#so if you constantly make fun of the pt for its dialogue you HAVE to constantly make fun of the ot for ITS dialogue | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cellydawn · 3 years

Text

sans IS gaster (OR the sans theory masterpost pt. 2)

Part 1 || ❤️ || Part 3

(drawn by me, color by @magenteel)

Previously, we discussed: Sans and his hand in the destruction of a world, his connection to Ice-E and Deltarune, and how he relates to Gaster. We’re going to continue the thread we left off on.

Section III - Gaster (Cont.)

Snails are mentioned too many times throughout Undertale for them to not be of any significance. As it turns out, they are pretty important in unraveling the mystery behind Gaster and Sans.

When you enter the area with Napstablook’s snail farm, you’ll notice that Sans’s theme is playing despite him not making an appearance.

In one of Papyrus’s phone calls, he mentions that Sans recently bought snail-shaped pasta and says “He’ll probably fill them with hotdogs and slime.” Toriel also owns a book called “72 User for Snails”. Track 72 in the Undertale OST is “Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans”. That’s multiple times that Sans is likened to snails.

Snails belong under the taxonomic class Gastropoda. Gasterpods.

These long pauses between words and phrases are not unlike how Gaster speaks.

Here is Gaster speaking with us in the opening sequence of Deltarune. And...

Now. Let’s move on.

(More under the cut.)

Mus_smile is the track that plays in room_gaster. This is my personal opinion, but the character that is the most strongly associated with smiles is Sans.

And Sans is certainly intelligent enough to be the prime suspect for being Gaster. The proper name for his namesake is Comic Sans Microsoft, or Comic Sans MS. MS can also be used as a suffix for the name of a person who has a degree in a Master of Science.

Sans also owns quantum physics books. The subject of Gaster’s scientific research is revealed in Entry #17: “photon readings negative”. Photons are described as a "quantum" of electromagnetic energy, and are of course within the realm of study under quantum physics.

Gaster, like Sans, is brilliant yet slow-working. Slower than Alphys, who is repeatedly noted to have nothing to show yet as the royal scientist in the eyes of the people and is shown to slack off constantly.

Gaster is implied to have perished, and I suppose he did, in a way, if these speculations do end up being correct. However, there’s something more to this statement. Ghosts are sort of in the realm of being not-alive, and Sans and Napstablook have a surprising level of comparability.

They both:

Get likened to “garbage”

Have connections to snails (Napstablook runs the snail farm)

Speak completely in lower case

Pretend to sleep and say “Z’s” out loud

Have black “sclera”

And the black sclera is also a topic of its own; it’s equated with the status of being brought back to life. Being “determined”. (See: Asriel and Undyne)

Undyne is especially suspect due to the strange right-eye-phenomenon she has in common with Sans, with spears shooting out of hers. Spears that are actually colored light blue, not unlike Sans’s eye.

To recap:

Sans and Gaster are heavily involved in Deltarune

They have been displaced from time and space

They have connections to snails

They are both doctors with knowledge in quantum physics

They both “fell” into the abyss

They both talk similarly

They are both slow

They are both characterized by their smile

They are both some degree of dead

Sans is Gaster or a significant piece of him. Sans has Gaster Blasters because they belong to him. If all prior conjecture proves true, he is and will be responsible for the destruction of a world or THE world within Deltarune. After all, the Latin definitions of “gaster” and “sans” are to destroy and to be without, respectively.

That brings us to the next subject: why is Sans Sans? More specifically, why is that his name? Why even change his name?

Below is the Japanese version of the fun event with Sans’s phone call. It features completely different dialogue from its English counterpart.

Am I Licca-chan? (Select No) Then from now on call me Sans. I need to check every once in a while. I won’t know when my name has changed.

“Licca-chan” is a well-known Barbie-esque dress-up doll in Japan, so popular to the point where it is even used as a synonym for other dolls from different companies. Perhaps it implies that Sans is adaptable due to Licca-chan’s nature as a doll and how she is in a constant state of change to reflect the times. It also seems to be a pun on “liquor” because Sans was talking about beer in the English version. I tried to scour the Japanese fandom for clues, but they also seemed stumped. If anyone has any ideas on what this could mean, please let me know!

Regardless, “Sans” doesn’t seem to be his actual name. Perhaps his true name was Gaster...?

Additionally, If the player changes the name of the fallen child via going into the code, this message appears in the stats menu. The vernacular is very Sans-like, with his frequent use of question tags at the end of his sentences (I counted 14 huh’s from Sans).

Finally, let’s talk about the number six. We know that it’s Gaster’s number--All of the explicitly Gaster-related fun events trigger for fun values in the sixties, Gaster’s stats are all comprised of 6′s, Gaster’s “typer-value” is 666--you get the idea.

The concept art Toby drew for the Alarm Clock’s character screen features what is presumably Sans and the number six.

“The Choice”--the track that plays during Sans’s judgements--is “Undertale” slowed down by 666%.

Section IV - Angels and Demons (The “Why”)

In modern day culture, 666 is closely associated with the devil. The Book of Revelation (13:17-18) asserts that 666 is “the number of a man” (this is important, and we’ll come back to it later) and is “the number of the Beast”. The Beast is mentioned as “coming out of the abyss”.

Sounds a lot like someone else we know, doesn’t it? And how fitting for Sans, the one who judges our sins and demands us “to burn in hell”.

But if we go further, the Beast of Revelation is described to have seven heads representing seven kings. The beast itself is an eighth king who is of the seven and "was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition."

Chara is an eighth of the seven fallen children.

There’s something Chara, Sans, and Gaster all share, and it’s their association with demons.

Here is an excerpt from the Cutting Room Floor:

Among the four strings in version 1.0, the last one, designated by variable “demond”, stands out for two reasons.

The letter “d” is separate from the other letters denoting the demon variables--the rest, “x”, “y”, and “z” are in sequential alphabet order.

The speech pattern of the last string is different from the others. It has that signature question tag at the end of the sentence that a certain character is known for.

In version 1.001, the strings clearly reflect Chara’s speech pattern. This time, all the variables are in sequential order from “a” to “d”.

Pieces of dialogue at the near-end of a genocide route from Chara and Sans. Recall that Chara is using the same “Now” from earlier with Gaster and Sans.

Chara makes a reference to Banana Yoshimoto's book “Kitchen”. Take note of the page number.

Chara is also linked to the number nine. It’s the highest achievable stat in-game. It’s the stat of the locket and real knife. It’s how much damage Chara deals. It’s also the number six flipped upside down.

The connections are undeniable.

And yet, it goes further. Let’s take a look at how Christmas comes in to play.

In Deltarune, there are a few references to it, the most foremost probably being the importance of Noelle Holiday as a character. We also get Lancer’s laugh and the joke with “Krismas”.

Back to Undertale, there is significant Christmas iconography represented by “Gyfmas” and Gyftrot (bearing a strong resemblance to Photoshop Flowey, the DT Extractor, and Gaster Blasters).

What I’d like to focus on is Santa. Papyrus describes him as “a chubby, smiling man who loves to surprise people.” From the thank you note addressed to Santa we find in Sans’s room, we can assume that Sans is a Santa, at least to Papyrus. It’s pretty fitting, since Sans can be described as someone who “knows if [we’ve] been bad or good”. Maybe he can even tell if we’re sleeping or awake with how the Dark World appears to be linked with sleep and dreams (please read my theory on Sans being a Darkner for more on this).

So we can reasonably conclude that Sans presents himself as a friendly, child-oriented figure, in-line with the nature of Comic Sans, a font for children, and Ice-E, a mascot of a company marketed towards children.

…

Santa is an anagram of Satan.

…

To recap: Gaster’s association with the number 666 marks him as a “demon”. Chara and Sans are also called demons and similarly have connections to the number 6. This is more evidence that Gaster and Sans is or used to be the same people, and Chara has some form of correspondence with them.

I failed to mention before that there is actually a second Beast of Revelation “from the Earth” with "two horns like a lamb”. From the “earth” like Flowey, with horns like Asriel.

Asriel is most likely the “Angel” depicted in the prophecy within the scope of Undertale; he’s named similarly to Azrael, an angel of death, and one of his attacks is literally called “Angel of Death”. He also bears a striking resemblance to the Deltarune in his God of Hyperdeath form.

Surprise, surprise, he and Sans also share parallels.

Let’s start with their introductions. “Flowey the flower”. “Sans the skeleton”. It’s a similarly alliterative greeting and they’re both using fake names.

Mirrored dialogue yet again...

…and similar meta-commentary.

These three characters--Sans/Gaster, Chara, and Flowey/Asriel--they have all fallen. Gaster fell into his creation. Chara fell into the Underground. Asriel had “fallen down”. (Sans and Papyrus are also the only sibling pair other than Chara and Asriel. I won’t talk about Papyrus in this part though because this thing is shaping up to be too long already.)

What does this mean for Sans? I have a personal theory.

Above the entryway of the Judgement Hall, there is a reversed Deltarune. The triangles are inverted and the wings are more bat-like. In the room where only Sans appears, the same room that plays a version of “Undertale” slowed down 666%.

I think Sans is a candidate for the Angel prophesized to destroy the world in Deltarune. I think he is Sans Serif, a seraph. He fell into his experiment and became a “fallen” angel, a demon.

The Angel’s Heaven mentioned alongside, on the other hand... Heaven can also be used to refer to God. Dog is an anagram of God.

Sans has many, many connections with dogs, especially one Annoying Dog. More on this next time.

Part 1 || ❤�� || Part 3

#undertale #deltarune #undertale theory #deltarune theory #sans #gaster #cellytheory

359 notes · View notes

mgssummergames · 4 years

Text

speck's mgs bookmark highlight reel - fic recs

speck || team philanthropy || c1 || 15 fics, 5 pts each

Trigger Safety - Otacon/Solid Snake (18+)

An incredibly well-written three-part PWP set right after Shadow Moses; tender and warm without being overly saccharine or out-of-character. Opts for a much quicker burn (in the grand scheme of things) than a lot of interpretations, but the whole relationship still feels very genuine and natural.

Call on Line Two - Otacon/Solid Snake (18+)

Otasune phone/codec sex is a personal favourite for whatever reason, and this set up in particular gets me. Something about Snake effectively slipping and falling headfirst into a sex chatline and just going with it is so in-character and charming.

Sunflower Seed - Otacon/Solid Snake

Esoteric little fic about Sunny, her little family, and the fragility of it all; explores different timelines where things fall apart, one where things are good, and one where things are right–where the Jupiter Family gets the ending they always deserved.

Rest - Otacon/Solid Snake

Set post-MGS4; marriage in the characteristically atypical way that Snake and Otacon do everything. Sunny asks the innocent question of why Snake and Otacon don’t have wedding bands, and maybe giving Hal something physical to remember him by isn’t the worst idea. A little morbid humour and a lot of quiet, tender affection.

Love, and Its Consequential, Untimely Death - Otacon/Solid Snake

This author in particular has a knack for writing fantastic, natural-sounding dialogue between these two, managing to constantly balance funny and sweet with heavier and more serious. This little fic really exemplifies that as it explores both Snake and Otacon’s past relationships as a backdrop for their current relationship.

Knock Before Entering - Otacon/Solid Snake (18+)

There’s something unbelievably funny about accidentally training yourself to get aroused whenever Die Hard is on. Also, Raiden spends the night and gets an earful of something everyone would rather pretend he didn’t.

Dry-Fire - Otacon/Solid Snake (18+)

Nothing quite like a spindly weeaboo dominating a burly man genetically-engineered for his combat prowess as a way to work through emotions. Thotty Snake is wonderful, but it’s really how well Otacon takes to being in control that makes it for me. Just some good ol’ fashioned smut with some emotional weight and plot to it; scratches a very particular itch. Very hot, very good. Just like in Ghostbusters indeed, Hal (whatever the hell that means).

If You Go Into the Woods - Otacon/Solid Snake (18+)

Punishment for thoughtlessness comes in the form of a bear trap snapping closed on Otacon’s leg and a dead dog. Hurt/comfort two-part fic written in fantastic prose with some of the most organic pacing I’ve read in a fic this short. Snake’s characterization in particular is fantastic, equal parts severe and tender.

One Last Goodbye - Otacon/Solid Snake

A fic about Strangelove’s “legacy”, the idea of “preserving” somebody as an AI after death, and how it works as a means of coping and mourning for Otacon post-MGS4. Ouch.

