hours into five different games (finishing up Wukong and Zelda, and three I started this month). A smidge more variety might be in order, which for me usually means snagging a random shitty metroidvania and doing that for 8-15 hours. So it goes. This review also puts me over 110k words in my game diary for the year, which is daunting.

Kryptic – I do not know how I feel about puzzle games. Sometimes I want deeply invested puzzles that require a pen and paper, genuine cleverness and creativity, and iterative problem solving to unwrap a larger riddle. Sometimes I come to a new screen and realize my only reward for puzzles will be more puzzles and then desperately need to do literally anything else with my life. Kryptic was the former until it was the latter, not helped by the puzzles varying WILDLY in quality and complexity in ways that made overthinking a near-certainty. Shoutouts to including all the cyphers natively at least.

Dome Keeper – One could be forgiven for confusing this with Wall World, though Motherload has been out for a hot minute and it’s not like we’ve gone exceptionally far since Dig Dug. It has the classic roguelike issue of a slow start that’s boring to repeat alongside an overly quick endgame where either your upgrades trivialize everything you encounter or you die before getting a chance to play with your fun toys. For a second it makes me wish for a game like this that had more permanent progression, but I have played Steamworld Dig 2 and good lord that game has problems. I dunno. Maybe I just don’t yearn for the mines.

Throne and Liberty – The CIA is continuing its MK ULTRA research, and in this instantiation they are attempting to see if I can quite literally be paid to care about an MMO. Turns out the answer is no. I got a solid 45 minutes into the tutorial before I realized I’d played the tutorial previously as part of a beta test, and if that doesn’t say something about generic action RPG starts and how there’s only so many ways to render a realistic wooden barrel in a cave, I don’t know what does.

Super Fancy Pants Adventure – Unlike most people my age I don’t have an overabundance of nostalgia for flash games. I think I transitioned to PC gaming just a hair too late to really get in on that zeitgeist, though I did certainly play more than my share of popcap games and random shit on newgrounds. Coming at this having barely played the originals, I respect it but also don’t have the patience, reaction time, or dearth of other pursuits required to play this style of platformer. It’s not so much fiddly as it is exacting and particular, but I don’t want to spend ten minutes trying to figure out exactly the pattern of keystrokes that’ll make a little guy do an overly precise jump. I don’t have math homework to procrastinate on anymore.

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand – I fucking love terrible video games. Can’t get enough of them. The Surge 2 is better than Dark Souls, and so when I learned those lads were making a game that was 100% fucking about I was completely on board. Not on board enough to pay for the game rather than waiting for it on gamepass (which is also how I played The Surge 2, to be fair), and also not on board enough to fail to confuse it with Immortals of Aevuem when asked for what game I wanted from a list that may or may not have had both of them on it, but nevertheless completely on board. It feels fucking good to punch things in this game and they have the whipfist from Prototype, but instead of hijacking helicopters you’re tethering onto monster hunter knockoffs trying to wallop them. The partbreaking system is pretty inconsistent and the lock-on is still just as dogshit as The Surge 2, but overall the game feels smooth and graphically it has a love for sand on par with Mirror’s Edge’s obsession with concrete. I especially like the momentum system’s attempted risk/reward of combos increasing the damage you deal and the damage you take, and the added wrinkle that your passive and active abilities are socketed in along the momentum bar so you have to weigh getting access to attacks early with slotting in abilities that help you build momentum. The story and lore are whatever, the game is like five hours too long, and they make the baffling choice of having a solid 80% of the setting revolve around a slave underclass that are Unnamed but at no point do the rebels just… start giving them names. You’re just “Gauntlet Bearer” i.e. one of the good ones. That being said Asterigos did an even worse job of having any of its characters object to chattel slavery and in that game they were being ground into food so … I dunno. The bar’s low I guess.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – As someone who has been an ardent Zelda fan for about as long as I can remember playing video games, Twilight Princess is a fascinating entry in the series. Its aesthetics and tone aren’t really approached in any other Zelda game. Structurally it takes a huge amount from Ocarina of Time, but it goes out of its way to flesh out a large number of NPCs and tries to have an actual story and setting that doesn’t revolve around Link. Zelda barely has a role even as a mcguffin, and in many ways Midna is the main character. It’s deliberately quite linear, with the tears of light sections serving to drag you through each area top to bottom before letting you explore it properly once you’re oriented. As an actual game I’d say it’s… functional? At worst it has some pacing issues and there was clearly cut content in the lategame, but it’s hard to point to any one facet and say “this could be better” because there’s such a robustly holistic vision of the type of game it was trying to be. It’s hard to step back from my childhood fondness for the game and the love grown over 5+ complete playthroughs, but I’m also not trying to step back from that. If anything I’ll probably reread the manga once I’m done with the game.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Sekiro had been pitched to me in a variety of ways over the years; ‘the most unique/difficult/interesting Fromsoft game’, ‘the best parrying has felt in a video game’, ‘the only good media named after its main character other than Columbo’. None of these spoke to me, and I had not so much avoided the game as been disinterested. Even after playing Nine Sols and gaining a grimaced tolerance of parrying, I wasn’t convinced. Steam Family Sharing dropped a copy in my lap though, and I needed to hit buttons in something after Atlas Fallen. The game’s fine. It’s merely fine. Bloodborne had interesting things to say about the Dark Souls formula and said them through its mechanics and its level design in ways that enhanced its own identity and actively punished playing as though it was Dark Souls. Sekiro isn’t as transformative, because the emphasis on parrying means that positioning isn’t rewarded – you NEED to get attacked and react appropriately in order to be proactive. Nine Sols had this same stilted cadence, but in 2D your relative position with an enemy is much clearer and the game not only had a variety of defensive options but also rewarded you with resources for parrying that could then be spent proactively. In Sekiro your reward for parrying is gradually staggering the enemy, and although chip damage accrues and slows the rate of stagger degradation it’s still a much different cadence. I do not hate the game. I do not even dislike the game. I expect to finish the game, or at the very least get to what I feel is a reasonable stopping point and deliberately cease playing rather than merely falling away. But I do not see myself loving the game. When I first started playing, I told a friend in jest “Everything I wanted from Sekiro I got from Ghost of Tsushima”. I don’t think that’s true, and I didn’t think so at the time. I just also don’t know what it is I actually want from Sekiro.

