#capcom really said fuck good lighting

[shuttershocky]

Since E3 is now officially dead, what's your opinion on gaming conventions and their function/place in the industry, etc?

I'm curious about your opinion as someone who works in the game industry and also just a consumer.

Well I'm just a low level employee so I've never gone to big trade shows or conventions / conferences like E3, PAX, or GDC like my bosses or my friends have, my sole experience is with local conventions.

I've never gone to a convention as a visitor either. I've always been an exhibitor in those and man do they get exhausting—it's 3 full days straight of total sensory overload from booming music to gigantic crowds that you can't step away from since you've got to man your booth. That said, these public events are the only ones that will continue on into the future, aside from events like GDC that are more about the trade of game development rather than as marketing for games.

As time passes, I see less and less reasons for closed event trade shows, to be honest. E3's been dead way before this official announcement. As soon as Nintendo pivoted to making their Direct presentations, that was the beginning of the end for E3, since it meant big publishers can stream everything online now while having complete control over the whole show. With E3 being a closed event which essentially relied on game journalists to be their marketing for the public, it was bound to fall behind once social media made following news ever easier.

On the other hand I think conventions still have their place, especially when you show up with a demo. While lining up a bunch of people to go try out your game won't get you nearly as many views as marketing it online, there's just something special to the live interaction (both as part of the audience and as a developer) that builds hype like nothing else does.

Also, the short time between you're allowed in to set up your booth but the visitors aren't allowed in yet is when all the cool perks of being an exhibitor happens. (And the afterparties of course, but those aren't meant to be shared)

One really fond memory I have is back in 2018, Capcom was bringing Devil May Cry 5's demo around the circuit convention, including one I was in. Since I was an exhibitor we were there hours before the audience would be allowed in, which meant that as soon as Capcom finished setting up, DMC5 would be right there without a line.

I put up our posters and laptops as fast as I could and ran on over, only to find two other guys there with one of them already playing the demo. As the first guy finished, clearly an old fan from how quickly they got the hang of Nero, he turned around with this light on his face and said "It's... It's really good!"

And when a series has been gone for ten years with a controversial Western reboot in the middle, it feels so reassuring to see someone who has just as much riding on this as you do tell you it's good while handing you the controller. There's a real spark of magic in that kind of interaction that no Direct can replicate.

I also got to take a selfie with Igarashi of Castlevania fame, hat and all. Fuck yeah.

[illmetkismet]

Hihihi!!!!! I Hope You don’t mind yet another ask from me!!!!!!! I’ve already said this before but I absolutely adore the way you answer questions and analyse stuff, it’s such a breath of fresh air to see!!!! This is totally self-indulgent so I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you have any personal headcannons/analysis thoughts on Luis perhaps??? It feels strange to admit but he’s a very big special interest of mine so I just wanted an excuse to hear somebody else’s thoughts on him!! I hope You’re having a good day regardless!!!!

Always happy to see an ask from you, and don't even start with the strangeness or self-indulgence of being really into or asking about Luis; just yesterday I was wondering whether I should wait for spring to get a splish splash fish ankle tattoo or just do it now and deal with an itchy ankle in my winter boots lol...

So yeah, Luis is my love my turtledove the light of my life and I would LOVE the chance to talk about him!!! He was one half of why I got into resi in the first place (serennedy had me like 'hmmmm maybe horror games are not too scary for me if they have cuties in them....'), and every time I think about him my brain does that thing where you put your head in your hands and sigh while cartoon hearts float up above you...

He's just..... So good.... And despite that, he's made SUCH shitty choices. I love how painful that is for him, but that he's got enough self awareness to understand when he fucks up. He doesn't try to blame anyone else - he faces his mistakes and his own shortcomings (pride, willful ignorance, cowardice) head on, and tries so desperately to make up for them, even as he keeps making them.

I love that he's not some perfect angel, that he hangs on to the amber and intends on handing it over to Ada at first, in exchange for getting out of Valdelobos, despite knowing full well that no good will come of that. The part in Separate Ways where he tells her he doesn't care who she works for, could be the devil himself, so long as she gets him out of there was so shocking for me to hear at first, but then I realized that's the core of his tragedy - that he's a good man trapped in a horrible situation, and he's scared, he wants out, he wants to live so badly! Unlike Leon, he's got a healthy dose of self-preservation, and honestly, if I were in his shoes I would probably make the same choices.

But still - he runs into the burning lab, he risks his life to get the suppressant to Leon, he tells Ada he won't leave her, he picks up his 'lance' and says alright, let's go rescue the princess! He's so full of regret and fear and he keeps making shitty choices, but he also keeps doing the right thing.

The way he's written and acted is so rich and nuanced. Watching him, I understand exactly where he's coming from and every single one of his choices. Out of all the characters in re4r he feels the most real to me, the most human. Every second he's on screen is a joy, even the horrible painful seconds at the end.

I wanted him to live so badly, and not just because I like him, but because he wanted to live so badly... All the re6 AU's I've seen floating around where he meets up with Leon again are among my favourite things to come out of this fandom!! I know Capcom is never gonna do that, but in my head it's canon: when Ada told the helicopter pilot to change course she actually went back for Luis, gave him a little first aid spray, and then they joined forces and lalalala everything is fine!!

Ok I'm gonna wrap it up cause if I keep talking about him I'm gonna be late for work, but thank you so much for the chance to gush!! I love Luis so much and I think about him all the time.... My sweet bisexual disaster man..... Going to his death with a smile:

Aasdghhhgddfghjkljjgdaaddghgfdffhh......

#luis serra #resident evil

[nancydfan]

So I have been a fan of resident evil for a while now and I have to say without a shadow of a doubt Ethan is my favorite protagonist. I feel like the rest of the protagonists in the series are kinda the same, you’ve got the police/army guys (Leon and Chris) who are determined to save the world, and then with the rest of them they’re kinda the same, badass people willing to give their all to get rid of evil and return the world back to normal. And that’s fine, except it’s a kind of story that’s been told over and over again and not just in resident evil.

That’s why I love Ethan so much. He is a breath of fresh air that the series needed. And while yes, you can argue that his type of storyline has also been used a lot, it’s something that has never been explored in resident evil.

With the rest of the protagonists, they choose to fight. They volunteer to put themselves in horrifying scenarios for the greater good.

Ethan isn’t like that.

He’s literally just your typical average dude. He has a normal job, and has a relatively normal life which he was happy to spend with Mia until she went missing.

In RE7 Ethan doesn’t volunteer to deal with the horrors that he faces. He just wanted his wife back, and even after 3 years he still loves her enough to drop everything and rush out to find her.

When I finished RE7, I liked Ethan as a main character, but it was RE8 that made me fall in love with him. In RE7 there were a lot of times when he just didn’t respond or kind of reacts underwhelmingly, but I think this is less of his character and more of Capcom trying to make you feel more like Ethan and having him react too much might take you out of feeling like the main character is you.

Of course his actions are still very reflective of him, like when he first enters the house and has to “kill” Mia the first time, when she reaches out to him he reaches right back, implying that he regrets what just happened and that he still wants her to be okay, no matter what is wrong with her.

I know Jacksepticeye said one of the reasons why he doesn’t like Ethan is because he doesn’t have a character arc, but I disagree. Like I said, Ethan goes from not being very vocal at times/ underwhelming reactions in RE7 to I feel the exact opposite in 8; he talks a lot more with lines that make sense, and you can feel his emotions at times even with just seeing his hands. Now one can argue that Capcom just wrote Ethan differently, which I can see.

But I feel as though Ethan has changed- in the first game, he’s scared and confused, and finally ends on frustration as the game nears its end. In RE8 he is angry, angry that his life keeps getting turned on it’s head because of some stupid mold. He is angry, and fueled by his grief and determination to save the only family (he thinks) he has left. He is 100% done with everything and has honestly given his last fuck a long time ago.

And again, this is what makes him special- he doesn’t necessarily care about the mold, about Miranda or any of the “bigger issue” things- he just wants his family. In 7 he just wants to get his wife and get out of there, and In 8 he just wants to save his daughter. He didn’t sign up to be a hero, to save the world from it’s own creations. He just wants his family.

And honestly that’s what makes him more human and alive to me than the rest of the protagonists- the rest of them kind of just feel like characters with their (almost cheesy) need to take on insurmountable problems to save the world. But Ethan is different, he’s just a man who probably just wants to do his taxes in peace and have a normal, quiet life. The rest of the protagonists, though I’m sure would love to quit, wouldn’t change their jobs or their situations because they know someone has to do it and it might as well be them. But not Ethan. If he had the choice than he’d make it so none of this ever happened, and that he and his family never have to be involved in something like this again.

Which is why I think this is what makes his sacrifice so much more tragic. With any of the other protagonists yes we would be sad but we’d find comfort in knowing that they died doing what they loved (saving people), and wouldn’t have it any other way.

But Ethan is different.

He didn’t want to sacrifice himself- we can see that in the way he struggles with Chris to get out, to stay in one piece for his daughter because he wants to be there for her. He went through hell and he just wants to see his little girl grow up. And when he hears Mia’s alive that want only grows more because he has a chance to have his family back, but I think he knows he can’t. He’s falling apart, his body has dealt with so much and kept him alive but not for much longer. And so even though he desperately wants to go back with Chris, after hearing Mia’s alive he knows he can let go. I think another part of why he was fighting so hard to escape with Chris is because he didn’t want Rose to live without both of her parents, but when he hears Mia’s alive he realizes that Rose will be okay, she will at least have one parent. He is so tired, so tired of fighting that even though he hates the fact that he can’t go back with her (you can physically hear the pain in his voice when he says “Goodbye Rosemary”), he knows that it’s something he has to do.

And he isn’t happy or content with sacrificing himself. In fact this is the last thing he wanted, which again is what makes it so heart wrenching. After all the pain he’s been through he doesn’t even get to see his daughter grow up, doesn’t get to grow old with his wife, his painful adventure to get his family back ends just as painfully as he pulls the trigger to destroy the mold.

This is why Ethan is special to me. Ethan is just a man who wanted to be happy with his family, not some stereotypical stone cold hero who would gladly give up his life for the greater good. He is truly unique and in a way I saw myself in him and his personality, which is what crushed me so much when he died. I wanted him to have a good ending and he got handed a shitty end. I really hope Capcom gives him a good resolution, one where he doesn’t have to be a main character at all but at least give us something where we know he’s okay and reunited with his family.

Sorry for getting weepy and deep lol, it’s just I really love Ethan and have no one to talk about how upset I am at his ending lol. Thanks for listening to my rant!

Oh my dear nonnie you’re always welcome to rant in my inbox. Long or not, thoughts, etc. that’s why my box is always open :)

And just so you know, I’m currently crying in an airport lobby over Ethan Winters 😆

I’m on mobile so I won’t be able to properly respond probably except to say you are absolutely right on all of these things. He really is such a stark contrast to the rest of the RE heroes and that’s what makes him so special to me too. He is just a man. A man who does everything he can for his family. All he wants to do is be left alone to love his wife and raise his daughter. I keep thinking of that scene in re8 where he’s talking to the doc. That is the Ethan Winters Capcom refuses to let us see all that much. Easy, happy, carefree moment. There’s a lightness to his voice. He doesn’t care about the problems of the world. That isn’t his job too. And it’s unbelievably tragic that not only does he get pulled into this twice (with three years of suffering for Mia before Dulvey and then the heartache of her “murder” and Rose’s kidnapping), he then dies in the end???? He doesn’t even get the reward to live with his wife and daughter? WHAT DID ETHAN WINTERS DO TO YOU, CAPCOM!!?

also overcome? Miss me w that bullshit. Y’all blew him to smithereens.

I swear if Capcom doesn’t bring him back in some way I don’t know how I’ll proceed w this series. I love Leon and Claire and Jill a lot too but nothing like Ethan. And I’m super not interested in getting my heart ripped out every few years. Especially w a new protagonist.

Ethan is just the perfect representation of deserved better. He pays his taxes on time, probably helps that old lady down the street whose husband just died. Tells the same joke we’ve all heard a thousand times to the point only Mia and him are laughing at it. He would be there for every parent teacher conference and up at 130 with a flashlight chasing away the monsters from Rose’s closet. The world may be crazy somewhere but he’s content to just be here with his family.

And Capcom took all of that away. I don’t think I’ll ever not be angry about it.

#thanks for the ask nonnie 💜💜💜 #resident evil #resident evil 8 #resident evil spoilers #Ethan winters #Ethan Winters Defense Club #mrs joe speaks #long post

[daddywright]

I have only recently got into the ace attorney fandom, and this story was the first story I read, and I feel spoiled! I absolutely loved every chapter, so I'm gonna word vomit here and tell you everything I love about this!

"She offers him a smile. It’s small, tentative, but it possesses a strength that makes a hidden part of him twist and burn with quiet envy." the first time we see nick's wish to be as strong as mia!

Considering the fact that nick didn't have any prominent figure in his life, it makes sense that he would look up to gregory so much

"Phoenix looks up, and starts walking towards Mia Fey

He doesn't stop for two years."

THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MIA AND NICK HAD WAS PRECIOUS AND DESERVES MORE THAN WHAT THE FANDOM GIVES THEM

"Larry’s arms wrap around him, squeezing almost too tight" People forget that Larry and Phoenix were good friends too, and Larry would help his best friend

"Nobody believed him, nobody but Mia" Maya is what Phoenix is to Mia and I adore that

"He wishes, desperately, that he’d said it while she was still alive. I loved you. For everything you did." Not you absolutely breaking my fucking heart

Also the first AA game felt unnatural in the sense of how seemingly unaffected Phoenix seemed at Mia's murder so I'm really glad you wrote it this way

"Expensive. Thoughtful. Too much." SHUT UP NICK YOU DESERVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

Also quick break to mention how I absolutely fucking love your writing style and i wish I was literally half as talented as you cuz the last time I read something that made me feel this multitude of emotions was ocean vuong. And I practically worship Ocean Vuong. So now I worship you too

"You're a stranger to me // When will I stop hoping?" I never really realised just how badly nick musta been hurt by good ol' bratworth before this fic, but now that I have read it, it would have hurt him so bad

"Is this why you never answered my letters? Because I was a reminder? Because it hurt too much?" Honestly what happened to miles and phoenix's friendship hurts so much because it should have never happened, and miles didn't deserve that.

"Maybe Miles Edgeworth is not the man he thought he’d be, either." yo when I tell you this hurt I mean this huRT

Fun fact! My birthday is on the same day as DL-6 anniversary. Gregory Edgeworth died on my birthday. I feel horrible now

"monster. You were nine years old and he's a monster. " No one has made me feel this much emotion for what happened to Miles in a single sentence other than you. I commend you for that

"I love you," he says quietly. He has never said those words to anyone, except for Dahlia Hawthorne.

Maya sniffs in his ear, crushing him tight. "I love you, too."

He has never heard them back.

PHOENIX HAS NEVER HEARD THE WORDS " I LOVE YOU" COME BACK TO HIM ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME WHY NOW I'M SAD

"Tell me everything. Every detail—" Miles is worried bout nick and why wouldn't he? gods you're so gay miles but tbf if I knew someone like nick irl i'd go ballistic too

"He determined the motive for his own assault...with amnesia. Naturally." My man's smart af and he is king

"Is that what she thinks of me? That I'm like that? That I don't care about who the bad guys really are?" Gumshoe noooo you're hella precious! Also this particular chapter was so well written! loved this soo much!

Also taking a minute to appreciate the pacing! Rarely do I ever come across an author who just hits that sweet spot of perfect pacing and you did! so thank you!

Alright so here are a few thoughts that I felt capcom needed to do which you did for us!

no. 1 - Address the trauma phoenix faced with not only dahlia but also with mia's death

no. 2 - Actually fucking flesh out a good relationship dynamic between larry and phoenix

no. 3 - actually! have! phoenix! be hurt! in bridge to turnabout! istg my man would not have dropped from a burning bridge to a freezing river only to have a cold

AUNT FRANZY AND PEARLS MAN!

