#also PLEASE NOTE SQUARE ENIX

[waitmyturtles]

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

😭😭😭

😍😍😍

Please, for the love of humanity, everyone, if you haven’t watched this whole series, please please do. Gaga makes it easy.

That finale was a BANGER. ALL THE FEELS, ALL OF ‘EM. Chef’s KISS. THE AWARDS GO TO NISHIJIMA AND UCHINO.

OMFG THAT FINAL SCENE IN THE KITCHEN DURING THE CREDITS.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

We were so motherfucking lucky to get a second season. Prayers up for a third. I’m greedy.

[autistichalsin]

The fact that there is literally a recording of Dave saying the "in my name" line makes me wish so bad we could have had Origin Halsin. It wouldn't even have been that hard to change his plot around.

Just like how, if you do an Origin run, you can just ignore the normal recruitment spot, you'd have a different motivation for entering the goblin pens when playing. Instead of "Halsin and Aradin went off, he got captured by gobbos, please find him" you get "you were captured by goblins and, on orders of Ketheric Thorm, brought to Moonrise where you were tadpoled and then sent away on a Nautiloid that later crashed. You must now return to the goblin camp to stop them from attacking your Grove."

As for why Ketheric would have had Halsin tadpoled, that too would have been simple: he sent the Shadow Druids to target the Emerald Grove precisely because he remembered, 100 years ago, what a formidable fighting force the Druids were. It would not be a stretch to imagine that instead of sending them (or along with sending them), he decided to have their leader tadpoled and turned into a mouthpiece for his cause. Those who would blindly follow Halsin would follow, while those who would have resisted would have stayed under Kagha's leadership and performed the Rite of Thorns. But then the Nautiloid crashed and Halsin retained his free will thanks to the artifact.

Like c'mon, it would require next to NOTHING changing story-wise. You could even use the same "the tadpole did it" excuse Gale and Wyll have to explain why an Archdruid is now level 1. The literal only thing that would have to change is the portal, but even that could be tweaked so that you fight a similar hoard of enemies while you go looking for Thaniel.

(Also, on a shallow note, it would mean I'd get to enjoy seeing Halsin get pegged by Karlach if I chose.)

Maybe in 10-15 years we'll get a remaster/anniversary edition which will have Origin Halsin? *Wistful sigh* I mean, if Square Enix can make an entire trilogy of just remakes of Final Fantasy 7...

[fire-of-the-sun]

Fan-made Final Fantasy XV Posters

CREATOR'S NOTES:

Petition for Square Enix to release the high-quality versions of these renders, please? I really wanted to make some kind of poster for this game, but the only images I could find were so small and low quality, I almost didn't bother. Couldn't resist messing around in Photoshop anyway though and my tinkering spiraled into this, so I'd thought I'd share regardless.

I love Noctis' kingly raiment, so I really wanted to Photoshop him to be wearing it. I know it's technically flipped but I had to match the light source. I also gave Noctis his blue eyes back and cleaned the dirt off his face and clothes.

I really wanted to use Kingsglaive's Luna over the version from the game as I personally think that version pairs particularly well alongside older Noctis, just saying...

Creating Ardyn's magic was tricky and took a lot of experimentation to find the right custom brushes, but I hope the final result is close enough. I also edited one half of Ardyn's face to look corrupt with black dripping from his glowing yellow eye and some 'damaged' looking skin.

To create the floating crystals, I took images of actual diamonds, cut them into small pieces and placed them individually around the image before adding lens flares and glowing effects... which was about as tedious as it sounds.

If anyone knows where I can get my hands on some high-quality versions of these images, please let me know and I'll happily remake these posters! Hope you guys enjoy these regardless of the poor quality and let me know which version is your favorite!

(Please do not edit / steal / repost elsewhere without permission)

[zylphiacrowley]

Because of my specific brand of brainrot and my desire to know more about Shetona lore in general, I was trying to figure out what Erenville's home might have looked like pre-dome and how Tesh'pyani village might have operated. Literally all of this is just my guesses, most of which are barely even educated ones. OTL

below the cut to save your scroll wheel

In case you can't read my handwriting my notes in the bottom right say:

-Unsure about sleeping area? -I assume it was only Cahciua and Erenville living here. -There is a much larger structure across the street (communal dining/recreational space?) -chimney, but unsure about if there's a fireplace.

The only intact structure inside is the thing I have labeled "bench/bed?" and some built in shelving in the walls. I think that the structure that I have labeled "bench/bed?" is actually a bench and there might be the remnants of a table in front of it (or that could just be the rubble from deterioration of the home). I am def not sure about that tho because even using the intact houses in The Outskirts make it hard to tell what that particular structure was used as. Some places it looks like seating, some places it looks like a bed. ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

There's only 5 structures total in the village (which I partially owe to the restrictions of how big the map could be and how much real estate the village could feasibly be able to take up in-game). 3 of the 5 structures are smaller. My theory is that those 3 smaller ones are all individual family homes, and the larger structures might have been more like a community hub, or community leaders residence? Maybe both?

The houses in Tesh'pyani village are also pretty much identical in structure to those in Luwateninyawawsa in Shaaloani (pictured below) but you can't actually enter any of those houses (╥ ω ╥)

Anyway this is all just my probably barely coherent rambling and turning over game lore in my brain (I also need to do more side quests which might uncover more lore [yes I've done the BTN/MNR Wachumeqimeqi quests, but I haven't done the last big Wachumeqimeqi end quest yet]). I'm just starving for more Shetona lore Square Enix pls!

Quick edit to add that if you have more solid theories or knowledge on the subject please feel free to add your input! I'm literally just throwing out my string-of-consciousness ideas here.

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

So recently Square Enix launched a new game where the premise is that the protagonist is the reluctant hero of a fantasy world they find themselves in, having been born and raised in New York. It recently got some loud pushback from people who were upset that protagonist... lemme check notes... sounds like a sassy New Yorker.

Fortunately, the actress has had the perfect attitude toward it:

Now, the game has not been getting spectacular reviews, and the reasons for that vary but I'm not here to talk about trend of critics (well meaning or not) raising standards for products say... starring a black woman and having a mostly female cast, or even about problem of Sacrificial Trash.

I want to talk about this as a good example when we talk about "protected by magic" outfits.

Frey is a New Yorker now blessed with magical power, she has never been trained in armor use, doesn't own armor and so... wears comfortable and practical clothes like you would expect. The whole look conveys an interesting look of a modern person with practical sensibilities in a fantasy world.

She has two main kinds of magic items - cloaks and necklaces. Both items that can be worn over clothes without sacrificing practicality.

She also has a unique, widely considered feminine option for store her magical powers - her nails.

As well as being one of the most innovative expansions into fantasy magic I've seen in mainstream for a while it really also goes a long way to showcase what, so often, is the actual crippling flaw with the "doesn't need it because magic/badass/etc" rhetoric.

Not because you can't have an interesting design that avoids armor etc, but because it's pretty much always the same nonsense with going overboard with designing pseudo-porn and then trying to justify it after the fact rather than exploring possibilities and playing with ideas about what x would mean for y.

Also can we please have more games with character designs like this in them, I'm still thinking about how cool this boss intro was:

-wincenworks

[achoshistor]

episode ignis

main + up to ch3v2 SPOILERS also TMI

i nearly pissed my pants when finishing this like 5 times because of ardyn bro FUCK ARDYN (hes HOMOPHOBIC). honestly i lowkey did that too when playing the main game but that was because of the jumpscares. then after that i got even more pissed off on tabata's behalf (note i have yet to finish the other 3 dlc) cause like yeah you see the guys in the main story but this like fleshed out ignis so much. u really cant tell just *how* (how to do italics??) much ignis cares for noct and is willing to not just put his life on the line but to totally lose it in order to protect him. afaik (or assume) iggy is probably closest to noct out of the bros (again assuming from brotherhood n the opening scene) and he had pretty much just been always hanging around (key to his apartment) noct. we get to see all that from iggy's perspective (literally at times) which the main game was very much missing and this was practically supplemental materials to the course that is ffxv. alas they killed off tabata and now we have nothing to see. i cant really comment on ardyn & im still weighing my options for the novel (i hate spending money but i hate buying licenses more) but it seems that something regarding bahamut comes up (more soon). like honestly this is lowkey as a whole but anything under tabatas command has this melancholy to it that we will probably never see the of light again and i think this verse 2 is yet another example of what could have been but wasnt due to the workplace opps. moral of the story is there are always jealous losers after you, but when they think they've won they've just sent a bunch of other people after themselves...

anyways i think thats enough regarding the story. i want to comment on iggy himself. i found it really funny that even with his glasses off he could see clearly (why even wear them especially because he literally looks fine without them) with apparently enough that he could fight ardyn. lowkey though this guy is like one of those "fashion mfs" (i have tik tok brainrot) like bro you could see his collar sparkling in the sun as well as his belt?? on top of that his shirt is leopard print (as well as the roen skull) and the necklace like wtf... this guy is an inspiration. i really like the implication that he does his hair every morning without fail and tbf i think aside from the dlc whenever the rest of the bros get dirty ignis is somehow the cleanest (except in those crestholm channels) as well as the fact that he remains clean shaven through those 10 years. i need to be like him STAT. wonyoungism more like ignisism...

combat wise i feel like theres that slowness again but its not just with ignis; with gladio sure its expected and it took time to get used to it with noct but noct's warping abilities make up for it. this isnt a big deal tbh just a little annoying especially with how (at least for me) lt will dodge and lb would have "warped" but otherwise gameplay here is pretty simple too. honestly even with that like the fact that ravus and even aranea never became playable is a loss bc iggy n ravus synergize pretty well. whatever no point in focusing on what could have been. instead we have to focus on what will be (i filled out the square enix ff survey with a wish for more ffxv... if more people do it perhaps they will hear our pleas...) please i need more of my beautiful king ignis.........

ok thanks for coming to my ted talk more to come once i finish the other three dlcs

[grellestie]

IT HAS BEEN COMPLETED

The entirety of Season 1 of Black Butler is NOW available on archive.org! At the time of posting, the audio is still in the process of being derived but I am sleep deprived and would just like to put it out before I forgor.

