#kirby review

[kirbybaker-the-alch]

I’m starting a new thing on this blog, Kirby Reviews! Cause I want to indulge in my hyperfixation after I finally beat Super Cat Tales 2 after losing data so many times. So after finally beating it I have to give THOUGHTS!!!! Super Cat Tales 2 is a REALLY GOOD platformer despite being a mobile game. That’s because like most good mobile games, it actually uses it’s format well!

So, you control using only the left and right sides of the screen, and the game’s mechanics focus on this. If you double tap a direction, you run. Hitting a ledge while running causes you to jump. Walking into or jumping into a wall lets you climb it, and you can wall jump off the side! you also dont bonk into it like the first game ach

So the controls are tight, what else is good? Well the STORY of course! I’m not gonna spoil it but it involves Alex teaming up with other cats to take on the Tin Army, who are trying to harness the power of the Moon Crystal (held onto by Luna), to give Lord Iridium ultimate power (or something)

The graphics and music are also a really strong point of the game, its ouretty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-6j5yklhGs

Also the game’s dialogue is very humorous, you’ll probably get a kick out of it, theres some good gags too. Boss fights are very fun as well obviously, patterns are not difficult to memorize but handled very well. Now for 2 downsides- 1: this game has no checkpoints. Die and you go back to the start. 2: lategame, there is a very huge coin grind. My tip- save up for the genie lamp, and SS Gear is a very easy level with a lot of coins. (i would attach an image but the tumblore got me) Anyways overall a really good game, and fairly long. I recommend it to anyone who wants a free mobile game that plays like an actual game (like not arcadey) anyways PLAY THIS GAME YALL (And support Jonathan the game’s developer he’s really cool https://www.youtube.com/@Neutronized)

[aqun-athlok]

all i've been able to imagine for the last several hours is lucanis sitting on the edge of his shitty little pantry bed in complete silence, holding an ipad and watching knife cleaning videos and harshly judging their techniques.

[guy60660]

Jason Kirby | Design Reviewed

[kirby-the-gorb]

[gethoce]

Some unfinished art that was originally going to be for the Morpho ask blog that I was too unsatisfied with.

[uwmspeccoll]

Decorative Sunday with Henry P. Kirby

These charming sketches are the work of New York architect Henry P. Kirby (1853 - 1915). Architectural Compositions contains fifty loose plates printed on Whatman paper and housed in a portfolio. It was published in Boston in 1892 by Bates, Kimball & Guild, publishers of one of the United State’s leading architectural journals of that time, The Architectural Review (Boston), not to be confused with the longer running Architectural Review still in publication out of London. 

Kirby would have been working as a draftsman for George B. Post at the time of publication, for whom he later worked as lead designer before striking out on his own. Some of the subject matter also evokes Kirby’s time in France, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts after training with his father, also an architect. Per the subtitle, some of the sketches were “made in connection with actual projects,” while many were “the result of study during leisure moments.” I found Kirby’s eye for the human elements in his sketches particularly endearing, from the foreground figures to details on the buildings themselves, like open widows and overgrown foliage, or what looks like a duvet cover hanging out to dry (first image above). 

For any music buffs reading, the final sketch includes some bars of "Très-jolie" from the opéra comique smash hit La Fille de Madame Angot. 

Our copy of Architectural Compositions was gifted to UWM by Gustav A. Elgeti in 1966. 

Find more Decorative Sunday posts here.

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[halastar05]

Thoughts on Mastermind

(So yeah spoilers ahead)

So after letting my thoughts on the episode settle a bit and giving myself time to analyze, I have a LOT to say.

So first of all… yeah I think this is officially my new favorite Helluva episode.

I think this episode was pretty well paced (a little fast, but there was a LOT to cover) and also did a surprisingly good job at balancing the drama and humor. Also obviously ADORED the IMP found family showcased in this episode, they were entertaining in the first scene, and heart wrenching at the court.

Now for a bit more analysis, the way they handled the writing was REALLY interesting here. While first watching the episode, I was a little confused about Andrealphus’s plan, but after thinking about it… it’s scarily clever.

