#i’m replaying all the re games

[unnerving-presence]

not my nemmy obsession folding me into a chair bc i’m playing re3r

[terraether]

I was tagged by @aspeckof-stardust ty friend :) !!

My top spotify songs and artists from the last month on receiptify

Here’s the link

tagging: @starkdusk @onlyyseedaylight @dadjoelmiller @sweptawayinthegray @tisthedamnseasns @caffelattte @swiftpascal v @sighscraper @iwannabeacowboylikeme @likethegardens any other mutual or follower or swiftie mutuals that I missed !

[salmalin]

My sincerest apologies and warmest welcome to my rant about FF7: Crisis Core. Or, as I like to call it,

Propaganda: The Video Game

I say this with the utmost affection. Crisis Core ranks really high up there in my favorite Final Fantasy 7 installments. I played it when it first came out, borrowing it from a friend to play on a borrowed PSP. And, the more I learn about the game and the more I replay it, the more everything lines up.

This game is not about Zack Fair.

This game is about how Capitalistic Propaganda can sink into every aspect of life to the point where it is entirely indistinguishable from reality. And it’s very overt about it. So…

Here we go.

My treatise on Propaganda’s starring role in Crisis Core.

Part One: The Timeline

Something that a lot of people gloss over due to decades of Child Heroes in media—Japanese Shonen and Shoujo series in particular—is how young these protagonists are. We’ll hand-wave a lot of stuff in non-live-action series with just a little bit of suspension of disbelief. And that’s honestly just accepted these days. But here’s the thing about those hand-waves.

Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t do that.

Now, FF7 hand-waves a lot of stuff. For example, how far you can travel in a day by foot, the distance a man weighing approximately 165lbs can jump after being genetically fused with what might as well be a cocaine demon (Jenova), and how much hairspray one can reasonably carry on a cross-country journey while on the run from the feds.

Age is not one of them.

Exhibit A: Yuffie Kisaragi.

Do I really need to say more? She acts her age. So does Zack. And Aerith, even. Most of the characters in the original lineup were over twenty for a good reason. We see several kids in the series, and they all act their age, too—both the OG and the remake. Age is not a thing that FF7 really grapples with. It’s something they take relatively seriously.

Now, to the point.

Zack is 16 when Crisis Core starts…

… and he was 13 when he ran away from home without his parents’ knowledge to join the military.

Which accepted him.

At 13.

Without a parental permission slip.

Think about that for a second.

… Or for the next several parts of this breakdown.

Part Two: The Main Character

As I mentioned in the introduction, Zack is not the main character of the events of Crisis Core. Instead, he is the focal point of the second person POV. This is not the first time Square has done this. It was done most notably with FF9, FF10, and FF12. (I’m not going to go on an Akira Kurosawa rant right now, but please check out his film “The Hidden Fortress”. FF12 and Star Wars episodes 4-6 borrow heavily from this film.) The purpose and position of this character is such that they might best witness the effects the other characters make on the world as their stories unfold, usually in the role of a love interest. For Akira Kurosawa, it may have been told this way because these people are most effected by the decisions being made.

“Well, then, Sal,” you may be asking, “who would you say is the main character? Would that be Aerith, since she’s the love interest, like in the other games?”

No, actually.

It’s the antagonist.

And by that, I mean Genesis.

Hear me out. I used to hate Genesis, for I was once young, full of judgement for flamboyancy (thanks, internalized homophobia), and was led by the narrative to believe he was mean to his friends. Then I met my Lovely beta who loved him, so I wrote a fic for her as a gift. So for that I kinda just… read stuff. Because that’s the thing about Propaganda—you gotta read stuff to navigate it. I read the in-game emails. I re-watched all the scenes I could get my hands on with him. I read his wiki and tried to track down more information about him. Then I watched the scenes in Japanese and gained a better understanding of not just Genesis, but Sephiroth’s character. And I realized that Genesis was put on this road from the start. In fact, a big part of the fact that he’s seen the way he is in Canon—only at his most hostile and lowest points—is because the story is told through Zack’s point of view.

So before we get into the breakdown, here’s the hard facts about Genesis.

1. He was a test tube baby who may or may not technically be Angeal’s fraternal twin brother, which we are not going to unpack right now.

2. He was adopted by a relatively rich family.

3. He was a child genius (which requires not only resources, but drive to achieve), and at a tender young age of like… ten or something? He decided to mess around and literally invented pasteurization. Which is incredible, and really speaks to his knowledge of the world and ability to grasp complex concepts even at a young age. But, again, this is not the time or place to unpack that.

4. He was best friends with Angeal, who might as well have been the sweetest, kindest boy to ever walk the Planet. (I’m biased. I love him.)

5. As a teenager, he became fixated on Sephiroth, who had gained national acclaim as a SOLDIER despite them being the same age. (Please see part 1 and think about that for a second.) He then goes to join SOLDIER and brings Angeal with him. And Angeal brings his step-father’s puritanical “hard work is honorable” mindset with him. (On that note, Angeal and his father’s arc really are a wonderfully scathing letter to companies that overwork their employees and how toxic/unhealthy that line of thinking is. But. Again. We are not unpacking that right now.)

6. At one point he became consumed with LOVELESS, a series of poems with heavy prose and symbolism thicker than syrup. It got to the point where he was so well known for it that there was an entire fanclub dedicated to both him and analyzing the text.

7. While he was in SOLDIER, he repeatedly had his achievements publicly accredited… to Sephiroth.

Over and over and over again.

Everyone did, really. They mention it in the beginning of the game. Sephiroth even got public credit for Zack’s raid on the castle when he wasn’t even there. How much of his legacy is real? How much of it is made up? How much of it was faked? We don’t know. No one knows. But he keeps getting credit, anyways. And when Genesis confronts him about it, Sephiroth doesn’t care. In the Japanese version of their fight scene, you could even say he indirectly implies that he wants Genesis to take his place as the “hero”. In the English, Sephiroth’s line is, “Come and try.” But in the Japanese the line is closer to, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Which, depending on how you take his tone, can mean wildly different things—from mocking, to earnest, or even admiration—which is especially to tell because he might be annoyed with Genesis at the moment.

Fun Fact: In Ever Crisis, Sephiroth explicitly says they are making up his achievements in the press to target boys his age for recruitment. (Thus why they accepted Zack at age 13.)

My theory on this line is that he is being cynical; that Genesis doesn't understand just how harrowing and even humiliating his experience has been. This only enforces my theory that the "come and try" translation in the English not only does a disservice to a line as wonderfully heavy as, "Wouldn't that be nice?", but fundamentally misunderstands Sephiroth as a character.

