#i’m not saying you have to LIKE the pacing of c3 but accept it for what it is

[vaxieth]

so many complaints about characters in c3 “not talking” could be resolved by remembering how much time has actually passed in canon. the last 4.75 episodes took place over a singular day. shardgate was three days ago. it’s that simple.

[utilitycaster]

EXU finale thoughts

I think basically everything I said last week stands; loved the characters, loved the world and the descriptions, for the most part a huge fan of Aabria’s DM calls re rules/mechanics (granting boons, allowing for a lot of flexibility but also making the characters justify and roll for it), but the plot/pacing really fell flat for me,

I want to stave off the “not all things need to be answered” criticism here; I’m not asking for that. I am however asking for enough details to get me emotionally invested in the final fight, and I didn’t feel like I had that. Myr’atta’s attack felt no different than the party running into a corrupted treant in the jungle - I was far more interested in the weird cube last week. I still don’t know why she felt it necessary to have Ted for herself. I can accept not knowing how Ted became a patron, but the idea that she could be lost to Opal lacked any weight because it wasn’t present as a threat until it was already happening.

I don’t mind the stingers - in fact I think the one with Poska at the end, had this been a story that felt contained but also included hooks for future EXU seasons, would have been fantastic! But if the buildup to the final battle is almost entirely stingers meant for the audience, the main characters feel disengaged from what's supposed to be the main plot. It felt like a surprise to them, which means there was no tension buildup and that it was hard to care.

I think the same story structure, honestly, could have existed - the biggest flaw was that the party never really knew what was going on so they were just reacting rather than planning. I honestly think a single reveal that Myr’atta was after them and behind the attacks near Gilmore’s store, and a second reveal that she was trying to control Ted, would have changed my opinion entirely. If the party left Emon not just because of Poska and the need to investigate the rune, but because Myr’atta was chasing them, and if they kept moving south because of this; then even though there would still be all these different threads and the events would have played out similarly, Myr’atta would actually feel like the main villain and the other elements would have added additional pressure and time restraints. As is, Myr’atta felt like an annoying distraction from far more intriguing elements.

To compare to campaign 2: I thought Lucien had the most rancid vibes that have ever existed - like, truly, zero positive traits - and wanted him dead - but I knew why he was doing what he was doing and that made me deeply invested in the story. Here, it felt like the party was being pursued by a bear and Myr’atta was a mosquito that was bothering them. It felt like Poska’s crew or servants of Lolth or some threat from the plane of fire or even the Iron Authority with an imprisoned Umeji could have shown up as the BBEG, and I’d have felt it was equally plausible and in several of those cases, more narratively fitting and emotionally engaging.

In short: there were several different plotlines, which is fine and even good, but the one the final battle and emotional beats hinged on was the one I cared about the least. Even the inclusion of the circlet and hints that Myr’atta was perhaps responsible for the earthquake near Emon didn’t fully land; Opal was (other than Orym) the party member least tied to the circlet, with no prior interactions with Lolth specifically because she’d spent those dream sequences with Ted.

The hook for existing fans regarding Thordak’s Crater also failed to pay off and I need to stress that “but Matt probably gave that as a starting point” is not a good explanation; either work within the restrictions, or don’t, but a vague inclusion with no payoff in a limited run series really cannot be spun into anything good. I actually think including past lore is good, but because there was no payoff, both new potential viewers and existing fans didn’t get anything out of this. Let’s be real: this is a fandom where people got loudly emotional on social media at the mere idea of Vax showing up in a non-canon one-shot where he would almost certainly be murdered in like three rounds. You don’t really need to sell this to existing fans beyond saying "Emon."

This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy myself, because for the most part I did (although the finale for me, because of the reasons I stated, was by far the weakest episode). I also completely acknowledge this is their first attempt at this shorter format, which is much less forgiving of digressions and tangents, and there probably were a lot of competing expectations. In the end, the main problem was, as I’ve said before, a lot of enthusiasm for the world and trying to be all things to all people. I can’t fault anyone for that; neither can I deny it led to a somewhat rocky and disappointing result.

