#team CNMN

[trypo-p]

sometimes I wish there was more art of underrated characters and then I remember I'm an artist.

but then I also remember that I have to actually draw them.

[hichai]

been a few blogs since i had real tags

♬   ───    i know the sound of your heart : music player!

♬   ───    i jump from every rooftop; so high‚ so far to fall : chai! chai! chai!

♬   ───    but my heart's no good & you're the only one that's understood : peppermint!

♬   ───    i believe the love you talk about with me : macaron!

♬   ───    i can see you staying here : korsica!

♬   ───    the arrow goes straight through my heart : CNMN!

♬   ───    without you everything just falls apart : 808!

♬   ───    'cause there's no place that i could be without you : the best team EVER!

♬   ───    invaders must die : bad guys!

♬   ───    turn the dial on my words; i can feel that they fall short : vibes!

♬   ───    i see the truth when i'm all stupid eyed : musings!

♬   ───    i can't see this being a problem ever again : improv!

♬   ───    do we have to get all meta? : dash comm!

♬   ───   all this time & i still haven't found my place : before verse!

♬   ───    colours run prime‚ paint a picture so bright : main verse!

♬   ───    we are building a religion; we are making a brand : vandelay verse!

♬   ───   honestly‚ you can try; your heart is just as strong as mine : queue!

♬   ───    it's the only life you got : prompts!

♬   ───    so you gotta live it big time : answered!

[libertatem-mico]

Hi-Fi RUSH Headcannons!

Chai had a congenital nerve defect that stopped him from using his right arm. Partially as a result, he is left-handed.

The reason Korsica’s password shows up as ‘PASSWORD’ at the end of the game is that every password input at Vandelay shows up like that rather than using ‘•••••••‘. Zanzo made the change because he thought it was funny. Unfortunately, it also means that every password has to be exactly eight characters.

Macaron has no particular preference for spicy food, but he has a truly ungodly tolerance for it. He can fully just eat a Carolina Reaper with a straight face. Korsica’s the complete opposite, but she has a predilection for blue cheese.

808 purrs like a normal cat, but when she gets really into it it’s like a phone vibrating.

Macaron writes some of the most beautifully well-documented code you’ve ever seen. Peppermint doesn’t.

Before Peppermint left the Vandelay family, they had a building called the ‘shame shed’ that was full of Peppermint’s half-finished side projects.

Chai’s family - and Chai himself - aren’t very well off, which is why he wasn’t able to do anything about his arm until Vandelay announced Project Armstrong.

Korsica is the only member of the band - besides the man himself - who can bench Macaron.

Macaron has a secret soft-spot for death metal.

CNMN sleeps. He doesn’t need to, but he’s given himself timed shutdown hours like a laptop.

808 also doesn’t need to sleep. This has not stopped her.

Korsica has a well-maintained fitness regimen that starts at 5am and ends at 7. Chai doesn’t know what 9am is.

Macaron’s cooking is a gift from the gods. CNMN’s tastes like it comes from a store. It’s uncanny.

Chai is ace.

Peppermint absolutely wrecks shop at paintball. If the band ever plays, it’ll be three teams with her on her own.

808 is afraid of water. This is wholly practical, as she isn’t waterproof. Chai is also not waterproof, and at some point he’s going to learn that the hard way.

The band’s skill at Smashbros is ranked thusly; Peppermint, CNMN, Chai/Macaron, 808, Korsica.

The bosses’ skill at Smashbros is ranked; Mimosa, Kale, Rekka, Zanzo, Roquefort.

Roxanne has never played Smashbros, but if she did, she would absolutely dominate. Second only to LU-C1LLE.

The little vacuum bot’s name is H0-0V1E

[spiritualviolation]

yknow what? fuck you. *hi-fi rushes your cod duo*

anyways i’ve given this au a slight bit more thought so click read more to see my inane ramblings which are. not much.