To my knowledge, it's only in Japanese and I am working on adding English captions (unless ur a weirdo like me who knows the anime by heart from rewatching it 100x times).

(I am also attempting to upload the MP3 files for the Character Albums and if you have the files or know a good place to find them in HQ then please shoot me a DM.

I'm gonna pass out and away now. byeeeee

note: thank u to the shady torrent site from like 2012 for ahem legally supplying me with all the episodes.

[depression-napping]

(Sorry this is much later than I expected to post!)

Ok everyone we did it, we went to Artnia and ate the Vincent pasta and it was beautiful

Full review of Artnia below the cut ❤️

For those curious, Artnia is an official Square Enix Cafe in the middle of Shinjuku that looks like an egg. It’s a bit quieter and smaller than the Square Enix Cafe in Akihabara.

Making a Reservation

You can make a reservation if you live in Japan and have a Square Enix account, but if you don’t, there may be a few spots available for walk ins. It’s recommended to go early, when they open at 11am, to make a walk in reservation. Also, try weekdays for better luck (we went on a Monday). We dropped in at around 12pm and there was space available at 5pm, so we took it right away. They also stop serving food after 7pm I believe, but you can still order drinks.

While it is helpful to know enough Japanese to comfortably make an order, the staff is helpful, friendly, and speak sufficient English. Lots of foreigners visit because it’s a Square Enix cafe, so Japanese isn’t necessarily required.

When you walk in, you can go to the register and tell them you do not have a reservation, but want to ask if they have any space available for that day. If they do they will give you a ticket for an available time and you can come back if it’s later in the day. You can reserve for up to 4 people but you may have better luck for 1 or 2 guests only.

Note that their primary clientele is local Japanese residents, so they do not have an English menu. If you need to, you can use Google Translate’s camera function to better understand what you’re ordering. Not all ingredients are listed, so take caution if you have special dietary needs.

The FFVII Rebirth Menu is time limited and split into 2 parts. The menu items with the yellow triangles say “prior period” and ended on 4/4, so you can’t order them anymore. The ones with the green triangles say “later period” and are available from 4/5 thru 5/10. Blue corners are available throughout the duration of the event (they’re notably Cloud/Sephiroth themed of course).

But what about the pasta

Ok so on to the important part! You already know what I ordered.

Here’s the menu item description:

ヴィンセントデュアルパスタ

二色のパスタでヴィンセントの持つ二面性を表現しました。スパイシーなアラビアータと濃厚なイカスミパスタをご堪能ください。

Vincent Dual Pasta

“A two-color pasta represents the dual faceted nature that Vincent has. Please enjoy* this spicy arrabbiata and rich** squid-ink pasta.”

(*ご堪能ください　go-tannou kudasai means “please enjoy” but it also means “please feel free to satisfy yourself/to have your fill of…” I’m just gonna let ya’ll fill in the blanks on that one 😘)

( ** 濃厚 noukou (rich in taste) can also be translated as passionate hahaha)

I need to talk about the Squid-ink pasta first. It can only be described as bougie AF. Squid ink is already kind of extra. But I think it had frickin saffron ??? And edible gold leaf on top???? And I am fairly certain that in addition to like, a tiny sprinkling of Parmesan (this is obligatory for any remotely Italian meal) there was like, tiny black caviar?????

Saffron?? Caviar??? Edible gold leaf????

If you ever wondered whether Vincent would spoil the heck out of you, the answer is yes. Yes, he would. Only the best with our man ❤️

Squid ink aside, the more standard arrabbiata was also nice. As a pescatarian, I was nervous it would have meat in it, as a lot of spaghetti dishes in Japan generally contain meat. Luckily it seemed to be vegetable-based, there was like a single zucchini or eggplant slice in there somewhere 😂 (Personally, I think a meat-free option suits him better. It’s like, slightly more compassionate than straight up bolognese or something).

Arrabbiata is made with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and dried chili. (He pretends to be a vampire so he can get free garlic, guys) It also means “angry” in Italian (or spiciness pushed to excess). This is Square Enix basically telling you they know he is the hottest FFVII character. He’s not just hot. He’s spicy.

Ok but. Was it actually spicy? No, thankfully. Except for wasabi, Japanese cooking tends to be on the milder side anyway—but it did come with some chili peppers as a garnish, in case you want the full experience, lol.

Speaking of garnishes, what is that green thing in the middle?

It’s rosemary.

WAIT LET ME GOOGLE SOMETHING REAL QUICK

…

Oh lord did the people coming up with this concept do their research:

“Rosemary is the symbol of remembrance, friendship and love and was thus used in wedding ceremonies.” (It also has historical links to the Virgin Mary.)

That’s not just a random herb. That’s the most important part. Like?????????????? Is anyone else ok????? I’m glad I didn’t look this up in the cafe or I would have started ugly crying.

The Bottom Line

So was it good? Actually, yes! Artnia is a higher-end themed cafe than most (a lot of them get a bad rap for having barely edible food while overly relying on the fan aspects to carry the cafe). As a themed item it was close to perfect. The thought and care that went into this particular menu was apparent. I really appreciated that.

Also, this was super affordable as a meal. The yen is ¥0.66 = $1 right now, so this was under $10 😭 Caviar, saffron, squid ink and gold leaf for under $10? Seriously what the heck.

(Bonus, here is a terrible photo of the only Vincent decoration I could find in the store haha. It was kind of holographic?? And attached to the bar counter so I had to squat down to take a photo with my very old phone camera. Still made my heart go dokidoki)

The other items on the special menu were also really good! Husband ordered the “Cloud Black Omelette Rice” and he said it was some of the best omuraisu he had in Japan so far. Granted we are not the biggest consumers of omuraisu, but that has to count for something. We also tried the Cait Sith Mog Box drink (REALLY good, if you like Black Sesame) and the Gold Saucer Protein Juice (highly doubt it had any protein but it was a refreshing orange juice based drink).

Plus, for every drink you order, you get a random free character coaster. Check my next post to see who I got ❤️

The special menu is ongoing until Friday, May 10! If a trip to Tokyo is in the cards for you, as an FFVII fan, I do recommend making a trip to Artnia ❤️

EDIT: I lied there is *one* Vincent figure on display and like two tiny pieces of merch (which I will post later, tumblr doesn’t like me rn)

[gascon-en-exil]

…I've just realized that just comparing the two, Partitio is smaller, more emotional, just more than a few of sort of stereotypical tropes in gay pairings when in a vacuum, but he's still iirc the second tallest of the whole group, and fairly buff on his own. He just comes out like that when compared to Osvald. Idk, just find it amusing

The pairing is quite similar to Dimidue in that regard. I'm not going to say that's a major draw for me, but it is pretty funny that they have that in common.

Like, the artist didn't have to draw Partitio leaning on Osvald looking like he's about to cop a feel of some big fuzzy man peaches...but that's what we got. I see you being covertly horny and gay, Square-Enix, and I applaud you.

But yes, Partitio's character sits in this fun space where you can read a variety of gay ship tropes and historical toxic masculine tropes into him as you please. He's got that whole pseudo-Wild West swagger going on, but he's also the most emotionally demonstrative of the male travelers not that that's saying much. If I recall he cries twice during the game, with one of those being mocked by an antagonist, which is an easy lead-in to making him sad and gay and in need of an affirming bear daddy. A daddy who calls Partitio "lean but strong," at that...man's got a thing for twunks.

I am both amused and grateful that, unlike the first game's country bumpkin character Alfyn, Partitio has no notable no-homo dialogue and instead comes with conversations where he doesn't pick up on innuendo involving women and gets flustered when a woman trolls him by suggesting they had a drunken hookup - and is just shy of giving him two gay dads that everyone in the fandom is fine reading as a divorced couple that get back together in the end. I also note that SE could easily have straighwashed the entire Crossed Path system, by giving Temenos/Throné just as much ship tease as Hikari/Agnea and by pairing Partitio with Castti and doing the same. We could have had three obvious straight couples, with Osvald and Ochette left as a platonic father-daughter dynamic. But nope - Temenos has/had Crick, Throné seems turned off by sex in general, Castti/Ochette is...something, and Osvald and Partitio are over here being kind of gay. So fun.

