#how it feels to play a beloved game years after its release

[idcallmyselfhuman]

i was a fool to think 500 hours is enough for botw

[dragonzzilla]

Tears of the Kingdom's underwhelming narrative had rich potential

I'll preface this with a confession: I have not played Tears of the Kingdom. As a matter of fact, I haven't played any Legend of Zelda. I simply never had the opportunity while growing up, so my interest in the series has always been satellite. As such, I do not have the perspective of someone who has. My opinions are formulated entirely in what little I have seen or sought out. I'm coming at this with the perspective of an outsider looking in. But I'm not looking for a fight. My aim isn't to bash the new hotness out of jealous spite, or to convince people to feel bad about liking this game that, I've otherwise heard, is really fun. The reason I care, even though I'm not a part of the fandom, is that we all deserved better.

This is a much anticipated sequel to a smash hit from one of the biggest names in the industry, sold at a whopping $70—and having watched for free a YouTube compilation of all the cutscenes pertaining to Ganondorf, the much advertised central antagonist of TOTK, I felt robbed. This was my legitimate reaction:

Disregarding all my other feelings for a moment, I was dumbstruck to see a Nintendo game—released in our year of 2023—use what is essentially the same cutscene four times while explaining the backstory. I recognize TOTK has modular progression, allowing you to reach the Sages in whatever order you please. But once you've seen the first one, the other three will offer you no more valuable information. I'm willing to stretch my suspension of disbelief pretty far, yet even I recognized on first viewing how formulaic the Sage cutscenes are. It wrenched me out of the story.* Hearing different perspectives about the same events can and should be interesting, but the Sages relating these events barely qualify as characters—possessing neither names nor even faces, thanks to their uniform masks of Zonai design...

* I'll acknowledge: Within universe, there is reason enough for the Sages to repeat what is essentially the same story to their respective successors to apprise them of the situation. I can certainly see Link having to sit through the same spiel several times so everyone is on the same page. But it felt really unnecessary as a member of the audience. And unlike their BOTW counterparts, the Four Champions, the Sages don't stick around long enough to endear themselves any further, instead passing their abilities and function onto their successors.

… Which, I feel, represents the Ancient Past Storyline as a whole. Despite the number of bodies involved, no one felt alive. Queen Sonia—this continuity's founding mother of Hyrule, where divine power is explicitly matrilineal—amounts to nothing more than meat for the fridge to motivate the real star of the show, Rauru. Everyone else, including Zelda and the other Sages, are merely bit players in the conflict between him and Ganondorf. But it's a conflict without teeth. Ganondorf displays nothing but a mad, naked lust for power. Opposing him is Rauru, the quintessential Good King and benevolent god figure who would never abuse his power, but would sacrifice it all to seal away the evil invader who killed his beloved martyr-wife. There is no interrogation of the 'gentle' imperialism Rauru represents. His way is textually presented as the only righteous way. The world of this continuity revolves around his legacy and its preservation; anything else is not merely deviant, but indicative of evil. Only someone with the blackest of hearts would oppose this order. The narrative requires Ganondorf to be nothing less than the epitome of evil.

Which is… really disappointing, to say the least. Because I happen to like Ganondorf. His character and his place in the mythos have always been the forefront of my interest in the series; forget Link or Zelda. Naturally, I was drawn in by TOTK's marketing about Ganondorf's return as a human antagonist after a 17 year long hiatus. Given how much of a reinvention BOTW was for the series as a whole, I was disappointed back in 2017 to learn that Ganondorf existed only as a mindless force of primordial evil. "How lame," I thought, "but I guess it's not really Ganondorf." Calamity Ganon was just that: Ganon. And Ganon's always a full-blown monster, divorced from any nuance possessed by his OOT, WW, and TP selves. Then the first teaser for TOTK dropped, placing Ganondorf the man (if a little worse for wear) front and center. Intrigued, I enjoyed the explosion of enthusiastic fan art that followed, as well as the speculation regarding the role he would play. Surely, he would be more than a one-note villain! My expectations rose as Nintendo revealed more about him. His new design didn't immediately scream Dark Lord; and in his first speaking role, he draws attention to the fact that he has returned (within universe and meta-wise) and he has a vision for the world. I couldn't want to see the final product! Yet here we are.

It's a strange thing to fixate upon, when I don't have any skin in this game. But I'm passionate about storytelling. I enjoy rich narratives with nuanced characters, and I respect those that fully commit to the ideas they present... whereas stories that try to have their cake and eat it too, well, those pique my interest as well. Whenever I see untapped potential, my writer's mind cannot help but ponder the age-old question of "What if?" And I intend to do just that, in the cut below (this rant is long enough as it is).

Of course, no amount of brainstorming can change the reality of a product. A ship's structural flaws only become apparent once it's left port, but there's no recalling it then. Nonetheless, there is value in the discussion. We should always critically analyze what corporations give us, desiccating their products to discern the messages (whether intentional or not) contained within—especially when the product is aimed toward a young audience that might not have the cognitive tools to decipher those messages for themselves. Even if we cannot affect change in a monolithic company like Nintendo, we can still draw lessons from their missteps to improve our own writing.

If I have such grievances with TOTK's story, why bother with a rewrite? Because:

Playing within the limits of another's sandbox can help to build creative muscle.

I believe TOTK has all the right ingredients for a compelling story, if this new series wasn't so afraid to challenge its narrative roots the way it has its gameplay.

A few more things to note: I am not a professional writer, nor am I a veteran of the series. I'm working strictly with what TOTK brings to the table. I'll make no efforts to reconcile the continuity errors between BOTW and TOTK (though it deserves mentioning), or even attempt to fit this in a single cohesive timeline with the rest of the franchise. I am not that brave lol. What I propose below is simply how I would use these toys; YMMV. I hope this inspires discussion more so than congratulation or wordless agreement (though my ego will accept compliments all the same, especially since it took no small amount of spoons to organize my thoughts like this). As Ganondorf says:

A Modest Rewrite of TOTK's Ancient Past Storyline

Zelda is still flung to the past, but she awakens not to a picturesque golden age under the magnanimous rule of an infallible demigod. Instead, sadly reminiscent of her own age, the land lays in ruin, in the immediate aftermath of its own calamity. But this isn't the fault of Ganon. The blame lies solely with the Zonai.

The Zonai were understandably viewed as gods. A people who live up in the sky on floating islands, in possession of miraculous technology (including killer robots to protect their interests!), and magical artifacts that in the wrong hands can unleash cataclysmic power? A civilization as powerful as theirs doesn't suddenly end without a very good reason. Yet as far as I know, no explanation is provided as to why Rauru and Mineru are seemingly the last of the Zonai. No mention is made of a rival power that could've taken them down; certainly none of the terrestrial races. Remember, the Zonai were seen as gods. If you were to ask me? A civilization with that great of a power at their disposal, and apparently so much of it that Rauru has four more Stones (not including his own, Sonia's, or Mineru's) to pass out as he sees fit... can only destroy itself.*

* I know the Zonai are depicted in text as a purely enlightened and benevolent race... but as far back in the franchise as OOT (which TOTK draws a lot from), not even Hyrule—the standard by which all civilization in LOZ is judged—was above a civil war, orphaning Link. War Within LOZ clearly isn't waged solely against primal forces of evil that can, must, and should be destroyed. And that's good! A story is made richer when even the Designated Good Guys can fuck things up, when characters are allowed to contain multitudes—good and bad qualities!

Power does not defuse conflict. It only escalates the scope of destruction once it's unleashed. So, for whatever reasons the Zonai gave themselves then clung to, they started fighting each other. Using their flying machines and automatons, battles were fought upon and between their sky islands, the detritus of war raining down on the lands below—the inhabitants of which can do nothing but watch as a war rages in heaven—until finally the full power of the Stones is unleashed in an exchange that guarantees mutual destruction. The sky islands all plummet to the earth, wreaking mass destruction. This is the world Zelda finds herself in—where the land has been cracked wide open, the skies are choked with dust, and no one gets along... so unlike the world she knows.

Zelda still comes into the care of Rauru and Sonia, but Rauru is merely Sonia's consort—he holds no power as king. It's evident from the start that Sonia is steering the direction of Hyrule—a humble territory in this age—in this tumultuous time, although Rauru is backing her. It's thanks to Sonia that Rauru and Mineru survived the fall of their sky island, brought back from the brink of death. It was during this time that Rauru fell in love with her; and to repay her, Rauru revealed that, between himself and Mineru, they have three intact Stones (a small homage to the Triforce since it doesn't matter in this continuity) with which they can secure Hyrule's place in this brave new world. Importantly, this isn't portrayed as any more righteous than a nation acquiring a clear advantage over its rivals. Indeed, Zelda's thrown for a loop to learn that in this era, the other races like the Gorons and the Zora aren't merely independent from Hyrule but have a history of conflict—something she never learned in her history books. And tensions are only rising, as these rival nations find Stones of their own after much scavenging, shifting an already fraught balance of power. The gods are dead, their empire shattered—yet slivers of their strength remain, for those daring enough to claim them. By using one of these Stones, a tribe could secure its borders, reclaim ancestral land... or conquer new territory. This is where Ganondorf enters the picture.

This Ganondorf is still a villain, but there's room for nuance. He's ruthless and prideful, and certainly antagonistic toward Hyrule; but the narrative respects him as much as his fellow monarchs. He cares about the success of his people, because his entire identity is shaped around being their king. Remember that a male is born to the Gerudo only once in a hundred years. Ganondorf is but the latest in a lineage of kings, with the heavy burden of expectation that carries—he has a legacy to uphold or surpass if he can help it. And ever since he was a boy, he envied the easy lives and green lands of Hyrule, so as a man he has made it his personal ambition to conquer it... but at every turn, he has met his match in Sonia, who is every bit as skilled of a commander and a magician. The two of them have clashed so many times that they've become the most intimate of enemies, hard pressed to hate each other because they both know what's at stake. For years, they've been evenly matched... but the downfall of the Zonai changed everything. In spite of the Gerudo's best efforts, they haven't been able to find a single Stone to make up for the fact that the crash of their local sky islands kicked up terrible sandstorms and drove monsters from their usual habitats. The Gerudo are more desperate than ever. Then Ganondorf learns that his oldest enemy is housing two living Zonai underneath her roof, and has a total of four Stones at her disposal. He cannot battle Hyrule as before, lest he risk annihilation—if not by Sonia's hands, then another tribe that is more willing to coup de grâce a decimated competitor, or they might perish to monsters, or the desert might finally claim them, the dunes swallowing up their bones and burying their accomplishments. He could bend the knee—throw himself at Sonia's feet and hope for the best, sacrificing Gerudo independence to share in Hyrule's bounty. But his pride will never allow that.

He grew up in the shadow of detached gods, was raised on tales of how they were the ultimate arbiters of truth and value—almighty in their judgment and unassailable—and he saw for himself that they would only ever come down to earth to indulge their curiosity about the quaint groundfolk or harvest what their sky islands could not provide, most notably Zonaite (of course they named it after themselves...) to fuel their miraculous machines, the secrets of which they refused to share with anyone 'because they weren't ready' and would in fact use those same machines to keep the groundfolk from overreaching. Ganondorf is the first king in generations to glimpse a sky—and a future—uncontrolled by the Zonai. Though he was raised to be a king, the very definition of absolute power and privilege, only now is he truly beholden to no one. Finally, he is free to shape his own destiny. And he's not about to relinquish that freedom on account of his dearest enemy getting in bed with a fallen demigod—no, not a god... the Zonai's civil war proved they are not infallible. Without their technology, without their precious Stones, they're flesh and blood, the same as anyone else. Mortal. And what is a man to a king?

Despite the bad blood between them, and the generations of strife between their peoples, Ganondorf is able to convince Sonia that he is willing to bury the hatchet for the sake of his people, that his desire to enter the protective embrace of her kingdom, given the dangerous new world they find themselves in, is genuine. His true intentions are not so painfully transparent, but still Zelda does not trust him. She can't stop wondering how this man becomes the source of the Gloom in her era, even if the hateful creature she encountered in the depths below Hyrule Castle hardly seemed human at all. But she cannot act on a suspicion of duplicity due to future events. So for Ganondorf's entire stint in Sonia's court, Zelda tries to weasel out the truth—and in so doing, builds a relationship with the future Demon King. Once Ganondorf catches on to the fact that Zelda sees right through him, it becomes a game of 4D chess. Who is this girl, a member of Sonia's court that he has never heard before yet is trusted enough to bear a Stone, and why is she so certain of his true motives? He's smart enough to suss out that it isn't simple bigotry. It's a fine line Zelda must walk, because she has a secret of her own—she hasn't told anyone that she's from the future, out of a rational fear of disrupting the past and changing history (but at the same time, she can't abide doing nothing, and these interests war within her).

Despite Zelda's best efforts, Ganondorf succeeds in his plot. In a single stroke, he eliminates an old enemy, deprives her nation of its leader and a Stone, and finally secures a Stone for the Gerudo. But claiming the Stone doesn't immediately transform him into an Almighty Demon King. The surge of power is great, but not so much that he's willing to engage three other Stone bearers—two of which are Zonai who of course have experience using them—so he wisely retreats, though not before telling Rauru: "No point in crying over this one. She's not the first victim of your arrogance. And we both know she won't be the last." He's made powerful enemies, but it's a battle he can fight on another day, and at least now he's on equal footing with the other factions and can take their Stones until he can finally conquer Hyrule. But Ganondorf severely underestimates the lengths Rauru will go for revenge. In killing Sonia, before Rauru's very eyes no less, he has made another enemy for life (and beyond).

Understand that Rauru survived the destruction of his people and their way of life. That's traumatic enough. But now, the person who saved his life, and gave it new meaning, is dead. Murdered. By someone he had come to trust. Because he put a target around her neck. He should have seen this coming, he should have listened to Zelda, perhaps then he could have stopped this. But it's far too late now. Before, he was content to merely support and serve—a just penance, he believed, for his small part in breaking the world. Now, he has a new purpose: To secure Sonia's legacy by any means necessary. He binds his fate to Hyrule, which will never be safe so long as Ganondorf lives. This isn't a wise and beneficent King of Light opposing a terrible darkness, but a grieving widower—who's also a skyborn demigod that just lost his one earthly tie.

After taking command as regent, Rauru does not invite the other races to a grand alliance; he brings them to heel through force. It's not enough for Rauru to immediately counterattack Ganondorf. He wants to destroy him, and what better way than to turn the whole world against him? Additionally, by consolidating the power of the Stones onto his side, he denies Ganondorf the opportunity to pick them off one by one. Zelda is witnessing history, the birth of Hyrule as she knows it, but there's nothing noble about it. It's simple imperialism, and she has to grapple with the fact that she's a beneficiary of it. If the peoples of Hyrule were united through bloodshed, does this invalidate the friendships she's made among those peoples in her present? She's confronted with deep questions which possess no easy answers.

Meanwhile, Ganondorf hasn't been sitting on his laurels. He sees Rauru is stacking the deck against him, such that even the Stone's power won't be enough to win the coming war. The Gerudo are outnumbered and outgunned. So Ganondorf turns to darker magics, begins to press monsters into service, etc. His search for ever greater power takes him into the Depths, where he finds a dangerous substance called Gloom. According to legend, it is the ichor of a demon god who was struck down long ago and sealed away in the bowels of the earth. It drains the life-force of whoever touches it, that much is certain... but Ganondorf reckons it is possible to access this stolen vitality to perform feats of magic hitherto thought impossible. Through his mastery of dark magic, amplified by the Stone, he is able to harness the Gloom. First he tests it upon monsters... then dissidents, those reluctant to oppose Rauru's growing army. He makes examples of them, siphoning away their life-force to show those who will not fight will still serve their king. But this barbarous act only creates more dissent among the Gerudo. Tradition appointed Ganondorf as king, but that doesn't mean they have to stomach his tyranny. Even if he manages to win this war, this new power could allow him to reign forever, and he just demonstrated how little their individual lives mean to him. Worried for the future of their people, Ganondorf's second-in-command, Nabooru, sells him out in exchange for clemency, enabling Rauru and his Sages to capture him. Instead of slaying him on the spot, Rauru declares his intention to haul him back to Hyrule for a public execution in Sonia's name. Nabooru insists on coming along; if the King of the Gerudo is to die on foreign soil, then one of his own should observe his passing.

Ganondorf doesn't respond well to this betrayal. After everything he sacrificed, they would still rather roll over and show their bellies—surrender their freedom and pride—to a foreign lord. Who are these people, to abandon the courage of their ancestors? These are not his Gerudo. Ganondorf disowns them, swearing vengeance upon these cowards even as he is taken away in chains. The journey back to Hyrule gives him time to brood on his destiny. He was born to be a king, yet the place of his birth has forsaken him while the rest of the world wants him dead. Most people would crumble, succumb to despair. But his pride will never allow that. He will keep fighting, like he always has. He will crush any opposition, even if it's the people who gave him birth. He will rule, even if he must reign as king of the undesired. There's a saying: 'The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow.' And Rauru has blazed oh so fiercely. To oppose him, Ganondorf must become nothing less than the King of Shadow.

At the moment of his execution, he draws upon the Gloom to transcend his mortal limits, finally becoming the Demon King. In this form, he's able to battle all seven of the Sages, but he's still not almighty. In theory, Rauru is able to slay him... but he chooses not to. Imprisoning Ganondorf isn't done as a last resort; Rauru wants him to suffer. "Killing you would be far too kind. I will make you wish you could die. You won't. I will hold you here. We will build our kingdom over the lands you tried to burn and pillage. And you will rot here, trapped in this moment, long after you have faded from its memory." And he sincerely believes that he'll be able to contain Ganondorf for all time—because he was able to ascertain that Zelda is from the future, after examining her Stone (his Stone, as it turns out) and piecing together her strange accent and unusual notions, even though she has the pointed ears of a Hylian. He doesn't understand the power, but he does take it as proof positive that his victory is guaranteed and Hyrule exists well into the future... without ever learning the whole truth of it. Rauru is directly responsible for the cycle of Calamity Ganon, as Ganondorf's resent and hatred transformed the Gloom into Malice.

