#i definitely have some new favorites though. i might add them to the roster going forward | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

violetosprey · 2 years

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Everyone talks so much about female yanderes but who's your favorite male yandere(s) and why do you like him/them?

Hello there! What a wonderful question. Well the simple answer is, “whoever I am currently obsessing over,” haha. Whether that’s a yandere in a manga or webcomic I’m currently reading, or even just the aesthetic of a character who is NOT canonically yandere (the reimagining can be fun). Anime might not have the greatest roster of male yandere in my opinion, but I think there’s plenty in comic format to choose from nowadays.

But that’s also a boring answer and doesn’t say too much if I just am picking said favorite because it’s what’s “new and shiny.” So I tried to really think about some of the ones I’ve liked in the past. Nostalgia could be at fault here, but I figured maybe I could find one that also stood the test of time.

I’m going to go with Fukusuke from the BL manga “Color Recipe.”

(non-spoiler TLDR list is at the top; Major spoiler explanations below)

I made sure to go back and reread the manga before this just to see if things went down the way I remember. Not only did several things still hold up from memory, but I got refreshed with a couple of things I had forgotten. Like how much I actually love the S/O, Shoukichi, in this story. He’s a lot better than just a typical hot-head lead.

But anyway, there are several reasons why I think Fukusuke holds up really well as a yandere. Some of these reasons even lead into others:

Semi-original concept

Disguise too good

Equal footing with the S/O

One of the BEST yandere “snaps”

Displays the difference between lust, control and love

Best of both worlds and a yandere to the end

1. Semi-original concept

Personality wise, a yandere who’s outwardly chatty and social but inwardly doesn’t care for anyone but their S/O isn’t really new. But most of the time I expect to see said yandere being especially flattering to their S/O to get in their good graces. So what’s Fukusuke’s first plan of action? Act like an a$$ towards the S/O. Not…exactly what you expect. But not only does our yandere have reasoning behind this, it’s integral to the plot. And of course, it comes back to bite him later.

I’d also say he’s kind of a mix with how he clearly doesn’t feel the same way most people feel (the author makes it clear he’s no saint), but he’s not a complete monster either (we’ll get to that later). He does get called a psychopath by another character in the story, but I really couldn’t tell you if he fits any mold exactly.

Him being a beautician/stylist is also a nice touch. I don’t recall a ton of yandere with this profession, but it adds a unique flavor to the setting. Especially since the S/O is very work-oriented, so the setting and line-of-work come into play a lot here.

Just a personal note, this is probably one of the few yandere where I’m not swooning over their appearance. There are plenty of yandere I drool over, but this is one I strictly love for their character and not their looks.

There’s a bit of a “love at first sight” kind of deal here, but I’ll give it a passing grade. It’s not just the S/O being a pretty face that starts the obsession. It’s a combo of the S/O’s work ethic AND their teary eyed face, haha.

2. Disguise too good

This yandere is so good at working behind the scenes, that the author felt the need to actually have another character point out the machinations of the yandere. I love Riku by the way <3 He’s odd and teeters on the neutral line, but I think he does a good job both letting the story be mainly about the yandere and S/O, but interjecting when he needs to. He might not be to everyone’s taste though. I could definitely understand if someone said they hated the handholding the author is doing here, or just hate how Riku doesn’t do more if they are aware of what’s happening. I wouldn’t say Riku’s exactly pure.

Still, if you even look at just the first few chapters, I could see a viewer might get fooled into thinking that the yandere is a much purer guy than he is. There are a few moments or scenes that make you wary of Fukusuke in the first few chapters, but there are also scenes that put him in a more generous light. I feel like he even was genuinely honest with some of his complements or advice towards Shoukichi. If the entire manga kept going like this, slowly the audience might start to doubt themselves or forget that there’s anything abnormal about this man. So the author has another character come and point out EXACTLY what the yandere is doing. And you quickly realize that Fukusuke is an extremely manipulative type of yandere.

3. Equal footing with the S/O

A lot of yanderes you’ll notice in stories have some kind of position of power. They might be a duke, a king, a ceo, etc. To be clear, I have no problem with this! I certainly love these types myself. The reason you probably see a lot of them though is because they fulfill two roles: the “Cinderella” fantasy, and easier writing. Let’s face it, lots of people love the idea of getting swept off their feet or chosen by someone of considerable status. It’s a mood booster, and a big part of fiction is escapism. Not only that, but a yandere in a power position has two advantages that can both make them more appealing for the S/O or terrifying. They can solve all the S/O’s problems more easily or give them anything they want with their status and money. OR they could push the S/O into a corner easily if they resist. The S/O could be strong-willed as hell, but they don’t have to be portrayed as a complete idiot for not being able to escape the yandere if said yandere, I don’t know, owns the entire police force for example.

Getting back on topic, Fukusuke is NOT in a position of power. He’s not even the manager of the beauty salon, he’s just the S/O’s coworker. The only thing he has over the S/O is the skill to socialize better with customers (ironically). But he uses this one skill to its FULL extent. He also relies on manipulation a lot more as a result. A yandere without power who wants absolute control needs to be VERY smart.

He’s not invincible though and is completely capable of failing. That’s why he has to be careful and why he’s a more interesting character. Other characters can see through him and ruin his plans, or completely accidental discoveries show his lies. Also, he still gets punched many times by the S/O. I also completely forgot that he got bitten during a BJ once (Ouch! But S/O clearly wasn’t into it).

He doesn’t rush either. He works over the S/O for an entire year before…

4. One of the best yandere “snaps”

For those unaware, a “snap” is essentially the breaking point of the yandere. They stop playing nice. You see these plenty of times, even in one-shots. They’re fun, but sometimes they can definitely feel really rushed or sloppy. This one is beautifully done. This snap doesn’t actually occur until after a year has passed of the yandere and S/O working together. He’s been playing a VERY long game and still isn’t quite in the position he wants to be. He wants to be Shoukichi’s #1. He wants to further monopolize him, but the S/O’s personality and priorities kind of stunt him.

It’s not just this frustration building up though that pushes the yandere over. Through a series of events, the S/O finally catches on to what the Fukusuke has been doing. Shoukichi even asks if Fukusuke HATES him. We as the audience know it’s the actually the opposite, but I completely understand how the S/O came to that conclusion. Shoukichi has a lot of morals and speaks the truth several times about what it means to love someone. Also, Fukusuke's explanation does not help his case.

When Shoukichi gets angry at our yandere, I really love how we FIRST see Fukusuke mull over in his head what his options are. It’s only after he concludes that there’s no means to make a recovery out of this, that he resorts to extreme measures: brief confinement, electrocution torture and blackmail.

5. Displays the difference between lust, control and love

Does Fukusuke lust after Shoukichi? Yes he does. He gets horny a lot and even admits he’s a rather perverted guy who would love to do all kinds of things with his S/O. Shoukichi’s not into the more perverted stuff, but that doesn’t stop the yandere one bit from wanting him. He’d have sex everyday with Shoukichi if he could. Does Fukusuke want control? Yes he does. Both due to his natural personality and obsession with the S/O, Fukusuke wants to possess Shoukichi completely. Even when he’s in a rather good spot I’d say after a year working with Shoukichi, Fukusuke still isn’t satisfied since he doesn’t consider himself the S/O’s #1. Shoukichi’s job, manager and customers always come first. Fukusuke keeps trying to encourage him to start up a business with him, but Shoukichi refuses. Even with them sleeping together and having an amicable relationship, it’s not enough.

Does Fukusuke love Shoukichi? YES he does. Here’s the thing about yanderes. It’s easy to love them for their lustful, controlling sides that really get things going. But I think some writers get a little too caught up with these sides that they start to neglect what makes a yandere a yandere: love. They forget to make it clear that the yandere doesn’t want the S/O as just a sex slave or some kind of personal toy/object for only their eyes. Maybe authors THINK they’re portraying a twisted display of love, but it just comes out wrong on paper.

But how do I know Fukusuke is different and is actually in love with Shoukichi then? Because he’ll actually do things or react in ways that show he’s NOT looking to just keep the S/O tied up in his apartment for his own amusement. That “snap” I mentioned earlier? The confinement period is very brief. It’s nothing like the stories that revolve around the S/O being held captive for an indefinite amount of time. Fukusuke only resorted to more extreme measures when his previous plans fell apart. He only wanted to push the S/O far enough back into a corner to finally pull him away from the shop.

After he gets Shoukichi to promise him to leave the shop and start a business with him, Fukusuke tries to have some celebratory sex with him and takes his S/O’s blindfold off. The author then gives us one of the best facial depictions of someone who is TRAUMATIZED that I have ever seen. Dubcon is a term that pops up a lot in BLs (I’m not here to talk about that), but I don’t think there’s anyone who would assume dubcon is present in this scene. Not even Fukusuke, at least not subconsciously because Fukusuke becomes very confused when he can’t get himself hard. He even mentions he thought the S/O’s teary face was cute in the past, but he knows this is different.

There are plenty of yandere out there that will force themselves onto their S/O despite their reluctance. There are also others I’ve seen who do get rattled when they push the S/O a little TOO far, and are then capable of holding themselves back. But it’s both highly impressive (and a little hilarious) to see a yandere straight up admit they can’t get aroused because they hate the sight of their broken S/O.

Again, Fukusuke has plenty of lust and control desires where the author could have written him just “winning” here and doing whatever he wanted with Shoukichi. But our yandere hesitates.

True to being a yandere, Fukusuke does try to convince himself to keep pressuring Shoukichi to listen to him since he’s come this far and this is what he resolved to do. I love also that when he’s talking with Shoukichi about “their future plans,” it’s very realistic. He’s going on and on about the logistics of setting up a beauty salon together, and that he wants it also to be a place they can live in together. This yandere doesn’t desire to keep Shoukichi locked up in a room all day. He literally wants him to be his LIFE PARTNER. This is exactly the type of yandere mindset I adore.

And finally, it eventually does get through our yandere’s head that…he messed up. From the very beginning, he messed up. Both Riku and Shoukichi (separately) point out why he failed. He looks genuinely devastated later. So he relents with the blackmail plans and completely pulls away and gives a damaged Shoukichi his space.

6. Best of both worlds and a yandere to the end

That is not the end of it though. What I’m about to say may be a little polarizing depending on how people viewed the characters overall and the ending: I think Fukusuke both learned a lesson and understood what he did wrong, BUT he also did not give up and just resorted to switching tactics.

I can’t really explain this one well in words I think. Giving the S/O space was probably the best thing a yandere could have done here. Even in the extra chapters, Fukusuke does not purposefully go hunt down Shoukichi. He gives Shoukichi back his freedom. Shoukichi can choose to come to see him of his own volition or stay away. He never contacts Shoukichi directly, but stays in touch with everyone else in the shop.

However, once again Riku points out how he still has not stopped being a manipulator from afar. He manipulates his customers to take advantage of Shoukichi’s good nature and guilt. He confesses in an article (and later in person when Shoukichi visits him in an extra chapter) that he will NOT take anyone but Shoukichi as his partner. No matter how much work he’s overloaded with work.

Shoukichi by the way is very interesting because he has both qualities that protected him from completely submitting to Fukusuke (i.e. job oriented, strong grasp of how you treat loved ones), as well as qualities that make him vulnerable (i.e. too sympathetic to others). Because of this, Fukusuke I’d say didn’t necessarily “win” in the way he wanted by the end of this manga, but he hasn’t exactly lost either.

I’m not entirely sure if I call Fukusuke a redeemed or enlighted yandere. It’s been a long time since I thought of those terms. But I’m happy to say he STAYED a yandere to the entire time. Also, I didn’t know where to mention this, but I do love a lot of his facial expressions.

Overall, I think this character did a really good job portraying the more wicked aspects of yanderes, but also not forgetting to show what a yandere in love is supposed to be like and having them grow for the better. Having two volumes did a lot of good to have the characters work through everything.

I definitely recommend this manga to anyone who even just wanted to do a character study on yanderes. Now there may be some I could see who don’t care for Fukusuke. Maybe he’s seen as “boring” because he doesn’t have as many over-the-top moments as some other yandere, or maybe you thought he went too far and are agitated at the thought that he could eventually win over Shoukichi. To each there own I suppose.

I know that the question asked about if I had several yandere I wanted to talk about but, I overloaded on Fukusuke so I think it’s best not to go into full details on the others here.

I did think about other yandere before writing this. Should I have gone with Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew as “baby’s first yandere” kind of deal, with Marcus from “Till Death Do Us Part” (warning: 18+) for basically kickstarting this blog, or with Mandarin Kim from “Cherry Boy That Girl” for making me enjoy a very different type of yandere from I’m used to?

I know I tend to go for the more villainous yanderes too, but a lot of those end up as one-shot villains or brief side-characters. That makes it hard to pick a favorite among those when there’s not as much character to analyze. So I wanted to go with who I thought was a very GOOD representation of a yandere today. I hope everyone enjoyed and I apologize for any grammatical errors along the way.

#yandere #male yandere #analysis #color recipe #answer

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miekasa · 3 years

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mie….could we please get college au eren headcanons👉🏽👈🏽

Of course. I’m always thinking about his big head anyway <33 might as well put it good use.

One thing he learned in college is how to make his hyperfocus/fixation episodes work for him; that’s why he schedules all his classes as close together as possible. He’d rather have class back to back for 5 hours, than have it spread out with hours in between lectures, because that increases his changes of cutting.

You can always tell when he’s in class and/or what class he’s in by how much he responds to your messages. If he doesn’t text back at all, he’s in a class that hard or one he enjoys, or both. But if he’s sending you iMessage games, then you know he’s in his elective that he couldn’t care else about (and is probably cheating in someway somehow lmfao).

He usually puts his phone on dnd when he’s in a class that’s important, but you’re in his favorite contacts, so your messages always ring through. What if it’s an emergency and you need him for something? Advanced Roots of Human Biology can wait.

Some days there are one or two our breaks between his lectures, that’s just how the scheduling works out. When that happens, he usually sneaks into one of your lectures, or goes to your place to take a nap. Your roommates have become accustomed to him, honestly they’ve been considering giving him a key.

Once, he didn’t realize that your lecture was basically a seminar, with you, the prof and maybe six other students. He still stayed lmao, and the prof was so amazed by his dedication, that she didn’t even mind. Occasionally, you’ll catch the two of them talking after lecture. It’s pretty cute the way she’s adopted him into the class even tho he’s not on the roster.

You... have to show him where the library is lmfao. He genuinely has not stepped foot in one until you bring him to one. He likes it tho lmao once he gets used to it.

Speaking of which, do not give him standard directions to find your classes on campus because all you’ll get is, “Babe, I’m gonna keep it real with you, I’ve never heard of the ‘West Quad’ a day in my life. What building are you near.”

He usually comes to see you in the library after all his lectures are done for the day. Sometimes he does homework, sometimes he’s just fucking around on his computer, sometimes he’s just bothering you. When you have to leave to go to class, he stays behind to watch your stuff so you don’t have to pack everything up and come back.

Very protective when it comes to keeping your seat for you. No, you cannot take that chair to your table you good for nothing freshman; it’s reserved for you.

He’ll drag you out of the library if you’ve been cooped up all day, tho. Eren will use his height and his strength against you to get you up. Placates you with kisses when he sees your angry expression, and promises to buy you food.

He takes your backpack for you when you’re walking together,m. His backpack is frustratingly light all the time, even during midterms. You swear all he’s got in there is a pencil and some flashcards.

If you have night classes, he sticks around to walk you home after, especially in the winter when it gets dark faster. If he’s not already on campus, he’ll walk/drive back to meet you; he just doesn’t like you going home alone. Even if your friend/roommate is in the class with you, Eren will walk or drive the both of you home for his own sanity.

He plays sports, so he usually has practice most evenings, but he’ll find a way to make time. If practice was particularly brutal, he’ll probably crash at your place.

He loves it when you come to meet him after practice. His whole face lights up and he waves obnoxiously, before he gathers up his stuff and all but sprints towards you. You get a cold water bottle to the face, or a bit of water splashed on you usually, which he takes immense amusement in.

He knows it’s not possible for you to make it to all of his games, and usually it doesn’t bother him much; you’ve got your own life, and work to worry about. All he asks is that you wear his jersey, or any item of his sports apparel/merch on game day (he’s partial to hoodies).

By the time junior year rolls around, he’s not all that interested in attending parties that aren’t hosted by your friends; so, unless it’s at Connie, Jean, or Reiner and Bertholdt’s place, Eren will usually decline. Even team parties, he’s not crazy about unless it’s to celebrate a championship or something. He’d much rather celebrate with you.

He does get excited about hosting parties though, and he and Jean become pretty damn good co-hosts. They don’t throw ragers, and that’s probably why Eren likes it so much. It’s usually your friend group and a couple plus ones, some good music, games, weed, and take-out.

He’ll buy you coffee whenever you ask for it. The first time, he just orders something plain, not really knowing the difference between anything; but give it two or three tries, and he’ll get it perfect. He becomes so good that he can order you something new/different and you’ll love it.

That’s kind of the start of his own coffee addiction, and more often than not, when he buys you a cup, he’s on his second or third of the day himself. The flavor has really grown on him, okay.