[icbrothers]

Another insta poll d&d character - the polls have been close before, but this was the first character where I had to choose between multiple options that were all voted for equally! So, here's Aine, a Scourge Aasimar bloodhunter, with a white colour scheme.

Aine Faoilkin - Level 6 Blood Hunter - Aasimar HP 58 - Chaotic Neutral - Acoylte background STR 16 (+3) DEX 13 (+1) CON 15 (+2) INT 14 (+2) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 13 (+1)

Aine's family were delighted when she was born Aasimar, seeing her pearlescent eyes and feathers as a sign from the gods - she was to be a divine hero to guide them on their path. Raised in the isolation of their temple, Aine lived under the constant scrutiny of her elders; instead of playing games and making friends, Aine spent her childhood studying tomes on monsters, and training for battle. A carefree childhood was a small sacrifice for a prophet, training to lead her Order. Desperate to utilise her impressive skills, Aine's family inducted her into the hunters Order early. At just 14 years old, Aine became the youngest person to voluntarily undergo The Taming, and become an Order of the Lycan bloodhunter. A werewolf. Her enthusiasm was short-lived. Raised to believe she was a divine leader, Aine longed for leadership. She saw the flaws in their plans, saw the run-down temple with it's decaying books, saw the elders grow rich whilst her hunters died in raggedy scale mail. Under her supervision, she knew that her family could be a force to be reckoned with. When she tried to take charge, her elders pushed back. They schemed behind her back, convincing the others that she was too dangerous, too young, and perhaps, even a false prophet. After confronting her mentor about the rumours, Catriona admitted that she agreed with the elders - Aine wasn't ready to lead the Order. Furious with their rebuttal, Aine flew into a rage, fighting her teacher and leaving the temple. As she stalked off into the night in the form of a monstrous white wolf, she knew that one day she would return and claim what was rightfully hers…

Proficiencies: Insight, Religion, History, Athletics, Arcana, alchemist's supplies, light and medium armor, shields, simple and martial weapons Languages: Common, Celestial, Abyssal, Elvish Aasimar abilities: Consumption, dark vision, Celestial Resistance, Healing Hands, Light Bearer, Blood Hunter abilities: Hunter's Bane, Blood Maledict, Dueling fighting style, Rite of the Flame, Heightened Sense, Hybrid Transformation, Brand of Castigation, extra attack Lycan abilities: Feral Might, Resilient Hide, Predatory Strikes, Bloodlust

[renatogpadilla]

My version of an MVC4 Roster:

I'll be real: I think I cooked with the Marvel side, but I don't know about the Capcom side. I've tried to be as unbiased as possible.

For the record, the main concern with the Marvel Roster was fixing the CRIMES commited by MvCI. Thus, the first 24 base roster characters are returning faces. I separated them in groups (Avengers, Spider-Man, X-Men, Supernatural/Magic and Cosmic) and then did Heroes, Villains and then Newcomers in each. I wanted to have a roster that would make the most people happy (if it were up to me, Captain Marvel wouldn't be here), bringing back some familiar faces (Ghost Rider but no Blackheart felt like a crime to me).