Rauru's pride is an actual flaw, one that is fully explored in the modern day. Just like Ganondorf says, thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye; Rauru hasn't had any time to process his rage. He only saves Link to make him a vehicle for his revenge; sticking around past the tutorial as Link's spectral companion, constantly pushing him to ignore all distractions to destroy Ganondorf ASAP, yet unable to control him directly. In staying with Link, Rauru learns of his legacy; that he created a lasting kingdom, but harmed future generations by inadvertently creating Calamity Ganon—Ganondorf's disembodied anguish and hate, nursed over thousands of years. His selfish decisions created more harm than Ganondorf could have in a single lifetime. Just as the Zonai destroyed the world once before, Rauru managed to destroy it again and again. Hyrule no longer even exists as a kingdom, destroyed by Calamity Ganon 100 years prior. Yet Link continues to fight—not for himself, but to protect and help those he cares about as well as perfect strangers. Rauru gives a touch of the divine to Link, and in return Link reintroduces Rauru to humanity.

In contrast: Ganondorf broods in the Depths, alone. Although he still has a corporeal form, he's just as much of a ghost as Rauru is. He's more isolated than ever, having awakened to a strange world where nothing is as he remembers it. The geography is different, the flora and fauna is different, the people are different. Especially the Gerudo. They don't remember him as ever having been a person at all, believing the monster of their legends merely adopted the form of a Gerudo. But that doesn't sting as much as how tame they've become in his absence. These Gerudo have no fangs; they're fully in bed with Hyrule in every sense of the word, and it disgusts him. Nothing in this world is right. Everyone has forgotten their pride and their history; no one remembers a time when Hyrule wasn't be-all and end-all. Unable to accept this future, he terraforms Hyrule in the image of what it used to be, so it might become a crucible once more. The strong will adapt and survive, while the weak rightfully perish. He will create a world that rewards might and daring above all else.

Ganondorf is none too pleased to learn Link is running around with the arm of the man who sealed him for millennia, and assumes that he has become Rauru's puppet (even more hand symbolism)... but that's a key difference between Ganondorf and Rauru. Link essentially drags Rauru through character development, rekindling a sense of humanity within him. Ganondorf has no one to break him out of his rut. His only company down in the Depths are monsters and the Yiga Clan, who revere him as the source of Calamity Ganon—for his power and opposition of Hyrulian supremacy—but do not see him as person, a king in need of counsel. Ganondorf is more alone than ever, but he refuses to address this. To despair is to admit that the world has power over you, and he is the single strongest being in the world. Gods do not weep. And in that final confrontation, Rauru addresses Ganondorf: They're both ghosts of the past, stubbornly trying to shape the future to their liking; but the present belongs to the living. They both need to let go. But Ganondorf's pride will never allow that. To admit defeat is to admit someone has power over him, and he cannot allow it. It becomes clear to him that the only option left to him is to not play at all.

He swallows his Stone and becomes a dragon, but this doesn't lead to another boss fight (to compensate, the third phase would be a more classical Ganon fight; a friend suggested the name of "Scourge of Hyrule—Apocalypse Ganon"). Instead, in line with what was established earlier—that to become a dragon is to lose yourself to the process—Ganondorf ascends to the sky... and bears no more malice toward Link or Hyrule. He becomes the ultimate in power—immortal and at last truly divine—at the cost of his ego. He's still dangerous since he radiates Gloom, but he doesn't attack, just like the other dragons: an idiot god. He returns to the Depths out of instinctual comfort, but will occasionally surface and usher in a Blood Moon. And like the other dragons, you can harvest rare materials from him to make the best Gloom weapons or whatever. + Leaving Ganondorf in this state leaves a door open for fanatics to try and restore him in a sequel.

So, that's all I got

There's a lot of things I didn't address. Like whether the line of succession was broken with Sonia's death (so is Zelda descended from a relative of hers?), what sort of characters the Sages should be, or what Zelda does after Ganondorf is sealed away by Rauru (I'm personally not comfortable with her waltzing up to the Sages and in a stable time loop binding all the races to Hyrule), how weird the Draconification plot point is (and how Zelda is restored to her human form by Good Ending ghost magic), how Zelda is restored in this version (sequel hook same with Ganon?), how disconnected I feel Link is to the Ancient Past storyline as a whole, whether my version of Ganondorf actually ever learned about him, I didn't really dive into the aforementioned imperialist message in TOTK (others have already done so better than I), etc. Thing is, I'm not a professional writer. I do it for the love of it, and that's what this is. A messy labor of misplaced love for a franchise I've never played, all because I was upset they didn't treat my blorbo the way I like. You know how it goes. My brain didn't know when to let go, but at least now it's out there and not rattling around solely in my noggin, making an awful racket. Maybe now I can work on other things. If you've made it this far, cheers.

[7grandmel]

Rips of the week: 09/09/2024

Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) and Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement)

Season 3 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips Volume A

Ripped by alan

Season 8 No Album Release (Read More) Aqua Star (Unused) - Kirby Super Star

Ripped by alan

Requested by Fezaki! (Request Form)

There are few things I love more on the SiIvaGunner channel than the phenomena I like to call "call & response" rips. These are, put simply, rips connected to one another through a sort of dialogue - an obvious example of this is with He4rt4che and 4SGOR3, two intertwined projects by the same ripper released right alongside one another. Yet these projects have also be used to, in effect, pay tribute to the works of other rippers on the channel: Shiny Smily TALE, for instance, saw Ellie53 pay respects to a rip made four whole years prior by Sarvéproductions. There's also one of my all-time personal favorites for silly sentimental reasons, Violet Snow Memories, which remakes and expands upon a relatively obscure rip made *SEVEN* years prior by a ripper who's no longer actively part of the team. Without having any knowledge of the behind-the-scenes behind their production, these rips end up feeling like true expressions of love between rippers, being creatively fulfilling projects in their own right whilst directing attention toward rips and rippers that they cherish.

Yet with the two rips featured today, Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) and Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement), we run into a somewhat unique scenario, that I haven't personally seen all too often on the channel: a sort of combination of two of the example scenarios described. These two rips were both made by the same ripper, Alan, who's both a friend of the blog and has been contributing on and off for the channel since late into Season 1, still being active today eight years later in Season 8. And therein is what makes this pair of rips so interesting: Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) released all the way back in Season 3, while Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement) came out just shy of three months ago back in June of Season 8 - yet are both playing off of the same core idea. Even six years after its release, the core idea of Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) seems to have stuck with the guy, and all this time later he finally decided to expand on the concept further, out of no other reason than his own personal investment in the concept. Six years of waiting, six years of experience gained - let's see where this all takes us.

The soundscape of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is one I've made no secret of my affection for, most notably with Aquadial just outright being an all-time favorite rip of mine, but even with more out-there bizarre projects like Kirby Joins the Circus!, they all manage to have an indescribable appeal that comes just from how beautiful Kirby 64 as a whole sounds. The channel and internet as a whole is filled with tributes paid to the game's soundtrack, yet Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) takes a direction similar to the previously covered Mt. Dedede (extended) - choosing to inject Kirby music, into other Kirby music. The Kirby franchise is itself already filled with homages paid to its legacy music, endlessly rearranging its past work, and so Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) fits in with the rest of the series' soundtracks like a glove. Float Islands in particular is a pretty crucial piece of music for the franchise, originating from the very first game in the series, being remixed in countless games, and most notably laying the groundwork for the franchise's beloved Rest Area theme, later arranged and reused for the Super Smash Bros. series and itself featured in beloved rips like Me and the rest area of the melee here, singing, "Where'd you go​?​". It's Jun Ishikawa's knack for catchy, soothing and high-tempo composition distilled into just one track - the kind of song that just SOUNDS like Kirby ought to sound, no matter what form it takes.

It should come as no surprise that Alan knocks the arrangement out of the park with Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) - Aqua Star, the track being used as the basis, already takes cues from Float Islands in certain snippets of its arrangement, and Alan is able to leverage that connection into a sound experience that sounds damn near effortlessly like an authentic Ishikawa arrangement. The lead instruments chosen follow along with Aqua Star very nicely, the brass sounds as authentically "Kirby 64" as always, the percussion is as lovely as Float Islands' arrangements always are - it's an incredibly solid rip, that even back in 2018 turned some heads with commenters denoting how surprising it was to see just outright wholesale remixes put onto SiIvaGunner. Of course, this was not something new - we've had rips like Turn On Your SEGA Genesis and Just Enjoy Yourself as far back as Season 1 - yet to see a ripper like Alan play along with Kirby series' tradition of celebrating past music so authentically was no doubt part of what made this rip stick out so much - many didn't even recognize that Float Islands wasn't originally in Kirby 64 and just thought the rip was an unedited reupload of music from the game!

Of course, this was nevertheless a rip from Season 3, six years ago - the channel was still somewhat undergoing growing pains, shedding the anything-goes wild west of Season 1 and gradually turning into something with a higher bar of quality. Despite my love for it, there are still some slight oddities present in Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement), indications of its status as, ultimately, a hobby project for a shitpost channel. And that's why I find Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement) to be such a cool release - it saw Alan return to this old rip idea, now within the context of SiIvaGunner in 2024, part of this team that's learned so much about ripping for so many different games, that continues to find new ways to impress with every passing month with everything from Last Freight-train Night to Thwâmpröck Desert. In my eyes, Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement) is right at home here - instead of rearranging one of Kirby's oldest legacy songs into the soundscape almost impossible to make sound bad, the rip feels like a far more daunting task in doing the opposite, taking a song built upon that distinct soundscape and attempting to recreate it within the confines of a far older game, in Kirby Super Star for the Super Nintendo.

Yet Alan pulls this endeavor off with flying colors! The thing I immediately noticed, compared to Kirby Super Star's take on Float Islands, is the percussion: in Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement), it sounds ever so slightly...dreamier, less heavy - perhaps that's my ears playing tricks on me, but I get the sense whilst listening that Alan put in a hell of a lot of effort to recapture the magically sparkly feel that Kirby 64's music so often holds. You hear this in the lead melody instruments used as well - the primary lead is the same beautiful one used as the lead in Super Star's Float Islands, yet it's occasionally swapped out for a less-used instrument from that same track, there only used for accenting the end of certain segments, but is used here for a wonderful back-and-fourth sound throughout the rip's runtime. On the whole, it's just a wonderfully tasteful, well-rounded arrangement without twists or surprises - a perfect response to the call placed back in 2018.

As I led this post off with, it's that back-and-fourth dynamic between rips that I found so utterly endearing about rips like these two. Yet the additional wrinkle that both works here were made by the SAME ripper gives it a distinctly different flavor, it goes from viewing two rippers pay each other loving respect to seeing one ripper grow in proficiency and ability over many years of honing their craft. As a result, while I find Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement) to be an absolutely wonderful piece in its own right, it was Alan's work on Aqua Star (Kirby Super Star Arrangement) that enamored me - to see that progression of a ripper in such a direct, yet at once indirect, way, was an incredibly fascinating listening experience. Alan shows no sign in slowing down in his contributions to the channel, and with rips of this caliber, I can't wait to see what the future holds for the guy.

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

I have started Like A Dragon! I've actually already made it to chapter 5.

Why hadn't I made a post already, then?

Well, there's no sugar-coated way to put this so... let's just rip off the bandaid now.

I haven't really enjoyed myself playing this game this far. Yet. Maybe I will at some point. But for now I honestly just haven't had much to say in terms of what's happened in the plot besides the beginning. I don't hate the game, it's just that it hasn't been able to really hook me in yet.

I'll keep going since I've heard this game is one of the generally more loved ones in the franchise. And I know RGG loves its slow burn.

I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I wanna be totally honest. I doubt y'all would want me to lie about how I feel about the game.

More about all that right at the end of the post. I will list my positives and negatives when it comes to this game (and talk about the battle system) down there.

I know this type of thing is common in RPGs, but I like it all the same. Neat little game mechanic. There's quite a few different ones here, but it's cool.

An interesting background for a main character. Yeah, being an orphan is more than common. But being raised by the employess in a soapland and the townsfolk around him? That's really out there - in a good way.

This was very sad. Ichi lost 15 years of his life to the joint and got nothing in return. The shock and disappointment on his face when he was released and there was just. No one waiting for him.

And after that, all that awaited him was just... betrayal. That's just brutal. I fully understand why Ichiban went into Total Denial Mode for a while; it must have been a totally incomprehensible and shocking situation.

-He got out of prison after 15 years and where he expected to find his family waiting for him, he found nobody. AND he suddenly had the freedom of choosing what to do, when to do it and where to go after 15 years. That can be scary.

-He witnessed how much the world and general society had changed in his absence and probably felt very confused.

-He saw his home totally wrecked and abandoned.

And now his mentor and beloved patriarch, the one who saved his life. The man he would have happily been ready to die for at any moment. That man had changed completely and acted like he didn't know Ichiban.

Yeah... the denial, frustration and desperation are totally valid.

Oh dear. Well, Kiryu wasn't there anymore, the Tojo upper brass kept changing and there was constant conflict within the clan itself. It was just a matter of time before Omi would take advantage of the situation.

I hope Majima and Daigo are okay. Or at least alive ;-;

*Faint sounds of Majima cackling in the distance*

Oops. Majima better hope Ichi doesn't find out who the driver was lmao. I feel bad for Ichiban, but I also love how this single random idea of Majima's still has these consequences that are brought up, even after all this time.

God bless Nanba. He's a sweetheart. That's all I can say about him. I also kinda like Adachi. I'm not attached to these side characters yet, but they're neat. I think they'll grow on me eventually, it's just that I tend to be slow when it comes to becoming attached to new characters.

Legends say that if you pull this bat out, Shinada will appear in front of you and ask for some money....

I did play through the whole soapland thing and then some. I don't have much to say 😭. We do have a woman fighting with us, finally after all this time! #Girlboss

I would honestly happily die for Nancy. No questions asked.

OKAY UHH POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES.

Positives:

-Ichiban

-Interesting premise

-The different jobs satisfy my hyper-optimizing, excel-sheet-making, micromanaging self

-Funny enemy titles like "Piss Wizard"

-Free full heal spots my beloveds❤️

-Voice acting (in the Japanese dub at least) is excellent

-Substories have been fun!

Negatives:

-EXP yield is... not optimal; grinding takes FOREVER unless you go fight higher-level people than yourself, but then the battles can take ages. Job exp grinding especially feels about as pleasant as pulling teeth.

Am I supposed to grind in this game?? I've started to wonder about that since it's such a slow process. I have absolutely no idea. Have I missed a thing that helps exp gain??

-Unless you get lucky with the ability to find treasure, money yield can be tight at times, too. Which is rough, considering the cost of gear with 4 team members (and probably backup members later).

-The premise is cool, but the stuff I've played through in terms of the plot after leaving Kamurocho hasn't been very interesting to me this far (early-to-mid chapter 5) :/

-Substories don't give you EXP 😭

How about the elephant in the room - the battle system?

Well. I'll come out with it straight away; I'm very, VERY picky when it comes to turn-based combat. Shin Megami Tensei and Persona have unfortunately spoiled me too much, so this game had some unfairly MASSIVE boots to fill. And it didn't quite fill them. My bar is way too high and I acknowledge that 100%.

I get that they didn't want to make the system completely "passive" by just having to select moves and it all going smoothly from here. But I dislike the timing-based quick time stuff in the middle of attacks and perfect guard. I can pull off the attack dmg boost thing most of the time, but perfect guard is just... it feels way more difficult to pull off than Tiger Drop in any previous game. It's very frustrating. I frankly feel stupid, having this difficult a time with it.

Grinding is further hindered by spread moves being kind of unreliable - if the enemies are spread out, you're only hitting a single foe. For now. Maybe there will be better moves later on.

Idk if it's just me, but characters' MP pools feel very limited compared to the cost of the moves combined with how little damage you do at times? Maybe it's just the fact that I'm in the earlier parts of the game, but I feel like I have to be replenishing MP constantly.

I like how all the different types of gear can have additional special effects. It's neat.

All in all the battle system feels... very laborius. I can work with it! Absolutely. I'm just not the biggest fan.

God, I wish I could just gush about this game and sing its praises, but that's not happening yet by a long shot. This far? Maybe a 6-6.5/10. I hope my opinion changes for the better as I progress; I really wanna love it as much as other fans seem to.

