#I played the originals and I have the newer ones on PS4/5 but if it wasn't on the Wii between 2006 and 2010 then I didn't get to play it

[redwylde]

I forgot to mention it here, but around two weeks ago I was visiting a friend who is a retro game collector, and I was finally able to play Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 on his original Dreamcast.

And honestly, I finally get it.

I finally get why everyone says these are the best 3D Sonic games. I figured it was mostly nostalgia, but no, the fun and the sauce are just Unrivalled.

Adventure 1 was a really unique experience, I had a lot of fun with it. I miss the hubs so much, Station Square and Mystic Ruins were very fun to explore. GAMMA... The Egg Carrier as a whole map, it was just so fun.

And I don't even need to explain myself with SA2 because y'all know, you've known for years. I got so emotional I started crying when I hit Finalhazard (even though the fight itself made me mald so much LOL) and Live and Learn started playing because I finally get it. How it made you all feel and continues to make you feel to this day.

And it feels nice coz I'm one of you now. A lot of the early 2000s Sonic games I couldn't play because we just couldn't afford the consoles. PS1/2 was it. Now I have adult money and I'm beginning to fill out my collection of things I've missed and I feel instantly connected to the Sonic fans of that time who got to play these on release, and I understand. How it made you all feel.

And now I get to feel it too.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Video game console and case design

Today's hyperfixation is on the PLAYSTATION 5. Because I want one, but I really shouldn't buy one, so I am just looking up everything to do with games consoles and burning my brain out.

I used to be a proper xbox player, until I got my PC, then I never really touched by xbox again. I got a PS4 to play Persona 5 and since then it's been a blu ray player for my Adventure Time boxset, not much else. But the current gen - PS5, Series X - is arguably more powerful than my gaming PC, and I still have a lot of friends stuck on PS5, so I am considering investing in a unit.

Anyway is it me or did they really shit the bed with design in this generation?

Look at these chunky fuckers! They do not fit smoothly under your television at all. There is no detail or decoration breaking up their unnecessarily large faces, which makes them look bland and ugly. They look like they're made of cheap plastic, with the two controllers being the highest quality thing about them. I can attest the xbox controller is unbeatable, but playstation really made their shot this generation. A shame I can never get used to the dualshock joystick positioning.

The Series S and the PS5 Slim are almost NO improvement on the base designs.

For some reason they made the Series S look like a speaker???

The new PS5 slim FINALLY has a line across that massive faceplate, but the half matte half glossed finish is not doing it any favours. I think it would've looked much better if, for example, the matte and gloss plates were different colours. Like black and white! It also has an even MORE out of place disc drive, which I think is part of Sony's agenda to go digital only, and the two tiny "feet" for its horizontal positioning are pathetic! Personally I like this more than the original but not significantly, disappointing since I was really looking forward to it.

I want you to compare these nasties to the previous generation - the PS4 and the XBOX One.

....Now, what's hilarious about this image is the consoles look ALMOST IDENTICAL from this angle. And, I guess, that would be why Sony and Microsoft decided to make such a departure with the space heater PS5 and the fridge Series X.

But they both look very premium and advanced, and they fit very nicely in your living room.

The companies tried to look a bit more distinguished in their followup versions in the previous gen too. The white PS4 Pro looks a lot closer to PS5 with its quirkiness, but without the atrocious shiny plastic. Sony tended to add or remove a layer whenever they altered the PS4, I wonder what they would look like all stacked on top of each other.

It's not just the games console designs that suffer - Look at the game cases! I know that the companies want to incentivise you to go digital, but Xbox Series X cases are just awful.

So if you're confused - You should be!!! Microsoft have two kinds of case for the Series X. One of them is the EXACT SAME CASE as Xbox One, but with Series X printed on the front. The second newer version foregoes the sexy Xbox logo entirely and just has Xbox Series X printed in some default font. Awful awful awful.

Playstation is doing better, but barely.

They are reusing PS4 cases with a different print on them. It doesn't look as horrible as Xbox's, and it at least has a different colour on the logo, but damn, the jump between PS3/360 and PS4/One was really impressive, and now they've stopped bothering because they want everyone to go digital. If your game cases look like shit, why bother with physical?

I want to contrast with physical media kings Nintendo, who did an outstanding job in 2017 with designing the case for the Nintendo Switch.

These bad boys are mine. They're super thin, easy to stack, decent quality, and F U N. The red colour pallette makes them pop out. You can see one from across the store and go, "damn, that's a Nintendo Switch game".

I just want a thousand of them.

I would say a disadvantage, especially compared to the Gamecube games next to them, and even compared to 3ds, is that you can't tell what game you're looking at without going right up to them. These cases are TOO uniform, and really tiny, so i have to triple check I am picking up Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and not Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Meanwhile you can tell exactly what Gamecube games I have by colour pallette alone. Like, you can instantly tell that's Windwaker.

The switch in general is a very fun looking games console, much nicer looking than its predecessor the Wii U, though I'm not sure how I feel about the white of the OLED. But every time I see a Switch Lite in stores, even though I know it's worse than my Switch, I want to buy one. It just looks so FUUUUUN.

And finally a special mention to the 3DS and its games case. The console itself was pretty stylish, if... rudimentary for its release period, but the games cases are high quality and almost make me want to have 3ds games just so I can have the cases.

[prancingnougat]

(Cheery) Games for Combating the Post Final Fantasy XVI Blues

After beating FFXVI, I got super down - not because I disliked the game, quite the opposite. I loved it so much that now the experience was over, I felt that all-too-familiar void, and I suspect that I'm not alone in that.

So I went back to play some of the more recently released games that I bought (from the past 5 years or so), a few of which I never beat. As much as I loved and appreciate 16 for everything it is, I really wanted something lighter in terms of themes. I figure this could be a decent list for people who might want another RPG-like experience. These are very different, however - I'm focusing on games that are available for purchase right now, and games that are a little on the brighter side, thematically. Your mileage will totally vary, but some of these are fun games that appealed to me and they might appeal to you too!

Bravely Default 2

Play me if you like: job systems, rewarding level grinding, sidequests galore

The original Bravely Default 1+2 are Nintendo 3DS classics that absolutely stand the test of time, but can be a little expensive/hard to find. BD2, on the other hand, is available on the Nintendo eShop and for PC. It is great if you're looking to get back to basics in regard to story and RPG mechanics - but that's not to say the gameplay is lacking. Far from it, BD2 has one of the most fun job systems I've ever encountered. The cast of characters is charming, the graphics are lovely, and I've found it relaxing after the intensity of FFXVI. Plus, all the job outfits are outright adorable (especially Beastmaster, my beloved)

Harvestella

Play me if you like: unexpectedly good stories, loads of character depth, farming simulation, light-but-fun action RPGs

If you liked FFXVI for its story, I think you might appreciate Harvestella's strange but wonderful sci-fi fantasy narrative/world. While it's much lighter on the action, and its job system isn't quite as involved as the Bravely Default series, it's still a completely unique experience that blends light farming sim elements with classic RPG fun. It's similarly relaxing as BD2 in the sense that you're encouraged to take it at your own pace and focus on your own favored play style. It completely took me by surprise with it's story, and I tend to be pretty picky about that sort of thing. It's also available on Switch and PC!

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Play me if you like: action sidescrollers, more in-depth farming elements, mythological settings

This is definitely one of the most unique games I've ever played, and while it's completely different from FFXVI, it can potentially serve as something of a palate cleanser after going through such a dark story. Sakuna has one of the most complex farming systems, one that is impacted by your exploration. It also helps determine your character's stats. You explore the wilderness as a little goddess who lives away from her celestial home, opting for the life of a common rice farmer. While the focus is on rice farming as opposed to many crops like other farming sims, it's a fun way of centering yourself in between your more wilder adventures. It's on Switch, PS4, and PC!

Rune Factory 4 Special

Play me if you like: much lighter humor, light crafting systems, loooong stories, farming and marriage mechanics

You can probably tell that I have a thing for action games with farming elements. RF4 is my favorite in the Rune Factory series, and though there's a newer title with RF5, I found myself consistently enjoying this one a lot more. It's a humorous story that knows when it hit the right beats with it's sincerity, all while being just the right amount of challenging in regards to the action, with its pacing also controlled by your own gameplay style. It's wildly different from FFXVI, but it's one of my go-to games for cheering myself up after something heavy. And now that it's available on multiple platforms, more people can enjoy it too!

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Play me if you like: strong ensemble casts, FFXVI's hunts, flexible job systems, MMO-style combat, challenging sidequests and superbosses

While this is easily the "darkest" game on this list, I still find its story very hopeful while balancing more serious themes. It is the culmination of everything good about Final Fantasy from the PS2 era; a long and interesting story that remains engaging throughout, phenomenal monster hunts that will push you to really engage with the job system, and satisfying sidequests with lots of loot. Plus, it's another Final Fantasy! I could suggest just about any game in the series, but since this one is a redone version that is now available on a ton of platforms, it's easily my biggest recommendation for anyone who wants a longer game in a similar vein as FFXVI.

Those are just a few games out there that might help itch some very specific scratches you've still got after playing 16. While I absolutely LOVE FFXVI's story - heaviness and all - I know I needed a big break before going and replaying it. Hopefully they bring someone as much cheer as they've brought me!

[thedivinedemom]

An AU of DC with a mass crossover of PS4 properties.

Provisional name: Players Searching for Detectable Changes (Get the pun?)

The setup:

This is the future of DC, a world where the old guard has slowly withdrawn and the newer generations have risen to the occasion. The original Titans in particular, most of which have formed the new Justice League while many other, very similar teams had started to form across the world. One of which was a resurgence of the Teen Titans, led by an older and purified Raven. She wanted to make the Teen Titans something akin as it was for her, a place to belong and learn to use one's powers.

The first 'class' of such individuals include:

Stargirl (of the now-disbanded JSA and still getting used to the Starrod)

Blue Beetle III (Freshly attached to his alien symbiote and freaking out a bit)

Robin V (to work on his anger issues, mostly at the new Batman's request)

Kaldur (a half Atlantean half metahuman who is struggling with his identity and the surface world, Aquaman feels a kinship for the boy seeing their similarities)

Static Shock (a promising new hero but little experience working outside his city or in groups)

Mary Marvel (she's... she's going through alot. Fresh from a coma, her brother is distant as he acts as the new Wizard, and she may be, sorta kinda, being corrupted by Black Adam's gifted power)

The team was rough and there was plenty of head butting (Mostly between Stargirl and Robin/Damian as one is almost the unanimous leader while the other thinks he should be) but they were getting there. They were more of a clean up crew for the Justice League, they did more than the "kiddie missions" that the Outsiders didn't do, and they meant more than the PR grab that was the International team. Though they didn't seem to amount to more than that. They still did their best, pushing past the silent ridicule, as they went about their missions.

This may be why tempers were so high that day.

One day, outside a little city by the name of Weller's Point, the prisoner transport for the villain Plasmus had an "accident". Released and awakened the creature went on a rampage, heading ever closer to the populated area. Luckily, the mentor of the New Teen Titans could teleport. The new team did fairly well in the fight, though they did struggle a bit as Plasmus was not a being where simple brute force would work. It made the fight tricky and more than a bit... messy.

Messy enough that juvenile and emotionally compromised Mary Marvel lashed out against the downed villain but was stopped by her teammates... things escalated from there. Restraint turned blows and the whole team struggled to stop their powerhouse without hurting her. The ones who do the best are Raven, Stargirl, Blue Beetle, and oddly Static.

While both of the former could use their abilities to restrain her to a very effective degree Static was actively draining her of strength, or at least of the electic aura she was radiating and blasting with. Frustrated, done with the situation, and a bit petty Mary launched her largest attack yet by saying her magical word.

SHAZAM.

Virgil did what he did best, he handled that lightning as it came crashing down towards Mary and the Titans restraining her. Well, he tried. The bolt was just too powerful, too unlike anything he had ever encountered. He could not handle it and it was dissipating, if anything it clung to him or tried to jump towards the girl. He had to get rid of it and he had to get rid of it quickly, safely too if he could help it.

He shoved it into the ground, into the power lines. He did it as carefully as he could, trying to prevent overload or flashover as guided the charge into the power grid.

What happened next was a combination of a few things. 1. The Mystic and transformative properties of the Lightning, 2. It is effectively being filtered through a bang baby, 3. The kryptonite power plant owned by, provided by, and operated by Lexcorp.

This interaction, this new charge, cycling through the power grid interacted strangely with a number of devices but none more so than PlayStation 4s and the devices connected to them. This new electricity changed things, literally. It brought fantasy into reality.

Whatever game was loaded into became a part of our reality in a small way. Sometimes TVs, Controllers, and even the system changed to reflect items from the game but the bigger change came with the Players. If a person was playing their console during the surge then they would become a metahuman with abilities based on the playable character they were playing.

