#or just watch a playthrough or the cutscenes on youtube

[dravidious]

You're pretty damn cool

I have a ton of untouched games in my steam library, yet I'm currently playing through my old copy of Fossil Fighters Champions, and it's fucking bonkers. This game has the most ridiculous plot points. In one scene a digging robot is breaking through a rock, but it starts running out of battery, so the main character starts trying to help (to no effect), and the robot is like "You are attempting to assist me? Thank you sir or madam. I now know why it is that humans smile. Battery at 100%, diggingdiggingdiggingdigging-" and that's just A THING that happens with no explanation. That robot wasn't even hinted to be sapient at all until that moment, and no one is like "holy fuck the digging robot has emotions" or anything, it just happens. And those kinds of moments are all over the game. This game does the most absurd things ever, I love it so much.

[ezlo-x]

For shits and giggles i should record myself and actually replay and 100% totk and like commentate ig idk

[sonknuxadow]

did you hear that they just made a new law where before saying anything about thinking a sonic game is bad you are now required to play through the game in its entirety . if you break it you will explode on the spot btw

[chibelial]

I made a gif of Mr Bones earlier for a stupid post and now I can’t stop thinking about the absolutely insane level of charm that game has, like it should have a cult following on this gods forsaken site. With all my heart and soul, I beseech thee, watch this cutscene from Mr Bones (Sega Saturn) and tell me you aren’t both charmed and chilled to the bone, yeah I made a pun and you won’t even be mad if you have the courage to click below

[quietplace26]

'Soulmate-esque au where certain Earthlings are drawn to certain Teyvatians for various reasons' - @arn9tails

Once again, thank you @arn9tails for another lovely idea for your Genshin au~

Warnings: OCness, cringe, mentions of head wound and blood as MC gets hurt but she's fine.

Soulmate au. Where your Soulmate's voice can resonate with your soul mark over your heart, signaling that they were your soulmate. These types of soul mates are call Soul-Hearts

Zhongli

To be honest, MC didn't have much interest on Genshin Impact when it first came out.

It was just something that existed and that was that.

But then she heard of the next nation that had been released. A nation called Liyue, and for the hell of it, MC decided to watch some clips on YouTube about it.

Liyue was pretty, with its clear Chinese roots and lore. And the Archon was apparently based on a eastern Dragon? Cool!

Feeling invested now, MC watch through various gamers playthrough of Liyue, sucking up the story and such, but one thing oddly stood out...

Rex Lapis. Something about that name... resonated with her. It made MC's Soulmate mark throb over her heart... But that- no, she was overthinking-

MC actually screams when she sees the Geo Archon's body fall out the sky and crash to the ground during the Rite of Descension cutscene.

The whole thing messed with her emotions, made her cry. Her Soulmate mark burned, her HEART burned... before settling down again.

What... What happened?

MC grips her hand were her Soulmate mark was, checking it to see if was still there. It was... But that didn't explain the emotional pain you felt when a game character died!

It wasn't like someone who wasn't real was your soulmate... Right?

MC decides to ignore what happened and continue watching the game play out...

Only she couldn't ignore it any longer when a new handsome character was introduced called Zhongli.

An odd, but mysterious consultant at, of all things, a funeral Parlor?

The more MC heard this man talk in game, went on his fetch quests, and enjoyed his company, the more her soul mark pulsed...

MC's mood actually drops when Zhongli left the Traveler to finish their quest... Really, what was wrong with her?!

One of her hands grips her shirt, rubbing the area where her heart and soulmate mark was.

Glaring down at the area, MC makes a note to make an appointment with soulmate specialist to have hers checked out cause why was it acting like this?

Eventually, MC watches the whole Liyue arc, which leads her to eventually learning Zhongli was actually Rex Lapis, Morax, or better known as Liyue's Geo Archon.

...The same one she randomly cried for earlier in the story because her soulmate mark acted up.

MC shuts her computer off then. She... She needed some air...

...MC never did gather up the nerve to go to the soulmate specialist. It... She didn't know why, but she just didn't.

Maybe she didn't want to be look at like so weirdo for having her soulmate mark act up because of a video game character...

Also... She started Genshin up in her PC. And would you look at that, Zhongli was on one of the current banners...

MC even got lucky and pulled both the Geo Archon and his weapon in only one 10 pull each.

She immediately starts to grind him up and begins to play Genshin for real.

...Cue a few years later, and it's after the 5.5 update. With a level 90 Zhongli as her main, who was also at bond level 10, MC was obsessed with him.

Over the years she also stopped trying to deny it the truth... That Zhongli was apparently her soulmate.

It was something that was never heard of before. A video game character, a fictional character, being a real person's soulmate. Absolute garbage!

...or at least that's what MC used to think in the beginning.

She finally gave up denying it when she happened to meet Zhongli's voice actor at a con a year or so ago.

Unlike when Zhongli talk in game, Keith Silverstein didn't make her soulmate mark react. Which was honestly fine as the man was married to his own soulmate, but still-

... MC's Soulmate, her other half... Was a video game character. He wasn't real and yet this god was her other half...

When it finally truly hits her, MC cried. She cried long and hard.

It wasn't fair... Why did this have to happen to her?! She wanted her Soul-Heart...

But even so... She never told anyone, making up the excuse that she wasn't interested in soulmate which was fine as not everyone could find their destined partner.

But it hurts. She knew who her other half was but couldn't do a thing about it. He was untouchable.

And she was going to have to live with these facts for the rest of her lonely life...

...Or at least, that's what she originally thought as before an odd phenomenon happens and shakes the foundation of earth itself.

Out of the blue, the Seven nations of Teyvat literally spawn into existence on earth!

