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sundownpromises · 2 months

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The Beauty in The Last of Us Part II's Ending

I just want to take a minute to ramble about the ending of TLOU2 because it is one of the most beautiful endings to a game ever.

It’s so easy to watch the ending and feel nothing but sadness for Ellie. Her worst fear came true – ending up alone. But something that I love about this ending is the renewed sense of hope that you feel. Or that I felt, at least.

After the final cutscene with Joel, when we see Ellie’s face, she seems at peace. To me, I see the face of someone who has finally learned to forgive. I think this moment is the moment we finally see Ellie silently realize that the only way to truly heal is to accept what has happened and to let it go. She will never forget everything that happened; that much is clear. Trauma is not something that one can forget, and even if she could, the physical scars and her missing fingers will remain a constant reminder of all that she’s lost and has endured. But now we see Ellie finally reach the point in her journey where she is able to outgrow that trauma. Her trauma, which was once a heavy ball of lead tied around her ankle, has now become small enough that she can walk without the weight.

And then, of course, we see her leave the guitar behind. I’ve always believed that this symbolizes not leaving Joel behind, but instead no longer resenting him, understanding him, and learning to move on. Sure, she can no longer play the guitar in the same way she used to, and that’s heart-breaking. The guitar was such a clear connection between Joel and Ellie, and it has been said that now that she can no longer play that that connection is broken. But what if that’s not such an awful thing? I believe that there is a silver lining; she will always have other things to remember him by because Joel is always to her. She’s got the pin he gave her for her birthday. She’s got drawings of him in her journal (now that she can finally imagine him not in pain but in tranquility), and most importantly, memories. Yes, she has lost a lot, so much, including the one physical object that directly tied her to Joel -- but what is grief, if not love persevering?

And when we see her walk into the forestry, she walks with determined steps. It is unclear where she is going – but I think at this point, after all Ellie has been through, she sees the futility in unnecessary violence. In a world that is so unforgiving and cruel, what is truly lacking is love and compassion. Ellie is capable of giving and receiving both of those things. She doesn’t have a violent heart; it’s just that the world that she grew up in has shown her nothing but pain and loss. Her circumstances have caused her to react in the only way that she saw fit (further proving that the world Ellie lives in is the true villain of this game, but that is for another post). But we see it with Dina, we see it with Joel, Maria, Tommy, Jesse, and we see it in her survivor’s guilt that she feels toward Tess, Riley, and Sam. We have seen the love and compassion that she has felt for all of these people no matter how short lived the relationship.

This point brings me to a particular line of dialogue from the first game that I absolutely love. It is a line that Joel says to Ellie at the very end:

You keep finding something to fight for.

Is that not what survival is all about? Is that not what enduring is all about? To survive is to find meaning in that survival. When I see Ellie walk off at the end of Part 2, I like to believe that she is going to find meaning elsewhere – whatever that may look like. Personally, I could see her running into another group of survivors who take her in, and she helps them and she cares for them because she knows that that’s how she should be living her life – doing good by other people (or perhaps she truly does go back to Jackson, which I could also envision). She knows that that’s what Joel would want for her.

The Last of Us Part II is a game full of so much tragedy and despair and yet… there is hope to be found. Some people don’t like the ending because it is so open-ended and ambiguous. But personally that’s why I find it so profound and beautiful. I don’t have all the answers but instead I am left with a feeling; a feeling of hope. A renewed sense of faith. That is enough for me. To be teased with that silver lining and to be left alone with my own thoughts, to come up with my own conclusions, is an extremely impactful way to end a game. Wherever Ellie is, I just hope she’s happy. That’s what she deserves.

I think as people who consume media (movies, TV shows, books, games, etc), we're so used to seeing endings that feel truly resolved. In other words, endings that answer all of our pressing questions. But the fact that TLOU2's ending just leaves you with a feeling is so beautiful to me. Ellie's new journey is just beginning, and we as players are not going on that journey with her (at least not until Part 3). It is bittersweet in a way. We can only hope.

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akumajoaurora · 1 year

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Castlevania Games Do Have a Story (And Why It’s Important That It Stays Subtle)

Ok so this is basically an expanded writeup of some loose thoughts I posted to Twitter earlier today in response to the news that the God of War Ragnarok guy wants to do a Castlevania game, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, so I figured it deserves to be on a long form post and not just Three Sentences Per Post Dot Com.

A big criticism of Castlevania that I hear pretty frequently is “Oh, it has no story”. However, this is untrue- Castlevania games very much do have a story, they’re just not presented in the format that most people are used to.

A lot of story-driven video games play out somewhat like a TV show or a novel. You get to watch the story play out from start to finish, with characters talking to each other, and often moving and acting as though you were watching TV. There’s nothing wrong with this format- I enjoy it a lot myself! Everyone who knows me knows I’m a big fan of Devil May Cry, after all. But this isn’t the only way to tell a story.

With the exception of a few games (mainly Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness), Castlevania has a much different format. While there are some cutscenes, they’re generally much more limited and there aren’t very many per game; In some of the really old games, there really isn’t much dialogue at all, and instead the main plot points are given to you in scrolling text at the beginning and end of the game or in the game’s manual. This is important because it pushes you, the player, to engage with the text. The story is there, but how deep does it run? How does each game play into the overall saga of Castlevania? That’s what you have to discover for yourself, and clues can often be found in the level design, the music, and flavor text.

To give an example, let’s analyze one of my personal favorites story-wise, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest.

This game takes place 7 years after the original Castlevania. Our friend Simon Belmont, now 29 years old, has already killed Dracula. However, he begins to feel gravely ill, and fears he may be on his deathbed. He goes to the family cemetery to contemplate this, and a mysterious unknown woman appears to him, who tells him that he’s been cursed by Dracula. In order to save himself, he will need to collect five scattered pieces of Dracula’s corpse, use them to resurrect Dracula, and then kill him again, all within seven days or he will die. The mystery woman then disappears.

Simon travels the land in search of the Dracula relics. Along the way he, of course, fights monsters, and also talks to the ordinary people of Transylvania in search of clues; Some of them are nice or even flirtatious towards him, but a lot are openly hostile, and will lie to him or try to scam him. Every night, Simon’s curse worsens, and the famous words “What a horrible night to have a curse...” appear as more and more monsters start to come out. During this time the player is unable to go indoors. Depending on how long it takes you to complete the game, Simon either dies fighting Dracula, or survives and frees himself from the curse. He then is seen making a grave for Dracula. This is the text of the good ending:

"The encounter with Dracula is terminated. Simon Belmont has put an end to the eternal darkness in Transylvania. His blood and sweat have penetrated the earth and will induce magic and happiness for those who walk on this land."

So, what can we get out of this short, dialogue-lite game? Let’s take a look.

Even though Simon has already defeated Dracula, the fight is not over. He can’t truly escape his family legacy, and the ongoing battle between man and vampire. Simon, like many Belmonts, is trapped within a cycle of violence- Even when he does what he’s “supposed” to do. It’s manifesting in an extremely physical way that forces him to engage with the conflict- If he were to do nothing, the curse would quite literally kill him within a week.

Simon is a thoughtful and spiritual person who respects his family greatly. Rather than getting angry about his condition, giving up, or even asking a doctor, he went to his family cemetery to contemplate in the presence of his ancestors. The fact that he seemingly didn’t go to a doctor brings me to my next point...

Simon is largely disliked by his neighbors- Even though, again, he’s already killed Dracula. A common element of Castlevania games is that the Belmont family are feared and distrusted for their magic powers and their proximity to the supernatural, and this is certainly true for Simon. Still he continues to fight.

Despite this, he clearly still has someone looking out for him. Who is the mystery woman? Is she an ancestor spirit (Sypha, perhaps)? Is she a witch? An anonymous admirer? Either way, she cares enough for Simon to help him in his time of need.

Simon is, ultimately, a deeply kind and caring person. Even though Dracula caused so many people horrible suffering, including Simon himself, he still took the time to build a grave for Dracula. He showed respect even for his greatest enemy and went out of his way to provide him dignity in death.

In the end, the people finally recognized Simon’s good deeds, and he was hailed as a hero... But at what cost? It’s worth noting the specific phrasing, “his blood and sweat have penetrated the earth”. Simon had to give so much of himself, very much putting his life on the line in order to keep humanity safe. The burden of heroism is an extremely heavy one.