[swcctbitter]

[  olivia rodrigo,  demi woman,  she / they,  muse 20,  billie eilish  ] welcome  to  excesstv,  LUSIA “LULU” AMOR DE LUNA  —  or  should  i  say  the  dreamer  ?  …  a  quick  google  search  tells  me  you’re  a  TWENTY - TWO  year  old  MUSICIAN who’s worth $53 MILLION DOLLARS.  you've  called  avalon  home  for  THREE YEARS,  however  something  tells  me  there’s  more  to  you  than  a  flashy  resume  and  penthouse  17A  on  your  door  ?  it  seems  you’ve  managed  to  earn  a  reputation  around  the   city   for  being  ESCAPIST,  yet,  upon  further  investigation  it  seems  you're  also  quite  INNOVATIVE.  but  hey,  thats  the  kind  of  mix  that  keeps  people  guessing.  i'm  sure  as  a  PISCES  you're  used  to  people  commenting  on  your  DALBEN GIOELLI AQUAMARINE RING  /  an elegy for the lost, jamming to songs alone in your room, angel statues over graves, dream pop music playing from another room, the cycle of necrosis.  but  still  we  can't  wait  to  watch  you  flourish  (  or  fail  )  these  next  few  weeks  …  

╰ * STATS.

tw : familial abuse , hospitalization, incarceration + mental illness.

it’s a strange feeling, knowing who you are from a young age. most people spend their lives searching for something to call theirs and theirs alone, but lusia always knew what she was: a musician. and more, what she wants to do —— study the music, gut it from the inside out, inspect the innards and surround herself in the gore. it isn’t the future that her parents have tailored for her, but there is little that anyone can do to convince her that it is an ill-met fate. music threads through her veins and makes her heart beat. without it, she is bereft. so, too beloved by her family for them to deny her, the de luna's change their idea of what lulu’s life will look like.

at the tender age of eight, her parents find their marriage collapsing and her mother scoops her and her brother up and relocates them from the small village of ruidoso, new mexico to albuquerque. still, even in a bigger city, her dad coins her as a music savant by the time she's thirteen, putting her in a small rivalry with her step - father, neil, who tirelessly vies for her mother's attention that is won out by lulu or her older brother joaquin. she is frequently seen with her nose in a book discussing music theory or music history, and for her fourteenth birthday she is gifted her very first ukulele after begging and pleading for months on end. she is seldom seen not clutching a fretboard, mastering the craft with steadfast dedication. although it isn’t what they envisioned for her, she has represented more than most do when it concerns discipline, audaciousness and tenacity. and who better knows that than her own brother?

he supports her at every football game she plays xylophone in and lifts her high on his shoulders, parading her around like his own trophy, and she doesn't mind at all. especially when she gets into her spats with neil. once, when he dares to strike her across the cheek after finding her crawling through her bedroom window with a girl, joaquin does nothing but watch as she takes his baseball bat and slams it into the hood of neil's precious trans am, which does land her in juvie for six months. joaquin's even still there when she receives her bipolar diagnosis from a psychiatrist while in police custody. upon release, reintegrating into teen society is difficult. far more difficult than the strict routine of juvie and the numbing medications they'd force feed her inside —— but when she comes home, joaquin reminds her of her love of music, how it's always been a surefire escape, so that's exactly what they plunge themselves into.

this time, together. they start out slow, with minimally produced tracks mostly utilizing bass guitar and piano. however, the more they create, the deeper the dedication sinks its roots within them. they keep going. days off are nonexistent, all they know is the music. it becomes them. and after she releases her debut single in 2017 at the brilliant age of sixteen, they begin to realize that what's consumed them is beginning to engulf everyone else. it's a tailspin from there on out. mere months after the release of her breakthrough song, she and joaquin craft an excellent ep that receives critical acclaim. she isn't certain what to do with herself at first; the adrenaline rush from the constant stream of attention quickly becomes addicting, but she's reminded too soon that their work is not yet done.

when the time comes, she heralds a debut album that garners her praise from everyone she's ever wanted to impress, including the motherfuckin' grammy's, of which she wins three her first year nominated in the four main categories. she tentatively embarks on a tour, loses her mind slightly, cowers for a few months and painstakingly crafts a song for a blockbuster movie that earns her an oscar for best original song. in the years since, she's ebbed and flowed between tumultuous relationships and evaded the spotlight whenever she can, for her own wellbeing. after releasing two more albums, one while living in the avalon, she's decided to take a small break and indulge in something different. something like... a reality tv show.

[bosskie]

3 Years of Molluck: Art 'n' the Journey

Man, it's time to 'celebrate' me drawing this Gluk for 3 years since I have barely drawn anything else than him since then... So, this is gonna be a huge post where I have bundled the most of my Molluck stuff (2021-2024) and tell ya about my Molluck (art) journey.

I started sharing my Molluck content first on Twitter but then, I moved to here since this was more fitting home for my 'Molluck love headquarters'. I have pretty much abandoned every social media but Tumblr. Right now, it just feels like I have found the right place to be but also myself. I mean, it feels like I have finally found out what actually interests me and what feels like me, so Oddworld made me find home.

I have known Oddworld for... Well, at least known about its existence for a decade or something, seen gameplay of AO and AE for multiple times, but I actually got into it only in Janurary (?) 2021 when, for some odd reason, I wanted to watch all those cutscenes from AO, AE and MO. Those cutscenes made me fall in love with Oddworld! Even I'm quite a new fan still, it's my favourite game series! It just hit me... I just love the dark humour, that darkness in general, the brutality but also that silly humour (yes, I laugh at farts)! I can understand why Lorne never really liked the fart tho' but man, I cannot let it be... I really need to draw my silly comic idea of Molluck farting... Got some proper comic paper for it; just perfect waste of paper! (Never used that paper, even it's like over a decade old pad...)

But yeah, for this reason, I got no nostalgia for the series but I got into it 'just in time', before the release of SoulStorm on the same year. So, I had time to play the previous games before playing SS, though I have never finished Stranger's Wrath... Must be the lack of Glukkons... But I'll try to continue it one day! So, from the ones I have finished, my top3 is: Abe's Exoddus, Abe's Oddysee, and SoulStorm. I have finished them all at least 3 times.

Since the beginning, Gluks and Sligs have been my favourite Oddworld species, but yes, Glukkons are my beloveds! First, I actually drew just my own Glukkons, probably because I didn't really have any favourite Gluk first, just loved them in general, but Molluck was the first 'official' Gluk I ever drew since I had started to love him. It happened after watching all those SoulStorm cutscenes; I started to see myself in him and only after that he got my attention, noticed his special appearance too. So, it wasn't love at the first sight but after I got into him, saw his personality; I just felt like he is me as a Glukkon. Man, he has felt like the love of my life and still does!

But my first ever Oddworld piece was this Abe:

Yeah, just some random Abe I felt like drawing since I got quite into Oddworld stuff! But yes, getting into Oddworld was also like starting from a new table for me since I wanted to abandon my old stuff for multiple reasons. I just wish to let that past be and focus on the present. Like I said, it just feels like I have finally found home, thanks to Oddworld! I have heard so often that I'm 'odd', so I indeed belong to there! Molluck has just made me finally comfortable with who I am and helped me to find myself. No one else has felt so right as him. Therefore I believe that I'll have lots of years with Molluck in the future!

But yes, it's time for Molluck art! I drew my first Molluck exactly 3 years ago:

I swear, I didn't draw this badly back then... You know when you just have some kind of 'skill drops' when your skills just get worse for some reason. I just had no idea how to draw him, so I ended up drawing quite horrible Molluck stuff first... But after a few months, I already started to get a lot better at drawing him. My way to draw Molluck was quite experiemental for a long time and kinda still is... I still have no idea what my style is but some randomly stylized realism... I have never even liked my own style to draw, no matter if the others liked it. Maybe it's just like food: it's better when someone else does it!

I didn't repost all my Molluck art here, just with some criteria since I have drawn Molluck so much... You can also already find on my blog almost every Molluck I have drawn, so nothing new here really but maybe two lil things. I bet that next time, when I do a post like this, I'll only post my top favourites since yeah, I do draw Molluck a lot... Cannot still draw him too much!

So yeah, welcome to my life Molluck art journey:

2021

2022

2023

[Less stuff due to worse mental health and exhaustion.]

2024

Yeah, this was like my Molluck art journey in a nutshell! I feel like redrawing some of these, at least as sketches, not really because the original looked bad but because I just love the idea I drew! There are also some WIPs I still wish to work on and finish... But maybe after I feel like doing digital paintings again. I'm just kinda tired of drawing with the mouse... Yes, all my digital stuff is done with a computer mouse; it's actually restricting me but don't feel like investing in digital art supplies, at least right now... I haven't even liked using a drawing tablet nor a touch screen, so it's what makes me hesitate... I also just enjoy doing traditional art stuff in general. The main reason why I did mainly digital stuff before was my self-hatred because I thought that I just draw some trash and therefore would waste the art supplies... Yeah, it wasn't about preference, just mental health issues... Though digital art has its advantages I miss while doing traditional stuff... So, I do still like doing digital stuff for those reasons.

Heck, what a difference:

Frankly, I feel like this year, I have finally managed to start drawing Molluck like I have wished to be able to or at least close to that since I still feel like I have a lot to learn... I more like feel like I have gotten my older skills back than actually gotten better... I mean, I haven't really improved that much. Even I have pretty much zero desire to post my old stuff, I wanna give you an example of what I mean:

This is actually a WIP still but I did it 6 years ago. Never really done any proper car drawing/painting before but I like old cars, so had to paint one! Yeah, I actually wish to draw more vehicles... I don't wonder why I actually enjoyed drawing Molluck's blimp. Gotta draw a proper 'GlukMobile' for Molluck, I guess!

I'm not here to boast, just sharing my journey, and that it can happen that one's skills kinda get worse for some reason but it doesn't mean that they are gone. I more like wish to inspire people! Like, frankly, there's one specific (SoulStorm) Molluck fan art I saw like 3 years ago, posted by OWI, that really made me wanna push harder to improve my Molluck art. I really wanted to draw Molluck like that person, it was so amazing, and still is! Just gotta give some credit to that piece, at last; it's been such a big inspiration for me! Though, I still cannot see Molluck's sinister spirit there, like OWI describes the piece... I must function somehow differently since I have never really found Molluck intimidating, no matter which Molluck it is... Oh, and I don't really wish OWI to share my Molluck stuff... I don't feel like it's good enough for such, yet... I don't really enjoy (too much) attention either. Those are also reasons why I didn't send anything to their fan art celebration thing they held recently. I'm still kinda curious to know what they would think about my doings... It was like a miracle I even felt like taking a part in that SoulStorm tattoo competition since I don't enjoy competitions, just wanna do my stuff in peace.

I still don't know how 'perfect' my way to draw Molluck is, but like I have said, I'm finally starting to feel like I draw him somewhat like I have wanted since I started drawing him. I just feel like I could still draw him better, and better... But thru telling you this, I only wish to encourage you! There has been people who have said that they wish to have my skills/talent and I have been in that same position with my Molluck stuff, wishing being able to draw like someone else. It only made me push harder, though yes, it has also made me feel like my stuff looks like crap, but I don't wish it to look like that, so gotta just keep drawing! Art is pain, got even a deep scar from making it, but I do still love creating stuff; enjoying my own results is a different story though... Like, I seriously thought that my entry to that SoulStorm tattoo competition (that realistic piece of Molluck and his Slig from 2022) looks bad and almost deleted it after submitting it, but I won... I still don't know how to really handle it...

But honestly, I never thought that someone would ever look at my stuff and think that they wish to have my talent... It's such a big compliment... I feel speechless when I think about it, especially when I'm a someone who has literally taken all his own stuff away multiple times because he has hated his own creations, saw them as mere trash... One side of me is still saying that 'What talent? Please, wish to have someone better's talent...' or 'Oh, you want it? I can give it since I'm only wasting it!' since I don't personally feel talented (and I suffer from self-hatred), even I have heard so long that I'm a multi-talent, been even called a genius... I don't know what's the reality with this... Welp, I just wanna focus on creating my Molluck crap stuff in the best way possible! I still got so much Molluck stuff to do... But I still hope that I could see the talent the others see me having... Maybe it's just too close to me, literally being me, so I just cannot see it... Or maybe I can see it but wanna deny it... I really don't know what to think of my stuff; sometimes I only see it as just some trash, feel throwing them away, and sometimes I'm even able to like my stuff but that I loved my art... Nope, just cannot say it, mostly because I don't love myself either, but I'm trying my best to learn it. I only love my subject, Molluck.

I'm sorry but I just can be honest about how I feel about my stuff... I do not wanna create any idealized picture. Also, I have suffered from self-hatred for over a decade, so I'm sick 'n' tired of it... It just makes we wanna be brutally honest. I know how it can affect people but I just cannot hide my actual feelings, I'm so exhausted... Molluck also just relates so much to my mental health, like he is keeping me together... Man, I don't know in what kind of dark 'n' deep pit I would be right now without him... That Gluk just means so much to me... I don't really wish to post my self-insert stuff because it's my personal stuff but here's one old WIP I could show, especially when I really wish I could hug Molluck right now...

Yes, there was a version of this without me earlier and it's not the only self-insert thing I posted without myself. Some of them are also cropped NSFW stuff... Sometimes, it kinda feels sad when I succeed to draw Molluck well but then, it's something I don't wish to show... Yeah, could have more stuff to show but eh, I keeping them to myself, at least for now. I already confessed that the only Molluck animations, in 2D 'n' in 3D, I have done are NSFW... I wish to do ones I can actually post...

But yes, I'm sorry but I'm not the one 'contribuiting' the rule 34, even I do create NSFW stuff about Molluck, like I have said... But I could make his 'OnlyChumps' account, like I have seen some people joking about, but it would cost an arm and leg; Molluck ain't cheap! Just joking but, yeah it's just my own self-insert stuff and it would be odd to let people kinda come to 'our bedroom'... Also yeah, I know that Molluck is asexual for a natural reason but maybe he could still enjoy it since for me, it is about sharing and giving love. I just wish to give love to his beautiful body! Frankly, I feel like I'm kinda in a minority when it comes to loving his body like it is... Like I have said earlier, haven't seen anyone like me with this, especially when it comes the way I 'want' him... I have just mainly seen people laughing at his body... Welp, maybe I just got odd taste but he is literally the most beautiful creature I know and drives me crazy... Just no one else has made me feel like this... There was always a feeling like something isn't right but not with Molluck. I only just feel so good with him! Oh, and I'm not talking about real living people here, never had such a relationship.

Oh, and yeah, I have forgotten to say that when I think about my self-insert relationship with Molluck, I feel equal with him, even though yes, he got the moolah, owns the stuff ect... But we could own the stuff together too. The thing is just that there is no boss in our relationship; there are compromises. I just feel true love toward him. I tend to think that he kinda loses his 'boss-self' with me, meaning that he can be vulnerable, show his soft side, and feel free with me. Though yes, he does still have his dominant side but at the same time, he can be submissive and vulnerable, so this is complicated to explain... But yeah, the thing is that we both prefer to be dominant, so it creates a certain dynamic to our relationship. I have also just read that some people who are in a dominant positition, like a leader, like to swap the role in private, so it has inspired me. There is still no need to really explain this stuff but just saying that I have built a complex and deep relationship with Molluck.

It took me some time to build this relationship with Molluck and figure out how I prefer/like him to be, in many ways. But I have always just seen that there's a sweet side of him, even it's barely visible, but he just feels friendly... I don't know if it's just me being like the opposite, again, but he just doesn't give me that 'sinister vibe' I often hear people saying... So yeah, my way to see him is kinda soft but just because he did make me have this image. I have tried to find all the information about Molluck but there ain't much still, so I have done my own part to fill the gaps and try to make this all make sense. I also do feel like he is actually softer now since he is different in New 'n' Tasty than he was in Abe's Oddysee; he doesn't even laugh with the other Gluks anymore when he revealed his Mudokon Pops plan! He just seemed to be happy about that the other Gluks liked his plan. I just bet that it was actually like his last hope to save his business since he did invent the other products first, like his own cigar brand and that Molluck's MouthLube... But I just bet that he did his best but his fate was unfortunate... His Mudokon Pops plan might have been like his last hope, him being desperate. I just love this Gluk so much that I feel genuinely sad for him... I don't wanna pity him and I bet that he doesn't want it either but he just has my sympathy and I don't wish him to get killed... I still laugh at that AO's good ending like every time I see it since I just love that Abe's disgust and shock when he sees naked Molluck! It's really the funniest Oddworld cutscene for me, even at the same time I feel bad for Molluck...

This cutscene is the best reason to play the good ending in AO. (Y) Man, we don't even see Molluck's suit burn in NnT! I mean, it's really a worse version of this, Abe doesn't even sound disgusted there... I have also said this earlier but in NnT, Molluck's voice is awful... Just way too much pitch shift... AO one had more personality there too, and SS Molluck feels more like that AO Molluck still. I love the both Mollucks! Oh, and I would also say that I'm glad that they added a bit pitch shift to SS Molluck's final voice... I heard the trailer one later on and man, it just made me laugh! Though, when he breathes, that pitch shift sounds too artificial... When I have done my Molluck dubs, I also add a bit pitch shift to make it sound more accurate since it's a part of his voice in SS. It's just funny to me that I can imitate him quite accurately... But it's useful too since I can 'make' him say whatever I want for whatever I wanna do! I can say that I use it like every day to entertain myself... Mostly just saying silly things or quoting him...

When I create my Molluck content, I do wish to respect him, handle him with care, even I can also kinda make fun of him... I see that his personality has different shades, like that he can be an angry, bossy jerk but also such a sweet Gluk. He still cannot do much with his body but he is able to give affection, love, and pleasure, even if in a limited way. Yeah, since I did say it out loud back then, him being 'the receiver' only makes sense to me too... I mean, his body ain't really meant for physical acts... But maybe it's just my own preference and the way I see him... I love his body like it is, even it kinda happens that I make him somehow a bit more muscular... It's not my intention but well, I bet that it's not a bad thing. He does still have his arms and... Well, his mouth... Just saying that he is able to do some physical stuff with them!

This already a long ass post but since I mentioned some stuff, I feel like saying that I know some fan stories about humans being in Oddworld and I know that some people don't like humans being therem, so it's a controversial topic. But my reason to imagine myself being in Oddworld is just that I wish to be with Molluck, looking like I do IRL. I have invented my own story like how we ended up together but it's kinda still in development, especially when I just cannot really think of a single reason why anyone would start to love me or get interested in me and so on... Like, I just recently started to feel alright with that if I was an artist in Oddworld and Molluck was one of my customers and something just 'clicked' between us, but he would have also really loved the way I drew/painted/sculpted him, wishing me to be his personal artist. I had another story earlier, mostly because I just couldn't imagine myself doing art in Oddworld due to my self-hatred... That ad I drew recently just inspired me to think about this new version of the story. This version would just make much more sense but I don't really care about thinking of how I ended up in Oddworld in the first place, it's not really important. I only care about my time with Molluck!