- it’s literally just an mcc9 pink parrots x hi-fi rush au where nothing really changes except for the main heroes... yeah. i was 3 months late to martyn’s hi-fi rush playthrough...

- tbh i’m not sure whether i should put cc’s as the bosses or just keep them the way they are... i’m apprehensive because the bosses are kinda ableist and putting a mcyt character in their place feels... wrong. the alt option is making ocs but even that i’m kinda bleghhh......

- ANYWAYS martyn is korsica bc ‘self-proclaimed datastream defender’, ‘head of security’, it’s literally right there. martyn is trying so hard to keep a straight face at his own accidental ‘strong arm’ joke during his boss fight. his backstory largely remains the same as korsica’s, except martyn leans more to wanting to work in a position where he could also help people the way he has been helped, rather than korsica who wanted to work at vandelay because she idolised the company. martyn is somehow more and less stubborn than korsica.

- joel is macaron because i think it would be funny but also just could not genuinely think of anyone else. (maybe would’ve used big b...) joel’s backstory is the one that deviates the most from the original, if only to fit his personality, but i kinda think it parallels zanzo a little (as former head of r&d) which would be fun (also hermes is cnmn)

- as seen above, jimmy is chai and grian is peppermint, their backstories remain pretty much the same as chai and peps’, except jimmy isn’t as adamant on being a rockstar as much as chai is, just thinks being a rockstar would be an easier way in life.

- 808 is pearl! i considered using maui at first, but i thought it would be nice to reference both pearl (grian’s cat) and pearl (pearlescentmoon) for 808

i wish there’s more character content bc i genuinely do love the main team a lot

[janglingargot]

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, and Peppermint is only just starting to catch her breath. She knows how important it is to put out the fires they set in the process of taking down Kale. And of course, it's on them to clean up the messes that he and his lackeys left behind, as unfair as that can seem. But their little team has been keeping so busy that it feels like they hardly see each other, some days.

It's not hard to catch Chai, of course. (He literally sleeps on her couch.) But Macaron, true to his word, has thrown himself into helping her mom rebuild Vandelay Technologies, overseeing a full refit of the R&D department to turn the page on what he's calling the "Zanzo era"--and CNMN is being incredibly patient about the repair process for his legs, but in the meantime, he has to be carried anywhere he wants to go--and Korsica…well. Korsica is a model of responsibility and sterling-silver work ethics, and she seems really determined to make amends for the past and earn her place as part of Vandelay's future, which unfortunately means she's been working almost non-stop.

Things seem to be finally calming down, thank god. When Peppermint finished fixing up her mom's old truck the other day, she'd asked Macaron to drive them all down to the water, specifically because it felt like ages since they'd just hung out together.

And that evening was everything she'd hoped for, really! (Well, almost everything.) It was a perfect break from the daily grind; just their little band and the sunset over the ocean. She actually caught herself wishing they didn't have to drive home again, when it started to get dark.

It's strange to find herself seeking out anyone's company. She'd gotten used to thinking of herself as a loner. But…Peppermint misses her friends.

(AO3 link to the rest)

[stinklebug]

been thinking about pokemon lately...so impromptu teams for the hfr cast

chai: raichu, loudred, slowbro, magnemite, rotom, oricorio (pom-pom)

peppermint: crobat, jolteon, rotom, porygon2, mimikyu

macaron: appletun, bewear, conkeldurr, mudsdale, onix, camerupt

cnmn: klinklang, sylveon, mr. mime, kirlia

korsica: luxray, talonflame, klefki, slowking, houndoom

rekka: incineroar, kommo-o, garchomp, tyranitar, aggron

zanzo: farigiraf, turtonator, golisopod, seviper, reuniclus, beheeyem

mimosa: chatot, skarmory, oricorio (sensu), persian, salazzle, frosslass

roquefort: mabosstiff, mightyena, obstagoon, zangoose, lycanroc (midnight)

kale: serperior, zoroark, bisharp, porygon-z, hydreigon, malamar

roxanne: gardevoir, porygon, leavanny, espeon, shedinja

[eeriecode-fgo]

FGO FanServant - Chai, the Aspiring Rockstar

(official in-game art, taken from the Wikia)

Ascension Stages

First Stage: Chai is wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt, red pants and blue shoes. His robot arm is thinner and heavily bandaged, and he's missing his trademark scarf. 808 is floating beside him in her sphere mode.