Run From Their Company - Otacon/Solid Snake (18+)

AU, a split in the timeline where Snake and Otacon meet a little earlier under drastically different circumstances. The tension between them is fantastically written, and I really appreciate how Otacon develops throughout the whole thing in particular. Satisfying–the whole thing is just very satisfying.

Dear Dave - Otacon/Solid Snake

A post-MGS4 otasune fic written in the form of letters from Otacon to a man no longer alive. Focused mainly on grief and mourning and moving on. Difficult for me to put into words why it gets me like it does, but this is the fic that makes me bawl almost every line, every chapter, all the way through. Truly one of the most brutal yet beautifully written things I’ve read in a while. Ouch.

Judas Kiss - Big Boss/Kazuhira Miller (18+)

Simultaneously one of the most phenomenally written and gut-wrenching bbkaz fics I’ve read. Much of it focuses on how exactly Kaz perceives and tries to understand Big Boss, and the way Kaz’s thought process is portrayed feels very sincere and legitimate. Definitely heed the consent warnings for this one.

Shot Me Down - Big Boss/Ocelot (18+)

A surprisingly warm and fuzzy post-MGS3 bosselot fit about adjusting to civilian life, set in late 1960s New York. Big Boss is charmingly obtuse, and Ocelot… does his best with what he has to work with; Para-Medic provides dating advice with no context to go off. This thing is the reason “Stupid Cupid” is always going to be an Ocelot song in my heart. It’s good.

Thank You For Nothing at All - Emma Emmerich

For however brief her appearance was, I really did like Emma Emmerich, and it’s nice to see her get some attention. This fic expands upon what little we know of her from snippets in MGS2, spanning from her rebuking a sexual advance from Julie’s husband and running away all the way to the Big Shell incident.

Vis-a-Vis - Kazuhira Miller/Ocelot

There is quite simply nothing more lovely than two people who don’t like each other having to suck it up and deal with it in the context of a roadtrip. Light on the actual romance, but a hell of a lot of fun to watch Kaz repeatedly try to get a leg up on Ocelot and repeatedly fail.

#metal gear solid #mgs fanfic #mgs fic recs #mgs summer games #submission

16 notes · View notes

an-american-teen-against-crime · 4 years

Text

TMB ending pt. 1 Analysis

I think Tomb of the Lost Queen is really fun, but it’s also super confusing. All of the character’s secrets play into figuring out the overall puzzle and there’s a lot of stuff that you can either miss or just straight up doesn’t make sense. I wanted to organize my thoughts on this to hopefully understand it a bit better, or at least understand what HeR was trying to get at.

Obviously spoilers, but you already knew that.

Edit: Just got done . This is only the Dylan portion because it turned out to be crazy freakin long. I apparently have a lot to say on the man haha. The rest I’ll do in seperate parts soooo be back later

I wanna start with Dylan. From what I understand, he is indeed a tour guide. However, being a tour guide doesn’t make him enough money, and so he decided he wanted to get in on the black market. I think he either was going to steal from the sites and then sell them to his connections, or use the connections to show people one-of-a-kind artifacts he obtained through the black market. Or maybe he’d use his tours as a well to sell the artifacts he found? Not sure. One of those. Anyways, he decided the way to do this was through Abdullah. That’s why he wants Nancy to say something nice about him to Abdullah, but I feel like this shows how dumb and inexperienced he is with all this because he has no idea what he’s doing or what he could get involved in.

The way Dylan actually found out the site....okay. I don’t know much about this kind of stuff but are these sites always hidden from the public? i mean I guess I’d understand WHY but I was looking into going on a dig this summer through my college (rip that plan) and. All the info seemed pretty out in the open. Whatever. Anyways, the dig is suppose to be secret, so how did Dylan find it? When you ask him he mentions “some guys” took him and then asks you to drop it for both his sake and Nancy’s. My take on this is that he already does know a few people connected to Abdullah which explains how he even knows that Abdullah is shady in the first place, and they got him there. This circles back to Abdullah but more on that later.

thanks to @naancypants help, I got the window to confront Dylan on the phone about everything, which is right after I talk to Jamila about everything and right before I unlock Lily’s trunk. Essentially he confesses that he isn’t really IN yet and wanted Abdullah’s help, but again, the fact that he already knows about Abdullah shows he knows more than the average tour guide. If you boil it down, Dylan needs money to keep being a tour guide and thought the black market was the way to go. Which c’mon dude, it’s not. worth. it. That stuff always turns out bad for you. Oh and pretty sure that stolen amulet was his, or Abdullah. I feel I should also mention the fake tour guide ID’s, which don’t make sense but I think he would just use them to show Abdullah and be like heyyy see I have connections with groups allllll over or smthn like that.

In the Dylan section I just wanted to bring up Nancy and Dylan’s dynamic. Now I don’t ship them idk I might but I overall just really enjoy their relationship over the course of the game and I really want him to come back in the future and for them to be friendos. I love how casual he is talking with her, they just seem to gel really nicely and honestly it cracks me up how he’s always so down to help you snoop through Lily’s stuff or just gives you crap he finds from Jamila. I think this shows a part of him knows that Nancy is trustworthy and capable enough to figure out what’s going on- he still was dumb enough to think she’d never find out about him bein’ shady but I think he was one of the few people (basically just him and Jamila lol) in this game that knew what Nancy is capable of, which i think is reiterated by the moment when you tell him you found Nefertari and he’s all like “Good job! Knew you could do it!” Also Nancy constantly being suspicious of Dylan and him just brushing it aside and saying something dumb is great- especially when shes like PROVE YOU’RE A TOUR GUIDE OR ELSE and he flat out gives her a fake tour haha. The fact that everyone suddenly calls him “your boy Dylan” to Nancy cracks me up, and also LET ME MENTION that he steps in front of Nancy and basically takes a bunch of boulders for her is wow. Basically without him doing that we wouldn’t have been able to solve the case and Abdullah would have gotten away with everything.

Talking on the phone with him is a whole other thing, I feel so bad for him but his voice actor does a really good job of sounding half-dead lol and I keep picturing him and Jon being buddies for some reason XD And the final confrontation with him? Omg. I love it. Essentially: (I’m acting like you guys didn’t play this game lol I just need to recount this for my sake)

“what do you want me to say Nancy?”

“I want you to say no. And I want you to mean it.”

He goes into why he can’t do that because he “has to play the game to survive, there’s no other way” then SHE HITS HIM WITH:

“Only if you’re not good at playing the game.”

SO SAVAGE NANCY GEEZ THE DUDE IS ALREADY ALMOST DEAD

then we have the glorious bit of him pretending to hang up on her and then she calls him childish and he calls her cruel and she says its because HE DESERVES IT -wow nance pullin no punches!- and that he should:

“...spend your time in traction thinking about which person you want to be. The one you pretended to be with me, or the one you’re desperately trying to become.”

to which he replies:

“I guess you’ll have to call me up once I’m all better to see which person I’ve decided to become.”

SO OKAY I recount all this merely because I love that portion of dialogue but I wanted to break down why. First, Nancy is pulling NO PUNCHES, she is hangin this boi out to DRY. I think this is because she expects more from him- she expects him to try and be better, which is something really cool with Nancy. She says she’s being tough because he deserves it, and I think it shows that she thinks he’s worth giving a second chance to try again. Nancy does this with a lot of people throughout the games, she confronts them and while is really tough on them, she does it because she knows they can do better wish they would have done this more with Henry but oh well. I’m not taking this from a romantic angle, you can if you want to, but I feel like she’s even more tough than usual on Dylan because she sorta...bonded? with him over the course of the game and that’s why it matter so much to her. I dunno I think I just love it so much because this scene is not only a testament to their relationship but also shows off something about Nancy that I really like. She calls you out on your crap but at the end of the day she wants to help you. She wanted to believe the best about Dylan, so now she’s giving him this chance to prove she wasn’t wrong.

I dunno does that make sense XD Basically I really like Dylan as well as his dynamic with Nancy, and that was waaaay to long. But HeR I’d like some follow up cuz the end of the game really didn’t mention how she called him up later to see what he’d decided.

Back later with the rest of the characters haha

#cluecrewplaythrough #nancy drew #dylan carter #seriously so sorry yall #I did not mean for this to be so long

12 notes · View notes

masterbeta29 · 4 years

Text

My review of Pokemon SwSh!!!! (or just Shield, cuz it was the version I play, LOL)

Finally, after finishing the game (including the Post game) and fully exploring the region, I think it’s time for me to say what I think of this 8 gen…

I know it’s obvious, but I mention it just in case: This is MY OPINION!!!, if someone disagrees with me its totally valid, I just ask for respect.

ALSO, English is not my first language so I might have certain lack/erros of spelling out there, or I repeat many words, hehe.

It is important to clarify that this review is based on SwSh base, everything that refers to DLC will NOT be included here, my opinion of the game is already done, the rest is extra content.

I wanted to give this review a more ‘’silly’’ tone, since giving negative opinions on the internet can be quite delicate and I wanted to relax the mood. Do not take this seriously, I still have my CONS with the game, but it is still genuinely enjoyable, which for me is the most important thing in a game. I will talk about everything in general, so I will try to summarize certain points.

LET’S GO!!!

NEW FEATURES

Poke Camp, Curry Dex, Boxes and more

It’s like a dream come true for me, visiting other camps, seeing my whole party next to each other in the screen playing, discussing, running, is something really magical helps, me connect with them and know their personalities better, although I admit that I miss petting them lol and the minigames like in Gen 6. I also really liked the concept of curry as an alternative way to cure your Pokémon maybe I just wish there was a simpler way to know how to create new recipes (ALSO TMs).

Access to boxes anywhere is wonderful especially when you are breeding, just like, changing the name of trade Pokémon and the move reminder.

Rotomphone

It is not used as much as a phone, more than in the post Game (I can be wrong tho) but it serves as Dex and that’s what’s important really, the new feature is that now it includes the bicycle, that can ride both on land and water and in my opinion it is a degradation of what the concept of “Poke Ride” was, but as I said before, it fulfill the function it should.

Trainer Cards

The concept of being able to share and customize them with other players is super entertaining, although it is a bit annoying that you always have to make a new code for each small modification. As for the cards of the main characters of the game, I will talk with a little more detail later.

Dynamax

At the beginning it was fun and exciting, but in the end it just became a gimmick that sometimes I had to use by obligation in raids. It is not as epic as the Megas and does not have the weight of the lore and cultural/regional connection like the Z-moves.

The Giga forms, although some are great, and I am happy that they gave Pokémon like Garbodor love, I also think that there were many missed opportunities, starting with the starters of the region or in giving forms to Pokémon that in previous generations already had like Gengar and Charizard.

Raids

They are incredibly fun, it is an activity that you can spend hours and hours enjoying, especially with friends but if we talk about NPCs… OOF, I understand that the purpose of Pokemon is that we all make friends and work as a team, but DAMN, if it is stressful when you lose a raid with 3 friends and an NPC, because the Pokémon only killed the NPC, it is almost impossible to defeat a 5 star raid with only NPCs, and as I said before I understand why they do them weaker, but there are some that are completely useless, I see you Martin Solrock lol.

Poke Jobs and Rotom Rally

I will be honest, I have not used these features enough to have a solid judgment on these lol.

CHARACTERS

Magnolia

OK, I need to get this off my chest: I am incredibly disappointed and sad with this character, especially since she is/was our first old female professor, to be simply pulled into forgettable land.

It started pretty well, but then it just disappeared until almost the end of the game to give the role of professor to Sonia … REALLY ?! I hate to say this, but she felt more like a device to give character development to Sonia, when she could have been used in scenes with Rose or repeatedly going into further detail about Dynamax for the MC (you know because she’s an expert about that topic…), before give the paper to Sonia.��At least I am grateful that I had a little more screen time in the post game, although not even as a professor.

Sonia

Thank you Sonia, for allowing us to discover and know the story with you, honestly she was the one who saved mostly my interest in the story.

But speaking of the character, I like her, I like her dedication to get out of the shadow of Leon’s achievement and to show her grandmother that she is capable, which she finally manages to fulfill, she still has certain insecurities, but that makes her more human, she’s the real professor (I’m still salty for Magnolia tho)

Leon

Everyone knows from the posts on my PT on Twitter that I constantly bullying the character, but I really like him a lot, he is an excellent guide/brother through the game, charismatic, EXTRA, but very involved in his role as champion, in the sense that he is always aware of what is going on and helping in the process, in addition to being strong (one of the most difficult battles in the game). Definitely among my fav champions with Cynthia, Steven and Kukui (I count him as champion, SU!)

