#that’s just my guess from the end of the big top cutscene)

[planet4546b]

today may also suck but i will survive i have the promise of getting home and hopefully seeing edgeworth and franziska cunty sibling interactions. farewell my turnabout save meeee

[ndostairlyrium]

okay, major spoilers + me being very critical and rambly so feel free to dodge

who is this person?

what mess, specifically?

why is Harding the only one that gets mad?

how did they think this cutscene was a good idea?

I deliberately chose the smug / angry option to have a legit "stay at your place kid" reaction from her, because I think one of the things that unites all the Inquisitors is that they cared. They fucking cared and were taken advantage of. They were treated like a pawn from the beginning, and they fucking subverted it. What is the mess she's talking about? Being there when it was needed the most? Stopping a legit apocalypse? HOW DID SHE MAKE THE SOUTH VULNERABLE OMG she fucking strengthen it!! It was at its lowest and I'm betting that without the Inquisition it would have been destroyed entirely, even without Corypheus. And she shouldn't need fucking scout Harding to tell a kid to shut their mouth, if that was the real Inquisitor, he would be on the floor crying for mum

We stopped Mages and Templars from mauling each other, and possibly revolutionized their relationship. Prevented Grey Wardens to self destruct and (possibly) helped them to raise their numbers. Put an end to the stupidest civil war in history. We picked the most influential cult leader in the south (the ma' thing had me screaming like, out of everything you could say the Divine has done for the struggle, you're telling me that this is all she can bring to the table? Just reassure Harding she's safe, like, why are you bragging?). Not to mention all those war table missions that are *useless*, like idk, mediating between Ferelden and Orlais? Just to pick one. But everything is inconsequential, apparently. "Hey, Ferelden and Orlais are finally working together in an united front against the Darkspawn" <- that would have been SO COOL

Morrigan being like "she worked hard these past 10 years" is the cherry on top, really. Basically all the hours spent planning my worldstate are limited to "upsidupsi things are bad, have a statuette" with the grey hoodie like an influencer that sold molded lipsticks to their followers. Do I really need someone to reiterate that she's awesome? Can't you show me instead? Are they really recommending the fucking inquisitor??

Give me someone BIG, someone that wears the struggle, with travel clothes, eyebags, dirt on her fingertips, a battered prosthetic. Tell me visually that I'm talking with someone that's leaving the battlefield (with tremendous costs because, like, one of your generals is kilometers away) to bring help and ask for help. I really hope that statuette is worth the costs in lives, because if that statue is a fucking mcguffin I'll scream. In this cutscene she looks more like one of those generals they use for recruitment posters rather than an actual person and I'm mortified for her

Dude, I'm fuming. Fuming. This is fucking ridiculous.

What she should have answered: "Who the fuck are you to judge, and where is Varric? I need to talk to an adult." / "Leave Harding and go do something constructive"

Ankh, they did you so dirty oh my GOD

Do you know how many more interesting scenarios could have been exposed if we had kept some of our decisions?? I guess I'll stick with the "I'm incompetent" version, not that the other options are better...

This meeting could've been an email

[ostebee]

Getting too excited about Silksong...again. It DOES exist but only on Team Cherry desktops and damn, I can't believe it DOES. I mean seriously, every day William, Ari, David and play testers are opening this file, pressing buttons, working on sprites, animations, backgrounds, everything. I hope it will be love letter to every single fan who made this possible, who supported and cheered them on their way.

Just imagine when it will finally be purchasable in Steam. What if it will be that big that Hollow Knight will be just a little fracture of Silksong? What if it will be so damn good that I'll spend there DOZENS OF HOURS AND I'LL CLEAN IT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.... I will cry during every cutscene and ending, I will do so many things...

Damn, I know why do I sew my Hornet plushie. To hug her in such moments. I guess that's why having hyperfix feels overall bad, because I can think of nothing but Silksong...

[meatball-headache]

I dont have a non-spoilery screenshot for The Sacrifice, so, please enjoy this survey!

Chiclet's not allowed to read this yet, so shhhh

Howling... full moon... heh. He's a Wereframe.

So, once again I'm captivated by Warframe's approach to storytelling. It's unique, in my experience—and I'll be glad to admit my experience is pretty limited. MMOs tend to dominate all your time, y'know?

I've heard how with The Second Dream they started to take the story in a different direction, that is, they introduced a lot more cinematic scenes—and, man, they pack a punch. Honestly, I think introducing this style later in the game, years down the road for some players and still many months for myself—it's very effective. I keep using analogies like playing Tetris to level 100 and then suddenly you get a scene that introduces the pieces' names. If Warframe had been this from the beginning, it still would have been good, but the impact of the surprise wouldn't have been there, and that moment still shines so brightly for me. The game would just be a fun grind to kill some time without it, but with that "This is what you are" scene, the whole game just took on a profound, sacred aspect that can't be topped.

...and yet...

No, no, The Sacrifice isn't better than The Second Dream, but, I am surprised. See, I've long known two things: one, you can look at the Codex and see all the quests in the game. Angels of the Zariman is there right from the beginning, except it says "Prerequisite: The New War." Whispers in the Walls is there right from the beginning, except it says "Prerequisite: The New War." Jade Shadows is there from the beginning, except it says "Prerequisite: The New War."

The New War does not appear in my Codex.

The second thing I've long known? The New War is going to be a big deal.

There's something else that's been stuck in my craw for a long time. What's the Ropalolyst? There's a mission on Jupiter that can't be done because it requires the quest The Chimera: Prologue. That quest... also doesn't appear in my Codex? So, there are some quests that aren't in the Codex...

Compared to FFXIV, there's no comparison. A classic MMORPG is quest-dense with wall-to-wall dialogue and almost nonstop cutscenes. On the other end of the coin, the other type of game I'm most familiar with is Soulsbornes, where there's almost no story in-game; it's more similar to the NES classics where you turn on the game, press Start, and fight stuff until you see credits. Warframe, of course, doesn't need to be FFXIV, but what's exciting is the hint that there's something behind it all, and there's still some secrets I don't know about.

I did Apostasy: Prologue and was really surprised to find out that it's a one-mission quest that sets up the next story quest. I wonder if it released at the same time as The Sacrifice? I was thinking I'd do Apostasy tonight, The Sacrifice tomorrow... well, since Apostasy was basically just one cutscene, I had to do The Sacrifice. I'll get into the details later, but...

What the...

Well. We found the Chimera Prologue. Hell, we found the Chimera, didn't we?

This is what I mean. Once again, I'm astounded by the game's turns. So, Prelude to War has... chapters?! That's never been a thing before. That explains why Chimera Prologue wasn't in my Codex. Maybe The New War is one of these chapters? No, no, for what a big deal The New War is, it must be its whole own system. It must be something as big as Duviri. It's got to be something.

None of the quests in this game have been big enough to warrant chapters. I'm guessing it's not that each "chapter" is just its own mission, no. Each chapter must be the size of a normal quest, right? Around 3-5 missions, cutscenes between a couple...

Just want to throw this in, I really like how Warframe just doesn't give a shit about throwing something weird at you without explanation. You get an objective "Search the lab." Search for what? Is it glowing? Am I supposed to use my scanner on it? Turn into the kid and blast it with my void beam? Walk up to it and press the button? Am I looking for a console to use, an item to pick up, damage to get curious about? I appreciate that Warframe seems to trust the player to figure it out. They trust the player to figure out that there's something to figure out. ...which might be a little optimistic on their part, because I did have to look up what to do on those Kuva siphon missions...

FFXIV's narrative is massive and non-stop. I have to wait four months for the next patch, but every patch always ends with a big fight, and then Y'shtola puzzling over some magical mystery, saying, "I'll let you know when I've figured something out." When the patch comes out, you talk to her in the same place, "Perfect timing! I just wanted to let you know I've figured something out." A new player would get uninterrupted flow and never know when one patch ends and another begins, unless they clue in on the little narrative trick. But, like I said, me, I've always played patches day one, and then I have months between patches.

If I played Warframe the same way... well, the way I'm playing Warframe now, is that I'm going at an absolute snail's pace, tiptoeing my way through the quests and spending a lot of time leveling things and grinding all the time.

I'm not explaining myself properly. Let me try again.

Warframe's quests released months or more apart, as did FFXIV's. But FFXIV's are meant to be continuous. Warframe's feel like they need to have space between them, because it's not a continuous narrative from one to the next. I'm not saying the story is disjointed or makes no sense; but imagine if it were FFXIV, and you do the quest where you fight Ifrit and all that, and then the next quest is to do the banquet and fight Titan, and then the next quest is to fight Garuda. Played back to back, it'd feel like there's vast gaps between them, both narratively and level-wise.

Maybe I just have a shit memory for lore? Warframe's quests always feel like they're talking about characters I should be extremely familiar with. Or, maybe I'm just used to less-well-written games that explicitly hand you reminders of these characters that haven't been mentioned in several minutes.

So, The Sacrifice is all about Ballas. I don't really know who Ballas is, but this quest has the feeling of "Finally, we're going to take on Ballas." But, I have heard about him. In The Second Dream, we see that Margulis was talking to Ballas. He might've been mentioned in Chains of Harrow? Or, no... I think it was The Silver Grove, where we had dialogue from I don't remember who, someone who was building Warframes for Ballas, I think, and regretted it because they were doing horrible things, so her last Warframe was Titania, to protect the forest. But where I know Ballas from the most is the song, "For Narmer." I don't know the context in-game, but you can't listen to "We All Lift Together" on Youtube without getting recommended the rest. There's a lyric that says "Praise the wise and mighty Ballas" in it. I thought they were saying "balance" at first, but then I thought, are they saying someone's name?

