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taehyungiestummy · 6 years ago

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Summer Dreams -- Chapter Thirteen

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Warnings: Little swearing

Word Count: 2646

After around an hour spent in the toy shop, Emily and I were finally able to decide on our one item. She went with a t-shirt that looks to have popular Korean cartoon characters on it. I went with a stuffed animal box set of tiny Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore.

Once we were done in the toy shop, we headed down the street to a clothing store that looked to be deep into the swing of summer. There’s all kind of dresses and tank-tops out on display.

Now, Emily and I are in dressing rooms trying on different items of clothing to show the boys.

“Amber, are you ready to come out?” Emily calls out to me as we’ve been walking out together to show Taehyung and Namjoon.

“I’m ready if you are,” I call back, looking myself over again in the mirror.

“When I say three,” she knocks on the wall that we share. “One, two, three.”

I spin around to face my dressing room door, pushing through on her count.

“So pretty,” Taehyung’s big, box smile takes over his face as Emily and I exit the dressing rooms.

“I agree,” Namjoon nods. “Are those the last ones you need to try on?”

“Yes,” I nod, looking over at Emily. “Damn, looking good girl.”

Emily chuckles and looks at me, “I’ll say the same to you. You’re looking so damn good.”

The two of us burst out into laughter as the two boys just smile at us.

Emily is wearing a summer dress that goes to her mid-thigh. The straps are thin, and the collar doesn’t go too low. The design is simple and colorful: flowers of all different sizes fill up the dress, colors ranging from red to yellow to blue make it overly eye catching. A pair of white or black sandals would complete the look.

My dress is also a summer dress, and it passes my knees and stops mid-shin. It has t-shirt like sleeves, and the collar barely shows my collarbones. It has a tie-dye design with yellow, blue, and light red all over, never quite mixing to form other colors. High-top Converse will look good with it.

“Best ones,” Taehyung speaks up. “You have to get.”

“Yeah,” Namjoon says, a grin playing on his lips. “Those dresses are perfect on you two. They were, um, made for you. That’s something you Americans say, right?”

Emily and I break our gazes on one another’s dresses and look back at the boys.

“Yeah, that’s the saying,” I confirm. “Do they really look that perfect on us?”

“Like models,” Namjoon sits up a bit straighter. “You’re embracing a new culture, too.”

“That’s too kind,” Emily giggles, covering her cheeks with her hands. “You’ve made me blush.”

Namjoon smirks, “I’m glad that made you happy.”

I somehow smile bigger at their exchange. “I’m overjoyed that you two are getting along.”

“How could we not?” Emily questions. “He’s such a gentleman.”

Taehyung pouts, “Don’t understand.”

“Sorry Tae,” Namjoon pats the boy on the back before diving into Korean.

After a minute or so, Taehyung is caught up and smiling again. He’s such a kid at heart.

“Tae says you are like the stars, Amber.” Namjoon translates Taehyung. “Always shining and beautiful.”

I meet Taehyung’s eyes and can’t hold back the blush that spreads on my cheeks. “You are so creative. Thank you.”

“Cheeks are red,” Taehyung smirks. “Me?”

I nervously laugh, “They are red. That’s your doing.”

“I did good?”

“Yes, Taehyung. Beyond good.”

“Okay,” Namjoon breaks up our moment. “Enough of this gushy, love stuff. You two, change back into your other clothes so we can buy those dresses. Then let’s go get something to eat.”

“Do you know a place that’s close?” I place my hand on the dressing room door.

“We’ve lived here for a little bit, so I would say we know quite a few places that are nearby,” Namjoon chuckles. “If you continue to travel around while here, and keep coming back, you’ll learn all the best places to go to eat.”

“We are slowly coming around to Korean cuisine,” Emily adds in. “It’s been fun trying new things whenever we can.”

“Well, you’ll be trying some new foods today,” Namjoon waves us towards our dressing rooms. “If you keep talking to us, though, we may never get there.”

Emily and I let out laughs before heading back into our respective dressing rooms. It takes us a few minutes to change back into our outfits of the day and then to be back with the boys.

“We’ll pay for our own dresses,” Emily speaks up as we walk towards the register. “Our parents have given us some money to buy souvenirs and the like while we are over here.”

“And we want to pay at the restaurant,” I hold my dress close to my chest. “Nari is trying to educate us on everything in Korea, and that includes what it’s like to be an idol. You two are in a relatively new group, so that means there isn’t a lot of money to go around. Like someone working for minimum wage in the States.”

“We do fine,” Namjoon shrugs. “It was really a struggle at the beginning, but things seem to be trending upwards right now. Some of the boys are still in school, so that’s were most of the struggle comes in. Balancing everything in our lives.”

“Namjoon-hyung,” Taehyung pouts.

“You girls go pay so I can catch Taehyung up,” he pulls his friend into his side.

Emily and I pick up our pace to get to the check-out counter. It’s a joint effort as we do our best to talk to the lady at the counter, but it’s clear we are still at the very beginning of our communication skills.

“Well, that could have gone better,” I chuckle as we make our way towards the boys. “Every time I think we know enough Korean, we are put in a situation that proves that wrong.”

“Everyone has to start somewhere, and everyone we talk to has been very understanding,” Emily slightly smiles. “It is clear that we are not from Korea and did not grow up with the language.”

“You’re right,” I swing my bag. “We are slowly getting better, though. It is quite encouraging when our conversations with Koreans keeps getting longer and longer.”

We stop taking as we step up to the two boys deep in a conversation that neither Emily or I can understand. Mainly due to the fact that they are talking so fast that I can’t even pick out any words I know.

“We’re back,” I giggle, stepping up to Taehyung and grabbing his hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Are you two done talking? I’m starving,” I lean my head onto Taehyung’s arm.

“Tired?” Taehyung gives my hand a squeeze.

“No, baegooeun,” I pout up at the boy.

“Follow me,” Namjoon nods towards the door. “It’s been quite a while since you’ve had breakfast.”

It seems like a blur as we exit the clothing shop and head down the street towards an unknown destination. Taehyung’s hand never leaves mine, and it doesn’t fail to put a blush on my cheeks. It’s also nice to see how close Namjoon and Emily are as the lead the way in front of us.

I’m not sure how long it takes for us to get to the restaurant as I am stuck in my thoughts the entire time. Luckily it is not busy, so we can get a table right away.

“There’s so much that we haven’t had before,” I nibble on my bottom lip as I look over the menu that they thankfully had in English. “You two are going to have to give us some direction on what to get.”

“Soup is always a good choice,” Namjoon looks up from his menu. “Emily was telling me that there are some things that you just won’t eat, but that won’t be a problem.”

“It’s called being a picky eater,” Emily teases.

“I’m getting better,” I pout for a few seconds. “I can’t help that my taste buds don’t like every single food out there.”

“Try this,” Taehyung points to a soup in my menu that actually looks like something I would like. “You will like.”

I giggle, pulling on all my Korean knowledge to talk back to him. “I trust you, so I better like it.”

“Your Korean is so cute,” he says slowly so I can piece all the Korean words together. “You are so cute.”

“It’s because she is just learning,” Namjoon grins. “Now, it’s time to figure out what we are getting to eat.”

********

I let out a sigh as I reach for the ceiling to stretch out my back. The couch is comfortable, but one position for too long can’t be good for my back.

It’s been a gloomy day with a steady rain falling since Emily and I woke up. The sun has been hidden behind clouds the entire day. It’s a good thing we didn’t have any plans with the boys.

“It’s been quite boring today, hasn’t it?” Emily speaks up, looking at me from behind a laptop screen. “One of those really chill summer days that we need very little of.” She wiggles around in the recliner, trying to stretch out her legs anyway she can.

“I guess so,” I lean down to place my notebook on the floor, picking up my DS. “I needed a day to get back into my writing, though, and play some video games. We’ve been spending most everyday either with the boys or studying to improve our Korean.”

“It was nice being able to go through the photos that I’ve taken and delete any bad ones. Hopefully I can find time when we get back home to put together a scrapbook.”

“Just come over and I’ll help you cut things out and glue things down, so it won’t take as long,” I pout as my phone shows only a notification for an email. “Damn, still no texts from anyone. It’s been silent all day.”

“Everyone must be hard at work,” she shrugs. “We’re lucky because we can just go with the flow of everyone’s plans. We don’t have to go to work or school.”

“Summer vacation, only good for a student,” I giggle as I start up my game of Pokémon. “It’s also way too short. Even if it was a month longer, like in college, it would still be too short. There would still be something that I wished I had gotten done.”

“That’s how you always are,” Emily chuckles. “Always wishing that you had more time to get something done. There’s never enough time in the day, or week, or year. You’ll always be wishing.”

“It’s because I have so much that I want to do,” I focus my gaze on the DS screen. “It’s been fun staying up late and playing video games on our TV. This is like a summer camp, but with no set times to go do things.”

“You would never last at a summer camp. Out in log cabins with however many girls you don’t know in one building, and food that is made in a great sum at once. Then community showers, no doubt, and you would hate that. If you had to be forced to do something at a certain time, you’d get bored within minutes. Summer camp would be the worst thing for you.”