Simon’s Quest becomes even more poignant when put into place with the wider Castlevania timeline. Simon is one of so many Belmonts to be feared and hated by his neighbors, give everything in order to save them, and finally win their respect- But at a very high cost. Again and again this cycle plays out. It’s also worth mentioning that Simon’s Quest is the origin of the famous background music track, “Bloody Tears”. Interesting name, isn’t it? Whose tears are they? Are they Simon’s- Is the curse ravaging him so badly that he’s literally crying blood as he keeps fighting? Are they the tears of the Belmont clan, unable to escape their fate? Or maybe tears shed for, or perhaps by, the spirits of all those who have lost their lives to Dracula? Worth thinking about.

Every Castlevania game has a story, and all of them come together to create a much wider tale of life, death, and rebirth, generational trauma, the cosmic battle between good and evil, the nature of humanity, finding light in the darkness, and why we keep fighting. Like the gothic novels it draws from, it poses many questions about the nature of life, death, suffering, and what it means to be human. The format in which this story is told is a unique one that encourages introspection and participation. If you’re someone who enjoys media analysis, I highly recommend the Castlevania series.

Ultimately, while I don’t think it’s impossible to do Castlevania in a more traditional format (after all, LoI and CoD pulled it off pretty well), I do think that the layers to the story are a big part of what makes it, well, Castlevania. I don’t think it’s at all fair to say that Castlevania doesn’t have a story- Many of the games don’t have a distinct linear dialectical narrative the way a lot of modern games do, but they very much have a story. Why not try experiencing it?

In conclusion,

#Castlevania #I'm 100% sure I'm going to regret making this post very quickly but I need people to understand how fucking cool Castlevania is #I like thinking!! I like games that make me think! And I want people to stop being mean to Castlevania #Long post

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voicefromthecorner · 2 months

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Okay, so I’ve gotta know as someone who played the OG pixelated Final Fantasy game on Nintendo…what exactly got you into it???

In one word: Story

In more than one word: It started with Kingdom Hearts, really. I was one of the folk who saw those cool guys with anime hair in my Disney game and steadily wondered more and more what the deal with them was. Once I learned a bit more about the Final Fantasy series from that, I picked up more bits and pieces as I went.

I'd watch videos that cut together clips from some of the cool scenes in Advent Children, which led to me outright watching Advent Children with no context, which led to me reading wikipedia articles and the like that of course spoiled the magnificent story of Final Fantasy VII for my naive child mind. Not that I minded - I was still fascinated.

And by the time I got my first Final Fantasy game - Crisis Core on PSP, the prequel to VII, I'd more or less forgotten what little I knew by that point or at least still lacked all of the important context. But that game was so significant. I loved it and it set the ball rolling for my proper onslaught into the FF series. I played VII, I've started VI, VIII and X (and will finish them all...one day...), I watched a cutscene compilation of XIII and XIII-2 (I still don't really understand what I watched, but I liked the characters) and I've fully played through XV (sans DLC) and XVI (I'm...not sure anymore how much I like that one, to be honest).

Anyway, to get back to your question, all of this interest can be traced back to story. Honestly, while I like RPGs, super grind-y turn-based games need to do a lot to keep my attention and are a big part of the reason that there are so many unfinished or even unplayed FF games in that list. But in spite of the roadblocks of those gameplay issues, I've still ventured them and am still keen to keep venturing them (when I have the time) because they have stories (and the all-important characters that make the stories worthwhile) that I'm invested in.

I played Kingdom Hearts because I fell in love with the characters and story. I looked into Advent Children because the personal conflict between Cloud and Kadaj seemed to have a deeper story to it. I followed up on that film because Advent Children itself was the epilogue to another much grander story; incomplete without the story that preceeded it. I took a proper plunge into that story after the story of Crisis Core got me to fall in love with the world and characters and made me feel a desire to see where things went.

By this point I've made you hate reading the word 'story' I'm sure, and these experiences are largely centred on VII, but that's the source of my love of Final Fantasy. Every world, every plot and especially every cast of characters are the things that I'm drawn to these games for. It's fair to say that nobody quite makes stories like the ones in that series and I'm all the happier for it.

And it all starts when you see a really cool guy strut past you with a cool gauntlet, spikey hair, a tattered crimson cape, a bat wing and of course a giant heavy sword that he swings around with ease. You take one look at a guy like that and you know "Yeah...that guy has a story."

#final fantasy #final fantasy vii #ff #ff7 #final fantasy vii advent children #ffvii advent children #ffvii #cloud strife #zack fair #ask #text #me #carolinetano7567 #story

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srhunt · 2 months

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Thoughts on Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)

Shadow has been my favorite Sonic character for years. My earliest exposure to Shadow was at my local Boys & Girls Club. We had a GameCube where kids would take turns playing games. I distinctly remember watching several kids try to beat the final boss of Sonic Adventure 2, though I didn’t fully click with it at the time. My first real exposure to him was through cutscenes posted to YouTube in the early 2000s because I didn’t have a gaming console growing up. I would watch Sonic X when I was able, specifically seeking out the episodes with Shadow. When I finally got a PS2, I got Shadow the Hedgehog because, well, Shadow.

I was not great at it. I struggled a lot because of the slippery controls, flying off stages, and bombardment of bullets. I maybe got through one ending if that.

And for the longest time, that’s all I really had. I got a PS2 towards the end of its lifecycle, the PS3 was already out and I struggled to find other titles.

I had other Sonic games like Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Sonic and the Black Knight, but outside of party games like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing, Shadow the Hedgehog is still the only story driven game I own where Shadow is playable*.

So, when the recent news about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic x Shadow Generations dropped, I decided to finally beat Shadow the Hedgehog after all these years.

Over the course of 4 days, I worked my way through the 8 remaining endings I had left (having completed the true hero path and the semi hero path a few years prior). And after a decade of owning the game, I beat it.

So what are my thoughts?

While I can acknowledge the game’s flaws…I still don’t hate it.

I’ve watched several videos that explain why this game is terrible, from the mechanics to the butchering of Shadow’s character. And I agree.

Chaos Controls

The game is hard to control, I recognized this even growing up, but I mainly chalked that up to “I’m bad at Sonic games”, which is also true.

Until I beat Shadow, I’d never beaten a Sonic game because I lacked the reaction time. We’ve come close, we’re at Eggmanland on Sonic Unleashed, but I had never beaten a Sonic game.

I even tried to play Radical Highway on my friend’s copy of Sonic Adventure 2, and I struggled hard with the controls.

Shadow’s controls are indeed wonky. Multiple times my homing attack would send me flying off the stage, Shadow wouldn’t aim at the enemy right in front of him, and I’d miss jumps because Shadow would stagger on the edge of a platform.

After I learned how to better manage these flaws, the game became much easier. I began to slow down my homing attacks so I wouldn’t fly away, and started jumping before the edge of the platform. This didn’t erase these problems, I still fell off the stage from time to time, but they didn’t happen as frequently. I got so good that I got A Ranks on the neutral paths for Westopolis and Prison Island.

Shadow’s air shoes make him slippery to control, but I feel like all Sonic games are slippery? Maybe that’s just me, but even with Adventure 2 and Unleashed, I felt like I was slipping and sliding all over the place. So, with Shadow, I’d slow down a bit if I felt like I was going out of control. Granted, this is still a Sonic title where speed is key, so the advice to “slow down” is not really the best if you’re going for all A Ranks.

I Think You’re the Fake Hedgehog Around Here

This is the game where Shadow gains his “Edgy Hedgie” status.

He has guns!

He says “damn”!

He hates humans for killing Maria! (Even though…that’s not what Maria wanted)

He wants to learn the truth about his past cause amnesia’s a bitch! (Even though…he already learned hakuna matata in Sonic Heroes, apparently)

Yea, I admit this game is a huge step backwards for Shadow’s development. Post-SA2 Shadow cares deeply for his closest friends, mainly Rouge and Omega, but is reserved around others. He’s a hedgehog of few words. He has respect for Sonic, a little bit of a rivalry, but it’s not to the extreme where Shadow hates him. He doesn’t hate humans, but if push comes to shove, he will defend himself if they attack him first. This side of him is well illustrated in the cutscenes for Sonic Heroes and, yes, even Sonic ‘06.