He much prefers your apartment, but on occasion, he’ll ask you to come to his. You’ve been studying for so long, a change of environment should do you good, he claims. He’s a fucking liar tho because that’s all Eren Talk for “I do genuinely want you to come over, but my plans are to coerce you out of doing your assignments and doing me instead.”

Lmfao he adds you on Apple Watch Rings just so you can see him close his rings every day and laugh at you. Even if yours get closed by virtue of walking around campus or working out or whatever, his numbers are stupidly high because he fucking has practice at least 4 days of the week.

Of course when you’re running on a soccer field for 2 hours every day, you close your Move Ring five times, Eren. Leave the rest of us alone.

He buys you guys matching accessories for your keychains. It’s something pretty cute, and slightly random, but it reminded him of you. It also serves as a reminder to himself to take his fucking keys with him when he leaves his house.

He sleeps like a fucking rock, so do not let him fall asleep in the library. Waking him up is a mission, and he’s never happy to be woken up. He looks kinda cute tho.

He schedules dates for you and his friends. Usually by accident, but hear me out. Sometimes he’ll make plans with Armin, then forget that he has class or a test or something; so his solution is to text you, “hey, i forgot min and i were supposed to go some aquarium tomorrow but i have a midterm so here’s the pdf of my ticket, go with him for me, thanks babe love u” then, boop, you and Armin have an aquarium date Friday evening.

The same thing happens with Mikasa, though, she usually catches the scheduling conflict before Eren does, and invites you out herself. You and Mikasa hang out quite a bit anyway, so it comes to the point where she tells you when she’s gonna hang out with Eren, so you can make yourself free for when he inevitably remember he has a game that day.

Mikasa is most amazed that you’ve put up with Eren this long lmao. You’ve certainly lessened her Eren & Armin babysitting hours, and for that she’s eternally grateful. Also, she’s just happy to have another close friend. She loves Eren and Armin, but they’re not the most social beings, and she was literally their only friend besides the other for all their childhood PLEASE she’s so happy you’re around.

It’s Mikasa, however, who babysits you and Eren whenever you both get too drunk. Says you guys are two peas in a pod (affectionate<2)

If you tell Eren something important that happened, like an internship you got, or a good grade in a class, or something, he usually relays that information to his mom pls. He texts her every day, and if she doesn’t ask for an update on you first, he gives her one.

Carla calls you sometimes, too. At least once every few weeks, just to check on you herself. She really likes you for Eren, and is grateful someone is willing to put up with her hotheaded son.

Eren’s always using your fucking chapstick. Always. You know he has his own, so why he needs to use yours is beyond you. Finds time to make some dumbass comment about how it’s an “indirect kiss” every time he uses it too. Like bro, we’re dating, and have had many direct kisses why are you like this.

He posts on Instagram every few weeks or so, but you’re on his story every few days. Usually, it’s just a video of you minding your business and doing your work while Eren slowly zooms in before making some loud noise to surprise you, all so he can get your reaction on video and laugh at it. He’s annoying.

He’s a bit of a copycat when it comes to the products you use. He’ll buy the same brand of pens as you (for that matter, all of his school supplies mirror yours because what does he know about the difference between A4 and A5 notebooks?), put a little hand sanitizer on his backpack like yours (and a lotion, too, for good measure), he even copies your Starbucks order until he finds one he likes for himself. It’s one of his love languages <3

If you’re wondering where your eyelash curler went, Eren stole it to try it on himself, hurt himself, vowed to never use it again, went back because he wanted to “do it right and not give up,” liked the results when he didn’t pinch his eyelid, and now it’s his.

That being said, stop trying to put your Fenty lipgloss on him, it’s never going to happen. Eye makeup, maybe, only if you sit in his lap and he can have his hands on your ass while you do it.

What he does love is letting you do his skincare. He will set aside dedicated skincare nights, he adores it. Easily one of his favorite things ever.

You have his wallet. Not because he’s your sugar daddy or anything (although, if you want something, he’d definitely let you use his card to get it; and even if you bought something without asking, he wouldn’t think twice about it), but because he put it in your bag once and never took it out.

When you tried to give it back, he just shook his head and told you to keep it, “I have my ID in my phone case anyway, and you’re less likely to lose it. Plus I put all my cards on Apple Pay, so I’m good.”

When you do make it to a game of his, he’s all over you when it’s over. Not in a cocky athlete boyfriend kind of way; in a very sleepy boyfriend kind of way. He’s usually got ice on at least one part of his body, and he’s got half his body weight on you as you walk to the car.

By the time you guys get back to your place, he’s practically sleep walking. The only thing on his mind is taking a hot shower to soothe his muscles, and heading to bed. The aftermath of game days aren’t all that bad though, because even if you didn’t show, you’re always there to kiss him when he’s home and massage his shoulders, and cuddle him to sleep; and that’s his favorite part.

#anonymous #hes so fucking cute hes my fucking BOYFRIENDDDDDDDDD #eren x reader #aot x reader #eren jaeger x reader #aot imagines #eren fluff #eren smut

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doomtodivide · 3 years

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Imagining The Future: Bastille's New Era Analysis

Hello all! The following is taken from the first of my new era update posts on r/Bastillecult. I highly reccomend reading all the posts on there!

Last time I had a few solid guesses with the whole Goosebumps EP transition period, so I figured I would try my luck with this new era. I've broken everything down into a few categories that should hopefully flesh out a sketch of possibilities

Aesthetic: The new logo has a very sleek design. This complete change in aesthetics is very noticable. Bad Blood was filled with literature references, a cozy and nerdy looking dan, and more earthy looking tones. Wild World focused on nihilism, movie references, and an all too realistic dystopian city aesthetic. Doom Days focused on escapism, partying, fucking, and a red and home-y vibes. The lack of color and the clean and sleek look points towards it being a more future oriented era.

Triangle: For a deeper background, I highly recommend reading u/casperwyomingrex 'spost.

The WW era triangle and this new triangle are technically called deltas. While I am by no means a geometry person, I’ve been told by a few math nerds that these triangles are technically not possible in certain plains and spaces, making them impossible. While it is likely that Bastille just needed to explore just slightly outside the normal definition of a triangle to match this aesthetic, the impossible triangle t-shirts hint that there is significance to having “impossible” triangles. This hints that there may be more in common between the WW Era and the Future Era, ie. a dystopian society.

Dystopia: Bastille created an entire dystopian corporation for WW. I remember them saying somewhere they hated the promo and touring process for this album, leading them to switch up the process for DD and the Goosebumps EP. With the record label change and covid shaking up the world, this opens up the opportunity for them to have a redo with this era, especially considering it is a fan favorite era. Many people have pointed out that hint has a vibe similar to black mirror, a sci-fi dystopian show, which would fully support a sci-fi dystopian aesthetic era.

Sound: Though the clip is only 8 seconds long, it gives us some hints about the new era. Bastille once again uses synths for sound, creating a reference to Sci Fi sound effects. The clip mirrors the effect of oscillators to create things like laser sound effects, teleportation, warping, and other “space” noises. I find the juxtaposition of Sci-fi interesting; it was most popular in the early 1900s, meaning Bastille is referencing the past, yet it focuses on the future, which in the lense of Sci-fi, would mean the 2000s and beyond.

In the lens of broadcasting, short interludes are used throughout advertising to the point where many people don’t even think about this. A lot of them are used to hook us in and signify a certain company or thing. In advertisements they are used to signify the company’s presence and to worm the product into our brain. In casinos they are used as a dopamine reward. News stations use them to signify the station. This especially could be relevant in a dystopian society. I’m mentioning this because the clip doesn’t sound full enough to be a song, rather an intro to a news station segment. I find this especially notable considering WW had a news anchor. Looking back, a few videos from wild world could hold significance. This video

has a sci-fi esc clip in the intro.

In Previous Context: In the context of ReOrchestrated, Bastille is no longer letting imposter syndrome or shitty opinions stop them from what they want to do. Meaning they are going full force into the future. There's one specific time during the ReOrch doc where the boys talk about how ReOrch made them realize they could try new shit, even if management thinks it will fail. Dan has spoken in a few interviews now about being excited about collabing (and mentioning relinquishing control to others in the ReOrch doc), a few artists have come forward about working with Dan. While it’s unlikely that every collab we’ve theorized about will go through, Dan Wilson and Ryan Tedder seem to be confirmed in the roster based off of their interviews

When considering the past, a lot of previous songs focus on nostalgia; for example, in Fake it “We can never go back / We can only do our best to recreate.” Post ReOrch and DD, Bastille has worked up enough confidence to push into making their own future, one unlimited by nostalgia and fear.

In the Context of the Goosebumps EP, Inception and Vanilla Sky are both referenced. Both of these movies mark the first time* (to my knowledge

) that futuristic sci-fi has been referenced in Bastille. There is significant overlap with dreaming and time travel, something that could definitely be applied to this era. While it could be coincidental, Bastille has been quite purposeful with using references to add to the era’s aesthetic (see Aesthetic section). Referencing them during a transition period points towards both the literal future (new era) and a new aesthetic.

*Cosmos: War of the Planets and twilight zone have both been referenced but fall into a different category of sci-fi than Vanilla Sky and Inception

In Regards to Distraction Tactics Space Week and WW, alot of it holds very similar aesthetics. This video

from WW also holds a similar aesthetic. Considering DT is linked through space and WW is linked through dystopian this might MIGHT be related.

Hints: It wouldn’t be a new Era without Dan “Soon” Smith teasing us a bit, so here are a few highlights. In this interview

, Dan says “I want to tell you but I can’t! We just want to reflect on the future…” The No Bad Days tweet and the #ToTheSky post likely plays a part in the new era, but the 8 second clip does not have any immediate hints. The art installation in the #ToTheSky post originally caught my interest when it was posted. James Turrel, the artist that created the installation, uses light as a medium to create art. The installation, called the Space That Sees, is described as an “allegory of light that we generate from inside and light that comes from outside: the emergence into space where light comes forth as in a dream." While I have no fucking clue how to interprete this allegory, I imagine space, light, and dreaming will become key players in the new era. A few other notable works of his are the Raethro Pink and Alta Pink, both of which are pinkish purplish white triangles light projections surrounded by inky blackness. The use of Bastille’s triangle logo and a flash of light purple light means there are likely deep ties between the new era and James Turrel’s creations; furthermore, he also acquired a dormant cinder cone volcano to turn into an a museum/observatory using light apertures to observe the solar system, adding further ties to the space and light themes.

Meaning: "You Don't Predict The Future. You Imagine It" I have purposely not used predict in this analysis so I don’t jinx this era. I’ve found a few variations of this saying (You Can’t Predict The Future. But You Can Create It), but all of them seem to point towards creating the future instead of guessing. I imagine not many of my predictions of this era will not be accurate because I am not the one imagining it. I feel like this might also point towards being conscious about what you want out of the future instead of merely guessing where the tides will take you. This could also be like that one story of a kid's drawings turning into real creatures because of the kid imagining it. I feel like “future” and “imagine” point deeply towards sci-fi because of the creative inventions that will take us there. This could also connect to the theory that the survivin’ coin is linked to A.A., and this statement being a motto to help someone escape addiction. Personally, I feel like this clip is the beginning of some sci-fi choose your own adventure video game, but that's my own opinion.

My Personal Crazy Conclusion: It wouldn’t be a post from me without me shooting out some crazy theories. A Light Cult Utopia. That's right. It would be the opposite of WW, meaning it would be new territory for Bastille and it would break a mold (ReOrch doc). It would also give Dan the ability to be more positive then he has been in the past, while also allowing for his normal cynical undertones. Bastille is purposeful with their references, meaning the Jonestown reference in DD might have a bit more purpose behind it. The lighter colors used in the clip would point to happiness. Considering utopias are “imagined” it would fit the phrase in the clip. Sci-fi would also fit into this as being imagined. Considering there are a few space references, I imagine that humans have imagined perfect spacecraft, further fitting sci-fi and a utopian society. Also, Dan collabed with Future Utopia on the track “What’s In A Name?” That's right, what’s in a name? The name being Future Utopia? An entire new era being the name? That right cultists, Dan ”Soon” Smith snuck this under our noses the entire time that bastard.

Summary Statement: This new era will likely bring collabs from an entirely new approach. A Sci-fi dystopian (or utopian) world, one focused on dreaming, light, and space will likely be the aesthetic for this era.

Loose ends: I am only one human, meaning I physically could not rewatch Inception and Vanilla Sky while also researching James Turrel, so there might be a few things I missed in my brief look at them. If anyone would like to read 1984 by George Orwell through the whole dystopian thing, there might be a few connections there.

Based on some things I’ve heard from a little birdy, expect some big non-album projects that tie in with this era and other things….

Special thanks to u/0verjoyed and @ ja9zimm on twitter

#bastille band #bastille #bastillecult #dan smith #kyle simmons #chris woody wood #will farquarson #long post

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years

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#5 Danbry SFW, please ;-; *prayer hands emoji*

Here you go!

5) I’m a pro athelete at a press conference and I make a comment to my buddy about you because I forgot my mic was on.

Context note: 27/5 is twenty seven laps in five minutes.

The Kepler Wrecking Belles are still taking questions, though Aubrey (skatename: Lady Flame) is starting to wish they’d wrap this dang thing up. Their team has won every exhibition game they’ve played at RollerCon (thus far) and so everyone has questions about their strategy and how a team from such a small town can be wiping the floor with teams from bigger cities.

“Okay, one more question, then my girls have gotta go rest up.” Their coach and founder of the Kepler Wrecking Belles, Mama (skate name: Mama Bear, now retired), scans the crowd, “yeah, you, in the far right.”

Aubrey turns to look and suddenly has zero interest in ending the conference. Sitting there, tablet in hand, is the most gorgeous woman she’s ever seen. Blonde hair, a few stray freckles, a body that’d make a girl fall head over skates…

….oh shit, she’s asking a question. Aubrey really hopes someone else has got it.

“Hardest part of our training regime?” Sitting next to her, her teammate Juno (skate name: Divine Fury) taps her chin, “when Mama puts us through circuit after an entire practice of speed drills.”

“Really?” The blonde leans forward, curious, “that’s harder than doing the 27/5?”

Her teammates trade looks, murmuring among themselves, nodding, and Minerva (skate name: Chosen Buns), adds, “She puts basic training to shame.”

“No wonder you all are doing well, sounds like she puts you through your paces.” The blonde makes a few notes and the press conference comes to a close.

But all Aubrey can think is, “like to put her through her paces.”

Oh no, she said that out loud. Wait, why is everyone looking at her, she whispered it right?

“Mic.” Juno points to the treacherous piece of sound equipment as the team dissolves into degrees of hysterical laughter.

Aubrey turns, finds the blonde blinking at her, stunned, as she packs up her things. Then the crowd is moving and Aubrey loses sight of her.

“Shit, shitshitshit.” Aubrey stands, vaults awkwardly over the table.

“Where the hell are you goin’, Lady Flame?” Mama raises an eyebrow,

“I gotta go apologize and also, shit, nevermind!” She takes off, wishing she had her skates on as she stumbles through the crowd, looking for a flash of blonde hair. Which, given how many women here are blonde, is not the best strategy she’s ever come up with.

She gets lucky, spots the woman getting into an elevator on the far end of the main hall.

“Hey! Hey!” She waves, causing several people (including the blonde) to look. When their eyes meet, she blushes instantly.

“I’m super sorry for my comment that was really inappropriate I just meant I think you’re cute is all but in like a respectful way!”

The woman smiles, calls back, “it’s okay And, um thanks!”

“You’re welcome can I-”

The elevator door shuts.

“-get your number?” Aubrey finishes, much softer than before, “Aw, beans.”

-------------------

“Aubrey, we’ve got three more days of the con, I’m sure you’ll see her again.” Juno pats her shoulder as she straps on her kneepads.

“But what if I dooooooooooon’t? It’s been a whole day already and I haven’t seen her at all.”

“It’s still big con. It might take a bit. Wait, is this why you keep offering to the be one to go get drinks or the first aid kit or whatever else we forget back in the room.”

“.....Yes.” Aubrey grumpily rests her face in her palms.

“I see no sign of her in the rosters.” Minerva holds up the program containing photos of all the teams.

“Guess she’s not a player. Could be a ref, or just a fan.”

“Yeah” Aubrey sighs, clips her helmet on, “c’mon, let’s go warm up.”

The bout is against the She-vil Dead, and Aubrey is a little nervous; it’s still just an exhibition, but as Pivot it’s her job to coordinate many of the on-track plays. She doesn't want to look bad in front of the big dogs. Or anyone else who might be watching.

They pull ahead fast; Juno is not only a speedy Jammer, she’s agile too, meaning she has no trouble dodging She-vil Dead’s blockers. Not to mention Minerva is a terrifying blocker against the opponents players.

Then it happens; she’s skating, scanning for plays, when someone cheers her name in the stands.

It’s the blonde, complete with little red and black cheerleading pom-poms that match Aubrey’s outfit.

“Look-” Minerva is cut off by an opposing blocker hip checking her before the same blocker sends Aubrey skidding down the track. She gets up to take her place in their formation, and can already tell she’ll have track burn for the next week.

