#I’m talking about whether she’ll be playable

[rubywolf0201]

Ok so since there is no sign of another S Rank Agent drip marketed for 1.4 it looks like I’ll just review Harumasa.

Asaba Harumasa

So ZZZ really said: “We’ll powercreep Belobog Construction Industries in a few patches later” and sure enough Harumasa turns out to be an S Rank version of Anton, type-wise. Personally, I’m on the fence of whether I want to pull for him or not. Cause on one hand, we got another limited S Rank male but on the other hand, I’m way too attached to using Anton despite his gimmicky gameplay.

Who knows. Maybe I want him. Maybe I don’t. It all depends on whether or not I want to build him or whatever team comp that he has.

[jackiebrackettt]

hi I’d love a color :D and also I’m going to ramble about yo-Kai watch now.

So basically back in ~2014 I was going to my nearest shop and was looking around for games. I then proceeded to find the first installment of yo-kai watch and thought it looked similar to a pokemon game, so i had my dad buy it and it all went downhill from there (in a positive way).

The first game is very low quality, quite literally. It mightve just been how 3d games worked back then, I don’t remember, but it still was a bunch of fun. You play as a kid named Nate (or whatever name you put in) and he gets this watch thing at a weird store and meets two of his iconic yo-kai friends, jibanyan (a deceased cat) and whisper (his lore is revealed in a later game). Yo-kai in this world are described to affect the emotions of people by possessing them, and therefore each one has different effects and capabilities. You can gain more of them by giving them certain food that they like in battle, and you’ll have some quests where you’ll need a certain yo-kai, whether that’s to change weather, people’s moods, or else wise. However, in the first game, it was very simple and quick. The game climaxed at going into the yo-kai watch world, which, while very cool, wasn’t that much after you beat it. The entire game didn’t have much to offer when you beat it, and side quests were very simple. You could complete the entire game in ~3 days like I did. But then came the release of yo-kai watch 2: bony spirits/fleshy souls.

Basically, there were two versions of the game that were available because you could pick a certain yo-kai’s side, because there used to be a civil war going on. Now that’s already a lot, but noticed how I said “used to be”? Yeah, that’s because there’s time travel now. A certain mirror yo-kai let’s you go through them and travel to the past. It’s a lot and it’s so much fun. I felt like it was really executed well too, since my kid self didn’t really ever get lost in what was happening.

While the new and long story content was really cool, they also added so so much more. There were trains and train stations in the previous game, but they only allowed you to basically fast travel to 1 out of 4 areas at a time. But in the 2nd one, you could go to a 3 completely different new places, with a bunch of little stations in between. Not only that, you learn to in the main quest because you have to visit your grandma in the far countryside. And in that country side you go to the past to meet your grandpa and it’s just so much fun. The music is constantly good too, and you can always tell it’s yo-kai watch music with how it has this little wobbly music sound.

But one of the best things for me was the new content. Especially this new thing called the infinite tunnel. Basically, while you’re out in the countryside to see your grandma, you might see an abandoned brick tunnel with the entrance blocked. However, once you complete a completely random main story quest, which has NO relevance to it, the entrance suddenly becomes open. In it, it’s basically a long long tunnel with no light, so you can only see what’s in front of you. A bunch of random stuff will happen in it, such as random people who got “stuck” there trying to talk to you, some of them yo-Kai in disguise and some not. There’s multiple emergency exits along the way too, and each one takes you to a different place in the outside world. Additionally, the further you go, the more tough and different the tunnel becomes, from brick walls to stone walls to suddenly clean and polished marbled. It scared the shit out of me as a kid, but also made me really excited because of how cool it was. The end was at a different length each time, and you could make it be closer or further depending on what you did in the tunnel. At the end there is a small non playable yo-kai(?) girl, and she’ll talk to you for about 2 lines before becoming unspeakable to. Sometimes she won’t even talk because she’ll just be in the background. In the third game there’s a different version of this called Hazy Lane, which is much much scarier but I’ll talk about that later

One of my favorite parts is the golden train. So if you remember about my rambling about how there’s more stations, you also should know that there’s this hidden Easter egg. If you go to a certain downtown train station very very late at night, then there is a chance that a golden train will come up. It’s this game’s equivalent of the yo-kai watch world, except better and bigger and so so much cooler I love it so so much. I would say more but I have to go to school now bye bye!!

hi moxy :]! i gave you this purple here’s my thoughts -> my fellow ghostkcker (blue + red = purple <- this is so fun actually for just a pd gang in general vibe. william’s colour + dakota’s colour equals vyncent’s colour! they’re all intertwined :]) anyway I made it this shade bc of ur hollowknight icon ^_^

this is very interesting :O!! I’ve never heard of this game b4 but it sounds really cool !! that tunnel does sound scary but very interesting :] hope school goes well o7

[kittmoon]

Who Knows the Hero?

(a head-canonical list of NPCs who know of Link’s true identity and mission)

hi! This has been on my mind for a while, so I figured I’d compile it. This is a list of non-playable characters in BotW that, whether canon or through my own headcanons, truly know who Link is.

I’m not including any Zora or Sheikah in this list - even Granté, Robbie’s son. I’m assuming he visited his parents at some point, if he’s that close to the Tech Lab.

anyways!

Kass

Yeah, no secret there. Throughout my first playnthrough I had a theory that Kass knew Link’s identity, and of course the Champion’s Ballad confirmed that. Hc is that Kass keeps teasing Link about “potentially writing a new song for him”, and Link out of pure bashfulness manages to dodge the topic every time.

Yunobo

The boss may think otherwise, but Yunobo has his own theories. He began thinking on it after Link left the city, and he could have sworn he’d seen Daruk’s spirit atop the Devine Beast...who else other than the Champion of old could have provoked that?

Yunobo had heard tales from travelers as he’d grown up - stories of the Ancient Hero, sleeping in a hill somewhere (very ancient-European-folklore-esque, by the way). He’d grown up believing the story, but young adulthood pushed him to stop believing in fairy tales. But maybe Link’s appearance proved that the fantastical wonder of the past was still prevalent.

Cheif Riju and Bularia

Riju is sharp for her age. Link is one of the few people she knows who’s relatively close to her in age (y’know, comparatively). She wants to be closer friends with him, because kinship is honestly what she longs for amidst the stress of being Cheif.

Bularia is weary of Link, but she’s weary of everyone. She genuinely trusts his skills, especially after he tamed Vah Naboris, but the front she puts up is mostly a defense mechanism as the Chief’s personal guard.

Saki

Sis!! Sis. I will always long for the Saki Champion-Sucessor AU, where Teba is still Teba, but after he becomes wounded trying to get close to Vah Medoh (similarly to Harth), Saki decided to take use of the archery skills she had as a youth. My headcanon has always been that she was a Rito warrior who retired to start a family, happily so, but still. Saki is best wife.

Saki knew who she was in the presence of the second she saw Link’s realization-face, staring at Revali’s landing. Another separate headcanon I have is that, the closer you live to the Elder in Rito Village, the closer you are to being considered a part of his “court” (it’s not a monarchy, but you get it, it’s just how “within the nest” you are as a Rito). She’s done errands for the Elder. She knew the stories of Champion Revali, and how close he was to the other Champions (in the perspective of historical hindsight). She overheard Link speaking to the Elder - “I can calm Vah Medoh.” And when he actually succeeded, that’s when she knew. But, if there was a reason Link wasn’t saying it outright, then Saki wouldn’t ask. She’ll respect his boundaries.

Teba

Teba is totally in denial, except when his wife is like “hey I think Link is high-key the champion” and Teba’s like “yeah pff I knew that the whole time” but inside he’s all “what the fuck. like what the fuck”. Saki makes him a strong cup of tea.

