#the thing is that sonic characters can be so damn versatile or just not have a focused 'thing' they do

[shuruzy]

i still want to draw more sonic characters as EO classes... one day

[beeindaclouds]

What Halloween couple outfit you wear w/ the DSMP

Includes: Dream, Georgenotfound, Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Skeppy, Quackity, Karl Jacobs, Wilbur Soot, C!Philza, C!Technoblade, Nihachu, Eret, Punz, FoolishGamers, Awesamdude

Click here before requesting, please ^^

Reader: GN - They/Them

A.N: Can I just say, if the DT picture's don't have them dressed as the Power Puff Girls, I'll be angry >:[ /hj

Dream: Spiderman & MJ [Spiderman]

Did I get this idea from the face reveal? Yes.

Like I imagine most of your pictures being his facea slightly shown, just as a tease, even if he has face revealed already lol. And the obligatory upside down kiss u.u

🎃

Georgenotfound: Team Rocket [Pokemon]

Honestly, I had no ideas for George-

But I think the costume would suit him, and you would 100% make a tik tok w/ the team rocket catch phrase

🎃

Sapnap: Killua & Gon [HunterxHunter]

This is just me manifesting Sapnap cosplaying as Killua

The outfits are pretty comfy, and don't take much time to make. You two also probably bought very very cheap wigs and just went with it. But y'all looked adorable anyway

🎃

Badboyhalo: Shaggy & Velma + Scooby

This was definetly just a way to get Rat to dress up as something too

Again, the outfits are pretty simple and, by the end of the night, you had so many pictures of Rat with the Scooby's collar and a headband with similar ears to his too. Your memory card is probably almost full by then haha

🎃

Skeppy: Robin & Steve [Stranger Things] [Platonic]

Skeppy suits Steve's whole character so much

🎃

I feel like they have similar personalities, and Stranger Things couldn't be more well known, so you two found a great costume

Quackity: Mario & Sonic

Honestly, I wanted to put a funny outfit but couldn't think of one T^T

I mean this one is not bad, especially after the whole "Chris Pratt" situation, it couldn't be funnier to dress up as Mario. And Sonic has been popping off w/ it's movies, so what a great couple haha

🎃

Karl Jacobs: Prince Bubblegum & Marshall Lee [Adventure Time]

Really wanted him to have an Adventure Time costume, and what could be more perfect then these two?

Karl dressed in a prince like pink costume, while you rock a casual Marshall lee like costume. You definetly used the confidence you had in the costume to tease Karl a little, which he did not found funny at all. You could see it in his pink tinted cheeks

🎃

Wilbur Soot: Harry & Ginny [Harry Potter]

This could also be changeable, maybe if you are more of a Drarry fan you could dress up as Draco

Regardless, Wilbur is already British, so what more could be perfect? He has the glasses, the attitude and just needs a costume and the typical lightning scar on his forehead

Technoblade: Thing 1 & Thing 2

🎃

Philza: The Addams Family [Platonic]

Tristin and Phil would look absolutely adorable as Morticia and Gomez. Then you, and the rest of SBI, get to choose who to be of the family u.u

🎃

Look me in the eyes, and tell me this isn't perfect? Right, you can't!

Cause let's be honest, Techno would be too lazy to make a costume. And with this one you just gotta have a red shirt and a circle of paper with "Thing 1/2" written on it

🎃

Nihachu: Angel and Devil

Feel like this outfit is so overused by now

But you two found that it suited you very much, so you went with it anyway and looked damn good in the costume!

🎃

Eret: Jack & Sally [Nightmares before Christmas]

Honestly, the outfits you can make for this are spectacular!

And you could easily agree on who to be. Eret could be Jack in his typical suit or Sally in her usual dress, and vice versa w/ you. We love a versatile couple u.u

🎃

Punz: Nick & Judy [Zootopia]

Ok- hear me our- Nick's personality is basically Punz's-

And who wouldn't want to see Punz in some cute fox ears and a tail? Definitely not you. I can already hear Punz teasing you with the "Smart fox, dumb bunny" line hehe

🎃

FoolishGamers: Sandy & Danny [Grease]

There are some aspects of Danny that don't suit Foolish, at all, but the costume would look amazing on y'all

You two also tried learning one of the dance too, it didn't end well, but the video attempts were hilarious and a great memory for the future

🎃

Awesamdude: Cosmo & Wanda [Fairly Odd Parents]

Did I mainly go w/ the fact that Sam's color scheme is mostly green? Yes-

But the costume is easy, and you two rock it completely. You could also put your own spin on the costume, just to make it more unique!

[ganymedesclock]

Ooh ooh ooh, how about your version of Sonic for the powers thing?

You see, Sonic is fast, because if he doesn't keep ahead of his problems, he'll have to actually think about them, and then he'll have a crisis.

This is partially a fun opener joke and it's also not. I'll let you decide how much of each it is. In the meantime, I'm going to talk about what my reads of various canons inspire in me, and how that informs Worlds AU, a bit more than talking about Worlds AU itself.

So Sonic in the initial game canon, started out with an extremely simple conceit. You can see this mirrored across all of the non-Amy classic characters: Sonic runs, that's his thing; Tails flies, Knuckles punches, Eggman makes robots and also problems, which sort of condenses into one thing considering the role robots have in the classic games.

(that damn caterkiller has cost me SO many attempts at a chaos emerald...)

This sort of got to be a problem as the games advanced. In particular, the Sonic game I started on was Sonic Adventure 2, which pitted Sonic very prominently off of Shadow. At this point, character concepts are no longer about simple capabilities, and every other member of the cast has grown up. (even Amy... though not too much. sorry Amy). Tails is now building robots to go with how his flight allows him to reach unconventional 'tricky' routes; Knuckles is now more of an adventurer, explorer, and even a mystic given his history and relationship with the emeralds. This earthly pugilist sense grounds him in a more versatile skill-set.

Sonic... basically his gimmick was remaining true to the classic formula- he was still the one going fast, popping those shuttle loops, and tumbling through a chaotic universe. Yes, they absolutely polished this and put flourishes on it- now he's grinding rails and flipping on poles, this sense of street-smart parkour that carries him cheekily through any environment...

But he's played off Shadow, where the thing about Shadow, especially in the first game, is Shadow is a person who suppresses most of his personality for his context. Not in an inorganic or badly written sense, mind- but he outright says to Rouge at one point that it doesn't matter if anything he remembers is fake- in essence, that it's more real than he is, and a dead person's wish is more important than his life.

Shadow is a soldier, is an alien, is a bioweapon, is a teleporter and he shoots lasers. We are beyond the days of simple conceits; if he was conceived in the classic era, he'd have probably been either only a jet-skater or a teleporter, and that one conceit about how he moved through the world would've been through everything.

Sonic picks up the chaos control from Shadow- in direct reaction to Shadow- and this is commented on. In this scene, Sonic not only rejects Shadow's unhealthy obsession with context- that where he came from was everything- but mirrors it with an attitude that, frankly, to me, rings just as unbalanced- Sonic basically denies having a backstory whatsoever.

"What you see is what you get!" he says.

And that flew in the classic era. We didn't really have a consistent or strongly-drawn backstory over why Sonic was fast. Most continuities around that era point it to either an accident or a happenstance synergy with an outside force. But we didn't really need a story over why Tails can fly or why Knuckles had spurs on his fists.

But in the modern era... there's context. Many characters have superpowers. And more and more, there was a sense that those superpowers had context and history, whether the outright spelled, like Shadow (he was engineered to be capable of this; if you look at him, he has most of the abilities you'd expect of a boss fight in Resident Evil, minus the squelchy, infectious sorts and the Black Arms imply he could well have those and just not use them)

...or the simply alluded, such as Blaze's ominous comment that her flames are the reason she was always alone.

Sonic... clearly has powers. He's been reframed to keep up with he setting as it changes. But that exchange between him and Shadow- where Shadow looks at what Sonic is capable of, looks at him, and asks, verbatim, "what are you," and Sonic delivers a non-answer so naked and so certain that there's not really anything to say to that.

To this end, while I think it's highly intuitive that they picked the wind as the motif to spice Sonic up to- with its sense of freedom, and with its association with speed- I think there's also something about air in general that connects to Sonic.

Air is... omnipresent. It has an extremely complex seething system high overhead. Enormous paths and belts and spirals of wind curl over us all the time, pushing clouds the size of entire states around like it's nothing. When you look at the sky, it looks stationary. But wait, squint- it's actually moving. It's actually moving really fast.

One of my absolute favorite characterizing moments of Sonic is in Archie Comics, specifically the post-reboot series. To keep context minimal, Tails confides in Sonic that he's losing his memory of a certain incident that affected both of them, and he's worried; Sonic reassures him, typical hero big brother best friend, and gives him a big hug. The scene is warmly lit.

The very next panel is literally in the shadows, over Tails' shoulder and behind his back. And Sonic's expression is... troubled. Telling. We immediately understand from that alone he just lied, and has no ability to 'just remember for Tails'.

Sonic is not a vacuous person. He's not empty, he's not innocent, and he's certainly not just your same good nostalgic friend who never changed or got complicated so you don't have to reevaluate all of those things- the guy you can always count on, just like the sky is always there- but he sure pretends to be all of those things, and tries to keep the stormy weather as far away from other people as possible.

This is given another heroic-sounding-but-actually-concerning context in Sonic Unleashed, one of several games in which Sonic shows a maybe suspicious but profound aptitude for darkness where he guzzles and serves as a very powerful conduit for the energy of Dark Gaia, who is strongly connoted with rage, despair, denial, and other states considered bad for your health.

Sonic asks Chip- who he's just found out is Dark Gaia's counterpart- if it was his protection that kept him from losing his mind the entire time. Chip denies this, and states instead it's that "you never let the darkness win."

The thing is... anger and sadness are actually pretty important to feel. And it's actually not true that Sonic as a character doesn't feel anger- there's a few rather notable scenes in which he really loses his cool, some of them within Sonic Unleashed itself (he actually scares Eggman at the culmination of the Egg Dragoon fight) and in the game Sonic and the Secret Rings he actually achieves a super form powered by negative emotions- and that game also ends on a surprisingly melancholy note, where Shahra, when leaving Sonic, specifically gives him a bunch of tissues, a nod to how they met, and specifically "So you can cry as much as you need to."

Sonic is a good person. But Sonic is also... kind of a liar. He has this powerful connection to these highly destructive and dangerous entities- Dark Gaia, Chaos- and this is a thing he, pointedly, doesn't wonder about. And it's not arrogance, or an inability to consider the possibilities- in Sonic Colors he is very real with himself that he can't outrun a black hole, but only admits that once Tails is out of earshot on the one safe ride away from it- and while gearing up to try to do so anyway.

Wind is a contradictory thing. In the sky, we consider the possibility of ultimate freedom; flight and wings are often depicted as symbols of enormous power and efficacy because the very notion of being able to go wherever you want to captivates us.

On the other hand, though, a state of freefall is terrifying. In the unparalleled freedom of the sky, absolutely nothing can catch you if you fall.

(you know, except Tails, if you're fighting Eggman in Marble Garden- I'll leave)

We can talk about a bolt from the blue, a sudden storm or a just-as-sudden clear blue sky... the mechanisms of the air around us are often very hard to perceive for their superficial simplicity. And on sunny days when the wind lazes slowly through the leaves, it's hard to think of it as capable of hurricane forces.