Ballas is a little like Ludwig from Bloodborne. If you've been paying attention, you have hints and snippets of this guy's role in the story. If you're like me, you take one little hint, dwell on it, obsess over it, and when the grand reveal finally comes, oh how grand it is! Ludwig, Ballas, Ketenramm... okay, maybe not Ketenramm.

Warframe has this unshakable feeling that there was some plot between quest beats that I missed. Same thing with just... the game. Ghoul Purge! Thermia Fractures! ...do I know what that's about? Was there some quest to introduce those, and now they're just in the game? It's like fighting Yojimbo or Typhon at the Gold Saucer when you've been playing FFXIV for three weeks and you're level 37. Am I supposed to know who this is? Oh well, gotta do my dailies! Or the... Rathuum? Where you fight... I had to look up her name... Kela De Thaym, on Sedna. The thing has this feeling like we're old rivals, her dialogue suggests she's finally going to get us for all the times we've foiled her before! But, lady, we just met you. Actually, we haven't even met you! We just showed up at this new node and you're going, "Finally we settle things!"

Don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining, it's just a very unique feeling about the game's whole quest style.

There's something else, too. There always is, you know me.

You ever get into a new series, books, movies, games, whatever? There's already three seasons but you're just finding out about it now, so you eat it all up and you're excited to learn there's going to be a new season next year. It comes and you watch it and... it just feels different? They got new writers, or the pacing is weird, something's just not clicking. And then next year another new season and, yeah it's just not as good. Or, music, people do this with music all the time, right?

When I first got into Warframe, Angels of the Zariman was the new patch. I didn't play it, obviously, don't know anything about it, but, I wonder if, when I get to that point, then everything from then on is going to feel like "new" Warframe, and just not have the same impact as the "original" stuff? I know me; I'm certain I'm going to be overly aware of the dividing line, and look for changes.

Also? In The Sacrifice, we learn that Margulis was sentenced to the Jade light. There's a new Warframe named Jade, and in fact a whole new quest called Jade Shadows. Clearly, this "Jade" thing has been long foreshadowed (lol) and must tie into the story deeply. I just thought it was a cool new Warframe they made because they didn't have one starting with J already. My playing these old quests with hints of knowledge of the future is an interseting perspective; anyone playing these things back when they were new wouldn't have this "Ah, so this is where Jade comes from!" moment... but at the same time, they get what I won't, they get a "Holy shit they're finally making a Jade Warframe?!" (Now that I think about it, that does kind of explain why this warranted a whole new Eximus type...)

Now, the actual quest.

What the FUCK just happened?

After dealing with Rell's psyche and releasing or destroying Harrow in the Void, or whatever we did, there's something odd in our personal quarters. When we go in, we suddenly find ourselves on Lua, where we find... the pod containing the actual Lotus? And then Ballas just... shows up, and takes her away? But, Ballas is one of the Orokin, the people that were annihilated by the Warframes in the Old War (I think) ... how long ago? A couple years? A couple thousand years? I think there were some lore snippets along the lines of, after the Orokin fell, the Grineer and Corpus took over the system. The Grineer used to be strong and competent, but cloning errors began to creep in generation after generation, so some time must have transpore since the Old War. We have extremely overgrown Orokin ruins on Deimos. And, Ballas's dialogue suggests he's been around for a bazillion years.

What happened? Why did Ballas wait for us to arrive to take the Lotus away? Did we have to lead him to her? We found magic voices from the Lotus asking to be freed... is this what she's always wanted? Or was that a memory from when she was like, imprisoned before her execution? The other lines do seem to be the latter, so. Who was it that Ballas turned into Umbra? Does it matter? Is it supposed to be someone we know? Why does Ballas have a long Bloodborne arm? Why is Ballas a blue Orokin and Isaah is just like a dude?

All rhetorical questions, as always, but this is what I'm asking for real. Am I forgetting something? Or am I meant to wonder what's going on, try to figure out the missing pieces? These cutscenes are as cinematic as anything in Final Fantasy, but the story is as Swiss-cheesed as any Soulsborne. Pieces are missing and I don't know what's going on, but it's being presented as if I already have the setup, as if I already know the context.

And, again. I love this style. It's completely fascinating and captivating. I'm not being critical, I know it sounds like I'm just complaining about being confused, but, that's not the case. I like being confused, because it's just the right level. There's plenty of story and characters, and enough lore and just... this vibe to suggest there's more. Ordis chirps every now and then, "Do you remember the Old War? Ordis seems to have... misplaced those memories." That's enough to make you go, whoa whoa whoa, what? ...and now whenever you play, you're looking for any tangential reference to this mysterious "Old War." Nora on the radio talks about Alad V's experiments, and now you know this mad scientist is out there something, up to something strange... It's not always a throughline narrative like FF, but you get these pieces to sort of color a vibe, so to speak. The world gradually fills in, and every now and then the dam breaks and it all spills forth, and you get all the water you could ever want, but... gosh, it's pretty messy sometimes.

Somehow, I've lucked into the ideal way to play this game, I think. At least, I'm having a lot of fun. I look up builds on websites, and they'll have powerful mods like Umbral Intensify. Umbral! I know about Primed, but Umbral!? Where do I get that! ...and then, suddenly, I have it, and it's like the stars have aligned and I've achieved enlightenment. At long last, this mythical relic has entered my hand! And, not gonna lie, it's kind of a profound moment. Now I know. Now I know where this important and mysterious item comes from!

There's so much to this game. Eidolon hunts, Kuva liches, sorties—these I've just recently unlocked, in terms of progression, and I could spend ages grinding them for the latest paths to strength. And there's more out there that I know very little or nothing about. I have "Arbitration" on my menu, but I can't select it until I clear the star chart, which includes a few things I can't do, like the Ropalolyst, and things I'm not up to yet, like Zariman, and things I can't even fathom a guess at, like the half-dozen remaining nodes on Deimos. I've vaguely heard about Icarnons? Something about a special mode for weapons? And recently I was watching a video explaining damage types, and he mentioned Archon shards? I have no idea what that is! But this man is shooting a bow that explodes ten times for 1,000,000 damage each hit... I can sometimes do a million damage with Baruuk's exalted weapon's charged heavy attack... And, there's probably more cool mods out there that are just super rare from an extremely specific source... I've heard of Adaptation and Growing Power, a couple other types of "Power," I think, so those must be from... who knows? C rotation in a rescue mission on Sedna? I know Vor shows up after round 1 survival on Mot in the Void, and he drops some unique mods, so maybe other places have some weird gimmick like that? I just don't know, and I probably won't without looking it up.

There is SO. MUCH. To this game. It's absurd. I've never played anything that comes close, even FFXIV, with as huge a game as it is, its content is much more samey—consistent tomestone systems, raid loot designs, dungeon length, whatnot. Nothing compares to Warframe, it's absolutely ridiculous.

And?

All this is free. Completely free. The only things you can only get with real cash money are cosmetic skins and syandanas and color palettes, I think. You can play the entire story and campaign for free, you can get every Warframe for free—getting enough storage to keep them all is a different story, though... Nora has some slots you can grind for sometimes but mostly you gotta pay—you can get all the Prime Warframes and weapons for free, there's no paid version of the season pass, no subscribers-only zones or Warframes or quests...

If I had found Warframe before FFXIV... I probably wouldn't have liked it. Original Warframe seemed... really different. I mean, current Warframe didn't even grab me until the third or fourth time around. But, I mean, what'm I playing now? I played Dawntrail, I logged in as soon as the servers went live and I sank deep into the story for a couple months. I took my time, exploring, grinding all my jobs first, and then as soon as the story was done—I went and did the post-game dungeons and raids :p But as soon as that was done, I just kinda... stopped playing. I haven't capped tomes once in Dawntrail; I used to do it religiously. I haven't even been getting all my Arcadion NM loot. I love FFXIV, it's my absolute baby, thinking about it, reminiscing about it, listening to it—my god, Soken's a genius—pondering the story, looking at fanart... but when it comes to pure gameplay? It's... dry. Combat is great—for an MMO. I find action RPGs like Warframe, Bloodborne, these kind of things a lot more fun, in terms of pure gameplay. And, look, every dungeon is formulaic, so many of the jobs play so similarly to others... Then you go to Warframe where, yes, missions are extremely formulaic, but you also have randomized maps, Stalker attacks, Eximus waves; and every Warframe plays so different from every other. Every weapon is different! Most games seem to just be a sliding scale of "This shoots fast but does less damage," "This shoots slow and does lots of damage," "This does lots of damage but is not accurate." Warframe has "This is an assault rifle," "This is an assault rifle. If you empty the magazine then it drains life from enemies nearby." "This is an assault rifle. It shoots missiles that explode," "This shoots grenades. You have to press this button to detonate them manually."

All right, folks. I'm tired of writing. To summarize: I love Warframe, this quest was great. Thanks for reading. Good night.

[powdermelonkeg]

Tears of the Kingdom: The Final Analysis

Part 1

Everyone buckle up, this is going to be a long one.