Amali

Just kidding, Amali is actually best wife, because being a single parent is tough work, especially while her husband is low-key MIA. She takes her time assessing Link, though. He’s a helpful boy, and she appreciates his kindness, but it isn’t until Kass comes home - and until she sees Link talk to her husband - that Amali realizes Link’s true identity.

She and Kass have a long conversation about it. Kass is overjoyed to have been able to share his message with the hero, and Amali is happy for him. She’s a little winded to have met the Ancient Champion, but that’s life for you.

[radramblog]

Planeswalkers in Cube: White

It’s been a while since I’ve discussed cube, I think, and also a while since I’ve just dived into a stupidly long topic without thinking too hard about it. And so here we go.

Planeswalkers are kind of in an interesting place in Cubes. Most of the time, they’re powerful midrange or control threats, but a lot of them have more specialised roles that can make them better suited to particular cubes. They’re also popular to include, seeing as they’re big, cool, and splashy, and a lot of people really like playing with them. What home exists for something like Liliana, Death’s Majesty in any other format? (I know it’s fine in commander hush)

However, you can only afford so many slots for Walkers in your cube, depending on how you treat them. And so, you’re not going to see all of them very often. Here, we’re going to go through all of them, colour by colour, and figure out why you should or shouldn’t play them, and which go better in different builds. Starting off, as many things do, with Mono-White.

Some ground rules: I’m not going to talk about the Planeswalker deck cards in this post, because the answer to whether you should play them is pretty much universally “no, why”. I’m also not going to talk about the creature->planeswalker transform cards, because they get treated more like creatures in a Cube environment. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy is kinda just Merfolk Looter.

My next point before I talk actual cards: I’m far from an expert on this sort of thing, and this is going to be my opinions! If you want a different perspective, Season 4 episode 6 of Solely Singleton is a great podcast about this exact topic, though it’s two and a half years old at this point so some things might be a bit outdated.

Finally: White is a colour that tends to get more good Planeswalkers than other colours. Turns out, most Gideons and token-producing walkers are good in slower decks, who’d a thunk it. So unlike, say, Black, the average here is a bit higher than most of the time.

Let’s get into it!

 Ajani Goldmane

Ajani is kind of a classic, but the original iteration is kind of showing its 14 years of age. It’s a 4-mana walker (which is a very competitive slot) with a +1 that doesn’t really do anything, a turn-3 ultimate that dies to removal, and while the minus is good (see cards like Unbreakable Formation, or other Ajanis), it requires a board and isn’t really worth a four mana cast.

I had thought he’d be good in more budget lists, though. Except he hasn’t been printed since 2010 and so even though he sees no play he’s still like 5 bucks. So I’d pass on this version of cat dad.

 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

On the other hand, Elspeth pt.1 is still one of the best Planeswalkers you can play. She makes blockers for days, can push through some serious damage, and does both of those things while getting more resilient rather than less. Her ultimate might not be game-breaking, but since she’s constantly pushing towards it anyway you don’t really mind. Also she’s only 4 mana, holy moly.

Elspeth is good in aggro, good in midrange, and arguably still more than playable in control. At 12ish dollars, it’s not the ideal price point, but if you can afford it (or have one sitting around), she’s absolutely worth the include.

 Gideon Jura

Gideon 1 is a bit more specific. Aggro is not going to want him, seeing as the minus does basically nothing in that deck and the +2 isn’t really worth your time at 5 mana. On the other hand, this card is nuts in control. It’s a hard-to-kill wincon that is also removal that fuels its own condition and survives boardwipes. Gideon Jura is a chad in those decks, and kind of takes over the game the moment he comes down.

The other nice thing about Gideon Jura is that due to recent reprints in Mystery Booster and his Signature Spellbook, as well as not being very good in Commander, he’s ludicrously cheap. You can get one of these for under a dollar, making it perfect for budget cubes (that still include rares). Although, at that point, he might be warping to a cheaper format where aggro is worse, so keep an eye on him.

 Elspeth Tirel

Elspeth’s second incarnation (which is the one with her last name, because ???) is significantly worse than her first. If you’re in a slower deck where you want the ultimate, she’s probably not going to live to make it there. If you want the tokens, there are better options at cheaper mana costs. And you don’t want the +2, unless you somehow have a decent board against a red aggro deck.

I remember really liking this card when I first started playing Magic. That was a long time ago, and we have had much better options in the near-decade since then.

 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

The first 3-mana walker on this list, and one that shows the conservativeness WoTC had when first testing them at that mana cost. Just kidding, this came out after Liliana of the Veil.

Ajani 3is theoretically fine in an aggressive deck, but white has some seriously good 3-drop creatures that you’d rather just cast instead. Because when your options are a Blade Splicer or putting a +1/+1 counter on your two drop…I’m taking that token. And let’s not act like this card has any place in a midrange or control deck.

 Gideon, Champion of Justice

This was the first Planeswalker I ever opened, so I have a soft spot for it. But not enough of one to put it in my cube.

As potentially threatening as this Gideon is, he basically doesn’t do anything? While token decks might have a hard time taking him out, seeing as his loyalty can get pretty huge against them, they can also just block him forever. The ultimate is a game-ender, but also would leave Gideon so small that your opponent might just have enough time to draw lands and get back in the game. And he doesn’t do anything to protect himself aside from get big, and doesn’t really progress your board, so. Sorry Gids, you’ll get them next time.

 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

Elspeths alternate being good, I guess. Elspeth, Sun’s Champion is basically unplayable outside of slow midrange or control, but is utterly incredible in those decks! She wipes out anything that would threaten her and makes enough blockers to easily protect either herself or you, and stalls long enough that those tokens can turn into a wincon via her ultimate.

It is not as universally powerful as the four-drop Elspeth, but the 6-drop one undeniably shapes the game when she hits the table. She stops aggro in its tracks, and nukes the shit out of midrange, especially green-based decks. I suppose there are times when she might be awkward to cast because she hits your own threats…but then just hold her back or +1, dude.

 Ajani Steadfast

Ajani Steadfast is kind of trying to be a better version of Ajani Goldmane. And yet, funnily enough, the Vigilance on Goldmane’s -1 is so important, as is being a -1 instead of a -2, so he’s kind of in a similar tier. The loyalty counter upside is so utterly niche that it might as well not exist, but the +1 is unquestionably much better at least.

Like with Goldmane, Ajani Steadfast isn’t really doing anything at 4 that cheaper cards don’t do better. And he’s at about the same price point. At least the ultimate is better?

 Nahiri, the Lithomancer

Nahiri is really specific. Like, if you’re at a power level where you have equipment worth playing Nahiri with, then you’re probably at a power level where she’s completely outclassed by things like Angel of Invention or…I mean, most other playable 5s. And some unplayable ones.

…I just remembered this card has 3 starting loyalty. On a 5-drop walker. You can -2 her and she’ll die to literally a goblin token. I sure hope that Equipment you got had Living Weapon!

 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

The first 4-drop that really steps to Elspeth, Knight-Errant. This Gideon is kind of just good in any deck- aggro decks like a 5/5 top end that makes a token T1 or just is an unkillable Glorious Anthem, midrange loves an infinite source of 2/2 to block or beat down with, and control loves an infinite source of blockers that can clean up after a wipe. He’s just kind of a disgusting piece of cardboard for a whole variety of decks, making him easily one of the best walkers in the entire format.

Also he’s…surprisingly cheap? After one “real” printing, and being on The List (which doesn’t do much, trust me), Gideon Ally of Zendikar is still only like 5 bucks. So if you can justify spending that much on one card…probably do that? He won’t let you down.