However, this is not the Shadow we see in his titular game. Shadow’s cold towards Sonic, he sounds annoyed anytime he shows up. Depending on the path you take, he becomes downright cruel. He never really talks to many of the other characters outside of the ones in cutscenes. And when he does speak to them, it just feels out of character most of the time. Shadow has a distain for humanity, commenting how they’re pathetic and he doesn’t have time to for them when the Black Arms begin destroying Westopolis.

However, there are a handful of parts where the Shadow of Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes can be seen.

Any level where Maria is your companion is a good example. Especially the cutscene before Lost Impact.

Cryptic Castle Hero, you help save Cream and Cheese, afterwards he heeds them to stay away from Doctor Eggman, showing he does care about them.

The Pure Hero path is probably the closest you get to Shadow’s true character, even though there’s still a few moments that feel off. “This is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me” is probably the most out of character line, and you’ll only hear it by doing Hero missions.

Apparently this line still relevant to Shadow, as he steals popcorn from a Chao in an official Sonic Team Racing animation.

This might be a hot take, but the Dark Path on Final Haunt didn’t feel like a sudden betrayal to me? The way Sonic talks during and after the fight makes me feel like he saw it more like a friendly competition. Especially when you compare his dialogue to the other endings where you fight Sonic.

Final Haunt Dark Path

(Before the Boss)

Sonic: “Shadow! Why are you siding with those black creatures?”

Shadow: “Siding with them? You’re joking, right? I’m just siding with whoever goes against you! This time you’re going down, Sonic!”

Sonic: “hehehe, if that’s how it’s gonna be, Shadow, then bring it on!”

(Start Boss Fight)

Sonic: “Alright. Ready to do this? Come on!”

(After the Boss)

Sonic: “…Man…I didn’t think ya had it in ya…”

Sonic’s delivery makes it feel like he’s not angry with Shadow, but that he’s impressed. At least that’s how I read it anyway. He doesn’t sound distraught or scared like he does in the Pure Dark Path, he just sounds exhausted cause Shadow put up a good fight.

Sonic even offers Shadow a “friendly competition” if you do the Hero Path in Westopolis, but Shadow declines because he’s got other priorities at the time. He still doesn’t agree with Black Doom’s mission, he just wants to take Sonic up on his earlier offer.

Regardless, this game has had a lasting effect on Shadow’s character that he’s still trying to shake off. He went from a solemn hero who cared deeply for his closest friends, to an angsty anti-hero who only cares about himself.

Thankfully, it seems like he’s starting to get back to his old self in Sonic Prime (I’ve only seen season 1 and a handful of clips from the recent seasons, haven’t been able to get caught up, so correct me if I’m wrong).

Let’s hope Sonic 3 and Sonic x Shadow Generations continue to repair the damage.

In His World, Your Choices Don’t Matter

Shadow’s gameplay has three paths you can take; Hero, Dark or Neutral, with 10 possible endings. You can mix and match these paths however you please. You can start Dark then redeem yourself, turn on your friends in an act of betrayal, or just say “nah, imma do my own thing”. This freedom of choice was a massive selling point for the game. Do you want Shadow to be a “black-hearted evil” or “brave-hearted hero”?

This freedom of choice is present in a handful of my favorite games, like Epic Mickey and Undertale.

But, Shadow fails at this “choose your own adventure” format. Yes, your choices impact which of the 10 endings you get, but none of these 10 endings are the true ending.

This is apparently left over from the Sonic Adventure-style games where you had to play everyone’s storyline to unlock the last story, where all the characters join together and fight the Final Boss.

However, this format does not work when we follow one character for the entire game.

In order to unlock the true ending, you have to complete all 10 endings. And if you’re someone like me who always goes for the good endings because being mean makes you feel bad, then this will be a hard pill to swallow.

The Last Way begins with Shadow already in possession of all 7 Chaos Emeralds, we have no idea how he got them, so basically every path you spent hours playing mean nothing. They’re not canon. Only a few parts here and there are still relevant past this point.

No matter what you did, Shadow will always turn on Black Doom, destroy the Black Comet with the Eclipse Cannon, and save the world. Which kinda negates the whole “choose your own adventure” gameplay.

Epic Mickey’s ending is also the same no matter what you do, Mickey still defeats the Blot and frees Wasteland. However, you’re still shown how your actions impacted the residents of Wasteland. For example, if you choose to paint the Clocktower boss, you see it happily playing with some Gremlins. But if you destroy it by thinning its arms, you see it lying in ruin.

Shadow’s endings are more like the ending from Clue.

The only parts that remain canon are the Chaotix story, and conversations Eggman had with Shadow on the Neutral path.

Throughout the game, the Chaotix are digging into old files. Charmy is looking for secret disks on Prison Island, Vector is looking for the notorious computer room on the ARK, and all three were hacking into Eggman’s computer before Digital Circut. The data they found contained a video message from Professor Gerald addressed to Shadow. Gerald explains the purpose of the Eclipse Cannon, and we’re shown it was recorded before Maria’s death, as she pops in at the end.

That is one revelation that enhances Sonic Adventure 2’s story, in my opinion. Professor Gerald created the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet when it returns in 50 years, only using it against humanity after Maria was killed.

If you battle Devil Doom past the 9 minute mark (which I did a handful of times because I’m a terrible shot), Eggman will tell Shadow he lied about him being an android and that he rescued Shadow at the end of Sonic Adventure 2, and he is, in fact, the real Shadow. Which…I feel like was obvious because our Shadow had more polygons than the androids.

Also the Sonic Heroes manual straight up says that he is the real Shadow and he survived the events of Sonic Adventure 2, so…

Where There is Shadow, There Must Also Be Light

I’m the type of person who always tries to find the good, even in the worst things. So here’s some things about Shadow that I did love.

The pre-rendered cutscenes look amazing. Almost 20 years later, and they still hold up.

By the way, guess who worked on these amazing cutscenes? After watching the credits 11 times, I noticed a couple names in the credits, Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller. Not ringing any bells? Well, Fowler went on to direct the live-action Sonic movies, and Miller was a producer on them. This is their only Sonic credit outside of those movies, so I think it’s safe to say we wouldn’t have these awesome movies if it weren’t for Shadow.

The soundtrack is also great. “I Am…All of Me” is still one of my favorite Sonic and Crush 40 songs, “Never Turn Back” struck a cord with me, and the rest of the lyrical songs had me vibing while I took a breather during the credits.

It might just be because I had to replay the levels multiple times, but I’ve had a handful of those tracks stuck in my head for years. Circus Park, Sky Troops, Lava Shelter and Cosmic Fall are a few that stick out. “Vengeance is Mine” from Sonic Adventure 2 returns as the soundtrack for the 2P Battle Mode. Yes, it took me a long time to realize it was the same song. Even when Sonic games are “bad”, they never slack on the soundtrack.

Goodbye Forever, Shadow the Hedgehog

I consider Shadow the Hedgehog to be one of my guilty pleasures. I recognize there’s a lot of things that don’t work. Shadow’s character took a drastic turn that he’s still trying to recover from, the controls feel like roller skating on ice, the “choose your own adventure” gameplay forgot about the “choose your own” part, and it’s so edgy you can slice your hand open just by touching it.

But despite all of this…I still enjoy it? Even though I was annoyed and exhausted by the game, I still had fun. The good parts are still good enough that I unironically enjoy them. And the bad parts at least can get a laugh out of me with how dumb they are. “Where’s that damn FOURTH Chaos Emerald?” and “Find the Computer Room!” are classic Sonic memes.

Do I recommend beating Shadow? Oh hell no. Not unless you’re a serious Shadow stan or a masochist. I’d say play as much as you can tolerate.

*in the time since I wrote this, I got a copy of Sonic Heroes. Currently stuck on the Power Plant level with Team Dark. HOW DO I GET PAST THE LAVA??? 😭

#shadow the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog 2005 #shadow the hedgehog game #sonic the hedgehog

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maxusmaximum · 11 months

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My thoughts on Silent Hill 2 remake

I’ve seen a lot of posts talking about Bloober Team and James himself and the more that I watch the trailers and look at the screenshots, I’ve come to realize that we haven’t even seen some of the other characters yet.