The new trailer dropped this morning, giving us a LOT of content to look forward to—everything is in its final state. The cutscenes, the models, the plot, the voice lines.

We're at the end. Any more surprises will need to be in-game.

Our intro shot. Nothing we haven't seen before, to start, save for maybe that strange block over on the sky island to the left.

Hazarding a guess, I'd say that this is a piece to be used in an Ultrahand construct. It doesn't look to be a typical building, at least.

We get past the clouds and see Hyrule's horizon, and we get a feel for just how high these things are.

Look, down there. THAT is Farosh, at the peak of its flight.

The isles are so high up that it'd take an insane amount of glitching to get there without using Recall.

On top of that, we have multiple tiers of height. Hyrule is INCREDIBLY vertical this time around.

We're then given a shot of the sky isles up close. Again, nothing too notable, but-

The construct fighting this Chuchu does imply that they're here to protect the isles, rather than just be enemies. Despite their hostility, it isn't due to any sort of malice corruption, like the Guardians.

One of the working constructs from the gameplay teaser is chopping at a tree, backing this theory up; they're here to work on something, and the attacking ones are their protectors.

Next, we have Link diving down past the biggest building in all of this. This is the one from previous trailers that's been mostly obscured by clouds; given the amount of isles surrounding it, I'm willing to bet that it's a central hub of sorts.

The world has curvature, which is a nice touch—we might be able to see what the land looks like beyond Hyrule if we get up high enough.

Goddess cube? It doesn't look like it's resting on anything.

This thing interests me most in this shot, though; it's got the same kind of spiral we've seen coming off of the Sheikah shrines, but this is definitely NOT that. If anything, it looks like it's generating the spiral.

Then we have the lower part of the structure, with what looks like an altar and landing pad.

Moving past it, we see the ground.

Red circles of malice, though we haven't had a chance to see them up close yet.

More Zonai glyphs on the ground

But most importantly, a very distinct lake.

That lake is at the southernmost point of Hyrule Field, meaning that Link's skydive here is likely right above the center of it.

Then we get our logo drop.

As well as probably the biggest glyph to date.

However, unlike almost every other one we've seen, we know what this is.

See the crest at the peak of it, the way the figure hunches over, the big circle that could be an eye?

That's a Lizalfos.

Why are the glyphs monsters? Is it indicative of a challenge? An outbreak?

Link flies on

And we see the glowing spire. It's got four distinct spotlight sort-of things. It's in a similar spot to the Lake Tower, map-wise, so it might be a corrupted Sheikah tower despite its silhouette.

Link runs through a grassy field. We can also place this one:

A river separates a forest

There's a bridge

And an island

That's the southeastern edge of Hyrule Field. Specifically, that island is where Magda (aka Flowerblight) gets upset if you trample her flowers on the way to Hila Rao shrine.

However, this disqualifies this thing from being a Sheikah tower. The closest tower is the Dueling Peaks tower, and that's in the water further south—which would be further to the right than the screen shows. The only thing in the area this thing is placed in Breath of the Wild is a Korok.

Also, what is this??? It looks like a portal, or something you would fly your Loftwing through in Skyward Sword. It doesn't SEEM to have magic in it, but that might just mean it's inactive.

And I'll have to make this a multi-parter because I've hit my first image limit. I'll edit this with a link to the next part once it's posted.

Edit: Part 2!

[furinana]

Reviewing SMT's 30th Anniversary Event in Yokohama

In 2023 (the year of Nanashi's birthday!) I spent some months in Japan so I lucked out when they announced a Megaten concert right before my departure.

This is a compilation of thoughts from tweets and messages I sent to friends that I decided to turn into a public post for archival purposes.

Disclaimer: unless stated otherwise, none of the pictures I'm using here are mine. Most of them were taken from the event's official account.

May 6th. From Kyoto (the city I was staying) to Yokohama was approx. two hours by Shinkansen. Like how a close friend of mine says, "The thing about Japan is that you ride one train and you just become the biggest car hater immediately".

[I ended up taking an overnight bus for the back trip however, took around 7 hours. Cramped on your legs but your pockets hurt way less]

How is Yokohama at the moment? A bright sunny noon and like this user illustrated, windy as hell (my cap came off once and I had to run in the middle of the street to rescue it).

[KT Zepp Yokohama]

I arrived 4 hours before the concert's schedule so I fucked around Yokohama's cozy Chinatown for a bit, among other places I don't remember. I didn't take into account that you could arrive hours prior to the event to purchase the limited merch line and stare at concept art of mainline games in an exhibiton placed in the entrance. The merch would get sold out in a matter of minutes in the gap between the opening and when the concert would start! Don't underestimate scalpers, folks.

A beginner's mistake, this is how life teaches you to be smart.

[For every 5,000 yen you spent, you got the chance of receiving a colored bookmark of one of the protagonists. A lot of items involved abysmal luck to get. Fortunately I was able to grab what I set my eyes on in the later online raffle so things turned out fine on my end (although I'm currently having to deal with a lot of dupes much to my annoyance. But hey, I have official merch of Flynn and Nanashi now)]

Regarding the exhibition: Not a lot of stuff to comment on. They made a timeline of sorts for each mainline title (except the NES games because fuck 'em I guess) and pretty much most of it was available in official artbooks published previously. Nocturne for example, they displayed the writing process & how they sketched cutscenes and attacks prior to making them 3D etc, which was no-news if you browsed the Ayakashi Monthly book before.

[We weren't allowed to take pictures so I can only show the previews from the official account. We had to stay at a long line to look at each piece in a chronological way so it felt particularly... uncomfortable. I don't like the feeling that I might be slowing down other people so I end up rushing what was supposed to be a serene activity]

The actual exclusive never-seen-before art was regarding beta character & demons concepts from SMT4A:

[Top: Drawn from memory by me. Bottom: The "mermaid" is a reference to the Starbucks logo that interestingly, is also present in Nanashi's room (which could mean there was an intention of Nanashi's only reference of a mermaid being the logo of a cafe that wouldn't exist in-universe anymore. For those unaware, the mermaid in question is actually a siren!]

Here are the descriptions I typed on my phone right after I exited the exhibition (and would use as base for my own sketches a day later):

Chironnupu had two beta forms with the face as it is now where one walked on four legs and the other his legs faded out in a ghost-like manner. He also had a third and more distinct from his current design where he was dressed in Ainu attire on 2 legs and was smiling to the viewer (a Youkai Watch sort of vibe, very cute).

Nanashi had an unseen sketch where Doi drew him with a suspiciously big waist. Yeah, I know it's minor but I wanted to comment on how unhinged Doi is in drawing girly boys. Go off king

Cleopatra had a form where she had dark skin, dark green hair and emerald green eyes (...huh? I just realized I painted her hair with brown instead of green lmao I became fixated in making her look similar to Maria Torres from Trauma Team). Considering how some demons get color variations (such as Vishnu or Moh Shuvuu), some even getting darker skin in adaptations (take Rama in the Devil Survivor 2 anime), perhaps Cleopatra getting an alt that is closer to this beta depiction isn't an impossibility. I can dream

Vishnu-Flynn had a version where his face was the same as how Flynn normally is.

Mermaid had a form where she was supposed to resemble the Starbucks logo where her palette was red&other color (I don't remember if it was blue or green) and showed an alluring evil smile.

Now let's talk about the concert. The structure of how it went was basically alternating between the band playing remixes of soundtracks with gameplay videos on the screen and then pausing for the hosts to talk with the audience and share some free-talks with the musicians that worked on the titles.

Fans used this menorah they sold in the booth as a glow stick (the ones you see in idol events).

[Event announcers Mafia Kajita and Chiaki Matsuzawa in day 1 and 2]

At the end there was a little quiz with gameplay-specific questions, for example what a certain skill does. You had to answer with this little cardboard thing that had a Jack Frost in one side and Black Frost in the other.

Regarding the free-talks, a summary of what I was able to get (take those with a grain of salt):

Kozuka never played any Megaten before composing for the games (he thought they were too dangerous)

SJR composer played all of them

Tsukasa said the songs for the SNES games were a lot longer and better-sounding but unfortunately they had to chop off a lot

Meguro makes sound effects before making the music, finished SMT2 before starting composing but doesn't play games anymore

By the end, Kajita wishes Megaten games were released more often so events like this could happen frequently and Matsuzawa says she's a big Digital Devil Saga fan.

By the way, you could easily recognize the western fans from the audience from how louder and cheerier they were compared to the local ones. Japanese fans are the types that respect silence to a scary degree. For another example, I was able to watch The Boy and the Heron right in the opening week and nobody from the session I went to laughed or made any perceptible reaction to other viewers. The only one laughing in the entire room was my, notably, non-JPN roommate.

When the concert was nearing its end however, the hosts allowed everyone to be as loud as they wanted to thus letting the atmosphere at long last turn closer to the spirit of Megaten... chaotic.

[Going personally to the concert was a totally unique experience compared to seeing it from a screen with diluted audio. You truly had to be there to have your stomach twisting from the echoes coming from the band's instruments]

My personal favorite remixes:

SMT1's Ginza

SMT2's Disco Theme

SMT4's Boss Theme & Map theme

SMT4A's f6 Godslayer (when they showed Vishnu-Flynn on the big screen... 😳)

[thevoidbunny]

For the last post of 2024, I present: The Tierlist

WAIT WAIT WAIT HEAR ME OUT—

So. I guess im staring from the lowest tier.

