#the game the characters the music the story the gameplay the jokes

[diagonal-queen]

every two years or so i re-binge sean's playthrough of undertale, fall in love with the game all over again for a few weeks, then totally forget about it for the next two years when all of a sudden im like 'yooooo i should rewatch jacksepticeye play undertale'

[insert-game]

again thinking about how i wish Sea of Stars was Good. painful

[fabrickind]

I know the joke is that Ghost Trick fans can't tell you why to play it, just that you should, but here's some spoiler-free reasons to play it:

It's an incredible puzzle game. The puzzles are basically Rube-Goldberg machines, where you manipulate objects in a series to effect change in the overall situation. Do you like complex mechanisms and the concept of the butterfly effect? Play this.

The basic gameplay: you are a ghost. You have the ability to posses and manipulate objects, and move from object to object. Someone bas died. You can go to four minutes before their death to change their fate using your Rube Goldberg powers. Also! The puzzles do a great job of ramping you up in difficulty and teaching you the gameplay, but wow do they get HARD in late game. You can replay any puzzle, and also rewind time as you wish. You can't lock yourself out of things by doing it wrong, since you can redo.

The story is SO GOOD. There's a reason why everyone tells you as little as possible -- it's a compelling mystery that sucks you in. The basic idea: you are dead. You need to figure out who you are and who killed you. This spins out into a tale of political intrigue.

It's by Shu Takumi, the creator of Ace Attorney. It has very similar vibes, in that it's absolutely bonkers characters and situations but also WILL make you cry once it's all revealed. Great mix of serious and humorous tones. Seriously, someone dies when a giant roast chicken statue falls on them and the root cause is because of [serious political events]

The aesthetics. Great music, great character design, have you SEEN what the game looks like? Really good use of color and stylization. Character animations are often hilarious.

Missile is there. You WILL love bestest boy. Don't google him. Just trust.

[dumb-but-happy]

The Kirby Rant That You All Wanted So Much™

I’m gonna give you all a little plan of what’s gonna happen :

1. The overview of the main games (+1)

1.1. The copy abilities

1.2.1. The bosses

1.2.2. The Soul bosses

1.3. The Star Allies

1.4. The ancients

2. The music

3. The modern era’s themes

4. Anecdotes

Know that once you click on read more,

My one and only Kirby headcanon is that Sectonia is transgender.

So I guess I’m gonna start at the beginning, Kirby’s Dreamland. It’s a simple game with some of the gameplay staples already present, walking, running, inhaling, spitting, swallowing and floating. Recurring bosses also appear for the first time here, with Whispy Woods (a tree), Kracko (where there is a sky, there is a Kracko), and King DeDeDe (technically the only time he’s a final boss) It also has the Extra Mode. There really isn’t much to add, just that it’s a simple game.

Next is Kirby’s Adventure, the first game with copy abilities, making swallow go from almost useless to extremely important. It also adds a new character, Meta Knight, who at that time is neither protagonist nor antagonist.

Now begins the Dark Matter Trilogy, which is something that shaped the rest of the series. Meta Knight does not appear within the trilogy.

The first game of that trilogy is Kirby’s Dreamland 2, which introduces Dark Matter as a whole, specifically Dark Matter Blade (yes that’s its official name). That game also introduces two concepts. The first one is the concept of bad end, which is exclusive to the Dark Matter Trilogy, and happens when you don’t collect every main collectible and locks you out of the true final boss and gives you a teaser of said boss. The second one comes back out of the DMT and it is the concept of final transformation. In this game, the final transformation is the rainbow sword. Also, animal friends first appear here, and those are the most well known, Rick, Kine and Coo.

(Kirby super star came out here, I’ll talk about it when super star ultra though)

The second game of the DMT is Kirby’s Dreamland 3, with other, new and more numerous animal friends, I unfortunately do not know their names (except Chu-Chu) and honestly can’t be bothered to look them up. The final transformation is the Love-Love stick and the true final boss is Dark Matter (singular entity) followed up by Zero (an eyeball). Zero is the boss that makes people say "Kirby isn’t for kids". Also there’s a boss named Ado here.

The third and final game of the trilogy is Kirby’s Crystal Shards, with the first of two occurrences of copy ability combination and also the second appearance of Ado, which now takes the name Adeleine (the name didn’t change in Japanese, this is how we know they’re the same). The eponymous crystal shards are the collectible of the game and allow to unlock Ribbon’s Crystal and the fight against Zero Two.

Now comes what I like to call “The Drought”, it contains either weird games, spin offs or remakes.

And first off, a remake of Kirby’s adventure, Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland. The only difference is that Extra Mode is replaced by Meta Knightmare (you play as Meta Knight).

Alright I’m not going to talk about it but this is when Kirby Air Ride came out.

Now comes Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, which is confusing both in gameplay and in lore; and misleading in its title. The French title is better, it’s “Kirby and the Labyrinth of Mirrors” and that’s what it is, a labyrinth of mirrors. One of the few times King DeDeDe doesn’t appear anywhere in the games. The final copy ability is Master (it’s Galaxia but it didn’t have that name at the time) and the final boss is Dark Mind.

Here comes the weirdest of all, Kirby Squeak Squad, the game that started the joke of “Kirby kills gods over cake”. Forced to tell you the story here, Daroach steals cake from Kirby and puts it in a chest but there’s another chest that contains Dark Nebula and Daroach picks up the wrong chest. Shenanigans happen and Dark Nebula is killed by Kirby using the Triple Star copy ability (Mjolnir that can also do fire and ice). Also, copy ability fusion appears here too, for some reason. I’ll ignore them though, because the requirements are different than usual (I remembered them too late for that).

First, I’ll talk of the things that are common in the two games (except for the sub-games). There are the helpers, which can be summoned if Kirby has a copy ability that isn’t Crash, Paint or Sleep (the first two are screen wipers and therefore single-use and the third is Sleep, which doesn’t do anything) and serve as a player two.

Let’s talk about the Kirby Super Star Ultra sub-games in two parts :

First, Super Star :

The first I’m going to talk about is Spring breeze, a remake of the first game. Nothing to be added here except that it must be completed to unlock the rest.

Next is Dyna Blade, which plays like a normal Kirby game and the final boss is Dyna Blade.

Then, it’s Gourmet Race, one of the three most well known sub-games, where you race against DeDeDe to get the most food and finish first.

Up next is The Great Cave Offensive, where you try to get out of said cave while gathering as much treasure as you can.

After finishing Dyna Blade, you unlock one of the two big sub-games, The Revenge of Meta Knight, where Kirby must destroy the Halberd to prevent the invasion of Dreamland by Meta Knight and his crew. The final boss is Meta Knight (how surprising). Note that this means that the Halberd was destroyed prior to Kirby’s Dreamland 3.

After clearing all previous sub-games, you unlock the second big sub-game, Milky Way Wishes. It has no original bosses on the main planets. On the original bosses however, there is a lot of lore that becomes important later. It’s also half the reason everybody thinks the cute helper in Kirby will betray you (only happened twice). There is a gimmick in this sub-game; it’s that swallowing enemies does not give you a copy ability. Instead, you must find Copy Essences Deluxe; with the notable exceptions of Crash, Sleep and Paint. The penultimate boss is Galactic Nova and it is where the final ability, Starship, is found. The final boss is Marx (Max in Europe for… communist reasons).

After clearing the last sub-game, you gain access to the Arena. Which is a boss rush, not much to add.

There are two mini-games in this game, Samurai Kirby, a test of reflexes, and Megaton Punch, which is where the picture with cracked Popstar comes from.

Now Super Star Ultra (all previous sub-games return), which will be split in two parts :

First, what changed :

Cutscenes are in 3D; Spring Breeze is easier on the first playthrough; there is a dialogue between Meta Knight and his crew towards the end of The Revenge of Meta Knight; and the bosses in Milky Way Wishes have design changes.

Now the brand new sub-games :

There are three new mini-games, Kirby Card Swipe, where you must tap on the correct card first, Kirby on the Draw, where you must tap the target to shoot them, and Snack Tracks, where you must remove obstacles but not the food.

After beating 13 bosses in the Arena, you unlock Helper to Hero, which is a boss rush except that you don’t play as Kirby but as a Helper and the last boss isn’t Marx but Wham Bam Jewel, which is a harder version of Wham Bam Rock.

Next is Revenge of the King, which is the Extra Mode of Spring Breeze and is unlocked by finishing Milky Way Wishes. If you think it sounds like Revenge of Meta Knight, you’d be right; DeDeDe even gives Kirby a hammer at the end, that’s how far the parallels go. You fight harder versions of the bosses (the revenge versions). The final boss is Masked DeDeDe and his now iconic theme.

After finishing Revenge of the King, you unlock Meta Knightmare Ultra. In this game mode, you play as Meta Knight through all the game modes except Revenge of the King. Also, Marx, Meta Knight and Galactic Nova aren’t fought in there however you fight the horror, the Dark Souls boss of Kirby, Galacta Knight.

After clearing everything, you unlock the True Arena, where you fight all the hardest bosses and the true final boss, Marx Soul.

Alright, we’re done with the drought. It might look full, but reminder that the biggest part is a remake. Now begins the Modern Era, which take parts of a cancelled game, Kirby GCN. Each game has a gimmick.

To start off the era, the game that brought back Kirby, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland (and its remake). This game’s gimmick is the Super Abilities, which are transformations that make you feel like god. There are 4 important game modes in the original and 5 important game modes in the remake. The first game mode that you can play is the Main Mode, which is just playing through the game normally, the final copy ability is Landia and make you fight the penultimate boss, Lor and Magolor. The final boss is Magolor, the second half of the fucking joke that only ever happened twice. The second game mode you should play through is the Arena, which is the now usual boss rush. Now here’s the interesting thing, the Extra Mode is the canon mode in this game because the remake has a cinematic that shows us that Magolor Soul is the canon final boss in the Magolor Epilogue (which is unlocked after clearing the Extra Mode). The Extra Mode is also more interesting in terms of lore. The Magolor Epilogue is a mode in which you play as Magolor and try to recover your full power. Finally, you unlock the True Arena, where you fight all the hardest bosses (the epilogue’s bosses are present in the remake) plus Galacta Knight (still the Dark Souls boss of Kirby and the dodge is shit).

Then came out Kirby Triple Deluxe, which I think is a starting point for a lot of people. This game’s gimmick is the Supernova transformation, which makes you feel like god. There are, once again, 4 important game modes. The Main Mode is where you go through the game normally, there is however no final copy ability, instead you fight Sectonia’s final form with Supernova. The second game mode you should play is the Arena (I won’t present it anymore). Then you should play through DeDeDetour! which is like Metaknightmare but with DeDeDe instead. The final boss of this mode (and the reason I even talked of The Amazing Mirror) is Dark Meta Knight’s Revenge (and one of three occurrences of blood in the modern era), but not before having fought Dark DeDeDe. Finally, you unlock the True Arena, with Sectonia Soul as true final boss.

Next came out Kirby Planet Robobot (peak 2D Kirby in my opinion, it is however an opinion). I’m gonna let you guess how many important game modes there are. The first one is the Main Mode, with Star Dream as a final boss (note that it looks like Galactic Nova) with the final copy ability being the Halberd. After that, the usual Arena. Then you should play Meta Knightmare Returns and oh boy is this the reason that the True Arena is so hard in this game. The final boss is a succession of bosses (nothing new) however there are more bosses than ever (see: Bosses section) and the final boss is Galacta Knight Returns. After all that, you get the True Arena, with the final boss being Star Dream Soul OS (the second occurence of blood in the modern era), which is a rare occurence of the final transformation being used in both Arenas.