When they hit the next break, Mama knocks playfully on her helmet, “play now, flirt later.”

Aubrey does exactly that, and the Wrecking Bells win by a slim margin. She’s on the bench, taking off her skates and surveying the rash on her leg, when a shadow blocks out the lights.

“Um, hi again.”

“Hiiii, um, I mean, hi.”

“You’ll have to excuse her, think she took one too many hits today.” Juno teases and Aubrey flips her off as the blonde laughs.

“Do you-”

“Can I get your number?” She is not missing her chance again.

Another laugh, like neon on a warm summer night, “I was going to ask if you wanted to get a drink later.”

“Hell yes. But also please give me your number because if I lose track of you again I’m gonna die.”

“Or she’s gonna get us killed because she’s lookin for you instead of watchin the track.” Juno calls, zipping up her sweatshirt.

Soon Aubrey has a new number in her phone and a promise to meet Dani at the bar at seven.

She arrives in her best black miniskirt and red top, spies Dani waving her down from an outside table. She looks so pretty.

“You look so pretty.”

“Thanks. You look hot.” She grins.

Aubrey points finger guns her way, “I see what you did there.”

“My brother is the real punmaster in the family. Uh, were you really looking all over for me?”

“Yep. I wanted the chance to prove I really was interested in getting to know you. So, um, are you just a big derby fan?”

“Yeah, I did some boot camps but could never quite commit to the time needed to do more. I still love watching people play. I’m, uh, I’m actually moving to Huntington.”

“But that’s not far from-”

“Kepler, I know. That’s why I started following the Belles; they’re the closest team and I wanted to root for them. You’re, uh, you’re my favorite player. I think you’re just...you’re so cool.”

“Aw geez,” Aubrey jiggles her leg, “how am I suppose to out-flirt that?”

“By being yourself?”

“Dang, you’re good.”

Aubrey spends the next two hours on cloud nine as she shows Dani pictures of her pet rabbit and listens to her talk about her work in sustainable gardening. They talk shop too, Dani curious about what it’s like training under someone as formidable as Mama.

The crowd in the bar bar is thinning out when Aubrey crosses her legs then uncrosses them in a hurry.

“Ouch.” She looks down at her track burn.

“Yikes, that really is bad. I should apologize, because I guess it’s kind of my fault.”

“I mean, that huge blocker did most of the Gaohhh, oh I get it.” She giggles as Dani bends forward and plants a line of kisses up the mark.

She sits up but stays leaning, meaning their faces are oh-so-close together, “Better?”

“Uh huh.” Aubrey moves in, kissing her and getting a happy sigh and a kiss back.

“I have some more apology ideas.” Dani gives her a mischievous smile.

“Fuck, guh, um, don’t think I can tonight. We have a match tomorrow and Juno might literally kill me if I come in super late and wake her up. Tomorrow night do you wanna, like, go to dinner?”

“Definitely.” Dani stands and Aubrey mirrors her, “if I don’t see you before then, good luck tomorrow.”

“Am I gonna see my favorite fan in the stands tomorrow?” Aubrey purrs hopefully moving in for one last kiss. Dani obliges, then kisses her nose.

“You know it, hot stuff.”

#danbrey #aubrey little/dani #meet ugly #Prompt Fills #TAZ Amnesty

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multi-fandom-nutjob · 5 years

Text

10(ish) Characters I want in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga! (and not as DLC)

So yeah. They’re remaking one of the greatest games I grew up with and it’s coming out in like a year. Well, not remaking, so much as going back to the drawing board and rebuilding it from scratch! Which is awesome!

But from what I’ve seen, there isn’t much buzz about this on Tumblr, so imma make a post and see if it gets any traction.

(((((No Legends characters will be mentioned, since I didn’t think they’d make it because of the Mouse.)))))

1. Ahsoka Tano (S1-3, S3-5, Rebels, Rebels Finale, S7)

Ahsoka is straight up tied with Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi for my favorite characters in the entire franchise! Not only that, but she was in LEGO Star Wars 3 as one of the major recurring playable characters and in LEGO Star Wars TFA as DLC, but only in the Rebels form.

Now, the definitively preferred outcome is for all five versions I mentioned to be unlockable, but from what I’ve heard, the Extended Universe isn’t getting much rep in the game, so she might get relegated to DLC. This would be pretty sad, especially since LEGO Star Wars 3 never went past Season 2 of the show, when it honestly got so much better.

Not only that, but each version of Ahsoka would bring something new to the Jedi gameplay. One of my biggest criticisms of the Complete Saga was that most of the Jedi played the same, so there wasn’t any incentive to play as them over the Sith. Ahsoka’s lightsaber style, however, could prove to diversify the combat greatly.

2. Asajj Ventress (2D, TCW, Bounty Hunter)

Asajj Ventress is an absolute queen! Among the Seperatists, she ends up being a scalpel amongst hammers. Because of Prequel Rep, we know Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and General Grievous will get their just dues, but Ventress’s fate is a lot more uncertain.

The biggest obstacle in her way might be whether it comes down to her or Savage Oppress, and ultimately, I would much rather have Ventress than Savage! Don’t get me wrong, Savage is great too, but with the inclusion of Maul, we already have a Double-Lightsaber wielding Nightbrother on the roster. They could certainly have different styles to it, with Maul’s acrobatics compared to Savage’s brute force, but I’m not certain TT Games will go that far. Ventress’s dual wielding would force some creativity to come through.

Ventress is also, frankly, a more fleshed out and entertaining character to add to the roster. Her inclusion could a lot of fun banter in all the action.

3. Wampa (Empire Strikes Back)

The Wampa was intended to be a playable character in both LEGO Star Wars 2 AND the Complete Saga. I’d say the big guy’s debut beyond a cutscene is long overdue!

Some might argue that he’s too big and too one-note to add anything to the gameplay. I’d argue, however, that the Wampa could play very similar to the big, beefy character in the LEGO Marvel and DC games, slamming into the ground and charging at opponents. In a game full of force-sensitives and bounty hunters, a wall of muscle would definitely be unique!

4. Yaddle (Prequels(I wanna say Phantom Menace?))

Do you know who’s cooler than Yoda? The mom of Baby Yoda, that’s who! Yaddle is one of those weird additions to the Star Wars Mythos that came back in a big way with the Mandalorian. While it isn’t exactly confirmed who Baby Yoda’s parents are.... c’mon, we all know.

Not to mention, Yaddle is one of the very, very, very few character in Legends and Canon to have an orange lightsaber, which would be really cool to see in gameplay. Sure, you can just make an orange lightsaber for your Custom Character, but isn’t it cooler to have a character on the regular roster with one?

5. Rey (Yellow Blade) (TRoS)

(((Sorry, that was the only pic I could find and it was too funny not to use)))

Speaking of oddly colored lightsabers, Rey finally made her own lightsaber in the last two minutes of RoS and it needs to be in the game! Honestly, I’ve been wanting Rey to make her own blade since she reached out to Luke at the end of TFA. She never got the chance to really develop her own style whenever she just used the “Legacy Blade” as I’ve called it. They desperately need to make this an unlockable in the game and not DLC.

(And was it just me, or did it really look like it was double-bladed from how the bottom looked?)

6. The Inquisitors (any of them) (Rebels, Fallen Order)

Okay, so, truth be told, I kind of hate these characters. Like, really hate these characters. The Grand Inquisitor and the Second Sister were the only ones that ever narratively struck a chord with me, and that was really only even in backstory. As actual antagonists, they’re all on par with Team Rocket in terms of threat and are far less endearing...

Hence why they’d be perfect in a LEGO game!! With a more comedic tone overall, the Inquisitors would fit right at home! Heck, mixing the lightsaber combat generally exclusive to Sith with characters only able to do Jedi Force Powers would make for an interesting dynamic.

Plus, the “helicopter-blades” as they tend to be called would honestly kinda work in a LEGO game? Sort of? Like, it’s stupid-looking, but we know it’s stupid looking, and it would help a lot with getting over huge pits and that sort of thing(like Artoo!). So there could be some precidence for them, so long as they were used right.

7. Ovissian Gunner (Battlefront 2... 2)

Just... just look at this doofus! He’s high as a kite and he’s packing a mini-gun! I don’t even play Battlefront 2 and I love him so much. I would take him home and introduce him to my parents. I would treat him right because he deserves the Galaxy. And he deserves to be in this game!

8. Kirak Infil’a (Darth Vader comics)

Ever wondered where Vader got the Kyber Crystal for his new lightsaber? He killed this guy and corrupted his Kyber Crystal to do it, and kept the same hilt for a long while before he rebuilt it to be what it was in the Original Trilogy.

As one of the few Disney Canon characters added to the Prequel Era, I’d say this guy has earned his stay in the new game, especially since I had to keep Legends characters off the list(((for unfortunate reasons))).

Not only that, but he kicked Vader’s ass for a good bit before dying, so having a badass grandpa who left the Jedi Order like Ahsoka on the roster would be fun!

9. Cal Kestis (Fallen Order)

I mentioned him before, but this guy and the Ovissian Gunner are the only two characters on the list with Video Game origins, which I think would be fun to explore in arguably the most famous video game series for the franchise!

Not only that, but he’s the only Jedi(besides this one jackass in the Clone Wars) that has a double-bladed lightsaber, which he can also detach into dual wielding blades! That alone brings merit to him being on the list, but the fact that the player can decide the color of the lightsaber in the game also poses an interesting concept I’d like to see them implement! That idea being, that every time you reignite his blades, it randomly slides between all the Custom Character options besides Red. Either that or it goes in a specific pattern, of course.

((And is it just me, or is his name very suspiciously close to that Kyle Katern guy from Jedi Knight II: Outcast?))

10. The Mandalorian (not gonna spoil his actual name)

You’ve gotta admit, Mando and Baby Yoda took the world by storm when they first premiered. One of their main creators was Dave Filoni, the same guy who directed The Clone Wars and Rebels! I think, from his help with the franchise to the overabundant success of the show, that Mando ought to be put in the base game as an unlockable(maybe as a sort of 100% completion reward?).

Not only would that just be great for the fans, but he’d be tons of fun to play as as well! His evaporating rifle and underhanded fighting style would be tons of fun to play as, and a character who passively deflects blaster fire would add a whole new dynamic to the roster, though he’d have to take damage to lightsabers to not be completely broken.

I can’t fucking believe I forgot Leia with her lightsaber!!!

Do i expect these characters to all make it into the game? Hardly. If even three make it in, you can call me impressed. But you can’t tell me that these ten wouldn’t be a ton of fun in a LEGO game!

#lego star wars #star wars #lego star wars the skywalker saga #ahsoka tano #asajj ventress #inquisitor #the mandalorian #yaddle #cal kestis #wampa #rey of jakku

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rezdogsyonder · 5 years

Text

Need

Pairing: reader x Professor!Rogers

Summary: Steve needs somebody special in his life will he find someone?

Warnings: dark themes,

A/N: one of my first series, first fic with smut(in a future part)

**********

Relationships were never Steve’s forte. Not in the forties, and definitely not now. Maybe if he had more time back then. Now a days relationships weren’t the same.

Maybe he needed to get with the times, or maybe he just needed to find the right girl.

**********

Steve was sitting at his usual table in the coffee shop he has been a regular at these past couple weeks. He was working on the finishing touches of his lesson plan. He wanted his first class to be perfect.

Then the reason for his being here walked out from the storeroom. You. You had only begun working there the Sunday before last, but you made quite an impression on him. He still remembers the first time he saw you, it was your first day and it was written all over your face. You didn’t have much experience with people, that much was obvious, but you were ambitious.

“Hey what can I get for you today?” You said smiling, you seemed comfortable with him. He wondered what made him special, because you seemed so timid with the others in front of him in line.

“Yeah, can I get a triple americano? Uh, large please.”

“Sure thing, coming right up, and your name?”

You write it on the cup, “You sure? Seems like your not certain.” You smile at him. “That’ll be 4.50”

“Steve?” You didn’t know his name? You’re probably just being polite.

“Yeah I’m sure.” He swiped his card, cheeks going a little pink.

“Ok you’ll hear your name in a couple minutes. Thank you, come back soon.” You smiled again and walked back to hopefully learn how to make some coffees with your coworker.

Steve smiles at the memory. From what he’s seen, you’ve come a long way. You can make everything on the menu, and you ran the shop by yourself a few times.

The only problem is that Steve can’t build up the courage to be more than a regular to you. There’s something about you that makes him weak in the knees and out of breath every time he tries to talk to you.

He has made remarks here and there, like “you look lovely in that color” or something similar, but he just loves that you stilll took his comments and catered to him. You have been wearing much more navy blue since Steve told you he liked it, and he craves more control, but at this moment he needs to head down to campus.

Sparing one last look at you, he left. Not knowing that soon, you were to follow.

**********

“So when are you going to stop staring at him and make your move?” Your roommate and coworker teased. Loudly, I might add.

“Shh! Maria I’m not making any moves on anybody, you know this. I just want to focus on my classes, I can’t be overwhelming myself again this year.” You want her to quiet down even though the guy she is talking about just left.

“True, but you need to have fun. When was the last time you went hone with a guy? Or did anything besides study or work?” You smacked her her playfully. ‘Never’ you thought, wiping down the counters.

“I don’t think this is very appropriate for work, besides I’m gonna head to class” you untie your apron, put it on a shelf in the back, and grab your jacket and backpack. “You sure your fine? I can just bum somebodies notes if you need me here...” looking around at the nearly empty cafe.

“Go, besides I heard that the new history teacher is a hunk.” She laughed and began nudging you. “Go get an education, why do I have to force you?” Making a show of pushing you towards the door.

You walk to the front of the counter, “Because I liked the old teacher, I understood them.” You half laughed, but you were a little serious, Ms.Vell was your favorite teacher, and you were gonna miss her.

“I know but now you gotta make a good first impression on Mr.Roberts.” She reminded.

“Rogers, and you’re right. I’ll see you at home.”

**********

The walk to your class wasn’t long, you worked at the campus coffee shop and it wasn’t your first choice but Maria stuck her neck out for you and you weren’t going to waste it. It began to smell like it was about to rain, so you hurried to your class, making you 22 minutes early.

Well, it’s better than being late. You knew this was gonna be a pretty small class compared to the rest of the classes on campus. This class only has around 30ish students on the roster rather than 50-70. Out of those 30, only 8 are here right now. You chose to sit in the front row.

You pull out your notebook and began writing the topic on the board, and the date. You flip over the notebook and begin doodling on the cover.

17 minutes till class starts.

The notebook cover is filled, you take out the book you are currently reading. It was a collection of short stories, and you just got to Tell-tale heart.

5 minutes left. The professor just got here, you haven’t looked up yet. Just have to finish this page.

You feel the book slide out of your hands. “Wait, what?”

You look up to see Steve, the man Maria has been bugging you to to make a move on.

“Edgar Allen Poe. He’s a good author but try not to get too distracted—” he stops when he sees your face, “—shit”

Shit. Just your luck.

#steve x reader #steve rogers #dark #professor #professor!rogers #steve rodgers x reader #avengers #marvel #marvel fic #avengers fic

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auxgod · 4 years

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Top 25 Best Rap Logos Of All Time

The great rap logos from the history of hip-hop acted as cultural co-signs, and for every great artist or label there is a memorable stamp of approval. For the past 30 years we’ve seen artist develop a logo the minute they arrive and we’ve seen others get one 3 albums down the line.

We made a list of The 25 Greatest Rap Logos of all time. Let us know who you’d add

25. G-Unit

Like the signature Coca-Cola logo, G-Unit’s script font stood out the moment “G-Unit Merch” was officially for sale. It was simple, It was clean, and it was effective with how they had a script to take over the entire music scene in 2003-2005

24. Outkast

The Atlanta duo Outkast exploded on the hip hop scene in 1994, packed with a logo that immediately let the general public know the South Had Something To Say. Outkast dropped five classic albums that all featured the original logo in some capacity–an impressive feat, considering how unique each cover is compared to the others.

23. Marino Infantry

Marino Infantry may be the newest establishment on this list but they sure deserve the recognition. What ASAP Ant has been able to do with the rap culture/skate culture has been impressive to watch proving there’s no limit to what you can do with shades of the classic “No Limit Logo”

22. 2Pac

The best logos don’t have to be elaborately designed by the world’s greatest artists, but they do have to be recognizable, memorable, and unique to the artist. 2Pac accomplished all of this, despite arguably having the most basic logo on this list.

21. Sick Wid It

E-40 gets little respect when it comes to content and longevity but his logo says it best. He’s been cashing out and going Ham since the late 80′s and even in 2020 Forty Water takes no days off.

20. Ear Drummers

With the way MikeWillMadeIt hit the scene in 2011with towering 808′s, this logo fit his “Ear Drummers” brand to a T

19. Eminem

Similar to 2Pacs logo, it’s minimal but the backwards E would forever standout leading up to Eminem’s success solidifying him and his brand

18. Hypnotize Minds

With Three 6 Mafia taking the rap game by storm in the 90′s and mid 2000′, one thing that always stood out was the Hypnotize Minds Logo. The Grim Reaper with the Pendulum was always iconic.