Gym Leaders

I love them, their designs, personalities, the animations, they are all incredibly memorable, my favorites are Opal, Kabu and Piers.

But even so, I wish I had more to go on besides the lore on the back of their cards and their battle animations, I would have liked to see them more integrated in the story, and I feel that it lack a little more interaction with some of them, especially Allister and Melony in my case, but at least the trainer cards were a good addition to know them a little more, outside of being a Gym Leader.

RIVALS

OK, I’m prepared for everyone to hate me, *sigh*:

I… I DONT LIKE BEDE AND MARNIE THAT MUCH?… I mean, I don’t hate them, and they are both far from being the worst rivals, but I did expect a little more from both…

Bede

I am one of the few of the fandom that does not like rivals flat jerks, because for me, that is not a character but rather a trait.

But I wanted to give it a try, and when I was just beginning to gain interest in him, they force his backstory in my face… And as I said, I like trainer cards…but more in characters, like G.leaders because these are characters that we don’t see much around the trip, but in the case of rivals, that appear several times and develop in the story, I personally like to get to know them little by little, discover their story and understand them in the course, here I felt it more as an excuse for me, to feel bad for him, especially at the moment he gives you his card.

His relationship with Rose is not explored enough imo.

And a complete turn-around that happens offscreen, like no joke, the MC literally didn’t see any of it, he just disappears after the Opal scene (but to give him credit, that scene is one of my favorites in the game).

But you know, I understood that he was just a lost boy, and I’m happy that he found a better place, and I admire his effort to want to change, so in the end I ended up liking him a little more.

Marnie

Marnie is interesting, because although I agree with many people that she would have benefited from having more screen time, I consider that a good character does not need all the screen time in the world, is about what but what they do with it, and the problem I have with her is that her time was not well spent.

I like her dream and I really like her relationship with her brother, however there was no moment when I really connected with her. I feel partly, that I don’t know her character, like her various personality facets.

Untapped opportunities: fight with her more times or with her…would have helped the character a lot imo.

Hop

Hop is the best rival of the three hands down, his trainer card contains the right and necessary information to make us have an interest in the character, but also the story lets us know him more: a competitive boy, but who has insecurities, fears of failure, that is reflected not only by the dialogue but also in his Pokemon team (no really, it broke my heart when I realized that he didn’t have his Wooloo in his team), that he is frustrated and suffers, but he gets up, discovers other tastes and with these finds a new path, ugh perfect, I adore him.

Forcing the player to defeat him is torture, it is like defeating Hau in USUM and Wally in ORAS breaks my heart.

Rose

In short: ok character, decent /meh antagonist, and a horrible villain.

Like the climax of the story, Rose is forced in the end to be the villain, when he worked best as an antagonist, his plan makes no sense, his battle is disappointing, although his battle theme is awesome, but it just does not fit the character, the plan, nor the situation at all.

But the character has a certain charisma, especially in his ‘’suit especially in his incognito suit.”

Oleana

Interesting character, with a potential backstory, with motives and characterization, who is underused in the story * sigh *… I LIKE HER THO

Overall, I would have liked to see much more of the relationship between Rose, Oleana and Bede, I think it would have benefited the 3 characters…

Team Yell

They are … ok, it is cool to have a team that is not villain, that bother the player from time to time even for good reasons, I admire his dedication and loyalty.

THE REGION

The region is aesthetically beautiful, the details, the structure, the contrast for example between Hammerlocke and Ballonlea, and despite not living in the UK or having had the opportunity to travel to the destination, according to my friends the region in which the games are based is very well related, which I think is excellent. However, despite the visual beauty, when it comes to routes and exploration it feels a bit limited, there are really some towns, where the most interesting thing to do is complete the Gym, there are almost no reasons to return to the previous town after having passed them…

But, what I missed the most was the lack of exploration, discovery, the charm of the NPCs…

Many have told me: what about the Wild Area? Because of the ability to explore in an open area, it is probably the best in the franchise! and yes, the Wild Area is a very attractive part of these games (I will talk a little bit about this, later), but as I said, everything that is considered part of the capacity of the new console, I will not take it into account, it is unfair, because a portable console can NOT stand a concept such as the Wild Area although the developers had the idea before, not at least at SwSh scale.

And as I said before and again, the T.Cards are an incredible idea, but for me NOTHING compares to getting to know the characters through the world, dialogue, interaction… I’m going to use pokemon Moon as an example to make me understand better: (because it was the last main pokemon game I played before SwSh and that’s why I have it more fresh lol) Where you can enter Olivia’s shop, buy jewelry and visit her room and discover that she is a desperate single woman, or enter Gladion’s room and talk to the receptionist and that she tells you part of his story, that kind of things…

Let’s see for example Melony, we know she has more children besides Gordie, but only for concept art, and yes, probably do unique models would take a while, but I honestly wouldn’t have be bothered if they use generic NPCS, they did it with Lana’s sisters, then the anime can dedicated to giving them unique designs.

Speaking of NPCs (mainly of those inside the houses), many lost the charm and authenticity they had… I mean, where is the lady who told us the story of her husband’s accident or the men of the coffee shop, who every time he prepares us a drink told us the story of where such a drink came from, ect… the NPCS on that side are boring…

EXCEPT BALL GUY, he / she is awesome!

I know this look like extra or unimportant things, but these little details really give life to the region, personality to characters that are secondary, it makes everything feel more united and also makes the main characters feel more inside the world, and honestly that is why on this hand, some cities felt empty for me…

But the other hand, I really liked what they did with the NPCs fans, see how the number increasing every time the MC wins a gym battle, makes the trip to become a champion feel more rewarding, It really helps you feel like a true champion when you got it.

Other examples like the girl NPC who is going to support you in the Gyms while their pokemon is evolving, or how the NPCS react and change their dialogue corresponding to what is happening… beautiful, for this part the worldbulding is 10/10.

The wild Area

Probably the closest we have for now of an open space area in a Pokemon game, I have to admit that I get lost at least 1 half an hour trying to find the next destination (I understand you Leon), it was hilarious lol, at the beginning of the game it turns out to be a fairly limited area, and you really can enjoy it in its entirety when you finish the main story, but I don’t see so much trouble with that, since it’s partly the point, for balance. In general, it is a fantastic idea although I feel that it is necessary to polish it in certain parts, and NO, I don’t mean THE TREE, but I don’t want to be so hard on GF at this moment, because is the first time they experiment with such concept…

Pokemon and Music

I put these two together because they both share a very curious characteristic: EXPERIMENTAL.

The pokedex is super solid, I love how these last generations, GF is doing its homework and is striving to make the pokemon belong to the region, as for animals, myths, culture…muah I LOVE IT, BRAVO.

For me a good OST movie or video game not only has to be for the piece n yes, but how it is composed to accompany the events that occur on the screen, how it adapts and fits a certain scene of the story or character, and although I admit that in general it is not my favorite compared to other gens, there are tracks that have become part of my favorites:

The crowd, the screams, the build up as you gradually approach the last pokemon, ugh. Dynamax is cool and everything, but THIS is the basis for me, of why these battles feel so energetic and exciting.

That mystical atmosphere that catches you, is beautiful but at the same time mysterious, and perhaps many disagree with me, but the addition of the howls of the legendaries… I love it.

STORY

I think the game started extremely well, the introduction to the characters, the exploration, the introduction to the starters, the mystery of the legendary, everything is on track to me to enjoy this adventure to the fullest, but later I felt like it began to fall.

I understand that this is Pokémon and sometimes Pokémon does not need a complex story to make it enjoyable, as long as it makes sense and is entertaining, the problem I have mainly with the story is how they constantly get you out of it. I understand the concept they wanted to do: to take a more realistic point of view, in which adults take responsibility or in this case the champion and that later when you become champion you now can do what the champion did, and I like this concept, but the phrase of “you focus on the gym, we take care of the problems ” they say and they repeat it several times in the game like, I understood the first time!!!

Indirectly I felt like they were trying to took me out, and in consequence I lost interest in the story of the game, if it hadn’t been because Sonia bothered to explain to me the lore and a little of what was happening.

It’s more like “tell us” and not “show us”

and that’s the risk of this concept: you play as a main character, because you want to be a main character or share the role.

The climax feels incredibly forced and confusing, I felt that there was no build out, almost no foreshadowing for what was happening at the moment, everything comes out of nowhere, and thats why, I started making Okami jokes with Eternatus, because I don’t felt that emotion of the ‘’Climax’’.

Definitely in the part where the game shine was in the gym Challenge, as I said before, the gyms, the leaders, the atmosphere within them, the scale, the music that changing every time, until reaching the final pokémon, the challenges that we have to do before, the fans, becoming the champion, all this really is the identity of the game.

Pokémon returned to its roots, where this story is the story of us again, and becoming the champion here is everything, it is one of the most exciting and most satisfying Gym challenge in all generations with gyms.

ADDITIONAL

Here I want to give opinions according to the experiences I had with certain things within the game, which I think are quite PERSONAL, because each person plays different Pokémon, by the team of Pokémon, because he decided to level up more or stay at a lower level or how you decided to follow the story of the game.

Difficulty

Decent, by the standards of Pokemon of course, I try not to leveling to much, and if I do, there are maximum 3 levels and only one pokemon… So, gyms were easy in general, perhaps a pair that were difficult (Allister and Melony), but I never did black screen as in other games, but definitely the most difficult battle in the game is Leon, which I think is appropriate.

Online

Its horrible lol, There were not only once but several times in which I lasted like 1 hour trying to connect with a person, it is ridiculous.The signal falling every so often. But in general the biggest problem I have is connecting with very specific people, not even with the infamous Festival Plaza had so many problems.

Gameplay / Pacing

It is normal the same as always which is fine, some drop of frames out there in certain scenes but nothing serious, some cuts and lack of scenarios / designs that if you should in when they took me a little at the time, but absolutely nothing compared as the haters make it look, the game is still incredibly enjoyable, and it can be played perfectly.

The pacing started pretty well/decently, but from the fourth gym onwards, everything became very very fast, and not to mention the climax and the Pokemon League, honestly all this last arc felt super stuck….

So my opinion in general is: I enjoy the game like any other Pokémon game, it has its entity, it has new and interesting things that I would like it to expand more in future generations and it has personality. Is it my favorite game or my favorite generation? No, I definitely enjoyed other generations more, there were many missed opportunities that they could take more advantage, and I feel bad for GF for making them release this game for this year and these dates, because unfortunately some cuts are very noticeable. But the generation just starting ,so we will have to wait and see what we have for the future. For now, Thanks Pokémon SwSh, for another adventure…

#pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #swsh spoilers #my op #my post #review #I probably forgot something and I also have a lot of types cuz im trash lol

32 notes · View notes

geejaysmith · 5 years

Text

Wolf 359: A running list of things I have a heightened appreciation on second listen, pt. 2

Part one here.

SEASON 3:

Pan-Pan: Still a little miffed they didn't explicitly do the "we have to huddle to conserve body heat" trope. Yes, it's corny, but also shut up, let my touch-starved space disasters cuddle.

So Eiffel stopped Hera and Minkowski arguing in season 1 to address an emergency, and now with Eiffel absent, the team starts arguing again. The fact he doesn't exactly have much Pride In His Own Self-Sufficiency to get in the way of "hey! Guys! Remember, imminent death? More important priorities happening?" tends to defuse situations like this aaaaaand now he's absent.

"Cutter will send a squad of psychos to come up here and kill us faster!" ...she's not wrong.

"Pick a corner and relax! Hop to it!" I just like this line delivery.

"The entire station is a SPACE YUKON and this thing is overheating!" I know, it's like it's symbolic or something.

Episode 29: "we all feel responsible for losing Eiffel and are lashing out because we're scared and sad and grieving and fear getting backlash while we're vulnerable if we admit we need help, and we don't know what to do but keep going because the alternative is breaking down and possibly never getting back up again." Alternatively: "It's Metaphors All the Way Down."

Mayday: Eiffel's frustrated screaming.

Brain Ghost Minkowski showing up like "Yeah, we know I'm a hallucination, or Weird Alien Shit, or maybe just a clever metaphor representing the abstract process of thought, but who gives a crap, this is more interesting than listening to you talk to yourself for an entire episode."