Also set myself the goal of bringing in as many cut characters from the previous ones as I could, even if they can't be base roster.

Let's be real though, I feel like Blade could sell a whole DLC pack by himself in the same vein as Vergil.

I ALMOST didn't put Deadpool here... But if Ruby Heart is Base Roster for Capcom, Cable had to be base roster too. You understand.

Speaking of which, this was CONSIDERABLY easier than the Capcom side.

Here, the point wasn't to correct anything, but rather make sure the usual suspects got represented, but leave some room for the deep cuts, so I set myself some goals:

Goal 1) CLASSIC Mega Man! He and Roll and Wily were a MUST! Zero and Vile are there for the X Series and T-Bonne for MM Legends.

Goal 2) As much gameplay diversity in SF as possible, one character for each: Ryu for 1, Chun for 2, Gil for 3, Juri for 4, Rashid for 5 and Bison is supposed to be based off his SF6 gameplay style.

Goal 3) Get the MvC2 trio back! Amingo, SonSon and Ruby Heart SHOULD be put in a Darkstalkers game in the near future for the love of GOD! Speaking of which...

Goal 5) REMIND THE WORLD THERE ARE MEN IN DARKSTALKERS! Morrigan returns, obviousIy, but as much as I love Felicia and Hsien-Ko, it's time for the boys to play! Jon Talbain, IMMEDIATELY, and Lord Raptor because I NEED the world to see him turn Thanos into a basketball and DUNK him straight to Hell! And YES, Jedah comes back! He HAS to! He's too cool not to! But the main reason I went with Jedah and not Dimitri is because Midnight Bliss would take a LOT of resources we probably already blew making sure Mystique can copy everyone without issue.

Goal 6) Resident Evil. Look, I'll make a confession: If it were up to me, there would only be Jill and Wesker here, but RE has become so MASSIVE that we HAVE to pay it the respect it deserves, so I did what I though would be a proper compromise: Jill and Wesker for RE staples, Leon for the Remakes and Lady D to represent the obligatory new Poster Monster of the franchise. Let Chris and Nemesis sit this one out and keep Jill's gameplay more like her MvC2 style and we are golden!

Goal 7) THAT DLC IS FOR THE FANS! I wanted to put in a mix of characters that Capcom fans would want first and foremost: Vergil, to continue the tradition of him being the Special Edition/DLC character, Donovan and BB Hood for more Darkstalkers love, Gil to round out the SFs, Monster Hunter because it's MASSIVE nowadays, Vile, for one more Mega Man villain and Jin and Captain Commando for the Oldies that mained them in MvC2. Full disclosure: Edward Falcon WOULD NOT BE HERE if Power Stone hadn't just announced a comeback earlier today. And Regina is here because... Well, because you Dino Crisis stans went absolutely CRAZY this year. I'm not gonna lie. You guys kinda scare me. But you wanted her, so here she is!

So yeah. If anyone asks WHY Amaterasu is Main Roster, it's because I got Rocket in there and it only felt fair. I DO regret leaving Frank West out this time, but I couldn't find a way to fit him in without taking out someone that SHOULD have been there... AND YES, LUCIA HAS TO BE THERE! She's the ONLY unique thing about DMC 2 anyone remembers! Trish can rest for a little while!

So yeah, this is what I got! Lemme know what you think and I guess I'll answer any questions you might have as to why I picked anyone or why I didn't pick soomeone else, if you want to know!

[localcryptidsteg]

Black Myth Wukong and the Kiang-Jin Long Dilemma

Is it just me or does the lockon system shit itself and die during the Kiang-jin Long fight?

In all seriousness though, pivoting focus for a minute, I've been hearing some complaints that the dev team is sexist and has said they don't want women playing the game, and I'd like to clear that up a bit.

The actual translation of the comment was that they didn't want to use women to sell the game. There's a chinese streamer who goes more in-depth on it (no clue where the link went so bear with me) but essentially, tldr, China has been pivoting towards American-style advertising using sex to sell lately and the dev team didnt want to do that.

And as for the "lack" of female characters... a) this is meant to be a sequel to Journey to the West, not everyone from the first run is going to be involved and b) Kiang-Jin Long/Star, one of the only female characters Ive seen to far, is READILY capable of handing you your ass several times over and shes just a miniboss, and, in a game that doesnt give you much context anyway until youve beaten a boss, of course shes not gonna have a ton of focus in the gameplay itself?? BUT SHE GETS TWO WHOLE JOURNAL ENTRIES WHERE MOST MAINLINE BOSSES ONLY GET ONE. That's kind of a whole LOT of attention, actually!!