(Of course, perhaps because of comments I've had to deal with on my recent video, I can already see someone reading this and accusing me of being stereotypical and that I'm the reason straight men are afraid to cry, etc. To that I say 1) fictional character, and 2) provide an explanation for Partitio's Stimulate voice line that doesn't involve him being enthusiastic about shoving things up his ass. )

[charlotte-y7]

Homura answered my question about Kirari's spin-off. The original Japanese audio was very long, so I selected only the part where they answered Kirasaya and transcribed it using voice-to-text technology and used ChatGPT to translate it. Afterwords, to ensure better understanding, I also did some editing and added annotations. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Is it like saying you want to read a Kirari’s spin-off like Midari and Twin? Thank you very much. Kirari is great, right? You probably like the spiciness/ zing between the president and Sayaka, so if you do a Kirari spin-off, it's natural to come out at the end and you may have that kind of feeling. But when you think about it realistically, Kirari can't lose in the spin-off, right? That’s invincible in gambling. Writing about it wouldn't make much sense. So what to write? It might turn into a story where you just write about the lovey-dovey between Sayaka and Kirari. Indeed, it would be a difficult content to create.

Little by little, well, regarding Kirari to Sayaka, I have something to say.

In the spin-off novel that I wrote, I added their interactions with a sprinkle of trip and purification techniques, but particularly among women. (Note: It may refer to the scene where they washed each other's backs in the novel about hot springs)

I put my heart into it, of course, and thought about each characters, but I couldn't imagine what the president was thinking, so I couldn't grasp it. Well, I wrote a spin-off novel in which I put in a lot of Sayaka's interaction. Therefore, I thought about Sayaka and even put my heart into creating her lines. As a result, I became too emotionally invested in Sayaka and when she is involved in the main story, it becomes a bit painful. It's not that I don't want to see it, but it's just that my emotions while reading it become kind of...not unbearable, but sad. I don't like being tossed around so much, Kirari. Well, it's more like admiration for how difficult it is. Yeah, that's right.

How many other followers the president has. I say "followers," but there are probably many who are just not interested and cannot approach her. Do they love her? When you think about it, is Sayaka okay with just being there, considering other people's feelings? As a secretary, is it enough to just exist in that role? Well, I guess it's not easy to get noticed if your abilities aren't really high. Sayaka probably doesn't sleep much, and she's also studying. Oh, I remember something from a bonus novel I wrote. I think I described her as being really busy. No, she's definitely like that. I'm sure doing well in her studies, and she's the top in her club. In that case, it would be better for Sayaka to miss the perfect score. She probably arranges everything, like Kirari's lunch. That's definitely busy. If the president goes somewhere or has a meeting with someone, Sayaka will definitely follow her. As an assistant, she probably doesn't have much private time, right? So, if I were to categorize it, it would be interesting to do it from Sayaka's point of view. I might want to see it a little bit. If you want to read it, please contact Square Enix's Gangan Joker editorial department. So, that's about it for today, right?

Well then, instead of advertising, or rather as a way of promoting it, I just want to say that the way Kirari and Sayaka interpret 'this'. In the volume 6 of the main Kakegurui series called 'Tower of Doors' and this 'Perorin' thing. (Note: 'Perori' is an onomatopoeia expressing the sound of licking.) If you watch it, I think everyone who's interested has already seen Perorin. It was definitely shocking. As I mentioned before, it's Naomura-sensei ’s forest. (Note: Mr. Naomura is the illustrator of Kakegurui. I’m not sure about 'forest' It’s maybe referring to the field of lilies), so I was surprised too. It was like 'Pero' with a licking motion. It was quite the impact. There's also another 'Perorin', and even the second 'Perorin' seems to suggest something in the advertisement. But it might be too early. This is an advertisement saying that. Yes, that's right. Well, that's all for today. Thank you very much.

[demifiendrsa]

FINAL FANTASY XVI Free Update Showcase Video

Special video message from Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida

Voices From Valisthea | FINAL FANTASY XVI PAX West 2023 Panel

Square Enix has released a free update for Final Fantasy XVI, which adds a weapon-skin feature, Onion Sword weapon, and new outfits for Clive, Jill, Torgal, and other characters, as well as announced that both a PC version and two paid downloadable contents are currently in development, with more information to come before the end of 2023.

Message from Producer Naoki Yoshida:

Hello, everyone. This is Naoki Yoshida, producer for Final Fantasy XVI.

It’s been just over two months since the game’s release, and we’ve received an enormous amount of feedback from players around the world. The development team and I have also been watching your streams and videos, paying special attention to what everyone thinks of Final Fantasy XVI. We put our all into creating this game, so it’s a real joy to see so many different reactions.

And so as an expression of our sincerest gratitude, we are releasing a free update available for download… today! There are two main parts to this update.

Firstly, we’re adding a weapon skin feature. This will allow you to change the appearance of Clive’s weapon to that of any other blade in your possession, while keeping the stats of the currently equipped weapon.

The second part of the update will introduce an alternate outfit for not only Clive, but also for Jill, Torgal, Ambrosia, and Joshua. You will be able to toggle between the default and additional option at any time, playing with whichever you prefer.

This free update will be available to download a few hours after this panel finishes, gradually going live around the world. Once you apply the update, you’ll be able to use these new features immediately.

I hope you’ll make use of these two new skin-change features as you continue to explore and enjoy every last corner of Valisthea.

Additionally, for those who’ll be playing Final Fantasy XVI for the first time, we’ve taken this opportunity to add in some other minor changes based on user feedback such as new controller layouts and more. So if you’ve yet to experience Final Fantasy XVI, I really encourage you to pick it up once you get your hands on a PlayStation 5.

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve seen so many opinions and reactions from our community of Final Fantasy XVI players. But one thing that came through particularly strongly was how people wanted to see more of Valisthea’s story and spend more time with her inhabitants. To accommodate, the development team has started work on two installments of paid downloadable content.

Finally, while Final Fantasy XVI was released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, we are aware that many of you have been asking for a PC version. So, allow me to take this opportunity to officially announced that development on a PC version is curently underway. I hope to be able to give you more information on both the upcoming downloadable content and the PC version before the end of the year, so please stay tuned.

This has been Naoki Yoshida, producer for Final Fantasy XVI. Thank you so much for joining us today for this panel with Koji and our wonderful voice cast. We’ll continue doing what we can to maintain the excitement and momentum for Final Fantasy XVI, and we hope you’ll stick with us along the ride.

Goodbye for now!

 Patch notes for the version 1.10 update:

We announce the release of update 1.10, which makes a number of improvements to the game.

This update adds a feature that allows you to change certain characters’ appearances, as well as making several adjustments to game balance, including an update to how scores are calculated in Arcade Mode.

It also fixes some issues and adds new functionality based on player feedback. We recommend that you install this update before playing Final Fantasy XVI.

This update:

Adds an Appearance feature to the Arete Stone in the hideaway.

**This allows you to change the costumes of several characters, including Clive. **It also allows you to change the appearance of the weapon Clive wields to that of any weapon previously obtained. **This feature is unlocked after progressing to a certain point in the story, and is not available at the start of a New Game+ playthrough until the same point is reached. **Please note that this feature is disabled in some scenes in order to maintain loading speed.

Awards each player an onion sword, which can be claimed by accessing Redeemable Items from the System menu.

**This allows Clive to wield the favored blade of the Warriors of Light, heroes of Final Fantasy III. **The Redeemable Items feature is unlocked after progressing to a certain point in the story. **The onion sword has the same attributes as the other downloadable weapons, Braveheart and the blood sword.

Reduces the time after a successful parry at which Eikonic abilities can be activated.

Increases the time small enemies remain vulnerable to follow-up attacks after being lifted into the air by the player, allowing for easier aerial combos.

Adds ability cooldown times to the relevant Details pages in the Abilities menu, including information on how these are affected by currently equipped accessories.

Makes the following changes to the training options menu in the Arete Stone’s Hall of Virtue:

**Adds several options regarding Torgal’s behavior. **Adds an option to restart the simulation from the original settings. Fixes some text issues.

Makes the following changes to Arcade Mode:

Adds a time limit to each stage.

**This change is intended to correct an issue wherein certain abilities could be used to continually amass points over time, allowing for scores greater than envisioned. **You can continue to play as normal after the time limit is exceeded, but any further actions will not add to your score.

Reduces the scores awarded by the abilities Rime and Gouge.

**Please note that in this and future updates, we plan to adjust the scoring system in order to reward the creative chaining of multiple abilities. We will continue to assess how scores in Arcade Mode are calculated in order to maintain its challenge.

Introduces a new leaderboard for players who have this update installed. Players who do not install the update can continue to view and record their high scores to the old leaderboard.

**After installing this update, you will no longer be able to view or record high scores to the old leaderboard. However, scores recorded to the previous leaderboard will not be deleted. We plan to make previous leaderboards visible to all players in a future update.

Makes the following changes to the System menu:

**Adds an Adaptive Triggers option to the Game Settings menu, which allows you to turn the wireless controller’s trigger effect function on or off. **Adds a Target Cycle option to the Game Settings menu, which allows you to choose one of four different methods of changing targets while locked on to an enemy. **Adjusts the functionality of the Player Follow (Attack) option in the Camera Settings menu, in order to correct an issue wherein the camera position would reset after some attacks even when this option was turned off. **Adds a Controller Volume option to the Sound Settings menu, which allows you to adjust the volume of sound effects played through the wireless controller’s speaker. **Adjusts the functionality of the Visual Alerts option in the Sound Settings menu, so that a preview of the alerts is displayed when the setting is turned on, and a confirmation dialog appears when the setting is changed. **Fixes some text issues.