 Gideon of the Trials

Unlike our first 3-mana walker, this one is more than playable in slower decks. Gideon of the Trials is kind of awkward for aggressive decks, put what he does do is effectively remove some seriously big threats, adjust for whichever is the biggest problem around, and still punches peoples as a 4/4 Gideon. And he also has the unique benefit of being a Planeswalker that makes combo decks think twice, given that Emblem- though you’ll still go to 0 life if Splinter Twin or a similar combo is in play, and then die since they probably killed him too there.

Once again, though, this card is pretty cheap, sitting at about 3 bucks. As we get towards the more recent end of this list, a lot of these cards are going to look like that. I remember when I made my first cube, with the restriction of “Rares/Mythics that are under $2 US”, and getting 0 white Planeswalkers. I was playing the Planeswalker deck Gideon, for fuck’s sake! Things are so much better now.

Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants

I could never really get a good read on this Ajani. It’s obviously something control doesn’t want, and the +1 isn’t doing a huge amount in midrange decks. But the -2 is powerful in creature-based decks, and the +1 is solid for quicker builds, but not enough to really justify 4 mana? There’s a lot of power here, but the parts kind of form a strange whole.

I guess it depends a lot on how deep that 2-drop slot is in your cube, and how deep the 4-drop slot is. Because you kinda need good 2s and medium 4s for Ajani to really shine. I’m a little bothered by how meh Ajanis are apparently in general in Cube, but the multicoloured ones are a bit more solid.

 Gideon Blackblade

Take Gideon of the Trials, make it not playable in control, and make it really fucking good in aggressive decks. There you go, that’s Gideon Blackblade. Cheap in money and in mana, he’s here to die, aside from the part where he’s hard to kill.

The +1 on this card is not super great, but you have to keep in mind that you get that at the same time as Gideon being a creature. Honestly, it’s kind of easier to think of this card as a creature with a triggered ability than as a planeswalker, at least as far as cube is concerned. It also helps that the -6 isn’t actually that hard to hit, considering you can keep a creature back by giving it vigilance. He’s quite solid, and might just be the best aggro walker White gets. Certainly at 3, at least.

 Teyo, the Shieldmage

A bit of a step down from our last 3-drop, Teyo is clearly not built for the same formats as Gideon Blackblade. But with him, we can talk about weaker formats, like Peasant, where Teyo is…still not great? 3 mana gets you a pair of 0/3s and immunity to burn spells, which I suppose control might like in formats where you don’t really get board wipes, but I can’t imagine any other deck wanting him. And that’s not a great place to be.

 The Wanderer

Much like Teyo, I don’t think even Peasant wants this. I do think it’s kinda better- their static abilities are virtually the same, except Mx. ??? here extends the burn protection to your creatures. And they do serve as removal, but its both expensive and narrow. Like, how often is this just going to kill a 4/4 and then get killed by their 2/2? I wouldn’t play Smite the Monstrous but it gains 2 life.

I’m interested to see this character return at some point. Maybe next time they can be playable. Some of the uncommon walkers from WAR were great for Peasant (and some even in higher formats), but this isn’t one of them.

 Serra the Benevolent

Okay, so. 4 mana Serra Angel that can stick around to make another one is quite powerful! Though the +2 basically does nothing, it’s still a +2, meaning you can get an unkillable Worship the turn after you play this if you aren’t under pressure, or go token into pump into token. Serra is clearly quite solid!

However, it suffers from two issues. One, it’s competing for that 4-drop slot, and is less playable than Elspeth or Gideon in slower decks since she makes tokens slower than those two do. The tokens are more threatening for sure, but token decks generally want more tokens rather than bigger tokens. And two: it’s more expensive than Gideon and similar in price to Elspeth, not to mention another card we’ll get to later, so she’s not even getting into cheaper cubes. Since a lot of cube slots like this are taken by cards with more general playability, Serra is going to sit on the sidelines more often than she maybe should. If you’re at like a 720 list, though, spare her a thought.

 Ajani, Strength of the Pride

Take everything I just said about Serra, and make it worse, basically. I suppose 4 mana for two Ajani’s Pridemates is fine, but the plus doesn’t do anything (unless you have those tokens, in which case it’s okay) and you are never activating that 0 unless you’re already winning.

Oh also he’s more expensive than she is and is still at the same mana cost. Yeah nah I wouldn’t bother. Ripper in my Cat EDH deck though.

 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis

This card is actually really interesting. Our last Elspeth is still mono-white, despite the art and flavour, but she almost doesn’t play like she is. I think most of the time, she’s likely to make 4 tokens and then probably cack it, but the Escape on this is really interesting. By the time you reach 6 mana, you probably will just have enough cards in the yard to cast this again.

I really don’t know how to interpret this card. She’s in my own cube, but I don’t remember seeing her cast yet, so that’s not really any help. My guess is that she’s mostly good in slower decks, but also making and pumping tokens does output a fair bit of damage over time. She’s only like a dollar, so maybe try her out? At least she won’t be an expensive mistake if she is one.

 Basri Ket

Mr. Sandman here is pretty much just a better Ajani, Caller of the Pride. The +1 does more, the -2 actually puts things on board and is better for aggressive decks to get value out of, and the ultimate is actually attainable. He’s basically aggro-only, but he’ll get the job done in those decks.

However, the 3-mana Gideons kind of just outshine Basri here. He does literal jack squat without a creature on board, and his -2 is quite weak with only one or two attacking creatures to work with. The ultimate is nice, but +1ing over and over is extremely bleh, and you probably have better things to do. So sorry, Basri, maybe next time.

 Grand Master of Flowers

Bahamut, you aren’t fooling anyone, it’s on the typeline. For reference, Monk of the Open Hand is a 1/1 for W that gets a +1/+1 counter if you cast two spells in a turn- so it’s not really worth running? And even if you do put it in your cube, there’s no guarantee you’ll have both in a deck, or want to play both in a deck…so…

Okay, fine, let’s assume you just get a copy of Monk of the Open Hand when you draft the card. I’m still not super enthused about this Planeswalker. The lockdown ability is going to miss more than you think it will, and a lot of the things it misses are the things likely to kill you. It can make a 1/1 every turn, but only one at a time, and if they exile it then the ability does stone nothing. And that “ultimate” takes forever to actually get to. Also it’s another 4-mana White Walker. I think I’ll pass on this one. Somehow, both Tiamat and Bahamut were disappointments.

 Teyo, Aegis Adept

I wasn’t sure whether or not to include this, but I didn’t really want to end on GMoF, so. I’ve done a whole post on the digital-only cards, and I do think Teyo, despite being a Planeswalker, is one of the less fucky ones. You will need to track a lot of things, though.

So how does the card stack up? Honestly, I think it’s surprisingly solid. Aggro probably isn’t that interested, though Lumbering Lightshield’s ETB (makes a random card in the opponent’s hand cost 1 more) could be a real pain if you’re lucky. It makes a 4/4 every other turn for a bit, which is quite solid, and the ultimate isn’t that unobtainable. And you don’t have to worry about money, because this could only ever exist as a proxy.

I’d be really interested to see how Teyo, Aegis Adept plays. I don’t think I’m likely to, outside of Arena-based cubes, with the whole stigma around these cards and the added layer of having to proxy them. But in an Arena cube, with a restricted list of cards he’s competing with (It’s Adversary of Tyrants forward), he could really shine.

 This concludes White Walkers, the post. Please join next week when we discuss Blue Walkers. Make your own Game of Thrones joke here, I haven’t watched or read it.