Then came out Kirby Star Allies. The gimmicks here are the Star Allies and the Allies Power (such as the Friends Wheel). It’s also the second occurence of copy ability combination. The game doesn’t have the same four important game modes (though there are four important game modes). The first is the Story Mode, where the final boss is Void Termina and the final copy ability is Star Allies Sprinkler. Then comes the Ultimate Choice where the levels 1-5 are unlocked by finishing the Main Mode (note that this is this game’s version of the Arena, it is however very weird and I will only talk of levels 8 and 9). Then you should play Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go, where the true final boss is Galacta- wait what’s that butterfly do- HOLY SHIT OKAY. That was my honest reaction to seeing that happen. Anyways the final boss is Morpho Knight and now Kirby fans are afraid of orange butterflies. Now you can go back to the Ultimate Choice, where levels 6 and 7 are unlocked. After doing either of those two, you unlock level 8, Soul Melter, where you fight all the bosses (including Morpho Knight) and the orb form of Void Termina is replaced by Void Soul. In a later update was unlocked Heroes in Another Dimension, which is just a test of your abilities with various abilities and Star Allies. After that, you unlock level 9 of the Ultimate Choice, Soul Melter EX, where you fight the harder versions of a lot of bosses and Void Termina’s orb form is replaced by Void. This game explained a lot lorewise.

Finally, Kirby and the Forgotten Land and, in my opinion, peak Kirby altogether. The gimmicks of the game are the mouthful mode and the abilities upgrade. There isn’t exactly a mode separation here, meaning that everything is canon. First, you go through the normal worlds until the end of world 3, which is where you unlock the Colosseum and the only place you can fight Meta Knight. The first cup is the Meta Knight Cup, with only the bosses and mini-bosses of worlds 1-3 and Meta Knight, giving us a grand total of 6 battles. Then you go back to the normal worlds until the end of the game, with the first final boss being Fecto Elfilis and the final copy ability being Big Rig Mouthful. There, you unlock the Ultimate Cup in the Colosseum, where you fight every boss and mini-boss of the normal worlds. Then comes Forgo Dreams, where you must collect enough fragments of Leon’s soul to unlock the Forgo Land. Here, the final boss is Soul For- WHAT THE HELL? HOW ARE YOU BACK. So the final boss is actually Morpho Knight again. Except he’s canon now. After beating Morpho Knight, you unlock the third and final cup of the Colosseum, the Ultimate Cup Z, with 12 bosses again. The true final boss (which is very much canon) is Chaos Elfilis.

Well that’s it for the game overview. Now the Copy abilities, sorted by order of appearance, alphabetical order and a little bit on each of them.

Kirby’s Adventure :

- Backdrop, which only ever appeared in that game and its remake. You are now a catcher and have a move called Back Breaker.

- Ball, which only ever appeared in that game and its remake. It transforms Kirby into a ball.

- Beam, our first staple, appearing in a lot of games. Absolutely OP against most of Whispy Woods appearances (especially return to dreamland).

- Burning, a transformation that technically still exists, though it fused with Fire. It transforms Kirby into a horizontal Meteor.

- Crash, another staple, starting in this game, and only missing a few like Crystal Shards. It’s a screen wiper, mini-bosses don’t stand a chance, useless against bosses.

- Cutter, the only copy ability I will call Grand Staple, because it appears in every mainline game except Kirby’s Dreamland. It’s got good range and decent damage.

- Fire, a staple, misses a few games. One of its effect is that it’s super effective against Whispy Woods in Star Allies and it inflicts burning damage overtime in Forgotten Land

- Freeze, a transformation that fused with Ice. Creates a ball of ice around, preventing movement.

- Hammer, the transformation you see the most in (True) Arena runs because its jump attack grants invincibility while still doing decent damage.

- Hi-Jump appeared in a few games. It does what it says, jump high while inflicting damage.

- Ice, a staple, allows to breath ice, create an ice ball that has inertia and one of the few transformations that make you invincible when shielding, with the downside of removing the dodge.

- Laser, it bounces off slopes.

- Light existed for this game and its remake. It doesn’t do damage.

- Mike, a staple, three uses (including one screen wiper).

- Needle, a staple that can transform Kirby in a ball of needles.

- Parasol, a staple that was originally the only ability usable underwater.

- Sleep, a useless staple.

- Spark, a staple. It allows to create a force field in two different ways, including a mobile one.

- Stone, a staple that transforms Kirby into a rock impervious to damage.

- Sword, a staple I won’t present.

- Throw, see Backdrop, except it appeared more often.

- Tornado, an uncontrollable staple which transforms Kirby in a tornado that has trouble changing direction.

- UFO, a rare staple, hard to find. In Planet Robobot, you needed the Kirby Amiibo.

- Wheel, a controllable staple which transforms Kirby into a wheel that can turn very easily, though it can’t fly.

Kirby Super Star :

- Bomb, a staple that gives Kirby bombs, I don’t know what you were expecting.

- Cook, a screen wipe that gives food.

- Copy, allows Kirby to copy the ability of any enemy, useful in Milky Way Wishes. Only ever appeared in that sub game anyway.

- Fighter, a staple that gives Kirby the power of fighting (seriously are you expecting a surprise), by which I mean punch and kick.

- Jet, a transformation that gives damaging flight and missiles.

- Mirror, which allows for mirror powers shenanigans.

- Ninja, a staple that makes Kirby use the coolest moves I’ve ever seen. Also PARRY!

- Paint, appeared in this game and its remake only. It’s a screen wipe.

- Plasma, same thing as spark, but in green instead of blue.

- Suplex, same thing as backdrop.

- Wing, it’s a staple that gives Kirby a damaging flight and… it’s actually similar to Jet, I’m not gonna lie.

- Yo-Yo, it’s a yo-yo and Kirby looks like Ness that way.

Kirby’s Dreamland 3 :

- Cleaning, which had a number of abilities thanks to the animal friends. The enemy that gives it is a staple, not the transformation.

Kirby and The Amazing Mirror :

- Cupid gives Kirby a bow and arrow, later replaced by Archer.

- Magic, Kirby can now do a roulette that is absolutely OP (in squeak squad, he also does magic tricks)

- Mini, Kirby is now smol.

- Missile, Kirby transforms in a missile, what did you expect.

- Smash Bros., Kirby gets his Smash moveset.

Kirby Canvas Curse : Balloon, where Kirby becomes a balloon (only mentioning this because it’s a copy ability apparently)

Kirby Squeak Squad :

- Animal, the one I hoped was making a comeback in Forgotten Land (it didn’t), Kirby gains sharp claws and the ability to dig.

- Bubble, which allows Kirby to transform enemies into bubbles. Like Bubble Mario.

- Ghost allows Kirby to possess enemies.

- Metal, where Kirby becomes invincible but he’s slow and can’t float.

Kirby’s Return to Dreamland :

- Leaf, which gives Kirby sharp leaves to attack with, from thrown to tornado, and renders him invincible when shielding.

- Spear. Kirby gets a spear.

- Water, where Kirby finally becomes the Avatar, able to control Earth (Rock), Fire, Air (Tornado) and Water.

- Whip. Guess what? Kirby gets a whip.

Kirby Triple Deluxe :

- Archer. Kirby gets a bow.

- Beetle, where Kirby gets a beetle horn and attacks with it.

- Bell, Kirby gets a bell and is like a child with it.

- Circus, complicated, check this to have it all : https://wikirby.com/wiki/Circus

Kirby Planet Robobot :

- Doctor. Kirby makes potions for elements and attacks using medicine.

- ESP. Okay now that’s definitely Ness.

- Poison, which is rather similar to Water in terms of gameplay, except it can also do a cloud and orient the fountain.

Kirby Star Allies :

- Artist, which allows Kirby to paint things to life (like Adeleine, actually).

- Festival, a screen wipe with a cute dance right before.

- Spider, Kirby can now throw webs.

- Staff, look at Sun Wukong and yep, that’s it.

Kirby Fighters 2 : Wrestler, only mentioning it.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land :

- Drill, Kirby digs with that drill.

- Ranger, Kirby with a GUN, OH YEAH!

Jelly exists, apparently.

Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe :

- Mecha, check this https://wikirby.com/wiki/Mecha

- Sand, he’s gonna put some dirt in your eyes.

That’s done too now. I guess it’s the bosses now. I won’t do them all, only the important ones. The order is not exactly important.

- Whispy Woods : Usually, he or a cousin of his is the first boss

- Kracko : Where there is a sky, there is a Kracko. And also, he hates Kirby like Reverse Flash hates Flash.

- King DeDeDe : The boss that is only Final Boss once, the first game. I’ll talk more about another version of him though.

- Meta Knight, who has been possessed a lot and I mean a LOT of times. Not as often as DeDeDe. After Star Allies, it can be surmised that he trained against mind control because he wasn’t affected by Fecto Forgo.

- Nightmare, the final boss of Kirby’s Adventure, who sure does exist.

- Dark Matter Swordsman, who is a Dark Matter and (WARNING : THIS IS A THEORY) might be a deviant Dark Matter, because of the fact that the manual says that it is jealous of the friends Kirby has, while Dark Matters shouldn’t be able to feel positive emotions (THEORY END).

- Galactic Nova (Nucleus), which is a device made by the ancients to make wishes come true. I’ll talk more about this later though.

- Marx, the devilish buffoon, who tricks Kirby into summoning Nova in order for Marx to take control of Popstar.

- Masked DeDeDe, the version I will actually talk about. First the music is awesome and every time they remix it, it gets better (Masked DeDeDe, DeDeDe’s Royal Payback, Roar of DeDeDe+Masked and Wild D.D.D). DeDeDe put a fucking rocket inside his hammer for more power.

- Galacta Knight. Very little is known about him, but what little is known is absolutely crazy. Could destroy a planet or two on a whim according to Star Dream. (THEORY) Might be a Hero of Iore (THEORY END). The strongest combatant in the universe.

- Ado, later Adeleine, is a Human, a very rare sight in Kirby games and (THEORY) might be the creator of Drawcia, Paintra and Vividria (THEORY END).

- Dark Matter, (THEORY) a primal entity of the universe hellbent on destroying the Light of Joy (THEORY END).

- Zero, the leader of the Dark Matter, attacks using blood and Dark Matter as projectiles. During its second phase, it sheds its protective white sphere.

- Pix is surprisingly important for later, keep it in mind.

- HR-H -> HR-E, a robot created by humans on Shiver Star (which is the Earth, commonly accepted theory by now) left to defend the abandoned underground city. Important for the ancients.

- Miracle Matter, an important Dark Matter (probably a General). It has control over the elements, that’s important for later.

- Zero Two, which, while never confirmed to be a Dark Matter, probably is a Dark Matter. Oh boy, that one will probably have my head on a pike so (THEORY THAT MIGHT PISS YOU OFF ALERT) It is not a reincarnation of Zero in my opinion. While it does have an angelic theming, I think of it as meaning that while Zero might have been strong, this entity, which uses the same white shell as it, is an angel of death (THEORY END).

- Master Hand and Crazy Hand. They’re here, that’s fun.

- Dark Meta Knight, an amplified reflection of the worst parts of Meta Knight.

- Dark Mind, (THEORY TIME) it might be the reflection of Zero in the amazing mirror, which corrupted said mirror and made it so that anyone who looks into it is either corrupted or gets copied with their worst parts amplified (THEORY END).

- Daroach, Leader of the Squeaks, the mice thieves (their mice that are thieves, not people that steal mice). He is akin to a phantom thief.

- Dark Nebula. (THEORY) Probably an ancient Dark Matter Leader. I say this because it can possess people, has a singular eye, has a colour scheme very Dark Matter and can control the elements. And it has probably been stuck in that chest for hundreds if not thousands of years, so it can’t reach full power right away (THEORY END).

- Drawcia, the creation regretted by its creator.

(For the Return to Dreamland Bosses, I will talk about the EX bosses)

- Grand Doomer EX, leader of the Sphere Doomers, entities with the ability to create portals to travel through space time using Another Dimension. It is mentioned that the Sphere Doomers didn’t always look like that. It’s important for later.

- Metal General EX and HR-D3, the reason people think the Extra Mode isn’t canon, (THEORY) I say it’s just a multiverse thing BECAUSE it was supposed to be a boss for a cancelled Kirby Game and it just traveled from a world it existed to a world it didn’t (THEORY END).

- Landia EX, which is Landia drawing too much power from the Master Crown, and going a little mad. It is the keeper of the Master Crown because (THEORY) it is actually, in my opinion, 4 dragons fused into one, so there are 4 minds to corrupt instead of 1 (THEORY END).

- Lor EX and Magolor. The Lor is a ship that is implied to have a consciousness and is corrupted by Magolor. Important for the ancients.

- Magolor EX is (THEORY TIME) actually taking as much power as during the second part of his normal fight. That would make the fact that he transforms into Magolor Soul make more sense (THEORY END).

