#the comparisons are inevitable

[demonfox38]

Completed - Star Fox Zero

Before we can get into a proper conversation about "Star Fox Zero", you have to understand three things about my particular brain and biases:

I don't like claiming that I am good at anything. (Mostly, because I am not definitively the best at anything. All I can guarantee is base competency.)

I am good at "Star Fox 64."

I am a proficient bassoon player.

1 and 2 relate in a comedic way, sure. What's up with 3, though?

Well, I bring up the whole bassoon background because the bassoon is one of the more mainstream weird-ass musical instruments. It's a double-reed bass instrument that requires proper breathing control, responsive embouchure, memorization of proper fingering techniques (ha ha, yes, I know), and the ability to read in bass clef (and tenor, if you're dealing with some real dickhead composers.) A music ed teacher does not just hand a child a bassoon and tell them, "Good luck!" It requires musical competency and practicing. Just absolute shittons of hours of practicing so you don't sound like a dying duck. But, if you get good at it, you'll always have a seat in a band or orchestra. It's weird, sure, but it adds warmth and speed to bass lines. There's value in its weirdness, which I hope is something we know and appreciate, being denizens of this so-called hellsite.

What's the point of me bringing up playing the bassoon in a "Star Fox Zero" review? Because I am used to practicing weird shit, and that's 100% going to color my perspective in this game.

Also, I might like this series.

Just a teeny bit. (Hell, I even forgot a few things...)

"Star Fox Zero" is a 2016 rail shooter / driving game for the Nintendo Wii U. It is best classified as a soft reboot of both SNES' "Star Fox" and the Nintendo 64's "Star Fox 64", although it is far more comfortable hanging in the pockets of the latter. The beats should be fairly familiar to most "Star Fox" fans. Doctor Andross is being a scientific asshole; he's got the Lylat System curb-stomped; General Pepper hits up mercenary team Star Fox for help; lasers get jammed up nasal cavities. Ya know. Standard "Star Wars" meets "Bambi" plot, if you have the mind for it. (Or, if we want to be hyper specific, Shinto iconography meeting "Thunderbirds". The former comparison may be a bit more parsable, though.)

There's a veil of pity and tragedy around this game, which caused me to stay my hand in playing it until 2023. First of all, it's one of the last projects associated with former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who effectively died in the saddle. Like, what can I say about that situation but "Damn" and "RIP." Secondly, a lot of people were bitching about the controls. A lot. Lastly, I didn't even own a Nintendo Wii U until April of this year. I wasn't going to buy a console for one goddamn game, alright? That's not what a reasonable person does. Besides, so many Wii U games were being ported to the Switch. I was willing to wait a little while just to see if "Star Fox Zero" got to jump ship as well.

It's 2023. The Switch ship has sailed. Nintendo's eShop has closed. Wii U consoles are succumbing to memory loss. It's not now or never, but…c'mon. I know how the Nintendo used game market works. This is about the lowest price point before nostalgia and console degradation jack prices back up. And hey—the Wii U I bought did come with "Super Mario Maker." So I didn't buy a console for just one Wii U game. Ha! Ha…

Whaddya say? Want to start with ripping a bandage off first? Has to hurt more with fur, I'd imagine…

About those dreaded controls, then. Honestly? I didn't find them that unintuitive. I do think there's a problem that happens when a "Star Fox 64" brain maps onto them, though. Considering how outrageously popular that game is in comparison with its sibling titles, that's a fairly big hurdle to leap.

For the sake of this conversation, I'm going to show you my controller grips between "Star Fox 64" and "Star Fox Zero."

Here's "Star Fox 64":

(Manual image sourced from: https://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/USA/NFXE/NFXE_E.pdf)

Here's "Star Fox Zero":

Obviously, we're working with wildly different control sets. The initial brain shock comes from moving primary functionality from face buttons to controller triggers. Like, when it's been memetically drilled into your head to tap the Z or R buttons twice to…well, you know the line. You're going to try that with the Wii U controller as well. Then, you're going to be very surprised to find bombs and lasers going off instead.