I guess the note I want to leave this on is, it's pretty interesting how Sonic genuinely likes running, but he also tends to either outrun or fight anything that stresses him out- and "what he is" and "what he's capable of" is something he really doesn't like talking about even if he's happy to show or compete it.

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Venom vs. Crona

Two on two that are within one! Who will win, who will lose?

Venom′s Preview.

We open on a history lesson, about the Klyntar. And how they were a peaceful race that kicked out a loser named Venom. Who went through a multitude of different hosts. From heroes, to villains, to… Deadpool.

And then the Symbiote met Spider-Man.

And, after a lot of adventures, Peter got rid of the thing because it was a creepy goop monster. After this, the Symbiote bonded with one Eddie Brock.

Whose life was screwed from the start.

Between an abusive dad that blamed him for his mother’s death, and having terminal cancer, the guy had nothing to lose and everything to gain by joining with the Symbiote.

Aside from the powerset he got from Spidey, the hosts go over his other abilities, like camouflage, shapeshifting, and 360° vision, and all that other stuff. We get into our first animated segment.

Now, to be fair, Wiz is kinda right.

After going over their feats, they go over his past a bit more.

After accidentally killing a kid after stealing his dad’s car, he was told to plead innocent, and rig the jury. So, he’s been carrying around that guilt ever since.

And on the road to redemption, Venom and his host have fought and gone through a lot of crazy things. From fighting off most of Spidey’s rogues gallery to tanking a sonic blast that shattered glass miles away.

And… Some really weird convoluted comic book bullshit.

After fighting the Symbiote God that tried to turn them all into living weapons, Venom has proven himself a hero in his own right. Even teaming up with Spider-Man on occasion.

Sure, he’s always hungry for brains, but with Eddie’s influence, he’d rather bite the head off of a criminal than an innocent.

Crona′s Preview.

The hosts open up on the history of the world of Soul Eater, which, for those of you unfamiliar, is very… weird. Death is a goofy-looking dude who opened a school where warriors trained to stop evil.

Of the many characters, Crona Gorgon… Was not one of them.

Crona basically had your typical power-hungry abusive mother, who basically tried turning the poor kid into a living weapon… And by living weapon, I don’t mean the ones that actually turn into weapons, I mean the… uncomfortable kind.

Crona’s weapon is Ragnarok (Which I have now recently realized I misspelled numerous times in the captions, so… Apologies).

With all that power at their finngertips, Crona and Ragnarok became a formidable team. And that leads into the animated segment.

And after going over some bonuses of how the powerset works, what with the whole “eating souls” thing, we go into even more powers. Specifically, of the Black Blood.

From being able to project Madness onto others, to shapeshifting, to all sorts of sonic attacks, Crona has some major firepower under their metaphorical belt.

In addition, they go over how Crona has gone up against plenty of Death Academy students like Death the Kid, Maka, and Black☆Star (And for those of you wondering, yes, the star in his name is the official spelling.

Now, Death the Kid could reach supersonic speeds, and Black☆Star is eveen faster.

Since Crona can keep up, this means that they’re in the same ballpark of speed.

And all that Black Blood is also really damn powerful and plentiful.

It could cover this entire city, given similar comparisons to other similar cities in the area, that’s nearly 10,000,000,000,000 tons of Mad Blood.

Thankfully, through the power of friendship and good feelings, Crona ended up saving the world. And made a new kind of Madness that… made everyone obsessed with boobs.

The Battle Itself.

Luis is lead on this fight. Venom will be reprised by Adam Wennick, Crona will be voiced by Sarah Anne Williams, and Ragnarok will be voiced by John Van Doren. “Madness Envenom” by Brandon, and audio led by Chris Kokkinos.

We open on a church, where there’s a single person praying before Crona comes in.

Now, I gotta say: Mad props to the animator who is working on Ragnarok, that is some quality movement. You can’t tell because this is a screenshot, but the animation on Ragnarok is pretty fluid.

Anyways, it turns out the person who was there first was Eddie. And, in true Season Seven fashion, the fight starts because of food. Because why not?

After a very brief back and forth, Venom manages to trap Crona.

But, they’re a tough cookie, and they manage to blast away and make some distance.

Now, this being a sound attack, it deals some significant damage to Venom.

I am so glad I managed to pause it here. This is an epic shot.

And I guess Luis was watching some Jojo, because we get a punch clash.

Venom manages to get by, and camouflages to get the drop on them.

Five Nights at Venom’s.

Venom manages to get in a hit, but the Black Blood is a bit too tough for Venom to beat.

Fitting for a Halloween episode, there’s blood everywhere.

Anyways, the fight takes to the skies, where neither seems to have a specific advantage… Aside from Crona managing to get in a few more licks in and block more hits than Venom.

Crona manages to take the fight back into the church.

Five Nights at Crona’s.

Venom decides to boast one more time before, uh, well…

Yeah, finishing blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Verdict + Explanation.

Anyways, Boomstick makes our second Lucy vs. Carnage callback.

Now, Wiz notes that the only advantage Venom had was shapeshifting, camouflage, and weapon versatility. That’s literally it. Venom was screwed everywhere else.

Crona could match Black☆Star, who could get to Mach 9000.

Compared to Venom matching Spidey 2099, who only has Mach 2000, that’s a pretty clear speed difference.

Strength was another. Venom hasn’t displayed anything comparable to Crona opening the Moon’s mouth.

And really, with the Black Blood, Venom couldn’t pull any puppeteering tricks.

Now, the big one: Could Venom survive Crona’s sonic attacks?

Now, the sonic attack that nearly killed him that shattered glass miles away is a good high point to gauge. That clocks in at about 244 dB. Crona’s feat of covering the moon clocks in at 275dB.

And if you remember anything from Black Canary vs. Sindel, sound changes on the logarithmic scale. So Crona’s attack was over a thousand times more powerful than the blast Venom barely survived.

Overall impression.

Magento vs. Robot Man anyone?- I mean… That’s the impression this episode gave me. Like… I know that Ben was largely unfamiliar with Soul Eater going in, and I can assume that the same can be applied to a few of the other team members, but… really? Why not pit Robotboy against EMP Man? How about seeing who wins between Sandman and Juvia? The only way this can feel like it wasn’t “My Weakness is Sound man” vs. “Has Sound as an Explicit Weapon Person” is if the big question was “Could Venom survive Crona’s sonic attack?” They don’t put much emphasis on it, so it feels like they knew going in that Crona would utterly destroy Venom. And while I’m not inherently against fights that are basically stomps (Hell, I still enjoy Flash vs. Quicksilver), they really should have put more emphasis on that question if they didn’t want it to feel like it was one-sided.

I’m happy that Soul Eater is getting some rep before the inevitable Ruby vs. Maka fight (Uh, more money on Maka please), but I was honestly expecting Black☆Star to make it in before Crona. And even then, I would have thought that they would do something more creative than “Black Goopy buddies that bonded with a human host”

I tend to rag more on matchups than I do on animation, and I’ll be real: The animation is still good. Ragnarok is well-done, and they definitely landed the creepy factor quite well.

My own first viewing was a bit tainted because my own mother demanded that I not spend time for myself and instead sit at a table listening to her and my dad talk about  whatever, so my own feelings are a bit skewed because I had to watch this in a rush. Just a little disclaimer.

8.7/10

Next Time…

Speaking of ragging on matchups…

Can anyone vouch for having wanted this? Or, failing that, can anyone vouch for having seen this as a suggestion in the comments section?

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Red vs. Red… Blue vs. Blue… It’s I against I, and me against you…

[maxsmusicmacrology]

Album Analysis: Best of Crush 40

Halfway through the 90s, everything changed. The PlayStation came out in 94, allowing games with 3D graphics and high-fidelity (for the time, that is) audio. Big Red came hopping onto the scene with Super Mario 64 in 96, and Sonic Adventure came onto the scene at the very end of 98. As a latecomer to the 3D party, arriving over 2 years after Mario had such a successful romp, they needed something special. They needed…

Children’s media! I’m of the opinion that there are two main categories that children’s media can fall into: there’s media that is specifically made for children, like Blue’s Clues or Peppa Pig or those licensed Sesame Street games. Then there’s kid-friendly media that, while made for and marketed towards children, can still appeal to adults. This would be most Pixar movies, shows like Phineas and Ferb, and the object of today’s article, the Sonic franchise.

While there’s some pretty huge differences between children’s media and kid-friendly media, one thing they both have in common is the goal of teaching children a moral lesson. With varying degrees of success. This can be something simple like “stealing is bad”, but oftentimes there’s some greater nuance, like how the protagonist of Inside Out learns to value sadness and other “negative” emotions. But when working with hardware that has some intense limitations, like the NES or Sega Genesis, telling a complex story isn’t easy, which is why Save the Princess plots (Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, the opening to Final Fantasy) were so common: it allowed for a moral hero without requiring any deeper discussion. Sonic the Hedgehog went with a bit more of an environmentalist message- saving animals from an evil scientist- which was easy enough to portray in only 16 bits.

Halfway through the 90s, everything changed. The PlayStation came out in 94, allowing games with 3D graphics and high-fidelity (for the time, that is) audio. Big Red came hopping onto the scene with Super Mario 64 in 96, and Sonic Adventure came onto the scene at the very end of 98. As a latecomer to the 3D party, arriving over 2 years after Mario had such a successful romp, they needed something special. They needed…

I’m going to review this album out of order. This is a “Best of” album, so rather than being a picture of the band’s musical vision at any given time, it contains some of their best work from over a decade-long span. What I’m especially interested in is how the music interacts with its respective game and how it evolves with the franchise, so let’s take a look at song #15 first.

Open Your Heart kicks off Sonic Adventure with a bang. It’s the first thing you hear when you boot the game up and it accompanies the final battle. Well, most of it, anyway- part 1 of the battle gets Open Your Heart and part 2 gets generic “tense orchestral music”, which is a flat-out awful decision, but I digress. Tonally, it’s perfect- it starts out tense, preparing you for the fight ahead, and then the guitars kick in to pull you forward. But more importantly… this is why I brought up the moral conflict earlier. The story is simple, so the game leans on the song to deliver its message.

Much of the lyrics are as relevant today as they probably were for most of human history: the quieter intro bit describes various catastrophes, and describes the fear and confusion that follows (much like the one we’ve been living in for the past few months). The song’s chorus is built around a dialectic: Can’t hold on much longer/but I will never let go, but then ends with Open your heart, it’s gonna be alright. Together, these components combine the fear of catastrophe with the innate desire to make things better. It instills the idea that it’s okay to have conflicting feelings about a course of action, then promises that your heart will make the right choice.

Live and Learn is the main theme of the direct sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, and fills the same roles as Open Your Heart. The opening riff plays when the game is launched, the full song plays over the final battle, and it delivers the moral lesson of the game. If Open Your Heart introduces a lesson about conflict, then Live and Learn teaches you what to do when you’ve made the wrong choice. What happens if you trust the wrong people, stay when you should’ve run or run when you should’ve stayed, let something important fall into the wrong hands?