And if things couldn't get even more insane... It turns out the size difference between Teyvatians and Earthlings were very much different...

Those from the Seven nations were absolute giants! Why were they so big?! In the game it never showed them being giants!

Was it because Teyvat had magic and it effects the humans and the environment there differently?

MC wasn't sure. All she could think about is that her soulmate was real now. He was in her world!

...And even still, so very far out of her reach.

Because come on! Why would Zhongli, Rex Lapis, Morax, the God of Contracts himself, and the Geo Archon, ever want a weak, tiny earthling soulmate?

With these thoughts MC was honestly thinking of keeping quiet but then there's word that a conference was going to be held in her country in a few days.

Apparently, a few of Teyvat's Gods were coming to meet with world leaders there, and Zhongli would be one of them.

MC doesn't think. She grabs her keys and wallet and runs out her house and starts her car...

"...Maybe this was a bad idea..."

MC glances around timidly as she tries to fight through the crowd of curious people surrounding the sports stadium the world's officials were using as a meeting ground with the Teyvatians.

It was the only place big enough where the once video game character could stand at full height...

Currently MC was in the stands trying to get to the lower levels closer to the field so she could actually have a clear view of the conference... and Zhongli.

The closer she got, the more her soul mark burned as the Geo Archon's voice rumbled through the air as he talked with the earthling political leaders.

Her body felt on fire! She wanted to scream and shout that she was here! That she was his soulmate, but both the crowd around her and her growing anxiety was stopping her...

At this point she was considering giving up and going home when bumps into the wrong person, who then shoves her away violently... and she falls.

MC's panicked scream echos around the stadium as she lands awkwardly and harshly on the ground, roughly smacking her head against the hard concrete. As she curls up into a ball of embarrassment and pain, she never notices how the whole place grew eerily quiet... and that earth shaking footsteps start walking over to MC's part of the stand.

MC, who was futilely fighting down the urge to cry as her head began to ache horribly, barely noticed the people around her scrambling away from her curled up form in a panic. But she does notice her soul mark was absolutely blazing on her chest now!

So, as she finally gathers the strength to lift her head, a shadow covers her.

A massive shadow that shallows her whole form.

Blinking tears away from her eyes, MC glances up in confusion, only to freeze as her gaze meets a pair of familiar amber colored eyes that glowed gold every now and then.

Zhongli...

MC tries to stand but immediately starts swaying as her vision blurs. She feels something drip down her face... is that blood? Why was she bleeding? Did she really hit her head that hard? Did she have a concu-

Large, gloved hands quickly, but oh so gently surround MC as her legs gave out from under her, and lifts her carefully up from the ground, bringing her up to Zhongli's face.

Wow... He was even MORE handsome now he wasn't a video game character. Truly he wasn't being fair to MC's poor little heart...

Hm... why was he frowning like that? And why was the world spinning? Ugh... Her head hurts so much...

"H-hurts... Soul-Heart... I-it hurts..."

In any other situation, it was rude to immediately call your Soulmate something like 'Soul-Heart' on first meeting, but MC was hurting, and she was scared.

She wanted her soulmate, HER Soul-Heart!

Choosing that perfect moment to black out from her definite concussion, she misses both the sight and feeling of the Geo Archon shivering at the sound of her voice and eyes widening in pure shock, then both understanding and delight, and then finally, rage.

"...Tell me,"

Elemental energy crackles around the stadium then, making the other Archons stand on edge as particles of Geo energy began forming around Zhongli as he protectively held MC's unconscious form.

He was sheading more and more of his human form. Looking less like the mysterious Funeral consultant and more like the War god he once was.

"Which one of you earthling mortals hurt MY 灵魂伴侣 (Soulmate)?"

Extra Notes

Zhongli thankfully didn't cause a mass Earthling massacre as Venti firmly reminds him that his Soul-Heart was hurt.

Venti: "Your Soul-Heart needs medical attention and YOU. Not you going off and smiting some earthling mortals for her, you Block-head."

And even then, it takes more firm coaxing from Venti to even pry MC from the now growling and more dragony Geo Archon's hands/claws.

Zhongli of course didn't trust any earthling healer with HIS soulmate and instead rushes to return back to Liyue despite the earthlings sputtering that the conference wasn't finished yet!

One quick visit to Bubu Pharmacy and Baizhu, and Zhongli sweeps a now healed and sleeping MC off to meet with the other Adepti, as not only did he need to introduce his new wife and Soulmate to his friends, but he also needed to ask Cloud Retainer a favor...

That favor basically being 'Hey, can you please shrink some clothes down for my new soulmate/wife? My thanks.'

And leaves the Adepti demanding what do you mean 'New wife/soulmate?!' Lord Rex Lapis-

MC would later wake up to not only being in a new place, in new clothes, but also realizing she had been sleeping on a shirtless Zhongli's chest!!!

The resounding squeak that erupts from his Soul-Heart's mouth, along with a blush that rivaled Jueyun Chilis, will forever live rent free in the Geo Archon's mind. His new wife was so adorable.

The Geo Archon would then gently pry small hands from his Soul-heart's face and tug her back over to original spot on his chest. Right where his own soul mark laid... over his heart.

Despite the sheer overwhelming feeling MC was feeling at the moment ('Oh my god I'm touching Geo daddy's chest-'), her own soul mark pushed her to be closer to her Soul-Heart.

She literally curls up over his heart, sighing as the first time in YEARS, since she first saw and heard Zhongli in Genshin Impact, the burning feeling she constantly felt from her soul mark settles and a proper Soulmate bond clicks together...

She knew the two of them, both she and Zhongli, had a LOT to talk about... but this man wasn't making things easy.

