#punisher review

[comicsiswild]

[watermelinoe]

Have you seen this post?

ivyblooms (dot) tumblr (dot) com/post/742518636794839040/ormondhsacker-randsexual-scifigrl47

It’s theories why men don’t write fic, and it’s got such a libfem take at the end, essentially saying: “Fic is written by marginalized groups in order to see themselves in canon, so cishet white males don’t need to write fic because canon already caters to them”

The observation is correct (female fandom is more creative than male fandom) but they come up with the wrong explanation bc it’s only “cishet white males” they’re willing to dunk on.

Gay men and MoC aren’t represented in most mainstream media either, but they aren’t the ones writing 300k fics to resolve this. So the differences between male and female fandom can’t be explained by the need to “see oneself in canon”. Creative fandom and fic especially is a majority-female hobby. But female writers aren’t trying to “see themselves in canon” either bc all they ever write about is fictional men. I’d say that women ACTUALLY write out of intense and often romantic passion for the (usually male) characters, which compels women to generate endless fanworks to satisfy their romantic ideals and numb the pain of their dull realities. Men also have dull realities, yet the fandom divide is purely male/female and the reason is money vs passion.

Women’s passion for fictional escape is so great that they’ll write a 300k fic saga for free if they have to. Do you honestly think any man capable of producing 300k words of creative writing would share it FOR FREE? No, he would try to publish it as an original novel to make money off his labor. Men aren’t socially conditioned to perform free labor like women. Women are conditioned to generate free resources for others while men hoard resources, only giving them away if something of equal or greater value is promised in return. That’s why YouTube (monetization) is male-dominated and they will never touch Ao3, because it’s illegal to make money off fic. It’s the one female-only space men aren’t interested in.

Men live by the motto “If you’re good at something never do it for free.” Whatever passion and creativity men possess comes second to their need for material reward. Women dominate fandom bc we value love and connection more than squeezing money out of every opportunity.

i don't even have anything to add to this bc i think you hit the nail on the head, it's not about "seeing yourself" in the work at all it's about intense passion for the work and the characters and the relationships, and male characters get much more love than female characters do! it's literally the urge to get out your beloved toys and put them in elaborate situations

[no1islost]

Here are the 12 books I read this year. Still trying to finish Blood Over Bright Haven before the year is done. About halfway there. My goal was 8 this year.

My thoughts below:

The Red Rising series lived up to its expectations, and surpassed it. The first book was kind of dull, but holy shit, Golden Son and Morning Star had my jaw on the ground. Actually NOT overrated. Will be starting Iron Gold in 2025.

Project Hail Mary felt so simple and so cliche and I get very agitated with all of the hype surrounding it. Like, it was not terrible, but oh my gosh, I like my sci-fi to be a bit more complex and challenging. It had the potential, but the dialogue sucked and the ending was trash. I’m also annoyed that it’s gonna be a movie. I see no hate for it online and that to me is a red flag LOL.

The Godfather is a classic that everyone should read. The audiobook is pretty great, too. Have seen the movies many times, but had never read the book before.

I thought Gideon the Ninth was confusing until I read Harrow, and just like with Red Rising, the second book blew away the first one. I LOVED Harrow. I loved that I was so confused, and I also loved when I figured it out. I’m scared to read Nona, but plan to in 2025.

Someone To Build A Nest In and Dreadful were basically “breather” reads for me, provided a mental break in between the others. They weren’t difficult reads. Nothing spectacular, but fun in their own unique ways.

I really didn’t like Crime and Punishment until a bit AFTER I finished it. I think I needed some time to think about it. Then I appreciated it. And it took me a bit to get into Piranesi, but then was absolutely hooked.

I picked up Blood Over Bright Haven before it made its rounds on tiktok, only because the bookstore was sold out of The Sword of Kaigen. Then I saw that everyone is saying this is one of the best reads this year. I’m 200 pages in and only just now getting interested. It seemed pretty cliche from the start. I’m not a huge fan of the stereotypical tropes between the main guy and woman, BUT I’m not done yet, so we’ll see if I change my mind!!