17. Young Money (1997)

One of the Newer and underrated logos, Young Money mimicked the New York Yankees logo and made it their own. It works because knowing the History of the Yankees being one of the Richest baseball teams, Wayne using that logo to symbolize their a mini version of them was always raw

16. Odd Future

Odd Future hit the scene and slowly started to change the game. As their cult following started to grow, more fans were buying merch and the Pink Donuts were everywhere in 2010-2013

15. UGK

The Underground Kings have a logo that fits their sound perfectly. Old School, straight to the point and regal. When you saw this logo on the front of an album cover you knew you were Gonna be blessed with some gems.

14. Freebandz

Future hit the ground running. The music, the visuals, and the branding was all the there. The FreeBandz eagle similar to the Diplomats was inspired by the Ramons

13. KEY!

KEY! is your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper and can definitely be regarded as one of the pioneers of the new wave of Atlanta artist. Whether it be his image or his music, KEY! came out the gate a goat with his one of a kind logo matching his name with a Key of Coke.

12. Young Jeezy

There was a time when a snowman didn’t mean much of anything. But in 2005, Young Jeezy had people like myself getting suspended from school for wearing shirts with this very logo saying “Can’t Ban The Snowman”. Though Jeezy hasn’t used the Snowman in a while, no one will forget wondering just what was going on when it first came out.

11. N.W.A.

Words can not truly explain how iconic this logo is. NWA has been an acronym for a few great things but the Niggas With Attitude changed the atmosphere and those 3 Letters will forever be intense.

10. SoSo Def

JD and SoSo Far were really one of the best companies who actually had a mascot for their logo. Kanye would later

9. Bad Boy

One of the first rap logos i can remember, the Bad Boy baby has been around for some legendary artist. Biggie, Mase, Black Rob, Shyne, Diddy has always has a great roster but could never duplicate the same success he shared with BIG.

8. Death Row

Death Row Records logo fit their entire demeanor, The Stories told about Suge Knight and various studio sessions along with the incredible Source Awards Speech, Death Row was nothing to be fucked with.

7. Kanye West

One of the best things about “Old Kanye” was seeing “Drop Out Bear” and anticipating how Kanye would apply him into the album artwork some how. Sadly after the Graduation, Ye stopped using him for whatever reason.

6. Run DMC

The Queens New York Trio Run DMC might honestly have the most replicated logo of all time. This Logo has been copied countless times but it’s mainly because of how trendsetting Run DMC was during this time.

5. Cash Money

You can’t say legendary logos without mentioning Cash Money. The dollar sign along with the Cash Money Records text would be the image rap fans would have to get use to from 1996 til now but mainly in 1999-2000 where the Cash Money Millionaires were virtually impossible to ignore.

4. No Limit

No other logo would best represent what Master P and the No Limit Soldiers were about to do better than this Army Tank. P bringing out the Gold Tank in the Make Em Say Uhh video use to be a moment you literally couldn’t afford to miss because P was really setting the bar high

3. Diplomats

Growing up you either wanted to be in No Limit, Cash Money, or the Diplomats. Cam’ron and the Diplomats started to take New York by storm and this logo began to pop up everywhere. Adding Guns to the Talons for the merch, the logo alone was the finishing touches to solidify the Diplomats as one of the best groups of the 2000′s

2. Wu-Tang

The Wu-Tang “W” is the hip-hop equivalent of the McDonalds Arch. The legendary classic logo represents an entire Clan and their brand of Kung Fu-influenced Staten Island rawness. Even if you don’t listen to their music, this logo may be the most recognizable.

1. Rocafella Records

While Wu Tang may have the most recognizable logo, the most iconic to us is the Rocafella Logo. Not only the artist, the plan Jay, Dame, and Biggs established, or the way they went about their business, it was the legendary diamond along with the Rocafella chain itself. Watching Kanye get his at the end of the Through The Wire video is still one of the best moments in music history.

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inikavulpixelreviews · 5 years

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Let’s Talk About Pokemon - The Psychic Type

No type has a more troubled long-term history with the game than the Psychic type. One notorious for being THE best in the game at the series's beginnings. Not even as one of the top types, but the objectively best type in the whole game. With Psychic types having some of the highest stats in the game, including Mewtwo, alongside having some of the strongest moves in the game. Not to mention it had pitiful competition. Its only weaknesses at the time were Bug and Ghost. Bug had a pitiful selection of attacks, the best one being Pin Missile. Meanwhile, Ghost was meant to be the quintessential Psychic counter, sadly they somehow not realized that the only Ghost type in the game was also part Poison, thusly are weak to Psychic. AND they suffered the same problem as Bug, where their strongest move that worked off of normal damage calculations was Lick. Not that it mattered, because they accidentally made Psychic IMMUNE to Ghost. Whoopsie.

Psychic was so notoriously overpowered, the next Generation had to introduce not one, but TWO whole new types in Dark and Steel specifically geared toward nerfing Psychic to bring it back in line with the rest. And of course, Bug and Ghost getting some better moves at their disposal helped as well.

These days, Psychic is just another one of the types. Even down to being pretty reasonably common, with 83 or so to choose from. The type's theming runs pretty flexible, including things like mystical critters, users of powerful mental forces, animated ancient artifacts, among more things. It's also one of the types most willing to get weird, however with a lot of 'Mons in its roster that seem uncharacteristically normal as well. Seriously, what about Oricorio or the Lati duo elicits the Psychic type?

It's also somewhat inadvertently something of a “Space” type, with it being assigned to a lot of cosmic entities such as Deoxys, Beheeyem, the whole Cosmog line plus Necrozma combo, among others. I'd definitely say the Type's strength comes from when it delves into the weirdos and horror-themed monsters. The more normie ones like Oricorio or even the whole Lake trio feel pretty out of place for the type. At least ones like Bruxish or Swoobat can be linked with the Psychic type for one's ability to disorient and the other's shrieks makes you feel all lovey-dovey.

Top 10 Favorite Psychic Types:

Even then, a couple of these are just ones I like the design of, but don't really like AS Psychic types. Like I said, ones like Latias or Alolan Raichu don't really fit in, do they? A. Raichu may as well have been Fairy type.

Bottom 10 Least Favorite Psychic Types:

I feel like a good chunk of these aught to have been retconned into Fairy types, where they'd arguably be more thematically appropriate. The others are just plain suffering from missed potential, like Cresselia which could've been a pleasant Poke-sandman if it wasn't so busy being a Latias cosplaying the moon.

The Cutest:

The Coolest:

The Prettiest:

The Spookiest:

The Weirdest/Most Unique:

Most Inventive Use of the Type:

...Though I feel like for this type in particular, it aught to be called “Most Nuanced Use of the Type”, you get me? You can take a lot of weirdos and assign them mental supernatural abilities, but there's outliers like Beheeyem and Musharna which take up a unique place among the mental spectrum between the stereotype that aliens have mind-controlling powers, meanwhile Musharna has a particular domain amongst the mental spectrum where it is a Dream creature!

Also, looking back on the guy, I don’t think I gave Mr. Mime a fair shake when I initially reviewed em. Watching the Mr. Mime scene in Detective Pikachu definitely helped in warming up to Mr. Mime just due to that being the funniest scene in the whole movie, but for real. I’d probably still somewhat change the design a bit but I didn’t give enough credit to a mime-like creature that uses Psychic abilities to create physical invisible walls in the world. Had I enough reason to go back and re-review some older Pokemon I’ve since had a slight change of heart on, I might give Mr. Mime a 6.5/10 or something.

PSYCHIC TYPE WISHLIST:

NOTE: These Type Wishlists were written out before any news on new Pokemon from Sword and Shield. The Pokemon revealed over time will not affect these wishlists. Just to present them unaltered despite spoilers and in the interest of getting the wishlist out there, and to see which items on said wishlists get fulfilled by Sword and Shield!

A Disembodied Brain:

With how much the Psychic type is known for being ALL about powerful mental abilities, there's a distinct lack of a brain present here. Or even just a Pokemon with a head so big and with the brain very clearly visible! These things are ALL OVER media, it's kind of a surprise one's yet to hit Pokemon!

A Hive Mind:

Speaking of Sci-fi tropes, I think there's some potential in portraying a Ghost/Psychic, or PREFERABLY a Bug/Psychic type as a rather literal Hive Mind. Or perhaps we could go for an unorthodox way of thinking about it. As in not quite doing it in the same sense of separate entities controlled by the same brain, but rather a living think tank that has eaten the thoughts of other beings and uses it to make a Hive of Minds out of its head, so to speak!

A Traditional Witch:

Yes, there's both Mismagius and Braixen. But I'd love to see a more traditional-looking, still-living Witch! Mismagius moreso has a witch motif and Braixen trades in all its witchy potential to become more of a wizard when it evolves.

A Bookworm:

Look, Bug's still lacking a pairing with the Psychic type so I'm gonna go ahead and double down on this. Though I still wouldn't complain TOO much if we didn't get a literal Bookworm. It could just be a monster that loves to read spellbooks and floats on or behind one, even reading it mid-battle! Could go for a book-based objectmon as well, but there's plenty of living book monsters out there where unless they had a neat twist to it I'd, for once, prefer it not to be an objectmon.

A Genie:

Not that I expect one so soon after Hoopa, but Hoopa left a rather mediocre taste in my mouth. There's so much personality potential in a Psychic/Fairy Genie jackass; a full Pokemonification of the stereotypical genie that takes advantage of your bad wording to grant your wishes in a totally wrong way.

A UFO:

We have a Pokemon or two that look (or sound) like a UFO moreso incidentally than in a way that looks all that on purpose. Why not add to the little subgenre of “Alien” Pokemon and give them a ship to ride in!

[Archive]

#Pokemon #Pokemon Reviews #Psychic Type

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mx-bright-sky · 5 years

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okay i know we literally just got the latest fire emblem game like, a few months ago, but right now i can’t stop thinking about what i, personally, would want out of the next fire emblem game in the series and so now i’m gonna make a post about it

also most of this stuff is gonna be focused on mechanics and none of it is going to be overly detailed when going into story elements; i enjoy making stories but i don’t wanna come up with an entire brand new one just for a post

so!

first of all, i really love what they did in three houses with having it so that you could walk around the monastery between each chapter’s missions, and so i want that to STAY and i want it to get even MORE in depth

i also think that the next game should probably only have one “route” in it. we had fates with nohr and hoshido and valla, and now we have three houses with the black eagles and the blue lions and the golden deer. three houses is definitely leagues better than fates in terms of story telling, but it would be a lie to say that there aren’t parts of it that are lacking, and when looking at the different paths you can see a shift in the quality of writing. three houses was good because it was like it was taking the idea of fates and actually making it work, but now that it has, it’s time to move on. i think if we have a story with one “route”, it’ll make the game stronger because it can focus on making that one story as good as it can be

that being said, i wouldn’t be opposed if this “route” worked like the black eagles route, where automatically you would end up in Silver Snow but if you meet certain requirements you get the option of choosing a secret route, like with Crimson Flower

actually, expanding on that, let’s say we have “one route” but within that story are different choices at key moments and depending on what you choose it will slightly change the trajectory of the story (kind of like what happened in awakening, but i mean like, MORE of an effect than what awakening gave us)

okay that’s enough talking about routes for now, moving on,

i really like the way that the character roster works in three houses, where they start you off with a set of 9 units and every chapter mission has a limit of about 11, and then the game lets you choose if you want to recruit more but it’s not required. i like that more than previous games’ “here you start off with three people and only over the course of the story do you get everyone, have fun”, especially because in other games at a certain point you have to bench some units because the game gives you more than you’re able to deploy.

so like, one(1) keep that starting set of characters and the ability to recruit more. but to add on to that, i’d also say that it would be interesting if the story could randomly choose (at the start of the game when you get your team) which people are in your group, and then put a limit to how many people you can actually recruit to your party. i feel like that would offer more variety than “here’s my fifty-fifth playthrough of three houses and here’s my character roster it’s uhh literally everyone in the monastery, again, all of them” because if you’re limited to who you can pick and who you get from the start is randomized, then for a while every new playthrough of the game is gonna be different

another thing that goes with that, and i think this would be easy to add if we’re already doing the “randomized what characters are there” situation; when you recruit a character, have them show up in story cutscenes where everyone is there. made me sad that when i recruited people in three houses they didn’t get to show up too.

i made a post about this the other day but To Summarize(TM); i want support conversations to have more of a clear impact on things going on. like, maybe the way that could function is that each character has a little internal growth meter, and it goes up a little bit every time they have one of those meaningful support conversation chats, and so depending on what level it’s at you see different dialogues from that character. that way their growth feels more real and permanent. another cool thing, you know how three houses already lists each characters favorite people in the menu? what if when you’re wandering around the open world part, you can see those characters spending time together. and you know how sometimes in three houses you see characters doing a little back and forth in story cutscenes? it would be cool if characters you had at a-support with each other had little lines with each other like that. it would just make the world feel more alive, you know?

speaking of the supports; honestly at this point with the character avatar i see a few different options that would be better. one, if we go down the path of having all the other characters go up to A and A only with each other, then i feel like that should apply to the avatar character too. we don’t need s-supports if no other character has them. or, two, if we’re giving all of the characters s-supports again, then can we just stop gender locking the s-supports? if you have a masculine and feminine avatar, and you’re already writing their s-supports with everyone, then literally WHAT is the point of gender locking them. it would be so much easier to just not, honestly it’s so simple i don’t know why they haven’t gotten it yet.

ALSO PLUS, with the avatar, can we like... have it so that the avatar isn’t in a position where marrying people is gross? like, with fates you could marry the royals even though the avatar is technically raised as their siblings which is,,, yuck, and in three houses even if it’s “only post timeskip” for a lot of people it’s still very uncomfortable that the avatar character is a teacher and then marry the characters that are their students. can we like... just NOT have the avatar be a character where there are those kinds of circumstances that make the ships gross???

and okay, ONE MORE THING, if we’re giving s-supports back to every character again, it would also be better to not have platonic s-supports because, you know, otherwise what’s the point of it being an S-SUPPORT

okay i’m done support ranting

as all fire emblem fans know, fates’ story was far from the best (even if you do like the game), HOWEVER, there are a FEW things that I think it did right. that being, one(1), while i know we shouldn’t expect a gimmick on every map in the game, I really do like how all of the maps in the Revelations path had a sense of uniqueness to it, and I want at least some of that sprinkled in through other games. TWO(2) is that fates got rid of gender locked classes. why did we move backwards. let me have my male pegasus knights, cowards. ESPECIALLY considering classes that WEREN’T EVEN GENDER LOCKED before, NOW SUDDENLY being gender locked in three houses. what the hell, i’m just, literally why, i don’t understand why they did it

speaking of classes, we gotta make up our minds, can every class use every weapon or not. what i mean is, i want non-specifically-mage-classes to be able to use magic, and i don’t want other classes to lock out specific weapon types. freedom for all weapons. i was so excited by the idea of having marianne as a pegasus rider and then i found out she wouldn’t be able to use magic anymore and i had to give up that dream

bring back transforming units, if a character is part dragon i wanna see ‘em turn into a dragon

having lord characters that used weapons other than swords was cool, can we keep that going?

and having a female lord who actually had goals and a character drive was cool, can we get more of that too but this time without making her the villain

that’s all i got for now, but i might come back to this later

#my posts #sky plays fe th

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xb-squaredx · 5 years

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B-Squared’s Top 10 Games of 2019!

2019 was a year full to the brim of GREAT games, and as is the custom at the end of the year, people love to rank their favorites, so…I’d like to do the same! Of course my own tastes might be different from yours so if you don’t see a thing on here that you liked, chances are I didn’t like it…or more likely, there’s just too many great games out this year, and I couldn’t get to everything. I’d like to stress to that the rankings don’t really matter all that much, especially the farther down we go. Everything on here is an easy recommendation. Without any further ado…let’s take a look at my Top 10 Games of 2019~

#10 - River City Girls

I love action games, but 2D beat-em-ups never really clicked for me. They were largely before my time and I was thinking that it’d be impossible to get me into one in the current era of gaming. And then I saw Marian’s redesign for River City Girls and bought the game. What can I say? Abs are a great sales pitch. But seriously, getting Wayforward on the helm of a beloved classic franchise is already a great way to pique my interest, and while there’s SOME aspects of this game that I don’t quite gel with, it’s a fun, colorful romp through a ridiculous universe that I’d LOVE to see more of down the line. Featuring a role-reversal, with the girlfriends saving the boyfriends this time, River City Girls has gorgeous pixel art, an AMAZING pop-synth soundtrack that’s worth the price alone, and it’s a game that clearly had fun with the concept and that fun rubs off on you. From the stylish animated boss intros, to the co-op fun that can be had with a friend, everything in this game is brimming with charm. Basic NPCs have great designs in their own right, being able to recruit enemies as assists is a neat idea, and it all adds up to a fun, bite-sized adventure with a bit of depth under the hood if you’re willing to give it a look. Can the character designers get a raise for this game, please? And let Megan McDuffie just do all the songs from now on. ALL OF THEM.