Not Played: Never owned a Gameboy/Gameboy Advanced. Skipped Diamond and Pearl since I already had Platinum, and Black 2 was too expensive to play without an emulator, which leads me to-

Didn't finish: Technically I played the opening of W2, but my laptop sucks as an emulator, so I didn't even make it out the first town. As for Let's Go Eevee, it wasn't due to the catching method, Kanto is just mid.

Worse Than Predecessors: I also didn't finish these two, but I hold these two with more contempt because unlike the previous two, I actually got close to the end with both of these.

BDSP is a “faithful” remake of Diamond/Pearl, and that's the big issue. I know this has probably been talked about to death, but GF should've gone a HGSS route and incorporate Platinum into the story, especially since that's the Sinnoh game. I'm thankful about The Grand Underground and the improvements from the previous gens were kept, but it's just not enough. Compared to ORAS, this is just an awful remaster that keeps the bad and none of the good. And you're paying 60 dollars, when the original DS games—yes, even Platinum—can be found between $20 and $50. I received Platinum alongside SP, and I enjoyed playing Platinum way more than SP.

As for Ultra Sun—while being visually prettier and having Zossie—it didn't need to exist. Would've been just fine as DLC, or even a sequel, but instead they decided to rewrite the story so Lusamine's good actually, which ruins Lillie's arc. Exggecutor Island? Lillie confronting her mother? Nehilgo Lusamine? Nah, let's sideline her and go fight Necrozma! And to top it all off, they still didn't add a skip cutscene button. Dropped once I reached the elite four.

Nemona Save: The only saving grace of this game is Nemona. The graphics are shit, the lighting is shit, everything either looks washed out or eye-searing neon (looking at you AREA ZERO). The game is… fun, but that's because it's a pokemon game, the premise of going out and befriending monsters will always be fun. The story is honestly alright too, it's just sad that it’s in such a sloppily put together game. I wasn't even play this one, the only reason I did was because I got it as a gift. Didn't get the DLC either, no point in putting more money towards a game that I feel ambivalent towards at best.

Cutscene Hell: I have conflicting feelings towards SuMo. I did enjoy playing the game, and I love Lillie's arc, but the cutscenes. Whoever decided that the game should have as many as it does without a skip button needs to be fired. I tried replaying Moon during a blackout, and I didn’t even make it to the first Kahuna. It’s even worse a second time because I've already done these tutorials damn it let me play!!!

5/10: the most controversial of the placements, I'm sure, but let me explain. White was my second ever pokemon game, I have loads of fond memories with the game. I even enjoyed my replay of Black! It just… many pokemon fans treat Gen 5 with such reverence, I feel uncomfortable even mentioning my issues with the games. For example, bane of my existence, Audino Grinding. Got a new team member? Are you under-leveled for the next gym? Hope you’re ready to run back and forth until shaking grass appears, which ends up taking longer than it does to KO the Audino! And you better hope you’ve leveled high enough, or else you’re going back to the grass! Gen 4 also has this issue with level grinding, but that doesn’t excuse the issue, it just makes it worse. Now, uh, this is the other part I'm hesitant talking about, because I know these characters are very beloved. I don't like BW Cheren, Bianca, or N. Let me explain. From a story point, Cheren questioning his strength and Bianca being unsure about her place in the world through the game, and then getting to see their characters fulfilled in the sequels is really cool. From a gameplay standpoint? You get Cheren going "what is my strength, how do I get strong?" every time you meet up and Bianca doesn't do anything until N's Castle. They get better in the second games from what I've seen in pokemas and secondhand, but still. And N, as cool as his character is, never gets the chance to really show why liberating pokemon is needed. Like I get Ghetsis is manipulating him, pokemon and humans are in a symbiotic relationship, yada yada, but that doesn't mean to discard the dilemma entirely. Why can't we see N doing more than talking about his goals? Maybe we meet him in a shelter for abused pokemon, or N calling out a cruel trainer, or even calling us out if our pokemon’s friendship is too low. Obviously, Gamefreak doesn’t actually want people to consider N may be right, since Team Plasma gives up the ghost almost immediately. Which. Sucks. IDK, I've got more thoughts, but this section is long enough already.

Good, But Could Be Better: Alpha Sapphire was my first exposure to the Hoenn region, and it did a damn good job. The main story, the redesigns, the DexNav, it's overall fun. The only reason it's not higher is some minor issues of mine. Mainly the "let's address the multiverse with Zinna" and—not to be IGN—the water routes. After playing the Alola games and surfing around the whole island with no loading screens, said screens get really noticeable in ORAS. Which is a shame considering how many surfing areas are in Hoenn. As for the whole multiverse thing, that was not needed. At all. Why would you take a story that's about the balance of the Earth, Sea, and Sky, and then stable on the multiverse. We could've had another reason why Zinna needed to summon Rayquaza than "we need to explain why mega evolution and fairy types weren't in the previous games." And I would've not had to listen to people hating in the Delta Episode and Zinna because they broke the timeline or whatever.

Amazing Games: Ironically, both games are in Sinnoh. Platinum deserves its reputation as one of the best pokemon games. I had always been hesitant from how much people gas up the game, but they were right. I'm sure I don't need to explain why it's such a good game, you've heard it a million times before. What I want to add is why it's not in S or S+ tier. See, while this game is great, it's held back when considering all the QOL improvements in the newer games. Like, TMs being limited sucks when trying to play around with team members, especially if it's one per savefile. Move reminders also don't include TM moves, which I unfortunately learned when I replaced Steel Wing with Close Combat on my Staraptor. Then there's The Grind TM, another annoying issue when trying to play around with members. You want to train up a new member? Okay, first go get a pokemon with the Compound Eyes ability, use the Thief TM (That's one per save so make it count), then spend forever to get a 5% Chansey, use Thief and then hope it's a Lucky Egg. "Oh but what about EXP share?" that only works if you have one pokemon that needs to get leveled up. If you're trying to keep a team all evenly leveled, it's not as effective. Plus, the Lucky Egg gives 1.5x the exp, so less time running around hunting for Chansey to slay. Though, I will admit, some of this may be Skill IssueTM considering this was all based off my first playthrough. But really, if Platinum had a remaster that gave it the better movepools of later games, reusable/easily available TMs, and the exp share of Gen 6, it would be perfect.

Legends Arceus was a surprise, but a welcomed one. I love getting to just run around and catch pokemon to my heart's content. I'm not randomly dragged into the story, I can do it at my own pace. There's no random battles that interrupt my adventuring. And it's never been easier to get shiny pokemon! It's just. There's really no point in replaying. I mean, since the main point is catching pokemon, there are no gyms to switch up team members, and the Noble Pokemon can be defeated without ever needing to battle. Even after 2 years, I still haven't replayed the game, since I can just do massive mass outbreaks whenever I get the urge to run through Hisui. S, Replaying Constantly: oh boy. SWSH is really the black sheep of the Pokemon series. Getting saddled with the infamous Dexit controversy, a story that really needed more polish, and the wrath of a fanbase that had grown increasingly angry at Gamefreak over the years, SWSH got the shortest stick imaginable. So, why is it this high? Simple. Ease of replaying, and the DLC. "Easy replaying? But the beginning takes forever!" Every pokemon game has a slow start. From going to Sangem Town to deliver a map, to us needing to get a Wooloo out of the dark forest. It only feels longer because, unfortunately, we can't really button mash out. (Did I mention they didn't add a true cutscene skip in this game?) But once you're out the starting town, you can immediately enter the Wild Area, The Isle of Armor, and The Crowned Tundra! I've had multiple playthroughs where I ignore the main quest and just run around the DLC areas. Which are so pretty, it shows what we could've had if this game spent longer in the oven. Are the game's completely carried by their DLC? Yes. Should this have been in the main game for the price we paid? Also Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't have gripes about the story (I could write a whole essay about it.) But in terms of gameplay, I will be replaying for the 50th time. (I, uh, kinda went SWSH crazy during COVID.) X is my favorite 3D pokemon game. Best customization options, the introduction of Pokemon Amie/Hyper Training/PPS, skating, chain fishing, shared EXP, reusable TMs, MEGA EVOLUTIONS- Can the game get super easy at times? Yes, especially if you use all every gift pokemon you get. But am I gonna complain when I can get a trenchcoat dress and pet my MVP Vivillon, no! Aside from the nonexsistant story and incomplete threads (Seriously, what did that sign mean??) There's a lot of details put into the game. Lumiose city has so much stuff I didn't even know about until reading about it on bulbapedia. Berry mutations are a thing. Parfum Palace has a protrait of young AZ. You can make so much money from the Battle Chateau ie the building Trevor introduces to you and then we all forget about. It's so AGGHH PLAY X RIGHT NOW

Obvious Pick is Obvious: Be honest, is anyone surpirsed? I will be frank and say SoulSliver was my first pokemon game. I fell in love with the Johto region, and can firmly say had I not recieved the game for my birthday, I wouldn't be the pokemon fan I am today. Gamefreak put their whole pussy into this game. Incorpoating elements of Crystal into the remake, adding walking pokemon, the sick ass cutscene where Lugia/Ho-oh appear after being summoned, making an exclusive safari zone, Voltorb Flip- Look I don't need to explain why its so great. Aside from issues carried over from Gen 4 and the OG games (Limited TMs, HMs required for progress, odd level curve where the 5-6-7th gym are all around the same level while the 8th is higher leveled) This is THE pokemon game. Honestly the best one to introduce a newcomer with, granted you find one for a decent price (Or emulate with a decent computer)

Also LYRA BEST PROTAG FIGHT ME

[only-by-the-stars]

so. I have. some thoughts about TotK.

they're not happy ones.