“Remember that one summer camp that needed kids to go around selling chocolate, so then they wouldn’t have to pay as much?” I tap my feet together a few times. “And I would always buy some chocolate because it’s cheaper than normal, but kind of off brand.”

“It was still good chocolate. I loved how they would come to the door with the briefcase like box full of chocolate bars, and there was always one that you would really like, so you’d buy more of that one than any other.”

“I like this summer camp, though,” I smile as I take out the second gym leader. “We didn’t have to pay for anything, and we get to spend time with people we know and enjoy being with. Also, we can do whatever we want, almost whenever we want.”

“Can you turn some music on? It’s fun sitting in silence with the sound of rain, but now I want to expand my horizon with some Korean music.”

I quickly grab my phone, pulling up a playlist that I saved on Spotify. Then I place my phone onto the coffee table, and Emily and I go back to what we were doing before we were talking.

A few hours pass, the rain never letting up, and the two of us just waiting for some contact from my cousin or the boys. It’s like the rain slows time.

“Girls, I’m home!” Nari’s voice shocks Emily and I out of our trances. “And I have take-out!”

Emily and I bound out of our seats, making sure to not throw our stuff all over the place. Then we rush to the front door to see Nari dripping from having to walk through the rain.

“Nari, it’s been such a long day with out you,” I take the bag of take-out from her, so she can take her rain jacket off. “We just sat around and did some random things waiting for anyone to text us.”

“When nap time came at the daycare, I almost feel asleep with the kids because of how calming the rain sounds,” Nari smiles as she gently shakes out her coat. “These are the kinds of days that you have to power through to get a lot of work done.”

“We were doing all different things all day,” Emily nods. “I was going through photos I’ve taken and planning future scrapbooks. Amber was a writing machine until she really wanted to play Pokémon.”

“Ah, always a fan of Pokémon,” Nari pats my cheek as she slips her shoes off. “You dressed up as Pikachu a long time ago for Halloween, and you looked so cute.”

“I think you dressed up as a dog that year,” I point at Emily. “That was years ago.”

“As much as I love talking about how cute we were in the past, I would love to eat this amazing smelling take-out,” Emily begins to walk into the apartment.

Nari giggles, “I have to agree with you there.” She grabs my hand and starts pulling me to the living room.

�� Nari makes a quick stop into the kitchen to grab some drinks and plates, while Emily and I begin to take the food out and place in on the coffee table.

“I did my best to get food that I know you girls like, and some that I thought you would like,” Nari begins to place a little bit of everything onto her plate. “I’m doing my best at opening up your taste buds to the cuisine here.”

“I think you’re doing a great job,” I smile as I carefully pick out what I want to eat.

“It was definitely a taste that we had to get used to,” Emily nudges me. “Even for a girl as picky as Amber.”

I roll my eyes, “Some food just grosses me out and doesn’t taste good.”

“I think that you are doing good,” Nari smiles, settling into her recliner. “Besides that, I’d like to know more about your next outing with the boys. You’re going to a waterpark, right?”

“That’s right,” I smile. “We were actually wondering if you’ve been to it and could tell us what to expect.”

“I’ve lived here my entire life,” Nari giggles. “I can tell you a lot about this city. Now, what’s the name of the waterpark?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And that is finally chapter thirteen. I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a chapter for this, and I am sorry for that. Life can get a bit crazy. Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading. If this looks a bit different, I’m trying a different format, so I hope it’s okay.

#BTS imagine #BTS x oc #BTS series #Jungkook x oc #Jungkook imagine #Taehyung x oc #Taehyung imagine #Jimin x oc #Jimin imagine #Namjoon x oc #Namjoon imagine #Hoseok x oc #Hoseok imagine #Yoongi x oc #Yoongi imagine #Seokjin x oc #Seokjin imagine #my oc

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Pokémon: The Evolution of the Dub Opening Themes

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When you talk to any casual fan about Pokémon, they’ll remember three things. Pikachu, Porygon seizures, and the theme song. The original theme of Pokémon has entrenched itself into pop culture, and is arguably the biggest song to come out of an anime dub ever.

But the Pokémon franchise has had a long journey since that initial success, its opening theme songs changing with the times. Even as theme songs for TV have mostly gone away, Pokémon has kept the light of them alive with no fewer than 24 songs across as many years!

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Why don’t we take a look back and see how they’ve evolved in that time? It’s worth examining how music trends influenced the songs and which ones are just straight up bops. Along the way we’ll look at how the songs match up to the visuals of the openings as well, because these songs don’t exist in a vacuum and exist first and foremost to be paired with the shows.

Pokémon Indigo League

‘Pokémon Theme’

How do you begin to discuss perfection?

This is the theme song by which all Pokémon theme songs are judged. That isn’t just nostalgia talking, they hit this out of the park. The opening notes convey a sense of wonder and mystery, aided by the sights of Mewtwo and Mew. The lyrics expertly convey the core appeal of the franchise and the anime in particular; you’re traveling on a big adventure to catch as many of these creatures as you can! It should feel like cynical marketing, especially with “gotta catch ‘em all,” but it’s inspiring! It’s right up there with ‘The Fellowship’ theme from Lord of the Rings as one of the best adventure songs of all time.

But you know what this song has that the Lord of the Rings theme doesn’t? Visuals timed to the beat of the song! Let me tell you, Lord of the Rings would have won 11 Oscars for every single movie in the franchise if they started their films with opening visuals edited together this perfectly. Damn near every cut in the opening is put on the beat or matches the flow of the song. The perfect example of this is the shot just before the logo where Ash tosses the Poké Ball. The timing of that ball toss with “gotta catch ‘em ALL” is expert level.

You may think you remember this opening solely because of the song but those visuals do a lot of legwork.

Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands

‘Pokémon World’

Pokémon could have stuck with the original opening forever, endlessly remixing it (Degrassi style, baby!) but they made the bold decision to make ‘Pokémon World’ it’s own thing and it earns major points for that. The original theme is a classic adventure song but this feels more like an adventure song specifically for the summer. It’s bouncier, breezier, and lighter but still communicates the wonder of the Pokémon world.

The visuals aren’t timed quite as well but we’ve still got shots like that one of Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy perfectly synced to the cadence of the “CROWWWDS” lyric.

Pokémon: The Johto Journeys

‘Pokémon Johto’

‘Pokémon World’ boldly broke free from the original but it still maintained the general feel. This one does something completely new. This isn’t an adventure song; this is a fun time with your friends! It’s practically a campfire sing-along song! This reflects the general shifting of what the Pokémon franchise was at the time, from a game and anime with some shades of gray to a bright and colorful, suitable for every demographic with all the edges filed off. That isn’t a knock by the by, the theme needs to be an accurate portrayal of what you’re getting and this song does an excellent job at that. It’s just not as exciting as what came before.

The editing and visuals are above average here but we’re seeing the beginning of a noticeable issue with the opening themes. They’re mixing visuals from the Japanese opening (which clearly has better animation) and visuals from the show. You’ve got this crisp and bright animation next to the softer visuals from the show. It takes you a little out of the experience of the theme, even if it’s only subconsciously.

Pokémon: Johto League Champions

‘Born to Be a Winner’

Oh I am HERE for this song. First off you’ve got the song leading with the chorus of the original theme but it’s got a solid new beat behind it. That beat drives the entire song and it only gets bigger and better as it goes. This is the feeling of adventure the first two themes gave us but with a new edge!

And man that cut when Ash and Pikachu land that’s timed perfectly to “JOH-TO” is sublime. Shame the visuals, which look so crisp and uniform, are oddly broken up with that shot at the end of Umbreon taken from the show. Why is it the only one? It’s a good shot but come on, keep it consistent!

Pokémon: Master Quest

‘Believe in Me’

This one is… fine. It’s fine! It’s biggest sin is that it’s pretty generic. Besides the two shouts of “Pokémon!” it feels like it could fit any other early 2000’s anime dub. Also we’ve got the first (and not the last) awkward shoehorning in of the title of the season. “I’m on a MASTER QUEST!” I mean, I get it. Ash wants to be a Pokémon master. I get what they’re going for but… eh.

The song also doesn’t have a strong beat behind it so I guess they decided not to care about matching the edits to the song. It’s not bad but again, very average.

Pokémon: Advanced

‘I Wanna Be a Hero’

…I wanna be a hero? I know Ash has saved the world way more times than he can even remember but that really isn’t his focus. He’s not a hero. (And don’t you dare come in these comments and talk about Slowking and the world turning to Ash, this ain’t the movies!) He’s not trying to stop evil, corruption, or the dozens of criminal organizations that challenge children to Pokémon battles. He’s just a guy! The song itself is once again fine but generic. The editing is a little better than last time, if only for finally making all the visuals consistent.

