#and apparently the content added in the dlc also includes new areas

[foxstens]

nvm i found the thing

[self-loving-vampire]

Pathfinder: Kingmaker (2018)

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a game that I liked a lot when I played it, but also a game that has a lot of obvious problems that drag aspects of it down. Fortunately, one of its big strengths is that it is extremely customizable, meaning that annoying or broken parts can be toned down for the most part.

Summary

This game has been called a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate, which I can see only on a sort of superficial level. What I can say it is that an ambitious and (in some ways) expanded adaptation of the Pathfinder tabletop adventure path of the same name, which I have run a little bit of.

For those who don’t know, an adventure path is essentially a whole campaign, starting at first level and spanning several interlinked chapters with their own minor antagonists and themes, sometimes but not always all the way to 20th level.

This particular AP is one that I’d consider extremely hard to make into a computer game without losing a lot of what makes it appealing in the process. It starts with a simple hook: A wild part of the world is under the rule of a bandit lord, if you defeat him then you will be allowed to found a barony on his land and develop it as you wish.

While the concept is straightforward, this is a great idea with tons of potential in the infinite freedom of tabletop play. While it is impossible for any existing computer to realize this potential as well as a skilled human DM could, the game does have a lot of strengths (and weaknesses) that make it interesting to analyze.

If I had to compare it to an older game, I’d actually use Troika Games’ 2003 cult classic Temple of Elemental Evil rather than Baldur’s Gate, for reasons that will become apparent to any who are familiar with it.

Freedom

I would say that this area is mostly fine. Once you finish the prologue (which doubles as a tutorial) you are largely free to explore the Stolen Lands... except that areas open up gradually depending on your main story progression.

While I understand that this helps keep things focused and manageable, there are times where these limitations end up feeling a bit contrived. Still, this is not a huge deal since each area is reasonably big and full of optional content.

One nice thing about exploration is that there are many areas with encounters that are far deadlier than anything you may be used to at that point, but which usually guard extremely valuable loot. This means that if you can figure out a way to overcome the encounter before you’re “supposed to” level-wise you will get a very satisfying reward out of it.

Defeating these encounters is not even strictly needed at times either. For example, there is a hidden crag linnorm (a CR 14 monster) in a cave within an area full of far weaker monsters (around CR 6 or so if I recall). While defeating the linnorm would not be easy for characters at this level, I managed to use the party’s rogue to sneak past it and loot its hoard without combat.

In terms of things like dialogue choices and the like, the game is also mixed. While you very often have multiple options, some of these options can be Stupid Evil (attacking people for no reason) or even flatly blocked by your alignment in ways that feel arbitrary.

For example, you need a Neutral alignment component to make peace between the mites and the kobolds in chapter 1.

There is one particular quest (courtesy of a kickstarter backer) that is a horrible railroad as well.

But overall I’d say you have more options here than in many other similar games, I mostly just wish the alignment stuff made sense and did not lock you out of options.

The game has multiple endings and Fallout-style ending slides describing what became of the people and places you influenced based on your decisions. However, achieving the secret ending or the secret romance is so extremely obscure that I’m actually surprised I managed to do it on my first playthrough.

Character Creation/Customization

This is easily one of the game’s most significant positives, while also being one of the things that may be extremely intimidating about it for people who haven’t played the tabletop.

With the DLC, there are 9 races to choose from and like 16 classes (not counting prestige classes). Adding to this, each of those classes has 3 optional archetypes that function as subclasses that add, remove, or modify class features.

Many of the races also have different heritages that switch around things like racial bonuses/penalties, resistances, and spell-like abilities.

However, I do have some complaints about it as well. Sometimes the explanations of what an archetype adds don’t seem as complete as they should be, and from what I remember a lot of your character creation decisions did not have enough of an impact outside of combat.

While the game does feature skill checks both in dialogue and in other parts of gameplay, they use the highest modifier within your party so your own stats are not vital to passing them, and (unlike its sequel) the game rarely features things like special dialogue options based on things like your race, class, or chosen deity as far as I can tell.

Also, while many tabletop options were understandably cut since the game was already over-ambitious as it is, this includes all kinds of item crafting (without mods that is). Things like potion-brewing are a pretty central aspect of the alchemist class, while wizards really benefit from scribing scrolls to handle many different situations.

Worse, this inability to craft and enchant your own gear can end up hurting the itemization in the game. There are tons of different types of weapons you can choose to specialize in, but for many of them you will struggle to find good weapons of that type to use within the game.

Also missing is the ability to meaningfully apply several types of spells out of combat, which really hurts some character ideas that would have been very interesting in the tabletop version (such as diviners or enchanters).

The whole system can also be a bit confusing to those unfamiliar with the tabletop. The game is not as clear and good at teaching as it should be.

Story/Setting

The game is set in Golarion’s Stolen Lands, an anarchic area with heavy fey presence. Compared to many of the more colorful locations in the setting, this is one of the more “standard” and generic regions, but there are still some noteworthy things that help define it, such as the ancient cyclops ruins beneath the land or the links to the alien First World of the fey.

Like the adventure path it is based on, the Kingmaker computer game has a story separated into several linked but defined chapters that each present a new threat. Kind of like anime arcs that introduce increasingly dangerous villains at the center of each.

The story is generally fine and the secret ending is as satisfying as it is obscure. However, I would say that story is not what makes this game good in my opinion. This is no Planescape: Torment.

The game features many companions. I did not really care much about roughly half of them to be honest, but I do like the approach used to present them. They are all very visibly flawed, which can make for bad first impressions, but as you spend time with them and do their quests you discover new depths to them that make them far more interesting, and you see them change over time as well.

One notable example is Jubilost, a rude know-it-all gnome with an unpleasant and caustic personality that covers some measure of real kindness underneath (as well as the fact that he does indeed know a lot, he just needs to be less of a dick about it).

And of course, the central idea of the story is something that you don’t actually see that much of in RPGs, or even in a lot of modern tabletop campaigns: The player gaining a kingdom to rule. I think that while there is no way to properly provide the same range of options for how to handle this as the tabletop version can, the game still manages to accomplish something interesting (even if not wholly good) in how it integrates the gameplay into this.

In many ways, ruling the kingdom can actually be kind of stressful outside of easier difficulties due to the interminable problems and literal curses plaguing it. You will have to contend with everything from monster raids to plagues and invasions throughout the game.

While the mechanics of managing the kingdom are not really all that well-balanced and are more of a pain than anything to a lot of people, the throne room events where you get to make decisions on policy and such are often fun and not something you see in many other games.

One thing that can be off-putting about the game’s approach to narrative decisions is that there are a few times where the outcome of a quest can feel a little arbitrary due to depending on seemingly minor dialogue options. This is especially bad about the above-mentioned secret ending and the secret romance option. They go far beyond “secret” and into “you will be lucky to achieve this without a walkthrough”.

Finally, a few of the alignment tags applied during conversation options make no sense. This is particularly bad during chapter 2, but the issue comes up outside of it as well.

Immersion

This is one area where the game is not that strong, for multiple reasons. For instance, the fact that there is no crime system at all. You can loot your entire town (where even magical items are sometimes inexplicably placed in random homes).

The day/night cycle also seems to be for aesthetic purposes only as there are no schedules to go with it (which at least makes sense from a gameplay standpoint I guess).

The one thing the game actually brings to the table here above most others is also one of its most controversial features: The passage of time.

There is a real urgency to your quests, as there’s actual consequences to neglecting threats and situations that are meant to be urgent. 

In most games this kind of urgency is completely fake and the story advances at whatever pace the player decides. Not so here. If you ignore, say, the troll hordes early in the game then their attacks will eventually overwhelm and ruin your kingdom.

Everything from travel to resting and even hunting in place of using rations takes time. Rest too much and you could be sacrificing your long-term ability to manage the endless threats around your kingdom in exchange for an edge in the encounters immediately ahead of you.

This not only makes the mechanics somewhat more interesting by forcing you to manage time instead of playing it safe by resting liberally and doing a 15-minute adventure day, it also ties in with the narrative of just how deeply cursed, troubled, and flat-out burdensome caring for your kingdom can be.

It also just feels more real that events move on their own regardless of whether or not you are present to deal with them. This feature is not entirely positive, though. It can obviously be painful if you are struggling or lost.

Gameplay

This is one of the game’s strong points, at least if you enjoy the mechanics of the tabletop. Just as Temple of Elemental Evil was a simplified and buggy but reasonably faithful adaptation of D&D 3.5 rules, Kingmaker is a simplified and buggy but (somewhat less) faithful adaptation of Pathfinder 1E rules.

Obviously there are many, many things missing from the tabletop. Classes, races, feats, I think also grappling in general, firearms, and etc.

I think a lot of these cuts are fair. This is a huge game already and it would have been downright miraculous to include every single option possible in the tabletop. The consolidation and removal of skills that were unlikely to have much use in the adventure also makes sense for balance purposes.

The combat as a whole is deep and complex enough to remain interesting for a long time, at least in turn-based mode (which I recommend). The amount of options available to magic users in particular is extreme even if many spells are missing, and many martial classes also have some features of their own beyond just basic attacks.

Also helping things is the very wide variety of enemies, some of which require a specialized approach to take down easily. You can’t just use the same tactics for every encounter in the game.

For example, trolls regenerate unless attacked with fire or acid. Undead have a whole host of immunities but are vulnerable to positive energy. Golems are immune to spells and extremely tough.

My main complaint about this aspect of the game is really just that combat is a bit excessive. There are far too many random encounters and even outside of that there is much more combat in general than in the tabletop version. Too many of these encounters end up feeling like padding.

This game probably could have been under 100 hours easily if a lot of the superfluous fights had been cut and overall XP gain had been increased. Even with enjoyable combat, 100+ hours of this is way too much.

Besides combat, there are “storybook sections”, where you are presented with situations and must make decisions about how to resolve them, often making use of skill checks to determine results. These are nice, not much else to say about them.

Which brings us to  the last major aspect of gameplay: The kingdom management. This aspect is controversial, and you can turn it off entirely if it sounds like it may not be for you.

There are three major aspects to kingdom management: Decisions, projects/events, and city-building.

Decisions are the most interesting by far. You will be presented by an issue or a request to decide on your policy in one area. You will be given a handful of choices with varying consequences, which may be referenced in later decisions.

Projects and events are more flawed while still having a good idea at their core. These are basically issues that you will need to assign one of your advisors to fix. For example, sending your general to deal with a hostile.

Where it falls apart is the fact that a dice roll is involved in determining success or failure (though there is a type of currency you can spend to improve your chances, which can reach 100%). There are also so many things going on that some of your advisors can be busy for months on a project while various events that require their attention pile up.

The worst part is that there are certain projects that require you to spend a fortnight at your capital doing nothing.

But even worse than this is the city building, which is a missed opportunity. Most buildings provide little beyond a relatively small amount of kingdom stats. This is still beneficial, but not very inspired or interesting.

So there are a lot of problems with kingdom building, one of the core features of the adventure path. While I didn’t hate it myself, I understand why some people might want to focus on the adventuring and combat.

This is also the point where I should mention that the game was incredibly broken at release even by eurojank standards. It is definitely a lot better in this area than it used to be, but is still not the most reliable of games.

Aesthetics

This is one area where the game does very well. Some of the environments look great, the monster designs are generally good, the music is great (though repetitive by the end due to the game’s length), and the combination of sound effects and brutal animations can make combat extra satisfying.

Areas can even change depending on the weather or the time of the year.