BGM: Hi, I'm your thought processes externalized using a face and personality that you subconsciously think you need to hear from in this situation, possibly because you think so little of yourself you need to hear it from somebody else first. Eiffel: Oh hey cool, this is just like this one web comic I kept up with sometimes back on Earth- BGM: Not another word.

Eiffel getting slapped by Brain Ghost Lovelace, who is a projection of his thoughts.

What is that whispering in his head that reminds him of the Hermes' name supposed to be anyway? Score one for my Weird Alien Brain Shit theory. Having Lovelace's alien juice in your system comes with such fun side effects.

"I dunno, I only know what you know." "Shut up, don't go meta on me." / "Hilbert wouldn't know that word! He's never even heard of Empire!" Yeah, toldja: it's Brain Ghosts.

Brain Ghost Hilbert may represent the realist in Eiffel and the brutal, calculating reality he doesn't want to confront, but Brain Ghosts Minkowski and Lovelace are his cooler head and ingenuity, working him through staying calm and devising a way to survive, and Brain Ghost Hera, who appears when Hilbert tells him it's hopeless, telling him that against all the odds he will be okay, is his stubborn determination to never, ever quit. They're all his determination to live when Doug might want to just stop trying. They're the better parts of himself, reflected in the voices of his friends.

And Hilbert. But I digress- HOLY FUCK, I just realized the brilliance in the one-two punch of the Brain Ghost Brigade contrasted with the previous episode's Stress Fracture Argue Crew, it's The Sound And The Fury all over again.

Paging the Wolf 359 incorrect quote blogs: "Save my friends! And Zoidberg Hilbert!"

Sécurité thru Don’t Poke the Bear: Maxwell! I've missed you! (':

"And I build pretty awesome battle drones on the weekends." ...Does Maxwell have her own souped-up version of one Jamie Hyneman's Blendo?

Eiffel, realizing he's starting to sound like Minkowski: My god, what have I become.

Eiffel mumbling to himself in general. "This is hell and I'm in it."

Is it just me or is Kepler's pig story not as agonizingly drawn out to listen to the second time around?

A Matter of Perspective: Funzo: 12 different board games, three of them TCGs and maybe at least one TTRPG, all tossed in a blender, because Pryce and Cutter are psychopaths.

The Funzo manual is the size of the actual Bible and don't try to convince me otherwise.

How into the game the girls all get.

Headcanon: Minkowski and Lovelace are both the types to get stupidly competitive over any kind of game regardless of their initial level of investment.

Eiffel keeps a photo of (it's implied) him and his daughter taped to the underside of his console...

"He looks so... happy." shUT UP

"I had no idea Eiffel had a-" daughter. Was it "daughter" you were going to say Minkowski. Well, no one else knew you were married til you brought it up, so turnabout's fair play.

"You think you know me? You know the artist formerly known as Warren Kepler, you've met my job. Aside from that, there's no one left for you to know." In light of the series finale, I, uh... I don't if I like this, Scoob. Also, stop reminding me all these people are human persons underneath all the desensitization to horror and violence.

"Happy birthday, Eiffel." They remembered! Hope this one is less traumatizing than the last, Doug.

"Happy Kwanzaa!" "Lovelace."

"Long Story Short, that's the last time I saw Maxwell's feet" wh. What. What happened involving Maxwell's feet. What's. why-

And to make a long story short, that's where my "Maxwell has hands for feet" headcanon came from.

Need to Know: Minkowski's dreams, apparently, include both creating musicals and commanding a deep space mission. She's gotten the latter way the hell off the bucket list, somebody with actual songwriting skills want to get in and write the former with me?

Lovelace overindulging on painkillers for her broken arm after losing Officer Fisher... "It was a difficult time." ):

Aaaand serious implications of the above are immediately headed off by Lovelace quacking aggressively at Jacobi.

Fire and Brimstone: where is my fanfiction about Lovelace overseeing Minkowski during her solitary confinement?

The Backstory Episodes: Zach Valenti wrote all the backstory episodes! I just find that kind of sweet.

Once in a Lifetime: Small detail I only noticed on my second listen, after a fanfic put the thought in my head: Minkowski's parents are only referred to in the past tense. Oof.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice. We had a hiccup in staffing for this upcoming quarter." So... according to the wiki's timeline, the launch for the second Hephaestus mission was some time in late March 2013. The beginning of this episode (and Eiffel's) states it takes place in 2013, with 3 months of training, meaning they were probably brought on board in January and the whole thing moved *ridiculously* fast. Everything points to them wanting to get people up in space as quickly and with as little fuss as possible, giving the newcomers no time to think it over or do additional research. Once they start the training program, they're probably too busy to look further into Goddard's deep space missions, and are likely in an environment where Goddard Futuristics can cut them off from other information sources. The people they select are relatively isolated (Minkowski and her husband being an exception) - the easier to make them disappear. Even Lovelace has been stationed at "a lot of very isolated, very quiet outposts", the implication being her superiors wanted her somewhere out of the way. Kind of makes me wonder about the rest of the Hephaestus 1.0 crew...

Greensboro: Nice ominous foreshadowing you've got there vis a vis Captain Lovelace and "are you an alien?"

Decommissioned: "We're not about to force anyone to do something they don't want to do!" ...Marcus Cutter deserves to have his trousers ablaze constantly.

All Things Considered is still a bit confusing (because I somehow keep listening to it while doing something else) and I'll need another listen to figure out what probably actually happened, but it is also hilarious.

"Eiffel had engaged the machine, but that's why I build in extra safeguards. My mistake, clearly, was to assume that would be enough to stop the slapstick routine."

“All Things Considered”: Did you have fun with this over-the-top romp of hilarity and and hijinks, dear audience? Good! Because that was us burning off our comedy quota for the rest of the season. Get ready for six whole episodes of nonstop emotional gut-punches!

MEMORIA.

Just... Memoria.

Putting this quote here because of Reasons: "Three years... Three and a half years... I've had this thing in my head breaking me, and making me think it was all my fault, that there was something wrong with *me!*"

So Memoria is still one of the best episodes and the last five minutes fuck me up in a special little way.

Time to Kill: "Or the one outside is the real Jacobi... and the alien is already in here with us." The funny thing, Maxwell, is that you were half-right and didn't even realize it, and you *were* just speaking to Lovelace.

So... do alien duplicates only get reloaded from the singular "snapshot" of the person, or does getting flare-scanned once give them a continually updated source of info? What I'm getting at is: if another Jacobi shows up post-finale, would he need to be filled in on events between his horrible, terrible death and the present?

Persuasion: Maxwell switching to First Name Basis to get Jacobi to be honest with her.

I always forget until the scene after that Hilbert is totally setting up the Space Telephone to manipulate her, but of all the ways he could've gotten Minkowski around to "we are disposable and need to act *now* before these people decide they're done with us", it still kinda touching that this is the method he chose.

Desperate Times/Desperate Measures are just a blur of "oh god oh god oh god" and it's just as nailbiting the second time around. One thing I love about this podcast is how comfortable it is with (for its medium) long stretches of silence, which can feel a LOT longer when you have no other forms of feedback except dialogue to know the first gunshot was just a warning.

So you really *do* feel Minkowski breaking out into laughter when Eiffel tries to invoke Air Force code is a release of the tension that's been building for multiple episodes. Like he's finally gotten through to them just how far this has all gone and how much further it could still go. I keep saying this: when the situation starts to threaten violence, he's got an amazing gift for keeping the rest of the crew in touch with their common humanity when the rest get far too used to a world that runs on self-interest and subterfuge. Hell, he even gets Hilbert and *Kepler* opening up over the course of the story (presuming Kepler is being honest when he talks about being a shell of himself, but even though he was trying to manipulate Eiffel, that doesn't exclude there being a kernel of truth in those words).

Speaking of Kepler: he's definitely riding the adrenaline high of the situation and it turns him into a monster with a manic streak. It makes Jacobi's and Maxwell's relative calm all the eerier by contrast. Those two really do make you forget that all of this is... pretty horribly routine for them.

Until they meet their match, that is, when the women of the Hephaestus refuse to stand down, and each of them is unspeakably badass in their own way. What Kepler didn't account for is that they're ready and willing to die together rather than sacrifice one another for their own survival.

Although again, the irony of the situation is that just dropping the station into the star could have let them avoid, /gestures at season 4. BUT I'm not gonna rain on the Badass parade here.

Bolero, aka "The podcast kicking me in the feelings while I'm down."

The way Minkowski orders everyone else out of the room before Brain Ghost Lovelace conversates with her. ...did she pop up in the middle of that conversation, I wonder? And all this when psi-wave radiation is spiking, apparently. Coincidence?

Oh come on Hera, war is no reason to end a friendship- Look, I came here from Metal Gear. I see folks dunking on Hilbert and I'm just over here like "he's still not as revolting as Huey Emmerich."

Listen I've seen enough of Warren Kepler and Marcus Cutter in this fandom to know y'all aren't above liking a bad guy, you just prefer the ones who're having fun with it.

"You're gonna come to my funeral! And you're gonna like it! ...I mean you're gonna feel really sad! And cry! And stuff! GOT IT??" Ah, good ol' Eiffel.

THE COMPUTER ALSO HAS BRAIN GHOSTS

"If I'm not your doctor, then what are we?" "We're... complicated?" Listen, Eiffel, if you're not careful, I'm going to start shipping you and Hilbert ironically For The Lulz, and we all know where shipping things ironically always leads.

Errybody gets brain ghosts this episode. Again: I accept that this is a device that's more interesting than an alternative method of expressing these same ideas, but the ambiguity of a Watsonian explanation (is it all in their heads? Do they really see an apparition of some kind?) lets me do my Weird. Look, I once wrote in a joke in a fic about Death from Discworld complimenting a Quirky Miniboss Squad member from Metal Gear Solid 3 on his taste in interior decorating arena design, and that spawned entire subplots in projects for two different fandoms, and eventually roped in a third fandom to elaborate further on their now-intertwined cosmology. Do not underestimate how much I can give myself to work with.

The last ten minutes of Bolero also fuck me up in a special way, partly because We Are Dealing With the Hard and Unavoidable Fact of Death but also the aliens are about to throw a curve ball that'll... alter that last part a little.

Like, words cannot describe the "Dead Man's Curve in the wet" hard right turn of going from being in mourning for several beloved characters (including my favorite) to SURPRISE, SHE'S BACK! I love it.

I'd have to check the scripts to be sure exactly because some words got lost in Lovelace's respiratory spasms but I do like to imagine the her head wound closing up in front of a horrified Eiffel and Minkowski, with a side order of glow-y shit. I've drawn too many Homestuck god tier revivals I guess.

Update: I DID check the recording script's stage directions to see just how disgustingly physical the whole event is and okay, so no weird glowing shit (I reserve my right to depict it that way anyway) but I'm delighted to report that the gross anatomical-ness I was picturing? It's worse! It is so much worse!

The goddamn AGONY that is the Special Episode being TWO HOURS LONG when it comes right after the BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER IN THE SERIES.

You have NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF TEMPTATION IT WAS TO SKIP THIS AND COME BACK TO IT LATER

LOVELACE 1.0 I LOVE YOU BUT ALSO I WANNA TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING TO FUTURE-YOU RIGHT NOW

Change of Mind: love the framing device placing this episode as within Lovelace's mind during her successful cranial reconstruction saving throw.

"Buncha nerds, gonna crash my-"

Just how familiar she is in this place, with these people... Hera was installed in her sister's grave (as another post put it), but Lovelace lives in the gutted cadaver of her home.

Zach Valenti's Lambert voice *does* sound like a bad Minkowski impression.

"I have a physicist to put the fear of *me* into." That's my girl. She kind of was more of an ass pre-Total Party Kill, though? Like come on, Isabel, how necessary *is* all this arguing with Lambert?

Fourier's voice is very nice, also. Very soft, very easy on the ears.

I'm now appreciating how it sounds like Fisher is the older and calmer mediator among the crew.

Also the image of Isabel just floating out in space and listening to some chill tunes is sooooo good.

Hey Doc, did it turn out Fisher was too perceptive to live. Was getting caught outside in that meteor shower really an accident. Hey. Hey Hilbert. Answer me.

Also goddamnit, has EVERY character in this series has read Harry Potter?

Did the Fishers always differentiate each other by audio channel? I had to rewind the scene when I realized Lovelace's questions in my right ear weren't getting an answer.

"Say you're a big pink elephant!"

*gunshot* *gross biological dissolving noises* WHY

"Just because somebody made you something doesn't mean that's all you're going to be - you can be more!" I wrote this line down prior to the end of the episode's confirmation that it's a Big Thematic Point.