Pokémon: Advanced Challenge

‘This Dream’

Now THIS is more like it. That guitar adds so much! The lyrics are back to feeling more like Pokémon. Dreams! Rising to the challenge! Friendships! This theme is proof that Pokémon openings are far better when the lyrics reflect the show. I know someone in the Pokémon music office (I imagine there’s just 100 Jigglypuff plushies in there) has dreams of one of these openings taking off on the pop charts and wants to make it as generic as possible with as few references to Pokémon as possible to do so. That’s a mistake. This isn’t some generic anime that has a song about love or whatever and never mentions the title in the song (looking at you basically every anime opening ever.) This is a gigantic franchise! Let the song be unabashedly about the series!

The power is back in the editing as well! Should almost every opening time its music to Ash tossing a Poké Ball? Yep!

Pokémon: Advanced Battle

‘Unbeatable’

We are on a roll! Great instrumental, good singer, and those lyrics really hone in on the battling aspect of Pokémon. What really makes this one work is that, “from the stars and the ancient past” lyric. Hinting at the mystery of the Pokémon world adds a richness and wonder to any opening theme and it breaks up all the lyrics about battling. Also I’m just a sucker for “Ooooowhoaaaa” in songs.

This one feels like they had the clips they wanted to use in the opening and gave it to whoever wrote the song because they all fit so damn well!

Pokémon: Battle Frontier

‘Battle Frontier’

Uh, well that roll was short. Also, this song is way too short! It has no time or room to build! Not that it has much to work with, it’s an extremely weak song which isn’t helped by needing to get “BATTLE FRONTIER” in there somewhere. It worked for Advanced Battle because those two words are cool. Battle is cool, obviously, but the word frontier is wasted on a song like this. If this was more of an adventure tune like the original opening it might work but this is just generic filler music. The first opening that falls into the “below average” category.

Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl

‘Diamond and Pearl’

I take it back! Give me ‘Battle Frontier’ back! When you start a new era of Pokémon you need your opening theme to hit hard and this is beyond weak. Working in the lyrics “it’s a new game” and “DIAMOND AND PEARL” does it zero favors, nor does the speak-singing. These openings, both in their music and visuals, are quickly becoming forgettable.

Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension

‘We Will Be Heroes’

We’ve got a stronger singer this time but the song has no energy driving it! On paper the lyrics are fine, even if someone at the Pokémon office does not understand, once again, that Ash and company aren’t heroes. Also this theme just isn’t exciting. A Pokémon theme song NEEDS to be exciting! Come on, you’ve got a shot of the team on jet skis! How is this boring?!

Pokémon: DP Galactic Battles

‘Battle Cry – (Stand Up!)’

Okay, we’re back on track! Great singer, sense of adventure, a chorus echoing the lyrics (always a good move) and that killer drumbeat! A drumbeat that the editor smartly timed a lot of the clips to. I dig it! It also smartly only busts out the “GALACTIC BATTLES!” at the very end, which more of these seasons with awkward titles should do.

Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors

‘We Will Carry On!’

At this point I need to ask, why are we even bothering with an intro? Sure Galactic Battles was okay but the songs are so short they don’t use that short time properly. 30-second intros can be done, OK K.O! did an amazing opening song in 20 seconds! This song though is just some mindless Disney Channel level butt rock.

Pokémon: Black and White

‘Black and White’

I wish this had more of that male singer. It sounds like he’s trying to do an ‘80s ballad impression (a little Michael Bolton) which would have been INCREDIBLE for a Pokémon theme but instead we go for a passable if generic vocal. I think there’s a lot of potential in using the “black and white” concept for a song (good and evil in the Pokémon world is a thing!) but then I remember. It’s Pokémon. We’re not wrestling with deep moral and ethical questions about good and evil here.

Also the choice of a CG opening is… a choice! It’s certainly unique for the franchise but if the show isn’t CG what’s the point?

Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies

‘Rival Destinies’

Look, I love some butt rock. ‘Phenomenon’ by Thousand Foot Krutch is a killer song but you need more OOMPH in your song to pull it off! Pokémon is one of the biggest franchises on the planet! It needs a better song than one you’ll forget five seconds after it ends. Embrace the butt rock! Let these singers really go for it!

Pokémon: Adventures in Unova and Beyond

‘It’s Always You and Me’

I didn’t know Christian Kids Rock was a genre the Pokémon series would try and tackle but here we are. What hath God wrought? I guess I can give it a point for its commitment to not have even an inkling of edginess? Honestly I’m so distraught by these openings at this point I’m just trying to find anything good I can.

We’re also long past the visuals and editing that bother to match the opening song and it’s a shame. I know the anime is a disposable product meant to prop up the games and franchise as a whole but man, the lack of care in the editing is a little sad. We’ve certainly come so far from the very first opening.

Pokémon the Series: XY

‘Pokémon Theme (Version XY)’

Oh. Oh my god. Oh my GOD. It’s good. No, it’s great. No, it’s INCREDIBLE. I’m saved! You may think it’s only because of nostalgia but let me tell you, they could have done that original song dirty. No, they pulled out all the stops and gave that classic a new lease on life. They pick up the pace and give it a harder rock sound. It’s still only 30 seconds but they use every moment to its fullest extent.

This extends to the visuals which, for the first time in a long time, perfectly match the song. When the chorus hits and the song picks up they toss endless battle shots at you! It’s epic! It pumps you up! After so long it finally feels like a Pokémon theme song again in music and visuals.

Pokémon the Series XY: Kalos Quest

‘Be a Hero’

Welp, it was nice while it lasted. Look, Pokémon, I need to explain to you that Ash is just a kid on a quest to make friends and catch Pokémon. Stop trying to make “be a hero’ happen. It’s never gonna happen! The song itself is back into generic land but that singer going ham on “heeeeROOOOO” did make me smile. It’s total butt rock and I’m here for it. As much as the hero thing doesn’t fit Pokémon the visuals of the opening do sell that FEELING and that deserves some points.

Pokémon the Series: XYZ

‘Stand Tall’

Stadium rock for a Pokémon opening? I’m kinda here for it! If Ash was a wrestler I could easily imagine this as his entrance theme. It certainly stands out from previous openings, even though it doesn’t utilize its 30 seconds well enough. Ash seemingly tapping his feet to the beat is glorious, even if the rest of the visuals aren’t well timed to the song.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

‘Under The Alolan Sun’

I. Love. This. Opening. It’s the second best Pokémon opening, just behind the original. It’s so fun! It matches the slice of life comedy vibe that Sun & Moon did so well. More than that it feels inviting in a way so many of these themes haven’t been. The original theme made you excited to go on a journey but this one makes you want to live on the island with these characters!It’s that shot of everyone dancing alongside their Pokémon that does it. How can you not groove along and smile with that? Then we’ve got those crossfade shots of everyone with their Pokémon that takes it over the top. This is how you start a new era of Pokémon!

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Adventures

‘Under The Alolan Moon’

A new genre for these openings, which I’m all for, but the problem is that it feels like the song is ramping up to the big chorus but before it can get there the song just ends. The beat is fine but after the fun of the ‘Under The Alolan Sun’ opening this pales in comparison.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends

‘The Challenge of Life’

The drums make this song! It feels big yet keeps the fun of the first Sun & Moon opening. It even sneaks in some of the grand feeling that only the Pokémon world has. I can’t say this is a song I’d put on repeat on its own but it sets the tone for the series pretty damn well. Plus that shot of Ash jumping into the water at the top is just damn cool.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

‘The Journey Starts Today’

Pokémon, but what if it was sung by Imagine Dragons? The first half is bland but once we hit those “Whoaoaoaoa” I can’t help but want to clap along. It’s not a memorable opening by any means but as a kid I can imagine getting into it. That tracking shot that starts with Pikachu helps a lot.

Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series

‘Journey to Your Heart’

That guitar riff! Holy hell, this song does not mess around with its 30 seconds. A powerful hook, rockin’ beat, and engaging lyrics. Look, “journey to your heart” is kind of a meaningless phrase but damn if it doesn’t get you pumped! It’s so anime. It’s so Pokémon!

The editing of the opening visuals matches the song. We start with a calm shot of the team looking over a cliff at sunset but then as the drums kick in we get that jeep flying into the air! Majesty, action, and not too long after we’ve got Ash dancing! It’s so cute and it matches the song!

Conclusion

I’m glad we could end this look back through the Pokémon openings on such a high note. The Diamond & Pearl through Black & White era was easily the roughest but the last few series have managed to get back some of that original Pokémon theme song glory. I’d be lying though if I said any theme managed to stand up to the original though. They knocked it outta the park from the jump. I can only imagine how intimidating it is for any band to come in and try and add to the Pokémon legacy after that, especially with it now being watched by many corporate overlords. It’s honestly a bit of a miracle we could get something as good as ‘Under The Alolan Sun’ from a franchise as big as Pokémon.

Still, anytime a new Pokémon theme drops I always give it a listen. The ones that manage to capture the magic of Pokémon are some of the most special and fun opening themes out there.

Also if anyone from the Pokémon music office is reading, please release a full three-minute version of ‘Under The Alolan Sun.’ The world needs it!

The post Pokémon: The Evolution of the Dub Opening Themes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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ianmrid · 4 years ago

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...Diamond and Pearl!

Despite all the new things in Gen4, it’s important to remember that Pokémon never strays too far from its classic formula.