THEY CUTE

ok so I have a LOT of feelings for bridge to turnabout and HOO BOY BUCKLE UP

So I always thought that in this fic, miles must have felt fucking awful! I mean he very clearly hates who he was and what that has led to but that must have been doubled over with this case! Phoenix would have died if not for mia and it would have been indirectly miles's fault. I think about that alot

Like he said that he very much regrets whatever he did as bratworth in the phone call with gumshoe but i don't think he anticipated this. poor edgeworth

Also I think this was the final nail in the coffin for miles. Phoenix forgave him, after all the fucked up shit miles did, and that made that man go "how is this guy so fucking compassionate awwwww shit I'm in fucking love with this idiotic brave man".

my main thoughts were "holy shit phoenix must have been feeling awful." like to learn that you were in love with a person who turned out to be a murderer but then not a murderer cuz everything you felt about that was real and just...... it must have hurt. He never fell in love with dahlia. it was iris, always. and WHAT ABOUT MILES DURING THIS!!! Like to learn that the man you love was falsely led to believe that he was in love with a person he rarely met and then learn that his ex who is not murderous might still be in love with him because "that was real. that part was real." like damn. people just gloss over this

also I feel terrible for iris F in the chat for iris lads.

Dahlia literally haunting that courtroom scene. I felt mia's power. I felt her desperation. I felt everything and I am once again in awe of the absolute power your writing holds.

also godsdamn pearls had to go through all that shit huh. also FRANMAYAAAAAA THANK YOUUUU

I too, am a hoe confused as to what I should feel towards diego.

Ok anyways we jump to disbarment now

"He just winks at her and says Maya has other talents, and if Mystic Maya overhears, she puffs up at him like the fish from the aquarium she saw once, the one with all the spikes and silly eyes."

you know what constantly amazes me? your ability to change tones so effortlessly. When writing from edgey's pov, the language is sophisticated. precise. when writing from pearly's pov your language is simplistic, child-like. from phoenix's pov it's natural. grounded

"She never knew anybody who made faces like him, growing up in Kurain, and it’s one of the things that makes him special." Yo phoenix is the most amazing uncle ever and we all know it ok he's brilliant

I'M RUNNING OUT OF CHARACTER LIMITS

PEARLY CALLING EDGEY AT FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE I'M SOFFFFTTTT

“I think I did something really bad." trucy baby no it's not your fault

pearl and trucy bonding supremacy. my girls would fuck shit up

"She’d meant to do this properly, one day." Thank you for giving importance to maya's feelings. thank you for treating her like a real human being. thank you

“Everything that happened...for what? It’s only gotten people hurt. Pearly. Our mother.” Me. Me." I felt so bad for maya here. I wish I could tell you in precise words about how this exact framing of the sentence is what broke me. "me. me" maya deserved more, but mia did all she could

"What do scared kids need? ...Food." not you breaking my godsdamn heart again. phoenix just knows what's it like being a helpless child, and he'll be damned if he ever lets anyone face that again

“‘Course, Pearls,” he says reflexively, before frowning. “What for?” reflexively. if every man in the world could be like phoenix wright then the world would be worthy of the gods

"Another one?" give it 2 years edgey she'll be your daughter too

"after countless hours creating the man’s living space in his mind from the background snatches he’d seen in the man’s ridiculous video calls." NOT ONLY DO THEY VC FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT ALSO MILES ACTUALLY SPENDS TIME TRYING TO RECREATE HIS ROOM?? BECAUSE HE WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE IN IT??? good gods these bitches gay. good for them

"because just as day is light and night is dark, Phoenix Wright is an honorable man." damn straight. you love to see it (it being a 27+ year old man pining for another 27+ year old man)

also hey miles! how do you feel about the fact that the man you love changed his fucking major and degrees halfway through college just so he could see you again only for you to be incredibly rude to him and make him end up in jail! (i bully edgeworth cuz i love him)

"Wright finishes, shrugging like it’s nothing, like his commitment and belief isn’t the most extraordinary thing that Miles has ever faced." it's more than pining at this point. it's incredible faith and trust. Miles had someone who cared about him even after all those years despite him having changed so drastically, ofc he would be surprised. Miles loves phoenix and so do i.

also HOT DAMN YOU WRITING IS JUST * MWAH *

Also the whole segment where they kiss is just !!!!! miles wants! it's beautiful! THEY'RE IN LOVEEE

receiving poisonous bottles which your ex tried to kill you with. My man can't get a break huh

Miles being chivalrous and protective and absolutely stealing my godsdamn heart (and phoenix's too)!

Klavier being the absolute king that he is we stan

The hostage situation section? gods miles must have been terrified.

Phoenix not being able to promise pearly that he'd always come back home and miles hearing it and like... ouch. my heart. you didn't need to do that (but i love your for it)

GODS THE CLIMAX WITH KRISTOPH WAS SOOO SATISFYING AND LIKE MY MAN PHOENIX REALLY PUNCHED THAT BITCH HUH

klavier baby I am so sorry

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

and thus my comment ends. I believe I have almost used up all of my commenting limits and i leave with these few parting words : HOLY SHIT YOUR AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU!

also I made a playlist on spotify for this fic! here's the link : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3k8lRHiO8ZXQDLpiTUL7SN?si=fc3b35b4ab064867

gods this was long huh

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY....WHERE DO I BEGIN...THE FACT THAT YOU BROKE THE CHARACTER LIMIT ON AO3 AND MADE A PLAYLIST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

thank you so much for all the amazing things you said....i am crying on a Wednesday morning knowing my writing was appreciated this much. thank you!

#ask tag #long post #my fic #nymphietonkslupin

[transguyedgeworth]

HELLO so u said u wanted headcanons hehehehe ur gonna regret asking /hj

- phoenix has freckles

- KLAVIER HAS FRECKLES

- on the subject of klav he also has dark brown/black hair and dyes it ungodly platnium and sometimes he forgets to dye it so he has his roots showing but suspiciously thats when the paparazzi takes the most pictures

- phoenix has a good many scars from his near death experiences that happen at least once a month

- maya gets fanmail from cody hackins and pearl for being the inspo for the pink princess and she loves it so much

- maya and miles have movie nights together while watching samurai movies,,,,,, they are friends they are family

- fran and miles text All The Time but in like scary email text form because they are Weird

- post timeskip fran has cut her hair like a pixie cut and maya loves it

- miles has a soft spot for amusement parks and he pearl and maya drag phoenix out to go ride rides

- phoenix has a few burn scars from when he fell from dusky bridge as well as a few nightmares... he never really trusts bridges after that

- when he and miles sleep together and one of them have a nightmare miles will fix some tea and talk it out with phoenix or phoenix will hum something to calm miles down

-phoenix is actually really good at singing but sings super rarely but everytime he hears it miles smiles

- unfortunately miles cannot carry a tune to save his life sorry miles

- miles still has letters phoenix sent him after the dl-6 incident and when he went with mvk he has them in a box in his closet

- he also has responses written to each letter in the same box he just cant bring himself to give them to phoenix

- maya and pearl adore pess and sneak so many treats to her - phoenix and miles have matching pjs that phoenix bought because he thought they would be funny phoenix has kinda forgotten abt them but miles wears them often but would die before admitting it

- phoenix has a bunch of pictures in his office- of him and mia after he got his badge, of maya and pearl, of the signal samurai, of trucy at one of her magic shows

- he keeps a few pictures in his wallet- one of them being the picture with maya holding the victory sign with everyone and he swears in a certain light and angle he can see a glimmer in front of them, someone with a scarf and long hair

ok i have so much more but for the sake of ur inbox there u are!!! i love this lawyer series sm it makes me so emotional lol

WAHHH I DO NOT REGRET ASKING AT ALL THESE ARE ALL SO FANTASTIC!!!! i’ll admit i haven’t played apollo justice yet so i don’t know much about klav or trucy but STILL!!!

the scar and freckle ones are always my faves, freckly phoenix owns my entire heart... and all of your edgeworth ones are so spot-on, love the maya + miles friendship they are Besties and honestly him and fran texting like they’re writing emails is so funny and perfect it’s because they’re neurodivergent okay i love them. siblings.

I AM GLAD WE ARE ALL IN AGREEMENT ABOUT SHORT-HAIRED FRANZISKA SUPREMACY SHE DESERVES A LESBIAN HAIRCUT!!! CAPCOM!!!! GIVE IT TO US!!!!!

also listen... your wrightworth ones are so tender.... yes they comfort each other after nightmares. yes edgeworth kept those letters and THE PART ABOUT HIM WRITING REPLIES BUT BEING AFRAID TO SEND THEM. YES. also the matching jammies hilarious and adorable thank you for blessing me. AND PESS. MY BELOVED.

i fucking love the last two... deadass got me teary-eyed but part of that might be the fact that i am Exhausted..... but yeah phoenix is a sentimental bitch and we love him for it.

none of that probably made sense but in conclusion your headcanons SLAP and you are free to send me more if you have them!!! my inbox is barren and i am also emotional about the lawyer game so it does not bother me at all!!

#phoenix wright #klavier gavin #maya fey #cody hackins #pearl fey #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #manfred von karma #pess #mia fey #trucy wright #wrightworth #von karma siblings #t&t spoilers #miles answers #headcanon anon

[lafox]

RE:ID Rant! /SPOILERS/

I just finished watching Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and made some scene pack which you can find here. 

I’m not the biggest fan of putting my opinion out there on the internet but I'll try to write my opinion while still be careful.

NO HATE TO ANY CHARACTER LISTED BELLOW THANK YOU!

Anyhow, I need to talk about it! 

First of all, amazing character design and rendering. All the characters looks amazing and I adore the little details, for example, Leon's little head twitch or look at the president’s facial details. I think we all agree that they aced in that department. (will talk more about that subject after character analysis)

Now, the plot... the plot.

Look in all honesty it was a nice plot but i felt it went a bit too fast, not enough build up and stuff. I don't have much to say on it, only a few default on the characters and why and how things happen but I'll talk about that through character analysis. 

Okay, about our main character Leon.

He was badass, I'm so surprised he knew what to do in the submarine, honestly that was a good scene I was really anxious for him. He did care for the people around him but I didn’t get that sweet side of him like he had in RE2 or in DAM, I'm saying this because even if he saw Shen May’s brother, he didn’t have the empathy of his last wishes, like Shen May basically said: “He doesn’t want this to happen again and that why this *the chip* can help us.” And what annoys me the most and that both the ‘villain's’ didn’t deserve to die so the least he could do is to not make it *the virus* happen again. 

I am revolted at Leon for not giving the chip to Claire, not even telling the president about this shit! LIKE BRO. Also denying Claire, thinking he knows best?! Excuse me but Claire literally interviews people, she knows the Press! Anyhow, Annoyed...

Now let’s talk about Claire. 

My girl Claire! They made her a side character that didn’t have much to add only confirmation to our suspicions which is good yes, but it isn’t Claire’s job, she deserve a much bigger role in the RE universe! I get it, she was also a ‘side’ character in RE2 and Leon is the star but still tho! She did give #girlboss energy which I am LIVING for! She was stunning! her character design and CGI was beautiful and I've seen a lot of people saying that she is ‘ugly as shit’ as i quote. I’m sorry but she looks realistic and you are going to cry about it? She is around her mid-tweenies, maybe around 27 and you gonna tell me that her being realistic is ‘ugly as shit’?! Yeah nah sorry pal, go and like Shen May (no hate to her, she is gorgeous) then and not our OG Girl Claire! 

Claire deserved a bigger role and she is smart, like she is fucking smart! She almost decoded everything before the agents came and kidnap her, one of many reasons she should’ve had a bigger role! (Also please, your hand in marriage Claire ilysm)

Next on the list is Jason.

Okay, I'm sorry but i am in love with him.

I’m sorry okay! He fits the dilf characteristics and I cant-

Anyhow back to analysis. 

I feel horrible, he didn’t deserve to die, the man had serious mental illness and PTSD involved, they showed that but they killed him off. Why? Because he wanted to stop the virus from ever happening by his own ways? Even if it is a violent way, there is still, there was a logical and reasonable. Honestly i think and/or probably, a lot of people might relate to him and Shen Mei, because he has PTSD and mental health issues and Shen Mei lost someone close to her and they are both trying to make the world better, in their own way and for Capcom to kill them both is such a shame.. 

Jason is such a badass tho like.. damn~  He was really well written as a side character, like, I enjoyed when he was on screen (Maybe because i like him but whatever) 

Last but not least, Shen Mei!

I’m gonna be real and probs a lot of people are not going to like this but she was the least prominent character for me, like, yes she stands out a bit but for at least 2 episode she is.. just there and having little dialogue. But i did enjoy her twist, i felt like all that nothing from her was worth in someway. She is definitely #girlboss *chef kiss* and i can relate to her on a deeper level. I enjoyed that she silent for 2 episode because i can relate that she doesn’t talk, that she only listen and observes. I enjoy how she will do anything to help the people she love and that think that's what make Shen Mei a great character! Overall i did enjoy her character and i think her side role is very well placed with her personality.

CGI and Rendering Rant

I need to talk about the amount of details in the male characters but lack of it for female characters... You can see how, The President, Jason or Leon have detail, you can see their pores on their skin, you can see their history and age through those CGI detail on their skin and others but.. Claire or Shen May, their skin is  perfect. They do have a few details under her eyes but no pores, no small wrinkles, nothing. I think that's a shame. Shen Mei looks absolutely perfect, you cannot tell me that there is any default on her. I think that is marketing.. what I mean is that Shen Mei is an attraction for people to watch REID. She is absolutely stunning and has no default. 

I was talking with a friend of mine that studies human biology and we were talking about those details, we went on the subject of the women representation and rendering and we both suspect makeup is involve. What i am saying is that Capcom doesn’t show those pores because : Makeup. 

It can be a valid point. Exhibit A is Shen Mei eyelashes and slight makeup, she is meeting the President after all. So of course she would whip out some makeup. (I know i would.) Shen Mei eye Lashes are way longer longer than Claire’s which would go back to out theory of make up.

Photo comparation: 

Claire in her hotel room.

VS

Shen Mei in the submarine. You might think that it’s not convincing enough but keep in mind that Shen Mei is looking up as her head is downwards!

Coming back to skin. In the last two picture, yes, you can see pours and details of the face of Shen Mei but i want to talk about normal viewing of the two character VS male character same view point.

Photo comparation: 

The girls, looking perfect (ily both sm) 

VS

Leon at the (almost) same camera leveling and depth and you see way more characteristic then other female character even when Leon and Claire are around the same age. But they did nail it when the camera was close on both women. 

Adding a note that Claire does show a it of characteristics, more than Shen Mei and the we get people calling her ‘Ugly as shit’ for having a realistic face.

Maybe Shen Mei is younger, Probably and surely but I'm 18, i have facial characteristics. the only thing that is realistic is her beauty spot which is a really nice touch I love it. 

Anyhow i think I'm done talking about it. 

I enjoyed watching the show and i was excited for it! i hope everyone enjoyed it! Also I love all the character, I'm not bullying them or critic them for their physic or anything else! I’m just ranting about things that was ‘negative’ only because i enjoyed so many aspect of it that the post would be longer aahh. 

A few positives I will list are:

Camera angles (immerced) 

Character movement (No awkward movement or glitch) 

Motion blur (None sickening blur, right place Motion blur)

Lighting (Accurate lighting, not forgetting lighting through hair, ear etc)

Animation (Overall fucking amazing like holy shit)

Tension (Performed very well through animation and plot) 

Emotion and facial expression ( I could write a whole essay on that, that’s how well they did it)

I think that's it :) 

I hope you enjoyed me rambling on about this, i will write soon I've just had a holiday! scheduled writing around the end of next week!