One thing that I think makes Silent Hill 2 so incredibly fascinating is its characters and how they emphasize the theme of the story so well. They go through such mental turmoil and we come to learn a lot about them. In many of the cases, what we learn about these characters is never outright said to us and these implications of these characters is what tells us their stories. These implications not only hammer in the theme of the story, but they also set the atmosphere and tone of the game. Descriptions on items like Angela’s knife and how James doesn’t “plan on using this as a weapon” giving us clues on not only Angela as a character, but James. Specifically his In Water ending.

Eddie’s story having hints throughout the entire game, including how and why he came to Silent Hill in the first place. The van cutscene at the beginning of the game and the van that’s shown in the playable first scene. His vomit scene and then the famous pizza scene in greater context when paired up with his dialogue about his physical appearance. His dialogue alone clues us in on his warped reality and mental state. In fact, Angela also has dialogue that clues us in on how the town of Silent Hill doesn’t look the same for both James and her. Once again, big world building and story implications.

The voice acting differences I don’t think will be too bad? However, of course, I will always prefer the original dream like delivery of lines. In the original, I think the line delivery actually adds more to the atmosphere and story if you like to pick apart every little detail ever, intentional or not. It gives the player even more insight into the characters we’re perceiving. Things like the tone shifts and hesitancy in Angela’s lines and the way that Eddie’s voice gives us the vibe that he’s playing dumb with us at times. James’ own dialogue in the first is a pretty damn good way to hammer in his head space, especially in the beginning and how that changes in the second half of the game. He feels so detached from himself, saying things like “I guess I don’t really care what happens to me”.

My point is, changing something in Silent Hill 2 can negatively affect how the story is perceived. Dialogue changes because of possible sanitization or just forgetting something entirely can negatively effect how nicely wrapped this game is. The interactive experience players have with it and how it effects the ending of their game.

We all know Bloober doesn’t have the greatest credibility when it comes to mental health matters in a video game but on the bright side, there are original members of the Silent Hill team working with them on the game. Plus, this isn’t like they’re making a brand new game with all new story. They are working with something that quite literally gives you all the pieces to recreate a gorgeous remake. I know some others are upset at the lighting and the super detailed graphics because they believe it takes away from the horror of the game, and yeah, I mean to an extent I agree. However I actually really like the intense graphics and it’s realness. It’s fresh, I love seeing how the world is reimagined in this way. It makes me feel like I can really be there, that Silent Hill is even more tangible of a place. I think the scares can still be pulled off in the graphics and polished environments that we’ve seen, and actually in some ways can enhance the terror. Art director and creature designer Masahiro Ito is working closely with the team from what I’ve read! This is amazing! This shows how graphic and even more intentional the designs for these monsters can be now! We’ve seen something really exciting, but pretty small as a detail. The ring indent on James’ finger. With detailed graphics, they’ll actually be able to add details that we weren’t able to get in the original. I’m so beyond excited for this alone!

I’m trying to genuinely have hope with the game because I love it so intensely, I don’t think it’ll be too bad. I love reading what other people have to say about it though, it’s just so interesting. What are your thoughts? Maybe things you’re excited for?

#silent hill #silent hill 2 #silent hill 2 remake #silent hill series #konami #team silent #survival horror #horror games #horror #james sunderland #angela orosco #eddie dombrowski #masahiro ito

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blackestnight · 11 months

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1. Are you named after anyone?: nope. my middle name does come from my great-grandmothers on both sides of my family, though!

2. When was the last time you cried?: tuesday night when i was clearing the new panda raids with @nuclearanomaly and @karoiseka, we all three wound up sitting in voice as we finished up the epilogue quests/cutscenes, in total silence but for increasingly loud sniffles. what the fuck. (we of course immediately turned around and joined other friends for their story clears tuesday and wednesday and delighted in the agony.)

3. Do you have kids?: nope. no desire, no plans.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?: not as much as i used to, but yes.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?: i bounced around a lot of different sports when i was in school! mostly swimming, but also soccer and marching band/color guard. did some dance for a while, took a stab at track and field until i royally jacked up my knee. joint problems and other health issues have mostly meant i couldn’t continue, but i do want to get back to swimming, at least.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?: oh gosh, i don’t even really know. hair? clothes? despite all the sports my proprioception is not the best, so i tend to be watching my feet rather than passersby when i’m out walking.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?: happy endings, i’m a total wuss about horror movies.

8. Any special talents?: i am really exceptionally good at tongue twisters. blame the competitive speech competitions.

9. Where were you born?: maryland!

10. What are your hobbies?: i’m going to put in a broad ‘gaming’ here, for things like ffxiv and gpose, as well as other video games (been playing a lot of zelda lately, as well as monster hunter) and tabletop rpgs (i’m in a couple long-term campaigns right now, and do local organized play, plus i’m running a campaign for a system called—and i cannot make this up—thirsty sword lesbians). writing, too, when i have the braincells for it, although i’ve been a bit burned out on that/directing my writing energy towards tabletop things. and of course reading! i’m making my way through the dresden files currently.

11. Do you have any pets?: my sweet baby panther kitty! her name is misty, she’s the sweetest cat i’ve ever known. (currently she is taking a nap on top of my feet.) we also have two other cats named london and camilla, as well as a jack russell named jojo, although they’re family pets and not mine specifically. (i voted for naming london palamedes instead but was shot down.)

12. How tall are you?: 5'10″! although my favorite shoes have heels so if i have to exist in public it’s closer to 5′11″.

13. Fave subject in school?: always a toss-up between english and social sciences, depending on the teacher. i also really enjoyed foreign language classes! in college i took a really good class on creative nonfiction essay writing that i still go back and browse my notes from.

14. Dream job?: my first job was working a circulation desk at the local library, and honestly being able to work organizing community events for a library would be the ideal. the one nearby hasn’t had any open positions for a long time, though.

15. Eye colour?: blue!

Tagged by: @dragonsongmakhali! thank you so much!

Tagging: YOU.

#memes #about #ty again for the tag!!#i feel like you've tagged me in other things but my notifications have been SWAMPED by bots #i keep either missing them or getting distracted

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mystery-moose · 10 months

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Got tagged by @bettydice for this, and I’m doing it sleepy or else I’ll forget!

Last song: one of the boss themes from Final Fantasy XVI, but that’s cheating and also a spoiler, so I’ll say Baba Yetu, the original version from the Civilization IV opening. I find it optimistic and hopeful, and I needed that while I was finishing up my final for my summer math course!

Currently watching: the new one is about to come out so I’m rewatching the Mission Impossible series! Tom Cruise is a frontman for a dangerous cult and he bears a great deal of responsibility for their crimes, but by god those movies are all incredible! Yes, even the bad one!

Currently reading: Austin Walker currently has a book club podcast called Shelved by Genre, and as a result of wanting to hear his thoughts on basically anything, I’m reading the Book of the New Sun for the first time! It’s kind of incredible so far, a surreal mixture of medieval archaisms and distant future science-fantasy, but I’m really enjoying it so far. Lots of depth to this text, I can already tell!

Current obsession: at the moment? Final Fantasy XVI. It’s not perfect — even with my take that it’s good the side quests are boring actually, I do wish they were more mechanically involving, and there’s some visual customization and the lightest dusting of loot elements that I miss from the RPG stew. There’s also the issue of there being like… five female characters of note, and they’re all either supporting characters with zero plot agency, or unrelentingly evil, and I desperately wish there was a better balance between men and women in both major and minor ways, from cutscene direction to actual plot and writing for them. Especially in a series like Final Fantasy, which is usually better about spotlighting their women at the very least! And I haven’t even considered the diversity issue, which, while I now understand why they avoided it, does still reek of cowardice.

All of that being said… what a goddamn spectacle. I’m halfway through and each boss battle tops the last in terms of raw dollars-spent blockbuster status. The aesthetics both visual and aural are astonishing throughout the game but it’s in the major moments where it shines brightest. There are already moments I’ll never forget, and I’ve basically got to own this soundtrack the moment it’s available.