- Crowned Doomer, see Grand Doomer.

- Master Crown, an item with “infinite” power, the ability to corrupt those who wear it and open portals. In Magolor’s Epilogue, it possesses a tree and becomes the crown without a ruler, as exposed by its theme : “Mistilteinn, Tree Crown without a Ruler”. There is symbolism to be found here, but I won’t go into it.

- Paintra, sister of Drawcia.

- Queen Sectonia -> Flowered Sectonia. She looked like Taranza at first but then, he brought her a mirror, a beautifully cursed mirror, the amazing mirror. She looked into it. She wanted to look more and more beautiful and so she modified her body until she looked nothing like she did. She fuses with the Dreamstalk as an ultimate move to try to become the most beautiful and destroy Kirby.

- Shadow DeDeDe, while not canon, it’s the Shadow of the King after he looked into the mirror.

- Holo Defense API. Remember Pix? Yeah it’s important now, the design is similar, so it can be surmised Haltmann took the schematics and made it a defense system. It’s probably ancient tech.

- Susie, of her true name Susanna Haltmann, is the daughter of President Haltmann, though he forgot who she was after she was lost in Another Dimension. She was lost in there for years (she was a child when she fell into it and was of age to be hired by Haltmann when she came back out) and when she realised her father didn’t recognise her anymore, she strived to be the best in the company and to take away Star Dream from him. She succeeded and lost her father in the process.

- President Haltmann got obsessed with Star Dream after he lost his daughter. When Susie took away the control device of Star Dream, his Mind fused with the Program.

- Star Dream, the result of Haltmann finding the schematics for Galactic Nova. It can open portals, create a countdown to the Red Screen of Death, summon Galacta Knight and has a secret mode activated if it takes too much damage. Important for the ancients.

- The Three Mage Sisters (a developer said it could be religious sisters), Francisca, Flamberge and Zan Partizanne. They were all on the brink of death when Hyness found them. Their lives weren’t kind to them, since Francisca is implied to have been trying to commit suicide (who goes into a snowstorm like that), Flamberge was facing an inferno and who the fuck does that if they don’t want to die, and Zan Partizanne was climbing a tower in desperation so I’d say she wasn’t doing it for fun. Anyways they’re all extremely loyal to Hyness, even with his poor treatment of them. Also Francisca and Flamberge are implied to be in a romantic relationship.

- Hyness. The one and only character that ever mentioned the ancients, being one himself. He was a good person originally (as exposed by the fact that he saved the Mage Sisters) but he started worshipping Void Termina, and he started going madder and madder. All that until Heroes in another dimension, where his heart is finally saved.

- Void Termina, the closest thing the Kirby Universe has to a god. I’ll talk more about Void though.

- Morpho Knight. I won’t talk about him because too little is known.

- Clawroline, of her true name Carol, is a Leopard, close friend of Leongar. She is a general of the Beast Pack.

- Leongar, of his true name Leon, is the Lion Leader of the Beast Pack. He is possessed by Fecto Forgo.

- Fecto Forgo -> Fecto Elfilis. (BEEN A WHILE THEORY TIME) This might be the true form of the Grand Doomer, I say this because of the wings directly attached to the head and the ability to open portals (END THEORY). I say more with Chaos Elfilis.

Now, onto the Soul forms (take everything said here with a grain of salt)

- Drawcia Soul. No idea who she is, but she was first.

- Marx Soul. He’s the form you see in Star Allies because (THEORY TIME) he can be seen absorbing part of Nova in the True Arena and in MetaKnightmare, Nova reassembles itself and is missing a few pieces, implying Marx absorbed those. Therefore, it can be assumed this happened in the canon timeline (THEORY END).

- Magolor Soul. He’s a fun one, because the epilogue shows us that’s the canon final form, therefore making the extra mode canon. He’s also the only one to appear in both the Extra Mode and the True Arena.

- Soul of Sectonia. She’s taken several Miracle Fruits (drugs) and is back to destroy Kirby (she fails). She’s given all she was to beauty and it is now all she has left.

- Star Dream Soul OS. It is activated because of the damage caused by Galacta Knight. It has a bit of Haltmann’s soul left, which is the reason it loses.

- Void Soul. It’s cool. Void is cooler though.

- Void, Astral Birth. It’s the thing that Hyness was trying to summon, and (YOU’RE GOING TO KILL ME FOR THAT ONE) a chameleon god, who acts how the summoner wants him to act. While Kirby isn’t Void or one of his incarnations, he is probably an existence not unlike Void’s (THEORY END).

- Chaos Elfilis. That thing can control dreams (as proven with Forgo Dreams), space (major plot point), minds (Leongar), souls (major plot point) and light (one of its attacks). It is in constant pain and has forgotten who it truly is after absorbing so many souls.

Okay I’m done with that. Now I gotta do the Star Allies (Dream Friends + Elfilin)

- Bandana Waddle Dee (Bandee). Everyone likes him, he’s a little dude with a spear and is extremely loyal to King DeDeDe.

- King DeDeDe.

- Meta Knight.

- Animal Friends.

- Marx

- Gooey. A deviant Dark Matter that is just a goofball.

- Adeleine and Ribbon. They’re cool, okay, I just think there were better picks for Dream Friends than them.

- Dark Meta Knight. He is only there because he wants to be the most evil there is.

- Daroach.

- Magolor.

- Taranza. Still grieving his love, but wants to help his friend.

- Susie.

- The Three Mage Sisters.

- Elfilin. See Chaos Elfilis.

(THEORY TIME)

The ancients. The most mysterious people we know and yet we have so much on them. We know they were split in half (the Scientists and the Mages) and they made some of the most impressive things we know (Lor, Galactic Nova, Lix, etc). I don’t think all the scientists come from the same place. I think some of them come from Shiver Star and some others come from the Forgotten Land. I don’t know much about them.

(THEORY END)

Now the music, I will talk about two of them specifically.

First, Green Greens, THE Kirby song. It’s the song that plays whenever HAL Laboratory wants to hit the nostalgia button. It’s simple, it’s easily recognisable and everyone loves it. (Planet Robobot, both remixes).

Second, Masked DeDeDe’s Theme. Oh boy, this theme. Ever since it first appeared, it has a remix for each game (except Return to Dreamland (present in the remake) and Planet Robobot). In order, there is :

1. The original

2. DeDeDe’s Royal Payback, Triple Deluxe

3. Against a Sword-King, the Dimension to Win, Star Allies

4. Roar of DeDeDe was disappointing, not gonna lie. So imagine my joy when I heard Masked and Wild : D.D.D.. It’s an absolute Banger. Forgotten Land.

The modern era has some interesting themes, actually.

1. Return to Dreamland. Its theme is that if you chase the ultimate power, the only thing you’ll get is suffering (Magolor).

2. Triple Deluxe. If you are obsessed with how others see you, you’ll end up destroying yourself (Sectonia).

3. Planet Robobot. A classic show of Man versus Machine, sprinkled with the importance of family.

4. Star Allies. The power of friendship is the power to jump your enemies.

5. Forgotten Land. Human creations are worth nothing against Nature.

The anecdotes.

Did you know :

Kirby was always supposed to be pink. It’s just that Miyamoto thought he’d be yellow and was pleasantly surprised by the pink.

Kirby has this name for two reasons. For one, John Kirby, who won the lawsuit against Universal. For two, it’s surprising to have a K sound for a being so round.

The anime follows its own plot because Sakurai basically said redundancy is the killer of a good story.

Kirby has killed a child before (Void).

Kirby has yet to wield an axe.

Tag list

@illusionsignmisdirecti0n @pennyroyald @neoninglitchen @patrik6090 @vivian-the-fae @ridgette58 @vee1021 @mariyoursweetheart @izzythedemigod @differentglittertimemachine @totally-france @your-average-sentient-suit @moistgermany @iron-roses @mine-is-an-angel @angelicassassinations @eldritch-bean @best-kirby-character-tournament @my-mom-named-me-duck

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

When the twisted wonderland anime comes out what are the things you hope they do better then what they could do in the game?

To quickly clarify a few things (so new readers and anyone stumbling across this post doesn't get the wrong idea): firstly, we do not yet have any confirmation on what the Twisted Wonderland anime will be about. Secondly, I have previously expressed that I would prefer the TWST anime to be random slice of life rather than another main story adaptation. If we assume that the anime will be another adaptation of the main story, I don't think the anime staff has a ton of liberty in the alterations they can make to the source material. Book 2 is widely known to be the greatest example of Bad Writing in TWST, and it cannot exactly be swept under the rug since it's in the main story. I doubt anyone would be allowed to make massive rewrites to the script or to the series of events; the biggest changes we get are slightly compacted scenes in the manga and the light novel. For example:

Skipping lines that appear in the game. (Ex: in the Book of Heartslabyul, Ace does not joke about sharing a room with Yuuken.)

Combining scenes to save on time. (Ex: In the light novel, Yuuya and Deuce meet Leona for the first time not in the Botanical Garden, which is the case in the game. Instead, the mob student that broke the eggs meant for Ace's apology chestnut tart is a Savanaclaw kid that Leona shows up to reprimand.)

Adding slight details to fill in logical gaps. (Ex: Yuuya in the light novel is granted a NRC uniform by Crowley; the uniform is described to us, the readers. Yuu getting a uniform is never mentioned in the game.)

Continuing from the last point, new details can also serve to flesh out character motivations, backstories, and lore. (Ex: the Heartslabyul light novel informs us that Riddle faces social repercussions for his OB and almost got expelled from school; the Savanaclaw light novel sheds new light on Leona's motivations, and the same can be said of Riddle.)

So basically, the story (again, if the anime does end up following the plot of the main story) would be the same. What would make the anime different from the manga, game, and light novel is largely the medium in which it is presented. I have talked about this at length in a number of older posts, but here is one example of how the manga, uses visual storytelling (as it is primarily a visual medium). A manga chapter is usually limited in length due to it being physically printed and shared in a magazine alongside other manga; there is therefore a constraint on how long-winded it can be, and its limited pages must be used effectively. We need to think about the strengths and the weaknesses of each individual medium and how those strengths and weaknesses affect how it might slightly change how TWST I presented.

An anime is able to incorporate animation with sound in a 20ish minute time slot to tell a tale. It gets the same benefits of the game, but far more freedom of movement. There is, however, also a time constraint to be considered. One complaint TWST often gets is that despite half of its core gameplay (I'm not going to count reading as gameplay) being rhythm games, the music the game has is NOT memorable. While the anime most likely won't have a ton of original songs, I hope that it can at least creatively incorporate some of TWST's scores as background tracks to fun scenes and make them more enjoyable that way. The anime will also be able to... well, be animated!! We won't get just a static screen where a maximum of three characters are crammed onto the screen at once staring back at you. It's okay to have in the game to save on time and budget, but you have to admit it does get boring to look at after a while. But with an anime production, we can get exciting lighting and camera angles that result in cool animation! I hope that this will really help the TWST characters' stories come to life on the screen ^^ One scene in particular that I hope the anime will adapt well is the VDC/SDC performances of RSA and NRC. The game tells us that RSA's performance is clumsy and amateurish, but it still managed to capture people's hearts. The game also tells us that NRC was not able to perform at their maximum capacity because they were already physically worn down from dealing with OB Vil. I want to see these descriptions actually be realized on screen (the Rhythmic/Twistune alone isn't enough), as it could help us better judge and have an enhanced understanding of the situation. I know a lot of fans who, to this very day, still feel that NRC was cheated of the win and shouldn't have lost to such a lackluster performance from RSA, so I'm hoping that a fully animated version might give us more perspective.

[thegingerheed]

How DELTATRAVELER is the funniest UT fangame by complete accident.

Over the course of the past year, I've talked a ton about various UT/DR fan-projects and my thoughts regarding them and their writing. One fan-work I have talked extensively about on various forums and threads being DELTATRAVELLER. For a while, I didn't know exactly how to feel about this game. It felt like an enigma to me. 