-Chlo

#resident evil #resident evil infinite darkness #re #leon s kennedy #claire redfield #jason #shen mei

[kh2prologue]

apollo justice ending thoughts.

okay this game fucking kicked ass.  with that said for some reason my iniital thought is to say that this is my least favorite final case.  i think that’s biased, though, because i think i am just a bit lacking form the ending of the GAME itself, not the case

so, kristoph is the villain like we all knew.  having him in court was absolutely the best part of the trial.  the effect it had on apollo - and even more obviously on klavier, which i noticed immediately before it was even pointed out by apollo and trucy.  that’s the best characterization of the gavins that we get in canon and its pretty good.  “breaking free from whose control? mine... or yours?” is an explicit statement of something that they hint at but don’t explore, and i’m not sure that its narratively earned but it was kickass so i liked it.

obviously i liked kris him hving a really petty motivation was somehow like, better than all my huge ideas of it being grand and overstated.  he just felt slighted, and he was left for someone worse than him, and that made him angry enough for triple murder.  and yknow what i get it.  it comes from a guy that was implied to have a trump card in pocket against his own brother - im assuming to make sure that his 17-year old brother who he had to teach to act correctly didn’t upstage him.  klavier having an image of kristoph as perfect was critical for him.

uhhhhh the case itself was good i got spoiled for the poison nail polish years ago i loved how he planned everything in advance.  “i get it now.  you’ve been living in fear for the last seven years.” every time kristoph addressed klavier i wanted to scream.  single minded i know but. 

OH RIGHT i’d be ill not to mention the “pulling the darkness out of him”.  klavier knowing the truth the whole time, making his decision.... and still begging apollo to do it for him because he cant, he can’t do it directly.  AUUUUGH its good its good klavier and apollo should have gotten more characterization and time.  they could be that deep

anyway i wish klavier got more characteriztion, i wish he got to unpack things more.  his final scene being “we really ROCKED in court, right? haha the gavinners broke up.” was such whiplash frmo seeing him have this visible internal struggle between his personal moral obligation to seek the truth and the overwhelming task of proving that a man he loved and respected was so much more terrible than he ever thought.  uuugugughhgghghghghhg you could be that deep you could be that deep.  pistol to capcoms temple write your dark skinned characters.

anyway i like kristoph i like klavier i liked apollo i LOVE klavier i HATE kristoph i liked trucy i love kristoh i love klavier.  love and light. OH I LOVE EMA

#AA POSTING #ultimately conclusion: cast is amazingly good and had way more potential than what we ended up getting. not that what we got was bad but!

[sparkie96]

Number 1, Chreon

(Summary: I had to jump on the RE8 Chris bandwagon...but of course, I’m going the Omegaverse/Sugar Daddy route, cause why the hell not? Post-Damnation age Leon and I-Don’t-Work-For-Capcom-So-Idk-wtf-is-gonna-happen Post-RE8 aged Chris. Leon’s thirty-five or so and Chris is forty-seven. Chris is living and retired in my fic, but he’s still an informant for the BSAA. Idgaf, nobody dying in this AU.)

(I also don’t remember what the prompt was...so here’s part one of the Sugar Daddy AU)

Y’know, if he hadn’t just gotten back from a pain in the ass assignment in the Eastern Slav Republic, he probably would have been in higher spirits about this “rendezvous”. Leon grunted as he straightened out his tie for what felt like the dozenth time this evening as he sat at the table. He didn’t know why the BSAA and the DSO made arrangements for him and this informant to meet at this restaurant, but he hoped the food was good and the meeting wasn’t very long, cause he hated getting dressed up and this fucking outfit was suffocating him. He glanced at his watch with an annoyed sigh. 

Where was this guy? He was retired, right? So, why the hell was he late? Retired guys didn’t do much except golf and all that jazz, right?

“Sorry, I ran into a bit of traffic on my way here.” A gruff voice apologized, coming up from behind. 

Leon blinked, turning in his seat and following the man with his eyes and head, eyes wide in surprise. Holy shit, the guy was built like a fucking tank! He was huge! The Omega scanned over the man’s form, mouth hanging agape as the man shrugged off his jacket and set it on the back of his chair before sitting down. Leon looked the Alpha over, sipping his water as he did so. 

The man wore a black turtleneck and khaki pants and dress shoes, but the turtleneck looked a bit tight on his muscled form. It was a lot easier to see said muscles, the man looked like a goddamn superhero or a wrestler, and now Leon suddenly felt self-conscious about his own sinewy form. The Alpha had black hair that had flecks of gray hair here and there, but it looked good on him. His eyes were dark, and Leon couldn’t exactly make out the color in the dimly lit restaurant lighting. 

He had scruff around his chin and above his lip, and Leon scolded himself for wondering what that would feel like between his thighs, accidentally releasing a scent of interest. The man himself seemed to be a couple years older than Leon, but damn, did he look good for his age. 

“Chris Redfield.” The man introduced himself, giving a small smile as he caught the scent and holding out a hand, “And you’re, uh...leaking?” 

Leon had been so distracted by the handsome man before him he hadn’t even noticed that he had spilt water on his tie and jacket, “Huh? Ah, shit!” He hissed, pulling off his coat and tie, leaving him in the buttoned down royal blue dress shirt, “I’m a slob, sorry.” He accepted Chris’s hand, “Leon Kennedy. Nice to meet you.” 

“Huh.” Chris chuckled, pulling back his hand, “Is that a real name or a code name? Cause the last one gave me a code name and then didn’t give me any intel.” 

Leon froze, looking at the man before cursing once more, “Shit...it’s uh...yeah, codename. Let’s go with that.” 

Chris picked up the menu before him, giving a smile, “Well, if it’s any consolation, I won’t tell anyone your name...and I think it sounds unique.” He took a sip of his water, setting the glass down slowly as he read over the menu, “So, what do you want to know? And what do you have to give me in return?” 

Leon swallowed down the lump in his throat as he looked over his own menu, scolding himself and trying to keep it together. He offered to pay for dinner and then offer anything the man wanted in return, informing Chris that he was a pretty flexible and resourceful guy. Chris could name his price and Leon would pay for it. 

“Really?” Chris asked with a sort of purr, looking Leon over with those dark eyes, “Okay…” he looked over the menu once more before shutting it, setting it back down on the table, “Why don’t we go somewhere a little more comfortable and some place that has better food and booze than here?” 

Leon looked surprised at that, watching the man pull out his wallet and leave a fifty for the waiter, before gathering his jacket and then offering Leon his arm. Leon gathered his own coat and ruined tie, giving the elder a smile as he accepted his arm. Chris led Leon out, asking if the younger had driven here. The Omega shook his head, saying that he had taken the bus. Chris informed him that he wasn’t going to have to worry about that either, saying he would buy Leon some quality comfort food and alcohol and then drive him home. 

“And maybe we can relax and not have to worry about these damned clothes.” Chris grumbled, pulling at the neck of his turtleneck. 

Leon chuckled, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Chris had led Leon out to his truck, holding the door open and helping the Omega into the passenger seat before walking around to the driver’s seat. Leon tossed his coat into the backseat along with that damned tie as Chris climbed into the driver’s seat, doing the same with his own coat. 

“You like burgers?” Chris asked curiously. 

“...I like you already.” Leon said with a smile. 

#Sinday #omegaverse #Leon S. Kennedy #Chris Redfield #Chreon #Age Difference AU #Sugar Daddy AU #post resident evil damnation #post resident evil 8 #Send Me Asks

[forffax]

give me the aced attorneyed takes friendo

THANK U FRIENDO,,, aced tourney on the brain

favorite female character

HM.... man there’s so many!!! maya obvs is so fuckin good watching her open up and her good natured bullying of nick and her lesbianism,,, love her so much! all of the family shit she goes though... she rlly only has nick and pearl as far as family even if mia is watching over her and despite that she is so damn strong!! love maya 

ALSO TRUCY,,, everything abt her from her design to her and nick taking care of each other to her still maintaining a childlike innocence through a (understandably) v rough childhood? she’s so good Ultimate Daughter and i would kill and die for her 

special mentions to franziska, kay, pearl, and ema!!!! they’re all v good as well :)

favorite male character

mr. miles edgeworth i love you more than most fictional characters from any media i’d die and kill for you sir. his character arc being the driving force behind the first game and his gradual growth throughout the rest of the series, especially the culmination in aai2.... fucking superb i am close to tears thinking abt it!! emotionally stunted but extremely fatherly law men make me :cryingcat:

i love phoenix but for a long time i just kinda ignored his characterization in aj but after reconciling the two as The Same Phoenix i guess i have a better appreciation for his character? he’s a good dad and just a bit stupid i love him

apollo justice makes me lose it but also i kinda ignore all the plot that happened in aa5-aa6 just bc i Don’t Like Those Games Much so rlly my opinion is based on aa:aj! his biting sarcasm and general goofyness really make him seem WAY younger than aa1 phoenix which i like! also he’s gay and trans 

favorite book/season/etc

u know before u streamed aai 2 i would’ve said that my favorite game was apollo justice but now? ace attorney investigations 2 is honestly a game that any aa fan needs to at least watch through at least once that game actually changed me as a person

favorite episode (if its a tv show)

oh him this is a hard one too!! as far as the original trilogy it’s probably either farewell, my turnabout (2-4) or bridge to the turnabout (3-5)! bridge to the turnabout especially is such a good conclusion to the trilogy, not to mention Edgeworth Defense Attorney makes me lose it (he wore the badge!!! he wore the fucking badge!!!!)

conversely farewell my turnabout,,, adrian deserved better and even though we got her cleared of suspicion in the end the fact that we had to accuse her and bring all that to light anyways always made me feel awful which! is how you’re supposed to feel abt it!! it’s such a good case in how it rlly makes u (as nick) question your ideals! and then the duality between phoenix struggling to find his answer and deal with a lose-lose situation and miles being resolute in his new core beliefs,,,, it’s fucking tastey 

ALSO KEY POINTS

- but the miracle.... never happen 

- censored penis lobster

cannot discount turnabout goodbyes either! basically last cases of aa games are generally so so good!!

favorite ship

DOES IT NEED TO BE SAID..... phoenix wright and miles edgeworth are married and in love!! also a big fan of klapollo, franmaya, and junithena! 

character I’d die defending

klavier deserves to work through his awful awful trauma and is a genuinely fantastic character i wish capcom loved him as much as i do instead of reducing him to a one-case-per-game cameo character!! he just deserves resolution at the very least please!!! same with apollo that man cannot be okay after All That 

also ron delite did nothing wrong he’s one of my fav defendants

character I just can’t sympathize with

GODOT MISOGYNIST PRIDE i hate him i really do 

kristoph is also The Worst i’d kill him myself if i could 

COMPLETELY ERASED THEM FROM MY BRAIN BUT LIKE 90% OF THE BIG BERRY CIRCUS IS AWFUL THEY’RE SO BAD moe and regina can stay though they’re cool. man what is it with aa and clowns 

character I grew to love

oh i hated franziska when i started jfa but by the end i loved her!!! she’s the best

ALSO. seb and justine from aai2..... amazing how like a few lines can re-contextualize how u think and feel abt characters but i love them both so dearly!!! bring them all back i would like to see them 

anti otp

NARUM*YO BAD!!!! IT’S BAD TODD!!!

#long post #oh god oh fuck i wrote so much jsdfghsdgfsds #falsetestimony #this is me holding back i could write essays abt each character #ask games

[deadmandairyland]

I’m watching reviews of the Resident Evil 3 remake. From what I’ve seen so far, general consensus seems to be that it’s good, but not as good as the RE2 remake, and probably not worth buying at full price. One common criticism was that they left out a bunch of stuff the original had. From what I heard, they pretty much cut out puzzles from the game (and to be fair it’s kinda silly that an entire city would require solving the soup cans to get through), which I think might be the reason why iconic locations like the clock tower were cut. But that’s still a shame because while I haven’t played the game myself yet I cannot imagine this game without the clock tower. But I’ll reserve my judgment for when I play the game myself, which I probably will eventually, if only because I have a big collection of RE games on my PS4 that is distinctively missing a 3 and it’s bugging the hell out of me.

But since I’ve already seen comments about this remake possibly being a step backward compared to the RE2 remake, I feel like now is a good time to make a post that I wanted to make for a while but didn’t really have the motivation to make until now. Because while I wasn’t as hyped about an RE3 remake as everyone else was, I couldn’t deny that I wanted it to happen... because then it would mean that there might even be a Code: Veronica remake, which was an idea I was actually more excited for.

Though I do love RE3, Code: Veronica holds a special place in my heart. It is what first got me interested in the horror genre as a whole. At the time I was--and, let’s face it, I still am--a bit squeamish, so horror didn’t really interest me until I--not even joking--looked up the IMDB page of one of the voice actors from a cartoon I was into at the time and found out he had a role in a Resident Evil game, and I looked up clips from it, and I saw this cutscene and I was like “Wow, I really like this.” ...And no, not because of the naked woman, I promise you.

But enough about all that. This post is already getting long and I haven’t even gotten to what this post is about: I want to share what I would like to see in a Code: Veronica remake.

(I’ll try to keep this brief)

First off, one thing that the RE2 remake was highly praised for was how streamlined everything was. The layout of the police station made a bit more logical sense (adding stairs in the main hall helped) and placement of items was done in such a way that backtracking didn’t feel like as much of a chore. I feel like this last bit is especially important because if there’s one thing Code: Veronica is criticized for, it’s how ridiculous the backtracking is... and I have to agree. Now, granted, I do like some of the ideas CV threw around--the metal detector and the optional stuff like running back to the solitary cell to give Rodrigo medicine come to mind--but there were times where the mandatory backtracking got in the way of the story being told and I think that’s the main reason why I want to see a remake of this game.

Because think about it. In the first RE game, what is everything leading up to? What do all the files and backstory of the game lead you toward? The laboratory under the mansion, right? Same with RE2: everything in the game leads up to the laboratory. Now to be fair these are endgame areas, so backtracking out of them would be kinda silly anyway, but I’m not bringing them up because they’re endgame areas. These locations are built up to through the plot and the files you find throughout the game. Imagine if after you reached the laboratory in RE1, you found a key that you needed to unlock a door all the way back in the guardhouse, and you had to do all sorts of other shit before you could finish the laboratory. Even if it wasn’t the final area of the game, having to backtrack out of it when there’s so much build up for it would ruin the flow of the game, right? So let it be clear that this is not an endgame issue, but rather a story flow issue:

Once you reach the private residence, you should never have to backtrack to another location on Rockfort Island.

Now, granted, the developers had enough foresight to realize that once you reach a certain area in the Ashfords’ mansion and hear this song, you are no longer required to go anywhere else on the island until it’s about to explode, because they knew that going back to bumfuck elsewhere at this point would have really killed the downward spiral Claire has become unfortunate enough to get caught up in. However, I feel like they didn’t go far enough with it. I personally feel that as soon as you walk through the front doors and hear THIS song, you should never have to go back to the prison or unlock anymore rooms in the palace! That should all be over and done with by this point! Because like the laboratories in previous games, every file, every cutscene, every fucked up thing you see in the prison, literally everything up until that point in the game is building up to this fucking house and the secrets within. It should be a point of no return up until the place starts to fucking explode.

Second, either make Chris’s segment of the game shorter or give him someone to interact with. That’s the unfortunate thing about Chris’s portion of Code: Veronica. Say what you will about Steve and Alfred, but at least Claire is interacting with them regularly throughout her portion of the game. Cutscenes can do wonders with breaking up monotony; without them, the game’s basically just all fetch quests. Honestly, while I do think it’s a shame that Chris only got one chapter in Darkside Chronicles, I understand why he was only give the one chapter: the meat of the story happens in Claire’s segment of the game. That being said, I do hope they would consider going with the second option before the first. There are characters Chris interacts with in the game; he just doesn’t interact with them enough. Wesker is more of a behind-the-scenes villain than Alfred, and Alexia sadly doesn’t really do much. Giving both villains more to do would greatly enhance Chris’s part of the story.