#9 - Astral Chain

Most people assumed if we were going to get a Switch exclusive game by Platinum this year, it’d be Bayonetta 3 but instead Nintendo surprised us with Astral Chain, the anime cop action game we didn’t know we wanted. The game boasts great visuals and is probably the most content-rich Platinum game ever made for starters, but for me the true draw is in the combat. Playing as your police officer in tandem with an alien creature known as a Legion, this tag-team action game is unlike pretty much anything else on the market. While the game starts off very simplistic, the Legion itself moving and attacking with no input from the player, over time more and more options unlock and things get considerably more complicated. By game’s end, you’re drowning in options, and once things clicked, combat was always a treat. With plenty of enemies to practice with, Legions to master and a gigantic post-game filled with challenging encounters, I had more fun with the combat in this game than I did with a lot of other games this year. That said, I do feel that Astral Chain could have benefitted from trimming some fat or rethinking its overall structure. For being a new IP with some bold ideas, I’m willing to accept these as kinks that can hopefully be ironed out in a sequel. Oh, and add Lappy to Smash already. You know you want to, Sakurai.

#8 - BABA IS YOU

Puzzle games are hard sells for me, since I don’t like the frustration that often comes from being stuck. You feel dumb, you get embarrassed and turn the game off in shame, or at least that’s my experience. But then sometimes you get a game so clever, so…weird, that you can’t help but be sucked into it. BABA IS YOU is a block-pushing puzzle game, with the twist being that the “rules” of a particular stage are often physically present in levels and are in fact blocks that can be pushed and manipulated by the player. ROCK is PUSH, WALL is STOP, FLAG is WIN and BABA is YOU. But what if you can’t touch the flag because the wall is in the way? Well, make it so WALL is PUSH to move it aside, or maybe make it so that BABA is WIN and you become the win condition itself. As the game goes on, more modifiers and rules are slowly introduced and absorbed into your own internal logic of the game, logic that increasingly has to be broken and remade to suit your needs. It’s a very empowering experience when the solution clicks and the results can often be hilarious and surprising. This game also GOES PLACES the further you go in, and I’d rather not ruin that surprise for anyone who might be looking into the game. Definitely one of the most innovated titles I’ve played in a LONG time. BABA is GOOD.

#7 - Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

OK, so…hear me out. Power Rangers was a franchise I was obsessed with as a kid, and while I don’t follow it anymore, there’s still some love for it flowing in my veins. So when a small, no-name studio puts out a Power Ranger fighting game that takes the simplified controls of Smash Bros. and the tag-team craziness of Marvel vs. Capcom and slaps it all together for a cool twenty bucks or so? Well you got yourself a purchase and it ended up being WAY more fun than I expected. Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is far from the best looking fighter on the market, it’s single-player content is lacking, and it’s roster, while interesting, isn’t as big as a lot of the competition, but damn if it isn’t fun to play. With characters taken from across the franchise’s long history, from the live-action movie reboot to the comic books, each choice has been inspired and resulted in an incredibly varied cast. With no crazy inputs for special moves, combined with a tagging system that lets you cycle through your three-Ranger team quickly, the game is the best kind of chaotic fun, but true masters can command that chaos and channel it into cool combos that make you want to say “Morphinominal!” Considering it’s a budget title, it’s also received a fair amount of updates throughout the year to pad out the roster with both free and paid DLC fighters, a full story mode and improvements to the netcode and overall presentation., so if you passed on it at launch, it’s much improved now. It’s not gonna be a fighting game on everyone’s radar, but I’d rather support it than the grind-heavy slog Mortal Kombat has become…Now just hurry up and add that monster that baked the Rangers into a pizza!

#6 - New Super Lucky’s Tale

If your name isn’t Mario or Sonic, 3D platformers are effectively dead. That said, there’s been a few up-and-comers in recent years that are trying to revive the genre. Hat Kid from A Hat in Time, the duo of Yooka-Laylee, and now Lucky from the folks at Playful Studios. The cute fox has quite the history, starting from the Oculus Rift title, Lucky’s Tale, to a full-fledged platformer on the Xbox One X, Super Lucky’s Tale and now the enhanced port/reimagining New Super Lucky’s Tale on Switch. Halfway between a full-blown sequel, and enhanced edition, the game takes assets from the Xbox original game, tweaking and refining everything from visuals to controls to level layouts. The result is a game that is incredibly well-polished. It looks great, Lucky is a treat to control as he moves from jumping, burrowing and sliding around fluidly, and the variety on display keeps things interesting. We’ve got full 3D levels, 2D levels, auto-runners, and even some marble maze levels and puzzles thrown in for good measure. It’s not a hard game, but it IS incredibly fun, and well made. We don’t get many 3D platformers these days, so cherish what little comes of the genre. I hope Playful and Nintendo continue to collaborate, as they really seem more at home here. Just…maybe don’t add more words to the title of the next game, guys.

#5 - Katana Zero

There’s no nice way to say it: there’s too many pixel-based, side-scrolling indie games out there, so the ones that DO stand out deserve to be celebrated. Katana Zero has a real ‘80s flair for starters, using bright neon, TV and VCR visual effects, and a synth soundtrack to give it some real style. When a game kicks off with you slowing down time and reflecting a bullet back at an enemy with your katana, you make a good first impression! Add in the trial-and-error that is planning the perfect route through a stage, the satisfying slicing and dicing of enemies, the unique, challenging boss encounters, and you have a game that was on my radar for a while, before I finally got into it at the end of the year. Its storyline is pretty interesting too, with some slight variances in how events unfold depending on your words and actions, though it ending on a bit of a cliffhanger is a bummer. That said, when a game leaves you wanting more, there’s worse problems to have. At the very least, there’s some DLC hinted at that might be interesting, as well as the implications that this is the merely the first in a trilogy, and at this point I’m game for whatever developer Askiisoft has in store.

#4 - Luigi’s Mansion 3

The GameCube was an odd era for Nintendo, as they attempted to innovate and try new ideas rather than rely purely on their old standbys. Case-in-point, rather than launch the console with a new Mario platformer, his second-banana brother Luigi got his first starring role in what would become the Luigi’s Mansion series. While not making QUITE as big of a splash as maybe Nintendo hoped, it’s garnered a decent fanbase, and when a sequel was announced for 3DS, people ate it up. Considering the gap between the first and second games, I think many people were surprised at the relatively quick turn-around for the third installment. I was also surprised at the overall quality and how much I enjoyed digging into it. For starters, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is easily one of the better-looking Switch titles, boasting some great lighting and particle effects, with some fun physics implemented for just about everything in the massive mansion. Luigi and company are animated with a lot of expressiveness that never gets old, and the music sets the tone perfectly too. From a gameplay standpoint, the toolset Luigi gains gives him ample options to poke at every nook and cranny, with the slimy doppelganger Gooigi being the clear stand-out. Some of the floors of the Last Resort hotel that Luigi must ascend are particularly massive and intricate too, some floors feeling like Legend of Zelda-style dungeons. While not a particularly challenging game, it’s still really satisfying to poke and prod at everything in sight, sucking in all the coins, gold bars and stacks of paper bills you can handle, not to mention slamming the ghosts around like the Hulk does to Loki. There’s also multiplayer! That I…haven’t really touched but…hey! More bang for your buck, surely!

#3 – Dragon Quest XI S

I don’t consider myself a huge fan of JRPGs. Or at least that’s what I thought before I tried out the Dragon Quest XI demo on Switch. I ended up falling for the game hard and bought the full release, carrying my demo data over and not stopping until I hit credits. Despite having never touched a Dragon Quest game before, outside of an hour or so of VIII, I was overcome with this feeling of nostalgia when it came to this game. That’s because Dragon Quest is THE quintessential JRPG game, the originator of all that we take for granted today. It was nice to feel right at home with a simple, effective combat system, rather than having to watch games re-invent the wheel in an attempt to stand out from the pack (sorry Xenoblade), and the story itself, while predictable and a little basic at times, was told well and told earnestly. It really nailed the feeling of going on a grand adventure, with enough twists on the formula to keep things interesting. The turn-based combat was elementary, but always presented me with fair challenges and lots of ways to solve the encounters laid before me, with enough quality-of-life features added in to minimize grind and make things more convenient. The Switch version of Dragon Quest XI featured a bunch of new content on top of a game that had more than enough going for it, and it’s clear a lot of work was done to make this port as faithful as could be, and it stands out not just as a great port on a system known for some shoddy ones, but as a title that’s brimming with as much polish and quality to rival first-party Switch titles. Don’t ban Hero in Smash and don’t miss out on this game if you haven’t taken the plunge already!

#2 – Devil May Cry 5

The Devil May Cry franchise has had its share of ups and downs over the years. For every game that’s considered a success, you have another game that doesn’t quite measure up. For years many thought the franchise was dead in the water after the attempted reboot, DMC: Devil May Cry failed to grow its audience, but when Microsoft’s E3 2018 show revealed to us a new installment, fans were ecstatic. Devil May Cry 5 boasts crisp visuals, deep combat and trims the fat, removing the wonky platforming and puzzles of earlier games to create a high-octane action experience that ultimately exceeded fan expectations. Its storyline firmly plants Devil May Cry 4’s Nero as a main character in his own right, wraps up the story of the Sparda brothers neatly, and if this ended up being the last title in the series, I think it’s that rare ending that ends up being totally satisfying. Combat is the real draw here though, the game giving players three distinct characters to learn and master. Nero’s robotic Devil Breaker arms allow him a decent amount of variety, while having a balanced, beginner-friendly combat style for new players. Dante remains the king of variety, having more weapons than ever before combined with his signature style switching, though the game is actually designed with all these options in mind so he doesn’t end up breaking the game like he did in 4. Newcomer V ends up being a breath of fresh air, controlling up to three demonic summons at once, forcing players to really think more strategically. The music is incredible too; Nero’s own theme, Devil Trigger, has been stuck in my head since last year and I don’t see it leaving any time soon. All things considered, Devil May Cry 5 might be the best game in the franchise, and a worthy contender for game of the year personally. Now if only we had a special edition with Vergil and the ladies playable…

#1 - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I got into the Fire Emblem series with Awakening and really liked it a lot, however Fates, the next installment, left a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn’t really get into Echoes, itself a remake of the second game in the series, and I began to wonder if this franchise was really for me. I was willing to give Three Houses a shot, but I was not prepared for the game to blow past all my expectations. Fire Emblem: Three Houses isn’t just a good game, it’s a game that’s redeemed a franchise that’s stumbled a bit in recent years, and it likely cements Fire Emblem as a core Nintendo franchise for years to come. It has class, depth and real heart...with only minor creepy or pervy elements! Making a grand return to home consoles after more than a decade on handhelds, it goes big and it ultimately paid off, on track to become the best-selling entry in the series. The school setting might seem weird at first, and I wondered how well I’d adjust to it, but being able to instruct your units and influence their growth in battle was worth the learning curve. Things are introduced slowly enough that the flow of the game becomes relatively easy to manage, if a bit time-consuming overall. With four distinct storylines you can explore, TONS of character interactions and some interesting tweaks to the strategic gameplay the series is known for, I’m confident in saying that Three Houses is well-worth a purchase for newcomers to the franchise. Divine Pulse is a great quality-of-life addition that lets you undo mistakes, rather than force you to start over from scratch, and overall the UI and layout of the game gives you enough information to make informed decisions without overwhelming you. Makes me wonder how we survived before the games showed us who enemies would target on their turns before now. Admittedly, some aspects of the progression have some issues, especially at endgame, and visually the game really is not up to par most of the time, but these end up being tiny blemishes in the long run for me. They certainly weren’t bad enough to prevent me from starting a new path the instant I finished my first route. If I have one request…just make Claude a gay option. Give the people what they want, Nintendo!

Honorable Mentions

I’d like to add on some honorable mentions here before we close things out, though most of these are things I didn’t even get a chance to play, but they certainly might have made this list. For one, Resident Evil 2 Remake seems like a high-quality reinterpretation of the survival-horror classic, but I can’t do horror so I’ll likely pass it up. It’s also for that reason that I might not get to Control but I might try jumping out of my comfort zone for that one. The confusion surrounding both The Other Worlds AND The Outer Wilds is funny, but they’re both space-based games I’d be keen on getting to at some point down the line; the former is a great Western RPG by the folks who made the GOOD Fallout games, while the latter is an interesting space-faring puzzler with some interesting mechanics I’d rather not spoil for those not more in-the-know. Indie titles Sayonara Wild Hearts and GRIS definitely caught my attention with their great visuals, and in the case of the former, its soundtrack, even if the gameplay wasn’t quite there for me, and the weird fighting-game-but-kinda-RPG that is Indivisible demands my attention sooner or later. Bloodstained is the Castlevania follow-up I keep forgetting is out, and I hear great things about Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. The team behind the Yakuza series recently made a spin-off of sorts, Judgment that hit the West this year and while I like the Yakuza series for its quirky tone and fun combat, there’s still six other games I’d have to sift through, so going with Judgment, which is set to possibly begin a new franchise, seems like a good alternative. And how could I forget the likes of Shovel Knight as we finally receive the last expansion that’s been years in the making? I haven’t touched the King of Cards expansion yet, but I have the upmost faith in anything Yacht Club makes, so that’s surely a game of the year contender. 2019 was crazy good! Glad to close the year out with so much quality, and tons of great stuff to add to the ever-growing backlog.

Hope you had some good gaming memories made this year!

-B

#gameoftheyear #GOTY #GOTY2019 #astral chain #lucky's tale #baba is you #river city girls #devil may cry #luigi's mansion 3 #katana zero #power rangers #fire emblem three house #dragon quest 11 #xb-squaredx

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doktorpeace · 6 years

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Top 5 Games Of The Year Runner Up And Honorable Mentions

Runner Up: Doki Doki Literature Club (THIS SECTION CONTAINS BIG SPOILERS, IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED DDLC AND ARE INTERESTED IN MAYBE TRYING IT HERE’S THE TL;DR It’s good, it plays with your expectations in a very good way and in a multitude of ways, it’s a great little piece of media that brings to life an extremely good character. Also it’s free, go download it on steam.)

Look, maybe it’s because I don’t consume a lot of horror media but this game really stood out to me. Not only for it’s genre though, also for the high quality of its writing and with how great the game is at accomplishing the one and only thing it truly sets out to do: Convey Monika as a character. The horror elements themselves can be a bit hit and miss and some of them are quite predictable, but I feel the game is excellent at building a continuous sense of dread as the player continues through it. It rapidly ratchets up the intensity of its content after taking just enough time for the player to settle in and get comfortable and mixes in JUST A COUPLE of jumpscares (which honestly it probably shouldn’t) in order to keep the player unsteady enough in terms of expectations to keep that dread building. Regardless, throughout the game Doki Doki Literature Club does a great job taking advantage of player expectations both of dating sim visual novels AND of horror writing to ultimately become something just a little bit more. It becomes an excellent character exercise and exploration. Thanks to some smart programming in service of the game’s ultimate intent, to make Monika into a ‘real’ character actually ended up giving me one of the deepest scares any piece of media, video game or otherwise, has ever given me. And it did it without any secondary stimuli like sound or a jumpscare or horrifying visuals. No, in a completely calm moment all that was said was this:

And I REELED back in my chair because the suspense and the dread the game had been building all impacted me at once. You can’t deliver that kind of scare in someone without some smart writing backed up by some VERY smart programming and understanding of player expectations. Honestly Monika is such an excellent and fully realized character despite the game being so short it’s astounding. By taking care to give her a lot of special conditional dialogue, pages upon PAGES of missable content, and even meta-content such as her having unique dialogue that only appears while looking through the game’s files it really just all coalesces into making Monika feel almost real, real enough to give me the willies and to feel a bit sad for her by the end. DDLC is a divisive game and I understand if the game’s handling of certain themes or content doesn’t sit well with other people but for me, and I say this as someone who is no stranger to suicide attempts, the game never went to far. For me it all worked in service of the game’s narrative and Monika’s character growth. Honestly even just little details like how the piano in the soundtrack only starts playing for the first time once Monika is introduced and only ever stops when she’s not watching you or how there’s a lot of different horror elements that only occur randomly so not everyone has the same experience or how some can only happen in fullscreen or in windowed mode, it’s really amazing attention to detail and consideration of her character while also making the game more unique as a product. DDLC was really good. It gave me some good scares but it also gave me a good story and a GREAT character to appreciate. Even if, like me, you’re a bit of a weenie when it comes to horror content I’d wholeheartedly recommend DDLC as a read, assuming you both can handle a jumpscare or two and can handle game content that involves suicide and self harm. I know I didn’t get too in depth here but I wanted to avoid spoiling TOO much and honestly I already said too much as is! Please excuse me! Honorable Mention #1: Yo! Noid 2 - Enter the Void

It’s not often you get a game that’s developed explicitly as a joke that’s so good. Yo Noid 2 is a solid, fun, and funny platformer. It’s all pretty clearly built just to tell one joke right at the very end but the ends ABSOLUTELY justify the means. I can’t talk too in detail about this game without ruining why it’s special, but Yo Noid 2 is a legitimately fun 3D platformer, with good level design, a relatively expressive moveset, a very special Special Action Button, and honestly a great soundtrack to boot! Its difficulty ramps up in a good way across its very short 90-150 minute length culminating in a very fun final boss fight. PLEASE go download Yo Noid 2, if you like 3D platformers and want to have a good laugh it’s 300% worth your time. It’s even free, you have no excuses!!