Oh, and yes, I don't mind being his 'partner in crime' either! Love is... well, blind since I just feel like I love this Gluk, no matter what he has done. It doesn't give me anything special 'kicks', more like just see that his personality has different sides, and he is a part of the Magog Cartel, so he kinda must act that way. He has grown in that environment, got the Gluk narrative of the things, thinks that he is doing the right things. I understand him and wish to be kind to him since I just feel like there somewhere he is actually a sweet Gluk. I don't know how alone I'm with this but SoulStorm Molluck just gives me 'friendly vibes'... I bet that the fact I see myself in him affects a lot the way I see him. It's just that I associate myself the most with the Gluks... I would be a Glukkon if I was an Oddworld character! (I should redesign my Gluk-sona...) Well, Lorne also associates himself with the Gluks the most, so, heh, I'm not alone with this. Dunno if it's a good thing but Gluks have just won my heart, despite of all the crap they do... Maybe they are just way too adorable to me... Glukkons literally made me be into octopuses too! Oh, and related to this I haven't actually ever really had Molluck as my wallpaper/background... Dunno if it's a surprise but just felt like using the default stuff or octopuses... Though, I found from the files of Steam version of Abe's Oddysee some desktop icons, like the best possible trash can icon, being RuptureFarms meat barrel! Just had to use it after I discovered it by accident. So, if you got that, check out the game files! There's quite interesting sound effects too... Yeah, good stuff! (Fun fact: I got 7 copies of AO... 4 physical and 3 digital. Maybe it's my fave after all, not sure honestly... Maybe it's just my love for Molluck...)

Man, it's time to end this post... I still feel like I have only gotten started with my Molluck stuff. There is still so much to create, so many styles to explore, just so much to do! I don't even really feel like I have a certain style... It feels like I always draw somehow differently... Like, just look how varied my Molluck stuff looks! Welp, life is too short to use only one style! Just joking, I just wish to see Molluck in different styles and put him in different situations! I'm actually quite used to draw with different styles... I personally feel like I got nothing that makes people think that 'Oh, it's drawn by Bosskie/Riki!' if there was no signature nor maybe even Molluck...

I have no idea what kind of style I wish to exactly have, I just draw something in a way I feel like drawing it. I mainly do realism because it's something 'easy'... Just draw what you see and that's it. Though, I do enjoy different drawing styles, like photorealism but also cartoony style, so why only choose one? But like I have said earlier, I have never liked my cartoony style, even the others have... Though, I also like to mix different styles together, so yeah, my way to do art is kinda a mess... Don't really know what I'm doing... But that I'm trying to picture Molluck! But one style I have wished to achieve for years is to draw in a photorealistic way but like it has a filter on it, so stylized realism or something. Can't help that the style I admire the most do is realism...

I cannot really say what I think of my own art but that I feel like I don't really draw well... Just have so much to improve here and there but at least now I do draw actively, after a long time! It's just that whenever I look at how the others draw, I tend to feel I draw worse stuff... But it only makes me push myself harder, maybe even too hard, to improve my stuff, though sometimes, I also feel like I should stop doing art since my stuff just sucks... Well, I only wish to create more Molluck content, no matter how crappy it was. It's just the truth that I tend to feel depressed when I look at my stuff... I often find it that bad... They are rare moments when I can actually say I liked something I drew. This is pretty muchly the reason why I'm also drawing Molluck so much: I'm not often pleased with the result but I just love drawing Molluck. I'm sorry but I could mop the floors with my self-esteem, it's just quite low... Still trying to build it and stay positive, even I can easily think quite harsh things about myself...

Whoa, if you made this far, I really wanna thank you for your time! I hope that my stuff is enjoyable, despite of my mental health issues!

~ Much love to ya! 💛

[allmannerofmalady]

Disgustingly long ramble about Dragon Age, love letter to my Inquisitor and... idk anymore

Ok so apparently, I can become so attached to a game/story that I can develop post-game depression... without even finishing the game?! At my ripe old age??

After 35ish hours in Veilguard, I realized I wasn't happy with how I was feeling, and more superficially, how my Inquisitor turned out and it was breaking all kinds of immersion for me 🤡 I played around with the character creator a bunch and then just closed the game and haven't restarted it since, and that was 4 days ago. I think that says a lot about why I was playing - I was playing to wrap up Inquisition.

I have a thirst to ramble, so a lot of Dragon Age (and a touch of Baldur's Gate 3) talk ahead. Spoilers, I guess?

The things I'm disappointed about with DATV haven't faded with time like I hoped they would. But, I will say that I’m also starting to get very emotional about the Solavellan ending which I was not a fan of when I first saw the spoiler. Whoever posted the flycam footage of the ending on Twitter, thank you!! It soothed my sad little heart.

My feelings aside, I'm happy for people who are fully immersed and enjoying the game, and I was truly hoping to be in that camp immediately :')

DA2 was my first Dragon Age game, and I love the shit out of it and that merry band of misfits. Marianne Hawke, the woman that you are. DA:O is one of my favourite games of all time as well - when I can get it to run because it always crashes on me.

But DA:I, for all its faults, just hit something very personal for me. I have played it for countless hours, been continuously immersed, and I have leaned on it a lot during crappier periods of my life. The things people hated about it (the Hinterlands, fetch quests etc) I found almost... relaxing? Meditative? I used mods to fix banter issues and would just roam, always changing my companions out to get that extra bit of dialogue and lore.

I know it has its issues and the combat annoys a lot of people, I was kind of indifferent about it, but to be fair I always play a Rogue/archer in DA , so I can't speak too deeply about the other classes. Once I discovered guides and videos about the best gear to craft, the best paths for leveling up, my Inquisitor was a beaaaast and I did enjoy the combat, as simplistic as it may be. Again - truly my comfort game.

I replayed DA:I in the months leading up to DATV, with my beloved canon Lavellan Inquisitor, Solas romanced, the whole journey. It was my first DA playthrough after 700+ hours spent in Baldur's Gate 3, and I remember the thrill at having a voiced protag again - for all the stilted moments (it's a feature atp with DA games) my Inquisitor still feels so real to me, especially after playing a voiceless Tav for so long. Yeah, even the infamous "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE" lololol

I just truly fell in love with the character I HC throughout the years, and I really really love the companions. Even the pricklier ones. I loved the intrigue, the politics - whatever, I loved it. Warts and all. The overwhelming lore that I learned piece by piece over 3 games, through codex entries and novels and art books and comics.

The DATV discourse has somehow become even more draining. It's hard to have a genuine discussion when trying to speak above the incessant bile being spewed by bigots who are hating the game blindly and are going out of their way to hurt anyone who enjoyed it, was excited about it, reviewed it - the vitriol is insane. Then came the waves of actual fans loving it, being disappointed, hating it, hating others for loving it, vice versa... and it goes on. Which I guess kind of happens every BioWare release lol but the 10 year gap feels like it's exacerbated everything.

I'm not even going to try and parse through my heartbreak at the dissolution of the Keep, player choices, and what DATV puts forward as happening in Southern Thedas. I have read the discourse, I have heard those who support it - and I just cant pretend to be ok with it. Months before DATV came out, I put together a slideshow of Chantry-level propaganda to convince my BG3 co-op friends to give DA a chance (heheeee) and one of the reasons I hooked them was that CHOICES MATTERED. Your world state mattered, the lore was incredibly rich, it was your story, and was such a key feature of BioWare games that even when other negative feelings might fade, I just don't see myself letting go of that one.

As for the Solavellan side of things... I think that most people who love Solas (myself firmly in that camp) are very attached to the character and the storyline, especially if they chose to romance him. He's just an endlessly fascinating character, and he will forever be iconic to me and part of my video game/fantasy pantheon - romanced or not. The first time I played Trespasser, I was blown away by the magnitude of the revelations, it felt like a Greek myth being played out. The burdened Inquisitor, the hand that led them to glory starting to kill them, the trickster God, once a trusted companion/lover. Euuuuufff I have never gotten over it, and after my, quite frankly, extreme emotional reaction the last few weeks I don't think I ever will.

I don't know if any ending would have filled the gap of the 10 year wait, to be fair. A game full of Solavellan scenes and dialogue would have been bitterly unfair/ridiculous for those who had different stories and relationships in their game. I am pleasantly surprised we got a scene (for a moment there, I was starting to lose hope), but again, I sorely wish it was fleshed out, on par with the Crestwood scene, or the magnificent climax of Trespasser. I think it took the flycam footage and Trick Weeke's Q&A on Bluesky for me to start to see past the disappointment and enjoy the scene for what was (I'm ignoring the Varric in the room and lots of other things rn, thanks for asking).

Everything else - I will try DATV again later and start with a clean slate, and accept that this is the game we got and not the follow up to Inquisition I had always hoped for. I feel like I have to caveat that I recognize that is MY issue, it is not a read on anyone who is enjoying it. My emotional attachments make me biased, not an asshole lol. The cliffhanger of DA:I always made me feel that the story was not over and the stakes were so high - and I'm realizing how much I wanted to continue that chase with the Inquisition to the end. That’s in addition to the end of bringing in player world states, the destruction of Southern Thedas - it’s just all a lot to accept. What was it all for?

All I can say is, as much as I am conflicted- I will always love Dragon Age from the bottom of my heart for giving me this world to play with and escape to. I hope to be back to Thedas once the feelings subside, after the highs and lows of the last 10 years. I would like to wrap up my Lavellan’s story, at the very least.

In the meantime, I have turned to my ~other comfort game of BG3 to finally start a post-Patch 7 run. And it all starts with a very confused and slightly worse for wear Lavellan on a mindflayer ship, with a fade touched left eye and arm somehow intact. (I realize the immense irony of taking a Dragon Age break by playing another game as my DA character but idk what to tell you). She is a Ranger/Wood Elf (see what I did there), with a suspicious bald man in a suit of armour talking to her in her dreams (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?). Anyway, she's probably going to kill a TON of Goblins, try to avoid the charming wizard (mage) hung up on his Goddess ex (!!!) and then climb mount Halsin. Good for her <3

[crescencestudio]

after i noticed the enchanted demo release i did a whole ass lap around the house and when i tell you im so close to biting my table every time the scenes change... THE ATMOSPHERE?? THE ART??? THE ENTIRE THINGYS?!?! i wanna bundle this all up and like,. absorb it, eat it even. I played through it straight, no pause no nothin'. im REPLAYING IT even and trying not to run laps around the rooms here. my brain chemistry has been altered. i saw the divine. i am not the same person i was like 2 hours ago. the love, the skill, the gui, the art, the writing the all of it, it's amazing, divine even. like, i want this painted on my ceiling. like im not joking i want this entire game painted on my ceiling.. i remember playing the very first demo and being FLOORED bc hello??? banger plot banger characters whats not to love (the #gayforkayn from like 2 years ago has a whole section in my heart LMAO). and now the enchanted demo is release, and im still so in love no even more in love with the game. seeing the work being done on alaris has been the one of the highlights throughout the time ive been around, and im so happy for you! so a big congrats to this milestone and all the work that has been done to get here! im writing this in a like half awake moment so dunno how much makes sense and also im sorry if this got long i swear it wasnt like this when i started. i be remembering and writing but the enchanted demo gives me the best shakes someone could get. but seriously, i can feel the love that went into this. my heart and soul are happy, and once again a massive congrats to this milestone and every bit of work done to reach it. the entire demo has so much love poured into it and every little piece of the game just makes me get those good shakes in my heart (if that makes sense). (I also did not mean for this to get a little bit long but, im just so proud and happy for you)

KARMA U R ONE OF THE OGS….. i literally remember u still from like the two years that have passed since the first demo. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO KNOW U LIKE THIS VERSION TOO!!!!

revamping everything has honestly been a crazy and Extremely Tiring experience. i never would’ve imagined two years ago i would’ve been able to replace everything i have. the different vfx (snowblossom my beloved), text effects, assets, and just everything took up so much time to replace. a lot of times i wondered if it was even worth it since the changes felt small. but i rly do feel like seeing the end product now, it feels so different from the og and in a way the demo is a reminder of how far i’ve come on my dev journey compared to the og release 😭

so thankful as always for the ppl (new and old) who have watched over alaris’s development. it means a lot to know the ppl who have played the new demo can see how much work has been put into it and like it 💖 i sometimes get self conscious comparing alaris to intertwine since a lot of new ppl came here bc of intertwine. but its def moments like this that remind me how special alaris is to me just by virtue of it being my OG project. like this is literally my child

SO GLAD U LIKE IT KARMA (and whoever else plays!!) IT FEELS SO CRAZY TO HAVE BEEN ON THIS JOURNEY W U FOR SO LONG!!!’

[alialioxenfreeee]

After 85 hours I've finally finished DA:TV for the first time! And I need somewhere just to throw out my thoughts. Will tag spoilers appropriately of course + will post it under the cut to be safe. SORRY IN ADVANCE, THIS POST IS LONG. I HAVE A *LOT* OF FEELINGS.

So before I yeet all of my emotions into writing I want to immediately say that overall I did enjoy Veilguard, very much, and I don't regret buying/playing it for a second.

The first few quests I remember feeling how happy I was to be back in Thedas and it felt really good. I made an effort before its release to ignore pretty much any discussion, good or bad about veilguard because I didn't want to go in with any swayed expectations. And I think that helped me enjoy the game so much more.

Won't go through everything I liked because this post would be fucking gigantic (and it's already BIG) , but overall the companions were great, loved the quests, the areas were beautiful (Treviso my beloved) and the supporting cast was great too.

Now to the...other bits.

To start I have to mention the development hell this game went through. I remember in the years prior reading how many hands this thing changed, all the Bioware cuts etc and saying "Oh this is never going to release." And the Dragon Age story overall, with all its characters and side plots and backstories, is BIG. And they were NEVER going to fit everything from the past three games into Veilguard. To cover all of the loose ends likely would have needed another half of the game, to at least do it well.

Of course this doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed with the way some things went. How a lot of prior choices weren't carried over and characters were straight up retconned (goodnight Kieran, sweet prince).

But I think the devs needed to make a choice between actually trying to give DA a decent shot at "ending" (I'll get to that) and going back and tying up every loose end from the past 4 games. And there were a LOT of those left in every game prior. I did genuinely think we'd have Fenris maybe mentioned in the Shadow Dragons for example, that he was out there shoving fists through Venatori bodies etc. But they were never going to cater to every single person's wishes in regards to who they brought back. It sucks, but that's how it is.

I also wish, very VERY much that The Warden was at LEAST mentioned somewhere. Even if it's a small cameo. Last we heard they're out (sometimes with their love interest depending on choices) looking for a cure for the Blight. I did like the cameo of the chalice in the Joining, and how it was one of the few things recovered from Weisshaupt. But just some mention, even if it's a letter or a report or something that they're out there would be nice. Maybe they send The Wardens what information they've found and you uncover a very small but slightly better way at defeating the blight. Obvs Hawke had their moment in DA:I and the Inquisitor had their moment here but it would be nice to have a nod of recognition for the one who started this whole thing off.

One last bit before I get to the ending rant but as a lot of people have already pointed out, I do wish that we got just a little more interaction with our Love Interests. Also, not sure if I was just unlucky (I romanced Lucanis, it was...slower than I expected BUT I don't regret it ultimately) but I got FAR more "hang out" mini quests with Taash and Davrin than I did with Lucanis, my LI. I did enjoy those mini quests, but even the ability to share a small moment with them like in Inquisition (a lil' smooch!) would have been nice.

hhh okay the ending.

IT WAS........okay????

We were, admittedly, warned before the game even came out that there would be "sacrifices" and that "not everyone may survive" but...the way that you had to choose between Davrin or Harding to die defending you was harsh. I think they were trying to stress the seriousness and danger of the situation, given that in DA:I for the most part everyone survives fine.

This was (at the time to everyone's knowledge) the LAST DA game, so they had to really up the danger factor. But because of how little time the team had to stop Elgar'nan's plan, there was little to no time to reflect and absorb the losses. The team points this out too, but even after the game ENDS there isn't a chance to run around the Lighthouse one more time and have some aftermath chats. I get that the deaths / kidnappings were used to push Rook forward in a way, to show that they weren't trapped in their Regrets like Solas was, but for me it didn't have the weight that I think it should have.

The Evanuris / Stopping Solas bit I actually didn't mind. I got the "Secret" ending and putting in the time to learn about Solas, to defeating (or convincing) Mythal to help put a good word in etc wasn't a bad way to wrap it up! Maybe because I am one of the few people who isn't a solasmancer lmao, but I was actually okay with how all of that culminated.

I mentioned it prior but GOD I wish we got the chance to at least run around The Lighthouse one last time after it was all done, or just something other than the quick slideshow recap. I quite literally (not kidding here) yelled "THAT WAS IT?" at my screen when I got taken back to the main menu lmao. I have so many questions left yknow? Like, is Neve (The one that got kidnapped / blighted for me) still blighted, or did they figure that out? Her mention in the slideshow doesn't cover it. And although yeah, your team got to have one last moment with you before the final fight, I really wanted to chat with them again after it was over, especially my Love Interest! It would have been cathartic. Rook never really got that moment to finally deal with all this grief and pressure and stress that they'd been carrying and I think it would have "humanized" them a bit if they had such a moment.

And in regards to the "Secret" ending bit...

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh??????? So there's some even MORE secret bad guys who were pulling the strings on all the other antagonists from the past few games?? It's like that meme in the church where there's constantly another shooter aiming at the last one in front of them.

I don't really know how to feel about this. I'm sat here thinking back through all the previous games' antagonists and how apparently it wasn't completely their own will and decision to do what they did, but that they were ALL being secretly guided and influenced? I can SEE (mainly in Veilguard) the tiny little glimmers of foreshadowing. The "Storm" thing the original Qunari ran from, what Anaris was afraid of etc. But they'd already retconned a lot for Veilguard alone and now it feels like a lot of what made the past games great is going to be changed, slightly.

It's far too early to really tell, of course. Bioware have said they're now 100% focused on ME5 (And I am weeping with joy as it's my favourite game series of all time) and ofc they haven't even so much as mentioned a sequel (probably the execs need to see how well Veilguard does and will make a decision based off of that) but...I guess we'll see!

As I mentioned, way, WAY earlier (if you've actually come this far I am so sorry. I just needed somewhere to dump my thoughts. Tysm for actually reading my rambles) that OVERALL I did enjoy DATV. It wasn't a perfect game by any means but I am very thankful for them continuing DA's story, even if it's not completely the way we expected / wanted.

They have mentioned there are zero plans for a DLC but god I think it would help, like a mini Citadel DLC. Catch up with companions and supporting characters, have better scenes with Romantic Interests, give your Rook the moments they deserve to really process and come to terms with everything that's happened. But I guess, there's always fanfics!