Now that the gameplay stuff is out of the way, it’s time to address the elephant in the room: Alfred. Honestly, I have no idea how they would portray Alfred in today’s political climate. I don’t really want them to hold back with him, because he’s basically a walking homage to classic horror villain tropes and he has the potential to be a very serious and dangerous villain, but I get the feeling that no matter what Capcom decides to do with him, either they’ll get a lot of backlash for transphobia or making the mentally ill look like Hitler, or they’ll get a lot of backlash for pandering to SJWs and making light of prison camps by pulling back their punches with the original Korekiyo Shinguji. I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking things, but I’ve been on Tumblr for a long time and I’ve seen some crazy shit on here (and Twitter... and YouTube... and 4chan... especially 4chan) over the years, so I can see literally any of these scenarios happening. Personally, though, I do hope their portrayal of him (including how the other characters view him) is closer to the Darkside Chronicles version than the Code: Veronica version, if only because I’d rather the protagonists feel bad for him than be like “Man, I know you’ve murdered a ton of people and might have a thing for your sister, but God forbid you crossdress, I mean that shit’s just fucking weird.” Yeah, that was pretty bad, not gonna lie.

Well, so much for keeping it brief. But that’s basically all I can think of off the top of my head for what I would like to see in a Code: Veronica remake. That and being able to see Rockfort Island in all its fucked up glory in fabulous HD and with a free camera, that’s be sweet.

#resident evil #resident evil code veronica #alfred ashford

[emperor-uncarnate]

My Top 20 Favorite Video Games

(Listed in the order in which I played them)

Pokémon Red Version - Along with my matching red Game Boy Pocket, this was the first video game I owned that was purely mine and not handed down from an older kid. I still go back and replay this every couple of years on that very same Game Boy Pocket or on the 3DS Virtual Console. I know there’s FireRed and a whole series of more modern Pokémon games at my disposal but the original Red Version easily gets the most nostalgia points. Sometimes that’s what it’s all about, no? Banjo-Kazooie - Similarly, the N64 became my first home console that wasn’t a hand-me-down and it came equipped with both bear and bird (complete with “screaming about it on Christmas morning”). After going back and replaying this almost twenty years later I gained new appreciation for how goofy and colorful it is. Treasure Trove Cove is so fucking catchy. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle - From its kickin’ soundtrack to its satisfying controls to its random-ass virtual pet simulator this game has it all. Multiplayer was always pretty exciting too, I remember many an afternoon trying to one-up a friend during a grind race. No 3D Sonic game compares to this if you ask me, although Sonic Heroes and Sonic Unleashed come sort of close in their own ways. What I wouldn’t give for a proper Sonic Adventure 3... Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes - I remember playing this at my local arcade in my youth before eventually getting a port of it for the Xbox 360. The look of its 2D sprites are phenomenal and - if it will help you understand why I love this game - I’m singing “I Wanna Take You For a Ride” to myself as I type this. Metroid: Zero Mission - This was the first Metroid game I ever actually beat, and it was the game that made me fall in love with the series. I love Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Samus Returns as well but I like Zero Mission’s visual style the most. I was so thrown for a loop when Samus lost her Power Suit towards the end of the game but it only made getting it back that much sweeter.  Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - I started playing this one in 2004 but didn’t officially beat it until way later in 2017. For a while I had a pattern I’d go through every few years of “start playing, enjoy it for a while, get lost, and start over for some reason.” Took me thirteen years to get serious about it but it earned its place as my favorite of the 3D Metroid games. I felt so fulfilled once it was complete, like I was achieving a childhood dream. Kingdom Hearts II - I don’t think I would’ve gotten into this game if not for my friend’s suggestion but I couldn’t thank him enough for it. This is another one of those games you only vaguely understand when you’re a kid only to realize how complex and intuitively designed it is in your adulthood. After the long wait, Kingdom Hearts III proved to be pretty satisfying but I just have too much history with its predecessor for it not to win a spot on this list. Jak 3 - Though my interest in this series burned fast and bright, this game still sticks out to me as one of the best I’ve ever experienced. I played the third installment before Jak and Daxter or Jak 2 but that’s fine because it’s the best goddamn one. Driving around in the desert, swapping out gun modules, and taking flight on some janky wings made of light were definitely the highlights for me. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - I got into this game during the latter period of Wrath of the Lich King but I didn’t feel like an official WoW player until this fiery, grim expansion. It was the first real online game I’d ever played (if you don’t count Neopets and Adventure Quest) that I started as a Night Elf Warrior in a PVP server and ended as a Worgen Hunter in a non-PVP server. Because fuck the Horde, that’s why. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - I got Skyrim on a whim because I literally couldn’t think of anything else I wanted for Christmas in 2011. There was no hype for me, I knew nothing ‘bout no Dragonborns, but I thought “heck it” and dove in anyway. After originally playing it on Xbox 360 and replaying it more recently on PS4 (with a slew of mods) I can say with confidence this game continues to blow me away. I always seem to find something new even though I feel like I know it like the back of my hand. I did get involved in The Elder Scrolls Online later on but Skyrim is still where it’s at. Soul Calibur V - I was first introduced to the tale of souls and swords (eternally retold, of course) through Soul Calibur II and only because you could play as Link on the Gamecube version. Fast-forward to 2012 and I was still on board with its story and cast of characters but its character creation was really what kept me hooked. Soul Calibur VI turned out to be a little disappointing but I definitely got the most out of its fifth installment and I’m guilty of having played for hours and hours on end. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward - What began as a free trial because I was bored turned into a years-long interest in yet another MMO. While the base game was okay it really picked up speed with Heavensward and I was hooked from that point onwards. After a certain point I caught myself not skipping cutscenes and discovered - oh hey - the story’s actually really good. Star Wars Battlefront - I loved this game when it came out on PS4 and used it often to get my insatiable Star Wars fix. Aerial combat was my downright favorite part of the game and I loved smoking some TIE Fighters in an X-Wing or in the Millennium Falcon. Its sequel Star Wars Battlefront II could’ve made this list but EA was being a real dirtbag about it and now I find it hard to look back on happy memories of it the same way. The 2015 game is thankfully unsullied by those sour elements, however, so I’d say its gotta be my favorite Star Wars game ever. Overwatch - This game came to me at a time when I only wanted to play games that had character creation. I was hesitant to get to know all the characters and lore but I’m overjoyed I did since they’re so rich in personality and fun details. Once I got the hang of characters like McCree, Soldier, Reinhardt, and Widowmaker I was absolutely sold and I still play it two years later. Sonic Mania - The delightful trailer for this game got me all riled up but I wouldn’t know just how great it was until I was playing it myself. I don’t think I could ever truly enjoy my previous favorite 2D Sonic games (Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD) ever again because this game just feels better than all of them combined.  The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I didn’t really grow up with the Legend of Zelda, only ever playing A Link to the Past and Twilight Princess, but I immediately knew I was going to enjoy this open world take on the series. Just the sheer freedom of what you could do and where you could go was enough to reel me in and its aesthetic still amazes me with how great of a mood it generates. Final Fantasy VII - I still remember going into a GameStop when I was in high school and naively attempting to buy a used copy of this game for the PS1. It was an “epic fail,” as I would’ve said at the time. But over a decade later I downloaded it on the PS4 and went to town, getting my full FF7 experience at long last and loving every minute of it. Very stoked for the remake; it’s probably my most anticipated game right now. Marvel’s Spider-Man - What a surefire hit this was. From the moment the first gameplay footage was out I knew this was going to be the must-have web-swinging, wall-crawling good time. I love that there are so many ways to play the same character and everyone can really embody their own version of Peter Parker. I’m also from New York City so seeing a digital rendition of Manhattan was a real treat (even though they changed uptown a lot and my old apartment doesn’t exist in the game). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Nine of the other nineteen entries in this list feature a character who’s playable in this latest Smash game. I get that people like Melee for reasons and whatever but how can you not like SSBU, the game that has it all? I’m still riding the high of Banjo and Kazooie entering the fray and I absolutely cannot wait to see where things go from here. Never had more fun playing local multiplayer in my life. Red Dead Redemption II - Never cared for Grand Theft Auto and the first Red Dead Redemption was fun but damn, there’s nothing quite like its sequel. I’m still working my way through the story just because I’ve spent so much time out in the wide open world, taking my time and seeing the sights. I might be a city boy but I have a deep appreciation for the American West and if this game ain’t just the prettiest damn thing I ever did see... hoo-WEE! Top shelf.

#video games #pokemon #banjo-kazooie #sonic #metroid #marvel #kingdom hearts #jak and daxter #star wars #soul calibur #final fantasy #skyrim #spider-man #super smash bros #red dead redemption 2 #breath of the wild

[brothermouzongaming]

E3 2019 overview

I wanted to take the time to look at and talk about some of the games we’re more than likely seeing at the conference. E3 is...dying and it’s misleading trailers don’t help, but despite this, the show is still important and at least gives us a little insight into what may come in games/tech. So let’s cross our fingers and dive in. I’ll be focussing more on main titles and not DLC and updates. Available footage will be linked in the corresponding title.

Avengers project (Crystal Dynamics/ Square Enix)

It feels like ages since the teaser for the Avengers project dropped. Since then I have been trying to keep my hopes high, I even thought it was canceled for a time when we heard literally nothing since that trailer. I know nothing about this game, but I just hope Crystal Dynamics and Square are treating something this big with the care it needs. The last thing Marvel, more importantly Disney, want is another Battlefront 2 situation on their hands. If Square can incorporate their over the top combat style to the Marvel universe, it could be amazing, incredible, invinci- okay I’ll stop.

Borderlands 3

Getting back into Borderlands just before the big press release was very serendipitous. Something about this made me even more excited for some of the additions coming like loot instancing, slide/mantle (finally), secondary fire weapons, more diverse and varied play spaces, and a lot more. So many of BL2 and the Pre-Sequel’s flaws are glaring with me having played them recently and to see the long-awaited title addressing these exact issues so comforting when I get to thinking about this next adventure into the wastes. It isn’t some massive leap forward or anything, it’s more Borderlands and there’s nothing wrong with that to me. Finally, an online optional looter shooter that isn’t some strange mmo lite, long live the king. Randy Pitchford is a weirdo but I’m not gonna hold that against the devs lol.

Cyberpunk 2077

This is more than likely going to be my game of the show. E3 is typically full of surprises and anything can happen but in all honesty, I just can’t see much coming close especially since we aren’t seeing Death Stranding (thattrailertho). I was literally giddy when they released the gameplay trailer that they showed press and influencers and the FPS RPG looked very good but not unrealistic. Recently it’s come out that the game is “pretty different” from that showcase and that statement interests me as much as it gives me pause. Regardless, we are going to be seeing more of this game with CDPR claiming they’ll have an even bigger presence than last year. I just hope that we get solid gameplay footage and not buzzwords and theatrical trailers.

CoD 2019

Black Ops 4 came out guns drawn and it really impressed at first. Since that time Activision has found a way to completely reverse the conversation around BO4 and where the franchise is headed/ is as a whole. Activision needs a win, and with this being their main and essentially only franchise it has to be big. The rumor is that it’s Modern Warfare 4 which would be a “soft reboot” if that is the case. If not this year then next, I’m surprised it’s even taken them this long so hopefully all this time will lead to something good. Honestly, I’m shocked we’re still getting annual releases of this game. I don’t forsee CoD lasting much longer and this tug at our nostalgia may be a sign of that. 

Destroy All Humans (THQ Nordic)

I spent so many hours with my friend Walter terrorizing the meat bags between the tools the game devs gave us and some gamer creativity that was a relatively new aspect of gaming compared to nowadays where player creativity is often an aspect of gameplay. THQ has reported something insane like 50+ games in development which...sounds like a stupid choice but if this is one of them it’s definitely going to get people’s heads turning. Can you imagine what they’ll be able to do with today’s tech? They don’t have to go crazy but then again for the sake of a concise vision but...maybe they should?

Dino Crisis (Capcom)

Let’s talk more about old ass games I’m completely shocked could be coming back. So in light of Capcom bringing back past titles and breathing new life into them, it is reported that Capcom is looking to bring back...Dino Crisis? I swear to god if they make Dino Crisis before Viewtiful Joe and Onimusha? POWER STONE ANYONE?? I’m more than willing to suspend my meh-ness because Capcom has proved that not only can they bring back an old game we love, but they can do it damn well. If this is true, then maybe there is hope for some of my favorite Capcom titles from the past but mother of god why Dino Crisis?

Doom Eternal

Doom 2016 was one of the best first-person shooters I’ve ever played. “Smooth as butter” isn’t something I would use to describe most games but god damn if that game wasn’t lubed up before they packaged it because it’s damn slick. So imagine the stiffy I got when that gameplay was dropped and mobility was increased. Can we talk about the grappling hook shotgun? The new demons and takedowns to dispatch said demons? God knows what else is under the hood for us to find out when it releases let alone when they talk about it during the conference. A more open level design in tandem with the conventional “kill room” here and there is gonna really spice up the combat especially if exploration is properly rewarded. Rage 2 was a disappointment but I do have hope this is gonna live up to the hype the way it did the first time.

Gears of War 5

Lawd Microsoft needs a win. This is quite clearly their attempt at a blockbuster event like God of War was for Sony. Everything about the trailer screams “Oscar bait but for games” and I hope they do the damn thing. Make me sad I don’t have an Xbox dammit! This could be a big step for Gears and could even lead it down a more character focussed design. The world of Gears of War is rich for a deeper explanation, and I know that isn’t what Gears is known for but I won’t be told that they can’t do both. It appears to be heavily cinematic though gameplay can be seen in the trailer above. It seems interesting and I hope they really make something worth owning an Xbox for. The fans deserve it.

Halo: Infinite

Did I say Microsoft needs a win from the software perspective? Cause they do. The Xbox One is fine, the One X is a huge step up and is the most powerful console but there are next to no exclusives for this console. Ya know, the reason why you buy a certain console outside of interface and services. What better way than to bring back the most successful franchise Microsoft has associated with. There’s talk of it having an open world which is jarring initially especially when the history of Halo is rich with environments that tell stories alongside the mid-range combat. If they can properly expand that baseline to fit an open world format, it’ll be amazing. Whether or not they can is the question.

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

Warner Brothers does a great job of shooting themselves square in the foot. They just put on the finest shoes money can buy and BAM queue the red kool-aid fountain. Shadow of War is the pinnacle of such stupidity with the way the monetization completely bankrupted the integrity of the game. The brief footage that was up involved a third-person real-time action reminiscent of the original games. Warner Bros. jumped on the trailer takedown but it’s safe to say the cat is out of the bag and casting spells in the kitchen. This could be a unique adventure involving a custom character, it could involve something more directly related to the books. Anything is possible but if we heard about it this year it wouldn’t entirely surprise me.

My Friend Pedro

A twin stick shooter of a different kind. Imagine stranglehold but cartoony, John Wick but even more comic book like. It looks like the entire game is going to be centered around ballerina jumping through levels and enemies leaving every enemy in your wake riddled with bullets. It seems light, fun, and self-aware in it’s silliness which can lead to the most fun type of games.

Session

Oh boy, SKATE was my jam back in high school and if you’re anything like me you’ve been waiting for the next game/ literally anything like it to come along. Session appears to be that game, we weren’t told a lot when it was revealed so I’m hoping that E3 will lead to some more information on gameplay and ya know, a release date. 

