#I went and replayed this to get it which is why she’s in the dlc outfit fjdjshsh

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

Not to be overly serious but seeing as Musashi is (according to materials) from a pruned timeline I’m pretty sure her original Iori is a little too non-existent to receive child support… :(

I’m going to have to disagree with you there.

We’ve know female musashi was from a pruned timeline/was reality hopping for a while now (it was confirmed back in shimousa she couldn’t get back and definitely named by lostbelt one) but until now we didn’t know how much of her life lined up with the og musashi’s life and how much she knew about just from like, reading about it

But literally their first proper conversation in samurai remnant confirms that not only was there an iori in female musashi’s world, he was essentially identical to the iori present in the world that she’s currently in.

She then goes on to confirm what we already knew from fgo about being an alternate universe musashi

And also reconfirmed that a) the multiverse/multiple timeline thing fate plays with still exists and b) she’s traveled across it. Her entire conversation with him suggests she’s quite familiar with him, and I don’t think it’s just because she heard another older version of her adopted a child and she then decided to pretend her home timeline also had an iori.

Tldr: SHE SKIPPED OUT ON HER UNIVERSE’S IORI’S CHILD SUPPORT SO BAD MAN

[4dmc]

Been replaying DmC for the few free time i have, together with remake 4 and this wacky wahoo aristocratic foie gras The Council (play this..just for the heck of it)

And...I maybe missing something but It's just a thought. But Vergil implanted to us, the audience, and to Dante this Chosen One Narrative... Which is completely subverted by Dante himself, but also if we really look at the Nephilim themselves.

"The only ones that can stop a demon king are Nephilim." "Half angel, half demon, we are Nephilim."

The thing is, they're just powerful enough to thwart at least one too powerful active demon royal.

ANY NEPHILIM must've done that already in the past. Hence their massacre (apologies for the word but.... that's what happened & both Dante and Vergil have everything hinging on them, their the last 2 !!)

What I'm saying is, it's just convenient that it's just the two of them left.

I don't think Sparda and Eva even meant that they're anything special or the "Chosen Ones".

The way Eva explained why she and Sparda became together because at least, despite the forbidden laws, they freely chose to do so!

And that's the ongoing theme of DmC anyway: freedom through rebellion. Eva and Sparda's love and their want to meet their children, who are forbidden to exist because their higher-ups said so (because, yes, these kids are literally growing to become even more powerful than the forces of both heaven and hell [[and this is the best assumption of WHY they don't want the Nephilim existing, they don't want the power balance tipping over to a new 3rd party, and this is seen as a big problem because both angels and demons are having a war...what the war is even about, that i personally don't know... probably a moral debate that went extremely wrong, where now they want to apply their "morals" against one another, who knows...]]

... anyway their act of love and family, simply wanting their children, who are also a new race, to exist, is an act of rebellion. And they essentially want the new race of Nephilim to be free...

... which brings me to Vergil.

Because for some reason, he actually stands a bit antithetical to both his parents' stance. This became more evident in his dlc's ending.

It's no secret that Vergil actually sees the Nephilim as a race much more worthy than their predecessors, the angels and demons. And therefore, he makes a self-proclamation as a new ruler for being something more special.

Two things:

1. Someone special CAN lead. Someone who has leadership qualities can definitely lead. But not because of one's special circumstances suddenly and automatically equates that they should lead.

2. .... What the hell Vergil??!!? I think this is an ongoing issue among reboot fans anyway: what was it that made Vergil have this ideology?

With already the presumption that Ninja Theory was unable to shed anymore light to Vergil because a.) They're already not wanted by a hardcore audience, and Capcom was already seeing the temperature....so they had to pack their bags and leave.. and b.) The way they structured DmC was basically awaiting for a sequel (which will never happen). And it seems with the dlc being Vergil, the sequel likely was going to transition more to who Vergil was, and who he had become... Which will never happen😔

The best I can interpret is that, since he had been adopted into a human family with a much more well-off social status, perhaps this is where Vergil saw the unethical and depraved side of humanity, the ones who can afford to get away with anything.

So if he had more power and control over humanity, he'd essentially be controlling the richest and most powerful humans, and maybe make them benevolent or..you know, make them do other concepts about responsibly handling their power and resources.

... anyway uhh I guess Vergil's idea of a Chosen One is being the best elected royal of the world ?😌?? 😅

open to conversations because honestly, the 3 games I'm playing actually have similar themes about how to handle power so ehh

[g0ldenboi333]

spicy take time: Ace Attorney 5 is not THAT bad

Dual Destinies: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly -- An Opinionated Review (not spoiler free, hehe)

As I was progressing through the series, I noticed that fans really seemed to dislike Dual Destinies, so as I finished Apollo Justice, I was worried about what I was going to come across and, it wasn't terrible. I've begun to replay some of the game and compile some thoughts.

The Good

Characters

Whether it be the complicated, the quirky, or the downright enjoyable to be around, Dual Destinies has all sorts of new characters to fit this bill. Some of my favorites include:

Athena Cykes -- The newbie lawyer with a loud and colorful personality and a neat little game mechanic involving her being able to hear emotions Simon Blackquill -- The prosecutor on death row who's very… persuasive (why does he get to have a sword?) "Bobby Fulbright" -- The game's eccentric detective. While he's no Dick Gumshoe or Emma Skye, he actually managed to grow on me, making the twist that the final antagonist was disguised as him the entire time all the more impactful to me.

Some other characters that I really enjoyed: Juniper Woods Jinxie Tenma Aura Blackquill Orla Shipley (the orca)

And some of my favorite puns, for fun: Candice Arme Robin Newman Sasha Buckler

The Introductory Case

Case 5-1 is one of my favorite introductory cases after 2-1, AAI2-1, and TGAA1-1. Its twists and turns had me on edge the entire time. I've seen some crazy shit in Ace Attorney -- exorcisms, cross-examining animals, children that are victims of murder attempts -- but a terrorist bombing was not something I would expect, weirdly enough.

I also think it's fascinating how it's the only intro case to span over multiple days and the second to chronologically take place after the main filler cases (after AAI1-1).

And I really like how it ends by leaving these two questions in the back of my mind: "What's wrong with Apollo?" "Who exactly is Athena?"

Prosecutor Blackquill

Out of all of the prosecutors in the series, Blackquill has one of my favorite concepts. The idea of a prosecutor being able to continue his job while awaiting the death sentence for a crime he did not commit, but rather, took the fall for is just soooo… AAAAAAA. I love it. How he also utilizes psychological mind games opposite to Athena's own.

I was originally terrified of Blackquill and his unique "Silence!" callout, but as case 5 progressed, I actually almost cried learning Simon's true colors. How he willingly went to prison to protect a young Athena and Athena's mother, Metis', work, refusing to accept help despite Athena's and Aura, his older sister's, pleas. He was genuinely willing to be executed for the sake of protecting Athena.

Athena and Apollo's relationship, Apollo's Skepticism, and Athena's Trauma

Throughout the course of cases 2 and 3, it was demonstrated how Apollo and Athena grew to trust each other. To me, they gave off sibling energy, which was made even better by the fact that, in Greek mythology, Apollo and Athena are siblings (half-siblings, but siblings nonetheless).

So when Apollo started feeling skeptical towards Athena regarding the whole Clay situation, it kinda hurt, Apollo even willingly wearing a bandage over his eye to prevent himself from perceiving Athena's suspicious ticks. (I love this concept and wish more could have been done it.) And Athena had a past of her own that wasn't helping the situation that she herself wasn't even sure of, traumatized by the idea that she might have killed her own mother.

This is what I would say to be Dual Destinies' strongest feature.

The Phantom

Like I've mentioned before, the twist of "Fulbright" being the final antagonist really got to me. And his whole breakdown with him being in a mad panic, questioning who he really was before getting sniped, has to be one of my favorite breakdowns in the entire series (second to the exorcism)

Turnabout Reclaimed

The concept behind this DLC case is a fascinating one. The defendant being an… uhm… orca and the murder being an accident makes this case really unique.

3D Models

While the models take a bit to get used to, I think, ultimately, they weren't a terrible idea. I love the sprites but there are some things that the models did that the sprites couldn't -- and vice versa. And I believe it was a great gateway into what we got with The Great Ace Attorney and Spirit of Justice.

The Bad

Phoenix's Role

I have problems with Phoenix in this game in general. His model, his voice, but overall, I think the biggest downside about him in this game is his role. How him losing his badge was basically ctrl-z'ed and he's back to basically steal the spotlight. His role in Apollo Justice was great. He was there, but not on the front lines, helping Apollo from the side. I was hoping that, with the introduction of Athena, she'd get help from him like Apollo from Kristoph in his own game or Phoenix from Mia in the first game, rather than being essentially sidelined herself.

Yes. Dual Destinies is a Phoenix Wright game, but with how much focus it gives to Apollo and Athena and their… Dual Destinies… it's a bit frustrating with him in the picture as much as he is.

Turnabout Academy

I don't believe in the "3rd Case Syndrome" that goes around in the fanbase (4-3, 6-3, AAI2-3, and TGAA2-3 were pretty good). However… replaying Dual Destinies, I can't bring myself to replay this case. The concept was okay, but, that's all I can really say. The characters were… eh? I like Junie, Robin, and Mirriam, but Hugh is insufferable and what they did with Klavier was… (I don't wanna be harsh but)… ew. How Robin was treated before revealing she was a girl, was kind of gross (in the initial 2013 release). Overall, it was an… okay case. I don't really have much else to say about this case other than I didn't really enjoy it.