The game was enjoyable to play, it was entertaining to read. Yet I could never get myself invested in anything regarding the game's narrative or characters. It was as if the game was unintentionally written to obliterate (pun entirely intended) any and all chances for narrative investment in its story and characters. What the game did have over me was that it had me in histersics for the majority of its runtime. Yet, paradoxically, none of the jokes written to be funny landed for me. For a while I didn't fully know why and how it made me feel about the game as a whole. How can you say you enjoyed  something a lot whilst also laughing at it and acknowledging that under any other circumstance, it wouldn't be something that you'd consider to be good?

Spoiler alert: I found that answer, which I will now be explaining to YOU in weirdly esoteric detail !!!

But before we start, let's start of with the basic premise of DELTATRAVELER for those not in the know. 

What is a "DELTATRAVELER"

DELTATRAVELER is a UT/DR fangame about Kris, Susie and Noelle being isekai'd from a Post-Chapter 2 DELTARUNE into the worlds of various different video games and UNDERTALE on a quest to find a way home. The game was inspired and made off the back of "GOD FUCKING damnit KRIS where the FUCK are we!?" which was a very popular meme at the time of DELTARUNE: Chapter 2's release. 

Like DELTARUNE, the game is divided and released in chapters (dubbed 'sections' by the devs). Each chapter is set in a different world and has the Shit Squad (The objectively best name for the heroes) explore, fight and eventually find that world's "grey door" which serves as the end goal for the chapter as that will take the Shit Squad to the next world after the boss of the chapter is complete. In total the game is slated to have eight total chapters with what they are based on being revealed in advanced:

Chapter 1: UNDERTALE 

Chapter 2: Earthbound

Chapter 3: GG!UNDERFELL

Chapter 4: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Chapter 5: TS!UNDERSWAP

Chapter 6: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Chapter 7: Toontown Online

Chapter 8: The Dark (the game's finale)

Currently as of this post, DELTATRAVELER is still a work in progress with Chapter 3 being released back in December. As a result all discussion of the game of the game will be on Chapters 1-3 as those are what's out right now.

I think I should preface this post with me saying, I don't think DELTATRAVELER is a bad game, quite the opposite, actually! I enjoyed my time with it.

Mechanically, the gameplay is really well done, the physics feel very on point to UT/DR, which is surprisingly rare for a lot of UT fan-games. It felt like I was playing UT/DR and was rewarded for the skills I had gained from the collective hundreds of hours I have played these games. 

Visually, I think it looks very solid and charming. Seeing various locales and characters from other games being translated into UT/DR's iconic, sometimes janky artstyle is always cool to see and it will be very interesting to see how games like A Link to the Past are adapted in future chapters.

Musically, I think the game is fine. The original songs in the OST doesn't have anything I'd point to as "bangers" but also doesn't have anything I thought was particularly hard to listen to (With the outlier maybe being Eye for an Eye. The obligatory Megalo for the Sans fight in the GG!UNDERFELL chapter. But even then, I wouldn't even call the song "bad". I just don't like it too much and that's fine! just how music taste works.)

But to get to the main point. The most intreasting thing about DELTATRAVELER to me, is the way the game is written which has proven to be quite the controversial topic within the broader fandom which is what I'll try to give an in-depth and nuanced disection of but to put a long story short, I don't think this game is written well. Most of the core issues I have with DELTATRAVELER's writing can be attributed to a single, fundamental flaw. That being how the game handles it's "tone"

Explaining Tone

In writing, Tone is a very multi-factor concept, working as the bedrock for a given work. To put it simply and cleanly, tone is basically "the vibes" of a given thing. Tone can come in a lot of different flavours. Whether that be the tone of a given scene, the work itself or even the tone of an entire series. Tone is important as keeping tone consistent with itself is one of the major factors in narrative investment. It essentially tells the audience what they can and can't expect from a work of fiction.

Let's use this as an example:

You're watching a movie, in the movie there's a scene involving the protagonist having an anvil inexplicably dropped on their head by the antagonist.

If this movie was a comedy for children and family, the tone of this scene would ensure that this be as funny a punchline as possible or the set up for a funny punchline. This expectation built by the previous events of the story shields the narrative and characters from anything that might be too ill-fitting for the "comedy for child and family tone" it's trying to go for. At most the protagonist could be expected to suffer from a Loney Toons-like knockout rather than ending in a hospital bed with a shattered skull. Or, at worst, splattered and crushed across the pavement in an intensely gruesome fashion. If that happened, it wouldn't pass the story's "vibe check" which can cause something that I'll be calling "Tonal Whiplash"

If you want an example of "Tonal Whiplash" and the effects it can have on the audience, look no further than Shadow the Hedgehog

This game, to be frank. Is fucking hilarious and this is in part due to the mere concept of the game about Shadow using a gun breaking the tone set series-wide by other Sonic games and media in the past. (Expect Sonic Adventure 2, that has similar issues to a lesser extent)

It takes a series about stopping egg-themed villain from ruling the world to trying to assassinate the president and watching as a innocent girl gets shot in the back by what is basically, the USA military. And it all tries to do this in the Sonic series' iconic, albeit rather corny writing while also intened to appeal to older kids and be "cool". It leaves the game being kinda a clusterfuck even beyond just its tone issue, in a very funny way.

Now, this isn't to say that breaking tone is necessarily a bad thing all the time. Sometimes it's intentional, a way to make a moment hit harder, surprise the audience or all of the above. However, breaking tone is a narrative risk and if it fails you risk hurting the narrative investment your audience has within your work and to top it off once tone has been broken, it can't really be put back together with a story. You'll basically be shifting the tone of the story from that point on.

An easy example of this tonal shift is UT itself with it's Geno Route.

How UNDERTALE handles it's tone

UT's tone is one that acknowledges its nature as a video game with the usage of diegetic game mechanics like SAVING and the battle system.

This has many unique effects, for example means things like death as a concept is something that is treated rather lightly within the game's tone, the game even joking about it on the occasion. It's rather pointless treating death as anything other than a slight inconvenience to the human when you directly acknowledge that they can undo it by simply not wanting to die.

This treatment of death intentionally clashes with how it's treated when you kill monsters in a Geno Route. Papyrus is a shining example of this. Being something of an emotional obstacle for the player. Designed to make the player feel shit. Basically UT's writing is effectively, unapologetically trying to guilt trip you as another test of your determination to see this run to its completion.

The emotional weight of this scene is less carried by the idea of death and more so the fact that you hurt one of your favourite characters and won't see him anymore for the remainder of the run. It's more character focused, if you've already begun to withdraw your narrative investment and attachment to the characters or if you simply just don't give a fuck, it's not gonna make you feel anything. It'd just be another monster to slay, another number to increase.

Now you might find yourself wondering. How can UT be funny and sad without it leading to side effects normally seen by "tonal whiplash"? UT is funny, sure. There's a lot of jokes, each joke told in UT is a joke told by either a character or the world. Each joke means something beyond it being a funny line. But UT can also be heartfelt, like the walk up to Asgore. It all further fleshes these characters out making them feel more deep and layered, it treats it's world and characters not as jokes to be laughed at but as people, people who can be funny, people that can be sad and down even if you and the game both know that deep down, they aren't real. Just bundles of pixels and dialogue for your entertainment which is what makes Geno's clash work.

Your attachment to the characters and world. It's sudden, yes. But that's why it hits. NPCs vanish and their absence is felt, the once lively music replaced with a slowed drone. It all feels empty. It's dark, all because you have killed the things that gave this game its "light". UT's tone is something that . The tone of Pasifist runs reinforce and bring greater impact to Geno runs and that's why it feels less like tonal whiplash to the audience.

Now, let's get to DELTATRAVELER. If we want to establish how DELTATRAVELER establishes a tone for itself what best than analysis the beginning?

How DELTATRAVELER handles it's tone

After an amusing title screen and a quick file selection, we open with Kris and Susie on a bed of flowers, the first room of UT. After a brief moment of the two getting their bearings, they stand up and Susie turns to Kris before saying "God Damnit Kris! Where the hell are we?!!" fit with a silly pose and sound effect. A reference to the meme that inspired the game's creation.

The next scene is in the very next room and it's encounter with Flowey. Here he attempts the same speech he said in UT before Susie cuts him off, gets him to spill the beans that he was actually after Kris' SOUL before getting into a battle. Where they make a joke about DR battles being different from UT battles before Susie bashes her HUD into Kris' creating a unique one that DELTATRAVELER uses before blasting Flowey away with Rude Buster.

Off the cuff, DELTATRAVELER isn't really being serious. So far it's spent the first couple of scenes essentially making jokes around the characters, world and basic premise of the game and the game will continue to do this with inclusion such as Ralsei smoking a blunt, referencing a meme of the same name and Noelle making expressions referencing both a popular SpongeBob and MegaMind memes. On its own, this isn't really a bad thing, sure I may personally find it very unfunny but the game starting off with various memes isn't even a negative in principle, it just indicates that it doesn't want the audience to take it too seriously, which if that was the intention, would be fine. The issue DELTATRAVELER has with it's writing is that it unfortunately does want me to take it seriously.

The game makes an attempt to emulate UT's writing style, attempts to have serious moments sprinkled amongst jokes. However, unlike UT, DELTATRAVELER's brand of humour is basically solely self aware memes. Oftentimes, made at the expense of its own characters and world, leaving the moments where the game actually wants to be taken serious to fall flat.

Things like Kris' nightmare during Chapter 3, where they wonder why they are cursed with our control before lamenting about how much they want to rip their SOUL out and destroy it. Before crying out that they "Don't want to die alone." Doesn't have the impact the game wants it to have, because prior to that point, the game had basically already told the audience not to take the game too seriously, thus hurting any narrative and emotional investment the player could form with this interpretation of Kris as a character leading up to that point.

The same can be said with DELTATRAVELER's Geno Route equivalent, dubbed by the devs as The Obliteration Route watching the game in one route go from, "Ralsei Dobbie! No Bitches? Vine boom!" to beating and slaughtering a beloved protagonist and watching the kid bleed out on the ground as the other fights for revenge whilst a cover of (fucking) MEGALOVANIA starts playing in another takes what should be a very climactic and emotional moment and turns it into the single funniest boss fight I have played.

And that isn't counting the various other characterization issues present throughout the route as a whole. Characters like Noelle and Susie have no real reason to help Kris with the run once they notice them seemingly going around looking for people to slaughter. DELTATRAVELER especially when the game then goes out of its way to show the player that both party members have the digetic ability to reject the player's control, to the point where they can refuse to enter battles with Kris entirely.

But they don't, they'll even attack Ness and Paula under a certain percentage of health even after Susie tells explicitly Kris to not kill them. It leads to the game putting the blame on Kris and then The Player for a situation Susie and Noelle also have established agency over. Susie can help and kill a ton of monsters yet still be pissed at Kris for what is, under the game's internal logic, still a choice she chose to follow. The game tries to remedy this via Chapter 3's talk with the trio and it's better, sure. But it still leaves the writing in this strange place of hypocrisy with the characterization to me.

One scene that sticks out to me as particularly odd being after a secret Gaster lore dump cutscene on an Aborted Obliteration run has Noelle say:

"Kris..."

"If you were serious about not having control."

"You would've done it."

Directly implying that she thought Kris should've jumped off the cliff... which is just a strange inclusion, I feel is... Done more so to enlist a reaction in the player rather than creating important moments that respects the world and established characterization.

On the topic of weird characterization, let's talk Sans...

In the GG!UNDERFELL chapter, the main antagonists are Papyrus and Sans. Papyrus, is written, pretty recognisably from his Canon Counterpart. Sans however? Is a mess and a wonderful mess, at that. They take this very edgy, unhinged approach to his character, making him into an insane killer type of character similar to AUs like Dusttale. Throughout the chapter, he tries his damnest to kill Kris and take their SOUL, talking vaugely about a gurdge that doesn't ever get elaborated on. This approach creates a dynamic between Sans and Papyrus, where Sans is basically on Papyrus' metaphorically leash. Reaching a breaking point where he kicks Papyrus off a cliff, rushes at Kris like a feral dog before being being thrown off the bridge, leading to his battle.

His battle... oh my god his battle! It was easily the best part of the game, to the point it had to have its dialogue rewritten, the reason for this being honestly something I cannot begin to accurately describe to you while also doing the scene justice. So here's a clip from Andrew Cunningham's playthrough.