I’d watch a new season. I’d even be excited for a more tightly plotted follow-up to this one. But also I’ve been a fan of the show for 3+ years and have seen Aabria in several other shows so there’s a lot of built-up goodwill. If I had a friend who was interested in checking out CR but intimidated by the amount of material, or a friend who had taken a break after campaign 2, I would probably recommend they just wait for C3 or hold off to see if EXU season 2 is more tightly plotted.

[garrulouspedant]

The Pilgrim House https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/ has a wonderful pre-Camino reflection guide, and I thought I'd fill it out. Here goes:

What or who got you interested in the Camino?

Liz Wilkins and Barbara Blackford were talking about it one day on a bike ride around 2011 or 12.  It sounded absolutely amazing, and I thought – I’d really like to do that someday.  The more I learned about it, the more I wanted to do it.  Films like The Way and I’ll Push You deepened my desire to go considerably, as they showed both the beauty and the challenge of being a pilgrim.  I figured it would be something I could do in retirement.  When I got this sabbatical at work, it was the first thing I thought of.  I’m really blessed to be able to do this now.

Do you have goals for your Camino in any of the following areas: physical, spiritual, emotional?

Of course physically I’d like to finish feeling good and uninjured.  In addition, I am still holding on to some anger that I feel like is hindering me in many ways.  I’d like to finally be able to let go of that.  I know from previous experience that doing physically difficult things mean coming to places where you are emotional and feel like you can’t or don’t want to continue.  I’d like to keep those to a minimum, and hold in my heart as much as possible how wonderful it is just to be on this journey.

Everyone says that the Camino provides.  But – that does not mean it gives you what you want. The Camino always gives you what you need.  I am hoping to open myself up to whatever I need the Camino to provide to me.

Are there areas in your life that need healing?

I have some resentment and anger that I need to let go of.  Things are not always fair, and I have had trouble accepting that.  It is only hurting me, and I don’t like feeling that way.

How can you create space for yourself on the Camino to reflect in these areas in order to move toward healing?

If 40 days walking on my own doesn’t create that space, I don’t know what will!!!

What expectations do you have going into your Camino?

I expect to meet wonderful people, eat great food, see beautiful things, and maybe practice my Spanish.  I expect it to be difficult at times.  I expect it to be amazing at times.  I’m assuming that I don’t know the half of what it will actually be, and I’m trying to be ok with that.

What are you concerned or fearful about?

I’ve never spent 6 weeks alone, and I’m nervous about that (though I know I won’t really be alone unless I want to be).  I have some nerves around safety/security, though I know I’m probably in a more risky place for safety in midtown Atlanta where I live.

Is there anything in your life right now that you think will distract or keep you from fully embracing your time away on the Camino?

I hope not.  I think the thing I need to focus on is taking my time.  I’m used to racing, so walking at a leisurely pace is not intuitive to me.  I hope I can be really present for this.

Have you considered purposefully carrying something as you walk or purposefully leaving something behind? (This could be done physically, prayerfully or symbolically.)

I’m going to be physically carrying three things:

a rock from where my father is buried, which is also in the town in New Jersey where I grew up and spent the better part of the first half of my life.

a rock from Piedmont Park, which is in midtown Atlanta, which is where I have spent the better part of the second half of my life

a lovely tree charm that my sister-in-law had blessed and gave me to carry.

I plan to leave the first two behind at Cruz de Ferro. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_de_Hierro_(Le%C3%B3n)

[dreamxeyes]

JUST SAW TROS - SPOILERS

my thoughts....

At first I didn’t know what to think.

And then I realized what the problem was with the movie.

It was way too fast paced and lacked feeling.

I understand now why Reylos are upset. I understand why it is getting criticized. I understand now.

But it’s not because Ben died. It’s because we didn’t get a moment to process it.... Anakin had a moment. He actually had lines. He talked to Luke. We got the classic, “You were right... you were right...”

Ben’s last word ever spoken? 

“Ow”

OW??

OW?

While that scene was CUTE and all... he said NOTHING ELSE.

And yes, he and Rey were wonderful. Adam Driver was wonderful. The last fight was wonderful but it was TOO FUCKING SHORT. AND THEY HAD NO LINES WITH EACH OTHER. There was nothing DEEP.