These are just my thoughts and opinions, and I recognize that I’m in the minority with some of these thoughts. And that’s okay! Looking forward to more reading in 2025!

[lloydfrontera]

i just saw someone saying very confidently they read enough of a manhwa to give it an in-depth review,,, because they're already at chapter 42. like. girl. these things are adapted from novels with up to 400-600 chapters. you barely even started it at all.

[punishing-eden]

Rant/Review: Wuthering waves, its Writing...

((An Essay about what I think about the game so far. Note, I have not played into the story of the Blackshore))

Edited

Tags: Feel free not to read, rant, review, essay, long read, opinions, spoilers

*Do note that everything I say are my opinion*

So, I started playing this game since it's launch. Agree to disagree how I feel about this game and it's current trajectory, because my take on it won't be an overall positive one.

I will mostly take about the story writing in this essay since it is the most glaring issue for me. This topic, I know, would set off some really heated debate, mainly, as I have observed within my scope.

In regards To Wuthering Waves, I'll start with the positives, the combat. I think this is an area that actually outshines Genshin. The bosses in Wuwa are harder, but fun to play. The stakes are higher, and the flexibility of player attack combos feels nice to play.

Unlike Genshin, the boss does not hover, go under, or flash around the area for the majority of the time. I can count how many times I have to wait in the area for a few seconds just for the boss to reappear, hit them within a few nano seconds before having to wait again.

The bosses have their own movesets, attack, counterattack, parries, and combos that keeps you at your toes. They don't shy away from giving you a hard time, and Kuro allows the bosses to have their abilities to be on par with the playable characters.

What I also like are the bosses, or anything really, does not caters to certain limited characters' playstyle or element. This, however, might be too early to say.

The graphics looks quite nice, the NPCs have personality, and I enjoy the many expressions they give. More generous cutscenes, and Rover being allowed to speak. Exploration modes like the grappling hook and parkor are nice touches as well.

With many good stuff happening in Wuthering Waves, it is easy to see how this game can compete with Genshin Impact in the market. Yet, despite so, it did not stop me from uninstalling the game from my Ipad.

It has been said before by many since the launch. Voiceover, music, dialogues, Ui, and other details in general are making and breaking the game.

I have heard a lot of theories and things as to why the launch is what it is. Back then I was told to wait due to their history with PGR. As a fan I was willing to wait, and endure the state of its launch and mediocrity as long as the experience of the whole package is good.

Which brings me to the glaring issues:

1. The Writing and the Execution.

Needless to say, people flocked to Wuthering Waves is because the game feels like it could offer something different in the genre of open world RPG. Not only is the combat a factor, but also the type of themes and the stories it can tell.

Genshin's story is not bad, but some players deemed the themes of the plot are a little too fantastical and childish. Wuthering waves, given how serious its lore is, and the devastation theme in their concept of a sci-fi world seems like a nice change from a pg friendly game.

I would like to point out, Lore ≠ Story, and Plot ≠ Storytelling.

I think the marketing team stating Wuwa as a story rich game might be a mistake, because the game certainly did not live up to the hype; it did not execute that hype it display in the launch trailer. I won't go into a detail analysis of the storytelling. But, I know this topic has sparked heated debates.

We can all agree to disagree, but this still does not take away the disappointment, and the issues that I have for the game.

The reason for my source of unsatisfaction are due to the quality of the writing, the writing direction, and the medicore execution of plot points. This extends to character story as well.

I want to experience what the lore and open world has to offer, as it was marketed. The story is essentially the overarching experience of the game; a window to the world of Solaris-3

This is where I am coming from when I am getting into the game.

Yet, as the patches progress, the glaring issue of actually writing a story, instead of a fanfic fantasy tested my patience. To me, the main story didn't feel like a progression of the protagonist's journey of their own agency or their accord.

Which brings in my next point:

2. Characters and Fanservice

I hated the fanservice in Wuthering Waves. I know, quite a big statement.

I believe a good story and fanservice can co-exist, as long as there is a good ratio to it, and is tastefully done.

The fanservice is overly glaring in the story and character quest. Mostly, it was unwarranted. This is what I hate, not the nature of the fanservice itself, but the unwarrent fanservice that is shoved down our thoarts.