This isn't even the ironic either, this was just how Sans was written. The tone takes itself very seriously, this creates this type of divide where the game has already conditioned you not take it seriously, while trying to take itself completely seriously. It's peak tonal whiplash and it makes the scene, and the fight as a whole, unintentional hilarious.

Final Thoughts

The weirdest part? I don't even care. I've spent the better half of this essay arguing the flaws in DELTATRAVELER's writing, and while I do think they are all valid positions to have, for me? I don't really care about it that much, it's these issues that make me like the game. It's really funny in a very earnest, albeit unintentional way and at the end of the day. It's entertaining to read and there is value there. It's why I am not big on the rewrite of GG!Fell Sans. His issues come from fundemental aspect of his character that couldn't be changed with a simple rewrite, nor should it have it been expected to, as a result however, it doesn't really fix his character for me, it just takes a big part of what I enjoyed from him away. It's sort of a shining example on how when creating, you do not have a choice on how other people see your work. Some jokes you might tell might land and be funny, but also to some, may be brutally annoying and that's just the beauty of the beast. There's always room to analyse, to see if what the creator wanted to convey reads back to the audience. But even if there is critical flaws with the writing, enjoyment of that writing isn't inheritantly attached to author intentions or even the quality of the content, it's a feeling, a subjective one at that. It's why I could say I don't like Sonic the Hedgehog and Kingdom Hearts for being too corny and cheesey but to others, that's exactly what they love about it, and there's a lot of value in that.

There isn't a correct way to have an opinion, a right way to like or dislike something. You like things for the reasons you like them, you dislike you dislike them and that's fine.

However, I do want to take the time in this post to address pretty plevalent fandom issue perpetuated by the wider.

In the past, the UT/DR community was, to be frank rather toxic and elitist, it still is, depending on where you look. Overtime though, there's been a shift, whether be because those types of people moved on to other things or simply grew out of that behaviour, it doesn't matter why just that it has happened. There's a lot more positivity in this community and that is great to see. All healthy communities need such things. However, I do believe that as a result of this, the fandom now is suffering from a "rubber band mentality" where we've pulled too far in the opposite direction, leading to what feels like ironically "toxic positivity".

A lot of people feel very passionate about these fan-projects and that should be celebrated. However a trend I've seen in this fandom, one which has had a net negative effect on this community, is how we as a community react to people voicing opinions/ making jokes or just talking negatively about these beloved works.

You see it a lot with works like UNDERTALE: Yellow, DELTATRAVELER, Inverted Fate, all of the big fandom projects. Everytime a critique or just a joke about a fan-work gets more than like 10K Views on social media, the entire fandom begins to fold into basically damage control, regressing into "can we just not be so negative about the super popular fandom work loved by thousands?" People that voice their opinions on these work, especially negative opinions, get dogpiled, mocked and dismissed because according to them they "don't understand the writing", "hate fan works" or are just being "bitter about works made with passion and love and should simply shouldn't engage", even when said people once taking the time to actually hear them out, provide criticism that's honestly pretty valid.

I'd understand if people were directly going after devs, commenting under their tweets, invading their own communities just to mock and be the answer to a question nobody answered. That is wrong and should be called out. Voicing how funny or even terrible you think certain scenes are on your public social media? Ultimately, that's harmless in the grander scheme of things and I feel like fans and creators should be mindful of how they react to things because at the end of the day. People are allowed to voice their opinions, they are also allowed to make jokes and laugh at the writing, they are allowed to do all of that. People want to treat fan works like works of art and I am right there with them, but if you want to do that, you have to actually start treating them like art and accept it's a completely subjective thing. People will have different thoughts about them and that's okay! The moment you start policing what thoughts should and shouldn't be expressed is when any meaningful discussion dies. This whole mentality that since it took hard work and dedication to make a fan project should be celebrated to the highest order and treated as an object of reverence, absolved from all criticism is a harmful mentality to fall into. A thing can both require hard work and dedication and also be criticised and joked about by people. These two can co-exist. One doesn't somehow counteract and invalidate the other.

For some, analysing and critiquing media is a fun thing to do! It helps you get a better understand of the medium you're analysing, what works and what doesn't. It's legitimately fun to have discussions about. Being negative about works, even if they are works of passion aren't the end of the world, especially when they are just posts made by people just minding their own business. Jokes? Shitposts? They should all be allowed, because that's also how some people enjoy works of fiction. And if you don't want to see it? Valid but there are countless methods available to ensure that that don't involve creating a "good vibes only" type of fandom environment that everyone is forced to adhere to. That helps nobody and only breeds division within this community, I think.

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

do you have any rpg maker horror recs? :> (or horror games in general)

cell of empireo (no official eng translation but there's a fantranslation on youtube)

you play as haruki atou, an investigator, looking for his amnesiac coworker who had gone missing near the empyrean heaven research institute (n theres so many other things going on). involves chases, quicktime events n realtime bosses

warnings: flashing lights, religious themes, cults, death, child + animal death, human + animal experimentation, gore, body horror, cannibalism, bullying, abuse and parental neglect, suicide/suicidal ideation, murder

what i like about it: the story, the themes, the characters + their relationships, the horror, secrets/lore

2. jimmy and the pulsating mass

you explore the dreams of a boy named jimmy while trying to fight off "aliens". it's a very charming game ^_^ a good chunk of it is silly instead of scary. involves turn-based battles

warnings: gore, death, child death, murder, body horror, bugs

what i like about it: the music, the world, the story, punch tanaka

3. cat in the box

youtuber girl goes into an abandoned building n regrets it. but there's a twist! also there's a lot of randomized secrets too which is cool. involves chases

warnings: death, murder, body horror, distorted faces (possibly more)

what i like about it: the horror, the secrets

4. LISA the painful (tied to LISA the first and LISA the joyful)

you play as brad, a man who has gone through a lot, in a post-apocalypse where all women have disappeared except for 1 girl - your adopted daughter. she's been taken away from home n you have to find her. the definitive edition adds some new scenes + fights. involves turn-based battles

warnings: sa and csa (not explicitly shown visually but the affects of it play a major part on all protags in the series), parental/familial abuse, drug addiction, alcoholism, bullying, self harm, suicide, misogyny, gore, death, child + animal death, murder, body horror, references to sex in general, vomit, race joke that may or may not still be in there

what i like about it: the music, the horror, the world, the secrets, the themes, the gameplay, terry hintz

bonus: paranormasight (visual novel) i'm drawing a blank on how to summarize it n what all the warnings are rn... familial abuse n murder are some. it's bloody n touches on dark things but its not as heavy tonally as some of the other games on this list. the character interactions r really fun

[chacusha]

Visions of Mana review

Non-spoilery thoughts:

I really like this game! I was a bit worried about combat from the demo, but I really like the combat in this game, actually. The different weapons all have their own combos and situationally helpful moves (dishing out a lot of damage, attacking in a wide area, launching enemies, staggering them, etc.), so there is quite a bit of satisfaction in learning different fighting styles for each weapon. It almost feels like a fighting game rather than an action/adventure game, which I like.

I feel like this game successfully captures a lot of recurring elements of the Mana series (multiple weapon systems, finding elemental spirits, familiar monsters and bosses, world in decline, simple environmental puzzle-solving) while also being a fresh story and world with its own rules, which is pretty ideal for me. I also think this game does a better job of merging Legend of Mana worldbuilding elements with non-Legend of Mana elements than any other Mana game, and I find that pretty impressive because the aesthetics kind of clash, in my opinion. But they did a good job of merging them here.

The characters are really fun and I like the party dialogues that happen as you go around the world. I think the game could probably use some sidequests or subplots (rather than fairly simple fetch/hunt quests) to flesh out the world a bit and give the story a bit of nonlinearity (it is *quite* linear, although this is pretty normal for the Mana series (LOM aside)...), but I am not complaining. Even though they were fairly simple, I enjoyed the quests here, and they got pretty elaborate in the end.

The progression and gradual unlock of skills that make your characters stronger is also really satisfying. I'm also a big fan of the way that they incorporated a game mechanic (random corestone drops) into the story, and I felt the corestone ability trading added a bit of depth to the gameplay.

Overall, I rate this game like 9/10. It could be better, but there is a lot here to love and the gameplay is pretty polished (game crashes a lot, though -- be sure to save frequently!).

Spoilery thoughts:

My partner keeps joking that Careena is somehow this world's only Texan. (How come her parents have no accent?!)

Magical girl transformation sequences was SUCH a good idea. I approve. (Is there a way to toggle these back on...?)

The tragedy/tragic backstories in this game are exquisite.

At the same time, I really like the humor and cuteness in this game. It's important to have both in a Mana game, I feel.

I wasn't expecting anti-capitalist propaganda in this game, haha.

I like that there's a bit of a nudge in this game about which elemental vessels to assign to which character. Like, Careena's Wind class has pretty nice passives compared to the others and same with Morley's Moon class -- kind of nudges you to start them off with those classes.

It's interesting having Niccolo in this game be such a nice guy. In most games, he's pretty sketchy and self-interested (although he is a pretty great guy in Trials of Mana too). I like that he's Morley's adoptive dad and Palamena's confidante too.

Val is the himbo we all need.

Hinna 😭 They were so ready to be happy together too. I guess Hinna dying this early means she has a reasonable chance of coming back by the end.

SOMEONE high-up in the development team definitely has a foot fetish. But I like seeing Palamena's stylish footwear so I don't mind.

I'm a big fan of Pikuls for land transport and Vuscav for sea transport. Love that we got Vuscav's theme back for this game.

Oh snap I'm in The Lion King right now. XD In general, I was a bit meh about the areas featured in the demo (Rime Falls, Fallow Steppe, and Rhata Harbor), but I've been pretty impressed by the other areas. I liked the Charred Passage, Ledgas Bay, Pritta Ridge, Illystana, Dura Gorge (love the music of this one), Deade Cliffs, and quite a lot of the dungeons.

Von Boyage / Professor Bomb is here! Great cameo.

I like how this game strikes a balance between SOM/TOM-style "there is one of each elemental spirit" and LOM/World of Mana-style "there are many spirits for each element" by having one main elemental spirit but a bunch of mini/lesser elemental spirits with a slightly different design (and they're very cute!).

I like how Khoda looks exactly halfway between Sumo/FFA protagonist and Randi. Well done.

Lol, I thought Aesh was going to be evil. I do like how he occasionally goes into "mad scientist" mode, though. The parts of the game where he has bonding time with the party were some of the best. (His initial introduction was sooo good. When you introduce your friend to your other friends and he's the worrrrst, lol. I like how Morley went from jealous of Aesh to Worried Mother Hen lol.)

Overall, I like the boss battles in this game. I like some of them have a gimmick or puzzle-solving aspect to them, and I like that none of them dragged on too long, which is the main thing I hate about modern action RPGs. The Earth Benevodon battle in particular was a favorite -- epic! Some of the other benevodons sadly went down a bit too quickly (I kind of felt sorry for them having to fight my overleveled party XD).

Okay I guess Hinna isn't coming back. I do like the theme here of it being important to accept the death of loved ones. Ephemeral beauty i.e. things are valuable because they don't last forever. (Ever since my partner pointed out this is an extremely common theme in Japanese art, I am unable to unsee it...)

Some of these late game areas are also really beautiful. *o* I really love the floating island, the Entwine Pass boss battle with all the flowers in the background, and the lighting in the corrupted Mana Sanctuary areas.

Being able to see the previous alm contingents (including Lyza's group!) made me emotional. ;_;

Oh snap, I can't believe Passar was the big bad.

I haven't finished all the postgame content, and I'm not sure if I'll have time. I do eventually want to farm all the abilities and play around with different party setups, and I also want to try playing on Expert difficulty and also with Japanese voices, but we'll see.

Overall, I liked the story! You didn't get Hinna back, but you did manage to fix the world, so there is still that bittersweetness that is important for a Mana game.

[sapphosdirtyhoe]

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’m gonna have an opinion!! I wrote about DA for my doctoral exams, and having a forum to write further about the series is super awesome.