You start off this time in Twinleaf Town and your rival is your next-door neighbour, Barry - an excitable chap who is perpetually in a rush and who jokingly threatens to fine you if you don’t keep up with him, He tends to dash ahead of you on your journey,, meeting up occasionally only for you to kick his arse in a pokémon battle. Barry continues the trend of friendly rivals who are less appealing that the rivals you want to punch, such as Blue and Silver, but Barry is massive improvement on both May - at least Barry has a decently strong and fully evolved team! - and the sad-sack Wally from the Hoenn adventures. Gen3 rivals are the worst. You don’t get a second rival in Sinnoh, but if you select the male character then the female character (Dawn) will act as the professors assistant throughout the game, giving hints/items/advice as you travel. If you select the female character for yourself then the assistant is the male character, named Lucas. Dawn/Lucas is not especially notable however since you never get to battle them - which I think is a bit of a shame.

Speaking of the Professor, this time around your tree-based expert is Professor Rowan, a much older Pokémon Professor who actually taught Kantos very own Professor Oak. He is a bit more gruff that previous professors, but essentially fulfils all the main story beats by letting you keep your chosen starter, guiding you through the plot, reviewing your pokédex progress, and turning up when you enter the Hall of Fame at the end of the game. Still, I like him better than both Elm and Birch.

Berries are back too - although they are broadly similar to the system that was overhauled in Gen3. You can add various mulches to change how the plants grow but the best addition is a new set of berries that can be held that reduce damage from super effective moves, This is very useful if you have a pokémon with a particularly crippling weakness as it lets you (probably) take a hit if you haven’t predicted a particular in-coming move type. This time out you can turn berries into Poffins via another cooking-style mini-game but they seem functionality very similar to Pokéblocks from Hoenn. Contests are also back with different-but-equally-unappealing rounds as before (Dressing up! Dancing?!) and increasing those contests stats is one of the primary uses of the new Poffins, but I am less interested in the whole idea more than ever and skipped straight over them.

Another less than welcome return is Pokémons continuing problem with a reliance on Hidden Machines (HMs), the moves that pokémon can use in the over-world map to allow you to progress into - or to at least better explore - certain areas. These moves are a real pain as you need nearly all of them at various points and there is nothing more annoying than getting so far through a route or cave only to realise you need the one you don’t have and have to retrace your steps. For that reason, I just keep them all on my team, eating up precious move-slots on my team members. Even with an HM mule to have three or four of them it’s still annoying and they seem even worse in Sinnoh. Although Flash and Dive are no longer HMs (although Flash is still required in some caves so that doesn’t really help much!) they have been replaced with Rock Climb and Defog. Defog is totally useless and a real waste of a move-slot, and Rock Climb wouldn’t be so bad if it was actually a Rock-type move to offer some coverage to the user. Instead it is, rather bafflingly, a Normal-type move which is no good, especially when you also have to learn the more reliable HM, Strength. One day, I really hope they find a better way to filter you through the story.

Finally on a more positive note, Gen4 introduces some rather swanky new pokéballs. The Dusk Ball (increased capture rate at night, or when battling within in-game caves) and the Quick Ball (increased capture rate if you throw it on the first turn of a battle) are both worth a mention as they give you at least a chance to speed up the who capture process, which can sometimes be a bit tiring if you are doing it a lot! Also all Poké Balls get an optional lick of paint in Gen4 with the ability to add ‘seals’ to them. Seals are things you can add to poké balls that make a specific effect appear when you send out a pokémon from that poké ball, such as a shower of hearts, confetti, stars (like in the picture of Aipom, above), coloured smoke, or even letters. Although it wasn’t something I bothered with much, this is a nice touch and allows you to personalise special pokémon a little more, giving them their own custom ball.

Anyway, it should be pretty clear that the pokémon formula continues to be a steady one, so I know exactly what to expect as I start my second run through Sinnoh. Time for Pokémon Pearl!

#pokemon #pokemon playthrough #e plays pokemon #nintendo #game freak #Pokemon Pearl

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neeksleep · 5 years ago

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Day 8: Pokemon (Omega) Ruby

If you were a fan of any Pokémon game, you probably have one game in the series that really resonated with you and activates all the nostalgia in you. I was into Pokémon when Red/Blue and then Gold/Silver/Crystal were released, but I didn’t own those games myself and played them second hand. Because of that, I played the games from start to end without really investing time doing the side things because I knew I had to give the game back eventually. That changed with Pokémon Ruby for the GameBoy Advanced. For the first time, I was going to be able to fully invest in my own world and have a good shot at catching them all! For the rest of the review, I’ll be talking about all three games of that generation (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald), but will refer only to Ruby as it’s the version that I owned and thoroughly played.

Now, there are aspects of this game that a ton of people don’t like, and many players of the original Pokémon games did not jive with this. Some main reasons being the large amount of water/surfing in the game, the trumpets in the music and the designs of several Pokémon. In my opinion, there are other issues with the game, but all those things listed about did not bother me. It didn’t even occur to me until years later when I discussed the game with others and learned that there wasn’t much love for this entry in the series. So, I think if I’m going to defend this game, I should probably lay out what exactly appealed to me, with the understanding that there is a huge nostalgia factor going into this.

Plenty of Mystery

I know I’m not alone when I say that the story part of Pokémon games is usually not the primary pull of the game. It’s a good way to slowly get you through the world, drip feeding you new Pokémon and mechanics as you work your way to the Elite Four. This doesn’t really change with Ruby/Sapphire (I’ll come back to Omega Ruby though), the story doesn’t have much going for it. You’re a kid trying to become the champion, and along the way you meet a bunch of friends and some villains and end up encountering whatever the legendary Pokémon is. Cool.

Here’s the thing though, once you’ve reached the point where the world is entirely open to you, there are so many odd mysteries in the game. And these mysteries aren’t just handed to you either. The newer Pokémon games don’t really offer much in way of a puzzle or challenge to encounter legendary Pokémon. They might be hidden in a cave with annoying branching paths, or roam around the world requiring you to check your Pokedex for its location until you cross paths. Ruby has these, but it also other unique puzzles in the world.

For example, there is a mysterious island that disappears and reappears randomly, based on some random number. It only contains a unique type of berry and the Wynaut Pokémon, so it’s not like you’re missing much from not ever seeing it. But I love the idea that somewhere in the world, a select few had happened to see the island. I used to wake up every morning for several months to talk to an old man who would let you know if the island has shown up in my game (spoiler: it never did). Another set of puzzles involve the use of Braille. Now, keep in mind, me at the age of 12, I wasn’t the brightest kid. It took me far too long to figure out what the braille symbols were, and even when I found the inscription that laid out the alphabet, I still didn’t understand what I was looking at! But once I put it all together, I felt like a smart cookie.

Even before translating the Braille text, just walking into some of the Regi chambers, a single room with a single braille sign, it emitted a sense of mystery and wonder that I haven’t seen in a Pokémon game since. If you weren’t scouring the internet for answers, there was just a bunch of unexplained things in the world. Why was there a space station? What is the significance of Relicanth and Wailord (other than Wailord is the best Pokémon and I dare you to prove me wrong) in unlocking the Regi’s from their chambers? Why were the Regis sealed anyways?

Some of these get answered in the 3DS remake, Omega Ruby. The Space station eventually lets you face off against Deoxys in space (no word of a lie, I used to draw this scenario as how I wanted Ruby to originally handle it, and they went ahead and made my imagination come to life). Speaking of Omega Ruby, the remake further adds to the story, eventually leading to the space battle, but also including Rayquaza into the story. In Ruby, Rayquaza was located at the top of a tower which required some skills in using the Mach Bike. I personally prefer Ruby’s take on it, but Omega Ruby handled it well with the inclusion of a few extra characters.

I can safely say that Omega Ruby is my favourite Pokémon game, but it’s because it takes everything I loved about Ruby and adds on just enough to make it perfect. Once you gain the ability to Soar and fly around the overworld, there are more secrets to discover and places to see. Eventually, rifts appear that let you battle legendary Pokémon from the rest of the series. As someone who unashamedly loves the legendary Pokémon and using them in my team, this was like Christmas for me.

Pokémon Designs

This is entirely subjective (of course it is), but the new Pokémon introduced in the third gen have some of my favourite Pokémon and Pokémon designs. Let me get it out of the way…Mudkip is terrible and you should all be ashamed for liking it. I’ve always been a grass starter person, and I will continue that trend with Sword & Shield. Sceptile, Treecko’s final evolution) looked the coolest to me. He looked extremely smug and his tail looked like it could smash anything, which me at age 12 though was cool. Don’t judge me.

Not every Pokémon was ‘cool’, but there were some charming designs. Ludicolo and Nosepass for example were quirky designs that kept things lighthearted. Meanwhile, the Beldum and Whismur evolution line led to some unexpected final forms, but still quite unique. As for the legendary line, I really liked how the three sets of legendary Pokémon kept a theme between each other. The Regis had their dot design and similar body shape. Latios/Latias were designed to look fast and I thought they conveyed that nicely. Finally, Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza have these distinct lines that run along their bodies and exude an ‘ancient’ feeling to them. They weren’t over the top god-like creatures unlike those in future games, and instead felt more like keepers of stability in the world we live in. In my opinion, the designs nailed this, and you could imagine the three being caught in battle millions of years ago.