Given the vibe and type of game Wuthering Waves convey through the main story, the fanservice really feels jarring. Pairing it with bad writing, it feels like a amateur fanfic writer wrote this, and somehow the Creative Director green lit this as good.

Yinlin's character quest is an example, the one I have gripes with the most. The writing of her story, by how I experienced it, did not make me like her at all, and to force a fanservice scene really takes the cake. It doesn't make sense to me, and it made me begin to question am I playing an Sci-fi open world apocalyptic RPG, or actually an anime isekai dating fantasy game.

The latter is not what I signed up for.

So, it is no surprise I never rolled on the character banner after the beginner's banner. I was pretty much rolling for weapons for my existing characters instead. (Hence, I wish I can convert my green and gold convene to weapon convenes.)

In theory, I should have rolled for Jiyan, but I didn't, because there isn't much interested shown by his character other than the beef with Geshu Lin. ((Edit: The craziest thing is, I legit have no idea what that beef is even about?)) His character quest did nothing to convince me to roll for him.

I shed a few tears during Xiangli Yao's story quest...but it's for an NPC and his monoluge. Not sure what Pascar has to do with Xiangli Yao's, at least how I understood it, urge for solitude to ponder and search for answers to his intellectual curiousity(?).

The characters in Wuthering Waves, to me, feels like a 3D manifestation of tropes rather than characters. There is no depth, and has shown no depth, in their own personalities, and how their dynamic with other characters, NPCs, and Rover develops. It's (the developed relationship) there because the story said so.

My favourite characters so far in the story are actually, Aalto and Encore. These two have more personality to show, and when they are together, they actually create character dynamic. They are also introduced with something to contribute to the progression of the story; providing an insight to the lore of the First Civilisation and the Black Shore.

Scar is also a character that seems to be interesting, but I won't say that for sure until we see him more in action. In all honesty, I think he is interesting because he is the "antagonist" in the story who provides tension and conflict, something like building up to a climax or a twist.

With an antagonist, there is a protagonist:

3. Rover as a protagonist

Now, I know that the silent protagonist is seen to be a self insert. But, I tend to believe even if the protagonist is silent, there should be at least some consistancy to the characterisation. Because, the switch between the UwU rover, to the Serious/Hardcore Rover feels jarringly inconsistent.

Another point to make is Rover and their, still, lack of agency. From my own understanding of what was presented to me, we should be viewing the story through Rover's lens. Yet, there are times where I felt their response and reactions are passive to naught, and I does not make sense to me, as there is no reasoning on Rover's behalf.

For example, should the seed of doubt linger in Rover's mind after a confrontation with Scar? Since Rover has no memory, what makes them fully trust Yang Yang to the tee? When Rover learns about their significance to the world through Jue, during the confrontation scene with Jinhsi, should the first thing Rover did was to demand for more answers? Ask more questions on the spot, instead being like, "Oh... Okay...". Should the first thing Rover did, after Yinlin zapped them unconscious, is to deem her as a potential enemy for self preservation purposes?

Instead almost all of the agency are given to other characters. In the arc at the Northfall Barrens, most of the agency were given to the resonator cast when they were defending Jinzhou; having their Avengers moment. Rover was just there. Then they were told to find Jiyan. And the rest of time was Jiyan speaking, taking initiative even towards the end.

Like, what was the purpose of Rover being there? Was it because Yang Yang said so? What would Rover achieve by fighting with the Midnight rangers other than earning a hero status? Who knows.

Because of having little to no agency for the Rover, the story feels lost. There is no definate overarching goal.

Sure, they might be searching for their lost memories, but there is no definate goal post for the story to reach it's conclusion for Rover's journey. There is no intrigue to keep the story moving forward.

Genshin's story, as an example, has always been about the MC finding their lost twin, with the conclusion that they will, hopefully, reunite and continue on their mysterious journey. Along the way of finding their sibling, things happened. The regions and their crisis as subplots, that reveals the lore and the trajectory of the world MC is travelling in to reach that goal.