And it’s not that Rey did not appear to mourn for Ben or loved him. It just wasn’t given to us. She did. You could see it in her eyes, but they had to jump from one thing to the next.

And any Reylo moments they had? Far too rushed. Their lines were great, but some of it just seemed so rushed and forced. I hated how Kylo told Rey she was a Palpatine WHILE HE HAD HIS MASK on. It was just not emotional at all. I don’t know if it was because I was already spoiled, but it just didn’t seem like a shocking moment.  Even their final fight together was just too fast. They hardly spoke up until she actually struck him and realized what she had done.

This film broke the classic way to tell a story. There was no build up. We were just hit in the face with action and the characters had to get somewhere quick. They had to jump from thing to thing. Even the characters were just talking to fast. There was no exposition or any moment for the viewer to BREATH.

Even C3-Po, my favorite original character’s lines felt forced. The new characters also felt forced into the story with no real introduction.

The Last Jedi will remain to be the best Star Wars movie for me because the characters were given depth. Reylo was fully formed with great dialogue and chemistry. Their scenes were built up and drawn out, whereas in TROS their scenes were sadly brief.

I’m not heart broken because of the story. I am heart broken because there was not much feeling to this film. My favorite scene was actually when Ben had a moment with his father because that scene did not feel rushed. We actually had a moment to breath and see the emotion. FEEL the emotion. And when Ben threw his light saber... I just.... I loved it.

Star Wars is about feeling something. Yes, Star Wars is about excitement. It’s also fun and comedic at times. But that’s all this movie was. It was just action and comedy, and any scenes that were supposed to be sad lasted 2 minutes.

Again there was no feeling.

JJ said this movie was romantic. I didn’t feel the romance up until the final kiss. There was no build up. All we saw was Rey be angry and afraid of who she was. Ben could have come to her and said there was no reason to be afraid. That he accepted her for who she was. When he came to help her stop Palpatine, he could have said something like, “You’re not alone.” Or ‘I”m here for you.” but no. We just had action and had to interpret their thoughts and feelings. And yes I loved the kiss. Their final moment was too rushed. I wanted them to both say something to each other... more than just “Ben.”

I am just so heart broken. 

I love and hate this movie so much I don’t know what to do.

[sithlordintraining]

Live with the Force, Honey

A/N: Hello everyone! January has most def. been the longest month ever. But this has been itching me ever since I’ve seen Adam’s GQ cover. And once people started giving him his own life, it just seemed perfect. I’ve loved Space Dandy for about 3 years now. This is mostly based on the first episode: ‘Live with the Flow, Baby’. If you watch the episode first, you might get a better understanding. Hopefully some of you guys like it <3

Word Count: 2,951; I’m sorry if it is too much for some.

Narrator: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away; Ben Solo: he's a dandy guy in space. He combs the galaxy like his hair on the hunt for aliens and any other things that people need smuggling. Planet after planet he searches, discovering bizarre relics and new creatures, both friendly and not. These are the spectacular adventures of Ben Solo and his brave space crew in space.

“You know what's wrong with women Threepio?”

“What is wrong with them Master Solo?” He responded.

“Women love showing their boobs like it's some spectacular sight, but really isn't.” Ben shrugged looking over to C3-PO. “The booty is where it's at!”

“Oh! Master Solo!” Threepio exclaimed.

Continuing to screw in the last bolt on the grate, he chuckled. “I'm telling, if you weren't all wires, you'd understand. But listen, every girl has boobies. But, booty?” He sighed standing up. “Well, those are the girls for me. A boob-man is a brainless man. And I got brains.”

“Oh Master Solo, if your mother could hear you, she’d-” C3-PO interjected.

“As for you,” He walked closer holding the screwdriver to Threepio. “My mother won't hear about this because I'm the one with the screwdriver.” He showed his gorgeous smile, leaving the robot in every more of a panic mode.

