#a weird choice for like. the optional superboss. to just like.

[gothamcityneedsme]

finished my soul hackers 2 replay yyayyy. i bought the story dlc and i liked the sidequests, the superboss was kinda disappointing though, not for gameplay, they were incredibly difficult, but like. i expected at least a little lore or nana involvement in the end and there was neither which was sort of odd.

[twistedtummies2]

Except for Willie the Giant and the Headless Horseman, who you talked about in another ask, which Disney characters would you like to have as secret bosses like Julius in Dream Drop Distance, or Monstro in Birth by Sleep? I would have wanted Cruella in the first KH, maybe as a boss fight after ya find all the 99 puppies, but she wasn't there, sadly. A battle with her, maybe with her car turned into and Heartless and helping her would have been very cool.

That's a creative idea, with Cruella! She's actually one of the few villains I didn't consider, because - unless you did what Kingdom Keepers and Once Upon a Time did - I don't know how you'd make her work for this universe. So good on you for coming up with something like that! :D Having said that...hmmmm...well, if we strictly go with Disney proper, so to speak, the Firebird or the Jack in the Box from "Fantasia 2000" come to mind. Also the T. Rex from Fantasia, because how cool would it be to fight a freaking dinosaur?! If we don't get Willie the Giant anywhere, maybe Gustave the Giant from "Brave Little Tailor" would be good instead. The secret bosses tend to be "superbosses" - very tough and more monster-like than anything else. I think these guys would fit that bill. Another one I'd like to see - and this is going to sound a bit weird, since he's appeared in a game before - is Frollo. I felt absolutely CHEATED we didn't get a Frollo boss fight. So, picture if you will, rectifying that situation by featuring Frollo as a secret boss or optional boss of some kind, and the setup being him - corrupted by the Darkness - returning to seek his vengeance/inflict self-righteous punishment? Then, when he's defeated, he's sent back to the Hell from whence he came. Yeah, it'd be dark as heck, but that's why I like it. XD In terms of characters from Pixar, I think Zurg or Mor'du would work there. If you were going to include a Lucasfilm character in this capacity, I'd say Boba Fett (or Jango Fett) would be a solid choice; I can totally see them, just completely on their own, showing up to face Sora and Co. Maybe trying to collect a bounty on them, or being stopped in the middle of trying to get one. And in terms of Marvel...practically ANY Marvel villain would be cool to see, in the event of not getting a level/world for them. XD

[nomos112]

Persona 1 and 2 Remakes Part 3

When it comes to Persona 2 gameplay, I see many describe it as a "auto-battle" simulator. I mainly put the blame on Persona 2: Innocent Sin's remaster. As I said before, it reduced the difficulty and made battling a cakewalk. The sluggish menus are also a issue. I go more in-depth on the issues in a previous post but the main thing is that they need to fix this. For fusion spells, add more physical-based fusion spells so magic isn't the objectively better choice. Let enemies actually use fusion spells. Combos from Digital Devil Saga could be considered an evolution of this so it's very possible. Nerf buffs since they're pretty overpowered and add debuffs. I feel like P2 should be more punishing on the player for defense spamming. Pretty much every boss should have Guard Punish and would encourage the use of buffs. Add Force and Gravity back to P2. Zan and Gry just being Almighty is a little weird imo. Just like I said for P1, make items like Beads and SP restoring items harder to get and make better builds for personas. The only things I'd say P1/2 should take from the newer games is fusion. Just make the fusion rules from P1/2 the same as the modern trilogy. You can only fuse personas the same level as you. Add a compendium. Allow different types of fusion like Triple Fusion. This doesn't mean I want everything related to fusion from the older games to go away. Keep returning personas. Keep arcanas as well. For negotiation, I know there's some who don't like the older style of negotiating so I'm going to say this. Just combine it with mainline SMT. There are no group contacts anymore but everyone still has a conversation option. The initial interaction will determine your odds of getting a specific emotion with each question answered, and the rest would just play out like regular SMT negotiation. This leaves Persona 2's card system out. I know some don't like the tedium of card grinding so I'll say this: Don't get rid of it. Just repurpose it. If you want to get a rare item or super powerful weapon, cards can be your currency for that. Communing with demons wouldn't be the only way of obtaining cards. You could earn some from completing rumor sidequests. If they ever decide to add superbosses to Persona 2, they can be locked behind doors scattered throughout Sumaru City and the only way to go through them is to earn a certain number of cards. The possibilities are endless. Also make battles faster for both of them. If they decide to keep the first person perspective for the first game, give it Strange Journey movement speed with the ability to dash during dungeon crawling. All of what I've said throughout these parts helps to ensure a properly balanced system that requires strategy. This also avoids controversy with old fans and makes P1/2 stand out from the crowd. On a funny side note, add the option to switch between the Revelations portraits and the normal ones for Persona 1. It'd be a nice nod to Revelations: Persona. For Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, let players experience the interesting english dub lol. I've rambled on about what I'd like to see in remakes of the older trilogy. Thank you for reading my extensive thoughts. Have a good rest of your day and stay true to yourself!