Gameplay alone can only take a game so far. In the Jinzhou region of Huang Loong, the exploration of the world map needs more work, and even then there needs to be stories that makes the world an interesting place to explore.

I am not saying Genshin has the best writing. It has it's flaws. But, regardless of the sometimes, messy and muddled execution of plot points, having a good story can really make an impact to the gaming experience with games like these.

Due to the three points mentioned, I was heasitant to begin the new chapter to the Blackshore. With how the story's bad ratio of Character/story development to Fanservice, and the execution of the storytelling, I have been, instead, grinding the domains, bosses, and Tacet fields.

The voice about whether or not I have been phished to play an Anime Waifu fantasy game grew louder at each patch. The fact that I, as a player, have no choice but to endure the jarring superficial segments of dates and fanfiction-quese sequence (I mean the cliche and chessy ones) is enough to turn me off from the game.

It might have not been it's intent, but with how intergrated the fanservice is, it's really hard to take this game seriously anymore. To me, I feel like I was in a lost.

The gameplay alone was not holding the game up for me, as there's only so much you could do in the open world. Either it's boss, puzzles, or combat. The events are always in relation to combat alone, and they are recycled at each patch.

My patience for the, "Just wait, it will get better just like PGR" is wanning. I don't think being a fan of PGR can be used to excuse the apparent state of the experience of Wuthering waves.

Which is a shame, because I really tried to be patient, and I tried so hard to like it. I have been waiting for this game since its first announcement. I remember looking at Rover's very first design and the promo art, being all excited, wanting to play it so badly.

Needless to say, Wuthering Wave, unfortunately is not living up to what it says it's going to be. I think there is potential for the game to be great, but, as of now, and the direction things are going, it feels like they have decided to go a certain way.

Though, I wish they didn't have to phish me into adding numbers to their download count on lauch day. (They didn't actually phish me, but given how everything turned out felt like it.)

I hope, things will get better in the game, and that the experience can be more enjoyable for players alike. Yet, as of now, I won't been having it in my gaming roaster.

[eirianerisdar]

Here's why Daniel getting a three-place penalty for the next race is yet again evidence that the FIA need to review their regulations:

These are the regulations for overtaking under safety car:

The stewards were right in that Hulkenberg could pass both Lance and Daniel under safety car under Article 55.8 (h), because Lance had crashed into Daniel and they were both cars with obvious problems.

But, glaringly, there is nothing in the regs that state what happens if the car that was passed quickly gets back up to speed and tries to put themselves back into the correct order, which is what you usually do if you get out of order behind the safety car, whether because of pit exits or otherwise.

I'm not saying the stewards could have changed their verdict, but it's only on paper that Daniel had no leg to stand on, because logically, that was his spot and he was very quickly back on Hulk's tail after his wheels hit the ground again. Clearly this is yet another gap in the regs that should have been logically addressed because a situation like this would eventually come up.

It's a similar gap that "stopping on track during qualifying" needed clarification for, and last year, with the 20-place grid drop Carlos suffered for the drain cover that smashed through his car and necessitated changing its components.

Needless to say, a missed gap in the regs causing what would be a logical regaining of a spot to lead to a three-place grid penalty and 2 penatly points for a driver reflects rather more poorly on the FIA regs themselves than the driver who got punted then tried to put himself back where he should have been behind the safety car.

[justlikeazzy]

MY ART IN REVIEW!!!!!

I think it was a pretty successful year in the art exhibit! What do y’all think????

[ronnola]

[logophilist1982]

Dark academia post

[calicosyst]

Perverts by Ethel cain, a review

{I wanna preface by saying these were all written in real time as i listened to each song, kind of like stream of consciousness style if you will. i do not know music terms so i apologize if i use wrong words}

“perverts”: familiar but activating .creating somatic reactions in my body , it feels like home , it feels like being in my childhood evangelical church, roaming the halls after hours as my father works in the office -then its calm . It’s dissociative even , the droning of white noise is a safe comfort after the beginning for me , I love white noise so this was beautiful for me .It’s liminal and alone Like - waking up before everyone else and sitting in the empty quiet kitchen 