Yes, the Music had Trumpets. Yes, the Music is Still Great

I have a theme going. All the games I love have great music. Pokémon Ruby (and Omega Ruby by extension) are no exception to these rules. There is no doubt that nostalgia has a lot to do with my appreciation for the music, but I always felt the music was very appropriate for the world. Yes, there was that weird trumpet sound that was used in most of the songs, but it did not bother me at the time and still doesn’t bother me now that it’s pointed out. Take Slateport City’s theme for example, it’s a port city, with a beach and a museum and is the bustling town of the game. The music absolutely matches that with an upbeat tune that I still hum sporadically. Meanwhile, upon entering one of the mysterious Regi caves, you’re hit with this ominous tune that always made me feel uneasy but excited to figure out the puzzle as something powerful must be hidden in the cave. Then there’s the fight against the cover’s legendary Pokémon which really does make you feel like you’re facing off something that is very powerful and quite ancient.

Omega Ruby takes a lot of songs and remixes them; I can’t decide which version I liked better. However, the way Omega Ruby takes the original legendary battle songs and mixes the older generation music with an updated soundfont really tugged at my nostalgia strings. And with the addition of new story content, they added a new theme for a character that may be one of my more favourite songs in the entire series, the Zinnia Battle theme. However, if you want me to stop dead in my tracks and do some real anime fighting moves, just go ahead and play the Deoxys battle song for me.

In Conclusion…

Is Pokémon Ruby the best Pokémon game? No, that title goes to Omega Ruby. I’m half kidding. I think Ruby set Pokémon off in a weird direction, but not in the worst way. The battle mechanics alone couldn’t carry the series on for as long as it has. They needed to introduce new things. Ruby introduced odd side things like secret bases and Pokémon Contests, and while those didn’t really take off, I’m glad they were there. It was Gamefreak experimenting with new things and I will never be against that. But more than that, I think Ruby stands out as having the last Pokémon world that was full of mystery and rewarded taking the less travelled path with something that you might not understand without exploring more. If you haven’t tried either of the Gen 3 games, I highly recommend trying out Omega Ruby. It has very good quality of life changes and is by far the easiest Pokémon games to get into without holding your hand every step of the way. Its world wasn’t impressive because of aesthetics or story-dependent changes. It was just unassuming in its mystery and I think there is a value in having that sometimes. It’s okay to not see everything, but if you do, you will find something that others may not have.

#pokemon #pokemon ruby #gameboy advance #pokemon omega ruby #nintendo 3ds #game freak #nintendo #review

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illusivegore · 6 years ago

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Gore’s Games of 2018

I’m sure you all know the drill at this point. Everyone and their mother seems to post a list about all of their favorites from the year, so I’ll spare you the build up and just get into some of the games I enjoyed in 2018.

Games Crossed Off the Backlog

This year I’m going to kick things off with some of the great games I finally got around to playing from my backlog. A good amount of these games are ones that I mentioned last year as ones I wasn’t able get to. All of these games were great and a couple would have easily made my Game of the Year list under normal circumstances.

2018 Games I Missed Out On

Next up, I’m going to highlight the games from 2018 that ended up on my backlog or that I still haven’t purchased yet. These are all games that I’d love to play at some point, and this is the reason why you won’t see them on my main list.

Honorable Mentions

This final section (before I get to my actual picks) highlights some of the games I played and enjoyed but not enough to feel comfortable writing about them or including them on my GOTY list. I look forward to digging into all of these more in the coming months.

Celeste | Dead Cells | Into the Breach | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Yoku’s Island Express

Top 5 Games of 2018

NBA 2K Playgrounds 2

I’m going to kick this off with a game that I can’t imagine will be anywhere near most people’s game of the year lists. NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 continues to be a divisive game due to its microtransactions and player unlock system, but at its core, it really is a fun arcade-style basketball game.

The gameplay harkens back to the NBA JAM games and it’s over the top and kind of absurd at times. With every game played, you’ll be leveling up players and earning currency that will allow you to unlock new players. So while the game does offer microtransactions, they aren’t necessary if you’re okay with a bit of a grind. It’s not exactly ideal, but that kind of gameplay is right up my alley. I feel like I’m making progress each time I play and it ensures I will keep coming back for more. If you’re an NBA fan and know what you’re getting into, there is a lot of fun to be had here.

Magic: The Gathering Arena

Arena was actually first available to play in 2017, but only entered into its open beta phase in 2018, so for that reason, it makes my list. Hell, when it officially releases it will probably make a future GOTY list again.

I was very skeptical about Arena because it looked like Wizards of the Coast was just trying to ripoff Hearthstone‘s aesthetic (and they kind of are), but this is actually a good game and once I played my first match I was hooked. It’s a great place for both newcomers and veterans of Magic to play. Arena is much more user-friendly and intuitive than Magic Online while also offering a far more authentic Magic experience than previous Duels games have.

The game is free-to-play, and I know that term gets a bad wrap nowadays, but Arena does it right. You can buy booster packs with real money or you can earn gold (and even single cards or packs on occasion) naturally through playing. I was able to build one of the most competitive decks in the format in a few weeks time and that was just by playing a few matches each day. Even in the early stages you’ll quickly earn a number of “starter decks” which will supply you with a decent selection of cards. So you’ll never be short on new things to try while you work towards building your card collection.

Arena is fantastic, and if you’ve ever even been curious about Magic: the Gathering, you should give it a shot.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

Over that past few years I’ve played a lot of Pokémon. Between revisiting Blue, Silver, SoulSilver, Pearl, White, White 2, X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, Omega Ruby and playing through the new releases of Sun, Moon, and Ultra Moon, as well as shiny hunting in a few of those games, I’ve spent nearly 1,000 hours with the series in the last three years. Needless to say, I was starting to feel a bit of Pokémon fatigue (which is why I still haven’t played Ultra Sun). If that wasn’t enough, I was also never a big fan of Pokémon Go!. So when the Pokémon: Let’s Go! games were announced I had zero interest and pushed them completely off of my radar. Then the games finally released and my love for Pokémon got the best of me. I started reading reviews, watching videos, and talking to friends about them. Eventually I looked past my skepticism and decided to give it a try and I’m so glad I did.

Pokémon Let’s Go! was a breath of fresh air for me. It was a laid back experience that I didn’t even know I needed. It’s far more streamlined than other games in the series as you can choose when to encounter wild Pokémon and you no longer need to battle in order to catch them (in most cases). This aspect was one of the biggest reasons I was skeptical of the game. While catching Pokémon is probably my favorite part, I do enjoy the battles as well. I was afraid I wouldn’t get the battle itch scratched, but that wasn’t the case at all. There are more than enough trainers to battle throughout, so it was almost the perfect blend of catching and battling for me.

I went with the Eevee version and oh boy, Eevee is a little badass. That little dude is completely overpowered in Let’s Go! and makes it a breeze if you choose to play that way. It’s definitely the easiest Pokémon game I’ve ever played, which is saying a lot because they’ve never been known for their difficulty, but that didn’t stop it from being the most enjoyable time I had playing a game in 2018.

Octopath Traveler

Another game that surprised me in 2018 was Octopath Traveler. I’ve never been the biggest fan of JRPGs, but I was immediately drawn in by Octopath Traveler‘s charming art. When I finally got my Nintendo Switch last year it was the first game I really dug into. As it turns out, by the end of my 80 hours with it, the characters and combat system became something I loved even more than the art style that initially caught my attention.

Octopath Traveler‘s combat is turned-based and revolves around a “break” system. Each enemy has certain weaknesses to specific weapon types or elemental attacks. If you hit them with one of those attacks enough times their defenses will break and they will be stunned the following turn, allowing you to deal increased damage. There is also a boost system that allows you to hit with multiple attacks each turn. Without delving too deep into the mechanics, I’ll just say all of this offers a ton of strategic options and makes combat a joy.

If the title wasn’t telling enough, Octopath Traveler‘s story focuses on eight different characters. Each character has their own set of chapters you can complete, a variety of traits and combat options, and a unique personality and story to tell. You don’t have to finish every character’s storyline, but I exhausted all story options because I found myself wanting to know more about each one of them. I’d even go so far as to say that there hasn’t been a collective group of characters I liked this much since the original Mass Effect trilogy.

I feel like Octopath Traveler got overlooked by a lot of people, so if you’re a fan JRPGs or just looking for a quality experience you should seek this one out.

God of War

Continuing with the trend of games that surprised me last year, next up is God of War. I’ve dabbled a bit in the God of War franchise, but the 2018 release was the first game in the series I’ve ever seen through to completion. It is nothing like its predecessors as it trades in the linear gameplay and shallow, over-the-top brutality for an engaging and robust world, as well as a far more rewarding combat system.