[unproductive-software-blog]

Every 2021 Video Game I Played Other Than My Favorite One (from best to worst)

Get In The Car, Loser!:

Yet another winner from Christine Love. She’s a personal hero of mine and one of the most interesting and underrated creators in the indie scene, doing something new and insightful every time. It’s aggressively political, and wears its heart proudly on its sleeve. I highly recommend this to anyone who cares about the real world on the other side of the screen. It’s pc game nearly anyone with a laptop can run, it’s short, and it’s free, so you’ve no reason to not at least check it out on itch. My biggest complaint with this game is that, while very socially concious about human issues, the characters are all proud meat eaters, and there’s no option to play the game as a vegan. Seems like a weird choice in a game that takes such an overtly progressive stance on so many other issues.

Deltarune Chapter 2:

This hardly counts, seeing as it’s but a chapter of an unfinished project. Nevertheless, this was, like chapter 1 before it, a real treat. I love seeing a genre known for mindless padding condensed so thoroughly into its essential elements, all while delivering Toby Fox’s special brand of humor. While It no longer feels as novel as his two games before it, this game also marks the first time I’ve cared to locate and defeat a Toby Fox superboss. It arised naturally from my playing the game as I wanted to, and ended up being a seemless extension of the story while also being the best part. Spamton is my dad and his story was everything I want from Toby Fox. I hope more of Deltarune will have the edgier and more frightening tone that this portion of Deltarune Chapter 2 proved he is still very capable of nailing 100%.

Narita Boy:

I’m still playing this game. Your enjoyment is all up to how much you appreciate the aesthetic. Big ups for taking early video game culture, and depicting it as a kind of digital religion.

Shin Megami Tensei V

Demons or no, this game is stanic by nature. A well-balanced game with beautiful aesthetics, fun controls, and a severe lack of variety. 30 hours in and you’ll still be running around re-colors of the first level, with the body count inflating regardless of any actual development in the game’s overarching plot and themes. There’s a serious lack of direction and agonizingly slow pace to the game, but the mechanics are so addictive they might have you thoughtlessly dedicating all your free time to it until finally realizing that there “ain’t no point to the game”. They should have just remade Nocturne with this visual style and traded in the overworld for V’s free-roaming sections, and they’d have had a much better game. I still recommend those interested in V check out the Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne remaster, as it was pretty darn good.

Oh, I guess i also played Monster Hunter Rise. Didn’t really like it much except as a way to kill time with old friends. More thoughts on that here.

More Importantly,

Merry Christmas, everyone.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Ophilia Chapter 4

I figured they would, but holy moly did the enemies take a big leap in difficulty. I’m finding myself spending like half of everyone’s SP per fight.

...and then I found the Shrine of the Starseer...and I dared to wander inside and challenge the optional superboss. I lasted about half an hour before it started going three times a turn and it wiped me out pretty soon after. Ouch.

...anyway. Plot time.

“A sister could get the impression she isn’t welcome around here.” yadontsay.gif Also, watch out, Ophilia. People are probably gonna start reporting you to the Savior.

Therion: “Take it from me. Most people have more faith than they know what to do with.” Ophilia: “But don’t you think there are times when people truly need a savior? I believe it’s not wrong to reach out for salvation when a helping hand is offered.” Therion: “...Then I suppose we’d best make sure it’s us who do the saving.”

Jeez, I can’t even do any Path Actions to people. This place creeps me out.

Random citizen who suddenly calls out for a sister from the church? itsatrap.gif BE CAREFUL OPHILIA. ...GOD DAMMIT PHILI I TOLD YOU.