The only negative that comes to mind is that most of what you see in the game is relatively generic fantasy environments that don’t really stand out. I was never much of a fan of lush, bright forests and the like.

At least there is still a bit of variety, with dark swamps and mountainous areas, as well as the rare trip into the bizarre First World that fey creatures inhabit.

Accessibility

This is one of the three big complaints about the game (the other two being the bugs and the difficulty). If you are not already familiar with the PF rules then you may struggle to play this game effectively, at least for some time. From what I recall, many things are not that well explained.

In fact, you may have already heard horror stories about how one of the very first side quests you find sends you to a spider cave where you have to fight swarms, which is a type of enemy that is immune to normal weapon attacks outside of the easier difficulties.

This lack of clarity can also extend to your story decisions, as previously explained.

Conclusion

Like many other big and ambitious RPGs, Kingmaker has a lot of jank and technical problems, and its complexity and difficulty mean that it is not really the kind of game that will have widespread appeal. 

However, this does not mean it has no appeal at all. It is a huge game with entertaining combat, a story that puts you and your decisions at its center, and the rather rare opportunity to become a ruler in an RPG. It tries to do a lot  and I for one prefer games with big ambitions and passions like this over games that play it safe, even if they are more competent and polished.

I’d say that this game is mostly recommended for tabletop RPG nerds, people with “old school CRPG” sensibilities, and people with a high tolerance for jank. Others can definitely still enjoy it, but may want to use the easier difficulty modes.

[bryan360]

This is BryanVelasquez87 (Bryan360) here and today that I wanted to talk about last week we've checked on the first Nintendo Direct in 2020, only for Pokémon fans unexpectedly. Right, Bucky?

Bucky: Yeah. Would be cool to added first content for Sword and Shield to try, but had thoughts if they'll also announce details for the apps of Home and Sleep would be a pretty boring Direct.

That wasn't the case though as we discover two new contents for Sword and Shield and a surprising remake coming to the Switch at March 2020.

Bucky: First off before going thoughts on the remake, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra DLC Expansion was an interesting pick not only to bring new story, but apparently brings back returning past Pokémon after being absent in the main game.

Which is unfortunate that causes uproar to fans....

Bucky: Yes, but don't bring back to me, would ya? Anyway, both contents for Sword and Shield will bring different side of the story. (kinda til one of them releases)

Bucky: At Isle of Armor is gonna be in focus theme of growth as you explore an island you'll find beaches, bogs, forest, caves, and dunes. Meanwhile you'll be take an apprenticeship under the Pokémon Trainer who runs it. Awesome, huh? As for the starter Pokémon that if you already evolve to it's final form will finally get their Gigantamax Forms once you had the Isle of Armor DLC purchase. BTW, Inteleon as a sniper nest? Wow....Team Rocket would be careful for this. 😥

As for my thoughts was cool too that you can really explore in open world like gameplay just like the same compare for the Galar's Wild Area through YouTube I've watched. Also Kubfu will be the key for the story was unique for tradional kung fu training days.

Bucky: Second one for The Crown Tundra DLC Expansion is a thumbs up to search all the legendary Pokémon by surprise in co-op mode, but sometimes I'd perfer doing alone with the strongest types that I happen to train them in the Galar Region.

Don't forget that the theme is Exploration, so who know if you'll would manage to find and capture some legendary here, especially Calyrex for the last.

Bucky: It depends just to learn for it's origins story like never heard before. I think I'll look forward for two expansions this year; just wanted to find enough gift cards in game stores. ^^*

I'll gave this 2020 Pokemon Direct a good thumbs up for Bucky, but I'm still waiting for a real Nintnedo Direct coming so I wanted to know what the 5th DLC fighhter is too announced....

Bucky: Oh, wait. Before we'll end this, my creator friend wanted to share our thoughts about they announced the remake coming to Nintendo Switch in March 2020.

Yes and it's really surprising. I remember years ago I happen to play Pokémon Mystery Dugeon game for my old handheld DS. It's really fun to be as a Pocket Monster itself instead being a trainer to go through gyms and battles.

Bucky: It was indeed fun like Ash Ketchem being transformed to "Ashachu", but being part of a Rescue Team was the important thing trying to save other Pokémon from danger. Still I would be enjoying as Bibarel cause of my beaver way! 😁

Stereotypical, but it's cool. It was unexpected to start having this remake coming to the Switch; even throw a demo version that I secretly download to my library of games before showing it today. I went through question til which Pokémon that I'm gonna be like. I went as Bulbasaur before saving and second I'll be as Charmander before turning down. That's when the game can show me which Pokémon should I'll be instead of do it again for different questions.

It was hopeful that I'll be as Pikachu and picked Eevee as a Female Partner. Here's a few pics I've went so far yesterday.

Bucky: That's good considering these two gain popularity to fans, including me. Maybe you'll be okay to get a full remake game soon; consider you did enjoy the original

I think that's all for our thoughts about this Pokémon Direct in 2020, but what you guys think about this Pokémon Direct in 2020 they showed us? Gave me a reblog and don't forget to like this post if you'll interested. As always, This is BryanVelasquez87 (Bryan360), see ya later.

[gaming2day]

Zombie Army 4: Dead War - Review

Did you notice that just a few weeks ago, Valve came out and said in uncertain terms that there'll be absolutely no Left 4 Dead 3 anytime soon? Well, the terrible news for several is astounding for Zombie Army 4: Dead War, which couldn't have hoped for better timing. He's here to follow those four-player cooperative steps - except that his zombies also are Nazis, and sometimes once you kill them you get a super-gross gross kill. It definitely scratches the itch, although the few new ideas it injects don't really reinvigorate the genre that Bill, Coach, Zoey, and Francis have built.

It may sound familiar on the entire, but Zombie Army 4 manages to separate itself from the already sizable horde of zombie cooperative shooters in some fun ways. For starters, the story is delightfully absurd, with occult forces bringing the Nazi army back from the dead, apparently from the literal bowels of Hell. His campaign of about eight hours ends with a ridiculous and surprising final battle that's worth seeing uncontaminated. there's also a simplified Horde mode if you only want to remain on one position and see what percentage waves you'll face as you are trying out different weapons. I prefer the variability and forward momentum to play the entire campaign, but the Horde offers many opportunities for intense shootings and last-second wins.

The WWII setting is disgusting and filled with blood, but during a creative way during which I could not wait to ascertain what I might have fought after. I enjoyed facing powerful enemies like zombie flamethrowers with explosive gas cylinders on their backs, Nazi zombie generals whose hearts must be removed to stop them from spawning more enemies and managers like tanks that reveal gigantic ribs when their armored sides are made the jump. And it's made all the more exciting by a superb soundtrack that seems straight out of the classic zombie movie George A. Romero from 1985, Day of the Dead - my only complaint about music is that I wish it had been mixed louder and channeled more often.

There is a layer of strategic dismemberment within the brainless massacre.

There's a little quite running and shooting because the way you shoot zombies encourages you to face the walking dead during a more nuanced way: getting a particular number of kills unlocks special abilities, like enhanced sniper shots or reload of superfast rifles, but you furthermore may have the likelihood to recover health by taking close kills. Killing a variety of zombies from afar to realize the proper to run and recover some health adds a layer of strategic dismemberment to the brainless massacre.

Additionally, there's clearly some Doom inspiration that helps keep the action moving, with some zombies offering ammo, grenades, or health packs if you tread on them after they're defeated. This led to some great moments during which I recovered from being cornered by coitus interruptus an enormous wave, healed myself with close fatalities then trampled on enemies on the bottom to recover ammo before rushing to subsequent target. Where it appeared to me that it had only been done a couple of moments before, I found myself at my best and prepared for everything that happened afterward without even an ammo cache pitstop.

The layouts of the eight levels of Zombie Army 4 (and the smaller final comparison) are neat and do an honest job of contextualizing why you would like to maneuver from point A to point B beyond basic survival. Sometimes you're exploring an abandoned zoo, other times you're getting fuel for a ship so it can make its way down a canal, or you're learning pieces of a bomb to mix at the top of the stage. the amount doesn't look radically different, but all of them have interesting layouts that are fun to explore and are disturbing and disturbing in their own way. The goals are simple enough where you and your friends will never be confused about what to try to next, but interesting and varied enough that it doesn't appear to be you're always doing an equivalent thing. There are never times when cooperative play is required - you'll easily play alone if that's how you roll - but the more players take part the action the upper the problem it automatically climbs and therefore the more important teamwork becomes.

You can easily play alone if that's how you shoot.

I like the crazy sprint to finish this sort of goal, but I used to be less hooked into the areas where you've got to carry your position for a particular period of your time. These defensive scenarios aren't all that common, but curiously enough Zombie Army 4 constantly offers you anti-personnel mines and electric cables that are not that useful when you're on the run rather than preparing for an assault. And even during the checkpoints once you have time to put the traps, most of them went after the primary wave and returned to plain shooting anyway.

The upgrade system is additionally rewarding, to some extent. The persistent progression of the character allows you to deepen across the board, so whether you're in Horde mode, playing the campaign alone or with friends, you'll add new skills like better defense or faster positioning of anti-personnel mines, among others. There aren't enough options to permit you and your friends to diversify and occupy classes with wildly different and synergistic abilities, but it's still worth increasing your skills from one level to a different.

Why should I exploit a machine gun when my rifle electrocutes zombies?

The gun upgrade system, however, is initially exciting but can hit a wall. the ditch Gun may be a personal favorite: by the top of the campaign, I had sped up my refill, boosted damage output, and added bonus damage to electricity. I added similar upgrades to my precision rifle, but after a short time I ended up with a load of weapon upgrades that I wasn't getting to use. Why should I take two steps back and begin employing a machine gun when my rifle electrocutes zombies? Since there are not any lessons, I even have not felt the rationale to travel back to the start line and alter things.

It's a nice touch, though, that once you die you switch into a zombie and watch, without control, as your character approaches the gang and becomes another obstacle for your friends to beat. Once they kill you, you'll regenerate (as long as they do not die first), so it works as a fun handicap to stop instant regeneration - and let's face it, it is also fun to kill your friends' zombie versions.

Microtransaction reaction

Zombie Army 4 at launch represents a good package with a considerable campaign, but a primary season of DLC is already planned and a Season Pass is out there for $ 34.99. alongside new characters and guns and new skins for all characters and guns, the primary DLC also will add three new campaign missions. There also are additional free levels for Horde mode, although at the instant it's not clear exactly when these new contents are going to be available. In terms of what is immediately available, there's a little selection of cosmetic items and alternative guns that are included within the Deluxe edition or which will be purchased individually for $ 4 or $ 5. So far, it doesn't appear to be the DLC content is going to be an enormous problem.

From a technical point of view, I didn't encounter any connection problems, but I had some general bugs. On quite one occasion I found a scenario during which the zombies were coming to infinity, albeit the goal had been completed, forcing us to start out over. I also had a few times when large black bars appeared, obscuring my view of ammo reserves and when my special skills would be available. it had been quite annoying.

The verdict

Zombie Army 4: Dead War feels largely familiar among the horde of Dead 4 Dead-style cooperative shooter, but it isn't without its clever mechanical touches and runs on the oldest computer game clichés: killing Nazi zombies. Between his varied election campaign and a fun horde mode, there are many opportunities for heartbreaking teamwork and gory, disgusting X-ray kills. The weapon's progression system doesn't provide many reasons to expand, therefore the attraction of his replay value isn't as strong because it might be.