The very title of the song hints at its message- you learn from your mistakes and do better- but to me the line that really hits comes in the second verse. But you can’t save your sorrows/you’ve paid in trade. It recontextualizes all the regret someone feels from a mistake as a sort of currency: it’s not to be saved, kept in your mind and dwelled on- you’ve exchanged it, traded it for valuable life experience. If you focus on the mistake instead of the lesson, you’ll never grow, and it’ll all have been a waste. Not only is it a natural progression from the last song, it’s an absolute banger of a track.

Next up is Sonic Heroes, the intro track to… Sonic Heroes. That won’t be confusing. I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one, it’s not the big moral apex of the game and it’s much more of a title theme than the song the game wants you to walk away from. It’s goofy as hell to listen to, but it always puts a smile on my face.

What I’m Made of is the final battle theme to Sonic Heroes and is, in my opinion, the finale of the Open Your Heart trilogy. Looking at the three songs is a sort of rudimentary 3-act structure: you have the introduction and first conflict, the dark part at the end of act 2, and the triumphant closer. The protagonist takes the lesson they learned through the story and uses it to defeat their opponent. What I have in my two hands is enough to set me free. Use the lessons you’ve learned through hardship to better yourself. The songs form a very nice trilogy when viewed like this that parallels the games quite nicely, and I’m confused as to why they’re all out of order on the album.

That finishes off the Adventure and Heroes saga, and now onto… Shadow the Hedgehog… god. I Am… All of Me is the opening track to the game and also the first song on the album, and it’s so goofy. It tries to be all dark and intimidating because Shadow is the dark and edgy character, who has guns and says “damn” because he has a tragic backstory, and the character isn’t edgy because he’s a cartoon hedgehog and and the song isn’t edgy because it’s a song about a cartoon hedgehog.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad, mind you. I enjoy it, and in a way it’s a perfect fit for the game. It’s like a kid wearing a vampire costume on halloween: they can try to scare you all they want, but the worst they can do is make you smile.

All Hail Shadow is the next Shadow the Hedgehog piece. This one was originally by a group called Magna-Fi, and was covered by Crush 40 for use in later games when the band broke up. Shadow the Hedgehog features multiple paths and multiple endings, and this is the “true hero” ending when the player makes all the heroic choices. This song does a good job painting Shadow as Sonic’s foil: both of them are heroes from this point forward, but while Sonic is more of a classical hero, Shadow is an anti-hero. Somewhere in chaos we all find ourselves/this destruction is the only tale we tell. The game features Shadow trying to recover his memories and find his true self, figure out who he really is, and this is the song that has him rediscover himself as a hero.

Finally, Never Turn Back is the true ending theme for the game, and the last Shadow the Hedgehog song in the album. This is the “moral lesson” song I’ve been on about so much, and it’s a damn good one. It starts with a slow cover that samples I am… All of Me, then it gets a powerful kick that rings in the rest of the song. The message in the song is similar to Live and Learn about not repeating mistakes, but Never Turn Back gives a sense of a much more arduous period in one’s life. If Live and Learn is about recovering from a mistake, Never Turn Back is about recovering from a long series of them. It’s been a long rough road but I’m finally here/Move an inch forward, feels like a year. It’s very much about cutting yourself free of a bad period in your life and how difficult it can be to even stay put, but the positive vibe of the song reminds us to celebrate the small victories. It’s a bit more mature of a message for a game that… at least tried to be more mature.

I haven’t talked a whole lot about how the music interacts with the events of the game partially because this is a music review, but partially because it’s gone perfectly hand and hand with the music so far. There hasn’t been much dissonance between “rock music that gives life advice” and “young-ish hedgehog learning how to live life”. That’s about to change, though, because it’s time for Sonic 06. At the end of Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic declared that he was no one special, “just a guy who loves adventure”. This is when that ceased to be true.

The first three songs we discussed weren’t about Sonic. The singer was a nameless narrator occasionally fighting a nameless opponent. They were relevant to the series, but they could be about anyone. That’s what made them so versatile. His World is the main theme of Sonic 06, and where the other 2 versions of the song existed more to hype up Sonic as a character, the Crush 40 cover was more about the events of the game. As a song, it’s pretty good: it’s a more intense version of the original song, and it’s got a slower but steadier pace to it. But here’s what sets it apart from the other main themes: it’s about Sonic. It’s not a lesson about facing conflict and overcoming adversity wrapped up in an upbeat rock song, it’s about the events of the game and how awesome Sonic is. He isn’t the everyman anymore, he’s an important figure, a chosen one to save the world from this point forward. The music reflects that.

To really drive home this new direction they were going, Sega released two games for the Wii called “Sonic Storybook” games, where Sonic would become the main character of two classic stories: Arabian Nights and the legend of King Arthur. They’re both terrible in… just about every aspect, but the first entry Sonic and the Secret Rings is godawful. The main theme Seven Rings in Hand wasn’t written or originally performed by Crush 40, but for some reason they decided to cover it for their album, so I have to talk about it: it’s trash. It’s a bunch of empty lyrics about nothing with some pretty subpar mixing.

While Sonic and the Black Knight isn’t much better, it at least has a killer main theme. Knight of the Wind as a song is pretty badass, but it suffers the same issues as His World. There’s no more important meaning, it’s just about Sonic being a knight and saving people. It has a few familiar “never give up” themes, but it doesn’t do anything as well as Open Your Heart or Live and Learn. It falls into the Sonic Heroes mold where it’s fun to listen to and less fun to really take apart and analyze. The ending theme (which strangely precedes Knight of the Wind) Live Life samples Knight of the Wind, but that’s pretty much the coolest thing it does. It’s slow and pensive, making a sense of faux-thoughtfulness to cover mostly shallow lyrics.

With Me (Massive Power Mix) is the last Sonic and the Black Knight theme here, and was originally written by Crush 40 and performed by singers from the band “All Ends”. The album features a version performed by the band itself, and the song is unique in that it’s sung from the POV of the game’s villain. As a result, it features a look into a character who walked a “dark path”, weighed down by the mistakes they made. Don’t blame [me] for what I have become. It’s an ideological clash against the values in the other songs, arguing that anyone can be tempted to become evil. It’s deeper than anything in the game, but it’s shockingly good considering its source material.

That does it for the main series themes, but there’s a few others on here- a couple tracks for the racing games, an oddly placed cover of Fire Woman, and a too-slow ballad-sounding original song called Is It You. However, I think I’ve gone on long enough, and I’ve discussed everything I wanted to: how the songs showcased on this album elevate the messages given in the games.

Ultimately, all these songs are mirrors of the game they’re in, for better or worse. For that, I have to applaud the band’s versatility- even if most of the songs are the same genre, they cover a wide range of moods and messages depending on what the game demands. They can write a kick-ass guide to getting over failure or a fun little romp to introduce a game. Even divorced from their source material, many of the songs stand well on their own, and there’s a very good reason why fans of the franchise want Crush 40 to return for future installments.

Videos cited:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJYxYzxFyZw Peppa Pig - Caddicarus (warning: weird shit)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JWYDUYqhlc&list=PL5F29F0909BF08B56&index=15 - Best of Crush 40 Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voI-9TdS0Jw - Seven Rings in Hand (Crush 40 Ver)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HrOjyltyEM - With Me (Massive Power Mix)

[gal-liveblogs]

RWBY Chapter 8: Players and Pieces

Hm, that title makes me think those chess pieces are about to become very important.

O.K., what on earth are you doing, Ruby? Are you... Are you riding a giant bird? Is that why you were falling from the sky at the end of the last episode? WHY are you on a giant bird? HOW did you get on a giant bird?

Ruby: Well, why don’t we just jump? Weiss: What are you, insane?

Aaaaaand Ruby’s gone. God damn it, Ruby.

That’s some stellar timing. Congrats, Ruby, you saved Jaune from hurtling even further into the forest. Hopefully he doesn’t crush you when you both land.

Oh great, before Yang and Blake can deal with the Ruby and Jaune situation a Grimm appears from the forest. I sure hope that scorpion Grimm doesn’t join the fray as well.

Nora: Yeeeeeehaaaw!

Oh. Thanks, Nora! That was easy!

Nora: Aw, it’s broken.

She has no respect for danger and I love her.

Nora: I’m queen of the castle~ I’m queen of the castle~

You are fighting hard for my favorite character.

Here comes the scorpion now! It’s fine, the other Grimm is dead and we have a bunch of warriors gathered. I’m sure they’ll be fine. What’s Weiss up to?

Pyrrha: Jaune! Jaune: Pyrrha! Ruby: Woah! Jaune: Ruby! Yang: Ruby?! Ruby: Yang! Nora: NORA!

I sure love the Name Game. Glad to see Nora knows how to play the winning hand.

Yang is shaking in frustration and I can’t tell if Nora is just happily swaying or having fun imitating her, but it’s just the cutest thing.

Oh, there’s Weiss! Boy, that bird is quite a bit bigger than I expected it to be. Gosh... How did you girls manage to hitch a ride on that?

Nora, stop being so adorable this instant.

Ren: She’s falling.

Oh no. Jaune, I know what you’re thinking. Don’t. This is not the perfect opportunity to play hero and save the falling damsel. You are the butt monkey, your role to continually fail for comedy. This won’t end well for you.

I know it’s tempting, Jaune, but don’t even try. Really there’s only two ways this is going to go. You’re going to try and somehow make things worse, or one of the other’s is going to rescue Weiss before you can do anything.

Either things are about to go horribly wrong, or Weiss is gonna smack him and call him a pervert.

Music: *is angelic* Jaune: Just dropping in?

Or this will turn out to just be a fantasy Jaune has concocted after hitting his head trying to jump out of the tree.

O.K., not a fantasy. Cartoons physics was employed so that they could float in the air for a moment before gravity picked back up. Now the question is if the punchline is them still crashing to the ground or will it be that one of the others will still end up rescuing them?

Crashing it is! At least Weiss seems fine, since Jaune acted as a crash pad. So I guess... Congrats, Jaune? You managed to save the girl?

Weiss: My hero.

She just sounds so disinterested. That’s gotta hurt him more than his crushed spine.

Oof. That was a crunch. Poor Pyrrha, I thought you’d be able to put up a bit more fight against the scorpion.

Yang: Great, the gang’s all here! Now we can die together!

Glad to see you being positive, Yang.

And of course Ruby jumps into the fray only to get immediately bitch slapped.

Holy shit! That thing has projectile feathers! I’m more scared of it than the scorpion now!

Be thankful it only skewered your cape and not your body! Still, this is legitimately terrifying!

Ruby, no, don’t try to rip your cape free just take your cape off! Trust me, it’s much faster!

O.K., yeah, wow, thanks for the ice wall and all, Weiss, but could we maybe have the getting along speech after we defeat the Grimms?

Ruby: *sighs and whispers* Normal knees...

What are you going on about, Ruby? I know you just wanted to be a normal girl with normal knees, but what does this mean? Are you reminding yourself to just act normally, or are you thankful that Weiss just said “you’re fine” and thus she sees you as normal?

Really though, these friendship building moments can wait until AFTER THE GRIMMS ARE DEAD, YES?

I’m sorry, but I have to point out Yang’s little run here wasn’t the best. She just kind of, slid across the ground. Not great animation. Very slippery.

Alright, so now everyone has a chess piece. Were those missing chess pieces already missing to begin with, or did those two dudes we saw at the start take them? You know, they two people who had character models but no lines?