Basically, in "Star Fox 64", your left thumb is navigation, your pointer fingers are used for defensive actions/threading, and your right thumb is used for offense and specialty actions (evasive maneuvers, going into different perspectives, and hailing calls.) In "Star Fox Zero", your thumbs are handling navigation and evasive maneuvers while your pointers handle offense. For three out of your four play-responsible fingers, that's an inverse of operational duties. A bit tricky!

Having said that, I picked up on the thumb stick shortcuts within two practice sessions. Once I understood how to somersault with the sticks (left down, right up), I thought, "Well, can I U-Turn by left and right down?" And by God, that was correct! Didn't need anyone to tell my ass how to barrel roll. Figured that out, too!

Weapon targeting is a particularly contentious subject in this game. The game wants you to improve your accuracy by using both the cockpit (first person) view and the gyroscope controls in the Wii U gamepad to pick up your targets. While it can't be completely turned off, you can set the controls to only take gyroscopic input into account when you are charging lasers. And you know what? 100% do that. No need to have that always slipping around. There's exactly one boss I've encountered where having them on all the time helped, and that one was optional. And a dick. But, I suppose that's to be expected of a boss…

The last major controller issue has to do with the split of external ship and cockpit views being simultaneously displayed on your TV screen and your Wii U gamepad. Now, which view is where can be toggled by hitting the minus button, so you don't necessarily have to crane your neck down every time you need to consult something in one view or another. However, this dual screen setup is wholly a bad design choice. "Star Fox 64" was able to have the same functionality with a single screen and a dedicated button for flipping back and forth between views if you really had to do that. Which, honestly, was pretty rare to begin with. If something really needed to be put on the lower screen, that should have been a radar/map. Even, then. Lower-right corner of the TV screen. That's where "Star Fox 64" had it. Dead horse, beat.

It could've been fun to have a set of "Call Teammates" buttons down on the Wii U gamepad. Ya know. Just to harass Falco in the middle of a firefight. "Hey, girl. How's it going?" "NO TALKING WHILE THIS LIZARD IS TRYING TO EAT ME!" That kind of vibe.

And if for some reason you thought of something dirty involving Leon Powalski, that's between you and your morality-affiliated consultant of choice, my dude.

So, alright. You get your Arwing controls down. Congrats! You've got four more machines to learn! The main ship variants this time around are the Walker (think like "Star Wars"'s AT-ST, but made out of Arwing parts), the Landmaster (a tank with its own aerial form now because why not?), and the Gyrowing (a helicopter used for stealth and hacking missions.) The fourth, the Roadmaster, gets tossed in after you finish the game, so you don't have to sweat learning that one too much. It's like a hostile RV toy.

Of these, I took the most issue with the Gyrowing. It is easily outclassed and thrown away the first opportunity the game gets. Honestly, I know the Blue Marine gets shit-talked, but that submarine was at least solid at offense and chugging along. Gyrowings, oof. Not so much. Even the baby toy machine can outperform that thing. Absolutely ridiculous.

If I may speak positively, for just a moment—I actually liked the Landmaster design scheme better in this game than "Star Fox 64." Heresy, I know! I just didn't feel weighed down using it like I did in the past. And, granted, that may have been because the Titania level in "Star Fox 64" could really chunk up its framerate. But, here? It was smooth and responsive to what I needed it to do. Gotta award points where they are due.

Although, if you want to see some chunky framerates, go fight the Aquarosa boss. Or don't. (It's the pain-in-the-ass optional boss that I was ragging on earlier.) It's just one of those things where if you commit to fighting it, you've got to do it twice to get into two bonus stages. And, I mean, hell. Even Hercules did good enough fighting the Hydra once…

If I may give more credit, I also found the aesthetics of this game to be strong. I could have used better camera positioning for what I saw, sure. But, I genuinely liked what I saw. In particular, I really thought that the Titania level for this game was oddly beautiful, with pieces of debris from a nearby fight raining through the storm-swept desert atmosphere. The music for this game is on point, too. While some themes are recycled from "Star Fox 64", there is quite a bit of new music diversity. It's all composed gorgeously as well (if a bit excessively for Andross' theme.) If you want some samples, try out the following links:

Boss A

Inside the Colony

Planet Fortuna (and child track Dangerous Skies)

Return to Corneria (My favorite track!)