Okay that's pretty much it. Sorry again for the giant walls of text, but I needed this lmao. Aaaaand just as I finish this I see that they released an N7 Day Jacket for the game, ffs. Time to replay, I GUESS.

(Not yet though, the FFXIV update is around the corner and I need to deal with THAT, first.)

[sato-sakai]

This February 16 is very special for me, because I am celebrating 20 years since I came into the world and less than a month before the premiere of Kung Fu Panda 4. This is why I wanted to make a blog about Kung Fu Panda, like this great saga. He has been present in my life and how did I meet the TYPE.

To begin with, when the first movie was released I remember being 4 years old.  They bought me a Tigress figure (at that time I didn't know she was a woman xd), a McDonald's figure and a special thermos.  A film that marked my childhood without a doubt, endearing characters, a villain that you come to empathize with, and of course an epic soundtrack.  I never got to see the Furious 5 and Christmas shorts until I was a little older.

For the second one I was already 7 years old, on the birthday of who was my best friend at that time we went to see her.  Like every child that year, she was scared when they showed the images of the panda genocide, but from then on she was enjoyable.  To this day, the scene in which Po seeks inner peace with his past and remembers how his mother sacrificed herself so that he could live continues to give me feelings.  Also, giving us who for me is the best villain of the saga, Lord Shen.  He had the movie in pirated mode and I remember that he played it almost always.  I saw the short film Secrets of the Masters a few years later, an interesting story and it retains the voice actors from the films.

From 2011-2016 I lost interest in the saga.  The Nickeledeon series never hooked me, I saw the shorts a long time after their premiere.  But around 2014 or 2015 was where I met the GUY.  Honestly, at that moment it was something very strange for me that duo, but after several videos and having read a few fanfics, I came to like them a lot.  I had an Xbox 360 Kinect, where we bought the official video game.  However, I never got around to playing it because it was too difficult for me.

Already in the third one, when I was 12 years old, I went to see it with my brother on a classmate's birthday.  Although she wasn't bad, it wasn't what I expected, I feel like they could have improved a lot.  Kai was a decent villain on par with Tai Lung and Shen, but the rhythm and essence of this one felt very childish compared to its predecessors, a point to highlight in this one was the concept of Chi which at that time was new to my.  From this point was where my interest in TYPE began to grow more and became one of my biggest obsessions to this day XD.

At that time I explored and saw many artists who drew this ship.  If I remember correctly, one of the first was from Tigress and Po's children who were a panda and a white tiger named Hana or something like that, back in 2016 it was where I saw @ani-dragmire's drawings for the first time, @masterlan12 and @7oy7iger (although at that time Lan made another ship).  Without a doubt three great cartoonists with whom I have been able to talk on a couple of occasions.

When the Paws of Destiny series came out I had very high expectations (although I didn't have prime video at that time) but I ended up somewhat disappointed by the final result and the absence of the Furious 5.  Although, it has redeeming things such as the 4 constellations (I had already heard of these mythological creatures but in Japanese folklore) and Po's perception of Tigress as a friend and great warrior.  2022 was a heavy year, my entry into university and the news that an upcoming movie about our beloved panda was very close and that it would bring back the 3 previous villains of the saga, I was more than excited.

However, that same year, what for me and a large part of the fandom was released was a great lack of respect for Kung Fu Panda.  The Netflix series, my first mistake was thinking about the return of Jack Black as Po.  I remember that that year was one of the lowest in terms of quality of movies, series, video games and so on.  The idea of ​​getting to know the rest of the world outside of China in the lore of Kung Fu Panda was what blinded me from the nonsense I would see.  Po being clumsy and crouching in front of a hateful and empowered bear.  The worst of all was that I watched all three seasons on Netflix.

By December of last year I saw the first trailer for Kung Fu Panda 4, although it was exciting to see Tai Lung back (probably in a redemption arc) I must say that it was somewhat disappointing not to see the Furious 5.  At the time of writing this I am hoping to see Shen and Kai in a future trailer.

For me, Kung Fu Panda is not a simple saga of movies made for children, it is a saga that shows the evolution of a martial arts fan on the path to being the most legendary warrior in China.  Although it is not the best like the Shrek or How to Train Your Dragon sagas, it is one of the most beloved.  If there is something I admire about Po, it is how despite having a painful past, being rejected at the beginning, perhaps not being what Shifu expects of him.  Po never gives up and always maintains a warm smile and an optimistic attitude, kind of like Peter Parker.  And well, this is all for now, I say goodbye to you.

Note: No spoilers from March onwards.

[stovetoast]

a year ago today, kirby and the forgotten land released worldwide. i didnt have energy for a full drawing, so i wrote a little something under the cut to celebrate.

it feels strange. i still remember all of those months of waiting. theorizing. hoping. discussing. watching failboats reactions over and over. the day it was leaked, i typed KIRBYDISCOVERY into my calculator because i couldnt calm myself down from the news. its all so vivid, as if it happened yesterday, but... no. the game's been out for a year. to say that leaves a smile on my face.

the smile on my face is one of fondness. its been out for a year, and im growing along with it. i was 15, now i turn 17 in almost exactly 3 months. welcome to the new world was new to me, now i know how to pronounce most of the fake lyrics because of how much ive listened to it. i had short hair, now its down to my shoulders. people were unsure about elfilin, now theyre a beloved part of the franchise. i have a kirby hoodie now, my childhood dream. i can stand up for myself more. im growing. forgotten land won best family game of 2022. the start of a new world. the franchise is growing, and ive never been happier with my choice to live for it.

im not exaggerating when i say kirby and the forgotten land is what kept me alive in the months before its release. i was hurting, so badly, but i couldnt die. i didnt want to die. the idea of missing such an important addition to my favorite series, a milestone, a new start... it was torture. i had to keep going. and i still press on, even after i got my final waddle dee. i still press on, because why choose to live for something at all if youre going to take it back when the rest of the world seems to have moved on? i didnt. and i dont think i ever will.

every second of this game is an experience. every waddle dee you save, every note that plays, every hit you squeeze in on a boss. is it a perfect game? no, but it never had to be. i dont want it to be. i dont want a patch. i dont want an update. i dont want dlc. i dont want perfection. i want my unbridled love for this game to be questioned, because whats more human than finding beauty in mistakes? whats the point of singing karaoke with your friends if everyone hits every note? whats the point of skin if every mark is covered? whats the point of a funny exploit if its patched out? i still teach my friends the hammer jump glitch, because why should something like that stay hidden when its brought people joy?

forgotten land, its reception, its story, and the people who were so enthralled by its beauty that they stuck around... it captures the human experience better than any other installment in the franchise. the ties to the lore. the fake language. the music. the world. the way the waddle dees found the resources to build a town and start fresh. the way it was previously left behind, not out of malice, but out of curiosity. in japan, this game is known as kirby of the stars: discovery. the people who made interdimensional travel possible in-universe worked at a place called lab discovera. youre encouraged to explore, to find, to search.

this game is about discovering something new, whether it be something as grand as a reason to live, or as small as a rare stone hidden around the town. thats what life is all about too, isnt it?

yet most that care enough have already reached 100% completion, including me. people arent tagging spoilers anymore. everyone knows who fecto elfilis is. theres no anticipation for why it has a fear warning. its meant to be experienced as if it were new, but... its not anymore. maybe thats why my smile isnt as big as it should be. my mind wants to move on with the rest of the crowd, but i dont want to. i never want to.

i dont know how to close this in a clean way, mostly because i dont want to close it at all. theres so much more i want to say but if i did id be here for hours, so... ill leave you with this: if youre still reading by this point, thank you. if you played this game, thank you. if you voted for it in the game awards, thank you. if you suggested it to a friend, thank you. thank you. thank you. i have never held a game this close to my heart, at least not enough to wrote about it in this way. im overjoyed that hal labs loves their games in the way they do, and hope that they continue to stay this passionate for years to come. do they know we can feel their love? do they know how much theyve done for me? for us? maybe, maybe not.

to anyone involved in forgotten land... thank you. you made me feel human again, even if only for a week, and thats a sort of debt i will never be able to repay.

[jisreal64]

[APRIL FOOLS]: Okay, so I know that I’m a big Marvel fan and all, BUT CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW BAD THIS GAME IS?!?!?!?

I mean, where do I even begin? In case you didn’t know, Marvel, Playstation, and Insomniac recently released a spin-off game from their popular Spider-Man series called Thunderbolts Kill the Avengers. The story is that Ultron has brainwashed the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Spider-Man) into becoming his slaves in an attempt to takeover the world, starting with Jersey City, and as a result, General Ross and Justin Hammer have sent out the Thunderbolts (Screwball, Abomination, Leap-Frog, and Taskmaster) to kill them. And boy howdy does both the story mode and the multiplayer suck. For one, this game is set in the same universe as Insomniac’s beloved Spider-Man series. Not only do we play as the people hired to kill the same version of Spider-Man we all know and love, but this was also Yuri Lowethal’s last performance (which is extremely rude to release the game barely one year after his death) and end up killing him on a f**king park bench as Screwball??? WHY DID ANYONE THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!?!?!?

Why crap on the legacy of Insomniac’s Spider-Man tetralogy? This should have been its own separate thing like that dumb Web Warriors game that was released a while back that people ended up forgetting about. This is by far the worst game in the series, taking the stinker crown away from Spider-Man Origins.

Another thing is that the lineup for the Thunderbolts SUCKED!!! Instead of including TB characters that are heavily associated with the team (like Venom, Ghostrider, the Punisher, Red Hulk and Elektra), we instead get Screwball, Taskmaster (the only one who should be here), Leap-Frog, and f***ing Abomination?!?! WHY IS ABOMINATION HERE?!?! I feel like he was only shoehorned in to capitalize off the popularity of the second TB movie!

The only non-Taskmaster inclusion I like is Leap-Frog because he basically carried the entire damn game because of his humor (like when he had told Ross that Kingpin was escaping and then Ross proceeded to electrocute him).

Secondly, THEY DID THE AVENGERS F***ING DIRTY!!! Why would they show us this universe’s long awaited version of the Avengers only to have us kill them? Not only that, but they did them all so dirty. There was the aforementioned killing of SM, the decision to make Amadeus Cho the Hulk in the game instead of Bruce Banner is just really confusing, Iron Man acted like a total Psychopath (and gave us the infamous “Just mail me the bullet” line), Thor starts out as a good guy before succumbing to Ultron’s brainwashing later on in the game, AND I AM GETTING SICK AND TIRED OF THE EVIL CAPTAIN AMERICA STORIES MADE POPULAR BY CRAP LIKE THE BOYS AND INVENGEANCE!!!

And lastly, WHERE ARE ANT-MAN, HAWKEYE, AND BLACK WIDOW DURING ALL OF THIS?!?!

0/10; worst game of 2024

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

"I miss the artier, experimental older days of Pixar!"

You mean when... They were just a small bunch of computer nerds - including an ex-Disney guy who left during the studio's stagnating years - in the Bay Area making weird and experimental little CG short films? *That* Pixar?

All joking aside, I love the apparent simplicity of the first four shorts made during this era of Pixar. Right after being spun off from Lucasfilm (formerly, they were known as the Graphics Group), right after Steve Jobs bought them for $5 million in early 1986... An era where they were not only playing with the technology, trying to see what computer-generated imagery could achieve in the realm of classic-style character animation and anthropomorphization, but also an era where they were making films that you weren't seeing in mainstream animation at the time.

It's often written that the 1970s and the majority of the 1980s were such a dire time for American animation, and while it was far from perfect, these kinds of quick reductive statements brush over a WHOLE ERA of experimental and underground work that was happening in the background. Where few were noticing it. A body of work that was bubbling under the surface, and it finally came to a boil when it broke into the mainstream, helping make the 2nd Golden Age of Animation the monolith era that it was... A field that early Pixar arguably was once part of, when their work was playing at places like SIGGRAPH and not in front of millions of eyeballs.

Whether it's the use of freeform jazz music in LUXO JR., or the surrealism and melancholy of RED'S DREAM, the kaiju-like juxtaposition of a toy and a baby in TIN TOY, or Bobby McFerrin's accappella in KNICK KNACK, there's something quite offbeat about these early John Lasseter-directed shorts... They're silent, yes, but there's a lyrical quality to them as well, that channel more early Disney than the talky screenplay-driven storytelling of the majority of their feature films.

Heck, one can mount a whole argument that Pixar stomped that all out after signing a feature film deal with The Walt Disney Company in 1991... And that they traded this kind of pseudo-avant garde experimentation for 80-minute Disney movies... Like TOY STORY, like A BUG'S LIFE, etc. etc. They went too mainstream, mannnn.

Of course, I don't think that at all. At least, not in such simplistic terms... But I do feel that there is some kind of truth to that sentiment, though some of the beloved Pixar feature films do - I feel - preserve some that early short film weirdness. At least one short made after the release of TOY STORY, such as 1997's GERI'S GAME, still did this kind of thing. A lot of the post-TOY STORY shorts are more just cute and fun than anything else, sometimes conventionally emotional and personal but in a small bite. SparkShorts kinda kept those weird-era quirks alive, I'd say. But barely.

In other words, whenever very-online people grouse about how Pixar has lost its touch or whatever... Whether it was during the early 2010s (CARS 2-to-MONSTERS U era) or now, I think back to these early shorts... This whole myth that Pixar was some arthouse studio above the rest, when I don't think that was ever true. At least, not with the features. TOY STORY was a blockbuster from the get-go, and the studio hadn't seen a financial failure until 20 years later (THE GOOD DINOSAUR). Some of the films made by their more esteemed directors, the ones that were allowed by leader John Lasseter to do what they wanted, did wear some experimental ideas and themes, yes? That halcyon magical stretch of movies; RATATOUILLE, WALL-E, UP, ya know? But even those movies are still quite conventional at the end of the day. WALL-E, for example, would've truly been an "arthouse"-style movie if it had stayed silent the whole time or if the space stuff was less "save the world". Like, it's very conventional and quite audience-friendly I'd argue. It ain't FANTASIA or BAMBI, that's for sure. I still really love that movie, but you catch my drift, right?

I feel the majority of Pixar's pre-2010s movies came out at a time when critics didn't find much to chew on with other animated movies, "other" animated movies that kids took with them into the future and have turned into cult classics. The likes of TITAN A.E. and ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE and THE ROAD TO EL DORADO and such. So, to them and several online movie "experts", the Pixar movies looked like the gold standard. Or even the only game in town. Which made the reveal that they were a studio just like any other movie production company... Very shocking!

But really, this idea that they were a mesh of arthouse-meets-commercial in the late 2000s, with RATATOUILLE, WALL-E, UP, etc.... And that they threw that all away and started sucking? I think it's bunk. You want "arthouse" Pixar? The early shorts are that.

[phantom-witch]

Phantom's Finished: Persona 5 Royal

Where do I even begin? It's taken 20 days at least to even start writing this. This is one of the most impactful games I've ever played. I've seen the impact on games as a whole this game has made, and this released the same year as BREATH OF THE WILD. The way games have used 2D stylisation especially as part of a limitation has been super inspired since this. This game is a masterpiece despite all its flaws and I'm okay to say that!! I'll split this up into many sections so this will be very long, you have been warned...

Context & Importance:

Before getting into the game itself, I wish to go into the significance of this. I was a closeted Trans girl who had heard of this game from the 2017 game awards, I then looked into it and became obsessed, I watched a whole playthrough of the og Persona 5. I wanted Joker in smash AND GOT THAT! But it took forever for me to have the opportunity to play it on switch. I almost gave up hope until last year in July it happened.

This was basically my most anticipated game of all time, of which had given me comfort alongisde playing Xenoblade 2 and Pyra helping me realise I was a girl. So these two games have very close and personal connections to me. Not only that, my partner and friends got to hear the majority of my reactions to this game whilst I projected a trans girl headcanon onto my beloved Ren Amamiya! (she/her will be the pronouns I use here) That's why this has been so hard to start, how important this is... it's overwhelming!

Final note, I'm not going to shy away from spoilers on both Persona 5 and the Royal content at any point, as it would be hard to discuss a lot otherwise, so SHOO if you don't want that!

Story:

I will be going over my favourite and least favourite parts and then Royals segment on its own!

The Amazing:

Where do I begin? This game has so many amazing moments! The entire build up to Sae's palace, Joker's awakening, Akechi's justice?? That last one I'll save for Akechi's section but gosh this game has so many moments! A favourite is how Futabas palace is really a gamechanger with both Futaba herself but the mystery around everything to do with her mum and how that effects Sojiro and even carries over into his second half of his confidant.

Then there's the whole build-up to Shido and the super close connection he has to Ren, after ruining her life. You feel the personal importance so powerfully as the game has built up connections to him and the main crew so well! Which in my opinion overpowers the obvious "save Japan" element of it in the best way. Once you send the calling card too, you get the coolest reveal ever with a takeover of Japan's network revealing Joker to be alive and it is SUCH a satisfying feeling!

Even the calmer moments of this game are beautiful. Whether it's a lovely dance with Kasumi at the festival, or Maruki's sessions, or the lovely time at the beach! Even in Hawaii when Ann and Ryuji have a lovely bonding moment with you. Simple moments like that make this game the beautiful experience it is...

The Awful:

Before I get into my three main things, I want to cover some minor things.

Firstly I believe that Ann gets way too sexualised throughout the story sadly, especially by Morgana. Furthermore, it feels the balance of the cast is sometimes a little off. Ryuji and Ann suffer this a bit but Yusuke is the worst for this and reduced to a bit of a joke sadly in terms of story. There's also a lot of gender stereotypes pushed for no reason on the cast at times that feels out of place for the rebellious message this game tells.