Honorable Mention #2: Mega Man 11 Mega Man is back, again, and they really did a good job expanding the franchise. While I still like entries such as 9, 10, and 4 better personally there’s no denying MM11 expands the franchise in a positive way more than any other before it. MM11 takes the time tested side scrolling design of the classic Mega Man series and adds just enough of a new wrinkle with the Double Gear system to really expand the player’s horizons and to push their level design concepts. While Double Gear and in fact all of the secondary weapons are entirely unnecessary as is tradition for Mega Man games MM11 does a great job incentives smart use of these mechanics, keeping them balanced with a shared cooldown system between both gears (power and speed) and making every single one of the Robot Master powers actually useful! Also all of the robot master designs are really charming this time, I was initially worried about the addition of voice acting but the voice cast does a great job! The level design is also a treat, while the length of the levels varies DRASTICALLY and Wily Castle 1 is dramatically longer and harder than another other stage in the game overall it’s very easy to just jump into any level and challenge yourself. There is no obvious first boss, they’re all pretty tough, and I started with Acid Man myself. The only thing about MM11 that let me down was the soundtrack; it wasn’t bad it just wasn’t bombastic either, merely present during play but not sticking in my memory at all. MM11 is a great entry in the series and I hope it signals a true return of one of my childhood favorites with more games to come soon. Honorable Mention #3: Fire Emblem - Mystery of the Emblem (FE12) Taking the great concept of remaking FE’s earliest titles that Shadow Dragon started and actually putting in the elbow grease to make the game really good, FE12 is a stand out entry in the Fire Emblem franchise. While some aspects of its map design are somewhat held back by the original iteration, FE3′s age, the developers at IntSys really did a great job modernizing Archanea and paying good tribute to the characters and story that made this game an absolutely beloved classic in the first place. With overall good map design, modernized mechanics, the best use of an Avatar Character in the franchise, and massively improved unit, class, and weapon balance over the original FE12 polishes its source material to a razor shine. Top it all off with a decent story and great new content that adds a bunch of new dialogue to the characters and this is the definitive way to experience Archenea and its inhabitants. Except for Marth, he was better in Shadow Dragon. Besides Marth’s characterization taking a step back and the gaiden content being rather slapdash and forgettable, this game is everything a remastering should be; Taking what worked and polishing it, improving what didn’t, and adding all new content that fits in with the original game in a productive and fun way for fans. The addition of a wide variety of gameplay difficulties and including the until this game INCREDIBLY rare BS: Fire Emblem expansion chapters previously exclusive to the Super Famicom Satellaview this game cartridge is bursting with good content. It’s a fun, fun game with a lot to offer and great replayability thanks to its BULGING roster of characters and deeply customizable avatar character. If you like Fire Emblem as a franchise I’d heavily recommending finding a patched FE12 rom out there, harder though it is to do now. You owe it to yourself to experience this game. Oh, just play with the battle animations off, they’re REALLY ugly. Still, this game puts Shadow Dragon’s lazy near-direct port of an NES game to DS to shame. Honorable Mention #4: A Hat in Time - Seal the Deal This DLC has been getting some backlash and frankly I don’t get why. While I was a bit disappointed the new chapter was shorter than the base game ones the Death Wish side of things offered a TON of great new content and new ways to experience past challenges. For its modest price point this DLC really does everything I could possibly hope for out of a 3D Platformer expansion. New, tougher challenges to really push my skills, fun new content that fits right in with the base game in terms of quality and polish, and in A Hat in Time’s case GREAT new boss fight experiences. Taking every existing boss and turning them into a downright Superboss level difficulty fight, remixing all of their attacks, speed, patterns, and adding all new stuff to them is such a great idea and I really loved it. Seal the Deal is a ton of fun as long as you aren’t averse to an easy base game getting a VERY challenging DLC expansion. I can understand why the difficulty whiplash might turn some people off but for me it was just right and really hit the spot. A Hat in Time is just so good, I love it.

#Dok's GotY 2018

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gascon-en-exil · 6 years

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I Liked Fates Before It Was Cool!: Revelation Part 2

Prologue

Opening Chapters

Revelation Part 1

Chapters 13-19, in which everyone’s going to Valla even though half of them suck.

Chapter 13

Hey look, Hoshidan scum!

Ok, meme comedy done. This is in my opinion the first really strong chapter of Revelation, with satisfying gameplay, escalation of the threat posed by Valla, and some good character development. It’s an utter tragedy that it takes place against the literal backdrop of Cyrkensia’s ruined opera house, but I can (mostly) live with the destruction of my favorite setting in Fates when it’s so effective at getting results. Azura still gets to sing here after a fashion, and although there’s no cutscene to go with it the results of this particular show do a good job of subtly foreshadowing that Azura and Mikoto use similar pacifying magic from the same source.

After Kaden and Keaton are done lampshading why the party always runs into shapeshifters in Cyrkensia, it’s time for Corrin to step between Xander and Ryoma as they left them back in Chapter 6 - at each other’s throats in a conflict ultimately engineered by Anankos. It’s a good demonstration of what the war between the two nations would look like without Corrin’s intervention, and the crown princes’ characters logically follow from their behavior as antagonists in the other routes. Xander is resolved that Corrin is a traitor and merits only death, whereas Ryoma is more hesitant to accept Corrin’s choice and, unlike in Conquest, willing to listen to their stated motivations when he’s not on the verge of death. Ryoma’s mellower outlook may be attributed, oddly enough, to the strong intimation that he’s got something going on with Scarlet, something I completely forgot about until I replayed this chapter. I don’t blame myself for doing so; in an Avatar free-for-all dating game romances between the other playable characters are naturally going to get short shrift in the story, and it doesn’t help that Birthright doesn’t suggest this relationship at all even though it’s the one route where both characters to survive to the end. And...yeah, there’s that part, but that’s for a bit later. It’s interesting to imagine how the different circumstances of Revelation could have encouraged Ryoma and Scarlet to grow closer in Revelation than they do in Birthright, though realistically it probably just boils down to Corrin not being there for most of their time together.

In any case, Ryoma shares what he knows about the Rainbow Sage - odd how the fourth person to visit the Sage is still Xander on this route when in the others it’s unsurprisingly the opposing older brother - and Corrin and co. are off to follow the path of Conquest 10 and 11. At least there’s no sequence-breaking teleport books this time.

Chapter 14

This time I’m not focusing on the cutaway to Garon and co., because his obvious gloating has reached such alarmingly stupid levels that I have nothing more to say about it. The payoff, such as it is, to that plot thread is still a few chapters away anyway...as is the appearance of Iago and Hans, who have yet to do much of anything on this route and yet get to appear as bosses at a plot-critical moment. Boo.

Let’s talk about unit balancing instead. Elise shows up with her she’s-legal-we-swear panty shot, and one look at the stats of her and her retainers showcases another glaring problem with the gameplay of Revelation. From this point onward, there’s really no point in training any of the numerous unpromoted units the game throws at you, because there’s no time to raise them up to par unless you do a lot of grinding. This is one instance where Revelation’s similarities to FE10 are more superficial than they first appear, because

1) when compared to just one route of Fates Radiant Dawn is a much longer game, and in fact at 43 chapters still holds the record for the longest individual story campaign in the series. Revelation’s pacing and design suffers terribly from the requirement that it cover the same number of chapters as the other routes.

2) Radiant Dawn also has a massive roster (second largest in the series behind New Mystery) with several units who come behind the level curve, but they’re spread across the course of the game rather than lumped into a span of a few chapters. Examples vary from earlygame recruits just a bit behind (Meg) to underwhelming midgame units (Kyza and Lyre) to a bonus run Est type in lategame (Pelleas).

3) and most notably, units in FE10 are divided into separate armies with different resource pools until lategame. While the balancing between those is infamously unequal, this setup almost requires that you train more units than you’ll ultimately be sending into endgame, giving even the lesser ones a small chance to shine.

I imagine that the design philosophy behind Revelation is that the player would be expected to spend a lot of time grinding on this route to get its numerous unique supports and raise a much larger army. It seems intended for a slower pace, particularly as this also helps with building up the castle base when you’ve got duplicates of most buildings to upgrade. I still don’t care for it though, because I don’t feel like taking that extra time to raise an oversized army and because some of the recruitments continue to be unexplained in story. Why would two border guards join in the invasion of a foreign port? Revelation doesn’t know or care, but it’ll make you run your new underleveled healer to both sides of this large map to recruit them regardless. At least Elise is mounted....

Chapter 15

Seriously, look at this. These two join in the same chapter, what the hell. This isn’t even mentioning that these are also some pretty random recruitments. Shura is awfully nonchalant on hearing that Corrin got his revenge for him, and Nyx has no more reason to be here than she did in Conquest 9. With her it really feels like the writers had a great (if highly fetishistic) concept for a character and came up with a plausible backstory only to find that there was no way to fit her into the plot, so...here she is. On a related note, Nyx is the only first generation character other than Gunter to outright not appear in one route, and at least there’s an explanation for Gunter’s absence in Birthright. Her presence really is just that random.

Before doing the write-up for this chapter I read back over what I’d written for the Sevenfold Sanctuary in the other routes. The gameplay of the Revelation iteration offers nothing really to speak of, lacking either Conquest’s class and skill-themed rooms or Birthright’s power jump. The Rainbow Sage uses an alternate old man sprite initially to make it less obvious that he’s repeating the same trick he pulled in Birthright, but his exposition at the end is worth the trolling for finally confirming that he is indeed a dragon and giving us the obligatory Fire Emblem name drop. Fates’s cosmology reveals itself to borrow mostly from Jugdral of all places, though I’ve never yet seen anyone try to piece together the scattered hints of worldbuilding to link the twelve dragons of the two settings. I’m certainly not going to attempt it, because even with divine weapons and draconic-blooded families in the mix there’s remarkably little to conclude definitively that the First Dragons of Fates are/were the dragons that appeared to Jugdral’s Crusaders. My pet theory aligns it a bit more with Tellius because of certain other observations about Fates’s setting and because something is going to have to connect the dragon laguz to the rest of the series’s lore eventually.

Chapter 16 + 17

I’ve been pretty down on Revelation thus far, and at first I was fully prepared to rip into these two chapters in similar fashion...and then I finished playing through them and changed my mind. If I had to pick one moment from FE14 to represent in miniature the beautiful mess that is this game, with all its inventive concepts and missed potential, its stirring emotional moments and lazy copouts, I would choose these chapters. In spite of everything they nail the very best of what Fates offers on an emotional level, and as a midgame climax they land almost as well as the Branch of Fate lands as an establishing moment.

And yet there’s so much wrong with them! Hans and Iago have never been flatter or more inconsequential antagonists; note that before this point in Revelation they’ve done nothing aside from knock Gunter off a bridge and use an illusion to piss off the Wind Tribe. The Ryoma/Scarlet angle is abruptly dialed back to the friend zone, presumably to make it okay for the Avatar to bone them, while Hinoka abruptly joins in the action after having been forgotten about for eleven(!) chapters bar one throwaway mention in Chapter 13. Xander and Leo’s apparent betrayal of Nohr has little bite to it even from Iago as Garon might as well not exist by this point, and their retainers fail so hard as backup I almost always just send them to a corner to wait out the battle. Speaking of which, the trend of underleveled units reaches its zenith, here where maybe four of the eleven units obtained in these chapters can reasonably be used without grinding after this point. It’s even worse than the torrent of garbage units the Archanea games throw at you, because at least those sometimes come with nice stuff in their inventories (hence the “Free Silvers” tier jokingly used on some of the DS tier lists back when those were popular). And to cap it all off the ticking timer that’s been running from Chapter 7 up until this moment, of the skies over Hoshido and Nohr switching as the moment that the portal to Valla will close, makes no sense either (meteoro)logically or narratively except to add unneeded urgency and entice a few of the characters to the Canyon. For that matter, since Revelation appears to take place in the same time frame as the other two routes it’s baffling that this bizarre bit of worldbuilding goes unmentioned in them. Wouldn’t it be kind of a big deal for Nohr to get a normal sky every few decades, and for Hoshido to get a bad one?

But somehow despite all that when the Nohrian brothers show up in Chapter 17 and the music switches to “A Dark Fall” (quick aside, but one thing I love about Fates as a whole is its soundtrack) I fully got what the developers were going for, and to see all the royals finally interacting with each other - something sorely missing from Chapter 6, if you recall - and calling a truce to face whatever awaits them in Valla together just sealed that feeling. The Hoshidan and Nohrian contrast to these two chapters followed by a scene of Corrin’s families united for the first time really sells the main draw of Revelation, even if for some of them the buildup to that moment was rushed (Takumi, Camilla) or just not there at all (Hinoka). Yeah, it comes with the distinct aroma of Avatar-centered plotting like everything else on this route - as Ryoma actually points out in Chapter 16, funnily enough - but even though some of the particulars are undercooked and most of the circumstances are downright silly I can completely get on board with this group of people in this moment banding together to, uh, jump off a bridge before an interdimensional portal closes because the sky is changing color and...ugh, never mind.

Chapter 18

I will say this for Valla: I really enjoy its visual style, a sort of supernaturally-ruined pastoral idyll that resembles nothing like the world above. It also helps that it’s not tied directly to any real-world cultures like Hoshido and Nohr are, and its nods to Middle Eastern, Indian, and exclusively in localization (I think?) Greek cultures come across in the series’s more typically understated fashion. Of course that otherworldly quality lends itself to more frustrating map mechanics, so it’s not entirely a positive. This one isn’t so bad provided you’re fielding a bunch of royals to activate all the Dragon Veins - and really, it’s not as though the player needs another excuse to use them to the exclusion of almost everyone else.

But of course the big moment of this chapter is Scarlet’s death. The bit with the flower is a painfully obvious hint to recall when it comes time for the reveal of her killer, but nevertheless the sequence does well despite that and some awkward staging with battle models. What doesn’t work quite as well is the reintroduction of the Ryoma/Scarlet angle just to add more punch to her death...completely ignoring the possibility that Corrin might be married to either of them (and Scarlet just undergone what had to have been one of the most hyper-accelerated pregnancies in all of fiction, if you want to be really sadistic). Because of their earlier buildup this may be the most egregious example of Fates needing to ignore its own support mechanics for the sake of the main plot. In any case, if Corrin didn’t shack up with one of them the scene after the chapter is pretty solid. I consider it comparable to Lilith’s death scenes on the other routes, since she also dies taking a hit for Corrin, but as the circumstances are less random and Scarlet actually gets most of her characterization outside DLC it’s much more effective overall.

Chapter 19

Enter the strange child with the oversized forehead. At least it’s not immediately obvious that’s he’s evil, I guess?

It’s interesting to note that the Valla chapters are structured almost as a route unto themselves, having to establish a new set of characters previously unseen in Revelation and not seen at all in the other routes. Although in terms of gameplay they function more like an extended endgame in the vein of Radiant Dawn’s Tower of Guidance, bizarre architecture and all. I’ll be talking more about Anthony and Arete and the others later on, but I wanted to note the setup for when I talk about it in the next post.

The intro to this chapter also delves into a bit more of Fates’s cosmology, specifically its deified dragons. Xander asks what only Iago thought to question in Conquest, namely why Garon would worship Anankos and not the Dusk Dragon, only to get the obvious but still technically necessary reveal of Garon’s true nature. I do like that the First Dragons are vague enough in their presentation that I could believe either that the Dawn and Dusk Dragons are just different interpretations of Anankos or that they’re all separate entities. As I recall however this is somewhat muted by the knowledge that the emotional payoff re: Garon is going to be rather muted when it finally happens, so this really is just more vague worldbuilding.

Oh, right, the chapter. It’s Conquest 15 with a bigger party and entirely too many items drops on the optional path. Why the developers think the player needed so many items thrown at them in a game with no durability and a route with no shortage of funds I’ll never know.

Next time: Revelation Chapter 20 - Endgame

#Fire Emblem #Fire Emblem Fates #Fire Emblem Revelation #FE14

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frankly-art · 6 years

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Frankly-Art’s Top 10 Video Games of 2018

Also available to read on my deviantArt!

With every New Year comes another year’s worth of video games to look forward to, and 2019 promise to be a good one in that regard: the release of Kingdom Hearts III is only days away, Piranha Plant and Joker are certain to be innovative and entertaining additions to the Smash Ultimate roster, Animal Crossing is coming to the Switch… and those mark only a small fraction of the many things 2019 has in store for us in terms of gaming. Amid all of this hype, I got to thinking about the varied gameplay experiences I had over the past year; so, I figured this would be as good an opportunity as any for me to reflect on them with a bit of a critical eye and definitively rank each of the video games I managed to get to during 2018!

Keep in mind while reading that, even though this is a list featuring games I played in 2018, many of these games were ones released in years past that I never got around to until last year—so, if you were expecting a list of the top 10 games that were released in 2018, I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere (but not until after you read my oh-so-important list first! I crave validation!); expect a healthy mix of new and old titles in the list below. Additionally, this list will rank downloadable content (DLC) separately from standalone titles, as I don’t find it fair to compare a DLC add-on to a fully-fledged game. I’ll be weighing the score of each DLC depending on how well it improves and expands upon the narrative and gameplay of its original game.