The city, the county even, was now flooded by an abundance of metahumans and items of varying power of devastation. Static felt horrible.

He couldn't help but compare what has happened here to what happened in Dakota City but on a wider scale. And this time it was his fault. His sense of responsibility wouldn't, couldn't, let that stand. He had to fix his mistake and his team was dragged along for the ride.

The story to follow is a mix of Final Crisis and Kingdom Come with a bit of the Young Justice cartoon in events and themes, a few twists and likely a bit lighter in tone but to the DC geeks this should give a rough idea… Maybe a bit of Marvel's Civil War but hopefully not the rushed knee-jerk mess that that ended up being.

But it's here that I start having issues with my planning. One part in worry as outside the set up we start to follow the perspective of OCs (something rarely smiled upon) and another part in wondering which OC to focus on.

Now, one thing I love in fiction is progressive powers and the conflict escalating from the different paths people take in said progression. In that vein, I have a pair of protags in mind as well.

The main two/co-protagonists:

The Lawkeeper- a cop before the change and now a member of a task force made up largely of those affected by the surge. A gamer, a man of color, and a believer of the spirit of the law. He doesn't always get along with his fellow officers but he believes in what the blue does. He believes that an organized response is what is best.

His abilities are based on those of Jesse Fades of Control. Meaning he has tremendous psychic potential but he needs 3 things to reach his full potential.

1.Items to bond to so he can generate these psychic abilities. Jesse's used altered items of her universe to get thematic abilities from them (ex: a safe to generate a shield, a carousel horse for a dash ability, ect). Here he can use items generated by the surge.

2. A patron/partner entity to help guide, give insights, and empower. It also let's the user enforce reality, basically becoming an anti reality warper.

3. A bonded morph weapon or a weapon to come to his hand when called.

The knight- a recent college graduate who instantly decided to go the route of the caped hero. She, after figuring out how to get her powers to work, instantly went the route of a caped crusader. Going out to the streets, saving lives, stopping instances of surge item abuse, and (in the humble opinion of the local Police Department) getting in the way of operations. In her opinion they were taking too long to get things done.

Her abilities are based on those of Prince Noctis of Final Fantasy XV. This means she has tremendous physical and magical potential but like the above she has a number of check marks needed to gain access to the character's full power.

1. A gem/crystal to draw power from.

2. 13 magical weapons to boost strength. The generated game weapons will do and I have most picked out in a way that likely would help the plot progress.

3. The blessing of 5-6 gods.

4. A power ring of some king to channel all this power.

I keep debating the two above as I do like the idea of both of them climbing in power and clashing over conflicting ideals of what to do with their power. At the same time, I think that just smooshing aspects of both into one (which is actually where they started, a single character) and play off the different ideologies of how best to help people from within her friend group and precinct along with internal conflict. Maybe have the one be a fellow officer they butt heads with because of the... precarious nature

Another OC I was thinking on, keeping with the theme of what to do when you have power, is a thief who played Persona 5. Like both of the above they would be crippled in their ability to use their abilities without a way to fake the connection to. In this case, without the Mementos App, they would need an item that could affect or enter the hearts of others. Luckily, more unlucky really, there are plenty of items floating around that can do just that. Namely Keyblades.

Most other Players are an odd mix but most are variations of the Shooter build. Peak physical humans who heal quickly and often have bullet time. But there are enough other variations to cause trouble. Demigods of unreal strength, men and women who can easily tap into a patron for powers from the outside, 2 variations of spider powers, cat eyed men and women who can cast magic with simple gestures, and so much more. But the real issue was the first two, the demigods without a parent to protect them and those easily connected to a divine source.

The disembodied New Gods of Apocalypse were very happy with those groups. For how bad this can be please look at what happened to Mary Marvel in canon Final Crisis.

Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

[xb-squaredx]

B-Squared’s Top 10 Games of 2020

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that having something to distract me from the genuine horrors unleashed during 2020 was vital to staying alive, and for me that means a lot of video games! I played…a lot of games last year, but I spent a lot of time playing older games, so I didn’t get a chance to check out a lot of high-profile games that launched this year. Still, I do want to shine a light on the games that managed to resonate with me even a little bit, that somehow managed to launch this year. So let’s get to it!

#10 – No Straight Roads

Rarely have I been struck by a single trailer for a game like I was for No Straight Roads. Produced by industry veterans under a new studio, this is a rare game that’s not quite an indie game from a studio full of newbies, but it’s also not produced with the same kind of budget and resources of a Triple-A project. What do we call this? A Double-A game? Single-A? Regardless, I have to give the team at Metronomik some props for delivering a super stylish game in the midst of a very challenging year. No Straight Roads is a rhythm-based action game where two up-and-coming musicians fight to bring back Rock and Roll to the people of Vinyl City. I absolutely adore this game’s presentation, with each major boss being visually unique and having their own feel that compliments the music they bring to battle. There’s some real energy in these animations with character designs that ooze personality, and being a game about music the soundtrack is great! All that being said though, I have to admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the gameplay when all was said and done. It leans way more on the rhythm side of the equation than I was hoping for, and the action felt very shallow. The fixed camera made some phases of some fights a real problem, and the Switch verison, which I played, is plagued with a lot of issues that really brought the game down for me. If the game interests you at all, give it a shot on PC or PS4; I hear those versions are a lot better. Still, I liked the potential I saw in this game and in this studio, so I can only hope they did well enough to continue on. This definitely feels like the kind of passion project that deserves more recognition.

#9 – Streets of Rage 4

OK, so full disclosure: I didn’t grow up with 2D beat-em-ups. I missed out on all of the greats of the genre back in the day. No Final Fight, no River City Ransom, no Double Dragon, and definitely no Streets of Rage. In more recent years I have tried to dip my toe in the genre, as I did in 2019 with River City Girls. However, I came away from that game a bit disappointed by the overall gameplay and wondered if 2D beat-em-ups were for me. Seeing so much praise heaped onto Streets of Rage 4 had me curious, so I knew I had to try it, if only to broaden my experience in the genre. In many ways, this game is the perfect sequel to a franchise that hasn’t seen any signs of new life in years. It retains what made the series beloved with satisfying combat and challenge, but with a modern touch. The overall art style of the game and music work out pretty well, and I found the act of comboing enemies to be really satisfying. It really doesn’t overstay its welcome either, which is very appreciated in an age of endless timesinks. I also struggled a fair bit with the game, even on Normal, and well after some patches that seemed designed for more casual fans like me. Had this game not had online co-op as an option, I don’t know if I could have beaten the final levels. So my time with this game was pretty rough but despite that I can still see this was a game made with care, and if this game DOES do something for you, there’s plenty of reasons to keep playing on higher difficulties, unlocking more characters and even playing online with friends. Let me put it this way; I’m not all that sure I like the genre and I still liked this game, so I think that counts for something!

#8 – The Wonderful 101: Remastered

…this one is kind of cheating, I’ll admit! I had a lot of trouble thinking up ten games that really stood out to me this year, honestly. That said, I’ll definitely use loopholes to plug one of my favorite games from years ago. Seven years ago, PlatinumGames launched The Wonderful 101 on the ill-fated Wii U, where it bombed harder than just about anything on the system. For those that gave the game a shot, however, they were quick to discover a deep, complex, and charming action game that plays like nothing else out there. Controlling a team of 100 heroes at once, players form weapons out of the various Wonderful One’s bodies, smacking around giant robots and aliens far larger than them with the power of teamwork! How could you not love that, right?! Now, years later, PlatinumGames is aiming to become more independent and their first act was launching a Kickstarter as a way to get this game on newer platforms. While we may never know why Nintendo gave Platinum their blessing to release this game on non-Nintendo platforms (being as this is still, as far as I know, a Nintendo-owned IP), I’m just glad more people can have access to one of the most unique action games I’ve ever touched.

To sell it another way, this game combines the overall aesthetic of Viewtiful Joe with the shape-drawing action of Okami but with a bit of Bayonetta flair on the side. Basically, this is the culmination of everything director Hideki Kamiya has ever worked on. The Remastered version fixes some issues present from the game’s original release, and while I do think they could have gone a bit further with some changes, it is likely the best way to play the game for many. All those sections that made heavy use of the Wii U GamePad are a tad awkward though, but that held true even back on the Wii U anyway…d-don’t worry so much about that, though! I’d still recommend this game to anyone looking for the type of over-the-top action that only Platinum (and occasionally Capcom) can provide! So please consider joining the Wonderful Ones and Unite Up!

#7 – Paper Mario: The Origami King

Discourse around the Paper Mario series is…more than a little rough, honestly! Many fans have been quite vocal about not liking the direction the series has been heading with the last few games, but I went into The Origami King with an open mind and ended up really enjoying the game for the most part! What the game lacked in a developed storyline, it made up for with some really strong character moments and memorable setpieces. Bobby and Olivia are among my favorite partners in ANY of the Mario RPGs, easily, and the entirety of the Great Sea section of the game was a really fun adventure. I love the highly-detailed paper-crafted enemies and locales, and the soundtrack really didn’t have to go as hard as it did. While the battles against common enemies didn’t quite click with me, the boss battles throughout the game constantly surprised me with interesting twists on the ring-based combat and are a real highlight for me. I know this game is pretty divisive amongst Paper Mario fans, but I think the franchise has a pretty bright future ahead of it!

#6 – DOOM Eternal

Fair warning here, but I haven’t quite managed to beat DOOM Eternal at the time of writing this, but what I’ve played so far tells me it definitely belongs here. I think Eternal is hands-down the most intense game I’ve played in a long time. It gets my blood pumping as I dash about, shooting and slicing through demons that are extremely eager to rip and tear me to pieces. I don’t play many shooters in general, so I knew I was going to be in for a rough time, but DOOM Eternal brings it to another level right away. In some respects, I don’t quite agree with various aspects of the core game design that makes the game harder than I think it needs to be at times. The scarcity of ammo, and thus the constant need to use the Chainsaw weapon in order to gain more ammo gets tiring, though that somewhat levels off as more weapons are acquired and players learn of more efficient ways to take out the hordes of Hell. The game’s fantastic soundtrack by Mick Gordon definitely elevates the experience, so it is a huge bummer knowing that he and ID Software had a falling out and he won’t be coming back. I really dig the game’s expansive levels and more focus being put on exploring every nook and cranny for secrets, and certain old-school touches like finding extra lives or cheat codes definitely makes the game feel like it was ripped out of a bygone era and given a modern paintjob at times. Doom is eternal, and with it, so is pulse-pounding shooting action!

#5 – Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition

Compared to the other re-release of an old game on this list, I think this particular title had a lot more time and care put into it…and it also happens to enhance one of my favorite games on Wii as a bonus! Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii was a game that almost passed me by but even years later, I still adored the characters and world it introduced, and I’ve been happy to see what started as game that was almost stuck in Japan eventually grow into a full franchise. I consider the first game to the best in the series, though it was held back by a few issues later games would iron out. Chief among the problems was the visuals, particularly the character models and…wow does ten years make a world of difference. The Definitive Edition does more than just clean up everyone’s faces, it also cleaned up the game’s cluttered UI, made it easier to track quests and materials for said quests, and added some fun optional challenge missions for veterans to tackle. The bow that adorns the top of this package, however, is the epilogue story Future Connected that serves to tie up some loose ends and gives a particular character some great closure. If you love massive worlds to explore, a compelling, at times over-the-top story, and a deep, rewarding combat system, I can’t recommend THIS version of THIS game enough. If you’re going to give the Xenoblade series a try, there’s no better place to start.

#4 – Ghost of Tsushima

When Ghost of Tsushima was first unveiled years ago, I didn’t exactly have a high opinion of it. It seemed like a game that put more emphasis on visuals over gameplay, and I was almost certain it would launch as a PS5 exclusive so why bother getting excited when I probably wasn’t going to be an early adopter of the system? To my great surprise, not only was this game confirmed for PS4, it wound up being one of the prettiest games on the platform and well-optimized to boot, even on my old slim PS4. Playing as lone samurai Jin Sakai, players try to repel the Mongel invasion of Japan, but are forced to adopt less-than-honorable tactics to take on this ruthless enemy. Usually when I play stealth games, I find myself frustrated. I feel weak, or limited, and often the games feel overly harsh. If you get caught once, game over and there’s little salvaging being seen. In Ghost of Tsushima however, there’s a great deal more care put into stealth, and at times I’d argue it’s almost too fun to pass up over the sword play. Very few missions in the game force you to go completely unseen, so stealth just because yet another tool rather than a limitation imposed on you.

Swordplay felt a bit less engaging against common enemies (typically just being Simon Says, switching to the appropriate stance for a given enemy), but the one-on-one duels throughout the game were fantastic and I almost wish the game was all about them instead. I can’t overstate how gorgeous this game is either, with a world that feels like it is breathing, as the wind whips through the tall grass, the moon penetrates fog overtaking a creepy forest, or seeing the smoke from an enemy camp wafting over the distance. Hands-down one of the best-looking games on the PS4, and I’m particularly happy that developer Sucker Punch managed to land a hit with a new IP, as those generally feel more risky as times go on. While I’d argue that Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t really redefine how open-world games should be designed, it is an extremely polished experience and manages to do it well, with plenty of opportunities to grow in a potential sequel.