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of God of War is that it made Kratos into a character with depth and one that I was able to invest in. It also introduced his son, Atreus, and their relationship was something I loved watching evolve over the course of the game. Kratos is still a no nonsense badass, but his humanity is allowed to shine through in his interactions with Atreus.

As I mentioned, the combat in God of War is so much more rewarding than it was in previous entries. While you might still be able to mindlessly hack-and-slash your way through on easier difficulties, if you truly want to master combat you’ll need to develop more in-depth strategies. Kratos wields the Leviathan axe this time around, which you can use for melee attacks or as a projectile. The most ingenious part is that you can recall the axe with the press of a button which not only adds to your strategic options, but also creates a very satisfying ebb and flow to combat. You’ll also have to incorporate blocking and parrying, as well as guiding Atreus to use his bow. Once I was able to start stringing together all of these moves and tactics, God of War‘s combat system quickly became one of my all-time favorites.

God of War also offers up tons of side content to keep you busy for hours. With the recent release of a New Game+ mode, I’m looking forward to running through it again. It was quite the experience and one I’m happy to call my favorite of 2018.

Most Anticipated Games

It’s always fun to look to the future, so I’m going to wrap things up with my most anticipated games. Some of these games have 2019 release dates and others I’m keeping my fingers crossed for.

#games #video games #best of

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jolteonjordansh · 8 years ago

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Thoughts on Yggdrasil Arc

Alright, some of the E3 hype has died down, so I think I can finally post this.

Well, it’s done. I watched the final arc of Digimon Savers and went through the whole series. Was it worth watching the whole series? Was the last arc good? Did it continue the trend of getting even better despite being the very last arc of the show? Is it just as daunting to talk about as Tamers despite its last arc only being ten episodes?

Enough questions. The answers are under the break.

I think the best way to sum up not only this arc but this whole series is: Wow, Kurata sure likes to flat-out fuck everything up for everyone, doesn't he?

But I'll keep the Kurata rage down to a minimum here. Digimon Savers does manage to keep up the momentum of the show really well and is definitely the best part of the series, really maintaining the best moments and only making it better. And yes, despite being a mere ten episodes, there is a good chunk of stuff to talk about. But let me try not to go too crazy in talking about some things for too long.

I was totally right about being able to travel between the Real World and Digital World not requiring a Digital Gate, but it's not as simple as walking through an open door since there's turbulence between them that makes it a bumpy ride. There's also much more at stake because the Digital World and Real World are colliding at an alarming rate and threatening to destroy both, but BanchoLeomon comes in to hold up the freaking Digital World to prevent it from colliding with the Real World with the sheer power of his Digisoul. Again, it sounds fucking ridiculous, but it's as amazing as you'd might expect. I was kind of expecting this was going to count as his death, but... not quite. I'll get to that.

With Kurata finally gone, the main antagonists standing in the way of the protagonists are the Royal Knights and the God they serve, Yggdrasil--Finally, I can get into this topic I've known about in Digimon for a while. As a big nerd, I love how much inspiration of Norse mythology there was. The whole world tree thing, a lot of the Royal Knights having themes of Norse mythology, and just building some of the Digital World's basis on Norse mythology. I got really giddy hearing some of these terms and references and seeing Digimon utilize it well. It's better than what I can say about Pokémon X & Y. The only thing that broke my heart was seeing a Gallantmon loyally serving Yggdrasil and destroying some of the Real World by his command. It hurt seeing my favorite Mega in that position. I know he's better than that, don't do this to me Digimon Savers! I think my only complaint is that we didn't get a lot of equal treatment between all of the Royal Knights, but considering there were only ten episodes in this series left and there were 9 Royal Knights in this series, that would have been a hard feat while covering everything else. That being said, I do think the Royal Knights were treated way better here than in Digimon Frontier. Though I think I do like Omegamon and Gallantmon in Digital Monster X-Evolution more, I don't think that's as fair of a comparison since those two got more focus in a single movie. There's some Royal Knights that don't really do as much except help in the end like poor Magnamon and UlforceVeedramon, but overall, it was great seeing them.

One of the Royal Knights ends up being a sort of renegade, Sleipmon, who saves the main protagonists from the overwhelming power of the other Royal Knights. And surprise! It's Kudamon, and Richard was never dead! I knew these guys wouldn't die so easily and pathetically! But man, as if Kudamon couldn't become more badass, he Digivolves into this badass Royal Knight! But despite that Kudamon was basically a spy for Yggdrasil, I like how he warmed up to humans overtime. But... Do Royal Knights or more powerful Digimon in general have the ability to control and keep their stages lower than what they're typically stuck at? Or was Sleipmon forced to be reduced down to Kudamon by Yggdrasil or something? Meh, details, details. But what hurt even more was seeing Sleipmon fight Gallantmon and seemingly sacrificing himself to take down Gallantmon with him. Seriously, killing off my two favorites at once!? What the hell is wrong with you writers!? Thankfully this was a fakeout death, one that did get me pretty well, until Sleipmon manages to get Gallantmon to understand that Yggdrasil is wrong and fight back against him for both the Digital World and Real World. So that did help ease the pain of seeing Gallantmon having to be a cold antagonist for a short while.

The main cast actually does willingly split for a while, which did kind of surprise me, but it did make room for some character development with characters getting dedicated episodes. Marcus goes into the Digital World solo with ShineGreymon as he has to deal with Yggdrasil who seemingly seems to be his missing father (I guess when I said Marcus inherited his dad's god-like powers, I wasn't kidding...). His struggle is genuine and we see both his mother and his sister Kristy dealing with it too. They make it especially painful with flashbacks of fond memories of Marcus with his father. It's an easy way to destroy me when these tragic things happen, so thanks for those feels writers.

We also get this sort of pain with Thomas too as we finally get some closure with him and his father. It's great to see his father wasn't an outright asshole dad, but rather Thomas had an asshole grandma who wanted someone to succeed the Norstein family and didn't think he was worthy. Combine the fact that he has a dead mother, and it's no wonder the guy has so many family issues. Seriously, seeing poor young Thomas being rejected hurt me a lot too. But it was also really nice for them to demonstrate the kind of close bond Thomas has with his sister Relena, despite that she could have ultimately replaced him if not for her sickly status. There's some genuine family love between them, and I really love how his determination to protect his family ties in with activating his Burst Mode with MirageGaogamon.

Yoshino and Keenan don't quite get a ton of development in this arc, which irks me a bit with the problem I mentioned in the last arc with the lack of balance in character development. To be fair, Keenan got plenty of development in Worlds Conflict and Kurata arc, so he didn't need it desperately. For Yoshino on the other hand, I really wish she had gotten more. We never get to see her parents or family in present time, and I really wish the writers had expanded upon her inferiority complex or family relations. She isn't flat or terribly under-developed, but I just felt like maybe there were opportunities for more. Their episodes leading to Burst Mode is a simple filler episode, but it is cute and I'm so glad they brought Piyomon back for Kristy and built up their relationship again. It was more minor in comparison to some of the other things in this arc, but it was significant enough to really matter to me, especially after the tragic battle of RizeGreymon against an enraged Garudamon.

On the note of these episodes though, I'm really happy that all four of the main protagonists had their Digimon achieve Burst Mode. They could have easily made this thing special for just Marcus and Thomas, or even just Marcus. But they all generally get equal treatment, something some of the past Digimon series could have definitely learned from. Literally the only thing Marcus gets as a bonus with ShineGreymon is an extra weapon known as the GeoGrey Sword. But honestly? The damn thing breaks half the time it's even used, and that's not even very often, so it never felt like a huge advantage that Marcus had compared to the rest of the cast. Even then, MirageGaogamon Burst Mode gets his own sort of weapon anyway, so it doesn't feel completely unique to Marcus to me. The only real edge there is is that Rosemon and Ravemon Burst Mode have their animations done with digital animation and not CG, which is kind of a shame since ShineGreymon and MirageGaogamon Burst Modes both got the special treatment. Still, Rosemon and Ravemon don't achieve Burst Mode quite as often as the other two anyway, so I can understand why they would make this choice to save some money. Still, this is the closest they've gotten to equal treatment between all of the cast members. So close though Digimon Savers, you were so close to perfection... As for the Burst Modes themselves, MirageGaogamon is probably still my favorite here. Rosemon Burst Mode is unfortunately just a recolor, though Ravemon Burst Mode is a more coherent design to me than the usual Ravemon.

I do have to say, the battles in the Yggdrasil arc are probably among the best in the entire show and definitely rank up as some of my favorites in the series. While the Belphemon/Kurata fight is definitely a top choice, there's also a few other good options here. The Gallantmon fight hurts really hard, especially when both Gallantmon and Sleipmon are among my personal favorites. The Craniamon fight was also really good for how much build-up it has, considering this was the first of the Royal Knights the main cast faced. Seeing Marcus and ShineGreymon trying to take him on themselves was rough, but it was awesome to have a Big Damn Heroes moment with the rest of the cast reuniting with Marcus. There's also when Marcus confronts his "dad", and straight up punches him in the face. It's a great battle to watch because you not only feel the internal struggle of Marcus fighting who he believes is his father, but the guy nearly gives up after being thrown out of the world tree only to have each one of his companions throw him back up towards the top of the tree to give Yggdrasil a punch out. Top that off with a Theme Music Power-Up with Hirari, and it's just a really badass scene. There's also the inevitable final battle with Yggdrasil, but I'll save that towards the end of this post since it deserves its own attention.

