#I just wanted to draw Jado and this happened '-'

[cordate-chordata]

“Who would have thought a FEEBLE Krawl mind as I would be one of your head researchers?”

“(Don’t trust him.)”

[wrestlingisfake]

Best of the Super Jr. final preview

Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado - This is the final of the Best of the Super Jr. tournament, pitting the winner of A Block (Hiromu) against the winner of B Block (Despy). There is no time limit, and there must be a winner. The winner will receive a trophy and will presumably challenge to the IWGP junior heavyweight champion, Taiji Ishimori, at the Dominion show on June 12. Despy has never won BOSJ; Hiromu is seeking his third consecutive trophy and fourth overall.

Both Hiromu and Despy finished with 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses) in their blocks. Heading into the May 31 show, each of them was two points behind first place, and then they each beat the guy in first place to create a tie and win the tiebreaker all at once. (This is a pretty common trope in these round-robin tournaments.) Notably, Takahashi beat Ishimori, which should put him in title contention whether he wins this match or not.

Since Takahashi returned from excursion in 2016, these two have fought six times, and Despy currently leads the series 3-2-1. Arguably their most important clash was the 30-minute war in the 2020 BOSJ final, which Hiromu won. When they met again in the 2021 tournament, the fought to a draw. In Janaury 2022 they faced off in the Tokyo Dome, in what I expected to be a cake walk for Hiromu, but Despy came out on top. So despite being the ace of the junior division and a three-time BOSJ winner, Hiromu needs to prove he can still beat this guy.

My gut feeling is that it's Hiromu's time to shine and regain the junior title. But I thought that would happen in January and it just didn't. Maybe they were saving it for now, or maybe they just want to push Desperado on top all year. If the goal is to establish Despy as a top junior, then they've done a great job. I didn't give him any chance of winning the 2020 BOSJ final, and then I didn't expect his epic performance in that match to lead to anything. But now I genuinely think this rematch could go either way

Kazuchika Okada & Tama Tonga & Toru Yano & Jado vs. Jay White & Doc Gallows & Taiji Ishimori & Gedo - Okada vs. White is the main event for the June 12 show. Also set for June 12 is Tonga vs. Karl Anderson, who was booked for this show (and probably this match) but had to withdraw due to COVID-19. Ishimori is waiting to find out who wins in tonight's main event. Jado and Gedo used to be thick as thieves before Jado got kicked out of Bullet Club, so it'll never be over between them.

It's worth keeping an eye on Gallows. If Anderson is unable to make the June 12 show, his tag partner is the obvious choice to replace him. And if you want to set that up, having Gallows pin Tama here would be a simple way to do it. Otherwise, I don't think anybody else in this match needs to score a pin. So I'm going with the Bullet Club team to win.

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Taichi & DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku - Most of these guys aren't doing anything, but Takagi and Taichi will meet on June 12 for Takagi's KOPW 2022 trophy. The lack of direction for Naito is particularly curious, but I suppose they could run an angle here to give him a match on Dominion. Taichi, Naito, and Shingo shouldn't get pinned here, but everybody else can, which means either side could easily win. Flip a coin on this one.

Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & El Phantasmo vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare - This is a preview of Fale & Owens vs. Cobb & Khan on June 12. Cobb and Khan did a run-in on an AEW show last week, so it looks like they're already slotted for a program at Forbidden Door. Kinda thinking they should win all their matches until then, but you never know.

EVIL & SHO vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru - During the BOSJ tournament, Kanemaru scored an upset on Sho that mathematically eliminated Sho from winning the block. So I guess the House of Torture wants revenge. I doubt this will set up a sustained Suzuki-gun/House of Torture feud, but I guess I wouldn't mind if they did. I'm thinking Sabre submits Sho for the win.

Juice Robinson vs. Tomoaki Honma - Robinson's IWGP United States title is not at stake. Honma's a fun dude but he's not exactly a top contender. It's a little unusual for New Japan to book a champion in a non-title match with no build against a tomato can. I assume there's a reason this is happening, but I can't imagine what it is. Maybe Robinson's just going to abuse Honma to establish his new heel persona in Bullet Club, so that someone can make the save and demand a title shot for June 12. Or...I guess Honma could just score an upset and issue that challenge himself. But if you're betting on Honma to win, you're gonna have a bad time.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. TJP & Francesco Akira - Taguchi and Wato are the IWGP junior heavyweight tag team champions, but the title is not on the line in this match. In this case I assume they didn't make this a title match because all four guys just got done with a long tournament, although to me that's still a level playing field. During BOSJ, Taguchi won his match against Akira, but Wato lost his match to TJP. There's really nothing else happening in the junior tag division, so I'm in favor of TJP and Akira winning to set up an inevitable rematch for the belts.