Not with the fact he was humming a soft tune, gently stroking a finger down her back, unknowingly rubbing possessively over the spot on her new clothes that had the GEO symbol on it and starts to drift back to sleep.

Ah... but she couldn't. Not yet.

Maybe it was rush of having a now COMPLETE soul bound, or maybe she was still tired and loopy from her near concussion, but MC felt oddly brave. She HAD to do this.

MC yawns sleepily, lifting her head enough to gaze at Zhongli's face before crawling upwards. She ignores his curious look as the God silently helps her on her mission, cradling her small form with one hand.

Once close enough to his face, she places a lazy kiss to his cheek, causing him to freeze... and he immediately starts purring! The fanfics were right! He does purr! And, oh, his eyes are dilating like a cat as well! He was happy!

She, a run of the mill earthling human, nothing special about her at all, was making Zhongli HAPPY!

MC giggles when Zhongli refused to let her move after that, letting the massive God nuzzle his cheek against her tiny body as he purrs out words. She was pretty sure it was the Liyuian equivalent of Chinese but couldn't make head or tails of, however they sounded nice in her ears...

But then he switches back to English, which MC faintly guesses is Mondstadt's own version of English, and he murmurs,

"Mine. My Soulmate. MY Soul-Heart. Finally, you are here with me... I waited for you for a very, VERY long time..."

And those words alone proved to her that she was going to be ok.

[zombie-bait]

CW: consent issues, bodily autonomy, SA, Astarion lore

ok so the Astarion act 2 hug scene in my playthrough was delightful but watching a vid of the other outcomes afterwards absolutely DESTROYED me!!!! I feel like I haven’t seen a lot of references to these lines of dialogue (for obvious reasons, I don’t think a lot of ppl pick that line of questioning cuz its very cruel) but maybe they are discussed frequently and I’m just not super active in the fandom on here. Either way, Neil’s delivery of this was heartbreaking and I can’t stop thinking about it

These lines really work to re-contextualize so much of his behaviour up to that point, I would argue more than some of the sweet ones do if you respond positively to him. There’s a terrifying amount of honesty in some of these lines. He’s just told you how fucked up his relationship with sexuality has been for the past 2 centuries and it’s almost like he’s battling between still trying to appease you and going “but didn’t you just hear what I said? This isn’t want I want” and trying to explain himself further because maybe then someone will finally get it.

And the scene you can possibly get afterwards where you pressure him into sex is brutal. I’m so glad the game recognizes this as a really fucked up thing to do and if you pressure him then no matter what he’ll break up with you the morning after because he’s tired of being used. It’s definitely the saddest and quietest Astarion is up to that point in the game and it’s such a huge contrast to his normal performative personality.

Astarion just sitting silently after having spent an entire night disassociating while being pressured for sex IMMEDIATELY after explaining how uncomfortable that makes him to the first person he kinda cared about in 200 years is insane and I almost can’t believe that’s a possible outcome in the game. All my screenshots were from this very helpful youtube clip btw:

I highly recommend scrolling through that video if you want extra insight on him as a character, I feel there are a lot of important and emotional pieces of dialogue for Astarion that are hidden behind cruel/shitty Tav choices so a lot of ppl may not end up seeing them. I love BG3 but this is one of the first cutscenes that’s really effected me emotionally, both the normal gentle version I got to see in my own playthrough and the cold cruel versions you can find on youtube.

[burr-ell]

If it's alright, can I ask why you like the Golden Deer house more than the Blue Lions or Black Eagle houses? Like, what caught your eye about them over everyone else?

So I actually got into FE3H through a friend of mine, @dar-draws, who I already knew through mutual good taste (Dickkory), and fanarts like this one, this one, and this one plus the way she talked about Claude and Claudeleth caught my attention. I watched a couple playthroughs of the Golden Deer route on YouTube and absolutely fell in love (before finally getting a switch just to play it myself, for which I was violently bullied here). So like, I was already going into the game biased, which is part of why when I got it I went ahead and played through Golden Deer before doing all the other routes in turn; it was genuinely important to me to personally see all sides of the story. But even as I've played the other routes and replayed SS and AM and gained even more of an appreciation for them, I'm still always sort of drawn back to VW and the Deer.

I think it's ultimately vibes-based, but I'll try to articulate it. I'm not really a big fan of "cozy" sorts of games—I've played and enjoyed ACNH, but the things I most enjoyed about that game were finding things to do and goals to complete, like completing the main quest line or filling up the museum. So it's not so much that I find the Golden Deer to be cozy so much as adventurous. They're not inherently personally invested in the conflicts of White Clouds (they don't know Lord Lonato or Miklan, and their house leader isn't [gestures generally]), but they're also not just ping-ponging through the story. They go through the same events as the other two houses, but they're coming at it from more of an outsider's perspective, and their choice to get involved and react and respond feels more active.

The Deer also don't have any real reason to follow Claude, either, and in the early game they make sure he knows it; none of them are really all that concerned that they're speaking to the future Grand Duke of their country. Lysithea snaps at him, Leonie shoots the breeze with him, Raphael is jovial with him, Lorenz undercuts him, Hilda is blase with him, Marianne tries not to talk to him, and Ignatz gets into theological debates with him. Over the course of the game, they develop the same loyalty to Claude that the other house members already have for their leaders almost by default, and it feels a lot more earned because we see it happen. And that in turn makes scenes like the one at Myrddin, where Claude reveals his true goal of opening the border with Almyra and embracing foreign cultures and the other Deer are surprised but trust Claude and follow his lead, that much more satisfying.