[sage-nebula]

I hope you dont mind my asking, but wouldn't GF have decided to remove the national dex long before LGPE released? I can see those games selling well confirming to GF that "pokemon sell well regardless of cut features" but it feels strange to blame it on LGPE when the development time on the games would suggest they made this choice awhile ago. (Not to defend lgpe lack of content) Sorry if this is a bother, I just feel like I'm missing something and would really like to understand your reasoning

For almost any other game I would agree, however for Pokémon in particular:

The National Dex (insofar as the ability to transfer old pokémon over) was never going to be a Day One feature. It’s never a Day One feature in the first games of the generation. Even if they wanted to make it one, in this case they couldn’t because Home isn’t releasing until 2020. As I’ve said in other posts, if they wanted to patch in the NatDex, they’d have the time to do it. Technically speaking, they’d have the time to do it, especially since the fanbase would be willing to wait (even if there’d be a few whiners here or there) the extra time.

Since it’s not a Day One feature, it’s something that can be worked on later in the development cycle (/can even continue to be worked on after the development cycle, or at least it could be if this series were treated with the respect of, say, The Legend of Zelda series). Again, I’m not talking about DLC that’s already on the game card that needs to be activated later, I’m talking about DLC that’s patched in, content created after that you download either to the harddrive or (though I don’t know if Switch DLC works this way specifically) onto the game card itself. Given the type of content they generally want to show early in the release cycle (the general theme / concept of the games, scenes of the various areas in the region, new ‘mon), and the fact that this would be a feature added post-release anyway, we can make a safe bet that the NatDex is something they’d work on much later in the development cycle, possibly even in the last year since, again . . . they’d have that time if they wanted to use it (and if this series was treated with genuine respect).

The Let’s Go games were stated by Masuda to be the future of the franchise if they sold well. They featured a Pokédex that was limited to only the Kanto ‘Dex, plus Meltan and Melmetal. They released in November 2018, and indeed, they sold well. In early 2019 (February, IIRC) Sword & Shield were released. While of course I don’t work at Game Freak and thus can’t say for sure, I would place money on the idea that if they were even a bit on the fence about adding the National Dex, the fact that Let’s Go sold so well despite being limited to 153 ‘mon pushed them right over the edge to, “Cut the National Dex from Sword & Shield, there’s no point in working on it.” I mean, why should they expend the effort if people will buy the games anyway? Especially when President Ishihara went on record saying that long-time fans only cared about “new pokémon and features” around the time of Let’s Go’s release. Sure, they might have already been thinking about cutting the National Dex beforehand, but Let’s Go no doubt assured them that it was a safe and correct call to make.

So that’s what I mean when I say that Let’s Go’s positive sales figures sealed all of our fates. To be entirely honest, before the National Dex announcement, I was certain that we wouldn’t see the shockwaves from Let’s Go until Gen IX. But Sword & Shield having a limited ‘Dex just like Let’s Go, and having special feature ‘mon behind $60 paywalls like Let’s Go, and having core features stripped out like Let’s Go, and the fact that it’s starting to look frighteningly like the starters won’t be able to evolve like in Let’s Go . . . the effect is pretty apparent. Sure, some of this stuff was present even before Let’s Go (namely the whole “let’s ditch useful features in the name of simplifying things” tack that Masuda has been married to for years now), but in the wake of Let’s Go, it’s success, and what Masuda said would happen if it was successful, it’s really hard not to see the link.

(Note just in case anyone read too quickly: I’m not saying the starters WON’T evolve. I’m only saying that I’m starting to fear that’s the case since we’re less than a month away from release and we haven’t even seen second stage evolutions yet. Maybe they’re just trying to keep starter evolutions a surprise, that’s entirely possible, but it’s also highly suspect, and Game Freak destroyed any trust or good faith I had in them a while back.) 

As a final note, the reason why I say that the Pokémon games aren’t treated with respect is . . . well, there are a few reasons:

Game Freak stated themselves that they put their B Team on Sword & Shield while their A Team worked on Little Town Hero. They also said they wanted to create something, “as exciting, or perhaps even more exciting” than Pokémon. They’re tired of working on Pokémon, and it shows. Which, I mean, I get it, it’s been 20+ years, but in that case tell Nintendo so that they can shift the main games over to another studio. I get that Game Freak was created for the sole purpose of making Pokémon, and maybe Taijiri-san is pissed at how you’re disrespecting his baby (I would be), but for the good of the series, if you don’t want to work on it, give it to someone who does. Don’t just shift it onto your bare bones secondary dev team.

These games are in a hellish development cycle where a new one is popped out every year. Contrast this to The Legend of Zelda where, while we’ve had some anomalies where assets were able to be largely reused and so games came out only a couple years apart (see: Ocarina of Time to Majora’s Mask) --- even that had two or three years before releases, not one the very next year. Most mainline Zelda games spend five or six years in development. I’m fully aware that we will likely be waiting until something like 2022 for Breath of the Wild 2, and I am prepared to wait that time because I know the game we get will be incredible. Granted, I’m going to be dying every single time they announce a release date to push it back, but it’ll be a death I’m grateful for because I will know that the end product will be worth it. The Pokémon games used to have a similar luxury. While there were a grand total of five games released during that time (with “five games” being used loosely, given that one was a slight upgrade and the other four were really two games with slight differences between versions), Gen IV lasted for a grand total of four years. We had Diamond & Pearl in 2006, Platinum in 2008, HeartGold & SoulSilver in 2009, and then finally, Black & White in 2010. By contrast, Gen VII didn’t even last three years, technically. I mean, this November would be its third anniversary, but that’s when Gen VIII officially starts instead. To be fair, it could be argued that Gen IV didn’t have a full four years since it came out in September 2006, and Gen V came out in September 2010. But even if you make that argument, it still had a full year on Gen VII, and to be honest, that showed. The Sinnoh games are far and away not my faves, but they were still full of content. HeartGold & SoulSilver are often considered to be the best remakes in the entire franchise, and considering the content that was cut from OmegaRuby & AlphaSapphire and Masuda’s reasoning for why that content was cut, I can’t exactly argue with that even though I did genuinely enjoy ORAS. And the games that Gen IV ushered in? Controversial opinion, but I think that the Pokémon games peaked with Gen V. Black & White not only initially had a ‘dex that was nothing but new pokémon (and yet STILL included the Nat Dex later, because in Masuda’s own words he felt it cruel to keep people from playing with their faves forever!), but it also introduced a METRIC TON of new mechanics, some of which we no longer get to use (Rotation Battles? Game Freak doesn’t know her). Who knows what exactly Game Freak did with that extra year, but it was clearly a lot of work given how wonderful the games were in Gen IV and Gen V. The extra dev time showed.By contrast, Gen VII got 2.5 years (or 3 if you’re being generous). Every single game released during this gen had massive content cuts, even when comparing to Gen VI, which also had massive content cuts. Mechanics were stripped away, and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon technically didn’t have a NatDex either, but at least you could still have all of your ‘mon in them at a later date if you wanted to. Now with Sword & Shield, we don’t even have that, despite the Switch being far more powerful than the 3DS. (We also don’t have Mega Evolution for whatever godforsaken reason, even though the Kanto Mega Evolutions at the very least were already used in Let’s Go, the fuck, Game Freak). Pokémon games print money and always have, and Game Freak has taken this and their lack of interest in the series to the depressing but I suppose logical extreme of “do whatever and they’ll buy it anyway.” There’s no love here, there’s no respect here. They just don’t care anymore, and as someone who does care an awful lot, it’s super upsetting to me.

And while people have tried to argue that the games can’t be delayed because of the anime or the card game or whatever else:

The games come first. They’ve always come first. I know some people mistakenly think that the anime came first and that the games were created later, but that is 100% false. Pokémon started as a game series and the anime was created to advertise the games, straight up.

Filler episodes exist, and the PokéAni is no stranger to them. The Orange Islands arc was an entire arc of filler created to pad time between Gens I and II. The Delacora Islands (or whatever they were called) was a filler arc meant to pad time between Gens V and VI. Arguably the majority of the Sun & Moon anime was filler, given its slice-of-life genre, meaning the anime was even less of an excuse not to delay Sword & Shield. You can’t tell me people wouldn’t have been happy with another year of the Alola crew running around getting into random adventures. People would have eaten that up and loved it. We could have had it all.

I’m not even going to dignify “but the card game” with a response lmao. This isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh!. Sure, the card game makes money, and probably a decent amount of it (merch sales probably make up the franchise’s greatest source of income, and as someone who easily spent several hundred dollars in two weeks at the PokéCenters in Japan---including over $100 in one trip to a PokéCenter while I was there, and we went multiple times---I am a big part of that), but they come up with bullshit new expansions all the time and could easily keep doing it. Again, not a reason to delay the games if the games need more time in development.

So all in all, at the end of the day, Game Freak is no longer treating these games with love and respect, which makes them an awful lot like the villains in the games they create. The Let’s Go games were harbingers of disaster for the games, and we were told this very plainly, and just about no one listened. In fact, I legitimately lost friendships with people who got mad at me for making Facebook statuses about how they should buy Let’s Go used if they absolutely had to have them because how DARE I believe Ishihara when he said that Let’s Go were considered core titles, and how DARE I believe Masuda when he said that Let’s Go would usher in the last twenty years of the franchise. Clearly, I was just being an ugly bitch. (I wish I was exaggerating, but this actually happened, I got blocked over it, it was ridiculous.) And now here we are as a result, with no hope of things getting better unless Nintendo forcibly rips Pokémon out of Game Freak’s hands, which I don’t even think they can legally do given that they only own 1/3rd of the IP. (The other 2/3rds belong to Game Freak and Creatures Inc., as I understand it.) 

TL;DR:

Pokémon is still my favorite fictional fantasy world, but as someone who has always loved the games first and foremost, the current state of it depresses me to no end.

[waringawaw153-blog]

How to get Farming Simulator 17 Free

Although simulation activities have been known for ages, Farming Simulator kicked off the farming genre. Other farming games be, yet nothing competes with this iconic series. FS17 brings mod foundation and fresh attributes to Xbox One also MACHINE, but is that enough to substantiate passing over the money?

The Farming Simulator series created with Farming Simulator 2013. Since then, sequels have happened every a couple seasons for LAPTOP and console. Farming Simulator 16 was a harbor of 15 for mobile and PlayStation Vita.

Everybody understands this is a simulation activity in which people desire tractors and other farming machinery, grow plants and stock, and handle the fiscal aspects of a farm. So let's look at most of this time new functions and how much they improve the game.

In the two included maps, Goldcrest Area is mark new and set in the USA. The other map, Sosnovka, develops with Asian Europe. Originally published as downloadable articles for Farming Simulator 15, it has been remastered with greater idea quality. Farming Simulator games always launch with no more than two places, which is a bit skimpy.

For the first time in the chain, we can want to participate because also a man or female farmer. This will make the game more compelling to new audiences. It's definitely a step up the right way. However, the game still gets place for further variety.

The two characters you can choose from, one per gender, are both white. You can't change their skin color, but you could pick out the color of the shirts. Giants Software is situated in Switzerland, a mostly white voters. In games like this, targeting a global audience, developers must think players of new races as well as their own.

The overall goal in Farming Simulator has always been to buy all the takes on the place and spread the farm as large as possible. That stage in '17, but the developers added a hail dose of form using the new assignment system.

Each buyable scenario of earth is owned by a player who offers to pay people for finishing missions. These missions become an excellent way to make money. After you've completed all of a farmer's missions, he'll push the topic designed for a much worse cost than if you'd wanted to get this outright.

Drivable trains add a fun another factor for the sport. Players have several files on all place. You don't have to get them before pay maintenance costs, and you can jump directly in them by wherever on the map.