YOH & Robbie Eagles & Clark Connors & Titan vs. Wheeler YUTA & Ace Austin & Alex Zayne & El Lindaman - Yoh, Eagles, and Connors are all New Japan guys; Titan is from CMLL, which has a close alliance with NJPW. The other side is all outsiders, so it's sort of an us vs. them kind of match. Yuta, Austin, and Lindaman all hold championships, so if any of them lose the fall I'd like to think it's to set up an interpromotional title bout, but I shouldn't count on things like that. Best guess is Zayne or Titan will lose.

[dindjarindiaries]

Chance - Chapter 1

summary: Adali finds chaos in the Nevarro cantina and comes across a useful stranger.

warnings: very mild violence, harassment, angst

rating: PG-14

word count: 2.832k

masterlist

chapter 1

Adali hasn’t seen the Nevarro cantina this busy in many moons.

Both bounty hunters and citizens alike are swarming around the joint. Nearly every stool at the bar is filled as the cantina bursts at the seams. Adali can’t keep the surprise out of her expression as she saunters over to the bar, looking to request a drink but getting lost in her thoughts instead. These drinks must be getting better to attract the citizens inside. The hunters—that’s different. And Adali knows exactly why.

Just yesterday, she’d gotten her direct commission for it: the asset. Fifty years old. Nothing else about it is known—at least, that’s what the rest of the hunters are saying. They’re flocking to Greef Karga in herds to request this commission, eager to take their shot at earning the biggest reward this parsec’s ever seen. Hunting’s been tough in the Outer Rim following the fall of the Empire. There’s not enough twisted people to request dirty work for high prices, and if there is, they’re too busy trying not to be found by the New Republic. To get an opportunity like this, to earn a reward bigger than some can even conceive of, is priceless. Nearly the entire Bounty Hunter’s Guild has gotten a tracking fob—Adali included.

But she’s not like the rest of them.

Adali is strong. She’s taken down many quarries twice her size and been able to win fights where the odds were four-to-one. But she doesn’t take her pride as a hunter in her strength. Adali thinks with her mind first and foremost, and rather than having the mentality of overpowering and running through her quarries, she prefers to outsmart them. Bounty hunting isn’t just a test of strength between a hunter and its prey: it’s a test of intellect. Before the hunter can get its prey, it has to watch it, study it, learn everything it can about it. Then, it’ll learn their every move—and it’ll make the hunting process go swiftly. Adali prefers her jobs clean.

Thus, when Adali met with the client—no doubt an imperial warlord, though the more wicked, the better for her—she wasn’t intimidated by his lack of ability to provide thorough information. There was no chain code, he’d said, just an age. She’d known the age before she’d walked inside. Hunters talk a lot of shit for taking such a “confidential” commission. After having acquired her tracking fob, Adali had gone straight back to the cantina, pretending to be preoccupied at the bar as she’d listened to the conversation of two hunters near her.

“I heard it’s some ex-Sith Lord,” a Rodian had muttered to the Trandoshan beside him, failing to be quiet enough for Adali’s careful ears to pick his words up.

“A Sith Lord?” the Trandoshan had laughed, shaking his head as he hit his glass against the bar for effect. “What would a Sith Lord be doing on Sorgan?”

“It’s the perfect place to hide,” the Rodian had insisted, narrowing his eyes at his friend’s amused behavior. “That place is an absolute scughole. No one would think they’d be there.”

“Sith Lords are a myth,” the Trandoshan had scoffed. “And a group of mercenaries wouldn’t have been able to get a Sith Lord anywhere without being dead first.”

And so Adali had gotten her first lead: the asset had been on Sorgan. She was planning on taking a visit there, wanting to see if any of the population knew anything about it, but had delayed those plans in favor of creeping around the cantina one more time. She isn’t sure how accurate the rumor of the asset’s origin is, and she wants to see if she can either confirm it or get some more information out of the gossiping hunters before she sets off. Sorgan isn’t exactly a short trip away from Nevarro.

Adali’s thoughts are interrupted by a burst of chaos from behind her. She hears Greef’s voice rumbling in a frustrated manner, and instantly she’s turning around from her place at the bar to see what’s happening.

“You’re not in the Guild,” Greef insists, furrowing his brow at a man who’s standing across from him. “I can’t tell you anything.”

