#but i'm very happy to be able to travel with her on this playthrough even without the slaughter so. y'know.

[frankensteined]

LET'S GOOOOOO

[gamergirlshelby]

Alright I just finished Chapter 1 of Rejuvenation 13.5 and I have many thoughts I want to ramble about.

I want to note that I have done 100% playthrough of version 13.0 a few months after it had initially released, so although my memory is a bit rusty, I will be talking a bit about some of the changes between the versions (i want to note that they're all positive imo)

Also should note that be wary of spoilers for new content for 13.5 as well as spoilers for story stuff since I want to talk about how good the writing in this game is. I've taken a lot of screenshots and will be adding them when i think they fit in my little rambles and stuff.

Without further ado my ramblings are under the read more!

To start things off I wanna just gloss over the beginning scene with Maria and the prologue on the SS Oceana. From what I can remember nothing really changed between those two sections but honestly I think they are as close to perfect if not as perfect as they can be. They give just the right amount of information to set up some of the first main mysteries and plot threads, and I think they do amazingly at setting the tone for the game.

Next I want to talk about how East Gearen has changed, having made some small adjustments to the city to help make traveling through it all the more easier. I'm happy that the changes were minimal enough that walking through the city I still knew where everything was, so everything felt familiar but it had been different enough where seeing everything game me the same sort of wonder and comfort that it had in my first playthroughs.

I think the biggest changes being to the designs for the Gearen lab and the Gearen Help Center (I haven't made it to Sheridan yet so I'm not sure if all of the help centers have been changed to be the same sort of layout, or if they all have a unique sort of look to them). The only change I'm not the biggest fan of is the starters all being lined up in rows as shown above. It definitely makes choosing the starter easier since they're all in one space, but having them all in their own little enclosures had this quaint sort of feeling to it. Still I do think that it was a good change overall, it just doesn't pander to me specifically.

Next change that I want to point out is the ability to take on quests right when you see the npc and not needing to go to the help center. Overall I think everything about quests has been changed to be much easier and more streamlined. The little quest notification does a lot in making finding the details for quests and even just finding quests a lot easier. Overall I'm a big fan.

I also adore the additions of finding some relevant story npcs out in the world outside of big story events and areas. It just adds so much to the world and helps make the world feel more alive, like its really worth saving. Whether its just small dialogue that doesn't impact anything, a conversation that can build up on your relationships with characters, or even having a quick battle, I love these small changes.

Next on the list is the completely new content, with the most notable being Mr. Luck's tent. I'm gonna be honest I am a big fan of him, I love this character archetype of just these mischievous tricksters (probably a more common term for this trope but. y'know the sort of characters I'm probably thinking of) Honestly the whole quest introducing Prism Pokemon was very fun! Melia also explains them later on during the Goldenwood Forest section with the fight with the Prism Nidorino, but I think being able to learn about it early through the quest is fun. Also I am just a huge fan of the contracts and items you can trade in. I'm gonna save a bit though for some of the more expensive items though, at least for now. If I can find a way to grind for the Black Prisms easily I'll probably grind for that ??? contract, but I have no idea what it could be (also 999 is a lot,,,).

Next up I want to talk about the update to Venam's gym! It definitely feels a lot more her than the last one, but I do think there was a bit of charm to the idea that she didn't really get a say in what her gym was like, to the point she made a gym grave yard to help preserve those old gyms. The factory is still there and I'm gonna be honest I kinda just walked there first when it was time to challenge Venam and I was very confused-- Not complaining just a silly thing I thought I'd mention.

Next I want to talk about the Zygarde quest. I think introducing it during the main story instead of pushing it to the side in the help center was a smart move, but I did not realize who Ayuda was at first when I saw him in Venam's gym. I'm gonna be honest though, I don't see myself going out of my way to work on completing the Zygarde quest this playthrough, mostly just cause I'm not the biggest Zygarde fan, but also its just very tedious to look for all of them.

Next I wanna talk about the Goldenwood Forest Section and I just. Wow I think how it was reworked was phenomenal. First I absolutely ADORE how instead of having it be a cutscene you can help out everyone in Goldenwood made the trip feel a lot more impactful. I adored that original cutscene but honestly I think having a few quick quests to help everyone in the area made what was once gonna be one of the best days ever into the worst day ever feel a lot more... real if that makes sense, telling a story through gameplay and not just cutscenes, something Rejuvenation never had a problem with, but I'm glad they made the change here.

Also the fishing quest. Oh my goodness the fishing quest. The mechanical Lairon encounter hinting towards the future mechanical Pokemon you have to fight later on even more intense cause like. This rusty old one can give you trouble if you're not prepared for it, and and the fully functional mechanical Pokemon found later on in the game can be pretty rough, especially since there are so many of them in some sections like in the pearl route of chapter 15. That said there was something really funny to me about the idea of this fisherman having the hardest time trying to get a Magikarp haha.

Next I love the information Melia gives about the mural, how she talks about how the squares couldn't be buildings, since the Garufans hadn't been very technologically advanced. Honestly there being so many differing interpretations for the Garufans and how they handled things is so cool to me, cause I feel like its just like how people who research ancient civilizations are in real life, especially when there isn't a lot of information available. This might be partly because I have this stuff on my mind because I am taking a World Civilizations class rn for my college classes. Karen talking about in the Missing Starly quest that the Garufa were a nomadic tribe that harvested the powers from Pokemon's souls to be able to cast magic. Then in the Hidden Library quest we learn that they hated Pokemon, seeing them as vile pests. Even the idea that their technology was undeveloped is something that gets disproved later on in the story. I just find it fascinating that nobody can seem to agree on what the Garufa were like. I may be pulling at straws here though I just think its cool.