I was a little surprised, when I played through the other three routes, that aside from the designated talking-with-the-cast scenes every route gets, the characters who aren't house leaders or retainers don't really have all that much to do in the story. On Verdant Wind, you pretty consistently have members of the Golden Deer appearing in other cutscenes and giving their two cents; there's even a unique scene where Lysithea realizes there's something up with the Empire's mages because of her backstory and approaches Claude and Byleth about it. It's nothing too obtrusive—they do still have to accommodate the potential for character death—but it's those small details that make a difference to me. Every house has a particular dynamic with odd silly quirks, but the Deer being just that little bit more integrated into the story really helps sell the idea that they belong here and they're making this story their own.

There's also the matter of where specifically their adventure takes them. I respect the choice to focus on Dimitri in Azure Moon, because it does handle his character and arc very well and I think also does the other Lions justice (with the exception of Dedue), but it's also focused largely on Dimitri's personal arc and the Tragedy of Duscur and doesn't really follow through on a lot of the events of White Clouds. (Which some Blue Lions stans have been okay with because they think the Agarthans are bad villains, which...that's valid, but stories still have to like, address plot elements they set up.) Verdant Wind, by contrast, does actually pull back and try to figure out the real impetus behind the whole conflict, and it ends with them beginning to properly lay Fodlan's true problems to rest.

So while the route isn't flawless and I do think there are issues with how characters are written that are part of larger trends within the game and the series as a whole, there's a very specific kind of fantasy adventure energy with the Golden Deer that I enjoy. I think the stories I'm most drawn to are the ones that keep their eyes on a specific goal but still make you feel like the characters would bring that same energy to goofing around with each other, and I think that's something Verdant Wind does very well.

[marvelhead17]

Baldur's Gate 3 Dribble

Do any of my mutuals play? This game is absolutely addictive, especially when trying to get certain outcomes. If Marvel had come out with anything similar I would have sold my soul for it probably.

In the last week and a half I've played another 70+ hours so I have 389+ hours and do you know how many playthroughs I've completed? Just the one. Only have 36/54 achievements. Some people have played 1500 hours and said they've discovered new things along the way (whether exaggerating or because they've played since it's earlier phases, it's constantly getting patch updates and new content).

I've got another campaign going that is nearly there, but I've been into character creation again and UGH it's just so fun to do the stuff for the Emerald Grove in Act 1.

But also, there so many companions whether you romance them or not, just to do their quests sometimes. And then you can still get good and bad endings for EACH?

Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, Wyll (these first ones are the main ones that you can even play yourself and get g/b endings for), and then Halsin, Jaheira, and Minsc can join you later. I don't know if the last 2 on the list are romanceable, but there are still bad characters you can have that I haven't explored yet.

Gushing about my Tavs below, and possibly spoilers for anyone who hasn't gone beyond Act 1 if you are playing, so just be aware.

In my first playthrough it was Karlach that I romanced, gods what a beautiful Devil. My character is a wood half-elf barbarian named Narriel. And she joined Karlach in Avernus when she had to return, so they look so badass in leather and everything!

Second playthrough, the beefcake and 'my heart' Halsin (no I did not do him in bear form, as tempting as it was, maybe on another run). I stuck with Narriel, (it's my fave name for a fantasy character okay?) as a wood half-elf cleric. This campaign is nearly there and I hate to see it go.

Third playthrough (I tried Astarian with another Tav but lord is that man difficult to please unless you are playing a bad guy) is with Gale. They are a non-binary wizard wood half-elf named Phoenix and they are stunning. I've just arrived in Baldur's Gate and so the final quests begin.

Fourth, I've started a Durge (Dark Urge) Playthrough, a White Dragonborn named Minerva, and it's going good so far for her (I'm not accepting The Urge, because I'm a simp for these characters and they don't like you doing bad shit). I've only completed the Grove so there is much more to go. I'm not quite sure who to romance yet, but I like that idea of Halsin saving her.

Possibly restarting Morgan's story (again, which sucks cause I played nearly 70 hours, realised Astarion was never gonna make a move based on a missing cutscene in Act 1, and now dedicated another 8 hours just to be frustrated) to go for Shadowheart instead, as being a tiefling makes it impossibly difficult for Act 1 to please Astarian without going against your own race, like damn. But also she's not that dark and Shadowheart is so easy to please, in most of my playthroughs she's tried to come on to me in the beginning, so I see how she was the most romanced.

Made a bard named Callon, he is (surprise) a wood half-elf who is starting off with the Lute. Going for Wyll the Blade of Frontiers because I watched Neil Newbon (Astarian's actor) play BG3 and invited the actor to speak about him, and it made me want to try! It's been adorable so far and I'm barely in it yet.

Made a character for fun named Nixie (based off of the All for One DnD YouTube series by Deerstalker Pictures), who is a pink tiefling sorcerer that loves casting firespells and is mischievous. We'll see where she takes us, but without that in mind I've decided to ignore her playthrough so far haha.

That leaves us with Lae'zel who I haven't decided a character for just yet, and Astarion who I need to reconsider for. As well as Minthara? I'm not sure what other companions can be romanced that aren't in the initial party, all I know is Minthara is easy for a Durge playthrough. I also think there was a possibility with Mizora? I don't know.

Send help.

[ngc-5194]

yknow i could very easily accept someone not liking the mobile kh games if people actually gave... understandable reasons??

mostly i've heard that they're 'inaccesable'. which. they're in general more accessable since the console they run on is a phone, a device more people have than a ps4. though, granted, it is the offline version of both games only.

however, if you don't have a phone, have limited space on your phone, or are uninterested in a mostly unplayable game, all of which are understandable, there are cutscene compilations (ux (story important, all), dr) available on youtube too!

if the lots of reading is the issue then there is a completely dubbed version of the cutscenes of ux and you can easily find voiced playthroughs of both union x and dark road on youtube as well.