However, 3 things in this game bug me the most. First off is honestly just... Morgana. I'll get into him a bit later but he is such a hypocrite that when he finally gets negative talk back to him he immediately bails and it causes the games design and structure to awkwardly change focus and takes away partly from Haru's introduction! The one character that didn't need less screentime. Then there's how Ryuji gets treated especially in the out of place beat up scene after Shido's palace. He is literally disabelled despite managing to run so it comes across extrememly abelist having the girls smack him so hard like that. Bad vibes after an incredible moment. Finally, Yaldabaoth. I don't hate this at all for it's moment to moment experience, but my main issue is for a finale it really doesn't connect to our party like the Shido and it doesn't feel like the finale for the characters, moreso the world they're in.

Speaking of...

Royal:

The moment I started this part of the game, the eeriness was immediate... everything was wrong, completely incorrect. Morgana was a human, Makoto, Haru and Futaba had their parents still alive whilst Ann still had Shiho. And then Akechi arrives, fully aware of everything going on. With Kasumi's support after some sweet moments with her, they enter the palace they had encountered during Okumura's arc and the atmosphere is potent. Maruki shows a wish to help the world be better for everyone by creating a reality fit for them. But it's all artifical, fake, a lack of choice. Due to this pursuit, Kasumi is forced to learn of her true identity of Sumire, as her sister who is actually Kasumi is dead. Learning of the dancing sisters and how Sumire felt so low of herself and behind Kasumi, we also learn Sumire was saved from a car by Kasumi, causing a massive trauma and survivors guilt in her. Maruki altered her reality to make her think of herself as Kasumi.

This is how far Maruki is gone, to the point Akechi was even brought back to life due to the bond he and Ren share. The reason this is so much better than Yaldabaoth is because it's about every party member choosing freedom over a fake happiness. As what is living if you don't get to choose for yourself? This whole game happened due to this groups choices and will. Allowing Maruki's reality goes against everything they've gone through and being ignorant again. This new semester allows us to see more of Akechi shine, Sumire become her true self, Ren show her resolve and the phantom thieves stick to their truth. Whilst having an antagonist that is deeply connected to the main group. I'll go into Maruki himself later but wow, this third semester concludes the themes of the games perfectly with an ending that had me going "no, don't go..." because i grew in love with this group of teens so much. An amazing story with a lot of lovely moments and some hiccups.

Characters:

Here I'll be going over the party members, villains and any other's of note! To start with...

Ren Amamiya (Rin Rivamiya for my playthrough):

Never have I seen a protagonist designed with minimal lines to be so well characterised! She is such a lovable dork and I love her so much. Constantly trying to be cool and IS cool as a Phantom Thief, constantly expressing herself through the prompt options beautifully.

As stated, I projected onto her a lot whilst also seeing her as her own character as a trans girl who helped me a lot with my gender identity when I originally discovered Persona 5 in 2018. Ren makes this games personality and charm all by herself whilst everything around her compliments the charm she brings. I admit that I headcanon a lot but overall she is handled very well still! However, there are some questionable lines sometimes given this is adult men trying to write a teen boy poorly. But, this is a given with Persona sadly, and I'm willing to look past this for my own enjoyment.

With an amazing dynamic with most characters and beautiful climax to her ideals with every phase of the true final boss of Maruki... what a beautiful character I found such huge comfort in and glad how popular she now is.

Her Persona, "Arsene", is a beautiful representation of her will, strength and rebellious spirit. Arsene represents Joker's energy and the pallet and visual design of Persona 5 as a whole perfectly

Ryuji Sakamoto:

I already covered the poor moment for Ryuji earlier, but I feel this game doesn't take him seriously at all and that is such a shame. Morgana belittles him and that is never taken seriously, having his self-esteem constantly put down by another party member and sometimes treated as a joke despite having some lovely moments!

That isn't his fault though, and instead the short comings of the writers. This boy is loud, passionate and has one of the biggest hearts ever! If he makes a mistake, he tries to learn from it. A brilliant example is how after Okumura's palace he realises how he lost his resolve and sincerity for a while, too focused on the fame over helping those in need. Once he realises, he talks a lot about this mistake and genuinely grows massively from it.

We get to see how he looks out for others often in both the main story and his Confidant, alongside how he manages to get by with his injury and supporting his mom. I feel they balance his involvement out pretty well throughout the whole game.

Ann Takamaki:

Ann has to be the girl that gets treated the worst by this game, and that's such a shame! Funny how I'm formatting the images as I feel one of the biggest issues is how they designed her Phantom Thief outfit. It's super sexy which is exactly what Ann isn't comfortable in, to the point she expresses discomfort! That sucks and I think the design is actually quite poor and even fails at the catwomen inspiration.

Sadly she also gets quite dumbed down as the game progresses and her role is extremely non-existent for a while with a few high moments. This infuriates me as it is one of the rarer moments of hypocrisy this game goes for with a character that could have been much more empowering for young women.

Despite all this, I still adore the positivity and vibe she brings to the group, she absolutely is the one to lift people's spirits whilst being the very extroverted one in the group to help support those more reserved or introverted and especially has a lovely dynamic with the other girls and Ryuji, helping them all to express themselves wonderfully with a Confidant that slips a little as I wish it went over her growing stronger for Shiho and helping her to recover but instead is about an infuriating model. I love Ann but it's so weird how much problems this games has for me with how she is handled, which is very comparable to Rise who is another Lovers arcana in Persona 4.

Morgana:

*sigh* This is the can of worms character. Persona has a tendency to take their talking mascot designs and write them in the weirdest ways possible. Teddy in P4 was unnecessarily creepy and with Morgana they went, what if it wasn't as bad... but still a thing. Especially when it comes to Ann it really infuriates me how infatuated this cat is with this teenage girl and constantly calls her "Lady Ann" in a very flirtatious way. It sucks!

The thing is, he has moments of a good character shining through with his dynamic with Ren, and in the end of the base game with how he is a metaphor for people's hopes genuinely got me emotional! To the point it makes me so wish he was written differently.

Then there's... the Okumura Arc. Morgana loses his mind with the group because of his own insecurities and gets mad at a single time Ryuji belittles him. Which, would be understandable if Morgana hadn't been doing this to Ryuji for literally the entire game. He is one of the most hypocritical JRPG party members I've ever seen as someone whose favourite genre is this JRPG's. Plus he takes away from Haru's introduction in that arc which is such a shame as despite that Morgana and Haru have a lovely dynamic!

Yusuke Kitagawa:

Yusuke very much reminds me a lot of myself in many ways. He is extremely autistic coded with how his mindset is very unique and has an wonderful art focus. Even his Confidant is a wonderful showcase of him rediscovering his love for art beyond the Madarame Arc.

Speaking of, he is so heavily focused on in that arc and it is so beautiful how that arc handles him! Going over how he was manipulated and abused without even realising and how he learns and accepts this fact, whilst finding reconciliation with his late mother and the art she made to represent her love for him. It is very wonderful seeing his recovery from everything he went through and learning to recover.

However, as the game progresses, his involvment slowly dwindles more and more to the point he is more the comedic relief character and I heavily dislike that. I like the comedic moments but I wish he got more serious moments in the main story as I feel there's multiple missed opportunities with him. That being said, Yusuke grows a lovely dynamic with Futaba in such a lovely way that contrasts each other wonderfully! It made me smile whenever they interacted.

Makoto Niijima:

If I had originally played the original release of Persona 5 and not started with Royal, Makoto would have been my favourite character. Originally I didn't really understand the hype around her, but she has now become one of my favourites right next to Ren and two others I'll get to soon.

Makoto is really inspiring to me, she is very intelligent whilst still having sincere flaws or shortcomings (for example her social anxiety and struggle to connect with others). Her Confidant is about her overcoming some of these flaws as a genuine way to help her newly made friend whilst trying to feel more in touch with her peers. Not only that, she is an active member consistently playing a role in the story whilst having a nice contrast with her sister Sae Niijima whilst complimenting her too. In fact when the Sae Arc happens she gains an even more active role again which is awesome! My only criticism is that she seems to be portrayed strong and I feel they could have leaned into that with her building up her muscles past the game as her being strong in the real world would've been amazing (and I would've crushed hard over that in Strikers given she's a young adult now)

none of this has even gone into when she's introduced! Which smartly ties to everything that happened with her father to do with crime lords and how people around her that are old adults pressuring her instead of doing the work themselves to the point she snaps completely after the Phantom Thieves help her out and she decides to join for her own truth. Accompanied by an amazing Persona design with some very unique animations! She is very much a highlight of the original game for sure.

Futaba Sakura:

Whilst I clicked more with Makoto, I believe Futaba is the best written party member of the base game by a mile. She is full of personality that shines so bright, funny and they know how to be serious with her character beautifully.

Futaba has one of my favourite palaces in the game because like Sae and Maruki, it isn't an inherently evil person and more someone struggling a lot with their mindset on reality. Futaba's arc heavily focuses on this and how she copes with the survivors guilt towards her late mother, Wakaba. We learn how much adult's victimised her as the reason Wakaba was driven to her death to the point it caused genuine hallucinations. This isn't the kind of trauma that can heal after her treasure is stolen instantly. Sure, it's a huge help to her recovery but we see how after they take a lot of time with her as a group to help her be more comfortable and allowing herself to manage more overtime

This carries over into her Confidant where her sister (yes I said sister as that is very much the INTENDED dynamic don't be weird) Ren helps her to further her recovery, by supporting Futaba's checklist. This is the one Confidant I'm really upset I didn't finish as I adored her! Her dynamic with the group is funny, has amazing battle lines and has amazing use story wise which is shown off and contextualised super well! She is probably right behind Makoto for my favourites and any Persona game without her genuinely feels it is missing something.

Haru Okumura:

This is one of the characters heavily effected by the extra time in Royal. I've already covered how Morgana completely overshadows a good chunk of her introduction compared to how every other party member prior gets proper spotlight. But the reason it's so bad here is because she's the last standard party member in the base game so gets even less time than already due to Morgana overshadowing her arc.

However, not all is lost! As what is there is amazing, alongside a wonderful character design and lovely performance by Xanthe (love all her work). We get to see how she accepts and stands up to her father for her beliefs and how her family legacy is important to her over being rich. She is very sweet but deadly as she shows a more brutal side under that sweet tone. It's used for both endearing/comedic moments as well as a way for her to be more powerful in moments.

Her Confidant is fantastic as it goes through both the grief of her father dying in one of the rawest moments of the game but also her having to run the company he left despite only being 18. For the grief, she didn't even get to hear her father apologise for everything he'd done. Every other chapter allows for reconciliation except for this one and it hits so heavily. Haru has to continue on with that whilst learning to manage to support a company and it makes her one of the strongest characters mentally in this game. Furthermore, she learns and gains her goal for her future to go back to her family roots with her own personal homemade café and is able to be supported about that. I adore what we do get and how she's able to shine in Royal a lot better!

Goro Akechi:

Goro

Akechi...

One of the best characters of this game. He gets a lot in Royal but let us start with the base game content for him. Akechi is one of those twist villains that the twist isn't that he's a villain, but instead the how and the why. I find that is always more interesting when that is the focus on a mystery over "who?" He is established pretty early on as an opposing force to the Phantom Thieves ideals, of which builds him up throughout the game as a striving Detective that's also investigating the Phantom Thieves.

However, one Royal I can't save for later is his entirely new Confidant. It establishes his rival dynamic with Ren so well in a very positive way compared to how it develops later on to be more of a serious rivalry in the latter of the game. He almost lures the group in perfectly if it wasn't for a single slip up of him overhearing Morgana speak, to which it causes the best comeback and moment in the whole game. Akechi's jealousy shows so strongly whilst he wants an opportunity to get to his father to get his revenge. It gets to the point he is so determined to prove himself to Ren and the Phantom Thieves, only to see his true self with how aggressive and insane he is. Akechi's true self is amazing to see as we get an amazing design with amazing Persona and one of the best boss fights in the game. Combine this with a beautiful performance of how desperate he is to prove himself, to the point he is killed by himself, leaving Ren devastated. Akechi shines in vanilla and the new Confidant establishes his relationship with Joker adds so much to Akechi's build up to his highest moments, like when he kills Joker (technically) all in the name of his own Justice. Already a top 5 character here alone!

And then there's the entire new third semester in Royal. Suddenly appearing as not dead taking Ren's place to turn himself in. As mentioned, Akechi is brought back to life by Maruki through his new reality. Akechi being a smart detective is able to put the pieces together and learn this himself. One thing about Akechi that I really enjoyed is how he always sticks to his own beliefs, to the point he would rather stay dead over be brought back to life just to live some reality he never earnt. Stopping Maruki with Ren, fully aware of what will happen to him as we see him fully shine as a party member fully unhinged. No niceties, no compassion, just a fully blunt ready to get the job done man without having a façade to the world. Robbie Daymond does a fantastic job with him, as we hear such conviction to every line he delivers as Akechi is consistently firm about his beliefs. That's the brutal reality, Akechi was always meant to die and he knows it. Ren was the one that couldn't accept this as we see Akechi fighting for free will and the justice he chooses.

A character that was amazing goes to being one of the best in this game, literally in the top 3 of this game easily with how amazingly handled he is.

Kasumi & Sumire Yoshizawa:

Let's get the main thing out of the way, she is my favourite character of this game! I adore her and how she develops over the course of this game, especially as the main new character to this version of the game!

She's introduced in the prologue as someone you know in Sae's Palace, meaning you get a tease that she will be able to go through palaces by that point of the game. From a time perspective, the actual first time you meet is middle of Kamoshida's Arc where during a trip to school you see an act of kindness from her rudely interrupted by a man. She is clearly shocked but doesn't wish to cause a scene, establishing her kind yet non-confrontational as Ren tries to help her. It's not until Madarame Arc onwards she is more prominent role with interactions with Ren, most notably when they properly meet and introduce themselves to each other on a school activity. It even kicks off their Confidant alongside more interactions over the main story!

Her Confidant is only 5 levels long and it goes into her feeling a level of control with her body as she's growing and changing, whilst supporting her family and dead sister, Sumire. It's a lovely and super endearing Confidant where Ren feels equal in terms of the support given in return where her feelings are also considered and I love that! Kasumi really cares for Ren and vice versa which creates such a strong dynamic between these two that is very balanced. We then learn that Akechi and her know of each other and we have an interaction with Ren and those two where she proposes a wonderful opinion about how she really respects what the Phantom Thieves do but also believes people need to help themselves too as that won't last for society if people stop trying to change themselves. It shows a very open minded angle to her and how she's extremely intelligent by having a more nuanced answer for a serious topic in the world of these characters and I really like that, it considers how some might need that help whilst others are over-relying on it.

We get so many lovely moments, ranging from a beautiful dance with Ren smoothly dancing, to her saying Aloha in Hawaii with a cute gesture. We even discover this unknown palace with her, of which she learns of the Metaverse and Persona users. Even awakening to her Persona after showing such will power to fight for herself instead of relying too much on Ren, like she said about the Phantom Thieves! However, that's all we really see for the most part, outside of further lovely moments the game gives us. They intentionally make the awakening feel cool and yet, overall off and different in comparison to the other Party member's awakenings (more on that in a bit). I find a lot of queer-coded elements within Kasumi, in how her struggles of her own bodies feels akin to puberty, especially with a teenage trans girl and I felt very close to that alongside her charisma, self-doubt and struggles. I was like, "yeah I kin Kasumi so much I love her! She's just like me!"

Ah... oh Riley of 2022 how unprepared you were you innocent girl...

Cut to the new Third Semester to Royal, as the whole reality shift happens. The only suspicious people are Ren, Akechi & Kasumi going into the palace where she awakened to her Persona. The further in, the more suspicious I and the trio got that something was up with her, as manifestations of her memories start to show up with weird inconsistencies. Even seeing her get called by her memory as Sumire? Overtime they end up meeting the host of this palace, Dr. Maruki, only to reveal that Kasumi really is dead. The girl with us has been her younger sister all along, Sumire.

Sumire was Kasumi's younger sister, always feeling in her older sisters shadow and struggled to keep a smile on herself or even see her own worth. Because of this, there was an accident where Sumire stormed off after not being able to cope anymore with how low she feels. Kasumi rushes after she tries to call out for Sumire about an approaching car. Too lost in her head, she doesn't hear Kasumi as she is pushed away by Kasumi, saving her but crashing into her older sister. Sumire blames herself for all of this, she feels so low about her self and worth that not only does this all happen but she has such survivors-guilt too. Getting to the point she see's herself as Kasumi partly due to Maruki's influence. Upon remembering this she goes into a downward spiral of guilt and denial, begging to be Kasumi still as the Phantom Thieves (+Akechi) fight her Persona and then herself, rescuing her and escaping the palace as best they can. Recovering and sleeping from mental and physical exhaustion, Sumire wakes up at Leblanc whilst deeply apologising to them all for her actions, whilst thinking hard about how to move on with her life back as Sumire. With support of Ren and the thieves, she is determined to live for her sister since she would have wanted that, unlocking the second half of her Confidant finally.

Sumire is shown to be much shyer, keeping to herself and over-apologising much more compared to when she thought of herself as Kasumi. Exploring how as a dancer and gymnast she finds her own style instead of trying to copy what people liked about Kasumi, with a lovely tutor who is stern yet supportive of her growing. This Confidant highlights how living for someone else isn't really living, you need to live for yourself and I really like this for Sumire. The clear depression and anxiety she has due to how she's been made to feel by society and herself really hits close to home and I relate very hard to her journey, especially when I was her age. Grief and guilt have plagued her for ages, and the death of her sister was only a year ago. Her Confidant ends beautifully with her talking about how much Ren's support has meant to her, with her confessing to Ren as the trans lesbian flirts awkwardly back (love you Ren) at her new partner! Only for Sumire to finally perform her own dance instead of a copy of her older sister. Her tutor even notices this, commending her and being absolutely proud. Traits seen when she was presenting as Kasumi can still be seen as her own personality traits when she's more confident, and how they're easily brought out from additional support due to how little confidence she has. Speaking of "presenting as Kasumi", it's very trans-coded with how one experiences their own self-acceptance of their gender identity. It's easy to say "I wish I was cisgender" instead of embracing the you here and learning to support yourself on your journey.