Next is the whole redesign for the Silent Grove. First I think the name itself is new but tbh I may just be forgetting and I don't feel like looking up an old playthrough to check (tbh thats just me being lazy tho). I personally was a big fan of the grove being a small secluded area, but I think the big castle builds on the lore that was first established in the Goomy Kingdom quest, that being what the world was like all the way back before the calamity decades ago, and showing that there where even more castles. Also it just makes more sense that this would lead to the secret Garufa settlement that we explore in the Pearl Route for Chapter 15. Also I love the new statue design being based on the Ranger sprite for Arceus.

Lastly I just wanted to say I think the battle with Zetta being changed to take place in a crater instead of the lake front just makes sense. It didn't make sense to me that the park had been closed off for so long after the Rift Gyrados was dealt with. I know it's because the Gyrados wasn't completely gotten rid of, but before it was just overgrown, but still manageable. This level of damage I could see needing to have a full quest line repairing.

Anyways that's it for my thoughts on Chapter 1 and the Prologue for version 13.5 of Rejuvenation. Hope you enjoyed my rambles and thank you again for reading all of them :D

[wolfsbane-if]

THAT UPDAAAAAAATE!!!

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER FOUR JUST IN CASE ANYONE SCROLLS BY THIS BUT HASN'T GOTTEN A CHANCE TO READ THIS CHAPTER!!!!

I chose to make my MC childhood friends with Garamond (my first option for a playthrough every update before I try the others because that route is my favorite - second being weredad - but I absolutely love the little bits of text we get with the other options), then had him turn MC, and that line you get referencing back to how MC wondered when they would become a werewolf really added to the scene.

I am curious though how MC's mom would react. My MC suggested visiting home when everything was over and just the thought of trying to explain to mom how her child suddenly grew somewhere from a couple inches to a couple feet and is significantly harrier than the last time they visited is both hilarious and terrifying 🤣

(...Though I feel it might be harder to explain if her child's skin had grown pale and cold, their heart had stopped beating...I don't even know if vampires can eat, so they probably wouldn't even be able to enjoy her roast anymore 😢...I'm suddenly a lot more sure of choosing to make the childhood friend MC a werewolf...)

I can't wait to see Pamina, Cal, and Katja again! And I especially can't wait to see their reactions! I do hope Pamina won't blame herself though, I would feel terrible if she did.

Not even going to bring up Maverick's uncle because I'm sure I'd be going on a full on rant if I did 😤 but, yeah, definitely looking forward to the next update!

(I've finally managed to work up the courage to post something. It's super early in the morning, like 4 AM, (yes, I did play this all night and I regret nothing) but I had to comment about this before I went to bed. Sorry if it's a bit disorganized or a little all over the place, and I probably didn't really get my point across, but I guess what I'm trying to say is great work as always and I'm excited to see what's next!)

Oh gosh, thank you so much! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the update and I really appreciate you taking the time and working up the courage to share your thoughts! I absolutely love getting to see people's excited reactions the events of the game like this, structured or not, and it means a lot to know that the game resonated with you to a point where you felt compelled to reach out :D

I'm very glad that the tiny changes in text depending on the chosen backstory aren't going unnoticed; I love trying to make little callbacks where I can and I felt it made sense that the MC's mind would reflect on that moment given the circumstances. I'd also like to go back and add some more bits of unique text for the other backgrounds sometime, too

And it's a good thing to be curious about, I think! You're definitely correct that the MC turning and the resulting changes to their appearance have the potential to interfere with visiting family again, and it's even something that can be mentioned in-game in the vampire route given the physical changes are, like you said, much more obvious and drastic

(You're also correct that vampires can't eat regular food, so sadly that means no more home-cooked meals for them; but on the plus side, at least the traveling rations will last longer? If you feel like being an optimist haha)

Werewolves on the other hand at least have the advantage of still being able to pass for humans in most cases, and clothing can be used to hide the additional bulk and hair; but anyone who's familiar with the MC's appearance already will probably still be able to notice a difference. The change to height is only a couple of inches, though, so you don't have to worry about suddenly towering over everyone. I've commented before about werewolves generally being quite tall but that only applies to born lycanthropes, and they grow into it naturally overtime much like a tall human would

While the MC can only speculate on what their family's reaction to their change would be, I can say that: 1) none of the living family members have done anything to this point to indicate they would readily embrace the MC's status as a supernatural, and 2) the mother from the childhood friends backstory has the strongest relationship with the MC, so if anyone would accept the change, it would be her; while the family business backstory Wolfsbane parents are the least likely to be accepting (and indeed the MC can say as much)

As for Pamina and company's reactions... we'll have to wait and see haha. The MC can at least be confident that Pamina is far more accustomed to the supernatural than most, but it's still no small thing

And the dislike towards Isidore Rosenway is certainly understandable lol, even if he does genuinely believe himself to be doing the right thing (depending on your choices to that point, at least)

It was fun to get to discuss some of these things! I think you were perfectly coherent and your enthusiasm brought a big smile to my face and really brightened my day! Thank you again for the message, and I hope you get some good sleep 🧡