(for instance, here is a playthrough of dark road that i watched as my phone needed repairs by the time i had caught up with the series enough to move onto khdr. but, of course, there are many more options if you simply search up 'kingdom hearts [dark road/union x] playthrough' on youtube. find whichever one suits the kind of videos you like to watch best!)

if you don't have the time to sit through all of the cutscenes, there are summaries also avaliable! here is a video one for union x, and though unfortunately i can't find a similar one for dark road, it is also always acceptable to just read the wiki section on the story of the game! (here is the union x wiki section as well)

the other major complaint i've heard is that it's 'too confusing' or that the story 'doesn't make sense in parts'.

to which i first must ask, what part of kingdom hearts does make sense to you then? many many signifigant, heavily important parts of this series can be the most mind boggling things you have ever read or heard. so much so that we are known as the fans of that overly complex and insane disney game. that is what we are known for!!

and more to an actual point, there are many many people out there in this fandom who would be thrilled to talk to you about parts of the plot you found confusing. who have posts pages and pages long on minute details.

we are all fans of this weird ass game series and we all can. i don't know. help each other, newcomers and people who have been here awhile alike. us fans who like the mobile games are no different. we are willing to share and help and explain anything you need.

and as for the take that the mobile games are 'unimportant'.

strelitzia, someone deeply important to marluxia, larxene, and ventus' backstories, is seemingly implied to be one of the main characters in kh4 and if you have no knowledge of union x, then you likely have zero idea who she is.

the foretellers and the master of masters are being set up as potential villians in the next arc of the series. all of these characters were introduced in union x, four years before back cover released. and while yes, back cover gives the perspective of the foretellers more while union x is from the eyes of the keykids, there are many interactions with the foretellers in union x, beyond the scope of back cover, that are deeply important to the plot and establishment of their characters.

while yes, dark road has drastically less set up for the future in it, as all of the characters featured are now dead, it gives a lot of depth to xehanort and eraqus both. eraqus' behaviours and motivations are given reason—not necessarily morally good ones, and certainly not ones that always provide justification for his actions, but actual fully defined reasons for it all.

as it has always been with kh, every game is important to understand the story. you couldn't simply play kh1 kh2 and kh3 and expect to understand everything, and you can not expect to understand everything if you don't at least know surface level of the stories of the mobile games too.

you do not have to play them yourself. they do not have to be your favourite games in the series. if you are reading this and you hate them, you can stay not liking them even for all i care.

but you have to accept that they are important to the plot of the series. that they can not simply be ignored if you want to grasp the entire story of kingdom hearts.

[ninjapotatohead]

personally if the story sucks I don’t feel like to keep playing, I kinda keep playing a game because I want to know what happens next and I think good stories impacted me more as a person then good gameplay

It literally doesn't matter if the story is the most spectacular thing in the universe; it utterly fails as a game if the gameplay is shit.

If you're playing a shit game for the story, you can get an infinitely better experience bu just watching a playthrough or a cutscene compilation on YouTube, and that doesn't bode well for the game as a whole.

[sprout-fics]

i’ve been following you for a while now and i think i’m finally going to cave and get invested in cod… is there anything you’d recommend? with which game to get started? i’ll watch it on youtube most likely but i NEEEED to know the lore

I made a quick and dirty intro to CoD post a while back! Though it's just an overview (and was written prior to MWIII) it might be a good place to get started. Personally I recommend starting with this playthrough of MWI/MW2019 before moving on to MWII, which is where most folks hopped aboard. I find veteran/no damage playthroughs really play well to the realism of the series.

The great thing about watching the games is that they're a lot like watching an action movie. The graphics are really good and the plotlines are interesting and engaging. (Except for MWIII, we don't talk about that)

It's also worth watching the original games because in some cases they're even better than the reboots.

Oh- and I will admit to not being well read up on all the warzone cutscenes and such that connect the games, as well as other games like Black Ops and such. But that's what the wiki is for!

[governmentintelligence]

less a theory and more drawing connections

i literally dont know whats compelling me to make this post, but i was watching the game theory on indigo park/uniquegeese's reaction to the game theory on indigo park, and when unique mentioned that there's stuff people haven't caught on to or mentioned....

spoilers, i guess? and i have links to all the timestamps in youtube videos im using linked on the images themselves.

I thought a bit about the lloyd's limo's sign that's in storage. and the lloyd statue that's in storage.

(ID: screenshot from Youtube of backstage space Mane Stage in Indigo Park, with gold statue of Lloyd amids storage boxes with his hand outstretched and holding a microphone)

the lloyd statue very clearly looks like it used to be where rambley is now. holding isaac indigo's hand at the entrance.

that implies that the rambley statue isn't the original, and that lloyd used to be the one holding isaac's hand.

(ID: screenshot from Youtube playthrough showing golden statue of Isaac Indigo holding Rambley the Ractoon's hand and waving his other, mimicing the Disney partner's statue)

similarly, in the intro cut scene historical footage of isaac on the park's opening day, a mural of lloyd is on the wall at the entrance. when the player character visits the park, the mural in that location is of rambley.

you can really see it highlighted in this screenshot from the intro scene, as the camera zooms out from the historical footage and shows the present day indigo park website.