Cruising in now trains and having the landscape is enjoyable on its, but they're also a great way to transport materials with wood for sale. You use a claw-game like crane to weight stuff onto the exercise and then head to the adjoining selling point.

Farming Simulator 15 was not the interesting up for. The worst offender became its surface maps. Comparing ground textures between '15 and '17 on Xbox One, I detect a little increase with attribute. The textures in '17 live precisely below standards to the console, which is a real shame. Still, '17 does apparently have strengthened mip mapping, so textures retain detail at the higher space than now '15. Foliage is slightly more described, and pale has found better too.

As for sound, Giants has increased two in-game radio sections to participants can toggle while making autos (and optionally, by base also). The harmony is nothing special, but it presents for a more varied experience than listening to the measure of character for hours on end.

Mod leg was pushed as a key characteristic of Farming Simulator 2017 ahead of the release, particularly during the period to mods for the PlayStation 4 variation of Fallout 4 were looking rocky. Now that the game is here, the nonsense appears to include lived for naught – at least by consoles.

Mods are registered specifically for the right screen menu, so they're easy to recover. The store lists several different classifications of downloadable items, and some extra categories like Latest and Most Downloaded. Trouble exists, among those categories, the Xbox One account just say 31 total mods at here.

All but one of those mods are easily farming tools not significantly different from those involved with the game anyway, though several seem to suggest enhanced thing. The solitary non-equipment mod changes gameplay somewhat by disabling camera difficulty with cars. Its author is Big Software. The Places category doesn't need a single point yet.

Like Farming Simulator 15, '17 supports 6-player online co-op. Players can pick who can write their game – random players, friends, or call only. After an individual wants to join the game, you'll receive a prompt asking whether to allow them to participate or not. Nobody will be messing around with your farm and funds without authorization, that is fine.

The ability to join competition is unnecessarily complicated by the game's holding of downloadable content (DLC). Should the host include any DLC or mods enabled, participants may just be able to join the game if they own the same DLC. You end up having to turn DLC down (the option thankfully presented every time you worry a bar game) in order to play multiplayer, only therefore that many people may reach.

A greater implementation would increase the data for all DLC to all players, even if they don't acknowledge that. And then they could contact the host's cars in multiplayer, but not on their own. Alternately, the game may prompt you to download any missing DLC about entering the game. As it happens, you can't even tell that content you're missing - you only get rejected.

Upon successfully joining a multiplayer game, everyone shares the same vehicles, wealth, with reserves which go on the crowd. You can leave working together as a group. This is fun in the relaxing, social way. But as with other areas with the competition, complex numbers with decisions threaten to ruin the fun.

For instance, player character standards have laughably bad life. When you start, that appears to help additional players like you basically moved up to the fresh air then defeat over. The perfect doesn't need a flying animation. Going with tracking looks awkward as well.

Another great trouble with multiplayer is Achievements. Persons that sign up for the host's game may earn Achievements, which is bad, but not entirely unusual. About sports only allow the first player to have them. Yet '17 goes a move farther by not even letting the host participant to earn Achievements in multiplayer. You can load up the exact same place from your single person game, although if perhaps another player reaches in, you won't be able to earn Achievements.

Games like this really need Achievements to provide targets and organize to persons, so arbitrarily not being able to make them when using friends is thoroughly unproductive. I talk with the developers about the question at E3 shortly after Farming Simulator 15 came out, but however, they preferred not to address the issue in this sequel. I wonder when the public responsible of '17 play many other games.

Farming Simulator 17 offers 17 Achievements / Trophies happening the entire systems, a move down through the 26 Successes in Farming Simulator 15. I suppose they care for the Achievement count to match the year with the activity. Some are easy, like as lower down 50 woods or gain a 3-point killed in the new (but bad) basketball minigame.

This year, players just should earn one million currency rather than ten million. You can apply our Easy Money Trick to make a cinch, as well as knock not on the 'play for ten hours' Achievement. There is once over an Success for locating 100 collectibles, and you only must realize 10 before the rest show up on the road. The rest involve breeding animals, harvesting 10 hectares of ground, and finishing all jobs for the NPC farmers. Stay tuned for our full Achievement Leader with ideas for all of these.

FS17, like '15 otherwise this, is a major blow upon COMPUTER. We can safely put on a fair console audience as well. That may well seem funny to action-addicted gamers, but a match with certainly no violence may always be fun. It's a Farming Simulator Series farmsimulator.eu calm experience somewhat akin to playing Minecraft in Creative mode.

We know that sequence is a load of income. I merely wish more of these money might be met for the display. There's absolutely no cause Farming Simulator 17 must come across so dangerous because it sort out. The physics are certainly terrible in many places. And a lot of clunky gameplay factors such as hitching trailers could certainly become developed, only when the designers studied other games.

Seriously, I hope they'd spend some good hours about Minecraft then deliver some of the belief to live ultimately rank in other activities over to Farming Simulator. One must deal with a lot of rough edges to enjoy FS17. But if you can do that, that absolutely offers a deep farming event and lots of realistic licensed machinery.

[stockardbdhz465-blog]

How to get FS17

Although simulation games have been around for ages, Farming Simulator kicked off the farming genre. Other farming games be, yet nothing competes with this iconic series. FS17 brings mod help with different pieces to Xbox Individual with PC, bar is to enough to help defend passing over your money?

The Farming Simulator series created with Farming Simulator 2013. Since then, sequels have appeared every a couple days for PROCESSOR and console. Farming Simulator 16 became a vent of 15 for mobile and PlayStation Vita.

Everyone understands this is a simulation game in which people make tractors and other farming machinery, grow plants and horses, and administer the financial aspects of a farm. So let's look at most of that year's new pieces and how much they improve the game.

Of the two included maps, Goldcrest Valley is make different and from the USA. The other map, Sosnovka, happens in Asian Europe. Originally released as downloadable matter for Farming Simulator 15, it has been remastered with better picture quality. Farming Simulator games always launch with barely two maps, which is a bit skimpy.

For the first time in the series, we can choose to participate like any a man or woman farmer. This could be the game more encouraging to modern audiences. That definitely a step in the right track. However, the game even holds area for more variety.

The two figures you can select through, individual per gender, are both white. You can't alter the skin color, but you can go for the colour of their shirts. Giants Software is located in Switzerland, a largely white population. In games like this, targeting a global audience, developers should think players of additional races as well as their own.

The overall objective with Farming Simulator has always been to buy all the areas on the plot and strengthen the farm so heavy as possible. Which rack in '17, but the developers insert a greeting dose of construction using the original mission system.

Each buyable chart of territory is held by the farmer that offers to pay you for finishing missions. These missions become a great way to earn money. When you've completed all a farmer's missions, he'll advertise the subject instead of a much worse cost than if you'd chosen to get it outright.

Drivable trains add a fun new component for the game. Players have access to several points by both place. You don't have to purchase them before pay maintenance fees, and you can jump straight in them from where on the place.

Cruising almost inside chains and having the landscape is enjoyable on a, but they're also a great way to transport wheat with timber for sale. You use a claw-game like crane to pack stuff onto the train and go to the next selling point.

Farming Simulator 15 was not a attractive match. The worst prison became the structure maps. Comparing ground textures between '15 and '17 on Xbox One, I detect a limited advance in feature. The textures in '17 are well below standards for the console, which is a real shame. Still, '17 does apparently have expanded mip road, so textures retain detail for a higher distance than now '15. Vegetation is a little bit more detailed, and strike has urged better too.

As for sound, Giants has added two in-game radio situations to participants can toggle while taking cars (and optionally, on end besides). The melody is nothing special, but it forms for a more varied experience than listening to the look of life for hours on end.

Mod column was pushed as a key story of FS17 ahead of their launch, especially over the schedule which mods for the PlayStation 4 variety of Results 4 were staring rocky. Now that the game is here, the hoopla appears to contain occurred used for naught – at least on consoles.

Mods are numbered right for the label screen menu, so they're easy to attain. The deposit number seven distinct classes of downloadable items, and some extra groups like Latest and Most Downloaded. Problem exists, between all those categories, the Xbox One story simply takes 31 total mods in current.

All but among those mods are purely farming tools not a lot different from those involved with the sport anyway, although some seem to offer enhanced performance. The lone non-equipment mod changes gameplay somewhat by disabling camera clash with vehicles. Its author is Massive Software. The Roads category doesn't even have a single item yet.

Like Farming Simulator 15, '17 supports 6-player online co-op. Players could pick who can get into their activity – random players, friends, or ask only. As a person wants to join the game, you'll receive a prompt questioning whether to allow them to participate or maybe not. Nobody will be messing around with your farm and account without authorization, that is good.

The ability to join sport is unnecessarily obscured by the game's holding of downloadable content (DLC). Should the host allow any DLC or mods enabled, players want just be able to join the game if they own the same DLC. People find yourself having to go DLC away (a option thankfully presented each time you load a stop game) so as to tease multiplayer, really so which other people can meet.

A far better implementation would put the data for all DLC to all players, even if they don't acknowledge it. And then they could contact the host's vehicles with multiplayer, but not on their own. Alternately, the game may trigger you to download any missing DLC about joining the game. As it is, you can't even tell that information you're missing - you just get rejected.

Upon successfully joining a multiplayer game, everyone shares the same vehicles, capital, and reserves that go on the number. You can leave doing together like a unit. It is fun in the relaxing, social system. But as with other areas on the activity, technical concerns and decisions threaten to spoil the entertainment.

For example, player character standards have laughably bad animation. When you shoot, that appears toward new players like a person basically hung up in the look with eat once again. The paradigm doesn't have a flying animation. Hiking and riding looks awkward as well.

The other great challenge with multiplayer is Achievements. Persons who connect the host's game can't earn Achievements, which is bad, but not entirely unusual. Some sports only allow the primary player to have them. But '17 goes a stage out of by not even permitting the number participant to generate Achievements during multiplayer. You can load in the exact same road from a single person game, but if perhaps one other person joins in, you won't be able to earn Achievements.

Games like this really need Achievements to provide targets and construct to players, so arbitrarily not being able to earn them after playing with friends is fully unproductive. I talk with the developers about the topic at E3 shortly after Farming Simulator 15 stretched out, but unfortunately, they desire not to address the issue in this sequel. I doubt when the people the boss of '17 play many other games.

Farming Simulator 17 offers 17 Achievements / Trophies upon most platforms, a stage down from the 26 Successes in Farming Simulator 15. I guess they care for the Achievements count to match the year with the sport. Some are easy, like while drop down 50 woods or do a 3-point killed in the original (but bad) basketball minigame.

This year, players only have to acquire one million currency rather than five million. You can apply the Easy Money Trick to make that a cinch, as well as beat revealed the 'play for ten hours' Achievement. There is once again a Achievement for locating 100 collectibles, but you just should find 10 before the rest appear on the drawing. The rest involve breeding animals, harvesting 10 hectares of catch, with ending all activities for the NPC farmers. Stay tuned for our full Achievement Guide with tips for all these.

Farming Simulator 17, like '15 just before it, can be a key strike on COMPUTER. We can safely think a pale console audience as well. That could seems different to action-addicted gamers, although a match with very no violence may certainly fun. This a calm experience somewhat akin to performing Minecraft with Creative mode.

We know this series manages a lot of currency. I barely want more of these money might be seen for the show. Farm Games www.farmsimulator.eu There's no mind Farming Simulator 2017 should expression what dangerous because it prepares. The physics are extremely terrible in several places. And a lot of clunky gameplay components such as hitching trailers might certainly become strengthened, only if the builder studied other sports.