#3 – Animal Crossing: New Horizons

If there’s any one game that people absolutely needed in 2020, it was Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While there are other games of this type, like Stardew Valley or the Harvest Moon (and later, Story of Seasons games), Animal Crossing is one of the few games that gets mainstream attention while simultaneously running counter to most mainstream gaming trends. No conflict, no combat, no overarching story really…just a game that lets you live your live, day by day on your own terms. I tried getting into the series before with New Leaf but just didn’t stick with it, but New Horizons launched at the perfect time in an imperfect world. Being able to escape the uncertainty and dread that enveloped the world as the pandemic spread for even a little while was a necessity, and thankfully New Horizons had plenty to do to keep idle hands busy. Changes like item crafting and eventually limited terraforming of your island paradise give players so much more agency in decorating their homes and building up something they can be proud of.

We all start as nothing but a small tent on a mostly-empty island, but seeing what people were able to do even in the first few weeks or so was nothing short of amazing. We need more unflinchingly wholesome games in the world, and I’m thankful for Animal Crossing for being there when we needed it, and considering how well it sold and how much post-launch content is expected to be added with time, it remains a sanctuary to return to even now. Just…please let us craft in bulk? Pretty please, Nintendo?

#2 – Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Last year, Nintendo released Astral Chain, a game that no one knew about before release, which was revealed and released with very little gaps between them. It was a game I didn’t know I wanted until it was presented to me, and that trend continues this year with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The first Hyrule Warriors was a fun, surprising spin-off of the main Legend of Zelda series, and Breath of the Wild was a fantastic game that shook up the core of the Zelda franchise, so in hindsight it really does seem like a no-brainer to combine the two into one package. Age of Calamity, for my tastes at least, cuts down on the repetition and overall stressful atmosphere of the first Hyrule Warriors and instead focused on fleshing out it’s core combat and crafting more creative main storyline missions. It helps that the game reimagines iconic locales from Breath of the Wild from before their destruction, and really makes you feel like you’re fighting through actual places rather than just a collection of random keeps that most Warriors games use.

Bringing in aspects like the Sheikiah Slate and Elemental Rods allows players to control the flow of combat more directly on top of letting them be more creative. Freeze enemies standing over water with the Cryonis rune or burn some grass with the Fire Rod to distract certain enemies, among many other things. Each playable character is also very distinct, even in cases where I could have forgiven the developers for reusing some attacks or traits. For one, Link has different movesets for his Sword and Shield, Spear, and Two-Handed weapons, but none of his attack overlap with the other Champions who use similar weapons. Some people might be put off with certain aspects of this game’s story and ultimately not everyone likes the overall structure of the Warriors spinoffs anyway, but for my part, Age of Calamity was one of the best surprises of the year, unveiled right at the end of the year in the nick of time. Of course, there was one game this year that surprised me more than any other.

#1 – Hades

I’ve known of Supergiant Games for quite a while and very recently began looking through their catalogue of games. They’re known for well-crafted narratives and satisfying combat, and yet when I first saw Hades when it was released in Early Access I was tepid on it. It didn’t look bad or anything, but it didn’t exactly blow me away and even now, I think a random screenshot or quick clip of the game might not do the game justice in explaining the appeal. I already wrote about the game at-length (as my only real non-retrospective blog post of the year, oops!), which you can read here if you want more in-depth praise, but to summarize…Hades is the total package for me.

Playing as Prince Zagreus your end-goal is to escape the puts of Hell, and more specifically get away from your overbearing father, Hades. It’s a rogue-lite, meaning you’re expected to finish the game in one shot and if you die you lose any upgrades you picked up along the way and have to start from scratch…to a point. Hades does allow you to keep a fair amount of items you pick up which can towards small, permanent upgrades or even gifts for various NPCs that can deepen your bond with them. Unlike most other games of this type too, the story constantly moves forward, even after death. The game is about dying over and over and then dusting yourself off to try again, all the while other characters remark on your progress or lack thereof. I grew to really enjoy this cast of characters, a fun spin on the Greek pantheon, paired with excellent voice acting for the entire cast. From the imposing, if somewhat sultry Megaera, to the nervous wreck that is the maid, Dusa, to the pompous ass Theseus, I looked forward to each new run just to learn more about this world and those within it. For once, death wasn’t really a punishment, but a reward, and just part of the process.

Of course, incredibly satisfying combat is ALSO part of the process and it just gets…addicting; muttering “one more run” over and over as you try out different weapons and boons, discovering what works well together and what doesn’t. While at first beating the game felt like it would never happen, I grew from my failures, adapted and eventually overcame. Multiple times. If you want the “full” Hades experience, this game can really demand a lot of time out of you but at the same time it stays fresh, so I can’t really complain. With new gameplay mechanics unlocking as time goes on, to the Pacts of Punishment players can trigger if they want a bit more challenge (or a lot more), Hades is that rare game that just keeps giving and giving. Before I knew it, I had dumped well over 50 hours into it, and I STILL need to get back to the game if I want that epilogue.

Compared to every other game that came out this year, Hades is the one game that grabbed me from moment one and would not let go until I hit credits. When I wasn’t playing this game, I was counting down the minutes until I could play it again, and let me tell you that is rare for me these days. At this point, Hades is clearly the breakthrough hit for Supergiant and I couldn’t be happier. The fact that this game got to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with industry titans at The Game Awards is kind of surreal, but I can’t think of many who deserve that recognition more. It helps that Supergiant is a studio that actually takes care of its employees, which is way rarer than it should be. I don’t mean to hype this game up like it’s the cure for COVID or anything, but I mean it with all my heart that this was the best game I played this year, and I’d recommend it in a heartbeat. I couldn’t stop talking about it for months after playing it, just ask my friends! So yeah, it’s pretty OK I guess.

CONCLUSION

I’m sure my Top 10 List looks a lot different from most out there, but that’s what’s great about games! So much variety and so much quality no matter where you look! Every year, without fail, there’s always at least a small handful of games that come out that I don’t get to, and try as I might I’ll never trim that backlog down. I want to keep playing games for as long as I can, trying out so many different experiences and seeing what this wonderful pastime can offer. For a good chunk of 2020 I was more than a little down, not just because of…you know, but a lot of games that were coming out weren’t appealing to me. That said, seeing as this was the year of shadow drops and announcing things at the last minute, I ended up loving a bunch of games I hadn’t already spend months hyping myself up for, which definitely helped to lift me up this year. Already, 2021 has a lot of titles I’m anticipating though, so it’s sure to be an exciting year.

Happy Gaming.

-B

[seasaltmemories]

Persona 5 Royal Review/Analysis

So I didn’t have a ps4 when the original persona 5 came out, so royal was my first experience with the game, as a result, I will be talking about spoilers for both the original content and Royal bc a lot of the additions seem mixed in aside from just the third semester stuff

let’s get the summary

Prepare for an all-new RPG experience in Persona 5 Royal based in the universe of the award-winning series, Persona! Don the mask of Joker and join the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Break free from the chains of modern society and stage grand heists to infiltrate the minds of the corrupt and make them change their ways! Persona 5 Royal is packed with new characters, confidants, story depth, new locations to explore, and a new grappling hook mechanic for stealthy access to new areas. 

So one of the things that I picked up really early on into my playthrough was that Persona 5 feels like a very adolescent piece of media, like yeah it is about highschoolers, but more than just its cast and setting, it seemed really fixated on capturing and adolescent mindset, there is this fresh awareness to the injustices of the world and a burning desire to fix it without much understanding of how to even began to tackle those problems, and the fact it stuck so hard to to that worldview made me a lot more forgiving of its flaws then I might have otherwise been, not that there isn’t stuff to critique about the way it tackles controversial issues, but at the same time i just had this mindset of, “well of course they aren’t going to get everything right, what can you expect from teens?”

Anyone who knows me knows I am a pretentious blow-hard, but I think P5 is a perfect example of just how important style is to anything.  So much of the pure glee and joy I got when I booted up the game came from the fun presentation and commitment to the phantom thief aesthetic, I have a lot of thoughts on gameplay that seem to be contradictory to the general consensus but to keep things brief, all the “sneaking’ around a palace, grappling from places, ambushing enemies, and performing all out attacks just all gave this sense of being cool and stylish that was great, even if the writing stronger, without those fun flourishes I don’t think I would have enjoyed my experience as much

I also think the more than any other game, persona 5 does a great job of making me thinking “just one more thing” you got a lot of confidants to fill and stats to raise to fill them so there is always something to do, at most during the story sections things sometimes dragged, but i was eager to finish them to get back to finishing my goals, for as long as the game was, this made it feel so much more manageable

Unpacking an entire 110 hour playthrough is kinda an overwhelming task, so instead I’m going to talk about my four favorite characters and hopefully that will cover some good amount of material

1) Goro Akechi- one of the first things I knew about this game was what a controversial character this bastard was and it turns out I fell on the side that loves him bc I think I have a thing for traitor characters, I have to say though for most of the game I wasn’t sure how I felt about him, I knew his true role going in, so it was hard to get attached to Detective Prince Akechi as most of his interactions with Joker felt like an act, however his Rank 8 confidant link, when he not only pulls out a gun on you and challenges you to an one on one fight but also freaking throws a glove to challenge you in a duel I was like “oh so you’re a little bitch boy then!” and never turned back

To me part of what makes him so compelling is just how stubbornly he is set on his path straight to Hell, a lot of ppl were moved by his tragic backstory but honestly it does little for me, I think it is important to consider, but you have to remember he approached Shido about his powers first and basically volunteered to be his personal assassin, still it is hard to ignore that sense of lost potential, in a way I can see how getting to pretend to be a part of a safe and welcoming team environment almost made things worst because he just kept feeling like, “why wasn’t I allowed to have this earlier” and just too tied to his current path of self-destruction to waver from it, like even the fact the Phantom Thieves and he had the same goals regarding Shido in the end, he couldn’t side with bc that would mean acknowledging all the murder he did was for nothing, so they just continued to be another target on his list, made all the more dangerous bc of the affection he held for them

That said I don’t think I would have liked him so much without Royal’s updates, I mentioned Rank 8 being a key moment for me but aside from that, the fight with him in Shido palace had so much going on, it kinda dulled the weight of any one of the numerous revelations, 3rd semester kinda brought in the perfect amount and balance of the different sides of Akechi, the minute he appeared I swear me and my brother cheered in joy, obvious spoilers for the rest of it

I had seen 3rd semester Akechi called “feral” and while he is still as horny for murder as ever, i don’t really think that fits, there is still a sense of restraint to his actions, yet he doesn’t mask his true intentions and feelings so much, what I like is that his rudeness and outbursts come off as very deliberate and planned, as if he enjoys exposing the contrast between his “pleasant” reputation and his true bitterness, and with the reveal that oops he is supposed to be dead, you still have that determined “don’t be a fucking pussy, just pull the trigger,” attitude, I really like the dynamic that forms between a Joker that just wants the best for him and an Akechi that just emphatically refuses to be saved in anyway, he is an easy character to woobify but I love how canon just at every turn doesn’t let you ever see his true vulnerability even if we all know it exists down there, also just something about hearing him curse is always so much fun and delightful

TLDR: I have a lot of feelings about this edgy bastard and may or may not already have a playlist for him

2) Makoto Niijima- another character I had an interesting relationship with, while from the start she seemed like my type, the overwhelming love for her kinda made my hipster side apprehensive, however predictably I was won over and I did romance her in the end (what can I saw my Joker is into brunettes)

Part of what makes her stick out so much to me, is how the game felt much less afraid to show her unlikable in comparison to other characters, i usually don’t complain or really notice this but more than any other game series I’ve played, there is definitely a lot of self-insert fantasy elements involved, ppl rip the newer FE games apart for that, but I never really saw it as the terrible as the cast had dozens of life changing interactions with other characters, the fact most of the interaction we see are through Joker’s eyes, and the fact that he is the catalyst to changing several adults’ lives made this element a lot more noticeable

But not only does Makoto take an antagonistic role at first, but they let her be so smug and annoying that I probably hated her with the same passion as the characters themselves, yet even when she comes over to or sides, her flaws are still pretty open, like when trying to help out Futuba, she definitely had that air of, “neurotypical trying too hard to make you normal” that was understandable but still annoying, and I appreciate it bc it made the contrast between her good points all the sharper