He knows that Stolas is smart in his own right, if he straight up brought him to court, he’d find a good way to argue. He knows how to work this type of stuff as shown in Oops. But if they brought in only Blitzø, they knew Stolas wouldn’t see until the broadcasted execution. He would have no time to form a concrete rational plan, Andre wants him to either act irrationally, or make himself look like a fool and incompetent. No one knows exactly what he’ll do, but Andre is giving Stolas as little time as possible to think it out. The hope is that he acts as irrationally as he has before.

And even if Stolas didn’t come, Andre purposely tries to make Stolas seem weak and somewhat helpless, incompetent. All the while he makes himself look an almost better version of our favorite bird. His backup plan is to make Stolas look incompetent and vulnerable, while it may be less immediate, with Stolas’s already somewhat declining reputation, this would make it easier for him to take Stolas’s title.

And despite being EXTREMELY irrational, Stolas did a pretty good job with his plan in my opinion. First of all, he brought ALL the theater kid energy in the song (which was an absolute banger by the way, I don’t care how cheesy the Stolitz part was I LOVE CHEESY) and did a great job playing the part. To me, this is proof that he had finally started to realize the classism. This is the type of part you can only play by understanding it even if you don’t necessarily believe it. He plays up the the classism and distaste for imps, he uses the fact that the other royals see them as useless and incompetent. And honestly, I think it was smart of him to be so vague in the song. Once again, he didn’t have a lot of time to think this through, and he somewhat used this to his advantage. Being vague added an air of mystery and made it seem like more of an unpredictable threat. He’s building up the fact that this mastermind has a dangerous plan, something possibly having to do with taking over the mortal realm. And then when he reveals himself to be the “mastermind”? Well of course he wouldn’t expose any of his “future plans”, Stolas is playing as someone who just wants the recognition and to be feared. Someone arrogant, feeling offended that an imp was getting the credit for his crimes. Claiming he has more planed while not naming those plans makes him a threat and will draw away almost any blame from Blitzø.

And of course this plan is impulsive, but he barely has any time to plan. He arrives right before the axe is about to come down on his lover’s neck. His only goal right now is making sure Blitzø stays alive. In the song he even acknowledges how impulsive it is to throw everything away for this idiot he is still frankly mad at. But he’s learned he can choose his fate, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.

And of course I ADORED the Stolitz in this episode, they were both so perfectly dramatic and the absolute SOFTNESS in the last scene had me making absolute demonic and feral noises. But, despite this somewhat being a closure to the season 2 Stolitz drama (however we do still have Sinsmas) I’m happy they’re still leaving room for more angst even with them now being able to properly blossom. This episode did an EXCELLENT job at showcasing the classism via the unfairness of the court case, so it feels fitting that at the end the power dynamic almost switches. Blitzø is now a celebrity amongst imps and lower class demons, while Stolas essentially lost everything, including his daughter. And while I definitely think this is setting up for angst in at least the next episode (in which I very much think they’re going to go and try to save Octavia from her bitchy mother), this power dynamic is going to feel different, because while there is still somewhat a power dynamic now, there is also a much larger level of understanding between the two of them. They now feel more capable of facing this together, there is less doubt of feelings. I’m REALLY excited to see how they handle this, and yes I also am an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort.

Those are most of my major thoughts in this episode. I loved every single part of this beautifully dramatic episode (yeah I expectantly loved Vassago) but most of the other things I would bring up have already been said. Plus this post is too long so yeah that’s it for now.

[pinkestmenace]

2024 Art In Review

Here's my 2024 art in review! ...Don't worry about what happened in March and August.

[radar-of-the-stars]

Reviewing every Gameboy NSO game after spending 10 minutes with Each

Alleyway: This is a really solid clone of breakout, I was really impressed that level 2 was able to move so fluidly, I wish the paddle was faster

Baseball: This game desperately needs difficulty options, it was my first time playing and I was down 6-0 in the bottom of the second by the time my 10 minutes were up

Donkey Kong Land: Damn this game is ugly and has bad controls, especially in comparison to the SNES version, Pre-Rendered 3D DOES NOT WORK on an 8 bit system with a 144 by 160 screen and 4 colors

Dr. Mario: It's certainly Dr. Mario, a game I'm not very good at, the NES version is better because it has color

Game & Watch Gallery 3: Excellent collection of G&W Games, Egg is easily the best, the modern versions are beautiful

Kirby Tilt 'n Tumble: Really fun novelty. although I wish the jumping was controlled with a button rather than a gesture, the level design was a little simple, but that's probably just because it was the first few levels