Stage Selection

Training (Part 2) (There's actually five parts to this!)

In additional audio perks, there's a lot of returning voice actors from "Star Fox 64." I mean, not everybody. (Rick May's a notable exception, but the guy was having awful health towards the end.) Whoever couldn't get picked up got pulled from the 3DS remake as well. Considering how much the English version of "Star Fox 64" thrived on its hammy performance and cheesy dialogue, this is definitely a point in "Zero"'s favor. Frankly, I think some of the voice actors have even gotten better over time. Lyssa Browne particularly has come leaps and bounds in her performance as Slippy Toad, if you'll forgive the pun.

Appreciation of late 90s English video game dubbing is wholly a subjective matter. But, I do find something charming about its raw authenticity and goofiness. We might still have meme culture without one or two titles. But, man. "Star Fox 64," "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night," Metal Gear Solid," all of those "Resident Evil" games…The Internet would be a duller place without the vocal work from those games.

Speaking of all these credits—what credits is "Star Fox Zero" going to give you? Outside of general plot advancement, you can get medals for excellent performance. These are usually granted for kill counts, sequence breaks, collecting certain items, finishing a fight under a certain time limit, or general competency. Granted, earning these doesn't seem to reward the player with much. You do get access to bonus missions, but the greatest rewards are model swaps of your Arwing, a model viewer, and a sound test. Completely pointless—especially if you have access to the OST on YouTube or a couple of Amiibos laying around the house.

Beating the game will also open up an arcade mode where you can shoot through the entire game again in one run. That's a bit more tempting, but honestly, quite overwhelming even to someone like me. I mean, I can handle "Star Fox 64" because it's a quick hour. Going through a "Star Fox Zero" run could take several hours. That's a pretty big gamble, man. It feels like going back a step as well. Like, you know how much more polished I could be at "Star Fox 64" if I could just re-run specific levels on demand? I mean, I guess there's always save state abuse, but I'm trying to discuss playing these games through legal means, here.

I don't think the plot here is enough for a casual player to cling onto, either. Especially, again, if they've played "Star Fox 64" before. It's mostly just rehashing that script, but with Andross dicking around more with space portals than bioweapons. The whole experience comes off as less thought-out and/or mature than "Star Fox 64," even if that's a weird detail to bang on about. Like, I shouldn't complain about seeing clowns in a circus, should I? Trust me, I love the goofy goober banter everyone has. I just wish a little extra polish went into it. Especially for the intro. Like, God. I'm pretty sure that some Cornerian Minister of Propaganda wrote that thing.

Although, General Pepper is a huge asshole this time around. Like, holy shit. It would have literally been more ethical if he put two rounds in the back of Andross' head. You can't toss a mad scientist into another dimension and not expect him to come back and kick your ass Krang style. Not to mention how quick he was to ditch Peppy when the latter was in distress. Like, geez, dude. Isn't he your friend?

I did end up liking the Star Wolf beats better here. Mostly, because they weren't just chumps for the easy pickings, this time around. Also, the implications of whatever James McCloud is in this universe is significantly more horrifying than it was in the past…

In some ways, the problems with "Star Fox Zero" are the problems that have been with the "Star Fox" series since Game One. These games are siblings to titles like "Devil May Cry" and "Parasite Eve" in that all three were accidentally successful betas. ("Star Fox 64" and "Devil May Cry 3" may be even closer related in the "Oops! We succeeded even harder!" department.) If you don't anticipate something being successful, how much thought are you going to put into its future? Perhaps the only reason fans and executives sweat over this detail is in relationship to Fox, Falco, and Wolf's "Super Smash Bros." related popularity. Although, I pity anyone who would fret over lore for Ice Climbers or Mr. Game & Watch like some do for "Star Fox" characters…

Harder still is trying to keep gameplay fresh and relevant to modern audiences. I mean, let's be real. "Star Fox" games are essentially souped-up "Space Harrier" titles. They're concentrated, arcade-difficult challenges meant to test your memory and reflexes. In a world that values a game's breadth of content over mastery of skill or difficulty (minus FromSoftware titles), that's always going to chop off the tails of these kinds of games.