So the gang tries to run, but it seems the bird has them trapped. Oh, and then the scorpion comes back too. So how’s that “just run and don’t fight them” plan going?

I love Nora’s gun. She has a grenade launcher. I wonder what it transforms into?

You know, for an exercise all about teaming up with one other person they all seem to be working with, well, everyone. I mean, it’s good to have teamwork with everyone at your disposal, but I would think you’d want to stick with your “assigned” partner and learn how to most effectively work with them.

Calling it now, that bridge is either going to collapse and make the scorpion tumble into the ravine below OR it’s going to collapse and trap out heroes in the ruin. Possibly both. Either way the bridge isn’t going to survive this fight.

Well, I was right about the bridge being destroyed, at least, but it looks like everyone is gonna hitch a ride on the bird on outta here. How did Ruby and Weiss do this the first time??

Oh, never mind, they do get trapped in the ruin after all. Looks like only Pyrrha, Ren, and possibly Blake hitched a ride.

GOD DAMN IT! NO ONE GOT CARRIED AWAY? Bullshit! You could clearly see they were all too far away from the edges with the bird came through!

Oh neat! A hammer! Let me guess, it’s gonna have some sonic blast or something that will propel her across the gap when she swings it down?

Ah, no magic nonsense, just basic physics! Yay for levers! Bye, Jaune! Now what will you do, dear Nora? Also what about the others?

Oh that is awesome! A grenade propelled scooter, basically! Who knew hammers could be so versatile?

Aw, and you were doing so well too, Nora! Now who’s going to save Blake from plummeting to her death?

Blake’s gonna save herself thanks to grappling guns!

I like that during the classic “run up all the falling rocks” moment we get to see that each of the four main girls does it slightly differently. Blake immediately gets off the unstable rocks and goes to another classic, “run up the walls”. Weiss uses her glyphs to give herself more stable footing when there are no rocks. Yang uses her rocket gauntlets to propel herself, and Ruby just stays with the classic approach.

So while Ruby has a plan to fight the bird, Jaune seems to be giving orders to the other team fighting the scorpion. Not so much orders as barking out their names and they knowing what to do already. I could be mean and say Jaune isn’t really needed here, but I’ll give him the credit has leader of this team of four. Clearly Ruby will be leader of the other team so he’s being built up as the leader of the secondary characters.

Nora is just the cutest gosh darn thing! Sorry, Jaune, but Nora has been too precious this episode. She has booted you out of the top spot on my characters list.

Poor Ren, someone get this boy some snacks. Nora, give him pats and snacks!

Wow, this is quite the plan, Ruby, How did you manage to tell the others what to do while all of you were fighting?

Ruby: Think you can make the shot? Weiss: Can I? Ruby: ... Can y- Weiss OF COURSE I CAN!

I’m a sucker for confident “can I?” “that’s what I just asked you” interactions.

Holy shit, Ruby is strong! I know Weiss puts some glyphs down, which are probably helping her with the speed and keeping momentum, but Ruby is still dragging that giant bird by her scythe!

Nice decapitation!

Jaune: Wow.

Yeah, I mean, not to downplay your guys’ scorpion, but that was really cool.

I guess we’re all back at Beacon now. Sounds like whatever piece you took assigns you to a larger team. So I guess only one piece was taken per team of two? Then, since it’s chess, there were two of each piece (excluding the pawns) so then the two teams that had the same pieces would get combined here. Still doesn’t sound like a great way to form actually good teams for four years, but whatever. How lucky that the teams that worked together fighting each Grimm ended up being the actual teams. Now they have a basic understanding of each member’s abilities!

Wait, did I just hear Yang Xiao Long? Not Yang Rose? Do you two have different fathers? You usually take your dad’s last name after all. We saw a Summer Rose gravestone. Hm. Well if they’re half sisters it would explain why they look so different.

Ozpin: From this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY, lead by Ruby Rose.

Wow, who could have guessed the team named after her would be lead by Ruby. Honestly, it would have been a jerk move to name the team “ruby” and then have someone else lead the team.

OH COME ON! NOW THE SHATTERED MOON ISN’T EVEN ROUND ANYMORE! It’s a shatter egg! I’m telling you, it’s fluctuating size and shape, that’s the cause of it breaking! The moon saga never ends!

Oh? And what is our dapper villain up to in this lonely warehouse?

Hm, I see you have various districts marked out on your maps. Also COPS! and Beacon. What dastardly plans are you concocting?

Man, you’re eyelash game is strong. Are you wearing eyeliner too?

Monopoly money!

Oh, credit cards, not Monopoly money.

A better look at the map. He’s not only marked out COPS!, but also DUMB COPS. I wonder if Forever Fall is a town or a landmark. Beacon seems like a pretty big place.

Torchwick: We’re gonna need more men.

BOO. Cliched line is cliched!

We never did find out how Ruby and Weiss got on that bird...

<Previous Ep. Next Ep.>

[theaccursedninth]

Character meme: Malekith (the Doctor again)

NAME: Malekith...? NICKNAME:  The Doctor, Doc, Mal AGE: Ancient SPECIES: Gallifreyan

PERSONAL. MORALITY:  lawful / neutral / chaotic ///  good / neutral / evil RELIGIOUS BELIEF: He possesses an almost humbling perspective regarding religion: he was essentially a god at one point...but here he is now, just a man (in so many words) living a wanderer’s life again...and he’s happy. He was never happy on Svartalfheim. What does that say to power and a following? SINS:  greed / gluttony / sloth / lust / pride / envy / wrath VIRTUES: chastity / charity / diligence / humility / kindness / patience / justice PRIMARY GOALS IN LIFE: To live it to the fullest, no holding back and no holding himself back anymore, either. LANGUAGES KNOWN:  Midgard’s English, Gallifreyan, the language of the Dark Elves. He’s got a passing familiarity with others but it’s been so long time much of it is covered in dust.  SECRETS:  Though he still primarily refers to himself as Malekith, it’s imperative the universe think the Accursed dead. No one would believe the connection, anyway, nor could he explain it.  SAVVIES:  Again, despite looking like an older man he’s still highly skilled in combat and more versatile than other versions as well. Doctor!Malekith also uses his sonic screwdriver, which has since been repaired and updated. Do not, however, assume he won’t kill you if you pose serious danger. 

As far as other skills go he also retains his technological knowledge, perhaps more so than before as leaving his planet and allowing himself to experience new things has broadened his horizons. 

PHYSICAL

BUILD: scrawny / bony / slender / fit / athletic / curvy / herculean / pudgy / average HEIGHT: 6′1″  WEIGHT: -- SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: In this body? None as of yet ABILITIES/POWERS: His abilities mirror Tennant!Malekith in a lot of ways, although this regeneration comes in place of that one. Despite looking older, he’s still solidly built and like Tennant his physical abilities lie between Time Lord and Dark Elf. 

RESTRICTIONS: 

He’s still learning to embrace his old face and doesn’t entirely trust himself to be the Doctor just yet. He also can’t access a Time Lord’s mental capabilities but his mind is far more open than it’s been in quite literally an eon so who knows what the future holds...?

That said, he’s still got a somber side to him, as well as a temper... and he’s sarcastic as hell. 

**Doctor!Malekith does not have a TARDIS. At least...not yet.

FAVORITES

FAVORITE FOOD: He can’t remember what fish and chips taste like and it irritates him XD

FAVORITE DRINK: Tea. At least he thinks it’s tea. Been a long time...

FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING: He does not give a damn either way. Pizza is fun but why make a fuss over it?

FAVORITE COLOR: So unlike Nine, this Doctor!Malekith dresses entirely in black. Lingering remnants of his old life: he doesn’t quite see the point in a favorite color for himself. 

FAVORITE MUSIC GENRE(S): 

FAVORITE BOOK GENRE(S): an array of classics from Earth’s 15th to 19th century literature, especially Shakespeare. 

FAVORITE MOVIE GENRE(S):  He doesn’t particularly care for movies. Why sit in front of a screen when he can likely experience whatever he’s watching in person? 

FAVORITE SEASON: Fall.

FAVORITE CURSE WORD:  Bloody and/or Bleedin’

FAVORITE SCENT(S): Leather, the air after a rain fall and the comforting scent of those he loves: it reaffirms they love him, and he isn’t alone anymore.

FUN STUFF.

BOTTOM OR TOP:  Just like his other incarnations, this version of Malekith leans towards asexual. Intimate encounters usually follow emotional situations as a way to connect and express how much he loves his partner. He’s also a little more versatile than Elf and Tennant Malekith...but still prefers a dominant position. He did once rule the universe, after all.

SINGS IN THE SHOWER: Sometimes.

LIKES BAD PUNS: Sometimes. Sometimes he’s the one making them...though those are of yet few and far between.

Tagged by: Myself Tagging: @canspotatimeagent

[the-crippled-god]

Ys Origin

Alright, this one was pretty damn good. I have some complaints, mostly technical issues with the PC version (they're all quite minor), and some issues with the scope of the gameplay. So, we'll start with the bad bits to get them out of the way.

These are PC version only issues, as far as I can tell, screenshots of the switch version and others that also support widescreen seem to have most of these fixed:

Usual issue with Japanese PC ports: configuration is done through a separate exe, the configuration tool itself mostly works fine, I had no problems with it (but do make sure you use it, since the defaults are quite bad), however there's complaints on steam that it has issues re-mapping certain controllers.

I couldn't get my Dualshock 4 to work, either raw, or through D24Windows, it seemed to interpret the analog deadzone as being the upper left? This isn't uncommon in games this old, but it'd be nice to see support patched in.

Dug out my Xbox 360 pad, and it worked fine, except you can't map anything to the triggers, and the dpad and both analog sticks are treated as the same input (also not re-mappable).

Various minor issues with the support of widescreen, which the game/engine is not built for, but the PC version does support and it works fine mostly, issues included:

Health bars for individual parts of bosses appear in the wrong positions, which is generally not an issue, but for the True Final Boss, it made things a bit confusing.

There's a couple of area transitions that look like dead ends, because the widescreen view sees past where the game expects. It's only really noticeable for one exit at the end of Guilty Fire, but it'd also be trivial to fix.

In a couple cutscenes (most obviously Toal's scene with Yunica after disarming the early game teleport trap) characters can be scene on screen when they're not supposed to be, occasionally duplicate models of people who are on screen.

All the above widescreen issues seem to not be an issue with the Switch version (although I think that port has some performance issues), and it also fixes this issue: The HUD looks unfinished, the version on Switch looks so much better, and is mostly much more readable. It'd be really cool to see a patch for the PC version to get the improvements form later ports.

And finally, my biggest issue with the gameplay: This game is 3 ~10 hour story campaigns, each character goes through the same levels, in the same order, with items, enemies, and bosses mostly being identical. The game moves fast enough that it didn't really bother me until the latter half of the third campaign, where I started to just want the game to be done. It's still a Napish Engine game, so if you like a slightly more combat focused zelda like where you move at the speed of sonic the hedgehog, you're in for a good time. Just know that the scope of content here feels distinctly budget, the dungeon is completely linear, and the story will be what carries you to finish all 3 campaigns, not any new gameplay.