Really, I desire they'd spend some good hours in Minecraft and give some of the theories of which remain mainly average with new activity to Farming Simulator. One must deal with a lot of hard edges to enjoy Farming Simulator 2017. But if you can do that, that surely offers a deep farming experience and plenty of realistic licensed machinery.

[yeonchi]

2019 In Review

This year marked the start (or rather, a continuation) of my transition into society. It kind of sounds weird when I put it that way, but the truth is that I have much to learn about how society works and that despite all my time on the Internet, I’m gonna have to face up to reality sooner or later. I’ve never really created a name for myself outside of my anime posts, English dub rants, or even my work on preserving the Sea Princesses series, but I still hope to continue posting online at times.

Where previous reviews were released on New Year’s Eve, this year’s review will be released a bit earlier for reasons that I’ll elaborate on in this post. Let’s begin after the break.

Sea Princesses

2019 has been a big year for Sea Princesses. During the first half of the year, I worked on transcribing the episodes and writing plot details for the wiki, since not a lot of work was put into them since the other admin, Liggliluff, joined the wiki in 2015 and gave provision for them. In the second half of the year, I renovated the character pages, adding infoboxes and story involvement (highlights for the major characters) to them. I also created pages for the (named) animals that appeared in the series. Since the wiki is pretty much complete at this point with the addition of transcripts and episode plots, any further work on the wiki from me (in regards to the animated series) is up to whether I feel like doing any.

After six months of seeing no further uploads on the Mr Bean and Friends channel, I caved and decided to shell out some money on a premium account to download the Amazon Prime episodes someone had uploaded to a website. Six months after that, I found that someone had downloaded the episodes themselves and uploaded them to KimCartoon. I know this was way after everything I had done, but better late than never, I suppose. The sad thing was that a few weeks after that, someone reached out to me on the Lost Media Archive saying that they had ripped some of the episodes from ABC iView and put a link to their MEGA folder on 4chan /trash/ and not /co/, which led to me not realising it until he told me about it. Regardless, the split English episodes and Spanish Disney Channel raws are still in my cloud drive folder.

While working on the transcripts for the wiki, I also wrote a review of the series. After watching it, I found that there were quite a few disappointments here and there, but the series wasn’t as bad as I had remembered it. Also, from July to October this year, artist Princess Rainbow Channel did some amazing fanart of each character in the series (including background characters) that trumps everything I had seen before and possibly after. Feel free to check it out here along with my reaction and her response.

Public opinion of the series depends on where you are; in Brazil, people are still bringing it up in their childhood memories on Twitter (usually in response to the question “what were some cartoons you remember from when you were young”), while in Australia, you barely get anyone talking about the series and even if you did, quite a few of them would be people trashing it. I’d seen a couple of Americans who had apparently seen the series as well; aside from the Latin American Spanish version, I have no idea which channel the English version was broadcast or where, otherwise I’d have known by now.

So like I said, the wiki is pretty much complete in terms of the TV series. As for the Princesas do Mar books, I am hoping to cover them in the long term when I have the money and capacity to do so. If you want information about them now, then I’m hoping that someone (mostly from Brazil) will be kind enough to provide transcripts and/or snapshots of them. There won’t be anything about the books on the wiki (with the exception of Marcela and the titles of the books) until I get that information, whether it be from a kind volunteer or by myself, so the entire thing’s pretty much on hold until then.

One thing I realised - the author, Fabio Yabu, recently published the first volume of the Combo Rangers graphic novel for free on WEBTOON. No doubt about it, Sea Princesses would have been more popular if it had received as much love as Combo Rangers. Maybe it’s time that Yabu showed some love to the series after nearly a decade since the last Princesas do Mar book published by Panda Books - I wouldn’t mind seeing rereleases, a graphic novel, ebooks or a compendium of the ten books published by Panda Books (those are the titles that I’m hoping to focus on for the wiki, everything else is irrelevant). With my current situation right now, if I can’t get transcripts or screenshots, then I’d be more happy to spend my money buying ebooks than printed books from Brazil.

Doctor Who

Right at the start of the month, the release date for Doctor Who Series 12 was announced to be on New Year’s Day with subsequent episodes to air on Sundays. Like with Series 11, I’ll be continuing the Thirteenth Doctor reviews after the episode airs. The prelude post will come out later with more details. In fact, it’s because of this that I decided to release this post earlier instead of on New Year’s Eve. That’s pretty much the only reason.

English Dubbed Game News and English dub rants

In case you guys missed it, I’m fully moving on from talking about English dubbed games. I don’t know if anyone ever saw this coming since the end of the feud a couple of years back, but I guess my promise to stand tall back at the end of 2017 must sound ironic now.

As I explained back in September, I’ve lost interest in video games altogether and had conflicting thoughts on how to deal with the occasional toxic comments on my pages. I didn’t mention this back then, but in case you were wondering, no, all the Vic Mignogna stuff did not play a factor in my decision. I’ve never been a fan of him so I don’t care and to be fair, innocent or guilty, he is really only one voice actor. In terms of Koei Tecmo games, he only voiced two characters in Dynasty Warriors 7 and 8 (Jia Xu/Xiahou Ba) along with two characters in Samurai Warriors 3 (Mitsuhide Akechi/Yoshimoto Imagawa), which, I should remind you, never made it onto a Warriors Orochi game. If Koei Tecmo wanted to replace him when the allegations came out, they would have done it already. Ironically however, they did just that with Dynasty Warriors 9, but with the whole cast because of the voice actor strike.

Speaking of the voice actor strike, I’ve noticed something that I never did back when I was writing the rants; a lot of voice actors are part of SAG-AFTRA and I’ve deduced that Japanese game companies are being cheap and cutting corners in localisation (specifically, dubbing) because they don’t want to hire union actors because of the cost (presumably). Additionally, I’ve also read that union actors can’t openly do non-union work, which leads to them being uncredited officially. I know I’ve supported the union during the voice actor strike, but I can’t help but think that I should have criticised them at some point during my rants because their rules for union actors kind of play a factor in this whole debacle of video game dubbing.

I’ve suggested crowdfunding as a way to raise funds to hire (union) voice actors, but in recent years, I’ve seen them go the way of Western game companies and put out season passes and neverending DLC packs. Anyone who defends game companies for being cheap and not dubbing their games has no right to complain about them being greedy in other areas. I kind of saw it coming myself, which didn’t come as a surprise to me. As far as I’ve heard, there aren’t any loot boxes or pay-to-win gimmicks in Japanese games, so I guess I’m still relieved.

As for my opinion on all of this or Japanese game companies, including Koei Tecmo, they haven’t changed much, although I’ve become more and more apathetic towards them given my declining interest in video games. Much as I hate to admit, I’ve gotten back into playing older Warriors games I still have for nostalgia and because I was bored and wanted to procrastinate. This shows that regardless of my thoughts, I’m still grateful towards Koei Tecmo for the games that inspired me in certain aspects of my life.

I’m going to burn a few bridges here and say some fuck yous to a few groups. First of all is a big fuck you to the haters, namely the dub haters, sub purists and opinion-neutrals (that much is obvious). Next up is a fuck you to Japanese game companies for being cheap in localisation (and by extension, even cheaper in DLCs), then a smaller, belated and ironic fuck you to voice actor unions like SAG-AFTRA for making the rules that lead to Japanese game companies being cheap in the first place and enabling them to keep doing it. Finally, a really ironic fuck you goes to my fans and all other fans of English dubbing - the fact that nobody else had made something like EDGN by this point, let alone before I found and joined the page, is really telling of what little you do to promote dub advocacy, let alone not being aware that things like said page or #NoDubNoBuy exist or supporting them by liking or sharing my posts.

Anyway, the current plan is to finish posting whatever games I’ve got in the backlog before New Year’s Eve and then unpublish the page sometime after. I’m not going to delete the page out of respect to its creator, who despite still being an admin on the page, has never posted anything since I joined it. The games list will be kept up through this link for reference. Despite the fuck you I just gave my fans (particularly the 230-so followers on EDGN), I want to thank everyone for the support you gave over the years and invite you to continue following me on my Facebook and Tumblr pages.

The state of social media

I felt that I should address something given YouTube’s new measures regarding COPPA, not forgetting that they literally said that they have no obligation to host content. At the start of last year’s review, I stated that there was always something that managed to affect my Internet life in stupid ways. I haven’t been affected directly this year, but YouTube’s measures have led me to think about what would happen if Facebook were to follow suit, particularly because Tumblr already banned NSFW content at the end of last year and Twitter looks like it’s about to follow suit themselves.

Sure enough, YouTube suddenly updated their harassment policy, which resulted in the Leafy Content Cop being removed as a result of retroactive enforcement. I’ve got nothing much to say about this except that it just proves what we’ve been suspecting all along. To be honest, around the time of the NSFW ban on Tumblr, I was kind of expecting that the parody I did would get flagged ironically, but I guess it never got near the radar, not that there would be any justifiable grounds for it.

Anyone who celebrates censorship or deplatforming with the same argument that “private companies can do whatever they want” should really look at themselves in the mirror because if any of this has proved anything, it’s that anyone can be censored or deplatformed with or without reason whether they’re following the rules or not. You’re all just sitting ducks and you don’t even know it even though you play by their rules in the hope that you won’t be next.

On a more lighter note, I wonder if I should use paragraph gaps instead of horizontal rules in future posts, given that Tumblr removed functionality for the latter in the rich text editor. Sure, I could manually add them in the HTML editor, but it would mean that they would disappear when I switched back to the rich text editor, regardless of whether I saved or not, and it would absolutely kill me to put them back in the exact same spots when I’ve changed something there.

In regards to Hong Kong

Back in August, I made a post about how I nearly got deplatformed from Facebook by the guy behind the feud because of what I said in my repostings of Hong Kong news. I really want to look back and laugh at it now not only because him doing so made him look like a pro-Beijing supporter, but because a pro-Beijing politician he scapegoated as a dub hater in a parody post to evade my criticism of him as such lost his seat in the district council to a pro-democracy newcomer.

In that post, I admitted that I did use some racial slurs in some of my repostings. Given the escalating violence (on both sides, police and protesters) since the start of the protests in June, I’m just gonna come right out and say it - if I could use one word to describe it and the negative reaction from those against the protesters (around the world), it would be the hard-r n-word. I used that word against said pro-Beijing politician because like many other people, I don’t think he’s a good person in any way. He’s advocated violence against pro-democracy supporters, has suspected links to the triads and commended old men in white shirts attacking people in black shirts at a train station following a protest some distance away. If that third thing doesn’t remind you of white (shirt) supremacy, then I don’t know what will. Let’s not forget that at the time, I reposted some news about him not being admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales, making him a “fake lawyer n-word”.

In case there are people who disagree with my (former) use of the slur, I want to acknowledge something here. I know I’m using the slur towards Chinese people instead of its historical target, namely people of African origin, but if it helps move the focus away from the latter, then so be it. If I could find another (preferably stronger) word to describe it, then I would, but at this point, I should be lucky that I’m able to control my anger and not use the actual word itself. If you don’t like how I used the n-word at all, then fuck you, you missed the point, but of course, you’re free to leave.

I don’t want to talk about the finer details or criticisms of any party involved in the protests, but I’m quite amazed with the pro-democracy protesters’ motto of not splitting their movement, not condemning the violence from the radical side and not ratting anyone out. In my interpretation, the radical protesters know that their so-called “violence” is illegal, but the other protesters can’t condemn them because words have barely had any effect on the government and they know that the radical protesters are the only people who have a chance of making the government cave into their demands or expose the true sides of Hong Kong and China’s governments to the international community, because their failure to do so five years ago was because they failed to keep their movement together. I probably don’t know as much about this compared to Hong Kong locals or immigrants, but I wager that at least some of my interpretation is spot on.