And, hell. I've heard the "controls suck" complaint before, too. It was just for "Star Fox Assault" instead.

My personal problem with "Star Fox Zero" lies more with my thoughts about stagnation versus radicality. Plotwise, this game takes its events way too conservatively. Control-wise, well…we know about how that ruffles feathers, don't we? If there was an inversion with these two details—having a wild, engaging plot with a standard control scheme—this could have been the revival Nintendo wanted for the series. At least, that would have made for a sweet struggle.

Developers and players want "Star Fox 64" again. But, what does that look like in a modern era? Hell, what's even the silver title to that game's gold? I mean, I'd accept several different answers, depending on what a player got out of each title. The only wrong answer would be "Star Fox Command." That melodramatic, noncommittal garbage got us into this mess.

Personally? If I had to make another "Star Fox" game?

The "Star Fox" series appeals to me in not only its learnable difficulty, but its comradery. Fox McCloud would not be the sort of character that I would want to play if he begrudged his teammates. (Eyes on you, Slippy haters.) He's trying to do the right thing, not only for his father's honor, but for their sakes as well. I would want to construct a game that puts more emphasis on teamwork, even in a single player setting. Now, what that looks like could be tricky. "Star Fox 2" and "Command" fell into traps trying to do that. But, I'd have to try to do something, even if it's banal as stat boosts or motivational dialogue via radio communications. (Although, resource scouting/sharing might be an interesting twist. Does your partner trust you enough to attempt shield repairs in a firefight? Hell, would you for them?)

Even if a single confrontation is all it takes to knock Andross out of a timeline, it's harder for another villain to get out of his shadow. (It doesn't help that every other Nintendo character gets dedicated villains as well. It's all patterns fixing patterns.) Maybe, we don't need to. Hell, I could easily see scenarios where investigating some forgotten lab of his unleashes some horrific bio-techno monstrosity that lays waste to a handful of planets. It's not the most intelligent solution, but hell, neither were Aparoids. Didn't mean they weren't a legit threat.

I mean, if we really want to get messed up, the Lylat System is very poachable, if you get my drift. Particularly, if the wrong set of hunters were to come across it…

The simple answer would be just to make "Mass Effect" or "Halo," but for furries. But, personally? I'd want to toss "Star Fox 64," "Star Fox Assault," "Sin and Punishment: Star Successor," "Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin," and "Resident Evil 4"into a blender and chug what comes out. I know. Absolute madman shit, especially considering how I kept getting sick from "Resident Evil 4"-related adrenaline rushes. I know what I want out of a "Star Fox" game, and that's to go fast, kill some messed-up stuff, and vibe with my teammates. If I do it with my head in a bucket, then it'll at least be authentic to what it'd actually be like if I had to dogfight.

The flesh is weak, but the brain is sharp. And man, does it crave high-speed violence.

"Star Fox Zero" brought a lot of emotions out of me. Satisfaction, for having finally experienced it. Frustration, for letting the opinions of others cloud my interest with it. Sadness, for how the series has languished. But, it's all in perspective. Yes, this came out a decade after a predecessor that I found distasteful. Yes, it's been seven years without another game. (Well, hell, not even that, if you want to toss in "Starlink: Battle for Atlas" or "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.") The past is written. The future is unknown. I have what I have now, and I can find value in it. And, hell. As rough as that might feel, it's still not as raw as "F-Zero" fans have got it. Or even harder, "StarTropics" fans.

