#chronologically my third animation ever!!!

[order-of-the-bricks]

X

[applejuicewerewolf]

Just watched M27 (in cinema! That was cool!!) And oh boy, thoughts!

First of all, I was sooo excited to watch this anime movie in an actual cinema, with other people who were also there to watch an anime movie (in an actual real cinema). Idk, I often still feel like liking anime is something embarrassing, even tho it becomes more and more mainstream, so seeing 20 or so people who also openly announced that they liked it was amazing.

Now, to the actual content of the film:

Love Love LOVE Heiji and Kaito's dynamic here. He was so angry that he drove his fucking motorbike through a window!!

The fact that the KaiShin same face thing is something Heiji is surprised by is very weird, considering that he knew that Kaito always disguises as Shinichi in movies (and yes, the movies have their own continuity, see the fireworks-soccer-ball!!)

Additionally, I watched this film in the German dub. In German, Conan and Shinichi have the same VA, and Ksito has a different one. Still, Heiji makes a note of Kaito sounding similar to Conan (their German VAs do NOT sound similar!!!)

(On that note, they replaced the German VA for Kogoro and I am scared to google why :(( )

Also in the German introduction, Conan LITERALLY calls Kaito his "fated rival" ("schicksalhafter Gegenspieler"), which is very gay for the movie that completely reveals them as cousins.

Kaito feeding seagulls. Just that. It was funny. This is what happens when he has to leave his doves at home. He is a disney princess but only for birds.

Loved the scene where Kaito was attacked while on the ground and was shown to be out of his depth. Catch him on the ground and he is a wingless bird.

Additionally loved that scene because Heiji and Conan jumped in to save him. Their dynamic was so good, with Heiji attacking front and center, Kaito trying to shoot the attacker, and Conan coming clutch with his soccer ball. These three are so much fun together, and I love how throughout the movie they hunt Kaito in one scene, and work with him in the next.

They also alway immediately recognize his disguises??? That was hilarious. These three are one the same wavelenght and I'm all for it.

Oh speaking of disguises, I am VERY surprised nobody even mentioned Okita being the third same face triplet. Would've probably taken away from the KaiShin cousins reveal, I guess?

Minor mention: idgaf about Momiji and I never will. Useless character. Why does she even exist at all. Focus on the main characters...

Okay, I cannot keep quiet about it anymore. The entire "Ginzo gets shot" scene was THE BEST THING EVER. Kaito literally reliving the trauma of losing his parental figure again, and being unable to even SHOW IT OR VISIT HIM? Him having to silently watch as Aoko (MY GIRL IS ON THE BIG SCREEN I ALMOST CHEERED) is going through this all alone??? She probably was still in Ekoda. Did she get a phone call and was flown in to Hokkaido? WHERE THE FUCK IS MIDORIKO IN THIS?!?!?! GOD. This scene. I want 500 character studies of this scene on my desk by tomorrow morning.

That being said, with the Toichi reveal at the end, NOT ONLY did Kaito hide his emotions as he visited his mortally injured father figure in the hospital, his actual father was RIGHT THERE??? TOICHIIII YOU RAT BASTARD I WILL KILL YOU!

Why even WAS Toichi there. Legit. Ugh, I wanna do this in chronological order.

Anyways, AOKO SCREENTIME MY BELOVEEEEED

I feel like she was underused tho. Her only contribution was calling Conan Kaito's twin, and that was it. Feel like that's a running theme with DetCo focusing too much on random murder of the day and not its actual characters (something that also HIGHLY annoyed me during the Scarlet Schooltrip >_<)

Speaking of, that plotpoint was also kinda never mentioned again after the half point of the movie?

Coming towards the end of the story, the car chase with like 5 different parties through the city was hilarious. This is the stupid Shounen action I expect from DetCo movies (but not the stupidest Shounen action we'll get!)

As for the actual plot, I don't really care for that in DetCo movies, I'm more interested in the established characters doing fun and wacky shit.

Also so not a fan of the "murderer misunderstands or misreads a situation, making their murders pointless" storylines in DetCo. Tho M19 was probably the worst one in that reguard (girl what!)

Okay, so the Kendo guy. His mother died to a bombstrike, so he wants to blow up a mountain with lots of civillians on it. Because he's anti war. Girl what.

And now to the peak of Stupid Shounen Battles: swordfight atop a flying airplane, one of the combattants wears no shoes.

Absolutely LOVED Kaito catching Heiji midair. He does it with Conan, he did it with Heiji. Hakuba, you're next.

Sure, Iori just randomly DROPPED A FLASHBANG right in front of Heiji and Kazuha. Tho shout out to my girl Kazuha who was quick and smart enough to cover Heiji's ears as she "Get down Mr President"ed him.

At this point, shoutout to Ran. She gives it her all to make this Ship a thing. Loved her "casually but ominously deduce Heiji's true intentions" thing she did. Go be a love detective, honey!

Okay, the after credit scene. VERY NATURAL REVEAL you guys did there. Just casually have Yusaku suddenly say "yes, my wife whom I have been married to for at least 18 years, I have a twin brother i haven't seen in 2 decades." Wow.

HE REGULARLY TEXTS TOICHI??? TOICHI WHO FAKED HIS DEATH. THEY TEXT! THEY! TEXT!

YOUR SON BELIEVES YOU DEAD AND WANTS TO AVENGE YOU YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE

WHY WERE YOU THERE! WHY WERE YOU IN DIGUISE THIS ENTIRE TIME!

I HATE TOICHI EVEN MORE NOW WTF

Conan kill your uncle with a soccer ball please.

[tsukimefuku]

Team fighting

You decided to train team fighting with Higuruma in an unorthodox way.

Tags: Jujutsu Kaisen, f!reader, light Higuruma x reader, crack taken seriously, fluff.

WC: 1.1K

The song (heh): Aozora Lonely - Sunny Day Service (on YouTube)

This is part of my "Jujutsu Partners Canon Divergence AU". A sequence of short stories and random drabbles for a Nanami x Reader x Higuruma long fic I might write. To see the ever-growing list of one-shots and short stories, please visit my masterlist :) 

Disclaimer: they’re NOT written and posted in chronological order of events. To see where this story fits in the timeline, please check the masterlist mentioned above.

"Are you... Serious? Aren't we a little too old for that?" The former lawyer asked, sat beside your makeshift dorm room bed, incredulous, as you pointed at your phone, showing him a video of two teenagers playing Dance Dance Revolution. You sighed, because even though he had a point, you thought it'd be beneficial to try it in order to develop your synergy in the field.

You had been working alongside Higuruma for two weeks now, and on your third mission by his side, you had to save the sorcerer from being hit by the poison curse both were fighting, rendering you bedridden. Furthermore, you still had a couple of days to rest, but thought that, as long as there wasn't any actual fighting or cursed energy manipulation involved, you'd probably be just fine.

"Look, playing things like these has helped me improve my control over my cursed energy. It teaches you to move without thinking." You pointed out. "But if we do it together, maybe you will learn to sync your movements with someone else's. God knows you need it."

He scratched the side of his temple with his thumb, pensive, without any faith this would work. "I can get behind the principle in what you're suggesting, but aren't you still in your recovery period?"

"I am, but this is just dancing, not actual heavy training, you know? I think I'll be fine."

He looked at you, wearing pajamas and sitting on your bed. You still had a few wound dresses around your face and neck. The video showed an extremely vigorous dance game session, with all the jumping, stomping and pirouetting. Higuruma thought to himself that sparring would probably be a lighter exercise routine when compared to this. 