“But, please, you must know something!” the man exclaims, his voice low but also desperate. Adali isn’t close enough to get a good look at the stranger. She raises a curious eyebrow at the odd situation. “Just—how can I get a fob?”

“You can’t,” Greef scoffs. “Like I said, you’re not in the Guild. You can’t hunt for us.” He then gives the man a once-over. “By the looks of it, you can’t hunt at all.”

“Please, sir,” the man tries again. “That’s my son. Anything you know—I’ll give you everything I have!”

“I said, I’m not telling you anything,” Greef snarls. “Now get outta’ here and stop making a damn fool of yourself—before I make you.”

The man’s shoulders fall in a defeated manner, and he gives Greef a respectful nod before he turns back to the door. Before he can even start making his way over to the door, he’s stopped by another hunter, who stands nearly face-to-face with the man. Adali wants to rolls her eyes as she recognizes him as Jado Korra, the professional ass-kisser of the Guild’s magistrate. “Are you looking for trouble, you bantha fodder?” Jado hisses, raising a challenging eyebrow at the man.

“N-No,” the man stutters—more in surprise than in fear. “I was just about to leave.”

“When? Before you harassed Karga, or after?” Jado’s sneering at the poor stranger now, and Adali has the sudden urge to shoot him down where he stands simply because of his vexatious behavior.

“I told you, I don’t want any trouble,” the man reminds him, even starting to raise his hands in voluntary surrender.

“Well, you should’ve thought of that before,” Jado quips, taking the man by his shirt and shoving him off to the side. He collapses into an empty table, sending it down with him. Jado snickers and walks away, leaving the stranger in a daze.

Adali sighs, irritated by Jado’s behavior and helplessly curious about the stranger begging Greef for information. She resigns herself to strolling over to where the man’s still struggling to get up, offering him a hand to take. He looks up at her suspiciously, and Adali takes a better look at him up close. His gaze is dark like mud, his eyes looking worn from the stress of whatever situation he’s found himself in. He’s got a mop of rather long but tamed dark hair atop his head, and his face goes unshaven but well-trimmed. His dark clothes are slightly tattered and layered—and Adali has to keep her eyes from widening at the realization that hits her. They’re the clothes of a farmer, and she’s willing to bet he’s a farmer from Sorgan.

The man finally accepts Adali’s hand, and she pulls him up before he starts to dust himself off. His cheeks are reddened with slight embarrassment as he pulls himself back together. “Thanks,” the man says, his voice sounding much rougher than Adali would’ve expected for a Sorgan farmer.

“Don’t worry about it,” Adali responds, looking to where Jado’s gone off to kiss Greef’s ass some more. “Jado’s always been an asshole.” He finally looks back to her upon hearing that, his dark gaze glittering with exhaustion and newfound curiosity. Adali extends her hand back out to him. “Adali Tovar.”

He accepts it gingerly, shaking it as he nods at her. “Din Djarin.”

“Din, you look like you could use a drink,” Adali says, and Din lets out a chuckle as he nods once again in agreement. “Can I tempt you with one?”

“That’s… very kind of you,” Din replies, smiling just a bit at Adali’s offer. She wonders what kind of hell he’s had to go through to find a civil act so friendly.

“If you fix this table, I’ll get us some drinks,” Adali proposes, and Din nods in understanding. She then sets off for the bar, ordering something light for the both of them. She carries them over to the table Din’s propped back up, setting the drinks down and sitting across from him. “So, what got you under Jado’s skin? I swear, it doesn’t take much.”

Din scoffs lightly at Adali’s words. “I guess I was pestering his boss or something.”

Adali raises an eyebrow at him. “Karga?” She pretends as if she never watched the full extent of the altercation.

“Yeah, I think that’s the name he said.” Din pauses to take a sip of his drink, his brow beginning to furrow in worry. “I didn’t mean to, I just—I really needed his help.”

“Are you a hunter?”

Din shakes his head. “No. I don’t know if you can tell, but—,” Din gestures to his clothing before continuing, “—I’m a farmer.”

Adali lets her curiosity show. “That sounds nice. Where at?”

“Sorgan.”

Adali feels her veins fill with adrenaline at the planet’s name. It’s just as she was hoping for—a person who likely has valuable information on the asset. “Sorgan? Wow. That’s a long damn way from Nevarro. What could possibly bring you here?”

Din’s face falls, and Adali watches as his dark gaze focuses on the drink in his mug. “It’s… my son. He was abducted not too long ago. I thought it might’ve been some bounty hunters—so I found out where the Guild operates, and I came for whatever information I could find.” He releases a sigh, finally looking back up at Adali. “But he couldn’t offer me anything.”