Second Stage: Chai's standard outfit from the game.

Third Stage: Chai's makeshift guitar is replaced with his Custom Crimson, his scarf is longer and undamaged, and he's wearing a pin on his chest. 808 is also wearing a small crown.

Parameters

Class: Alter Ego

Source: Hi-Fi Rush

Region: Vandelay Campus

Voice Actors: Hiro Shimono (Chai), Toa Yukinari (Peppermint), Yasuhiro Mamiya (Macaron), Hiroyuki Yoshino (CNMN), Yu Kobayashi (Korsica)

Rarity: SR

Alignment: Neutral Good

Attribute: Human

HP: 1.860 / 11.625

ATK: 1.630 / 9.785

NP Gain: 0,88%

Deck: Buster/Quick (Buster: 2 hits; Quick: 4 hits; Arts: 3 hits; Extra: 4 hits)

Traits: Humanoid, Mechanical, Male, Weak to Enuma Elish, Group Servant, Musician

Passive Skills

Mad Enhancement - Rank E-

Increase own Buster performance by 1%.

Unordinary World - Rank A

Chai's self-described "musical robot powers" that allow him to perceive the world in time with his music, manifested here as a Passive Skill. So long as he fights on the beat, Chai gains significant offensive and defensive buffs.

FGO Effect

Increase own C.Star Drop Rate by 50%.

Apply Damage Cut of 200 to self.

Increase own Quick/Buster/Arts performance by 10% during a Mighty Chain.

Custom Append Skills

Anti-Robot Specialization

Replaces Append Skill 3

Deal extra Special ATK damage to [Mechanical] enemies. (20~30%)

Increase damage resistance against [Mechanical] enemies. (20~30%)

Bond Skill

Increase all [Musician] allies' Buster performance by 30% for all allies while on field (including sub-members)

Active Skills

Iron Man - Rank D

A skill resulting from the surgery to replace Chai's arm, Chai's entire body has been reinforced, allowing him to survive hits that would kill an ordinary person.

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 7~5 turns

Increase own DEF for 3 turns (20~30%)

Apply Damage Cut to self for 3 turns (500~1000)

Increase own ATK (10%, 3 turns) when attacked by an enemy (3 turns).

Vandelay Tea Party - Rank A

A combination of 808's temporal displacement function and Chai's unique nature as a Servant, Chai can momentarily manifest his allies' Spirit Origins to offer a variety of support in battle, from Peppermint and Macaron's ability to destroy barriers, to Korsica's ability to weaken the enemies, to CNMN's moral support. ...look, he's trying, okay?

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 8~6 turns

Increase own Quick, Buster and Arts Performance (10~20%, 3 hits, 3 turns)

Apply [808 Transfer] buff to self (3 turns) (all following effects are applied after selecting Command Cards).

- Apply Ignore Invincibility to self (1 hit) before attacking with a Quick Card (1 hit, 1 turn)

- Remove 1 DEF buff when attacking (1 time) before attacking with an Arts card (1 hit, 1 turn)

- Remove 1 ATK buff when attacking (1 time) before attacking with a Buster card (1 hit, 1 turn)

Synesthesia - Rank B

A Charisma variation, affected allies synchronize their movements with Chai's and receive a significant boost. As this ability is connected with Chai's powers, its effect are more pronounced if the target is musically inclined.

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 8~6 turns

Increase all allies' ATK by 10% for 3 turns.

Increase all allies' NP Gain for 3 turns (10~20%)

Increase all [Musician] allies' ATK for 3 turns (20~30%)

Increase all [Musician] allies' NP Gauge by 20%.