"This looks pretty intense, and no offense intended, but you don't seem to be ready for this much exercise at the present moment." He said, still staring at the screen.

You sighed, a little defeated, and leaned back against the wall on the side of your bed to think of an alternative. Even if he wasn't right — and he was —, there was still the issue of leaving Jujutsu High's headquarters and walking around Tokyo to find a joint that had Dance Dance Revolution.

Then, you had an idea.

"Higuruma, get up and put your chair over there." You said, pointing to a corner of the room. Curious, he followed suit, as you got up, and started to search around the songs you had saved on your phone. "I had an idea."

"And what was that? I might get behind it, or leave you to your own devices. You still need to rest and shouldn't be coming up with these kinds of shenanigans." He said, putting one of his hands inside his pants' pocket. Even if he was more open to collaborating accordingly with Jujutsu High, his demeanor was mostly uncooperative, overall. Higuruma was still feeling like a wild animal in domestication process, and you noticed that, trying to propose this exercise to chip away at his aloof facade. If this got him to fight less like a suicidal maniac, you'd be satisfied enough.

"I'm doing this in order to not get hurt again when trying to protect you from your lack of practice fighting alongside other people" you told him, still searching for something to play. He opened his mouth to answer you, but felt a light surge of guilt, choosing not to say anything instead. After all, it was his fault that you were injured like that. These little pinches of guilt and remorse creeping up on him were bringing Higuruma back to the real world and its consequences, after what happened when he awakened his cursed technique.  

"Ah, here it is." You finally found a song, and let your phone on standby over the bed. "We will dance together, and you'll let me lead, okay?"

He huffed, somewhere between a sigh and a sardonic chuckle, still in disbelief at your idea. "I have no problem with that, but is this really necessary?"

"Firstly, I'm bored out of my mind. If I don't do anything, I might actually go insane locked up in this room." You began answering. "Also, you're great when fighting alone, but an absolute menace to any ally around you when fighting with company. We can't have that being the norm when you're stuck working with me, and I'm stuck working with you."

Higuruma sighed, defeated, and acquiesced.

You took both of his hands and pulled him to stand right in front of you. Then, raised one of them to rest over your waist, holding the other around shoulder-high, and rested your own palm on his shoulder. "Are you ready?" You asked.

He simply shrugged. "I guess. I must warn you that I am not very good at this, though."

You smiled and parted from his hand briefly, extending your finger to press 'play', beginning to waltz around to the beat of the song. You chose something easy and slow enough to start out. Higuruma was stiff as hell, so you tried the simplest thing you could, trying to guide him two steps back, two steps forward. Your efforts were fruitless. He was sturdy and his body would simply not budge. The sorcerer was clearly having a lot of difficulty following your lead, ending up stepping over your toes a few times. On top of that, he was trying to follow your movements by looking at your feet, as opposed to feeling the movements of your body and following along.

"Ouch! Higuruma, what the hell? I feel like I'm dancing with a rock." You told him, stopping for a second.

"In my defense, I informed you I wasn't good at this" he pointed out.

You sighed. "This isn't difficult." You looked at Higuruma and pulled him closer, so he wouldn't have room to be looking at your feet in between your bodies. "Come on, look at my face, not our feet."

You felt his body tightening, as his shoulders stiffened and rose up slightly, startled at the sudden way your bodies had pressed against each other. You tapped the hand you had over one of his shoulders and said, "relax. If you don't, I won't have toes at the end of this. Inhale, exhale, you know the drill."

"Fine." Higuruma closed his eyes, inhaled, held his breath, exhaled and then looked at you. He seemed more focused now, and you began to dance again, pulling and pushing him slowly to the beat of the music. This time, he had his eyes locked on yours, and followed your steps appropriately, so you began to increase the difficulty. You started to dance circularly, and he followed your waltzing effortlessly, as you smiled at him.

"There you go. See? You're not so bad," you said, "not bad at all."

For the first time in months, he truly smiled. This was the first time you saw him smiling, actually, and you returned the expression.

Higuruma began thinking to himself that this, maybe, was really not bad at all. 

[shinowadh]

Giyuu and Shinobu series #2: These moments are hilarious! Yet so enlighting!

Welcome back my fellow story sealions, book bears and manga mice! Let's embark once again onto the journey of understanding our 2 beloved characters-- Giyuu and Shinbu---- together.

If one had to pass the next few pages of the Giyuu Gaiden, it would seem that apart from the stunning visuals, these beautifully illustrated pages hold no reflection of the present persona's of the 2 Hashiras. Yet if you look more closely, subtle hints show the enduring characteristics of the our 2 most beloved pillars.

Moving chronologically from the pages, let's discuss these aspects!

Shinobu

'Don't complain and drink it.'

A quick flash of the well known 'Angry Smile' of Shinobu, showing that she had already developed her --excuse me for not elaborating on this... yet--coping mechanism.

And not forgeting Giyuu....

Giyuu takes responsibility. Another characteristic still visibly in the present (Giyuu in the main series).

'I'm not getting attacked, I'm just fooling around.'

I found this line quite controversial. Would Giyuu ever say 'I am fooling around'? In this sole panel, Giyuu's character become incredibly inconsistent.

On a lighter note, Giyuu giving in (with an exasperated expression not a hurt or angry one) after Shinobu tells him to back away is simply.....refreshing. Furthermore it provides evidence that that Giyuu somewhat tolerates Shinobu.

Irony:

Manga readers and spoiled anime-onlys will understand this. Please do not read on if you are not aware about the events in the Infinity Castle Arc.

'But you can't avenge anyone in that condition. Okay?'

Says someone who later on proceeds to harm themselves (I assume on a daily basis). Admittedly for revenge but I must still say this is rather ironic isn't it?

A request

Deepest Apologies

I provide manga pages as evidence for my arguments but I admit, things did not go to plan when I realised that google would not provide me the evidence I need. So I concluded I would need to buy the novel. So if you recently read the 2nd edition (now third) of the series please note that you did not read it wrong, it was my mistake. Apologies for that.

Farewells.

And so, this was it for the second edition of the series! I do hope that you enjoyed it. I am glad to have such great readers like you! Feel free to discuss, pose questions or correct some of my statements in comments. After all, this series is for debates and for working together to unravel the hidden strands of hints in this short novel.

I wish you great health! Please join us next time in the 4 edition (the 3rd is already published so check that out as well!)

Yours truly,

Shinowadh

[thevalleyoftriumph]

i feel like i'm going crazy and you're the only ava guy i follow do you have a playlist of the series in order i want to watch it but its a struggle out here

OH BOY YOU'RE IN LUCK! i have actually a playlist [or six] i made myself that i made in chronological order! with numbers beside which ones id recommend watching in which order

[HERE] is the playlist for AvA [1]

[HERE] is the playlist for AvM [2/3]

[HERE] is the playlist for every single actual short [5]

[HERE] is the playlist for all of the "Animation vs [Blank]" videos in upload order [ie, AvMath, AvYoutube, etc] [2/3]

[HERE] is the playlist for the green influencer arc [4], with [THIS] being a playlist for all of Green's videos on their channel, specifically, in chrono order [5]

important notes;

watching AvA up until Ava4, and THEN watching AvM, before moving on to Showdown onwards is honestly probably [in my opinion] the best way to watch the main two series, but thats just me personally based off how i THINK the in-universe order works [and also watching AvM lets you get attached to the color squad before Showdown. so. ^_^]

regardless, AvA is the BEST starting series, as its relatively short, and introduces everyone. AvM is 100% the best secondary series, BUT can be watched third in place of the Av[Blank] videos, as they can both be seen without too much previous context

the ACTUAL shorts are more supplumentary content, and thus dont NEED to be seen if you dont want to watch 70-something shorts [and possibly more, i havent checked yet today if alan made any new ones i have to add]

and lastly, the influencer arc should probably be watched last just by way of it being the Absolute Most Recent one

if anyone ever wants to share around any of these playlists, go ahead! i made them specifically for people to use to easily watch any AvA/M video, and also for my friends to easily get into the series! i update them with new videos as fast as i can, but i might be a bit late depending on When the videos get uploaded. however comma, rest assured that basically everything is there!