Narrator: You've met our protagonist and his robot companion who legally illegally smuggle for a living. You see this tall, handsome, dark-haired pale-face contrast of a man is Ben Solo. Depending on how many light years away your planet is, you probably still would've heard of him. Son of famous smuggler and General Han Solo and Princess turned General as well, Leia Organa-Solo; whose twin brother, Ben’s uncle, the famous Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who defeated their infamously loved father Darth Vader and lead to the fall of the Empire. Who at the end, Darth Vader came back to the light and some say were reunited with the love of his life, their mother Padme Amidala. She was also a Royal who thought she would do better in politics. But back to Ben, who could be seen on the cover of any ‘SpaceThrob’ holo as the handsome bad boy royal. He could've been a Jedi or General or a Senator, but instead, like his father before him-

“I am a smuggler! And I will go where all smugglers go that need a quick job. Swinging his leg over to straddle the chair, he plopped down and hit the switches. “TO BOOBIES!”

“Oh no Master Solo, not again.”

“Master Solo, I never understood why you new age smugglers like to do business in a place like this.” C3-PO tried to keep up with Ben as he was dazed in the sea of women of various species chest. Finally, seeing him seated in a booth between two women, he relaxed as much as his wires could.

The women went away, leaving the golden robot and a drooling man-boy. “Did you find any jobs, sir?” Eyes still scanning the sea of women, Ben let out a chuckle. “Loosen up we will get something, we just need to have a little fun.”

Narrator: Such is the scene at BooBies, one of many chains of so-called "breastaurants" with locations all over known space. Breastaurants are where zero-G meets DD, staffed as they are by the top-heaviest girls of any species sporting boobs. And since the roster of ladies is different at each location, Ben's made it his mission in life to visit every single one. He dreams of buying out the chain someday and eating every meal there. Even if it's against General Organa’s liking.

C3-PO was so enthralled at the sight of the large alien, he missed Ben slipping out the both. His eyes couldn't stay focused as he made his way to the bar. Boobies! As far as the eye can see. And even farther! Ben thought, eyes widening.

“Urgh!” Ben stumbled back, falling on his behind. Opening his eyes, he knew for sure he was dead.

“Boobs.” He whispered as soft as he could.

“Are you okay?” Looking up at the chest to see where the beautiful voice came from.

(H/C) hair surrounded her face as he looked into her (E/C) eyes. Her brows furrowed as the man still didn't answer.

“I-I’m fine.” Ben blushed in embarrassment. You let out a little giggle, pushing his raven locks back. “You're cute! What's your name?”

Pushing himself up a little further, and confidence, he spoke. “I’m Solo, but you can call me Ben.”

You let out a toothy laugh. Ben couldn't help but glance down and watch your chest jiggle. The shade of red rose from his neck to his cheeks, as he let out a chuckle looking back up to your still closed eyes.

“Oh, Master Solo, there you are! I have been looking for you.” Ben groaned at the robot as he pushed himself off the ground. Ignoring his companion he helped the girl up, he couldn't help but chuckle at how much smaller she was than him.

“And what's your name honey?”  Ben put on his best Solo mac. “It's Baby, and who is this knight in shining armor?” You turned facing Threepio.

Slightly caught off-guard, he shook his head and introduced the two of them.

“C3-PO, this is Baby, Baby this is C3-PO”

Stepping in front of Ben, he offered his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Baby.” Ben scoffed as you tried to hide your blushing face. “Oh!” You smiled. “And such a gentleman!”

“Yeah.” Ben let out a fake smile, pushing Threepio back.

“How ‘bout you guys get comfy and I'll bring you some drinks, how does that sound?” You smiled.

“Sounds great baby!” Ben exclaimed.

Making their way back to the booth, C3-PO filled Ben on the real reason he went to find him. “So it's just a simple transport job?” He looked at the robot. “Yes, sir. They are actually waiting in our booth.” Ben slowed his pace as he saw two built Lorridan men waiting for them.

Sliding in the booth, he let out a weary breath. “Gentlemen.” He composed his cool demeanor once again.

“The job is simple.” One of them spoke.

“Woah! I didn't even accept it!” Ben put his hands up.

“It's ok, your friend did it for you.” One smirked.

Slowly turning his head “Threepio!” He said through his teeth.