(behind a cut for spoilers and negativity)

to be clear, the gameplay is mostly fun. that's what's kept me going this far. but... I'm not sure anymore if it can keep carrying me. because this is, honest to god, one of the biggest stinkers of a story I've ever seen in a video game. and I DO NOT say that lightly!!! I have seen some SHIT, okay??? time travel and alternate dimension shenanigans that left me unsure of what the fuck the situation was after the ending, a reveal that the universe was one big MMO... those have stuck in my mind for well over a decade for being just that fucking bad.

and this story isn't just as stupid, no. it's as stupid as those, AND it's INCREDIBLY poorly told. like I cannot stress that enough!!! as of this writing, I have found every single glyph on the world map + the bonus tear that you get for seeing all those + the little bonus scene from getting the Master Sword. they're all numbered in more or less chronological order in the menu, 1-18.

so.

why in god's name am I still missing 11, 14, and 16????????

LIKE

AM I JUST GONNA GET THEM AFTER DOING PLOT-MANDATED EVENTS?

this is deeply fucking terrible!!! at least in those other bad stories I got to watch all the nonsense unfold in linear order, AND! AND AND AND!!! I WAS INVOLVED IN IT, IT WASN'T SOMEONE ELSE'S MEMORIES

and also the writing for Zelda herself is just atrocious and embarrassing, like I'm genuinely cringing here. in the flashbacks she does little aside from stand around and talk, her love for history/science only comes up in the intro, and functions as long-winded exposition, and she unfortunately was handed the Idiot Ball on top of it (not figuring out that Ganondorf was the the Basement Mummy till after he transformed? girl... Urbosa even SAID that CALAMITY GANON was said to have been born as a Gerudo man... why are Nintendo's writers determined to make her look stupid like this???). and in the present time, she's apparently good at everything and everyone loves her (even the unhinged flower lady), and she gets a super special gold horse, and it's just... she's barely a character. she's more like the overpowered OC everyone loves that kids just starting to write come up with.

which is fine at that stage! necessary, even! we all start somewhere, and I am NOT shaming anyone for doing that when they're just starting out. goodness knows I produced my share of embarrassing crap as a baby writer.

but this is a main installment of a major franchise by one of the biggest video game companies, made by paid adult professionals. that is. embarrassing.

and... as far as I've seen/heard from others who have seen more cutscenes than I have (again, this is bullshit, why are these apparently key scenes being withheld from me?), there's never an explanation for the Calamity/Calamity Ganon and he doesn't seem to be the same entity as Ganondorf. Zelda also never once considers trying to prevent the Calamity, either, and save all those lives, because Reasons, I guess. and the time travel magically doesn't affect anything but the current crisis???? calling BS on this too. plus, it doesn't help that there's so little flow/build-up/connective tissue between the cutscenes. next to nothing, in fact. it feels like I watched the isolated anime cutscenes of an older RPG whose story was told mainly through scenes in the game engine, and tried to understand the plot from there.

except that for this game, that's all I get.

also they managed to make the Silent Princess metaphor even more ham-fisted than in BOTW, which is quite the achievement. good lord. the way my eyes rolled seeing that, the incredulous laughter I burst into... sheesh.

at this point I just. don't know if I should try and power through and rush to the ending, take a break, or just drop it entirely. either way, it would never get a replay the way BOTW did. it's just. bleh.

and don't even get me started on how they fucked up the Poes and Gibdos, way to even disappoint my desire for the return of favorite creepy enemies, I didn't even get my ReDeads. I DIDN'T EVEN GET MY REDEADS

in closing, everyone who complained about the story/time travel in AOC owes me the cost of TotK. that game may have been silly, but at least it respected the Champions and I got to see more characters interacting and everything playing out as it happened and I didn't feel so distant/isolated from it all. ugh. I need to replay THAT game!

[twilightknight17]

Decision's Eve - Part 2

We’re having a happy, empty dream. But we’ll wake up eventually.

That’s not a good sign.

Aigis is watching from a distance as we walk into school, and won’t talk to any of us, running off once Junpei notices her. Even though we all still live in the same dorm, apparently Yukari, Junpei, and Minato don’t know her or Akihiko and Mitsuru that well.

Who knows where Ken, Fuuka, and Koromaru are.

Actually, it’s kind of unnerving that they aren’t mentioned at all.

Mitsuru gives the valedictorian speech, and it’s just uncomfortable. There’s no bond left there.

………ow.

How long did Ryoji say this would delay the Fall, again?

The credits are completely black with ominous music. Definitely makes you feel good about your decision. Then we get a cutscene that just continues the ominous music, with a muted color palette. But hey, they’re letting Mina pick emo songs to watch the world end to!

I still think it’s hilarious that they ask if you want to save clear data after getting the bad ending. Like, I get it, because it’s a choice and it’s not necessarily wrong (even though it is), but still.

Anyway, huh. What a weird thing that didn’t happen. I think I blacked out for a minute. Where was I?

Oh, yeah.

Absolutely no murder in this house, dearest.

Oh boy, here we go. XD

Ryoji, I don’t know why you think turning into a big buff persona that could carry me in his arms is going to convince me to kill you. Although, looking at them side-by-side like this, Thanatos isn’t actually like… taller than Ryoji. I guess that’s to fit in Minato’s room?

You’re at least partially human. So yeah, appeal rejected. Live and love, dumbass. ;D

That’s actually a much better argument if you want me the player to attack you. XDDD Minato still won’t, but I’m having a Maruki flashback and thinking about knifing him again.

...that’s why I can’t kill you. Because you’re special too, and I’m going to protect this world we love.

And that is why you are 10000% better than Maruki!

(You do have the option to change your mind and kill him there, but I’m assuming it just leads to the same exact events.)

Because of you. Because you loved me enough to come back to me. Now we have a chance.

…?

Oh. ...oh.

He’s giving me the music box he bought in Kyoto.

Atlus.

ATLUS.

ATLUS WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS TO ME

“Core P3 experience” and yet you can probably save Chidori and social link with Aigis and have new events with your non-link party members (instead of just giving them links??), and you used like half of Hamuko’s Fortune social link for Ryoji’s events and made everything the knife’s edge of romantic up to the point that he LITERALLY TELLS YOU HE WANTS TO BE MORE THAN FRIENDS.

And yet you changed it so he bought a music box in Kyoto instead of the ring.

I’m just going to lay on the floor.

Can we at least actually hear the music box?

No?

Okay…

…………….so I guess this and the music box don’t happen if you don’t do all of his hangouts.

Does this happen when I get all of Junpei, Ken, and Akihiko’s hangouts, too?

Just make them social links Atlus for fuck’s sake. T_T

(Saturnus is cool at least.)

We should be spending our remaining time making out, since, you know, Ryoji invited Minato to his own room, and even Elizabeth knows what that means. But instead, we go back downstairs so that Ryoji can explain to everyone how to confront Nyx.

He looks so morose at how chipper Junpei is. It’s kind of funny. X’D

Anyway, he explains that if we’re going to confront Nyx, we have to reach the top of Tartarus by January 31st, the Promised Day.

Not if we have anything to say about it.

Ah, yes, the demise. Her husband Erebus, I presume? XD

Everyone reassures him that we’re ready to fight, and Ryoji prepares to leave.

I keep telling you that it doesn’t matter what form you’re in.

...awwwww. T_T

And then he’s gone. Fucking hell. Time to go to Tartarus and level up until I can fuse Thanatos.

The new year dawns with a renewed sense of resolution for all involved. I genuinely think my teammates are feeling better than they have all month.

After it’s mentioned that the girls went to the shrine in kimonos for the first visit of the year, all of us go as well, mostly because Junpei wants to see them in kimonos.

...he’s not wrong. They look lovely. <3

But we have one month left to prepare, so next time, it’s probably back to Tartarus.

[commence-screaming]

i can’t believe I haven’t explained to the general public how Bain is an alien. yeah there was that ONE thing I sent AC but that doesn’t count okay 😆

Payday 2 spoilers hahaa

So during the end cutscene, the couple seconds where jacket throws his tape… there’s a weird stone in the background.

It’s written in Kataru! Luckily I know the cipher… though I can’t be bothered to find a higher quality one so wfejvdjd

Okay okay hear me out

Kataru cipher is written from right to left, top to bottom.

BAIN/OURWATCHER/FALLEN

Because this is a tombstone :) if you’re wondering what a Watcher is, it’s explained. ovks had a limited dlc for payday 2 called the “completely overkill pack” and there happened to be a certain mask description for a particular one…

Watchers in the book of Enoch were angels who wanted to be with human women and were punished for that… however we’re not sure if the book of Enoch is canon to payday lore (even though it mentions Nephilim) so I say that Watchers are aliens. Generally. Something very not human.

It makes the meaning of that translation interesting. It gives depth to other weird details that are in the game.