“Punish” :the song opens with a muffled see saw sort of sound , that sounds reminiscent of a playground swing going back and forth ,I could even say it maybe sounds like whimpering as well, or a baby cry, depending on the state of mind the listener is in,  the vocals and lyrics are haunting- and almost shameful, but there’s a undertone of apathy, someone who’s tired of repeating the same painful story , going through the motions of whatever sin they are committing , they’re somewhat numb to the  remorse they had once felt now . There’s also a feeling of resentment , especially a when the lyric “they made me leave” is sang and guitar riffs hang above the vocals , you can barely hear the swing anymore 

“Houseofpsychoticwomn”: It starts with a tapping ,Almost like a metronome, with someone telling you I love you , over and over , to me it feels almost defensive, then the buzzing and hum like from a fridge starts to warp, and it sounds like someone is shouting behind it , saying no, then someone maybe unintelligible, or is it sawing? Back and forth back and forth ,It makes me feel like I am swaying though I am lying still, the sound feels swirling ,With quiet words over. I feel like I am listening into a different plane , maybe a purgatory or someone’s head .Honestly I feel a lot of connection with this song, it feels very familiar to myself , at least how I was before. Consumed by the hunger pains of wanting more and more love, it was never enough because it simply just passes through me , my brain is even interpreting some of the sounds in this one as a stomach growling, moaning , sex, birthing pains. The constant I love you’s feel like rumination, or maybe even a summoning, the more I say it the more you’ll feel it .This song feels like a home to me , it feels much like a mirror . Towards the end of this one it did kind of trigger some derealization for me, but I was very fascinated by that so I sat with it graciously .

"Vacillator”:It starts with a beat on a drum I assume , it feels very different than the first three, The lyrics and vocals are quiet , almost soft and careful , it feels like dialogue of someone inside themselves , not saying it to the person they have in mind but fantasizing- it’s slow and steady, then falls into something else entirely- like you had just falling into a sewer , or a tank - then you’re back and the soft voice is back , almost a comfort in contrast of the lonely feeling the sound had before, it feels sweet , it feels like worship , at the end of the song they play at church but they don’t end it they drown it on and on, humming and repeating riffs until you feel a tug of emotion .

"Onanist”: this one starts with a hum of a home video - like listening to someone play a tape on the tv , vocalizing echoing softly , a scream from somewhere far away that you’re supposed to ignore, not interfere with. The timing of the vocals at first feels like build up that’s orgasmic , then the crash of noise, ringing , buzzing , throbbing , Then a quietness ,Steady pace of noise ,With lyrics of someone who sounds like they are being made to confess something shameful or embarrassing “It feels good”, It makes the listener feel like they are the ones pushing them to say it . 

"Pulldrone”: this one smoothly transitions from the last to itself, starting with dialogue and a low brown noise in the background, The voice is muffled , again like listening to a tape in an empty room, this one has almost an instruction like quality , like they are being made to read out loud something , a prayer . There’s a droning and something similar of a Tibetan bowl sound , making it feel very much like a prayer to me , the amen confirming that to me as I sit now without someone speaking , the loss of what feels like someone else there , stuck now I’m just the drowning buzz that feels like it’s above me, like I am meant to think about what I’ve done , the noise is reminiscent of old fluorescent bulbs, the buzz and crackle. The whine of a siren like noise is almost maddening but it’s safe as well because it’s become predictable 

"Etienne”: starts as a sad piano ballad, soft enough to sleep too , there’s a tone in the background of what sounds like a microwave on defrost ,-but I am most likely just associating my own things to it , I did close my eyes as I listened to this one , it felt safe to sleep too, it felt safe enough that nothing sudden would change , then ends with what sounds like a sermon , the man has a southern accent.