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

Anthem is in shambles and in my opinion, it’s this year’s No Man’s Sky. Between the games they put out, and the Star Wars games they put out (or don’t put out depending on your perspective); this does not bode well at all. Respawn is working on the project and their track record is very good, but I can’t help but worry about what EA is planning. They always find a way to put their hand directly into a project and do exactly what needs to be done to ruin it. Sometimes that’s on the front end in development and planning or lack thereof, and sometimes it’s on the back end with moving devs to other projects/ not hold their devs to the post-launch promises they tend to make and not fulfill. This story of a padawan in hiding after Order 66 is ripe for gameplay development and storytelling. So long as Respawn has the vision and can execute, all we need is for EA to stay the fuck away and let them work. We’ll see.

honorable mentions: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Vampire Bloodlines 2, From Soft and George R. R. Martin collab, Fable remake, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad, Wolfenstein Young Blood, Afterparty, Beyond Good and Evil 2, Bleeding Edge (Ninja Theory’s new game), Last of Us 3 (v hype just not a lot of info)

#Avengers project #Borderlands 3 #Cyberpunk 2077 #Call of Duty #Destroy All Humans #Dino Crisis #Doom Eternal #Gears of War 5 #Halo Infinite #Harry Potter Magic Awakened #My Friend Pedro #Session #Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order #e3 #E3 2019 #video games #gaming

[bigloquatthoughts]

Thoughts While I Watch The Nintendo Direct A Day Late

Thoughts on the Nintendo Direct: Yoko Toro is an interesting person, that card game looks interesting but Y wouldn’t I just play Talisman? Cool to see more isometric RPGS on switch.

Hyrule Warriors is fun! Age of Calamity is where I really fell in love with the musou formula again - I played a LOT of DW Empires 5, so taking over a map / doing stuff on a map before combat is fun. The silly weapons like the broom etc also make this really fun. I’ll gladly play more of this. the new scientist warrior looks sick! Who asked for Chocobo GP? This looks like Garfield Racing re-skinned and with better physics maybe. When they said Chocoboooooo! I was hoping for a Chocobo’s Dungeon. My buddy Ted got that game with his PS1 and we though it was soooo cool, especially after playing Azure Dreams on Gameboy.

Thanks for telling us when we can see the new Smash Fighter which is probably more Sword boy / Sword gorl why won’t you put any interesting fighters in this game I am moving to Smash Bros CatDog Edition. Kirby washing up on an island is the most unlikely thing for a being who summons giant warp stars to fly through the universe on but okay. this looks INCREDIBLE. Kirby + Nier vibes with the busted up environment. what bums me out is that we saw the same enemy like, 10 times in the first 10 seconds of that one area. The giant snakes / fish are cool, but lets see some more variation maybe 3D Kirby boss fights look pretty freaking fun! 3D Kirby looks pretty great. It will suffer from Kirby things and also be fun. I will play it.

Hey, don’t worry. We’ll tell you some things about Animal Crossing in October. Not now - but in October. U will have content in November. Just hold on pls, be on the lookout for all ur rotten turnips in ur house

Lets move on, to more stuff second free update for Mario golf, which I would LOVE to play but can’t afford rn. I played it at my neighbors the other day and it’s pretty damn good. new courses and seeing little ninji run around will be very fun. Cool, kid Disney game. Dope. Old Republic for Switch looks great! Dying Light 2: Mirrors Edge edition. Oh, we can play with other people? That seems fun. Do we scavenge together? The Control cloud game demo felt okay on my wifi, but IDK about these cloud games as something worth getting on the switch when PC’s are a thing?

Triangle strategy looks dumb, Disgea does that shit better now right? Metroid Dread looks really cool, excited to run from big robot and make Samus Very Strong Hopefully u get to crawl around as big robot at some point in the game. Love the lore dump we get. Dude, Chozo were here! That’s sick!

Many people have been using switch online… Oh, giving out their old roms gathering dust for “free,” with their current sub was too generous for Nintendo I suppose. New plan for N64 games seem sick - the playing together online thing is very cool. Starting library is standard but nothing too exciting. Very excited to see how the emulation handles these games in relation to how they behaved on the console, as all the cool sped running shit we see in these sorts of older games vary depending on the version of the game.

I’m more excited about the Genesis line up than I am about the N64 one, save those two games I don’t recognize. We get Castlevania, a Contra, some puyo, Beatem ups, and playing this version of Gunstar Heroes might sell more of the other one. Expansion Pack is a name.

Notice how Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Comix Zone are not on these lists? They are too afraid to give us the best of what both platforms have to offer and it’s a shame.

WIRELESS CONTROLLERS FOR $60 EACH? ARE THEY BLUETOOTH SO I CAN USE THEM WITH OTHER STUFF? WTF

I was just talking to my friends about the Shadowrun Isometric RPGs last night! Cool. Castlevania collection looks dope. Button mapping is huuuuge for me. Love that. An Almighty Classic Returns: Actraiser - even the SNES game was hella off my radar, this looks dope. I’m down to side scroll and then town build. Deltarune + Homestuck are games that I really really want to play but my depression is such that I just sit and stare at the starting screen and nothing happens. One day I will consume Toby’s works and be better for it. But until then, I’ll just be excited for my friends and listen to the baller soundtrack. god dammit I love that dog.

new story of seasons looks cool but Natsume is dead, no hope left cept for Stardew #doomer NAMCO Hamster - yes. Rune Factory 5 might be good on the switch. The 3DS versions were sooooo sloooowwwww for me. I’ve heard really good things about the franchise as a whole though. MARIO movie thoughts: THIS CASTING IS GREAT EXCEPT FOR CHRIS PRATT WTF. WHY IS HIMBO WHO HATES GAYS MY MARIO?

CHARLIE DAY AS LUIGI WAS WRITTEN IN THE FUCKING STARS EXCEPT HIS SHORTER THAN FUCKIN CHRIS PRATT, HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU MESS THIS UP. CHARLIE DAY AS MARIO AND CHRIS PRATT AS LUIGI BECAUSE HE BUSTS GHOSTS WHICH IS SUPER THEOLOGICAL ANYWAY GOD DAMN DUDE. THIS ISN’T THAT HARD.

KEEGAN MICHAEL KEY AS FUCKIN TOAD MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THAT.

JACK BLACK AS BOWSER - WOULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER MARIO BUT ANYTHING THIS MAN TOUCHES IS GOLD.

Movie is saved by Seth Rogan, I bet you 1 full bitcoin that DK saves this fuckin movie.

FRED ARMISEN AS CRANKY KONG IS ACTUALLY PERFECT. He is a real life hipster Cranky Kong and I love it. Dude playing Kamek looks familiar? Who is that

After seeing Wreck it Ralph, doesn’t Mario sound more like a Kenneth the Page than a Starlord? IDK man. Boomers are weird. Splatoon 3 looks cool, bummer it’s still 4v4 but whatever. the story mode for 1 and 2 were great aside from the difficulty spikes. stoked.

THE WAY THAT BAYONETTA IS REVEALED IS ONE PUNCH MAN TIER COMEDY.

Also, ya’ll spoiled it for us with the capcom font.

WAIT A GLOVED HAND PUNCHED, NOT A DEMON HAND? YOOOOO MOMMYYYYYYY THIS HAIR.

YOOO BUTTERFLY SHIT HELL YEAH

THERE IS MY BIG HAIR DEMON YES OH SHIT WE GET TO MEGA ZORD FIGHT WITH OUR DEMON?! THIS IS FUCKIN SICK

OH DIFFERENT DEMONS TO FIGHT WITH THIS IS SICK. THIS IS HOW I WANT POKEMON TO PLAY. 100% NOT JOKING. BAYONETTA: GODZILLA EDITION

HOLY SHIT THAT IS TIGHT

UHHHH IS DANTE GONNA BE IN THIS

WHO IS THAT BOI WITH THE SWORD

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Alright. There have been better directs, Christmas line up is looking p weak so far. Hopefully they can give us some bangers for holiday.

[radramblog]

Retro Games WTB

So for reference, this and the last two posts were written on the same night. We went from serious discussion about sensitive and graphic material in media, to silliness about shooty mans, to this. The thing is, I’m going away on a weekend camping trip (Melbourne got delayed again but at least getting to go on this is a silver lining?), and when this post goes up (assuming I figure out how to schedule it right) is the one day where I’m just never at home. The Saturday of a weekend trip. I don’t know if the place is going to have cell signal, and I’m not letting that of all things get in the way of me posting more bullshit.

It’s been a long night.

I was originally going to do, like, a tierlist thing, but staring at the list of these was just depressing. Motherfuckers put Homestuck in the Video Games section multiple times, and I had to stare at the fact that someone went out of their way to make a FNAF shipping tier list. And lots of people played it. Fuck, man.

I don’t know if me talking about a bunch of games I want to buy is actually more interesting, but I’ll be damned if I can’t do that easily and for a lot of words. Plus, it’ll force me to actually come up with a complete list.

(editors note this is ridiculously absurdly long and it has no images it’s just 2.5K words of jack shit and me tiredly trying to make jokes about old games you probably haven’t heard of you’ve been waaaarned)

N64

The prospect of collecting all the N64 games I want is somewhat daunting, especially considering my region-based issues. But I’ve made some solid progress since that one time I talked about my collection (and I cannot be fucked dragging that post up at the moment). I’ve acquired Banjo-Kazooie and a Kirby 64 cart that I sure didn’t know was coming in fucking box.

Anyway. I’d like to pick up Smash 64 at some point, if only for the novelty of it. I’ve played it, like, once? And that was a very long time ago, the first time I ever played an N64 (possibly the only time I even touched a controller before I bought my own), and I wasn’t as mediocre to functional at Smash as I am now. 64 is kind of a whole different animal, though- no competitively viable maps by modern standards and the engine is fucky- every character combos so well that they run 5-stock matches instead of 3.

(From this point on, I’m literally looking at a Wikipedia list of games and picking ones to comment on, so it’s alphabetical)

Banjo-Tooie would be nice, I suppose, but I’ve barely played the first one- let’s maybe do that before I start thinking sequels. I didn’t realise until I actually picked up the game that Kazooie is like, a massive asshole? Extremely rude? Apparently that’s their character trait and I just didn’t know. Banjo seems like such a cool bloke, why does he hang out with them?

Even though I’d never be able to play it, the Australian version of Beetle Adventure Racing actually replaces the titular cars with Holdens, which is fucking hilarious and I need to see it.

I’ve heard a lot about Conker’s Bad Fur Day, that it’s basically Banjo/DK but M rated. I…don’t imagine it’s aged particularly well. Man, remember when he showed up for Project Spark, though? Yeah, me neither.

Donkey Kong 64 is another classic, and I’m sure it’s really good. I have managed to pick up an Expansion Pak, so there’s half the cost of it gone, too. I’ve never actually finished any of the Country games, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t play like one, so. I also never watched the HBomberguy charity marathon, so I am pure and unspoiled as to the grisly details of this jungle bash.

On the one hand, Goldeneye is arguably one of the most iconic FPS games of all time. On the other, it’s not aged particularly well, and I don’t have a cadre of people to hang around being nostalgic for it, because we’re all either younger than this game or barely out-age it. I hope someone reading this feels old now. (sorry)

Even as a Pokemon fanatic, I’m not buying Hey You, Pikachu. That game barely worked with people in the USA, imagine that shitty microphone trying to decipher my accent on fucking N64 hardware. Also it’s pretty lame even if you can get it to work, so.

Majora’s Mask is currently my White Whale, because I want nothing more than to play that game. I’ve heard so much, it sounds and looks so fucking incredible, and as I said I have the Expansion Pak now so I can actually run it. One day, man, one day. Once again I should probably finish Ocarina of Time first, but like, I know I’m going to play this one, so.

I guess Mario Kart 64 would be worth picking up, apparently it’s one of the better ones. I reckon if people showed up to play fucking Beetle Adventure Racing before knowing the game was actually really good, they’ll show up for Mario Kart. I’d rather buy 64 than 8, frankly.

I could barely get any interest in my bootleg-ass copy of Mario Party 3, I’m not going to spend stupid money on the other ones.

Oh, apparently Mega Man Legends came out on the 64 as well? I thought that was just on the Playstation. I mean, people really seem to like that sub-series, but then people also liked Star Force, so I don’t know if I can trust the Mega Man fandom on anything. (MMBN legacy collection when, Capcom)

Yo so there was a Neon Genesis Evangelion game for the N64, and apparently it’s a fighting game? Japan-only, of course, but my console can run those anyway. And like, that sounds funny and cool, I’ll punch Sachiel to death, why the fuck not? Who needs a progressive knife. Congratulations joke.

God Paper Mario is so fucking expensive god damnit

Perfect Dark rounds out the trio of “hey I have the expansion pak now”, but I know substantially less about it. So, maybe?

The Pokemon games I’m missing (and care about) are Snap, Puzzle League, and Stadium 2. I’ll consider Snap if I can find a cheap copy, as I know it’s pretty limited (and the new one just came out), Puzzle League is probably meh, and Stadium 2 sounds fun but I’d need to then buy a GSC cart to get the most out of it and they aren’t cheap. Unless I get a Japanese one, but apparently, they’re only compatible with Japanese Stadium 2 (er, Stadium GS), so I’d have to double down on illegibility.

Oh fuck, right, Star Fox. Man I thought I was going to get away with just talking about Star Wars here (I’ve already got the good ones), but I forgot about fuckin Star Fox 64, aka The Good One. Shit I gotta get that don’t I? Fuck me. At least searching for one will be slightly easier because the PAL version has a different name.

Oh, and Yoshi’s Story looks like a trip and I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Like, this just looks worse than Yoshi’s Island if I’m being honest.

 GBA

I haven’t actually talked about by GBA collection on here have I? TL;DR- it’s a console I’m very nostalgic for, but my collection is lacking because all the carts in Malaysia were bootlegs.

Jesus there’s so many more GBA games than N64 ones. Like, in general, not just on this list.

Advance Wars is a solid maybe, because the carts are super fucking expensive, I’ve never played the series, and the remaster is coming soon. But apparently they’re good? Big shrug energy.

Wow, they made two whole Banjo games for the GBA. Both of these look like shit, though, so fuck it. No wonder I never hear anyone talk about them.

Boktai is an interesting series I’d like to maybe give a shot. It’s a JRPG made by fucking Hideo Kojima, where the cartridge had a light sensor in it to encourage you to play outside by buffing the main character. Which was an interesting choice on the notably not backlit GBA. It also has crossover stuff with something we’ll get into later.

I’ve played Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow to death, and as a result I’d love to pick up a copy of it’s GBA prequel, Aria of Sorrow- it’s apparently almost just as good. I’ve not heard much about the other two GBA Castlevanias, but they’re apparently similarly excellent- a stark comparison to the mediocre to bad N64 ones.

If someone buys me a cartridge of Crazy Frog Racer I will play it and that is a fucking promise.

There are like three whole Fire Emblem games on the GBA, though only two came out in English. I actually have a bootleg of one of them. It’s another one of those ones that are unreasonably expensive because it didn’t sell well and they didn’t make that many as a result, though. So probably not worth getting a real one unless I fall super head over heels for the series- I don’t see that happening soon.

Oh right, Golden Sun. Another JRPG franchise for the GBA. There were a lot of those, huh? Anyway there’s like no way this guy is getting into Smash, don’t get your hopes up.

Harvest Moon is basically Stardew Valley, but older. Two games of it came out on the GBA, and I’m probably not about to commit to buying one of those rather than Stardew. And that game has yet to successfully appeal to me, soooooooo

I have a bootleg of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, and that’s one of the ones where it probably doesn’t matter at all that it’s a bootleg, so I’m satisfied with it. Don’t have Nightmare in Dream Land, which I’ve played before on emulator and wouldn’t mind retrying, so maybe. I’ve never been massive on remakes if the original is viable, but I don’t have an NES so I’m sure not buying Kirby’s Adventure.

There are two Zelda games on GBA- a port of A Link to the Past which I have, and Minish Cap which I don’t. Minish Cap is very expensive!!! Aah!!!