Without further ado (and with no better means of transitioning from this introduction to the list itself than to use a somewhat tired expression in the realm of video games), let’s-a go! (Please forgive me.)

-SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT-

Favorite Characters: Revali, Urbosa, Kass Favorite Tracks: Monk Maz Koshia (all phases)

It might come as somewhat of a shock that a game with “Breath of the Wild” in its title would rank lowest on my list, but hear me out: no matter how much fun it was to be able to return to Hyrule in this DLC expansion, in my opinion, Champions’ Ballad just felt like more of the same of what we got in the main game.

Despite the nigh perfection that was Breath of the Wild, I have to agree with critics who said that the lack of aesthetic variation between segments of dungeon crawling and puzzle solving was a monotonous bore when compared to the varied themes and aesthetics of the dungeons in Zelda games past, and Champions’ Ballad did nothing to vary the atmosphere in its new shrines and dungeon from those of the main game. This disappointment was compounded with the fact that Champions’ Ballad added no new weapons to your arsenal (aside from a risky-to-use fork that functioned virtually like every other sword in the game) to allow for new types of puzzle solving or exploration. The unicorn motorcycle was certainly a cool reward for completing the DLC (the fact that I got to write the words “unicorn” and “motorcycle” next to each other is reward enough), but I had very little use for it since I’d already combed through the entirety of Hyrule during my first playthrough of the game. I simply believe it would have been nice for Champions’ Ballad to have given players something a little fresher to explore, even if it were just an aesthetic change of scenery.

I had also hoped that Champions’ Ballad might have expanded on the lore sprinkled throughout Hyrule and, even though we learned more about the four champions, I was a little let down that they didn’t really expand on anything else (Why can’t I climb to the top of Mount Agaat? Why does the entirety of the Akkala region fill me with a confusing sense of serene dread?? What the hell happened at the Typhlo Ruins???) I appreciate that, by not explaining everything, Nintendo give players the chance to interpret these things for themselves, but, when compared to the lore provided in previous Zelda games, I feel as though Champions’ Ballad fell short in fleshing out the history of this ruined Hyrule.

Favorite Characters: Prompto, Ignis Favorite Tracks: A Retainer’s Resolve, Apocalypsis Magnatus

Given how much of a beautiful mess Final Fantasy XV was upon its initial release, it’s certainly a consolation to the main game to see how well Square Enix supplemented its (rather disjointed) story and expanded upon its (frankly, lacking) gameplay through its various DLC expansion chapters featuring Noctis’ loyal Chocobros. And while I may not love Ignis quite as much as other chocobros like Prompto or Noctis, Episode Ignis was definitely an engaging and welcome addition to the enigma that is the Final Fantasy XV.

Particular highlights of Episode Ignis include its soundtrack, which features a heroic leitmotif for Ignis that really underscores the dire circumstances he and his teammates find themselves in during this segment of the story, and its addition of gameplay modes (Motorboat Simulator 2018 being one of them) are a welcome change of pace to the somewhat rudimentary battle and exploration systems found in the main game. However, a point of contention I have with Episode Ignis is with its narrative: while I appreciate that this DLC chapter finally explains how Ignis becomes blind, its multiple endings completely undermine the storyline of the main game itself. Does Ignis’ sacrifice save Noctis from having to make a sacrifice of his own in order to save the world? Does Ignis regain his sight after Noctis defeats Ardyn? Do Noctis and Luna finally realize that they’d be better off with other people (as it’s obvious that Noctis is already too preoccupied with his three boyfriends to make room for anyone else)? I need answers, Square!

Favorite Characters: Elizabeth, Atlas/Frank Fontaine Favorite Tracks: Patsy Cline – She’s Got You, Johnny Mathis – Wonderful! Wonderful!

I claimed to be a fan of the BioShock series for so long, even though I’d only ever played the first game in the series until the summer of 2017 when I finally bought a PS4 and, with it, the BioShock Collection. Now, I can call myself a fan of the series without reservation, having explored and discovered all that Rapture and Columbia have to offer. To me, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episodes 1 & 2 are a love letter to the entire series itself, featuring elements from the three main-series games and tying together each of their narratives (save for maybe BioShock 2, which is absolutely criminal, considering 2 is my favorite game in the series) in a way that, while forced in some aspects, felt like Ken Levine actually cared about clearing up some of the more confusing questions that remained at the end of BioShock: Infinite.

Burial at Sea really came into itself during Episode 2, where gameplay was switched up to feature more fleshed-out stealth mechanics that made sneaking around Rapture and Columbia both exhilarating and terrifying. It was also refreshing to be able to finally take control of Elizabeth, one of the most iconic characters of the series after the Big Daddies of BioShocks 1 and 2, and learn more of her own personal motivations and desires as she maneuvers through hostile environments. As I already mentioned briefly, I know some took issue with the way Burial at Sea wove the first two BioShock games together with the third, but, considering the mess that was made when BioShock Infinite introduced multiverse science into its mythos (and the narrative mess that Infinite was in general—I took great issue with the way they framed the oppressed populations of Columbia as “just as bad” as the ruling populations simply because they used violence to, you know, try and liberate themselves from their oppression), I feel that Burial at Sea did the best job it could considering that the setting of Infinite differed so greatly from that of the first two games.

Also, fun fact: I studied this game as a part of my Master’s Project and played it through a total of three times: once in English and twice in French! Isn’t academia weird?

Favorite Characters: Rando, Buddy, Vega Van Dam Favorite Tracks: 666 Kill Chop Deluxe, He’s My Dad, Brokentooth March

Anyone who reads TV Tropes is likely familiar with the trope “Gameplay and Story Segregation” and its less-frequent counterpart, “Gameplay and Story Integration”. In the case of LISA: The Joyful, this DLC game (which could practically be its own standalone title if it weren’t for the fact Steam labels it as “DLC” and won’t let you play it without first purchasing LISA: The Painful) absolutely excels in the latter and completely subverts the gameplay mechanics and narrative structure of the base game, and this can all be attributed to the way both games focus on your use of the cure-all drug that makes you feel nothing: Joy.

Indeed, where LISA: The Painful makes you question your use of the drug Joy, LISA: The Joyful (Joyful) is nigh impossible to complete without taking it in nearly every battle after you’re left to your own devices when the muscle of your party abandons you. As anyone who’s played the LISA trilogy will know, Joy is a dangerous substance, mutating its addicts and twisting the minds of anyone who uses it, and that Joy is an integral piece of the trilogy’s social and philosophical commentary on the freedom and restriction of choice, the commitment and devotion one carries for a person or cause, and the inherent, inevitable grey area of any and all actions one may take. Despite these themes, LISA: The Joyful is far from a demoralizing experience: if anything, the way the game simulates the feeling of being backed into a corner and the refusal to give up despite the odds only affirms whatever moral code by which you may already live, or is at least an opportunity to feel relief that you yourself aren’t forced to make such drastic decisions for your own survivability and freedom.

That’s it for the DLC games I played in 2018; now, the real fun begins! Brace yourself for my list of the top standalone titles I played last year!

Favorite Characters: Katie

This game was recommended to me by a friend, and, as much as I wanted to enjoy it, this game wound up being my lowlight of 2018, with its simplistic, seemingly rudimentary gameplay and conspicuous lack of any compelling narrative. Put bluntly, this game was like a forgettable rendition of Animal Crossing, only without any cute animal neighbors to run errands for. The game’s environment threatened absolutely no danger to your player character, yet still didn’t offer any engaging or challenging puzzles to solve to make up for this lack of danger (most “puzzles” involved figuring out how to get to a particular point on the map… and that was it). Despite this being an open-world game that offered endless opportunities for customization, I found myself hurrying to complete the game’s main (5-hour) campaign so I could feel justified to move on to other gaming experiences. The most unfortunate part of this to me is that I know there’s still more to the game’s world for me to explore, but I’m in no way compelled to do so.

In all fairness, though, I think that I’m a little older than the target demographic this game was aiming for. This game was never meant to be challenging or stressful, it was made to be a relaxing escape for anyone looking to pass the time exploring and discovering a beautifully modeled and brightly colored world. This game also wins serious points for inclusivity, especially considering the age group this game was most likely made for; my fondest memory of this game is of a quest where a woman requests that you find her the ingredients to make a potion that stimulates beard growth because she wants to grow a beard of her own, and not once during this campaign is she ridiculed or belittled for wanting one. Since Yonder seems to be a game for kids, I believe quests such as this are an excellent step to socializing them into a world that’s less judgmental and more receptive to other people. So, despite my earlier critiques of this game, Yonder would be a great game to consider if you’re looking for a low-key and off-beat (and all-human) alternative to Animal Crossing.

Favorite Veteran Fighters: Peach, Zelda, Zero Suit Samus Favorite Newcomers: Daisy, Ridley, Richter Favorite Stages: Fountain of Dreams, Fourside, Hyrule Temple Favorite Tracks: All-Star Rest Area (Melee), Destroyed Skyworld, Athletic (Yoshi’s Island)

We all knew another installment in the Smash series was coming ever since the Switch was first announced back in March of 2017. In fact, you might even say that the quality of each console’s iteration of Smash reflects the quality of the console itself, with Melee demonstrating the power and potential of the GameCube, Brawl being a gimmicky romp on an equally gimmicky console, and Wii U/3DS (what a title, right?) completely failing to capture player interest for longer than a few rounds of Smash (the Wii U era feels like a fever dream to me at this point). It’s a letdown, then, that with the Switch being such a commercial and technical success, Smash Ultimate seems somewhat of a disappointment when weighed against the hype that surrounded it up until its release back in early December.

It’s true that Smash Ultimate really delivers in regard to the character roster (everyone is here!) and stage selection (almost everything is here!), but the cuts that were made to series staples like trophies, event matches, and the like, detract from Smash Ultimate becoming the be-all end-all title in the series that it could have been. Trophy mode was where I learned much about video game history and was introduced to obscure series I would have never discovered otherwise, and their replacement with spirits feels a bit cheap, especially since spirits don’t come with any kind of information to contextualize them. Event Matches were hybridized with Melee’s Adventure mode and Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, creating the “World of Light”; while the World of Light has grown on me the more that I play it, it’s somewhat discouraging to me that, by combining so many modes of Smash games past into one, there will be nothing left for me to do with the game once I reach its end.

Still, Smash Ultimate offers plenty to look forward to. I’m more-than-hyped about the additions of Piranha Plant and Joker from Persona 5 to the character roster, and I can’t wait to see who might be announced next (unless it’s another Fire Emblem character… please God [Sakurai] don’t let it be another Fire Emblem character).

Favorite Tracks: The Bridge, Touching the Stars, Up to the Nest

I could never have prepared myself for the beautiful-yet-heart-wrenching experience this game would put me through, but I’m oh-so-glad that it did. On the surface, RiME is a relaxing exploration and puzzle game that takes place in a beautifully rendered in-game world, with a brilliantly orchestrated soundtrack and a plethora of diverse landscapes to get lost in. And yet, every moment of your adventure is permeated by an inescapable sense of isolation and dread, making you ask questions like “Where is everyone?”, “Just who is that man in the red cloak?,” and, “Is he stalking me, or are I stalking him?”.

Indeed, RiME’s narrative unfolds wordlessly as you explore and leaves you to discover and interpret on your own exactly what tragedies transpired before the events of the game, tragedies of which are far more poignant and moving if you were to discover them yourself. I know I’ve put a spoiler warning in effect, but I highly recommend you play this game on your own (or at least watch a decent Let’s Play of it) if you’re curious to know what unfolds during the game’s narrative. RiME is a relatively short game, too, lasting only between 5-10 hours, so it would be an easy one to fit into your queue if you’re looking for a fun gameplay experience with a story that will haunt you for weeks and months on end after completing it.

Favorite Characters: Terry Hintz, Buzzo, Wally Favorite Tracks: Men’s Hair Club, The End is Nigh, Summer Love

Having already talked about this game’s DLC expansion of LISA: The Joyful, you’re already aware that I hold the LISA trilogy in high regard—it also means I can make this entry somewhat brief, since a lot of what I said about Joyful can also be applied to its parent title, LISA: The Painful. You see, it’s in LISA: The Painful where the conflict in Joyful begins, and where we learn more of how the world came to be so depraved after the White Flash, an extinction event that inexplicably killed all women on the planet (at least, as far as the characters in the game know). The game considers what the repercussions of such an event would be on our society (aside from dooming humanity to die off within a generation) and really explores the darkest depths of toxic masculinity to call into question the detrimental effects it has on our self-esteem, our relationships, and our will to survive. Gameplay-wise, it’s a fairly traditional JRPG, though as I mentioned with Joyful, LISA: The Painful integrates its story with its gameplay by permanently increasing (but mainly decreasing) your stats depending on whatever injuries you escape or sustain throughout your journey. All in all, LISA: The Painful is a truly harrowing experience from beginning to end, but a must-play for anyone with an interest in the more macabre aspects of human nature.

Favorite Characters: Aloy, Erend, Vanasha Favorite Tracks: Louder

You know a game’s going to be good when its title screen holds you in awe before even pressing start. Imagine a sunlit vignette over purple mountains and a glistening river, a haunting and triumphant melody underscoring it all, as the title slowly fades into view in white in the center of the screen: Horizon Zero Dawn. O.K., I’m in. This game just did so many things right as an open-world game during an era where the genre was oversaturated by mediocre games that rehashed the same tired tropes and mechanics in its gameplay and world building. Horizon Zero Dawn truly set itself apart from the crowd for a variety of reasons: its beautifully detailed setting (being a microcosmic interpretation of Western North America), its intricate combat system with a graciously forgiving learning curve, and its compelling and socially-conscious narrative all worked together to distinguish this game within the open-world genre.

What really sets this game apart most of all, though, is the game’s protagonist, Aloy: a rare female protagonist who is a breath of fresh air in a sea of male heroes, whose capabilities and intellect don’t come at the cost of her physical appearance and femininity. Aloy set an example for other game developers that female protagonists are more than viable (and are in fact, overdue) in the video games of today, and her status as a female character never felt gratuitous or shoehorned (e.g. Battlefield V’s inclusion of a female protagonist as an enlisted soldier in the British Army and serving in the line of duty during World War II). It’s difficult (read: impossible) to play Horizon Zero Dawn and not fall in love with Aloy for her wit, her strength, and her general stick-to-itiveness in the face of adversity (not to mention, she’s just really cute and knows how to work a belly shirt). With Aloy as the protagonist, you’ll never tire of adventuring through Horizon Zero Dawn’s 70-hours+ worth of gameplay as you explore the in-game world to learn just what happened to “The Old Ones” and their society all those millennia ago.

Favorite Party Members: Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Makoto Niijima Favorite Confidants: Hifumi Togo, Sadayo Kawakami, Sae Niijima, Toranosuke Yoshida, Chihaya Mifune Favorite Targets/Boss Battles: Ichiryusai Madarame, Kunikazu Okumura, Leviathan, Yaldabaoth Favorite Tracks: Blooming Villain, Rivers in the Desert, A Woman, Aria of the Soul

I’ll bet no one saw this one coming! Just kidding—anyone who’s exchanged more than a few words with me since the fall of 2018 knows how much this game absolutely consumed my life over the span of, I don’t know, I think it was four months? Indeed, I wound up sinking a total of 123 hours into this game, and there’s still a loud part of me that wants to return to it to begin a New Game+ (you’ll even notice that it was too difficult for me to contain my favorite characters into one category, instead having to split them up in order to represent all of my favorites because of how much I love them all). I’m already a fan of JRPGs, so it didn’t take much for Persona 5 to win me over with its turn-based combat, but the addition of certain gameplay mechanics—like earning an extra turn for exploiting enemy weaknesses or improving your relationship with your friends outside of battle to unlock gameplay bonuses—prevent battles and exploration in Persona 5 from ever becoming stale. Indeed, Persona 5 was truly a masterpiece from start to finish and an experience that I never wanted to end.

Frankly, any drawbacks I could mention about this game feel almost nitpicky, like the way the status ailment “Envy” is represented during the final boss fight by the color indigo instead of green, or how Kawakami can only manage to make me one cup of very useful, SP-restoring coffee over the course of an entire evening. Still, Persona 5 isn’t without its faults: for one, Persona 5 loses significant points for its questionable representation of LGBT groups (the camp gay men who openly harass Ryuji on multiple occasions being the most glaring example), and this isn’t helped by the queerbaiting that’s prevalent in a lot of character dialogue and relationships. Additionally, the fact that you can’t romance any of your male confidants comes across as erasive at best and homophobic at worst, especially considering that 1) all but one of your female confidants are eligible girlfriends, 2) you can two-time all of them at once if you so desire (which isn’t just disrespectful, it’s also flippantly misogynistic), and, most importantly, 3) one of this game’s main themes includes rebelling against oppressive societal norms (a theme that will resonate deeply with any LGBT+ player). Female representation in Persona 5 is also somewhat of a mixed bag: while the game features a large cast of diverse female characters, its constant and blatant objectification of Ann is not only creepy, it’s incredibly obtuse considering the sexual harassment and abuse she suffers by one of her teachers during the game’s first story arc. Fortunately, each of these drawbacks is easy enough to ignore when discussing the game as a whole, but I hope Atlus improves upon them in future installments: considering how incredible an experience Persona 5 was, imagine how much more incredible Persona 6 could be if these issues were fixed!