Hoo boy. I mean, obviously super-religious Ophilia is going to end up fighting an equally super-religious evil cult, but...the way this cult has clearly brainwashed even normal-ass villagers into acting as goons reminds me a lot of...well, religious dogma in this country today. 😕

OH MY GOD WHAT A SURPRISE, MATTIAS IS THE SUPER EVIL SAVIOR. NAILED IIIIIIIIITTTTTT.

(for the record, I’m not complaining about the story being predictable or anything. I recognize it as pretty decent foreshadowing.)

Okay, talking about being a servant of the evil god Galdera and all that is all well and good. ...But implying that Lianna might die and you’ll need Ophilia as a replacement? Eep. 😬

Yes, Primrose has a generous heart, Phili. But also a very, very vengeful one. She gonna wreck Mattias’s shit before this is over.

Oh, cool, H’aanit is one of those PRIVILEGED BASTARDS who can fall asleep in an instant. 😒

Okay. Lianna. Sweetie. I’m just gonna say. I understand you’re grieving and all. But when you’re putting on a long religious habit that’s black and blood-red, you may want to consider if what you’re doing is, maybe, a tad bit super evil. Just a little.

It’s kinda convenient that Ophilia’s ultimate villains are a dark-aligned cult that are all weak to light, every last one of ‘em. Considering how much of a light-aligned powerhouse Ophilia is, I am not complaining. 😀

Not to mention how her Elemental Defense is through the goddamn roof. The various spells enemies are using hurt the rest of the party pretty bad, but Ophilia takes like 200 damage, max, and is just like “Whatevs, bitches, eat Luminescence.”

Alrighty. Crashing a cult meeting. Here we fuckin’ go!

...Lianna. Think for a second. All this talk about the flame Mattias is spewing is really making me afraid you’re gonna self-immolate.

I FUCKIN’ TOLD YOU IT WAS A SUICIDE CULT, LIANNA, BUT DID YOU LISTEN??? NOOOOOOOOOO, NO YOU DIDN’T.

Huh. So Mattias does have world-conquering ambitions. I guess at least one of these stories had to end up with us saving the world.

Dang, a preamble fight with the mooks. I figured he’d just use them as flunkies during the actual fight.

I appreciate that the voice actors don’t try to literally say “Waaaaaaahhh!” and just go for realistic sobbing.

This seems like a real in-depth, meaningful lesson on mortality. ...How did Lianna forget literally all of it, god dammit girl.

(for the record: not saying this is a plot hole or anything. She obviously just made an awful choice and wasn’t thinking straight in her grief. It’s just...kinda a big lesson to forget, is all.)

Here we go! Dramatic final speech! Dramatic heroic monologue! TIME TO WRECK YOUR GODDAMNED FACE, MATTIAS!

God damn these mid-battle dialogues! HNNNNNGGGGHHHH.

“You are unable to use magic skills!” I’M SORRY WHAT. ...okay, weird. It only seems to apply to certain spells. All of Prim’s Scholar spells are locked off, and so is Luminescence and even Heal Wounds (FUCK), but not Holy Light?

...uh.

...so his ultimate attack knocked everyone unconscious for several turns, during which he was easily able to spam his AoE spells and kill everyone.

...let’s...equip some unconscious-resisting accessories and...try that again.

...okay, cool. Breaking him lifts the magic curse. I WILL WRECK YOUR SHIT.

And this time I was able to break him before he unleashed that bullshit!

BOOM, TRIPLE BOOST THAT HOLY LIGHT AND FUCK. YOU. UP, BITCH! 😀😀😀

Well, I guess I did end up saving the world with the power of love. Even the villagers didn’t die. Isn’t that nice.

Okay, these credits are pretty great. I can’t believe the game remembers how I dealt the final blow to all the bosses! ...Amusingly, most of them are from Ophilia’s Holy Light or Alfyn’s Amputation.

...heh. The blonde sister is the one trying to comfort the sister named Anna who’s isolating herself. Hmmmmm. 🤔

Ooh. Clever usage of Guide! I like it.

what are you talking about. I’m not crying at this scene of sisters reassuring and loving each other. You’re crying at this scene of sisters reassuring and loving each other.

And that’s Ophilia’s tale. I loved it. I love this game.