I only have three criticisms of Sumire's handling. Firstly, I find her reclaiming the ponytail hairstyle for herself as a memory of her sister to be poorly contextualised in the game and feels extremely abrupt compared to everything else with her writing. It feels like they didn't want to commit to her new design in the endgame moments and reversed the design near the end. Secondly, I never got to experience her Showtime due to how easy to miss as the only one you don't get naturally through story. This sucks as it was the one I was looking forward to the most! Finally there is me being so selfish, I wanted her as a party member sooner. I love how she becomes apart of the group naturally but I love her so much I wish I got to use her outside of the last Palace in the whole game.

That being said, I think the length of this segment is a testament to how Sumire is my favourite character in this game, if not one of my all time favourite characters. They did a fantastic job with how they naturally integrated her to the plot of the game, with a beautiful job and range from Laura Post alongside the animators at P Animation Studio, perfectly representing the theme of will power and overcoming hurdles in your life with precise execution.

Sumire Yoshizawa, thank you for bringing me such joy and tears to my eyes 💙

The Villains & Antagonists:

If there's one thing Persona 5 doesn’t lack, it’s antagonists and villains! Every arc has one and they vary in quality, so let’s go over the more simple villains from the first half of the game…

By simplistic, I mean that they are easy to explain and define in how they are portrayed. For example, Kamoshida who starts the game off beautifully with an utterly detestable character praying on minors abusing a power of authority that very much happens in real life. He kicks this game off strongly with a simple yet powerful force for our first Palace. My only issue is Atlus’ hypocrisy with how underage girls in their games, including this one, are treated. Ann especially is treated with sexualisation, which is awful given she was the main victim of Kamoshida. That’s less a criticism of him and more the writers when handling other things in comparison. Next is Madarame, who has a really good aesthetic and boss design. His design for him and Palace are stunning, which is where my huge praise ends. I love this chapter a lot, but Madarame doesn’t have much to him than “the one that stole the Sayuri” as there isn’t much else to him? I can’t separate him from Yusuke whatsoever and it feels like there’s nothing else to him. That being said, he’s still enjoyable, just doesn’t come close to Kamoshida. Kaneshiro has to be the most “this isn’t about him” moments in a game, as it really isn’t. You don’t see him for long at all and yet I like that choice due to him being a crime lord. I find it akin to how Dr. Seuss in “The Lorax” book doesn’t show the face of “The Onceler”, AKA the metaphor of capitalism as to not humanise them. Here I felt similar intent behind Kaneshiro, however he is still an extremely simple villain. His arc is more for Makoto’s character than it is for him, whilst properly establishing the threat of another Persona user. A fun boss and fun palace still give him a leg up though! Lastly is Shadow Wakaba, who is a weird one given the villain here isn’t the Palace holder. Instead it’s Futaba’s visualisation of her mother after so many adults tormented her for Wakaba’s death. Of course this girl would become distorted in how she perceives her mother due to this! Not much else to say since a good chunk of it is covered in Futaba’s part.

Then we get to the nuanced villains, those with more depth either in motivation, or how they connect to the grander story. First up is Okumura, who is a bit of a tricky one to discuss without going into game design and barely linked story content within the same arc. Morgana’s whole fallout not only affects Haru but Okumura as well, giving a bitter feeling throughout that arc whilst allowing less time to develop. That being said, Okumura is a character who clearly started off with good intentions and lost his way and I really enjoy that about him. He is detestable and yet we understand why Haru loves the father she once knew. Only making it more tragic when he is eventually killed and not given the chance to reconcile with his daughter as a changed man. I would love him if not for the association with the worst boss in the whole game, if not any RPG I’ve played. Strong base, weak executions around it with some bad association around it. Next, here comes our first antagonist that isn’t a villain: Sae Nijima. Sister to Makoto, she is actively after the Phantom Thieves to the point of such desperation that it makes her lose sight of her own justice. She’s gone through a lot with Makoto, losing both parents and having to raise Makoto at a pretty young age and trying to get by in the prosecutor department as a woman proves to be difficult due to gender norms in society. This has a heavy impact on her mental health as she is pushed by higher ups, of which are secretly using her, to the point she resorts to scummy and unjust methods. A character so desperate to catch a group of thieves to the point of seeing herself as a protagonist of this story, falling into the trap of those controlling everything. However, she isn’t the true antagonist of this arc and instead built up as the reason the Phantom Thieves survive. Ideals challenged and thinking about her own justice and faith once more. Akechi I’ve gone over but his father, Shido, actually has a little to say. Whilst being nuanced, it’s different to Sae for me, in that the depth comes from around him and not from him. To elaborate, he is overall a very simplistic villain in that very enjoyable way that’s almost theatrical, but is also behind all the wrongdoings the characters have experienced. Ren got put under probation due to him, Makoto had to see her sister go through hell and back because of him, Futaba and Sojiro lost Wakaba due to him, and Haru lost her father. Even Akechi, someone working for him, was so heavily affected all his life to the point of madness and how his true self is revealed to be. Shido feels personal, a fight the Phantom Thieves have been so prepared to finally face and save the world from him. However, they allow a level of selfishness, by also having motivation on avenging everyone’s pain, especially Ren’s. I love Shido because of this huge personal connection with a powerful presence, making for an exceptional villain. 

Along come the last two, Yaldabaoth and Maruki. Yaldabaoth is the final boss of the original release of Persona 5, and I have to be honest, despite the really cool set piece and moment I don’t care much for this and as the final boss think it is extremely weak as it barely ties to our main party with the exception of Ren sort of. Cool boss gameplay wise, super weak story wise. With that brief mention out the way, it’s on to Dr. Maruki from the Persona 5 Royal content of the game. Like I said at the beginning of this review, Maruki is the complete opposite here, as Maruki actively connects to our main cast consistently throughout the game. This is especially the case with Ren as she helps Maruki learn to research the heart of the mind, eventually bonding overtime as his paper gets completed. He also acts as a councillor that the students talk to, therefore allowing us to see the main cast talk about what they’re going through and struggling with. Maruki has such sweet goals, to help the world be a place where pain shouldn’t have to be felt anymore. He had gone through so much himself and seen so many people affected by reality that his will became so strong to the point he was able to alter reality. Therefore, his goal became to change the whole of reality to help people for the better… but the game brings to question if that really is a good thing? And the Phantom Thieves oppose this as free will is more important. I loved this as it ties the overall themes and motifs of the game with rebellion, freedom and individuality. Despite that, Maruki’s intentions come from such a pure heart of a man wanting to help, to the point of trying to be reality’s therapist. Ending with an amazing 3-stage boss sequence and amazing voice acting from the late Billy Kametz (rest in peace and lots of love Billy) and concluding the game masterfully and becoming one of my new all-time favourite antagonists. 

Others of Note: 

Here are the noteworthy thoughts on side characters go! Sojiro is probably my favourite confidant in this game, as he plays such a pivotal role to the found family of Ren with how the injustice she goes through is shown a shift of mentality. He grows to care a lot and show his softer caring side with Futaba and Ren, even their friends by supporting their cares and needs. Furthermore, he grows to regain his sense of justice and it’s such an amazing character growth! On the flip side there’s Mishima, who sucks due to the very incel characterisation he gets that makes him unbearable alongside his constant attempt to insert himself as your friend. It was annoying and I could not stand him. Takemi and Hifumi on the other hand each have a really well done support that I enjoyed a lot. Without going into loads of detail they both go into hardships these women face in their respective industries and it does an amazing job going into the kind of people that wish to hurt them. Yoshida was a fun one despite me struggling to listen to politics so directly (can you blame me as a trans woman in 2023?) but he clearly cared a lot. Kawakami sucks, there's no explaining it. It's gross and hypocritical, moving on. Justine and Caroline/Lavenza are a delight throughout comedically and thematically. The only thing I’ll mention is how forgettable the others felt either due to their intro or their overall support. 

Gameplay:

This is a game after all! However, this game has two very contrasting sides to it, so let's get into both

Social Life: 

Persona as a series likes to have two sides to itself, one of them being the social side. This sees Ren experiencing activities you can do throughout the game in a limited time. This can range from hanging out with other characters, studying, working at a part time job and so much more. The best part about this is how it has a consistent loop for rewarding each other for how they help your journey. Furthermore, they beautifully help with the “Thief Life” I’ll go into more detail soon. But you can get health items, weapons and gear and even abilities in the social side of the game that help for the thieves side! Limiting the time really makes you think about how to approach your stats and activities in what you need (i.e. money, social stats, abilities). Royal adds to this by having additional requirements to unlock the third semester. Speaking of, that allows for some final confidant interactions you wouldn’t get otherwise! Surprisingly enjoyable for what’s the most down time of the game compared to…

Thief Life:

The more typical RPG side of the game, but don’t let that make you think it’s traditional. This is what in my opinion is the peak modernisation of turn-based RPGs, as it enhances and adds to the turn-based formula to such an extreme that it may be my favourite turn-based combat of any game. There’s your basic attack, your gun with limited ammo per fight, guard, item and then Persona. Persona is the most in depth option out of all of them, of which where that character uses their will and inner self to cast magic attacks, physical or gun attacks and even buffs and heal. These all use your Spirit Points, with the exception of physical attacks using Health Points, and each element can have their own effectiveness depending on the enemy you’re fighting. If you expose their weakness, the game awards you with another turn in which you can act again or pass to a teammate and give them a stat buff. This allows for a learning of knowledge in the game and a chain of attacks that reward your knowledge. If every enemy is knocked down, you can do an All Out Attack for high damage and even quickly finishing a fight. This helps a lot with this games pacing for me as you can really quickly finish fights if you know what you’re doing and the game helps nudge a little to help you with that. 

With a decently varied party you can choose between different playstyles that each play into different roles. Ren has multiple Personas too! Allowing for her to customise her options throughout the game through the fusion or interrogate system. This is where you either fuse personas together to make a new one with some attacks from the previous two or bargain with a shadow you knocked down to recruit them as a persona in your selection. Shin Megami Tensei, Persona’s older brother series, has had this for a while and it really works with how they added it within the unique elements of Persona and especially Persona 5 Royal. 

Last but not least is the dungeons, aka Palaces. A Palace is a world with its own unique setting and aesthetic based on the boss of the place in the Metaverse, and that current arcs focused antagonists at that point in the story. These dungeons are all blooming with fun aesthetics, set pieces and level design that all vary in quality. Maruki, Sae and Shido had especially fantastic palaces with Okumura hitting more of a low point even gameplay wise. In Royal specifically, they added these 3 part collectibles called Will Seeds. Exploring rewards you for looking through every nook and cranny of a palace with these and getting all 3 in each palace grants you a huge reward. Bosses are overall good and play to the game's gameplay strengths mostly. Okumura again being the worst case for this whilst others range from pretty neat to some of my favourite fights in gaming. Royal’s final boss uses every mechanic beautifully as it is required to manage it, which Okumura’s boss tries to do but in a way that is much more draining and limits options too much. Instead there is many different approaches that beautifully use every system you’ve learnt the last 100 or so hours and can learn and manage in the way you have learnt to manage. With that there’s one last thing to mention, Mementos. This is a large palace that is a randomly generated dungeon that you can get deeper in throughout the story, sound fun and replayable right? Sadly, the layouts are so simple and repetitive that I found this to be pretty boring and would only do it when I needed to shut my brain off. I get Persona has always hand randomly generated dungeons but to me it’s clearly not working when the layout is so flat and repetitive without much to even do outside fighting.

Art: 

Art is important to any medium, and it couldn't be any more true for this game too. There's a reason this game has stood out so much...

Music: 

I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear this, but Persona 5 Royal has absolutely amazing music. Its use of Synthesiser as the main instrument adds such a smooth yet eerily unique approach to any part of the OST it touches, alongside the piano, violin, jazz instruments and so much more. Shoji Meguro perfectly encapsulates the phantom thieves and how they feel at every turn. Busy daytime? ‘Tokyo Daylight’ constant change of notes represents the mass amount of different people you’re passing by in central Tokyo each day. ‘Is it Boring’ accompanies anytime you’re in school with a long repetition of bars whilst also moments of tensity to show the mundane yet unfocused side of life you have to manage whilst being a thief. However, this OST wouldn’t have the strong identity it is known to have if it isn’t for the singer of any track with lyrics: Lyn Inaizumi. She sings every track with such power and yet grace and confidence that it is a match made in heaven for the themes of this game. The songs show her vocal range beautifully with the slow, tranquil ‘Beneath the Mask’ or the intense, determined ‘Life Will Change’. Persona 5 Royal’s OST is so cohesive and yet so varied that it never loses itself and that is beautiful. My favourite OST of all time.

Art Direction:

As already stated, the Palaces have beautiful varied aesthetics that keep most of them visually interesting. This applies to Tokyo as well, with the advertisements of the subway popping out at you left right and centre, or the town centre bustling with lights. Whilst not perfect, I would say it does what it sets out to do within the budget Persona 5 originally had amazingly and uses these limitations to its advantage. Speaking of, the menus and UI of this game show that in full force. Everything has a red, black and white colour scheme with minor colours accenting from time to time. The use of silhouetting and sharp poses whenever you select a menu option to cleanly transition is eye candy alongside the distorted look of where you’re selected on clearly catching your eye within the stylised font. Even in battles this applies, as the options you have look to come off the character themselves, even with a silhouette of them layered behind their model for additional flare. Additionally, the UI is made clear where every button is as the options are displayed like a controller layout perfectly. Ingenious! Finally there’s All-Out Attacks, which have a barrage of attacks in a cartoonish but powerful manner of black on red visuals. If this kills the enemy, the character that triggered it will come in to do a custom animation into a key pose, where it snaps to artwork of the pose perfectly in time. You are rewarded for playing with visual flare and it does all this within its own limitations perfectly. Innovating on what the industry hasn’t tried to this extreme yet due to a limitation of their team.

Character Design:

The majority of significant characters in this game have a massive variety to them. Even with the main party they come with two main designs. With their school uniforms, each of them have very intentional subtle touches that make them instantly recognisable. Ann’s hoodie, Ryuji’s T-Shirt, Haru’s jumper all show different traits and key elements alongside other key features like hairstyle, hair colour, expressions and much more. With their thief design, we get to see a lot of their personality shine even further. Ren gets to present as cool in an unapologetic way and she comes with a traditional mask worn in the 1900s. Makoto shows her powerful side and even the surprising strength she has, even if I wish she was a little more toned in her design. Yusuke and his traditional art fits the traditional Samurai, Futaba fitting with a more Sci-Fi tech outfit, Sumire having elements of dancer gear whilst also a clear conflict within her own outfit, reflecting off of Ren partly as we learn that’s her coping mechanism. There’s one that isn’t so good though, Ann. She sadly is given a very Catwoman-esque skintight suit, which she herself is uncomfortable in and is sexualised in too. My main issue is how this goes completely against her arc and the message of the general arc of the first game. Owning one's sexuality does not mean being sexualised and should’ve gone for another angle, like her fashionista or model side.

Morgana in both forms is very strong character design, going for a black and white approach akin to mascot characters of the rubberhose era with yellow and blue to make the collar/bandana and eyes stand out as contrasting colours. Every social link design does really well with variety of age, body types and features. From Sojiro’s curved beard to Yoshida’s broader body type. My only criticism is actually body types, despite just praising them, as that tends to apply more to the men than the women and older features aren’t used much if at all to make them more appealing. I want older looking women in games! 

Finally, the Antagonists and their shadow designs. Each represents their main theme perfectly, from Kamoshida’s almost naked body to Kaneshiro’s bug look like a fly to a light as he is to money. Sae has a perfect villainess look to her especially within the context of the palace being a bank as Shido and Maruki both represent very different forms of discomfort especially in their designs (specifically third semester Maruki) with how their uniform is perfectly kept clean and without fault, Shido even having tinted lenses to show his tainted lens on the world. Whilst not perfect, I think the character design is extremely strong despite it and I look forward to seeing how this evolves in the series

Conclusion:

Persona 5 Royal is an extremely important game, to me, others and this industry as a whole. It pushed the boundaries of thematic intent through how even its UI and music so heavily emphasise the themes of this game. Persona games have always used it’s main colour to represent it’s theme (i.e. Persona 3 for blue to represent life and death) but this entry takes that to such an extreme and we are still seeing the repercussions of that today. Breath of the Wild influenced open design in the industry and how mechanically fine tuned and creative it can be, and I feel Persona 5 did this for the art, character design and music and stories of this industry. This is not a perfect game, no game will ever be and sadly a lot of bigoted people worked on this game which affected some qualities like the sexualisation. But I will never let that ruin what this game does so beautifully right as it is an important magnum opus of turn-based RPGs that fine tunes every issue the genre has had prior whilst fine tuning its own series mechanics to a stunning peak. Bias plagued this review and I’m well aware of this, but art analysis can’t be truly objective and this art stole my heart

[hopeymchope]

Kazutaka Kodaka's "DEATH COME TRUE" starts with your character — a small young man in a hoodie named "Makoto" — waking up in confusion, initially unclear on where he is or how he got there.

So. You know. Kind of a familiar start.

For the uninitiated: Kodaka is the guy who created/wrote Danganronpa.

Yeah. Now you're getting it. These opening moments feel like an olive branch to everybody who played and embraced the first DR title.

Also, if you're a Danganronpa fan? Briefly skim through this trailer for DEATH COME TRUE featuring illustrations of each DCT character as drawn by DR character artist Rui Komatsuzaki in his signature style. SO COOL.

Makoto winds up having amnesia, which is clearly a beloved trope for Kodaka. And if I'm being honest, the whole "protagonist who wakes up with some level of amnesia, leaving them to suss out where they are and why" is a beloved trope for me as well. As I've learned what kinds of stories and media leave me most satisfied and/or engaged over the years, I've come to accept that I am, frankly, a sucker for that well-worn setup.

I'm obviously a sucker for Kodaka as well — his writing has produced BIG FAVES of mine and has yet to disappoint me. I adore and admire his GDC presentation on creating memorable characters, considering it rather inspirational. Though I sadly haven't experienced everything he's done (anybody wanna translate "School of Ragnarok" into English?), I'm obviously In The Tank for this "game."