General story: ~700 years before the events of Ys I, the civilization of Ys is losing the war with the demons. The Goddesses have lifted Solomon shrine and all the citizens of Ys into the sky to escape the conflict. Toal Fact and Saul Tovah stay behind on the surface to attempt to disrupt the demon's forces from within their ranks. Some time later (a few months, since the demons built Darn Tower in that time) the Goddesses vanish from Solomon Shrine (and later we learn they also took the Black Orb), and the Holy Knights and several talented Sorcerers mount a rescue effort, descending to the surface to look for them. They're attacked during the descent, scattering them, but eventually everyone end up at Darn Tower, and begins to scale the tower in search of the goddesses. Eventually, they find the demons are being controlled by people from outside of Ys, referring to themselves as Darklings - humans who took on a portion of the demonic essence - lead by Dalles. Eventually the rescue party finds and rescues Feena, who explains what we learned in Ys II: The Black Orb is both the source of magic, and the source of demons. The Goddesses have come to the tower to seal away the demonic essence within the Black Orb (likely sacrificing themselves in the process), in order to save Ys (and keep in afloat, since destroying the Orb would cause it to crash to the ground). Conflict eventually escalates and the rescue party is forced to confront Dalles at the top of the tower, where he has captured Lady Reah and the Black Orb.

So, following that, lets break things up among the 3 playable characters, and discuss them in more detail. First however, a brief explanation of the story: The first two characters are sharing their interpretation of events, not the events as they transpired, the 3rd character is the canonical one. I'll get to it when I talk about the 3rd campaign, but the difference is mostly that the first two characters are over emphasizing their actions (they beat all the bosses, were the leader in climbing the tower, etc.) and also exaggerating their character flaws (they views themselves as more flawed than the rest of the characters view them).

Yunica Tovah

Yunica is a cute girl, with no magical aptitude, a big axe, and a big heart. She plays most similarly to how Adol plays in other Napish engine games.

Generally the easiest campaign, Yunica has powerful abilities and enough health to make mistakes, but she's the slowest at dealing damage, so boss encounters tend to last longer.

Her skills are easily the most powerful of the three, with the Phoenix Flare breaking several bosses almost completely due to it's huge range (the most of anything in the game), wide AOE, and solid damage. Her boost/burst mode is basically useless.

She's the only character who gets a second weapon: Her Father's great sword. It's mostly similar to the axe, but it swings slower, has a bit longer reach and wider swings, and does a modest amount more damage per hit.

Gameplay wise Yunica is the most fun, but the least challenging. All of her abilities feel good to use, and are very versatile. Her melee combat is fast and satisfying, and generally I never felt like I was taking damage when I shouldn't have been.

Her story centers around 2 things: Her friendship with the Goddesses, and her feelings of inadequacy due to not being able to use magic (nearly every citizen of Ys can use some magic, so she's probably not treated great). Basically, when she was a child she accidentally snuck into the Goddesses's chambers, and because she treated them like humans, has been their friend ever since. She's wholly devoted to the Goddesses, and forced herself into the Holy Knights for the purpose of rescuing them. During her story the Knights are initially very critical of her, because she's an amateur, but she eventually through her actions is promoted above members senior to her, and ends up respected. She is one of the first to arrive at the tower, behind Father Shion and Eloa (and maybe Hugo Fact), and fights her way up the tower ahead of everyone else. She encounters the lower ranked Darkling Epona early on, and they fight (with Yunica eventually killing her towards the end of the game) but Epona doesn't play much of a role in her story (beyond being generally adorable and teasing Yunica a bit). Eventually she finds Lady Feena, but quickly so to does Darkling Kishgal, Epona's older brother, and the man her murdered her father. One way or another Kishgal beats Yunica, and Feena agrees to go with him and Darkling Sorceress Zava, provided they leave Yunica alive. This is obviously quite a blow to Yunica's confidence, but eventually generic knight dude (her romantic interest) pulls her out of it, and tells her he found her Father's sword hidden in the tower. Yunica retrieves her Father's sword, and has a talk with his ghost, which sees her confidence renewed and a new level of devotion to her duty to protect the Goddesses. Higher up the tower, after Yunica rescues Feena from Rado's Annex (though Feena remains trapped in a barrier until the end of the game), Yunica encounters Lady Reah and the Black Orb, and learns the truth of why the Goddesses vanished. Higher up still, Dalles appears and petrifies the other Knights, leaving Yunica unfrozen just to torture her. This shakes her confidence, but with the help of Hugo Fact (who we see talking to a mysterious Darkling with claws, very briefly) and Lady Feena, the knights get unfrozen, and Yunica becomes a Holy Knight in full. Near the top of the tower Yunica confronts Kishgal and avenges her Father's death. Later still, after confronting Zava, Zava traps and attempts to kill Yunica, stopped by generic knight dude, who dies saving Yunica, giving her an item that can be used to being someone back from death (but only once). Firm in her resolve and duty, Yunica confronts Dalles at the top of the tower, and with the help of the Goddesses and the Holy Knights manages to beat him. The Goddesses use their wings (the source of their powers) to seal the demonic essence within Dalles in the Orb, draining them, and forcing them into a slumber until the demons reawaken. Yunica decides to stay on the surface with a few others (to watch over the Goddesses), while the rest of the rescue party returns to Solomon Shrine.

Her story is easily the 'lightest'. She has her internal conflict, but she's kind of just a headstrong dumbass who blunders her way through things (generic knight guy says effectively this to her face), so she feels like she goes through the least change during the course of the story. She starts out as overconfident, but lacking in ability. Then becomes more skilled, but less confident. And finally gains resolve in her ability, and is seen as such by her peers. Her friendship with the goddesses is cute, and she's generally a fun character with lots of good dialogue, but compared to the other two, her story feels a bit throwaway, especially considering most of her development doesn't happen in the other campaigns.

Hugo Fact

Younger of the Fact brothers, appointed heir to the Fact priesthood after Toal joined the Holy Knights. Hugo is a magical prodigy with anger issues and an inferiority complex the size of the sun.

Hugo is a ranged characer, so no melee, no combos, just mash button to shoot bullets. Hugo has a low movement speed compared to the others, and though he has low health, the first ability he gets is a defensive one, so that becomes a non-issue.

His other 2 abilities aren't that useful, good for taking down specific enemies, but the mines are hard to use, and the fire lasers do less damage (and are harder to aim) than just mashing his regular attack. His boost mode is a good boost of damage, but his burst is useless against bosses, since they become un-damageable when he uses it.

I really wish hugo's regular attack had more too it. It fire 3 bullets straight in front of him, and can be mashed quite fast. If enemies are too close he does less damage because he's hitting them with his stick, instead of the magic. But that's it.

You start out feeling pretty weak, but by the end of the game your damage output is so high that most bosses barely get a chance to attack, and when they do you're behind your shield ability.

His campaign is room-for-room the same as Yunica's but he solves a couple puzzles differently, and fights a couple different bosses, and a couple in a different order.

Hugo is more fun than those bullet points make it sound, but he definitely feels unfinished. Like all the other character's attacks get special properties, depending on if you use them during the rise or fall of a jump, but Hugo does not. They all have a 3 or 4 hit combo attack, he does not. I feel like giving Hugo a charge attack (like in metroid) or giving his normal attacks properties based on the element you have equipped, would have made his campaign much more interesting.

Story wise, Hugo's is the edgiest. He's got issues with his Dad, issues with his Brother, is generally a stuck up anti social loner, and some really bad anger management issues. His story centers around him learning not to pursue power over all else, and learning to rely on, and be thankful for, the people around him. In his story, he arrives at the tower first, and he leads the way up the tower. In addition to searching for the Goddesses, he's been tasked by his father to hunt down and kill the man who betrayed Ys, who we quickly find out, is his own brother: Toal Fact. Early on he runs into Epona, who loses control of the demons she summons, and Hugo saves her. From that point forward Epona will keep showing up, especially when Hugo is talking to himself, and either help him out with no explanation, or try to get him to open up to her. Her crush on Hugo is adorable. Epona is adorable. She makes this campaign worth playing. Basically, she feels a kinship with him because she also feels inferior to her own brother, and is less confident in the Dalles's goals than the rest of them. Miuscha also has a crush on Hugo, she's a boring (but pretty looking) and very shy young Sorceress who came with the rescue party. Hugo is generally an ass to Miuscha, and is oblivious to her advances, and is at points borderline abusive in how he treats her, right through the end of the game. Hugo does eventually open up to Epona (after she saves his life a couple times), and though they remain 'enemies' it's clear they have no interest in killing each other. The Mysterious Darklig with Claws is in fact Huugo's brother Toal, he joined the Darklings (and took in the demonic essence) sometime after Saul Tovah's death. He (one way or another) beats Hugo's ass early on, further driving Hugo's complex and lust for power. Hugo drains the power from Saul Tovah's great sword, ignoring the Ghost's words. Dalles eventually makes Hugo an offer, a free trial of the demonic essence, just to see how strong it'd make him. Hugo accepts the deal (because for a prodigy he's really stupid), goes nuts, nearly kills several members of the rescue party, and is eventually stopped when Epona snaps him out of it. Dalles doesn't like that Epona betrayed him, and curses her to slowly petrify, dying and turning to dust in Hugo's arms. Resolved to stop Dalles and the demonic essence, and no longer desiring power for its own sake, Hugo makes his way to the top of he tower. Eventually he runs into Toal, and they talk it out. Turns out they both thought they were the inferior son, Toal joined the Knights because he had poor magical aptitude, and knew Hugo would be a better successor. He joined the Darklings in hopes of sabotaging them from within. From here (and after Epona's death), Hugo treats his companions much better, and is generally friendly towards them by the end of the game. Just like Yunica, he stops Dalles with the help of the goddesses, and decide to stay on the surface, to keep an eye on them.

I liked Hugo's over arching story, but there's some lines that are cringe worthy edgy loner shit that caused me to laugh hysterically and lose investment in the scene. He starts out insufferable, but by the end of the game he's fine. Interestingly, in Yunica's story he's already behaving like his end game self, from the beginning, in Toal's he's got the inferiority complex, but not the anger issues.

Toal Fact

Elder of the Fact brothers, former Holy Knight of Ys, new Darkling. Definitely became a Holy Knight more because he was crushing on Lady Reah rather than because he wanted to get away from his dad. This is the canonical story of Ys Origin.

Melee, with very fast attacks, very fast movement speed, low health and really low range. Toughest campaign, but kinda for the wrong reasons.

All his abilities suck, godspeed is useful, but hard to aim, and his other two abilities are too slow, too low range, and too low damage to compete with other character's abilities.

His gamplay relies on his boost mode, which recharges fast, turns him into a demon, doubling damage dealt, having damage taken, and improving his abilities.

His campaign is the most different, several new bosses, totally new story sequences, and several changed room layouts (although the room layouts are mostly changed because his abilities are more limited)

You feel like you have too little health for the entire game, and generally have to spend a lot of time avoiding damage during boss fights.

Melee combat as Toal feels buggy. There's a 'sweet spot' to his attack range, too close and you do less damage, too far and you don't hit. His attacks have very little stagger and knock-back, so enemies can just attack through you. Several bosses do contact damage (which is weird because almost no bosses do in the other campaigns), punishing you for using the difficult to control gap closer of godspeed.

