#anyway ive been playing smt strange journey

[k1spiegel]

all of my friends are going to heeho-hell

[gefdreamsofthesea]

Spot the lie: Shin Megami Tensei edition

Note: I'm including everything under the SMT label in English except the Persona games. No I don't care if they're technically part of another subseries in Japan. Also, these apply to the original releases. I know some have been updated but I haven't played them.

I especially want to hear from people who haven't played them because this feels too easy for a veteran.

Poll results are in and I'm very disappointed that only 3.7% of you got it right.

I will now reveal the correct answers:

1. TRUE - The first major boss in Devil Survivor, Beldr, can only be killed by mistletoe, a mistletoe-shaped cellphone strap is just as effective.

2. TRUE - Yggdrasil is sapient and steals time warping powers from the Disir. The protagonist has to go back in time to save themselves with the help of the Norns (who have evolved from the Disir who gave him the quest, you know like Pokemon)

3. TRUE - Dante made a guest appearance in the original release of SMT Nocturne. Later versions replaced him with Raidou Kuzunoha, the protagonist of two games in the Devil Summoner spinoff series

4. TRUE - It's ordinary literature, there's nothing wrong with it the citizens of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado are just that brainwashed

5. TRUE - The entry is in Strange Journey. "Originally, he looked like an abominable snowman, but perhaps he changed form to more efficiently freeze people."

6. TRUE - The bondage angel design debuted in SMT 2. Here's a screenshot of SMT 1 showing its original design.

7. TRUE - A lot of people voted for this one but it's actually true. Cerberus' single head is a reference to the original novel the series is based on (Digital Devil Story). He is depicted with three heads in SMT: IMAGINE, Soul Hackers, and Digital Devil Saga.

8. TRUE - I did not know the origin of David's name myself so I looked it up. His design is possibly a reference to the poem Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens.

9. FALSE (ish) - It's actually the reverse: Astaroth wishes to become the goddess Ishtar (technically to return to being Ishtar but in game terms Ishtar is treated as his "evolution"). He is usually required in order to fuse her. In some games, the two don't appear to be connected at all.

10. TRUE - As the accuser, Satan is part of the Law alignment (and therefore on YHVH's side) against Lucifer, who (usually) represents the Chaos alignment. His role in SMT IV Apocalypse is more complicated.

Anyways good job everyone. Everyone gets a cookie.

[garmmy]

garm‘s video game wrap-up 2020

i’ve previously posted these on twitter but i realised i haven’t posted them here; anyway, i’ve completed a number of games this year, and they’re all SO GOOD i have so much trouble choosing faves!

plus i felt a little bad not being able to fanart for all these games i loved, so this is just a short post with little doodles and (spoiler-free!) thoughts on the games i’ve played this year, copied from the earlier twitter thread.

- ys ix: ys ix is SO GOOD, you'd think the city seems a bit drab at first but it's actually so fun to explore (i rarely 100% games but i had to get 100% exploration). i really love the monstrum and also the designs and their stories are 😭👌 

- pokemon shield: i had lots of fun with it!! (haven't bought the dlc though..) i appreciate that this was the most invested i've been in filling the pokedex since gen 5. still not the biggest fan of the pokemon design style this gen, but i've definitely warmed up to it a bit :> 

- atelier iris: the music is sooo good and the party characters were a tight bunch too! i'm so glad for lita;; though i only really understood how the shop upgrading thing worked later in the game so i probably missed out a good chunk of events T_T 

- atelier iris 2: MY PERSONAL GOTY, it isn't anything super epic but the characters, story, graphics, music are just so charming;; it's like reading a kid/young teen fantasy novel but in game form! it's overall such a well-rounded, sweet package imo and i love it for what it is!! 

- virtue's last reward: this was probably the most i used my brain for this year LOL, and i remember panicking thinking i somehow didn't have the last password!! (i had written it on another paper i threw somewhere.) and what can i say, i love the siggy/phido duo;; 

- ghost trick: this was long overdue and i see why everyone says PLAY IT!! sadly as a game it's quite short, but it was a perfect length for its story and it's just so..creative? brilliant? i'd love more games like this, for now i'll just echo everyone and say play ghost trick. 

- zero time dilemma: i am way biased towards D-team 😂 animation was fairly rough and there's a particular part i hated watching over again, but other than those it was still a fun ride and these puzzle rooms! always make me nostalgic for flash point-and-click games, i love them. 

- digital devil saga/dds2: the setting is just INSANE there's nothing quite like it, and the avatar designs are just AMAZING. i personally wish it was..slightly less dungeon and more story/characters, but it's actually a really nice balance between smt and persona as-is, imo. 

- tokyo xanadu ex+: music-wise this is my 2nd fave this year behind atelier iris 2, the music is just INSANELY good and makes running through dungeons 100x more fun. the XRC is also precious;; and i love the side-story format for showing character events. 

- strange journey redux: AMAZING atmosphere as is typical in smt;; also smt1 was the first smt game i completed and devil summoner is among my faves, so the whole 1st-person dungeon crawling, stupid dark rooms/pitfalls/teleport traps make me go 'yea this sure is an smt game'. 😂 

- trails of cold steel iv: there is just sooo much content, and it is honestly such a joy to see EVERYONE IS HERE. i just love new class vii so much;; if anything, trails games are such a treasure trove of character dialogue and always leave me wanting more.. 

- hajimari no kiseki: not finished yet, but this will probably be my last for the year. i personally LOVE the garden/episode setup in sky 3rd, so i'm really glad to see it again in this game. the cross-story mechanic is fun too, and there's just so much to do!!