Turnabout Reclaimed

I love the concept, but that's about it. I had a bit of trouble staying awake while playing this one. It felt a little reminiscent of 1-5, which best sums up my feelings about it. The characters were okay and the idea is great, but this case is just… there.

The Ugly

Main Menu

That menu is boring. There's nothing... here. At least previous releases had the gall to put an image in the background, whether it be a courtroom or silhouettes of the main characters. I can't tell if that's supposed to be a bulletin board or a closeup of a basketball, but it's likely neither of those are right.

Voices

I understand replacing the older VA's because of cutscenes and all that, and I'm okay with Apollo's new voice, but when it comes to the other characters with NEW voices, they kind of miss the mark. Apollo and Phoenix sound virtually identical, Klavier sounds… wrong, and I don't think anyone told Edgeworth's VA that he's only 34 because he sounds twice that.

3D Models

When it comes to characters being translated into 3D, that's where the models miss. Apollo's, and Klavier's models are … not the best and Phoenix's is actually disgusting. They got a much-needed update with Spirit of Justice, but they don't compare to the beauty of their sprites.

-----

Overall, I personally think that Dual Destinies is one of the weakest in the series, but it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It's different and takes a bit to get used to, but it's fun :)

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I am replaying BOTW right now, and the... the secret cutscene in Champions' Ballad where Mipha carried Sidon up the waterfall...

Did... she somehow know??? Did she know she was going to die!?

The tone of her voice and a lot of what she said during that scene seemed to imply she was preparing Sidon for a world without her, so that he might be ready. When asked by Zelxa why she expected a Zora as young as Sidon to be able to scale one of the largest waterfalls in the zone, her exact quotes were, "One day, Princess... I must leave him. To face my fate with Ruta."

'To face my fate.' Not to fight alongside or to defeat the calamity. She said she was going to face her fate, which, in that context, strongly implies she expected to die in the conflict. She also directly tells baby Sidon she is counting on him to protect the domain should she be unable to do so. Effectively asking him to take her place as its leader and protector if she should fall in battle.

A lot of what she says in Vah Ruta and other cutscenes also seem to imply she wasn't surprised at all about her death, merely that she hadn't had time to react. In fact, if you follow the theory that the SOS you can hear in the Divine Beasts themes can tell the story of what the Champion's final moments were and how their battle against the Blights went before they died... the fact that Ruta's SOS comes in almost as soon as the song starts with arguably only Vah Rudania possibly coming in faster (I don't actually know Morse so it's harder for me to recognize if Rudania or Ruta had SOS come in first), it paints a story of someone who knew the moment she stepped into that mechanical elephant she wasn't coming out alive

Wow... that got dark real fast

Oof. What an observation. I did watch that DLC cut scene and noticed that too, you're not wrong, I don't think she was fully expecting to die but she was definitely making contingency plans.

What an interesting thought, especially when you remember the memory Mipha's Touch where she's talking to Link and she's like "We just don't really know what we're up against." Like... of all the Champions, she definitely seems the most wary of their enemy. It's really strange, interesting, and sad how she seemed to be planning to die - was it a reflection on her opinion of her own abilities to fight? Was it because she tends to assume the worst case scenario in general? Did she think she was unworthy to be a Champion, despite gladly stepping into the role because she wanted to help?

Mipha is such a protector, nurturing and gentle and always looking out for others. It's hard to get a feel for how she feels about herself. I half wonder if she just didn't expect to come out alive because she figured she'd be the weak link, or if she was just that willing to put her all into the fight and fully expected to sacrifice herself to ensure everyone else made it out alive.

Her SOS coming on so quickly could mean so many things. Mipha strikes me as someone who lacks confidence, she was probably terrified, but bless her she still fought. I really do admire her for that. Poor girl.

[rui-drawsbox]

halo halo this might be out of blue but may i ask how’d you fall in love w Baxter? I wanna hear the story of like how you started to like him if you don’t mind sharing . tysm!!and i love all your artworks!!!!

AGHHHHHHH i was about to go to sleep but healty schedules are overrated. Take a sit cuz this is gonna be LONG bc i dont know how to get to the point (jump right to the end to get the 3 lines resume lmao)

if you ask me why i like right now: he's a dramatic loser. But that was when i finally understood his character! you wouldn't be surprised if tell you that i'm an idiot right? i'm super slow to read between lines and understand people, that applies to fictional characters too lmao (+add that english isn't my first language) So! at first i didn't actually understood what was going on with -well- anything :D.

Took me a few playthroughs to actually understand the game in general, i started to play before step 4 was out so all i could do was play and replay different ways to fall in love with Cove (starting to crush at step3 was my fav) but tbh he was never my *type*, Derek was interesting but just bc he like us by default. Even after playing his dlc i felt like he was just a really good friend (which was kinda weird bc to this point i've just played his romantic route). So, what's different with Baxter?

To begin with! he's... he's....... huhh my first impression wasn't actually strong tbh, i was like "huh new guy to date yay". I didn't actually understood his character the first few playthroughs ngl. I started in fond ofc to get into the dlc but *I* was pretty indifferent, probably in Drinks where we finally see Morning Baxter was that i said "oh shit he's cute" and cuteness+gapmoe is enough to make me fall for any character tbh.

But! that was not enough to provoke a brainrot like this right? i'm the "Oh i love this *forgets about in a week*" type. What sealed the deal (badum tss) was probably bc of the fandom? Once i was done replaying the dlc 5 times in a row i went straight to tumblr to feed of headcanons, fanarts and fanfics. My favorite way to understand a character is thru the fandom tbh, my favs are the long aa essays talking about a character personality.

Long story short, he was dramatic troubled flirty gap-moe guy (my fictional type, coincidentally) with an excellent storyline. I still wasn't 100% into him but he was top1 romatic choice for me (sorry Cove and Derek, love ya but platonically), so i made 2 fanarts for his dlc in may and let the hype die... only for 6 months otherwise we wouldn't be here, would we?

AH-HA-HEM the day 28th of november, beginnings of summer, i went out in the morning to do some errands with my mom, we stopped to buy vegetables in our way home and she bought a small watermelon bc i love them. That same afternoon i was eating it and thought "watermelons are finally here, summer it's officially here!" and got struck with Olba memories like a sleeper agent. (made a minicomic abt that, that's why i have the exact date lol) SO i replayed the game again, reading everything again, and oh boy i finally understood so many things, one of those things was Baxter himself!

A lot of stuff made sense once i actually took the time to comprehend his character with the information i gained out of the game (mainly all the asks ppl sent to gb). Add the way that i always played like *me* on my first playthroughs of anything and then you'll notice why he hit me so hard, it felt like i wasn't giving him enough credit before dasjkfas.

Tbh his dlc is my fav bc it has such a strong storyline, you get to know him and his insecurities thru all step 3, and have a lot of sweet moments too! (and that night goodbye?? omg it hits me so hard bc it's right after the ending song) and because step 4 it's right after you go with all the fresh memories of your summer together and seeing him so cold towards you it's so painful but also so funny because HA I CAN SEE THRU YOUR FACADE YOU STILL LIKE ME HAHAHA and i finally knew the perfect word for him: loser.

Anyways i also did a deep dive in the Olba and Baxter Ward tag here in tumblr and eat pretty much everything, also helped me to get a better grasp for all the little details i didn't noticed before bc haha i told you im an idiot?

sO yeah i made a few drawings of my Mc interacting with the characters, surprisingly it got a lot of attention from the fandom so i made a few more and when i noticed i was deep into the brainrot and i wasn't able to draw anything besides my Ruri and Baxter being cute lmao

Funfact. Ruri is a variation of Rui (duh) that i used in games when i didn't feel like i wanted to be called my name directly, now that she expropriated me of that name i use Ruru, i'm so creative right?

Long story short: it was mix of the game itself, fandom content and people actually liking my oc content. The fandom is super welcoming with everyone's oc's i love that akjdlfhask

ajksdfhasjk WOAH THAT IS SO LONG i def went over the top didnt i? I tried to explain my train of thought and fill the spaces where my memory is blurry with stuff i think i would've thought at the moment, it's also 3am so im- not entirely here tbh hjadfhkj

ANYWAYS THANKYOU ANON FOR LETTING ME RAMBLE I LOVE TALKING TO NO ONE IN SPECIFIC ABOUT THE THINGS I LOVE LOVE YAA<333

[demonkinguwu]

hey i know you're not in the ahit fandom anymore but i have to ask, why did you ship vanessa x snatcher? not to be mean but i was just curious this whole time it's okay if you don't wanna answer

Well, this is certainly a surprise lol

While I'm not really into AHIT much anymore, it'll always be special to me, so I don't mind answering this for old time's sake

[Warning: I will talk about Snatcher x Vanessa in a sort of positive way. Please don't read or send me any hate if it's not your cup of tea or don't like it. I know this warning might be a bit much but I have received harassment over this topic/liking Vanessa before, so I feel it's needed. Please feel free to block me/ or ignore this if it makes you uncomfortable. Thank you👍]

Personally, I think they're neat.

Yeah, it was a toxic relationship in canon, probably for the best they aren't a thing anymore. But the thing is, even in canon there are tiny hints that the current Snatcher might even have a crush on her or at least doesn't care too much about her [though admittedly yes, he is somewhat bitter over his death]. Just look at the Seal the Deal DLC

"We all have a soulmate, supposedly. I know I do, she's waiting for me, I don't see anyone waiting for you."

Always thought this line was weird if he 100% hated her. like, he could have told HK: "I had a soulmate once, let's just hope if you have one, they'll be just as wonderful as she was." Like, he's already giving the child death threats, I don't think he's above wishing HK a similar fate to his.