Aaaand we're back to the framing device, and with that, season 3 wraps. Or maybe season 4 kicks off? Either way, hell of a way to kick it off.

Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs had a hand in writing this episode? Aw... that's sweet...

So, yeah, headcanon: Alien resurrection does the weird glowy thing to close any obviously fatal maladies, then the gross biological viscera part kicks in, hence Lovelace sounding like she's trying to hack up her lungs as soon as she starts using them again.

Listen, sometimes the gross biological viscera parts are my favorite parts, okay? Okay.

#wolf 359 #wolf 359 spoilers #long post #i underestimated how detailed these posts would get as the plot ramped up lmao

10 notes · View notes

flarebossmalva · 5 years

Text

the catghost post, pt. 1 [intro saga]

i said i was gonna talk about catghost, and then it turned into attempting to explain catghost by summarizing it, and then it turned into multiple posts because there’s a lot of material to cover and i want to do a thorough job. watch the intro saga first because this is a good series and you should check it out for yourself before listening to me ramble about it!

CWs for part 1: murder, images of dead bodies / skeletal remains, other disturbing imagery (including a couple jumpscares), one image depicting animal death (it’s near the very end of the post)

Alright, I’m posting with decent grammar so you know it’s serious. If you’re just here looking for a brief overview of the series, here’s my crack at it: CatGhost is a multimedia ARG comprised primarily of YouTube videos and accompanying minigames. It’s ongoing, and I plan to update this post as the series itself updates. On the surface, the videos resemble other YouTube cartoons, following the tried-and-true formula of two characters comically tormenting a third; however, something else is clearly going on below the surface, and it quickly becomes clear that these three are tied together by very dark circumstances. Much of what’s really going on is still unclear, but enough has been revealed that I can talk about it without constantly resorting to pure guesswork.

This is part one, covering the Intro Saga (first three videos and their associated games). Like I said, I wanted to be thorough and if I didn’t split it up into separate posts this would get way too long. It’s already too long.

CatGhost 1, “Birthday,” opens with flames filling the screen, then a ripple effect playing over the title card, which I mention because that’s gonna make a whole lot more sense in a minute. We then see our main cast, Elon (cat), Naarah (ghost), and Gideon (hedgehog). Gideon is asleep and the girls are making fun of him. From their dynamic, it seems Naarah’s pretty young and Elon is sort of a big sister figure to her, which means they’re probably close in age. Gideon is 48; today is allegedly his birthday, though he seems unaware until the girls tell him so. Gideon seems generally confused about whatever’s going on and just wants to go back to sleep, but the girls want to take him out to someplace called “Party Country,” and eventually they end up threatening to curse him if he doesn’t comply. The threat seems pretty real as the girls’ voices turn demonic and their eyes glow. Gideon gives in, though it’s unclear if he even realized he was in any danger.

Next scene, Gideon is presented with his birthday cake, which is... pretty wonky-looking, to put it gently. Pecking order for the trio gets further established when Naarah intimidates Gideon into saying the cake she made looks fine and seconds later Elon comments that the cake isn’t very good. Naarah defends herself and says that it’s hard to bake a cake without hands, to which Elon sympathizes and says that her paws aren’t much good either. Naarah says “I miss having a body.” The girls were human once, and seem to remember it clearly. Gideon, on the other hand, interjects saying he has no idea what they’re talking about. Whatever circumstances have bound these three together, Gideon seems to be the only one with no awareness of what’s going on.

Party Country turns out to be an arcade cabinet. Gideon is encouraged to play, but he seems completely apathetic about the game (Gideon seems completely apathetic about most things) and dialogue implies he may not even know what a video game is. Naarah calls Gideon “Dad” at one point while she and Elon bully him into playing, a detail which could lead one to guess a major twist way in advance but which I actually never noticed until just now. Gideon gives in and starts playing, declaring that the game (which we can’t see yet) is actually pretty fun, but the girls continue to tell him to play as if they can’t see that he’s already complying. We then cut to the game, which I’ll talk about more below, but suffice it to say that unless your definition of “fun” is all about talking to fucked-up skeleton ladies in some haunted woods, this is not a fun game:

Afterwards, Gideon wakes and assumes he dreamed the whole thing until he sees the ugly birthday cake Naarah baked. He waves goodbye to the viewer, breaking the fourth wall; an odd thing for a character who shows so little awareness of his surroundings to do.

The game associated with this episode is the same game shown in the episode itself. It’s pretty simple; you play as Gideon and can move left or right through a gloomy-looking pixelated forest. There are two NPCs and a small number of objects to be interacted with, all of which can appear randomly. For now, we’ll focus on the two NPCs. Both are skeletons, and both wear simple dresses of the type peasant girls might wear; one is tinted red, the other tinted blue, with the blue skeleton being notably smaller. When interacted with, the red skeleton will say “It burns! I can’t feel my skin,” or “Trapped like a fly in a jar,” or “I have taken on my new form.” The blue skeleton will say “It’s cold here, I can’t breathe,” or “I have to save him, he waited for me,” or “She lured me into this place.” Is the fire/water motif from the episode’s opening starting to seem relevant? Oh, and there’s more. One game object is a sort of upright stone with a hole cut into it near the top; I’ll be calling this object “Key” as that’s how it identifies itself. Key can be interacted with by typing questions, to which it will give an appropriate answer based on words/phrases it recognizes (like Tool in Petscop, incidentally). If we ask Key certain questions about our main cast, we can learn a lot about the story.

Ask “Who is Elon,” and Key tells you, “Temptress.” Asking the same question about Naarah returns “Proselyte,” while Gideon is “Judge.” If you ask what happened to any of the main cast, you’re told “Vanished.” However, asking for death dates yields results; Elon and Naarah both died in 1650, while Gideon died in 1672. Ask where each of the main three are, and you learn Elon is “In a jar,” Naarah is “Immersed,” and Gideon is “In a dark place.” Given all that, I think we can put the basic setting together:

Elon, Naarah, and Gideon were all human once. They lived during the seventeenth century in what is now the northeastern United States. Naarah must have been a preteen or young teen at the time of her death; Elon was likely a young adult in her late teens when she died, and the pair met their respective fates at or around the same time. Gideon lived into his late forties before dying, which speaks to a life of relative comfort for the time and place, befitting a judge. The animosity between the girls and Gideon seems pretty clear: Gideon sentenced both of them to death for witchcraft. Elon, represented in-game by the red skeleton, was burned at the stake, and her ashes were subsequently stored in a jar. Naarah was drowned by being tied to a chair and immersed in a large body of water (this was a common execution method for suspected witches, and the presence of a chair hanging from a rope in the game supports this); her remains are still underwater. Gideon was most likely given a traditional burial after he passed away of, most likely, natural causes. The wrinkle is that Gideon seems to have been right — Elon and Naarah are witches. Elon (the Temptress) taught Naarah (the Proselyte) the craft. Now all three appear to be stuck in the world of the show, which I guess is some sort of weird limbo, and only Elon and Naarah know what’s going on or who they used to be, probably because they are witches.

We can also take some more guesses at what might be going on based off the interactions the main cast have with each other. For instance, Elon’s the leader of the group and generally takes charge, but it’s clear that at least some of that confidence is an act and she doesn’t really seem to be pulling the strings here. The two have plenty of reasons to hate Gideon and could easily use their magic to put him through hell, but instead they don’t go beyond pushing him around and making fun of him — Naarah even bakes him a cake, which she complains about the difficulty of doing. This could imply the three have been trapped in the afterlife with each other ever since dying and the girls have finally gotten tired of exacting less petty revenge. It could also mean that deep down they’re fond of Gideon and don’t really want him to come to harm, which is a strange relationship to have with the man who ordered your torture and execution. Later videos will shed further light on the dynamics between the three, but for now we’ll leave it at that.

One more thing before I move on — asking Key any question containing the word “murder” will trigger a jumpscare. Initially, this was of what appears to be Naarah’s corpse, but it’s since been changed (we’ll talk about that change later). Here’s the original jumpscare showing Naarah:

CatGhost 2, “Knock,” is more straightforward and thus will take me less time to summarize, thank god. Elon and Naarah are telling knock knock jokes. Gideon completely fails to understand the joke, and possibly completely fails to understand the concept of jokes, and the girls get so pissed they put some sort of curse on him and he winds up locked in a dungeon-like room. The door bears a large ornamental mail slot that looks like some sort of gargoyle’s face, with the slot as its mouth. Gideon is instructed to write a knock knock joke that’s actually funny and slide it through the door if he wants to be released. His first attempt is rejected (it doesn’t even have a punchline) and so Gideon tries to think of another. Cut to the words “2 years later” and Gideon’s still trying to write a funny knock knock joke — this series isn’t above the typical cartoon tropes and I love it. He finally comes up with one (Knock knock / Who’s there / Anita / Anita who / Anita get through this door!) and triumphantly slides it into the mail slot, which then grows larger until it takes up nearly the entire door, the “mouth” gaping wide. Gideon stares at it and is seemingly hypnotized. Disturbing images tinted blue and red flash across the screen, before the camera pulls back and Gideon is shown still in a trancelike state as the girls look at him, confused. Naarah says he’s been staring at that door a while, and she and Elon seem mildly concerned, but decide poking him with a stick would be more fun than helping him. Credits roll.

For this episode, much of the worldbuilding is in the form of freeze-frame bonuses and background details, meaning you have to pay close attention to catch everything. When Gideon is teleported to the cell, images flash onscreen showing an inverted cross and the word “EXCRUCIATE,” all tinted red (the color generally associated with Elon), as well as what appear to be human bones and a girl’s face, tinted blue (the color associated with Naarah). In the cell with Gideon is a skeleton, though he seems not to take notice. One wall reads “Wild Partes of the World,” which is a complex reference I won’t attempt to explain in full (the phrase has been quoted and quoted again across multiple books) but in context within the rest of the story refers to early seventeenth-century Virginia, which must be where our main trio lived as humans. Text is shown written in the Theban alphabet, a substitution cipher based on the Latin alphabet and generally associated with witches and occultists. When Gideon is hypnotized by the door, he sees a judge’s podium, a jar (presumably the one containing Elon’s ashes), and a hanging chair (as was used to execute Naarah). Images of graves are shown, inverted and flipped upside down, along with a similarly distorted picture of a row of houses. During the end credits, the background appears to be lava with yellow flashes moving across it; putting all these yellow flashes together results in this image:

Audio during the intro, when reversed, is of a voice saying “I don’t know. I don’t know where it’s at. I think they’ve been looking for it for a long time, but… sometimes it seems like we’re just never going to find it.”

The accompanying minigame features the door from Gideon’s cell, complete with its ornamental mail slot (browsing the wiki, because of course there’s a wiki and of course that’s how I’m getting images for this post as well as checking for stuff I missed, it seems fans call this the “Horrible Beast door”). The door can be interacted with by knocking on it using tap code; if the right words are input, the game will display a corresponding image.

“Megalith” produces an image of Key, the stone you can question in the previous minigame:

“Libation” shows Gideon’s unfortunate-looking birthday cake:

“Trinity” shows the shadows of three people, what appears to be a man and two girls, most likely our main trio:

“Excruciate” shows what is presumably the stake used during Elon’s execution:

“Proselyte” shows what must be Naarah’s skeleton, along with the chair she was bound to, laying at the bottom of a body of water:

CatGhost 3, “Window,” opens by showing that same body of water, although there is no sign of the chair or of Naarah’s remains. We then cut to an outhouse in the show’s typical animated style. Elon is inside, preening, when a noise outside startles her. She checks and discovers a small hand mirror, with Theban writing on it reading “For Elon,” though the text is mirrored and upside down. Elon seems confused and flips the mirror open, whereupon she sees a black-and-white image of a mysterious woman, her face completely in shadow save for her glowing white eyes. When the woman raises her head and makes eye contact with Elon, the cat gets so spooked she drops the mirror and flees. Elon runs back inside, entering via the Horrible Beast door, and is greeted by Naarah, who’s acting suspiciously and asks if Elon saw anything interesting outside. When she’s asked point blank if she’s the one who left the mirror there, Naarah denies it and blames Gideon, and even though it seems obvious that she’s lying, Elon doesn’t question her further. She confronts Gideon, who is chopping wood and seems enthusiastic for once, and tells him — I’m only paraphrasing slightly here — not to use witchcraft to fuck with a witch, or else [colorful threat omitted for brevity’s sake]. At the end of this rant, she briefly shapeshifts into some sort of demonic chimera, with a snakelike body, horns, and quite a lot of teeth. Gideon, who as usual has no idea what she’s on about, is suitably terrified.