[yallemagne]

Kind of basic bur Top 5 books .. ..? Maybe 5 fiction and 5 non fiction if you’re feeling free

and you cant say FraCula . Okay you can i don’t control you

I am deeply sorry, anon, because when I made that "call me beep me if you wanna reach me" post, I'd completely forgotten that I disabled email notifications for my inbox because of bots.

This is fucking rough. Mostly because I just spent an hour typing out a response (too much effort for a tier list request, I know) and then Tumblr chewed it up. How did I ever manage to write full essays on here back in the day without typing them up somewhere else??? BUT ALSO because I feel like such a fake literature fan. I feel like I've read nothing at all. There are so many books that are staples that I haven't read. There are so many books on my shelf that I haven't finished.

"FraCula"? I presume you mean Frankenstein and/or Dracula? Yeah, lol, no. They are not making the top 5. You'd think that they would because of how much time I have dedicated to them, but that's probably the issue jiopegprio. If I were to rank them, Frankenstein may win over Dracula simply because I have so many more feelings about the latter than the former. Which doesn't make sense, right? But the Dracula fever was a turbulent time in my life, and though I love so much about the novel, I hate so much as well (and those things I hate are because I love the other things with such ferocity). Though... I do have to restrain myself from getting into fights with "Victor Frankenstein is the real monster!!!" people. But isn't the fact that I am able to restrain myself further proof that I love Frankenstein less? That I fight for it less?

Oh well. Onto the actual list:

Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne Absolute comfort novel, and I wish I had been introduced to it YEARS AGO when I got it for my friend because it was on their wishlist. I'll never forgive. Though, maybe I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it in middle school. This novel was such a positive influence in my life when I was reading it (on this very blog, you can see it helping me through some traumatic shit in real time). I have never touched any adaptations or "sequels" of it and never wish to. [From this point on, the list order is just chronological to when I read the books.]

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott This book will always have a place in my heart because it felt like the first "real book" I ever finished. My mom was very excited when I finished it. So she got me the actual book. Yeah... the book I had finished had been an abridged illustrated version. But still! The excitement (and confusion) on Christmas day when Ma gave me a copy of the real book.

The Silverwing Trilogy by Kenneth Oppel Keeping with the trend set by Little Women, I actually first found this story through the animated adaptation of it. It wasn't until years later when my cousin coincidentally got me the book series as a gift (literally just bc I love bats) that I even knew there were books. Reading them was so fun, rediscovering moments that were in the animated adaptation, newly discovering moments that were left out. I unfortunately fell off with the third book due to how unfamiliar it was, though. Still. Great fun. [people are gonna fuckin roast me for having children's books in this list and not something refined like Les Mis... that is one of the books languishing on my shelf after I failed to get past the first few chapters in middle school]

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Yet ANOTHER book I learned of primarily through adaptation... though this novella has no good adaptations. The reason? They always disregard Utterson! My beloved POV character. I do not relate to him in the SLIGHTEST, I love him so much.

The Vampyres by C.R. Kane If this list were in any particular order, this would be right after Twenty-Thousand Leagues. And the two would be tied if not for a singular detail that made me lose my shit. The author knows what they did. Let me just... put my book review here:

Roses. Garlic. Ash. The Vampyres is a story about the hunter becoming the hunted. This story was delightful to read. Kane introduces the protagonist, Gordon Williams, and his peers: members of the undead who have made pacts with gods to be indestructible, not even threatened by wards that we commonly know to work against undead monsters like garlic and holy symbols. And then, once the reader is confident in the vampires’ total invincibility, Kane pulls the rug from under their feet and introduces a horror that even the proud and complacent Gordon dreads. Every character introduced is fleshed out by the narration, even minor victims of Gordon’s bloodthirst, creating a world that feels lively beyond the protagonist’s supernaturally broad perspective. I’d recommend this story to anyone for its thrilling action, striking prose, and potent emotions.

Just go fucking read it, dude. I need you to read this book. Read The Vampyres by C.R. Kane.

[stellar-secrecy]

Video Game Recs - 2024

I played several video games this year, and while it's still 2024 I'm here to tell you which ones I liked and which ones I didn't.

Top five recommendations:

Murders on the Yangtze River

Paranormasight

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

Ghost Trick

Paradise Killer

Below the cut are more details on these recs and all the other games I played this year, ordered chronologically.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (I'd already played THH some years ago) - recommended, with caveats. I love the way DR mysteries are put together -- if you're clever enough, you can solve the entire mystery before ever entering the trial. The style and feel of the trial mechanics are thrilling. I know the endgame plot twists can be very polarizing, but I enjoyed them (yes, even the ending of v3, though I think if the devs weren't cowards the game would have ended about 10 minutes earlier than it did). However, the characters are all annoying teenagers with approximately 1.5 character traits each. I wound up really liking the protagonists of both games, but overall the cast is just… not that fun to spend 30+ hours with. And that's not even getting into the fact that this series just cannot resist counting "horny misogynist" as a character trait. The friend who got me into DR assured me the fanservice was always plot relevant, and sure, it is, but one wonders why they couldn't have just written the mysteries without that. It's hard to be a mystery VN fan without playing Danganronpa eventually, and again, the mysteries are great, but just know what you're in for.

Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane - recommended. Ace Attorney but with magic, and it's not at all trying to hide it. The mysteries were okay. The magic was interesting, but not utilized to its fullest potential. The game was a little glitchy when I played back in April (they might have patched some of it by now). But my god, the characters. The character writing is incredible. Gameplay takes about a third as long as any given Ace Attorney game, but I cared about the characters at least as much as any given AA character in that time. One of two games on this list that made me cry. Good solid game if you're an Ace Attorney fan.

Paradise Killer - recommended. Open-world vaporwave mystery game with utterly batshit lore. I love stories -- books, games, whatever -- that drop you into a bizarre world and let you pick up the worldbuilding as you go along, and my god does PK deliver. Pretty solid mystery, very memorable characters. It does get a bit tedious and grab-the-collectibles toward the end, but that's technically optional. Utterly useless map. If you like your mysteries with a side of running around a vibrant, atmospheric world grabbing weird shit, Paradise Killer is for you. (Invest in the footbaths early, I am not kidding.)

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami - it's cute! kinda on a different scale than other recommendations, but a fun use of a couple hours. The exact base mechanic of Case of the Golden Idol (fill-in-the-blank logic puzzling) but with a divorced alcoholic duck detective as the protagonist, and a colorful cast of other animals. If you liked Frog Detective you will not regret getting this game.

Murders on the Yangtze River - it's my life's mission to get people to play this game. An Ace Attorney-like game featuring a detective traveling across Qing Dynasty China and Victorian London to seek out the truth of his brother's death. The characters, the mysteries, the visuals, the themes, the way everything slots into everything else at the end. I wouldn't call it perfect -- the English translation is a little shaky in parts, and I have some minor quibbles about a case or two -- but I would eagerly recommend this to anyone who liked The Great Ace Attorney.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - recommended. An excellent puzzle/mystery game whose mechanics are intricately intertwined with the narrative. I didn't personally find it lifechanging the way many, many people do, but I can think of nothing negative to say about it. If you like the best parts of Ace Attorney and can handle a bit of puzzle-solving along the way, play Ghost Trick.