I'm sure there are more instances but I just got the feel that Snatcher, while somewhat bitter about his death and all, he's pretty much doesn't fear her or anything, maybe even finds her evilness kinda hot now, who knows?

Canonwise, I don't really see them working out as he is too mad about what she did and she doesn't recognize him/hates him but that leads to the actual reason why I liked them.

AUs Listen, Imma be real with you all, most of my enjoyment of AHIT was because of AUs. IDK, for me this game was so easy to make AUs of, especially the Subcon Forest chapter. I like to think of alternative endings or heck, fill-in lore and all. I think Vanessa being an ambiguous character helps a lot in this regard [I mean aside from my preferences of evil women n yanderes in general]

I know she went crazy after she 'caught' the prince and florist but I like to wonder why, as I do have a personal belief no one is truly born evil, I just think they're influenced into coming it. I also like to wonder about different scenarios and all using these characters. I just think in concept they could be neat.

That's not to say I only made AUs to ship them, I mean, [points at my RoleSwap AU where Vanessa literally hates/fears Snacter more than Canon Snatcher hates Vanessa] But the bulk of them are little what ifs and giving them a chance to either fix things or work things out.

Anyways, yeah, I just like them cause there are just two people who are intertwined, it's easier to make AUs of them and explore Subcon as a whole in general. Yes, I'm also one of those who like character redemption arcs. Hell, one of my OCs was an absolutely obsessive bastard man that I thought would never get redeemed or like much but whoops, me n partner like him now to give him two whole bfs.

So yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm sure I would have written an entire essay before but I'm not really much into this game as before. The only thing I'm invested in currently involving AHIT is a crossover AU that came from RPing in which my RS Vanessa has a tsundere crush on my partner's horrible AU MJ unicorn guy who she will take the hammer and FIX HIM

I will probably replay sometime later this year but currently busy with other stuff and fandoms. I can't guarantee I'll be back into it, but hey who knows, maybe I will.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Assassin’s Creed II

To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions.

As I’ve been reading a lot about the Crusades recently, it seemed a natural progression to try playing Assassin’s Creed for the first time since the franchise began a decade and a half ago.

And my immediate thought on starting the first sequel (beyond the weird front loading of achievements - just following Lucy's instructions gets you 3 in like 10 minutes) is that time travel must exist, as they've heard all my complaints and fixed them for this game.

This game is not only beautiful, but it takes the time to teach you how to play in a fun, intuitive way. Whereas it took me roughly 5 hours of gameplay and an online guide to figure out AC1, I had most of that figured out within 15 minutes in AC2.

Even if picking up a box/body in the game is next to impossible.

Moreover, AC2 is immersive in a way AC1 never quite managed. About half of this is probably the incredible detail that the Ubisoft went into with Renaissance Italy - which, in addition to being visually stunning, tickles all my nerd buttons, even if I've read far less about the Renaissance than I have the Crusades.

But more than that, Ezio's story is compelling. It's visceral and real and if I didn't have RL commitments I'd probably have sat down and finished this game in two days. Which is probably for the best, as five hours is about as far as I can go before the nausea starts getting overwhelming, but even then it's a fight to stop playing when all I want is to know what happens next.

I honestly don't think I've felt this way about a game since Dragon Age 2. Or maybe Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

And while, yes, sequences 12 & 13 seemed weirdly out-of-tune and less thought out compared to everything else before I realized they were included DLCs, nearly everything about the actual game itself is pitch perfect. Revenge is a common motive, yet Ezio's entire arc of knowing when not to take revenge offers a delightful twist on a common narrative.

Whereas Altair felt like a god temporarily made mortal for Desmond to learn from, Ezio feels human - all too human. He makes friends and makes mistakes. He learns from the past but remains fallible. (Beating up the Pope and then letting him live seems like a mistake he'll live to regret, even if it is excellent personal growth.) He builds a home for his family, but is always away. He...

Well. If one walks away from AC1 wanting to be Altair, I think its fair to say I walked away from AC2 wanting to be with Ezio just a little bit.

There are some game mechanics I didn't like - the picking up of boxes and having to return to base to change weapon loadouts, primarily. The business with Leonardo's flying machine was almost too over the top and some of the smaller missions far too frustrating for the payout - but for the most part AC2 was a fun, enjoyable ride. I'd actually prefer it more if the DLC sequences weren't included in the version I downloaded, and if I can find a way to skip those in replays I will - because there will be replays. (There would be one immediately if I didn't already have ACB already installed.)

...I suppose I should say something about the Ancient Aliens arc as well, but frankly it wasn't as big a shock as it must have been originally, as I've watched my brother play parts of these games before so I have a general idea of what is to come. That, and as soon as I realized it was a naked man and woman running somewhere in The Truth vids, the idea of Adam and Eve having escaped from Eden kinda became self-evident. Still wicked cool though.

(Also, still tapping Lucy for Templar plant, because she's far too much follow me with only vague promises for explanations later and weirdly keen on turning Desmond into a fighter. The whole arrival at the hideout felt like an act two Bond woman right before the inevitable betrayal.)

Otherwise 5 out of 5 stars. I can definitely see why people recommend this as the place to start with the Assassin's Creed series. I'm not sure I'm one of them, but I definitely recommend playing this this one.

[thatrandombystander]

Finished Dragon Age: Awakening!

Sigrun is. adorable. A delightful character. What a shame she hasn't appeared in any other game but I guess that removed any chance of them butchering her character lol

Speaking of butchered characters. Man. They basically completely changed Anders' and Justice's personalities between Awakening and DA2 huh. That's super disappointing.

I can see why the devs were initially planning to have Velanna be Justice's host in DA2, but at the same time I see why they went with Anders. Velanna was on the angry path of vengeance and Justice would have tempered her rage, whereas Anders is kinda selfish and didn't seem to care about the overall structural mistreatment of mages, which Justice's influence seems to have pushed him towards caring about. Considering how a big focus of DA2 ended up being the sociopolitical conflict that impacts mages... I see why they went with him over Velanna I like Anders as the political activist he is in DA2, but I wish there was a clearer depiction between how he went from his individualist perspective in DAA to his more collective perspective in DA2.

Oghren is still just. The worst Dragon Age companion. I'll get around to replaying DA2 and DAI, but I don't remember any of them being as unpleasant as Oghren. ....Well I do have annoyances with how the writing treats some characters, but they're still not as unpleasant as him.

I am fascinated by The Architect and the Darkspawn who have been freed of the Hivemind. I don't actually trust him and it made no sense for my character to have spared him, but I'd love to see them do more with him (they've retconned villain deaths before and they can do it again. At least The Architect still being alive will make more sense than Meredith being alive)

Just a couple of the shorter DLCs to get through and then I can finally put Dragon Age down for now. Play something else before I come back to replay DA2

[twilightknight17]

Last night on P5T: We start the DLC at last, jet-set into a twister of nonsense, find mice instead of squids, and I freak out a bit over Satanael~

If you want to skip me ranting about the Velvet Room, scroll down to the big bold text. XD

Look at him. He’s beautiful. And he knows megidolaon!

But my Quest for Satanael, I feel, has exposed another flaw in this game. It’s not a problem if you’re just playing straight through, but if you’re my dumb ass and you want to finish the compendium/obtain Satanael/forge the best weapons, it starts to become an issue.

Fusion is expensive if you’re pulling things out of the compendium. You need personas of specific levels to fuse the weapons, and obviously the best weapons are very high level personas, which won’t drop during battle. Special fusions like Lucifer, Chi You, and Satanael have five or six components each. The cost can be mitigated some by using personas obtained during fights, but in that case, you lose skill options if you’re trying to pass on a specific one via fusion chain. (I can’t imagine trying to get a specific skill on a high-level persona in this game. Ugh. At least megidolaon was a base skill on one of Satanael’s ingredients.)

Which brings us to the actual issue: there’s… no good way to get money in this game.

Money is purely obtained from winning battles. There are no bits and bobs to sell, no money from releasing unneeded personas, nothing. Which means that if you are trying to raise enough money to pay for your multitude of weapons and high-level persons, you are going to be replaying prior battles.

A Lot.

The battles in the final kingdom give around 10K yen, from what I can tell. That can be boosted to around 18K if all three party members have a sub-persona with the “Easy Money” skill. In comparison, personas like Michael and Lucifer (components of Satanael), cost somewhere in the 20-25K range to call from the compendium. You need Michael to make Lucifer in the first place, so you’re going to have to summon him from the compendium at least once.

I don’t know if I did something wrong or inefficiently or what, but I spent the whole game feeling like I barely had enough money for the things I wanted. New weapons often broke the bank, and I wasn’t always using Easy Money because I wanted to actually take specific skills or personas into battle. By the time I was trying to get Satanael, I was basically grinding the same mission multiple times in a row because I knew I could finish it in the least number of turns. It's a little disheartening after unlocking all the endgame bonuses and tricks in Royal and racking up hundreds of thousands of yen in one go to spend on fusion.

That’s not even counting the fusion accidents. The first time I went to fuse Satan (also a component of Satanael), the forge exploded. That probably should have been my cue to start save-scumming, but I didn’t. I assumed that special fusions were immune to fusion accidents. They are not. I placed all of Satanael’s components in the forge and it exploded, wasting least 30K yen.

In hindsight, I probably could have loaded the autosave. But I honestly forgot that the autosave was happening. I always saved manually when I stopped and didn’t worry about anything else. But that’s not the point.

The point is that Satanael should not have been able to explode. X’D

(Side note: fusing Lucifer got a special animation. It’s the only one so far. Why just him???)