Yo they ported The Lost Vikings to GBA? Wack. I guess Blizzard gets a shoe in this console’s door, then.

Yeah okay so there are like a million Mario games here, huh. Superstar Saga was the first Mario and Luigi game, and the one of those I’ve played (Partners in Time) was good enough that I’d bite for the original. Or I’d just go buy Bowser’s Inside Story. Mario Kart and Golf on the GBA don’t appeal super hard, and I’ve played Mario Pinball Land (long before that Alpharad Deluxe series), to the point where I don’t feel the need to actually buy it.

Speaking of Alpharad, I played Mario Party Advance on one of my Malaysian Bootlegs long, long before he made that video reminding people it existed. That game actually kind of fucks, for what it’s worth, and since my copy can’t save, I’d consider buying a real one. Assuming that Alpha’s video didn’t lead to a mass buyout or price spike.

Okay, so Mega Man Battle Network is kind of the big one on this list- definitely the White Whale so far, since to my understanding the series had extremely limited release in Australia. I do have a Japanese copy of 4 (Blue Moon) that I picked up because it was like 5 bucks, but A. 4 is godawful relative to the others and B. it’s a JRPG and I can’t read Japanese. But I would Do Things to get copies of 2, 3, or 6. Not so much 1 (because it’s not great), or 5 because I’ve nearly 100%’d the DS version on my flashcart.

Seriously, I’ve considered writing multiple blog posts on this series, I think it’s a super underrated gem. It’s an eSport on GBA for fucks sake! It’s also the series that crossed over with Boktai from earlier- apparently Kojima’s kid was a huge fan, so he got in touch to get some cross-promo content going. Funny how that works.

It’s not like they’re ever going to release Mother 3 anyway. Y’all aren’t even going to let me pay for this game, so you can’t complain if I buy a Chinese bootleg with the fan translation on it. I paid five whole bucks, and if they released it in English for real, I’d easily drop more on it. It’s a 10/10 game.

Oh alright, there’s Pokemon. I’m actually 4/7 on the GBA Pokemon games, which is pretty good considering the price just keeps going up and up. I’ve actually considered making a Living Dex solely in Gen 3- however that would either require all the ones I don’t have (save Pinball) a Gamecube with Colosseum/XD (which I have thought about), or maybe both. A long-term project, for sure, but one I’d enjoy doing.

Apparently the Sonic GBA games are pretty good, save for the infamous remake of the first Sonic game- Sonic Genesis. That is, however, the only one of them I’ve actually played. And for a long time was the only Sonic game I’d ever played. Great first impression, huh? The Marble Zone OST unironically slaps, though.

Yeah okay so there’s like over a hundred games still on this list and I care about, like, none of them. Except maybe some of the Wario games and Yu-Gi-Oh games- and I know some of the latter are complete and utter garbage. Like, I’ve played The Sacred Cards, and that game is genuine shite. I’ve still only played one Yu-Gi-Oh game I’ve liked.

I guess I can close off this wall of text by saying I want to get a GBA flashcart so I can run romhacks on console, but there’s a bunch of different types and it doesn’t seem like anyone can agree on which one is the best, so I guess I’m in limbo a bit on that one. Still, it’s worth a look at some point- I’ve gotten so much mileage out of my DS one after all.

And that’s a full-ass list. Perhaps a little daunting, but something like this is a long-term project, and there’s plenty of time to adjust, or make trades rather than buy, et cetera. I don’t ever expect to like, complete a collection, but I’m happy getting things bit by bit.

Anyway it’s like 2AM now I need to be up in 5 hours oops if I’m late then sorry james lmao except you won’t possibly be able to read this until Saturday and it’ll be too late then ha HA

#ramble #retro games #gba #n64 #collecting

[abdicatedarchive]

nessvul vs. edcom || eddie and vanessa

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: litwaks arcade and the icecream place // spring 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: eddie x vanessa.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: eddie runs into vanessa unexpectedly after a bad day. it becomes one of his favorite days of all time.

Vanessa loved coming to the arcade, of course she had a gaming system set up and it was top of the line but nothing was better than this ambience. Marvel vs. Capcom: infinite was the game she choice to play today. Beating multiple people with Morrigan alone she was feeling herself. People looked at her and assumed she didn't know how to play, one person told her she looked to soft to be into video games. That was dumb. She just smiled, batted her lashes and destroyed them. "Okay who next, I promise to go easy on you." She clapped her hands, having a ball.  

Eddie had been at the arcade for a while, playing his comfort game. There was nothing like playing Dragons Lair. It brought him back to when his step-dad was trying to get to know him. So when he would ask what Eddie specifically wanted to do once a month ... Eddie always chose the arcade. He didn't want his new dad to teach him to ride a bike or anything like that, he wanted the crowd funding (aka a guilty guy dating his mom) to improve his experience. Eddie had been staring at his friend for a while. She was one of those really cool people that Ricki had introduced himself to, someone Eddie would never have the confidence to approach. But now they were friends. And it turns out she was even cooler than just being a hot girl. She was into all the stuff that they were into. He glanced over to see that the que of people who had lined up to play against her had settled down. Ed heard the call for who was next, and this was his moment. His hands were a little sweaty from being glued to the arcade machine, so he wiped them off on his jeans and headed over to her. "Hey Nessa" said Eddie as casually as possible. She's your friend dude, chillax, he thought to himself. "No need to go easy, I want to get absolutely wrecked" he said with a smile. He had played plenty of Marvel vs Capcom, but this was clearly her game of choice.

The skatepark and the arcade was her first stop even before checking in and doing the tours and the other welcome things. After that she was in the arcade atleast twice a week. At first most people didn't take her seriously, she wore designer clothes and they said she looked like she should be in a mall or a club somewhere. It made her happy to show the nay sayers just how wrong about her they were. Even entering some of the tournaments when it suited her not always winning but being a force to be reckoned with. Hearing her name Ness looked over and smiled brightly at him. "Eddie!" She hugged him before returning ro the controls. "I am in love with that whole sentence." She focused back on the screen. Nessa had met Eddie through a mutual friend and she was sure he would take one look at her and think she was not his cup of tea. She was happily wrong. "Finally someone who can give me a challenge and not just try and check me out the whole time." Nessa was being dramatic she didn't mind it, it was just thay they made it obvious. "We should make this interesting if I win, you have to buy me a well deserved ice cream and brownie."

Eddie smiled when she got all excited, he had done it right. "Totally dude, eyes on the prize" he said, fuck, why did I call her dude? Eddie thought to himself, stupid!. He brushed it off, he was going to be fine. They were friends and that was good. No reason to mess anything up by getting himself rejected. She might not look like a gamer, but she had the heart of one. If she wasn't in this packaging, Eddie probably would have been obsessed in a more realistic way. He just knew she was too far out of his league to even really worry about getting a shot, but then she basically proposed a date after this. "I don't want to take your money, but I'm more than happy to" he said with a laugh, they were going to hang out after this. That was cool. They didn't really ever hang out without Ricki there. He felt his heart rate pick up, but this was about the game. It was focus time. Eddie didn't usually take well to losing, but he figured losing to her best game wasn't too much of an ego hit. He put his hands on the controllers, "Ready when you are" he said giving her a thin lipped smile.

Nessa liked that Eddie didn't treat her like she was some spoiled princess. Maybe cause he didn't know that side of her? Nah she carried that around like a badge of honor. She was a little take back by being called a dude no one ever in her life has called her that but she thought it was cute. "Oooh I love it when you talk shit, so much more satisfying when you lose." She picked her characters. Eddie was cute like could be pretty popular cute but he was smart and the guys she knew never hung out with guys smarter than themselves. Vanessa was smart and she was pretty, plus her parents had money so she could do whatever she wanted. She loved that. Looking over her team again she nodded feeling comfortable in her selection. She moved her hair behind her ear so it wouldn't distract her.  "Let's do this." She pressed the start button and started the fight.

The real reason Eddie treated her like one of the guys is that he didn't really know any other way to do it. If he pursued her, both him and Ricki would probably lose a friend. "I'm just a simple man who likes free ice cream" he joked, putting his hand over his heart, "humbled already, and looking forward to you being humbled". Eddie selected his team and focused in on the game. She wasn't even here, just an NPC like usual. No pretty girl sitting next to him at all, no pretty nails or nice perfume. Just Ed and an old arcade game. The game began, and he put up a good fight but she ultimately did win. There was a lot of yelling, they were probably the loudest people in there. He let out an exhausted breath after they were done, "Fair is fair. Ice cream and a brownie from me to you" he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Me humbled?" She scoffed playfully. Tossing her hair over her shoulders she looked him and flashed him her sweetest smile. "I can taste my victory now." She started looking at the screen. Nessa liked being able to be competitive without being judged. Eddie always matched her energy when it came to playing. Jumping and clapping her hands when she won she looked over him. "Yessir, I humbly accept." She teased. "Before I forget, I went to text you last night and I don't have your number. I wanted to know of you wanted to do D&D. I was going to ask Ricky too." She grabbed her purse and slid the things strap onto her shoulder. " I know you two are a pair." She wasn't sure if they were dating or just really good friends.

She looked cute when she had won, not that she didn't always. Eddie smiled when she remembered that he had mentioned D&D offhandedly. "Yeah man, that would be fucking amazing" he said, not thinking about his language again. Why did he keep reaffirming that she was a man? Clearly not a man. He knew he was gonna beat himself up over that later tonight when he was trying to sleep. "Yeah, has Ricki told you the backstory on that? So we're sort of related in the least related way possible" he said as the two headed out of the arcade. The night air was kind of cold and he had a light jacket with him so he passed it to her nonchalantly. "So his bio dad that helped his moms get pregnant is my step dad. He's never been like in the family, but I like to think he's my brother" he said, giving the shortest version of it that he could.

Every time she hung out with Eddie she got a warm feeling in her body.  She wasn't sure why though, but she did know that he always had her smiling and she actually liked that. " We just need to find some time do campaigns and stuff. I'm free all summer." She wasn't going back home to be bored and she could start the next semesters work a little bit early  "No. He didn't." She felt dumb for her assumption after he told her. " Honestly I thought you two were like together, together." She tried not to laugh. "I'm so sorry babe. It's just that yall are always together and I don't know." She touched his arm. "I'm glad that you guys are close. It's cute."

"Yeah I'm just doing some papers and stuff for kids in summer classes, but other than that I'm free" said Eddie, he was excited about what summer with more friends than just Ricki was going to look like. "It actually happens a lot. We have couple energy apparently, but just best friends" he clarified with a nervous laugh. Did Nessa think he was gay? Well he wasn't not gay, he is bi. But still. Just another little friendzone moment as they were heading down the street to the icecream parlor. He opened up the door for her, "after you" he said as he gestured her to go in.

"Oh good So i won't be alone this summer. Most people are doing the summer camp thing." She shook her head. " I'm kind of hyped were gonna chill. I love Ricky to death but we need to chill just the two of too." She looked up at him. "Unless you don't want to." She hoped that wasn't the case. "I see that I misunderstood but I think it's cute how close you guys are. "She walked into the parlor. "Thank you babe." She went to the counter and ordered a ice cream they could share. "Free for the cute couple." The older lady said giving a wink to Eddie.

This girl wanted to hang out with Eddie one on one? Now this, this was something different. "I'm down, for sure" he said, swallowing hard afterwards. His throat felt really dry. The woman at the register thought they were a couple. How could she possibly think that when Eddie was so awkward. It made him feel pretty good about himself though, like maybe he wasn't. His haircut was in right now, fun when the things you were bullied for in middle school become trendy according to tiktok. "Thank you so much, this one drags me all over town but I insisted we come here" he said with a laugh as he put a big tip into the tip jar. The two headed to the back booth, and Eddie was very confidently ignoring the fact that he was lactose intolerant. The small things you do.

Nessa was happy that he agreed, she didn't want to be bored all summer since most people left and did the counselor thing. She liked kids just not enough to spend hours around them, especially in that summer heat she wasn't sure her hair would agree. She wasn't going to correct the woman it got her a free snack and he looked happy to go along with it. She couldn't help but smile, she shrugged flipped her hair, "I'm going to start listening to him, he knows how to make me happy in more than one way." She winked and watched the lady giggle and her face turned red.  She sat down next to him. " You still owe me, you got lucky with the free snack."

Eddie let out a laugh at Nessa's comment, absolutely uncomfortable at the prospect but intrigued at the idea that he could actually be seeing her. As they sat down next to each other, he nodded, "I do still owe you. A bet is a bet" said the boy. He liked the idea of hanging out with Vanessa again, just the two of them. He hadn't been too painfully awkward yet. "What are you doing this summer? If you're not doing the counselor thing?" he asked, hoping that was a normal enough question.

"I love it when a man can keep his word." she said simply, "Just got to tell me if I get too clingy, I don't want to ruin anything you got going on." she didn't know to much about him or the things that he did besides the whole paper thing. She knew he was smart and liked games. "Do you want some?" she pointed to the ice cream with her spoon. "I get intern at a company, but their pretty chill so I come and go as please. So i do what I need to then I bounce and hit the park or the beach.

Eddie took the other spoon and had a bite of ice cream, "I've got nothing going on really. Just having fun, writing papers and working on some projects. Personal projects, not projects for other people" he clarified. He didn't waste all of his potential on others. "That's cool" Ed responded as he took another bite of ice cream. "Is that typical for you?" he asked, "like a relaxed work environment. I feel like that suits you. No 9-5 for this lady" he said, realizing that he sounded like a total dork. There was nothing smooth about this encounter except for the ice cream, which was totally going to give him hell later.

Nessa nodded as she took a bite of the brownie. "Wow I have like one solid thing and you have like a whole list." She had to hand it to him not many people their age wanted to do more than just chill out for the summer. She nodded as she wiped off some ice cream with her thumb off the corner of his mouth. "Relaxed and gorgeous is my preferred work environment." She teased. A airy chuckle left her lips. " You get me. That 9 to 5 is so 1999." She put down her spoon. " I have a question I have to ask, do you have a significant other that's going to be mad you're spending your summer with me?"

Her hand was touching his face, and how did even her hands smell good?! It was intoxicating. "I mean thank god 9 to 5's do exist, or we wouldn't have gotten the Dolly anthem of the century" said Eddie, a natural smile forming on his face. His cheeks were a little flushed from the physical contact. Now she was asking if he had a significant other, and his cheeks burned redder. "Oh nobody, just vibin right now" said the boy, wondering why that was the verb he chose. And if he truly had been vibin with being single, then he had been straight chillin for the last 20 years. "What about you? Cool guy going to be coming around, upset you're playing DND with a bunch of dorks and skaters?" he asked, trying to see what the situation was. Any and all advice Ricki had given him in the last 20 years falling to the wayside as he forged his own awkward path.

"You listen to Dolly Parton? That's a  huge check in my book." She didn't know to many people that even knew who that was. He kept surprising her, she liked it. It was nice to be around people who weren't trying to impress other people. He blushes, she wasn't sure she saw anyone blush around her. She bit her lip, was it weird she liked that but not in a friend way, like a crush.'You vibe?" She raised her brow in amusement. She wondered if he was really out here vibing with other people or did he mean it in another way. "No, I'm single, single. No one is even looking my way. Its summer and no one is trying to...well you know with me.  It's weird. Hold on sir I also  play dnd, games and skate does that make me a dork too?" She shook her head or am I not cool enough for the whole dork squad.