8. Genesis then took the fight to Shin-Ra. Inspiring a good chunk of their staff to leave the company, he then staged multiple attacks on facilities, staff, and the main building—which also spilled out into the city of Midgar. He murdered his parents, buried them, killed everyone in town, and… Yeah. It wasn’t pretty. A lot of innocent people died simply because they were vaguely associated with Shin-Ra. These are the actions of a villain. What’s more, this is clearly a sign that he has been acclimatized to death and violence by Shin-Ra to the point where he doesn’t even consider taking hostages.

Except.

Except the entire town was a Shin-Ra town.

Banora, canonically, was a Shin-Ra built town, which means everyone there was basically an employee of the company. No one was safe. Everyone was a threat. And that…

That was how he was raised. And he finally knew the truth—that every moment of his life was touched, controlled by Shin-Ra, all the way down to his very conception. He has never known freedom. He has never known his own identity. And now that very cage was killing him, slowly and painfully, and turning him into something that couldn’t even be recognized as human. He was watching himself rot in the mirror, and it was all because of Shin-Ra’s greed. And as he searched for salvation, he sunk into LOVELESS as he always had, hinging his entire life on Minerva’s Gift because he knew he was dying and that was all he had.

9. And then he died…

10. … but then it turned out LOVELESS was actually kind of a blueprint, and he did meet the Goddess, and he did get reborn without his degradation so he was rewarded for his journey in the end.

So why wasn’t Genesis the main character of the game?

Simple.

His actions challenge the status quo without being about the status quo. It’s a story about revenge. It’s a story about retribution. It’s a story about answering mass violence with mass violence and ultimately being rewarded by it. And while, yes, the series is an action-based violence simulator, the violence in the original FF7 was a guided, tactical effort. (For all that the characters aren’t the brightest bulbs in the sun lamps.) But the biggest, most obvious shift in the narrative happened when they realized their role as terrorists—bringing mass violence to the company via bombing and open aggression—was just resulting in increasing levels of retaliation against uninvolved people. They might as well have been a child beating the ankles of a giant. The goals and themes of the game fundamentally change when they realize that answering mass-scale societal violence with mass-scale physical violence was not only unsustainable, but also wasn’t going to solve their problem.

FF7 is about change and learning when violence—and what kind of violence—is appropriate in the face of different threats.

Genesis’ arc undermines all of that, and making him the main character would contradict the very heart of the OG game.

So, instead, we are positioned as Zack, connected to him through a mutual friend. From there we see all the damage and horror this vengeance brings to those living under the status quo.

But also, that plotline’s a major downer in a lot of ways, so they needed to lighten things up a bit to keep audience involved. And that’s why Zack is, well…

Part Three: Zack is a Himbo

Please, for the love of all that is holy, keep in mind that everything I say here is with the utmost affection.

Zack is dumb as a rock.

He is a charismatic, enthusiastic sixteen year old jock who ran away from home at thirteen years old to join the military. Which, please know, why I say “military” I mean “private security guard force with a standard-issue Death Baton and a license to kill”. The first scene in the game is him being excited that he gets to murder a bunch of people in a simulation, which he is immediately scolded for by his mentor. He is a glorified, souped up private security guard who is canonically only in it for the glory at first. He wants to be a “hero”, but doesn’t seem to fundamentally know what that means. And, over the course of the story, the definition of that clearly changes for him.

Which tracks, because the story takes place over a period of time with high stress.

Occasionally I see people saying they wish that Zack had more complexity to him, and honestly? The game. Would be. SO. BAD.

Full Disclosure: I am not the biggest fan of Zack specifically because he lacks a lot of nuance. I wish he was a bit more complex, too. But I also know that would break the game. What’s worse, if he was still on Shin-Ra’s side because he understood Shin-Ra’s mission… Well… That would make him a villain, or a cog at best. That’s not main character material. It would make the ending more messed up, though.

Anywho, Zack was thirteen when he left home. He had no formal education. He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing. He even joined without a permission slip from his parents. This means that Shin-Ra was accepting thirteen, possibly fourteen year olds into the military. (Some people will say this tracks because you can get a job at fourteen in many parts of Japan. But, and this is important, you aren’t allowed to be a security guard until you’re quite a bit older, and you need a specific license for it, much like in the US.) Clearly they didn’t teach this boy critical thinking skills. Not because he’s a himbo, but because having their Super-Powered Private Security Force With A License To Kill think independently would explicitly go against their interests. (EX: Genesis.)

Shin-Ra needs SOLDIERs to follow orders or the company would no longer be able to function. Seconds and Thirds aren’t even allowed to reject missions. (One could argue that sending certain someone on back-to-back missions would be a good way for them to eliminate undesirables within the ranks by sending them to their deaths, which… would make an incredible fic idea, actually.) We already know that First, Second, and Third Class rank assignments do not actually reflect the power of the SOLDIER. This is canon. I would instead argue that those who make the rank of First Class aren’t necessarily the most powerful, but are instead the most visible in the media, thus the easiest to market, and/or the easiest to manipulate and control. (For a great example of this, see The Umbrella Academy.)

The point is, Zack may have been elevated to his position as a first specifically because he is malleable and single-minded. Even after all he saw with Genesis, he stuck by the company to the very end, with the exception of the time Sephiroth was literally guiding him to fail a mission. Zack allowed himself to take Shin-Ra’s side every time, taking down their enemies and following their orders, preserving his “honor as SOLDIER” as he had been taught. The only thing that made him stop…

… was literally getting put in a jar.

It was when he was no longer a SOLDIER.

Part Four: Honor

There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

I repeat: There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

It is a fictional thing that is borne of an ideology based around hard work. It only has power because it is believed in. It is an intangible social construct similar to the law, mathematical order of operations, and gender roles. So why are Angeal and Zack obsessed with it?

Pretty simple.

Angeal’s step-father followed it.

Now, we know three things about Angeal’s step-father.

1. He was chill with the fact that Gillian was already pregnant when they started dating.

2. He was a very good father.

3. He worked himself to death trying to pay off the sword he bought Angeal.

This, of course, says a lot about Angeal considering he rarely uses the sword. He essentially sees that sword as the symbol of his step-father’s life. Everything he uses it for, he sees as more important than his step-father’s life. That thing is usually Zack.

Zack, who is the child who joined the military based on stories of heroes.

Zack, who rises against Angeal in the name of his own step-father’s ideology and tries to talk him down, even at the very end. But Zack fails because he fundamentally doesn’t understand what’s going on, partially because “Soldier Honor” is just one more aspect of this narrative he was given. It is a narrative that Angeal has had to step away from, even though he doesn’t want to leave the memory of his step-father behind. He was a good man. He was a good, hardworking man.

And that is why he died.

Corporations will use you up until there is nothing left, then honor your memory/sacrifice. Shin-Ra was doing the exact same thing the company his step-father worked for did; using up SOLDIERs until they outlived their usefulness. And Angeal was horrified to realize that his “SOLDIER Honor” wasn’t honor at all.