And the writing is good! With only a couple exceptions, it flows logically, tells its story well, carries a number of themes and touches on some cool subjects… it goes from Game of Thrones to Final Fantasy Standard pretty quick all things considered, but that GRRM flavor is still appreciated, as someone who also enjoyed FFXII and Tactics and has a thing for political intrigue and the movements of troops. It’s a hell of a thing they’ve done, corners cut where they’re least necessary and time spent where you feel it the most, and if any of what I’ve said has interested you (and you have a PS5) then you should check out FFXVI.

So yeah. I think that ranks as an obsession right now!

#moose memes #no for real I was SO frustrated by the Jill stuff in 16 #but they won me back baby #it also helps that I just hit the Mid point #and that’s a breath of fresh air #heh

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e-tan13 · 9 months

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Just finished FF8 for the first time it was very good! I didn’t jive with it at first but it got better as it went on.

Junctioning was super cool and led to a lot of creativity, it was just clunky to operate. It let you get really broken, which is fun, but even with the enemy scaling it was pretty easy to get past it. Like triple Ultima 3 for 1 deal is absurd. Gameplay could be a little slow, I abused the 3x speed for moving around and battle a lot, but I might’ve just been impatient.

The graphical step up from 7 is crazy, I was on remaster so it wasn’t really a perfect representation of the jump between the games, but even with the cutscene quality and the dynamicism of some of the in-game scenes is crazy for 1999.

The FF/KH bullshit goes crazy in this one like wtf does time compression mean. The story went a lot of different places, and all FFs do, but this one I felt like the transition between “sections” of the story didn’t flow as well as other games I’ve played. Not that I think those are objective flaws, just quirks I felt while playing.

Really enjoyed it, related to squall, & really liked his and riona’s dynamic. Liked seeing how the circumstances of the story affected these kids and watching them grow up over the course of the game.

Good game get this out my drafts

#final fantasy 8 #final fantasy viii #ff8 #ffviii

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boopernatural · 11 months

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Thoughts on the last of us part 2?

Omg… you have no idea what you’re walking into anon…

It is far and wide the most impactful game I’ve ever played.

There is a lot of criteria in which I could judge it and you asked and I have the day off so…

Firstly, the gameplay!

In my opinion, the gameplay in this is some of the smoothest, most fun of any game. Just like the first game, the transition from cutscene to gameplay is so fucking seamless I was sometimes taking a minute to realize I was in control again. The vast map and wide variety of controls you have over the character to me is incredible! Playing as Ellie is my favorite, she moves so fluidly and the jumping, climbing, ducking, crawling all of it feels so natural and immerses you so much. The highest difficulty I’ve beaten it on is hard so I can’t speak to the grounded or survivor challenge, but for me hard was perfect balance of challenge while still being fun and not too frustrating. The fight near the end with Ellie as the boss was the hardest one for me. And the rat king was a good chase scene/fight too.

Secondly, the visuals.

Naughty Dog never disappoints me with how fucking stunning their games look. The map of Seattle is seriously an amazing feat. Even during gameplay I’m struck by the beauty of the surrounding world, just like tlou1(esp after the remaster). I play on PS5, and so the graphics are just fucking phenomenal imo. My normal gaming experience is decent quality visuals in a cutscene and then clear jumps to gameplay more focused on function. TLOU2 (and 1) doesn’t make you choose. I seriously want to shake the creatives at Naughty Dog and just thank them for all the late nights and missed family dinners they must’ve had to create such intricate and well made visuals.

Some examples of shots I just think are neat:

Thirdly, the story/character arc.

I’ll admit it. The first time I played through this game I was miserable. Joel’s death was a nightmare come true, for Ellie and me. The scene was so well crafted, the dread building up to it, everything. Joel finally settling in and opening himself up to kindness and even heroism (in saving Abby) was his fucking demise. I don’t know what that says but… well, that’s what happened.

I was able to shelve my grief and enjoy the Seattle bits with Ellie and Dina because like her, I wanted those fuckers dead. The drama between Ellie, Dina and Jesse somewhat mirroring Mel Owen and Abby was interesting, but I felt our Jackson trio was much kinder to each other and healthier and would have worked it out a lot better. Jesse dying was so unfair.

The flashback scenes with Joel broke me. The entire museum arc… god. I’ve never played a video game that devotes an entire chapter to gameplay of something mundane and fun, no threats, no fights, the only interaction is climbing a big t-Rex or spinning a planet diagram. The dialogue is amazing, shows how comfortable they are with one another and that they’re really operating like a father and daughter. Things weren’t all doom and gloom. Joel getting her the tape, encouraging her to wear the helmet and close her eyes and Ellie being fully immersed into this fantasy (similar to what Riley does for her in the DLC with the arcade game!) I just love that the people who love Ellie foster and groom her creativity and imagination.

Ellie was trying so hard to ignore the lie between them, to pretend things were okay, and sometimes she could. Sometimes she forgot that this horrible thing existed underneath the surface.

But of course, it festers and rots when it’s untouched. The finding strings portion was amazing. Joel was OP as hell and I like that the game really shows how nothing will stop him from keeping his girl safe. He fucking kills a bloater with a machete and doesn’t get hit once. Unheard of?! The ending sequence where she confronts him was hard to watch. You feel what both of them are feeling and are somehow rooting for both of them to not have to address this pain.

Ellie returning to the firefly hospital… Joel racing after her, pulling her in for this hug like they’ve done it plenty before, you talk to me…

The devastation in both of their faces when the truth does come out. They both want so badly for this thing not to be here. For everything to be okay.

Then, you get to the theater. Abby is there. I’m thinking: I’ve reached the end! Let’s fucking kill her.

And then….3 years earlier.

I was angry, actually. I did not want to redo these three days as this character I despise! Even though Abby had great gameplay and some awesome fights that were really fun, I found myself just waiting for it to end. I was like game, this bitch killed Joel, sorry but I don’t care about her or her people.

The Tommy sniper bits were amazing and made that all feel worthwhile. Seeing him on the warpath to avenge his brother, and seeing his real darkness through all the evidence he left behind was amazing.

I liked the storyline with Lev and Yara, didn’t like the Owen/Abby abrupt back shots scene. Felt like a very NSFW siblings or dating moment. Not an Owen fan one bit! Felt bad for Mel, even though I didn’t like her as a person. Felt worse for Ellie when she realized what she’d done to her.

Then, finally got back to Ellie at the farm. I was pleading right alongside Dina for her not to go. Joel would have wanted this for her, this safe quiet life with her family. Everything would still be worth it to him if she stayed. He would have fulfilled his purpose. To give Ellie a life.

And then she fucking leaves…even though I knew she would, I was devastated for my Ellie. All I’ve ever wanted since I saw that lil switchblade-wielding lunatic is for her to be safe and happy. But it is in character for her to get in her own way.

Santa Barbara was fun, the Rattlers made me full of rage bc they were so difficult lol but a super unique concept and I enjoyed the play through of those parts a lot.

Ellie being the one to save Abby’s life. I love this. I am biting this I am chewing it I am swallowing it whole. I have so many thoughts on this one choice that I could write another way too long post about it.

Ellie and Abby finally have a fair fight. Even ground, both wounded and weak, both tired of all of this.

I wanted her to kill Abby. Still do, actually. I personally think… you’ve already killed hundreds of people who weren’t even the ones who directly killed Joel lol… but ok. I get what the game was trying to do. I just didn’t roll with it. That’s really my only story critique. And it’s barely a critique cause I like the ending as it is too.

Especially because, after my 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc play through, I grew to like Abby. I enjoyed her scenes and gameplay much more the second go through when I knew what to expect and where it was all going. I always thought her revenge on Joel was fair bc an eye for an eye, he’d do the same thing and Ellie did worse. But looking at her differently helped me enjoy the story more.

It would have hurt a lot more I think, to watch Ellie murder this girl I liked, and in doing so doom the little boy she’d sought to protect. Abby and Lev at the end as a mirror for Joel and Ellie in tlou1 was just… how can I make out with a concept? So. Good.

Ellie’s ending is so gut-wretching and sad I can barely even talk about it.

She lost everything. Her biggest fear was ending up alone. Joel died before she could make things right with him, she lost Dina and Jesse and JJ and Tommy.

The flashback with Joel to the night before he died did provide me a little solace. Merely in the fact that Ellie was able to come out to him, something she was scared to do, and knew that he loved and accepted her as she was. (Honestly how could she ever doubt that?) and that he died knowing she still cared for him and wanted him in her life. I just know he must’ve spent that whole night feeling hopeful and anticipatory for the future. Fucking crushing.