"Thatorchia”: it starts out sounding like what happens when you use two walkie talkies too close together., it’s almost meditative , the subtle harmonizing in the background once again makes it feel haunting- purgatory or heaven like, whichever you’d prefer to imagine, and again feeling very much gospel like, im a former preachers kid so i cant not notice those things, its nostalgic of church camp, hands in the air, swaying from the prescence of god as it takes you over and then leaves you. "amber waves”: the vocals are tired, and again almost turn apathetic, ‘ill be alright’. then angelic , with harsh words “what you do is nothing to me” a kiss and a pinch on the arm. i feel the numbness in these lyrics, the unchanging day to day, maybe its a confession, maybe its a telling ‘you were nothing to me’, maybe it hurts, you wanted to be something, wanted to feel something yet it all stays the same and who cares anyway? no one does , lost in this grey sound, the grey is a odd comfort, its a fog that makes it all numb. “i cant feel anything”

bonus ! “000.1(wellwater)”: muffled movements, almost like fabric, tossing and turning, it turns windy, like im trapped in a tornado or a snow storm as melodic tones play, a lot of the melodies in these songs are mechanical enough to be interpreted as every day appliances you hear, every day machines. this song like all the others feels like it could be playing as the world ends, when you see the big mushroom cloud on the horizon and then theres no time for you to feel fear.

if u got to here thanks for reading, please go give the album a listen yourself! {the artists blog is @mothercain if u want to listen to wellwater as wel btw}

[citrine-elephant]

for the bitches (affectionate) who wanna put leon in a saw trap

-> john kramer is unfair as fuck and tries to convince himself he is doing good. whoever in-universe is tormenting leon, that should be considered

-> leon himself is a slave to the government right? it's not like he could easily go rogue and free himself. that's the theme. "breaking your chains" kinda shit. definitely acab/anti-capitalist/imperialist themes to interject here lol. but maybe the idea is to convince him to go rogue... or join whomever the baddie(s) are.

-> detective rigg was put in a trap because he was too focused on saving people. and i guess his tendency to breach doors w/o it being cleared. we know leon is willing to risk his life at a moment's notice to save someone, so that's definitely an idea lol. gets seriously injured trying to help someone... recovers... relives the horrors and is punished for it.

-> and to that point, leon's so willing to sacrifice himself. again, kramer is not fair and doesn't hold to his philosophy. he kills innocents all the time. you can absolutely include someone totally innocent in leon's trap.

use poetry to be cruel, is what i'm getting at. predict human behavior. or something. go with the intended philosophy and make them bitches hypocrites lol

currently brewing up an idea with a HEAVILY misguided group who convince themselves they're "the good guys" and absolutely do 0 good things. (like john going after corruption and greed) -> leads to "testing" leon to see if he's good enough for their cause. or, trying to convince him to join them with brutality. or even, they refuse to take a "no" from him and keep on with it.

[comicsiswild]

[eggbert9000-blog]

My Thoughts on Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP)

In my last post I talked about how I got into the Persona series starting with Innocent Sin on PSX, I also talked about how much I thought Innocent Sin was one of the best JRPG's I have played in recent memory, so I only figured that I would talk about what I thought about the next game! For my playthrough I actually chose the PSP fan translation over the PSX version. I did that because I heard that the PSP version of EP is basically completely faithful to the PSX version in terms of difficulty and menus, so I figured it would just be the definitive version to play, and I heard that the translation is fairly close to the original PSX version anyways. I played this literally the day after I completed Innocent Sin because, without going into spoilers, there's no way I could not see what happens next.

So what did I think?

I'm going to be fully transparent and say that Persona 2: Eternal Punishment has become, not only one of my favourite JRPG's, but one of my favourite games of all time. There's so much I want to talk about but just like with the Innocent Sin post, ill start with some things I disliked about the game.

The Grinding

My understanding is that this game has gained a reputation of being one of the harder, or even hardest Persona game in the series, and I sort of agree. Not that I dislike grinding, but there were some times where I had to step away from the plot and grind levels or tarot cards to get new personas for the party, and then grind the persona levels to unlock the skills. But again like in Innocent Sin, you can farm free tarot in the Air Raid Shelter to basically unlock whatever persona you want, and I spent a decent amount of time there levelling personas as well. Although honestly I was having such a good time experimenting with personas that I didn't even notice or even really care about grinding (I do that in most RPG's anyways).