“As I said the job is simple, pick up and drop off.” The man rolled the scroll over to Ben with instructions. Ben chuckled at the sight of such an ancient system he's only heard about. “You can burn it when you're finished with the job. And don't open it until you ready for transport.”

Grabbing the scroll with his massive hand and stuffing it into his vest, his other hand brushed some strands back. “What is it you want me to pickup and drop off?”

“Well-” the man spoke up, only to be cut off by his partner. “That.” He pointed.

Ben slowly turned around. Seeing a small hooded figure hop on the barstool. Turning back around to asking about payment, only a satchel of credits were left in the men's place.

“Boy you sure know how to pick them, don't you?” He growled exiting the booth with C3-PO in tow. He stomped his way over behind.

Looming over the figure, he laid a hand on its shoulder. “Excuse me-” All of sudden, Ben was blinded by a drink thrown in his face. Wiping his eyes, he saw the figure dart away from him. Taking quick strides, Ben followed the small figures moves. All fours? What is he?  Deciding to sneak attack, he hid behind the pillar waiting for the figure to appear. Tapping into the force, he sensed the figure, he kicked his leg out, having him fall to the ground.

Narrator: What is the force, you may ask? “It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” Stated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master to both Anakin and his son, Luke Skywalker. The power of the Force could be used by individuals who were sensitive to it, a power that was tapped through the midi-chlorians. The two main practitioners of the Force's power are the Jedi Order, the light side, and the Sith, the dark side.

“He's knocked out. Let's head to the ship.” Throwing the unconscious being over his shoulder he strode his way out.

“Oh, Mr. Solo! Here's your drink!” Baby's voice rang out from behind him.

Turning around, he saw a jumbo jug mug with a crazy straw pushed in his face.

“I know you're in a rush, so here are your complimentary BooBies To-Go Jug Mug!” You smiled and he seemed to have the dumb expression wash over his face again. Accepting the jug, they made their way to the ship.

Narrator: Meanwhile, aboard the First Order’s ship, Supreme Leader Snoke has managed to pinpoint the location of Ben Solo. Pleased with this discovery, General Hux prepares to capture his target. Outside, a galactic war rages between two opposing forces: the Resistance, and the First Order. They have been locked in a battle for ultimate control of the entire universe for years. As the battle rages on, Ben's ship, the Millennium Falcon, passes by as if oblivious that he is the key to ending this war.

“He's near.” His voice echoed in the dark chambers.

Standing up from his knee, his blue eyes pierced the hologram. “You feel it again, Supreme Leader?” The red-headed man asked.

“Indeed. He's been using the force more often.” The eerie figure spoke out. “General, prepare your ships.”

The General bowed and the hologram was gone. Turning on his heel, he made his way out of the room. The blast doors opened revealing his shorter and fidgety assistant. “Mitaka!” He scoffed at his close proximity.

“Sorry, sir.” He took a step back.

“Contact Captain Phasma and tell her we have found Ben Solo’s location.” The General swiftly made his way to the control room. Mitaka taking long strides to keep up.

Narrator: Back on the Millenium Falcon, C3-PO and Ben Solo stared at the hidden figure, trying to decipher what could anyone want with this creature. Of course, if Ben could remember the scroll with the instructions, he'd have better insight.

“What is it?” Ben inquired.

“It's a Loth-Cat, Master Solo. Found on-” waving at him Ben replied, “Yeah, yeah I get that, but he was walking as well.”

Leaning in to get a better look, he soon face to face with the creature. The creature opened its eyes and head butted Ben.

“WHAT THE KRIFF?!” Holding his head, he stumbled watching the creature run off. Gritting his teeth, he, once again ran off to find it.

Turning down various hallways and searching in small compartments, he finally found him. There was nowhere left to run.

“What do you want from me?” The creature spoke.

With wide eyes, Ben spoke, “You can speak!” Pointing at the creature.

“Yeah, so, is that why I'm here on this piece of junk?” He scratched the wall.

“HEY! The Millennium Falcon is not a piece of junk!” Ben was now towering over the creature.

Eyes peering up at him, the cat cowered back in fear. “The-then you are. You are Han Solo?”