I kinda wanted to roll my eyes at first at her archetype as an honors student, bc yeah i was a nerdy student who didn’t know how to connect with my peers and just kinda subconsciously sucked up to adults bc I didn’t know what else to do, but in comparison to the teeming tragic backstories involved, you can see a stark difference in scale, yet Makoto is just carrying all this familiar teenage girl anger that reminds me a lot of Serena from Arc V, and getting to see her embrace it is very cathartic, I also really enjoyed her confidant which was surprising after seeing everyone tear into it so much, I feel like a lot of ppl’s confidant’s centered around other ppl and it didn’t just start off with the Eiko stuff, you see her Makoto want to change from the sheltered snobbish life she has kinda trapped herself in and rediscover her dream of being a police commissioner, I also found it fitting for her to also kinda figure that out through her own little investigation and to see that exploration of justice explored through her acting with a third party

The fact she is related to Sae also gives her interesting relationships we get to see from a different POV, and a greater investment in arcs outside her own, it just naturally gives her the feeling of being more well-rounded to have it spread out, and while her romance stuff did have the same sort of fantasy elements (that I greatly self-indulged in) overall I never felt like Joker was “saving” her in some way but growing and exploring along sides her

Overall, a great character and while i think best girl debates are dumb, I will not stand for hearing her described as worst girl

3) Ann Takamaki- honestly before I got this game I expected her to be the “main girl” with a lot of popularity and focus so seeing how little love she gets was heartbreaking for me, bc she is part of what made the early phantom thieves so enjoyable

I’ve heard the discussions about the issues around her sexualization and I think things on that access come out to be a wash, the developers kinda brush near some interesting ideas about the struggles women face with sex and attraction but don’t really know what to do with that, and so I think trying to trace and overall arch one way or another about her and her body issues is kinda a lesson in futility

in the end though what made her click for me is just how much fun her personality is, like I feel like in other stories her cheerfulness might come off as generic, but the fact that she is introduced so depressed and sullen makes her attitude shift come off as refreshing, like we know she can be serious, but the fact she isn’t being repeatedly sexually harassed by her teacher gives her like plenty of reason to goof off and enjoy herself

Again despite all the criticism I really enjoyed her confidants, the Mika stuff was honestly barely a blip in the thing and most of it alternated between her shooting the breeze and just having fun and still dealing with that lingering guilt and issues surrounding Shiho and just not having been able to save a close friend when she really needed her, I think the contrast is very much needed, especially to keep things from feeling like wallowing, which i felt was a problem with some other confidants

In the end though the main reason i didn’t romance her was bc as much as I liked her as a character, I didn’t want her to be with Joker specifically, i wanted to support her and see her finally confess her feelings to Shiho and the two of them go ride off into the sunset lol, still there’s a reason I reached rank 10 with her first

4) Takuto Maruki- lol so in this section I’m going to basically go into all my 3rd semester thoughts, again the first leg of his confidant was kinda dull, but I was prioritizing him bc of the deadline, once we got into his personal past that is where I got interested

On one hand part of the charm was just getting to see a more adult story, while there are other adult confidants I found the grad school and like academic stuff relatable, plus like the little moment with the steamed glasses was very funny, he’s just a down to earth guy and his kindness is genuine

However when he stepped up as the antagonist in the third semester, that’s when he got interesting, I found the conflict itself of a dream world to be kinda simple, aside from the fact obviously we need to oppose this for a plot to happen, Persona 5 is all about this humanist approach to personal growth and change, most of what I found fascinating about Maruki was the kinda self-martyring narcissism to his approach, like aside from treat the phantom thieves with kid gloves at time and just doing his best to avoid being a bad guy, there is this simmering resentment he masks and tries to replace with his desire to basically save the world, rather than deal with his own drama and baggage he tries to invest his energy into solving other problems

And you can see some of the parallels between him and the phantom thieves that points out some of hypocrisy of themselves, calculating the exact risks and harms of altering ppl through the Metaverse is hard to do due to a variety of factors, personally I don’t even have other Persona games to look to, but in general while it is for the greater good, the phantom thieves basically impose their will onto ppl who didn’t consent to that change, and in the end they decide to oppose Maruki purely based on their desires to not live in it, the game doesn’t do much with it, but I found the contrast more interesting than the Holy Grail one, plus his boss battle was more fun bc you actually got to use the main mechanic of the game, exploiting weaknesses and baton passing

But yeah all this comes to a head at the latter half of the boss fight where he just is so desperate and refuses to lose, it is like abundantly clear that this dream world is much more for himself than it is for anyone else, it is a desire to turn all his trauma into something more meaningful than just pain, and nothing shows that more clearly than the fact he fistfights a high schooler even after he has basically lost and tries to let himself die rather than face the consequences of his lost.  All in all I think he was the my favorite antagonist and palace holder

Some last thoughts I couldn’t fit elsewhere: Casino was my favorite palace, while weak story-wise, Okumura was far from my least favorite palace gameplay-wise and his boss fight as frustrating as it was might be my favorite for engaging with the player, if anything my least favorite palace was Futaba’s, my favorite showtimes are probably Morgana/Ann, Makoto/Ryuji, and Joker/Kasumi, Caroline and Justine are a delight and I really miss them, Tycoon is addicting and distracted me from being able to beat the game for a while

I got more hot takes I might elaborate on in length in the future, but in conclusion this is another rec where I can see and understand ppl being disappointed in some of the writing and its quality but at the same time i think there is still value ppl are too quick to dismiss and definitely multiple reasons to still enjoy it, I think this is going to stick with me for longer than I first thought it wound

[darksaphire2002]

👅: top 5 kinks/turn ons 🍀: do you have good luck, bad luck, no luck at all, or do you make your own 🛍: favorite store(s) [online//physical] 🧸: your main/favorite toy growing up, why 🚬: bad habit you want to break 🎮: the greatest time you had playing a video game 👹: 6 things someone would put in a pentagram to summon you 😱: biggest fears

Oh my... okay, here we go lol!

1) My kinks lol. This is both a fun one, and a scary one to admit because y'all are gonna get a glimpse of just how freaky ya girl Saph really is, so here we go:

• Blindfolds

Blindfolds are probably my #1 kink. There's more excitement in the mystery of what comes next than there is in the anticipation of expecting something you're familiar with.

Please, only do this with people you TRUST.

• Fire play

I enjoy being set on fire. Lol I know it sounds crazy for people who have never heard of the idea, so lemme break it down for you. You coat the area you wish to set fire to in 100% alcohol and ignite it. The fire will only burn the alcohol and not your skin.

This of course can go very wrong very quickly, so DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES try this at home by yourself. If you're curious, go to your local dungeon (trust me, they're around) and set up a tasting session with someone who is familiar and practiced with this particular kink. It doesn't hurt and it feels amazing!

• Monster kink

I mean...this one is self explanatory. Ninja turtles, sentient slime monsters, lizard men, vampires I love all monsters, but I draw the monster fucking line at zombies and mindless killing machines.

• Violet wands (electro stimulation)

Violet wands are a lot a fun and a great starter kink to satisfy even the freakiest of sensual adventurers. They have interchangeable glass heads of various shapes that send out controlled jolts of electricity across your skin. Some heads use more electricity than others, so it can go from a soft tingle, to a jolt of pain very quickly. So it's important to start slow. But it's fun.

• Pumps

This was a hard one to pick, and let me tell you, it's not for the feint of heart. Pumps can be used on male and female genitalia and can be taken to both extreme and soft measures.

The purpose of a pump is to draw the blood to the area of choice, making it much MUCH more sensitive than usual. The area will swell up and, in prolonged use (not recomended,) will engorge.

I don't usually take it quite that far, but you get the point lol.

2) Do I have good luck, bad luck, no luck at all, or do I make my own...

I suppose it has to do with the scenario really. For example,

• Say I'm playing a game of blackjack at the casino: That can be either good, or bad luck.

• Say I wanna date Tom Hiddleston: Absolutely no luck whatsoever.

• Say I'm being attacked by a man in an alley and there happens to be a baseball bat in my hand: I'll make my own damn luck and start swingin.

It's all about perspective. >;)

3) Favorite stores!

Okay, I love shopping. I have tons of favorite stores, but I'll try to narrow it down for you:

• ebay!

This is more for fun, but if you're looking for a laugh, check out their miscellaneous section.

• Amazon.

Amazon is my go-to for the majority of my shopping. If I can't find it in person, I'll find it for a quarter of the price here.

• Ross

I'm a fluffy girl, so my fashion stores are limited, but if you're looking for a good deal, Ross is the place to go. Nearly all of my streetwear clothes come from Ross.

• Rosegal

Rosegal is an almost identical site to Rose wholesale, the site I was originally gonna post, but they are closing down. Lots of good bargains here for women and curvy girls.

• Ranch 99 Market

Okay, so this is actually a grocerie store, BUT I LOVE IT. It's an Asian food market that carries everything from rice cake to fresh fish to durian fruit (gross!) They have everything you could ever want by way of exotic nummies. If you can find one in your area, check it out!

4) Favorite toy growing up?

Hmm....that's a hard one to remember because I grew out of toys at a very early age, but if i had to pick one....I'd have to say it was this round stuffed goose that my mom got me when I was very young.

It was eggplant shaped, white, fuzzy, and had no wings. Only two flat stuffed feet and a big orange bill. The backside of the animal was stuffed with fluff and plastic beans so it made that beanie baby sound when you hugged it. When I was a baby (4-5ish) I would chew on its bill for comfort until there was a bald patch on the fabric lol.

Her name was Jemima.

5) Bad habit I want to break

Okay so I'm not sure this is so much a bad habit as it is a part of my autism, but I have a tendency to talk a lot about certain subjects that I'm momentarily interested in and it can be off-putting for people.

I like to learn about everything in my spare time, so if a topic I'm knowledgeable about comes up in conversation, I tend to get a bit chatty. Not everybody minds this, but I sometimes make people uncomfortable and I hate that about myself.

6) The greatest time I had playing a video game?

Alright, so I'm not really much of a gamer. I have a PS4 and a SN emulator on my computer, but I don't really play a lot of games. I'm more of an "outdoor with a book" kind of person.

But I absolutely LOVE Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Yoshi's island. I got into those when I was younger, that probably why lol. A lot of the newer games don't really pique my interest as I have a difficult time sitting I front of a screen for so long.

But I will tell you a story about the time my friend made me play Until Dawn (fuckin scary ass game holy shit.) It was a scene where you (the player character) had to break into the family cabin and let the other members of your party in from the outside.

Okay, so no scary shit is happening yeah? We're exploring the cabin, trying to find a way to let the other characters in, and for some god awful reason, I decide to look under the sink in the downstairs bathroom.

A fucking wolverine jumps out from under the sink and scares the shit out of all of us.

IT WASN'T EVEN A SCARY PART! I screamed so hard and chucked the remote at my friends head for making me play. She laughed at me.

7) Six things someone would put in a pentagram to summon me?

Hahahaha okay this is a fun one:

• 2 litre bottle of Pepsi

• 1 green Bad dragon dildo

• A copy of Out of the Shadows

• A booklet of memes

• Lobster w/garlic butter sauce

• A box of daifuku mochi (peach mochi can be used as a substitute)

8) My biggest fear.

I have three. Spiders, heights, and losing my mom. I won't elaborate on them as they're pretty self explanatory. But yeah. Heights make me pee.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

That was a fun one!! LOL I hope I answered all your questions well enough ^_^

Thanks for the ask!

Btw, @ravn-87 you're next lol

[draginhikari]

Dragin Hikari's Top 12 Games of the 2009-2019 Decade #4 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S Definitive Edition for Nintendo Switch (Released 2019)

I am a Dragon Quest fan, there is no denying that.   This may appear to be strange to many because compared to the massive complicated epics many JRPGs tend to be in scope, Dragon Quest is humbler in its approach.   Dragon Quest is a very traditional series of good and evil, very traditional turn-based gameplay with very little change between games in the series.   However, I cannot deny the simplistic charm that this series provides.   So of course, when Dragon Quest XI was release it was only a matter of time before I played.   Though I played the PC port of the game my real full experience of the game came with the Switch port Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S Definitive Edition.

Dragon Quest games are more about the journey then the destination because story wise Dragon Quest XI is similar other entries in the series.   You start out as a young man in small village who discovers a strange power which leads him to take a journey to meet companions along the way to eventually save the world from a great evil.  Let’s just say if your looking for deep character development and complex villains.   Eh… Dragon Quest XI is not going to provide you that.

That does not mean the cast itself is boring per say, like most Dragon Quest games the cast is colorful, enjoyable to watch when they have their moments, and are generally people you can like.   They’re motivations are just pretty simple.   The main cast of course is augmented by the colorful characters and enemies that make up a good chuck of Dragon Quest XI’s world.   Though I will say, part way through the main story that is a twist that makes it differ from other games in the series though that’s more then I want to get into here.