More importantly though, the ONLY people I've seen complaining are Americans, which brings me to the main point: it's a Chinese game, based on Chinese mythology and characters, made for a Chinese audience. It's more than fine to enjoy the game if youre not Chinese, God knows its going to be one of my favorite games of the year and thats DAMN impressive considering Hades 2 is in early access currently and Monster Hunter Wilds is creeping closer to release date, but it's just not for us.

The culture there just isn't as focused on minority or womens representation as it is here because that's just not a relevant thing there at the moment.

The only reason I have even a fraction of the understanding I need to get the references in this game is because for the last 22 years of my life I've been obsessively reading every myth, fable, legend, and ghost story I could get my hands on (slight tangent, if anyone can recommend any good Scottish ones, Ive got a significant gap in my knowledge in that area).

Even I will readily admit I have only the loosest understanding of just how far into the mythos of Journey to the West this game goes because I only have a loose understanding of Journey to the West. Ive read the unabridged version and several abridged versions (cannot reccomend the unabridged version as recreational reading its very long and very repetitive) and I can tell you right now: its a satirical take on the religion and politics of the time it was written, so I have little to no historical context outside of mythology to understand the nuances of that.

Im sure there are a million little significant details about Buddhism and Taoism and bureaucracy buried in this game that I will never ever catch and Im ok with that but God Damn some people need to learn theres more to some media than what their frame of reference allows them to see.

This game is a piece of someone elses culture that was important enough to a large team of people that they decided to retell it in a way that was accessible to the rest of us on even a surface level, and some of yall are bitching about how it doesnt align with your own culture. Like, no shit? It's NOT your culture!

[sparkykadachi]

A 5th Gen Hunter's Experience with Old Gen Monster Hunter

Ok, I want to preface this with my experience with the Monster Hunter series. While I consider myself a 5th generation hunter, I technically started at 3rd gen. I always had a passing interest in the Monster Hunter series, but was too preoccupied with other PS2 games like Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Daxter (man remember Jak? I miss Jak...). But when Monster Hunter Tri came out on the Wii, I finally decided to try it. I went down to my local Hollywood Video (remember those?) and rented a copy...and then returned it three days later. I hated it. Movement felt clunky and stiff and stopping to do these long animations when using a consumable is STILL something I despise and I will DIE ON THIS HILL--

I would try again with the demo for Monster Hunter Generations on the 3DS, but it had all the same exact qualities I didn't enjoy. I had given up on Monster Hunter at this point, until Monster Hunter World was announced. It looked like it was changing everything I had a problem with. So I decided to give it one last try when the beta came out...and I was hooked. Cut to me today and I have put well over 3000 hours in World alone and my entire online brand is Monster Hunter. I didn't start with the 5th gen, but it's the one that finally turned me into a fan.

At this point, I've put a few hundred hours into Monster Hunter Rise as well and while I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as much as World, it was still a great time. But I've seen and done pretty much all I want to do in these two games. I wanted... something more. Something new to experience. And it was around the time I was feeling this that I just so happened to notice Generations Ultimate was on sale for $10 on the Switch. The last "old gen" style game before World came out. I was hesitant, but maybe after all my time with the two newest ones, maybe I could finally enjoy an old gen one for what it was. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

I decided to stick with something familiar and played Guild Style Sword and Shield. I mained SnS for a while in World and Rise, so I figured this would be a good way to ease myself into this one. As time went on, I branched out and tried other weapons and styles eventually settling on Valor Charge Blade and Adept Great Sword. Hunter Styles and Hunter Arts are a ton of fun! It was a good time. But then...old gen problems came back up. While I was able to adapt to the more stiff movement, it was frustrating having to come to a full stop and be stuck in animations when using consumables, certain monster attacks being un-telegraphed and hard to react to, some constantly running around making it hard to actually fight them, and some I would just follow to a new zone, they would immediately leave to another, I'd go there, and they'd LEAVE AGAIN!!! AAAAAAAAAAA--

So yeah...my experience with the game itself is a mixed bag, but I was having at least some fun so I was willing to put up with the things I didn't like. Sure it was frustrating at times, but it's all a learning experience, so I wasn't giving up just yet. But then came...the community...