Two years ago, I said on my personal Facebook page, “I hope that the future of Hong Kong and its politics will improve for the benefit of the people, especially the younger generations, given everything that has happened up to now”. I know it may seem ironic right now, but I believe that the future will continue to improve for the better, but if it turns to the worst, then I hope that due justice may be served.

At the start of this post, I said that I was undergoing a transition into society. I’ll be finishing my university course and graduating at the end of next year, so at this point, I’m currently out looking for work. A lot of people make it look easy, but in truth, it’s been quite excruciating for me; because of some government benefit thing I signed up for, I have a quota of job applications that I need to send per month. It sounds easy, but after a while, it becomes so hard when you look at a job you think you’ll like and realise that you don’t have the necessary skills or experience for it. All I can say for myself is that I’ll keep praying for guidance and hope that I can find something that fits with my timetable, at least until I graduate.

See you all on the other side in 2020.

[bmodsforfree7ouln]

Borderlands 2 where angels fear to tread?

Borderlands 2 what ever happened to helena pierce?

Meet the Vault Insider Line up in addition to uncover friendly Popular game loot for Borderlands 2 legendary weapons games. While Borderlands 2 originally permit up to four players, the VR type will be single-player just. There's currently not any concept such as in order to no matter if "Borderlands 2 VR" will include the first game's substantial selection involving expansion content, which includes extra character halls in addition to hours regarding area pursuits. If you want to return for this show at any time, you will get going without running shoes using the Applications, setup game sorts for mods menu solution.

A list of all of the Legendary (orange) artilleries from the Borderlands 2 modpack, as well as each one of his or her special result. Commander Lilith Also The Hostility With regard to Asylum assurances to consider players returning to the on the planet ? globe of Pandora, household land pertaining to Borderlands and Borderlands 2 (2012) however merely one associated with numerous entire world into September 2019's Borderlands 3.

Borderlands services 4 participant online as well as 2 person splitscreen community co op within the console versions. Borderlands 2 is only used to provide by simply players in the game. The some person characters through the former game, Roland, Lilith, Brick, with Mordecai, return by means of non-player characters that the fresh characters will run into upon Pandora, or perhaps in various missions. We arrive at see a one within the real world move in to the corpse associated with Maya what she puts down waste for you to opponents.

Borderlands 2 who killed justin

Borderlands 2 is obviously a violent game, along with past that it has greater than a bit of develop fully topics over and above which, even so the game's history carry out really Borderlands 2 golden key use a few positive messages. Such as the following play-through in Borderlands, TVHM becomes harder with tougher enemie Borderlands 2 skill tree.

Gearbox paints throughout broad brushstrokes, positives, but they don't depend on cardboard reduce away characters or even move with the work vision design. Players want combat along the complete connected with Pandora to quit Jack by wake a antique on the planet ? bad realized merely like. Top of all, the idea dwell right now if you've already obtained your current content involving Borderlands 2 VR, you are able to download everything Negative Bum Mega Enjoyment at no cost with know-how the DLC from a clean perspective. Borderlands 2 is really a game that will doesnt consider itself seriously, with wit plus a cartoonish model littered throughout that.

For those who have quite a low-end PC or perhaps would like to show the action with your current little laptop where you head out, Ultra Low Config mod for Borderlands now goes past the lowest achievable visual settings along with forms the sport search few years old, yet grows the thing significantly in the process. Their particular mission will take them in to contact with several comfortable looks from the older game - nearly all notably, the initial. Certain things never ever get old, as well as Borderlands 2 mods are merely being fun because they were just about ten years previously. Class mods also have a potential for increase skill points for a particular character's skill woods.

Borderlands 2 how to start at level 30

Gearbox suggestions how the upcoming PC version of Borderlands will figure the core game and also many methods from the freshly disclosed once the now not for particular fall months launch night out arrives. The expansion adds a whole new original report including things like several going back cast associates as well as extra characters, other than equally always the real legend could be the loot. I participated in the Xbox adaptation of Borderlands with regard to all around every week, buying enough the happening also up grade from the unique are apparent, the chance along with novelty of which presented the 2009 game Borderlands 2 max level consequently endearing along with well-known.

These stat developments apply to each one of just one player's characters. We performed realize it was totally thus special. Handsome Jack's program would be to begin Pandora's minute Vault and also develop the "Warrior", a strong Eridian creature regulated with whoever relieves the item.

Gearbox mention how the upcoming PC adaptation associated with Borderlands will certainly characteristic the two primary game with everything from the fresh disclosed as soon as it's currently low specific fall months discharge time gets there. Gearbox Software achieved it make which the sport exclusivity intended for PSVR was always timed.

Refuge ends up being under stress, the Vault's guide has been stolen next a lethal gas ends up being poisoning Pandora. There's presently not any concept as for you to no matter whether "Borderlands 2 VR" will certainly add some unique game's substantial annals of increase content material, including added character courses in addition to times connected with boundary searches.

[bigboybigblog-blog]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III - DLC 5 is completely real, and happening soon

It’s happening, and let me tell you why

First let’s start with easy stuff; it makes sense. We have been promised new content for the game in 2017 (though that doesn’t necessarily mean we will be significant content like zombies maps, could be multiplayer weapons etc).

In this picture you can see (in the digital content area marked for 2017) there is a listing for a ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops III (DLC Pack)’, with no predicted date specified. This information comes straight from Markets Insider, and is a picture sent out selectively to shareholders, so I have serious doubts that MI and Activision would be giving incorrect information to their paying customers, but may not mean anything by itself.

Now this shows tweets from a well-known jailbreaker (or whatever they’re called) saying somebody they know has played DLC 5 at Activision User Research, which is a closed event where a small group of people are invited to play upcoming Activision products for testing and refinement to be prepared and improved before launch. After some of my own digging I found that the most recent one was in Santa Monica (CA, just like he said, also the city where Treyarch’s offices are located, suspicious eh?). But again, doesn’t mean anything by itself.

DLC 5 has mentions within the code of the game multiple times, though other CoD games have mentioned a 5th DLC that has never materialised, so may not mean anything by itself.

These pictures show the Steam Database listing for BO3, and on 12 April 2017 an unknown DLC was added to the game, with the second picture showing that this DLC has been redeemed 3 times on the same day (just enough for in-house testing, I would guess). But then it could be anything, may not mean anything by itself. BONUS: The first instance of the DLC was redeemed 1 minute and 3 seconds before the DLC listing appeared, to me hints it’s certainly developer material, but don’t know enough about how steamdb works to say for sure.

The picture above shows a listing for a ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies’ on a website for a Mexican retailer named ‘Mixup’, saying that it will be released on 30th July 2017 (the rest is generic and irrelevant information about ordering the product). Now the picture for this is a pretty bad mock-up job, the zombie is from BO1, the III is off center, among other details so it is clearly not official artwork. It is very possible they have conformation on it’s existence and are taking measures for users to buy the product, but it could also be a simple mistake and very seriously, may not mean anything by itself.

EDIT: 20/4/17: This picture came up today. It is a picture posted from the Instagram of the Brazilian voice actor for Richtofen. The pic show him recording voice lines. The picture translates as “Today was dubbing day! Work with who we love, always leave us a smile on our faces. And he's back !!! Even more insane” (Could the “he’s back” refer to Richtofen 1.0, which would be another hint at remakes of older maps?) So presumably he is dubbing over some NEW voice lines for the Brazilian audience, and the hashtags speak for themselves. To add the cherry on top he has since removed the post of all the hashtags and references to Call of Duty, Black Ops, Zombies etc, including the last line saying “he’s back !!! Even more insane”. If all this together isn’t enough to convince even the most skeptical now, I don’t know what will. But, as ever, it may not mean anything by itself.

EDIT: 22/4/17 : This most recent leak as of late is in image taken from a PoV video of somebody pre-ordering a ‘Zombies Chronicles’ from a Spanish retailer, with the shown mockup used to purchase the product. It roughly translates to (thanks Google...) “It is a complete game that brings the original content of BLACK OPS 3 + the content of Zombies Chronicles. Unclose 8 classic Treyarch maps Remastered zombies and all maps included in the Gobblegum function.” Now this is where it gets interesting. In the previous steamdb picture it shows 2 unknown DLC listings, and if DLC 5 is real, then a DLC 6 very well could be. This listing mentions 8 maps. Previously 4-5 were rumored so it could be both a DLC 5 and 6 combined, though the listing doesn’t seem to indicate it is made up from 2 DLC packs, so I feel it’s reasonable to imagine it is just talking about DLC 5. That means if DLC 6 is real (and of the same size, 8 maps) then every single Treyarch zombies will be in Black ops 3. To further on this speculation it is worth imagining a much, much greater cross-map easter egg with 22 maps in the pool, with the end culminating on Revelations, with Jason Blundell’s comment of “If you come to the conclusion that you are done in DLC 4, you are wrong” ringing in our ears until the very end. What a climactic and perfect way to end the decade long story it could be. Then some more baseless speculation could be that is a massive break due between DLC 5 and 6 as there has been between DLC 4 and DLC 5. That could put Treyarch in a place to conclude zombies on or around the time CoD zombies has it’s 10th anniversary. Amazing. But as for the picture, it’s all just adding up too perfectly with all these pieces constantly revealing themselves, though as usual, it may not mean anything by itself.

Now let’s dig into the rationale within the game as to why a DLC 5 would make sense. The most convincing idea I’ve had is that the ending to the most recent (not final) zombies map sent the main characters into a ‘time loop’ of which they cannot escape. This would be perfect thematically for remaking older zombies map, as the characters would be revisiting what they have done in the past, trying to break the cycle, meaning I think the maps will be full and interesting remakes rather than just remasters. There is also this post from reddit user /u/pivv0t: “I spoke to an executive producer for activision at the treyarch panel today (whilst Jason and Craig were doing the q & a). He was saying that they (producers) were fighting with Jason and Craig over continuing the zombie storyline. Apparently, Jason and Craig feel like they "don't have it in them" to continue with the zombie story, but activision wants them to keep going.” Now a perfect solution to not wanting to keep continuing the storyline but Activision wanting it to carry on would be delivering remakes of old maps and using that as a platform to tie off loose ends and ultimately conclude the story that has been continuing since 2008/2009.

There are plenty of other plausible reasons as to why a DLC 5 makes sense from a gameplay/story/business point of view anyone could think of themselves, and maybe more evidence I have missed, and almost certainly more to come. With all the evidence and logical sense a DLC 5 would make, I am more than confident to say it is absolutely happening, and happening soon.

Just wait, and remember - I called it

BONUS SPECULATION: The maps could have revised/replaced or even additional easter eggs telling the story of the characters trying to break the cycle of events (branching easter egg paths has been done in the past in BO2 zombies)

[magnavox-odyssey-official]

Final Fantasy XV (First Impressions) Review

You know, I got Final Fantasy XV on the assumption that it’ll help me back on the PS4. I was practically devoting my time to the juggernaut of a gaming PC I built, that the poor black box on my shelf wasn’t getting enough of the attention I gave it back when I played Phantom Pain on it during my college days not too long ago. I wasn’t sure why else I bought it: I was never able to beat any Final Fantasy game before this one, so there was a possibility that it would tank from my gaming queue. Sure as hell didn’t turn out that way, judging by the hours atop hours I’ve played per day. Hell, I even beat the game not too longer after I bought it. But I’m not about to parade the rooftops and sing this games praises just yet. It’s probably not even my most favorite game, although it’s sort of up there, I admit. It’s a complicated relationship.