When she picks up that guitar, a gift from Joel, the first bridge he rebuilt after their tenuous return to Jackson, the connection he forged between them when something unspoken was trying to pull them apart, the only way he could truly express to her how much she meant to him, and obviously a way Ellie reciprocated that…

Gone. She can no longer do the one good thing that threaded between them even after his death. And she abandons it.

She leaves the guitar there. The guitar she loved so fucking much she got the moth from it tattooed on herself forever.

I don’t know where she’s going. I’ve seen some say maybe she’s going back to Jackson to try and make things right. Unfortunately… that isn’t the interpretation I had.

I do know that this game made me feel things a video game never has. Living with these characters for so long. I felt Joel’s pain when Sarah died in the first one, and that was a sorrow that carried over into every scene of every game. I felt -viscerally- the horror and agony and pure unbridled rage at Joel’s death. I felt each misstep, each loss, each success and each surprise. These characters are not avatars to be played, they are people, and it’s fucking incredible. This story is complex and huge and sometimes really frustrating and unpleasant, and sometimes you hate it and sometimes you love it.

Neil Druckman said that whether people like his stories or hate them, as long as they’re not ambivalent, he’s done his job.

To me, Neil has done his job tenfold.

#asks #tlou2 #tlou #the last of us #the last of us part 2 #Ellie Williams #Joel miller #Abby tlou #sorry anon this got really long #but thank you so much for asking my thoughts!!#this game ruined me #boopernatural #ps5

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athetos · 1 year

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thoughts on the progression of the Paper Mario series? my friend said Origami King was the first in a while to return to the "classic" paper mario vibe, but I have zero idea what that means

I’ve only played the first 4 games, I’ve heard origami king was a lot better but still missing the charms of the original, it’s a step in the right direction but lacking that classic feel.

Paper Mario n64 - second best game in the series, and easily a 9/10 game at least. Even today the game is still hilarious, the combat is fun, and the environments are wonderful. The boss fights in particular are a blast. Toad town is one of my favorite hubs in any game ever, with so many npcs and attractions that open up as you progress. Keeping leveling up simple, by only offering to upgrade one of 3 stats, leads to way more strategies than you’d think. A lot of brand new species were made for this game, and the enemies have so much variety and flavor. And the soundtrack is wonderful, with many different variations of each tune (toad town has so many changes in instrumentation depending where you are in it). The premise is pretty standard but it makes for one of the best showdowns with bowser. The peach interludes were also a nice change of pace and gave her such personality… and of course the partners were true stars, it was always exciting to find the right character for the right job.

The thousand year door - the best in the series, a true 10/10 game. Everything I said about paper Mario 1 is still true - rogueport is such a darker and “edgier” hub that leads to no small amount of comedy, the partners are equally fun, a lot of the dialogue still makes me laugh out loud, and the npcs are goofy and cool. Perhaps the best part about this game is that it really leans into the paper motif! You can turn sideways to slip through cracks, turn into a paper airplane, roll up into a tube, etc. it’s just… it’s so GOOD. And the plot takes things up a notch, being much more fascinating with more peach interludes that can even feel tense. The Glitzville tournaments, the train murder mystery, the shadow sisters… so many amazing moments. And that’s not even including the sinister final boss fight that did irreparable damage to my sexuality as a 10 year old.

Super paper Mario - the first game to move away from the core formula, changing partners to pixls that while full of personality were less interesting, and to move from turn based battles to platforming. That said, while being a significant departure it’s a blast due to the insanely good story. This game could have been a phenomenal visual novel. For real! The plot had a big impact on me and my storytelling, and many of my friends also agree. I cried. It went to a lot of unexpected places too, such as a G-rated version of Hell of all things, fighting a weeaboo fedora-wearing chameleon guy, and even exploring outer space. It’s a game that’s hard to revisit solely because I find the actual gameplay a bit underwhelming, I love watching videos to see the dialogue and cutscenes.

Sticker star - most disappointing game I’ve ever played, most likely. Chuggaconroy on YouTube has a multi part series talking about why this game sucks, that’s really informative and puts a lot of frustrations into words. But to sum it up, the battle system is changed so drastically that it actively discourages you from battling; there’s so much backtracking because the game’s clues are obtuse and the puzzles make little to no sense; the levels are uninspired; many things are never communicated to the player; the npcs are generic species with zero charm; and kersti is perhaps the most annoying support character in anything ever. It’s not just that they removed the rpg elements, or the partners, or the more “open” world. They literally made the game utterly insufferable.

#insert coins to continue

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owlixx · 9 months

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What I Played This Summer

So, I kind of forgot that I had been doing something worth jotting down, so this is going to cover the entire last month of what I’ve been doing in video games.

- I’ve been trying to even remember what I’ve been playing since I beat the whole Kirby series back in January.

[That was very fun. Has also been fun playing Forgotten Land with gf more recently]

- For sure I tried to do Wario Land next but got burnt out on Wario Land 3 being longer than expected.

[Even just a bit of WL4 has been great. Looking forward to wario world because I played it as a kid. And Shake It as well. Might do all the wariowares too when I get there]

- I got a PS3 and a GBA since then.

[Spent a lot of time just farting around and fiddling with these guys, booting up random games]

- Basically, I had just beaten Minish Cap when Tears of the Kingdom came out, and then I had kind of been between games ever since beating Tears of the Kingdom.

[I did really enjoy Minish Cap despite having to use a guide sometimes and cheating fully on the final boss. Also of course really enjoyed TOTK even if I have some nitpicks like the dungeon cutscenes, lackluster sky islands, the rupee economy, weird control scheme, etc]

- I played Bulletstorm, War For Cybertron, probably some Call of Duty, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

[always wanted to play Bulletstorm as a kid and I think the writing decently holds up aside from the odd R word here and there. WFC I loved as a kid but now seems hilariously grey and gritty. FFTA is honestly really cool but missing some QoL stuff I’m used to in modern SRPG so I had thought of starting FFTA2 and I did, but only to the second turn lol.]

- I beat Sonic Frontiers.

[Its…fine. As a massive sonic fan, I’m not keen to ever replay this one but I did really enjoy the tone of the story, the writing, and my first few hours in the open world. I really hated the cyberspace levels, the mandatory minigames, and the monotony of it all. The boss fight music is easily the best part]

- I played a bit of Redfall as a joke, for like a week.

[Its just worse borderlands, and I’m pretty critical of borderlands even as a committed fan of it.]

- I had a friend over for a week and we beat Lollipop Chainsaw.

[Brilliant game. Tried to transition to playing the similar\adjacent Bayonetta but the writing in LC is too good]

- Twice I purchased around ten (each time) Vampire Survivors-inspired games and played them each at least a little before fizzling out.

[I think my most played was Rogue Genesia until the content well ran out. I did also enjoy Halls of Torment and Brotato]

- I bought a physical copy of Watch Dogs Legion for five bucks.

[There’s nothing…wrong with it, per se, it’s just less than the sum of its parts and I had a hard time feeling motivated to keep playing. I didn’t enjoy the profession system being tied to random collectibles. I did enjoy the base gameplay and the Legion concept, but it just made me want to play…]

- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. And that’s something I want to talk about more in depth in my next post.

#sonic frontiers #Redfall #FFTA #Bulletstorm #war for cybertron #gba #ps3 #lollipop chainsaw #bayonetta #vampire survivors #watch dogs legion #Minish cap #tears of the kingdom #Kirby #wario land

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faroreswinds · 2 years

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Ok, anon ask time

What I’m concerned about in the AG ending is the fact that Dimitri and Claude continue to fight the empire till it’s on its last legs with no power at all. I’m not sure if that can be taken as them invading the empire or not but I feel that the imperialism arguments will be thrown back at Dimitri and Claude.

People will argue stupid stuff. But the Empire started the war, and now it needs to end. It’s still not imperialism.

This does spit back in the face of Houses though, where the war end the moment Edelgard is out of commission. I guess that’s not what happens here.

The cutscene of Shez killing Byleth is also out on Youtube and I can already imagine the reactions from the Byleth fans. I actually feel pretty bad for them.

We already should have known that was something that could happen. Shez is essentially a bad guy in a way, after all.