Do you think it's reasonable to say a game's community can absolutely ruin any fun you've been having? Because I sure as hell do! I don't like referring to a community as being "toxic" or "elitist" and will usually just ignore the bad apples. But most of my experience with anyone in the GU community has not been pleasant. Very early on when I started playing GU, I was streaming it (I stream btw check me out I'm SparkyKadachi on Twitch I'm a VTuber hi) and some random chat members popped in. I wanted to have a pleasant experience with the community and explained that I came from playing World and Rise. They started to act weirdly aggressive about expressing their...opinions. Saying that World and Rise are bad games and they're glad to see someone like me play a "good" Monster Hunter game now. As if the new games ruined the series. But, to each their own. They have their opinions, and I have mine. I still prefer World and Rise over GU, but that's just me. I wouldn't actively go around shitting on the things people like for no reason, but it's whatever.

Pretty early on though, a friend of mine who had joined me in World and Rise noticed me playing GU and wanted to hop on with me. I enjoy playing with my friends, so I gladly joined him for some hunts. My friend has been playing this series for many years prior to us even meeting, so it was in this moment that I realized...he was also someone who was weirdly aggressive about expressing his opinions on the new games. As time went on, I would play GU with him and members of my small community who would say things like how GU was more "pure" and that the quality of life in the new games have "spoiled" someone like me. The term "skill issue" was thrown around a few times, which...fair. I am kinda bad at GU, but does that warrant absolutely shitting on me for not really enjoying GU as much as World or Rise?

To this day, I have not heard a single compelling argument for why Monster Hunter World is a "bad" game. People I've interacted with or watched who prefer the older games have definitely tried to explain it, but it has all been entirely subjective. People can prefer the old games over the new ones, but to say the new ones are "bad" games is just flat out wrong. I don't like old gen, but I still acknowledge the good in GU and I'm sure there are great qualities of the older titles. None of them are bad games. But I just have my own preference for the new ones.

As time has gone on, I wanted to hunt with my friends and enjoy the game for what it was, but hunting sessions would always devolve into praising GU for mundane things and shitting on the new games for no good reason. So...I think I'm done. I'm tired of hearing this endless complaining about the "purity" of the series and how the games I like and the reason I became a fan of Monster Hunter...are the ones that ruined the series. So I think I'll shelf GU at least for now and stick with World and Rise.

I hope we all are happy with Monster Hunter Wilds when that comes out. In the meantime, happy hunting, everyone!

[m0nochromem0use]

tell me everything about monster of the week it sounds interesting i want a paragraph please please please

WONDERFUL monster of the week is a powered by the apocalypse ttrpg. that means it’s based off the monster of the week genre where there’s a different monster or antagonist for every arc (think buffy, supernatural, the x files) and the driving force behind every plot is the apocalypse (which can mean a bunch of different things, but usually translates to the monsters killing a whole bunch of people). the players are various types of monster hunters who have to work together to investigate the monster or antagonist of each arc, find their weakness, and then stop them from killing a whole bunch of people. you only use 2d6, and rolling works on a success, mixed success, or fail system- 1-6 is a fail and you don’t do what you wanted to do, 7-9 is a mixed success and you do what you wanted to do but there’s consequences or you only do some of what you wanted to do, and 10+ is a success and you get to do what you wanted exactly how you wanted to, sometimes with added bonuses. there’s a whole lot more mechanical stuff i could explain but it’s a very simple system especially compared to d&d, and it’s easy to find free pdfs of the rules online which i implore you to do if it interests you because it’s super fun!! it’s a mystery focused game so there’s a lot more roleplay and investigating than combat, which is part of the reason i like it so much lol. also, similar to call of cthulhu, the game master is called the keeper!

NOW what i was talking about in that post. the different types of monster hunters are the classes of this system, called playbooks. they’re what determines the skill sets, moves, and general vibe of each player character. some are professional or experienced investigators, some are magic users with funky powers, and a couple are straight up otherworldly beings or monsters themselves! i’m sticking to the classic playbooks and the playbooks from the tome of mysteries expansion for my picks for the jrwi boys, but there are also a ton of awesome homebrew playbooks out there. you can find a huge masterlist of them by just looking up “motw playbooks”. ANYWAYS here’s the playbooks that i think the jrwi guys would pick:

charlie

the mundane: charlie seems to love a good just some guy character and that’s literally what this playbook is. they have no special powers, no expertise on monster fighting, NOTHING they are just a dude. i think he’d find that extremely entertaining and also figure out a way to make it incredibly angsty

the initiate: basically a cult member and the closest thing you can get to being a warlock in motw, which was in my head because i listened to the suckening rolled earlier today and charlie mentioned how regardless of what setting he’s in in a game he’s always looking for a way to make a pact with something LMAO. the playbook also has a lot of built in dubious morality on the side of the cult, which i think he’d have fun with

the chosen: this one feels obvious, with how often he plays characters who are chosen ones. the chosen playbook also tends to be quite tanky, at least every time i’ve seen it played/played it, which i think he’d like. plus you get to customize your own weapon and i think he’d have fun making a sword that can kill god