I wish BioWare had not debuted the character trailer. The gameplay footage was beautiful, smooth, and I greatly enjoyed the return of DA2’s dialogue wheel (although I miss the robust roleplaying options afforded by Origins’ expanded choices). I am infinitely more excited for Veilguard now than I was on Sunday. However, was anyone else struck by how this prologue almost exactly mimicked the opening “Wrath of Heaven” quest in Inquisition? Pushing through demons to pick up allies, fighting a Pride Demon miniboss, and then addressing the Veil. The backdrop of Minrathous, the enhanced graphics, and the stunning music were phenomenal, but it felt ordinary and far too familiar for such an extraordinary event. I adored Neve’s character design, but she felt like a reskin of Vivienne who was softened for an audience who couldn’t handle her point-blank personality and bold opinions. I hope we fight more than demons and venatori because platinum-ing DAI gave me more of that than I’ve ever needed. That being said, the designs are stunning and I cannot wait to explore every crevice of Thedas.

I’m also a bit confused at the rehashing of Trespasser with Varric and Solas. I understand the need to make the game and its world accessible to new audiences, but it lessened the impact of your Inquisitor trying to convince Solas, thus diminishing player agency by delegating their choices with Solas to Varric who cannot be directed by the player.

Like everyone else, I’ve seen the discourse between Veilguard and earlier Dragon Age games. I’m begging folks to understand that nuance exists; just because DA2 has the line about Hawke stepping in poopy doesn’t mean that the game doesn’t also have the “All That Remains” quest (which, personally, was one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever seen). Dark stories need moments of light to be effective because that’s simply how people work. Wanting a return to the overwhelming sense of darkness and danger of Origins and the griminess of 2 doesn’t mean getting rid of all of the humor. It means not making the Darkspawn out to be a joke like the trailer did. It’s a bit weird to juxtapose the horror of Ostagar with Varric joking about killing the beasts. I think the gameplay footage did a fantastic job at capturing that vibe better, but calling folks negative and not true Dragon Age fans for expressing disappointment in the series’ direction is wild. I also need to point out how much of the discourse has fallen to “men are the worst for wanting dark gritty things again when I want my silly little dating sim.” All of these things can exist! Dragon Age is inclusive and incredibly queer (always has been), but the stories are not solely about your personal romance and shouldn’t be analyzed that way.

TLDR: the gameplay trailer for Veilguard was super cool! I’m stoked as hell to play it! However, folks expressing disappointment with certain elements of the game doesn’t diminish your personal enjoyment.

[masochist-marmot]

Tokyo Debunker - went in for the toxic anime boys, stayed for the unexpectedly unsettling episodic horror.

I mainly play the visual novel as a bedtime story whenever I'm having a hard time falling asleep, and then I'm occasionally spooked wide awake by the well executed horror manga page turn moments. Luckily I'm used to consuming horror content before bed, so it all works out for me.

The characters are... fine? Most of them hate my guts, but joke's on them, because I'm into that. Haku is best boy as a genuine love interest, but Jin is my own personal brand of "I can fix him". There does seem to be a good amount of variety, and I love that a lot of the ghouls represent another type of supernatural monster/trope. I'm also digging the interactions between characters. While the characters all function as romantic interests for the MC, there's also a lot of shipping potential.

The overarching story is also just fine, although I'm not all that taken by the mystery yet. But it's an episodic game, and I'm not even done with all the story we've unlocked so far. Works well enough as a bedtime story. My over-active mystery-oriented brain is also constantly cooking up theories in the background, but there's been nothing too compelling yet.

For a mobile game of its scale, I was honestly surprised by the production value. The music is obviously just royalty-free classical music (that contributes to putting me to sleep), but all the scenes are voice acted, and the story is sprinkled with comic sections that breathe some life into the action and horror (and fanservice). They've also added a comment section to each chapter where you can interact with other players and discuss your thoughts and ideas. Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised.

I won't touch on the gameplay or gacha elements, because they are secondary to me. Gacha will always be an evil that I'll tolerate because it keeps the game free for me.

TLDR; idk, play it if you like visual novels, cute anime monster boys, cute (monster?) cats, cute mystery/horror.

[pillow-boi]

I finished Veilguard!

Here is my review with no plot spoiler:

First of all, just so you know where I stand, I do not think that Origins is the best Dragon Age. I think it's an amazing first Dragon Age, and it's my second favorite after DA2 for its plot and companions but I hate Origins' gameplay with passion. I also think that it didn't age well. But it's my personal opinion. One of the most interesting points of Dragon Age series is that every game is different in it's gameplay, plot and focus, so obviously everyone will have their preference for which they prefer, and it's better this way.

Now, the actual review: I had a great time playing DATV, and I think it's the most important thing in a game. The rest of this review is only details.

I tend to prefer dynamic and action-oriented gameplay so I really enjoyed the fighting system. The music was also really nice. I also tend to prefer more linear plots and don't like open worlds, so I largely prefer DATV to DAI (hinterlands trauma).

Actually, DATV changed all the things I didn't like in DAI so I'm quite pleased, but it's a question of preference here again: the maps are smaller but give way to some nice plateformer gameplay, there are less side quests and they're more important/useful to the plot, it's more focused on companions than exploration.

I enjoyed the huge amount of banter and the way the companions got closer to each other. This time they went for the found family trope so if you like it it's perfect. Your Rook is also closer to Hawke in the sense that he already has a set personality that only changes slightly depending on your answers. And omg the character creation tools are AMAZING I loooved creating my rook!

The plot choices you make actually change stuff, and the ending was really badass.

Now the bad parts: there is basically no terrible point. The "bad" parts are just a few things that were a bit meh at most. Some companions have better dialogues that others, and it feels very "marvel-ish" (I like marvel but if you don't, you might not enjoy most of the dialogues).

It concentrates a lot less on romance than the previous games. There are a loooot of companion cutscenes, but very few romance-only scenes.

Some of the lore that I liked was non-existant, but it's believable since the story takes place on the other side of the continent, 10 years after the previous game.

FINALLY about the terribly criticised Taash (please don't hit me haha), I think that they have a great potential and that their character development is, in its idea, good. But its realisation was a bit frustrating as it was anachronistic. It literally broke the immersion. Qunari lore explored the question of non-binary and transgender since the first game, and they had all the tools + DA specific vocabulary to anchor the subject in the game, but the anachronism made the whole thing feel like a joke or a parody, even though it's an important topic. It was sadly a bit counterproductive.

So my final conclusion: I really liked datv! I could easily replay it.

[sciderman]

I won't lie, there's a centrain magic to reading comics, maybe it's because you have more control over the direction, speed, voices and music when reading over watching something, maybe it's how creative people can get with panel lay-outs, maybe it's all of those things along with the different art styles and way people express themselves through their comic runs, maybe it's the fact there's SO many of them and so many different runs, AUs, versions, solo-stories and characters that while not every comics is for everyone, there's A comics for everyone.

And it's something that only animation can come close to capturing, occasionaly some games because they can give us amazing set pieces and action and stylization through gameplay. But to me live action movies just miss the mark exept a few and even then i just enjoy the comics more.

I think one big thing for me is the narration, because it helps me relate to characters as someone who's thoughts are pretty loud and narration-like, and the fact it's ME who decides how i make the characters sound and talk rather than having to listen to someone else voice the character in a way that i feel isn't "right".

So i'd say personaly it's comics>>books (i like books, and i LOVE fanfics but the visual part stimulates my brain more) >>>animation>games>live action

i agree wholeheartedly! i don't know, i'm kind of in love with the comic medium. but i love writing, also. i just - i really don't like the passivity of animation and television - i need a lot more stimulation than that to get my brain working. i like all the brain work you have to do when you're reading words. and i love the challenge of pulling off "comedic timing" when you don't actually HAVE the dimension of time in your medium exactly - so you have to work with panelling, and you have to work with spacing in your writing - and it's just so sexy and more active for the brain. like you're inventing a language.

comedy writing in comics is so, so fulfilling because you're a comedian, but your format is visual. you need to rely on visual language to carry it. and jokes are all about expectation and subversion and timing. a joke can fall so flat if that timing is off. and - i don't know, i'm obsessed with comics, as if they're some kind of form of visual poetry. it's taken for granted, i think. it's taken for granted.

i think you become more restricted the more dimensions you introduce - so - writing is entirely free. you can do WHATEVER you want, all by yourself, without needing to rely on the quality of your art software or the actors you have at your disposal or anything - you can conjure any visual you like. comics - more challenging, you're limited by your artistic ability but again - you're not restricted by voice cast - god, i love being able to conjure any voice at all in my head for the boys. i think if i was restricted by voice actors i'd have to write them differently, et cetera et cetera... i'd be dealing with VAs and saying "actually. your delivery is all wrong. i have to rewrite the joke." - i'm so particular about these things, you have no idea.

i remember the first time i watched the deadpool movie after having read the original script over and over YEARS prior and having heard it play out in my head in the most hilarious of ways and then. hearing ryan's delivery of those jokes and thinking "oh. it's not that funny actually."

sorry ryan. it might've been funnier if i hadn't read the script already and hadn't already had the movie play out in my brain way funnier than how you did it. sorry. my brain is a better cinema.

something i also love about print vs film - i've had this problem with a lot of adaptations - i despise film adaptations of books i love, just because - something is so sullied about having so many hands in the pot. actors. camera men. producers. directors. all these people - when - what i loved about the book was feeling close to the author. it's just me and him. we're together, intimately. and all of that intimacy gets lost when you know there's a huge film crew behind it.

kind of weird. i love reading a book and just, giggling over the pages, like it's a joke between me and the author. i don't know, i'm a weird little saddo who craves intimacy. so i like the intimacy of it being a one-man show. i love things where i can feel close to the creator. i hope that's why people like my things too. and it's why i like my things. i sometimes think "ouugh. why can't i work for marvel" but i think about how - i'm lucky i get to create what i want to create without having to compromise or answer to editorial. and what i create can always be unapologetically me. and that means more. that means so much more.

[mspandorasart]

Thoughts about Undertale Yellow

Greetings, I just returned from binging through Undertale Yellow, True Pacifist Route specifically, and am seeking a place to let out some thoughts (and steam). It's the first time I'm doing this type of "review" on my blog, but since my thoughts on it are quite strong, I thought, "hey, why the heck not"? Spoilers for the game and its ending ahead, fellas. Buckle up.

First off, let me begin by stating that, for the most part, I had a blast playing through it. The music is amazing, the boss themes real bangers, the environmental ones great as well. My favorite track was the OST that played in the Dunes: a really catchy western vibe with Flowey's theme in it as well, an earworm that filled me with Determination while running through the sandy fields. Then we have a beautiful pixel art style, gorgeous sceneries, great gameplay with challenging and fun boss fights (side note: although I couldn't fully appreciate Ceroba's fight since it had a couple pretty much unavoidable attacks. Or is it just skill issue on my part? Anyway, that part annoyed me more than it should have. Moving on, lmao.)

Furthermore, the game also has charming characters! They are the ones that kept me going and really ignited my interest. Not gonna lie, it took me until the town in the Dunes to become really invested in the game. Martlet is charming and cute, sure, but North Star and his gang, no, that guy specifically sold it for me. Charismatic, funny, very expressive sprites (well, all facial sprites are quite colorful, but it took me until North Star to appreciate/notice just how many there are for each character) and an interesting internal conflict with wanting to entertain others so they forget about the pain of being stuck underground, but at the same time being so absorbed in his persona that he temporarily acts like a douche towards his pals and forgets who he truly is. He also features my favorite joke in the game when he proudly proposes to the salesman that "he wants to buy a gun for the child". Freaking hilarious, love him, huehehue.

Story-wise, I was pleasantly surprised and taken aback by the dark twists of Ceroba and her husband Chujin. And I appreciated how the flashbacks got intigrated within her final boss fight. I don't know about you, but my biggest motivation to play RPGs are not just the gameplay, it's mainly the characters and the story. If the gameplay is amazing but the characters/plot boring, then I lose interest quickly. To me, the real rewards of a tough battle are story progression and seeing just what the characters will do next. Therefore, I greatly enjoyed the breaks between Ceroba's phases in which we saw parts of her backstory. They even made me cry!

...Although, to be honest, I don't exactly understand why we had that insight into her mind in the first place. Why did we survive so many hits to the point of 0.00001 HP? Where's that coming from all of a sudden? Why did time stop at some point like Za Warudo? Maybe that random plot armor (that happened the first time and never again) is explained in another route, but anyway, moving on-

This review-style blog entry only exists because of the True Pacifist ending. I'll be blunt, I hate it. Why?