Kirby's Dream Land: Amazing game, beautiful, made it all the way to Kabula before I ran out of time and I really wanted to just finish up the game, the movement is almost perfect even if you are familiar with Modern Kirby, one of the best games on the service

Kirby's Dream Land 2: This is Kirby's Dream Land but more and with Copy Abilities, the level design is a little weaker to accommodate the Animal Buddies, another contender for the best game on the service.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakinging DX: Obviously I cannot get a full grasp of a Zelda game in 10 minutes, I've played the game before and Link's Awakening is an Amazing zelda game, but in 10 minutes I can only really experience the controls, visuals, and music, which are all phenominal.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages: This is another great game, but the first 10 minutes were nothing but dialog and walking around the first village. the story was set up in a really interesting way, but there was nothing even resembling the action part of this action game

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: One thing I appreciate about the Oracle games in comparison to Link's Awakening is that they have a text speed option, meaning I was able to get all the way to the first dungeon, and I can confidently day that the controls are exactly the same as Link's Awakening

Mario Golf: I played the regular golf mode rather than the story mode, and it certainly was an 8-bit golf game, the controls were way more intuitive than I expected

Mario Tennis: This is shockingly well put together compared to NES Tennis, what makes a tennis game had clearly evolved since NES Tennis, the spritework is also beautiful.

Metroid II: Return of Samus: The same thing I said about the weakness of the format applies to Metroid as well. That being said, even with my limit of 10 minutes, this is the best atmosphere on the Gameboy, the controls are heaps tighter than Metroid 1, and the Metroid fights are super fun and chaotic.

Super Mario Land: It's a lot like the first Mario Bros, if that game was way shorter, way less polished, and way more creative. The controls are both stiff and slippery, but the enemies and locations in the game are so much more interesting than anything in most Mario games.

Super Mario Land 2: The 6 Golden Coins: If Mario Land 1 is a version of Mario 1 with worse controls and more creative ideas, then Marion Land 2 is Mario World with worse controls and more creative ideas, this is also a contender for the best game on the service

Pokemon Trading Card Game: I didn't even make it through the tutorial battle, but the tutorial has been very informative as someone who didn't even know the most basic aspects of the TCG.

Quest for Camelot: I have no opinion on this game, I spent the entire 10 minutes doing a fetch quest to unlock the sword. The game looks pretty at least

Tetris: This is my personal least favorite version of Retro Tetris, mostly because of how slow moving pieces is, other than that it's retro tetris

Wario Land 3: Very fun and very creative, the sprite art is amazing for an 8-bit system, although I spent the entire time feeling like I was missing a key part of my moveset, there were all sorts of places and things that I couldn't interact with, no matter what kind of form I was in

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare: This is a much better example of Pre-Rendered 3D than Donkey Kong Land, although it still looks like a total mess. This type of game works really well on the Gameboy with its limited control, but I don't know how much horror you can actually get out of the system's weak screen and limited color palette

Blaster Master: Enemy Below: This is an amazing Blaster Master game, I consider it to be almost on par with the Blaster Master Zero games; the movement is very fun because of the car's springy animation, and the player wasn't too bad either. I was already lost and backtracking within these 10 minutes. Another contender for the best game on the service

BurgerTime Deluxe: This is very simple arcade fun, there really isn't much to talk about, there are slight puzzle elements in how you drop the ingredients, but other than that, it's not that deep. I got a game over right as my time was running out, giving me a high score of 21600.

Castlevania Legends: one of the more faithful "Gameboy versions" on an NES game, it's like a version of Castlevania III with more focus on exploration, and a slower player character. in 10 minutes I did not die, but I also did not see the end of the first level

Gargoyle's Quest: Way more fun than I expected, the wall jumps were really fun to pull off, although jumps in general were a little stiff and the first level was super claustrophobic

Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge: These handheld Mega Man games are all super weird, makes me wonder why there aren't either of the Mega Man Xtreme games on the service, which are leagues better, anyways, the first handheld Mega Man games has really stiff controls and god awful level design that makes the NES game it's based on feel positively modern.