His son. At the sound of the abduction, Adali had wondered if he was referring to the asset—but Din doesn’t look anywhere close to being fifty years old himself, much less fathering a fifty-year-old son. Still, if Din’s from Sorgan, he must know something—and Adali’s willing to make a deal over it. So, she presses on, looking around to make sure no one’s listening as she leans further across the table. “What if I told you that I’m a hunter—and I might be able to help you?”

Din’s eyes widen at her words, and she sees a spark of hope arise in his gaze. “I would be so grateful for anything you have.”

Adali gives him a nod, leaning back as she draws a sip from her drink. “What’s your son’s name?”

Din tenses at her words. Adali furrows her brow. “He… I haven’t officially named him.” Before Adali can question him further about the matter, Din explains it himself. “He’s adopted. I found him on his own almost a year ago and took him in. I call him Ad’ika, but I don’t know his true name—or if he even has one.”

Adali tilts her head curiously. “Isn’t that—?”

“Mando’a? Yes.” Din lets out a soft breath, his fingers fumbling with the handle of his mug. “That’s what my mentor used to call me.”

“Was your mentor from Mandalore?” Adali knows that couldn’t have turned out well. Everyone knows what happened to the Mandalorians—they’re practically extinct.

Din hesitates, and then nods. “I… was raised by Mandalorians. But their lifestyle just wasn’t for me.”

Adali lifts a curious eyebrow, feeling even more interested in Din now. If he was raised by Mandalorians, that means he must’ve had a least some training with them—which must make him an impressive fighter. “I guess it’s good you got out of there while you still could.” Adali makes the reference to the event that wiped out the Mandalorians for good.

Din grimaces. “I guess so.”

“Did they train you to fight?”

“I learned some—yeah. But I’m long out of practice.”

Adali furrows her brow. “Is that how they got to your son?”

Din sighs. “I didn’t have a chance. They stunned me before I could fight back.” His eyes darken as he goes on. “I think they meant to kill me—but used the wrong mode.”

Adali nods slowly, running a hand over her chin as she decides to move to a different topic. “How old is your son?”

Din shrugs. “I don’t know. But he’s a baby.”

A baby? Adali sighs internally. There’s no way he’s the asset she’s looking for. Unless… species age differently, she’d once been told after collecting a quarry who was over four hundred years old. Adali leans in again, looking into Din’s gaze with severity. “Do you think there’s a possibility that he could be fifty?”

Din’s eyes widen. “Fifty?” His tone is quiet and full of disbelief. “I… I wouldn’t think so, but—.”

“Is he a different species?” Adali continues her interrogation. When Din nods, she goes on. “Then he might age differently. Let’s say his life span extends to nine hundred years old. Could he be fifty?”

Din doesn’t say anything for a moment. He simply returns Adali’s gaze, and she can see the intense contemplation written all over his face. Din then offers a light sigh. “I guess it’s possible.”

Adali leans back again, finishing her mug before she launches her next question. “Did he get abducted about—ah, I don’t know—just over a week ago?”

Din nods earnestly. “Yes! That’s exactly when it happened.”

Adali smiles slightly at him, reaching for the tracking fob and making it visible to him. “Then I might just be able to help you, Din.”

Din’s dark gaze floods with relief, and he lets out a chuckle in disbelief. “I—thank you. I can’t believe—I’ve been so worried about him, you have no idea how much it means—.”

“It’s gonna cost you,” Adali cuts him off, raising her brow expectantly. “If only I could do it out of the ‘kindness of my heart,’ but sadly, that’s not how we operate out here. You need to offer me a better deal.” She knows he can’t—but if she can get him to at least believe he can, then he can give her all the rest of the information she needs, and she’ll be well on her way to making a fortune.

“I’ll give you everything I have.” Din says the words without hesitation. His brow’s furrowed in desperation again, and for a moment, it pains Adali’s heart to see it. That look reminds her of something else, something she’s tried to keep buried deep within her, and she hates the way the pain crawls back up—if even for a moment. “Please. I’ll—I’ll even help you.”

Adali nearly laughs at his proposal. “Help me?”

“I know, I said I’m out of practice.” The words are rushing out of Din’s mouth now, as if he can’t say them quickly enough. “But I learned a lot while I was growing up. I know that with a bit of warming up, I can probably get back into the routine. I still have some weapons—I took them with me to Sorgan just in case. I don’t need anything else other than Ad’ika.” Din finally pauses, looking at Adali nervously. “Please.”