Luckily, Byleth CAN be spared and this is a good thing. The fans should be ok with that.

Oh no. Dimitri seems to have a racist moment in this game. He says “I was raised to think of the Sreng people as demons who emerged unbidden from the snowy tundra. Considering that, exchanging even a few meager sentences with them feels like a miracle”. I’m really not sure why they had him say that. It feel super ooc.

I saw that but it’s a little overblown. The Sreng people have always attacked the Kingdom, and the two sides couldn’t communicate. Dimitri was bound to hear how monstrous they were. But it’s also clear that Lambert and the Margrave always desired to make friendly relations with the Sreng people, and Dimitri does too.

People are going to use that line as proof but when they do, point out that it’s out of context. Dimitri? Racist? Please.

The most terrible assassinations are these:

1, when Lorenz questions Claude why he sacrifices the innocent Kingdom, Claude said Kingdom had sacrificed alliance in wars hundred years ago.

2, when Rhea questions Claude why he helped who started the war, Claude answered that he did not care who started the war, and something like he only wanted his goal achieved.

Claude is such a mess here. It’s like he took dumb dumb pills. I really don’t know what they were thinking with him. He’s literally punishing the sins of the fathers.

And apparently, Claude can either betray Edelgard in SB OR stay allied with her and go destroy the Kingdom in SB. Of course, it ends on a cliffhanger so we don’t know what happens next. But Claude is always clear, even to Edelgard, he doesn’t want the Kingdom gone. Why is he still helping Edelgard at the end of SB?

I’ve already seen some people happy that Claude allies with Edelgard and are happy that the Kingdom will be gone soon. Like, why? The Kingdom in this game is literally “Leave us alone, please” embodied. And if Edelgard’s AND Claude’s only desire was to remove the Church and kill Rhea, then WHY still march on the Kingdom, you idiots?!

sorry could you post the full conversation between claude and dimitri in gw? i don’t think i’ll okay but i’d like to read it. also have the scenes for the lords all together at the end of each route leaked??

It’s actually coded as a C support with Claude. See link here for the whole thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbmwJj8mTZ8

And as for that, I’m not sure yet, anon. I only just learned about SB’s alternative ending this morning myself.

It bothers me a lot to say this knowing what Miklan did in the past, but… I kinda like him after playing Azure Gleam? He is quite funny. I love the entire Gautier family. I am glad they aren’t really the distant, estranged family many pictured them to be.

I can’t believe it either, anon, but I agree. Miklan when from rapist loser to kinda a redeemed giga chad. I... like him? Huh, funny how that works.

And I just feel so vindicated about the whole family. I’ve been saying for years that I don’t think the Margrave is as evil as they say. And what do you know, I was right! Feels good, I have to admit.

#three hopes #anon asks

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valkyrieblogs · 2 years

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i finally beat 13 sentinels: aegis rim the other day (100%/100%/100%) so of course i'm diving right back in to replay it because i'm having the worst brainrot and have so many fic ideas. replaying it while wanting to do more analysis and character study now that i understand what's going on. prologue & juro (0% - 11%):

prologue:

i forgot how this started off in destruction mode after the initial cutscene. i remembered being a little wary about iori immediately commenting on not having her clothing on inside the cockpit when i first started playing (not that it ever turned into anything fanservicey anyway outside of that one official wallpaper!), but after learning the justification that they're actually in growth pods, it (obviously) makes waaaay more sense to me and i've felt completely at peace with it since.

especially in watching this opening scene, it's also reminding me of one of my goals of this playthrough: getting myself to connect with some of the characters i struggled with a bit more. iori i felt largely lukewarm about, mostly because of the way her romance with sekigahara was handled. (i am so, so aroace and feel like i need a lot more development and build-up for me to get on board with a ship.) i do actually appreciate how, despite her inexperience at the beginning, she still fully intends on fighting, despite frantically trying to understand how to control the sentinel.

juro kurabe: 0% - 11%

i enjoy how, despite the fact that the destruction mode battle we just finished prior to starting juro's route is actually in the future, the context of the movie shiba lends juro already lines up with what we've seen. if not for the fact that the prologue for juro states that it's "a few days ago", i feel like it would make the player question where it lands in the timeline. even with that, it already makes the player question what is fiction and what is reality when the content lines up so neatly, which is so much of what i enjoy about this game?

shiba saying, "soon enough, you won't know the difference between fiction and reality." how he sounds like it's joking but also, with all his memory modifications!! yeah!!! god, the way i firmly refused to trust him when i first played the game, always doubting his intent.

there's also something about replaying these early juro scenes and remembering that no one else can actually see shiba, and how that colours his interactions with the people around him. like how in the prologue, he just suddenly gets distracted from talking to fuyusaka, talking to seemingly no one... before it was revealed officially, i remembered noting his absence in other routes, and how no one talked to him, and felt so validated when it was confirmed.

there's also something about shiba teasing kurabe about fuyusaka that feels different, knowing that this is actually 426? i feel like i was a little hesitant with some of the ships initially (again, mostly because of too little build-up with some of them), but at least in this instance when shiba is teasing him, it makes more sense for him to insinuate that there's something going on with juro and fuyusaka—yes because of the role he's playing as shiba, but also because he wished that was true for him and morimura.

another thing i think is interesting is the way that iterations of the characters have been re-homed. juro no longer being izumi, so he's with the kurabe family. tetsuya ida being part of the shu family. chihiro morimura being part of the fuyusaka family. while i know juro was also given a simulated personality (because of DD-426) that was milder, more tepid, more gentle, i think it's interesting how we see fuyusaka and amiguchi change based on who they grow up with?

i know one of the things i've also been mulling over—only somewhat related to this—is the permanence of AI in the simulation. like, will miwako always exist in sector 4 in every loop? will the other characters always have the same family every time? i know i keep stumbling over how the characters realize that 15 humans in their world (and across sectors!) are unique, but outside of them finding this out through interacting with the mainframe and the data they pull from that, i'm unsure. i just like the idea of some AU where characters loop repeatedly and notice how everyone else changes, but oh, i've seen this person before. why is that, i wonder?

—anyway, back to the liveblog. i really appreciate juro stumbling into the nurse's office only to find this document on himself, and how that also immediately casts doubt on morimura and whether or not she has good intentions, as well getting you to question what's really going on with juro. especially when, if you take the time to talk to her again, she'll start asking about his condition and will immediately offer up more medication—which juro hastily refuses, because of course now he doesn't trust what's going on.

i feel like i don't really have a good read on juro, partially because he was a character that didn't stand out to me as much in my first playthrough. other than him being gentler in his current incarnation, i'm not really sure what defines him at his core? especially when he has so much projected on him by other characters—426 and morimura, both tampering with his memory. also yakushiji, because she wants izumi back—but not kurabe. i feel like a lot of the characters around him treat him like a blank canvas, or just choose to see someone else entirely. the only thing that stands out to me is his love of mechs and kaiju, since i feel like a handful of characters in this are defined by their interests, and so much of that influences who they become.

finally at the last part of this prologue... this moment with miura makes so much more sense to me now, knowing how okino figured out a bugfix for DD-426 and made it so that miura passes it along to anyone who (physically?) interacts with him. and of course juro touches his forehead and inherits that modification to the code, including the auto-activation portion.

i like how shiba also gets irritated, stressing that juro needs to send the sentinel back? and then calms down, immediately realizing what okino has done, and actually seems pleased about it. (which of course he does, when he's inhabiting juro's nanomachines, too!) i feel like the english translation makes it sound like he's more annoyed about it ("okino's damn code"), when the japanese just sounds like him making a more neutral observation about what okino's code is doing. i remember it was this part that originally made me distrust shiba, too, but now... other than modifying juro’s memory to make him forget summoning the sentinel, the rest of his actions don’t concern me the way they used to. obviously this is from knowing what he was really up to, but i also feel like i’m having less of a knee-jerk reaction, especially since i slowed down to pay more attention to his tone in japanese, rather than the translation.

#valkyrie plays 13 sentinels: aegis rim #13 sentinels: aegis rim

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adaru32 · 1 year

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The Red Devil’s Chronicles: Sept to Nov 2022 DMC News Updates - Merch, Collabs, Etc.