If you're looking for anything like a course of action from this evaluation, then I must recommend that you play "Star Fox 64" first. OBVIOUSLY. If that whets your appetite, fantastic! I can recommend you harder and/or weirder shit after that. Hell, maybe even this game, if you want to roll up your sleeves. As an introduction to the "Star Fox" series, it's about as appealing as a haunted house. But, if you are desirous of that kind of nail-biting shock, this is a solid game to play.

I wouldn't say that you have to be like me and pick up a Wii U for just this game. But, if you've got the console and ten bucks to spare, this game is cheap enough to pick up. And if you hate it like saner people do? Then, all you'll be out is a cheeseburger. Benefits of being a late adopter to a Nintendo game, for once! How often does that happen?

Do yourself a favor; dodge "Star Fox Command." Do an indie developer a favor; pick up "Ex-Zodiac." Do Rick May a favor; get your COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. And, obviously…the last order writes itself, doesn't it?

[notaplaceofhonour]

As a leftist Jew who believes strongly in the cause of dignity and freedom for the Palestinian people, and that Israel has abused them, I am begging fellow leftists to understand that real life is not a comic book. A government being “the bad guy” in a situation does not automatically make anyone who opposes it “the good guy”.

Hamas denies the Holocaust. Hamas disseminates the Protocols of the Elders of Zion—the conspiracy theory it paints is what they mean by “Zionist”. Hamas forbids foreign aid educators from teaching human rights to Palestinians, and claims that even teaching that the Holocaust happened is a war crime. Hamas has written the aim of annihilating Israel (the country and its people) into its charter—the mass slaughter and violent expulsion of 7 million Jews from the land is written into its laws.

There is no crime any state could ever do that would justify any of that; there is no act of state repression that could ever make it acceptable to side with the organization spreading Nazi pamphlets and Holocaust denial.

Oppose Bibi Netanyahu. Oppose Israel’s far-right, authoritarian government. Oppose Likud’s policies. Oppose its violence against Palestinian civilians. That isn’t antisemitic. But Hamas is—verifiably, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to its core—antisemitic. Its portrayal of Israeli Jews as blood-thirsty, child-killing master manipulators that control international media and finance is antisemitic. Its insistence that Palestinian freedom necessitates the death & expulsion of Jews from the land is antisemitic. Its redefinition of “Zionism” as a pejorative to mean genocidal Jewish/Israeli Supremacy is antisemitic.

Supporting the Palestinian people in their plight is a noble and loving goal; please never stop that. But do not let Hamas co-opt that into excusing or denying their rampant antisemitism and war crimes.

[isagrimorie]

WandaVision 1x08 - Previously On | Agatha All Along 1x09 - Maiden, Mother, Crone

"You’re supposed to be a myth. A being capable of spontaneous creation, and here you are, using it to make breakfast for dinner."

[fortpeat]

From Sky to TongRak

From Prapai to Mahasamut

[lale-txt]

it's been over a week but i legit haven't stopped thinking about this

[dawnleaf37]

anyways I have some theory about some stuff in ab but for now take my vers of cheezit

[silverskye13]

why does helsknight have beautiful luscious locks btw

Because he is allowed to have a little vanity, as a treat <3

[revacholian-girl-utena]

This system does not require faith — only accordance.

Alt text: Screenshots from Revolutionary Girl Utena with overlaid text. 1: Dios on a white horse, standing up high on a broken bridge. Text: An innocence is infallible.

2: Dios and young Utena looking at young Anthy, suspended in the air on the swords of hate. Text: The decisions made by one are not decisions.

3: Anthy's silhouette against a pink background, pierced by many blades, hair flying. Text: They are inevitabilities —

4: Touga looking out the tower window at the stars. His shirt is open and he holds a potted cactus. Text: what would have happened anyway,

5: An apple with a slice cut out, pierced by many forks. Text: only accelerated.