It was willingly submitting to control.

But, unlike Angeal, over time, this meaning changed for Zack. Partially because he didn't understand it fully in the first place. It became about acting with integrity. It became about helping people. It became about not lying down and watching the abuse Shin-Ra handed out in exchange for literal money; for maintaining the status quo.

At the very end, Zack understood what it meant to be a hero.

Part Five: The Conclusion

To sum up, Zack believed in and idolized the propaganda spread by Shin-Ra at such a young age, and was so convinced by it, that he ran away from home at thirteen to join the military.

He was their target demographic, so they happily took him into their ranks. What’s more, people think this is normal enough that we see no one opposing this, because the only people who oppose Shin-Ra are “extremists” or “violent terrorists”.

Zack then became their loyal puppy, groomed to fill his role as super-powered attack dog to sick on anyone they deemed appropriate, and he filled the role. He believed he was doing good. He didn’t think they were invading another country, because that’s not what he was told.

He went after Genesis, because that’s what he was told, and he wouldn’t let Genesis’ actions shake his faith in the company.

Then he went after Angeal, hoping to get answers, only to become more confused. Angeal taught him about SOLDIER honor. He taught him about a higher calling. He was the one who made Zack truly loyal to the company. This challenged everything Zack knew.

He went with Sephiroth, planning a small rebellion of their own (a white lie on paperwork) to get answers, only to find things he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t fully understand.

Zack is shaken by each of these events. Horribly. At times, we even watch him grieve. But time and time again, he doesn’t leave the company. He sees the damage they do first hand, and he doesn’t leave the company. The company isn’t the problem, to him. He reads their emails, does their dirty work, and “maintains his SOLDIER honor”.

Zack swallows what they give him right up until what they give him is torture.

Zack swallows what they give him until he becomes their victim.

Every step of the way, Zack is fed a story of how the world is. He was raised on it. He lived it. He became part of it. He was paid peanuts to enforce the status quo Shin-Ra installed in the world by force, and he was proud of it because it was, to him, something to be proud of.

Zack believes the propaganda whole-sale, and we get to watch, from the point of view of an outsider, as it slowly destroys his life before killing him.

Propaganda has the power to make suffering normal. Propaganda has the power to make murder righteous. Propaganda has the power to take a thirteen year old boy out of his home so they can give him a sword, and when they point him in the direction of their enemies he charges of his own volition, because they made him believe in their cause. And he believes in their cause because he believes that it makes life better for everyone.

But that’s not what’s actually happening.

That’s just what he was told.

Crisis Core is about propaganda, and the depths to which it can affect our lives. It changes our belief systems. It changes our perceptions of reality. And when it’s torn down around our eyes, it can make us go insane. It can make us violent and unreasonable as we realize just how much violence is being forced upon us—violence other people just plain do not see. It's just a a piece of paper. It's just a law. It's just a job.

It's just a war.

Final Fantasy 7 was about Fascism.

Crisis Core is about the propaganda that built it. It is told from the point of view of a boy, then a man, steeped in it. He watches until the people suffering around him—Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal—are twisted into villains by the truths and lies around them. Genesis and Angeal are tortured by truths, Sephiroth is transformed by lies, and Zack is subsequently hunted down to conceal them.

Crisis Core is Propaganda: The Video Game.

[multimilliepop]

Beyond the tape lore: TLDR at the end

This is more of an AU rather than actual dandy’s world concept, but I tried to work in a reason as to why multiple rounds of dandy’s world can exist in a lore setting. Also heads up it’s edgy as hell I’m so sorry 😢

The learning center and all of its toons, handlers, and cannon events (such as their cartoon dates) are a real and tangible. However, the game that we play is not that place.

Every play-through is Dandy replaying his own “custom” episode on a piece of film stock dipped into the ichor (aka gods blood) and each round is unique because of that, the ichor liberates their 2D experiences inside the tape to feel real and allows each re-play of the tape to be entirely different. (He can pick which toons to include, which not to include. What items they find, which twisteds they encounter).

Each play-through in game is an “episode re-run” (obviously not ones that are aired, I imagine dandy has his own little personal room to play the episodes out). They’re merely a concept being played out a tape that dandy has created, but it is all VERY real to each of the “toons”. Toons in quotes because it’s only the toons emotions and feelings in a tape, their soul? Their essence? Im not sure how I’d label it! But through good splicing a re-connecting Dandy’s found that he can wipe each of the toons memories and even grant himself a form beyond his real powers. (Bro is self inserting 😭)

He does this mostly to cull runs of toons who figure out that whatever they’re doing is some sort of twisted existence, not that any of them can pin point how exactly everything is wrong but they understand it enough not to want to buy from Dandy. (Basically what we call “Dandy runs”)

This is part one of the concept, part two is gonna be why dandy does it in the first place and a part three of where my version of Goob comes into play in the story

TLDR: The toons we play are stuck in a episode made by dandy for reason I will touch on later, will probably draw some of this out as well.

[oakdll]

things i desperately want for persona 6

- Femc

I know this is not an unpopular opinion, but I don’t even need a full femc route. It would be nice, but I think it would probably take up too much budget. All I want is a girl model of the protagonist that you can choose and some pronoun changes. It would be so easy to do, I’m begging for this

- Let people be gay

If they are doing a femc route like that, there will probably be romance options for male social links, so just keep that for the boy protagonist route. You literally don’t have to change anything except maybe a few voice lines, but you could also have the VA’s only use gender neutral pronouns. Just let you date every social link (as long as they aren’t like your dad or teacher or something) regardless of their gender.

- Keep the rewind feature from Reload

This is self explanatory, it’s maybe the single best quality of life feature in any Persona game, I NEED it for P6.

- Keep the palace system for the dungeons

The order of Persona games was me playing P5R, then P4G, then P3R. Going from P5’s palaces to the mediocre dungeons in P4 was super jarring. Tartarus in P3R is definitely an improvement, and I might even like it more than Mementos, but palaces are by far the best addition to the Persona series ever. Having unique levels for each arc was a stroke of genius, and if they don’t carry it over to P6 it will almost certainly be underwhelming compared to P5. I do like the randomly generated dungeons, but I think they work best as accompaniment to palaces. Something like Mementos would be great for P6 in accompaniment to Palaces.

- Have a better spawning method for The Reaper

I like to farm The Reaper a lot, and especially in P4, it was TORTURE. Having to open 21 chests and then requiring the 22nd to randomly spawn an enemy just to fight The Reaper was awful. Even the time based ones in P5 and P3 are not perfect. Literally just anything but the tedium of P4. Requiring RNG was awful, you could spend 20 minutes opening chests just to not get an enemy chest on the 22nd and have to restart.