Toal is... weird? When the claws feel good, they feel really good. His boost mode is the most necessary, and probably the most powerful of the three. His big issue is that his abilities suck. He really needs some way to crowd control, and the closest he gets is the thunder claw, which pulls enemies towards him, instead of knocking them away. A few boss fights ended up feeling like a damage race, since I couldn't reliably avoid taking damage while trying to attack, despite attacking during what I knew were safe windows during other campaigns. However, when you're winning, you feel like an absolute master, like the enemies have no chance, and that's kinda cool.

I don't really want to go over the whole campaign again, since large chunks are the same as the other, here's a basic gist, in note form.

Toal Fact joined the Holy Knights to get away form his family legacy, and his father. Through his time as a Holy Knight, he becomes good friends with the Goddesses (they are mostly drawn to him for his bluntness and treating them as equals) and develops a pretty big crush on Lady Reah. He is the one who gives Lady Reah her harmonica.

Though he tries to hide it initially, Toal takes on demonic essence and joins the Darklings in hopes of sabotaging their plans. All the Darklings have basically already worked this out before the game even starts.

Toal's internal conflict is mostly that he has a super low opinion of himself, everyone seems to view him as a hero, but Toal thinks himself a weak coward. Eventually through confronting the rescue squad and the darklings he finds confidence enough in himself.

His original plan is to take the demonic essence from Dalles, and then kill himself, to wipe out the demons.

In this campaign Yunica is consistently the 'junior knight', you eventually give her the great sword, and later she uses it to save you.

Toal in this campaign feels inferior to Hugo, but he doesn't really have a complex about it, he just knew Hugo was more talented, so left the family legacy to him, and left to pursue his own life.

Hugo still gets possessed, however you are the one to snap him out of it, while he's attempting to kill Epona.

Yes Epona still develops a crush on Hugo, and boy does Toal ship them so hard.

Epona lives through this campaign, so we can presume she and Hugo end up together.

She's also still adorable here, and Toal teasing her about her crush is great.

Generic knight guy also lives, good for Yunica, I guess?

It's made explicit here by Lady Reah that the reason why the Goddesses left Solomon Shrine without telling anyone was two fold:

They suspect that sealing away the demonic essence will either kill them, or lock them into a long slumber.

Someone told outsiders (who became the Darklings) about the demonic essence and the Black Orb, someone from within Ys

Toal's goals shift a bit, make sure Lady Reah (and lady Feena) stay alive, and stop Dalles his own way. Reah, obviously, doesn't want this, and tries to convince Toal that he should value his own life (more than she values hers).

After stopping Hugo, Toal resolves that he's going to finish this without anyone dying.

You stop Dalles, similar to the others, but then Cain Fact (Toal/Hugo's Dad) descends form the sky, he was the one who told the outsiders about the demonic essence, and in fact, explicitly instructed them to keep Toal alive and give him demonic essence. This was a trial run for giving demonic essence to the more powerful Hugo, which itself was a trial run to Cain taking on the essence himself. True the Fact name, Cain is pursuing power for power's sake, and fuses himself with with the demonic essence, and the Black Orb.

Feena has repaired Toal's old Cleria Sword (the silver sword from Ys I) infusing it with divine power, and Toal uses it to vanquish Cain's near-perfected form. After which the Goddesses due the usual, sacrificing their wings, and going to sleep to seal away the demonic power within the Orb.

Toal does not stay on the surface, returning to Ys to write the books of Ys (with the help of the other priests) and take onf the Fact legacy.

This campaign is much more satisfying than the others, from a 'ties into Ys I/Ys II' perspective. Everything lines up here, including how several items ended up where they did. There's also a big revelation that I've saved for here, since it likely has to do with the other games in the series. The Goddesses are not perfect (which we knew), but they're also not really Goddesses, they're remaining members of a precursor race who 'betrayed the gods' (who were likely also not gods), they're ageless, but the Black Orb, and their Wings, are artifacts from their civilization. When they founded Ys, they were quite young an naive, and though they knew the source of the demon problem, could not find a way to stop it, without potentially causing the citizens of Ys to lose faith in them. They mention that the Darklings worked this out by discovering the Ark, guessing that'll be Ys VI then.

So yeah, this game was quite good, but you can tell why they made a new engine after this, Napish clearly has some weird limitations that this game was brushing against (I'm sure there's a good reason why the Dragon Scales are an item instead of an accessory, but it's an engine limit, not good game design, etc). Next is Ys: Memories of Celceta, a fairly recent game design to fix the issue of there being two different versions of Ys IV (developed by 3rd party studios), and bring the story more in line with the canon plot lines developed in Ys VI. It's using the engine from Ys SEVEN, a game that I played for a bit on the PSP, but didn't much care for (though I remember almost all my issues being related to the PSP's display and controls). Celceta is a couple iterations of that engine ahead, so we'll see how I like it. It's also a much longer game, so, I might need to start taking notes, instead of writing these things as a stream of consciousness after I complete them.

[therighteousdingo]

Game Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (PS1)

So, as of the last few weeks, I’ve been going back and buying all the old PlayStation games that I grew up with and rebuilding the collection I used to have as a child, while I build a new collection of vintage games in the process. One of the bigger games that stands out on this list, is Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories. My best friend Kaire and I were huge fans of Yu-Gi-Oh growing up and this game was kind of the proving grounds for us. We burned hours grinding through duels to get the strongest cards, plowing through the campaign in certain ways so we can unlock certain sequences and even messing around with different monsters just so we can see them in action during the animated fighting scenario that you can activate when attacking during a duel. No matter what, in the end, it was all about the cards. Starting off with little to nothing and moving up to get our hands on the likes of Blue Eyes White Dragon, Meteor Black Dragon and even the Gate Guardian. But lets get this thing on the road.

The basic facts:

There’s really not too many to place here besides the super basic stuff like the release dates and some small trivial facts.

Released in 2002 in North America but released in 1999 in Japan, a relatively large gap.

The game was released in a dual-CD packaging yet only came with the one game disc. A reason for this is unknown, but I always used it to store a page with fusions written on it to remember them when I first purchased the game and was getting used to the fuse mechanics that I’ll go over later on in this review.

This one isn’t 100% fact, but I have realized over the years that the game is only vaguely based on the anime and manga of the show.

The gameplay:

Now here’s where things get interesting, so I’m gonna be covering the controls, mechanics and the other miscellaneous stuff that’s attributed to the game. To start off with a big one, the Fusion Mechanic. Now as I stated earlier, the game is only loosely based on the anime and whatnot so the basic stuff about Yu-Gi-Oh that we all may remember, is just tossed in the air, for instance, sacrifices; there aren’t any. If you have a 3000/2500 Blue Eyes White Dragon in your hand, you can just throw that monstrous sucker straight from your hand to the field much to your opponent’s avail. Now, to balance this system, they added this mechanic where you can fuse the creatures in your hand, rather half-assed, and create an even stronger monster. For example, a weak dragon, mixed with a thunder creature creates Thunder Dragon but if you add another thunder creature or another dragon, you wind up with Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon which is 2800ATK (I don’t really remember the defense, 2300 maybe?) and is pretty much your key advantage right off the bat once you start the game. Now the thing with fusing is, although some stuff is incredibly easy to fuse and come up with, some stuff just completely throws you for a loop for no reason, wasting the cards you were attempting in the fusion (oh yeah that’s a thing, if you’re unsuccessful with a fusion, the cards are just tossed away), which can be frustrating but isn’t that bad of a complaint since there’s a Free Duel option that allows you to freely duel, win or lose, against whoever you’ve played in the campaign allowing for trial and error which is definitely whats needed in order to master the fusion system. With this being in place, they start you off staggeringly weak but chock full of cards that give simple, quick fusions, so at least the game comfortably sets you into the system to quickly allow for you to learn it. 

The campaign is utterly straightforward. There’s the option to choose alternate dialogues sometimes, but these are rendered essentially useless considering the story unfolds in the same manner regardless of what option you chose. There’s even a moment very early on in the game where you’re set against Heishin, the primary antagonist of the game, but the game literally cannot progress unless he beats you. Granted, his deck is freakishly strong, to the point where his base cards are the fusion of fusions, if that makes sense, but if you luck out and manage to beat him (Kaire did this once but it was kind of on a fluke, nonetheless we freaked out considering we were about 10) the game doesn’t progress and Heishin gives a stock dialogue along the lines of “Agh! This can’t be! Again!” and you’re shoved right back into a duel with him and the game won’t move unless he beats you. I’d quickly like to point out that yes, every instance that’s life and death or will decide the fate of the world, is decided over a duel, but I digress. Eventually you get to play as the “modern” Yugi, playing against the antagonists from the show in a random tournament. Facing Rex Raptor, Bandit Keith, Mai Valentine, and even Pegasus, you wind up back in the past as the Pharaoh’s son facing Heishin and his cronies. You have to wander around and face mages in separate temples, each one correlating with a different type and deck (Meadow, Forest, Desert, Mountain, etc.) forcing you to be versatile in your deck building skills. Each mage has different, powerful cards that they can give up when dueled in the free duel option. All of this boils down to a duel against Heishin and then eventually his higherup, Nitemare, the game’s final boss. Its dueling, dueling, dueling. Not much more.

The Looks / Music:

The normal sequences of the game, in which you pick dialogue and such, are incredibly basic, to get the job done, The bottom half of the screen gives dialogue while the top half gives you a torso shot of the character speaking. This does have the potential to kill intense moments that they attempt to get across such as Simon Muran, your caretaker in the game, telling you that the High Mage Heishin has just killed your parents and that hes taking over the entire region and oh yeah, we’re about to have to hide in this millennium puzzle for about a thousand years, yay. It just doesn’t give tension whatsoever. The music continues as ever with the scene, which is normally just regular, tribal style music that bops, and they don’t have any staunch facial movements, leaving you reading it with a slight, boorish take back. So, the story is incredibly difficult to get into on a personal or emotional level like so many other games have done just before, but that doesn’t necessarily kill the vibe of the game; its a boat load of dueling, man. There’s an option for battle sequences while you’re in the middle of the duel, which is useless in the long run, but is a cool addition to both present the power of the PlayStation and see the different monsters in the game use their different attacks. It feels good to see your Red Eyes Black Dragon blast your friend’s Baby Dragon into oblivion, now that I think about it. That’s really the only instance in which the looks are truly presented and beyond that, its basic dueling (is that getting too old to keep saying?).

Now the music, oh man, the music. Its pretty fantastic. There’s a few instances where the only mood enhancer for the entire scene is the music, its almost overpoweringly “soundtrack”. To listen to them by themselves isn’t as enjoyable as the Sonic soundtrack, for example, but its fitting for the game. The dueling music is moving and bouncy and goes with the fluidity of the dueling nicely. There’s even a cool sound that goes with the fusions of cards while they fuse and swirl. A good portion of the soundtrack for the game is entirely electronic sounding, and some even bearing a resemblance to European house music, which blows my mind; its freakin’ Yu-Gi-Oh.