6: B-ko the shadow girl in Prince costume, taking a heroic stance. Text: An Innocence is a continuous, compressed event, a sacred human being.

7: Akio, dressed as End of the World, holds Utena, dressed as a rose bride. Text: It is an honor and a glory to live when one is in office.

8: Closeup on young Utena and Dios's feet, standing at the edge of a sheer drop. Text: YOU — Is one in office now?

9: A dark, empty stage with a rose design on the lowered curtain. Text: No.

10: Young Utena standing alone under a spotlight. She is staring at the spot where young Anthy disappeared. There are cracks in the wall resembling the shape of the swords coming out of Anthy's body. Text: We are alone.

[allysdelta]

Sometimes, being a demon has its perks. And Crowley's not above using one or two of them to impress his angel.

I was going to work on something else yesterday, but this comic idea popped into my mind and refused to loosen its hold until I'd drawn it. Ignore my slipshod historical research on the clothing, the joke was a bigger priority than the visuals and I needed a time period where candles were still in regular use.

[firestorm09890]

FUCK what I said about the majority of significant changes to dialogue in Re:CoM being to adjust Axel's characterization, the most egregious change is actually this

(GBA CoM)

(Re:CoM)

if I had to guess, the reason for this change was because in GBA CoM, The Superior was a spooky, unknown being at the head of this Organization we had very little knowledge on, and for Vexen, the guy who runs his mouth constantly about how much better he is than the others, to be terrified of him, he must be some pretty scary dude. But then after kh2 we know him, it's Xemnas, he's very dramatic, he likes to talk to the moon, and the effect of your mind filling in the gaps about what "The Superior" must be like is gone. So it wasn't really necessary anymore, right?

(rest under cut because it's long)

Except... the way they changed it is so weird. In the GBA version, what's happening is pretty clear:

Marluxia tells Vexen that his project is a failure

Vexen demonstrates that he does not give a shit about Marluxia's opinion

he does care very much about The Superior's opinion, though, and Marluxia uses this to blackmail him into eliminating Sora- an action which is nonsensical, as the entire point of what they're doing needs Sora alive, making it clear to everyone in the room that he is deliberately sending Vexen to die

and then after that, when Vexen shows up to fight Sora, he goes "if you want to fight me for real you've gotta do it in the memories from the other side of your heart lol bye" and Sora goes "huh? other side?" and then it cuts to a scene on the top floor:

and then this gets more into subtext but here, Vexen has realized he's totally fucked and his only hope is to mess directly with Marluxia's plans (well, they were the Organization's plans, but it's pretty obvious by now Marluxia's abusing his power for his own purposes) by giving Sora more information than he should know. This does get the traitor gang worried enough to send Axel to go kill him (as opposed to just letting Sora take care of him, which was presumably the original plan)- he very specifically cuts Vexen off to keep him from saying too much (this is retained between the original and the remake)

Anyway, what happens in Re:CoM sort of follows the same order of events, but everything is changed slightly in a way that just makes things more confusing.

Marluxia tells Vexen his project is a failure and Vexen demonstrates that he doesn't give a shit about Marluxia's opinion, as before

Marluxia threatens Vexen with a weapon, rather than threatening to tell the Superior

this, notably, does not seem to faze Vexen very much. he continues to run his mouth while having the scythe pointed at him.

Xemnas is still leveraged- Marluxia points out it was the Superior who entrusted him with the castle

...even though reasonably Vexen would already be aware of this, and has still demonstrated that he has zero respect for Marluxia despite it

the lines about betraying the Organization being a capital crime are retained, probably because it's super relevant later, but then that line of thinking is abandoned in favor of Marluxia and Larxene just taunting Vexen instead

The part where Marluxia says "do it. you won't" could be seen as a sort of threat... if not for Axel's line: "You give a challenge like that to Vexen and he'll seriously want to eliminate Sora." It frames it all as though Vexen went to fight Sora out of some sort of pride.