- Have a post game

Sometimes I want to play Persona but I don’t want to have to start a 100 hour new playthrough. Persona genuinely has a great combat system, and I would love to be able to explore Mementos or rematch bosses after beating the game. Maybe bring back the Thieves Den (or something similar) but allow you to re-enter palaces and Mementos after getting the true ending. Something like being able to rematch bosses in the Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey. Maybe also bring the album thing on the couch in Persona 4 back. If you don’t remember, if you went to sit on your reading couch, you could view all of your maxed social links and replay each rank. You could even go to the social links you didn’t romance and see what their romance path was like, or vice versa. It was super cool!

- Keep confidant perks

Having the ranks of non-party member social links grant perks is one of my favorite additions to P5. It can really help incentivize you to prioritize them and go for all max social links. I think the main flaw with Persona 5 was that Atlus underestimates how powerful the perks would be. That’s why the game was so easy, not because of the gameplay, but because Atlus couldn’t balance some players having unlocked broken confidant perks and others having not. It would be difficult, but they need to be able to balance the perks more. Definitely keep them, but don’t let people just blitz through palaces if they have Ryuji’s confidant at rank 7.

- Bring over a rebalanced version of Ryuji’s instakill

Speaking of Ryuji’s rank 7 confidant ability, I want it to come back. It is by far the most broken ability in P5, but it also made grinding SO much more bearable. That said, it needs a rebalance. Make it so it doesn’t work in palaces, only P6’s version of mementos. Make it much harder to get than rank 7, maybe a late game social link’s rank 10 ability. It would still be a broken ability, but it is an ingenious solution to fixing tedious late game grinding. More games should have versions of this ability.

- Keep the completionist difficulty of P5R

I think Persona 5 Royal has the best balance in terms of how difficult it should be to max out all of your social links on a first playthrough. I got all achievements on my first playthrough, but not 100% on social links. I was rank 5 in Strength and rank 9 in Lovers. It was very close, but it had just the right amount of generosity. I think if someone tries hard, they should be able to 100% it on a first playthrough.

- Make it so hanging out with Velvet Room attendants doesn’t take up time

Unless it’s a social link like Marie, I think having it take up time just prevents people from actually doing it. With how valuable time is in Persona, wasting time slots on hanging out with a non-social link character isn’t super viable. In P5R, I almost never hung out with The Twins because it took up a time slot when it didn’t need to. In P3R, I always hang out with Elizabeth because you don’t need to take up a precious time slot to do it. Please keep this!!

- Keep the story based character progression

In P5, most of the character progression happens through confidants. Obviously confidants should have character progression, but it also means that without doing those confidants, the characters are super stagnant. In P3R, almost all of the characters develop over the course of the game without requiring you to do their social link. Junpei develops a bond with Chidori, Yukari has personal drama with Mitsuru, etc. In P5, the only time this happened was Morgana leaving the Phantom Thieves, which is by far the worst part of the game. If they can write the story to be more similar to P3, I think it would be an improvement.

- Battle mechanics

I think Theurgy (or something similar) should be brought over to Persona 6. Theurgy in Reload was very unbalanced, being able to charge Theurgy's before big battles and end it in 1 turn was way too broken. I think Theurgy's should only be able to be charged and used in the span of one battle. You wouldn't be able to pre-charge your Theurgy and Armageddon all the bosses away, as all of your charge would go away after finishing a battle. This way it can only really be used if the battle goes on for a while, making it feel more like an ultimate attack and less like a win condition.

I also want Baton Passes and Technicals to be brought over as well. It can have different names and slightly different functions, but I think they are great mechanics, they just need some balance. Baton Passes and Technicals are also super broken in P5R, especially with merciless difficulty making them do 1.5x damage. Baton Passes were absolutely overpowered. I think this might be a pretty severe nerf, but I think the best solution might be limiting Baton Passes to only work once in a row. Having Baton Pass chains where you hit a weakness, Baton Pass to an ally to hit another weakness, and keep chaining it to shred every battle was unreasonable.

- Have a good challenge difficulty

Persona games (Mostly P5R and P3R) are far too easy. I actually like having the option to make them easy, safe difficulty is a genuinely good addition to the game, however merciless leaves a lot to be desired. I think P4G's option to freely change difficulty settings was pretty perfect, but even then I think having an even more challenging difficulty would be nice for veterans. Give the option to have a TRUELY merciless difficulty, something like Terraria's for the worthy seed, or CHIMPS difficulty in Bloons TD6. I always view those modes as some of the best challenge difficulties in gaming history. They have a perfect amount of challenge for veterans, and having something of similar difficulty in P6 would be amazing. I’m thinking like super boss level difficulty for every boss fight, obviously scaled to the player level though. I want to have to prepare in advance instead of just grinding slightly and shredding every boss.

- STOP ADDING FUCKING PEDOPHILES TO THESE GAMES

KAMOSHIDA WAS GOOD BECAUSE HE WAS ACTUALLY A VILLAIN, YOU DIDN'T NEED TO MAKE KAWAKAMI, UEHARA, AND MS. TORIUMI PEDOPHILES TOO PLEASE STOP LETTING THE MC DATE THEIR TEACHER

[captain-hawks]

I see roommate!oikawa and fear it’s done something to me. I’m also knee deep in my Haikyuu re-read SO I come to humbly offer:

You’ve been roommates with Oikawa for a few months now. Between his insane practice schedule and your crazy job, you don’t often spend any significant amount of time together. You see him either leaving or coming home, sometimes catch him watching replays of games in the living room. Rarely, you’ll eat a meal together—usually breakfast.

He’s a great roommate, all things considered. Only snarks at you when you forget to run the dishwasher or accidentally steal one of his shirts from the laundry.

Until, there’s a day you both have off. He’s taking a day to rest, you’re off work, and it’s really nice, having time to simply breathe.

Easy, right?

Except a sleepy Oikawa walks out into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair, a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

You don’t realize your mouth is hanging open the entire time he’s shuffling around the fridge.

SLEEPY ROOMMATE!OIKAWA GLASSES REVEAL MY BELOVED??????????????!!!

i fear you've unlocked a new door in the yearning chamber, nonnie.