Mega Man II: This game loves instakill spikes, this is worse than Mega Man 4 NES, visuals are a lot better than Dr. Wily's Revenge. At least the Slide is here

Mega Man III: Of what I played, this is a huge step up, probably because the charge shot being here reduces the feeling of being ambushed by every enemy that the screen crunch causes, and this one is another graphical step up compared to Mega Man II, you can tell the developers are really starting to get a feel for the Game Boy's Hardware.

Mega Man IV: What the fuck happened? This game barely runs, the controls are downright baffling, the charge shot sends you flying backwards in a precision platformer, the enemies respawn the second they go off screen, it's like this game was made by corpses

Mega Man V: This one is a step back up, way more creative, a huge break from NES Mega Man 5, although it does inherit the slow down issues from Mega Man IV

[gioxy3ron]

It’s this time of the year again, here is a summary of my art in the last 12 months💙, plus this is the first time I ever complete one, from January to December✨

What can I say about 2024? It’s been a real blast, the best in terms of art and productivity so far and most of all, the most plot twist year ever, started with me who I had low motivation and ideas and is ending with me with too many ideas and with me full of motivation, more than I’ve ever had🔥

I learned something, never giving up despite the rough and difficult situation and most of all, that art is and always will be my greatest passion🌠

Thanks to all of you for being here and for all the support you gave me throughout this year, it means the world for me🌌

Template by Papakkapao

[vg-bird-reviews]

Dynablade from Kirby

10/5

big-ass rainbow colored knife bird with a cute jacket and she/he pronouns. impeccable

^ me

[toletoles]

HELP I JUST SAW MY NINTENDO YEAR IN REVIEW 😭 im not gonna lie i dont use my switch too often but like idk its still accurate i think! most of the time i just stick to the same few games

[blueberryfruitbat]

King Dedede first 4 figures statues post!!

To clarify these are EXPENSIVE statues I thankfully had the ability to buy because of saving my commission money. While I do love how great their statues are F4F figures are very costly and I do not recommend them for general collectors of merch. Please be smarter than me with your money, no matter how quality their goods are.

FIRST OF ALL AMAZING BOXES

As you can see I got the deluxe edition for both statues as a bundle. If it wasn't for F4F's payment plan options I would have never been able to get these things, also got the early bird discount as I pre-ordered them over 8 months before production.

Each box basically has the statue's F4F page description on them but it's still a very nice addition!

Even the protective foam they come in is custom made for the statues!

OH LORD HE COMIN'

These statues are CHONKY and I don't just mean that because it's Dedede, but because each are roughly 15lbs, and they are MASSIVE.

Nintendo switch game case for scale.

Overall a great item for the obsessive collector, they come with a gold plated coin that's a solid 1.5 or so lbs on its own and their own identification card to show they're the genuine article! Even if I can't recommend these for the price I'm very happy I have a physical reference of this idiot on my desk at all times now!

[kirby-the-gorb]

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - QUEEN SECTONIA (& ANTLERS) (KIRBY: TRIPLE DELUXE)

[Image ID: A 3D render of Queen Sectonia from Kirby: Triple Deluxe /End IDs.]

I love the Kirby series! It's a great series for a more casual platforming experience, and almost game I've played has been super memorable. Now, in all honesty, don't remember much of my time playing Kirby: Triple Deluxe, but I feel like it has more to do with how sparse my play sessions were at the time, and how long ago it was, rather than the actual quality of the game. One of the things I do remember, though, is the big stinger of a final boss that is Queen Sectonia!

This review is gonna be a quick one because, for one, she doesn't appear for that long in the game, and secondly because there really isn't all that much to pull from in terms of real world equivalents. In terms of appearance, her body is thin-waisted, akin to a member of the family Sphecidae, her exoskeleton seeming fairly smooth (although most of is covered by her regal clothing. Her eyes are seemingly somewhat mammalian in nature, with sclerae, irises, and darker spots that at least resemble pupils. She doesn't actually have any limbs at all, with her gloved hands floating Rayman-style off to her sides. Honestly, her thick antennae and partially clear, very distinctly venated wings, remind me of a Hornet Moth, more than anything, with some further wing comparisons to be drawn from the venation of Cicada wings.

[Image Sources: iNaturalist, Bill Keim, Wikimedia Commons, Colette Kerr, and Biomimicry Institute, Sarah Batsford | Image IDs: A photo of a black and yellow, Yellow-Legged Mud Dauber, followed by a photo of a black, yellow, and brown Hornet Moth, further followed by a photo of a Cicada's forewing /End IDs.]