Putting a hand to his chest, he let out an exaggerated a scoff. “Excuse me! I'd like to think I'm better looking than that scruffy nerf herder!”

“So you're not him? Then why do you have his ship?”

“Well it's a long story,” Ben scratched the back of his neck.

Narrator: You see learning to pilot a ship is any boy's right of passage to manhood. Han had promised his offspring a brand new ship if he fulfilled certain duties, one being able to take care of the ship he so cautiously bestowed on to the young Ben. On Ben's 20th Birthday he was presented with a beautiful sleek blue ship, and an excited Ben decided to take it out for a joyride. Fortunately, Ben met two beautiful Mandalorian girls, who showed him an amazing time. Unfortunately for Ben, this also meant waking up in an abandoned hotel room with no form of transportation to get back.

“And that's why we are here on this historical ship, so can you PLEASE refrain for any more scratches.” Ben bent down to observe the curled metal. That old man is going to kill me. “So why did you take me?” The creature asked softly.

“Well, it's just simple job, pickup” Ben swayed his hand “drop off.”

“DROP OFF? DROP OFF! DROP OFF WHERE?” The cat squealed jumping from wall to wheel.

“HEY! Hey! Relax, relax. You're damaging the walls. What's your name anyways?” The cat calmed down and just heaved, letting out a sigh he said “Maumau.”

“Meow Meow?”

“No, Maumau.”

Ben stifled a laugh. “How original.” Maumau rolling his eyes once again asked why he was taken and Ben just shrugged. “I don't know, let's ask Threepio since he got us into this mess.” Making their way back to the cockpit, C3-PO turned around “Oh, well know that you two have gotten acquainted, Master Solo did you open up the scroll?” He scrunched up his face. “What scroll? What are you even talking about?” Ben sat down slurping the last of the drink in his jug mug.

“Master Solo, your memory does concern me some time.” Taking a step closer, he poked his chest.

“Hey!” Clutching his chest only to fill the scroll. “Oh, thanks, Threepio” he mumbled.

Undoing the scroll, he quickly skimmed over it; eyes widening at the amounts of credits he would receive. This was too good to be true. Maybe he could buy a ship, or in all honesty, start a saving fund to buy a new ship. Looking up from the scroll, he glanced at Maumau.

“What did you do?” Ben inquired.

“Talk,” he answered. Ben lifted his brow.

“Yeahhhhhh.” he dragged. “How is that possible? I thought you guys were pets or something.”

“No! That’s the stupid Tooka’s.” He crossed arms. “It all started when I was captured, some people did some experiments and I learned how to talk, but they thought that I wouldn’t be able to think for myself. They treated me terrible and I had to go.”

Feeling sympathy towards the guy, he bit his lip and looked at the scroll once again. A new ship or save him?  

“Master Solo, what do you want to do?” Threepio rushed to his side. Looking up, he was satisfied with his answer “I’m going to get a new ship!” Maumau suddenly became frantic hopping all over the cockpit.

Narrator: Approaching near, but still far, Captain Phasma and her troopers made their way to the Falcon. Due to the vastness of space, the captain couldn’t see the ship jump into hyperdrive.

“Contact the General.” the trooper nodded and the general soon appeared. “Captain, I assume the capture was a success?” He suppressed a smirk.

“General Hux, if I may?” with a nod he continued. “General, we’ve been sitting here for 5 minutes, he is nowhere to be found. This has been the third time this week. Even though I work for the First Order, you can’t just command my fleet to continuously stop and scan the galaxy looking for some space brat.” She shook her helmet.

Hux’s jaw locked. Catching Ben Solo was one of the only things that Hux hadn’t succeeded at. It’s been years and it wasn’t like he was running from the order, Ben knew too well to get mixed up in the war. (The reason he decided to join his father in the family business).

“If you would like to safe in that ship and expand the Order, I suggest you let my troops and I be.” Ending the transmission.

Quickly striding, he entered the dark room. “You have him?” Snoke’s voice echo.

“Well, Supreme Leader . . . No.”

Snoke gritted his teeth. “This is truly your downfall. If not to today, when do you expect to obtain him?” he inquired.

“Next week, hopefully.”