But yeah. My compendium still isn’t done, and I’m not even close to the best weapons. I kind of want to take them into merciless mode for NG+, so that means going back and grinding more. But not right now. Right now, we’re off to Spray Paint Land.

It’s time for DLC!

We begin this chilly November late afternoon/evening/whatever with more Quality Morgana Faces.

It has to be November, because Goro’s on the team at this point. Plain and simple. There’s literally only like a 3-week period this can take place in. Akira receives a text from Sumi that says she wants him to meet her in a nearby alley. I guess she was on her way to the cafe. But Morgana says that he knows when to mind his own business, and to call if Akira needs anything.

Call what phone, Mona? Are you gonna answer the cafe phone? Just admit you wanna nap.

Wait. Wait. Morgana. Wake up. The plot is happening. Wake up!

Well, I suppose that means Goro isn’t the artist. He wouldn't have had time while all the Okumura stuff was happening. All these sad mice, tho. Very strange. And isn’t Guernica the artist from Ib? I went on a classic RPGMaker horror kick a few weeks back. I’d watched Angels of Death a while ago and really liked it, and so I watched playthroughs of Ib and Mad Father for the first time. Ib was good, Mad Father was… mediocre, I think.

...oh. That’s Guertena. Neeeeeeevermind.

So, Sumi wants to show you a mural of Arsène being eaten by a giant rat. Which is… not what I was expecting the mural of Akira’s persona to look like. As they puzzle over how the hell a picture of Arsène ended up in a random alley in Yongen, Goro also shows up, ready to investigate.

…...I swear to god, Atlus, why is he the only one who you won’t call by his first name? Also, how is he here to investigate? How did he know about a random mural in the backstreets when everyone is busy paying attention to the giant one on the security building?

He asks if Sumi and Akira had anything to do with this mural, then laughs at Sumi when she gets all flustered by the question. They speculate on the artist’s motives for a bit, since Guernica’s identity is unknown, and then Akira hears a voice calling for the Phantom Thieves from inside the wall.

This made me laugh very hard for inside joke reasons, but Goro assures Sumi that there is no way that there is a person trapped in that wall.

But the mural starts to glow, Arsène disappears, and everything and all of us start getting sucked into the rat’s mouth. And I love and appreciate Sumi dearly, but… none of us are safe here, and you have had your persona for like a month. I should be protecting you.

Joker arrives in a spray-paint covered cityscape, and I already love this place. Holy shit the colors. We’re immediately thrown into a battle, and shooting the little dudes throws paint all over the ground around them. Hehehe. It’s like we’re in Splatoon or something.

...oh. I was joking. But we ARE in Splatoon!

When you’re standing on the enemy’s color, you can’t do anything. No attacks or skills. So there’s definitely an element of strategizing here. I really like it, even if I did die on my first attempt because I was figuring out how it all worked.

……Lavenza, I appreciate the classic literature, but you’re scaring me just a little. XDDDD

Anyway, Joker gets surrounded, the other two jump in to save him, and we get a minor pointing Spiderman meme of “wait, you have powers?” It’s also a little silly because Sumi’s idle stance is a constant pose. Your arms are gonna hurt.

Sumi clarifies to Goro what happened in the Palace when she awakened, and he’s just glad she can fight, even if she’s not formally a Phantom Thief. He clarifies that he is only sort of kind of a Phantom Thief for reasons that would take too long to go into.

...my dear, that is every situation involving these two.

But no, this is completely unrealistic. Goro would have at least a question or two about a random Palace that just spawned somewhere. If this game doesn’t imply that he asked something before January…….

They hear screaming, and a have their first encounter with a non-hostile denizen of this world, who collapses in Sumi’s arms, begs for help, and explodes into paint, leaving Sumi concerned and traumatized. X’D

Goro reminds her that these are cognitions, not even bothering to hide how confident he is in his knowledge about the metaverse, and the trio follows the continuing screams to a mouse massacre.

A crazed woman with a parrot is just gunning down vast amounts of cute mouse people. Paint is going everywhere. It’s insane. Even Goro is put off by the sight.

Meanwhile, Sumi refuses to stand for this and just goes right up to confront the problem.

The bird’s name is Jerri, and I had to message Po in the middle of this, because I was having a crisis.

I can’t unsee it. Help.

Anyway, this is Guernica, and she wants to paint the walls with our blood!

Fortunately, everyone is rescued by a mysterious hole opening up under us, and we meet our savior.

Well… one of us is.

This is Luca, and she’s so happy to see us, because she wants us to help Guernica. Apparently, she was different before Jerri showed up. She felt a kinship with the Phantom Thieves and their quest against corruption. Now, she has strange powers to "peer into people's hearts", and her art can… basically cause a variation of a psychotic breakdown.

Apparently her mental state is fucked because someone stole her Treasure (the first piece of art she ever made) and broke it into pieces. The memo section says, "She was driven to carnage by the theft of her heart's core, prompting her to go on killing sprees in the Metaverse." Which has some WILD implications that I doubt the game is gonna touch on. X’’’’D

Luka also takes us to see this world’s version of the Arsène mural, which is… gruesome? Like, there’s bones sticking out.

Apparently this art was Guernica’s last cry for help before she snapped completely. And she knows what Akira’s persona looked like because of that power to “peek into people’s hearts”. It’s a bit wobbly, but we’ll go with that for now.

Guernica’s “first statement” is in three pieces, so we’re off to retrieve the first one. And I love Luca already.

Jerri wants us to hand over Luca. I might have considered it if she didn’t call me a mop. She claims she’ll send us right home, but that sounds like bullshit.

Also, shoutout to Goro for using his “real” voice here. Time to get dangerous~

It’s nice to hear, because I actually find myself missing abrasive, snarky third-sem Goro compared to the Detective Prince.

This whole thing is such a wild vibe of Splatoon, TWEWY, and Jet Set Radio. The music is fun, the aesthetics are top-notch, and so far the levels have had that extra level of challenge of working with the paint mechanics. It’s really great.

Luka’s ability is creating “manholes” to warp from place to place, and Goro is quickly getting tired of having to jump down them. XD

Our hideout is basically down in the sewers. Luca fished new weapons out of the trash for us, and there’s no Velvet Room, so I guess we’re stuck with whatever sub-personas drop during the battle stages.

We get to have a fun conversation about bouldering, and I caught Goro blinking in the picture, but he actually looks genuinely surprised that you’d want to come try his hobby.

I love the mental image of the three of them going rock-climbing together.

And then, tragically, the Switch ran out of battery. But I’m loving it so far! This is a fun side-story, even if I am a little skeptical of how they’re going to justify everything when they get back to the real world. I’d need to go watch the beginning of January again, but I’d swear there was explicit dialogue that neither of them knew the other had powers beforehand.

Oh well. A thought for another day. Right now, we wonder what kind of disguised god named itself “Jerri”. XDDD

[fireemblems24]

Azure Moon Ch 20 Reactions

Hi everyone, spoilers below for Fire Emblem Three Houses AM route up till Ch 20 and all the other routes roughly the same spot.

Pre-Battle

Time to take Fort Merceus. If I remember right, I get to fight the Death Knight . . . again. Still feels better than fighting with that guy. Same like last chapter saving Claude felt so much better than killing him in CF.

Ah, it's so nice to hear Dimitri's voice again.

"Perhaps a head-on siege was a foolish plan, after all." LAMO I love how wonky battle strategy is in most stories compared to real life. A head-on siege is actually smart. The nonsense about disguising soldiers and relying on tricks isn't how things really went most of the time.

There's instances of tricks working throughout history (one of my favorite was how a Chinese General sent out dancing girls to distract his enemy and it WORKED), but that means your whole plan hinged on a trick working and most of the time when an army used a trick it's because that was their ONLY choice.

Just remember this folks. Good army commanders aren't the one who know the most tricks, it's the ones who win (or the one who can keep their army together even when they keep losing like George Washington for the longest time). Don't listen to the movies.

Also, bows were soooooo much more effective than swords. Our penchant for giving every hero a sword actually has classist roots since it was the weapon of the rich because it cost a lot to make and time to properly learn unlike a spear or arrows.

Sorry, but it always annoys me whenever I see stuff like this misrepresented, and I like to rant about it.

See, there we go, Gilbert for the win. "I don't think the Death Knight would've fallen for any tricks." Well, aside from why on earth we still fear this guy aside, bravo for not hinging success or failure based on some wonky trick.

And now Gilbert's talking about supplies. I could KISS this man right now. And now reinforcements. Thank you, Gilbert 😭

Oh, man, I get the option to flirt with Dimitri, I'm taking the "Will you save me if I'm in trouble?"

Aw, Mercie, you're better off without him. Dimitri's letting her step away too, if she wants. But best girl (one of them) isn't about to run away like the champ she is.

Battle

Do we ever learn why the Death Knight is so obsessed with Byleth?

LAMO Dimitri's like "wow, I know why this fortress is known for being impregnable," says he after busting through the front door on day 1. There's a joke somewhere here about Dimitri's incredibly potent dick.

I wanted Mercie to attack the Death Knight, but she couldn't take the hit. So Byleth one-shot him with a crit lol. Byleth wouldn't have killed if she didn't crit, and then Mercie would've gotten her chance, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

Poor Mercie deserves a better older brother.

Dimitri MVP. This is my surprised face.

Post-Battle

Poor Mercie is an angel and has nothing to be sorry or. I like that she gets this scene though. I feel like every member of the Blue Lions got their own mini-arc.

Time to take down the Empire, aw yeah.