"Of course I listen to Dolly. She invented theme parks, literacy for children, and fake boobs all while being a really nice person. Dolly Parton is the greatest living legend of all time, take a back seat Bezos. Earth already has a savior" Eddie replied, the statement flowing out of him at a rate which he could not stop. He kind of shrugged when she asked him if he vibed. Vibing wasn't really the term to explain hopeless romantic turned cynic turned hopeless romantic every second of the day. Wake up? Love is dead. See a pretty person on the street? Love is alive. The birds are chirping. Life is here to live it. Don't talk to her? Love is dead. It was a vicious cycle with a very quick return rate. "Queen of the dorks" said Eddie with a kind smile. She really was queen of the dorks. Vanessa enjoyed everything that they liked, and did it while being hot and funny and smart. It was intimidating, but at least the dork stuff made her feel human to him. Like she was one of the guys, just in hot girl packaging.

Nessa listened as she took a bite of the brownie. He had a point Dolly was iconic and the whole world should appreciate her more.  "You're like a true fan, that's kinda hot Eddie." She complimented. He was unapologetically himself and she could learn from that. She was too but he was a better person than her. He wasn't materialistic or unrationally dramatic.  She was happy he didn't see that part of her ge might not want to hang out with her. Ricki was way more laid back so she didn't care he wasn't going to stop being her friend but Eddie was more together. "I like that." She looked at him proudly. She liked being called a Queen mostly, it boosted up her ego. " Thank you, that just made my whole week." She gave him a sweet smile. She wondered if he was this nice to all hos friends or just her? Did it matter?!

He laughed when she said he was hot. Eddie was not hot, at least he assumed not because no one had ever taken an interest in him. It was kind of hard to hit on people, especially when his wingman was really charismatic and cool. Girls always went for Ricki, it was part of the cycle. Like a girl? She goes for your brother who is not your brother. "I'm just saying the truth" he said, grinning at her. This was a moment he was going to remember. A moment where he didn't have any rage inside of him. Just Ed. "This campaigns gonna be a lot of work. Are you ready for the grind?" he teased her. A good DND campaign meant a lot of hours on the table and behind the scenes. Eddie realized he wasn't going to mind much, especially if she was going to be there. He couldn't help but stare at her, he liked her ears. Weird thing to be attracted to, but they were just so ... cute? Was Eddie having a stroke? Because it sort of felt like it.

Nessa ate some more of the ice cream saving him half the brownie. It was nice to see Eddie out of his element, usually he wasn't spotted without Ricki and if Ricki wasn't around she didn't know what he was doing. She adored Ricki but she didn't want to think about him now. She was sure that they probably didn't like it when people compare them to each other. "I'm so ready, so my parents rented me a  condo and i have a room dedicated to this, you can come by and see the set up and help me make it better." she looked over at him. "I mean obviously  we're going to have food but i don't know i it needs fairy lights. I'm trying to make it more cool and so much me." she knew they weren't going to want glittery and cute, soft and comfortable maybe. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at him, "You okay babe?" she could tel he was staring, omg was their something on my teeth or my face? she thought as she panicked internally.

"Yeah I just was disassociating there for a second" said Eddie, the light coming back into his eyes. "I'd love to come over and see it. Even help make dinner, or pick up the takeout. Whatever works for everyone" the boy replied as he took a large spoonful of brownie. "I feel like whatever your vibe is for how you want to decorate is going to be great, don't even think about the boys. It's your space" he encouraged her. If there was one thing he knew nothing about it was how to decorate a space. His whole room at home was just covered in tech and LED lights. Sometimes it was hard to even get to the bed with all the boxes of random things he was working on and had abandoned. Once something became too frustrating, he either broke it or he put it in a box or both. It wasn't exactly an effective system.

Was she that boring he was disassociating, at that moment she didn't know what that actual meant and she would have to to go and Google that later. "Wait can you cook?" She said a bit surprised, Nessa was good at alot of things but cooking was not one of them. "Maybe you could teach me something because honestly I can't cook to save my life."She wasn't even trusted to make scrambled eggs. She was thankful for her Doordash and cafeteria, or she would of starved. "No,I know I just don't want to suffocate you with vanilla candles and Lavender scented beanbag chairs. "Plus your opinion matters to me." Down to earth wasn't her thing she liked the whole drama of it all. Her board was rose gold and glittery.

Eddie smiled at her, "I was a busboy in high school. The kitchen guys let me make my own meals on long shifts. You pick up a few things" he replied, "I would be more than happy to help you out a little." He liked the idea of getting to spend more time with her, especially in her apartment. It would feel like playing couple to some degree. Eddie cocked his head to the side, "they make scented beanbag chairs?" he questioned, never having heard of such a thing ... but honestly it sounded kind of nice. "Anytime you want my opinion, just text me" Eddie encouraged, excited about the DND sanctuary this girl was putting together. She was so fucking cool, how did he ever even become friends with her? Well ... Ricki. But besides that.

Nessa never had a job before, her mother said she didn't have the temperament for someone telling her what to do. Nessa wasn't sure if that was true or not but she didn't question it." Thank you I think its a life skill that I desperately need to learn  if I ever plan on being truly independent or stuck on a island or a zombie apocalypse." She tapped her chin as she thought about it. "Yeah it's suppose to help mellow people out while they sit on them." She started to think it was too much, boys didn't care what things smell like. Well except for her, she always made sure she smelled good. " Don't tell me that and then get mad when I text you for every decision that I need help with." She said seriously. She looked at him and touched his arm softly.

"Cooking lessons it is. We can start easy with a bowl of cereal. I'm pro cereal into the bowl first, oat milk second" said Eddie, "but there are some crazy people that are milk first cereal second". He thought the whole idea was preposterous, but to each their own. Eddie thought about it for a second, "that sounds ... kinda nice actually" he responded in regards to the scented bean bag chair. He thought about how you could definitely get away with farting on it. Then she was touching his arm, and he felt his stomach drop. "Y-you can seriously hit me up anytime with questions" he said, stumbling a little on his words. She was touching him, and she smelled so good.

Nessa couldn't help but chuckle. "I can make cereal and I don't trust anyone that puts milk first, i'm pretty sure that they're psychopaths." she wasn't sure if that was true or not but it was a very strong belief of hers. "I'm thinking of something like Ramen or scrambled eggs. " she wasn't that thrilled to work with a stove but the thought also excited and gave her a reason to get cute aprons. "You'll love it as soon as you sit in them, its so comfy."  she knew they would love it and that the beanbags could be cleaned at a dry cleaners just in case sauce or something spilled on it.  "Just know you can't take it back now, this is now a sealed deal." she joked.

"Right? It's just so ridiculous, and what if there's a splash when you put the cereal in?" Eddie replied, doing his best to be normal like he was talking to one of the guys. Because that's what this was. She was one of the guys, just that one of his friends who smelled good and was really hot. "We can definitely start there" said the boy as he ran his hands through his hair. It was getting longer, maybe he should cut it. Would she like his hair if he cut it? Maybe just a trim, maintain the flow. "It's a pact" he said as he put out his hand to shake hers.

"I just don't get it like I pour enough for the cereal I poured but if you do it the other way then you might have to add more of one or the other and that's just too much extra work for cereal." she shook her head. "Good my parents are going to love you." she watched him run his hands through his hair. He had such nice hair, the volume alone was a dream. Would it be rude to just start playing in his hair, she just wanted to see i it was as soft as it looked. Snapping out of her thoughts she looked at his hand and touched his chin then shook his hand." Deal."

Eddie grinned when she touched his chin, thinking about how her parents would love him. He could do that. Meet someone's parents and be normal. Right? Maybe. Probably. Not likely. Perhaps. He was torn. "How about Friday, we start our first lessons?" he suggested, wanting to see her as soon as possible. But he had also heard Ricki say things like don't be too eager. So he was keeping his distance, four days was a good amount of time ... right? He was unsure, but their hands were still in the shake. He didn't know how to let go.

Vanessa wasn't sure she had plans on Friday, she might of gone shopping or maybe get her nails done, Maybe get her hair done. That wasn't a Friday thing it could be done any day and she looked goo regardless. "I will make time for you, we can do a little food shopping. It's going to be so cute." she said thinking of the instagram pics she post of her little adventure. She pulled her hand back and ran her fingers through his hair like she wanted to from the beginning." What conditioner do you use?"  this was rude right? she was already doing it though.

Spending time together was cute? What did that even mean? He knew she was cute and going to be there, but he didn't really think that spending time with him was a cute activity. Maybe cute in the pitying way. What was cute about the grocery store? His brain flatlined when she put her fingers in his hair, it felt so good to be in her space like this, "um" he said trying to remember what he even put in his hair. "It's a little douchey, but 2-in-1 caused my sister Natalie to flip out one time when she had to use my shower. So I use ogx coconut milk now, and I oil my hair once a week with the same brand" he said, because she genuinely wanted to know. Maybe they used the same one. He wanted her hands to stay in his hair, "you can do that whenever, consider it the other side to our texting agreement" he said almost robotically.

She didn't move her hands as she continued, taking his umm as her saying it was going to be cute. "I mean it like we're doing something cute together, Like I've never been grocery shopping so I imagine as it being cute. Not us cute we're hot." she wasn't sure how her explanation was going over with him, she didn't think she just wanted him to be walking around taking pics.  She wanted to explain it better but his hair was calming to her. "Text that to me later I'm going to try it." she slid a little bit closer to him, I use Dr carol's deep conditioner and a hair mask i make myself but it doesn't make me want to play in my hair like this." she looked at hi realizing how close she had gotten. "I could do this all day but i just realized how uncomfortable this might be for you."

Hot? She think's they're hot? He's hot? This day was overwhelming. He would touch her hair, but he had heard from his sisters that touching a girls hair could be bad. Hand oils and things, and hair washing schedules. A whole thing. "Nah, I'm good. Just touch my hair whenever you want or need to" he said as he took a breath. "May I touch yours? To see the softness difference" he asked, consent was very important to him. It made him feel like a dork having to ask before anything, but he wasn't exactly the maker of grand moves. Not that this was a move. Well, he'd like it to be. But he wasn't going to get his hopes too high. He'd had a crush on her for a while, but he did his best to shove it down for the sake of everything. Usually his crushes sent him soaring, and he would burn out quick. This had been more of a slow burn.

Nessa could be a little self absorbed she knew she was hot, being rich and a spoiled  that gave her a certain kind of confidence.  Now she wasn't sure if it was her being into herself or it was forreal but she had a nagging feeling that he might actually like her. Why else would he let her play in his hair like this. "You're spoiling me." she teased. He didn't seem to mind so she wasn't about to make a fuss for something that she so obviously wanted to do.  "Go for it." she hadn't put any product in it, she just brushed it and left.  Lucky for her it curled up on it's own.  "If it didn't look like it before they definitely looked like a couple now. She didn't care  it wasn't like she knew any of these people and they should be so lucky to witness anything she was doing.

Eddie put his hand through her hair, realizing he had never been this close to a girl for so long. Laney had given him his first kiss earlier in the week, but that had only been a few moments. He had wanted his first kiss so that if he were to get to kiss someone (specifically Nessa) then he would be prepared. He had been pretty sulky about it for the last 10 years, but every time he caught feelings for a new girl the shame of not having his first kiss just skyrocketed. "It is soft" said Eddie, "but hair like this ... it's an art" he said, in a moment of fake cockiness. "I'm kidding, but forreal. Your hair is great". Was great a good way to describe someone's hair? He definitely could have given her a bigger compliment.

Vanessa liked her hair being played with it, it always made her feel calm and relaxed she didn't want him to stop. The only thing men wanted to do with her hair most of the time was pull it. Nothing was wrong with that and she liked it but this felt good, it was making her a little weak in the knees. "Thank you." She rolled her eyes at his comment. Oh that was cocky, she thought as she smirked. He was coming out of his shell. Her hair was great, marvelous if you will. She was very proud of it but she wasn't playing in her hair shebwas playing with his. " I think we should stop before the nice people here get a different kind of show." She winked pulling her hands away even though she didn't want to.

"And what kind of show is that?" he asked, almost naively. He thought he was sure what she meant, but he wanted the clarity on it anyways. Because if he was reading into this wrong he was going to look like a total loser. As he said this he took his hand out of her hair but stayed sitting just as close. Part of his brain told him to back up, but he didn't want to. She smelled so good, his brain was shutting down.

She wasn't sure if he really didn't catch on to what she was saying or he just wanted her to tell him.  She studied him for a second before leaning in so no one else could hear what it is that she was saying. She started whispering some sexual things that would make a nun blush red. Slowly pulling away she moved back tobher spot . "That kind of show."She bit her lower lip. She didn't worry about embarrassing herself with what she said.

Eddie's ears were glowing red, and his cheeks grew red to match. He took a hard swallow and a deep breath "that's exactly what I was thinking" he replied, letting out an awkward laugh. He really didn't know what to say. Eddie rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and looked over at her. "You um... you do that often in the middle of the ice cream parlor?" he said, doing his best to make a joke. He was a funny guy, but his brain felt like it was on fire and all the blood in his body was definitely elsewhere.

Nessa watched as he turned red, like he got really red it made her smirk. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen anyone that red before she liked that she could make him do that. She wondered if she could do it again, she wanted to do it again. Nessa wasn't sure but she was going to see, you know for science. "Well." she moved closer to him her lips close to his, Nessa was always one to tease, she was known for it all through ice cream. "No but i'm more than willing to give it a go if you are." she whispered so only he could hear her.

Eddie looked down at her lips and then back up to her eyes. He thought about how he'd had his first kiss only a few nights ago. How he had wanted to get it out of the way so that he could do this. He could do this. "As long as it doesn't impact the party" said Eddie quietly in reference to their DND group, his hand touching the nape of her neck as he pulled her in for a small soft kiss. He looked back at her, she was so beautiful. He couldn't believe that had actually happened, that he had been able to kiss a girl like that. Vanessa was nothing like he'd ever met before.

She wasn't sure what he was going to do, he wasn't really an easy one to read. If this what mysterious guys were like, it was so much better than the ones who she could read like a book. Plus she never gave a guy like Eddie the time of day, she was shallow and went for the buff, jock types.  Maybe he could change that.  "I never let anything ruin my parties." She said truthfully, she had been waiting forever play DND, nothing was coming to change that. She was taken back by the kiss, his lips were so soft it felt almost unreal. "Wow." She whispered.

He was on cloud 9, this whole afternoon had been confusing as hell. Was he the kind of guy who just kisses the girl? What did it mean? Did it mean anything to her? It kind of was everything to him. His chest felt tight, he was so anxious about all of it. "Wow in the good way, right?" he asked insecurely, "because I'm always willing to try again". He wanted to kiss her again, he was worried he would never get the chance. Part of this felt like an elaborate prank, like Ricki was going to pop up any second and yell gotcha.

"I've never kissed anyone's who lips were as soft as yours. It's incredible." She said softly. " so yeah that wow was an amazing wow but I think you need a few follow up kisses just make sure." She looked at him, this time she initiated slipping her tongue between his lips. She wondered how many other girls he's kissed, how many other people got witness his lips on theirs. She could do this all day, it might lead to other things but maybe she shouldn't fuck it up  by being her.

For his first proper makeout, things seemed to be going well. Eddie mimicked her exact moves and put his tongue into her mouth, keeping his hand on the back of her neck while making sure not to tug on her much. He became very aware that while there were only a few people in here, this was a lot of PDA. Affection. He was receiving affection from Vanessa. This was already the most amazing day of his summer by far, and there was no way that he was going to top it. But he had to remain cool, girls like this did not like guys making a huge deal out of everything. They were in their 20s, he couldn't be a dweeb about this. "Do you want to get out of here? I think we might be overstaying our welcome" said Eddie with a smile as he looked around. He was glowing almost, his cheeks still red.

This was definitely the right way to start off her summer, making out with a hot guy who doesn't know that they are hot in front of people and making them uncomfortable.  Vanessa slid her fingers in his hair as she continued to kiss him. She knew all eyes on her but when wasn't that the case, that's how she liked it...it was part of who she was. She whined when he broke the kiss again. Her eyes moved to look on the side of her, he was right people were staring but it probably bothered him. She looked up and smiled. "Yeah, let's go." she pulled back and standing up, putting her hand into his. They had just made out hopefully holding hands was okay. Aha she did make him blush again. He was too cute when he blushed, not that he didn't have a reason. It was a steamy exchange.