The story starts off stronger than most recent FFXV games, in that it doesn’t dump a whole bunch of stringy narrative threads all over the place. You play as Noctis, princely heir to the throne of the nation of Lucis, who must traverse the land and build up his royal magic with his three comrades, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus, reunite with his fiancée Luna, and take the fight back to the Niflheim empire that had conquered his homeland. Like I said, that is as complicated as the story gets in XV, and I think that has something to do with the fact that Final Fantasy XIII, the previous single player game in the franchise, was critically not a very good game and was also mired in a confusing narrative, and Square Enix wanted to distance themselves from that for marketing reasons. I mean, the opening sequence starts the game proper with, and I’m not kidding here, a cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” as the title logo fades in. Right away, it tells you straight up that this isn’t your mom and dad’s Final Fantasy.

And it it’s as different as it gets, when compared to previous games in the series. Rather than having a hybrid action RPG style of gameplay, XV uses something called the Active Cross Battle system, which simply boils everything down an action game with RPG elements. I personally think makes the combat so much better than more of the alter games in the series. For one thing, commands are mapped directly on the controller for attacking, defending, and dodging, and Noctis has a whole suite of commands and abilities that are useful, but never feel too complicated to use in battle, like having his friends utilize their own special attacks or warp to a vantage point out of harm’s way to get a better look at the battle below. The battle system is solid, but not without a few nagging issues. For one, certain areas don’t really serve the battle system well, like cramped spaces and corridors or areas with a lot of obstructive, like trees and large rocks. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when to attack or when to block, especially when you can’t really see if an enemy is winding up an attack right behind you. Another thing is that there are special spells called summons, which call upon certain deities to aid you in battle. Provided they even decide to show up, because there doesn’t seem to be a way to tell when you can be able to summon them, or how long the cool down to summon another god is, and since they only show up when you’re really in deep trouble, you could probably get through the whole game without having to summon a deity, if you’re good enough.

The game is also, separating itself from Final Fantasy XIII, the game is mostly open world, with plenty of ways to get around and plenty of side quests and monster hunts to partake in. You can get around in the Regalia, your stylish car, or you can rent some of the classic Chocobo mounts, or you can rough it on foot to hunt for materials, bulk up your hunter rank by going on hunt mission for cash, search for hidden dungeons and go out fishing, and you can crash at the local motel and count up your XP and Ability points, that you can use to increase your stats, unlock new abilities, and make you and your crew much more formidable. The adventuring around the open world and the quirky interactions with the main four are what I think really kept me playing to the end. There’s a lot of streamline, yet rewarding tasks to uptake, and the multitude of traveling options, including the classic fast traveling, make things snappy and straightforward enough to keep your interest.

And that’s not even considering the cast of Noctis and his pals. The palaver that they share make them feel a lot more human than Final Fantasy XIII’s cast, at least. One event really helps this point, where Prompto makes a comment about a seaside restaurant being romantic, and the other three, including the usually professional Ignis, tease Prompto about how he’s in such a romantic place with his three manly friends. They’re penchant for showing concern and ripping on each other makes the traveling, the fighting, and even the down moments of the guys camping in the woods much more enjoyable. Noctis is a lot more capable and human than most people give him credit for. He can get stoic, and he gets bratty every now and then, but it’s not like that’s just the way he is, and it’s not like he doesn’t have an actual personality. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders, the responsibility to his kingdom, and his lineage, to fight against the evil that’s plaguing the world. he regularly jokes with his friends out in the wild, and had come to tears on more than one occasion because of the situation he’s in, which is a lot more than I can say for most protagonists in many video games nowadays. One scene way at the end of the credits, really shows how much he cares about his world and his friends. They aren’t the most complex of characters, and the story isn’t that deep to help them out with that, but the four boys in this party really show that they had a lot of care in their creation.

Although going back to the story, it starts to fold in on itself way later, especially when the story reaches Chapter 13. I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that the story takes a massive halt, but also takes three steps ahead of us, and I was personally left wondering why the game hadn’t properly explained anything going on in this chapter, especially considering that a lot of important events in the plot apparently took place off screen. I personally didn’t mind that this chapter started to get linear later, but the fact that so many things happened off the story’s watch is just unjustified. It didn’t help that the game also takes your weapons and party members away for this portion of the story as well. Now that I think about it, too much story wasn’t good for the previous games, but not enough story, or having players piece together what should have been explained outright, is in some ways worse. As of writing, Square Enix has addressed the problem, and are even going as far as to create all new scenes and record all new dialogue to make the chapter more palatable, so it shows that SE is dedicated to their product, but only time will tell if these new scenes will but the kick back in the story’s step.

Along with the news of added content and support for the game, like the recently announced Episode Gladiolus and Episode Prompto DLC, the design skins for the Regalia, the Chocobo races, the fantastic-looking food that boosts your stats, and all the other little feature and gameplay elements that are just quick but impactful enough to keep you in the experience, there’s just something about this game that just drew me in. The story is fine, although a bit dry at times, and the combat is just fluid enough to work with, even though it can fall flat at times. But the groundwork that all that is built upon is solid, and the overall experience is done well enough that I really would consider it one of my favorite games of all time. It’s hard to pin down what exactly got me hooked on the game, and I admit that it’s not a game for everyone, but I personally had a great time with the game, and as it continues to be reworked and built upon with upcoming DLC, you know I’m gonna dive back into the main story when everything is said and done.

[recentanimenews]

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore Is Sweet Music to Our Ears

  When news of a Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem collaboration hit, most people seemed to initially assume it would be some sort of strategy game, like Fire Emblem, with SMT trappings, or a SMT style RPG featuring Fire Emblem in some way. With the popularity of the Persona series due to Persona 4 and the announcement of Persona 5, a lot of people’s thoughts were going in wild places. When Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE emerged, many people were rightfully a little confused about what the game actually was, or how it was even connected to either franchise, as it featured characters no one recognized in a third-person RPG world, centered mostly on… idols?! 

The reality is that TMS is greater than the sum of its initial parts, a fun and light RPG with nods to Fire Emblem characters and Persona-lite gameplay trappings. Unfortunately for the game, it was released towards the end of the Wii U’s lifecycle, meaning that a lot of gamers either never got a chance to play it, or easily overlooked the game on its initial release. With the release of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, however, Switch owners now have a chance to take this fantastic, unique RPG for a spin; and if you played it before, you’ll find that there’s still something new here for you, as well!

Following a mysterious mass disappearance 11 years ago, the game picks up with the spotlight on Itsuki Aoi, a somewhat bland but otherwise fine protagonist. He isn’t the silent type like SMT protagonists tend to be, and feels a bit more like the player insert character Robin from Fire Emblem Awakening; a character with a set personality that can be adjusted slightly through basic choices. Anime fans will likely pick up on a lot of the character tropes that the cast of TMS are putting down, from the dopey but genki Tsubasa Oribe to the hero-wannabe Touma Akagi, these are familiar characters that are easily likable and have great chemistry with each other. 

Itsuki and Tsubasa find themselves in trouble as an idol talent scout turns out to  be a trap to capture “Perfoma," a type of energy that humans possess, that the mysterious Mirages attempt to obtain for their own needs. By strokes of luck, Itsuki and Tsuaba prove to be Mirage Masters, able to control and bond with Mirages in order to battle against other Mirages, and these beings prove to be the Fire Emblem flavored link between the two game series; Itsuki partners with Chrom, while Tsubasa partners with Caeda. Other Fire Emblem series staple characters come into play as more Mirages appear, and even Tiki the dragon appears as an “uta-loid," a Mirage that also acts as a virtual idol like world famous performer Hatsune Miku. This is generally where the Fire Emblem connection ends, however, and for the most part TMS is a SMT-lite or Persona-lite RPG, with characters traversing the “Idolasphere” in between visiting real-world locations in areas of Tokyo, like Harajuku or the famous Scramble Crossing. 

The real plot of the game revolves around solving the mystery of the disappearances, their links to Mirages and Perfoma, and the individual characters striving to achieve their goals in the entertainment world, as everyone in your party is somehow connected to performance in some manner: Tsubasa wants to be an idol, other members are already idols, some are models, actors, managers, and other entertainment related jobs. TMS has a mini-social link system, like Persona, in which Itsuki’s interactions and choices with characters influences their goals and successes in their dream jobs; if you manage to achieve all of the links to success, the ending will change to reflect this as a bonus. 

Characters are lively and animated, and the game has a somewhat unique system of featuring characters as almost full body figures while they talk to you, with expressive facial features (Tsubasa’s “awawawa” shock face is my personal favorite!), and extra dialogue scenes related to side quests happen in a very amusing in-game re-creation of chat app LINE, complete with stickers. These little optional conversations are generally how Itsuki affects the social link options, but they also provide a fun view into how characters talk to one another, with group chats and solo chats appearing as the cast expands, making it feel similar to Vincent’s phone in Atlus’ Catherine series. Gameplay in dungeons works similar to Persona 3 and 4, with players piloting Itsuki around various dungeon maps, striking enemies for first hits, and then transitioning into lavish battle sequences that feature the game’s truly interesting battle system, specifically the Session System.

Battles are turn-based, and the SMT/Persona influence becomes very apparent here, as TMS feels very similar to Persona 4’s battle system (and, in retrospect, almost feels like it had some influence on later mainline game Persona 5’s system as well). The player has control of 3 characters, with Itsuki being a mainstay, and the other two swappable at any time during a battle. Finding enemy weaknesses is the main way to deal extra damage, and each enemy has a range of weaknesses to various physical and elemental damages. Unlike SMT, where weakness striking triggers turn skipping, TMS instead allows players that have discovered enemy weaknesses, and who have the corresponding skills on their various party members, to unleash powerful Session attacks, where multiple characters can attack out of turn sequence to devastate opponents. Exploiting Session abilities is key to survival in TMS, and in all honesty the game is fairly challenging at times, even on normal difficulty, meaning that players will need to stay on their toes and be mindful of what skills work best, when to be defensive, and when to swap party members to ensure victory. 

Pursuing character side stories unlocks more powerful abilities, called Duo Attacks, and even more abilities, Ad Libs, can be discovered as players progress further. While the story of TMS is light and fun, the battle system is where the real excitement lies, and this game ensures that players who enjoy SMT style combat will probably find a lot to love. Newcomers to the SMT sensibilities of RPGs will similarly find the game accessible and easier to understand than Persona games, as players aren’t required to worry about fusions or being killed in one hit by the enemy striking your new Persona’s weakness. Instead, as players explore the world, they can farm items from enemies that will allow them to continually unlock new weapons they can equip, letting their Mirages learn new abilities and skills that deepen their usefulness in combat. Having static weaknesses on your player characters lets you learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, and allows you to plan better as battles become more challenging, keeping things fresh and exciting.

Overall, the game looks great, and even though it originally came out on the Wii U in 2015, the game has aged very well in the transition to the Switch; in fact, the game looks fairly vibrant and gorgeous in a lot of cases, and the Switch seems to be able to pull out some of the beauty even better than the Wii U did. Travelling between the city scenes and Idolasphere dungeons are always colorful affairs, and the game really does try to make things seem alive and popping, even rendering faceless NPC characters in crowded scenes as rainbow-colored people, rather than grey shapes. Major dialogue in the game is also fully voiced, however there is no dub track to the game, meaning Japanese voices are the only option for audio. While the performances are all great, this does mean that people in need of English audio, or who may rely on non-Japanese audio cues, are a bit left in the lurch by this decision. The fairly barebones release of the game on the Wii U likely meant there was no dub planned, and this re-release seems to mostly work off of existing translations and assets from the original release. 