Which means I'm coming up on the last monastery visit for BL. For all the routes really. This has been such a long journey. I have no idea what I'll do with my free time after this lol. The DLC I guess. and then more Azure Moon!

I'll wait and see how the other routes wrap up, but I feel this game has a high replay value, but I don't know if I can bring myself to play a route where Dimitri dies again.

Dimitri's such a workaholic. I can't relate.

Good! The Kingdom is all united now. Glad Sylvain is speaking well of his father. It makes Margrave Gautier seem like a more fleshed-out person and not just an excuse for Sylvain angst. (as much as I love some good angst)

Oh, so some Faerghus nobles were behind Duscur. I thought it was those lame mole men? Having corrupt nobility behind is sooooo much more interesting.

Hey, I just noticed. No light bombs in this route. Cause we actually just killed the Death Knight.

"I only did what I believed was right." Says the prisoner. Seems like it's the theme of Three Houses as a whole summed up there. Pending on your perspective, what's "right" and "wrong" look very different.

Ohhhh so Patricia wasn't supposed to be harmed at all, and Dimitri was supposed to die too. Makes it seem like she really did set that up. If she really was involved, what an awful, selfish, sad excuse for a person that would condemn so many people to brutal deaths just because she missed her daughter. I sincerely hope there's more to her than "oh, I miss Edelgard. I'll hand my husband and other child over to burn to death so I can please my own desires."

What do you all think of Patricia? Is she a pathetic sad waste of air or an enigma we'll never find out or a poor hapless victim in a plot she didn't understand or mostly an innocent? What's your headcannons?

I'd really like the believe she never intended for Lambert or especially Dimitri to get hurt, because I want Dimitri to have a mother figure that loved him and not one that sent him into a meat grinder because she redefined playing favorites (which would be ironic given Edelgard never mentions her whereas she obviously had a huge impact on Dimitri). I'd also prefer a character a bit more complex than evil step-mother. We have enough of those, thanks.

It sounds like she's just an evil useless windbag according to Gilbert though.

What were Lambert's radical ways?

I see why Edelgard and Dimitri will never both exist in the same world. Dimitri's always appalled when people in charge involve soldiers and especially citizens in their personal quests for justice, but Edelgard thinks that justice is worth getting all those people killed for (and is actively doing just that).

I have to ask, though, how is Edelgard any different from the people who committed the Tragedy of Duscur? They both believe their cause was right and don't care how many others die in their quest to see their own vision through to the end.

I'm sure people would say "but Edelgard is fighting for a good cause, they didn't, they caused genocide too!"

Did they? Do we know what Lambert's causes were? Maybe he wanted to strengthen the church's influence or crests and Klienman and co were against that, which would make them the exact same as Edelgard. Also, I believe they're referring only to the attack on Lambert and co, not the persecution of Duscur people that came after. That was a product of war and chaos. Who's to say Edelgard's actions won't begin a massacre of anyone who worships Sothis? Or further violence she didn't directly begin? Impersliam and blaming the world's ills on a single religious group of people tend to cause chain-reaction violence.

That's ultimately why I think she's morally incorrect. She's blinded by her own vision and has no control over what might happen because of it or how others might see it. She sees her cause as just, but you can be sure the farmers who fields she robbed to feed her soldiers (no, not personally, but there's no way that didn't happen) could give less of a hoot about her grand vision seen from the height of her golden throne, unable to even see what anyone else thinks or believes.

Note though, part of what I like about her is how unbending she is. Just because I think someone is wrong doesn't mean I dislike them as a character.

Man, the writers are so mean to Dimitri. Edelgard gets to fra-la-la through a field with Byleth with little to no conflict or loss on her part and Claude gets to joke around with Hilda about dressing up as Edelgard to sneak in a fortress while Dimitri learns his mother sent him to a slaughter house because she loved her other child better. Yikes. That's also why it's the best route. Fight me.

Good for Dimitri moving on though, and not lingering on what Patricia might or might not have done. I noticed he left her out this time when listing people who died though lol.

Yes, Dimitri, talking to Edelgard is a fool's errand. That would require her to do things she's not very good at - listening, understanding someone else's POV, and compromise. Pretty sure you need to die for her to stop or else you're too big of a threat to her rule.

Still. So glad he's trying to use diplomacy to end this war rather than weapons. I think this is the first time in FE history a leader has tried meeting with the enemy and not just killing them (oh, wait, Erikia did that too with Lyon, didn't go well. Guess I have a type lol).

Is it weird to feel proud of a fictional character? Lol. Dimitri moving on past Patricia to focus on what he still has and value those he knows that love and support him is just 👌

OMG I love this route. I'm going to miss it so much once it's over.

[curiouslavellan]

For Halveri, could I ask family, shaved ice, hibiscus, milky way, crown, and tornado? ik that's a lot so please feel free to do as little or as many as you'd like! ^^/

Absolutely! Thank you 😁

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them? does your oc have any siblings?

Halveri wasn't originally from clan Lavellan, she joined them after her magic manifested to train under Deshanna so I think Deshanna took on a very parental role for her. She has a brother, Isenril, who went to Lavellan with her and became one of the hunters. They're very close and she misses him a lot while with the Inquisition, but I also think she's sort grateful he's not there because she doesn't want him in danger. She's definitely an overprotective older sister.

🍧 SHAVED ICE - do they still have any objects from their childhood? what significance does it have to them? what would their reaction be if they lost it?

She honestly doesn't have many keepsakes like that, and the only thing she brought with her on her original mission was the staff Deshanna helped her make, which she did lose in the Conclave explosion. Later in Haven once things calmed down she felt guilty about losing it, though she mostly pushed the feeling down because there were bigger problems at hand.

🌺 HIBISCUS - do they have any allergies?

No severe ones, but I can absolutely see Halveri as the type of person to be mildly allergic to a random food like tomatoes and just assume its normal for them to burn your mouth

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Halveri was my first Inquisitor ever and I knew based on my track record she'd probably end up as my canon worldstate, so I built her in a way I thought would have cool interactions with the world. I knew she'd be a mage first, quickly decided she should be Dalish, and then I didn't want to get too detailed before really getting into the game so I gave her 1 primary character trait: curiosity. I wanted it to feel purposeful that I ask every possible question.

👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

Oh god this is really the big question. As the plot progresses, Halveri is increasingly terrified of being erased by her own legend. This got REALLY bad after the Jaws of Hakkon DLC and meeting Ameridan, especially because they even look similar. She wants to be remembered as an actual person who did what she did because she wanted to help, not as a sanitized version that's more palatable for the general public and especially not as a religious figure for the Chantry.

🌪️ TORNADO - what is the biggest change you've ever made to them? how have they changed from their original version?

Over the course of playing her, she got a lot more grey in terms of morality, but I think that's a reasonable response to the situations the Inquisitor has to resolve.

Also I had save issues that caused me to have to replay part of her story and I'm not ashamed I googled how to save clan Lavellan when given that second chance. Why are they so easy to lose?!

[verlysgaminglife]

ourlife let’s play? and other stuff

If you’re wondering where my our life, let’s play went. I decided to hold off until step 4 is officially out and replay the whole thing. Possibility on YouTube and everything.  I am a Patreon of GBpatch  at the top tier, which means I get  a beta build each month of fresh content.   

I know we are all waiting with baited breath for step 4, but I actually have played a bit of it.  It would feel really weird to go back to my Steam version and play a let’splay of that when I have a more complete game that I can’t share with anyone. 

so, when step 4 is out (and hopefully soon after the wedding dlc) my Verly Quinn will once again visit Sunset Bird. 

In other news I have created  three different Quinn Hollands.  a female,  a male and one that goes by they.  they are are all pansexual/panromantic

I even used a simple online avatar maker to show what they look like. :)  you can find it right here

 These three will be used in various visual novels going forward whatever category they belong in be it, Otome, gl, bl, and the newest term amare. I just want to do what I have always done privately, which is play a game to it’s fullest using all of it’s features including it’s gender and romantic diversity if it’s included. I’ve done the same thing with games like the Dragon age series and Mass Effect. those two were not even private. any long term followers on this blog know how many playthroughs I had of the various bioware games and how many romances I went through. :D.  

Quinn Holland.(female)  total flirt. don’t let the glasses fool you, she has a bold personality, and a snarky wit. ;D   she was telling kids in elementary school that she was going to be the CEO of her own business. if the game lets me this is what she will look like. if not. her name is *still* Quinn Holland and don’t forget it. ;) gamer nerd, also knits. 

Quinn Holland (male)    My male Quinn is the opposite of my female Quinn as he is blushy shy, but has the same snarky wit.  He WILL get flustered if you flirt with him, but will also not back down from a challenge.  (no weird split personality- I promise!  he’s not 7, I made this dude back in the late 80′s.)  book nerd

Quinn Holland (they/them)   

they spark joy among their friends, are into random hobbies that grab their attention for the moment until something else does. In doing so they’ve racked up a number of skills but have never really settled on a solid career goal. They have the same snarky wit (this is a Quinn Holland thing) pretty easy going with the flirting 😏 they are more likely to jokingly flirt at first to feel things out.  book and gamer nerd 

 I’ve mentioned before on my blog that Quinn is the name that I’ve used for games since I was a teen in the late 80′s early 90′s when I wanted a gender neutral name that worked for any character I played on the consoles growing up. Whenever my brothers would buy an action heavy game they knew it was my save because the character's name was Quinn no matter if the game main character was masc or fem.  It was much harder back then to find games with a fem main lead. 

that’s why I love what’s been happening in games.. Visual novels to be honest recently.   There has been so much more diversity and it’s so damn nice to see.  Recently there is a new label for these diverse games Amare and I love it.  