(and then you're really in for it the first time you see him with his glasses on top of his head, the way the frames push back his hair—)

[felassan]

Some more info on the Mass Effect board game, from co-designer Calvin:

"Hi all, Calvin here, co-designer of the game. I've gathered all the frequently asked questions on social media and bgg and gathered them into some answers for you. Feel free to ask more questions if yours is not answered, and if I can answer it I will. I will be updating this as more information about the game becomes available. Release info - The release date is (hopefully) November depending on the gods of shipping - Price is confirmed, the game will be $50/£40 - The team is currently working on translation deals for 9 or so languages. More details soon. - For info on pre-orders go to https://www.modiphius.net/pages/mass-effect-signup - There are currently no plans for a collector’s edition vs standard edition - It is not crowdfunded, the game is direct to retail - "If you'd like to support the game right now, there's nothing better than going into your local FLGS and asking them if they'll stock the game when it comes out. With the vast amount of great games coming out every week, retailers rely on fans asking about the game. This helps them gauge how much to buy, the more people ask, the more buzz they know there is, the more confident they are to buy enough and the more likely there's one waiting for you on the shelf when you go in :-) That feeds up the chain; the more retailers ask their sales reps at Asmodee, the more Asmodee goes, "Oh wait, let's order more, so we have enough for all the shops". Plot - The game is set on the planet Hagalaz, early during the events of Mass Effect 3 - The players are tasked with investigating a crashed Cerberus research cruiser which could have info that contributes to War Readiness and could help stop the Reapers - The game is designed so people who have never played Mass Effect can still enjoy it. Eric hasn't played the games as much as I did so he got to do what he calls “the meathead test” on all the theming and story. - We worked with Bioware on all the plot and theming. - Yes you can do calibrations in this game Basic game info - Co-operative squad tactics - 1-4 players - Included are six 32mm minis, masc Shep, fem Shep, Liara, Garrus, Tali, and Wrex - Not many other components to keep price and complexity low - 45 minute missions - 3-5 missions per campaign - Branching paragon/renegade choices + sidequests - Enough missions to replay the campaign several times without repeats - Solo play is really fun, in fact I like all the player counts equally, which is something I’m very proud that we were able to achieve in this game - Solo play is basically multi-handing, you control more than one character. - There is no legacy aspect, the game is fully resettable - There will be new original art"

[character limit text break]

"Gameplay info - Low rules complexity, but with lots of tactical depth. We aimed for an audience of Mass Effect fans who might not know anything about board games. Board gamers should still find something to enjoy if they’re into co-op tactics. - A group that just wants to turn their brain off and blast through the game should have an easy time - But a group who wants to get the best endings, complete all the sidequests, get all the level ups will have to min-max pretty heavily - The game has relatively low randomness. Planning, prediction, and preparation are very important to avoid bad outcomes - but there’s still enough randomness to avoid AP as players try to plan out perfect turns. - Important gameplay elements include positioning and combo-ing abilities with other players. - There is a tactical map. - Players will level up their characters by performing in game actions and learn new abilities. - We got all 6 Shepard classes in there. It is one of the things I am very proud of doing. - Re: alpha gamers, Eric and I do not believe it is the designer’s job to solve for jerks at your gaming table. Obviously we have designed the game so that every player has something to contribute and there’s plenty of info so that it’s hard to track. But we also recommend having adult conversations with your table partners. Interviews/Behind The Scenes Beyond Solitaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-nLGDt97i4 Topics: how we designed the game and implemented the narrative UKGE promo copy https://twitter.com/Modiphius/status/1796844231018811782/" Post last updated August 8th

[source]

New original art 👀

[detective-piplup]

portal 2 made us bisexual if that helps

I’ve actually watched a lot of portal 1 lately but also to preface I HAVE played the portal games before. I have watched playthroughs of all the games listed as well . and all the games are masterpieces. that’s why I’m so torn. replay portal and re establish the good memories, or finally get th chance to buy a game I’ve wanted to buy for a year?

but also yeah makes sense. portal 2 is amazing

[switch]

it’s that time of the year again, it’s

Switch’s List of Halloween Games

games on this list are all 10+ years old, mostly on the more obscure or niche side, and if they’re not outright horror games they have a tone or theme appropriate for the season. because of their age, many have not been re-released, but if you know what you're doing that won't stop you. obligatory disclaimer to check content warnings for all of these games if interested. screenshots distributed randomly as i didn't want this post to be any longer than it already is.

The Residents' Bad Day on the Midway (1995)

a rather free-form black comedy point-and-click game set in a creepy carnival. you can freely swap between any characters that show up onscreen, read their stream of consciousness, and get different endings (or die) with each of them. this game makes full use of the setting, storytelling format, and uniquely repulsive art style established in The Residents' Freak Show, but now with more game to actually play, including minor puzzle-solving, even if a lot of it is optional. the game runs on a relatively short timer, and is intended for multiple quick replays.

The Dark Eye (1995)

The Dark Eye comes from our old friends at Inscape (who also made Bad Day up there and the infamous Drowned God), and is best known for using grotesque-looking stop-motion clay figures for its cutscenes. it’s a point-and-click adventure game that plays through multiple nightmarish Edgar Allan Poe stories across a single framing plot. the game can be a bit obtuse mechanically to play, but is another strong pick if you want a more artistic, psychological, less cheesy tone (and paint thinner that destroys your bones) than some of these other games.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1995)

one of the best point-and-click adventure games out there from a narrative and character standpoint, and a fantastic adaptation and expansion of the original story. the psychodrama device is something i’m a big fan of and they make full use of it. actual mechanics or methods of getting certain endings can be rather obtuse, but if you're familiar with this genre it’s par for the course, and it's such a worthwhile and cathartic experience. very strong voice acting performances all around in a genre that tends to be associated with the opposite of that. either way, I consider this one a must-play game in the genre whether you've already read the original short story or not.

GARAGE: Bad Dream Adventure (1999/2021)

a Japanese point-and-click psychological horror adventure game with a storied history, formerly widely inaccessible until 2014. GARAGE has been re-released in English on modern platforms by its original developer, something i'm very grateful for, and with new endings. GARAGE has an art style like nothing else I've ever seen before or since, with 90's 3D graphics depicting claustrophobic industrial spaces and alien-looking biomechanical characters that can be deeply uncomfortable to even look at, while the game challenges you to look past that surface. it also features some resource management and a fishing minigame! fascinating, genuine, hard to swallow, and a very strong recommendation.

Sanitarium (1998)

another very strong entry in the point-and-click adventure game genre, and it’s an isometric one this time. its puzzle design in particular is well-regarded for the genre, and its absence of any kind of game-over/softlock system unlike its more punishing genre cousins, as it really does want you to experience its whole narrative (although, it can be prone to crashing or breaking progression. save often). each level is highly and uniquely themed, though the tone is consistently more surreal than horror. the overarching story is much more cohesive and heartfelt than the initial apparent premise and setting might make you suspect.

CarnEvil (1998)

a classic, darkly comedic on-rails Arcade light gun shooter. CarnEvil is just a blast to play, set in a variety of attractions in a demonic undead carnival, with responsive gun controls, an adaptive goring system, and highly memorable enemy variety and scripted set-pieces all absolutely full of personality, all backed by fantastic sound design. power ups are dubiously balanced and the difficulty, while not blatantly unfair, becomes roughly what you’d expect for a game made to eat quarters, but you’d be playing this on an emulator, so that’s only a factor for self-imposed challenges. comes built-in with a menu to disable or enable things like various gore settings or tone down the appearance of certain enemies to your preference level. whether you’ve played a lot of arcade shooters or want to give the genre a shot, you can’t go wrong with CarnEvil. never a dull moment in this game.