I think now would be a good time to talk about Marcus' father, who we finally learn more about in this arc. I'll admit, my mind was already speculating a few things based on the second opening. Seeing BanchoLeomon and Spencer on the same screen with Marcus in the middle was already a giveaway to some things. The cloak on Spencer basically told me "So he's either going to become a mystery man on the run, an antagonist, or straight-up Yggdrasil". And BanchoLeomon's presence told me "He has to have some sort of deeper connection with Spencer. What if they do some crazy thing where they're one in the same?". Well, a lot of these speculations weren't far off, but I wouldn't call this bad writing or being easily predictable as it was just me being observant and analyzing things a little deep. I don't think most people ever expected BanchoLeomon to pull a Luke, I Am Your Father on Marcus and it still took me by some surprise too, but it doesn't come off as some weird asspull either. Between how much of a mentor BanchoLeomon acted towards Marcus and how there were subtle hints of foreshadowing with him around Marcus' mother and Kristy, it was never anything completely out of the question. But I will admit, Japan does a really clever little trick of differentiating between whether BanchoLeomon or Spencer is speaking, with the "ore" pronoun for BanchoLeomon and "watashi" for Spencer. It's something that's unfortunately lost in translation, but a neat detail nonetheless.

We also do get some backstory on Spencer himself and how he met BanchoLeomon before they basically held both of their souls in BanchoLeomon's body. It is awesome to see how Spencer was apparently such a badass that he could fight on equal grounds with a Mega level like BanchoLeomon, and it's a nice parallel to how Marcus met Agumon. We can also see how Spencer really inspired the whole "being a man" ideology, as he follows it just as religiously as Marcus and it's sort of admirable in its own way. I am glad that they use Yggdrasil being an omniscient god to explain why BanchoLeomon did basically nothing in the Kurata arc, as it did irk me a little without an explanation, but the Yggdrasil arc gives some satisfying answers. But of course, they tell us all of this to finally make me legitimately against him dying, only for him to--as per the Leomon trope--get killed off. But to give Digimon Savers credit, this does add a lot of emotional impact to said death and he sacrifices himself by holding down Yggdrasil in Spencer's original body and demands that Marcus finishes them both off. It's definitely a tearjerker, but I give credit that BanchoLeomon goes out with a Crowning Moment of Awesome. Though, Savers kind of follows this small pattern set up by Digimon Frontier--a character may be attached to the Leomon name somehow, like Koichi, but doesn't necessarily have to die as Spencer ends up being brought back by Yggdrasil in the very end. Kind of like Koichi, I could almost call it a cop-out, but again, I was emotionally attached enough that I wanted to see him come back. Call me cheap for wanting that, but I was okay with seeing Spencer live.

The actual final Yggdrasil fight is just epic--easily one of my top five favorite Digimon fights ever, up there with the Apocalymon fight. It truly feels hopeless and Yggdrasil goes through every logical statement about how human beings suck and have to be eliminated. But all of the Royal Knights go against his reasons, much like Gallantmon and Omegamon in Digital Monster X-Evolution. It gets pretty outright cheesy as the Digital World starts to crash towards the Real World, but is stopped by the hopes and dreams of Digimon affected by the positive emotions of the Digisouls of humans. So together, they halt the impact of the Digital World. Despite Yggdrasil being a regenerative god, the Digimon partners are able to Digivolve by the sheer willpower of their human partners' and support Marcus and Agumon--who are busy literally running up Yggdrasil--as they eventually do manage to not only break him physically, but break him mentally as he basically BSoDs and is unable to comprehend the idea of the Digimon and humans fighting for their will to live. Agumon is able to achieve what I can assume is his own Burst Mode, never Digivolving to ShineGreymon but is surrounded in the same fiery aura and is able to fly as Marcus rides him. It sounds ridiculous, but I loved every moment of it. It wasn't as predictable as having the usual final Digivolution in the end that takes the final antagonist down. Maybe people would have thought it would have been more epic if Marcus was riding on top of ShineGreymon Burst Mode, but I don't know, I found this climax to be unique and epic in its own right. And even besides that, Marcus gets to Punch Out Cthulhu not just once, but twice. It's just an epic final battle that's filled with awesome in every way.

But of course, with every Digimon series, the Digimon and humans must leave one another even despite this show surrounding the idea of uniting the worlds together. The humans decide the Digital Gate needs to be closed off due to its lack of stability, and the Digimon feel they need to return to the Digital World to help rebuild it since they've literally just lost their god. Of course, this means tearful goodbyes, a lot of which tore me up about as hard as Digimon Adventure did since they really build it up. Marcus is in denial and tries to reason with Agumon to stay, but it doesn't work out. Gaomon is sentimental and serves tea to Thomas, even naming the blend "Our Vow to Meet Again" ow my heart. Keenan has a tearful conversation with Falcomon about going to the Digital World with him, and it's hard to see those two hurt so much when they've already been through so much pain. Even Richard has to accept his goodbye to Kudamon, and they remains stoic, but Kudamon still wraps around Richard’s neck because it's where he "felt most comfortable". A simple, but emotional moment between these two.

In a sort of reverse of what Digimon Adventure did, Marcus is missing from the goodbye scene with the Digimon the same way Palmon was. But instead of a tearful goodbye, Marcus makes his decision to go to the Digital World with Agumon to keep peace in the Digital World, certain the gate will be opened eventually. It's an unexpected but fitting route to go, with Marcus following his father's footsteps like always. I felt that most of the cast was surprisingly okay with it, but it's Marcus--there's no changing that boy's mind, and I'm sure they all knew that anyway and Spencer even supports his decision. Even despite the bittersweet end, the show does end on a high note and does a flashforward much like Digimon Adventure 02, but it’s nowhere near as controversial. It's just a few years later with a lot of nice conclusions for everyone--most of DATS has become a police force, Kristy and Keenan are close friends going to school as normal children, Thomas manages to find a cure for Relena's disease and becomes a renowned doctor, and Marcus is having a good time being himself and keeping peace in the Digital World with Agumon. It's a nice ending and one that isn't too overly utopian as many would call Adventure 02's.

Still, I was in tears by the end and it almost did break me as much as Digimon Adventures's ending, despite it ending on such a good note. For a while, I wasn't able to understand why I was crying so much, but I think now I know why. Of course, the goodbyes between the human and Digimon partners were just as heart-wrenching as some of the other Digimon endings, but I think I was not only sad about the goodbyes, but also simultaneously happy and hopeful about the future of these characters. I was happy to see them leading good lives. I felt hopeful that one day, they would get to meet their Digimon again and see Marcus again. I think ultimately, it was such an overflow of emotions that my body just had to release the overwhelming strength of those emotions. And when you think about it... what would have been a better way to finish up this show that talks so strongly about the soul and emotions of people than to stir such strong emotions with your audience? It truly resonates its ideas and messages to the audience, and I really love that about Digimon Savers.

Watching this much Digimon, I'm sure anyone would want to ask me what my favorite Digimon anime series if. Honestly? I can't bring myself to choose between Digimon Adventure, Digimon Tamers and Digimon Savers. They're all phenomenal in their own right and have their strengths. I know Digimon Adventure can be clumsy and repetitive, but its great cast of characters and the simple charm of the show really drew me into the franchise again. I know Digimon Tamers is typically criticized for trying to be too dark and edgy, but I really enjoyed its complexities and how it was generally well-written. I know Digimon Savers was a little simpler and didn't have a perfect balance, but I loved the depth it did have and the kind of heart and emotion that was poured into it. Each series has its own faults and issues, but I love all of them for what they are. I enjoyed the rides each series gave me, even the ones I didn't enjoy quite as much. They all had something to offer, and for the ones I truly treasure--I know I'm going to be holding them close to my heart for years to come, and even rewatch them in the future just to look back on the good and happiness they brought me.

To be clear, as of now, this is about as far as I’ll go with Digimon anime series thoughts. The only two shows I have not watched is Digimon Xros Wars and Applimon, and as of right now I don't plan on watching them. The only Digimon anime I plan to watch from here is the rest of Digimon Adventure tri. For Xros Wars, while I've heard the first season isn't so bad, the show seems to get worse as it goes. So what reward is there in watching a show that never improves and only gets worse? I know there is the crossover episode towards the end and I have looked at it, but... It's more disrespectful to those shows than anything. It's rather sad, so it's not even worth that. As for Applimon... It seems to be very hit or miss for people from what I understand. I could see myself maybe giving it a chance if I hear good things about it. But as of now, I don't plan on it. So for now, I'm done, and I'm glad I enjoyed most of these shows as much as I did. At the same time, I don't think it's ever hurt so much for me to reach the end of a final episode of some of the Digimon anime series and not see a next episode preview. And I think that speaks volumes about how much I enjoyed this.