Elon, back to her regular form, goes back inside and picks up what appears to be a crayon drawing of a blue girl hugging a taller red girl, accompanied by Theban that reads “From: Naarah, To: bestest best friend.” We can presume Naarah is the blue girl and Elon is the red girl, of course, but of interest is the small form next to the house in the background. It looks like it could be a dog, and, given later events, it almost certainly is a dog.

The drawing had been resting on a large object covered with a cloth, and Elon, curious, pulls the cloth free. Underneath are three mirrors, angled so they all face towards her, and the strange woman from earlier (some fans call her “the Watcher,” which I’ll go with for now) is reflected in each one. Elon is frozen in place as the three Watchers advance towards her, and she begins to cry. The Watcher points a finger (from here on there seems to be only one of her, not three) and Elon begins levitating as the background glitches out. She’s tugged towards the Watcher, and when the outstretched finger touches her forehead, the screen goes white.

Then we’re back to the pixel graphics from the first minigame, in the same dark woods as before, but Elon and Naarah aren’t skeletons — they’re living girls. Elon is pale, with long red hair and blue eyes; Naarah is quite a bit smaller, with brown skin and dark blue-tinged hair in pigtails. Interestingly, Elon wears a blue dress and Naarah’s dress is red, despite their typical color associations. Elon stands over a crying Naarah, her expression sullen. After a few seconds, the credits roll.

This time, the “minigame” just shows a static image of a mirror. Well, almost static — the clock resting on the dresser below the mirror moves in real time, matching the time set on the player’s computer. At exactly three AM system time, the Watcher appears in the mirror, which is then overtaken by static, and the scene changes to Elon and Naarah as we saw them during the end of the last video. Initially, it seems to be the same as before, with Elon standing over Naarah as she cries, but this time there’s dialogue. Here, have a transcript I stole from the wiki because it was easier than typing it up again myself:

After this, the mirror becomes static once more; if you wait three minutes, this image displays for a single frame before the game closes:

So, yeah, I think it’s safe to say that’s a dog in Naarah’s drawing. This also seems to explain why she’s crying in the scene we just saw. Why the dog was killed (sacrificed on an alter, looks like) is a mystery I’ll tackle when we cover the later sagas.

Also, in the interest of equality, this time it’s Elon who jumpscares you if you type “murder.” Typing doesn’t do anything else in this game, though.

That concludes the Intro Saga! This post is already really long and I’m not going to bother giving closing thoughts at this point especially considering the series is still ongoing. Stay tuned for the next installment, coming whenever I get around to it!

#holo casting #catghost tag

2 notes · View notes

fantywriting · 5 years

Text

“Beauty of the Sea” Q&A

I re/moved a bunch of unnecessary episodes on Tapas to make more space as we get closer to the end of Beauty of the Sea. I didn’t want to get rid of the Q&A entirely so I’m moving it here!

These are the questions from the Q&A that I got. It’s not a lot because some of the questions spoiled some things, so if your question isn’t there, that’s why. Thank you for sending your questions. I didn't include anyone's name for the sake of anonymity.

"How did you come up with the concept of the culture involving the sea, the greetings with "May the tides be with you" and such, as well as the recurring mentioning of the people whose homes are constantly swept away by the waves and they have to rebuild them every day?"

There's a lot in this question, so I'm going to tackle it one thing at a time:

1.) So, referring to the culture involving the sea. I got the idea from looking at Spanish-speaking countries and their national animals, like Spain's is a bull, Mexico's national animal is a Xoloitzcuintli (a type of hairless dog), and Puerto Rico's is the common coquí (a frog). And while looking at these animals, I wondered what it would be like if they revolved around them entirely. So, I started rough drafts and came to the conclusion that animals seemed a bit too hard for me to write with, thus the sea. I didn't get the idea of using the sea as a part of the story until "Written In The Water" by Gin Wigmore started playing and it happened. The title of the song alone was a big inspiration for everything being apart of the sea. I really wanted to create something that involved the sea in some way.

2.) The "May the tides sway with you" is from chapter 1 and I put that in there to elevate the whole premise that the sea plays a major part of the story. Like, we learn that Aeonia is not only the goddess of the sea but also the capital of Aecor. Is there a relationship there? Maybe, maybe not. You tell me. But yes, Aecorian society revolves around the sea: the sigil, the rhetoric. It's heavily engraved into Aecor but the story doesn't expose you to all of it and I did that on purpose. One reason was to keep the plot going but also because we're dealing with not only princesses and princes but individuals who don't need to use this sort of dialogue. Sure, of course, we see it with the servants in the palace but that's it. As for other interactions with this, we'd need Queen Vitana to go outside of her castle walls and interact with her people. We don't see this with the Coasters though.

3.) The Coasters were inspired by what happened in Puerto Rico. It really hit me that they had to rebuild everything and start over, so I took it up a notch and did it every day. The tide washes away their homes and their family every night. There's a lot of loss there and I show it when Cora arrives to emphasize that because, while it's introduced in Chapter 1, we get to actually witness it for a moment, and only a moment.

Is Azolda ever coming back? I get she died and all but Cora just left her for dead.

She died when Cora touched the crystals and there was that explosion if you remember that. If what you're asking is for some justice done for her, that's a bit harder. She's a really impressive character on paper for me, but if we take a look at her affects in the story, then her death changes a lot.

"What's the whole deal with the rippling water effect on Cora? Is she connected to the sea somehow? Also, what's the whole deal with Cora's dad and Amor's mom? Also, aslo, What's the missing dead parent thing?"

So, if you remember Azolda then you should remember the crystal cave. When Cora touched the crystals in the cave something set off. The crystal cave lit up and everything smoothed over. The next chapter Cora's arms ripple. There's a connection there and you see that the ripples are similar to Aeonia's on the boat that first night. If she's connected to the sea, I won't tell you if she is or isn't. ;P

As for the parents, Amor's mom, well, we know where she's at. But what's the whole story there? I can't give off that much. And Cora's dad, eh, he's her dad? that's all I can give you. I'm sorry.

What's Seran's backstory? What's does he do? I understand he tracks and hunts—sort of— but what does he actually do?

Spoilers, dearie. And what he does? Slow Meal definitely puts that in the open but for further clarification, he's essentially the commander for Fleur. Controls the government and keeps things in order, to say the least.

I'm confused about the hierarchy situation, could you possibly explain?

I'm assuming you mean of Aecor, so that's what I'm going to go with:

First off we have queen Vitana and her King. They did the woohoo and had Cora, so essentially, Cora is next in line when she comes of age (18 years old) or if her father passes, disappears, or is resected from the throne. Unfortunately, something happened to her father but Cora was not of age when it happened, so in the meantime, Vitana rules as Queen Regent. But, Cora is supposed to marry Amor. But, wait? If she marries Amor doesn’t that mean she’ll have to leave Aecor and go to Gillaria? No, not necessarily, that's not how it works in this situation. Gillaria has a different government than Aecor but it still runs on the basic Monarchy setup, but in this world, Aecor is the biggest/strongest nation so by marrying Amor to Cora, Anyel's fate was to keep the alliance they have. So in the end, Cora will marry Amor to make Amor King and Cora his Queen Consort. As for Gillaria...who knows, maybe King Anyel will find a new lady and woohoo.

Why doesn’t Vitana do anything about the Coast? Do the other people know about it?

Remember that wall and that door? The common folk know about the wall and what lies over it but they won’t go through that door. As for Vitana? That’s a hard one to answer. Of course, the last chapter made it seem like she was ignorant to it but she argued as best she could. But, we’ll get into more detail as we get further into the story. :)

What planet is Aecor on? Is it Earth or a whole planet/world you made on your own?

The simple answer is Aecor is on Earth — or derived from Earth. It's not necessarily a different planet but it's not exactly Earth if that makes sense. There's no difference in the makeup of the world. It's got trees, an ocean, animals, everything, the only difference is that some of the little things were changed. If you remember from Sub Rosa pt.2 when they had the feast there was that food: "This day will be feasted on Aecorian Crown Fish plated with roasted lily petals, dressed with Damned Sea Oregian Kelp purée." Everything there is in our world, but it just has a different name. So, in summary, it's the same world just a little different.

Where do you come up with the names for the chapters? And do they relate to the chapters in some way, like Sub Rosa? Do they have a hidden meaning?

Some of them take more time than others but some are just a given like chapter 1: Behind the Palace Walls which sets up the story for the long run, and they do relate to the stories and can act like little hints for any secrets. Sub Rosa was one of the harder ones to name because I wanted to sum up the entire chapter in a way. If you don't know, Sub Rosa is a Latin phrase that means "under the rose" and means secrecy, and if you remember that in that chapter a secret slips out in the garden house. So, yes, the chapter titles have hidden meanings to them, but some are harder to come up with and they go through a lot of changes. Sub Rosa was originally going to be Crowned Confessions but I changed it because of Mondena. Speaking of Mondena...UUHH. Sorry, Fanty can't come to the phone now. Why? Oh, 'cause he's dead. OH.

Is Mondena coming back?

Yes but no. She doesn't make another cameo but she is mentioned.

What happened to Everdeen? Shouldn't she by the queen's side?

Spoilers but, yes, she should be by the queen's side..but..which que— let's not spoil too much.

How's Anyel doing?

He's in the dungeon. With Vitana. They're both miserable.

Is there magic?

Yes! yes, there is. It's not heavily involved but it does its work.

Where's Theyo's boat?

It's in the harbor. Sitting. Waiting...

Are there any royal pets in the Aecorian or other kingdoms of this world?

There aren't any currently, although, Cora did want a cat once but that's for a later date. :)

Do you want to unlock Support with ink drops?

I'd love to! It's certainly a goal I want to reach at some point but we'll get there!

What are the character's favorite shows? Or if they were to watch shows what would they watch?

Cora: Game of Thrones, maybe.

Amor: Probably, "This Is Us," dude's got a thing for the touchy-feely stuff.

Oren: Something on the lines of "American Ninja Warrior" or like "Wipeout."

Vitana: I'm 99% sure she'd be really interested in those docuseries on Netflix.

Leticia: Woman's got some weird fetish for oppressive depressing movies like "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" or maybe "The Handmaid's Tale"

Roman: Do I have to rate this Mature?

Petunia: Not a TV fan but loves movies like "The Help."

Anyel: Does this man have fun?

Soren: He doesn't own a TV.

Are there any other Gods?

Yes. Other than Aeonia there are two others. There's Agri, God of the Land & Animals. And There's Riene, God of the Sky. Gods aren't dependent on people to exist, they just do. Gods have two forms: physical & ethereal. Their physical form is a human body. Their ethereal form is what they are the god of. Aeonia is the Goddess of the Sea, her ethereal form is the ocean, literally. Fleur's is the trees, land, anything to deal with the earth. Ariteum, the clouds, and sky, wind and air. Sometimes, they do make connections in the world but don't stay that long. Usually, when a God makes a connection, they do it cautiously so they aren't hurt in their physical form. A god's physical form is the most vulnerable. They contain a great deal of power in their physical form but are susceptive to attack which can lead to their death. If a God dies- well, none have so it's hard to say, but if it does happen, then the element they reside over will cease to exist unless they've created a failsafe—something to ensure the vitality of their element.

One important thing about the gods is that they only exist through the people who worship them. The fewer people who worship them, they become weaker and, if it comes to this, disappear and become forgotten. The gods thrive on worship/belief, they're stronger with those who believe in them. The more vulnerable a person or people, the more likely a belief in the gods. For Coasters, Aeonia is worshipped and believed in because they want help, need help.

Gods can also be summoned but under specific circumstances and with the right words...

How did Leticia stay alive in the dungeon for so long?

Well, let's see. Vitana made sure she was fed, watered, and treated well enough so she had the nutrition, but she was still weak yet still strong enough to move her limbs. There's a mention in chapter 22 where she mentions something about calling upon "the one true queen of Aecor." That's where she was able to obtain enough strength to stay alive, through the sea, the moon, the goddess.

How long have you been working on this?

A while, actually. I started publishing this story on Tapas back in August, but I officially started BOTS a year ago. The idea was there but I put it to the side to work on other things.

Is your name actually Fanty?