And look, Vexen may have a temper and a superiority complex, but he's not stupid. They're obviously baiting him. Plus, what happened to him seeing himself as above the others and countering things he doesn't like with "well actually I'm higher ranked than you and also you're an idiot"? Is he that insecure in his fighting capabilities? I could deal with characterization changes doing him dirty if it didn't also make no sense in the context of the plot.

So now we have Vexen going to try to kill Sora, something that really makes no sense to do, out of pride. What was the purpose of sending Sora to Twilight Town? Also pride, over the fact that he managed to get that information? Giving the writing the benefit of the doubt, I could say that these nonsensical actions can be explained as evidence that Nobodies can have hearts and people with hearts do strange and rash things, but that just feels like a reach, which is bad because what they had in GBA CoM worked perfectly fine and made sense without any reaching for the "idk emotions make you do strange things" explanation.

It continues. After Vexen gives Sora the Twilight Town card in Re:CoM and Sora wonders about what the "other side" means, this is that version of the conversation the top floor members have:

...what? "If Sora disappears, that would mess up the Organization's plans"? what are you worried about? the only reason Sora would disappear is if Vexen killed him. there's no way they think Vexen being in Twilight Town would give him an advantage, right? they know he's a pathetic fighter. "Vexen has clearly committed a treasonous act against the Organization" HOW? HOW IS IT CLEAR? they don't express any worry about Sora learning too much, up until Axel says "I came to stop you from talking too much" when killing Vexen- and that being there makes it seem like they were worried about Sora learning to much, but if that's the case, why would they replace the perfectly serviceable lines in the above scene? it's just... baffling that they would want to lean into the narrative that Vexen going to kill Sora (which he'd been goaded into doing) is the problem here, because it just makes so little sense compared to what it was originally.

once again giving them the benefit of the doubt: Marluxia's real plan was to take over the Organization, and he saw an easy way to pick off one of the members, so he took it. the motive for stopping Vexen doesn't actually matter.

buuuuut it's the same as with Vexen earlier. Marluxia may be too self-absorbed and power-hungry to notice Axel is scheming against him, but he, too, is an intelligent man. he's plotted for a while, getting into Xemnas's good graces in order to be put in charge of the Castle. this is incredibly sloppy for him. I guess it could be said that getting so close to his goal would make him sloppy, but again, if they'd just left things the way they were in GBA CoM, I wouldn't even have to be saying this

in conclusion: GBA Chain of Memories' intra-Organization strife subplot is so tightly woven with calculated moves on all sides that Re:CoM changing certain things without taking into consideration the consequences makes certain parts of the plot fall flat and become far more confusing than in the original story

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

You can't tell me Marcy wouldn't have ptsd after Darcy

[loveryoushouldvecomeover-mp3]

rory and jess are like modern day romeo and juliet to me

[quokkafoxtrot]

I love Night City Omega Neon.

[wonder-worker]

"Among their complaints [in 1460, the Yorkists] specifically blamed the earls of Wiltshire and Shrewsbury and Viscount Beaumont for ‘stirring’ the king [Henry VI] to hold a parliament at Coventry that would attaint them and for keeping them from the king’s presence and likely mercy, asserting that this was done against [the king's] will. To this they added the charge that these evil counselors were also tyrannizing other true men* without the king’s knowledge. Such claims of malfeasance obliquely raised the question of Henry’s fitness as a king, for how could he be deemed competent if such things happened without his knowledge and against his wishes? They also tied in rumors circulating somewhat earlier in the southern counties and likely to have originated in Calais that Henry was really ‘good and gracious Lord to the [Yorkists] since, it was alleged, he had not known of or assented to their attainders. On 11 June the king was compelled to issue a proclamation stating that they were indeed traitors and that assertions to the contrary were to be ignored." - Helen Maurer, "Margaret of Anjou: "Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England"

Three things that we can surmise from this:

We know where the "Henry was an innocent helpless king being controlled and manipulated by his Evil™ advisors" rhetoric came from**.