Eddie wasn't a suave man, but having her hand in his made him feel on top of the world. Like he could do anything, so, once he held the door for her and they were both outside he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before they kept walking and holding hands. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever met" said Eddie awkwardly as the thought came into his mind and out of his mouth before he could even think about whether or not he wanted to say it out loud. It was the truth, so he wasn't too embarrassed, but his ears that turned bright red were giving him away.

Nessa strutted out of the ice cream parlor and into the welcomed heat.  She looked up and smiled after he kissed her on her cheek. He was sweet, she didn't attract sweet, she attracted jerks and players. She was lost in her thought when she heard him speak. "Inside or out?" she inquired. Seeing how red he got was the best thin. She wondered how long until she wasn't able to do it anymore. "You're the only guy that treated me like this, sweet, like i'm more than  my jimmy choo's and Fenty lingerie." she admitted. "I like you Eddie." she said softly. She never liked admitting things but what was the harm since the were getting to know each other.

"My money is on both" said Eddie honestly. He liked that there was someone who understood him and his hobbies. Someone who could get down with the guys but could also embrace her femininity. "Well, not to play my cards too right or too wrong but I don't know what either of those things are" said Eddie, running his tongue over his teeth inside his mouth before cracking a smile. "I like you too, Vanessa. I can already tell this is going to be the best summer ever" he replied, swinging their hands a little. He felt normal, like he wasn't some alien tasked with the impossible of getting to know people. Like a regular human boy who liked a regular human girl.

"I'm still working on the inside part." being spoiled didn't exactly her a terrible person but she likes to call herself difficult. Anything she wanted she could get, her parents never told her no so she wasn't accustomed to hearing it and it ade her feel like she was better than most. A trait she carried all through her school years. "My shoes." she lifted up her leg and showed her heels. and my bra and make up." she pulled down her shirt to show her bra, winking as she fixed her clothing. "We can make it one that we can never forget." she moved in front of him, leaning up to kiss him again. Maybe this summer would be like the lays she liked, love, sex, pain, joy and she gets to be the main character.

Eddie looked over at her, "I think working on it is the mark of a good person. If you have nothing to work on then you're not being honest with yourself." Eddie had been in and out of therapy for years, but every time he got a new one it was always the promise that he was good if he would just keep working. He had a bit of a jolt when she showed him her bra, like a deer caught in headlights. Eddie took a deep breath and looked back as quickly as he could to make eye contact, "It's uh, nice makeup" he said, still a little flustered. Before he could even think much, she was kissing him again, and he moved his hands onto her waist, pulling her in and kissing her softly. "Can I walk you home?" he asked as the kiss broke.

She couldn't help but chuckle. "You sound like my therapist." she had to go to therapy not because her parents thought there was something  that she needed to work on but because there were complaints that she was a bully and her school said it was that or expulsion. She liked that he was surprised, he was not like any other guy that she was used to.  "Thank you, I'm glad you like it." she tossed her hair over her shoulder. His damn lips, why were they s damn soft. she thought to herself. "Yeah." she grinned. The last time someone walked her home was high school maybe if even that. She didn't know why but it was giving her butterflies in her stomach.

"This way?" Eddie asked before they started walking in the right direction. "So, weird question. But if you could go back to any day on your timeline and just get to watch for the sheer joy of it. What day would it be?" Eddie really liked the idea of perfect days. Sometimes he would only realize he was having the perfect day after it had already happened, but today he already recognized it. Well ... his afternoon hadn't been perfect but it had led him to Litwaks which led him to kissing a girl that he never thought he'd get the chance to kiss in this lifetime. So today definitely counted, every thing happens for a reason.

Nessa nodded, taking his hand again. "Hmm." Nessa said as she thought for a second. "Well when I was 9 my grandmother took me to this like garden slash park thing. She thought my parent were turning me into a diva. We sat under a cherry blossom tree talking, she taught me how to rollerblade, gave me these rollerblades that she drew blossoms on. They were used but oh they were perfect." she looked at the ground still smiling." It was the perfect day, but she passed soon after and my dad threw away the skates, so i learned how to skateboard until i got another pair." she shrugged it off. "What about you Eddie, what's your perf day?"

"There's nothing like a pair of already broken in skates" said Eddie before she shared that her grandmother had passed, "I'm really sorry to hear that. Maybe sometime you could paint cherry blossoms on your new skates" he suggested. People talking about death made him think about his dad. He felt like every day he remembered less and less about the man. "My perfect day to watch would probably be the last day of school in 8th grade. We had field day outside and it was just insane, and then Ricki and I went to the skatepark until after dark because we were technically high schoolers and our curfews had changed. I don't remember what we talked about, but I know I laughed so hard I thought I might have to go to the hospital because it hurt so bad" said Eddie, leaving out the detail that if he could watch a day back it would be this one. He would want to watch to see how he could pull off this caper again, to ensure that he wasn't making it all up.

She adored the skates, but her parents were snobs and though they came from old money they didn't believe on hand me downs or having used things. "I would but I can't draw plus it was knowing someone loved me enough to actually give me something sentimental instead of just the most expensive whatever." Vanessa loved being rich, and she loved her parents and she knew they loved her but their love languages was gifts and she liked acts of service and things like that. She smiled hearing his perfect day, it sounded perfect.  One of those days that you would remember in twenty years and smile at your youth. "I don't know if I'm entertaining enough to make you almost die laughing but I will make me my business to make a memory that you always want to come back to. Something you'll never forget." She squeezed his hand and jumped to kiss his cheek.

This day was folding out better than he could have ever imagined. "I think you already have" said Eddie with a smile as she kissed his cheek. He wasn't sure if she usually did this: the wholesome kind of dating. But it felt like he was really checking all the boxes at the moment. Eddie didn't necessarily identify as a hopeless romantic, but he was romantic comedy inclined. He mostly resonated with the first 30 minutes of the movie when people are awkward or fuck up. "You're really cool, ya know. For a geek" he teased her, running his thumb over hers as they held hands. He was starting to feel more comfortable, and able to open up. It wasn't like she was going to regret kissing him now, right? What if tomorrow she regretted it? It would feel like his whole ego was crumbling, she'd already done so much reparations to it tonight alone.

She blushed slightly, he was so sweet it was so unreal. That meant one thing something was wrong with him, maybe he had a temper or maybe he was no good in bed. Wait maybe he wouldn't want to take you into bed. Nah she was gorgeous why wouldn't he want to get up in her sheets.  Maybe he was too good for her and he would realize it.  Why was she overthinking this, he was walking her home, they made out in a ice cream parlor in front of old people that meant something to some people. "If you give me a chance I bet I can one up this day." she smiled, playfully hitting him. "Geek?" she scoffed." The hottest geek you know." she stuck out her tongue, She didn't want this day to end. She would not bet one of her Birkin bags that she would be here with him, happier than she had been in awhile.

"One up this day? I'd like to see you try" Eddie said with a little surprise in his voice. This day was already too good for him. Any more and he would be outed as desperately inexperienced. He didn't want her to know that. "You took the words right out of my mouth" he agreed with her as he shoved her a little as they took up most of the sidewalk. It felt like the end credits, but he knew this was only the start. He was going to fuck up and then it was all going to be over, and Ricki was going to shake his head and tell him that he shouldn't shit where he eats. The friendships between them and Vanessa severed. And it would be all his fault because he wasn't enough. But for now, he thought he just might be.

Taking his hand and twirling she smiled at him. "Just you wait Mr Dalton, you'll be fifty married with children and you'll be sitting telling your grandchildren about this summer. How a girl named Vanessa Samson was one of the most exciting things to ever happen to you." She walked in front of him taking his arms and wrapping them around her as they reached her apartment building. She hoped they would still be friends at least for that long but Nessa was a realist. She believed in the magic of summer and all that. You find love in heartache or whatever, she believed she was around to be memories. Anything more or longer didn't seem real to her, she knew they would bore of her. She didn't want him to, she wanted him to like her.. always.

He smiled at the idea. "I hope you're still around to tell them yourself" said Eddie hopefully, there was no reason to be realistic about anything. They could be empty promises ... but they didn't need to be. "This you?" he asked as he looked up at the apartment building, "nice digs". He wasn't going to invite himself up. He didn't want to ruin the perfect night by fumbling around or telling her that he didn't know anything about how to make her feel good. He was gonna go home with a smile on his face and then frantically be online all night looking for the solution to his problems. Eddie pulled her in for another kiss before he knew he was heading out, "I'll call you" he said with a smile as he pulled his baseball cap out of his back pocket and put it on his head backwards.

Her smile spread when he said that, a girl could only hope.  She was going to daydream about them in 50 years given secret looks if they were married or hooking up at the reunion. She was going to call her mother and annoy her with her head in the clouds, but this time she could actually her that he's a good guy.  She looked back at her building and nodded, she had a nice condo her parents paid for, so much better than dorm living. "Yes it is, remember how to get here for our little lessons." she smiled. She wondered if he wanted to come up, while she kissed him like she didn't want to stop. She wanted to whine but she nodded okay and walked backwards, watching him walking away and bumping into the door. Squealing as she went into the building hoping he didn't hear her. //END

#eddiexvanessa #threads || vanessa and eddie #vanessa and eddie || 001 #eddie: thread

[dokidokikusoge]

TOp TeN GaMes of 2017 The Official Only List Forever I Can’t Believe I GOt Teleported To Another World As A PIece of ChiCken MEat

Hi.

It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? Well it’s that time of the year again, which means I get to write out a list of ten video games that I thought were awesome in the year 2017. Despite being busy translating and editing video game text for work, I somehow found time to finish approximately 30x more games this year. In the name of research. Or something.

Boy oh boy has there been a whole lot of good games. Everything from massive AAA titles to tiny little indie darlings. Free experiments and expensive 150 hour adventures across time and space.

This is not an objective list, but it is 100% the absolute truth and all other lists are full of shit. Fuck those lists. Fuck my list. FUCK THE POPO.

Let’s rock.

For what it’s worth, there are a TON of other games I adored this year that didn’t end up making the list. Titles I’m still playing like Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, or Fire Emblem Echoes (amazing localization). Just because they’re not on this list doesn’t mean they aren’t every bit as fun. This was a packed year.

10. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I’m cheating.

I have not beaten Xenoblade Chronicles 2 yet. I’m 85 hours in and on chapter 7, but I have not beaten the game. I desperately wanted to include it on this list, and quite frankly, would have put it much closer to the bottom. It’s just that good. However, I figured it’d be unfair to do so considering I haven’t even come close to seeing the end credits.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the best big budget PS2/Dreamcast JRPG that never saw the light of day until now.

That’s about the best compliment I can afford it.

9. Gravity Rush 2

So the original Gravity Rush was one of my favorite games the year it first released for the Vita. Despite the load times and some of the muddy visuals, I found Kat’s bizarre tale of gravity bending madness to be equal parts charming and dark. Coupled with the legendary Kohei Tanaka’s score, I couldn’t help but be dazzled by her ability to travel through the air like a rocket. I spent years waiting for a sequel that would wrap up her story. I’m glad I got one.

It has its issues (the quest design and some of the pacing), but Gravity Rush 2 is still mostly everything I wanted from the end of Kat’s story. Beautiful world design crossed with fun traversal, an amazing soundtrack, and a whimsical little cast of characters means that even almost a full year removed from its release, I still think back fondly on the game. 

See you around, Kat. Thanks for all the fish.

8. Resident Evil 7

It’s so good to have you back, babe. I missed the shit out of you.

I used to be one of the biggest Resident Evil fans this side of the east coast. I’ll never forget Christmas Day many years ago, when I opened up two boxes to find a Playstation console and a copy of Resident Evil 2 (and no memory card WHOOPS). But since then, things have taken a turn for the worse. I enjoyed Resident Evil 5 for what it was, but it was starting to feel like something else entirely.

And then Resident Evil 6 happened, and I couldn’t get more than a few hours in before getting angry. 

Yet somehow Capcom managed to win me back. Somehow Resident Evil 7 reminded me of what I used to love about the series. It certainly didn’t hurt that I played the entire thing in VR and loved every second of it.

Bring on RE8.

7. The Evil Within 2

And the award for most improved sequel goes to... The Evil Within 2. A wonderful surprise and return to form for producer Shinji Mikami and his team. If you like good survival horror, this will be your jam. Fixes every single issue with the original game, at least in my opinion.

Bethesda dropped the ball on marketing this game, but don’t let that stop you from experiencing one helluva time.

6. New DanganRonpa V3

The less said about this one the better. Try to go in blank if you can.

Some people aren’t fond of the direction this one takes. I don’t think it could have gone any other way. The perfect way to end this franchise, should this truly be the end.

5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

But Elliot, how is this game not higher on your list!?

The answer is actually simple. I’ve stopped really approaching each entry of the series as independent games. They’re just chapters in one larger saga. No single game is my favorite. The series as a whole is my favorite.

Cold Steel III cut me deep. The game takes the format of the original CS, improves on it, and then shakes things up to the point where you’re not even sure where you’re standing anymore. I can’t count how many times I screamed at fellow series fans, shook by what had just taken place. This series continues to blow my mind time and time again, and the wait for Cold Steel IV couldn’t possibly feel any longer than it does right now.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

I don’t like 3D Zelda games. Let’s just get that out there. I never liked Ocarina of Time. I never liked Majora’s Mask. I enjoyed Wind Waker the most out of the bunch (but still nowhere close to my love for the 2D games). I hated Twilight Princess and I had zero interest in Skyward Sword and its motion controls. 

I also don’t like open world games very much.

A 3D open world Zelda game? Well now you’re talking my language...?

Any other year and this would have been an easy number one. Too bad that 2017 is packed with killers.

I can’t wait to go back and play the DLC.

3. PUBG

Man, what a surprise. I haven’t been THIS into a realistic multiplayer shooter since my days of playing Call of Duty 4 endlessly during its beta test on the 360. 

To be honest, I’m not even sure if it’s the game I’m in love with so much as it’s the moments with friends I’ve gotten to experience within the game. I only ever play in team matches, but every single round is like some dumb action movie starring me and my pals, and even when things go poorly, they typically go poorly in the stupidest way humanly possible. I’ve played so many hours of PUBG that I’m scared to check the exact number.

I want to play this game with every single one of my friends. It’s that kind of experience.

2. Dragon Quest XI

I think the funniest thing about Dragon Quest XI’s place on this list is that in any other year, this shouldn’t have been close. That just goes to show you how absurd 2017 has been for video games.

The less said about the journey of DQXI the better. All I’ll say is that it is simultaneously the perfect jumping point for franchise newcomers while also being the most beautiful, glorious love letter to those who have been there since the beginning. This is quite possibly one of my favorite games of all time, and if you manage to make it to the true end without being at least a little bit moved, you might not have a soul.

You might be an android or something.

Wait a sec.

1. NieR: Automata

Was there ever any questioning this? What else is there to write about this game that people much smarter than me haven’t already? It’s oppressive, it’s suffocating, it’s joyous, it’s hopeful, it’s hopeless, it’s crushing, it’s tear-inducing, it’s a breath of air after emerging from deep within the water. NieR: Automata is a very special game, made by an extremely talented group of men and women who should have been recognized for their talents a long, long time ago.

Much time has passed since Drakengard, that bizarre and kind of terrible but fascinating PS2 game, first hit shelves and got dumped on. But now, finally, Yoko Taro and his close collaborators are finally getting the chance to step out into the light.

Thanks, 2017.

#GOTY #Still Alive #Nier Automata #DanganRonpa #Zelda #Dragon Quest #PUBG #Gravity Rush 2 #Sen no Kiseki #The Evil Within 2 #Resident Evil 7 #Xenoblade Chronicles 2