Fixes the following issues:

**An issue wherein enemies’ actions did not trigger correctly in boss encounters under certain conditions. **An issue wherein the collision detection threshold could be crossed in boss encounters under certain conditions. **An issue wherein certain characters’ actions did not trigger correctly. **An issue wherein notorious marks did not appear under certain conditions. **An issue wherein notorious marks appeared in different locations to that indicated on the hunt board. – An issue wherein holding down the touch pad button would display the local map when the Wireless Controller Layout option was set to Type F. **An issue wherein certain weapons could not be crafted in Final Fantasy mode, as the materials required to craft them were not available in that mode. **A multi-language issue wherein certain entries in The Thousand Tomes could not be found using the Search by Name function. **An issue wherein game progress was not correctly carried over when transferring save data from the demo version to the full version. Several minor text issues.

[ruassurvivalkit]

hi hello! glad to see lis tc stans in the wild in 2024.

i have two questions. or three.

1. have you read some side content for lis? like comics and novels? particularly, steph's novel.

i'm asking because personally I feel like steph in BTS and steph in TC are slightly different from each other, which may not be weird, because BTS is set in 2010 and TC is in 2019 and there was 2013 trauma and some rocky relationship with izzie, so it's kinda natural for steph to become slightly different person between 16 and 25.

but I always catch myself that steph isn't really similar to herself in BTS despite both her games being made by Square Enix, so there wouldn't be as much confusion as probably will be between LIS and LIS DE.

2. so yeah I'm asking if you feel the same? and if you read steph's novel, did it make it better for you to see the shift in her character between her younger and older self? because for me it kinda became even more difficult.

but yeah sorry if I'm nagging you too much with these boring questions. here's the funnier one.

3. any headcanons on steph?

thanks in advance for asking any of these, have a nice day!

Hi! Thank you sm for this ask anon, I had a great time reading it and trying to answer it! Please be encouraged to send more as I'm more than happy to answer :)

To answer your question, I haven't read anything else but I've read Steph's Story! I somewhat agree with your opinion. I think Steph is different but she is still *Steph* in a way. What I mean by this is that, not to sound corny, but over the course of life we all have character development and we all change, and I think Square Enix was tryna convey this change thro her in a way?? Her life was rough when you really think about it. She either lost Chloe (which in the DLC for TC, Wavelengths, her relationship with Chloe appears quite close, even if a lot of it is behind the scenes and not in BTS) or lost her entire home town, family and most of her friends bar Mikey (and nearly lost him too due to her habit of running away when things get tough), which is traumatic af, so you can see why she would change sm. It could also be a change from her teens years into her mid adults years, which is like nearly a whole decade so a lot can change and happen over that length of time. As well as that, the events during Steph's Story couldve also had the chance to drastically change her perspective and make her grow into a person a distance away from her teenage self. I think your opinion is honestly fair enough and I could see alot of people thinking the same thing, and it's good to see other sides of things :)

Question: I haven't read anything bar Steph's story which I need to once I get paid next lol, so what would you recommend I should read next?

(Also I love these types of questions I would love love love if you sent more)

As for Steph headcanons! I have a few 🤭🤭🤭

- (chenrich headcanons) Steph absolutely loves Alex's glasses and would steal them off her and try wear them and would find it so adorable that Alex wears glasses

- i feel she would burn CDs for people she loves (platonically or romantically) and especially if they're a music lover. She would take a mental note of any music her loved ones listened to regularly/liked and burn them into a CD for Christmas or birthdays or a random gift

- she would show up unannounced and uninvited to her loved ones houses, even if it gets her told off the majority of the time

I could absolutely yap on all day about her but this is surface level bc I don't wanna bore you all. Let me know if I should elaborate or not 👀👀

[captainbobbin]

Hi, hello! 💜 📝🦐 please! 💜 Also: *boop!*

(in response to this ask meme)

awuaaaagh a boop! - prepare for one in return mwuaha - also I'm gonna do these two out of order because it will flow a little better haha, plus I'm rambling so its under a readmore -

🦐 - tell me about a character or story that is giving you shrimp emotions right now

spoilers for DQXI ahead!

I went back and replayed some more DQXI yet again yesterday (I play a good chunk of it every week on stream for my chat and I always loredump and theorise with them as we play haha) but I had missed a few weeks due to the recent funeral and other irl distractions. But going back to it was like coming home and. man. man. Hendrik. Hendrik my special boy who I love so dearly. I could talk about him for weeks, he has rewired my brain chemistry. I'm pretty sure you followed me for my KH stuff in general but DQXI is another square enix game and to me Hendrik has a nice overlap with the way I characterise my version of Isa. Hendrik is a big brooding dad type of guy who begins as an antagonist to the player due to being misled, lied to and betrayed; as the game goes on you realise that not only is he the most powerful thing in-game but that he is wracked with survivors guilt, catholic guilt, imposters guilt, every kind of guilt imaginable, he's a giant socially awkward unstoppable force teddy bear man who is the worlds most revered hero, destiny's chosen strongman, a horsegirl and a clown and I will never tire of talking about him he is just so so special to me. He's so pretty. I think I spend most of my time playing DQXI either deep-diving into lore/theories or just going 'god look how pretty Sylvando is. Look how pretty Hendrik is. I love them. I love them so much' lmaoooooo (a lot of people pair Hendrik and Jasper together and I totally get that but I love Sylv and Hendrik winding up together, they just work so well as a pair, they fit together so nicely auuugh)

One of the things we talked about in my last DQXI stream was that right at the start of act 2, when Hendrik is at your side but not a party member yet, (and hes only just getting over his projection of angst onto you and he's trying so hard to be better already and he dedicates himself to you there and then pretty much), in the throne room of Heliodor's ruined castle where Hendrik once served you fight the Spectral Sentinel Tyriant, and we discussed the possibility that Tyriant might just be the reanimated dead body of Arnout, the former king of Zwaardsrust (Hendrik's original home, which was razed to the earth when he was just a little boy.....). The size of the body, the way it fights, the fact that the orb it is designated is the purple orb, which was buried in the ruins of Zwaardsrust..... awauaugh I love this game so much and I am obsessed with digging up lore and playing with it, especially the stuff revolving around Sylv and Hendrik haha

I just. I love the guy. He has so much grief and inner turmoil and layers and the entirety of Act 2 is him learning to be a person again and trusting those around him, pushing through his internalised blame (with debatable results) and just trying to heal while out on the road. I'm just. obsessed with him. My big purple wife 💜

📝 - tell me about a project you're working on, or share something from a WIP -

here are some messy notes I did recently for the next instalment in my Open Wounds series, which is about Hendrik dealing with his emotions regarding Norberto (Sylvando) and their strange, budding relationship -

Thank you, my darling. It hung in his ears. Hendrik had followed Sylvando to the Stallion and back five times over, carrying whatever burden he was issued, internally leashed by those words of praise. In order to save the world, one needed provisions. The ship needed stocking. Hendrik was only doing his duty. It was merely a boon that he did so whilst looking at Sylvando's back, sauntering ahead of him, smile easy and reputation preceding him. The scarlet clouds ought to make the clown vanish into gloom, as it had yesterday, yet spirits seemed to have risen. Like Hendrik's own flesh, perhaps the world was healing, just a little. The clown's presence certainly gave the impression of that effect. The longer they were in Gondolia, the more people came out of hiding, the more townsfolk did business with them, the more smiles began to appear. Conversations were had with shopkeepers that Hendrik did not understand - don't you worry, honey, those Beastly Boys aren't so anymore! They've done me very proud since last I was here - and Sylvando glittered under Erdwin’s Lantern, a thought that was both horrid and harpsichordical; in times of strife and despite any grief, the strong flourish and bloom, and to observe a knight perform his duty and be one with the people, taking hands and offering encouraging words, offers of support, promises to repair, all while doom crept ready to be taken down, it offered Hendrik a cacophony of implacable feelings that he really could do nothing with. He just followed, experiencing it, fascinated by the way civilians recognised the two of them, recognised that the two of them were together, recognised that the two of them were different, and then recognised that the two of them were the same. 

Shamefully, Hendrik had almost forgotten to think of Jasper. Shamefully, he still rather had.

The only time Hendrik's mind had drifted to Jasper was when, as they gathered materials together, idly talking about nothing - and by the Gods it was nice to talk at all, to be able to talk at all with him - Sylvando regaled some airy tale of a time when he had discovered some squeaky little mousies had made snuck aboard his ship and tried to make a nest in a gap in the pantry floorboards. He talked of how he had kept an eye on them, left small amounts of food near the opening to save the mice from gnawing through sacks and taking more than their share. Sylvando had scooped them out the next time they moored and freed them, finding some snug shrub to set their fluffy little hiding place under and watching them scurry away. He had told the story, again, smiling, faint gestures with his hands, harmless, pressureless, filling the silence. It was rather admirable, and Hendrik could not help but think that it spoke of Sylvando's character, a character that had not changed despite everything else changing so much. Norberto had tried to bring home a wild sabrecub once - his father forbade it, for obvious reasons. But the boy - and now the jester - had always been able to see the good in all things, had always had a soft spot for creatures in need of aid. 

Hendrik's back tingled.