I’ve realized that most of the games I’ve loved in the past several years would probably fit under this label. I love my traditional Otome games and that’s never going to stop. I also love playing my bl games as well because love is love and I’m all for it. 

Being a demisexual, playing romance led game just hits different for me. I get no rush of sexual excitement from any of these games so I don’t, like,  fedishize any kind of relationship straight or same sex.  What I do feel is a wholesomeness of couples finding each other, or threesomes in some cases (ex. When the night comes. ;) ) what I find in these games is the truth in reality that love is love and people are people and everyone has the same right to be their own person and to find love. 

[lesbianmarth]

it’s been a while since i posted about aa but i just finished soj in its entirety tonight. here’s my new list so far

i still have to give thoughts on cases 4 5 and dlc so that’ll be under a cut. spoilers!

6-4: this was such a filler case, almost shamefully so. i don’t know why they thought they could manage to do this in the 4th case when every game with 5 cases has been pretty consistent about making the 4th case plot relevant, sometimes literally just a preamble to case 5. so yeah i think this one was kinda ass

the two things it had going for it: one, athena. in 6-2 i actually got confused about why i ever liked her, because in that case she felt like she was just acting the part of the Peppy Teen Girl With a Rowdy Streak that makes up almost every assistant character. But then as SOON as she started bantering with Simon in 6-4 i was like “oh, THAT’S why i liked her!” was nice to take control of her again.

two, uendo toneido. while i don’t think you can say the DID was portrayed with quite the necessary respect or kindness, it was handled better than i’ve seen other media handle it-- at least it’s not completely demonized. other people have written more on that in better detail so i’m not really the judge, but the basic point is that this witness was mad fun to read, and even the dumb jokes like the changing number of floor cushions were entertaining. thus why this case is in the “hard carried by one side character” tier.

especially since there was like nothing else going on. no connection to the main plot, only two other characters besides uendo, and for some reason the clown tits girl was here instead of the magic show case (and to be honest, she wasn’t enjoyable for me even BEFORE she did the standard aa female villain thing and changed her speech pattern as soon as she fell under suspicion). just a weird, nothing case stuck right around the point aa games usually enter endgame. And especially weird because...

6-5 part 1: inexplicably there are two separate cases in the final chapter and each gets one day of investigation and trial. such a weird setup, and it really shouldn’t work... but i think it kinda barely does. barely. it would still have been better to split it into case 4 and case 5 though.

i have a hard time articulating much on the first case bc it sort of blends together for me. the main thing is that the concept of it being a civil case where apollo and phoenix face off is really good. it was a good change of pace, even though you knew it was gonna be a murder somehow anyway. sarge was reasonably nice, i guess, paul atishon had some good animations and quirks (my favorite being when he tries to just walk away from the stand to avoid answering a question), and the logic of the actual murder was good enough.

but i especially got those strong “oh this is a FINAL case!” vibes during the segment in the cave, and that added so much to it even if not much of it was relevant in the first half of the case. the adventure feel reminded me of some of the (out of context bc i still havent played it) scenes i know from 3-5, which is a good association to invoke imo. and it did a lot to give apollo and dhurke time to bond.

speaking of which, dhurke, holy shit. what a KING. i don’t think i’ve ever liked a dad character in ace attorney this much. he’s so genuine and like down to earth that it’s impossible not to start liking him and believe how much he cares for his sons. the bit where he rescued apollo from the cave flood... i felt it in my heart

6-5 part 2: let me just get this out of the way: ga’ran sucks. her design after she goes full evil is so bad, she’s so malicious that it’s immediately obvious she’s going to be the culprit, her breakdown is ridiculous and just embarrassing to watch, and inga had already established way more charisma as a villain when he did the “those were orders of execution actually” bit in 6-3. with that said,

i actually liked it for the most part. the spirit channeling stuff was excellent imo-- they probably use it to similar or greater effect in 3-5 but as someone who again has not played that, i was surprised and almost impressed by how well it was applied. maya was relevant for something! it feels like it’s been ages!

rayfa was a little underutilized, i think-- her moment of determination where she stops letting ga’ran have control over her was alright but it fell flat bc it didn’t have any weight during the moment. i kept hoping she would like, wordlessly take of her shawl and do the little verbal preamble to the divination seance while ga’ran kept yelling at her to stop, but no, the script can’t be good like that, i guess. and since she didn’t get to be the investigation assistant for long, none of her charm in that role carried through.

but DHURKE!! oh my god! in a game almost devoid of emotional impact, his involvement in this case really hit. the way they painstakingly animated his death, the scene where he makes a promise with maya, and then the weight of knowing in hindsight that everything he did in the first part of the case was after he’d already died and just wanted to see his son again before passing on for real....... it hurt. i felt something during that section. this case would also be hard carried by him if not for the fact that i really liked the murder bits.

amara was good too--liked how they made her suspiciously serene and accentuated it with the lightning strikes to make her look like a hidden murderer character about to reveal herself, only to walk it back and confirm she was being forced to act that way. i thought it worked. nahyuta was boring though, i’m sorry-- i get the motivation with having to be a bastard bc his sister and mom were basically held hostage, but the only time i found him compelling in that mess was the bit where he removed his one fingerless glove and revealed he still has the dragon tattoo. that was it. athena was also completely unused the whole case (not even a single mood matrix? really?) and trucy one again went without any role of importance.

the ending also... yknow, a friend said they had to end it this way bc they never figured out what they were going to do with apollo (since following up on what they started in aa4 clearly wasn’t an option???) and just threw him on a bus to get rid of him. i agree with that-- he really feels thrown to the side, and with that i think trucy’s officially stranded with no hope of any character advancement. and the way they ended the game with phoenix and lamiroir deciding “yeah, maybe NOW we should finally tell those two they’re related” honestly felt insulting lol

but maybe the dlc case will let things go out on a high note...?!

6-6: it was okay.

it would’ve worked pretty well as a filler case in an older aa-- honestly i think it’d be one of the better filler cases, certainly worth replacing the shitty ones like 2-3 or 3-3 or, hey, 6-4. but whether i’d say it was worth paying for... eh.

the time travel conceit was done well enough, i think. the way they tied it back to sorin and pierce’s backstories was nice, and the twist about having two receptions was good, although they needed to treat that as a real twist with much more gravity. when the truth comes out it just feels like “oh of course that’s what happened” rather than a big surprise worthy of the Confessing the Truth theme. it’s sort of important because the case becomes a lot less interesting when you take out the time travel element.

far as characters are concerned, i think they needed more side characters to sell the whole thing-- another sprocket family member or another servant of the household. it felt a little limited-- sorin and pierce are pretty good witnesses and i like their quirks and their secrets, but the only alive woman (ellen) has very few traits and no connection to the deeper story of the case, so she falls really flat. the old aa characters didn’t add much- maya and edgeworth were just there for fanservice, ema didn’t get to do much other than acknowledge for the first time in years that she’s a big edgeworth fan, and larry is annoying as hell like he always is.

and oh my god i actually forgot while i was writing that, how they put in athena and trucy but only used them for brief slapstick where trucy would try to set athena on fire and shit. again-- no mood matrix? couldn’t even try once to fit those two characters into something?

i did like pierce’s transformation into his surgeon form though-- that was really cool. loved him doing surgery on a robot, taking xrays of the lawyers, and his breakdown was fantastic-- he would make a really good culprit if they didn’t whiff the last bit of pathos at the end. i don’t think he should’ve been aiming for revenge on sorin; it would have hurt much more if he was still loyal to the guy and never intended for him to be in danger, but the final “why’d you do it?” talk in the trial just felt flat and one-note, much like the one in 6-4.

... so that’s spirit of justice! not a super positive experience but i’m happy to say it’s done. as much as i want to go and replay dgs, i think when i do go back to ace attorney i’ll be replaying the trilogy for the first time since high school

[narutsuart]

Updated Three Houses Top 10 Females List:

Just in time for International Women’s Day! I’ve been working on revising my list as much as possible in light of revisiting Three Houses, playing Ashen Wolves, and rethinking my love for each female character I put on my last list. I will this time do the my list from Tenth place to First place. Just a heads up my # 1 one spot has not changed so don’t expect some crazy surprise there.

Disclaimer: please don’t flame me or comment about how “WRONG” I am it’s just my personal opinion or preference. BE NICE! and maybe reblog or comment your favorite list if you’d like?

#10: Shamir:

My opinion Shamir literally has not changed. She is just a cool character, I love how despite her debt to Rhea she isn’t kissing Rhea’s ass like Catherine or Ciril. Did I mention I really don’t like them lol? She’s badass and she has an excellent character design. Perfect blend of sexy and badass.

#9. Bernadetta:

Bernie dropped another spot going from 8th to 9th. I still have an abundance of love for Bernie, and I want to protect her at all cost. I still hold the opinion that while she’s an absolutely hilarious character, she can still get repetitive and stale pretty fast upon replays. That being said when I was thinking of characters that might potentially drop to below my top ten I couldn’t reasonably see myself dropping her out of my top 10, as Bernie is still a genuinely enjoyable character, and I do have a soft spot for her.

#8. Sothis:

Unfortunately Sothis dropped down a bit no fault of her own, simply because I enjoy the ladies above her more. That being said I really do enjoy Sothis. Even though our time is brief with her, I really do love the snarky little goddess. It’s funny, last time I made this list I had gotten her Christmas altand expressed my excitement, but I didn’t have her Mythic version(aka original version). I just recently I finally got lucky, and pulled her Mythic version!