Narrator: Now that you fangirls have found out that Ben is safe and Hux is probably on the chopping block, you can all stop biting your nails and get back to the story.

“Where are we?” Maumau asked.

“I don’t know, if you don’t jump on all the controls and jump us into hyperspace, maybe I would know!” Ben grilled the cat. “Threepio, where are we?”

“Master Solo, processing my calculations, I would say: I don’t know,” he replied. And Ben huffed.

“Hey what’s that?” Maumau pointed to the window.

Approaching slowly, all three stared at what seemed to be a long never-ending chain floating through space. Sitting in the pilot seat, he began to follow the chain. “Look! It seems to be connected to that planet.” Ben maneuvered the ship approaching the white planet. Landing the ship, the three of them went to explore the planet. Stepping onto it, he was instantly hit with a rush.

“Are you alright Master Solo?” C3-PO asked. Shaking his head yes, he squinted his eyes following the chain. Ben was getting some strange pull to follow the chain. They followed the chain until they came to a handle. Reaching a hand, he went to grab the handle.

“Wait, do you know what it does?” Maumau asked.

“Nope.” And with that Ben pulled it.

Narrator: Ah, the cosmic string. A thread like concentration of energy within the structure of space-time. And our brave hero just pulled it. Possibly bringing the end to us all.

To Be Continued . . . 

I hope you guys liked it, I really did the most for this. My English teachers would be so proud. I feel like I should cite my sources: Wookipedia & Space-DandyWikia. But let me know hope you guys feel about it. Of course, I had to tweak a few (seems like a lot ) to flow as much as it could.

[respawninguk-blog]

Wow…The sun is too bright for me…I think after spending the last month absorbed into Persona 5, something inside me clicked; an addiction of sorts, a lust, a sort of urge to explore more of the Shin Megami Tensei universe, through any means possible – Especially given that after over 150 hours of painstaking, mask-ripping, Reaper-slaying trauma through my first and second full playthroughs of Persona 5, I missed out on that glittering Platinum trophy by missing one request.

*Insert the sad trombone cue here*

Shin Megami Tensei, first released on the 3DS in 2013 is the fourth numbered title in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, with many comparing it to it’s numbered predecessor, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (Or Lucifer’s Call if you’re here in the EU) to pick apart it’s pro’s and con’s.

Story

SMT IV (Or just SMT4 to keep it short’n’snappy) is a turn-based JRPG set in the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado. No, not the pocky sticks of the same name (Although I am a sucker for ’em)! You fill the role of [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] (Canonically named ‘Flynn’), an 18-year old teenage boy from the nearby village of Kiccigiorgi attending a coming-of-age event known as the “Gauntlet Rite”, a sacred and ancient ceremony where the holy monks and samurai of Mikado present a legendary gauntlet to the 18-year old citizens of the county to determine it’s next wielder/s…

You attend this rite with your childhood friend Issachar, where, lo and behold, you are accepted as one of the gauntlet’s new users, alongside four others – Isabelle, Johnathan, Walter and Navarre; you lead the life of a Samurai Prentice, abandon your old life (And Issachar too; just don’t look too much into his poor puppy-dog eyes, it looks like someone just kicked his puppy), and begin your work defending the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado against some truly…Otherworldly entities.

From here on out, the world is yours to craft through whatever Alignment you choose – These being Law, Neutral and Chaos. Feel like a righteous hero and want to uphold the Samurai code upon all else? Go Law. Feel like an arsehole and want nothing more than to gain total dominance and power? Go Chaos. Or want to just see where the game takes you? Go completely Neutral. Be warned however, that if you plan on playing SMT4’s sequel, SMT4: Apocalypse straight after SMT4, you may want to go for the Neutral Route.

Gameplay

Now, let me begin this review by just saying this. If you’re coming straight from Persona, and have never dabbled into an SMT title before, then be warned:

This game will KICK. YOUR. ARSE. …Multiple times, of course.

Similar to the Soulsbourne games, you will die a heck of a lot even during the tutorial sections – In fact, SMT IV is known for it’s recklessly hard tutorial, and first 2-5 hours. Prepare to grind, fuse and pray to the almighty various deities above to be able to survive these sections – Planning and coverage here are your two greatest allies, as having a demon for each element and a spell for every circumstance truly cannot be handy enough.