[eggoreviews]

Top 10 Coolest Game Protagonists

There’s a lot of games out there, and with them, a lot of people you gotta play as. And I know the word ‘cool’ is kind of relative, but here’s the 10 I reckon get the T-shirts for the kickarse club. Oh, and one character per franchise. Hope u agree with my picks!

Spoilers ahead!

10. Ren Amamiya (Persona 5)

The general rule of life that I’ve learned is, no one is as cool as this guy is when they’re like 17. Joker, or Ren Amamiya as he’s known in the P5 anime, gets himself arrested and put on probation for basically nothing at the beginning of the game and spends the rest of it slowly building a lovable group of friends, dating someone way out of his league (or, you know, age range if you went with the teacher) and becoming the leader of an internationally recognised group of thieves who change the hearts of the wicked. Ren pretty much has his shit together from day 1, and I think we were all a bit jealous. Plus, look how cool he looks in that persona costume.

9. Asher Forrester (Game of Thrones)

This may seem like an extremely odd choice, but those who’ve played the Telltale Game of Thrones will know exactly what I’m talking about. In a game that revolves entirely around the disgraced Forrester family, Asher is arguably the most disgraced of the lot. Asher is exiled from his hometown of Ironrath after his dad catches him trying to have a cheeky affair with Gwyn Whitehill, the daughter of a rival house, and instead now spends his days wandering about Westeros being a mercenary with his equally awesome also mercenary friend Beskha at his side. During his stint in Game of Thrones, Asher kicks the arses of a group of bandits, negotiates with Daenerys and rides back to his besieged hometown with a bloodthirsty band of freed slaves in tow. He’s funny, he’s a bit reckless, but he definitely stands out as the coolest member of the Forrester family.

8. Kratos (God of War series)

Kratos is pretty much iconic at this point. He’s stoic, strong, has a much more in depth character since the reboot came out and then managed to run away with Game of the Year against the likes of Red Dead 2. Kratos, the bald angry axe guy turned quiet, collected father figure (but he still has an axe), Kratos doesn’t tend to be too subtle about how cool he is, but that’s because he doesn’t need to be.

7. Emily Kaldwin (Dishonored series)

I debated giving this spot to Corvo, but I think Emily just about beats him out mostly because of the huge development you see in her throughout the games. After witnessing her mother’s death and being kidnapped by aristocrats for their own personal gain in the first game, she’s rescued by Corvo (oh, and then she’s kidnapped again. And rescued again) and eventually becomes empress. Then she gets dethroned anyway, and immediately jumps into kicking the behinds of everyone involved with the coup in excellent fashion, with the aid of her flashy new Outsider powers. So yeah, Corvo is undeniably brilliant, but I thought Emily wielded that folding sword just a little better.

6. Leon Kennedy / Claire Redfield (Resident Evil 2)

And here they are, the first day cop and the college student who really aren’t having a good day, but still tackle the apocalypse head on with the aid of lots of guns and a motorbike. I couldn’t decide which of these guys to give the spot tom, so they get to share. Considering the sheer amount of zombies, horrible mutants and crazed scientists they have to sift through during their unwanted journey, I’d say it would be a little insulting to leave them out after everything they go through. Plus, I think it’s pretty much bi culture at this point to want both of them to step on you, so Leon and Claire were mandatory picks.

5. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider series)

The mother of all adventure game protagonists has come a long way since polygonal temples and triangular boobs, and nowhere is this more clear than in the reboot trilogy, which has given as a brilliantly gritty rendition of Lara Croft that makes her much more badass than she ever was beforehand. Now that her character has been much more fleshed out, the iconic status really feels like it has some important character depth to back it up, and no list like this would be the same without her.

4. Joel / Ellie (The Last of Us)

Oh, look I’ve broken the rules again! But I really couldn’t pick one or the other, so both of the trauma bonded duo that made us all cry back in 2013 get a spot on my list. They both went through pure, bleak hell and maintained most of themselves throughout it all. Joel, who lost his daughter within the first hour of the spore outbreak, has been living in Understandable Man Pain mode ever since, but then Ellie comes along, and the two basically becoming an unstoppable, bandit killing team. And nowhere does both of their pure cool factor come out better than during the stint of the game’s only proper antagonist, David, where both Joel and Ellie get some shining character moments that make you truly see how awesome they are for making it through. Looking forward to seeing them both again in the sequel!

3. Samus Aran (Metroid series)

More than anything, I feel just a bit sorry for Samus. I can’t imagine fighting the same purple dragon pirate who killed your parents for over 30 years is doing much good for her mental health at this point. But it’s fairly clear that she can handle it. Samus has been shooting the hell out of anything that opposes her since 1984, whether that be a huge brain in a tank or literally the Wii Fit Trainer, she’ll gun it down without a thought. And as one of the very first female protagonists in gaming, along with having a sick ass power suit, she has to be here.

2. Bayonetta (Bayonetta series)

She can summon demon limbs basically at will. She has guns on her feet. She can slow time and kick your arse, and then speed it up again and continue to kick your arse. She’s one of the last surviving umbra witches and still somehow pulls off librarian glasses with the witch motif. When Bayonetta graced our screens, I think Morrigan from Dragon Age knew when to relinquish her Best Witch crown.

Before I unveil my pick for objectively the coolest game protagonist since Pac Man, here’s a few that didn’t quite make the cut:

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)

Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid series)

Booker DeWitt (Bioshock Infinite)

Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn)

Link (The Legend of Zelda series)

Clementine (Telltale’s The Walking Dead series)

Sam (Until Dawn)

Commander Shepard (Mass Effect series)

Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption II)

1. Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher series)

My number one pick is the only game character I’ve seen who pulls off the ‘gruff, stoic dude’ so extremely well that he doesn’t lose any of his complex, interesting character in the process. Geralt earns most of his kickarse points from being a no-nonsense monster hunter, who always keeps his head and know he has the upper hand in pretty much every encounter without flaunting it. But on top of that, he’s light, funny, sarcastic and has a great level of emotional depth. Oh, and he’s pretty much immortal. This guy defines cool.

So there’s my picks! Drop in at some point in the near future for a countdown of my personal top 10 LAMEST game protagonists, so we can see the flipside and take a look at the considerably less badass side of playable characters. See you then!

[cosmiciaria]

In defense of Dragon Age 2 (review - no spoilers - long post!)

It seems I'm only allowed to play games in disorder, because I played this one after Inquisition, and guess what I'm almost at the end of now (yes, you guessed it, Origins). But it's not a problem for me, because after I *checks notes* ejem, played, uhm, like nine playthroughs of Inquisition, cof, cof, I've learned all the tiny details and branches and possible endings of each installment. So this game's story wasn't a surprise in many aspects – although there were still things I didn't know or I didn't expect.

So DA2 is the black sheep of the family, and somehow I can see why. It differs greatly from the origin prologue you get to play in the first one, and the silent protagonist is gone, replaced by an already created and established character, Hawke. Hawke can be male or female, mage, rogue or warrior – but they are only human. We are ripped off of the option of choosing between races.

And that's not the only thing the game takes away from us – we are used to travel around Ferelden, searching for allies, to fight the Archdemon, because the End is Nigh and we Must Save the World united with friends and so on – here, it's just a city. We only get to know Kirkwall, a Free Marches city that used to be owned by the Imperium and now rejoices in its so-called freedom. Kirkwall consists in some neighborhoods and some notorious buildings, but that's it. It's just the city. And I daresay, it's another protagonist of the game.

Yes, you get to go outside a few times – you even go through the ( I don't know WHY) still mandatory Deep Roads quest and whatnot – but the main storyline will still happen inside the city walls.