Sylvando had cared for rodents aboard his vessel, had refused to outright kill pests that, by all means, he could have and perhaps should have to ensure the ship was clean and safe and without burden. Instead he had left tissue nearby for them to nest with, crumbs and peeling nearby for them to eat, and had personally made sure that the mice had a real home as soon as he was physically able to, carrying them to where they ought to be with gentle hands and no doubt nurturing words.

Vermin, Jasper would have said. Disgusting, vile, loathsome little cockroach-beasts. He would have raised his boot over them and brought it down swiftly with a wrinkled nose and curled-back lip. 

If we pass where I left them, I'll show you, Sylvando had turned to him and said, smile light and charming. It's the finest little mouse-house around! I bet none of their other forest friends have purple crepe paper and ribbons adorning their humble abode, eh? Those little stowaways got only the best - I'd have nothing less on my ship, you know.

Hendrik peered out of the window, stood in the belly of The Stallion. 

[jadecascade]

Dewprism Interview

It’s from 2020, but below is an interview I translated with Threads of Fate/Dewprism Programmer Koji Sugimoto and Writer Daisuke Watanabe. A link to the original article is below. Enjoy!

https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2020/01/16/126852.html

Looking Back on Twenty Years of Dewprism! Reader Comments, Words of Appreciation from the Development Team—and What Fans Can Do Now. (Interview)

 "Dewprism," an action RPG for the PS1, is still beloved by many users to this day. For the game's twentieth anniversary, we asked the development team for their memories and secrets! Please take a look.

 Back in 1999 when the universally popular Playstation console was still in its adolescence, numerous beloved titles that have gone down in gaming history made their debut.

 Even SquareSoft (now Square Enix) of Final Fantasy fame put all their focus on the Playstation console, and in 1999 they launched several new series like Seiken Densetsu: The Legend of Mana. Another new ambitious IP, the action RPG Dewprism, released on October 14th, 1999.

 The story follows the adventures of the kindhearted Rue and Mint, the selfish princess of the East Heaven Kingdom. With two different protagonists as well as two unique storylines, Dewprism's style successfully blended drama and comedy. Each character's special abilities and battle techniques also added to action-based gameplay.

 The charming characters, lively 3D animation, and countless heartfelt, memorable scenes have produced a work beloved by many and still discussed on social media to this day. It holds a special place in this writer's heart as well.

 Flash forward, and now the delightful Dewprism has reached its twentieth year on October 14th 2019! To celebrate this anniversary, we interviewed staff from the original development team. In addition to questions about the road to Dewprism's conception and fond memories, we delivered fans' honest comments to the staff. Please be sure to read until the very end!

The Birth of Dewprism!

—First, please check out how Dewprism got its start.

Koji Sugimoto: As director, first I drafted a rough proposal. We initially decided on "a casual full 3D action game for children" and build on that as we discussed what kind of game and story to make. Later, since Masaki Kobayashi-san and I were the only programmers, the two of us wrote most of it.

Koji Sugimoto Profile:

Senior Lead Engineer

 Works:

 · Chrono Trigger

· Xenogears

· Final Fantasy X, X-2, Type-0

· Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

· Schoolgirl Strikers

 Masaki Kobayashi Profile:

Lead Programmer (Luminous Productions)

 Works:

 · Radical Dreamers -Unstolen Jewel-

· Xenogears

· Final Fantasy X, X-2, XV, Type-0

· Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

 Daisuke Watanabe: I joined the development team when Dewprism was about half a year into production. Around that time, the characters and world setting still involved a lot of trial and error. We wrote the script while working out the details. That's probably why there was still plenty to figure out later. (laugh) However, a lot of good came out of it.

Daisuke Watanabe Profile:

 Writer

 Works:

 · Mobius Final Fantasy

· Final Fantasy X, X-2, XII, XIII, XIII-2

· Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

· Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

  —Dewprism struggled to gain a foothold. On that note, how did the opportunity arise?

Sugimoto: Square was developing several big titles at the time, but it was company policy to make even the smallest game a satisfying challenge. Amidst all this, it was a "raise your hand if you're interested" kind of situation. I figured "why not" and jumped on board. We had just finished Xenogears, so they asked the (empty-handed) staff and found about twenty volunteers. We actually had a playable demo for the presentation, which is probably why it was quickly approved.

—So, development was a twenty-person crew. What kind of scale did you work on?

Sugimoto: It was a pretty small scale. There were a lot of minor projects at the time, but twenty people was almost unheard of.

—Games were being released left and right. Front Mission 3 came out a month before Dewprism, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross came out just a few months later, then Parasite Eve 2.

Sugimoto: Late 1999 was hectic.

—Making a 3D action game with only twenty people sounds difficult. How was it?

Sugimoto: Since Xenogears was also in 3D, we had gained a bit of know-how. I think that helped a lot. We weren't sure how much our limited manpower could handle, so we made two main characters and storylines to maximize our data... Well, that was the idea at least.

—In other words, the story grew bigger.

Sugimoto: I told myself it would all work out somehow. I was young and reckless. (laugh)

—A portion of the story fell to Watanabe-san as the volume increased, right?

Sugimoto:  (When Watanabe became involved) Writer Makoto Shimamoto has already planned out the basic synopsis and characters, but the finer details hadn't been finalized yet. This role was gradually transferred to Watanabe-kun.

Watanabe: When I joined the project, Rue and Doll Master were already fleshed out. Rue's basic goal to revive Claire with the Relic was set, but Mint's motives were still undecided. We needed a simple-minded character to break that deadlock, and her objective became world domination. (laugh)

—That IS simple-minded. (laugh)

Watanabe: It's her trademark. (laugh) And that's how Mint became the character you all know and love.

Sugimoto: I feel like we asked a lot of you.

—Doll Master is an important figure to both Rue and Mint, but was the link between Mint and Doll Master added later?

Watanabe: Rue and Doll Master's connection had already been decided, but initially Mint was totally unrelated. That wasn't very interesting though, so we thought maybe they could be from the same hometown. The East Heaven Kingdom was soon born, and that's how Mint went from a treasure hunter to a princess out for world domination. However, once we decided to give each storyline a unique atmosphere, a key character was added as a foil for both protagonists. That was Mint's younger sister Maya.

—Let's talk about Maya's importance.

Watanabe: Maya's aura differs between the two storylines, but she isn't two-faced. People's attitudes often change to reflect their surroundings. We don't behave the same way at work as we do with family. In that way, I wanted to make a game that showed multiple sides of a character that varied according to their situation and those around them.

—Maya certainly seems different in Rue's route than Mint's.

Sugimoto: Maya is the most beautiful character. (laugh) The story came together wonderfully thanks to Watanabe-kun's contribution.

—Many others were involved as well, but Sugimoto-san helped get Dewprism off the ground while Watanabe-san polished the characters and story to a brilliant shine.

Creating a Sense of Motion! The Hard Effort Behind Flowy Clothing

—I'm speaking from personal experience here, but didn't the NPCs in Dewprism look directly at your character? Even if the player moved, their gaze would follow you. Dewprism was the first time I'd seen something like that. It was a huge shock.

Sugimoto: Our thought was to create as much expression as the technology would allow. We did it on a whim since the neck could calculated at different angles, but I'm glad you were pleasantly surprised.

—It really threw me off guard.

Sugimoto: It's almost too small to notice, but both the pupil and eye white textures move as well. I think details like that help the characters come alive. We calculated movement into every part of the body.

—Speaking of "coming alive," it wasn't just characters and clothing. The props and decoration were equally intricate.

Sugimoto: At the time, a lot of characters in other games were empty-handed, so we said, "Let's distinguish ourselves by including detailed accessories and equipment. CPU processors are faster these days, so we can add more polygons!"

Watanabe: Exactly! When I first saw Rue, he had proper footwear and travel gear. I thought to myself, "Wow, this guy is ready for anything. He's not the type to recklessly charge ahead."

—Did the characters seem to evolve as you worked on the models and animation?

Watanabe: Absolutely. I learned a lot about motion in particular.

Sugimoto: While putting together the Dewprism team, I approached Motion Designer Takeshi Kanda first. We had worked together on Xenogears, and I wanted the game to highlight his skill. He was by far one of the best in the business. In addition to the two protagonists, he also handled most of the other characters. The quality visibly improved as a result.

—Next, I took the liberty of collecting reader comments for this interview...

Sugimoto: Wow, look at all these. I'm thrilled!

—Many readers praised the animation, particularly Mint's foot stomp. (laugh)

Sugimoto: The foot stomp was so novel, I doubted anyone else could have thought of it. Kanda-san truly outdid himself. The fluttering (clothes) were his idea too. Just as we were about to calculate and ready the program, he'd already perfected the effect. So, everyone decided it was best to leave any billowing outfits to him.

—So, it was done manually?

Sugimoto: Yes, it was all manual. In the time since Dewprism came out, I feel like billowy movement has grown more popular. Other companies now include it as well.

Mint's Hatred of Pumpkins was an Afterthought?!

—What do you remember most about making Dewprism?

Watanabe: Good question... Everything, I guess? (laugh) It was a pretty hectic time for me. After all, I'd never written a game scenario before. Before then, I was in the publishing business as an editor for Kadokawa's Dragon Magazine and Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. In that industry, stories mostly depend on one writer's grandiose imagination. However, (for Dewprism's development) we had all these ideas but production couldn't keep up. Figuring out what we could accomplish with our limited time and resources while keeping concepts reasonably in check—it was a tall order. (laugh) I became obsessed as I considered how to make things interesting.