Is this question real? Fanty is just a name I use when I'm online. My actual name is Josh but I go by Fanty because it's simple and I love elephants.

Do you write Beauty of the Sea by yourself?

I don't! I'm glad I caught this question because Beauty of the Sea is bigger than just me. Beauty of the Sea started out as a thought one day in class. I was just daydreaming and then Beauty of the Sea came to mind. I went more in depth with, planning and plotting to see what I could do with this idea and how I could continue it. So, I brought it up to one of my close friends, Gaby, and she said she wanted to help in some way and so she became a part of Beauty of the Sea. With Gaby, the idea became a small plot, the small plot became an entire story and since then I have continued to write Beauty of the Sea. This was a year ago and in that year we have written, edited, and completed over 20 chapters of Beauty of the Sea all revolving around the same idea. A young girl's aspiration to find an ocean goddess. So, essentially, I do the writing, Gaby does the editing, and you do the reading. That's how Beauty of the Sea comes to life. :)

Is there anywhere we as readers can personally talk to you?

I was actually looking for an excuse to mention Discord so thank you. I made a Discord server when we hit 50 subscribers but I never said anything but now that there's interest in it, here we go! The Discord server I made is for Beauty of the Sea and as the story goes on I want to be more face-to-face, for lack of better words. You can join here: https://discord.gg/HM2EkUD

How's "Beauty of the Sea" going to end?

We’ll find out on March 13th!

#novel #writing #writing community #tapas #novelist #amatuer #q&a

1 note · View note

haroldslovekitten · 7 years

Text

Carolina - Pink Series pt. 2

Hey loves! I hope you like this part, I finished it just in time! I think it’s fun and cute and angsty as hell and I hope you love Harry and Y/N’s relationship as much as I do! Let me know, feedback is always appreciated! .xx - M

Word Count: ~5k

Harry is on his way to New York, the flight to JFK seeming longer than it used to now that he’s got a specific someone he’s not used to leaving. Well, he doesn’t necessarily have you, per say, but over the past few weeks, he’s grown attached. After the initial coffee date reunion, and the night spent at yours drinking and playing truth or dare, Harry and Y/N began spending more and more time together, meeting up after work, spending all day on saturdays together going to the park and exploring some of the best shopping streets in London but rarely buying anything. Life felt simpler with you around, and he wanted to spend every waking minute with you. Some days, you’d meet up at your favorite cafe, you would bring your journal and laptop, Harry would bring his, and you’d both would just sit there, you working on your scripts, him his songs, and have a practically silent day together. Every once in awhile you’d turn to him, eyes focused on his face as he worked and waited until he looked like he was at a good stopping point, not right in the middle of pure genius gifted by god before she’d interrupt.

“Hey, Harry, can you tell me how this sounds?”

You’d go on to explain the scene you were writing and read him a bit of dialogue, doing voices to represent different characters and you wouldn’t look at him, not out of embarrassment, he thinks, but out of concentration - your mind was truly somewhere else, even in those moments. And he’d listen patiently, nodding as you spoke, trying to keep the most endeared smile off his face even though you made his heart thunder in his chest, and then he’d give honest feedback. Usually it was good, because you were phenomenal, but sometimes he’d remind you that no, real people do not speak like that, and no, no one says “bee’s knees” anymore, to which you’d pout, but know he was right.

Alternatively, Harry would often find his mind drifting from his writing, the lyrics just not coming to him in the moment, so he’d let it wander to you. He’d watch you write, scribble notes in your notebook, then go back to typing. You’d hold your pencil between your teeth as you typed, knowing full-well you’d need to edit your notebook flowchart soon enough. Your hair would fall in your eyes every once in a while and you’d tuck it away in a frustrated way before going back to your work. Your eyes would constantly flit over the screen, always self-editing, and when you’d find something good, you’d nod vigorously, though Harry doesn’t think you realize you do it.

He finds himself wondering what kind of things go on in your head. What do you spend your time thinking about when you’re not writing masterful scripts or dealing with pretentious creatives (a thing you always insist Harry is not - you know enough of them to know who is and isn’t)? What do you do in your free time that’s not with Harry? Do you think about him ever...as more than a friend? It’s when these thoughts make their way into his mind that he has to shake himself and go back to reality, which really is just him writing songs not so loosely based off of you and hating himself for it. It would make your friendship so strange if you found out that you’re always on his mind, but at the same time, he feels like you have to know, he can’t keep pining like this, if that is what he’s doing. He still can’t quite tell if his feelings for you are romantic or not. When you spend time together, he finds there’s nothing he’d rather be doing, even if that something else was fucking your brains out. He just thoroughly enjoys your company. You make him feel real, feel human, feel good, feel things that he’s had a hard time feeling, ever since he joined One Direction to be honest.

And now, he’s on a plane headed far away from you, far away from the perfect little bubble you’d built together. He sits on the jet, journal in front of him - he’d given up on sleeping ages ago - and lets his mind wander to you. He imagines your face, your laugh - the shy little giggle you’d give and the obnoxious cackle you’d let out when you found something surprisingly funny - your eyes are yet another thing that mesmerize him. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen more expressive eyes and he loves the way he can see what you’re feeling the moment you’re feeling it, though it often drives you crazy when he can figure out your emotions faster than you can. The one thing he can’t decipher though, is how you feel about him. He doesn’t even realize it, but his hand is scribbling away as he thinks about you. When he pulls himself out of his self-induced trance, he glances down.

She’s a good girl, She feels so good, she feels so good.

With a huff, he closes his journal, knowing that he’s beginning to get into some dangerous territory.

He tries sleeping again, but has no luck, but fortunately the fight is almost over anyway. He reminds himself that this is going to be a short trip and he’ll be back with your soon. Tells himself to just push you from his mind while he’s here, then he’ll be fine. When he lands, he has to run straight to meetings with PR companies and Jeff. Usually they meet in LA, but Harry has a photo shoot scheduled here in New York, so they moved the meetings here. He only plans to be here for a week, but right now, a week seems like an eternity as he goes through his entire day without any interaction with Y/N. The meetings all go well and he’s stoked about his album and his solo career in general, and all he wants to do is talk to you, tell you about his day, about his plans, and to hear about yours.

As he lays in the huge bed of his fancy hotel room, the TV playing some show he’s not paying attention to, he scrolls through his phone, pulling you up on his contacts and his thumb hovering over the call button. To call or not to call, that is the question. And as badly as he wants to hear your voice, to see your face, he doesn’t want to overstep any boundaries or make you uncomfortable. Plus, you’ve only been apart for two days and it’s not like you could be missing him yet. You’re probably busy, he tells himself, setting his phone down and attempting to focus on the TV. His resolution to spend the night lonely did not prepare him for his phone to begin buzzing almost immediately after setting it down. To his surprise, it was your contact photo, a picture of you shovelling a scone into your mouth that he had snapped a couple of weeks ago without your knowledge that made him chuckle before answering your video call.

“Harry!” you shrieked excitedly.

He almost didn’t recognize you for a couple of reasons. First, the image was a bit blurry and pixelated, video chatting from another continent giving his phone a run for its money. The second reason though was that you had your hair tied up tightly in a messy bun, and a green face mask all over your face. Harry struggled to contain his laughter at the image in front of him, overwhelmed by how ridiculously adorable you were.

“Hey, Y/N, looking good,” he teased.

“I know, I’m flawless!” you giggled. “Lucky for you, you get to look just like me!”

“What are you talking about, weirdo?” he asks, a grin still on his face.

“Look in the small pocket on your bag. I snuck a bottle of this facemask in there the other day. Thought we could put them on and chat as if you were still here and not a world away,” you say sheepishly, obviously missing him much more than he gave you credit for.

“You miss me, bug?” he asks, as fondly as possible.

“Yes, now shut up and go put on the mask. I’ll wait,” you demand.

“Alright, bossy!” he groans before rummaging through his bag and finding the facemask, obediently smearing it over his face in the bathroom before returning to your call.

“Good, now we both look gorgeous!” you say.

“Mmhmm, some of us more than others,” he jokes.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I look absolutely stunning right now,” you joke right back.

He decides against clarifying that he was implying that you were the one who looked more gorgeous and lets the compliment slide. He notices that you’re sat up in bed, Rufus, your grey tabby cat in your lap, and a glass of wine in the and that’s not stroking the cat’s head.

“Hey, no one said anything about drinking!” he says, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sure you’ve got something in that fancy hotel room.”

And sure enough, when he looks in the mini fridge, there’s an assortment of alcohol. He grabs the first one he sees, whiskey - not his favorite, but it’ll do - and sits back down with you. He props up his phone so he can see you without holding it, and smiles at you making faces at your cat while you pet him.

“I’m so glad you were alone in your hotel room when I called - would have been very embarrassing if you were at a fancy party or summat and I showed up on your phone looking like this,” you smile, “but I didn’t care if you were, I wanted to see you.”

“I’ve only been gone two days, love,” he laughs, but the thought that you’d been planning to call him so soon makes his heart swell.

“I know, but I got used to having you around. Last night wasn’t too hard, there was a cool work party I went to, but I’ve missed you all day sitting at home by myself,” you huff and pout a bit, really playing the guilt trip on him.

“Work party, huh?” he asks, curious.

He won’t deny that his ears automatically pricked up at that statement, instantly wondering if there were any cute guys at the party, anyone expressing interest in you while he wasn’t there to fend them off.

“Yeah, actually not really. It wasn’t for my work, per say...but a friend of a friend is working on a film I really wish I could be a part of and well, I just told the bouncer guy that I knew the main actor. He didn’t seem to mind letting me in…” you say, a mischievous grin gracing your features.

“Wow, I thought you didn’t like parties? And you lied!? Naughty!” Harry laughs, imagining the quiet, introverted you sneaking your way into a party.

“Okay okay, hear me out. I hate parties, you know this, but some of my favorite filmmakers were at that party! I couldn’t miss the chance to network, it was worth the little white lie and the hoards of drunken men. I’m good okay, as good as they come,” you say definitively, not letting Harry’s faux judgement make you feel bad about your actions.

His heart stops for a moment as he remembers the lyrics he jotted down earlier on the plane - she’s a good girl. He gulps before speaking again, pretending nothing of consequence is going through his mind.

“Alright, yeah, whatever,” he laughs awkwardly. “None of these drunken men treated you badly, did they?”

“Ugh, no!” you say, almost sounding disappointed.

“Why do you sound upset that they didn’t!?” he asks, shocked at your reaction.

“I’m not upset, I just...well, ugh,” you fumble over your words, making him more and more nervous by the second. “Well, there’s this guy.”

Harry’s heart sank immediately, but he plastered on an interested smile and encouraged you to continue.

“We’ve worked on a few little projects before, but he’s starting to become more and more into the industry, making all these connections, and I guess I’ve always had a bit of a crush on him, but like, he never notices me and I hoped he would at the party last night, but he was all wrapped up in some skinny actress and ugh, I don’t know what to do.”

Harry tried to ignore the sickening feeling he was getting in his stomach.

“Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“What am I supposed to say? Hey, I think you’re really hot and talented. Let’s bone!”

Harry laughs through his pain, assuring you that ‘let’s bone’ is yet another phrase that absolutely no one uses anymore. He puts on his purely friendly face and prepares himself to give you advice on how to win this guy over. Conflicting emotions are running through him at the moment. The first, and infinitely more prominent is jealousy - why are you interested in this random dude who pays you no attention. You think he’s hot? Hotter than Harry? And more talented? Does he have any fucking hope in getting with you? Why the fuck is he even worried about getting with you, dammit? The second thought is simply confusion - how could anyone in their right mind be around you for any length of time and not want to give you their complete and undivided attention always? He pushes those thoughts down, ignoring the things he’s feeling and goes back to comforting and advising you.

“Okay, so maybe don’t say that. Maybe just like make sure you’re around him a lot? And dress a little, you know, when you are? A lot of guys are purely visual and physical, so like dressing sexy and being extra touchy should get his attention…” he says, trying to hide the sad twinge in his voice.

“Harry Edward Styles! I am not going to run around in some skimpy outfit groping a man in public just to get his attention!” you say sternly. “I’m a good girl, you know that!”

He looks away from the camera at that, struggling to maintain his composure before responding.

“You’re right, you don’t need to do that shit. You’ve got much more to offer, but you have to let him know that that’s on the table, otherwise he’ll just look at you as a friend, or worse, a work colleague and nothing more,” Harry says, cringing at the fact that he can’t seem to follow his own damn advice.