The Cons:

What in the hell is up with the Guardian Stars system? Anyone whose played the game will most likely side with me when I say that this system is a wonderful idea and addition to the game but is confusingly laid out and sometimes mind numbing to decipher. The system is pretty much a temporary powerup system that plays out while dueling, giving the monster in the appropriate standing a +500 boost to AT and DF. So, for instance, fire is weak against water, right? Well is Mars weak against Neptune? Because that’s how the types and guardian stars are presented. Monsters have a choice of 2 guardian stars, which are all named after Roman gods, and some are easy to decipher; Flame Swordsman is Mars and I can’t remember the other, but that means that Mars is obviously resembling fire. This takes a whiiiiiiiiiiiile to get the hang of. Nothing is more frustrating than randomly losing an entire duel when a one-on-one goes against you because the computer knew the Guardian Star advantage and you didn’t. They could’ve simply put the type names in the system and named is something else to ease the confusion of system buts that’s retrospective. 

The other big one that I can point out is the grinding. When defeating somebody, the game gives you a card depending on a load of variables from the person you defeated, to the way you defeated them, and sometimes, how many times you’ve defeated them consecutively. When you defeat them using a lot of stronger monsters, or simply over power them, you get a POW win, which is essentially a “power” win. There’s other ways to win like TEC which is “technical”, and is difficult to do, but sometimes necessary in order to get certain cards from duelists, you have to win in other instances like, winning by your opponent drawing their entire deck. This can wind up in you dueling a certain duelist for hours just to get one card. I’ve dueled “Jono 2nd” over 60 times (W51-L9) and still haven’t received his ONE power card: Red Eyes Black Dragon. However, I’ve dueled the Meadow Mage just under 40 times and have received 3 out of his 5 stronger cards. That’s 2 duelists and roughly 4 hours later and have only progressed around 20% of the game, so you better hunker down.

This game was a pretty damn good choice when I was deciding to get the games of my past and rebuild my collection. I’ve burned more than 10 hours and will easily burn through more. But to look at is as a game altogether in comparison to other games and not with my childhood bias, 

6.5 / 10

[forceyourway]

Tree of Life Shadow Work Challenge

Day Two: “What facet of my childhood have I overlooked or otherwise need to evaluate?”

(Using Loki’s tarot deck, “The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot”)

The Magician - A master of all they undertake, The Magician has extraordinary influence on the world. They’re versatile; they can shape things and bring them into being, alter them, and destroy them. As such, they are in a sense indomitable; they can take whatever the world throws at them and make it their own. I thought this would be Loki’s signifier, as I experience him very much in this way, but he ended up going for the Nine of Wands. I do maintain that he fits the description, and though it may not be is calling card, he is The Magician all the same. This may be about recognizing how he fits into my life, and/or about recognizing my own power and ability to control my destiny. Both, probably. Both is good.

My Childhood

Trace back your memories as far as you can. Try to overview your early life in as much detail as possible. Articulate or otherwise express how you experienced childhood as a whole. Heed to any areas of resistance you encounter. Note pivotal turning points or memories that stand out. Attempt to recall the first time you experienced emotions like sadness, anger, jealousy, anxiety, remorse, and contempt.

TW: abuse, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, mental abuse, spiritual abuse, bullying, Christianity

It sucked, basically. My mom’s abusive, my dad’s abusive, my sister’s abusive, everyone’s abusive.

When I was young, I’m not sure how young, but before 3rd grade, my dad was setting off fireworks in the backyard. He’s still really into that. They’re illegal in my state, so a police car came by, and I think they were asking my dad questions. My babysitter took me and my sister and ran upstairs to hide. Maybe in a closet. I didn’t know what was going to happen and I was scared. That’s probably my first “fear” moment. That or walking in on my mom watching poltergeist, holy shit that was terrifying. I still can’t do scary movies, especially not supernatural ones. I had a crush on the boy who lived a few houses down. He was a few years older than me, and his sister was the babysitter mentioned above. Sometimes I hung out over at their house, playing Sonic and stuff. One day, he and his older brother staged some kind of ridiculous murder scene downstairs. They kept trying to get me down by bribing me with lollipops, but I kept refusing. I knew they were up to something. I don’t remember how I ended up going down - maybe just to get them to stop bugging me - but they played out this whole thing where there was a murderer in the house and he was slowly killing everyone. Ketchup and lemonade (to make their voice hoarse, as if they were choked) were involved. I knew the “blood” was ketchup and that everything was fake, but ended up getting really upset by the thought of my crush being murdered. That’s probably my first “anxiety/despair” moment.

We moved the summer before I started 3rd grade, I think, and stayed there for the entirety of my childhood.  I’m not sure when my parents started going at each other. I remember we went to Disney World, maybe when I was in 5th grade? and there was a good bit of screaming at each other then. I don’t remember it before; maybe I was too young to know. Regardless, Disney World is probably my happiest (childhood) memory.

In 5th grade, we went to a Catholic school. I was bullied by pretty much everyone, even my “best friend,” who ended up being a sort of nightmare. But otherwise, nothing too crazy.

When I was in 6th grade, my mom took me and my sister and ran off to another state (where our extended family is). No warning. One day we were just gone. I don’t remember how she explained that to us. We went to a Catholic school that had a serious Hive Mentality thing going on. They didn’t want me and my sister. Our teachers were horrible to us, and I kept ending up in situations where I looked very guilty but was in fact innocent and totally oblivious to what was going on. This is probably the start of “anger.” They wanted to expel me, but couldn’t come up with a reason why. My mom immediately started seeing other people, and my dad was furious. He’s of a very traditional mindset, marriage is forever, your duty is to your family, blah blah. So he did some e-mail hacking and ended up posing as an online therapist, who encouraged my mom to go back to him. She still doesn’t know.

That’s about when shit started getting really bad. He would scream til he was purple about how awful she was, pretty much all hours, pretty much every day, I think. Anti-women slurs everywhere. When me or my sister displeased him, he’d turn it on us. Even casual conversation with him was somehow linked back to our mother “ruining our lives.” At some point there was family therapy, which was an absolute disaster. They said I was “Obsessive Defiant.” I guess “abused” was never even a consideration. He’d start screaming “Defiance!” at me if I didn’t do a thing fast enough, like, “Pass the butter. Defiance!!!” like shit give me a second. My mom I guess blamed us for our dad’s BS and was always on about how we’re ruining her life and how I’m some kind of evil devil child and I’d have nightmares all the time about burning in hell.

The second half of 6th grade I went back into public school, and basically went right to my closest friends from public-elementary-school, who were The Losers. No one else remembered me, so going straight for The Losers pretty much instantly made me one of them. Probably the most, like, “establishing character moment” in my life, and the first "fuck you” at the world moment. Like I was starting to realize what behaviour was not acceptable among people (after fucking up a whole lot first, courtesy of my parents), and pretty much took a hard stand against bullshit, and recognizing my friends being The Losers was messed up. I got bullied. One girl beat the shit out of me once. My dad picked me up from a sleepover at her house, and blamed me for it. Obviously I must have deserved it, or something.

My sister was a weird aggressive child who physically grew up too fast, if you get me. She was always jealous that I got along so well with our cousin (she was like in-between us, age-wise), and her favorite game was Beat Up. It’s exactly what it sounds like, with me as the target. People don’t take notice because she’s younger than me - a good bit younger - but damn if she wasn’t bigger/stronger than me, like. There’s more, but I won’t type that on here. I don’t talk about that.

High school there was more persistent bullying, but never physical. Only the one time ever was. In 9th grade it got to the point where I just stopped talking. I’d talk to like 1 person, and at home because god, can you imagine what would have happened if I went silent at home. “Defiance!!11!1″ I think in 10th it got better. I kind of acquired friends because my (new) best friend was friends with a bunch of people, and I was always hanging out with her. We’re all still friends now. I guess.

No one knew about my family’s issues. Not my friends, anyway. One of my sister’s friends found out once after kind of witnessing my dad beat the shit out of me because I refused to go swimming at the river (I was on my period, dude). He was screaming about how I was destroying the family or something??? I provoked him into hitting me, so he smacked the shit out of me. The poor girl was apparently smacked around herself, because she didn’t take seeing this well at all. I remember my dad was going to drive me to school for my senior picture, and I was tying my shoelaces and clearing my throat. You know how your voice kind of catches in your throat? For some reason he assumed this was me throwing a fit about him not “getting ready fast enough”??? and he started with the usual screaming. I said fine, I’ll walk, not wanting to really ride with that anyway. I get about halfway there, and he’s in the car hanging out the window, purple-red, screaming about how if I don’t get in the car he’ll drag me in, and my mother, my mother, it’s all her fault, I’m just like her. I tried sitting in the back. Wrong choice. He screamed in my face the whole way there. I was crying hysterically at school, but trying to hide it. People who hated me were asking me what was wrong. None of my friends were there. I was trying not to burst into tears literally as they were taking my picture.

It was bad. My childhood was bad. Bad all over. Not sure what you’re looking for here, really.

[writin-bout-games-blog]

Goty 2k18

Here are the best games I played in 2018; honorable mentions are for either games I played this year that released outside of 2018 or remasters that don’t count.

Honorable Mentions: 

Hollow Knight (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC) - I didn’t play this 2017 release until the Switch version this year, but it’s the best game I played in 2018, and maybe the best Metroidvania I’ve ever played as well. It has a bit of a slow start in terms of seeing new areas and gaining new abilities, but stick with it and it becomes one of the most rewarding games I’ve ever experienced.

Yakuza 0 (PS4/PC) - Narrative oriented games have never been my bag, but I’ve rarely felt this invested in a story in any medium. The characters are immediately memorable, at once both over the top caricatures of goofy hyper masculinity and oddly thoughtful yakuza members concerned with their community and just being human. I’ve never seen a story so masterfully jump back and forth between overwrought anime nonsense and down to earth character beats, all while retaining its unique sense of self. It’s a lovable soap opera starring handsome criminal boys with hearts of gold, and shouldn’t be missed by anyone.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PS4/Switch/PS Vita) - This series has been around for decades, and I never gave it a glance until I heard a bit of the soundtrack for this entry. It lacks polish and has a pretty simplistic combat system, at least on the default difficulty setting, but it’s one of the most interesting JRPGs I’ve ever played, as the entire game takes place on a deserted island after a ship is destroyed by a kraken-esque creature. Oh, and the aforementioned soundtrack is absolutely delightful, with cheesy electric guitars around every corner. It’s the perfect game to unwind with before bed on your Switch.

Katamari Damacy Reroll (Switch/PC) - It wouldn’t be fair for the best game of 2004 to also be the best game of 2018, so it’s been excluded here. But make no mistake, this is the best purchase you can make this year.

Actual games of the year:

12. Far: Lone Sails (PC) - I fucking love games where you operate a large vessel by controlling a small character inside of it. I’m not sure how to describe this type of sub-genre, but Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime are the only other examples I know of. And while those are fast, goofy, frenetic and colorful experiences, Lone Sails takes the concept and applies it to a linear, artsy indie game. And it turns out, making one of “those” indie games and coupling it with a fun and relatively unexplored gameplay conceit makes for an extremely memorable experience; the first time my train-shuttle-car-thingie reached full speed as I perfectly managed my fuel, steam and acceleration is something that’s stuck with me all year. The only thing keeping this game from rising higher up this list is that I think it’s painfully short at around 2 hours long, and I say that as someone that loves shorter experiences. A more fully fleshed out sequel or spiritual successor has the potential to be considered an all-time great.