grizzly

the gumshoe: a classic detective type. i honestly have no proper reasoning for thinking grizzly would pick this playbook but the vibes are right for some reason. i’m picturing arthur style brooding with a noir detective vibe, a juno steel type character yknow

the divine: in terms of aesthetics, this is rumi if she was a monster of the week character. the playbook comes with a cool divine weapon that does a shit ton of damage but the move set is geared way more towards support, and i think it’d be interesting to see grizzly play a support character

bizly

the crooked: bebo plays a lot of criminals what can i say. the crooked playbook has specific backgrounds, and i think he’d have fun with the charlatan or fixer options. this is also one that you can take in a much more cartoony direction if you want which i think suits him

the wronged: the thanatos of motw playbooks babeyyyy. the wronged is all about losing someone you cared about to a specific type of monster and dedicating your life to hunting them down. again, very thanatos, but a lot of bizly characters have the theme of searching for someone they lost or attempting to make up for not being able to save those people, which is one of the most common routes i see played with the wronged

the flake: the timothy rand of motw playbooks! bebo loves his paranoid conspiracy theorists! this one i picked because i think he’d find the move set funny there is a move that rewards you for doing the opposite of what someone advises you to do, and one that’s literally called crazy eyes. very chip very rand i think he’d have fun

condi

okay condi is the hard one because he doesn’t really have a “type” the way the other three do. i honestly think that out of all of them he could take any playbook and make a really interesting and character out of it. my top picks would be the spellslinger (cool magic user) the spooky (little freak), and the searcher (little freak but without supernatural influence), but more for vibes than anything. again i think he could pull off any playbook

thank you for coming to my extended monster of the week ted talk hope you enjoyed

[deoxygenated]

had a dream ffxiv did a zelda collab and it was n64 era and the dungeon was actually really good.

it had a wide area that was like cave forest where you had to explore around and rout all the monsters to proceed. you could solo it from the start but the game would give you npcs but in this case they were all huge kittens named things like buckwheat. the kittens wouldn't actually fight and just helped you track monsters by scent and buff you.

i was playing a lalafell astrologian and had to do this quest real quick bc a couple of friends asked me to do the attached alliance raids after. so i go in with the kittens and wander around the cave jungle until i find and eliminate all enemies.

the design of the dungeon and enemies was all that was zelda themed.

this opens a path to an upper area where an npc is waiting for me. i talk to him and theres a cutscene i dont remember other than i barely kept myself from skipping it in dream bc my friends would wait if i wanted to watch it

the small npc thing then hands me some new artifact gear, it looks similar to my current set but bright blue instead of my dyed black and with a lower cut back, and pants visible beneath the skirt. also some kind of bloodborne hunters hat so i decide to use most of it but glamour the hat as my big witch one.

then another cutscene plays where 'heroes' of something flas across my screen. its like them posing with their names and it would have a red overlay if you'd already killed them. if you killed them you could get a snippet of history about the 'hero'.

then the npc gets like a zoom in all scary like and a pop up is like WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISABLE MONSTERS ON GANGOS?

and he like starts talking about something i don't remember. and even though he said gangos in dream we all know he actually meant eureka bc this was connected to eureka somehow.

I am like pffft no i can handle it ive been there before. npc looks suspicious doubtful.

I end the instance and go 'back to my computer' which seems to be a small old crt style television mounted to the end of one of those grocery store check out counters. its normal that im still a lalafell but i use the 'computer' and it fixes my armor/glam in real time.

then i message my friends about unlocking the alliance raids next and i see a convo with a notification i read the chat where 'naver' and 'lui' are talking about something

and i snap awake suddenly at 5am and didn't get to do the zelda themed alliance raids :'(

[zakku972]

So, thoughts on the #FF16 demo? A thread:

 I’ll break my thoughts down into a few categories, then a summary (with a mild spoiler). Also note, I do recognize that this is a demo build from probably a while ago, so some things might have changed compared to the gold release of the game.

 First up, accessibility options:

For the core settings in the game, I did enjoy that there were subtitle size/subtitle background/speaker options. Turned all of those on as soon as I could, and it was very noticeable. I do wish that there was an option for increasing the standard screen text/icon size though – I was having trouble with telling if the icons were referring to L1 or R1. Another thing I thought was a very good move in particular was being able to change audio cues into visual ones. I didn’t use it myself, but it’s a great step in the right direction!

For gameplay accessibility options, I like that they included a “Story” option for those of us that don’t usually play action games, as well as including accessories to make the gameplay a little more forgiving. I didn’t end up using these, but I’m happy more people will be able to play this game now than not.