Like in the contact database, Bain says something along the lines of “I am the gatekeeper, or the watchman, if you will.” and “whatever I tell you might be a lie to protect myself. If I told you the truth, you wouldn’t believe me” and if the truth is that Bain is actually the gang’s Watcher, it makes sense.

“I don’t see how it could’ve gone this way, but I’m only human.” I mean, mostly. It’s not technically a lie

Bain is partially human, since he was “born.” He also mentions him having a grandpa who went heisting (big bank stealth) so I would say that the alien stuff is somewhere in his lineage.

He’s very apologetic when a mission fails, by the way. I would speculate that he’s like that because of Hoxton’s arrest but he was like that since the first game. I wonder what he’s trying to make up for :)

All the jokes would have deeper meaning if Bain is an alien of some sort

In the Mega Watcher mask description, it says “they communicate using their minds.” It would fit into how you hear Bain’s voice clearly through even flash bangs, but nobody else’s. There’s actually no official content (that I know of) depicting Bain talking to his crew over earpieces. It’s not like ovks hadn’t modeled earpieces before, look at the guards in the train transport heist! Each time they talk to Bain it’s always over the phone (comic collaboration)

(official Locke and Load comic)

He’s also able to talk to his crew after the EMP bomb goes off in Boiling Point (which took out a whole facility PLUS superhumans)

in that last part he can somehow see what the player is doing as if he has cameras in their masks… except that couldn’t be. Because it shouldn’t be working. If you take the briefcase before Bain asks you to, he has a few different lines like “how did you know I needed that briefcase?” “You read my mind,” and “are you psychic or something?”

and if Bain is a Watcher, these quotes are hilarious. It was right there all along!

“(They) use their large eyes” take a look at the color of the Watcher mask.

Bain’s favorite color is blue. We know it’s true because Crimenet’s color scheme is blue… and Bain’s eyes are blue too. Coincidence? …Maybe. I’m not ruling it out. It would be messed up considering what happens to one of his eyes. My dude got nerfed. and was probably experimented on if what Locke says is anything to go by

“to witness, gather and share information” could they mean the way that the crew can somehow see through walls? How Bain can highlight objectives for you if you can’t find something? Nobody can hide from him.

Bain wears a fleur de lis ring on the pinkie of his right hand. Yes, like the guide of bain

(Something I want to point out, bain is terrible at lying to his team actually. Sooo the detection meter is just future Russian glasses? Yeaahhh sure Bain)

I guess this definitely isn’t mind control or any sort of skill *cough cough* joker *cough* There’s one last thing I want to put down here because it was never explained in canon.

HONESTLY NOT SURE WHAT THIS IS. Could it be the “Watcher of the Star?” is it Bain’s ancestor? or is Bain immortal somehow I don’t know but no normal guy would just have this laying around XD

Bottom line is that if Bain isn’t then he’s definitely SUSPICIOUS. Just putting that out there.

[strobarium]

big on introspective, ambient downtempo? come with me...

"History" from Sonic Mega Collection (& Plus)

... FUCK. FUUUUUCKING HELL.

i don't remember the exact year i got introduced to Sonic Mega Collection Plus (the PS2 version, since that's the console that only dominated my kid years) but it was a constant force of good in my early years. being able to play that many sonic games just freely (on top of other games that werent sonic games but were by the same devs) was so fucking nice. but the menu shit was just. something else to me-they put so much care and effort into the presentation of games!!! like the journey TO playing was even a nice comfy ride! so CASH. i miss THIS sega so much. what an era. damn.

many a memory playing this shit or watching it get played either in my shared bedroom w/ my older brother or in the upstairs living room w/ mom and/or grandma watching (this sonic shit ran in the family pmuch LOL my parents n grandma got into em before we did). one of my fondest memories regarding it was my i think, longest-running active friend lyko/khaliq seeing my i think oldest sibling playing S3&K (one of the greatest. games of all time by the way) and beating it. bro saw the ending cutscene and was Flabbergasted w how cool it was, already riding off the high (that i was also riding off of) watching Doomsday Zone get played. SUPER, FUCKING HYPE. LOL. amazing shit. the collection is worth it for it having That Alone but also THERES SO MUCH COOL SHIT ON IT!

YEAH!!! ... i'm glad i can listen to this normally again.

this was one of many songs i just couldn't put on and sit through after the 2013 event happened and my life got fucked into a hole. it was exhausting and would just leave me really depressed. things are at least different now, over 10 years later, i can enjoy this n sorta feel like a kid again healthily, i guess. its nice.

reminds me of something

.

so one thing abt the PS2s we did have (there were two, two slim models), shit was just Faulty after long enough. one basically picked and choosed games it wanted to run (that or the CDs were fucked up or...idk) and the other you had to like. induce pressure on the disk drive part to get games to run properly?... it was weird.

WELL, SOMEHOW, through basic i guess DIY shit or whatever, at one point (post-2013 event) i got the fucking console working! AND I GOT SONIC MEGA COLLECTION PLUS WORKING TOO! blast from the ...actually not at all distant PAST! it was cool being in the menu again hearing the music and goin around and looking at all the extras and stuff. seeing sonic n his friends just always makes me happy.

I BOOTED UP S3&K FOR OLD TIMES SAKE CAUSE OF COURSE I DID! HYDROCITY ZONE!!! ONE OF MY FAV VIDEO GAME SONGS EVER i was having SO Much.... fun...

slow, burn. realization. i was alone.

reliving hella cool shit but it was just me. older brother was off doing whatever the hell (not like i wanted to summon him anyway he was kind of fucking just...idk), and oldest sibling was just kind of, across the fucking country so i couldnt hit them up either. the finite nature of what i considered the most joyous period of my life i wasnt prepared to interface with and it just fucking, stabbed me so gradually i didnt even notice the pain onset somehow until it was too late. fuck. regardless of me doing what i did, that part of my life was still over. trying to recapture the magic just made me ever more aware that i had lost it, i guess. it was tough.

i, shut the game off, silently, go downstairs to my moms room and just, talk to her a little about how i. got it working. i just, lay on her bed next to her and i just. i start crying. for a while. not loud sobbing just. idk. quiet weeping. idk.

...

things are different now, is what matters. lot i've recovered from, but i do still miss playing it with my siblings. shrug. life goes on i guess.

~ E.K.S.G.

[miloscat]

[Review] Darksiders Genesis (PC)

A twin-stick adventure.

My brother and I have been plugging away at this in co-op sessions for a while and finally got to the end. It’s a spinoff in a series that I’ve seen predominantly described as 3D Zelda-likes, albeit with more involved combat systems. This one is more an isometric twin-stick shooter, although one of the two characters lacks almost any ranged attack. So for Cameron as War it was a hack and slash melee game while I took the gun-toting Strife and enjoyed a shooter.

It’s not just a simple wave combat game though. The story takes you to various locales in this typical “Dante/Milton fanfic” world of demons, fallen angels, Eden, and so forth, with plenty of platforming, puzzling, sidequests, and collectibles to keep you busy. On top of an array of fighting skills, you unlock interaction abilities that let you replay levels to find more goodies, and there’s a big “passive bonus” tree to fill in with demon soul orbs, so there’s lots of options and customisation. But it’s not overwhelming, and easy enough to just pick a few favourite techniques/ammo types and get on with it.

Cameron always wanted to skip the story scenes, but I insisted on watching them. Sometimes there’s cool motion comic cutscenes, but it’s often just voiced dialogue. Strife’s wisecracking banter is a good foil to War’s stoicism, but my favourite was supporting NPC Samael, voiced by Australian actor Vernon Wells, whose delivery was refreshingly naturalistic despite the demonic pitch shifting filter. The plot is convoluted as heck but a decent excuse for some realm-hopping action. The ending lets it down though, with an anticlimactic boss fight and a resolution that kind off just trails off. What could I expect from a prequel, I guess.

I’m struggling to put much more into words. For us it was a decent way to fill time while hanging out with a bro. It looks good, it plays well, there’s some hilariously demanding/janky optional platforming challenges that were enjoyable as a shared experience. The basic thing is that the combat works quite well and there’s a lot of it, with good enemy variety. What more can you ask for?