Illbleed (2001)

a campy, unconventional, third-person survival horror Dreamcast entry that's gained somewhat of a cult following, you may primarily know it as "that game with the demonic sonic the hedgehog boss in it." another game set in an evil theme park, with attractions based on horror movies, but all of which feature fun and surprising spins on their premises and mechanical shakeups suited to each level. the mall and woodpuppets are my personal favorites. multiple playable characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, and NG+. the game can have a bit of a steep learning curve and somewhat obtuse mechanics, and you'll certainly want to read a guidebook (lest you commit the mistake every youtuber who plays this game ever makes and miss the horror monitor entirely), but it's quite generous with providing funds to access items and upgrades once you're past that. the unique, meticulous gameplay style of managing your stats and sweeping for traps inbetween high-risk combat encounters has been both praised and criticized.

Harvester (1996)

it's Harvester. you might have heard of it. a shocking, gory, cheesy black comedy horror point-and-click adventure game. the game infamously utterly falls apart in both mechanically and narratively its final third, but there really just is nothing else out there like the first two-thirds of Harvester, and i think that alone makes it worth playing at least once if you have the stomach for it. i’m tempted to call it a classic, but i’m still not fully sure how to regard this game. Harvester is Harvester.

Shivers (1995)

a Myst-like that surpasses all other Myst-likes, if you ask me. Shivers added just enough QoL improvements and just enough tension to the formula to be enjoyable by both people who normally like Myst games and people who might normally not. features an auto-memory for puzzle hints and the possibility of death without ever being unfair. limited item management is the main thing still applying here. light use of FMV. the varied museum settings, rich use of colors and shadows, strong soundscapes, audio cues, and fun voice performance by the recurring narrator really makes the whole thing memorable. spooky in a fun way.

The 7th Guest (1993)

Myst's CD ROM drive selling cousin, you probably won't get more pure Halloween-y than with this game's theming, haunted mansion setting, and use of FMV. the game can be a bit incoherent at times, and it's a point-and-click adventure puzzle game with heavy emphasis on its relatively challenging puzzles, which is either a good or bad thing depending on what you want. features a very fun soundtrack and fun story.

(as an aside, i've also heard the VR remake is good. haven't played it myself, but its use of FMV actors in VR is certainly praise-worthy when Myst ended up dropping that particular ball.)

Phantasmagoria (1995)

while i've never personally been a fan of this one, Phantasmagoria was objectively a landmark entry in point-and-click adventure games, in horror games, in FMV games, and in Sierra On-Line's/Roberta Williams' whole catalog. in terms of its genre, it's actually on the approachable end in terms of puzzle difficulty! it's known for its extremely over-the-top gore and violence, but it takes itself more seriously than the likes of Harvester, or it at least tries to. if you're someone who can enjoy a messy, gross, gory horror movie, you might enjoy Phantasmagoria. i can certainly respect its use of practical effects...

even people who like this game don't tend to like Phantasmagoria 2, though.

The Path (2009)

a full-on walking simulator art game that tells an overarching Red Riding Hood-themed story with almost no dialogue. multiple characters and endings to go through, and lots of collectibles, some of which do things and some don't. if you just don't like walking sims it's unlikely this would do it for you, but if you're someone who does enjoy a good walking sim, this is a classic entry. the forest is a beautiful setting to explore and the soundtrack sells the uncomfortable and somber tone well.

American McGee's Alice + Alice Madness Returns (2000/2011)

action-adventure platformers. american mcgee's alice features fantastic setpieces and level design, responsive controls yet somewhat slippery platforming, an arsenal of highly unbalanced but fun weapons, good enemy variety, a fantastic soundtrack, and a high level of challenge. alice madness returns heavily tones down the challenge and former emphasis on weapons, enemy variety, and boss battles in exchange for highly responsive platforming, a rewarding collectible system, and a deeply cathartic story. they're both games i repeatedly come back to for their own reasons. i'd recommend getting the original version of AMA and not the 2011 re-release if you can help it, but it's not a dealbreaker.

The Colonel's Bequest (1989)

another Roberta Williams classic, it's a charming and detailed murder mystery graphic adventure game that has an emphasis on discovery and characters more than puzzles. the game is split across multiple acts with various characters on schedules, and is full of conversations to eavesdrop on, clues to find, and notebook entries to fill out, or not find. there's multiple endings and multiple ways to die, and you can complete the game even with varying levels of overall notebook completion. it’s a game designed for replays, and it’s still arguably one of the most well-made and most complete games of its kind out there. it's got a good sequel in 1992's Dagger of Amon Ra, which isn't on this list purely for not feeling very Halloweeny.

you can play this one in-browser through archive org! just look for the manual for both the game and the emulator to make sure everything runs smoothly and that you don't get walled by the copy protection...

Honorable Mentions:

Troubled Souls (1994, Classic Mac OS)

troubled souls is, admittedly, ‘just’ a little ol pipe-style puzzle game, no story here like the others. yknow, it’s like pipe mania. but, it’s a highly themed, creepy-looking pipe game. plus, it's got an absolutely killer BGM loop. if you’re ever gonna play any time-killing dedicated puzzle games this October, it may as well include some Troubled Souls.

Pathologic Classic HD (2005/2015)

It's Pathologic. you've almost certainly heard of it. i hesitantly dropped Patho down to honorable mention just because it's exploded so much in popularity these past couple years compared to the others on this list, but i'm recommending Classic HD specifically because i think a lot of people these days might only play 2, but i can't overstate what a wonderful and all-around complete package Classic is. it's a challenging survival game, but i don't find it the unwinnable, hyper-obtuse, archaic, anti-game it gets hyped as. the ebb and flow of its VN-influenced storytelling format and slower, meticulous, moment-to-moment gameplay that will then spike into being utterly frantic just often enough is highly engaging, as is its stat management. look, you can use a walkthrough/hint guide if you want to not get locked out of an ending, it's fine.

Shivers 2 (1997)

another game i'm personally not a fan of, but it's well-loved by the people who do like it. it's really Shivers in name only, but it preserves the improvements made to the Myst-like formula, so you can't go wrong if you enjoy a good Myst-like. i also can't deny that the game's rock music theme, desert setting, and overall presentation has its charm.

Dark Seed (1992)

another point-and-click puzzle adventure game, most noted for its H.R. giger designs, though its tone is ultimately less horror and more subdued and genre-conventional quirky than that initial selling point might have you think. the game runs on a persistent timer, and both the puzzles and click areas can be difficult to parse, making for a game that isn't interested in not being dated and induces tension more through frustration than through actually being horror, and it doesn't do much that any of its numerous genre cousins don't do better. still, an interesting if dated game that one can get a kick out of, at least once. there's not much i can say about this one that Majuular hasn't already explained better.