(ID: screenshot from Youtube playthrough of intro cutscene. Two monitors sit on desk, one showing black and white footage of Isaac Indigo speaking in front of Indigo Park's entrance on opening day, with Lloyd mural behind him. Second monitor shows website for booking Indigo Park stay with an image of the park's entrance on the website, showing that the mural behind Isaac now has Rambley.)

now, there are a few other allusions to rambley having taken over after lloyd. the painting of them both shaking hands is really reminiscent of the painting in disney's winnie the pooh ride, showing owl shaking hands with mr toad while mr toad passes along the deed to the ride. that painting is an allusion to how the winnie the pooh ride replaced the ride "mr toad's wild ride," so passing the deed is literally passing along the baton.

another is the player character's comment when you view the lloyd plush — "I feel like as a kid, Indigo used Lloyd a lot more."

what i feel is more foreshadowing to why the change between lloyd and rambley was made, however, comes from this sign that's also in the mane stage's backstage. it's sideways and the screengrab isn't the best, but it reads "Lloyd's Limos".

(ID: screenshot from Youtube playthrough, where a dirty sign reading "Lloyd's Limos" can be read between the bars of a metal frame shelf)

the idea of a limo ride immediately reminded me of Disney's California Adventure's infamous Superstar Limo which, to make a long story short, sucked ass. it was such a monumental failure of a ride for quite a few reasons and i'd recommend Defunctland's video on why it all went tits up, but the tl;dr for our purposes is just that it sucked. it was not received well by park attendees and was closed in less than a year after opening.

the comparison makes me really curious to know just what kind of ride lloyd's limos was, but knowing that lloyd had a ride that then flopped feels as if he was the main mascot until he flopped. similar to superstar limo, the entirety of california adventures was received pretty poorly upon opening.

maybe a similar expansion or rebranding was done at indigo park, while lloyd was losing popularity, and that's what prompted the switch? and maybe there's now a return to retro happening for indigo fans, as suggested by the retro lloyd plush (but not of other characters)?

either way, i feel like i haven't seen a lot of people point out the Lloyd's Limos sign and its potential ties to the old Superstar Limo ride, but i do feel like that's hugely intentional. same as the handshake painting's clear nod forward the owl and mr toad painting at the parks. im interested in seeing how these similarities might be foreshadowing or otherwise connected to the lore!!

[ejthenobody]

A Random Rambly Thought About Hi-Fi Rush.

Sooooo while I haven't been able to play the game at all lately due to having a dead laptop that I need to get a job to pay to fix, I've been looking at LPs and whatnot of Hi-Fi Rush as the next best thing, daydreaming about what I'll do for my own Youtube videos on the game and my quest for 100% completion. Due to watching other people play the game I've ran into this fun little thought about it from a few playthroughs:

(Warning for possible spoilers for Hi-Fi Rush, go play it if you haven't)

Chai's trash guitar/"junker", as I like to call it, isn't actually becoming a guitar in the moments we see it transforming during a cutscene. That is purely in his head due to Chai being kind of delusional about his dreams of becoming a rockstar.

Now, I think this interpretation is wrong, BUT I wanna ramble about it anyway just because.

First and most boring reason why I think it's wrong is because, well, it's just the tone of Hi-Fi Rush's world and story. Chai's whacking stick becoming an actual guitar whenever he's, *IN THE ZONE*, is not the most absurd thing we see in the game and is fully believable in comparison to people like Roquefort or Kale's whole plan with Spectra. This is a slightly fantastical, bright and colorful world with super advanced technology and a main character whose sick-nasty powers are coming from an MP3 player mistakenly embedded in his chest, and if you've gotten to the point of asking if that guitar-shaped whacking stick is actually becoming a guitar or not, then you likely won't care anymore within the next ten seconds when he takes that guitar and smashes a giant robot's face in with it.

Secondly and from a more interesting angle, I think there's enough evidence within Hi-Fi Rush's story and gameplay that points to the idea that Chai's junker is actually transforming in the moments we see it doing so.

Like I mentioned earlier, Chai's guitar only seems to transform whenever he's really feeling it; whenever he's at the top of his game; whenever we're going so hard that we're getting S ranks like it's as easy as breathing. In gameplay, we see this as being a feature of regular combat, where Chai's junker will transform into a proper guitar when we're doing well. In cutscenes, we always see Chai's junker transform with this very specific effect, where it seemingly starts charging with this blue energy aura before it then shifts into a guitar and the aura quickly fades. We only see this during moments when Chai is likely feeling extremely confident, A.K.A. when he's literally delivering the final blows to every single boss. It's during the final boss fight with Kale himself we see something that clearly shows the guitar is actually a guitar directly after Kale is defeated. It's a brief moment where Chai drops the guitar on the ground and it doesn't break apart or revert back to the junker, it actually hits the ground like it should with a very distinctly not-pile-of-scrap-metal-hitting-the-floor sound.

Outside of all of that, in general, we're lead to believe that Chai's "musical robot powers" and the power boost they provide are very clear and very apparent to everybody, even if Chai's the only one moving to the beat and seeing the world as doing the same. He's noted as having a ton of firepower in comparison to everyone else by Macaron, with that one line about how, "If even Chai can't get through that wall, then we're out of luck," or however it goes. And while we're pointing out quotes, you can't forget Kale's, "All you're good at is hitting things with a guitar," line, which is another big point to the idea that Chai's whacking stick is actually becoming a guitar, since I doubt someone like Kale would be willing to call said bonking stick a guitar unless it was actually becoming one every now and then.

Okay, this is kinda random to say here at the bottom of all of that but I don't have much in the way of creative flow going on right now so coming up with an actual ending to all of that is kind of hard, buuuuuuuut: I think the thought of Chai's junker only transforming whenever he's feeling 700% confident is a fun, if unnecessary, headcanon as to why he's not using the Flying V Chai Custom in the ending cutscenes and instead has the Vandelay Custom Crimson Red. Because Chai isn't always at 700% confidence, and...Really no one is or can be, or at least should be. He's a cool dude but he definitely doesn't have his chest always puffed out, especially at the end of the game's story.