Adali considers his words for a moment, crossing her arms as she leans back in her seat. If she lets Din join her, then she can not only have some extra hands for fighting, but also have him there once she acquires the asset. Then, instead of returning it to him, she can more easily kill him on the spot and take the asset in for her promised reward.

It’s actually not a bad deal.

Adali sighs lightly, painting on a small smile as she gives Din a nod. “Alright. I’ll accept your help.” Din’s gaze brightens, but before he can go on thanking her unnecessarily again, she continues talking. “But I have to ask: do you still have your Mandalorian armor?”

Din nods, his brow furrowing. “Yes. It’s packed away with my weapons.”

“Good. You’ll want it—to disguise yourself.” When Din’s confusion becomes obvious, Adali explains it for him. “People might know you’re tied to the asset—your son. If they see you, they’ll know exactly what you’re there for. It’s best if you try to hide your identity.”

“Whatever it takes.” Adali’s nearly shocked to hear the words come so quickly out of his mouth, but it’s also not surprising to her. She’s seen how much Din’s son must mean to him—and she can’t help admiring him for that, even if she’ll be using it to her own advantage. “Thank you…” Din’s trying to recall her name.

“Call me Ada.” Din nods at Adali, and she sighs as she stands up. “Follow me to my ship. Looks like we’re taking a trip back to Sorgan.”

Din gives Adali another nod, and soon she’s leading their way out of the cantina—completely unaware of the destiny she’s just written for herself.

chance tag list: @mikahid​ @starlight-starwrites​ @lavenderl3mons​ @adikaofmandalore​

permanent tag list: @mikahid​ @theforceofdarkandlight​ @stilllivindue2spite​ @givemethatgold​ @xbrujita​ @mandalorianspace​ @blushingwueen​ @sevvysaurus​ @myakai13​ @thisis-theway​ @beskars​ @rachelloveseveryone​ @theindiealto​ @hiscyarika​ @burningsoulbloodyheart​ @wickedfrsgrl​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​ @bookwafflefangirl​ @charliepeaceout​ @lavenderl3mons​ @cable-kenobi​

[gfesgersgersg]

My Thoughts About Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals

I recently revisited a game from my childhood: Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals. I never finished this game when I was younger, because I found it too scary to progress. As strange as it seems, this game’s first hour started my interest in science fiction, and I still enjoy the genre in books and games today, despite never finishing the game.

I played up to what I’d call the start of the end of the first act of the game, getting up to the Corona vortex on the planet Genshi. This is probably a super biased article, as I think about this game a lot. It reviewed poorly with critics and I think this was probably justified. It is also worth mentioning that I did not play the first Spectrobes game.

If you intend on playing this game, spoilers are ahead. The short version is that I enjoy the characters, but the last parts of the game are far weaker than the start. The gameplay is largely uninteresting, and the game isn’t really something I would recommend anyone play.

The Good

The music in this game is fantastic. The game always has some music playing, no matter what’s going on. Among my favourites are the character-specific tracks that play during dialogue, and the track that plays when you solve a puzzle. The music goes a long way toward selling the game’s environments, too. The music on the populated planets in the Nanairo system largely sounds upbeat, and reflects the planet you are on. This contrasts with the music on the planets that are “beyond the portals”, which sound quite alien. The music on Hyoga is calm and slow, fitting with a cold, lifeless planet. The music on Fons is calm but more sombre, and is very foreboding, fitting with the point in the story it is encountered. The music on Darkmos and Nox both fit with the artificial themes of these planets and are opposites somewhat to Fons and Hyoga.

Some good tracks would be: Ready For Action!, Hyoga, Darkmos and Fons.

The environments in this game are pretty impressive for the Nintendo DS. A lot of the backgrounds are 2D, which shows, especially in the city on Nessa, and on Fons. However, they look great in my opinion. Most impressive are the safe areas, such as Kollin and Colony. These environments really sell the Nanairo system as a real place.

The characters in this game are excellently written. By no means is the story a masterpiece, but the game’s characters entirely carry its story. Rallen and Jeena make a great duo, with entertaining banter. They reference each others’ quirks and joke around with each other. The supporting characters are good too. Commander Grant is very serious but clearly likes Rallen and Jeena. Cyrus and Webster are characters Rallen has history with, making for some funny moments and a nice “redemption” for Webster. Hank and Professor Kate are nice, and again, their friendship feels realistic in the sense that they act like they have known each other for a long time. While they’re not particularly deep, the High Krawl are good villains. They’re imposing throughout the story, and the mystery of their campaign against the Towers of Nanairo is intriguing. Maja is the main villain throughout, and she seems equally aloof and desperate in her attempts to get Rallen to side with her. Strictly from a characterisation perspective, she provides a good view into the internal conflicts between the High Krawl. Jado is a (probably intentionally) forgettable character in the early parts of the game.