Dark Seed 2 (1995)

this will explain everything.

The 11th Hour (1995)

The 7th Guest's very bad, no good, utterly tonally inexplicable, terrible sequel. only worth playing if you want to see even more cheesy FMV, more mansion, or more Stauf.

Zombieville (1997, EU)

an overly-ambitious oddball point-and-click action-ish-adventure game that went through development hell. most notable for its system wherein characters (including yourself) can turn into zombies, using the rare 'return of the living dead'-style of intelligent zombies, and also for featuring Greg Proops in one of his only video game VA roles, ever. massive disclaimer that the game is extremely buggy, unpredictable, and unfinished in many areas, even if it is possible to reach its (thematically strange...) ending with a guide. an interesting time capsule of missed potential, but unlikely to be enjoyed in any capacity unless you have a very specific kind of technical or genre curiosity.

[barbatusart]

that’s so cool and i totally get what you mean! it was really different compared to the other games but still kind of had that silent hill charm if that makes sense. like it was silent hill but it also wasn’t?

i think that’s why i like it so much tbh.

what game is your favorite out of the series? i’m tied between 4 and downpour tbh

oh man, SH1 on the original ps1 with the tank controls, forever and ever and ever. nothing else touches it, it was so fucking weird & gross & alienating - i used to tell people that SH1 felt like trying to remember a movie you saw on the couch in the middle of a 102F fever

back in the day if you hit newgame+ there was a fake 1st person mode you could activate & i spent so much time going through just looking at all the low res textures & trying to make out text & shapes. i gotta get like one of those screen clamshell ps1s & replay it, i still have my old black label copy in my apartment somewhere

[brisquad-unit-4402]

okay lots of post-minotaur thoughts. i really should’ve liveblogged but Whatever, these are very disorganized because i’m hopping in-between different parts of the movie as well as the 3d celebration zatsu

i think a lot of folks have picked this up: this is the vtuber bo burnham inside

the entire time i watched this i was like “man how come i can’t have an expansive mind palace to roam within”

bc uhhh. idk if this is the same for you or anyone else out there. but when i think about myself doing something it’s in first person, never actually my imagination conjuring up a Unit 4402 doing the something

and that sidetracked me so hard during how to get away with murder bc MAN i wish whenever i had mental breakdowns over my character i could imagine myself as a quirked up unit 4402 with a little bit of swag busting it down sexual style while i have 4 clones of myself goated with the sauce

i’ve never seen the joker but i’m pretty sure the how to get away with murder dance is vtuber joker dance

it is so awkward watching the post 3d zatsu rn and seeing people in chat miss the point

especially bc i think the thing that most got to me and affected me was the classroom scene. such a relatable foundation, especially for people like us, the nightmare of Being Wrong in front of everyone else and an authority who are in the loop and you’re the only one out

like. that’s actually insidious. incredibly effective way to deliver the ugly parts of the job: who doesn’t want to know everything about what they love even if parasocial. i’m sure we can all recognize the boundaries of how to interact with streamers and i do hope if you’re on my blog it’s with respect to the streamers, but the intrusiveness, lack of privacy, goddamn. the conditioning of vox sitting at the desk as soon as he can

i really do think the horse is the most british thing i’ve ever seen

i… am trying very hard not to be pretentious about the horse, and i am trying very hard not to be praising a vtuber because the initial reaction is to praise them innately, but i really do think that is peak surrealism and i could make a full post on this scene alone. like, on a metatextual level. times new roman 12pt double spaced d-o-n-t t-e-s-t m-e

ok update i’ve been informed about the peter the horse is here meme. i stand by my words

i’m going to be real i’m replaying the first scene a lot just because i… really cannot understand this without subtitles

i know we’re all laughing along with every cowboy luca line but we need to recognize the understated champion: shu “naw”

WAIT IM SKIPPING THROUGH SOME SCENES TO CATCH THINGS IVE MISSED. THE FUCK YOU MEAN THE TAKEOUT BOX IN HIS FRIDGE IS CHICKEN DICKNOCKERS

also oooooh. i get it now. “sometimes i wonder what it would be like if i didn’t care all that much” is a driving line for the film. everything that unfolds is a consequence OF caring too much and just enough. the fact that the bed’s been made and he has to lie in it. by the end this line doesn’t matter because he’s learned to accept his nature. and if you wanted to get paradoxical he’s learned to not care about that line

i wish i understood the words in lyrics the first time i hear them. someone give me a transcript, i’ll be unstoppable then

the second i saw the text for Inside A Demon’s Soul (Whenever Vox Akuma Devours A Human Soul, This Is Where They Go) i paused. sat there. and laughed so hard because that is maybe the easiest meme format i’ve ever seen in the the same way as everything everywhere all at once rock scene. put a white shape over the text, write down the time stamp. now you have a banger man standing that follows the standard top text bottom text base formula

when he stood up in the forest at the beginning of the labyrinth i really did see a minecraft Vox_Akuma joined the game banner in my mind’s eye

vox please drop the ost as soon as possible i need he who waits eternity and how to get away with motherfucking murder in my playlists asap

also how to get away with murder reminds me a little introvert by little simz. hard to describe, i think it’s because they both sound so spacious and be these long, introspective songs that never really Feel like they’re dragging on because of all the beat changes and stuff, you know? vox’s rap isn’t helping

i cannot end this post without talking about

THE INDOMITABLE FULGUR OVID BABYYYYYY

the way i furrowed my brow the SECOND i saw that hand

the way i yelled the second i saw his face

hehe. despite everything i am dearly a comfydant. i can’t think of anyone better than fuuchan for the beach scene, i’m so grateful he’s here

i mentioned “sometimes i wonder what it would be like if i didn’t care care all that much.” i now raise you “of course it matters, it matters to you… brother the only thing that would make you a bad person is letting that stop you from doing any good things”

and of course the hug

idk what to say about the hug. it’s very needed. and from fuu of all people who understands integrating lore and streaming, understands the divide, pretended to beef with vox only to become one of his close friends, i really can’t imagine it with anyone else

do you guys think box tenshi is Apathy. i think i’ll need to sit on it for a bit but i’m seeing some threads about how tenshi is what happens when that takes over and vox chooses not to care about the people he’s hurt for his own comfort. after all his character is entirely on balancing the little delights and missteps of humanity, and the nature of a predator demon. i’m sure i could elaborate later on

should i, like, be critical…? because i do have things that i’m critical about, but this was a very delightful watch and it’s changed me fundamentally

i like vtubers because of the balance between fantasy and real and this movie very much does cater from that. all media requires the suspension of disbelief but with the way minotaur is delivered it kind of toys with Suspension of Disbelief as in-verse environment, too. fandom, anti, and collective opinion are their own characters in this movie and that just cannot be captured in a medium like fictional, scripted entertainment, you know… it’s very bo burnham inside. but the difference is that inside is everyday people would assume these expectations. as vtuber watchers we’ve full-on experienced the good and bad ourselves. i mean… how many times have you said your opinion on vox online. seems someone act weird in chat. i write fanfiction, i contribute to expectation too because i participate in fandom. that’s just the natural effect of being an internet personality, so the least we can do is be respectful of it and be critical of ourselves so we can maintain that respect to each other and the streamer

but i guess that’s preachy of me vox illustrated the point on his own wonderfully

i could do cornell notes on this movie

[datamodel-of-disaster]

Wondering about something.