If the junker can only transform whenever he's at the peak of his game mentally, with all hype cylinders firing, then of course he can't use it as an actual guitar the rest of the time when he's just chilling out with the gang and practicing.

[aethershroud]

So "Sonadow Generations" huh

I decided to bite the bullet and watch a playthrough of it on YouTube. I was so scared they'd flub the landing after a year of near-perfect marketing. And it's finally out. I didn't get spoiled. So I decided to see how it all played out. My verdict?

...

THEY STUCK THE LANDING WE'RE SO BACK GUYS HOLY SHIT

Of course, it ain't perfect. I think there are a TON of missed opportunities with the story and some stages and despite the same tier of padding as the main game it's still pretty short. But man. I haven't felt this good about a Sonic project in a long time. I will happily admit the final cutscene (no spoilers, obviously) almost made me actually CRY. A SONIC GAME. Nearly made me cry. Fuck yeah, dude.

All I can say now is, God I hope we get proper DLC this time. Not just a pinball table. Give us more levels, Sonic Team! You can do it!

[randomthefox]

before the final event? What made you think that? "oooh he trusted her so soooon he wanted to help that evil girl because Sonic in Frontiers resembles IDW" ( slaps the living shit out of anyone who believes this shit ) HE DID NOT BELIEVE SHE WAS GOOD. SHE TOLD HIM TO FUCK OFF. AND WHEN HE DIDN'T, SHE ATTACKED HIM.

Have people just...not played the game??? Sage is telling to LEAVE. Sonic goes against her warning and she attacks. THAT'S NOT HIM BELIEVING SHE CAN TURN GOOD. That's like ignoring the warning of a guard infront of a palace. DUH.

Also, Sonic didn't know she made by Eggman. He thought she was some kind of spirit haunting the ruins.

Why are these people so dumb fhdskfsdkj

"Have these people just...not played the game???"

Indeed, they have not.

I can say with pretty reasonable confidence that whenever someone says something exceedingly stupid about any Sonic game, they haven't actually played it.

Watching some streamer playthrough of it doesn't count as playing it. Watching cutscenes on YouTube does not count as playing it.

Video games are an INTERACTIVE medium. You have to PLAY it.

I also find it hilarious the suggestion that Sonic would be inclined to give a little human looking girl the benefit of the doubt BECAUSE of the IDW comics, when humans don't exist in IDW =P and also this was IDW!Sonic's knee jerk reaction to meeting Belle

So Sonic being so patient with Sage in Frontiers is proof AGAINST the IDW comics being canon from where I'm sitting. If Sonic was acting like how he does in IDW in that game, he would have reacted to Sage with immediate and unwarranted hostility and treated her like shit until someone else twisted his arm.

Anyone trying to argue that there's any characterization or plot from the comics that acts as a backbone for the characterization in Frontiers is delusional and probably hasn't read the comics nor played the game. Sonic was patient with Sage because he has a soft spot for the ladies, and because he didn't know she had anything to do with Eggman.

And frankly he REALLY starts to run out of patience with her by the time the Cyber Corruption starts wearing him down.

[styrmwb]

I Beat ENA: Dream BBQ (for now)

I AM DRATULA

2025 might be the year I have played the most indie games, ever. I almost feel like I'm padding my "games beaten" list at this point.

Anyways: ENA. I remember watching the videos a while back, getting it in my recommended list on youtube, and I had two thoughts: 1. This is weird as shit what the fuck is going on; and 2: This feels like a video game

Well, lo and behold, a game is real! While I wouldn't say I was like, actively looking forward to it, I was quite surprised and happy to hear that it dropped, and it was something that I wanted to get my hands on, even after watching a friend play it. It's not a long experience, as it only took me a couple hours to beat it, and a little over 6 to 100% it, but it IS only the first of a few chapters.

WHAT is this (+ Gameplay)

You ever seen LSD: Dream Emulator? Imagine that, with quests, talkable NPCs, and an equally confusing story. That's what ENA is. I remember when I first watched the videos (I believe I first saw Extinction Party) my thoughts started at the egglikes Vinny Vinesauce used to play YEARS back, just very strange walking simulator, OCCASIONALLY interrupted by a CD-I cutscene; animation splayed over the 3D landscape. Playing Dream BBQ, it feels like just that. To make it more of a game, they also added in quests, and multiple paths, on top of just exploring the world and meeting the wacky characters. I think they successfully translated the feel of the videos into video game form, plus extra. Which is funny, cause the videos had video game feel. It's like a weird, reverse engineering or something. Reminds me of my favorite game: LEGO Prince of Persia: The Game. The video game based off the toy set based off the movie based off the video game.

Because of what the videos are, and how the video game managed to translate that, while the gameplay might be simple, it's EXACTLY what I expected, in a good way. The multiple paths and how they intersect, as well as the openness of the world leading to you Not necessarily having to start quests before you can progress them leads to quite a bit of replayability, which is only enhanced by the achievements and supporter edition collectables. Speaking of...