Demon Negotiation (Again)

Credit where it's due, Demon negotiation is a whole lot better than in the previous two Persona games. Each character now has one specific action and most of the rest come from combining them instead of having 4 options for each character. I like this system a lot more, but I did wish it didn't matter what order you selected the characters in to determine the contact (for example, Katsuya + Ulala is different from Ulala + Katsuya). And sometimes it still felt like just guesswork without a guide. The interactions are still as fun as ever though!

Silent Maya

I'm not quite sure what the consensus of this is, if this is like a popular opinion or "hot take" but I really wish Maya wasn't a silent protagonist, or even just like had more reaction to the events around her. She was one of the coolest characters in Innocent Sin and I remember being kinda bummed out realizing she wasn't gonna speak. Although the more days I sit on it, the more I become fine with it. It's easy to believe a lot of Maya's kindness and actions because we saw it first-hand in Innocent Sin. And we still get to see her personality through her responses and contacts, so not all was lost.

(OH YEAH, I should mention that in the PSP translation I used the one that restores the original PSX english voice cast, I know they are made fun of a lot but I find that the voice acting has a lot of charm to it.)

Alright, Time for what I loved about it.

The Story

DON'T WORRY IM NOT GONNA SPOIL ANYTHING, IM JUST GOING TO GIVE MY THOUGHTS ON IT!

This games story is really good, it serves as a fantastic capstone to the original Persona trilogy, It has a huge sense of finality to it, It reminds me a lot of how Dark Souls 3 could be considered a capstone for the Trilogy, bringing in elements from all the past games to wrap it up in a nice bow. There were so many times where I was so invested I would just play for hours until I lost track of time.

Rumors are back baybee and they are as cool of a concept as ever, and they are still used in such a creative way.

And of course just seeing what happened after Innocent Sin and seeing why the world is the way it is and what happened to the characters got me hooked immediately.

I can't exactly talk about this story without going into mega spoilers for not only EP but also IS so just trust me in saying that this story is something that is worth playing two whole games for, ESPECIALLY THE ENDING. Im just going to say that this story and the ending are my favorite in the Persona series and leave it at that. Go and experience it yourself! It's good!

The ATMOSPHERE MAN

This games atmosphere is completely unmatched in my eyes. The world has a constant vibe of "theres something wrong" that I can't explain. Again it takes place in that modern setting with grounded dungeons that I found so great about Innocent Sin, but the whole world just feels different and "darker" in a way that I can't exactly describe. I think its the difference in the story telling, whilst IS was more goofy with serious undertones, It feels like EP really hones in on the dark side of Sumaru City. There's a lot more death and undergound corruption this time around, It really feels like EP is trying to tell a more adult story this time around, and I really dig it.

(If you kinda want to get the vibes, watch the original PSX intro, it's literally one of the greatest intros to a game ive ever seen and it perfectly captures the sort of vibe EP is going for).

Another thing that I think contributes to the atmosphere is that incredible soundtrack. Just like with Innocent Sin, I was excited to go to the next dungeon every single time to see what kind of music would play, and some of those Eternal Punishment versions of the Innocent Sin songs are really good as well. Some of the standout tracks are Aoba Park, Smile Hirasaka, The Round Sun, and ESPECIALLY Monado Mondala, one of the best tracks in the series. The battle theme and boss theme too are incredible.

The Characters

This party has got to be one of my favourite parties i've ever seen in a JRPG. I know everyone already talks about how this game has an all adult cast as opposed to the other Persona games, but I don't think that's the only reason why they are great.

They all have such good chemistry with each other and as a person who was turning into an adult playing this game, I feel like I related to a lot of the characters internal struggles. Their stories felt real and I ended up seeing myself in a lot of these characters, especially Katsuya, as I am an older brother myself, I relate to him trying to build a good relation with his brother. I Related to Ulala's inferiority complex more than id like to admit, Baofu's story and motivations are really interesting as well and his dynamic with Katsuya, an officer of the law working with a wiretapper for the greater good, and his cynicism feels realistic given his experiences.