[torchiiko]

ok zoochosis review/critique From someone who hasnt even played the game lmao

for those who dont know, zoochosis is a horror game abt dealing with mutated animals while "interviewing" for the night shift at a sketchy zookeeper job. heads up this ended up being WAY longer than i thought itd be & it might not make any sense without having seen at least one playthru. oops!

i think it has a great premise! its got an interesting concept but it isnt done as well as it couldve been. theres a lot of questions that either get left unanswered or the youtubers ive seen play so far just didnt find the answers, which sucks. the story doesnt feel finished, & i will give the developers some slack given that the screenwriter for the game passed, but that doesnt excuse releasing the game in the state ive seen in the gameplay videos

to start, the tutorial doesnt explain everything it should. youre only guided thru Some of the main tasks & sure, ppl can figure the rest out on their own, but when the entire gameplay loop revolves around diagnosing animals you need to make sure the players know how to use all the tools to get the correct diagnoses. maybe its in character for doc, the tutorial npc/antagonist to leave you half-informed, but it can just be frustrating for the player. it isnt Too big of a deal but i have seen ppl make a few easily avoidable mistakes bc they werent properly filled in at the start

next, the bugs are Nasty, to the point of preventing you from progressing or getting the ending youre attempting to get. you have to collect parasites for a shot at getting a good ending (killing "the mother", who ill get to later) but some of the parasites will either vanish when theyre needed after collecting them or inexplicably be dead when you need them alive. ive seen animals mutate while the player was still in the exhibit & be killed, only for the mutated animal cutscene to trigger as the player was leaving. the mutant was already killed, so theyre stuck with danger music blaring & the species name & empty health bar at the top of the screen. i have yet to see manlys playthru, but i hear he suffered at the hands of bugs as well

pausing to say smth positive before i move on to my main issue, the visuals are fantastic! the animals, being the main feature of the game, are very well done & i rlly enjoy how they incorporated certain behaviors, such as the giraffes spreading their legs out to get low enough to eat out of the trough & a few of the animals randomly sparring (giraffes fighting with their necks, moose butting antlers). its a real nice touch & adds a bit more life to the animals. the mutant designs are a little hit or miss, theyre definitely scary & unsettling but some are better than others. it doesnt help that the lights in the enclosures often go out when they mutate, making it harder to even see the monster design as they scurry around

the animals you can visit rotate in & out every time you finish a run, which i guess is supposed to keep things fresh so players replay multiple times but it just gets annoying. 1 new animal every couple hours doesnt make up for the fact those animals will eventually stop being new Or that you get locked out of a different animal. why cant they just all be available & the player can choose which ones they visit each run? probably to force them to see all the mutant designs... which. all the mutant encounters play out almost the exact same way. only the elephant has an interesting mechanic, its got armor plating that you have to get rid of before you can dart it either to cure or kill it. you have to bait it into charging at a wall to knock off its plating, thats cool! it adds strategy to the fight instead of just shooting 3 times. none of the other mutants have smth like this, they just run/climb/fly around

but my main critique is the Story. it feels rushed & poorly paced. a lot of commenters on jacksepticeyes video said it wouldve worked better as a slower burn & i agree. a single night isnt enough time to let anything simmer or have any big realizations or payoff, & it makes replaying the game over & over to see more endings or get more lore incredibly tedious bc of how repetitive the tasks are

the characters motivations are either entirely unknown or not strong enough. the player, paul, takes the job in the first place bc his family is allegedly impoverished, to the degree you have the option to smuggle meat-based animal food to his wife so she & their daughter can have "real food." the reveal happens not too long after; its human meat. which, even if it Wasnt, why would he ever think to give his family animal food?? itd be nice to break things up by days with sections at home so the audience can see what his home life is like & get a better idea of why he would be so desperate

additionally, he shouldve been offered an even higher salary as hush money to give him more incentive to go along with the downright illegal things going on! paul is shockingly nonchalant abt everything going on & goes along with it with little resistance. he just tosses a LIVING WOMAN into a meat grinder bc he was told to!!!! i will say the player can choose not to do this, but itd be nice if paul at least hesitates a little so the player actually knows they have a choice & arent being forced into it to progress

doc, on the other hand, has No known motivations for any of the aforementioned illegal goings on & makes No attempt to hide it!! he doesnt even try to cover up what his whole little scheme is, doesnt try to soothe paul by claiming the woman "deserves" to die bc shes a criminal or smth, or that the bodies are sourced from somewhere "more ethical" or even try to make up some nonsense abt human meat having health benefits to the animals, he just comes out & says "yeah the animals mutate & they can only be satisfied by human flesh. dont tell anyone bc u signed an nda & itll be a violation + ill kill you" ???

he explains "the mother" sends out parasites to infect & mutate the animals but we never get to know Why. why is he going thru all the hassle of appeasing this monster? the zoo has been closed for at least a year, how are there still funds to keep everything running? he supposedly has big connections to the point cops are covering for him, but WHY? why is he so important that the cops cover for him, what do they get out of letting it all slide?? does he actually still care abt maintaining the animals or is the whole zoo now just a front to funnel in more sacrifices?? was it always that way?? where did the mother come from?? what, exactly, is she?? nothing is ever explained abt this!

By the way, theres some extra, completely missable dialogue if you grind the woman right away after being told to. you get another call where paul Attempts to protest, but doc is like "lol lmao btw you have the same parasite the animals do. maybe if you survive the night ill cure you or smth. at least the mutants see you as own of their own. also ur poor & u need the money so do this" & like. the game Starts with paul saying he might get the job if he survives, then he gets locked into the zoo & his phone taken away & it somehow doesnt raise any red flags for him while his wife is like "this isnt normal!!!!"

also, completely irrelevant, but when doc leaves he offers to tell pauls wife hes staying the night bc shes waiting outside bc yknoe. it was supposed to just be an interview. but paul says "nahh dont tell her shell figure it out" so like. wtf paul. its Raining & ur letting her stand out there waiting for you??? some husband you are :/

anyway. if the game took place over a matter of days, we could have time to adjust, rlly let things sink in & maybe get some more answers drip fed to us over time. maybe youve been smuggling meat to your wife for a few days, having it for family meals until you get your first paycheck, but now the zoos supply is out & you need to refill it; cue the human meat reveal. it would also be nice if you could monitor an animals symptoms over days & potentially prevent them from ever mutating! the games subtitle is "rescue the animals" after all. youre supposed to be able to pacify mutants by feeding them the meat along with their regular food, but if you leave to go prepare the food mix, you risk the normal animals in the enclosure getting attacked & dying!

the game leaves clues like "monitor how often an animal sleeps, it could be a symptom of illness" or "look out for wounds on the animals" but when everything can be diagnosed with the main tools, & noticing these things doesnt do anything to prevent mutation, it just ends up being useless flavor text. also, every enclosure has at least one sick animal & a mutant Every Time, theres no variety. maybe its not "scary" to not have a monster attack you every 10 minutes, but itd definitely add some suspense. maybe you cure an animal only for them to remain sick, showing that smth deeper is ailing them

a night by night system would also be more interesting storywise! instead of finding out all thr dark secrets right away, things just seem more & more strange as you go on. maybe youre advised not to look into it if you wanna keep your job so you fall into blissful ignorance so you can provide for your family. maybe you do snoop around & get offered life changing amounts of hush money for your silence, since theyd "hate to lose a good worker :((". maybe there are more employees, some innocently unaware of the truth, some burdened with the knowledge of what rlly goes on but too desperate or afraid to speak out

the woman mentioned a few paragraphs ago, the one who gets meat grinded, shes actually crucial to getting a good ending. shes sarah, an investigative journalist, & you have to rescue her so she can help you get the recipe for a poison to kill The Mother & all her parasites (which will save your life). the motivation for her murder is obvious, she was gonna leak the whole operation, but wouldnt it be much cooler if she was undercover as an employee throughout the course of the game? shes working alongside you, trying to get more info, trying to convince you "hey, isnt this weird?" only for her to vanish one night, fired for "accessing unauthorized locations." if you already have suspicions you might be inclined to dig deeper & be able to rescue her, or maybe you take her firing at face value, thats what she gets for snooping, right?

one last little thing id like to mention here, in the best ending of the game you save the woman & expose the zoo, kill the mother & doc in one fell swoop as her poison needs delivered in live food, & save your wife. thats right, your wife gets dragged into this! yknow why? bc if you dont answer her calls, she reports her worries to the police & they kill her! & you are misled into doing this!!! when you save sarah, she tells you not to call your wife back & to save your phones last bit of battery for the police when you get some more evidence, makes sense right? except if you dont, she gets killed by said police! you Have to call her back & soothe her so she doesnt report you missing at the zoo & get killed. theres No way of knowing this before it happens, forcing you to replay the game to get the best ending even if you already got the good one (but your wife died)

it couldve been so, so cool but the story especially just falls flat. it seems like they either rushed it or just cared more abt having an excuse to show off their scary monster designs & threw the story to the side. ive seen ppl complain that the game was too short for the price, but ironically you have to play it over & over for hours to get more story ...unless you happen to get the default bad/death ending & assume thats all there is. or get too frustrated by bugs & glitches that you drop it entirely. its not Awful but its definitely unpolished & it shows

[smengus]

OK IVE SAT BACK ON TOO MANY OF THESE POLLS WHERE MY FAVS HAVE LOST WITHOUT THROWING A PROPAGANDA POST INTO THE RING! NO MORE!

hi. do you see this man? this man is VERGIL SPARDA. he is the twin brother of devil may cry protagonist DANTE SPARDA, and son of the legendary dark knight demon named SPARDA, and his human wife EVA. below is a portrait of the family.