The Yorkists were deliberately trying to downplay Henry VI's actual role and involvement in politics and the Wars of the Roses. They cast him as a "statue of a king", blamed all royal policies and decisions on others*** (claiming that Henry wasn't even aware of them), and framed themselves as righteous and misunderstood counselors who remained loyal to the crown. We should keep this in mind when we look at chronicles' comments of Henry's alleged passivity and the so-called "role reversal" between him and Queen Margaret.

Henry VI's actual agency and involvement is nevertheless proven by his own actions. We know what he thought of the Yorkists, and we know he took the effort to publicly counter their claims through a proclamation of his own. That speaks louder than the politically motivated narrative of his enemies, don't you think?

*There was some truth to these criticisms. For example, Wiltshire (ie: one of the men named in the pamphlet) was reportedly involved in a horrible situation in June which included hangings and imprisonments for tax resistance in Newbury. The best propagandists always contain a degree of truth, etc. **I've seen some theories on why Margaret of Anjou wasn't mentioned in these pamphlets alongside the others even though she was clearly being vilified during that time as well, and honestly, I think those speculations are mostly unnecessary. Margaret was absent because it was regarded as very unseemly to target queens in such an officially public manner. We see a similar situation a decade later: Elizabeth Woodville was vilified and her whole family - popularly and administratively known as "the queen's kin" - was disparaged in Warwick and Clarence's pamphlets. This would have inevitably associated her with their official complaints far more than Margaret had been, but she was also not directly mentioned. It was simply not considered appropriate. ***This narrative was begun by the Duke of York & Warwick and was - demonstrably - already widespread by the end of 1460. When Edward IV came to power, there seems to have been a slight shift in how he spoke of Henry (he referred to Henry as their "great enemy and adversary"; his envoys were clearly willing to acknowledge Henry's role in Lancastrian resistance to Yorkist rule; etc), but he nevertheless continued the former narrative for the most part. I think this was because 1) it was already well-established and widespread by his father, and 2) downplaying Henry's authority would have served to emphasize Edward's own kingship, which was probably advantageous for a usurper whose deposed rival was still alive and out of reach. In some sense, the Lancastrians did the same thing with their own propaganda across the 1460s, which was clearly not as effective in terms of garnering support and is too long to get into right now, but was still very relevant when it came to emphasizing their own right to the throne while disparaging the Yorkists' claim.

[aphverse-confessions]

a lot of people on here like to bash jess' writing while their own rewrites are filled with grammatical errors and sooo many other writing issues. i'm not saying her writing is without its flaws because that's nottt true but i think people should start focusing on themselves instead of constantly criticizing others

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[quixot1sm]

i think, and this may just be my zekrom bias speaking, that if someone wants to experience the full value of bw's story it's better to play through white first. black has the issue of coming off as very dismissive towards plasma's legitimate and well-founded claims that pokemon abuse DOES occur (and it does! from the kanto games' marowak to bw2's liepard there's instances where it's put in the spotlight, so it certainly does happen)... by assigning the protagonist to truth, it feels pretty evident that n's beliefs are "wrong", and the game just seems to brush any questioning aside.

on the other hand, white giving n the hero of truth role means we're basically forced to think about what that means for the relationship of people and pokemon at large. to translate a point n makes in chargestone cave: if you allow people to coexist with pokemon, even if the majority of trainers treat them well, there will always be someone somewhere out there who abuses or neglects them instead. are we okay with that? should those pokemon still be allowed to suffer, just because what they experience is an outlier to the general rule? while not outright stated, zekrom's association with hope and the strive for the ideal suggests that we don't brush off these facts, but instead take them into consideration, and aim to change the world based off of them... like how in bw2 society in unova puts a lot more emphasis on the bond between people and pokemon, and on pokemon as equals (see: iris's dialogue before entering your team info the hall of fame).

i think black version has its own unique avenues to explore, but on the surface level, it's a much more cut and dry, "no, you're just wrong", type of story that kind of makes you work harder to fit it into bw's overall theming of "the world's not black and white, there's not a singular objective right or wrong perspective."