Noble Phantasm

Overdrive Slash V7 - Rank C+

Rank: C+

Type: Anti-Unit

Range: 1~3

Max Targets: 1

Chai's ultimate melee technique. Chai's Spirit Origin is temporarily supercharged, allowing him to summon all his teammates at once: afterwards, the team converges on an enemy for a simple but effective coordinated attack.

FGO Effect

Buster Noble Phantasm, 13 hits

Increase own NP Strength for 1 turn (20~30%, scales with Overcharge)

Deal Special Damage to one [Lawful] enemy.

Writer Notes

Oh boy, this profile. I was seriously hoping to have it ready way earlier, it would have been perfect given the news of the big comeback! Unfortunately writer block decided to strike, but oh well, better late than never!

I was uncertain about Chai's class at first: Berserker or Saber were potential options, but neither felt right. In the end, I decided to conceptualize him as a combined Servant of sorts, with Chai as the main Servant and the rest of the team as Phantom Spirits summonable for brief moments: I figured it worked well given the original game's mechanics, and it allowed me to classify him as an Alter Ego without too much issue.

Chai's outfit in his first Ascension is a modified version of his prototype outfit from the original concept arts, while his final Ascension is based on his outfit in the ending.

For the references in the skills' names, I blame his second one: I couldn't resist the reference to the gang's names and it all spiraled from there. For the curious, the referenced songs are Iron Man by Black Sabbath, Boston Tea Party by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Synesthesia by The Glass Pyramids, and Ordinary World by Duran Duran. And no, I'm not apologizing for the active skills' ranks. ;)

The buffs during a Mighty Chain in his unique passive are a reference to the scoring system in the original game, where you get worse scores if you use the same move in a row: with FGO mechanics, you instead get better results if you use different colored cards.

The new "Musician" trait applies to any Servant who has shown a significant interest in music, regardless of their skill level. So yeah, Elizabeth and Nero do in fact have the trait. Additionally, all Servants who received a Spiritron Dress during the Grail Live event have the trait while wearing the costume.

While the Wiki lists Hibiki! as the first Special Attack developed in the game, it didn't feel quite right for Chai's Noble Phantasm. In the end, I decided to use the final combo attack in the final battle as the inspiration, while naming it as a variation of another of his high-Reverb Specials. With an additional Final Fantasy reference thrown in there, because why not, the original already referenced it anyway!

[cherrypikkins]

Hi Fi Rush and more naming analysis

Just realized how Team Defect and Vandelay Corp are not only named based on food, but also how well their respective groups mesh together, which may or may not have been intentional on the writing team's part.

Spoilers below!

chai is named after a drink brewed from black loose-leaf tea, its flavors being enhanced by milk and spices and herbs. By himself, Chai is a still a force of nature to be reckoned with, but is unable to reach his full potential.

peppermint is an herb that is often infused in chai. Peppermint the character's role is often to temper the main protagonist and rein him in. But with time they bring out the best potential in each other.

cinnamon is also an ingredient used to spice up chai tea. Being a psych-AI, CNMN helps Chai grow out of his selfish, attention-hog personality into a capable and caring leader. CNMN is also a notable enabler of Chai's antics.

macarons are a dessert, not an ingredient, but do pair very well with tea and cinnamon flavors. Macaron is capable on his own but is still highly team-oriented and is helped along by CNMN. He frequently complements (and compliments, heheh) Chai while helping the team along in their endeavors.

korsica I believe is named for a family of herbs that include thyme, oregano, mint, and so forth. Given all the varied applications of such herbs, it does fit with the personal crisis that Korsica the character experiences in her character arc, and being forced to pick a side between Vandelay and Team Defect. When Chai finally wins her over, her role is similar to Peppermint in that she helps him along but also serves as a voice of reason to rein him in a little.