Vampire Therapist - not recommended. The rare non-mystery game on my played list. Cute gimmick, some fun character concepts (I'm always a sucker for a Jekyll & Hyde narrative), undeniably talented voice actors. Unfortunately, very repetitive. After the first round or two of sessions, I'd met all the characters, and there wasn't enough depth to any of them to justify the amount of game left. I also didn't enjoy the (non-graphic) sexual stuff with side characters, though that may be primarily because there's one point near the beginning where the protag is expressing pretty clear lack of interest only for that to be ignored. I think it was meant to come across as a joke about American prudishness rather than actual non-consent, but it did not land well for me. The game seems to be well-liked by plenty of people, though. I haven't played the demo personally, but if you're interested maybe give that a try and imagine the same thing for ten hours after you've already learned all the characters' problems in the first two.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes: recommended. Brilliant, atmospheric puzzle game. A lonely escape room in black and white and red. Not a horror game but kept me up at night nevertheless. There is an underlying mystery, but the strength of the game is not its narrative. If Roman numerals and combination locks get you at all excited, play Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.

Heaven's Vault - not recommended. Cool in concept, pretty views, and the baseline mechanic of decoding an unknown language is a lot of fun. I also liked the sailing alright. But after the first hour or two, I found myself kind of aimlessly wandering the galaxy with no real impetus behind any of my actions. None of the characters were especially likeable (or even hateable) so I didn't find anything to really latch onto and engage me in the world. Also, I didn't mind this personally, but I think every other negative review would like me to mention that the movement sucks. If you're an archaeology or linguistics fan and don't need strong narratives in your gaming, it might be to your taste.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE+ - recommended, with caveats. A fantasy dystopia murder mystery game set in an eternally raining city under the control of a megacorporation, where you and a handful of other detectives search for the truth behind a series of murders. It's not another Danganronpa game, but… it's another Danganronpa game, and comes with most of the same strengths and flaws. The MDARC characters are a little less annoying by virtue of being adults (and there is some truly peak character design), but the trial Mystery Labyrinth gameplay is also less interesting than DR trials. Win some, lose some; but overall a solidly comparable experience to DR.

Arsene Lupin - Once a Thief - not recommended. The remarkable accuracy of the adaptation could not make up for the tedium of what is, mechanically, a mediocre point-and-click game. I had high hopes for this game, as I love both stealth games and detective games, but this lacked the excitement of either. The connection web looked cool (in fact, the visuals overall are very sleek) but often it and other puzzles were what my friends and I call "guess what the creator is thinking" puzzles. If you're a diehard Arsene Lupin fan, it might be worth it, but if you're just here for clever mysteries or puzzles, skip it.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo - highly recommended. A heavily stylized horror-mystery game (with entirely diegetic mechanics) that sends you running around Honjo, Japan with a cast of deeply motivated characters and something always right behind you. The other game on this list that made me cry. As I've said elsewhere, I think this might be a perfect game. If you liked Zero Escape or AI: The Somnium Files but wanted a little more horror and a much tighter narrative, play Paranormasight. I wish I could play it again for the first time.

The Case of the Golden Idol - recommended. Logic-puzzle your way through a series of frozen-in-time moments in the deadly journey of the titular idol. I held off on playing this for years due to a dislike of the art style, but honestly it wasn't even that noticeable. The puzzle design is very elegantly done, and if all else fails there's always guess-and-check. If you like logic grids, Return of the Obra Dinn, or trying desperately to remember who the hell that one guy is seriously I just saw him what was his name, you'll enjoy Curse of the Golden Idol. I assume the recently released sequel is equally good, but haven't played it yet.

What Remains of Edith Finch - recommended, I guess? I played it across two plane rides so it wasn't the most focused of playthroughs -- I certainly didn't get the hard-hitting emotional experience most seem to. It's a classic, and deserves it for the innovative mechanics (and the subtitles alone). A good solid use of a couple hours, though go in with caution if child death might be triggering for you.

Call of the Sea - recommended. Picked this up after Paradise Killer and Lorelei with the desperate need to explore another gorgeous locale full of bizarre secrets, and it mostly holds up. Leans way more on the puzzle game than mystery side, though it's easy for a puzzle game. More linear than I like, and the puzzles and lore reveals are definitely contrived, but it's atmospheric and I enjoyed the company of the protagonist along the way. Genuinely emotional ending. If you're looking for a tropical escape room vibe with questions about identity, belonging, and weird black ooze, Call of the Sea is for you.

...and I still haven't managed to play more than an hour or two of Disco Elysium, so maybe I'll finally get around to that in 2025.

[casualavocados]

*holding out my hand* will you join me in my half-emo-2000s playlist for the most feral and angsty gay gangsters ever, ai di and chen yi?

notes and links to translations for a couple songs beneath the cut:

there's some overlap in songs on purpose but i still tried to put the playlist in chronological order. it basically splits the story into thirds: before ep9, ep9 through prison, & post-prison, and switches pov between ai di and chen yi fairly often.

Anime Intro — Neon Lights are very much starter vibes for both characters: for growing up together, for fighting together in the gang.

Nobody But Me; translation ���idk i just wanted to add this bc it feels like something ai di would listen to, and the lyrics are fun if you apply them to both the ai di/chen yi dynamic and the boss/chen yi/yiyun meng dynamic

1st third: Neon Lights — Death of Me: ai di dealing with his feelings while chen yi's attentions are elsewhere; with a sprinkle of chen yi confusion in Lose Control >:3

2nd third: Death of Me — Love Addiction: ep9 through ai di's time in prison. some ep12 sprinkled in there due to the prison flashback. <3 chen yi pov really picks up in the songs here

Stardust; single line translation: 我们不散不见 -> "we'll never leave"

Love Addiction; translation —LINE BY LINE CHEN YI

Final third: Elastic Heart — Die For You: ai di's return from prison and chen yi pursuing him.

ファタール (Fatal); translation —LINE BY LINE AI DI

Die For You to the end of the playlist encompasses chen yi's ep12 confession followed by their deserved bliss together 💖

Wherever you are; translation

ok if you listened and enjoyed i would love to know cuz i put a lot of thought into this!!! i wanted it to fit them both musically and lyrically and i fiddled with it for a really long time before i was satisfied. EDIT: when i originally posted this, the playlist had 20 songs. i've changed the description a lot to fit what it is today. more songs may or may not be added in the future 💖

[whiteshipnightjar]

Ok this is probably going to sound like a dumb question, but: I really like Joanna Newsom’s vibe but I haven’t ever checked out her music (i think - it’s possible I’ve caught a song here or there and i didn’t know it was her). What album of hers do you recommend listening to for the first time? Or like, what is your recommendation for trying out some of her music? Are there particular songs you think I should listen to? I know I could just pick randomly, or go in chronological release order, but I do enjoy exploring a new artists work when someone who loves that artist has given me some direction. Thank you so much!

It's not a dumb question at all, I absolutely love talking about Joanna's music and people discovering her and finding their own faves. I really think anyone can find an album or a song of hers that just speaks to them, sometimes it's something similar to what they already listen to but sometimes you can fall in love with something unexpected to you. I think finding art that speaks to you is one of the most comforting feelings there is!

Ok, so enough of my rambling about how cool your question is. When someone asks me to rec some Joanna my first thought is always what kind of music do you like, especially if you first want to get to know her music more easily. If you love something more folk and also classical, her second studio album Ys is absolutely the one to try out. There are only 5 long songs but they're all epic scale and yes it can be overwhelming because it's a lot to take in but if I actually think it's one of the rawest true to the core emotions you can experience listening to it. It's widely regarded in the music community as one of the best albums of all time for a reason.