#7 Dorothea:

AHHH THE PITCH FORKS!! I’M SO SORRY!! I know! I know! WTF?! I honestly any think of a perfectly justifiable reason as to why Dorothea has dropped so low on my list. She went from 4th place to 7th place for those that don’t remember. I honestly feel disgusting for putting her so low....I absolutely adore her character, her design is absolutely stunning, and I still enjoy most of her supports, but honestly I can’t justify putting her any higher than the women above her on this list. Like many who have dropped lower in placement it’s of no fault of her own. I just happened to realize I love the women above her more. I still believe deserves all the happiness, love and care that she desires!

#6. Hapi:

Hapi is such a fucking gem, I don’t know if it’s just the dub but Hapi’s dialogue is just so ahead of its time period and I love it so much lol. She has some of the funniest quotes and her habit for nicknaming everyone is hilarious. I’m aware that it’s not a trait unique to her, but I’m of the opinion that her nicknames far surpasses Dorothea’s nicknames. Now if we we’re talking strictly design Hapi would place 4th out of entire female cast for me, and that’s impressive feat since Three Houses has an abundance of amazing designs. In fact if I was strictly talking design a lot of the placements on this list would actually change. For example Hapi would actually rank above Constance for me in terms of design, but is trumped by Constance in terms of character. I might do a separate list for “best” designs in the near future.

#5. Rhea:

I KNOW ITS BLASPHEMY I STILL have both Edelgard and Rhea in my top 5?!! As those who saw my last list can see Rhea’s placement has not changed. I love Rhea so much is because she’s the perfect foil to Edelgard. Rhea is an excellenty written character with a lot of emotional depth. She acts as a perfect foil for Edelgard’s character they are so similar yet so different. It also makes sense that she and Edelgard’s ideals would come to clash. I’m of the opinion that if Edelgard and Rhea just talked about their views it still would still not end well. Rhea sage guarded her fabricated history of Fódlan for a thousand years and would not just tell the truth because Edelgard called her out. She would’ve branded Edelgard a heretic and have her executed. That type of tranquil furry is honestly unsettling and I LOVE it. Btw the only reason she tells the truth in CS and VW is because in CS she doesn’t think she has much time left, and in VW she doesn’t have much time left and chaos is marching on Fódlan’s door. Likewise Edelgard would sympathize with Rhea’s past if she told the truth, but would insist that Rhea step down from power or tell the truth to the world which would still lead to conflict. I personally agree with Edelgard vision for Fodlan more, and personally think Rhea is unstable, and worst SOLE leader for Fodlan, but neither are evil people and I can empathize with their motives and reasons for doing the morally grey things they do. Neither of them “do nothing wrong” like people claim and in fact do a LOT wrong. It’s those wrong things they do that makes them intriguing characters, and more relatable. They also both have the potential to do so many good things for Fódlan depending on the route.

#4. Constance:

GOOD LORD Costance is truly a one of a kind. I was pro Constance since her design was first revealed in the Cindered Shadows DLC trailer. That being said never did I envision loving her THIS much! Her motivations are easily understandable, and her fall from grace makes even more sad when you realize that haughty attitude that she almost always has on display is due to her compensating for her lack of status. Constance is one of the funniest characters in the game to me and she came out AFTER the game lol. She’s an incredibly intelligent prodigy when it comes to all things magic yet she has this naivety that people are able to exploit like Yuri with the “bootlicking nobles” phrase. She takes it so literal that she tries it out for her self, and tries to make a way for the boots to taste better making it easier to lick their boots......I CANT EVEN!!... honestly Constance could top this list if it weren’t for her split personality..... don’t get me wrong her split personality when in sunlight can be funny every now and then, but honestly it does more harm to her character then helps it in my opinion. Her change in personality when in sunlight is implied that to be because of the trauma of the fall of House Nuevelle, but we never get any real explanation for it or anything implying she can overcome it. Its not expanded upon, and never treated seriously. In fact it’s played for laughs and it’s something people just accept as Constance just being Constance. I honestly felt Constance C rank support with Ferdinand was done so well. She calls him out for his usually insensitive comments about status and makes him regret his words immediately. I had so much respect for her in that moment, come the b-rank support she acts all submissive and praises the ground he walks on....which ruined the c-rank support for me tbh. That being said, as you can see based off her placement this trait of hers doesn’t ruin the character for me, just keeps her from being higher.

#3. Petra:

On a much lighter note, Petra is my 3rd favorite! If you notice she has dropped down from my second favorite spot. This is due to no fault of her own I, just happened to realize that I loved my number 2 spot more. With that being said Petra has still gotten the victory! Like I mentioned in my first list, Petra is just a delight. I love how she’s so dedicated, and always willing to learn. Funnily enough my initial expectation for Petra’s character pre-release was vastly different then what her actual character ended up being. She’s one of those character’s who’s design got revealed MUCH earlier than any details about her personality and her design gave me the impression that she was the aloof, intimidating, and serious type that doesn’t have time for making friends or fun. I don’t know if anyone else got this impression, but obviously I was wrong! Petra truly does remind me a lot of Starfire from the original 2003 Teen Titans tv show and kinda re-awakens that childhood cartoon crush in me lol. Petra is just awesome there’s not a single support I don’t like of her.

#2. Marianne

Now if you saw my old list you probably noticed that Marianne moved up a bit. Naturally I still love her design(I’m a sucker for light blue hair I think lol), but upon revisiting Three Houses I realized that leaving Marianne at 3rd place somehow didn’t feel adequate. Funnily enough she was technically the first person I S-ranked in Three Houses due to locking myself out of the Crimson Flower Route on accident. Honestly she has become my favorite character to S-rank in Three Houses even more so than my number one spot! Anyway my love for Marianne is very different for most character’s as she is one I feel can really relate to on very personal and emotional level. I’m gonna get real for a minute. I honestly I had been in bad place in my life recently. I had been feeling like the world has been crashing down on me. I have plenty of things to be happy for yet I often felt depressed. I’d often had “friends” call me out, saying I have no reason to be depressed, or that I have been blessed with so many things, and while I agree I’m very blessed, they couldn’t understand how I felt, as all they could provide was the view of an outsider looking in. While the action of suicide was something I never considered, I’d had been contemplating the value of my life or if it was really worth living. First want to clarify that I’m in MUCH better headspace than I was then. I definitely feel like I’m getting better. I have my ups and downs, but I’m currently making better friendships, I’m actively getting the help I need! I’ve always sympathized with Marianne, but now I can say that I really empathize with Marianne. When we take things at face value she seemingly had everything going for her, being brought up into the nobility, trained for success, and even having an extremely rare crest. By all means to an outsider looking in she had every reason to be happy. Of course while all these things sound nice especially in the context of the story they are in actuality a source for her depression. In her C-rank support with Ferdinand we see his confusion as to why Marianne dislikes being a part of the nobility. This support is one of the few times she expresses real anger, and is when expresses she never got to have what she saw as a normal life, she never wanted to be a part of the nobility and the weight and the expectations of being nobility was crushing her, as she had to adhere to standards of those around her. She was also taught to fear her crest as curse, so the blessing many commoners would be estatic to receive was thing she deemed as a curse. Over the course of the story and through her supports, Marianne begins to learn how to be more accepting of herself and gain more self-confidence. Naturally her timeskip appearance reflects this. She looks well-rested, expressive, and she genuinely seems more happy. I will never forget In her A-support with Byleth, that over the course of 5 years she had abandoned her depression and suicidal thoughts thanks to the genuine and long lasting friendship‘s she’s made and that she managed to uncover the truth of her heritage, and overcome the fear and hatred of her Crest. Her character arc is a very powerful thing to me, and is also example of what makes the 5 year timeskip so great. In addition to her character arc Marianne is just so cute, don’t get me stated on how adorable her habit of talking to animals is! Marianne is a fucking fantastic character and I love her so much.

EDIT: So I wanted to clarify that if I’m being honest Marianne and #1 spot are technically both tied as #1 me, and are so for very different reasons. For the sake of creating a Top 10 and to avoid a cop out list I chose to put her at second. To me Marianne is “BEST GIRL”. She’s my favorite female character to marry, she’s most endearing to me, she has like my third favorite female character design in all of Fire Emblem, and I relate to her on an emotional level. That being said this next character is “BEST CHARACTER” I like more for her role in the story, how her character is written, and how she was designed. Despite this I do not marry her NEARLY as often as Marianne. While I ship her with F! Byleth(OTP!) she’s not someone I personally would persue romantically. In other words Marianne is more my type and I tend to be biased with her while this next character is female character that I feel is the BEST WRITTEN and the female character I respect the most out of the cast.

#1. Edelgard:

Upon revisiting Fire Emblem Three Houses story as well as playing the Cindered Shadows DLC, nothing has changed, in fact my love and resolve for Edelgard has only been strengthened. I made a huge in depth posts for Edelgard a while back explaining her past, motives, and reasons for what she does. The posts had spanned multiple reblogs of details and clarification and I went over the typing limit in every single one. I won’t divulge further into all that. Like I mentioned last time I created my top ten list, aside from her being IN MY OPINION one of the best written female protagonists in Fire Emblem history, I absolutely love her design, its probably one of my favorite designs in all of Fire Emblem. That being said, If I had to say while she’s definitely close, she doesn’t have my all time number one favorite design, that spot goes to Azura from Fire Emblem Fates. Edelgard will always be my favorite Three Houses female character no matter what and I’m so happy she was brought into existence!