And that's… not so bad. But I'll get there in a moment.

So you play as Hawke, the older sibling of the Hawke family. You're escaping from Lothering, which you may remember from Origins – yes, it's the same town you visit right after Ostagar. Lothering has been overrun by darkspawn and so you take your mother and your two younger twin siblings with you: Carver, a warrior, and Bethany, an apostate mage.

In your way to the port, you come across Aveline, a well seasoned captain, and her husband Wesley, a templar. Wesley isn't in a very good condition but you still allowed them both to join your escape.

It isn't so long before the darkspawn reach you, and you make your last stand here.

Now, in this part of the prologue, what matters the most is the class you chose for Hawke. If Hawke is a mage, Bethany, the other mage, will perish at the hands of the ogre that is leading this barricade of darkspawn. If Hawke is a warrior/rogue, it will be Carver the one who makes the ultimate sacrifice so his family would survive. As I have stated in my Inquisition review, I love mages, so of course I created a mage Hawke, and so I watched Bethany, so young and rebellious, die in front of my eyes (Wesley, Avelin's husband, dies as well but we don't care much for him sorry not sorry).

Choosing a class isn't a minor or just a gameplay thing here, because it leads to two very different stories. Carver is resentful with you, he blames you for the death of his twin, and he can't get over the idea that you (and him, as well) are being hunted by templars. He can even become a templar if you choose the required options – so ironic, you a mage and your own brother a templar! His inferiority complex makes it really hard to get on well with him. Bethany, on the other hand, seems to care more for her older sibling, and bears a great admiration for their father, who was a mage and the one who taught her everything. She's guilty over the fact her family is doing everything they can to protect her from the templars and the Circle, and her attitude towards Hawke always follow that line. Her destiny has more options than Carver, though, so it makes me think that maybe Bethany was the "canon" sibling who survived – Still, I always play as a mage so I'm used to Carver by now and it feels kind of contradictory to see Bethany alive and well.

Amidst the chaos, a dragon appears, stretching its wings – it destroys the rest of the darkspawn, and soon we see that it's not just a beast. It transfigures into a human, quite known for us DA's fans: Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds, Morrigan's mother. She's saved us, but of course she wants a little favor in return, nothing too problematic. For those who are wondering "but HEY I killed Flemeth in Origins", well this encounter happens before you do that. And if you know anything about Flemeth is that she always comes back.

Finally, you reach destination, the almighty Kirkwall, with its columns that seems to go on forever into the sky. Here, you'll start over. Here, you'll pave your way to your future. And the plot begins!

The story is divided into three well marked acts: the first Act you'll be saving money to go on an expedition to the Deep Roads to gain enough coin and reclaim the Hawke estate in Kirkwall; the second Act has you going around playing the diplomatic link between the Viscount and the Qunari who have made the city their headquarters; and the third Act, well, everything blows up. Literally, I might add.

Between the prologue and Act 1, one years passes. Between Act 1 and 2, three more years go by; and finally, Act 3 happens three years later as well. The whole story takes up like 8 years or more inside the same city. This… wasn't a good decision on the developers, in my opinion, but I'll say it after I talk a little about the characters.

First we have Hawke, our Champion. Their personality varies between diplomatic – sarcastic – upfront and direct. And this time is easier to know because gone are the days with the many responses available and now we have the wheel which shows you an icon displaying the "tone" of your reply. If there's something common across all the Hawkes you can create, is that they care for their family, they want to recover what's theirs, and there's no stopping them. They are loved by those around them and seen as a leader. Loyalty is a powerful word here, which will play a big part in the final act, because only those who are truly loyal to you will remain by your side. And it's endearing, really, to see the support of those characters that accompanied you the whole game. Oh, and they have voices. I say this because in Origins we have a silent protagonist (which took me aback considering I played Inquisition and 2 prior), and they are so well portrayed it makes them more human and approachable.

Now that we are on that topic, voice acting here is just FLAWLESS. I can't get over Gideon's voice for that stupid elf damn it.

Alright so, just like in the other games, you can recruit companions. I already spoke a little about Carver and Bethany, who are playable… for a time, at least. 

This is the first time we come across Varric, our favorite storyteller. Varric isn't only just your best bud for life here, but he's also the one telling Hawke's story: he'd been abducted by Cassandra Pentaghast (yes, the one from Inquisition) who wants to interrogate him about the Champion. Varric is like your north in the game, he's always there for you, he's always supporting you, he doesn't take sides, he's funny, he's welcoming and he cares so much that I want to hug him. Goodest best friend forever.

Aside from him, you'll be crossing paths with Aveline again, now a soldier in the guard. Aveline is the correct type of person: she takes pride in her job, she wants things to get done well, following the rules. She respects honor, dignity and justice, and she doesn't approve of taking advantage of "illegal" situations and underground activities. If she's on your good side, you'll get a great supporter and a great friend, who will got your back, always.

Fenris is an elf who comes from the Tevinter Imperium – if we know anything of Tevinter apart from its blood mages, it's that they are slavers. Fenris used to be a slave who managed, somehow, to escape from his master. He bears a burning hatred towards the Vints, mages and every slaver out there. He always remarks he's a free man and he will disapprove of your support for the mages or any kind of sympathy towards slavery. So much so, that I started my relationship with him in -10 because I was a mage.

Merril is a dalish elf whom you'll be recruiting after finishing Flemeth's little favor. Merril is a blood mage, and she doesn't see the demons as enemies, but rather friends. She intends to leave her clan and go live in the city, because she's sure she can help her kin from outside instead of remaining cloistered and secluded inside. This will grant her the dislike of all her clan's members, but that doesn't stop her. She's naïve, she doesn't seem to understand most of human customs, and she's quite direct because she can't see through sarcasm or white lies. She's the purest of the team, although her abilities may tell you otherwise.

Isabela isn't new for us, if you come from Origins. Here she'll be joining us again after losing her ship. Her intentions remain a mystery most of the game, but let's just say she's quite involved with the plot of the second act. She's a forced to be reckoned with: she doesn't mess around when things need to be done and she gets them done in her own way. I'm still a bit spiteful about her because she abandoned my team after the second act, although I thought I was doing everything right!

Sebastian is only available through the Exiled Prince DLC – he's a chantry brother whose family was brutally murdered and his estate back in Starkhaven lies headless. He's conflicted about whether to remain in the chantry or go back to reclaim his land. He's righteous, he doesn't accept any rule breaking and, to be honest, he's pretty dull – specially if you're trying to romance him only because of those shiny blue eyes. The fact that he only joins you after Act 1 supports this allegation, in the way that he's not available through the first part for party banter, which always adds a lot of more depth to the characters you're playing with.

And at last… we have Anders. For those of you who played Origins' expansion, Awakening, Anders isn't a new character either. This time, though, it's not just Anders: he's possessed by a spirit of Justice, the same Justice we meet in Awakening. Anders remains in control most of the time, but when he loses it or when he enters the Fade, it's Justice the one who takes over. Anders serves as a healer in Kirkwall, helping refugees for free. He wants to move on from his past as a Grey Warden and he fights for the rights of the mages who are being hunted by the templars. Oh, man, of course I would fall for the subversive mage! Boy was I deceived… He plays a large role in the final battle, which, depending on your choices and your principles, will change your view of him forever. Let's just say that he's a pretty hated character in the franchise.