The Bad

The excavation system is an interesting take on obtaining collectable monsters. This game’s status as a Pokemon clone is a largely inconsequential part of the experience to me. In Spectrobes, I didn’t feel any attachment to my spectrobes by the end of the game, simply using them as tools to get to the end. Partially, this could be because of Rallen not being a blank slate character. They’re more his spectrobes than mine. There is also the issue of the monsters themselves not really being unique. They’re nice designs, and unique to the game for sure, but my spectrobes ended up all looking the same. They’re not that unique from each other mechanically either, with the only differentiations being the typing and the evolution status. The child spectrobes are a good feature, however. Child spectrobes take on the role of searching for fossils, and don’t just sit in your storage waiting to be evolved.

The game’s characters are good, as discussed earlier, but its broader plot isn’t. It revolves around creatures known as Krawl, which feed by eating entire star systems. They’ve done this many times and are now focusing their efforts on the Nanairo system. This is OK, not particularly deep, but I see no issue with this. Beyond the Portals introduces new characters, High Krawl, who are capable of communicating with the humans living in Nanairo. Maja, at least, sees Rallen as an equal by the end of her involvement in the story, but continues to gloat about the inevitable complete genocide of Rallen’s home star system. The others are a bit more aloof, positioning themselves above the humans living in Nanairo. This is all a little far-fetched, but still OK. The High Krawl are seeking to destroy structures on each planet just called Towers. This allows them to open a new portal each time, into another star system. From these portals, Krawl will emerge from their current home on planets they have already consumed.

The first of the High Krawl to appear in the story is Jado, who is shown as being aloof but hapless. When defeated, he simply appears to die. This is a ruse on his part, and he is actually one of the most important characters to the story. Problem is, he barely appears. On Malik, at the very end of the game, he reveals that he has been hiding inside your patrol cruiser for the entire game. This is a bit of a head-scratcher. At this point, you fight him again and he admits defeat. Thus, he appears twice, but seems to warrant more of a presence. Next up is Gelberus, on Nessa. He is pretty inconsequential. He destroys the tower, opens the first portal, and you defeat him on Hyoga. After this is when Maja becomes the antagonist in earnest. She appears after both Jado and Gelberus’ defeats, gloating about how these events make her more powerful. She introduces the concept of Dark Spectrobes, and is first fought in an unbeatable fight on Daichi. After this, you go on a wild goose chase through Fons and Darkmos before beating her on Nox. Maja is more powerful than Rallen, but wants or needs his power for something. Beyond destroying or ruling the universe, this is not specified. Still, it is a good enough reason for her to not just kill Rallen. After Maja is defeated, Rallen and Jeena recover the Dynalium, which is a weapon that can penetrate a planetary shield of some kind. After some fetch quests to make a large Dynalium, an assault is carried out on Malik, where Krux resides. Krux reveals that he is a Spectrobe Master like Rallen, but uses the Krawl for their numbers. The implications of this aren’t discussed in-game. Rallen defeats Krux in hand-to-hand combat and the game ends. None of this plot is particularly interesting at any point. The best part is Maja’s story arc, which seems to build up to a twist that doesn’t happen. The High Krawl are treacherous toward one another in a way that isn’t really used for anything interesting. Internal conflicts within the High Krawl could be a good way to introduce some uneasy alliances between the NPP and certain High Krawl. I don’t expect the plot of this game to be filled with complex intrigue, but its perfectly good characters have wasted potential.

The game has some nasty difficulty spikes around Fons, halfway through the game. It’s mentioned that Rallen should evolve his spectrobes after Fons is cleared, but the Krawl on the planet are much higher level than yours at this point. Up to this point, the game is balanced well, providing good balance with no need to grind. The battling in general leaves a lot to be desired. The type matchups are obvious and shallow, and the systems leave little room for strategising. The real time battling system seems cool at first, but ends up being a matter of running up to an opponent and mashing the A button. The camera in this mode is awful and frequently leaves you facing nothing at all. As such, battling in this game feels like a chore needed to progress, rather than a fun challenge.