One of the Switch’s better features with this version is the improved music score.  The original version of Dragon Quest XI on PC and PS4 suffer what’s called the Sugiyama problem.   Sugiyama is the composer for the series but is also notorious for being difficult to work with and strict on where and how his orchestrated version of the music gets used.   Somehow the Switch version was able to use the better score resulting in a livelier and more improved soundtrack overall.    While the game continues to support Toriyama’s colorful anime style it has shown improvements with the HD quality the newer hardware allows.

Dragon Quest XI is still the traditional turn based JRPG with little change to direct format other than the improvement to the Animation quality.   Though one improvement I will say will say was welcome was an improvement to the skill system featured in Dragon Quest 8 and 9.   Rather then putting points into vague categories gaining a set of abilities, you spend on points on specific abilities and boosts through a path that was easily to navigate and easy to adjust where needed over time.  Other additions included the replacement of the tension system with Pep power provided so fun additions to the formula as well.

I had a lot of fun with Dragon Quest 11 both times I played it and I’d say it’s earned a place alongside Dragon Quest 5 and Dragon Quest 8 among my favorite titles in the series.   I continue to hope that more people enjoy Dragon Quest as its always struggled in the west.   I think this game makes a good impression even to those unfamiliar with the series.

[anonarat]

And now for maybe the last one, Video Games!

10. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS)

Golden Sun was my first fandom. To get a sequel after so many years made me ecstatic. It was a really solid game, that ended on a dang cliff-hanger. Not the worst I’ve been done by when it comes to game releases, but it’s close.

9. Soul Calibur IV (PS3)

Me and a housemate spent rather too much time on this when we lived together. We did manage to 100% it though. It remains one of the few true fighting games that I enjoy.

8. Europa Universalis IV (PC)

I like strategy games, and EU4 is one of the biggest of them all. It has the ‘one more turn’ draw that Civ has. It’s just a bit of a shame that new patches break old saves.

7. Tales of Xillia (PS3)

I’ve been interested in the Tales of games since Symphonia, but this was only the second one I actually bought. Considering you get the opportunity to play Maxwell, lord of the spirits, well I jumped at the chance.

It remains one of my favourite JRPGs out there.

6. Civilization V (PC)

That ‘one more turn’ feel? It’s addictive. I’ll admit, while it is a good game, the real joy comes from playing with user created civilizations. Where else can you have Holo duking it out with Remilia Scarlet, Elsa, Saber and Micaiah?

Or just throwing a load of Fire Emblem characters in together and creating a new story?

Again, I’ve spent far too much time on this game.

5. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)

For all that it has problems (NG+ fatigue), Three Houses remains an incredibly solid entry into the FE franchise. While I’ve not tried Maddening, it does seem a touch easy. The character writing is fantastic, and the gameplay is interesting.

4. Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS)

VLR was an even better successor than the original 999. It had interesting puzzles, a convoluted, but logical plot and fantastic characters. It also promised us the world with its sequel hooks that ZTD sadly failed to live up to.

Still, for folks who enjoy a good mystery plot, this is the place to come (after you’ve read Umineko).

3. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)

I will preface this by saying that I came into RD as a series veteran, which I feel is the only way you should approach it. Unlike pretty much everything else on these lists, this is the only thing I’ll outright say play other, newer player friendly games first.

Sometimes RD was an exercise in frustration because I played on ‘Normal’ but that made beating it all the sweeter. Sadly, the game lacks any real supports, but aside from that, it is the best culmination of Fire Emblem at its release.

And despite a flaw of not explaining what you have to do properly, or rather because of that flaw, RD gave me the most memorable boss fight I’ve ever had. Outright disbelief and despair as Ashera resurrected each successive time and my resources dwindled. It really felt like I was trying to kill a god and I can’t think of another game that’s managed that.

2. Tales of Berseria (PS4)

I love my murder kitten by the name of Velvet Crowe. Never before or since have I met a character who has so pure a hate as that of Velvet Crowe’s for Artorius. To write that, well... let’s just say the writing is fantastic.

The gameplay is rather fun, though I did need to kick the difficulty up a couple of notches. I love all the characters, all their little interactions. Tales of Berseria is without a doubt my favourite Tales of game. Also you get a hoverboard. More games could do with having a hoverboard.

1. Nier: Automata (PS4)

I very much enjoy the weirdness of Yoko Taro games, combined with their ability to throw up moral questions to the player. Combine that with Platinum style combat and one of the video game soundtracks ever? You’ve got yourself a winner.

And a game that asks you question at the end that is truly meaningful. 

[less-than-hash]

Endless Night Class

If you’re interested in studying game design, Atlus has provided a rare (possibly unique) opportunity in their Persona Endless Night Collection.

Be warned: I’m about to spend a lot of words advocating that you acquire, play extensively, and critically examine their three Persona dancing games. I’m in no way associated with (and have never been associated with) Atlus. Nor am I an evangelist for any of these three games individually (though I do enjoy them). Taken together, though, I think they prove both fascinating and illuminating, and it’s rare to find a series as odd as this collected like this.

I provide some possible alternatives for similar exercises at the bottom of the post.

For the uninitiated, Atlus released a beatmatch game for the Vita a few years back based on the fourth of their teenage dating-sim slash Jungian dungeon delve Persona games: Persona 4: Dancing All Night. (I’ll be calling this P4D.)

I’m personally a big fan and played the crap out of it for months. Which is not to say that it’s without some pretty significant flaws. 

A few weeks ago, they released their follow-up(s), Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (P3D) and Personal 5: Dancing in Starlight (P5D). 

The fact that any of these games exist at all is pretty weird. They’re beatmatch games that serve as spin-offs (and in two out of three cases, sequels) to narrative focused hundred-hour RPGs, each themed around dancing, despite the fact that dancing is in no shape, form, or fashion important to the core games. 

Stranger still, the two new releases are essentially the same game from both a systemic and narrative perspective. The characters are different, the music is different, the UI is different, but essentially everything else - the mechanics, the UX, the inciting narrative, the way story content is accessed, the loot - is exactly the same. 

Essentially Atlus made two games worth of content for the exact same “engine” and released them at the same time. It’s a little as if Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas had been released on the same day (had New Vegas not made any modifications to Fallout 3′s gameplay systems).

But here’s the kicker: for $100, you can get the “Endless Night Collection,” which contains both of the new releases and a code for the digital version of the original Dancing All Night (for PS4, if you get the PS4 bundle).

In other words, for $100 you get:

A game from mid-2015 developed for the Vita.

A follow-up to that game based on a different property developed for simultaneous release on PS4 and Vita.

A second follow-up to that game based on yet a different property developed for simultaneous release on PS4 and Vita, to be released at the same time as the above.

In addition to which, one of the two new games is a spin-off of a 12 year-old PS2 game while the other is a spin-off of a game that released last year.

That’s a whole lot of design from a whole lot of sources over a pretty long time kind of piled up on top of itself.

To an extent, that’s not wildly different from, say, being able to purchase a Witcher 1, 2, and 3 bundle. But there are a few other things that lend these particular games to study:

There’s minimal change in the basic gameplay systems, allowing you to focus on what things the devs decided to alter between games.

The games can be approached almost entirely non-linearly. You will miss nothing by not playing them in the order they were released. You certainly need not play them in their numeric order. Even within the games, the narrative and songs are released in a fairly non-linear order. (This is less true in P4: Dancing All Night, but that’s part of the point of this exercise.) 

The gameplay loop can be approached in chunks as short as five minutes.

Due to the confluence of the above, you can easily and comfortably jump back and forth between all three titles.

These games marry narrative-focused properties to a traditionally narrative-light genre.

All that said, here are a few things to keep in mind:

The games are not wildly accessible to those with difficulty hearing, seeing, or performing quick finger movements.

Having a working knowledge of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 will dramatically deepen your experience of the dancing games. If you haven’t played them (which is reasonable - that’s a roughly 300 hour and $120 investment for all three, and Persona 3 has not aged well at all, especially from a systems design perspective), it’s worthwhile to at least familiarize yourself with their plots, themes, characters, art styles, and UI.

Possessing a knowledge of both rhythm games and music will allow you a deeper awareness of some of the gameplay changes that occur between the games.

SO, let’s say I’ve convinced you to acquire a copy of the games. What about them should you be studying as you play them?

What changes did the devs make between 2015′s P4D and the two 2018 games? What does each change accomplish? What need, challenge, or issue do you think the change was in response to?

Some examples:

P4D includes a visual novel-style story mode while P5D and P3D do not. Yet they still contain interactive narrative scenes. What do these two different presentations accomplish? Why do you think Atlus changed their tact in the newer games? For bonus points, compare against the narrative presentation in the Persona 4 Arena fighting games.

It’s not merely the mechanical presentation of the narrative content that changed between the games - the scope, focus, and tone of the two recent games is markedly different from P4D. P4D tells a single, linear narrative, while P3D and P5D seem much more interested in their casts’ varied interpersonal relationships. In the older game, the player encounters a small cast of entirely new characters. In what I’ve played of the newer games, there are no new characters at all. Consider why that is. I'm almost positive that the answers are neither “they’re lazy” or “it was cheaper” (though “the cost didn’t justify the reward” could very well be part of the rationale).

Progression in P4D is wildly different from that in P3D and P5D. Consider how this requires the player to approach the content. Think about why the devs may have decided to change progression in such a radical way.  

Item progression, too, is handled entirely differently in P4D than in P3D/P5D. P4D included a currency system that’s entirely gone in the new games. Why do you think that is? Further, what types of items exist in the former that aren’t in the latter? Does the functionality of some of those item types exist elsewhere in the game? Why change that presentation? Some of these changes will feel like cuts, but I promise it would have been cheaper to leave some of these systems as they were. So if the reasoning wasn’t strictly financial, what was it?

There is a single addition to the core mechanics of the game between P4D and the new releases - the double beat. Why do you think it was added?  

Compare the background videos during song gameplay in P4D to that in P3D and P5D. You’ll notice that the latter two are significantly less busy from a VFX perspective. (While I haven’t closely studied it, I suspect they’re also less complex in terms of camera cuts and camera angles.) Why do you think that is, especially given that A) games within series strongly tend towards bigger, brighter, and brasher over time; and B) the original Persona 5 possesses a much flashier visual style than Persona 4? Why are the dance sequences in P5D less flashy than those in P4D?

Similarly, passing any song in P4D got you a brief cutscene in which the dancing character summoned their persona. These are absent from the newer games. Consider why that might be. (In this case, the answer “It was cheaper” may have a lot of merit, but that’s probably not the sole reason. How do those little cutscenes at the end of each song impact the way the player interacts with the game? Especially in the common use case of the player wanting to retry the song to improve their score.)

This requires a little more familiarity with music and game design, but try to observe the ways in which the authoring of the beatmatch play changes between P4D and the newer games. The mechanics are exactly the same, but the way the devs present challenges within those mechanics are different. Try to identify how, then consider why. For bonus points, examine this through the lens of questions 4, 5, and 6 in the next section.

Much of the UI art in P4D is a major departure from that of the original Persona 4. On the other hand, P3D and P5D tend to hew much more closely to their sources for their UI art. Why do you think that is? Especially consider what’s accomplished by P3D’s emulation of a 12 year-old PS2 game. (Full disclosure: I hate it.) Strangely and interestingly, though, P3D straight up steals a bit of UI from P5D, which it takes from Persona 5. (Hint: it’s when the player is prompted to speak.) Why do you think this is? (This is a spot where the financials may have played a role. Creating the art asset for P3D to use the same UI in these moments certainly cost more than not having to create that asset. However, that cost may have been significantly cheaper and safer than changing that aspect of the UI’s functionality between the two concurrent games. Is that why it was done? I can’t say. It’s worth thinking about what the decision accomplishes from a non-financial perspective, too.) 

A major change between P4D and P3D/P5D’s conversation UI is the discontinued use of character portraits during speech. Those portraits already exist for both Persona 3 and Persona 5, so why not use them?

Alright, that’s a bunch to chew on solely from the perspective of differences between the games over time.

But it’s also worthwhile to carefully consider the choices that remain consistent across the titles. These are the things the devs felt strongly enough about to hold onto when they could have changed or jettisoned them.

The controls in all three games are exactly the same (though there’s a little fuzziness between platforms where certain inputs don’t map 1 to 1 between them). What do you think the developers consider so successful about these controls that they didn’t adjust them at all in the three years between the release of P4D and the latter titles?

Similarly, consider the control inputs chosen. Identify why d-pad right and Square aren’t used during dance play. Then consider how else the developers could have tried to address that issue. Why do you think they landed on the solution that they did?

Up at the top of this post, I mentioned that despite their overt focus on the idea and act of dancing (and the narrative’s examination of dancing from perspectives social, physical, and cultural), these are not dancing games. So why do you think these games are about dancing at all? The developers could absolutely had the beatmatch play represent something like the characters calling on their personas to battle shadows - or carrying out heists in the case of P5D. Or playing music in a band. So why the focus on dance? How does that interact with the base Persona games? Consider the role that “practice” and “training” play in both the dancing games and the RPGs. How is it reflected in the narrative of the games? How is it reflected in the way the player interacts with the game?