If you fancy something more modern her latest (for now) album Divers is the one to go to. It's incredibly atmospheric, philosophical and the circular (it stars/ends where it ends/stars musically (when you'll listen to it you'll get it and it will be so rewarding I can't even describe it, it's like the big glowing brain moment when you realize it the first time haha)) structure of the album is just absolutely gorgeous.

If you're into more piano based singer/songwriter vibe that is super emotional and probably the earthiest (it's maybe a weird word to describe it but it always felt to me so tangible, physical, music you can touch) is the third album Have One On Me. It's a triple album and it truly has it all for any taste. There are more intimate songs and those of more grand scale, fun and devastatingly sad pieces too. It is beautiful.

And her first album The Milk-Eyed Mender is in today's world is something of a balm to the soul. I think it's something more people need to listen to. There's actually a beautiful quote about childhood by Joanna that I think encapsulates the album: "I’ve recoiled from associations with childhood that a lot of reviewers have made and interviewers have made, but one reason is that they tend towards this version of childhood that is innocent and naive. I do feel a connection with that part, with childhood, in a in a kind of deeper sense. And I feel a deep connection with that way of thinking, and also the capacity to look things straight on without any taboo, or without any fear. The capacity to look at death like that. And I would even take it further to say I feel a connection to the part of childhood that makes us morbidly curious — you know, the way children wanna see, you know, dead things. They wanna see, you know, like the road kill, the animals that get hit by a car. You know, drive by it and they crane their necks to look. And the way that, you know, children sometimes sit up in the middle of the night and allow themselves to think about frightening things, even if they know it will frighten them. It is this this boundless receptiveness to every aspect of the world. The ability to feel sadness without being blunted, the ability to feel sadness about all the terrible things without having accumulated a thick skin and a callousedness that makes us not be able to feel the full weight of sadness anymore. I feel a connection to those things. And I do feel a connection to the way of, sort of, free associating, as well. I think that’s all true. I think it starts when we’re born. I think that the world is not conducive to that way of thinking. And I do think probably doing, not just creative writing, but also just playing and writing music for years is almost like, not to be gross, but it’s almost like keeping a wound open, like, pulling the scab off over and over again. If it’s an open place, if it’s a fissure between, like, the world and me, like, it’s almost like doing these types of work all my life, I feel like it’s keeping that place open." It's folk of yesteryear in my eyes, something to remember and hold onto.

So these are albums, now if a full album seems a little daunting, here are some songs I think can be a great gateway into Joanna's musical world (I'll write them in chronological album order but you can pick any and start there :)

Bridges and Balloons Inflammatory Writ Peach, Plum, Pear (if you like it, I highly HIGHLY recommend listening to earlier and later versions of it because the evolution of the little things is something extraordinary on its own) Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie (Also, Sadie and Swansea my beloveds, they might not be the easiest way in but if you want to start with my ears haha) Literally all Ys songs. I'm serious, all of them or any of them. I think for someone who hasn't listened to Joanna before maybe Emily or Sawdust & Diamonds is the way to go (Sawdust & Diamonds is a forever fave to me) Colleen (if you love folk music and are obsessed with the sea and or selkies and myths (like I am) this is the one) Also, big big shout out to Cosmia version of the Ys Street Band EP (once you're in it, it's the grooviest trip to go on) '81 Good Intentions Paving Co. (jam of all the jams) Baby Birch (CAUTION: be careful, this is VERY SAD, and if you like it, find the live version performed in Melkweg, Amsterdam that's all I'm gonna say) In California (Easy, Soft as Chalk and Does Not Suffice are not usually rec'ed as first entries but like Sadie and Swansea before, they're special. I actually think Soft as Chalk might be quite a good fun intro to newer Joanna, it's quite jazzy) Anecdotes Sapokanikan Leaving The City Divers (actually my recommendation would be if you listen to Only Skin, try listening to Divers right after, that's my personal take, I find them related) Time, As A Symptom

There are unreleased new songs that I already adore too but for the start let's travel a bit back in time haha. And in any case, you can surprise yourself and go for some other tune entirely. I'm excited for you to embark on this journey. Have fun! Come by any time if you feel like sharing your experience <3

[colinlegameboy]

Yammering About Spark the Electric Jester 3

I don't think I've ever gone out of my way to play a game series out of chronological order. But, with Spark the Electric Jester, two things kept me from doing so- One, the first game is entirely different from the second and third, being a 2D platformer rather than a 3D one. Two, I had heard that 3 had the better gameplay. So, I figured, if I was going to play any of the games, I might as well play 3.

This was not a mistake until much later, but we'll get into that.

The gameplay itself is very fun. Indie devs consistently prove to Sonic Team that reinventing the wheel is just an exercise in frustration- Just make the weird little man go fast and you're golden, and boy does he go fast.

It feels really good to zip through the levels, to the point where I didn't really feel like exploring them- Just making Spark break the sound barrier as much and as long as possible.

There's also some DMC style combat which.... You'd think I'd like more considering the games I like, but it's really just kinda there. It's not bad mind you, but I definitely prefer the zooming over the fighting.

So that's the gameplay out of the way. Now to get into the story. And hoo boy. What a story. Spoilers follow.

Now, to reiterate, I have not played Spark 1 or 2. I haven't even looked up their stories on Fandom, or anything. So you can imagine how I must've felt when everything took an insane left turn to reveal that an evil AI consumed the world and everyone's been dead for centuries. What the fuck.

The story started with Spark being mad that he couldn't get his paycheck because the internet was down, and ended with an existential crisis, multiple anime-as-fuck moments (including one at the end that I nearly lost it at), and Spark taking over as the new AI while Fark, the Shadow equivalent, gets a new body.

...And then the credits roll into a Friday Night Funkin parody.

I hope you can see what an insane rollercoaster I was taken on. I don't even think knowing the previous two games' plotlines would have prepared me for this nonsense. It's certainly not an experience I'll forget anytime soon.

[leagueofgardens]

At the Seeds' Frontier, Yet Again

Now that I've spent a few days thinking about it, I've got some things to say about the new AL stage play.

If there's a fatal flaw Assault Lily has as a setting, it's that Lilies are only able to fight at full strength for 4 years at most. Before that they're normally kept away from real combat, and after that, they retire. It makes it hard to create a sense of history, of every character being molded by her past while a bright future lies ahead of her.

Some strange decisions made by the previous Assault Lily stories don't help at all. For unclear reasons (maybe Bushiroad wanted to be able to advance the timeline by a year, à la Bandori, when the chronology got too absurd) third-year Lilies have largely been excluded from the anime/game stories.

And while it's easy to forget when they all became close friends near-instantly, most of the Lilies in Team Hitotsuyanagi and Hervor and Gran Eple have just met. They have no history together, not even the short one they could have as Lilies.

Legion Sanngriðr couldn't be more different.

Spoilers past this point.

It all goes back to the promise that Misaka, Totori, Homare, and Chihiro made to form the strongest legion, and Chihiro's disappearance afterwards.

If you've read the Special Feature on Sanngriðr (like you should, now that it's buyable digitally) and Assault Lily Wunder (like you should, because it's free), you've seen how those events shaped Misaka's life, personality and goals in a way that few other Lilies' pasts have. They drove her to keep trying and never give up, even when it seemed like fate had doomed her to be a mediocre Lily that could never be captain of a Yurigaoka legion. They kept her fighting against impossible odds during the Odaiba Counteroffensive until everyone won a miraculous victory, a good part of it thanks to her.