Finally, we have the rest of Team Vandelay sans Korsica. Kale is named after a bland, leafy vegetable. Rekka is named for a type of spicy ramen. Zanzo is named for a brand of sparkling water. Mimosa is an expensive drink. And finally, Roquefort is a type of blue cheese. As far as the culinary metaphor goes... I'm no expert, but I think these foods all pair terribly LOL. Which fits because as both a team of villains and corporate officials they uh... mesh badly. Kale is always browbeating the heads of department, Zanzo and Roquefort are always directly at odds, Rekka and Mimosa make snipes at eachother, and poor Korsica barely feels like she belongs.

Just something I noticed throughout the game. :')

[bjdavis5]

Hi-Fi RUSH - CNMN

[manekijinx]

Macaron love!! 🥰 I headcanon that he loves baking. The process of perfecting a recipe seems like it would be really appealing for him and he's very proud of his skills (although I think he stresses out a lot about it when he can't get something to turn out right despite his best efforts). He used to bring giant batches of his home baking to work, back in the good old days, and just leave it out in the break room for people to enjoy. (He missed that a lot during Zanzo's tenure -- CNMN tried to give aesthetic feedback on a few things, but he can't really taste-test food properly.) I steadfastly believe that Macaron makes the most amazing birthday cakes for the rest of the team post-game. <3

OOOO THIS IS OUR SECOND BAKING HEADCANON!! Someone else said something similar here, but this adds more to it!

I'm obsessed with the idea that he used to provide baked goods for his coworkers. That's, like, a dream for me. You know his food was worth the long days!

I can imagine him doing a few recipe experiments and leaving them for people to try, just to see how it was for them and if he should keep with parts of the recipe he's working with! I personally adore this! Scientist chef doing field tests and the test is the best freakin' chocolate croissant you've ever tasted. ✨✨✨

[defectedrockstar]

Besides Korsica (at least in volume 1-2, maybe 3) having a “Grumpy police officer who is annoyed at group of meddling teens involving themselves in police business, but after getting a chance to know them and start to secretly care but won’t admit it” with Team RWBY?

Hmm…

I believe if it hasn’t been done yet, Peppermint and Macaron could help Pietro in making Penny’s swords be wirelessly. That way, even if it’s slim, a similar incident doesn’t happen again.

CNMN wouldn’t have Aura since he’s a psychological analyst bot that is not meant for combat. And even if he’s blunt about it, he could offer advice to Team RWBY and JNOR. Especially Oscar since he’s currently going through a lot with being Ozpin’s new host (and I feel like Oscar needs someone to vent to).

Chai and Peppermint definitely give off older siblings vibes (I mean, the two are already doing so with each other, what’s stopping them from expanding to the other younger members?). I can definitely see Chai and Nora getting along well.

I also would want to do a team attack with RWBY and the Band on Kale. Yang and Macaron, Blake and Korsica, Weiss and Peppermint and finally Ruby and Chai. Much like the final boss fight in the game.

I can also see a reference if Ironwood would plan to have Atlas move to space and or fly elsewhere. Chai being like, "So your plan is to take Atlas and move it somewhere else?"

XD

[oddballwriter]

If you do Angst, may I ask for Chai whose been pretty badly wounded and for his S/O to take care of him? If not possible, then may I ask for Chai with a tall S/O?

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Warnings: Hi Fi Rush spoilers for Korsica and her fight. Mentions of medicine, feeling pain, reader claiming to almost faint (twice), and being unconscious  

Author’s Snip: I sort of fucked up. There's a slight bit of angst at the beginning but it goes to fluff not too long after. Also Chai's not even that injured, he's just hella sore from the tram crash after Korsica's fight, meanwhile Korsica's ass is literally on the operating table to save her life. Korsica honey I am so sorry I just accidentally did you so dirty. I hope you still like this, anon.  

Notes: This is literally not what you wanted, I don't think. 

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Chai's adventure to get the password from Korsica went horribly south with Kale having gotten out a massive death robot to try and kill both him and Korsica on the tram. Your heart completely dropped and if it weren't for CNMN telling you to sit down somewhere you would have genuinely fainted. You almost did again when Chai and Korsica were retrieved with both rendered unconscious.