One last thing for this section, and I’m not sure if this counts as an accessibility option, is that you can bring up a glossary of places and characters if you pause during a cutscene. I may not use this (due to the aforementioned screen text size issue), but it’ll be great for people that have to take extended breaks when playing the game, since it looks like this story will have many locales and characters.

Now, onto presentation/graphics:

Most of the colors in the demo seemed a bit…washed out? All of the lights, magic, and even the title screen were bright and colorful – plus I’ve seen some video of deeper gameplay that doesn’t make me feel too worried – but I know my TV’s automatic darkening settings had a field day. The actual graphics and stability were really gorgeous though, even though the sometimes drab colors. I played in performance mode and didn’t notice any hiccups at all, though I have heard that the FPS even in performance mode aren’t a consistent 60, that they range from 50-60. I’m sure it’ll be a little more consistent in the full release.

Next, some gameplay:

Here’s where I have some mixed feelings. First, I do want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay of the combat. As far as what we’re able to do, it comfortably feels like it’s leaning more into a Devil May Cry style than Kingdom Hearts. I did feel like there could have been a bit more “punch” or impact to the combat, but I know I’ve got Monster Hunter on the brain when it comes to sword hitting flesh, so I may not be the best to ask about that.

The Eikon fight did seem to suffer a bit more from that, as it seemed that there wasn’t too much visual or vibrational feedback in the fight. But again, this isn’t the final game and we weren’t even in the role of Ifrit yet, so hopefully it will feel a little better then. This “floatiness” also carries over into the regular movement, in my opinion. It just seemed like outside of combat, that Clive was running around in buttered boots with some inconsistencies, like the automatic jumping or climbing, during terrain traversal speeding him up just a hair too late if you approach them while walking. It was a little jarring to look at. The ladder climbing and crouching under debris looked and felt great though!

Finally, the story:

Hey look, it’s Game of Thrones! But actually, it’s not! Lots of people have made the comparison to the hit TV show/book series, and lots of other people have answered with the fact that the first Final Fantasy predates A Song of Ice and Fire, but here are the brass tacks: Both GoT and FF16 are trying to tell a more adult-oriented fantasy stories, and there will obviously be some overlap in how things are portrayed in certain circumstances. Hell, you can see people in the real world acting like this. There may have well been some influence from GoT on FF16 since various mediums do borrow from each other often, but the story and approach for FF16 feels like it’s doing enough unique things to differentiate itself from being a GoT clone.

On the note of that uniqueness, I do enjoy the purported theme of destroying the Mothercrystals’ hold on the world. Generally, crystals in FF games hold the world together. Though they may get corrupted or used to seal some kind of evil, usually only the villain of the story sets out to destroy or liberate the world from them – and I’m excited to potentially take on that role in the role of a character acting from a place of deep trauma.

I have one assorted musing for the lore though – there is a throwaway line near the beginning from a slavemaster: “I’m having my Bearer fill the well, my lord. Best to save what crystals we can, eh?” Are there only a finite number of crystals in the world? Do crystals get more “used up” depending on the magic affinity of who’s using it? I’ve been trying to keep out of the game’s world as much as possible, so it’ll be fun to find out.

Overall, I’d say I’m looking forward to it, as it could tell an amazing story that’s actually fun to play. I’ve never been the biggest fan of turn-based RPGs, and I do like that it’s gameplay is going in a little bit different direction than the Kingdom Hearts/FF15/FF7R style. Some of the color schemes are weird, but that and some of the other issues may have well been taken care of by the time of release. Most of all though, I want to make Anabella pay for everything she’s done and I really hope we get to mete out that justice ourselves. If you can make me hate a character for who they are (and not how they’re written), then you’ve at least got some decent writing.

[bluestbee]

Collected thoughts on the new UA

Moon Bard: Takes the eloquence bard's niche as a saving throw debuffer and fills that role a little better due to using a reaction on any save, not using a bonus action to debuff the next save it makes. Giving bards access to guidance/thorn whip if they want is a nice ribbon, level 6 feature isn't very good since cloud of daggers is better than moonbeam now even with some tacked on healing since you still have to concentrate on it. Level 14 feature is maybe redundant since you should have more than enough inspiration at this point due to getting them back on short rests but it's still something, could maybe get something else alongside this.

Knowledge Cleric: Favorite subclass in the UA. 15 extra domain spells with a mix of good rituals, out of combat utility, a hard control option that clerics don't normally have access to, and one of my favorite spells in the game with synaptic static. The ability to swap a channel divinity use for a free casting of any of these spells is absolutely wonderful. Getting unlimited telepathy among all party members is extremely useful, and always rolling a dirty 20 on any int check is a nice bonus. Getting 70% of a foresight that you can recharge is a pretty good capstone as well.