As an aside, I am addressing these "shoulds" only to people who know Japanese. If you need English translations of the stuff besides Wunder, including the play itself… well, I'm seriously considering doing them, but it's going to be a long journey and I have other things to square away first.

Luise, Hanna, Hibari and Touka weren't part of the promise, but they faced their own harsh trials. Seira's memories of Chihiro still weigh upon her. Tokiwa has worked hard, selflessly, to support Misaka and help her achieve her dream. Sanngriðr is a legion where just about everyone has had a painful and difficult past, and that it exists and is one of Yurigaoka's strongest legions is a monument to their perseverance.

Another thing you'll notice reading Assault Lily Wunder is Misaka's unreasonable optimism. In the entire novel, I think there's only one brief scene where she loses heart. This makes it hit all the harder when she's clearly shaken by Chihiro's return and left uncertain of what to do, culminating in her heartbreaking plea for Chihiro to come back to her at the end of the play. But even through her own misery, she saves Touka from losing her sanity to negative magie and supports the rest of her legion, helping them win the battle against the Flowers of the End.

In my opinion, it's the best story Assault Lily has ever told.

I don't have anywhere near as much to say about When the Bugle Blooms. Frankly, it's a pretty typical Assault Lily story about fighting a scary Huge, even if that Huge looks different. But Kaede and Fumi in particular have funny and adorable interactions with the rest of the cast, and it was pretty cool when Kaede awakened a new power to save Fumi's life.

Kiito's got her moments as well, and Imari and Raimu are always precious cinnamon rolls. It didn't feel like a waste of time, which is higher praise than I can give to large parts of the other plays with Team Hitotsuyanagi in them.

All in all, the New Chapter is a fantastic play and no one should miss it. But you'll enjoy it more if you do the reading (and the watching, it references nearly every other AL play) first.

[deevotee]

Hey!!

I am new to the fandom and it’s kind of hard keeping track of every material there is and in which order to consume it, if you don’t mind, can you pls help? 🥲

How many manga episodes are there and where I can read it for free in English? Also how many anime seasons with how many eps each? And where to steam the (again, for free. I am broke sry 😭)

I know this is an extensive ask but I find Wikipedia to be unreliable and feels it’s best to ask a dedicated fan instead. Also I prefer consuming things chronologically and feel like it’s better to ask what is the best way to go about reading/watching

Sorry for the English, it’s my third language and thank you so much if you do end up answering!!!

It’s kind of a lot to ask, so feel free to ignore :)

Hello welcome to the fandom!! And don't worry about your english ever here i am not one to judge ^^

So I already have links compiled to read and watch Black Butler here: Resources You'll find them in the 'Sites for More Content' document on the first page of the drive, and I went through and added a bit more info in that document on how volumes vs chapters work for you and others

As for the storyline itself, I HIGHLY recommend starting with the manga first as it is very consistent and straightforward with the story! Meaning there is no extra info you need to consume to get the full story only fun little extras here and there sometimes, and the manga is considered the actual canon and what you will see most of the fandom referencing and talking about There are currently 31 volumes, 201 chapters and it is still ongoing! Meaning a new chapter releases every month (good to block the kuro spoilers tag if you dont want to see them)

The anime is still fun to watch but it is definitely way more complicated storywise and the reason for that is that the first 2 seasons were made when the manga was still in early chapters so they took notes from the creator of the various storylines and backstories that was planned and kind of created a different storyline with it, so I'll try to give you a concise rundown on what episodes follow the manga and what doesn't

The anime seasons are usually listed as follows: Season 1 - Kuroshitsuji Season 1 OVA - Kuroshitsuji OVA Season 2 - Kuroshitsuji 2 Season 2 OVAs - Kuroshitsuji 2 OVAs/Specials Season 3 - Kuroshitsuji Book of Circus Season 4 - Kuroshitsuji Book of Murder Season 5/Movie - Kuroshitsuji Book of the Atlantic

Season 1 Episodes 1-6: Follows the manga's Red Butler Arc (mostly), chapters 1-13

Season 1 Episodes 7-12: Does not follow manga canon, original anime storylines

Season 1 Episodes 13-15: Follows the manga's Curry Arc (mostly), chapters 15-22

Season 1 Episodes 16-24: Does not follow manga canon, original anime storylines

Season 1 OVA: Does not follow manga canon, original anime storylines

Season 2 episodes 1-12: Does not follow manga canon, all original anime storylines

Season 2 OVAs 1-6: Does not follow manga canon, all orginal anime storylines

Seasons 1 and 2 are considered a separate storyline/alternate universe and will be ignored for all the seasons after it, which is what confuses most people

Season 3 Episodes 1-10: Completely follows manga canon, picks up after the Curry Arc and into the manga's Circus Arc, chapters 24-36

Season 4 OVA's Episodes 1-2: Follows the manga's Murder Mystery Arc, chapters 38-50

Season 5/Movie - Follows the manga's Campania Arc, chapters 51-65

The newest season is expected to follow the manga's Boarding School Arc which is chapters 66-84

I hope that covers everything and is easy to understand, but please feel free to send another ask or a DM if you have any questions! I'm all for helping people understand and get into kuro, it's such a fun storyline and I hope you have a good time with it <3

[830poll]

(Happy Saturday! Today's housekeeping is rather hefty, so let's get right into it.)

(I'm sick again. Yes, really. For the third time in as many months. And for unrelated reasons. This week's ailment is a perpetual, very sore throat. Not exhausting so much as very annoying so we'll see how my concentration levels hold up.

My work/life balance is getting shifted around next week. That sounds more dramatic than it actually is lol. Point is, I'll either have way more or way less free time soon. Won't know 'til it happens so we'll see how the ol' update schedule goes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tumblr is trying very hard to be pre-Musk twitter, and that's messing up the story's archives. Okay, this is the big one. So as you've probably noticed, Tumblr has been going hard on copying Twitter's layout this past year. Some of them - like adding polls - are great news for us! And then you get the changes to the app layout and the toolbar and this tumblr live shit and good lord just stop. What worries me most is the website trying very, very hard to pivot away from custom blog themes. Most links redirect to the in-dash browser, asks can no longer be sent from people who are logged out, and if you try to read a blog without an account it eventually cuts you off and tells you to sign up. For a webcomic - even a silly, informal one like 8.30 Poll - this is very bad. It's impossible to view the story chronologically when on mobile, and posts with polls in them are set in stone so I can't even manually go back and add in links to each update. If custom themes really are getting removed then these problems will extend to desktop as well. In short, I need to find a way to back up or mirror this story. We're not moving sites because we can't. There isn't another platform out there that has all the features necessary to run a story like this (besides maybe /tg/, but I'm not prepared to run this there lol). So instead I ask how I should go about backing this up. A plain .pdf with the text and images? The animations wouldn't work but it'd be easy and accessible. A HTML5 archive (similar to the Ruby Quest ones) would be more time consuming to put together and would be incompatible with screen readers, but would improve the pacing and allow for animations. Either way, we're almost at a hundred updates so if ever there were a time to start thinking about it, it's now. 'Cause the longer I wait the more of a pain it's going to be to maintain if/when tumblr shits itself.

...And that's about it!

Thank you as always for reading, and for your patience. Can you believe this thing's been going for six months now? Wild.

Will see you all on Monday, barring unforeseen bullshit!)

[quotidian-oblivion]

Writers “Have You Ever?” Tag

Another tag game! I'm on a roll here.