Hey there, how's it going? Apologies for being silent for awhile. Got really distracted and busy. Here are all the Devil May Cry-related news updates I've conjured up from September to November: 1. Devil May Cry returns in Last Cloudia. 2. Someone by the name of PresssLee on Twitter is making a fan game based on Dante's and Vergil's childhood. 3. Prime1 Studio releasing a DT version of V. b) And more merch. c) Plus DMC3 Dante and Vergil, coming soon. 4. The English version of the DMCV art book is coming. 5. New Devil May Cry apparel at the CapCom store. 6. The Devil May Cry: Peak/Pinnacle of Combat mobile game gets more updates soon, which includes switching characters in real time, unlockable playable Nero, special move cutscenes, and more. 7. Devil May Cry V now reaches over 6 million copies sold. b) Not to mention it's currently one of CapCom's top selling games. c) And Itsuno talks about his development adventures, with DMCV included in the discussion. d) And Itsuno also discusses his struggles with the PS3 and Xbox360 era. 8. Dante’s DMCV face model, Adam Cowie, dressed up as Dante for Halloween. 9. The creator of Fable admits to using some ideas from the Devil May Cry games. 10. Big decision I’ve made on my part. I used to run a DMC4-Screenshotz Photobucket page to store all of these screenshots I’ve taken of Devil May Cry 4 for the purpose of linking it onto my long, forgotten website. Due to drastic, unlikeable changes made on Photobucket’s part, and losing interest in maintaining the site due to its limitations in the free version, I’ve decided to completely remove that Photobucket account, and all of its screenshots with it.

My Thoughts On These Updates:

1. Not a mobile game fan, but nice to see that some collab projects are making returns. 2. That’s awesome that we get a fan game. I remember when me and a few friends wanted to make our own when the reboot got announced back in the day due to us being unhappy about the direction CapCom was going in. But we had to scrap the idea due to being too busy. 3. Those DMC3 figures are looking pretty great so far. I understand they’re just computer generated, so they might not be the official final look. You never know. I do see some hints of Naru Omori’s style being implemented into these figures. And I love how Dante finally gets a slice of pizza as part of a collectible item. 4. I’d see Japanese fans help translate some of the stuff from the art book, but of course things end up being vague since they’re just concept images and nothing more. Plus certain kanji can be a bit hard to translate. 5. Those clothes are looking SSStylish. 6. I remember hearing rumours of Nero becoming an unlockable character, so it looks like it might actually be a thing. That’s cool how you can change characters in real time as well. And from what I’ve seen in the latest gameplay vids, it once again has gone through a lot of changes with the visuals and characters’ faces. Wonder what new updates there will be after these ones. 7. So happy for CapCom that Devil May Cry V is doing so great. Gives us fans hope about their future of game development and release choices. Fans are still discussing to this day on what DMC6 will offer. I agree and imagine the PS3 and Xbox360 era being a bit of a difficult era to work with. Microtransactions, DLC, and all that tricky marketing stuff are what got introduced and changed the gaming business from then on. Even working with different equipment for better visuals and all of that. Devil May Cry 4 in my opinion wasn’t really up to its hype. Yes, it introduced some new and interesting things, and the cutscenes were very enjoyable to watch, and of course those that enjoyed the mechanics got a kick out of the whole Bloody Palace and SSStylish tournament-related stuff. But the way the game played out just got so boring, and definitely would’ve been as great as DMCV and/or DMC3 if they delayed the game further and implemented what they wanted to from the start. I feel they released DMC4 at a pretty bad time. 8. I was wondering when we were gonna see Adam dressed up as Dante again. 9. Of course, many struggling companies or businesses would want some “inspiration” from good titles. Fable was pretty good and amusing. Never thought they’d take ideas from Devil May Cry. I’m even still trying to wrap my head around where the elements of Devil May Cry are in it. 10. It’s no biggie that I decided to remove my Photobucket account and all of its contents...I can always show my love of Devil May Cry another way. 11. There is one other thing I was gonna mention here which was about that drama involving Platinum Games and Bayo’s original voice actress Hellena Taylor. I’ve decided not to bring that up ‘cause it’s more about Bayonetta than Devil May Cry. In other words, a different topic. Yes, Bayo does have some very minor ties with DMC, and Hideki Kamiya from Platinum was the original director of DMC, but I’d rather keep it just exclusively Devil May Cry-related. If you want my thoughts on it, though, I don’t really have anything since I’m not much of a Bayonetta fan. At first, I heard that Kamiya left Twitter for good, but it turned out that he didn’t leave after all. And Hellena’s one sneaky, greedy, and pompous individual. Yes, I’ve heard of voice actors/actresses getting treated poorly, and yes we do see Kamiya act unprofessional and insane at times. But in Hellena’s case, she’s just seeking for attention to cause a stir, and mislead fans for her own gain. That’s all I’ve gotta say.

#devil may cry #dmc #the red devil's chronicles #trdc #news #updates #gaming

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rooftop--runner · 1 year

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Since some time has passed and since I actually have time to make this post, I’m just gonna list some of the thoughts I’ve had as I went through the game so far because I have way to many thoughts. Then I’ll probably just post as I go along with the game after this.

Spoilers for Sonic Frontiers under the cut for the majority of the first island (since that’s how far I’ve gotten). I’ll be rambling a LOT:

Just from opening up the game the main menu looks so pretty…

Sonic’s voice is way deeper, which I’m not used to, but I think the voice acting as a whole so far from every character sounds better than it has so I I don’t mind the deeper voice at all

In the first cutscene of the open zone they’re actually showing little mannerisms and fidgeting that Sonic does and I’m LOVING the attention to the little details

The writing and dialogue already seems better than it has been

They mapped the homing attack to its own button and not just the jump button, which makes sense because of the combat system, but it’s just weird because I’m not used to it. NOT BAD just interesting (I think it’s the first time they did that since unleashed)

I feel like Sonic is a lot easier to control then usual in terms of play forming, and the double jump is actually USEFUL for once (idk if anyone else feels that way, I just don’t like the double jump of most of the games, I prefer the little boost forward in the air)

I really like that they let you practice certain moves and combos in the loading screens. It’s a nice little touch!

I seriously can’t stop myself from exploring every square inch of the map

They were not lying when they said the full boost is FAST

I honestly thought I would end up thinking the combat is boring but I’m having fun with it! (I’m just not the type of person that likes fighting games and stuff like that)

I love the fact that there’s a day and night cycle, and the sunrise and sunset looks so PRETTY, especially when it reflects off the water OUGH. I when it’s nighttime you can hear the crickets and bugs and stuff in the background I love stuff like that

Of course the day and night cycle means there’s ANOTHER Sonic game where Sonic doesn’t sleep (except for when he literally gets KNOCKED OUT by the titan, oof)

Speaking of the titan I just like the way they made you try to fight it (unsuccessfully) for the first time. I thought that part was pretty cool (and surprisingly cinematic)

OH so the corruption thing in Sonic’s arm comes from when he freed Amy from that capsule! So he’s essentially going to be hurting himself more and more in order to free his friends :( (even though he said he felt like he got a little boost from it, which could lead to a new super form?)

The koco that Amy’s helping is non-binary??

Why do the kocos have bombs?? Why did two of them just die??? (even Sonic and Amy were disturbed by that)

Although I do think there is something weird going on with the kocos, it is pretty cute how they gather around you while your in the options or after you die

OBSESSED with the dance Sonic does after the getting the chaos emeralds from the kocos

I saw the screenshot being passed around but after seeing it for myself I can’t believe Sonic and Sage really are the same height lol

SONIC MENTIONED TANGLE! THAT MEANS THE IDW COMICS ARE CANON TO THE GAMES

I like the added detail of the nighttime only puzzles (it kind of reminds me of unleashed)

After watching the cutscene of Sonic and Amy talking about the chaos emeralds I think the chaos emeralds were absolutely made by the ancients

They brought back those quick time event launcher things from unleashed!

I like Big’s voice in this game! Also was not expecting the pretty much lofi music when you go fishing??

The fact that they put so much effort into the fishing is amazing to me. And the supper intense closeup shot of Sonic they always showed in the trailers was just for when you catch a fish???

Overall, loving this game so far, way more than I thought I would initially

#sonic frontiers #sonic frontiers spoilers #frontiers spoilers #sonic #my post

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