The level design isn’t fantastic either. While many environments are visually impressive, they’re often too big, with very little in them. There isn’t anything to find other than randomly dispersed fossils and minerals. Especially later in the game, the constant backtracking through these big, empty areas feels like an attempt to pad for time. This is exemplified by the final planet, Malik. You’re asked to traverse the exact same room around 10, maybe more, times by going through the portal that is spinning to the left in each. This is not fun to play. A lot of the game’s tasks feel like busy work rather than actual gameplay. This should not be an issue. The game has more than enough content to justify itself, without this bad filler. My other issue with the levels is that the Krawl respawn continuously. This creates a feeling that you’re not actually helping these planets. At least, the populated Nanairo planets should be clear of Krawl if you remove them.

Conclusion

To conclude, Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals is not a particularly good game. It is a mediocre Pokemon clone in gameplay terms, and in plot terms has wasted potential. The game has excellent characters and music and a well realised world. It falls short probably due to attempting to ride the Pokemon train, rather than trying to be more unique. The game’s plot doesn’t really fit an RPG formula at all. This game is just one of many obscure Nintendo DS games, and I don’t even really like it, but it will hold a place in my heart forever. I suppose something to draw from this could be that no matter how mediocre a piece of media, it can still have an impact on someone, somewhere.

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Climax B Block finals preview

Kenny Omega (12 points) vs. Kota Ibushi (10 points) - This is for 2 points in the G1 Climax tournament’s B block.  Omega’s IWGP heavyweight title is not at stake, although if he loses that would virtually guarantee Ibushi gets a title match later, regardless of who wins the G1 tournament.

I already ran through all the scenarios of who can win B block (to face the A block winner in the finals).  If Omega wins this match, he wins the block.  If Ibushi wins, then either Ibushi or Tetsuya Naito wins the block, depending on whether Naito loses his match.  If this match goes to a 30-minute draw, either Omega or Naito will win the block, depending on the outcome of the Naito match.

As far as I could determine this is the first one-on-one Omega/Ibushi match since August 2012, when Ibushi defeated Omega to retain the DDT championship, during their original run as the Golden Lovers tag team.  I haven’t seen the match, but people talk about it in awestruck tones, and the NJPW English announce team has alluded to Kota and Kenny refusing to rematch for fear that they would go too far trying to top it.  Watching both of them damn near kill themselves against other opponents, I can see why there’d be concern about them working with one another.  So the hype for this thing is off the charts, and it’ll be very difficult to live up to.

The Golden Lovers gimmick is that Omega and Ibushi aren’t just friends but in an ambiguous romantic relationship.  I mean, it’s not ambiguous to the fans, but the wrestlers themselves don’t directly spell it out and New Japan seems to actively avoid commenting on it.  Regardless, the idea is that Kenny was damaged and incomplete while the team was disbanded, but their reunion this year has turned everything around and contributed to Kenny winning the IWGP title.  What matters here, then, is that neither man wants to seriously harm the other, but they can’t go easy either, so we’ll be seeing a lot of mixed emotions beyond the usual “friends have to fight” match.

The “Bullet Club OG” group (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Bad Luck Fale) have basically made it their mission to ruin this tournament, especially where it concerns Omega and Ibushi.  They started out taking blatant disqualifications to protect one another from being pinned, but then they escalated to interfering in matches they had nothing to do with, and then to forcing a no-contest in the Omega/Young Bucks vs. Ibushi/Scurll/Owens match.  I can’t see this match ending in a draw or a double-disqualification, but the NJPW bookers clearly want the idea in your head.

Given the choice between Omega, Naito, and Ibushi to win B Block, I’d pick Ibushi just because I think that’d be more novel.  However, I’m increasingly thinking that Omega is going to pull off the big “win the G1 as reigning champion” feat.  One way or another, I think he’s going to come out on top here.

Tetsuya Naito (12 points) vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (10 points) - Sabre is already mathematically eliminated from winning the block, and Naito will be too if Sabre wins this match.  If Naito wins, he’s still alive, but he needs Omega to lose or draw.  Even if this match goes to a time limit draw, Naito is still alive, but he needs Omega to just plain lose.  Sabre has scored some key wins to get him into the midcard title hunt, but I don’t see him beating Naito unless it’s necessary to set up a plot point in the Omega/Ibushi match.  And maybe it is, but since I’m not sure I gotta pick Naito to win.

Juice Robinson (4 points) vs. Hirooki Goto (6 points) - Robinson is the United States champion and Goto is the NEVER champion, but neither title is on the line.  Juice cannot strike with the “cast” on his left hand (more like a plastic splint wrapped in wrist tape) or he will be disqualified.