—Game development sounds like hard work.

Watanabe: As we discussed earlier, various aspects like Mint's character were finalized. However, the chronological scenario from start to finish was nowhere near completion. For example, since the game didn't have any voiceover, lines could be tweaked even late into production. It was released in October, but if you look at the original data, there are some notes that say, "Modified in July." (laugh)

—If you take distribution and PR into account, that's cutting it close.

Watanabe: It wasn't just about aligning the game with the story either. Sometimes we had to go back into the story while making the game. The biggest example of this...was Mint's hatred of pumpkins added at the eleventh hour.

—Even though it's a huge part of her character?!

Watanabe: While tossing around ideas for low-level monsters with Planner Haruyuki Nishida, rolling pumpkins were brought up. This led to "Wouldn't it be funny if Mint really hated pumpkins?" and it added to her character.

—Isn't her distaste made obvious at the start of the game?

Watanabe: Actually, the opening scene was made towards the end of production. (laugh)

Sugimoto: There's even more hidden history—Character Designer Tsutomu Terada came up with the pumpkin motif on Mint's bag. (laugh)

Watanabe: Oh, yeah. Is it okay that we left it in? (laugh)

—She probably chose it on purpose to help overcome her phobia. (laugh) At any rate, it sounds like working on Dewprism was quite the learning experience.

Sugimoto: Definitely. There's no question I grew a lot over the course of the project.

Watanabe: We didn't wing it, that's for sure.

—It seems like everyone on the development team came up with ideas even while working on other projects.

Sugimoto: Yes, that was especially true in the beginning. We'd all get together and ask each other things like, "How about this for Fancy Mel's stage?" and "Wouldn't stars look cool?"

Watanabe: Oh yeah, like Starlight Duke. (laugh)

Sugimoto: Once everyone gradually grew busier, the design team and I worked out the rest of the details. Speaking of development memories, we buckled down on corny jokes. You know, like "Oh, my boots are untied." (laugh)

—That was when Mint tried to jump kick Rue and missed when he crouched down to tie his boots, right? (laugh)

Sugimoto: Nishida had said something like, "Promises are called 'promises' because they have a definite sense of intrigue." It started out as a silly idea, but in the end we laughed at the actual scene. The game was for kids, but I figured that if everyone else shunned these kinds of jokes, we might be the first. I wanted to keep that energy.

—A lot of comments we received mentioned the boot lace scene. (laugh)

Watanabe: You can't beat the classics. (laugh)

—Incidentally, about half of the comments were from people in their thirties. It's been twenty years since the game's development, so such players were between 10-19 years old at the time. Was that your target audience?

Sugimoto: Yes, we roughly had that demographic in mind. Since our previous game Xenogears had a lot of kanji and a complicated storyline, we were aware that elementary school kids might not enjoy it as much. Dewprism was the result of our desire to attract a new generation of Square fans and create a game that younger children could enjoy. In addition, I thought perhaps Square would appreciate a cheesy fantasy instead of science fiction.

—Dewprism is undoubtedly a fantasy, but unlike the medieval fantasy titles that were widespread at the time, there's a somewhat folksy quality to it.

Watanabe: At the time, Final Fantasy Tactics was the poster child for medieval fantasy, and the team working on Vagrant Story was right next door. In that kind of atmosphere, we had to be original. This influenced Dewprism's artistic direction.

Sugimoto: The East Heaven Kingdom was your idea, right?

Watanabe: I wanted Mint to come from a distant land. I'm an old man who enjoys fantasy like D&D, (laugh) but that wasn't my aim. In the end, I took inspiration from various sources. By the way, I really liked Panzer Dragoon. I was Team (Sega) Saturn.

—Panzer Dragoon also has a unique fantasy vibe.

Watanabe: My girlfriend (at the time) and I bought a Playstation and played FFVII, but she took everything after she dumped me. (laugh) I told myself, "I can't take this anymore!" and "I'm going to live for me!" and applied to Square. After Dewprism was finished, Sugimoto-san bought me a Playstation. (laugh)

—If she hadn't left you, Dewprism probably would have looked very different. (laugh)

Watanabe: You may be right. (laugh)

—The world of Dewprism has a mysteriousness unlike most fantasy titles.

Sugimoto: You can thank our Designer Terada for that. In addition to the main character designs, he did several of the environments as well.

Watanabe: His art direction struck me deeply. For example, the forest wasn't just a row of trees but rather a fitting stage for our protagonists' adventures. The world was born from these environments.

 Mint's Influence on Future Characters

—Please tell us more about the two main characters.

Sugimoto: Shimamoto had proposed Mint's character, and her simple innocence really surprised me. She wasn't like many game protagonists at the time, which might explain her popularity among female players. Rather than a damsel in distress, Mint is someone who forges her own path.

—[Our company] Inside focuses on male-targeted games, so our female readership is relatively small. However, the comments we received for this interview were 53% male and 47% female. It's very rare for us to hear from so many female users over a single game.

Sugimoto: I'm glad to hear it.

—At the time, most action RPGs were targeted towards boys, right?

Sugimoto: You're right. In Dewprism's earliest stages, we intended to have one female heroine. But in those days the consumer market was primarily male alongside most game protagonists, so we were told a heroine would be a tough sell. So, we decided to include both.

Watanabe: The overall opinion seemed to be "(Boys) won't want to play as a girl."

Sugimoto: Elementary school boys would probably be too embarrassed. On the other hand, we thought girls who had been playing as male characters up until that point (because there was no choice) would appreciate it.

—Female main characters are much more common these days.

Sugimoto: Indeed. I'm glad the player community has become so diverse.

Watanabe: Also, there's a difference between a heroine that's fun to watch and a heroine that's fun to play as. I've never really liked the helpless type, and when writing a game scenario, you'll get nowhere if the character has no will of their own. No one wants to play a game where you just wait around for something to happen. The player needs to step forward and set off on their adventure. For me, Mint felt like a source of inspiration as I later fleshed out Final Fantasy X's Yuna and Final Fantasy XIII's Lightning. She showed me that heroines can be both endearingly cute, strong, and capable.

—In a way, she was the start of it all.

Watanabe: I'd like to consider it a successful experience.

—Mint's tale is very much about her relationship with her sister Maya. Furthermore, it is also revealed that Rue and Doll Master share a brotherly connection. Is there a reason you included these familial themes in each story?

Watanabe: I honestly can't remember what I was thinking twenty years ago. (laugh) ...I decided to make both Rue and Doll Master dolls, and I also wanted to give Mint a unique quality that was easily understood. Something like "rivals at a magic school" would require significant explanation, but a relationship between sisters is immediately understood. I choose this connection in order to convey the most information in the shortest amount of time. At the time, I felt like a lot of games were hyper-focused on complex lore and thought, "Even if we create an intricate world, we don't have to explain every little detail." That's why Dewprism's terminology is kept simple; there are no big words or katakana. We kept it as short and sweet as possible.

Sugimoto: It was also a huge help that the characters could express themselves in 3D.

 Mint's Missing Father Was a Muscular Mage?!

—Can you tell us more about the gameplay?

Sugimoto: (As a player) I'm not very good at action-adventure games, so I wanted to make it as easy as possible. If the player presses a button, the character will automatically turn around and attack, so there's no need for advanced controls. ...Still, that decision probably made some areas more difficult than others. (laugh)

—...I think I know what you mean. (laugh)

Sugimoto: We aimed for a fair balance between Rue and Mint's skills. Their jump height is the same, and even their attack power was mathematically adjusted. I don't recall any discrepancies, but Mint's flying kick was a fan favorite. (laugh) Maybe it just felt satisfying, but apparently some players beat the game with that alone.

—I can understand the desire to specialize in flying kicks. It really became part of her character, didn't it? (laugh)

Watanabe: Mint is a magical girl who knows how to tussle. (laugh) This didn't make it into the final game, but the East Heaven Kingdom has a family motto: "Magicians can't equip weapons or armor. So, what do we do? Strengthen our bodies!" They probably trained in iron clogs or something. (laugh)

—Mint's flying kick must've been the fruit of her labors. (laugh)

Watanabe: It's also why she eats so much. (laugh)

—By the way, I heard Mint's father was supposed to appear.

Watanabe: Yes, as a meathead magician. (laugh) He's probably the one who came up with the family motto.

—What kind of character would he have been?

Watanabe: All brawn and no brains. (laugh) He'd take a swing while saying stuff like, "My FIST is the real magic!" I'm totally kidding though. (laugh)

—I can see the family resemblance. (laugh)

Sugimoto: Like the Bull Demon King [from Journey to the West].

Watanabe: Exactly. A magician who is better with his fists. (laugh)

—I would've loved to see that. (laugh) Speaking of which, both Mint and Rue have their own unique weapons. Most people associate fantasy heroes with swords, but axes (Arc Edge) and rings (Chakram Rings) are practically unheard of.

Sugimoto: Yes, the rings were unusual.

Watanabe: When I first watched Mint wield her Chakram Rings, I thought, "This is awesome!!" Later when I saw Rue, it was more like, "This chill-looking guy sure has a terrifying weapon." (laugh)

Sugimoto: The motion team was incredibly innovative to combine the two rings in one magic attack. Who would've guessed?