SO, WHAT MAKES VERGIL SUCH A GREAT RIVAL?

well.... MANY reasons. lets start from the top! (SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON OUT)

TRAGIC BACKSTORY:

his father, and subsequently his entire family, were always hunted after by spardas own demon enemies from the underworld. when dante and vergil were 8, their father went missing, and their fathers greatest enemy MUNDUS invaded their home, killing their mother and separating the two brothers as they went on the run for their survival

DANTE AND VERGIL GREW UP SEPARATE, TRAUMATIZED, AND BELIEVING TWO WILDLY DIFFERENT EVENTS HAD OCCURRED THE NIGHT OF THEIR MOTHERS DEATH

dante KNEW his mother had risked her life to try and find and rescue vergil; vergil THOUGHT his mother had left him to die, and chosen to save dante OVER HIM

^^^ THIS IS WHERE THE RIVALRY BEGINS! IT IS FAMILY DRIVEN, FULL OF MISUNDERSTANDING, HEARTBREAK, JEALOUSY, AND AN UNDERCUTTING LONGING FOR RECONCILIATION FROM BOTH BROTHERS, SPAWNED BY THEIR TIE TO EACH OTHER FROM BEING TWINS, HALF DEMONS, AND VERY, VERY LONELY

THE RIVALRY ITSELF:

dante and vergils chemistry as rivals is INSANE. they are at the peak of their rivalry in the 3rd game in the series, technically the first chronologically

in the story, this is the FIRST TIME the brothers have seen each other since being separated a DECADE before (not counting the manga, and yes, they are only 18-19 in this game)

THEY HAVE BANTER! THEY HAVE STRONG BOSS FIGHT ENCOUNTERS WITH EVEN STRONGER CUTSCENES PAIRING THEM!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB6XPMdzzpY literally just watch this. this is the first big fight between the two in DMC3. this game, and its SCENES featuring these two are a masterclass in creating a fun yet compelling story, including campy dialogue that still somehow manages to emotionally gut punch you when you know the two characters backstories

AND BETTER YET! WE ALL LOVE THE MOMENT(S) WHERE OUR PROTAGONIST AND RIVAL TEAM UP, EITHER WILLINGLY OR BECAUSE THEY ARE FORCED TO! AND GUESS WHAT!!! THIS GAME HAS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

(featuring ARGUABLY the most iconic image of them from the ending of DMC3, where they team up at the end to fight the games main villain)

AND THIS IS ONLY FROM DMC3! THIS ISNT EVEN COUNTING DMC1 (which takes place after dmc3, and has vergil returning again as an enemy/rival, but this time brainwashed and armored by mundus, with both brothers unaware of who vergil really is in this disguised form), DMC4 (WHOA!!! NEW CHARACTER! HE HAS WHITE HAIR, IS YOUNG ENOUGH TO BE DANTES SON (or nephew), AND CAN SOMEHOW USE VERGILS VERY ICONIC SWORD, THE YAMATO? THATS RIGHT, DANTES NEW "RIVAL" (for a very short period of time) IS HIS RIVALS/BROTHERS SON!), and then the rivalry game to end all rivalries, DMC5 (the game of final battles, secret other halfs that express the softer side of the rival, emotional scars finally healing, goofy rival and protag dialogue AGAIN, and family bonding :) )

TLDR; vergil is quite literally THE rival of all time. hes got it all: a familial AND emotional tie to the protag, great funny chemistry with the protag, awesome fights and weapons, and best of all... INTERNET NOTERIATY.

SO LETS GET A LITTLE MOTIVATED, AND MAKE SURE THIS DUMB MOTHERFUCKER WINS!

Rivals Poll ROUND 1 - Devil May Cry vs Ultrakill

look at these two! they're sitting in chairs! will V2 win over its inspiration? or will Vergil finish this off with an SSS rank? vote now!

[emblemxeno]

FE Engage Pre Release Theory: Which Kingdom has which rings

Almost all of this is just guess work, but it’s fun to do lol.

Marth’s ring has already been confirmed to be with Alear during his 1,000 year sleep. We can consider Marth a “Lythos owned” emblem then, since Alear is asleep on Lythos, the holy land in the center of Elios. Probably obvious that he’s the first one you get, and from this screenshot of an early map, Marth’s probably the tutorial emblem. 

More under the cut!

Sigurd’s ring is actually given to Alear by Lumera as she lay wounded, so Sigurd can be considered a Lythos emblem too. Him being showed off a lot in promo likely was due to being an early game emblem.

Celica’s ring is an early game one too since it’s been seen alongside Sigurd and Marth alone. It’s probably owned by Firene due to Celine being very associated with her and Firene looking to be Alear’s first ally.

Micaiah’s and Roy’s emblems were seen all the way back in Engage’s first trailer.

I also noticed that in a recent trailer that there’s an instance where Micaiah is there, but Roy isn’t.

So I think either Firene has Micaiah’s ring as well, or Brodia has both Micaiah and Roy and you just get them at different times.

I’m leaning a bit towards the former, since the as yet unseen Queen Eve of Firene says they has another emblem ring in their possession, so going by word choice if we assume she’s referring offhand to already having Celica, then Micaiah could be the other.

Next, most likely I think towards the end of the first fourth of the game, Elusia’s king-who I think is named Hyacinth?-will kill Brodia’s king Morion. 

This will probably give advantage to Elusia and spur them to launch an attack on Brodia, and judging from the above pic and the following: 

Lyn and Lucina are owned by Elusia. Recent cutscenes with Hortensia and Ivy also kind of support my theory of them invading Brodia. At some point, Ivy and Hortensia will be playable as shown in videos of them, but I don’t know if Lyn and Lucina will be gotten before them (as in we take the rings after a failed Elusian attack) or if we get the rings when we get them.

Corrin and Byleth are tricky to place. Corrin’s ring I still think has something to do with that Veyle girl as their color schemes and aesthetics are too similar. Maybe she gifts Alear the ring after saving them in Firene?

Maybe Alear will awaken Corrin from her emblem during the attack on Brodia? Byleth meanwhile, I think is an emblem that Brodia owns, but it gets stolen during Elusia’s attack, mostly because of this line in the recent trailer: 

This could just be a reference to Sothis, but I think Byleth will be used as an example of Emblem’s being used by enemies alongside Lyn and Lucina. And judging by his affinity with Alcryst, that supports my thinking that he’s a Brodia emblem. Then again, the place Byleth is in could be Solm and not Brodia, idk enough about each place’s aesthetics yet.

Ike is probably owned by Solm, given Ike’s association with Timera, but that’s all I got: 

Leif has been spotted in recent screen shots (art by racecarart on Twitter): 

The following pic I got from Serenes, showing Leif equipped on Alear (as well as Ike in the top left equipped on Alfred, and Sigurd, Lucina, Lyn and Byleth):

Leif I think is also owned by Solm, but the only reasoning I have for that is that Timera’s ring in her intro cutscene...

...isn’t in her character portrait...

...but does look similar to Leif’s emblem ring.

The other rings have prominent colored gems on them (Ike’s for example has a big blue one) and they match their in-game look. Leif’s is the only one ring that matches Timera’s in the cutscene.

Lastly, Eirika is the only emblem that has straight up not been seen at all. We only have her mural painting and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse at a statue that all emblems have in Lythos’ tower.

So unfortunately I have no idea where Eirika’s ring would be or who would own it. Maybe Solm or Elusia again? Maybe I was wrong about Firene and Eve was talking about Eirika’s ring? Or was it taken by the Four Hounds? No clue.

Guess we’ll have to wait for the rest to be revealed.

[sonjuponju]

I posted 7,900 times in 2022

That's 4,026 more posts than 2021!

79 posts created (1%)

7,821 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nellipusen

@chaoticbathwater

@sunliv

@dissolvingfromsalt

@tunnaa-unnaa

I tagged 7,899 of my posts in 2022

#rb - 7,818 posts

#hehe - 4,347 posts

#cool art - 754 posts

#genshin impact - 490 posts

#finnish - 298 posts

#eddsworld - 279 posts

#arataki itto - 133 posts

#skiezrambles - 84 posts

#long post - 43 posts

#tobystuff - 40 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i just feel like i was pulling stuff out of my ass when i was talking to her. like straight up lying and idk why i didnt realise it then lol

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I DID IT I GOT HIM 😭😭❤️

2 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

#4

guess who's a little birthday boy!! is me!!

3 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

#3

tbh this new event made me like xiao a lot more. i just remembered him as this super angsty "nobody understands me" type, but eh, he can be reasonable too, and his past explains why he would sacrifice himself without second thought whenever a problem arises lol

but oh my GOD lemme talk about itto for a minute. holy fuck, im so happy they included him in the new event. shinobu and him were kind of oddly placed, but man am i happy they were. itto is such a skrunkle but somehow his characterization leaned a bit on the annoying side? i mean, maybe he just seemed stupider than usual when hes surrounded by people wiser than himself, but idk. it was also a bit annoying having him be the laughing stock of the team for the whole time but i guess that's his purpose as a character overall lmao

though i do have to admit!! ive never laughed so hard at the jokes in a quest before lmao. (beware - small spoiler) the part where itto tries to open the door by knocking it down when the button was right next to him was comedy gold already, but when the whole team started CLAPPING? 😭 i was HOWLING man lemme tell ya

so yeah that quest was definitely the best one ive played. not only because it included itto - ah, well, he did play a big part in it lol, but overall the quest was really really interesting. especially the ending, hoo boy, i understand now why that final cutscene got people weeping. it was so cool. i wish we wouldve seen more of the other yakshas, but oh well. im satisfied that we got like actual designs for them and not just those silhouettes from the zhongli cutscene

talking about him, im also so happy that he was included 😭 ill never get enough of him

so ya thats my thoughts on that

6 notes - Posted June 7, 2022

#2

hi my friend is doing a survey about video games for a paper they have to write for school :D it would be awesome if you could answer it. it only takes like a minute

the survey is in the reblogs!

8 notes - Posted June 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i think hayloft 2 isnt that good if you compare it to the og version. i think their record company was like "hey wouldnt it be crazy if you guys made a sequel to this massively successful song" and they were like "ok"

but on its own, hayloft 2 has me listening to it on repeat rn so... mother mother just does not miss

10 notes - Posted February 3, 2022

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