In this game you'll have choices as well, and your comments and actions will bear points of friendship or rivalry with your companions. This doesn't mean that if you get 100 rivalry points with one of them they'll abandon you, no, it doesn't work like in Origins or in Inquisition. Here you have to see the bar in both directions: the closer it is to one of the extremes, the better. The danger zone is the central one: if you have little points of friendship or of rivalry, the companion is likely to abandon you. This is what happened to me with Isabela: I had a good chunk of friendship points with her, but it seems I needed to max them out, which I didn't, and thus she flew away, goodbye. You can even romance characters with high rivalry points, and their romance plays a little different because of it. As it says, it's "rivalry" and not "deep hatred with death wishes", so maybe it spices some things up in your relationship.

Each companion will have their own questline that stretches across all three acts, and if you want to have all your team available by the end of the game, I recommend you do them. Although… well, you won't have the whole team, but I won't spoil it for you.

So I mentioned before I would talk about why the eight year story decision wasn't a good take for me after speaking a little about the characters – well, it's simple. In those three year gaps, the story acts as if nothing happens. Yes, sometimes the characters say "hey, I haven't seen you in a while" or "that thing happened three years ago" or whatever, but it doesn't work well. For instance, if you romance Fenris, you'll sleep with him in the second act, and then he goes away, seemingly not wanting to continue with the relationship. Three year pass, and then you resume your romancing with him, and he's like "yes, idk why I left that night I so regret it lol" DUDE, you're like just two meters away from Hawke's house, are you truly telling me you didn't talk to them after what happened in these three years? 

The story plays as if there are no gaps in time. In fact, if you take away Varric's narration, which states that x amount of time happens between act and act, you won't even notice it! And that's the thing: I don't know why they chose to do this. I mean, I guess I understand the point, they wanted Hawke to make their own name, to be known and loved by the citizens as years went by, they wanted them to start in rags and rise to fortune, I get it. But something similar was accomplished with the Inquisitor in the third game: time passes, I believe almost a year, and you feel the love and respect you've earned from your companions. It didn't take my Inquisitor eight years for that. It didn't even take her half a month to get Cullen in love with her ok sorry. What I mean is, the eight years thing isn't well developed, and characters act as if no such time had passed, and the story is planned as well like that. It's almost as though they wanted to stray as far as possible from Origins in terms of design and choices, which is a great idea, but some things just don't add up.

For example, in Inquistion's expansion, Trespasser, two years have passed. And here you see, you feel that your characters have been away for long. They've all been following their own paths and when they finally reunite they catch up and speak about their futures and what they want for themselves. It truly feels like two years have passed. There's a huge impasse between the ending and the expansion, which marks a milestone, and you can understand why all these characters haven't seen each other for a while. Whereas between Act 1 and 2… it's like… yeah we went to the Deep Roads and yeah… hmm… Varric really three years and you still didn't hear of your brother or… wait is this letter by Carver just sent? I mean he's been away too long now but he could always send me letters why wait three years…. and so on. It breaks the continuity. In fact, it doesn't only do that, but it also makes your characters stupid. Are you telling me Anders has been in love with me for three years and he still hadn't done anything?? What are you, fifteen?

But apart from that, I believe this game is really good. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I enjoyed the mechanic regarding your siblings: their appearance changes depending of what preset for the face and skintone you choose for Hawke. I like the idea that only one of the twins is available throughout the game. I like that the gameplay has been improved from Origins, I love that as a mage you feel so destructive with all those spells, I love that it's fast paced and more colorful. I got also really involved with some of the companions, specially Anders, Fenris and Aveline. I love that, even though they may disagree with you on some topics, they still remain by your side if you were a good friend, because that's what friendship's about. Friendship/rivalry here feels like a human thing, something quite relatable, instead of just shoving gifts onto your companion so they'd like you better. I like that somehow all of your companions are entangled with what happens in the city, and this leads me to my final point about why DA2 is still a good game.

Kirkwall. Our vedette. Our goddess. Kirkwall is the scenario for 90% of the events of the game. We're not saving the world here. We just want the peace for the city. Who should rule? Whose forces should Hawke support? Is Hawke good enough to be Viscount? Are the templars doing a good job? Or is Knight-Captain Meredith going too far?

Political intrigue. And just one city. Not all of Ferelden. Just one bad person trying to control the strings in this small portion of land, not an army of zombies or a dragon ready to consume the world. I love that the plot is just restrained to this small thing, because it lets you go deeper into everyone's stories, and it doesn't mean that it gets less epic, on the contrary. I enjoyed the final boss here way more than I did with Corpypheus in Inquisition. Here Meredith has an actual goal and she's acting upon what she thinks it's right, and at some point and to some extent, she's right! But her methods are questionable, in the least. She's not just a bad guy for the sake of being a bad guy, like it happens with Corypheus. She's bad, but she has her reasons.

You don't get to know a lot of people, because you just know those who live in Kirkwall. The familiarity, the warmth of its streets, it's like you've been living there as well, sharing with these characters and learning about their pasts. Instead of allowing you to see a huge picture with hundreds of characters involved, you just focus on those you care about, explore them more in depth. Sometimes covering everything doesn't lead you anywhere, so it might be better with just a handful of well written plot points and characters.

I'm not saying that Origins is the worst because of this, because it seems like I'm hating on it. In fact, I can't still speak much of it because I haven't finished my route yet (although I know how it ends). I'm just saying that Origins is good, that Inquisition is good, and that DA2 is also good. It's different, but still a good game. Sometimes you're tired of playing as the chosen one hero who must save the world, and maybe saving one city is enough for your heroic career.

I loved the game. I loved that it pushed my beliefs of helping the mages to the limit, to the point of questioning myself. I loved that it played tricks on me like that with the romance option. I loved the sarcastic Hawke, such a well written script. Also, Cullen is here so of course I'd love it.

Just… don't hate it that much. And if you still haven't played it, give it a shot. You might be surprised.

[pyriety-a]

so, i’ve had this information kind of floating around in google docs for a while now, i just. never really tweaked it or posted much of it anywhere because why would i need to but!! deidre’s skills & passive talents below the cut, because i accidentally wrote a novel-

basic overview & behavior

like i first explained about a month ago, deidre is a textbook example of a glass cannon, just with some extra healing abilities on the side. her default weapon is and always will be a catalyst, but the sword is her secondary weapon, though it’s one she usually only switches to when backed into a corner or simply too close to an enemy to waste time on using the catalyst. since she’s very susceptible to damage of basically any kind, her main strategy is to simply move faster and overwhelm the enemy before they can even get to her. so, if she ends up taking too long / it gets to a point where the sword needs to come out, she’s in serious danger.

as for her behavior during combat, the majority of the time, she isn’t talking, like, at all. even in situations where it would be beneficial for her to call out, whether for help or to find an ally she’s lost track of, she doesn’t. not that she doesn’t want to, because any help or company is always appreciated!! but when there’s a fight to be won, she is completely laser focused on winning. fighting isn’t even something she particularly enjoys, but if it’s unavoidable, she might as well do everything she can ( within reason, of course ) to achieve victory, whether there’s people at her side or not.

all that said, while her style tends to be particularly ruthless as i’m about to get into, it has to be said that killing the enemy is never in the game plan. rarely is she in a situation where death can occur anyway, but when she is, she will refuse to take a life every single time. usually the burns she tends to leave on an opponent are enough to get them to stand down, but if they aren’t, she’ll either keep fighting with restraint for as long as she can, or she’ll let someone else deal the killing blow. that’s not to say she likes letting that happen either, but if that’s how far a situation has to go, mercy isn’t really an option anymore.

normal attack

alright, so. when using a catalyst, deidre’s attack style closely resembles ningguang’s in that each successful hit will gather one floating ball of fire, which she likes to call wisps, and will continue to gather until three are present. a charged attack in this state won’t do much extra damage on the initial impact, but each incoming wisp 1) does increasingly more damage with the third wisp dealing the most, and 2) becomes just a little stronger the farther it travels ( while still keeping the gradual damage increase with each wisp ), hence why it’s in her best interest to build them up as fast as she possibly can. a downside to this is that not every wisp will target the same enemy, but the damage dealt will increase with each hit nonetheless.