However the character I related to and like the most was Tatsuya himself. Tatsuya's struggle to find out how to be a responsible adult and how to make amends for things he has done wrong is something I feel is done realistically, Tatsuya tries to do things that he thinks an adult would do, and it's this kind of coming of age story that I think is relatable to me specifically. And unfortunately I can't say all the reasons why I like Tatsuya without going into spoilers, but all I will conclude on is that Tatsuya is my favourite Persona character of all time and he, and the rest of the cast gave me hope that going into adult life wouldn't be as scary as I initially thought it would be.

I Love this cast so much, I don't even think I said everything I wanted to but I think the main takeaway should be that this is my favorite party in all of Persona and their stories still stick in my head to this day.

(You might notice I left out two characters, because spoilers sorta, but to let it be known, I picked the man).

The Gameplay

Okay, I have been rambling on for a while now so Ill try not to make this a full university length essay. The gameplay is about the same as Innocent Sin, which I praised for being fast and fluid in battles and having really great customization options that I really appreciated such as being able to switch personas on the fly. its just my love for it has intensified because I was more used to the mechanics this time around and I was excited to go into this game thinking how I was going to build each character. It was a fun time, if you want a more in-depth explination of what I thought of the gameplay you can check the post I made about Innocent Sin on my blog (no pressure though).

One thing a really appreciated in the PSP remake is how they ditched the Innocent Sin PSP menu and recreated the PSX menus for Eternal Punishment PSP. So that fluid and nice menu from IS PSX is back and makes its so that I think EP PSP is the definitive version of the game.

Conclusions

Even though I feel like I've written so much about why I like Eternal Punishment, I feel like I haven't given a definitive reason why it's my favourite Persona game. And I think if I had to sum it up quickly, its that the world of the original Persona Trilogy is so well developed and well written that I couldn't help but get sucked into it. And Eternal Punishment was the one that that gave me an experience that I wish I could have over and over again, the world, the music, the characters, the story, even the charming sprite graphics, it all worked together to give me an unforgettable experience. I haven't even mentioned everything I love, I purposely left out things I already said in my Innocent Sin post like how much I love fusion spells or the whole customization thing. And I didn't even talk about Tatsuya's Scenario either. which is also incredibly good.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is great. It's a shame that the earlier Persona games aren't widely available on modern platforms because I believe that Eternal Punishment is something really special.

My final thoughts are for whoever is reading this and somehow hasn't played through the duology yet to at least give it a shot. I kept my thoughts on the game as spoiler free as possible so please give it some love. And like I said in my Innocent Sin thoughts, you might find a new JRPG that you will love and will stick with you for a long time, just like I have.

[yabigrail]

I Attempt To Read A Book By Every BSD Character

in case you cant tell, exams are over and i have way too much free time...

PRELUDE:

so these are ones that ive read before i started this compilation, but i remember them pretty vividly so ill include them here:

the great gatsby by f scott fitzgerald

8.5/10 = ITS SO GOOD LIKE OMFG i love gatsby with all my heart and soul and will defend him until my death - some solid plot twists,,, even tho im not a fan of the chara in the show so far, the book is amazing

grapes of wrath by john steinbeck

5.5/10 = i actually read this bc of a les mis fanfic if you know you know - its not insanely good but also not insanely bad yk - tbh was all worth it for chapter 39 that chapter was a cut above the rest... ending left me with no closure and was just plain strange

crime and punishment by fyodor dostoyevsky

8/10 = i read this over a term and got super attached to it LMFAO i love all the characters so muchhhh - it kinda dragged on in parts but otherwise was so good,,, much gay subtext

little women by louisa may alcott

9/10 = ITS SO CUTEEEEE i love the movie too i sobbed so much in parts of this book

and in UPDATE 1:

no longer human by dazai osamu

7/10 = i got thru this in less than 24 hours its a super fast read, kinda depressing tho ngl but not as confronting as it was made out to be (maybe im just desensitised) - never gonna be able to look at dazai the same way again

[silentreigns]

Not even being dramatic when I say this is the 2nd worst gymnastics scandal after Sydney 2000. The FIG should be ASHAMED of themselves for their handling of this Olympics

[constantvariations]

Considering aura is a thing, it'd probably be a lot harder to catch a batterer since the victim's wounds would heal and leave no evidence