Robinson’s run this year has been interesting.  On the one hand, he’s stepped up his game since his G1 debut last year, and he’s a champion.  On the other hand, he suffered a (legit?) broken metacarpal a few weeks back, which is particularly disastrous because his specialty is his left-handed knockout punch.  Robinson gutted through the injury (and the added stip about the cast) to win the US title, but competing in the G1 is a longer, more relentless task.  After mounting losses (which translates into many future challengers), Juice started removing the cast to bring his knockout punch back into play, but that also increases his risk of aggravating the injury and prolonging his recovery time.  It’s a simple and delightfully effective storyline.

It’d be a nice feel-good moment for Juice to get one last victory to end on a high note, but this isn’t the part of the story for feel-good moments.  That will come later in the year, I think, when he has to defend the title against all the guys who beat him in this tour...but his hand will be 100% and he’ll be steamrolling through them.  (I hope.)  So for now, the right finish is for Goto to get the win.

Tomohiro Ishii (8 points) vs. SANADA (8 points) - Ishii always gets rave reviews for his G1 matches, but I can’t ever get fully invested in them because I always know he can’t actually win enough matches to constitute a push.  He does have a win over Kenny Omega and I’m sure he’ll get a title shot this fall, which will be well-received.  But I don’t believe for a second he’ll ever be IWGP champion, so it all feels kind of hollow.  Sanada is more or less in the same boat, though, so at least this match should be competitive.  It doesn’t matter who wins, really.

Tama Tonga (6 points) vs. Toru Yano (4 points) - Tama has basically stopped giving a shit about winning his matches or even trying to prevent the referee from noticing his rule-breaking.  Yano, on the other hand, has turned sneaking things past the ref into an art form.  In other words, they’ll both cheat like crazy, but Yano is more apt to get away with it, which means either Yano wins by DQ or Yano wins by sneaky pinfall or count-out.  The only thing working in Tama’s favor is that it’s a running gag that Yano acts like he’s literally a spooky demon or something.  Me too, Yano, me too.

Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma - Okada and Tanahashi are coming off of their big match to determine the A Block, but the big story here is actually Honma, who suffered a neck injury during a March 2017 match, which nearly left him paralyzed and required surgery.  Honma returned to the ring a couple of months ago, but this is only the second match in his comeback.  This was originally going to be an eight-man tag with Elgin on the Tanahashi team and Jado on the CHAOS team, with the idea that Honma could seek revenge on Jado for the move that nearly left him paralyzed.  But Jado hurt his foot recently so he had to pulled from the tour.

I’m concerned Honma’s comeback is premature or ill-advised, and I’m not sure it’ll be much fun watching him work knowing how important it is to keep him safe.  You’d hope the other five guys can carry the match for him, but if that’s what it takes he probably shouldn’t be back in the ring yet.  Or maybe he’s really made incredible progress and he’s back to 100%. But I doubt it.  Honma should probably get the pin on Gedo, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they just have him set Gedo up for Makabe to finish him off.

EVIL & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado - Just a random undercard tag match, doesn’t matter what happens.

Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson & Marty Scurll vs. Jay White & SHO & YOH - Scurll and the Young Bucks are the NEVER trios champions, but that title is not on the line here.  (Neither are all the other championships the Bucks currently have.)  This could get interesting since White has been teaming with Yoh, and treating him like shit, throughout this tour, but now he’s also teaming with Yoh’s regular partner Sho.  Also, Yoh and Sho’s coach, Rocky Romero, has been losing his fucking mind about White’s shenanigans on English commentary.  In theory a win for White’s team would put them in line for a trios title shot, but I can’t believe this trio can coexist for more than ten seconds.  That won’t stop White from trying to direct traffic, I would imagine.  The Bucks will probably pin Sho or Yoh after slapping their thighs a lot.

Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens - Page and Owens have been regular partners on this tour, but they’re kinda fucked against two of the Bullet Club OG group.  This is either gonna be a win for the Tongans or a DQ loss preceded by a savage mugging.

Michael Elgin & David Finlay vs. Toa Henare & Shota Umino - This was originally going to be Finlay vs. Henare, but Jado’s injury caused Elgin to get bumped from his match, so here we are.  If you’ve been listening to English commentary you’ll recall that there was some ironic hype about Finlay/Henare--which had been the one and only non-tournament singles match on the schedule--which was jokingly referred to as “C Block.”  So Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero might be unusually jazzed for this one.  I’m pretty sure Finlay will just pin Umino, but watch the announcers treat it like Wrestlemania.