( not that this matters in the writing department all that much but i want to include it anyway: if she was actually a playable character, switching to a different character while wisps were unused would reset the counter, putting her back at zero when she was brought back out, and they’d need to be built up again )

elemental skill & alt. normal attack

while it’s technically her skill, in reality, it’s...just her deciding to use her sword instead, it’s a stance change. here, her attacks aren’t unlike other sword users, and a full combo would be the usual five swings. while successful hits build up wisps in the same way, it’s only on the first, third, and fifth successful hits in a row that they’re gained. this is...more of a gameplay approach to describing it, but building up two wisps and then stopping the combo would not grant another one on the next immediate hit of the second combo, it would still only gather on the fifth.

however, while these wisps are “ activated ” by a charged attack the same way the usual kind are, those gathered in this stance are instead manipulated and converted into a lot of extra energy to keep her, and allies around her, in the fight a little longer. while she can recover most—if not all, on rare occasions—of the energy she’s lost throughout the battle over the course of around 9 - 10 seconds, the recovery isn’t immediate, and it’s still very possible for her to take lots of damage from enemies in melee range and end up right back where she started if she isn’t careful. meanwhile, as the odd swings gather wisps, the second and fourth hits do much less damage, but inflict pyro damage on top of the physical damage she’s already doing, albeit with less physical damage being dealt. it may do less damage, certainly, but bonus effects aren’t exactly unwelcome.

again, still more of a gameplay description here, but to avoid spamming her healing ability and to keep things somewhat balanced, the stance change would immediately end after the healing kicked in and the cooldown wouldn’t exactly be short, maybe around 25 - 30 seconds. to sort of explain that in a way that would make sense in writing, though... swinging a sword around takes a lot of physical strength and energy, which she does have! but having to restore not only her own health, but other people’s as well, renders her sword arm useless, so it’s back to the catalyst she goes to recharge-

elemental burst

quite possibly the most useful / dangerous attack she has in her arsenal; deidre’s ultimate sends out a single ring of flames that deals massive pyro damage upon impact, then continues to burn those left standing, albeit in a weaker way, for up to around 7 - 8 seconds. every action must have a counteraction, though, and deidre’s comes in the form of hp loss. for the entirety of her burst’s duration, the energy needed to keep the flames burning drains her own health. in fact, it’s rare that she even uses this, because in her weaker points, *cough* level 1 to unascended level 40 when her hp stat is still pretty low for someone at that stage *cough* it’s usage can quite literally kill her. if she’d have to use it for whatever reason, she enables the healing ability of her skill first, just to make sure she’ll recover, and THEN her burst. it will still drain her quite a bit, but at least it won’t outright kill her. probably. using any other combination beforehand, though, is basically a death sentence. or, if it isn’t by some miracle, then it comes very close.

passive #1

once again, i gotta describe it more as a mechanic, but when inflicting pyro onto enemies already affected by any element other than pyro, her attacks will gain a boost of 2%, 3%, or 4% depending on whether she has 1, 2, or 3 wisps around her. not a huge boost by any means, but it’s enough to once again place emphasis on her strategy of “ gather wisps to do as much damage as possible, any way possible, as fast as possible. ”

passive #2

as i have it written down in the original doc, “ when deidre cooks an attack boosting dish perfectly, she has a 20% chance to return one of each ingredient used, ” which is nifty as a mechanic, but somehow she’s just really good at making food taste as great as it normally would while using less ingredients in the process.

…this one was only added because chef deidre brings me joy, that’s it-

[oreowarrior]

New references for child units: Marnie and Niall

Marnie and Niall are the two children of Floran.

aka the twins who don’t look alike sob

I apologize in advance if I made some mistakes because I’m.. really tired.

About Marnie:

Name: Marnie Amelie Quincy

DOB: 4th May

Class: Malig Knight 

(Her wyvern Senna died when she was in the Deeprealms. To get the chance to see her again she worked hard to achieve higher magic skills and became a malig knight to revive her cherished friend.)

Preferred Weapon: Tomes

Likes: romance novels/fairytales, cooking, fishing, knitting, nice weather, cute and beautiful dresses

Dislikes: senseless violence, liars

Bane: Speed

Boon: Resistance

Marnie is the older sibling and way mature than her little brother Niall.

She is a kind, doting and caring girl who despises violence and senseless murder. But she is willing to fight for her friends and cause, trying her best not to kill anyone. Marnie learns the true colors of her father in the paralouge where her and her brother are put in danger, watching him slaughtering some of the ruffians.

She is shocked, disgusted and feels also kind of betrayed, she always assumed that her father was a kind and gentle man, someone who could never hurt anyone and fought for justice. The image of the perfect father shattered and she’ll proceed to move further away from her father, running away from him. She will turn blue/playable as soon as either Niall, another potential sibling or her father calmy talks her. 

At the end of the paralouge she’ll ask her father not to senselessy kill anyone anymore. He’ll keep the promise once they achieve an A-support.

Marnie’s hobbies are going fishing, reading fairy tales and romance novels, knitting and dancing. (like waltz now, not what the songstresses like Azura do xD)

She was so influenced by fairy tales, some of her goals is either to meet her prince/princess or to improve her swimming skills to make her father proud.

About Niall:

Name: Niall Quincy

DOB: 4th May

Class: Malig Knight

(Really, he’s just copying his sister.)

Preferred Weapon: Axes

Likes: himself, mirrors, everything that could reflect his face, brushes, swimming, theatre and operas, all kinds of music, working out/ training in secret, dancing (dances like waltz)

Dislikes: food which is rich with calories, seeing people giving up/being discouraged by their own skills, sad expressions, fish

Niall is the younger sibling, not as mature as his older sister Marnie but still reliable when things gets serious.

He is a hopeless narcissist who is madly in love with his appearance despite being not attractive. He will spend at least 2 hours in front of the mirror, still looking the same. 

When he learns the actual personality of his father in the paralouge, he’s shocked just like his sister but manages to stay calm.

His father doesn’t recognize him at first. But after taking a closer look at Niall’s face, he recognizes his son (Niall has the eyebrows of his grandfather and his mole of his grandmother), still slightly suprised about how much his appearance and personality changed.

(Niall used to be a chubby boy who was bullied by the other children in the village and really insecure about his looks and his body, didn’t have many friends and was too scared to look into a mirror. One day he decided to change his fate lmao and started isolating himself from everyone but his sister and started working out, at day and night. He’d go for really long jogs or excercise combat skills. 

After lots of year of sweat, blood and tears he finally had the courage to look into a mirror again, started crying tears of joy because he was so proud of his achievement ..and fell in love with himself.)

(this kid i swear)

He is already playable in the paralouge and one of the few units who are able to calm Marnie in this map down.

At the end of the paralouge he will ask whether Floran was proud of Marnie and Niall, and Floran will say that he couldn’t be any prouder of his children, drawing them into a hug.

Seeing people putting themselves down or giving up easily makes him kind of angry and also really sad. He’ll do anything to prove them how wrong they are, show them how amazing and how proud they should be of themselves.

Niall isn’t a constant flirt but does it ocasionally because he blushes and still has the habit of stuttering sometimes.

His hobbies are swimming, going to operas/theatres, listening to people singing, playing the piano and dancing (dances like waltz).

When he and his sister were younger, they always practiced dancing together to impress their father with their skills.