Watanabe: It wouldn't have been possible with a wand or staff.

—So, that animation was the motion team's work?

Sugimoto: Yes, the movement at least. The idea for the rings themselves came from Shimamoto.

—Mint can use magic and Rue can transform into monsters. Was it difficult to create such drastically different skills?

Sugimoto: The design team proposed the "transformation" idea, but we decided to have Rue transform and Mint cast magic instead. Nishida always had the best suggestions and provided both magic and post-transformation illustrations, so we quickly implemented everything.

—Spells in most games are independent of each other, but the magic in Dewprism is a combination of "Color" and "Effect." Was it difficult to keep track of them all? I should think so.

Sugimoto: Yes, but at least we didn't need to include every single combination.

—Even so, there are over thirty spells. That was an impressive number for action RPGs at the time.

Sugimoto: I thought it'd be more interesting to combine different effects than just choose one magic and press a button. Our Programmer Kobayashi provided various magic animation.

Watanabe: I saw that one ring spell fly out and thought, "This is like Gradius." (laugh)

—You must mean the blue Ripple magic. (laugh)

Sugimoto: The groundwork for the game's program was pretty much complete by that point. We just had to polish it up, so there was an excited energy.

Reading Fan Comments and a Look Back on Dewprism

—We've received a lot of comments about how Rue's ending left a deep impact on people.

Sugimoto: I see.

—Many were surprised by his realistic reaction. Although he had finally reunited with Claire, he couldn't speak or even look at her.

Watanabe: Even now, when writing a scenario it's my worst fear that whatever I put into words will ring false.

Sugimoto: Cutscene Planner Yaeko Sato would sometimes use both "space" and the camera to create atmosphere without any dialogue. I think it was very effective.

Yaeko Sato Profile:

 Planner

 Works:

Final Fantasy VIII, XI, XII, XIV

 —There were also a number of comments about Mint's threats. (?) Like, right before the final battle when she yells, "Your butt's going to hell!" and Maya joins in with a "We will triumph!" (laugh) You could definitely tell they're sisters.

Watanabe: I like when the same line has a different nuance. She had made constant threats up until that point, but they took on a cool flair. Even for Rue, the curse that once controlled him, in the end, set him free. I suppose you could might call it foreshadowing.

*Translator note: The Japanese line is 「ボコボコ」and remains pretty much unchanged throughout the game, but the English version is a bit more varied. I reflected this in the translation.

Sugimoto: Maya's "We will triumph!" was the end goal, right? A disciplined character like her wouldn't speak out like that.

 *Translator note: For context, Maya's line in the JP version, 「ぼこぼこですわ！」is much more out of character for her than the official English "We will triumph!" translation.

Watanabe: The fact she doesn't show that side of herself in Rue's story also adds a layer of interest. I think the fist fight in the hotel was the worst of it, and neither princess admits they're sisters in Rue's story.

—There are surprises if you play Mint's story first then Rue's, and vice versa.

Watanabe: The "zapping" method was popular back then, but it would have revealed half the story. Instead of giving away spoilers in sequential order, we thought it'd be better if each character had their own route.

—Another reason why Dewprism is so unique.

Watanabe: At first, I couldn't get a grasp on Maya's character. However, I wanted her to contrast Mint, and the rest is history.

—Is there a scene in Rue's route that left a deep impression on you?

Watanabe: I only remembered this recently, but Rue and Claire live in a snowy cabin at the beginning of the game. That image reminded me of Moomin.

—Oh!

Watanabe: This is just me personally, but that cozy life deep in the mountains is a lot like the Moomins. Although quiet and naïve, there's an inner fortitude. It feels like a supportive environment and a fine place to grow up.

—Rue does have a rather refined air.

Watanabe: He snaps on occasion, but I agree. (Reading fan comments) Ah, the "Sukatangou." How nostalgic. We chose that name early on. It just felt right. (laugh)

*Translator note: The Pinto, Mint's name for the Pulsar Inferno Typhoon Omega, in English.

—So, "Scarlet Typhoon Excellent Gamma" came from "Sukatangou." (laugh) Based on the comments, Rue and Mint are easily the most popular characters.

*Translator note: The "Pulsar Inferno Typhoon Omega" in English.

 Watanabe: That's great.

 Sugimoto: I'm glad there's no obvious discrepancy.

—More than a few Mint fans even call her "Mint-sama." (laugh)

Sugimoto: Among the staff, we always called her "Mint-san" to show respect. (laugh)

—Unsurprisingly, Maya is a close third. There are also those who love Duke. "Starlight Duke's" star is far-reaching. (laugh) Many were also touched by his relationship with Belle.

Watanabe: All the women in Dewprism are tough cookies. (laugh)

—No kidding. (laugh)

Watanabe: Speaking of which, there's a touching scene in Rue's story right before the last dungeon. He goes to Fancy Mel's, and they discuss his resolve. Choices are offered throughout the conversation and the player can answer as they please, but in the end she wishes you good luck. This is right before you head to the last dungeon, so I made sure to include words of encouragement regardless of someone's answers. I've been writing game scenarios for a long time, but ultimately games are supposed to be fun. I love nothing more than cheering the player on and telling them, "You've got this!"

—Motivation is key.

Sugimoto: Still, I can't thank everyone enough for their comments. There's passion in every word.

—Mint is so selfish and conceited that she could have easily turned people off. It's pretty amazing how she's this popular.

Sugimoto: You can't deny her quirky charm.

Watanabe: As I was writing Mint's character, I realized she's honest with herself and others.

—Yes, her words always ring true.

Watanabe: Mint doesn't hide her selfish desires, but she's a good person at heart. I won't hesitate to sing her praises.

—Since there's no pretense, you can trust whatever she says.

Sugimoto: Reading these comments, many have praised the animation. I'm glad to see we achieved our goal. And, of course...there's countless mention of the untied boots. (laugh)

Watanabe: We must embrace the corniness. (laugh)

Sugimoto: The scene was the first one our Planner Sato worked on after finishing up Final Fantasy VIII. She really brought it to life.

Watanabe: I doubt the joke would have landed if we'd only used text and portrait art like in a visual novel. (3D characters) can truly perform and capture the mood. On another note, it was also memorable to walk around town after all was said and done. With the last boss vanquished, it made you want to explore this new, peaceful world and say farewell to everyone.

—Most games will roll credits after the final boss is defeated and the final cutscene plays. Once again, Dewprism is unique in that way.

Sugimoto: Sato, the Planner I mentioned earlier, loves endings and has completed various games on her own. She said, "I want a save point before the ending," so we added one in. Sato was mainly in charge of the final cutscene after the last boss. It was her dearest wish to end the game on a high note.

—I speak only for myself here, but I'm the type who likes to save before an important scene. I was thrilled to find out I could do so right at the end. The Gallery function is more common in games nowadays, but not back then. A manual save was a good substitute.

Sugimoto: In those days, players could only wish there was a Gallery. There was no room for error.

 Dewprism, Beloved by Players and Staff Alike

—By the way, how old were you when you directed Dewprism, Sugimoto-san?

Sugimoto: I was 23. Still, I'd been in the business for five years by that point, so I guessed I seemed like a veteran.

Watanabe: Oh right. Back then, five years was veteran status.

—The release of the Playstation ushered in a new era of game development, didn't it?

Sugimoto: I was very fortunate in that regard. There were veterans who had been with the company since the Famicom era, but as 3D became more widespread and the programming language switched from Assembly to C, it felt like everyone's level of experience had been temporarily reset. Thanks to that, a newbie like me could stand at the starting line and still get ahead. I was truly blessed by my circumstances.

Watanabe: It wasn't like we could create whatever we wanted. Rather, it was a matter of doing our best within those limitations. Everything was born of necessity, and we did our absolute best to make it work. The pumpkins were the same way; the idea hadn't been intentional, but other factors contributed to its creation. In that way, the world and characters naturally came together. We were so efficient because there was zero room for error (laugh), but in a way, the amount felt manageable. Like, "Yeah, I can somehow finish this if I pull an all-nighter." (laugh)

Sugimoto: Thanks to Xenogears, we'd gained a lot of 3D experience. In game development, you steadily improve with the second and third titles.

—Dewprism's timing really was impeccable.

Sugimoto: Still, late 1999 was rush season for the entire industry. In that way, it wasn't too ideal. (laugh)

—There was a lot of competition, wasn't there?

Sugimoto: We were a small team, so our expectations were modest initially. The objective was to create a game that provided a decent challenge on a shoestring budget. However, Dewprism drew a lot of interest online and scored a worldwide release when it was included as a demo alongside Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana. That led to further development, and expectations for the game gradually rose. It was incredible.

—I'm sure it felt like all your efforts had paid off.

Sugimoto: Exactly! Unfortunately, the sales report after its first day of release was dismal. Although deflated, we weren't too surprised. However, later market research indicated this was due to insufficient promotion. (Because of this) We felt a bit relieved and were just glad to get an international release.

Watanabe: Who would have ever imagined we'd be here talking about it twenty years later?

—It's clear from these many comments that Dewprism is still beloved today. I don't mean to digree, but after Dewprism was finished, what projects did you move on to?

Sugimoto: Unfortunately, we could never make a Dewprism sequel, so the both of us moved on to Final Fantasy X, and others were transferred to Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI.

Watanabe: Yes, we focused entirely on Final Fantasy X after that.