Rules: Bold the things you have written

I'm doing this just for fanfic, not my original stories. But it's your choice. This includes every bit of fanfic I've written btw. Not just the ones posted on ao3. Unposted ones are included as well.

~

First Person

Second Person

Third Person

Omniscient POV

Past Tense

Present Tense

Future Tense

A complete story

A story longer than 1k

A story longer than 5k

A story longer than 10k

A story longer than 50k

A story longer than 100k

A story longer than 150k

A story shorter than 1k

A story shorter than 500 words

Fanfiction

Original Fiction

Fantasy

Science Fiction

Historical Fiction

Dystopian

A story in the Romance Genre

A story with no speculative elements

Non-Fiction

A children’s book

A story about vampires

A story about werewolves

A story about robots

A story with a non-human protagonist

A story with a main character based on yourself

A story with a character based on somebody you know

Male POV

Female POV

A POV character of the opposite sex

Animal’s POV

Multiple Viewpoints

POV character under age 15

POV character over age 30

A story told in non-chronological order

Story with a happy ending

Story with a sad ending

Death of a minor character

Death of a major character

Death (off-screen)

Death (onscreen)

Antagonist Death

Protagonist death

Villain gets a redemption arc (Jason counts right?)

Kissing scene

Sex scene (off screen)

Sex scene (onscreen)

Swears (mild)

Swears (heavy)

Violence (PG or under)

Violence (PG-13 or over)

Fight scene

Torture scene

A flashback

A dream sequence

A scene that made you cry actual tears

A scene that made you laugh at your own joke

A prologue

An epilogue

A story with more than 30 chapters

A chapter with fewer than 100 words

A poem

A prophecy

Story that takes place in the future

Story that takes place in the past

Story that takes place in a world that is not Earth

An anti-hero (again, Jason?)

An anti-villain

A parody

Description of a male character’s scent

Description of a female character’s boobs

Character with non-natural eye color

~

No pressure tags: @foursixtwonineoh-pieces-of-lego @sardonic-sprite @wakkoroni @tristicorde @uncertainwallflower @ah0yh0y @pevensiechase

[demonfox38]

Completed - Baroque (Wii Version)

Oh, hey now. Let's not get too negative!

If you've read any of my post-game evaluations before, you might have noticed that I don't use a scoring system. These are more brain dump, vibe check kind of pieces. However, I do try to take into consideration several points when I write these down. These include details like understanding gameplay mechanics, subjective reviews of plot and aesthetics, translation quality, and so on. Numerical evaluations should require an up-front list of criteria, how each piece is judged, and what points that earns. While I do have a list of items I take into account when reviewing these games (and I will totally show that upon request!), I just don't feel that numbers say enough when it comes to how I perceive a game.

Having said that, what do you think of when you think of a 3/10 game?

To me, this implies a game that is functional and completable, but of no additional value to the player. Something boring or aggravating. When I think of 3/10 games, it's often related back to NES games that I found gacky. Usually, it's followed up with a, "Yeah, but that's not fair because Reason X" statement. For example, the release of "Hydlide" for the NES is miserable, but it may not entirely be fair to say that it is miserable either. That was just a game released at a bad time, usually unaccompanied by instructions, left to rot in Funcoland bins until the company's dissolution. (Granted, it could have looked less like a neon syringe to the eye. Maybe had more than 10 seconds of music, too.)

I bring this up because the Wii version of "Baroque" actually got 3/10 reviews. Like, straight out of Nintendo Power, of all places. Damn, right? What does that say when even the console's publisher won't back you up?

To fork from my evaluation of "Baroque" for the Playstation, I also heard of the PS2/Wii release in the same video that alerted me to the first game. Originally, I had no intention to play the game. I just wanted to see why fans swerved away from this game and towards the Sega Saturn / Playstation versions. Upon watching a little bit of a longplay for this version, I had a change of heart. Why?

Well, it's a very silly reason, really.

Anyone who's been hanging around my Tumblr account since March 2020 may have noticed that I have a little bit of a fondness for a certain anime series called "Lupin the Third." One of the show's lead characters is acted in English by Michelle Ruff, who is also a prolific voice actress in video games. (Like, I had heard her in "Tales of Vesperia" prior to my watching said anime series, although that is chronologically out of order.) There are certain vocal roles of hers that I am quick to pick up on, and her Mine Fujiko voice is particularly distinct. So, when I heard it come out of an angel's shoulder-face, my judgment changed. Yes, of course, I would have to play the inferior version of "Baroque." Michelle's in it, and she's voicing weird characters!

Look. I don't plan on ever going to an anime convention with her there, but if I was, this would be the thing I'd bring for her to sign. It's just that off.

Okay. I've given you my previous evaluation link (and you totally read it, right?). Given the plot is the same plus or minus a few noun changes, I'm not going to hammer on this game's plot here. Basement God makes out with dude; weird shit happens. You've got that. Let's go onto the operational and aesthetic differences instead!

If I were to be a derogatory snot, I'd describe this game as "Baroque" for teenagers. I mean, its ESRB rating is T, so that's on the nose. Several details were changed to be more appealing for mid-2000s teens, and it's very apparent.

Firstly, the entire perspective of the game defaults to a third-person view. (You can force the game to run entirely in first person, if you look in the game settings.) This leads to two immediate problems. First of all, you can see your character. To be blunt? In this version, he looks like a lost, confused puppy. Not exactly someone who fucked Basement God so hard that he ruined reality (although, it's more likely that a teenager would be dumb enough to do that, at least compared to someone in their early twenties.) His redesign is even worse once you throw a jacket and a pair of imitation wings on him. Dude goes from wet dog to lost dork left to their own devices in a Hot Topic. Secondly, because you can see so much by default, a certain layer of fear and befuddlement is lost. Like, I'm not saying that all games are creepier by default when they are first person. However, when you go from a game that was very much about wandering in the dark by your lonesome to a Zelda-adjacent perspective, you do lose that edge of fear by gaining eyes in the back of your head.

Also, while we're talking about Zelda games: do not bother with the targeting system in this game. It's mushy. Maybe go flip the left-right camera settings while you're messing with visual stuff. It felt more natural to me to alternate them, anyway.

Secondly, the save and difficulty system for this game has been overhauled. In that…well, this release has a difficulty system! You can pick between easy, normal, or hard. Nerfing some of this is the replacement of the suspend option with a flat save system. Die on a level? Lose an item you didn't want? You can absolutely reset. About the most of a penalty you'll get is having your next floor be randomized differently than what you had previously tackled. You can get your items back as much as you want! Which, honestly, that's at least a boon to the player. It does feel like a huge violation of the whole roguelike concept, however.

You bet I was laughing my ass off, reading reviews of this game complaining that it was too hard. Bitches didn't even know.

Thirdly—and most subjectively—the aesthetic vibes of this game are just off, man. Like, there is evidence that the monster modelers were at least trying to go off of the sculpted source material. I won't say that the artists for this game weren't trying, at the very least. They were just restricted by the ideals of the publisher wanting more "Persona"-esque character interpretations and the limitations of working in a mid-2000s 3D environment. And yes, I am one of those people that would prefer a sprite-based game to that era's standard 3D output. There's just more you can get away with using pixels over triangles, particularly when it comes to flowing or supernatural elements. This is particularly evident with Eliza's model and the changes made to the Lust model to get it working properly. The former ends up looking like the titular villain of "Parasite Eve", and the latter goes from a flowing robe and long locks to a blonde bun and a stiff yukata. It screams to me that they just didn't have the resources to do something they nailed a decade prior. Stinks, man.