So for now, my Digimon adventure is over. I really enjoyed so much of it, and I'm so glad I returned to it after so many years. Thank you Digimon, for all of the new memories and fun you've given me with some shows that truly have some heart put into them.

#Shut Up JJ #JJ DigiWatches #final thoughts

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mindthump · 8 years ago

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9 innovative, entertaining, and downright strange gaming trends from E3 2017 http://ift.tt/2sGavPp

Creative work isn’t made in a vacuum. While video game studios across the world don’t necessarily know what their contemporaries are working on at any given time, every developer makes sure to keep aprised of the current state of the industry. And E3 remains the place the most important show where studios converge en masse to showcase their upcoming games. With the show floor closed, countless game-makers will look back at the event, looking at patterns and trends to see what’s coming next. Let’s take a look at nine trends that unfolded over the course of E3 2017.

Lots of developers are trying new things

When a game developers makes a hit, chances are it’s going to keep making that game series, or at least the same kind of game, until players can’t it anymore. Game franchises rarely change their core identity mid-development or in between entries. At E3 2017, however, a lot of studios showed that plans to change things up.

At Ubisoft, two established franchise showed off major course corrections.

BioWare, best known for creating the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series’, revealed Anthem, a brand new action RPG in the vein of Destiny. While new franchises are born each year, BioWare has spent the last decade Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: The Old Republic — three stable, successful RPG franchises that have made the studio one of the biggest names in the genre. Anthem seems like a huge change of pace from the narrative driven RPGs that BioWare is known for. And given the implied scope of the game, it could very well put all three of Bioware’s franchises will be on the back burner for the foreseeable future.

Crytek, the studio behind the Crysis series, showed off Hunt: Showdown, a game that we learned in May had been resurrected from the ashes of Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age. Since we last saw it three years ago, the game has been completely retooled. Previously, it was a fairly rote zombie horde fest (basically a Left 4 Dead knock off). Now, Hunt: Showdown is a complex and eerie PvP title that pits two teams against one another. Maps are riddled with zombies, and each team must evade or kill them while searching for each other, as well as demonic targets. Showdown is much more tactical than its previous identity, as once you die, your character is gone from the game forever.

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Lastly, at Ubisoft, two established franchise showed off major course corrections. Assassin’s Creed Origins shakes up the decade-old series’ combat, exploration, and inventory management. Ubisoft’s open-world racing game, The Crew 2, will abandon the crime story from the original, essentially rebooting the franchise. And instead of just street races, The Crew 2 emphasizes all forms of motorized travel, including boats and planes.

Developers are finally shipping their long-awaited games

Video games, no matter the size, take time to make, more than the average player probably realizes. Still, it’s no fun when it seems as if a game you’ve been looking forward to has dropped into development limbo, with no word as to whether it will ever come out. Thankfully, a positive trend from this year’s E3 was that a trio of highly anticipated games that experienced long development cycles will arrive before the calendar year changes.

Cuphead, the sidescrolling indie title with an incredible 1930s cartoon-style animation, launches September 29. Developed by Studio MDHR, Cuphead was originally announced at E3 2014, and we’ve had our eyes on it ever since.

Crackdown 3 was also announced at E3 2014. The third game in Microsoft’s over-the-top GTA style franchise has suffered delays ever since, which may have been caused likely by its ambitious “everything you see is destructible” game mode. Delays are a thing of the past now for the game, though, as Crackdown 3 lands on Xbox One and PC November 7.

Fortnite, a co-op survival game that tasks players with building sustainable structures to ward off monsters, hits Early Access July 25. While not technically an official release date, Fortnite has been announced and re-announced multiple times since Epic Games unveiled the project at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards.

Some small-scale hits are getting a shot at building a franchise

Indie games are typically one offs, whereas AAA studios like to build brands through franchises. At E3 2017, however, we learned of followups to two recent, heralded indie games.

Moon Studios announced Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a sequel to its dazzling 2015 game Ori and the Blind Forest. And while technically a prequel, Life is Strange: Before the Storm will chronicle the events leading up to Dontnod’s Life is Strange. The three episode arc was developed by Deck Nine, not Dontnod, but it’s nice to see that an intellectual property as different as Life is Strange has legs. Oh, and Dontnod is currently working on a proper Life is Strange sequel as well.

This new game franchise seems awfully familiar…

Like we mentioned before, video games aren’t made in a vacuum. New IPs often hark back to existing franchises in terms of mechanics, style, and even setting. At E3 2017, we saw an assortment of new franchises with noticeable ties to games we’ve played and loved, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

When Ubisoft revealed Skull and Bones, we had flashbacks to the surprisingly fun naval combat in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Anthem feels like BioWare and EA’s take on this online shooter that you may have heard of called Destiny. Like Destiny, Anthem focuses on the grind for new loot. We could also say that the setting reminds us of Horizon Zero Dawn, but it’s clear that Anthem looks to appeal to the Destiny crowd. And it looks great, so all is well.

When Code Vein was first teased by Bandai Namco, we instantly likened it to the Dark Souls series, which the studio publishes. Code Vein doesn’t look like Dark Souls — it has an anime art style and loads of vampires — but after seeing a little gameplay at E3, it’s apparent that Code Vein‘s methodical combat was indeed derived by the popular FromSoftware franchise.

Batman is DC, and Spider-Man is Marvel, so the two don’t coexist, but that doesn’t mean that their video games won’t be likened to one another. Insomniac’s upcoming Spider-Man was once again shown off at E3, and this time around, we got a better look at the gameplay. Whether or not Insomniac played the Batman: Arkham series, we don’t know, but some of Spidey’s moves, particularly his “perch” and stealth abilities, feel like nod directly to Rocksteady’s take on the Caped Crusader.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a weird pairing, we know, but what’s even more strange is how closely its combat mechanics hew to the modern XCOM franchise. The combat arena, which sets up Mario and pals (including Rabbids dressed as Mario and pals), looks and feels like a lighter take on the very intense XCOM games. Needless to say, we’re excited that Mario + Rabbids is a thing.

When Ubisoft revealed Skull and Bones, we had flashbacks to the surprisingly fun naval combat in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Ubisoft obviously took notice that Assassin’s Creed fans enjoyed that aspect of Black Flag, and decided to ratchet up the pace while turning the experience into a full game.

Slow-motion aiming in mid-air is officially a thing

Earlier this year, Horizon Zero Dawn impressed us on nearly every level. One minor gameplay mechanic, the ability to slow down time when aiming in mid-air, was just one of the many neat mechanics featured. While Horizon certainly wasn’t the first to include such mechanics, it appears that numerous other studios also fancied slow-mo aiming.

At E3 2017, we saw at least four games with a similar slow-mo mechanic — Assassin’s Creed Origins, The Darwin Project, Spider-Man, and Extinction. Slow motion is cool and all, but it’s also apparently a new trend.

What’s with all the bears?

There were bears everywhere at E3. Yes, bears. There were bears on stage and bears in games. From Just Dance panda, to the titular bear in indie game Disco Bear, E3 was bear-y furry this year. We know you need to read more about this, so we did the responsible thing and ranked the bears of E3.

People go bananas when Nintendo simply says a few words

Nintendo showed some great games at E3 this year. Super Mario Odyssey impressed us enough to earn our award for “best of show.” Despite this, the publisher’s biggest news never made it to the show floor. In fact, the games fans seemed most excited for this weren’t even showed. Nintendo may be the only studio that can “reveal” a project without any footage or even a trailer, and create pandemonium.

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During its Spotlight event on the first day of the show, Nintendo said the three little words that every fan has been dying to hear — Metroid Prime 4 — and everyone went nuts. Accompanied by a brief teaser trailer that simply showed some stars in space and the logo, that was enough. Metroid fans had been waiting for that moment for nearly a decade, so we understand. The mere announcement that developer Game Freak would eventually release a Pokémon RPG on the Switch basically stole the show.

Maybe Nintendo shouldn’t even show game trailers anymore. Maybe it should just provide a list of games on the horizon and let its fans do all the talking.

Press conferences? More like trailer roundups!

As an overall trend, the major press conferences are moving more and more away from formal, investor-facing presentations, and shifting toward a series of trailers, with barely anything in between. Microsoft’s showcase, in which it displayed 42 games, had little commentary in between. Sony’s press conference was practically a movie, and Bethesda and Nintendo also had trailer heavy showings. While Ubisoft‘s and EA‘s pressers had more lengthy periods of presenters on stage, there’s no denying that E3 2017 focused more on showing than telling.

VR games are still in the background

While it’s still up for debate whether VR is the natural evolution for the industry at large, at E3 2017, VR certainly didn’t receive as much attention as we expected. At Microsoft’s conference, in which some thought there would be a mention of VR support for Xbox One X, the letters “VR” were not uttered a single time. Sure, Bethesda showed Doom VFR and Fallout 4 VR, and Sony debuted The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, there was a general lack of “big” VR games. Those three, the biggest ones at E3, are all existing games for traditional platforms. We aren’t saying VR is a fad, but it may be a little while before the technology draws enough players to take center stage at E3.

#IFTTT #Feedly #hmmm #business

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