Purple Dragon Knight Fighter: Disappointed to see the subclass become a retooling of Drakewarden ranger as one of its only shooters, but that's not changing now. Dragon companion is fairly squishy compared to other pets and doesn't deal very much damage, but its primary use is as a mount, so it makes sense you'll be doing most of the damage. Level 1 dueling fighting style, level 4 great weapon master, level 6 mounted combatant, level 7 ride your dragon with a lance and shield is a very smooth progression curve that feels natural to play. Capstone could definitely be stronger, though. Oath of Genies Paladin: Dex paladin is a tough sell because of multiclass restrictions, but paladin is one of the best straight-class builds so it's less of a handicap here. Adding bonus effects to divine smite is very welcome now that other smites are more interesting, Dao's Crush being a standout option. I would be happy with this expanded spell list if it was just mirror image, fly, and conjure minor elementals, the others are just gravy. Adding charisma to your AC while still wearing studded leather makes it much better than 10 + dex + cha, a big boon for TWF builds or shield + rapier dueling builds. Adding a floating elemental resistance to your aura you can change with no action is also nice, the level 15 and 20 features will never show up in actual play so it doesn't matter that they're bad and fine respectively.

Winter Walker Ranger: I'm going to find out who the head ranger designer at wotc is. Pitiful damage increase, "bonus" effect on a spell you never want to be casting in the first place if you can help it, and an atrocious expanded spell list (Ice storm and cone of cold? Really?) The 7th level feature has one of the most bizarre timing restrictions I've ever seen, they should just be able to do this as an action once per short rest. The 11th level feature requires you to be hit and doesn't even reduce the damage you take to inflict a condition monsters are largely immune to at this point, and at 15th level you gain the privilege of a woefully small amount of damage in an aura and the etherealness spell when you cast hunter's mark instead of a spell that actually does things. Nightmarishly bad subclass, doesn't alleviate any of ranger's pain points.

Scion of the Three Rogue: Always happy to see more effects that interact with bloodied, and building a way to get off-turn sneak attack is always appreciated even if it has limited uses. Bhaal is the best option for your allegiance, poison damage is very common and you won't be concentrating on any other spells so blade ward is a nice AC buff for squishy rogues. Level 9 feature is good for a couple levels until enemies stop being frightened anymore, Level 13 feature is VERY weak and almost not worth the paper it's printed on since the damage is so low. Level 17 is okay to at least make your sneak attack deal 27 damage minimum to reduce damage variance but rogue damage is heavily outscaled at this point anyways, and you'll never be fighting enemies you can frighten anymore by now so no advantage there.

Spellfire Sorcerer: Weird twist/combo of divine soul and pyromancy sorcs. Bolstering Flames is the only thing you should use with the first level 3 feature, the other one sucks. Expanded spell list is more or less fine, you were going to take scorching ray anyways because of innate sorcery and buffed lesser restoration and aura of vitality are nice. Level 6 feature makes you the best anti-mage in the game due to heightened spell metamagic on a counterspell now having a 75% chance to either have its cost fully refunded or gain you even more points. Level 14 buff to your temp hp ability makes it give a nice chunk instead of like 6, Crown of Spellfire at level 18 is good for the flight but the other two effects I'm not a huge fan of because of how situational spell resistance is and how small the sorc hit dice are.

Bladesinger Wizard: Mixed feelings on my favorite 5e subclass. Being able to use int for attack and damage rolls in bladesong is nice to make you a bit more SAD and the concentration protection is still here, but locking you out of armor period to use bladesong means you're forced to pay the mage armor tax. No weapon masteries for your preferred one handed weapon of choice means a 1 level fighter dip is even better for you, and the cantrip extra attack everybody ripped off the bladesinger for is still just as good. Level 10 feature is still just as bad as it was, but the level 14 feature letting you take another attack as a bonus action when you cast a cantrip during your attack action is much better than adding int to your damage rolls. Still a top tier wizard subclass for bladesong alone but got some fiddling that it maybe didn't need

Overall: I like more of the new subclasses than not, one rework is very successful, one undoubtedly makes the subclass stronger but erases its old identity, and one is just fiddling with it to see if people like or dislike it more. Winter Walker Ranger is not what the class currently needs at all and trying to make a "tanky" ranger with a focus on control doesn't work if they need to concentrate on hunter's mark instead of, you know, an actual control spell. Oath of Genies is probably my favorite of the brand new subclasses as something to brew around with, probably something with TWF since they get conjure minor elementals later on.