Also, it seems like the enemies were censored? Not to be like some petulant man-baby whining about a Final Fantasy summon spirit covering her ass, but the nudity that was present did add a disturbing element to at least a few monsters.

I'll be honest. I really didn't give the music much of a chance, either. I heard screechy guitar discordance in the intro cutscene, and I immediately shut that shit off. Like, I let it back on for cutscenes, but nothing won me back. What was wrong with the old music? They were using the old sound effects! Surely, they could get licensing for the music as well, right?

Now! Having said all of that—and I know, that was a lot—there are still some valuable elements in this interpretation. The randomized weapons and the thrill of exploration remains, if a bit tempered by different external systems. Adding an actual throwing mechanic was a neat touch, even if I still did menu-chucking for the most part. The sword charge-ups and combos were intuitive. I also liked that the game provided two sets of control schemes to cover for both the Wii Classic and Remote styles. That's the right kind of thinking to have!

I found getting the Lust status effect to be way more fun than in the original. Everything still turns into a woman, and there's a pink tinge to the atmosphere. What's fun is that you can tell what you are engaging with based on the original model's shadow still being projected on the floor. Could it be an oversight? Possibly. I still found that amusing!

Also, a lot of the enemy tune-ups here are surprising. I wouldn't say it was always for the better (the Tower's representation got particularly nerfed), but I did have some amusement with the novelness of it. Like, my God. I think the Hanged Man's monster can now give three unique status ailments instead of one. I've got words for him, but honestly, he's got it rough enough.

The Neuro Tower's environment design seems to be better than the first game as well. More emphasis is given on level manipulation and trap avoidance. It's mostly smacking rolling metal walls open and avoiding hazardous grates, but it was something a little extra. Also, I found the water-flowing passages refreshing. The execution is a bit too clean, but I found it by far the least offensive visual element in the game.

You know what quote applies best to this game? The ol' "The Secret of Monkey Island" gem of "Never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game." This ain't a 3/10 game. This is a <= $20.00 kind of game. Was it going to do well back in 2008? Hell no. Especially not with how easily rebuffed some players were prior to tryhards getting big dicks from certain FromSoft games. But, now? Fuck it. I've played worse.

Like what? Oh, let's see…That "Dirty Harry" NES game. Honestly, most "Simpsons" games aren't all that great, particularly the really old ones. "Hydlide", for reasons seen above. "Destination Earthstar" is a bit of an esoteric mess. Hell, I even own a Wisdom Tree game. You wanna talk about a 0/10 game? Let's talk about the one that won't even boot without shocking the hell out of a system…Assuming it can even boot at all.

I swear to God. I opened up "Spiritual Warfare" to clean it one time, and it had several electrolytic capacitors inside. If you see one of those in an NES game, you see one, you know what I mean? One. I still haven't seen it boot properly, even after following its absurd directions about multiple resets. Absolutely cursed technology.

[game-boy-pocket]

Nintendo Direct Thoughts

I just woke up and had a look, not expecting much given this is one of those "we're at the end of the Switch's life" Directs but honestly I was surprised.

We start with a brand new Mario and Luigi game... we've been getting lots of remakes for Mario RPGs but this is a new one and honestly was the one I expected to get a new game the least out of all of them. To tell the truth I would have preferred a continuation of SMRPG or a new traditional Paper Mario over this, cuz a party made up of just Mario and Luigi was novel when Luigi wasn't appearing in as many games but now it feels boring by comparison. I wish they would do more with the idea of adding on surprise guest party members, like how the 2nd game had the Baby Bros and the Third game had Bowser, then Paper Mario, but after that it just a weird version of Luigi? idk man. This looks neat, I'm glad the franchise isn't dead. I'll think about picking it up. Probably not a day 1 purchase. I do hope other Mario RPGs have a chance at continuing too though.

I still think the Nintendo World Championships is pointless.

Not interested in Fairy Tail, I only ever read a bit of the Manga, I'd like to check out the anime but lisenced anime games are a hard sell for me. Wish they'd just make another One Piece Grand Battle style game.

Don't care about Fantasian, Nintendo Switch Sports has a bad reputation and I don't care about sports anyway so that's a pass, pass on Mio, pass on Disney, pass on Hello Kitty, give me a sequel to the Keroppi platformer for the NES and then we'll talk, It's weird to see Loney Tunes in a video game. That Porky Pig voice was rough. I don't have hopes for it, Don't care about Among Us or Farmagia...

Donkey Kong Country Returns... not a new game, and they didn't announce any new playable characters or features aside from levels from the 3DS version, and I wish they gave DK and Diddy more of a facelift, but i'll take it, a way to play DKCR on the big screen, hopefully without the motion controls, is a win... but please Nintendo.... give us a new DK game...

Dragon Quest III 2DHD. I am very mixed about the whole 2D HD thing, I don't think it looks good. Never have. This looks a lot better than Octopath to me but I still don't like it. Also, I respectfully disagree with Mr. Horii. Playing the games in chronological order is not the best way to experience the Erdrick Trilogy, and that's a pretty dumb thing to say. That's like telling someone to read a Murder Mystery but start with the final chapter. The big twist in DQ3 will be meaningless to those who haven't played, at the very least, DQ1... I'm glad all 3 games are getting the treatment. I am a big fan of the trilogy so even though I don't care for the whole 2D HD thing, I'll pick it up, and who knows, maybe the style will grow on me.

Funko is a fucking joke. I'm ehh about Luigi's Mansion 2 but I might pick it up anyway if I have extra cash burning a hole in my pocket and I really want a new game. Don't care about Denpa Men, Would prefer Traditional Metal Slug, Don't care about Darkest Dungeon, Don't care about NSO but it's nice that those games are now available for people, Phantom Braves has a cute art style but i'm not interested in the gameplay, Marvsl and Capcom arcade collection might be worth a look but idk, I'm no good at fighting games, so i'd only be in it for the beat em ups.

I tried to like Mario Party but I just can't get into that style of game. I want to like it because I love the Mario series but it's just not fun for me, either with friends or going it alone, I hate board games irl, making them video games doesn't actually help, and I think the minigames are just not fun and over too quickly.

I wish I was excited about our first new 2D Zelda in a long time. But Link has always been...ugh... I guess you could call him a "comfort character" for me. I never liked Princess Zelda that much, and I enjoy the combat in Zelda games a lot, so a game without Link and without Combat.... I am apprehensive. The one thing that might save this game for me is that it has hints of monster taming. Not like... real monster taming, you're creating copies, so it's not like your bonding with monster companions, but it's still monster vs monster, and that's something I'd love to see expanded on. Give me a full on Zelda monster tamer.... I hope this isn't "The new direction for 2D Zelda" the way BOTW is for 3D Zelda though. I was kinda hoping 2D Zelda would keep traditional Zelda alive while 3D Zelda continued being open air.

More headlines, I don't care about just dance, never was a fan of legos, stray was interesting when it was first announced but the novelty wore off after watching ppl play it, there's a lot of games like lately. Don't care about the Hobbit, and i'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know I don't care about a lot of things and I know t he franchise has a lot of fans but I just don't care about Ace Attourney. And don't care about Hunted Line, looks edgy. I know SaGa has a legacy, but I'd prefer to try an older game before thinking about checking out a new one.

Metroid Prime 4 looks interesting. We have Sylux with some Metroids following him around. We have orchestral sounding music. It's definitely Metroid Prime alright. Can't wait to play it for myself.

Despite how often I said "don't care" I'd call this a good direct.

TLDR, Metroid is the most exciting thing there, I'm happy for the DKCR remake, I'm apprehensive about Zelda but I'm gonna try it. Mario and Luigi i'll probably pick up some day.