Sugimoto: Yoshinori Kitase-san thought highly of Dewprism, so it was easy for our team to get in touch with him.

 Yoshinori Kitase Profile:

 Head of Square Enix's Creative Business Unit I

Producer of Final Fantasy Remake

 Works:

 Final Fantasy V, VI, VII, VIII, X, X-2, XIII

Mobius Final Fantasy

Others

 Watanabe: When I did a live broadcast for Mobius Final Fantasy with Kitase-san, he said, "Aren’t you going to mention Dewprism? You definitely should!" and "This character was inspired by Dewprism, right?"

 —It sounds like Dewprism is well-regarded among Square Enix's creators.

Sugimoto: Yes, thank goodness. (laugh) Like I said before, it was impressive that Dewprism saw release despite such a small team and budget. It also looks like those who had specialized in 2D almost seamlessly switched to 3D afterward.

 Watanabe: When I was out drinking at an izakaya, I ran into Yasumi Matsuno-san. He called out, "Hey, Watanabe-kun!" and when I recognized him I couldn't believe my eyes. (laugh)

 —Not only does Dewprism have countless fans, it has surprised fellow creators as well. Thank you for this opportunity to look back on the past twenty years.

 Watanabe: Although we made Dewprism, it's no longer ours alone. It belongs to everyone. Of course, I keep this desire in mind with each project. Two decades ago, I never could have imagined how Dewprism would connect people around the world and elicit so many warm comments. It's only thanks to everyone that we've reached this incredible milestone. Like all those who supported Rue throughout his journey, I can feel their voices of encouragement push me forward. I'm truly grateful.

 —Yes, just like Rue's friends, Dewprism's countless fans are cheering you on even now.

 Sugimoto: It sounds really cool when you put it like that. (laugh)

 Watanabe: Well, I am a writer. (laugh)

 Sugimoto: I don't think I can deliver the same flair as Watanabe (laugh), but I'm truly proud to create a game that kids who played our game twenty years ago still remember as adults. I never guessed something like that would happen in a million years, and I'm once again glad that we gave it our all. In commemoration of Dewprism, I'll be on Twitter on 10/14 to keep the momentum going. If you see #Dewprism, be sure to check it out and Tweet.

 —Thank you very much!

[bluebudgie]

so after i got the information that in the console versions of the pixel remasters you can switch to the OG soundtrack i caved in and with the power of my amassed nintendo gold points got the ff2 pixel remaster yesterday evening. (context: i'm a pixel remaster hater) (but I'm also on my quest to having played every version of this game available)

i've played about an hour so far (just delivered the mithril) and here's my observations:

while i still think the character sprite work is only rivaled by the psp version in ugliness i have to admit overall it looks better than at least the psp version. the battle effects (like magic) look so much better as actual pixel art. environments look pretty. you can actually change the font to look slightly less horrible by choosing the alternative setting in the options. really not as ugly overall as screenshots online make it out to be. i have to admit defeat here. dont understand why they wont let us change the textbox colour tho.

absolutely stupid that they got rid of character portraits in dialogue boxes. "it's supposed to be close to the original release" - bullshit. this version is as close to the original as literally every other remake this game got. plus some optional quality of life so arguably actually further removed from the original than any other version of this game.

the music box in the extras menu won me over. there was minwu walking along a little road whistling little music notes and suddenly gordon stood in the way and got run over and they both fell to the ground. this is the content i'm here for.

in the german translation the king of fynn says he got shot in the butt and that is not what the english translation says at all and it kills the mood bc the man is dying but it amused me so thats a positive point as well

minimap in dungeons feels cheaty as hell but also who the fuck cares, the dungeons in this game aren't spectacular enough to warrant an actual exploration challenge. means i'm glad the stupid map is there.

overall decent version so far and actually playable with the OG soundtrack selected. i think i might end up prefering this version over the psp release. in which case the only thing the psp version has going for itself at this point are the character portraits. but at least it has the best character portraits of all available versions.

edit: wait i forgot something

minwu is white. i mean i knew this before, this wasnt a new shock but i still cannot believe they whitewashed the man to be as white as untoasted toast

so is firion but that transition already happened years ago with dissidia so its less of a shock. still. holy shit square enix leave your brown characters brown please i cant deal with this

[whumperofworlds]

Whumptober Day 15: Rest

Now on AO3!

Fandom: Final Fantasy I

A/N: I love writing these two a lot, so this one was also fun to write! Also, I... am having trouble writing more of this, but hopefully I'll get to it before the month is up!

I only own Drusus, Keme, and Veles. Everything else belongs to Square Enix.

TAGS: @gala1981

CONTENT: slight strong language, sickness, a lot of fluff stuff

ENJOY!

_____

@whumptober Day 15: Makeshift Bandages | Suppressed Suffering | "I'm fine."

Drusus wasn't sure what happened. When he woke up this morning, he felt a throbbing headache hit him. Not only that, but his throat was sore—no matter how much water he drank, he couldn't get rid of the soreness his throat had. And finally, his nose was stuffed up, making breathing difficult.

Keme knew what was up the moment they left for work. He had asked his husband if he was alright—Drusus didn't even give him a "good luck" kiss before they left, as he usually did. 

"I'm fine," Drusus had said, and yet, he still looked out of it. Was he upset with Keme? No. That wasn't it. Drusus looked… exhausted, judging by the bags under his eyes and the fact that he coughed constantly.

Keme's thoughts were on Drusus all day, and after he returned from a mission, he decided to confront his husband. Clearly, Drusus was hiding something from him, which was out of character for the Monk.

He arrived at the door to Drusus' office, before knocking it. A few moments had passed, to the point Keme even thought that Drusus had already left. However, he heard his beloved's voice from behind the door, "Who is it?"

Keme noted that his voice was hoarse and raspy. He raised a brow, before he answered, "It's me. Can I come in, love?"

Another pause, before he heard coughing from behind the door.

"Come in." Drusus answered.

Keme opened the door and entered, only to pause when he noticed Drusus' trash can was full of tissues. Sitting at his desk was Drusus, scribbling down another signature on a piece of paper. He glanced up, smiling slightly. Keme's heart would have skipped a beat at that sight if he hadn't noticed how strained it was.

"Hey, babe," Keme said, glancing at the trash can for a moment. Usually, Drusus cleaned his trash can before he began to work. Why was it full? Unless…

"You're sick," Keme pointed out, and he couldn't help but glare at his husband. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and he was frankly tired of how stubborn Drusus was.

"What?" Drusus asked, and Keme could see the panic in his eyes. "N-no I'm not."

"Then explain this," Keme said, gesturing at the tissue-filled trash can. Drusus glanced at it for a moment, before he shook his head.

"Allergy season," Drusus lied, covering his mouth with his fist when he coughed.

"...It's not even spring," Keme sighed, shaking his head. "Babe, we've discussed this before. When you're sick, you should be resting, not working!"

"I'm fine, dear," Drusus insisted, glancing back at his paperwork. "These papers are due today, and I have to—cough—work on them."

Of freaking course.

"Drusus." Keme said, his voice stern.

That caught Drusus' attention, as he glanced at his husband, eyes wide. "Did you just—" Drusus tried to say.

"Damn right I did," Keme interrupted, his arms across his chest, giving Drusus a disapproving look. "Look, you need to go home. Veles can take care of the paperwork and all. You're too sick."

"Babe, please," Drusus insisted, "Veles has enough on his plate, and—"

He didn't realize that his hand was close to the small ink bottle, until he accidentally knocked it over. Ink spilled all over the paperwork, soaking them in black.

"Fuck," Drusus cursed, gritting his teeth in frustration. Could this get any worse?

Keme's glare grew intense, before he turned to the door. "That's it," Keme said, "I'm getting Veles."

"Love, no—" Drusus protested, but it was already too late; Keme left the office. Drusus sighed, running a hand through his hair. Why does Keme get so stubborn about him?

_____

Veles insisted to Drusus that he'd handle the paperwork, and despite Drusus' protests, he eventually went home with Keme. Keme had apparently told Veles that he was taking the day off too—he needed to care for Drusus so he could recover quickly.

Once they were home and Drusus went to bed, Keme held a hand on Drusus' forehead, before pulling back with a hiss.

"Sheesh," Keme commented, "you're burning up."

"...I know," Drusus sighed, sinking in the covers until his head was the only thing exposed.

Keme glared at Drusus once more, and Drusus wanted to sink further in his covers sheepishly.

"How long have you been sick?" Keme asked.

"Since… this morning," Drusus admitted.

Keme's glare softened a bit then, sighing. "At least you didn't wait till days later like last time."

"...'m sorry." Drusus muttered.

"Just…" Keme said, "don't do it again, please? Whenever you're like this, I worry about you. It hurts me that you hide something like that from me. I get that you work hard, but rest whenever you feel under the weather."

Drusus gave it a thought for a second. Perhaps Keme was right—if their roles were reversed, Drusus would worry to death over Keme if he had fallen ill, and would insist Keme to rest. The mere idea of making Keme worry over him hurt him. His husband shouldn't be worried about him like that.

"...All right, I'm sorry," Drusus apologized.

"Pinky promise?" Keme asked, his pinky raised.

Drusus merely smiled despite his sickness, before he reached out and had his pinky intertwined with Keme's. He could keep promises easily.

"Pinky promise."