Bonus Content

There's a certain vibe Undertale has. You remember all of the odd secrets, like Gaster, or hallways that would only sometimes appear? That same vibe is what Dream BBQ's achievements and collectables give off in how they work. You're probably never going to get most of the achievements in a first, casual playthrough because of how WEIRD and SPECIFIC they are; and the collectables are usually hidden in very strange corners of the world, some that are a little more reasonable, others that are just like... WHY would you go there. For a game like this, it's perfect. Even if I got really frustrated at some of the parkour needed, or how some bits are just like "stare at the roof for 10 actual real life minutes". It's incredible what game devs can have players do with the promise of achievements. "Please jump off the edge of the map multiple times until a dog randomly appears" < statements generated by the absolutely insane

Beyond the Gameplay

I'm hesitant to just call this section "story", since I can't really do a deep dive in how the story was written or anything. ENA is a very artistic series, and the game is no different. It's not very... straightforward. It is, kinda in a way. It's enough for you to be able to follow everything to play the game. I'm not really sure exactly how to say it, but there's more than what's just said, and it's up to you to interpret it. Kinda like other indie projects that might get eaten up by Game Theory, there MIGHT be implied "lore?" behind everything, and other bits might be like more traditional art, where the meaning depends on the consumer (player in this case). That's part of the fun of the videos. That's part of the fun of the game.

The plot is centered around finding "THE BOSS". Many people exclaim they are THE BOSS, before being denied said title, and we learn to get to THE BOSS, we gotta find these genies to clear away the smoke blocking the island THE BOSS is on. I think that's as simple as I can make it. Chapter 1, which we have access to, is centered around finding one of what seems to be 3 genies. Here comes the part where it gets weirder. The genie is the bathroom. The bathroom has many lines where it sounds like a religious experience. There are people searching for the bathroom, which you need to create life to get to, but others go to a party known as the purge event where they turn into dog creatures and get eaten, where if you do this and take the wrong path the g-bathroom is dead. Make sense? No? Awesome. But there's meaning here! Even if I'm not smart enough to get all of it! When you reach the genie the right way, she gives you a desire. There is the correct option of clearing the smoke, but the others are asking for forgiveness, for happiness. And she speaks like a church chant. The bathroom has 2 stalls with a confessional window. The whole thing clearly is an allegory for like, seeking forgiveness, what people do to find god (the bathroom), how going down the wrong path LITERALLY makes it so you cannot get forgiveness. I'm not the person to really deep dive this, that's Game Theory's job, but there is something here for interpreting art, and that's kinda awesome. It's also why I can't really be traditional about talking about the story. Something I'm very interested to see if the next chapters expand on are the themes of war; how ENA seems to be connected to being an east Asian war veteran? The outfit, the intro seeming like a bombed village, some of the music, how everyone seems to absolutely hate her (even the genie saying she does not deserve forgiveness). There's something here for both in-universe lore, and what it artistically represents. Something about the horrors of war, something about the pain a soldier inflicts and what that does to them, as well as what others think of that. They're cooking something.

Very Strange Characters

Here's something I can be a little more confident on talking about. The cast of idiots this world is inhabited with. 70% of the joy of this game is walking around and talking to new weirdos. I won't talk about Everyone, cause that's... a lot. But I'll mention some of my favorites.

ENA is a different entity than the ones in the videos, being part salesperson and part "meanie"; but the base concept of the character remains and is still just as enjoyable. I really like her visual design, especially that strange "realistic" form; curious to see where they go with it.

Froggy is a very fun support character; mostly his voice acting and animation style is what gets me. He looks 90% smoother than anything else and it's slightly unsettling but in an awesome way. Can't wait to go get beers with him after work

DRATULA! 1: he's funny. I love how annoyed Froggy gets with his constant insistence that he is Dratula. 2: my mans is voiced by Vinny Vinesauce himself, and that's half the joy I get from this character

The fucking CD-I Shaman that lives inside the seal house is the best character in the game. His voice acting is outstanding, he's essentially a literal representation of what I think of when I think this series, and he's Quite Funny (as well as like, the only dude nice to ENA)

There is a secret character hidden behind a wall. A blue polygonal gorilla named Nonkey Jong; he has like, over 100 lines of dialogue, and an achievement if you read them all. He Talks Like This All The Time And It Is Very Funny His full name is very special, and his life story is fascinating.

I think the last character I really have any kind of large opinion on is Theodora, the gen[bathroom]ie. Such a cool representation of a godly figure, with her speaking greek in like a... church-y choir style? I have no idea what the word is and my light googling didn't help, but it really adds to that religious vibe. The creepily smooth animation when it shows her full statue form, with the hollow eyes is some of my favorite animation in the entire game.

All of the characters in this game are very creative, each with a (mostly) unique animation style, each speaking a different language; it's weird, it's enthralling, it's amazing.

Art and Music

I mean, as I've said, the art of this game, both literally and... educationally? interpretationally? metaphorically? is the most important part of the game. I'd say it IS the reason to play it. I feel like I've already pretty much said how special the visuals of the game are, but just to kinda summarize, I love the fusion of 3D and 2D, I love the wide variety of animation styles, the vastly different landscapes and textures used; it's a chaotic mishmash, and it works.

The music I believe is made by the same people that made the tracks for the videos, and their work is still very good. It's just as all over the place as the visuals are, yet still matches the vibes perfectly. I'm quite partial to the title screen, the music that plays as you climb up to the bathroom, the music that plays in Seal House that sounds like Zelda and increases the similarities, and the song that plays in the dying area post turning off the smoke (that's also a callback to the first video Auction Day)

All It Takes Is A Place And The Right Food

My 4th indie game in a year; what have I become?

This was a "simple" experience, but one I quite enjoyed. Honestly, the main complaint I had is I didn't think it was a Deltarune situation going in, and I was kinda sad it ended where it did. I'm excited for the rest of the game to be opened up. A good short walking simulator with lots to explore is good for the soul.

I'm glad that an actual video game was finally made; it feels like this was the inevitable direction with how playable the videos felt. I linked two of em up above, but also check out Temptation Stairway (the longest one) and Power of Potluck, the last two videos. You'll get the vibes of the game right by watching them, honestly.

10/10. A perfect playable representation of some very, very strange videos. I just wish more was available now.