Clearly the player isn’t actually dancing - so what experience do you think are the devs hoping to inspire in the player as they perform each song? How do you think they wanted you to feel while you’re playing?

The audio chosen for the beat match is incredibly specific. Listen to the sound the game makes when you successfully hit a single beat. To the sound the game makes when you hit a linked beat. A sustained beat. Each of these are different, and each is immediately recognizable. Unless I missed something, none of these sounds change between the original P4D and the recent releases. (Though the new games let the player edit the sounds that play for each beat type.) Why do you think the audio team chose those sounds? How do those specific sounds contribute to the player’s experience of the game?  Looking back to question 4, how do these sounds make the player feel when their actions evoke them?

Once you’ve got an answer for questions 4 and 5, consider how successful you think the devs were in evoking that experience. Which aspects of the game undermine that experience? Which support it? Are there aspects that undermine it present in P4D that no longer exist in the recent releases?

Play the game on the three basic difficulties. Are your answers to question 6 different on the different levels of difficulty?

Go play (or watch a video of) Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or one of their sequels. What sounds do those games make when the player successfully hits a beat? More interestingly, what’s the audio response to missing a beat in Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Compare that to the audio response for missing a beat in the Persona dancing games. Why do you think those teams chose those dramatically different approaches?

Carefully consider the gameplay goals and how they’re presented to the player. The player is scored numerically, but they also reside on a continuum of “approval” (presented by dancing green alien invader-looking shadows in P4D and by bar meters in the newer releases). The latter of these is given tremendous and repeated audio feedback in the form of barks from the player’s companions. Additionally, the game displays how many successful beats the player has had since they last missed one. (And look at how the game defines this - it isn’t only a Missed beat that breaks a combo, but one rated Good.) Finally, the game assigns a text rating at the end of a performance: Not Cleared Stage Cleared Brilliant King Crazy Consider how all of these forms of feedback relate to one another. Why do all of these exist? Do they need to? What problems do you think they were implemented to solve?

Really think about the numerical score. How do you think it’s calculated? (Hint: the player increases that score over the course of their playthrough - it’s not tabulated at the end based on the report card of information presented about their performance.) Note that I don’t mean the specifics of exactly how many points each beat is worth, because I have no idea what those specifics are. (I could probably Google it, but part of the point of this is to consider what the player’s experiencing is.) What purpose does it serve?

For that matter, look at the elite King Crazy rating. Consider how it’s earned (by hitting every beat in a song, including scratches, with either Perfect or Great precision). Why do you think that’s the goal the developers set for the player? And why call it “King Crazy?” (I don’t think the answer to that question is localization-related or preciousness with the original language. The two recent games are called Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night in Japan. Though I suppose if preciousness preserved the term in P4D, a desire to retain the same scale might result in the persistence of the term.)

I mentioned near the top of this post that these games aren’t wildly accessible. Consider specifically what aspects of the game would make it difficult for different kinds of people to enjoy playing it. If you were the developer, how might you try to address some of these issues?

During narrative segments, P3D and P5D (and to a lesser extent P4D, given its visual novel style) make a marked departure from the RPGs they’re based on in terms of perspective. Neither Persona 3 nor Persona 5 are first-person games, and the dancing segments involving the protagonist in P3D and P5D are similarly third person. Consider the first person perspective of the narrative in P3D and P5D. What does it accomplish? Why do you think the developers chose it?

Whew, that’s a lot. You doing okay?

In the famous words of Douglas Adams’s towel, DON’T WORRY. You don’t need to know the answers to all of those questions. I certainly don’t. 

I’ve got pretty strong suspicions about some of them, interpretations or ideas about most of them, and educated guesses about the rest. For some of these questions, the only people who know the answers for sure are those who were in the room when the decision was made. And hell, maybe they’ve forgotten!

The point is that if you’re going to be successful in design, you should be willing to dig deep into what a game’s doing when you experience it. Interrogate the game. Try to suss out the developers’ intentions. Resist the urge to pass judgment on them - to say that their choices are right or wrong, good or bad - but feel free to consider how you might have tried a different approach.

And then consider what obstacles those different approaches might hit.

Personally (get it?), I think that the Endless Night Collection provides a really rare, interesting opportunity to dig into these kinds of questions across multiple related games. If you don’t want to or can’t look at these particular titles, try to find similar opportunities. Search for games that might provide rewarding insights through archaeological examination. Some possibilities:

You a WoW player? Find a vanilla server and take a long, focused look at the way the game’s changed since launch.

The base Mass Effect trilogy was developed over a relatively short period of time (the console life cycle of the 360), but each game plays significantly differently from the one before. Despite the fact that you’re playing the same character (kind of) in each, the stats that represent that character, the way that character moves, and the UI through which you inhabit the character all change dramatically between each title. (My Shepherd in ME1 was spec’d as a healer. Remember when an ME character could be a healer?)

If you’re into Obsidian’s games, play through Baldur’s Gate 2, Pillars of Eternity, and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire and ask questions like those above of these games. The original PoE essentially sold itself as a modern BG, so in what ways did it actually emulate those old games, and in what ways did the devs decide a different direction was better? What further did they then change for the sequel to their own game?

Find those changes, those differences large and small, give consideration to what the experience accomplishes (or fails to) on either side of the change, and imagine what the devs were trying to accomplish with their adjustments.

Anyway, I should probably sleep at some point, or so Morgana would tell me.

Good luck! <#

[polarsdirect]

Ps2 emulator iphone

Controller overlays are able to be skinned.Download to the ROMs directory within the app!.Therefore, in the nearest future, you will be able to play any PS4 or Xbox One games on your device without any need to buy an additional console. Besides, modern computers, mobile phones, tablets, and other devices have new, up-to-date software versions. WiiMote support via BlueTooth capable devices! An emulator can easily reproduce the functions of any working machine.The next iOS emulator to run iPhone apps on PC comes in the form of Xamarin TestFlight, the first official Apple emulator that is made for testing the apps developed for iOS. You can still win, games on the emulator card.This currently on the iPhone and iPod Touch General 3GS supports 3 of the first or second generation of devices with this emulator because it requires a newer version of OpenGL, either acceleration controls ES.Controls screen or release by connecting via Bluetooth to the Wii Remote by Nintendo and its own accelerometer, such as nes4iphone. The iPhone Simulator is easy to use, and happens to be very convenient for both advanced, and intermediate users. Everything is included only on the level and nature of the display in landscape mode to save. This is a first version, but not everything is finished. ZodTTD is finally available as of 22 December. The current version 0.7.0 improves performance and sound quality. Some Ps2 emulators are compatible without jailbreak and while some require a jailbroken device.N64iphone publish updated versions. Is there a Ps2 emulator for IOS? ANSWER: YES, there are lots of Ps2 emulators for iOS available for gamers to play Playstation games on their iOS devices (iPhone and iPads). PS2 Emulator for iOS How to Get PS2 Emulator on iPhoneLooking to Download PS2 Emulator for iOS aka Play Emulator In this video tutorial I'm going to tea. New games can support 20 games and some games(which will release later) will support only PlayStation 4 and 5. Originally Answered: Is it worth buying a PlayStation 2 in 2020? No don't do it.

Is the PlayStation 2 worth buying in 2020? However, as of Decem, the PlayStation 2 has been discontinued, and the servers for most games have all since been shut down. However, the gaming experience on all PS2 emulators is. How do I play PS2 on Damon PS2?Ġ:463:55How to play games in damon ps2 pro after installing it | BIOS in DescriptionYouTube How much RAM do I need for PS2 emulator?ĭirectX 10 or OpenGL 3.x supported GPU and 2 GB VRAM.ĭirectX 11 or OpenGL 4.5 supported GPU and 4 GB VRAM. PlayStation 2 (PS2) is one of the most successful and widely used console platforms by game lovers. But first things first: you need to download the actual game ISO file (usually large depending on the game), download the PPSSPP app from the Play Store, then load it. Playing PS2 games on your Android device is pretty simple with the PPSSPP emulator. What games can play emulator run?īest games on Bluestacks Android emulator: Some emulators require a jailbreak while some are available on non-jail break devices. Is there a ps2 emulator for IOS? Yes, there is a ton of ps2 emulators are available to play PS games on iPhone and iPad. The last version of the disk was network startup disk 5.0, which was included with the newer SCPH 90004 model released in 2009. The PS2 emulators have excellent graphics and some emulators run fast while others slow. PlayStation 2 supports almost all games on Android smartphones. You can use any of the PS2 emulators to enjoy your favorite PlayStation 2 games on your smartphone.

Open your emulator and find the ISO file that contains the game.

Transfer the downloaded BIOS file to the "Data" folder of your PS2 emulator.

What is Play! ? Play! is an attempt at creating a PlayStation 2 emulator for the Win32, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android platforms. Open the emulator app and tap the menu icon on the top left corner and tap "Unsorted" to list all games. Copy the PS2 ISO file to this directory on your android smartphone "Internal storage>Play data files". Download and install the Play app, PS2 emulator for android.

[venturousgamer]

Top 10 Christmas Memories!

Since I haven't shared another video. Instead, for this holiday season, I've decided to share some of my beloved memories. This will be an entire thread about my previous Christmas experiences and the gifts I obtained! 

Why not?! There's so many stories! I MUST SHARE ALL OF IT! 1. My Dreamcast Christmas

Oh, I cannot forget this one. This was when some of my greatest memories began. It was the day I obtained Sonic Adventure, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, and eventually others such as House of the Dead! Sadly, Code: Veronica slipped past me. That time passed.

2. My Metal Gear Christmas (Part 1)

Ah, I remember this moment as it was when it happened! It was at the time the PlayStation 2 was popular and I visited the flea market. There, I found and obtained a clean copy of Metal Gear Solid (PS1). Yep, that became an early holiday gift!

3. Resident Christmas – Code: Veronica

Also, between playing Metal Gear, I was hellbent to finally complete my PS2 copy of Resident Evil – Code: Veronica. But I had to do this without cheating software and strategy guides for total satisfaction. It wasn't easy but I've managed!

4. My Metal Gear Christmas (Part 2)

My tradition playing Metal Gear games on Christmas continued with Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance! This meant I could enjoy the original game with more features! It was one hell of an adventure that immediately became one of my favorite entries!

5. Resident Christmas 4

Oh, you thought it was just Code: Veronica I played during Christmas? Nope, this also included Resident Evil 4 on the PlayStation 2 since I didn't have the GameCube edition. After what I've experienced, it was totally the sequel that the franchise needed.

6. My Metal Gear Christmas (Part 3)

A third time, Metal Gear didn't get ignored since I was then playing Hideo Kojima's grand origin story for Big Boss in Snake Eater! Even beforehand, just like MGS2, I was playing the demo nonstop in preparation. That prep was very worthwhile!

7. SmackDown! Holidays

It would be weird not addressing myself as an honest wrestling fanatic. SmackDown! games were always my favorite and I almost never missed newer entries! Although it eventually changed, sadly, at least my memories remained on PlayStation! Ah, great times!

8. Resident Christmas 6

You're goddamn right I'm not skipping this. I'm more surprised what I sacrificed to play this game. I waited until Resident Evil 6 had all DLC and bought it digitally on PS3. I waited overnight as it downloaded and played the whole Christmas. No regrets.

9. My Metal Gear Christmas (Part 4)

Yes, the Metal Gear Christmas tradition continued with my purchase of Ground Zeroes. Actually, I bought it twice for PS3 and PS4 and played both at different times. But primarily the PS3 version the most because I couldn't resist. It was fun!

10. A Very Xbox X-Mas

Xbox isn't excluded from this list simply because one of my memories included getting Dead or Alive Ultimate. It was my first time playing the first and second installments remade. They were so stunning and had plenty of replay value. I'll never forget it.

Well, that's my Top 10 Christmas Memories! Hopefully, someday, I'll be able to share some of these in full Let's Plays or maybe streaming! I've been eager to indulge into my beloved franchises so I don't have to keep these memories to myself! Anyway, until then, Happy Holidays!

[hawkesvarric]

Nobody tagged me in this, but you know what? It’s 20GayTeen. I’m tagging my DAMN self and no one can stop me. >:)c

I’ll be tagging @aurora-corporealis @traveleroflostlands @mrs-elijah-wood and anybody else who wants to do this!

Favorite game from the last five years

- I’m assuming this means a game that came out in the last 5 years (2013-2018) and not a game I just happened to play in the last 5 years. Honestly, I think I’d have to say either Oxenfree or Doki Doki Literature Club. Both left a huge impact on me that I never expected going in, both played with the fact that they were stories being told through video games using features exclusive to video games, and both just stand out as being original. Though, shout-out to Undertale for giving us Papyrus and Undyne. Truly amazing.