Whenever I play choice-based, narrative games, I actively spoil myself. I’m not really a re-player for the sake of it; in most of these scenarios, I want to get my own “best version” of the story on the first go.

The bigger the investment of time and energy a single playthrough requires, the less likely I am to replay it to see where other choices lead. If a I chose “wrong” in a way I can’t undo, and the resulting impact on the narrative makes me not want to engage with that storyline anymore, I will usually just… abandon the game.

My husband is a replayer. He makes up characters to “be the player character” and then makes in-game choices that fit them, regardless of consequences. He’s unfazed by painful, sad, or embarrassing scenes and will even go back and make “bad” choices on purpose, just to see what happens. (I meanwhile already cringe if an NPC is vaguely mean to me)

I wonder how common either approach is. So…

I doubt this will get more than 10 replies, but feel free to share for bigger sample size!

[bbs-backlog-challenge]

Fin or Bin: 198X

Gonna pronounce it ‘nineteen eighty ten’ just to be obnoxious.

A short and sweet one here so I’ll try to keep the review the same. What appears at first glance to be a compilation of retro arcade-style games is in fact more of a visual-novel type affair, telling a story of wasted potential and feeling stuck, hints of a queer awakening, and finding escape through videogames. The arcade games are woven into the narrative and help push the story along, rather than being the main attraction; if you’re looking mainly for arcade thrills you may be left cold.

The games themselves are all actually fantastic, and will resonate strongly with anyone who was born or grew up in the 1980s (imagine that). It’s honestly a shame they are single-level affairs because they all play wonderfully and are genuinely fun to burn through as the story takes place around them. A Streets Of Rage style belt scroller opens the show but the into-the-screen racer steals it, in my opinion. A lot of care and attention has gone into making them feel authentic to the time period but there’s just enough modernisation to make them playable in today’s world, and of course the difficulty has been re-tuned significantly from the coin-gobbling days of old.

Unfortunately the story ends on a To Be Continued just as things are getting interesting, and the package as it stands is only around 90 minutes long. Hopefully a sequel is arriving soon (though I don’t know if I can stomach another game titled X-2).

Fin or Bin:

I would estimate there is a fairly narrow band of people who will get it, and anyone outside of that band will fail to get it at all. For myself, I’m an absolute mark for this kind of thing. I didn’t have arcades growing up but I did have home computers with arcade conversions and I was catapulted back in time to sitting in front of my Atari ST playing Lotus 3 and messing up all the disks because I was six years old and didn’t know how sensitive they were (RIP Space Crusade). But what I’m really a mark for is the gosh-danged MUSIC!!! 80’s VGM style synthwave tunes is my bread and butter AND jam. It didn’t take long to Finish, and I wish there was some way to replay the games separate from the story, and for some of them to be longer, but I’m definitely on the waiting list for part two should we ever see it.

(Steam)

[goldensunset]

I GOT IT. or at least good enough? so for some reason loading in my savestates wasn’t working. but fortunately for me i’ve also been in-game saving too just like on the side. i didn’t know if it actually mattered or not. cuz every time i’d boot up the rom again and actually sit through the title screen it appeared that the in-game save file was blank so i was like ok whatever. but still i was out there saving the game for funsies. and now i’m very glad for it!! i mean i did lose a tiny bit of progress bc there was a slight discrepancy between my last savestate save and in-game save but like. sheesh. after the heart attack i was having about having to replay the entire game i don’t mind re-fighting a single easy gym leader. i don’t mind at all

[phantomrose96]

i know you were joking about pikmin 4 brainrot but i absolutely love it. its so good. it makes me from 2004 feel so validated

Oh I’m having a good time!

My brothers and I played a LOT of pikmin 1 and 2 when we were younger, and those games came out in 2001 and 2004. So from the time I was 5 until tbh when I went to college, pikmin was a pervasive background radiation of my childhood. And you can’t experience pikmin that young without it altering your brain chemistry.

My brothers and I are now 29, 27, and 25 living on different coasts and we’ve all been playing pikmin for like this last month and a half and texting each other about it. Since they re-released 1,2&3 for the switch, we all got and replayed 1. My older brother and I replayed 2 while my little bro did 3. Now we’re all doing 4.

I just finished 4 so when I’m back from travel I’m gonna go buy 3.

[hana-no-seiiki]

PC anon here with bad news... ALL OF MY DOLP SAVES ARE GONE I worked so hard to there, even got kidnapped by Kylar a few times 😔

Anyway, good news is before my main was deleted, I actually did get kidnapped by Great Hawk. It was actually frustrating for me because I spent days trying to escape but I always passed out. But Great Hawk is a big sweetheart and somewhere along the line you might turn into a harpy? I know if you get kidnapped by that one person they turn you into a cow.

OH OH OH one time I was sleeping over at Eden's house (I'm pretty sure it was a blood moon night) and something was trying to lure me to the lake a drown me and the text was as glowy and it was super creepy and cool hehehehehe

Okay, holup? We can get turned into cow??? See this is why I never explore in DOL I’m scared as shit as to what would happen out there. (—kid who has never romanced Eden in fear of the forest)(soph you are an absolute god to me idk how you do it)

I hope they give more canon pregnancy options. I want the LIs to react to my shenanigans of never using a condom more!!! Or hecc even Kylar kidnapping the children as hostage, Robin taking care of your bastard, Whitney calling the PC a dedicated (man)wh*re etc etc.

But yeah I heard and experienced that Blood Moon. It was fucking scary as hell and it took me a lot of saves to make sure my PC was alive and well.

SPEAKING OF SAVES AAAAAAA (I HOPE YOU’RE THE TYPE TO LIKE REPLAYING THE GAME OVER AND OVER AGAIN CAUSE I SURE AINT THAT). I still have them but I play on mobile and can never update unless I somehow port this impossibly long save code to my computer. I’m stuck with no great hawk until i gain the balls to replay everything ive experienced for the sake of an all kylar virginities run.

augh plus the grind for the farm is too much.

one day, one day ill export my save. (pray i dont lose everything)