CNMN managed to assess them and ruled that Korsica was obviously in more critical condition than Chai was. Apparently, Chai was damn near indestructible considering he only had scrapes, bruises, and cuts on him. CNMN placed Chai on the couch and said that you could tend to him while the rest worked to save Korsica. You felt relived that Chai was for the most part okay, but you wanted to honestly strangle him for how many near heart attacks he's given you today.

To think that coming to Vandelay to be your boyfriend's emotional and moral support for his new arm would lead to this.

Chai managed to writhe himself awake not too long after having come back. You gently shushed his groans so that it won't disturb the group's efforts on the more injured woman. "Hey there, Chai." you whisper, "What a rocky end to that trip, huh?" you light heartedly joke before ditching the jokes and getting more serious. "What's the matter? What hurts?" you ask. "Everything." he mutters. "I feel like I was put in a trash compactor." he comments. You let out a breath to appreciate his antics in making colorful similes. You get up from your spot next to the couch and go towards the cabinets and drawers that Peppermint said you could use for Chai if he was also hurt. You managed to get out medicine and a few ice packs for the pain, making sure the you stayed clear to any equipment that the team would need for Korsica.

"Wow. Red head's pretty bad, huh?" Chai commented, having slightly leaned himself upwards to see what was happening around the room. You nod as you return to him and gently guide his face so that he's looking away from the scene. "She managed to get most of the damage from the crash. They started working on her as soon as you two were brought back." you mention. "They say that she'll be fine. But she needed new parts to save her." you clarify.

"You, however, are made of rubber and only need some things to relieve your bumps and bruises." you remark as you hand him the painkilling medicine. He reluctantly took it even though it was clear on his face that it tasted horrible. "Alright. My own personal nurse. Sweet." Chai replied in a light hearted smug tone. But a shock of pain seemed to humble him at the perfect moment. "And you personal nurse thinks you need to lay out your injuries some more." you proclaimed as you guided him onto the couch and placed ice packs where he claimed were sore the most.

"Do I at least get a candy for toughing through it." Chai joked. You roll your eyes and look over at him. "No. But you can get a kiss to help you feel better." you say as you lower down and plant a kiss on his forehead.

"Better?" you humor.

"Not really." Chai answers bluntly.

[fandom-blog-blog]

20. 19.

*Alarms. Red lights flashing. Broken machines.*

Chai: (A slow trudge as blood drips to the ground leaving a trail. Heavy breaths filled with pain)

18. 17.

Macaron: Don't worry little guy we're working on a plan! (Desperate)

Chai: (Machine arm missing. Dragging his Flying V across the ground)

16. 15.

Peppermint: God damn it Chai! Say something so we can save your sorry ass! (Rage)

Chai: (steps to a console with a clock counting down, presses a button and watches an upload sent to Peppermint)

14. 13.

(Turns on some rock music on the console)

12. 11.

Korsica: Chai...Thank you for everything. (Pain)

10. 9.

Chai: (Sits with his back leaning against the console. more bleeding. Looks at his missing arm)

8. 7.

Chai: Really wish I could've played a guitar. Would've been sooo cool.

6. 5.

CNMN:.....I will miss you Chai. (Sorrow)

5. 4.

808: (Meows and sounds of struggling)

3. 2.

Chai: Thank you all. You were the best team a Rockstar could have.

1.

[best-hifi-rush-character]

actually if we're teaming 808 and Chai,,,

[bahamutgames]

Hi-Fi AFTERTHOUGHTS

Game: Hi-Fi Rush (January 25, 2023)

Console: Xbox One (Via Xbox Game Pass)

If it wasn't obvious I haven't really been feeling SUPER up for writing about games I played recently for a lot of reasons. Just been tired and out of it. But I wanna clear up my drafts here and also just get these lingering ideas off my mind. But also, I still keep thinking about Hi-Fi Rush!!