Most nostalgic game

- Pokemon. It honestly doesn’t matter which one. Could be a brand spanking new game and it would feel nostalgic to me. I spent so much of my childhood catching Pokemon that it’s just instinctively homey to see a Bulbasaur, you know?

Game that deserves a sequel

- Mass Effect: Andromeda. Y’all can boo-hoo-hoo ‘til the cows come home about how “””awful””” the graphics looked but I still, as a Mass Effect fan, deserve to see how all the mysteries of ME:A were going to play out. And now we’ll probably never see the quarians again so (:

Game that deserves a remaster

- DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS. Though I’m scared that BioWare would fuck with it too much and whitewash way too many of our favs, ugh. I just want to see it in better graphics and with more fluid combat. My husband Nathaniel Howe in high-def graphics??? Sten?? SHALE???

Favorite game series

- Dragon Age and Mass Effect. There’s a lot of issues with the both of them, but there’s also a lot of things they offer that you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. I just love my dating simulators with these long-ass cutscenes lol.

Favorite genre

- RPG. Which I guess most games count as? I just like making my own character and forming my own bonds with companions. That’s my jam.

Least favorite genre

- Driving, sports, w/e the fuck train simulator counts as.

Favorite song from a game

- Can anything REALLY beat Bonetrousle? Can it? Honestly? But like shout-out to Leaving Earth for making me cry every fucking time. (and I’m Not Calling You a Liar??? ugh.)

Favorite character from a game

- Y’all really. Really expect me to--okay, it’s Varric. I love him so fucking much that I killed Alistair for him like klthfgjlkhg we ride or DIE in this bitch!!!

Favorite ship from a game

- F!Hawke and Isabela. God, I just remember my first playthrough of them and seeing Isabela genuinely falling for my Hawke even though she really thought she didn’t deserve that and seeing Hawke be like “what about love?” and Isabela freaking the fuck out about it and the whole “thank you for waiting.” “it was worth it.” and “it’ll be you and me chasing that horizon.” and I just couldn’t BELIEVE the tenderness and the purity and the raw Love tm I felt between these two battered and bruised ladies who somehow were lucky enough to find each other and ;lky;lkjg;hl LOVE IS REAL BITCH AND IT’S HAWKEBELA!!!!!!

Favorite cutscene

- Obviously, there’s a lot that I love. But, and maybe it’s because I’m now listening to Leaving Earth and crying like a fucking baby ‘cause of that earlier question, what comes to mind is the scene in Mass Effect 3 where Anderson and Shepard are sitting in the Citadel together at the end of it all. And Anderson is telling Shepard how proud of them he is and “you did good child” and Anderson says he think they’d be a good parent and laments the fact that they never get to just SIT do they and then he dies. He dies and Shepard is sitting there bleeding out and then they get a call and they’re CRAWLING to go answer it. I just??? That was so RAW and emotional and everything that encapsulated everything Commander Shepard is about, everything Mass Effect is about. I know the ending that comes after isn’t the best but boy fucking howdy does that cutscene get me.

Favorite boss

- Arishok. For...reasons.

First console

- Super Nintendo, babey!!! Yoshi’s Island and Ranma 1/2 were my childhood.

Current console or consoles

- PS4, Nintendo 3DS, and my laptop.

Console you want

- A better gaming computer and w/e the newer 3DS is called? I guess a PS3 would be cool so I can play older Playstation games.

Place from a game you’d like to visit

- I don’t remember any names because I’m dumb but like one of those small island communities in Pokemon Ranger where I’d get to relax on the beach and just kick it with a Growlithe you know?

Place from a game you’d like to live in

- The Winnie the Pooh level in Kingdom Hearts honestly tbh.

Ridiculous crossover that would never happen but would be super fun

- Metal Gear Shepard. Solid Snake has to take on the Reapers. I haven’t thought of anything beyond Shepard taking a renegade interrupt during one of the 10 hour cutscenes and Kojima appearing onscreen to annihilate Commander Shepard while the cutscene continues to play in the background. Also, Garrus and Otacon have banter.

Book that would make a good game

- Hm. Honestly, and trust me I HATE to say this because I really do wish people my age would read another damn book, I have to say Harry Potter. But not like the games they have where you’re just playing through the events of the story. Like a straight up RPG where you make a first year, take a quiz to get sorted, go to classes, make friendships and enemies, and then progress on to your seventh year. Make a random villain or overreaching plot, not anybody from the actual book itself. I just wanna be a wizard going to magic school kissing my wizard gf at Hogsmeade. ;n;

[hallakeeper]

Tagged by @in-war-victory

favorite game from the last 5 years? That ive played in the last 5 years? probably Inquisition. It was my first dragon age game, and as much as i love origins, i like inquisitions controls better

most nostalgic game? Animal Crossing <3

game that deserves a sequel? It seems like most haves have sequels now a days... I think an Okami sequel would be great

game that deserves a remaster? DRAGON AGE ORIGINS!!

favorite game series? Shockingly, Dragon age. Outside of that i really love Zelda. I also really really love Katamari Damacy.

favorite genre? Chill casual games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Harvest moon

least favorite genre? Shooters. and MMOs. Dont make me play games on servers and with people i dont know. 

favorite song from a game? There are so many good ones!! Anything from Zelda. DiscoxPrince from We love Katamari is up there. From dragon age i love The Followers from the tavern soundtrack. Also the music that played in the emerald graves. 

favorite character from a game? Cole, Zev, Fenris, and of course Dog. 

favorite ship from a game? Im sure Isabela’s ship Siren’s Call is lovely. or are we talking about otps lol? To hard to choose! 

favorite voice actor from a game? Gideon Emery makes my soul ascend

favorite cutscene? I love when Sten is seeing how fierce of a warrior Dog is. 

favorite boss? Again its hard to choose! 

first console? First played was NES. First I owned was GameCube. First I bought myself was Xbox 360

current console or consoles? Oh boy, so I actually kind of collect them. Super Nintendo, GameCube, Wii,Wii U, NeoGeo, Gameboy Color, Advance, and SP, 3DS, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, and finally Xbox One.  

console you want? NES, N64, Dreamcast. Newer systems id like a PS4 and a switch.

place from a game that you’d like to visit? The Emerald Graves are beautiful. Id also love to visit Stone-Bear Hold 

place from a game that you’d like to live in? Stone-Bear Hold. Anywhere cold and not super populated

ridiculous crossover that would never happen but would be super fun? Gosh. maybe Pokemon-Dragon age cross over where you go around collecting all the creatures. Have a whole team of Nugs

book that would make a good game? Maybe Hatchet as a survival game

show/movie that would make a good game? The Secret of Kells would be amazing

games you want to play? God of War looks fun, though im bad at... just a lot of games with fighting...

have you gotten 100% completion in a game? I did in Pokemon Ultra Sun. And im super close in Inquisition and Origins

have you cried over a game? Oof I dont really remember. Im sure I have

what power-up or ability would you want in real life? I wanna be a Ranger so i can have a wolf friend, or be a shapeshifter so I can be a wolf friend!

And now i tag @fade-footprints @vulpixelates  if they want and anyone else who wants to!

[fun-sized-owl]

Tagged by: @seboostianillustrations (thanks lovely!) 

I tag - @clvsterfvcks @makaruba @tindomendur anyone else who wants to!

favourite game from the last 5 years? ‒ I would love to say DA:I, but honestly I’m going to say The Witcher. I honestly can’t find a single fault in the Witcher 3 OTHER than Roach being a nong of a horse sometimes, but other than that, it’s fucking gorgeous, amazing, I love the story and the graphics are so damn pretty. I had SUCH  good time playing it, and I miss playing it, haha. 

most nostalgic game? ‒ Omg, so many old nintendo and SNES games, tbh. A lot of old PC games as well that me and my siblings would play. Things like Mortal Kombat, Croc, Snake Rattle N Roll, Life Force, Donkey Kong, Alien Vs Predator, The Lion King. LOTS of old school 90′s games. 

game that deserves a sequel? ‒ Most of my fave games already have sequels or are a part of a series... I’m just being impatient for them XD

game that deserves a remaster? ‒ Dante’s Inferno. FUCK I WOULD LOVE to play that game again, but EA went and kicked Visceral Games out and that makes me salty as fuck since they were amazing. -_- Also Dragon Age Origins is in desperate need of a remaster.

favourite game series?  ‒ The Dragon Age games, The Mass Effect games, Dead Space series, Gears of War, any Aliens game tbh, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Half Life, Tomb Raider (the newer series), and I’m excited to see where Red Dead Redemption goes :D

favourite genre?  ‒ RPG and survival horror. 

least favourite genre?  ‒ Mmm, probably deck building games. 

favourite song from a game? ‒  Oh god so many, lol. I’m probably going to say Dark Solas theme from Trespasser though, because it gives me SO many feels. Also the main title for Ori and the Blind Forest because UGH FEELS!!!

favourite character from a game? ‒ I honestly have way too many... I mean mostly it’s protag characters in all my favourite games, especially if it’s a CC option protag.

favourite ship from a game? ‒ M!Adaar x Bull, Any Quizzy with Dorian, Cass x any Quizzy, Shakarian from M.E, Gil and Ryder from M.E, a lot of others, hahaha.

favourite voice actor from a game?  ‒ Probably going to say Marcus Fenix from Gears of War (John DiMaggio) because his voice is SO DAMN distinctive, and he really is the story for me. I love the side characters, but damnit that voice is what makes Gears for me. XD But I also enjoy Gideon Emery (Fenris/Samson)

favourite cutscene?  ‒ When Solas first takes you to Skyhold and it goes through the mountain scene. I will never forget that experience for me, and it was when Kaaras (My Inquisitor) finally broke away from me just playing some dude and became his own character. That scene for me is something really special, also the score in it is just so damn beautiful and motivational. I frigging LOVE it. Also when you just defeat Corypheus and walk back up the stairs in Skyhold where the advisers bow to you. It’s so hopefilled and really moves me. That kinda happy ending shit is my scene, okay. I LOVE it. 

favourite boss?  ‒ Zobek from Castlevania. I think he was a really well written character, and a BITCH to fight in the end. Also Satan from Dante’s Inferno. Ugh I LOVE that game so much, and Satan was amazing in it. Also I really love that they didn’t shy away from giving him a huge floppy dick in game when you fight him, it’s great! Go see it if you haven’t watched it. XDDD They were both just really great written characters.

first console?  ‒ Nintendo ;’D I am OLD

current console or consoles? ‒ I am a PC person, but I have an Xbox One and PS4. I still also have my old Xbox 360, PS2, SNES and gameboy colour >.> 

console you want?  ‒ I honestly just want a better graphics card for my PC since games are becoming so demanding on them, lol. I prefer to play on PC and just use my controller if I require it in a game. 

place from a game that you’d like to visit?  ‒ Thedas, Skyrim or The Continent (The Witcher world). 

place from a game that you’d like to live in?  ‒ The above. I’m pretty sure I was meant to be born in the medieval times, okay.

ridiculous crossover that would never happen but would be super fun?  ‒ Sign me up for anything, but I would love to see Dragon Age and Mass Effect cross paths! I’d also like to see Dragon Age and The Witcher. A lot of medieval ones I could see mixing and making sense. :) 

book that would make a good game?  ‒ Ah man, any of the Alien books that I’ve read. But other than that, probably very little, hahaha. 

show/movie that would make a good game?  ‒ I would have a crack at any so long as I am a fan of the movie, lol. But horror movies would probably be best adapted. Or Fantasy worlds. 

games you want to play?  ‒ Detroit Become Human (I’m planning to get it this weekend), the next Tomb Raider, Red Dead 2, Ori and the Blind Forest 2, Gears of War 5, basically all ones I need to wait for until they are released, lol.

have you gotten 100% completion in a game?  ‒ Definitely, lol. Most of them are older games where they weren’t all secrets hidden, though. 

have you cried over a game? ‒ No, but I have definitely felt emotional. I think Ori and the Blind Forest did a great job at making me want to bawl my eyes out rofl. 

what power-up or ability would you want in real life? To either shape shift or fly. I LOVE games that give you wings!

[droneseco]

55-Inch Budget LCD Smart TV Review: Caixun AiPlus4K EC55S1UA

Caixun AiPlus4K EC55S1UA

7.00 / 10

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I wouldn't normally recommend a television from a little-known manufacturer, particularly if it cost the same as a nearly identical TV from LG. But the pandemic's impact on supply chains means you must make do with what's available.