The gameplay in SMT4 serves as a natural evolution of SMT’s Press Turn system, seen in previous games such as Nocturne and Digital Devil Summoner – You have a party of 4, being you and 3 demons, and any supporting characters you may have (These guys however are under AI control); each of your party members get a single turn, where you can perform a single action – Hitting an enemy’s weakness, or getting a critical hit gives you a second turn, increased stats, and more damage output once per character per battle phase; if you’ve played Persona 5, it’s pretty much the same as the Once More system used there if it seems I’m overcomplicating this.

The world is usually traversed in two forms – The overworld is commonly navigated using a sort of Visual Novel-esque location list, which can get kind-of confusing with more complex areas, whereas Dungeons and Demon Domains are navigated on foot, in fully explorable, player-controlled 3D spaces. Random encounters work here exactly the same as in Persona, or other such titles like Spectrobes, with you getting a quick bit of damage off on enemies if you attack them first, and vice versa. One thing, however, that you’ll quickly find is that you will need to resort to two things to progress through the game:

A) DLC quests B) Grinding like a mad bastard

This is where the game halts to a complete stop, as you find yourself more often than not curbstomped by random encounters rather than progressing at a regular, maintainable pace – DLC quests are relatively easy, and offer a crapton of EXP, however grinding takes absolutely ages, and can really put a roadblock in your way.

Trying to find your way and understand what you need to do can also be a bit of a challenge, and can more often than not make you want to turn off your 3DS in pure rage – More time should’ve been invested into something as simple as a little icon to say “Hey, you might want to check this place out!!”…

Visuals

Now, this is where I get a bit…Conflicted. Overall, the visual style of SMT4 is good – Menus are responsive and flashy, albeit sometimes difficult to navigate; environments look good on the 3DS, considering what it has to work with, however character models and some of the sprites just look…Bizarre. There seems to be a serious divide between the old SMT artstyles and the new SMT artstyles, presumably through a change in directing artist. You can look at an enemy such as Napaea, and look at it alongside something else such as Medusa and wonder if they’re even meant to be part of the same game.

It’s certainly a bit of a divide, and personally, I would’ve preferred it if they went all-out with either the old style, or the new style. The reason this works for something like Persona is due to the art being translated to 3D space – That is impossible using 2D sprites, since you can VERY easily tell when something has been digitally or hand-drawn, which you can with SMTIV. I even started a little game where I would try to guess if the demon designs were new or old! Try for yourself…

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Other than that though, every other aspect of the game, especially the spells, attacks and ‘execution animations’ are visually stunning, and look great even on the 3DS’s small, low-quality screen.

Soundtrack

Similar to the visuals, the soundtrack has two distinct ‘types’ – Really, REALLY damn good, or really, REALLY damn generic; nearly every single battle theme and some of the overworld themes, however the other half of the overworld themes and dungeon themes just seem so…Generic.

Themes such as the Boss theme (B2), Domain Boss theme (C3) and the standard Battle theme are all god-tier, in my eyes, however don’t expect to be jamming out to something similar to The Days When My Mother Was Here or The Whims of Fate in Persona 5.

Overall, after my first few hours into SMT4, I really am enjoying it – It has a lot of flaws and issues that drag it down, but for a first-timer’s introduction into SMT, it’s pretty good. I just wonder if there is a better place to start than this…

I rate Shin Megami Tensei IV a 7.5 / 10.

Here’s hoping my opinion cultures a bit more the further I get into the game.

Ever since Joe spent over 150 hours in #Persona5, he's been looking for a challenge...Say 'hoy' to #SMT IV!! #3DS Wow...The sun is too bright for me...I think after spending the last month absorbed into Persona 5, something inside me clicked; an addiction of sorts, a lust, a sort of urge to explore more of the Shin Megami Tensei universe, through any means possible - Especially given that after over 150 hours of painstaking, mask-ripping, Reaper-slaying trauma through my first and second full playthroughs of Persona 5, I missed out on that glittering Platinum trophy…