During the move, and especially when the move was done, I ended up injuring myself so I didn't want to do much moving. And I still had a bit of time with a free giftpass subscription. And then on top of it this random little game I saw everyone talking about called "Hi-Fi Rush" was added to the service at around the same time. So it was basically the perfect storm for me to play it and help pass the time while keeping off my feet.

As always, this is NOT a review! I'm just throwing up my thoughts about what I felt while playing it! Any game I talk about here is something YOU should check out for yourself and get your own opinion on (especially this one)

SOME SPOILERS FOR HI-FI RUSH AHEAD!!! FAIR WARNING!!

Opening

So like what I said above, I hadn't really given this game a look over until this move due to all the circumstances coming together to make me wanna check it out. I saw everyone talking about it but I wasn't a huge fan of Chai's design and I didn't think I would have a ton of fun with a rhythm action game. But I'm REALLY happy I decided to finally give it a chance! This game is AMAZING!! I haven't played a ton of new stuff this year but I seriously think Hi-Fi Rush is already my Game of the Year!

Stuff I liked

So right off the bat. MAN the animation and art style of this game is AMAZING! I was actually completely blown away by how good the game looks. It's obviously very anime inspired and I was seriously blown away by just how lively and animated they manage to make the whole thing. Particularly with some REALLY nice facial expressions and like, strong poses? If that makes sense? The game is also so bright and colorful and a total treat to look at. Everything is designed super nicely. The whole game is so dynamic and fun to look at.

The characters are also ALL great! Chai's design really grew on me by the end of it (and I especially just love him as a character, he's great.) But like the whole main team is FANTASTIC! I'm so thirsty for Peppermint and Korsika, it's unreal. Why are they so hot? But Maccaron and CNMN are also super cute and fun and have some GREAT moments! And 808 has such a fantastic design! Each member of the team is also just fun and I like their stories and personalities and how they all get along. The bosses are fun too, although I didn't like them as much cause I have protagonist disease brain. AND THE ROBOTS! Oh man the robots are SO good in this game!! I of course loved the lizard ones but even generic robots and the older models all have such lovely designs! They seriously went nuts with every character here and there really aren't any forgettable designs!

The story and writing was also fantastic! I liked the absolutely bizarre hyper-amazon company they created. The plot is simple but really good. I loved seeing how absolutely terrifying and goofy this whole company was. And the story has some really powerful scenes, like when Chai busts them out of the laser cage thing. I actually almost cried during it aha. And this game is FUNNY!! Like, seriously SUPER funny! There's a surprising amount of really good jokes and even a lot of like, meta humor that's not annoying and is really funny. Almost every line is pretty much gold! I loved the story concept, the world concept, I loved every character's motivation, and it's genuinely pretty cool that the protagonist doesn't have an arm that's something you don't see a lot.

And we can't forget the actual gameplay itself! Lately I'm a lot more into rhythm games but I wasn't sure I would be particularly good at this game. But no I actually did pretty well! The combat feels FANTASTIC with timing your combos to the beat of the song. It sounds like it would be really annoying but it's not and you get the hang of it pretty easily. I also really liked summoning the other allies to help you fight and I made some SERIOUS use of them during the game. Being able to buy chips to customize your gameplay and also buy new moves, even new moves for your teammates, totally rocks and makes the game really customizable which is always nice. Outside of combat the actual movement and platforming around the levels is very linear and can be a little slow but it never felt BORING? I always liked it. And I didn't even do everything you can do! After beating it there's still a new side quest and I didn't have enough to buy the hot work out gear costumes for Peppermint and Korsika! But I absolutely WILL be coming back to this game in the future. No questions asked.