If Hisense, TCL, Samsung, Vizio, or (in particular) LG's 55-inch 4K budget televisions aren't available, I'd recommend buying the AiPlus4K because it's more or less a slightly newer and better TV than the other OEM-made budget options at Walma

Key Features

4K UHD screen

Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0

Infrared and Bluetooth remote

Android TV 9.0

Specifications

Brand: Caixun

Screen Size: 55-inch

Dimensions: 48.5 x 28.1 x 3.4 inches

Operating System: Android TV

Power Consumption: 119w maximum

Panel Type: LCD, IPS

Resolution: 3840x2160

Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ethernet

Bracket included: No

Pros

Power efficient

Good LCD quality

Good customer service

Easy to repair

Power efficient

Cons

Workmanship issues

High price

Minor discoloring

Buy This Product

Caixun AiPlus4K EC55S1UA amazon

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Looking for a 55-inch, 4K, budget, smart TV from Amazon? Thanks to the pandemic, you'll find a weak selection, high prices, and brands you've never heard of, such as the Caixun AiPlus4K (model EC55S1UA). While affordable for a smart TV that does 4K at 60Hz, is it worth $480?

The AiPlus4k is an adequate alternative to other budget 4K televisions. It displays 4K content at 60Hz. That's suitable for the last generation of consoles, like a PS4 Pro, as well as PC gamers. And its LCD panel's contrast ratio is good. But the value isn't equal to better-known television brands.

What Is Caixun, Express Luck Technology? And Are Their TVs Good?

Caixun (pronounced "Kai-Shuin") is a sub-label of Express Luck Technology, a 20-year-old TV manufacturer out of China. They use panels from a variety of sources, including CSOT, AUO, and others. However, it's unlikely that anyone in the United States has even heard of them, although you may have owned a television of their design.

Express Luck Technology is an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM or ODM). In other words, they make TVs that other companies slap brands on. For example, many of the televisions at Walmart, such as Element and Onn, farm production out to OEMs. Caixun is a rare example of a little-known OEM selling their televisions direct to consumers through Amazon.

Caixun AiPlus4K Set Up and Configuration

Like all 55-inch TVs, the AiPlus4K requires a little assembly, but that's limited to screwing on its feet. After hooking it up to a power source, you need to configure its smart components for use.

The setup process requires a few simple steps:

Sign in to your home Wi-Fi network or plugging the TV into a router using its Ethernet port.

Log into your Google Account.

Pair the included Bluetooth remote control by holding the Back button with the Volume Down button for a few seconds and then choosing the remote control in the television's pairing options.

If you have additional peripherals, like gamepads, you go through the same process:

Put your device into Bluetooth pairing mode.

Choose Setup > Remotes & accessories and then choose your device.

Specifications and Hardware

Dimensions: 48.5 x 28.1 x 3.4 inches

Display: 55-inch 4K, 3860x2160 resolution panel with 60Hz refresh speed

Chipset: MStar M7322 (quadcore ARM Cortex-A55 processor with Mali-470 MP2 GPU)

RAM: 1.5GB of RAM

Storage: 8GB (4GB available to the user)

VESA: 200 x 200mm VESA mounting holes

Weight: 26.6 pounds

Ports: 2 x USB-A 2.0, 3 x HDMI 2.0, component, optical, co-axial antenna, 3.5mm aux, and Ethernet

Power consumption: 119 watts at 60Hz; 89 watts at 30Hz; 19 watts idle

The Caixun AiPlus4k's Hardware and Specifications

The AiPlus4K offers mid-range for a budget price. Going off the specs, it's equivalent to similarly priced budget 4K televisions, from large TV manufacturers.

Storage and RAM

The eMMC 5.0 storage format allows for a peak transfer speed of 400MB/s. While the latest eMMC technology is 5.1A (JESD84-B51A), the transfer speeds aren't noticeably different. In other words, the chip inside of the Caixun offers good transfer speeds and represents modern, if not performant, technology for a budget 4K smart TV.

Its 8GB-sized storage capacity has 2GB available to the user. The limited space makes it useful as a streaming box with few installed apps. Don't expect to play large games, particularly given that Android devices can become progressively slower as free storage decreases.

It's possible to plug in a USB-A flash drive to expand storage capacity. Unfortunately, no matter how fast your flash drive, you will suffer from slower system performance because of Caixun's slow USB 2.0 ports, which bottlenecks system performance.

Lots of Ports, Like Most Budget 4K TVs

There are three HDMI 2.0 ports, an 3.5mm audio jack, a co-axial antenna connector, two USB 2.0 ports, optical, and component cable ports, in the rear of the Caixun. The type and number are virtually standard on almost all budget 4K systems.

Processor and System on a Chip

The AiPlus4k uses an MStar M7322 processor on a MediaTek MSD6886 motherboard. This processor and system-on-a-chip appear in televisions from TCL and other manufacturers, since 2020.

MediaTek owns MStar, which means this is effectively a MediaTek system. While a modern processor, the GPU is a Mali-470 MP2. I couldn't find any specifications for the MP2 variant, but the Mali-470 is a low-power "high-efficiency" four-core Cortex-M3 GPU designed for wearables. Don't expect the TV to perform like an Android TV box. In other words, you can't play Android games at 4K, 60Hz. At best, the chip can pump out either 1080p at 60Hz or 4K at 30hz.

Unfortunately, the slower chip translates into periodic amounts of input delay and lag navigating menus, owing to the overhead of Android combined with a lower-tier processor and GPU. Even so, it's not excessively slow and the TV's head unit functions adequately for all forms of media playback as well as menu navigation and even mobile gaming.

The M7322 processor first entered televisions in 2020, so it's only a year out of date. Considering that many budget televisions are using substantially slower technology, like the ARM Cortex-A53 processor, the AiPlus4K isn't bad at all.

LED 4K (3840x2160) LCD panel

LED 4K screens don't look as good as OLED panels, with comparatively mediocre black levels and contrast ratios. However, they're extremely resilient and long-lasting, being almost immune to burn-in, also known as image retention. While LED-backlight technology isn't state-of-the-art, it's more durable and power-efficient compared to OLED panels. And if you're on a budget, they're cheaper than the latest LED-related tech, like LG's NanoCell or Samsung's Mini LED and Micro LED technologies.

The 4K panel itself doesn't show any stuck pixels or screen imperfections, although if you did detect one, Caixun's customer service requires that you return the unit through Amazon's 30-day return period.

Testing and Calibration

Like with all televisions, you can adjust the lighting and color parameters by going to: Settings > Device preferences > Picture.

For the majority of testing, I used Lagom.nl which offers a range of LCD-testing utilities.

Black Levels, and Contrast Ratio

All budget LED-lit IPS LCD panels look bad compared to OLED. You might notice small degrees of uneven black levels around the edges of the screen, and blacks that are nearly grey in dim lighting. The AiPlus4K doesn't magically solve the problem with LED-lit televisions.

The visibility issues look worst during dark scenes but those imperfections appear even when looking at the screen from dead center. The level of black isn't particularly noticeable and it doesn't distract from watching videos or playing games. But take your eyes off the center of the screen and you'll see it in a dark room.

In my tests, the contrast ratio came in at 2154:1 for the center of the screen. While not great, it's good for a budget LED-backlit LCD screen.

Viewing Angles

As with most In-Plane Switching (IPS) LCD panels, the 4K display on the AiPlus4K remains adequate from all angles, but the whites deteriorate in quality the further you move away from the dead center. Overall, the screen doesn't show any serious signs of poor quality.

I tested the AiPlus4K with a series of solid colors from Lagom.nl, and it shows a small degree of color aberration as you move left or right of center, particularly for blue, which shifts to purple when viewed from extreme angles.

Hardware Summary

Most of the AiPlus4K's parts indicate a budget system. But even so, they're decent specs for the budget market. The screen looks good, the hardware is modern, and the software runs fluidly, for the most part.

Caixun AiPlus4K's Implementation of Android TV

The operating system is Android TV, a media-focused version of Android 9. That means the AiPlus4K can access a huge number of apps through either sideloading or the Google Play Store.

What's Android TV?

Android TV offers far fewer Android apps compared to smartphone Android. Other than a smaller app library, Android TV uses a visual interface designed for remote controls and joysticks. The navigation menus feel slower and less intuitive compared to LG's WebOS, but its application library is vast and includes such media tools as VLC Player.

Unlike the Android boxes shipped out by shady manufacturers, the Caixun comes with a valid certificate of authenticity from Google. Google's official certification means security validation for protections against malware, privacy hacks, and other malicious software.

On the downside, the Android 9 on the AiPlus4K falls two years short of Android 11. Android 9 devices almost certainly won't receive the user interface updates that Google pushed out to Android TV in February of 2021. On top of that, Google's upcoming Google TV initiative will implement a new operating system, which brings a refreshed interface and new capabilities, such as the ability to switch off smart features.

Given that the last security update on the AiPlus4K was in July of 2020, it seems that this television won't receive further firmware updates.

Viewing Videos on the AiPlus4K

4K videos on the AiPlus4k look smooth, the viewing angles are good, although the audio quality, while loud, won't replace dedicated speakers. The uneven lighting on the sides of the unit isn't too severe, and the blacks are not overwhelmingly discolored, even in a dark room.

As with all televisions in this price segment, the refresh rate when using YouTube or other streaming video apps comes in at less than 30Hz. VLC Player indicated that the refresh rate while playing 4K content is 24Hz. Additionally, I noticed high levels of smearing and ghosting while playing back 4K content, but only for dark scenes. Otherwise, the panel's image quality remained consistent.

Gaming on the Caixun AiPlus4k

For 4K gaming at 60Hz, the AiPlus4K doesn't show any serious vices. The on-screen images remain crisp, without much smearing or ghosting. I can't quantitatively measure response times, but Lagom.nl's toolset didn't detect any issues.

Caixun AiPlus4K Is Like Most OEM-Made Televisions

To the best of my knowledge, the Sansui ES55XS1A and the AiPlus4K look like the same television. There's a lot of evidence suggesting that they are the same.

Express Luck is Sansui's OEM, and the AiPlus4K even uses the same service centers as Sansui. On top of that, their model numbers are extremely similar.

While this does not mean the AiPlus4K is a bad television, it does mean it's overpriced. And, as of the writing of this article, Amazon's stock of budget 55-inch LCD smart televisions are severely limited.

Warranty, Customer Support, and Return Policy

Caixun contracts with Premier Customer Service for technical support in North America. I called the customer service line with a bogus technical support issue and spoke with an operator named "Delorse". Delorse mentioned she hadn't encountered a Caixun failure yet and because of this, she was less familiar with the return process.

She mentioned that if a hardware defect had been detected, the RMA process would call for return to the service center at Primer's US repair center, the ship-in costs covered by Caixun. Overall, the customer service is good, although there was no higher tier of technical support. Meaning, if you have a technical issue related to setup and configuration, you'll likely not find an answer.

Repairability and Sustainability

There are no teardowns of the AiPlus4K anywhere, but you shouldn't need one for two reasons. First, disassembly doesn't require removing security screws. Second, accessing the logic board doesn't require any special instructions. Simply unscrewing the rear access panel provides a full view of the electronics driving the television.

If you suffer from either a failing capacitor or a desoldered GPU, replacement only requires a soldering iron and basic electronics safety measures. I'd still recommend taking the TV to a repair shop, rather than fixing it yourself, because of the potential for injury. But overall, the AiPlus4K's electronics are extremely easy to repair, unless you've broken the LCD screen, which is difficult and expensive to repair.

Signs of Poor Workmanship

After tearing down the AiPlus4K, I noticed four signs of poor workmanship.

First, there's a small amount of hot glue, trailing down the sides of the bezel, surrounding the LCD screen.

Second, there are scorch marks on several electrical connections, potentially from overheating Rosin flux.

Third, there's a bridged solder point on the mainboard. While sometimes logic boards intentionally bridge connections, I don't believe that's the case here.

However, the television runs, so it's clear that the bridging isn't creating an electrical short. And it's on electrical connections that are marked as "cold" or neutral, so there's minimal risk that this could cause a short.

Fourth, the wireless and Bluetooth antennas are poorly positioned, which should result in weaker signal strength. If you plan on using this television on a network with poor wireless connectivity, consider using a Powerline adapter along with its far more reliable Ethernet port.

All OEM budget televisions suffer from imperfections on their televisions, some more than others.

Sustainability and Power Efficiency

The one element that I dislike is the use of an integrated power cable, which means an integrated power supply unit. My guess is that the internal power supply unit offers up to 135-watts of power.

In my tests, the power consumption hit 89-watts while refreshing at 30Hz and 118 watts at 60Hz. Its idle draw came in at 19.5 watts. In yearly power costs, the standby alone would cost around $20 at $0.10 per kilowatt-hour. The official rating lists the power costs as coming in at $18 per year.

Should You Buy the Caixun AiPlus4K?

I wouldn't normally recommend a television from a little-known manufacturer, particularly if it cost the same as a nearly identical TV from LG. But the pandemic's impact on supply chains means you must make do with what's available.

If Hisense, TCL, Samsung, Vizio, or (in particular) LG's 55-inch 4K budget televisions aren't available, I'd recommend buying the AiPlus4K because it's more or less a slightly newer and better TV than the other OEM-made budget options at Walmart.

55-Inch Budget LCD Smart TV Review: Caixun AiPlus4K EC55S1UA published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/