Furthermore, and I have to give props to the editors of WiKirby for this observation, it seems as though some of her features, as well as her backstory, may also be in reference to the Japanese legend of the Jorōgumo, and by extension the real world Jorō Spider, the Jorōgumo being a Yōkai which takes the form of a Jorō Spider but possesses the ability to transform herself into another form, that of a beautiful, human woman.

[Image Source: Flickr, Christina Butler | Image ID: A photo of a black, yellow, grey, and red Jorō Spider /End ID.]

Speaking of her backstory, interestingly enough, this is where she gets a bit odd, as she was actually originally more spider-like. In her original form, she was obsessed with beauty, so her at the time friend (later lackey, and even later enemy), Taranza, bestowed her with the Dimension Mirror, which gave her the form we see in the game now. Perhaps she simply saw some insectoid forms as being more elegant and/or beautiful than her original form, spurred on by thoughts of the regal queens of wasps (Vespids, Bees, Ants), or mayhaps this is just a design choice entirely intended just to tie in to the plant theming of the game, with wasps being essential pollinators. It seems as though she was then corrupted by the Mirror, attempting to take over Floralia and Planet Popstar.

[Image IDs: Two 3D renders of what is implied to be Queen Sectonia's original form /End IDs.]

As for her behaviors, it's hard to see much that really ties her current form in with real world wasps apart from the aspect of queenship, she doesn't even truly seem to use her stinger, instead opting for swords (A common choice amongst Hymenopteran enemy designs it seems) and magic. One could say that the implications that her kind feed on the life force of others to survive is referential to parasitic wasps, including the aspect of control (See last week's review of 'Parasitica' from TMNT 2012 for more on real world parasitic wasps that control other insects), but it could just as easily be said that this could once again be in reference to the man-eating Jorōgumo.

It certainly doesn't get any more easy to analyze in terms of the real world when we get into the second part of the fight, as she fuses herself with the Dreamstalk to become Flowered Sectonia, feeding indiscriminately on all life below (not even close to the most fucked up thing in this mostly E For Everyone franchise, between Shiver Star, Fecto Forgo, Zero, and the extremely Dark Souls sounding boss Astral Birth Void). Her face becoming the pistil of the flower and her antennae the stamens, multiplying into three pairs, her wings taking on a different and more angel-like shape. In this form, her attacks still use magic but are also heavily plant-based.

[Image ID: A screenshot of Flowered Sectonia /End IDs.]

One more thing of note are her other lackeys, the Antlers, fairly standard platformer enemies that use maces and shields to attack Kirby, taking orders from and often summoned by Sectonia in battle. They have an anthropomorphic build, similarly Rayman-esque, with the floating hands and feet that may or may not be connected to the body, and have a head that reminds me of that of a Paper Wasp, Sphecid, or Cuckoo Wasp, although they are wingless, like some ant castes or female Mutillids. They also come in four unique flavors! Original, Ice, Fire, and Spark.

[Image Sources: New Scientist, and Australian Museum, Mark Raward | Image IDs: A screenshot of the Antlers during the fight against Queen Sectonia DX, followed by a photo of a black, yellow, and brown Paper Wasp's face, followed then by a photo of an iridescent green, blue, and black Cuckoo Wasp /End IDs.]

Not much to say about these guys (Gals?), other than that it shows that Seconia does in fact have some sort of hive, in all honesty, but I do find them supremely charming.

With all that said, what would I rate Queen Sectonia and her followers? Well I usually like to rate these wasps on accuracy, and if I did that for these characters, the rating would probably be fairly low. However, it seems like she's really a bit too far from the real thing to really do that, especially with her more apparent ties to folklore, so, I'll have to go for just a straight up opinion here. Really, this is a type of character I've seen a few times before, the overlord obsessed with beauty and power, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I don't find it very interesting. I do find myself really enjoying her backstory and inspiration, and her design is pretty alright!

-

Overall: 6.5/10

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Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

[scoutsunset]

Camp Camp Season 5 Is OK. (Episodes 1-2) // OUT NOW

Part 1 of 2 of my Camp Camp season 5 review! Today we take a look at episodes 1 and 2, “Welcome Back, Campers!” and “Cloak & Hunt”. I say something stupid at the end so please try to ignore it as much as you can.