Stuff I didn't like

But, yeah, not even GOTY games are 100% perfect haha. This game does have a few small issues that kinda dragged the game at certain points. I have some nitpicks. Like this game also falls into the trap of having combos be really long nonsense button strings like mashing X a bunch. Also I actually was not a huge fan of the way the huge mega corporation was shown to be like "no guys it was good at one point :(" felt a little like a cop out. Like, yeah I guess it was nice with peppermint's mom and stuff but at the same time. No. These companies were never "good and just got corrupted :(" they were always evil. Remember that.

But my main big issue with this game is absolutely the quick time events. There's a LOT of them. And they're not all bad by any means. And like countering the big enemies' special moves feels AWESOME! But especially towards the end of the game it feels like the game CONSTANTLY stops itself every few seconds to throw a quick time event at you and they can just get kinda draining after a while. Like, the whole Korsika boss is a HUGE quick time event. And a lot of times I felt like I was failing it for no reason? Thankfully I managed to do it in one go. But if I had lost would I have to redo the ENITRE fight again? It's too much.

Another big issue I had isn't actually with the game itself. But more so with how I had to play it. For some odd reason when you play Hi-Fi Rush on game pass you cannot download it! You HAVE to play it through cloud! This was my first time ever playing a full game through cloud streaming. And I'll come out and say it: It sucks! So for most of the game it honestly ran totally fine. But I've NEVER in my entire life had good home internet that always worked 100% of the time. So by the end of the game the game just wasn't cooperating. Random crashes, random massive dips in graphics quality, random huge lag spikes. It became REALLY frustrating and there were times the game would just close out MID CUTSCENE!! It was so annoying. I am not a fan of cloud gaming. I can safely say.

Final Thoughts

Even while writing all these little ramblings down I'm remembering more and more about this game I loved. I completely forgot to mention the home base sections! Which were really charming and cute. Or the really funny and goofy emails you could find scattered around the world. Or the fact it uses actual licensed music and even though I didn't recognize a single one it was a nice touch!\

((OH MY GOD I HAD TO COME BACK IN AFTER FINISHING THE POST TO TELL YOU GUYS THAT THIS GAME ALSO HAS THE BEST PHOTO MODE I'VE EVER SEEN?? With TONS of options and cute ways to pose characters and frame the scenes and stuff! It's NUTS! This game rules))

Hi-Fi Rush is SO awesome!! This game seriously rules! It totally feels like a forgotten PS2/Xbox/Gamecube game that would have a huge cult following now! In the absolute best way possible, of course. This game was an absolute blast to go through and I loved EVERY SINGLE SECOND of it. Even when the quick time events were really annoying.

Apparently this game was a bit of a failure from what I've read? I haven't done too much research into it. But if that's true that's REALLY sad. This game is super creative and looks AMAZING! It's seriously so good looking you guys and it's SO funny! I think this is a game everyone would love if they gave it a shot! I seriously cannot recommend trying it enough! Sometimes AAA games can be good in the modern age! Who knew!!

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Thanks for reading, I haven't been playing a TON of stuff lately cause I've been really all over the place and a bunch of stupid shit has been happening to me left and right. But I mean, you all see me posting tons about random itch games I'm playing on twitter so. You know I'm still out there somewhere, gaming. Hopefully the rest of this year will be filled with more gems like Hi-Fi Rush!

That's it from me I suppose. Go out and play a game that makes you LOVE music!

[stinklebug]

au i think about sometimes: hfr tf2 au

Ignoring the tf2 lore for the characters because it would make everything Weird, everyone is:

chai is scout (red, on blu's side)

peppermint is sniper (blu)

macaron is engineer (blu)

cnmn is spy (blu)

korsica is pyro (red, switches to blu's side)

rekka is heavy (red)

zanzo is medic (red)

mimosa is demo (red)

roquefort is roquefort (red)

kale is redmond/blutarch/grey mann/saxton hale (red)

roxanne is the announcer and ms. pauling (purple)

rather than the team's fighting each other All The Time, it's more like mann vs machine (with the robots just being the vandelay units), and then every once in a while it's PVP Time

post-spectra takedown, the gang would have to fight robot versions of themselves to make it more like Actual mann vs machine