Well that’s my revised list, I had a lot of fun writing this list and I hope it was enjoyable for you guys to read as well! I would really love it if you guys comment or reblog with your own list of favorite Three House females! Y’know what?! Comment or reblog with your list of favorite females in the entire Fire Emblem franchise if you’d like! I’m very interested in seeing your lists Happy International Women’s Day!

[fereldanwench]

i just finished my first run of fallout new vegas!!!!

i did decide on the independent vegas route. shutting down mr. house made me a little sadder than i expected (i feel like there is something to be said for a life that long and all the knowledge that comes with it, even if he was an asshole), but i LOVED outplaying legion and then NCR. i had already talked the boomers into helping me out, and i enlisted the help of the enclave per arcade’s suggestion--having them follow me down hoover dam was delightful. i also asked the followers to help support new vegas.

the only thing i was a little iffy on is what happened with the brotherhood and the white glove society. i was trying to get the brotherhood on my side, like i did with the boomers, but i played around with a few options (like getting hardin the elder rank, bc he said he’d owe me a favor) to get some kind of boon from them, but nada. after wasting too much time reloading and resaving, i just eventually left the save state in which i joined them (bleh) and told yes-man to ignore them. i didn’t have a BoS endgame slide so idk what that means, if anything.

and i was almost positive the white glove society were cannibals--i found some human skulls in their kitchen when i was sneaking around--and i eventually looked it up, and it turns out that was a thing. i never triggered the quest that turns up that info, so i had to ignore them as well, but i think with that knowledge, valerie would have taken some kind of action against them.

i did also finish old world blues a few days ago--robo-scorpions can get fucked, but i LOVED the writing of the think tank and mobius. when folks bring up the similarities between the outer worlds and new vegas, that’s definitely where i saw it the most. OH! and i love the stealth suit and she’s my best friend forever too

i really enjoyed the build i went with for valerie. i dumped most of the stats in science, speech, and guns, with some barter, lockpick, medicine, and sneak coming up next. i felt like i had a lot of options when it came to solving problems, which i really liked.

deciding to play this game was a super capricious move for me--i actually initially wanted to finish horizon zero dawn before i get assassin’s creed valhalla this tuesday--but after doing the peril on gorgon dlc in outer worlds, i was just craving more of that vibe, and new vegas scratched a very similar itch.

i did rush the end a little since i was on a bit of a deadline, and i would like to finish fully exploring the map and doing the rest of the dlc at some point, maybe after I finish valhalla. i anticipate next year being pretty slow for me on new releases--at this point the next outer worlds DLC and the mass effect remaster are all i can think of that i’m interested in, but bioware games just aren’t hitting the same for me these days, so i’ll probably wait on that--so a replay might be in my future.

but yeah! new vegas has definitely joined the ranks of my favorite games, and it’s warmed me up a lot to the fallout series, which i was a little lukewarm on before having only played fo4. i can really appreciate why fans what a remaster or a sequel or both. it’s Good Shit™ and i would like more.

[khcnshus-knight]

My thoughts on: The Last of Us Part II SPOILER WARNING!

I just wanna start off by saying that in my opinion, The Last of Us II is an absolute masterpiece of a game. It's incredibly well made and just amazing in so many ways. But even tho I love so many things about this game, there sure are some things I’m not happy about. I never did something like this before for anything but with this game I just felt like sharing my thoughts on it.

Info: English is not my first language!

Mainly:

I first watched the first game on YouTube and I absolutely loved it. I went on to play it myself on the PS3 and of course again a few times later on the PS4. It became one of my favourite games and the story was just amazing. And seeing Ellie and Joel getting closer through all of it was absolutely adorable and I loved it. I was excited for Part II since the first reveal. And I was hella disappointed and kinda pissed when the release date was changed so many times. But still I was getting more and more excited the closer we got to the final release date of Part II.

Looking though Twitter and other websites and seeing all of the thoughts about this game, I also saw people saying how they didn’t portray the LGBT+ community right. Now I honestly don’t want to say if they did or not because I pretty much can’t. I absolutely support each and everyone in that community so I don’t want to speak for them, because only they know how they would’ve wanted it to be portrayed and how it would’ve been done right.

The Story:

Seeing everyone living happily in a city was a great start. Sure they still have some problems and also take care of the infected outside. But still it seems so peaceful and I’m glad Ellie and Joel got to settle down there.

I’ve been wondering what will make Ellie so deeply upset going after some people and wanting to kill them ever since I saw the reveal trailer. The closer we got and even before the leaks online, I always had the thought that it will include Joel’s death. Even tho I always thought that, I still wasn’t prepared. And I absolutely wasn’t prepared that it would happen so fast and so quick. It still hurts when I think about it and it’s just unbelievable losing one of the main characters whose story you went through for hours had to die in such a horrible way.

It was absolutely understandable that Ellie wanted to get revenge for it. Even tho she didn’t know the reason why Joel was killed. Joel was everything for both her and of course Tommy. I’m glad she had Dina with her who helped and supported her through a part of it. I also love that Jesse went after them - probably mostly for Dina - but he was risking a lot as well to help through it all.

Seeing other surviving groups besides those in the first game was really interesting. Especially because they all are so different. It was giving a different look on how people change and survive during this apocalypse. And it was definitely something different and more intense than the Fireflies.

Seeing Abby’s story wasn’t my favourite part of playing but of course it belongs to the whole story and was really important to understand everything that has happened.

I was curious to see what changed about the infected and they did it amazingly in this game! They did a really good job on the stalkers even tho I had a hard time on managing them. But the ‘merging’ of the first infected in the hospital was … interesting? It was sure hard to battle. The shamblers also gave me a hard time but were a cool new infected to fight against!

After so many fights and disappointments I was glad to see Dina and Ellie happy with the baby. I’m sure Jesse would’ve been a great dad and they all would’ve gotten along. They all would’ve been so great.

I understand that it hurt and disappointed Dina when Ellie decided to go search for Abby again. They were living peacefully now and they definitely deserved it. Which is why I was kinda angry at what Tommy said when visiting them. But sure he wanted revenge. And he himself couldn’t do it anymore.

Even though through all of the game it seemed like Ellie was gonna get back at her for what she did, I wasn’t surprised when she let Abby escape at the end. We may not fully understand what made her do it and why she didn’t finish it, but I’m sure she had a reason. I’m kinda disappointed that she didn’t kill Abby because after everything she went through to find her, she didn’t give her what she deserved - or did she?

Also the fact they never got to talk about everything again really hurts me. They said "See you." and they actually didn't until he died the next day. It really broke me. I just would’ve loved to know that they were on good terms before his life ended. But I’m sure that Joel knows how much Ellie loves him.

After all I absolutely loved the story still. Even after the loss of Joel. It was a well done game and an amazing story. 

The Characters:

Ellie: Ellie has been my favourite since the second we met her. When she was young she was already funny and such a great person and I loved her relationship with Joel and the way it grew to be a family. She has lost so many people already and I absolutely understand the way she felt when she lost Joel like that right in front of her. Not being able to do anything. I understand her anger and was supporting her to get her revenge during the game. Even tho in the end she didn’t finish it.

Dina: She went with Ellie and was by her side. She made Ellie really happy and I loved seeing them together. I hope if we get something like a DLC or something that we might see her get back with Ellie or something. They are a cute little family and they deserve happiness.

Abby: I for my part hated her since the second she killed Joel. Just the way it happened … She didn’t give him a chance at all. I do understand her part of the story and that she’s hurting. But what she did to joel just angers me and I hate her so much for it.

Jesse: I actually started to really like him. He seemed to be a great guy and he even went after the girls and helped them. Since I started to like him I was really sad when Abby just killed him. I’m sure he would’ve been such an amazing dad and supportive character.

Joel: I loved him since the first game. He had such a great character development. He would’ve done anything for Ellie to protect her. Even until his last breath. I’m still heartbroken that we lost him in such a way. But I’m trying to see a good side as well - he’s with Sarah and Tess now. And Sam and Henry. Absolutely amazing character. You’ll be missed.

Tommy: Really love him as well. He even went after Abby to protect Ellie and that she doesn’t have to. Would’ve actually loved to play him a bit in the game since we were always pretty much right behind him. Also got hella scared and was gonna fight people because I thought he got killed. But luckily he survived.

Maria: I love that she supported Ellie on going after Abby and her people. Even tho it probably mainly was for her to bring back Tommy. Maria is a great person and I already loved her since we met her in the first game. She’s an absolute badass.

Gameplay:

Even tho I only played on a normal PS4 and not on a Pro, the experience while playing was amazing. The graphics and details are just so well done and absolutely incredible!

For my part I was mostly annoyed while playing Abby. Sure her story was a big part of the game and it’s story but since she’s a character I absolutely hate I was just happy when I was finally done playing as her. And it felt like you played her way more than Ellie which also is something that really wasn’t my favourite thing about playing the game.

It is a big open world game which of course is why I definitely didn’t collect everything. I spent lots of time looking around everywhere I could but I’m still missing some safes, papers, coins and other things. Luckily I got all weapons and upgrade books tho which was most important to me.

I myself finished the game after a total of 22 hours. I started Friday and finished on Monday. It was a great experience and I wanted to take my time to look around and see as much as possible.

I love that the weapon menu was the same. It made things very easy especially since I replayed Part I before the release of Part II. The crafting and upgrading menu for both weapons and abilities was new and I complained a lot on how I had to spent the pills for stuff I didn’t want or need because I wanted some other things. But since you find a lot of them during the game I was able to upgrade most of it. I look forward to playing again on New Game+ so I can upgrade fully! 

Overall I absolutely love this game and it’s incredible! It’s definitely worth watching or even playing yourself!