So that’s it for my top 10 games of 2018. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with any of my commentary? What were some favorite games you played during 2018? I’d love to hear your responses and start a discussion, so please, leave your comments in the notes!

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sloth-incarnate · 6 years

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My Smash Bros. Dream Roster

So this is going to be pretty lengthy. This is pretty much a list of fighters I would love to see in Smash, maybe not in Ultimate, but in any future games, and my reasoning for it. I’ll go in order of most wanted as well as by game. Feel free to just skip all this and just go through the piks.

First off, I desperately want some Golden Sun in Smash, and so I am an absolute Isaac stan. He and Felix are very similar as they are both earth adepts (like earth benders I guess) and could easily be made into an echo. Although they are usually shown with swords, they can wield other weapons such as axes not to mention their large arsenal of elemental psynergies (magic?) that could be great in Smash.

Zelda is another of my favorites, and there are so many characters that could be featured. Although everyone wants Skull Kid, I think there are some other viable options that could have a chance of appearing. First, there are Vaati and Zant, two of my favorite Zelda characters. They both use very unique magics and attacks, and Vaati in particular has a lot of potential. Plus, his games need more love. Something cool is that almost every modern Zelda game is represented in the roster. The new Link is from Breath of the Wild, the Zelda is reminiscent of her Link Between Worlds/Link to the Past design, Ganondorf got his Ocarina of Time Look back, Young Link is from Ocarina and Majora’s Mask, and Toon Link is from Windwaker. Ganondorf and Zelda held their Twilight Princess designs for two games, so that was sufficiently represented. However, Skyward Sword is sadly not present, although there is a stage. Some possible Skyward Sword fighters could be FI, the dancing sword spirit, and Impa, who could either be a Sheik clone or have her own movesets with a naginata as in Hyrule Warriors. These, in my opinion would be great choices.

Kirby needs some more representatives, and although Bandana Dee would be great, I’ve always loved Marx, the Jester. If Kirby Star Allies has shown anything is that Marx has incredible potential as a playable character and is just so crazily cool to play as him. It would be pretty easy to bring over his Star Allies moveset to Smash. Seriously, look up some footage of how he plays. It’s seriously fun. Another recurring character is Galacta Knight, who is like a powered/evil form of Meta Knight. He would be a great echo, although a bit more on the berserker side, even though he could easily get his own movesets. If not, I would absolutely love at least an alternate costume for Meta Knight and not just a color swap. Galacta Knight is just Cool.

From Pokemon, there are literally more than 700 options to choose from. Although Incineroar and Decidueye would be great, I think Gallade and Gardevoir would be more interesting choices. I really love both of their designs and think they could be great. Plus, it’s a sin that Lucario is the only fighting type in a fighting game. As for gen 7 representatives, another good choice could be Tsareena. She would be pretty unique as a lot of her attacks would depend on kicks, and would not be bad as a Zero Suit Samus echo. If Ivysaur and Duck Hunt has taught us anything is that you don’t need to be bipedal for Smash. I think Silvally could be a great choice as well. Plus his recolors are already part of its concept.

Another series that’s close to my heart is Fire Emblem. Although there are already plenty of reps in the roster, they don’t do a good job of representing what else the series has to offer. Most of the Fire Emblem characters (if not all) wield swords of some kind, but there are other weapons they could focus on. Axes, Lances, Magical tomes of all kinds, throwing knives, clubs, hammers, bows, and even staves could all be used more creatively for a character. The roster definitely needs more magic users, so I hope they take this into consideration. Fire Emblem has a new game coming up, Three Houses for Switch, and although not a lot of information has been revealed about it, there’s a high chance we may get another character from Fire Emblem from that. From what is known so far, there may be a chance that either Edelgard or Byleth (the typical blue haired protag) may be featured. As for Edelgard, she is seen using Axes, so if they go with her, they will hopefully choose that as her weapon. Not much is known for Byleth, but hopefully, he is more flexible with his weapon choices.

Another series close to my heart is Final Fantasy. Smash gave us the grand surprise of adding Cloud to the mix, and so it has opened the gates of possibility. Although some popular characters such as Noctis or Lightning would be cool, I think more iconic characters would be better for Smash (if any). When we think of Final Fantasy, we often think of their iconic black mages. Representative of this is Vivi, who is probably the most recognized mage in the series. Two more icons of the series are the adorable Moogles and the loyal Chocobos. However, instead of being on their own, why not fuse them together and have a Chocobo-riding moogle join the fray? It would be adorable and it would be open to unique playstyles. This character would be reminiscent of Duck Hunt, Rosalina and Luma, Ice Climbers, or even Bowser Jr.

Some other representatives from other series include Blathers and Timmy and Tommy Nook from Animal Crossing, Toadette from Mario (yeah I know, TOO MANY MARIO CHARACTERS etc), and Roll from Megaman. Monster Hunter has been present in Smash as well, and Ultimate even has an assist trophy and stage. I love the series and a fighter would be great. The trouble with this is that a monster hunter now has 14 different options when it comes to weapons, and they can only use one at once. It would be difficult to decide which weapon style to put in the game, and they might just end up putting another sword user, (would love a gunlance though I doubt they’d do that) so a compromise to this could be to add a hunter Palico. These witty feline companions have a variety of attacks and techniques including a boomerang and a melee weapon, as well as bombs.

Finally, from Sonic, everyone is expecting Shadow, but honestly, Tails and Knuckles sound so much more interesting. Knuckles is confirmed as an assist, so Tails could still have a shot. He’d be an interesting fighter and more Sonic representation would be awesome.

Let me know what y’all think of my choices. Feel free to tear me apart in the comments. Just be civil.

I didn’t expect to write an entire essay, but thanks for the read.

#super smash bros #smash bros ultimate #golden sun #legend of zelda #pokemon #kirby #fire emblem #animal crossing #Final Fantasy #sonic #monster hunter #megaman #nintendo #switch #sloth incarnate

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smashingatsonicspeed · 6 years

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AUGUST SMASH DIRECT THOUGHTS

Boy! That last Smash Direct certainly added more hype then there already was for Ultimate. Just like with the E3 Direct I’m going to go through the major things covered in the order they were announced

SIMON & RICHTER BELMONT

Simon was technically leaked twice. He was among a seemingly credible leak that mentioned Ridley, Snake, Ice Climbers, and no cuts. And then Simon apparently was accidentally leaked through some goof up by Nintendo. (Though I dodged it since I know it was only one night before the reveal so I still didn’t know for sure if Simon was in until the reveal). But either way this ia amazing, Castlevania is certainly a worthy inclusion in Smash on the likes of all the other NES franchises represented. But what wasn’t leaked was Richter as an echo. Richter was the protagonist of Rondo of Blood. Which wasn’t exactly on a Nintendo console unless you count Dracula X in the 90s. Richter was also in Symphony of the Night which has never been on a Nintendo console. But he’s famous even in the meme-wise cause he’s the one who’s there for when Dracula yells “WHAT IS A MAN?!” in the hammy voice acting that was normal for this era of gaming. He was also an unlockable character on a DS game but otherwise Richter isn’t too Nintendo famous. But he is the most popular Belmont in Japan. They just needed to still feature the most iconic Belmont as the main inclusion still. I’m fine with Richter though. Though when I play as either of them, I’m playing Simon more for sure.

P.S. The trailer was great, not just for the super cool footage of Simon. But it was hilarious seeing Luigi running scared. Luigi getting killed by Death has quickly even become the latest Smash Bros. meme

DRACULA’S CASTLE STAGE & BOSS

The stage itself looks fittingly creepy and will have some pretty amazing music I imagine too. And Dracula being a boss is great as well. I kinda wish they’d have him yell “WHAT IS A MAN?!” when he came in. But I imagine that would be a bit much and ruin the moment. But it’d be hilarious to me.

NEW ECHO FIGHTERS: CHROM AND DARK SAMUS

When Chrom showed up I actually smiled. Now I’m no Fire Emblem fan. And yes it’s another sword user, and a fourth Marth-like character. But given how humiliated Chrom was in Smash 4. Not just in the Robin/Lucina trailer but the memes it caused in the Smash fandom that made a once proud and potential newcomer into a butt monkey on nearly the same level as Ridley with the TOO BIG memes. Even for characters I don’t necessarily want to see I would not want that fate to happen to their fans. It’s just brutal. Though at the very least Chrom seems to borrow a few moves from Ike as well. I even thought at first he was an echo of Ike before I checked later that it was actually for Roy. So I’m pretty happy Chrom actually got to have his chance. I am also certainly using Chrom more then I ever will for Roy.

It’s no doubt though that Dark Samus stole the show for echoes. She’s already my favorite echo so far and she has some slick-looking animations that may make her more worth playing then regular power-suit Samus. Metroid fans can be happy that they’ve doubled up the reps. And both of them are well-deserved additions.

ECHOES CAN EITHER BE STACKED OR SEPARATED ON THE CSS

This also may lessen the disgust that people had with Dark Pit’s inclusion back in Smash 4. Just put the echoes in the corner of the character they’re echoing. I’m certainly going to keep them stacked myself. I think the CSS will also look cleaner that way

ALL CHARACTERS WILL BE REVEALED BEFORE LAUNCH

In other words, Sakurai has had it with those final roster leaks only weeks/days before release. Base Game speculation’s days are numbered until the final Smash Direct before release (Which would be likely in October or November). DLC speculation will immediately start after it. But we’re going to have our explosion of reactions to the final base roster done soon enough. Going to be some tense times until then

RETURNING STAGES

There’s so many returning stages! I’ll just say that Brinstar Depths, Magicant, and Fountain of Dreams are particularly ones I’m excited are back. Yoshi 64, Venom, Fourside, New Pork City, and Windy Hill are also nice to see.

CAPTAIN TOAD ON NEW DONK CITY

Welp, Captain Toad is looking very unlikely now. He could be DLC potentially since he isn’t a major stage hazard nor an Assist Trophy. But with a focus on longtime fan favorites and bringing every veteran back. Captain Toad just fell to the way side. It’s a shame, if the newcomers have been chosen in the same fashion Smash 4’s was. I think Captain Toad would of been a near certainty. This also unfortunately means that the last chance for a playable Toad has left us. Smash can’t include everyone, even with some characters like Ridley finally getting their chance, there are still some characters that would certainly count for Nintendo All-Stars that just couldn’t quite make it. This is probably one of the few disappointments I had with the direct. But I’ve dealt without a playable Toad for 4 games already, I can deal with another.

103 STAGES

Man that’s a lot of stages. Not to mention we won’t have to unlock any, they’ll be there from the start. Though Sakurai mentioning this does have me suspicious that this means there’s no more base game stages to add unless they are really trying to hide any newcomers that may come with stages. But it seems odd to point this out exactly if there were even just a few more stages in reality

STAGE HAZARD SWITCH

If you’re a competitive player or even just dislike stages where you’re fighting the stage more then your opponent then you absolutely should love this option. More viable stages and everything

STAGE MORPH

Now this is cool. And could definitely add to the Chaos of a match especially if you randomize both stages. Imagine you get a nice stage that would be competitively legal but then BAM you get something like Great Cave Offensive or Big Blue as the stage morph stage. Plenty of opportunity for hilarity there. Should be fun.

800+ TRACKS + 20 SONIC SONGS + STILL ONLY 2 FINAL FANTASY SONGS

Man this game’s soundtrack is going to be crazy! I am interested in what they have new for Sonic. There’s apparently only 20. If every Sonic song returned that was in either of the last two games. There’d be room for only 2. But if none of the Brawl ones return that leaves room for 6. And that’s not counting the possibility they cut some songs. Though perhaps another bummer from this is apparently Final Fantasy is still only getting 2 songs. So now we know it wasn’t just DLC budget getting in the way. Square is still being stingy.

STAMINA NOW A STANDARD MODE THAT CAN HAVE STOCKS

I’ve always kind of liked Stamina mode as something to be a change of pace of the regular gameplay. So it having it able to have stocks is quite cool

FINAL SMASH METER

Now this is really cool and may even open the possibility of some tournaments allowing Final Smashes in tourneys. I doubt it will be in really serious tournaments anyway, but could certainly allow for some hype in tourneys that do allow it.

SQUAD STRIKE

It’s a little vague at the moment. But Squad Strike might be the closest to something like the match in Smash Tour with a different character per stock? Though it could also just be a 1v1 match for each character. Also opens up for battles between teams.

OFFLINE TOURNEY RETURNS

You can have offline tournaments again like in Brawl and Melee! I sometimes just did CPU only tournaments with those which was kinda fun to watch. Just overall neat to have that back

SMASHDOWN

A cool option to have people not just use the same main they’re great with and also encourages people to diversify the characters they use.

TRAINING MODE UPGRADES

Training now has essentially a ruler to know your character’s launching power! Very cool and Competitive players will love it since it’s much easier to measure things.

CLASSIC MODE BACK TO MORE STANDARD

This is definitely a return to form for Classic mode. It’s kinda like SSB64’s but it’s a different set for each character that’s predetermined. No matter how many times you go through with one particular character it will be the same. While that may arguably sound like a step backward from the complete randomness of Melee’s classic mode. I actually love this a lot, the team can choose a particular set of opponents that make sense for that character to fight. Or even if it makes absolutely no sense, then it’s up to the fanbase to think of a reason for why they fight. Also what seems to be a thing is each character has a name for their run. Kirby had Gourmet Clash and Roy had A Journey of Swords. Bringing the same kind of intrigue that the Punch-Out Stage titles bring. I am excited to go through with every character like I always do.

NEW POKEMON

Alolan Exeggutor is hilarious, Abra will certainly provide some salt on some people, Mimikyu was a character often seen as possible to be the Gen 7 rep so might of been the first major reconfirmation not counting the Captain Toad one found later. Vulpix is a cute addition to the pokeball lineup. And Ditto is amazing. I almost kinda want the enemy team of this game to now be Ditto fighters.

NEW ASSISTS

Only 2 possibly major reconfirmations in the form of Zero and Shovel Knight. Zero was often seen as a possible 2nd Mega Man rep and Shovel Knight was considered the most likely if an Indie were to ever make it. It’s a miracle Shovel Knight even got this far though. Yacht Club games should be proud. Other then those though, Klaptrap looks annoying to deal with, Kapp’n seems funny just for the characters in the bus’ faces, Chef Kawasaki is the return of Kirby’s old Brawl final smash repurposed, Nikki’s a cute character to include, and the Majora’s Mask Moon is amazing as an assist trophy idea. It doesn’t even discriminate, even KOing the one it summoned. There was also the Rathalos assist trophy that turns out to also be a boss

ASHLEY DECONFIRMED

At the tail end of the Assist Trophy section was the sudden appearance of Ashley and not even with the name tag. Though they made her eyes red again. Ashley was considered one of the possible likely newcomers revealed this direct mainly because last week WarioWare Gold released. So it would be great timing.But it wasn’t to be. Sorry Ashley fans

MAIN MENU AND A MYSTERIOUS SPIRITS MODE

The menu looks more refined then Smash 4’s though I didn’t mind the Smash 4 menu as much as most people did. However most of the buzz is of course around the mode Sakurai had blurred out. Through some deblurring people found the mode will be called “Spirits” but that’s still too vague to know what it’ll be exactly. Based on any hints though from the bosses, it seems it will be some kind of Adventure mode. My guess is something in between Melee’s Adventure Mode and Subspace. Not as extensive as Subspace but more content then Melee’s adventure mode for sure. Perhaps you find the spirits of the characters to unlock them. But anything else is definitely all speculation at this point. It’ll be interesting to find out what this mode will be all about when we get to it.

KING K. ROOL

You know they just had to leave us with one more thing. And it certainly was a big one. K. Rool was only 2nd to Ridley in being one of the most wanted characters in Smash. And was often seen on the top of the list on the ballot. Also gotta say the trailer is amazing to show all those heroes and the villain and then it cutting to Donkey Kong, cause that’s when exactly you know who’s coming. The Dedede fakeout was also hilarious, though I doubt it really fooled anyone. K. Rool was in Smash and Donkey Kong finally gets a much needed increase of representation. Perhaps we’ll see Dixie soon come up as a Diddy echo. But until then K. Rool is what Donkey Kong fans as well as a good majority of Smash fans wanted. And he’s here cementing this Smash as certainly even more fan service focused then previous games.

Overall, an amazing direct. and can’t wait to see what else is in store for this game. We still have more characters and of course the Spirits mode to see. The road to Smash Ultimate is getting smaller each day and we’re surely in for a few more spots of interest along the way. Cannot wait to see what’s revealed next!

#Super Smash Bros. Utimate #Super Smash Bros.#Simon Belmont #Richter Belmont #Castlevania #Chrom #Fire Emblem #Dark Samus #Metroid #King K. Rool #donkey kong series #Donkey Kong Country #K. Rool

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