11. Donut County (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC/iOS) - The soundtrack for this game alone is clever enough to deserve a spot on this list, honestly. And clever is the best word to describe Donut County as a (w)hole. Having not heard pretty much anything about the game going in besides general good word of mouth, I was genuinely stunned as I realized the entire game was nothing but moving a hole around and growing bigger as I sucked up objects in a stylized world. In all respects, this game feels like the western equivalent of Katamari Damacy, though there are probably some poignant think pieces to be written comparing Katamari’s building with Donut County’s destruction. Regardless, Donut County is delightful. The humor may not be for everyone (I personally loved how accurately the dialogue captures the tone of texts between 20-somethings), but there’s something for everyone to enjoy here.

10. God of War (PS4) - God of War is interesting. It feels like a mish mash of pretty much all the non-shooter related hot trends in video games right now, and yet doesn’t really excel at any of them. The story’s fine, though I think both Spider-Man and Red Dead Redemption 2 told far more nuanced and interesting ones this year in the western-developed AAA space. The combat feels great for the first couple of hours, and BOY DOES THROWING THAT AXE AND RECALLING IT FEEL AMAZING, but encounters aren’t really changed up at all past the halfway point of the game, and the combat in general feels like it’s shown you its entire hand within a couple of hours. And yet, everything about the game is so memorable. From punching indestructible gods through mountains in the first 15 minutes of the game to hanging out with a sardonic decapitated head, I feel like this is the most I’ve thought about an action game after completion besides Bloodborne. It doesn’t hurt that this might be the best looking game I’ve ever seen, either. It might just be the meatloaf and mashed potatoes of video games, but it’s some pretty damn good meatloaf.

9. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC later) - There are plenty of sidescrolling indie metroidvania throwbacks these days. Oddly, there’s also been a fair few games in the oft overlooked Wonder Boy vein lately, the series Monster Boy belongs to. There aren’t a lot of downright pleasant games made in this style lately though, and pleasant is the perfect word to describe the time spent exploring this game. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous, the soundtrack is second only to Celeste this year, and the game somehow manages to feel like playing a Master System game without all of the drawbacks a statement like that would normally entail. What holds this game back from true greatness for me is that some of the later dungeon and boss designs are remarkably unclear in their progression, mostly the haunted mansion area. That said, these are relatively small complaints in a surprisingly large adventure, and the different animal abilities are truly brilliant. Monster Boy occupies the same space for me as last year’s truly incredible SteamWorld Dig 2, and if that doesn’t sell you on the game then nothing will.

8. Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) - Everything stated above in the Honorable Mentions section applies here; Yakuza is a series about lovable handsome crime boys playing the role of boy scouts in their community, if the boy scouts kicked motorcycles at bad guys. I will say that Kiwami 2 never approaches the pure brilliance that was Yakuza 0, but most of that can largely be attributed to the fact that this game is a remake of a 12-year-old video game from two console generations ago. And don’t let that statement deter you; the story is as engaging as ever, and Kiwami 2 also shares with 0 the most fun game within a game I’ve ever played - the cabaret club management sim, which tasks you with recruiting hostesses to take on an evil circuit of club owners in a tournament of taking money from lonely Japanese businessmen. It’s as absurd as it sounds, and far more engaging than it seems, which kind of summarizes the series as a whole. My only caveat with this entry is that I would consider it absolutely crucial to play through 0 and Kiwami 1 before this, as there are some emotional seeds planted in those two games that come to tear-jerking fruition here.

7. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of An Elusive Age (PS4/PC/Switch later) - With the sales and reception of both this and Octopath Traveler, 2018 seems like the year in which throwback JRPGs came into vogue, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I grew up loving the genre, but post high school my love largely faded for any of them that weren’t Pokemon or Mario adjacent. While I still think there’s a lot of self reflection for the genre to accomplish that Dragon Quest is existentially incapable of doing (as its own design and fandom have prevented it from making any meaningful mechanical progression in decades), DQ11 succeeds in that it’s just a really fantastic video game. Its story is always captivating and repeatedly goes in directions I never expected. Its characters are simple and painted in broad strokes (I mean that in the best way possible) while remaining some of the best written and most engaging party members I’ve ever encountered. And its battle system is oldschool, somewhat archaic and even punishing without ever feeling unfair, and it has just enough new mechanics to constantly give the player a wider swath of options than the series has ever had before without relinquishing the series trademark simplicity. It’s the most I’ve enjoyed a tradition JRPG since Chrono Trigger, and I was never once bored in my 70+ hours of playtime. Really, the only complaint I can level against the game is that the series composer is a monstrous piece of homophobic trash that deserves to be launched into a brick wall via trebuchet.

6. Mega Man 11 (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC) - Who would have imagined that a new Mega Man game under contemporary Capcom could end up being great? The soundtrack is extremely disappointing and the Wily stages are a series lowpoint (especially when compared to the previous two Mega Man games), but everything else in this game is operating at heights the series has never previously achieved. The mark of a good Mega Man game is how versatile the robot master’s weapons are within the actual platforming segments, and 11’s level and enemy design are completely built around using these weapons and the new double gear system as well, which allows a player to increase their firepower or slow down time at will. Every ability is not only useful but fun to use as well, even the obligatory shield weapon. Much like what last year’s Sonic Mania did for Sonic, there has never been a better time to try out Mega Man.

5. Call of Duty Black Ops 4: Blackout (PS4/Xbox One/PC) - The way in which the battle royale genre has overtaken video games is remarkable, though not as remarkable as the fact that a Call of Duty game is being included on one of my game of the year lists. I could go deep into how Blackout feels like a best-of compilation for the genre, or how remarkable it is that it retains the goofy, unpredictable nature of PUBG while actually feeling like a polished video game. But what’s most notable about the game for me is just how much fun I’ve had playing it with my friends. Video games mean a lot to me, and having a game in which our party chat can go from discussing poor life choices made by people we know to yelping as shots soar over our head as quickly as it takes for an armored truck to appear outside the house we’re hiding inside of is something truly special, and it’s something I’ve only encountered with this genre of games. Blackout may not add much of its own flavor to battle royale, and what little is there (the perk system and zombies) feels either broken or weirdly inconsequential. But sometimes, a less broken game with a slightly faster pace is all you need to become the most playable game of the genre, as well as the most I’ve ever enjoyed a multiplayer console shooter.

4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) - Smash is my all-time favorite multiplayer series, so the biggest character, stage and music roster to date makes this entry a no-brainer. I mean, I could spend multiple paragraphs absolutely gushing about how excited I am for all of the love the Castlevania series (another all-time favorite video game franchise) has received here alone. And that’s kind of the point. From Isabelle’s accidental murder sprees to K. Rool’s big belly rude boy moveset to Kirby sporting a beard after eating Solid Snake, with Ultimate it feels like nearly anyone that has ever played a video game can find something within that brings a smile to their face. And this is to say nothing of the over 1200(!) “spirits” in the game, all referencing even smaller and more obscure video game things. Will the game have an interesting competitive scene? I think so; I’m no pro, but the game feels so much better to me than any game in the series post Melee. Only time will tell how fun of a tournament game Ultimate ends up being, but as a celebration of the medium as a whole, this is a love letter to nearly all corners of the industry, no matter how niche. And that’s where my love of Super Smash Bros. has always stemmed from - its unflinching love and celebration of the things in my life that I love and want to celebrate. Plus, there’s Castlevania stuff in this one.

3. Tetris Effect (PS4) - Positivity in my life has been in short supply the past couple of years. To be more straightforward, the world has been an absolute fucking nuclear wasteland of hopelessness for the past couple of years. Hell, there’s an argument to be made that it’s been on this level for a while, and it’s my privilege that has prevented me from seeing that, which is even worse. My eyes have been opened, they cannot be closed, and while part of me wishes they could be, most of me can only stare with a grim sense of foreboding and wonder where the hell we’re going and how we fix all of this. So, Tetris then.

Tetris is simple and Tetris can be overwhelming. Add psychedelic visuals, spac- Enya-world music and the option to experience it all in virtual reality, and you have something simple, something overwhelming, and something oddly powerful. To say I had an emotional response to Tetris Effect is an oversimplification. Losing myself inside of my VR headset to clearing lines while dolphins made of light surrounded and splashed around me was beautiful, ridiculous, cheesy and, somehow, empowering. I’m under no illusion that the world is going to get better  while I hide inside, literally blind to everything going on around me, and no one should be. But the best art never was able to save us; it reminds us of what there is to lose and why the things we love are worth fighting for while also giving us the strength to do so. This sounds like a lot for what basically amounts to Tetris with cool music and visualizers, and I get that. But while writing and editing this piece, not only do I not feel like any of this has been hyperbolic per my experiences, re-reading my own words really just makes me want to play some more damn Tetris Effect.

2. Celeste (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC) - If Tetris Effect is your overly positive friend that can seemingly never be brought down by anything, Celeste is the friend that’s been through more than you could ever imagine and came out through the other side a better person, and not only knows you can as well, but actively pushes you to be the best you can be. This is both narratively true, as the surprisingly great story deals with depression and self-loathing and overcoming anxiety, but also what the game beats into you through your own act of playing it. Well, “beats into you” might be putting it lightly; “gently yet forcefully stabbing into you” is a bit more accurate. Yes, the game is an unbelievably hard platformer (at least on the B and C side levels), and it does take a lot of inspiration in its design from fellow platformer classic Super Meat Boy. But while Meat Boy makes your repeated deaths part of the punchline, Celeste prefers those failures to be recontextualized as experiences to be learned from. “You’re going to beat this level, and you’re going to beat this game. Just keep trying.” is what Celeste wants you to take from its harsh design. And maybe that kind of motivation doesn’t work for everyone, but the people that stick with the game found what will go down as one of the all-time greats in the genre, and certainly one of the best games of the decade.

Oh, and the soundtrack is fucking incredible too.

1. Monster Hunter World (PS4/Xbox One/PC) and Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch) - I knew something special was happening when I saw multiple Playstation friends who usually only play Call of Duty and sports games devoting dozens (or even hundreds) of hours to Monster Hunter World this year. I was skeptical, having tried to get into the series previously on the 3DS, but something just clicked this time that hadn’t before, and soon I was farming Nergigantes for entire evenings. The game was full of nothing but memorable moments, but realizing for the first time how the insect glaive worked and flipping through the air whacking a giant electric flying squirrel as we were both being chased by a fire breathing t-rex was the most out of control I’ve ever felt playing a video game while simultaneously being the coolest thing I’ve ever done in a video game. And to revisit that same scenario over a hundred hours later, armed with the knowledge that only experience can give of how to actually control my insect glaive flips, was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. All of the knowledge gained from World was then taken to MHGU on the Switch later this year, where my girlfriend and I put over 200 hours in and still have not seen all of the content within. If two grown adults sitting in a hotel room and screaming with delight when they see how cool the weapons they can forge from hunting a bubble dragon are isn’t an indication that their families should seek help, it means that Monster Hunter is pretty great.

So which game is better? My heart of hearts tells me World wins out by an inch for its extremely intelligent streamlined design and accessibility, but MHGU has dozens and dozens (and dozens and dozens) of different monsters to hunt and hundreds of weapons and armor sets to choose from, and having a full blown Monster Hunter on a portable with a decent screen and dual analog sticks is a great argument for the Switch entry. Really though, it doesn’t matter; these are both amazing games, and I wanted to give them both their due without using two slots. If weirdos on your friends list you haven’t talked to since high school who usually only buy FIFA can fall in love with Monhun, so can you.