Relationships:

Family:

Louisa (Grandmother)

Fabian (Grandfather)

Floran (Father)

Floran’s spouse (other parent)

Potential siblings

Childhood friends (WIP):

- Ennelyn @ronyascribbles

- Ercole @zlosopher

- Senri  @stawberryneko

(Message me, if you think that our kids are childhood friends or could be childhood friends~)

Random facts about the two:

- WIP, xD

[entergamingxp]

Learn About the Cool Cute Cast

July 24, 2020 9:34 PM EST

Seven playable characters in Eiyuden Chronicle were detailed, but seeing the game’s legacy with Suikoden, over a hundred should be coming.

Suikoden spiritual successor Eiyuden Chronicle was freshly announced for a Fall 2022 release by Rabbit & Bear Studios, made by ex Suikoden and Konami developers. Most notably, some of the JRPG’s main characters, and a few locations, were detailed in the Japanese press released of the game’s reveal. We’ve translated all the profiles below, but we highly recommend you to first read the first details on Eiyuden Chronicle and comments from the ex Suikoden developers in our previous article.

Note that the profiles will probably be officially translated via the game’s Kickstarter page, going live on July 27. Some names and terms might be officially spelt differently.

  Name: Nowa Gender: male Age: 17 years old Origin: From a remote village of the Alliance Favorite food: Anything with meat Dialogue line: “Leen would always tell me to stop meddling in others’ business, but seems that’s an incurable illness. I’m going to help whether you like it or not. I don’t know if I can help, but I can’t stand there doing nothing.”

Nowa is a warrior from a remote village, he was hired by the Alliance for a joint mission with the Empire. During the mission, he ends up finding a mysterious artifact called a rune-lens.

Little did he know this event would ed up triggering the war between the Empire and the Alliance.

Later on, Nowa joins the guards of the Alliance.

Nowa is described as a reckless type of person, acting before thinking of the risks and consequences. He often meddles in other people’s business, but is still appreciated by his comrades, who know they could count on him when it matters the most.

(We don’t know who this “Leen” is yet).

Nowa is the player’s avatar, and can be renamed.

Name: Seign Kesling Gender: male Age: 18 years old Origin: An aristocratic family of the Galdean Empire Favorite food: Poached egg Dialogue line: “This world is cruel and cannot be changed with willpower alone. That���s why I swore I would never hesitate to throw away my ideals for a moment, if this would ultimately bring me closer to realizing them.”

Seign is the second son of the Kesling family. A talented young man who displayed exceptional results at the military academy. He was given command over a mission with a squadron made of mainly students, to look for rune-lenses. This is how he met the protagonist, Nowa. They became friends and told each other their hopes for the future.

His older brother was killed in battle during a rebellion in a remote region of the Empire. This event changed Seign’s life, making him learn the consequences of war.

Seign is a strategist who always sees the big picture, and as such is often misunderstood as a cold person. He keeps his emotions and passion in his heart.

Name: Melisa Gender: female Age: 16 years old Origin: The forest’s Guardians Favorite food: Herb Chicken Dialogue line: “Hahaha, I know everything about the forest. The water sources, where rabbits nest, and where the enemies would hide to ambush us”

Melisa’s family acts as the Guardians of the forest, and thus she was taught about her own mission as a Guardian very early in her childhood. She heartily smiles to her friends but turns into a true warrior when in battle. The Guardians live together with the forest, but do not reject culture and technologies from the outside world, developing independently while incorporating the good parts of said external influence. Even among the Guardians, Melisa has a very open-minded personality. She likes discovering new things, and loves anything cute.

The Guardians have been transmitting from generation to generation special technology when it comes to manipulating rune-lenses. As such, both the Alliance, whom the protagonist Nowa belongs to, and the Galdean Empire, are seeking to ally with the Guardians. Whomever the Guardians decide to stick with, this will be a major turning point in history.

Name: Marlridge Gender: male Age: 27 years old Origin: A naturalist Favorite food: Duck soup Dialogue line: ” “Let’s see, how about we just surrender? That’s the best thing we could do. …That’s not an option? Fine then, let me explain our second best option, how to win this battle.”

A young scholar specialized in natural history. He’s incredibly curious and wishes to know the reason behind Every Little Thing’s existence in the world.

He’s also a genius strategist, and will often save the protagonist and his friends thanks to his skills. However, Marlridge considers war as the most meaningless action done by mankind, and thus finds no value in his own talent as a strategist.

Name: Gaou Gender: male Age: 32 years old Origin: A warrior from a tribe of mercenaries Favorite food: Pancakes with tons of cream on top Dialogue line: “Being the leader and yet standing at the vanguard, rushing in by yourself. Anyone can tell how stupid this is. But that’s fine by me. Life is too short to always be boringly worrying about danger.”

A battlefield veteran, earning his life by participating in many battles. He was born on the battlefield, plans to fight all his life, and die on the battlefield.

The Beast tribe are considered the most ferocious warriors, as such mercenaries like him never run out of work. Mercenary contracts are made on an individual basis, so warriors from the same tribe can often end up fighting each other.

(I’m not paid enough for this, but I could still bet you my next paycheck that this guy is gonna be voiced by Tetsu Inada.)

Name: Liang Gender: female Age: 16 years old Origin: The daughter of a family of martial artists Favorite food: Ultra spicy ramen Dialogue line: ” Uuuh, I don’t really get this difficult stuff, but these random guys suddenly invaded us. So yeah! They’re bad guys!”

She left her home, angry at the Empire invading the Alliance, but didn’t think through about what she should do. She figured she’ll figure things out by reaching a big city, rushed to one, and thankfully ended up meeting the protagonist and friends.

Her family owns a dojo and puts martial arts above everything else, so she was taught how to fight by her father since her childhood. It is said she was able to jump and kick before being able to walk on her two legs.

Name: Mio Gender: female Age: 27 years old Origin: Somewhere from the far east Favorite food: Sasa dango Dialogue line: “Even if you follow a single path, you’re the one deciding where that path will lead”

A female warrior following the way of the sword. She has a stoic personality and often stays silent, only talking to challenge fellow warriors to test her skills.

Because Mio carefully picks her words, and only speaks when truly necessary, with sharp and pertinent remarks, she’s highly respected by her comrades. Sometimes she can be a bit of an airhead though.

There you have it. These are the seven characters revealed so far. Seeeing Eiyuden Chronicle is a successor to Suikoden, it’s highly likely there will be over a hundred playable characters in total. The subtitle Hundred Heroes hints at that too, as well as the screenshots revealed, included further below.

Yoshitaka Murayama is incredibly eager that he and all the others could finally announce the game, and spent some time on Twitter answering fans from all horizons. He most notably jokingly said he’ll “fight” with the rest of the team to include character portraits during dialogues.

わかりました。デザイナーと戦ってきます。 https://t.co/UL1rAApkwq

— 村山吉隆（Yoshitaka Murayama、BluemoonStudio) (@BmsMurayama) July 24, 2020

Last but not least,  some artwork for some of the locations in the game were shared.

This here is the river town of Kinsha, and the second artwork depicts a seaside cave. Again, Eiyuden Chronicle flaunts its Suikoden vibes here. Screenshots of both locations can be found further below.

Eiyuden Chronicle is scheduled to launch on PC, and home consoles if Kickstarter stretch goals are met, in Fall 2022. Meaning it’ll be launching on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch.

If you’re a seiyuu nerd and an anime otaku share your predictions as to who could voice who in the comments.

Source: Rabbit & Bear Studios

July 24, 2020 9:34 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/learn-about-the-cool-cute-cast/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=learn-about-the-cool-cute-cast