In general, this isn’t a big problem, but it is a bit of a bummer that the game isn’t quite as accessible as it could be due to the lack of dual audio options. Since music is a huge part of the game, players will be happy to find out that the OST and songs in the game are all fantastic, with some being homages to Fire Emblem music, and others being completely new arrangements and performances of unique songs made directly to tie in to the idol-focused nature of TMS. Audio and visual wise, TMS is a real treat for players, and the Switch seems to take advantage of both of these things far better than the Wii U did. 

If you already played TMS on Wii U, you’ll be excited to learn that there’s plenty of new things to explore, as Encore features new playable characters and side stories, expanding what you can do and see during the game. I found this to be a really welcome addition, but was surprised that it wasn’t really advertised very well; I actually had no idea until I was presented with options and characters I didn’t have in the original game. These new scenes are all great, and they really help flesh out the already fun cast by adding in some new changes and additions. 

Not only that, but each of them feels natural, meaning that you likely wouldn’t know what was new content or not if this were your first time to ever play the game. While there isn’t much other content added, all DLC for the original game is also included, making this version of TMS the superior and overall best version of the game. If you missed it on the Wii U, or you just want to play it again, pick up Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore for the Switch and engage with the truly weird and wonderful mash-up of idols, Fire Emblem, and Shin Megami Tensei. 

REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Lost sleeper hit gets a great new update and wider release.  

+ Game runs and looks great on modern hardware, and sounds great too.

+ Controls are simple and clean, with game systems being easy to understand and accessible.

+ Characters, story, and a unique world are all fun to interact with and experience.

+ Variable difficulty provides just the right level of challenge, and even on Normal can prove to be a test of wits!

- Lack of a dub track means that some people may have a harder time accessing the game and enjoying it fully. 

  Did you play the original Tokyo Mirage Sessions? Will this be your first Fire Emblem or Shin Megami Tensei game? Let us know what you think of the game in the comments!

    ----

Nicole is a frequent wordsmith for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

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'Destiny two,' Like Also Numerous Games, Doesn't Know How To End

It seems like one particular controversy right after another seems to be plaguing the community of Destiny two. The game just came off the hugely controversial XP scaling scandal, and now some gamers have encountered an problem where the DLC is locking them out of content material they already owned. Clans provide rewards and expertise for completing activities with members of the group. Join up with your buddies how to download destiny 2, or discover new ones. With Guided Games, solo players can enlist Clans to play a Raid, a Nightfall Strike, or a competitive match in Trials. And herein lies the issue at the heart of "Destiny two": It really is a game that feels nakedly like a treadmill. Shoot much more of the same dumb enemies so you get greater loot so you can shoot much more of the very same dumb enemies so you can get much better loot, ad infinitum. The principal strengths of the plot are the atmosphere you get immersed into inside the first minutes of the gameplay, amazing soundtrack and other tiny specifics like the secrets of the Vex machine race or lovely madness of Al Failsafe. Continue your adventure with the Destiny two How to Download Destiny 2 Expansion Pass and get access to both Expansion I and Expansion II. destiny 2 pc download free , story missions, and adventures. Play new cooperative activities and earn new themed weapons, armor, and gear. Like any excellent apology, the arrival of Destiny on the Computer acts as an acknowledgement that failing to bring the original first-particular person-looter to the platform was a poor selection. 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If you were hoping for a zone you could run a thousand times and in no way get bored? Effectively, initial you must adjust your expectations down probably—this is Destiny soon after all. But no, this isn't it. Maybe if Bungie keeps adding bits and bobs into it more than the next couple of months it could grow to be that, but it isn't correct now. That's where I am on Destiny 2 at the moment. Bungie has patched up a number of the areas where I felt the original game had faltered. This is nevertheless a excellent shooting encounter, even though I do dislike the putting all the cool, fascinating weapons in the Energy Weapons slot, where you'll rarely have a ton of ammo. But on leading of that shooting knowledge Destiny 2 PC Download, there's constantly one thing to do and there's far more context given as to why you are doing it beyond just obtaining much more loot. The return of some actual storytelling is the return of the Bungie of old, the Bungie I anticipated to see when I 1st played Destiny. Bungie can - and have - told greater stories in the previous. By the time the credits roll, it doesn't truly feel like a complete lot has changed. Certain, portion of that is inherent to the game's MMO-lite structure but it nevertheless feels like too considerably of a soft-reset on the 1st how to download destiny 2 game. To compare it to an additional spacefaring saga, it feels like we went from A New Hope to A New Hope 2 rather than The Empire Strikes Back. It's all just a small bit too episodic for its personal good and fails to evolves the world or story or characters or stakes in the meaningful methods you'd hope a sequel would. Bungie at final unveiled its final Destiny reside event — dubbed "Age of Triumph" — in a live stream on Wednesday. The huge takeaway? All the raids are getting leveled up, comprehensive with new, similarly leveled up loot. On some level, I get the appeal of a single game that you can give yourself to for months or even years at a time. Video games are expensive Destiny 2 pc download and it would be a lot less complicated if we could all just get a single and play that forever. It's also utopian to believe about 1 video game satisfying all of our gaming wants for us, in a sense. As with the original, Destiny two launched with 4 planets. These are: Titan, Io, Nessus, and Earth. Don't worry about recycled content we're off to Earth's European Dead Zone, rather than Destiny 1's Cosmodrome. Bungie say the European Dead Zone is the largest location they've built by a "aspect of two." Here you can meet some brand new characters, which includes the wonderfully British sniper Devrim Kay He's the overseer of the region, and you can verify in with him frequently for new gear. You can chat to him utilizing the game's new conversation interface, and head out on Adventures for him. As with other Destiny NPCs, collecting certain tokens aids increase your standing with him and net you far better rewards. Whilst Bungie's knack for crafting rich sci-fi action experiences is apparent in both franchises, Destiny and Halo are vastly different when it comes to the all round package. Halo games usually have a structured campaign mode with a separate multiplayer mode, whereas Destiny is an always-on-line Destiny 2 pc download knowledge that seamlessly blends the two although adding in MMO-inspired features like the Tower. Most Halo games cast you as series protagonist Master Chief, although Destiny is all about crafting your personal Guardian.

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Why Presentation Matters in the Fighting Game Market

     With EVO 2k17 wrapped up, a lot of good surprises were shown to the fighting game crowd live and streaming. From character and downloadable content announcements to more previews of upcoming fighting games releasing next year, the audience has much to look forward to. Myself included, the base were pleased with the results; however, there was only one particular publisher that gave a lot of people a mix of skepticism and frustration. Yes, we are talking about Capcom.

     Before Abigail was revealed as part of Street Fighter V’s second season pass (who also received mixed reactions among the consumer base for various reasons), Capcom would preview new characters, Gamora of Marvel’s Guaridans of the Galaxy and Jedah of Capcom’s Darkstalkers series. After the conclusion of the last time Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 being in EVO, a Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite exhibition would be played by Combofiend and Filipino Champ. The two players used the new characters mentioned and while there were some happy reactions, there were also displeased ones. Most in which were wondering why they did not present Gamora and Jedah in a form of a trailer rather than having two well known fighting game players playing them that would result in them barely showing anything that could leave us a full impression of the characters’ designs. Granted, it is nice to see Jedah making another fighting game appearance since the horrific Capcom Fighting Jam, but it still was not enough to leave those interested to getting the game. Sadly, it is not difficult to understand why that is the case.

     When Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite was first revealed, I was a bit shocked and surprised. I never expected them to reveal a new installment so soon. Let alone, add in Mega Man X. The trailer posted was only a cinematic footage with no gameplay shown; just Ryu, X, Captain Marvel, and Iron Man clashing it out with two gems of their choosings. The next day, gameplay footage (unfinished, of course) was posted giving us a little more to know about the mechanics. The game would be revealed to be going back to traditional 2v2 that started with X-Men vs. Street Fighter, turns Active Switch in place of assists, and have a new mechanic added in called Infinity Stones. Months went slow as Capcom reps would not share any more news regarding the game until April. We received a cinematic trailer revealing some returning Marvel vs. Capcom characters, Ultron, and Sigma (already being part of the early announced DLC season pass). We would then be treated with gameplay footage and a character trailer. Until June at E3 was the day we would be receiving more Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite news. Another cinematic story trailer and character trailer of previous veterans would be posted. Black Panther would also be announced as the second character to be part of the season pass. Aside the story demo’s release, little to none direct feed gameplay were shown from E3. The only direct feed gameplay of the game was the breakdown with Yipes, Combofiend, and Mike Jones. But other than that, nothing officially from Capcom until EVO where Jedah and Gamora were revealed by a gameplay exhibition after the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 finals. Today, Capcom has uploaded new footage of revealed Spider Man, Nemesis, Haggar, and Frank West and a new Infinity Stone, the Mind Stone.

     As months passed, the game filled a majority of its audience with anxiety. With the arguably stale character choices, colorless graphics, questionable marketing, and even the most minor details to the game leaving them unimpressed. Admittedly, the only redeeming factor of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite is the gameplay, but isn’t that to be expected from one who apparently invented the fighting game genre? Let alone, isn’t gameplay supposedly the most important factor to please the crowd? Why yes, yes it is. However, supposedly. I used to think gameplay is the only thing developers need to make me enjoy a game thoroughly. But after several cases of quality decreasing in trade of quantity, I realize there is more to pleasing people like me than just one aspect especially when companies are advertising their works. Of course, selective minds from different people work differently, the thing is some people underestimate how presentation plays a factor in game sales. I believe this is as similar as Capcom’s DmC and Street Fighter V’s performances, both in which did not do so well in the department. Regarding Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite’s performance with hyping the crowd, I would say it did worse to interest the audience than Street Fighter V.

     To sum it up, the slow updates up to now, while some may argue that it helps people keep expectations at a low, it could also make people impatient and less interested. Also because of the early leaks turning out to be true, this also affected in the loss of potential consumers and pre-orders. One would think Capcom would have learned their lesson after Street Fighter V’s PR fiasco. Though, looking at how they have been responding to the roster choices and how certain fighting game figures and fans respond to the criticism and missing potential character choices (like the X-Men), I doubt the game will be treated as well as Capcom hopes. And a Capcom rep was worried about people taking pictures of booth as opposed to trying to selling us on the game itself, that’s when you know they have a problem in the professional area.

     As for me, I’ve already made my mind. Sure, the gameplay is well panned out at best, but like DmC, the presentation failed to capitalize on what could be a great product instead of a giant advertising outlet for Marvel’s upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movie. I would rather they bring back the marketing team who sold Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Those trailers definitely showed Capcom had passion for the project to succeed. Meanwhile, I don’t even sense an ounce of passion for Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite because not only does the game itself looks dry, but also because the PR team fails to convince me I am missing out on a “revolutionary” fighter. I would be convinced if the game is Arc System Works’ BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle because they have never let me down on presenting a great title as of late despite issues I had with them in regards to another subject I won’t touch on this post.

     Anyway, people are free to decide if Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite is for them or not. If they enjoy it by launch, then good for them. If others decide it’s not for them, that’s good as well. I prefer honesty than blindness. People have their opinions on what is good and what is not, and I am overall saying this for both sides, but I am saying this mostly for the negative side because I have seen comments on an unrealistic scale that made me question their views as a fighting game fan. Until then, team Arc System Works.