So it ends with Clover sacrificing their soul for the monsters so they can eventually break free. Which is fine on its own. Clover is for the most part a blank slate of a character, only driven by their desire to seek the lost humans, that's basically it. Maybe it would have made a bit more sense for Clover to see an actual physical proof of their demise before they give up on them completely, but eh. I'm also wondering whether they are really okay with potentially another, possibly innocent human falling down sometime in the future only to get killed by the monsters. But oh well.

(You know, now that I think about it, I actually am a bit salty about Clover's decision to sacrifice themselves, lmao. Would've been kinda cool if it was up to the player, have another ending split.)

Anyways, the issue I'm having is how our cast of supporting characters, Martlet, North Star aka Starlo and Ceroba react to Clover's decision. They are shocked first, but... agree surprisingly quickly?? What?? Excuse me, the entire hassle we went through to get to this point was to stop Ceroba from taking Clover's soul. Now with Clover volunteering to sacrifice themselves, the gang is cool with it??

Of course they don't agree immediately, but are easily swayed within a few arguments back and forth. Man, what friends you are, guys. The reason I'm having this pet peeve in the first place is because we as the human, who has known these guys for just a day, did a lot for them, alright? They all tried to kill us at one point, but we took the beating, the hard battles, forgave them and were there for them during their internal conflicts. We were a pretty decent friend, if I may say so.

Especially with Ceroba! We did a lot to change her mind and path of self-destruction! Yet our so-called friends don't put in the same amount of effort when it comes to convincing us otherwise- or heck, use force if you must- get Clover away from there, lmao. Wouldn't it have been an interesting act of redemption on Ceroba's part, by the way, if she tried to stop us? Being touched by our mercy and refusal to give up on her, she does the same for us?

I suppose the reason I am so baffled by all this is because of Clover being a blank slate, the player character really felt like me, like I was going through the journey and not like I was controlling another character. It felt like my decision to spare them all, to talk to them and wanting to get to know them better. So the group of characters I have really grown to like giving up on me within about a minute of back-and-forth just felt... wow. Thanks, guys.

If I compare it to Undertale's True Pacifist in which every important supporting character gathers up after the confrontation with Asgore, all agreeing with the decision of me, the player, staying in the Underground with them, then oh boy, it really stings. Just would've been a cool, wholesome sign of friendship if Martlet, Starlo and Ceroba decided that "nah, even for the surface, we won't give up on Clover". By the way, in this game, we don't even really get to see why the monsters want to return to the surface so badly. They keep saying they want to, but what are the reasons exactly? More freedom, I suppose. Yet by expanding the Underground with the Dunes, the Mines, the Factory, and some of Snowdin, the Ruins and New Home, their habitat seemed so much larger than in the OG game- What I wanna say is, their desperation should've been shown way more instead of told, so the player can understand the monsters' aspiration better.

The thing is, it's a shockingly easy issue to fix if you really want "the canon ending" with Clover ending up dead and their soul taken: have Clover still have their moment of doubt and realization, remembering what the monsters told them throughout their journey. Then they go to Asgore with their gang, hoping to convince him. It doesn't work out, so Asgore starts a fight. During the battle, Clover realizes it's useless to fight back, it's better to have their soul taken for the monsters, so they allow Asgore to kill them. Their friends are not powerful enough to stop him. There ya have it.

Siiiiigh. Is it just me, being annoyed by that ending? As a whole, the finale felt a little... rushed? Was New Home always meant to be so empty? Is it to build up atmosphere? Yet there were two silly NPCs in the first screen of New Home, making me assume that maybe, there was another plan originally? (If it has been stated in a devlog or any other comment by the creators, then I apologize, I haven't read those fully.)

Anyways, if I didn't care about the game, this rant wouldn't even exist in the first place. I was really invested in the game until the ending just left me... kinda sad, not gonna lie. It will take me a while to process it all.

If you got this far, then thanks for reading. Am I the only one feeling this miffed about the ending? I might go back and edit this post if I find out there are things to be corrected. Buuuut as of now, happy holidays!

[sirensea14]

Did i leave a review on Still Wakes the Deep? I think not yet. Anyway, here's me screaming shit about Still Wakes the Deep.

I fuckibg love the story, compact, well-written, fucking heart wretching and tense. Its gameplay? Terrifying, u need to be stealthy and shit against jiggly flesh monsters who can speak. The music? Adds more to the atmosphere. The voice acting? Very fucking natural! Even if ur only watching the gameplay, the dialogues felt natural as if you were there. I even learned new curse words to use. Props to the Chinese room, programmers, VAs, artists and others who took part in the game😭😭 the story made me emotional and ive watched it for the 4th time now (i watched eddie play it, uncensored ver. Lol, juicyfruitsnacks, super horror bro and then jacksepticeye. Im still waiting for markiplier to play it 👀)

The game was so thrilling and emotional that i wish it was all fake and they all continue their darts tournament. I wish they were all just alive and well. They didnt deserve shit --except for Rennick and Addair, Roy was the best man, Brodie the prick, Finlay the intelligent and Caz the goodluck charm. 😭😭😭 And addair and rennick, i hate them. We only got to know them shortly but they are easily hate-able because of how they are so well written. (I also love that hair dryer joke by caz in the cafeteria XD joke never gets old, just like him oof) And caz's reaction to everything? An absolute chad, he's brave and he's scared yet he did and cursed holy words🗿very demure, very mindful🧨

I really fucking love this game, it was so high quality but it had to end there. The rig was a small area after all. Also the fact that the rig was fully modeled was fucking amazing. It was built like a cheap rig (what you'd expect from greedy managers) its not like those other games when hacked, you'd see darkness and the room/area of where the player is. But in Still Wakes the Deep? The devs just said "Nah, full model, full of bumpy flesh and shiny oil." I fucking love that. There should be more games like Still Wakes the Deep. Psychological game, monsters are unpredictable, fucking terror in all scenes of the game and great storyline.

In summary: pros and cons of the game

Pros

Beautiful graphics, realistic VAs, emotional story, terrifying gameplay, yellow paint thay guides the clueless(like me), fully modeled area, disgusting yet amazing monsters, rennick and addair dies

Cons

Short lived, the characters didnt deserve to die (except for the two angry peeps)

Thats all for my tedtalk, thank you for reading

[chadfallout76podcast]

Death Shroud Q&A (submitted by @completely-legit)

completely-legit submitted:

10h ago

Death Shroud Q&A!

Writing Questions

Q: 1. "You only ever took one of us." – Paladin Danse, Death Shroud Meta jokes aside, it's obvious you enjoyed playing some of the best of Fallout 4's cast off of each other in ways that we weren't able to get in the game due to the mechanical restrictions of the gameplay.  Which was your favorite dynamic between characters to write?

A: Honestly I loved writing all of it. By the time you're well into the story the Red Rocket is filled with the strangest assortment of people/not people in the entire Wasteland. The conflict, ball busting, unexpected friendships that would be blossom out of that is really fertile soil for writing. Moreover, on a shared journey 2 years later they have a comfortable familiarity with each other they just slip back into. I also love Jefferson/Silver Shroud's dynamic, because you have a superhero level character who starts off 2 dimensional ripped out of a comic book and is suddenly REAL in a way that doesn't fit with reality. As a result he's kind of bumbling and awkward. Jefferson is the embodiment of him "not fitting in" outside of the page where he's idolized as well as stylized. It's just great stuff.

2. I believe you mentioned you turned to Dick Tracy for inspiration while writing this picturesque slice of noir life – what's the most important thing you've learned about writing a radio drama?  What was the most difficult thing about resurrecting a much older style of media that you didn't appreciate until you were deep in it?

A: I looked at a lot of inspirations to get the feel right in the beginning acts. Relistened to old school Sam Spade radio dramas, rewatched The Maltese Falcon (Bogart's version of Spade inspired the character of Valentine in development), as well as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and "Dick Tracy". Since I've been writing radio drama for almost 5 years now, I think the biggest thing I've learned over time is getting the rhythm right. I write in a way that I want to take people on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey in pretty much everything I do. Because that's life. We laugh, we get anxious and tense, we pine for people, cheer them out, mourn their losses and feel their pain. I always try to recreate that ride in any story we've done whether it's this or other productions we do. Lastly, always give people what they want: a satisfying ending. As far as resurrecting an older style of media...that was really easy as I've been listening to Old Time Radio since I was a teenager.

3. Did you do everything in one take or have any rehearsals/direction?  It seemed like all the VAs were in one call together, which is some incredible coordination and effort!

A: Nope! All recorded one night in one take with no rehearsal. Mostly because I was sweating over the script and didn't finish polishing it until 3 hours before recording. We did it all on Zoom and not 5 minutes in, a lightning bolt hit a transformer down the street, knocking out my power. Wes had to continue recording for me (it's why there's a big grid of people at the start as opposed to the single actor view later on. I was crushed I wasn't there live while they were recording.

4. The amount of voice (and writing) talent in this production is incredible for something so unofficial!  How long did it take you to bring this 3 hour noir tour of the Commonwealth to fruition?  How many times did you have to replay/reload Fallout 4 to fact check your details? :)

A: Thank you! We started asking people a few months ago. I had a brainstorming meeting with Wes and Emil from Bethesda who offered some helpful notes as I wrote on their characters. It took me 26 hours or so to edit and design the media elements, add effects and music scoring. It took 14 hours to render in 4k and only finished rendering at 10am the morning of airing. I was sweating over night that it would finish rendering in time. lol I didn't have to replay Fallout 4 as I have a really good memory of it, but looked to the Wiki on some key details and transcripts of how the characters talked in the main game.

5. Obviously, the plot had to wrap a bit around which VAs were available; were there any specific plot changes you had to make based on availability, or did you only seriously bend to writing after you already had a list of actors available for participation?  Anything extremely fun you had to cut?

A: At the last moment sadly Lynda Carter couldn't join us otherwise I wouldn't have written in Magnolia without her. Shari Elliker came in clutch and did a great job voicing her! I really and truly wanted MacCready a part of it, but Matt Mercer is INSANELY busy and was taking a much-needed vacation. Despite that he was kind enough to record for us. I wanted to try and bring EVERYONE back but between not being able to reach some people, others just able to wrangle their schedule...I think we did a good job getting as many people as we did. There was a bunch of stuff I had to cut for time (because this thing was already 3 hours). There was going to be an attack by the Mechanist on Diamond City, following the events at the Lombardo's with the Mechanist taking out the Detective Agency in retribution for meddling in their plans, but felt that was unnecessary and we'd already put listeners through enough torture. lol I was going to bring back Scribe Haylen as a link to investigate some of the Brotherhood's Black Market dealings in salvaged synth tech as part of the surprise return of Kellogg. But honestly the most fun scene would've been a trap in which they're lured to a train station thinking Harold is coming in by rail from the Capital Wasteland only to be chased by an Endritch "modded into the Universe" version of Thomas the Tank Engine. It would've resulted in a car chase with the Shroud realizing Jefferson has used all his James Bond-like car gadgets already so the most they can do is throw bottles at it that Hancock has emptied. lol

Plot questions:

1. "You started something two years ago you never finished."  - Boss Lombardo, Death Shroud

In my opinion, one of the biggest successes of Death Shroud was fans were of course hungry for the answers about what comes after a "happy ending".  In Death Shroud it's apparent that Nora chose to assist the Brotherhood of Steel along to a victory against the Institute - but it becomes clear that the ending wasn't perfect for everyone. There's been a lot of discussion over the years about how every faction ending to Fallout 4 has its own unique drawbacks.  In this case it seems like even beyond sacrificing the Railroad (and a lot of synths) the Brotherhood left a power vacuum in the Commonwealth which is allowing for raiders and the like to take back over in the absence of both the Institute and an effective Minute Men alliance. What was the most important part of this "ending" and its consequences for you to address?  What made it the best backdrop to set Death Shroud in?  The play mentions more than once that poor Nick is running out of spare parts with the source of synthetic limbs destroyed!