HOWEVER... ! At the risk of outing myself as a Bad Fan®, I only finally played (er... watched?) DEATH COME TRUE just last night. In goddamn April 2023, almost three friggin' years after its initial release. See... I was aware that this is basically just an interactive movie where you make binary choices on occasion, and I was ALSO aware that it's short enough to be completed in one playthrough. And so, in spite of the writing pedigree behind it, I wound up holding out for a pretty major sale before picking it up. I saw such a sale like one or two weeks ago, so here I (finally) am!

Makoto wakes up in a hotel suite where he IMMEDIATELY sees a news broadcast that identifies him as a wanted serial killer, much to his understandable horror. He then finds a woman laying in the suite's bathtub that's either dead, asleep, or unconscious. While he's still getting his bearings, there's a knock at the suite's door, and you're thrown into making your first of many choices.

I rather doubt it's considered standard practice for the evening news in Japan to put jokey newscasters wearing loud suits in front of pastels to announce warnings about at-large serial killers. But hey, what do I know?

As I'd previously heard and read, you only "control" your character insofar as you select one of two binary choices at various points in a "Choose Your Own Adventure"-type way. This remains true until you're in the home stretch of the story, which is when they finally start bringing in some choices with more than two options... but those choices have less impact than the usual binary ones, so that expansion of the concept comes out as a wash.

This is a mystery story with murder as a major component, as is Kodaka's primary wheelhouse. The main story only takes about 2.5-3 hours to reach whatever is your ultimate ending (and there are really only two legitimate endings that aren't bad endings/deaths). Along the way, Kodaka fans will recognize a number of themes and concepts he's used over the years, but I won't spoil what they are. Some of them are reused in a straightforward fashion, while others are tweaked or mildly subverted from what you might've seen in his various Dangan tales. And if you're unfamiliar with Danganronpa? Then it's surprising and it's a little weird that you're reading this, but it's gonna make the story of this game much more surprising and twisty for you.

One thing you won't see coming: His swag.

That's not to say that a seasoned Kodaka fan like myself wasn't adequately surprised and engaged at plenty of points, though! I was worried that the "live-action choose-your-path movie" format would leave me less invested than visual-novel-style mystery game with more direct control, but in actual practice, I was UTTERLY absorbed. That's right: To the surprise of precisely no one, I strongly liked DEATH COME TRUE. And given that Kodaka was both the writer AND the director of this "movie," I was really pleasantly surprised by his skill behind the camera. (Though I don't talk about it very much on this Tumblr, I've long been a movie/filmmaking fan, so let me put on that hat for a minute.) There are some dramatic camera moves and angles that served to heighten my adrenaline/tension during key moments. And although I can't say for sure how much he 'directed' his actors, the cast is goddamn excellent. EXCELLENT. I found myself rewinding to watch their eyes and subtle movements in various scenes. The performances sucked me into the narrative just as much as the story. I'm a filthy American dork who doesn't consume much Japanese live-action media, so I was only aware of two of the actors in here from their relatively minor roles in American movies. Furthermore, I didn't know the lead actor, Kanata Hongō, from anything at all! But based on his performance here, I want to look up more of his work.

Chihiro Yamamoto is the only actor here who seems to think she's playing a Danganronpa character — for both better AND worse.

Did I feel ANY disappointments during my experience? One obvious one is the brevity of the experience: I would've been happy to spend twice as long with these characters in this world. But for something like $6-$12, it's satisfying enough. My only other two disappointments were: A) The ultimate "culprit" behind everything was too easy to peg. As soon as that character first comes on-screen, they struck me as the obvious culprit behind everything, so it's unfortunate that they wound up being that predictable. And B) There's one character/actor who is just deeply underutilized/unexplored. They provide a bizarre, fascinating presence that barely has any role in the proceedings, and by the time the ending reveals of the story roll around, I can't help but wonder how they fit into this story at all?

Don't take those gripes as anything major, though. DEATH COME TRUE is never gonna have a super strong place in my heart, but I spent those few hours entranced and will fondly remember them. ALSO: You unlock achievements and videos by experiencing as many deaths as possible, so there's actually a benefit to screwing things up! The videos include behind-the-scenes "Making Of" footage as well as the full-length takes of the newscasters who are heard in the background of the opening scene. It's the latter that's especially fun, because the performers clearly knew that they were recording material that would be muffled/obscured, and they have a good time getting weird with it.

It's hard for me to look over my death medal collection without imagining they're accompanied by death metal, because homophones amuse me.

Look: Kodaka has always been clear that this was a very quick project that was rapidly thrown together and executed before he settled in and focused on writing the scenario for Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. It's his baby, but it's also a side gig. With that in mind, the shortness of the experience is more understandable. It also means that you shouldn't expect it to have the depth of his other narratives/games. It's a Kodaka snack, not a meal. But this still a snack with a ton of nutritional value and flavor packed into its small size and minimalist packaging. Take a night to experience it. As long you don't pay full retail, I doubt you'll regret it.

[kitchfit]

Year in Review: Games Part 1

This is a series I've been wanting to do for a while. Whenever I finish a piece of media (books, games, movies, comics, maybe art and music in the future) I jot in down in a doc so I can look back on them at the end of the year. I wanted to write my thoughts on them as I finished them, but since you have to start somewhere, I'll be writing simple reviews in retrospect. This is just for fun, but I welcome any feedback.

Pokemon Scarlet

This game released with some controversy. It was an unfinished glitchy mess with graphics still not up to the standards of the Nintendo Switch six years into its lifespan, but tbh this game was fun as hell to complete. I loved most of all the new designs and managed for the first time in my Pokemon career to actually complete the Dex. I usually get worn down on that pretty quick.

The characters were also much more engaging than the previous generation, especially my best boy Arven. The environments were super fun to explore and I got a new favorite little guy (Slither Wings my beloved). Here's hoping the next game has an actual sane development cycle and we get this amount of creativity in a higher degree of quality with better paid developers.

Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

If you thought I only played games that came out this year, sorry to disappoint. I don't manage to pick up even half of the blockbusters that pop up annually, and go after older games way more often. That being said, I see why AA fans hold this game up so high. I played the first and second Phoenix Wright games last year (which I won't review since that was too long ago now) and this is a nice cap to the original Trilogy.

You get Phoenix's background as a dorky bisexual art student, Mia's first case as a defense attorney, and an honestly heartbreaking quest for revenge through Godot while never stooping to melodrama. (I love his theme it sounds like the Mother 3 Magypsies). Also unlike the first two games, there were zero "filler" cases. Each one was thoroughly engaging and moved the plot forward in a meaningful way. Though, I don't begrudge the earlier cases that fuck around a lot more.

Pokemon White 2

When the OG Black and White came out, I was in the "everything new is lame" stage of adolescence, so when the sequels came out I didn't even bother. Turns out I was the lame one for doing so! In hindsight, Pokemon seemed to reach something of a peak with Gen 5 in terms of graphics and gameplay, and would seek to experiment with new artstyles and gimmicks for the next (looks at watch) 11 years damn.

With the first Black and White, it focused on remodeling classic Pokemon designs and gameplay into something new and modern, and these games add back in most of those classic Mons. The plot is also very action-packed and engaging, and gives a satisfying epilogue for a lot of the characters from the first games. You get to see how the region has changed after 3 years and even get to explore some new parts of Unova, similar to how the Gen 2 games handled Kanto. I hope Gamefreak does something like this again in the future.

Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded

Prepare for a deluge of this series, and not in any conceivable order. Kingdom Hearts took over my heart, mind, and body Xehanort style for the better half of the year. This title is known for a fun variety of gameplay and an absolute dogshit story. I wouldn't really agree. The game switches up its playstyle pretty frequently, including side-scrolling platforming, railshooting, and turn-based combat but for the most part its classic hack-and-slash 3D platforming that feels kind of grindy, but there's multiple unlockable difficulty sliders that you can use to switch it up if you get bored.

Storywise, there's not a lot for newcomers and if you want to play through all the games as one overarching narrative, I wouldn't blame you for skipping this one. However, if you're already a fan of Sora and Riku's relationship, this has quite a bit for someone to dig their teeth into. The world's are all recycled from KH1, making this one of the two games where you can actually explore Destiny Islands, but they all feel pretty downgraded. The endgame gave me a headache.

Kingdom Hearts

Our best boy's first big boot step into adventure. I watched all of the KH cutscenes for all of the games during a particularly dry season of lockdown, so this was my first foray into the original. The story genuinely holds up to a surprising degree, leaning into the Disney elements more than its Squaresoft side for probably the last time in the series. Its really good groundwork for Sora's introduction as a hero, I especially love the assertion towards the end that it is Sora's choice to help others that makes him worthy of the Keyblade and not destiny. Its a theme that would be both muddied and compounded upon later in the series in a pretty interesting way.

I was almost astonished at how in-depth all of the worlds are, especially Traverse Town. There are a lot more little Disney references and sidequests, like the 101 Dalmation quest, that help the worlds all feel a bit more lively. Also NPCs, which later in the series would become a rare gift. I fucked up on the combat. Did not learn how to do spell shortcuts until midway through KH2. Despite that, it was still fun to wack Heartless with my keyblades six different ways, and it makes me excited to replay it at some point.

Kingdom Hearts II

This is the big boy that every KH fan loves to absolute death. Chain of Memories had already started the series tradition of experimental storytelling, but the mainline sequel takes it to an fascinating and well-executed degree. For the first three hours you are forced into playing a new protagonist with zero context and near zero Disney shit. Vivi is there though and we love him for that. Later on we would see this prologue as the tragic conclusion of another entry in the series, but its initial presence here is jarring in a way you have to piece together throughout the rest of the main game. It would also introduce many of the more headache-inducing plot aspects that are fun to dissect but a pain to explain, such as Nobodies. I see them as ghosts, and no one can tell me otherwise. I wrote a whole absurdist retelling about it.

The worlds are more quantity than quality, I'll be real. About half of them are made up of 4 or 5 flat maps with nothing to do except grind Heartless encounters, (e.g. Mulan.) The other half are a bit meatier but could have benefited from more sidequests and such. You revisit quite a few from KH1 to see how they changed and that's always fun. There's a theme to each of the Disney worlds that add to the narrative, in this title mainly being romance and identity. The identity aspect leans toward the relationship between Sora and Roxas, two separate people who are also one person, while the romance theme hints towards the relationship with Sora and Kairi. Oddly enough, both themes also seem to work towards Sora's quest for Riku, who is in the midst of his own identity crisis while Sora desperately tries to find him. Huh. Interesting.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

This is my favorite Kingdom Hearts game. This was one of the few I was able to play as a teenager and even after all these years I still adore this game to death. It works without knowing anything else about Kingdom Hearts. You don't need to know about Ansems or Nobodies or Time Travel; none of that shit. This is the story of three friends that get torn apart by their own ignorance and one bitter old man on his quest to change the world. Its one story split among three perspectives, and each character you play through the game with you understand the grander narrative. You understand why Aqua's best friend snapped at her, why Terra's little brother is so ready to die. You also get to hear Leonard Nemoy yell "KEYBLADE" in the same cutscene three different times.

I love this game so so much dammit. The combat has a fun collection system where you earn action commands and combine them to make better attacks and healing moves. The worlds in the latter half of the game are also really creative and fun to explore, though you get a limited area to move around in for each character. If you have played previous KH entries, there's a lot of references to make you point at the screen and go "THAS AXEL THAS MY BOY HE'S A LIL GUY HERE." Anyway I'll shut up. Play this game.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Never ask me to explain the plot of this game. They added Inception to Kingdom Hearts and also Time Travel. And the story is mostly told through unlockable backstory cutscenes including the premise. Yes, the introduction to this game's story is an unlockable. Despite this, the story is pretty effective. This is Riku's second time in the spotlight since Reverse/Rebirth, though the game is once again split between him and Sora. It dissects Riku's character arc in a similar way to Re:Coded, except uhh this one isn't a computer simulation, he is a Dream. Completely different. It asserts his desire to continue as Sora's protector, and realizing this it is him who ultimately triumph's over Angst Teen Xehanort, saves Sora and passes the Key Test. He's no longer on his Way to the Dawn. He's in the light. It's sweet.

The worlds in this game are based around vertical movement. There's a new Parkour mechanic that lets you wall-step-flip around basically everywhere, and to compensate this the worlds are Huge. Since they're dreams, that also means they're pretty empty of anything to really do or explore. They are pretty at least. There's also a pokemon mechanic where you collect lil guys. I did not realize this mechanic also determines Riku and Sora's stats until the final boss, which caught me off guard. I see why this is a lot of people's fave KH game of all time, but its a little too busy for me.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

This is an odd one. I first played this game two years ago at college alongside Oracle of Seasons in my spare time. Eventually my phone-I MEAN MY AUTHENTIC GAME BOY COLOR- broke and I thought I lost my save data for both. Turns out I did not and finished through the last few dungeons. This game makes solid use of the time travel mechanic, which is a mix of Ocarina's time travel and Alttp's world jumping. It's fun to jump sporadically between 1000s of years and see the world in different eras. That rock? Used to be slightly over to the left. Would you look at that.

The dungeons had a larger focus on puzzles in comparison with Season's love for combat, which is probably why this is the more beloved twin. Some of the dungeons had me waddling back and forth for too long until I figured out what to do. You can link these games up to get bonus items like the Biggoron's Sword which is fun to complete. After beating both games, you get an extra final boss against Ganon and a scene hinting towards the beginning of Link's Awakening, which is a nice touch. And then Nintendo declared them two separate Links, for some reason. Beh.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Oh hey. One of the most beloved games of all time. I have played through this games more times than I know. Probably around like. 6 times I used to boot this game up and play all the way up to the Forest Temple and then restart for some reason, I don't know how many times I actually got to the end.

Its a game that eases you into its idyllic fantasy world before dropping you headfirst into the apocalypse you inadvertently caused in your quest to destroy evil. Its never a melodramatic game though. Its about the loss of innocence. Maturity. Learning that the evil was always there, before the King of Thieves took over the world, before you were even born. It even came from the place you are trying to protect. But there was always goodness too, there was always light. There are always friends to be found in dark places. The style and presentation are peak. The dungeons are rich in aesthetics and well made puzzles. The time travel mechanic is honestly a bit undercooked. But this game is fantastic. Quintessential Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure

I straight-up forgot I played this. Its fun though. Its a relatively short game, but compared to its predecessor, its a huge improvement. The game plays out in stages like the first Four Swords game, but usually in explorable environments, like towns and forests rather than generic volcano and cave themes. You control all Four Links at once, moving them into different formations to move rocks or put fires out. Or you can do it with friends controlling each Link. I did not. :(

I was mainly interested in this games story from a lore perspective. It features the return of Vaati, the Wind Creep who Lova Da Ladies, but with the addition of the Rise of Ganondorf. You are sent to stop him from a wise owl, Ganon allies himself with Deku Scrubs, attacks the Gorons, and is eventually turned into a monster by his own lust for power. It seems more and more like a retelling of Ocarina in a different light. Eh. Maybe I'll write about my Zelda timeline theories in a different post. Not here though

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

BACK TO KH BABY! This is a rhythm game, so I don't have too much to say. I've never really played any rhythm game before this, and I'm not sure if this one is on par with the more well-known rhythm titles out there, but I had a good time with it. Its great for people who like Kingdom Hearts music, lmao. You have a lot of unlockable character groups to play through the music with and level them up, but once I unlocked the Days trio I didn't really go for the others too much. Xion my beloved.

The story is hilariously shallow, almost insulted considering its Kairi's first solo outing, technically. She's on her quest to learn all the KH lore she missed out on, and eventually finds a repressed memory of a grown adult monologuing at a toddler for fifteen minutes. Also that her boyfriend is alive so that her boyfriend's boyfriend can go save him. Her boyfriend's boyfriend is also her boyfriend. Fight me.

Kingdom Hearts III

People were. So upset when this game came out. Acted like it was the biggest disappointment since the ill-fated economic crisis of '07. Sure, yea, that's a reference. Well this is the first time I've gone into it and I'm here to say this is probably among my favorite KH games of all time. Strong competitor with BBS. A lot of the criticisms of the story and gameplay weren't wrong per-say, but the issues with this game, such a goofy dialogue, bizarre pacing, and over complicated exposition dumps, are problems with the entire series that fans of the series, in my opinion, have come to see as endearing elements of Kingdom Hearts. Its funny to watch the big cloak guy point at Sora and say "Darkness Light Heart Darkness," and see Sora gasp in fear, while also realizing the importance of that dialogue to the story. It's a feature, not a bug.

The worlds in this game are its biggest asset. They are huge, heavily detailed, heavily explorable areas with tons to discover. Hell, the Pirates of the Caribbean world acts as a slightly smaller Wind Waker. The game adds in most of the mechanics from all the spin offs to give you a lot of toys to play with, such as parkour or sharpshooting, that are easy to forget but a treat to use when you actually remember them.

A central theme of each of the Disney worlds is happy endings. Hercules finally takes down Hades for good. Mike and Sully are able to visit Boo without risk to her safety. The dead Baymax from that one Disney movie gets a redemption arc. Frozen and Tangled play out exactly as their movie which is kind of boring. This correlates with the happy endings the rest of the supporting cast get to experience, including the initially tragedies of the BBS and Days trio in scenes that genuinely got tears out of me. But Sora doesn't get a happy ending. He sacrifices himself to strong-arm everyone else into their perfect circumstance. Literally breaks the rules of time and space to force the universe into saving his friends at the cost of his own life. And then Hell turns out to be Tokyo so its not all that bad. It makes you feel for the boy. This game also lets you play as Kairi in the DLC which makes me happy.

Alright ending this here. I've played way too many games this year this isn't even half. Also only including games I've finished, and games with definitive endings. I played Mario Kart 7 but that doesn't rlly end, ya know? Will try to write these weekly, even if no ones reading them. But if you do read them tell me what you think! Gonna switch over to books next week to even it out. I swear I don't just play games. This is the last Kingdom Hearts game on this list too I swear.