A: I picked that ending for our story because honestly it's one of the most dire from which to grow the story from. The rise of raiders and Triggermen (mafia control of parts of the city) is very Film Noir. I also needed Nora to have dipped out of the spotlight and honestly trying to just go live a quiet life and come to terms with what they did to the railroad was necessary plot wise. The Cabot storyline was also essential...she needed to have let him loose in order for the pieces of the story to come together. I also think it's important to remember that the Brotherhood REALLY aren't their for altruistic reasons. Once they take out the Institute they don't give a crap about rebuilding Boston. They salvage tech, hoard it and that's kind of it. By the time our story begins Nick and our former companions are doing their best just to keep things in some kind of order. Even Hancock needs to go back to run Goodneighbor to prevent it from falling apart.

 2. The biggest breakout original character was Charlie, Nick Valentine's protege turned traitor; wonderfully played by Aeric Azana.  I actually experienced several double takes during the first airing of the play and had to google to make sure I hadn’t completely forgotten the character somehow, he fit so well with the rest of the cast.  What was the inspiration for his character?  Care to give us some more loose backstory about how he wound up in the Valentine detective agency?

A: Aeric Azana is BRILLIANT and really completely lost himself in that character and brought it to life. I think the character fit in and felt so natural because it felt like a character that would be there. Following the events of Fallout 4, I think Nick would learn the importance of friends and family and in chasing down Nora's son, a set of continuity of beliefs and ideals. Seeing the Institute destroyed and most of the synths wiped out...there's no backup, no spare parts. Nick can be killed and destroyed and all that he was would be lost. Not only does Nick need help at the agency I think he wanted to have something he could never have: a sense of family. Taking in Charlie off the streets, raising him, teaching him would make sense for him. I have some thoughts on his background and how Nick found him...but that may end up being a story, so I'll keep quiet about that for now. Suffice to say, missing people is not all that Nick finds on cases.

3. No noir sleuth story is complete without organized crime!  Fallout players are intimately familiar with a lot of the gangs of the commonwealth, be it the Khans, the Forged, or even the Gourmands – but Ma Lombardo, played by the lovely Ellen McLain & her rabid dog son Carmen (the Boss) played by the equally talented Zack Ward - represent a newer type of evil in the Commonwealth.

In your opinion how does organized crime fit within the wasteland societal structure that already... lacks organization as it were?  Are they essentially just raiders who will monologue at you before gunning you down for your caps? Who is even standing up to them at this point?  Prosecuting them for their perceived crimes?  It’s funny to consider that these crime families are essentially more organized than most of the remaining political structures in place!

A: Say what you want about crime families, but they do hold up a semblance of order where there is needed one. If you take a look at the arc of the Godfather, in the beginning there is a balance of justice, deep seated respect of an order...a code of honor. Ma and Carmen Lombardo return because we've broken what little of that was left with the Triggermen by the time we were done in the Commonwealth. The hierarchy peaking order has been obliterated, so it leaves both a structural opportunity for them to return and also a true need to try and BE the stabilizing force after the power vacuum that was left by our choices. Nora and the gang basically fuck up the Commonwealth in one way or another and I honestly think it would be out of character for her to WANT to be a ruler. So who's left? The Triggermen under Lombardo aren't just raiders...they were forced inline in a way they hadn't been in a long time. Raiders wouldn't have stood a chance against them.

4. "If I’ve learned anything, people are what they believe" – Nick Valentine, Death Shroud

Nick Valentine is a character who has struggled with his identity in the past but came to some degree of closure about it by choosing to believe in/focus on the goodness of his deeds despite being a perceived copy of another man.  In Death Shroud we see him brush up against a much more literal (and meta) manifestation of the power of belief in ideas - it's a pretty poignant juxtaposition of the character's much-deliberated ideology vs a rather wild plot.  Is that the reason Nick was the only man left standing at the end?  The manufactured man who was both someone else's idea but how he defines himself, who he is, is his own choice as well?

A: Honestly the reason it was him still standing in the end is because this ultimately is HIS story, a Nick Valentine Mystery. What Nick misses completely is that like Nora, he is a keystone event. Unlike any other synth out there he is aware of who he is, who he wasn't, can't hide in plain sight like others can. Because of his journey, his actions, the people he helps, saves, draws to him, a tapestry of ripples of his existence, choices and actions forever ripple throughout the Commonwealth. Magnolia's comments in the end both speak to his position in their reality and also direct speak to us as players, "in the end we're not just stories".

5.  Follow up:  I also found it to be an incredibly fascinating character arc for Nick as well.  He was offered the keys to Diamond City, albeit by notorious criminal Ma Lombardo, but then later essentially by Charlie as well - but our synthetic hero turns both of them down since he's a “just a detective, not a politician”.

A: It's more than that also. Nick isn't motivated by power, has lived long enough to see how power corrupts and creates the illusion of choice. What Charlie misses is the EXPERIENCE Nick has as part of his journey. Could having that kind of power mean no more missing people? No more broken hearts? Yes...but it also means denying people the choices and lessons they've learned as a result of actions they take. He wasn't born. He was made. He was built to replace people. He was given memories, a life and story he didn't earn, didn't choose. He made the CHOICE to to throw all of that away and do the most human thing real humans often don't do: help people without reservation.

Over the course of the play it becomes clearer as characters reminisce over the events of Fallout 4, Nick's not entirely satisfied with some of the choices Nora made along the way and more notably some of the ramifications.  This is followed by the very end where Nick takes control to reset reality to a ‘previous save’ far in the past before the entirety of Nora’s adventure - rather than say, just before everything involving the events of Death Shroud went to hell in a handbasket.  Any particular reason that was Nick’s chosen reload point?  Do you think Nick has reached a point from his experiences where he would take a more active role in guiding Nora's decision making going forward?

A: Nick didn't have a choice there. There is only the current state or as teased in the commercial in the very beginning the only saved state available to you. "Safe equals saved" wasn't just a funny commercial, it was a promise that going back means returning to the start of the tapestry of choices, actions and impacts that began when Nora's keystone moment began. The day she was woken up and became something other than Nora. If you pay attention, throughout Fallout 4 Nick offers very specific guidance in some areas and specific wisdom. Knowing full well how important choice is to the causal nexus and maintaining the tapestry of reality he would walk that line very carefully in the choices made vs. influenced.

Last Question:

I’m very curious what the three sentence pitch was to get most of these VAs on board with this amazing project - and even Pete Hines and Emil Pagliarulo as well – if you can share that with us!

A: There really wasn't one. I've become really good friends with Wes these past few years and the other voice actors, Pete Hines, etc. are also people I've gotten to know through Fallout For Hope. So I think our track record as far as fundraising goes, trust in me/Fallout For Hope, etc. from working together on both unofficial Fallout community projects, causes and events and official NDA ones we've done the past few years created a unique situation this thing could even happen. This was our 3rd production this scale, but the one I'm most proud of.

[zankaboo]

another list of cool indie horror games I like

Most of the games are not free

★ Cry Of Fear - a Ha|f Life mod that everyone and their grandma probably played at some point. it scared the shit out of me when I first played it. I nearly cried at certain points skjfhgdk (my tummy really hated the game let me tell ya). the atmosphere in it is great which I really appreciate in horror games. some people say it has too many jumpscares but I have to disagree. but I may have a different definition of "jumpscare" than most people lol idk I felt like there were enough jumpscares and the game was way more focused on atmosphere. the main character, Simon, is voiced by Mr Stig Sydtangen, my favorite voice actor in the entire universe, the love of my fucking life 💖 you might know him as Virgil from P0rtal St0ries Mel! (and a few other games which I'm going to mention in this post)

★ Afraid Of Monsters - made by the same guy who made CoF, also a HL mod but unlike CoF it looks and works more like HL. perhaps not as scary as CoF but still very effective (and it actually unnerves me on every gameplay. it just feels less predictable than CoF). AoM has every thing I fucking hate in a horror game - Scary PNGs and fast enemies that love chasing you. I almost didn't finish the game because of that one fucking floating face (you will hate the face). my first gameplay was the most stressful gaming experience in my life and it actually wasn't the fun scary, it was just pain and suffering dkfgjh and yeah I know I just said AoM isn't as scary as CoF, but it was just that single enemy that made it feel like hell for me (but it also has Twitchers, aka the funniest and cutest little guys who are also very creepy <3)

★ The Heilwald Loophole - Maybe not exactly a horror but it can be spooky if it wants to be! It's one of my favorite games of all time and I absolutely recommend you play it if you're able to or at least watch a gameplay of it because it is FANTASTIC. I love the graphics, I love the atmosphere, I love everything about this game. there is time travel and loopholes involved and it is so so cool. it can get really bizarre and also a little gross (expect toilet and shit jokes lol). the thing that made me interested in getting the game was the music I heard in the demo. the music in this game is fuckin amazing. most of the time the game is silent but when you're being chased by someone, music starts playing and it always perfectly fits the situation you're in (the music's loud, chaotic and weird when you're actively being chased and gets calmer when an enemy can't see you anymore)

★ Grey - maybe not super scary and I think you actually need to play the game more than once (or on different difficulties?) to get the entire story of the main guy, but it's an alright game, I had fun with it. another game where Mr Stig voices the main character! :D

★ Project Crypt - this game is. interesting. it's far from perfect but it has some really decent scares (especially at the beginning) but it suffers from rather bad controls and some of the monsters are just too goofy looking to be scary. but guess what! the main character is also voiced by Mr Stig! which for me is a fucking delight. despite the game's flaws, it's an okay game, and hey, it's free, it may make you feel some Emotions. and it's inspired by Cry of Fear

★ Remorse: The List - it's a very fun survival horror with puzzles. not very scary in my opinion but I think it'll give you a couple of hours of fun :) (and you're not gonna believe who does voice acting in this game). I think it was made by the same team that made Grey. you know what's the best thing about this game? you can pet a very cute dog :D

★ imscared - I played this game a long time ago and I only played the earlier shorter version (a free demo) but I've seen a couple vids of people playing the whole thing and it is very very cool. and very very scary (literally just downloaded the game and played it for a bit and despite knowing what's gonna happen, I pissed myself dkfgjh)

★ I See You - also played this a long time ago and I don't really remember much from it but I can tell you one thing - BOY it scared the absolute FUCK out of me. another weakness of mine is those low res pixel games. at one point I felt dizzy because I was breathing so hard kjhfdkg VERY SCARY

★ From The Darkness - absolutely terrifying. I watched a guy play this game first - it scared me. I played it myself while drunk - nearly cried akjhskgdjs a very good and scary game. it does have a kinda boring section but the scares are worth it. the atmosphere in this game is phenomenal

★ Carrion - an awesome reverse horror game where you're a monster who kills and eats people! it has excellent pixel graphics and controlling the monster is extremely fun. the game was made by a team of people from my country, Poland :D

★ Buddy Simulator 1984 - if you like AI (the cool, fictional AI), this might be a game just for you! not super spooky but very fun to play in my humble opinion. partially text based, then it becomes more and more advanced and interesting. I love robots and AI that are a little fucked up which is why I love this game :D

★ It Steals - Kinda like if Pacman was a horror game, but each level has different monsters and mechanics. this game can get really tense and it features my favorite thing in horror - being fooken chased by fast creatures. made me shart myself a bit, not gonna lie. it has a few achievements which are really fun to get B)

★ Janitor Bleeds - tbh I don't remember much from this game but it's cool. it has some very cool mechanics and graphics 👍 (I think it has a free demo you can play)

★ The Door In The Basement - a very very cool game with the best jumpscares I've ever experienced. I legit thought I was going to die from my heart giving out at one point lmao. jumpscares usually don't get me much and I don't like it when they're excessive but this game fuckin does spookhops right.

★ Iron Lung - yeah y'know, that game that Markiplier is making a fuckin movie about, you've probably heard of it. it's a great game but it might not be for everyone since the only thing you really do is stand in a little submarine and travel from place to place without seeing anything, aside from a shitty camera you have. BUT it's got an awesome sound design and nice scares!

★ Fears To Fathom - An absolutely fantastic series of games based (presumably) on real life events. stuff like this is exactly what I'm looking for in a horror game. no paranormal shit, just stuff that could actually happen to you, which is what makes this series truly terrifying. I played the first, fourth and fifth game myself. The third game might be the scariest of them all (really hoping rayll makes more)