“Okay, but like how, H? I really like this guy...he’s like the man of my dreams and he looked so fucking good last night and all I did was stand in a corner away from everyone gawking at him from afar,” you whine.

Harry nods as he takes another sip from the whiskey, marvelling at how much of it is already gone - he hasn’t been drinking that quickly, has he? He notices your glass is also empty and you refill it with the cutest pout on your face, the mask making your frown lines stand out even more.

“Hey, why don’t you go take that mask off and we can talk about this properly after? It’s making my face itch,” Harry says, using any excuse he can to be alone for a moment.

You simply nod and crawl off of your bed, and as you do so, he notices that you’re wearing a pair of purple short shorts beneath where Rufus was sat and your ass looks incredible as you move. He shakes himself, surprised at the thought...okay, so maybe he does want you in a more than platonic way. He goes to the bathroom, splashing cold water over his face, rinsing the mask and cooling off a little of his frustration (both sexual and sincere) as he does so. He stares at himself in the mirror, marveling at the way just this little conversation and facemask has brightened his skin, but he doesn’t miss the extra blue around his eyes, as if his pain is having a physical effect on him. He shakes himself, trying to fight off the negative feelings threatening to invade his body. Being with you has never brought him anything but joy, and he doesn’t see why he should let this conversation change that. So, he decides, he won’t. He’s going to be the perfect friend for you tonight, and give you exactly what he should: support.

When he returns to his phone, you’re sitting there, fresh-faced and beautiful, Rufus cuddling up to you and he curses himself for thinking he was ever anything but undeniably and completely in love with you. Never before has he sat across from someone, virtually or in real life, as they cuddled their cat and looked completely bare and comfortable, no extra airs or facades about them, and completely adored everything he’s seen. Sure, he’s been with people who were crazy beautiful, and wonderfully talented, but no one has ever been this open and comfortable around him. Honestly, he’s never been this open or comfortable around anyone else either. You bring out a side of him he was beginning to doubt existed - a side ready and capable of real, genuine love. Of course it took you claiming you were crushing hard on some random guy for him to realize he loved you. Of course…

“Okay,” he says. “Tell me everything about this guy. Wanna know how long you’ve known him, what he likes, about any important conversations you’ve had, all that,” he says, acting as much like a long-time girlfriend at a sleepover as he can, because that’s obviously what he is to you - a friend, and nothing more.

You go on and on then, taking his encouragement as a go-ahead, and vent to him about your entire relationship with Connor, he comes to find out is his name. You tell him how you actually met in college, and how you used to be study buddies, as cliche as that is. You never confessed feelings, because you didn’t know you’d had them, but you guys worked together on a project (before he got all uppity) and you realized how compatible you both were. Then you’d see him at events like last night and only fall for him harder. But he’d made it clear that you were old friends, you were a part of his old life, and never once expressed interest. Though it was all extremely difficult to hear, Harry listened carefully, trying his best to shut his feelings for you down.

“Well, you’re obviously beautiful,” he comments, words slurring slightly (he hadn’t realized he’s made it through three more bottles of alcohol).

“Thanks, Harry,” you say shyly and he fucking loves the way your cheeks blush when he says that.

“I mean, come on, how could he be so blind and not see how perfect you are?” he continues, almost unable to stop himself at this point.

“I’m not perfect,” you refute.

“Yeah, yeh are,” he continues, but catches himself just in time.

“But yeah,” you say, changing the subject slightly, “What do you think I should do?”

“Honestly, at this point you’ve known him for long enough. If he doesn’t think about you that way, it’s time you make him. And if he still doesn’t then it’s own damn fault. You’ve always got me anyways,” he stammers, not thinking before he speaks - it’s the whiskey talking.

“So like, just ask him out?”

“Hell yeah! I mean, I don’t know, sure,” he says, his brain muddy and confused - does he want her to ask that guy out or is he just encouraging her to be happy? He doesn’t even know anymore.

“That’s just so hard for me though, Harry. Like, admitting I’m feeling something? Being vulnerable and opening myself up to rejection? I’m not open or hardened like that. I’d fall apart if he said no. I’ve been reading this book, by the way, I think you should read it. It’s called Quiet by Susan Cain. It’s all about being introverted and using that to your advantage in this world that idealizes extroverts. It talks about understanding what you like, who you are, and doing things that are within your boundaries as an introvert. I’m not an extrovert, Harry, I’m shy and sensitive and quiet and him turning me down would kill me,” you say, exasperated and fearful.

“Listen to me. You’re perfect, sweet, kind. thoughtful, everything any man could wish for, including myself, so if he turns you down - like a complete idiot might I add - I’ll always be here, lov-supporting you,” he says, catching himself at the last minute before he reveals something too personal, too intimate even though he may or may not have gone a bit overboard already. Maybe you’re right, maybe he should read that book. Being an introvert, especially as a pop star, he’s had to adapt and grow in ways he’s not necessarily comfortable with. Maybe that book will help him figure it out, figure you out too. He smiles when he thinks about you sitting on your couch with that book, getting overly excited about the fact that yes, someone finally does get it - they get you - and for once you don’t feel so alone. He imagines you’ve bookmarked pages, highlighted your favorite passages. He’d never thought about you reading before, always about you writing. At this point, he’d kill to get a glimpse at your copy of that book - to get a glimpse at your mind.

“Thank you, Harry. That means the world to me,” you say, completely sober and serious.

Harry just nods, realizing how much the alcohol is affecting him and desperately trying to keep his feelings in check. How are you so sober and alert right now? At this point, if he did slip up and reveal something, there’s no way he could even pretend that you’d been so drunk you’d forgotten and that’s completely frustrating.

“I guess I just doubt it sometimes, you know? Like all of my relationships have been with such mediocre guys...and when I finally find someone I’m into because I can actually respect and admire them, they are just like completely not interested,” you vent to him, feeling a bit down.

Harry’s heart almost broke in half hearing you say that, hearing you struggle with self-love and recognizing your worth because of some stupid guy who couldn’t get his ass out of his own probably pretentious head long enough to realize how incredible you were. Despite his maybe better instincts, and his almost carnal need to be the one who is there for you and makes you happy, Harry makes the decision to do everything he can to get you and this guy together. If he means that much to you and if being with him will make you realize how unfathomably amazing you are, Harry is all down for it, even if it means he doesn’t have you to himself.

“Alright,” he slurs. “Here’s my idea, yeah? I know how much you hate playing hard to get and all that, but I promise you it’ll work. Just like, pretend you’re on the phone with me around him or something yeah, and talk about how much you’re excited to see me and just be overly affectionate and excited, so it seems like any interest you’ve shown in him is minor compared to what you actually give to those you’re genuinely into, you know? And just do that everyday for the rest of the week while being a little standoffish to him, but also like making sure you’re butt and boobs look amazing, which let’s be honest, they always do -”

“Harry!” you protest.

“And I can almost guarantee you that by the time I come home, he will be wanting to take you out,” Harry steamrolls right through your offense at his comments, knowing that this advice will work and he doesn’t really want to say it but has to.

“You really think that would work?” you ask, actually toying with the idea.

The fact that you’re actually willing to play hard to get to get this guy’s attention pisses Harry off more than he’d care to admit. As long as he’s known you, you’ve always hated the idea.

...

“Why in the hell would you pretend not to like someone you really like? Shouldn’t that be a turn on for them? Like shouldn’t ‘hey, I like you a lot and would love to hang out’ be flattering? I just don’t understand not asking for you want, it’s silly,” you’d argued one evening when the two of you had been at a bar with Niall and he’d been eyes some random girl who wasn’t giving him the time of day.

“I agree, I agree,” Harry had said, “But if you want to be realistic about it, men love the chase - I’m far more interested in someone who has more going on for them than their desire for me, you know?”

“Just because you really want to be with someone doesn’t mean that you don’t have other stuff going on!” you’d huffed and he remembers now just how adorable he’d found it.

“I know, you’re right, but that’s just the way it is. Make them chase, it works almost every time.”

“Boys are idiots,” you’d said with a roll of your eyes and then, just as now, he couldn’t agree more.

...

“Okay, if you think it’ll work, I’ll try it I guess…” you’d trailed off, still unsure.

“It will,” Harry spat, the statement coming out a bit sharper than he’d meant, but the idea that you’re actually willing to go back on some of your principles, even silly ones like not playing hard to get in order to woo this guy has immediately put Harry in an awful mood.

“Okay,” you replied, eyeing him curiously. “What about you? Any hot models in New York?”

“Loads,” he’d said and to your surprise, he didn’t sound sarcastic.

“Oh? Well then why aren’t you with them?” you ask, a little shocked by his bluntness.

“Don’t know, maybe I should be,” he replied getting visibly pissy and you weren’t quite sure what was going on.

“I was joking, Harry,” you say slowly, hoping the tension will dissipate.

“I wasn’t.”

Nope, the tension is definitely not dissipating.

“Well fine, it’s still early in the life of a rockstar, why don’t you go?” you ask, your voice raising a pitch in confusion and anger. How the hell was this turning into a fight?

“Maybe I will, it’s not like I’m getting anything from you anyways,” he spits, taking another drink of whiskey.

“What the fuck, Harry? ‘Getting anything’ from me? What the fuck are you expecting to get?” you ask, completely shocked by the entire conversation. “Am I supposed to be ready to have cam sex or something ridiculous just to be friends with you? Seriously, what is going on, Harry!?” you ask, your voice turning to a shout and tears beginning to sting your eyes.

“No, oh my god, no. I’m sorry,” he starts, finally stepping outside of his moment of self absorption and pity. “I don’t know, just frustrated is all.”

“About what, exactly?” you ask, still not completely happy with his reaction.

“I don’t know, I just love you so much, you know?” he begins, panicking mid-sentence and desperately needing a way out of this. Why the hell does alcohol make him so fucking honest? “You’re such an amazing friend and person,” he continues, saving himself a bit, “and it kills me to see you pining over someone who doesn’t appreciate you and putting so much stock into what they think. I think you’re incredible, and yeah, we’re just friends, but isn’t that enough to know that you’re great and worthy of love? I don’t know, I just thought I was enough…” he trails off, once again sticking his foot in it.

“Harry, babe,” you say, ‘babe’ being a term of endearment you reserve for when he needs to be comforted. “You’re amazing and I love you and love that you think I’m amazing. I think I’m pretty amazing too, if I’m honest! I have no worries about what I’m worth. It’s just nice to have someone who’s more than friends...you know, someone who thinks you’re amazing, but also thinks you’re crazy sexy and wants you...why doesn’t anyone want me, Harry?” you ask, once again sinking into a pit of sadness...you should have known you’d do this, too much wine always makes you sappy.

“Y/N…” Harry sighs. “I really can’t answer that question,” he responds in true media-trained fashion - while you may think he can’t answer because he doesn’t know, he knows very well that the real answer is that he wants you, wants you more than he’s ever wanted anyone in his life, but he can’t exactly drop that bomb on you. Not when you’re drunk on a video chat an ocean away and definitely not when you’re pining after some random dude who is definitely not him.

“I’m sorry, I’m being such a bummer,” you laugh, trying to change the subject before it gets really bad and you start crying. “Maybe I should just go to bed. It’s about bedtime here, and crazy late there, you think we can call it a night?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, disappointment only slightly obvious in his voice. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow. I’ll talk to you then though, okay? And I’ll see you soon, love,” he says before flashing you a sad smile and hanging up after you say a quick ‘Bye!’.

He stares at the computer screen for a few moments after your picture disappears. He literally almost admitted his love for you multiple times during that conversation. Before he really even came back to consciousness or at least awareness, he picked up his journal from the bedside table and began scribbling, imagining the possibility of ever really telling you how he feels.

How would I tell her she’s all I think about?

Well I guess she just found out.

When the base for the song is finished, he reads it over, singing it aloud and realizes just how fucking obvious it is that he’s written a song about you. The lyrics are obvious, the tone is somber, and there is no doubt in his mind that were you to listen to his song, you’d immediately know just how intense his feelings are about you. He was able to get away with Sweet Creature because he pretended it was about Gemma, but this was glaringly obvious. Quickly he thinks, and he can’t help but fixate on what would have happened had he tried to get with you the night you met, rather than it turning into a group hang out with nothing remotely romantic happening. He lets himself imagine you’re a woman he’s only meeting once, now, just as you are, just without knowing him. He imagines that you’re the most enticing and interesting person he’s ever met (which you are), and that he’s falling for you (which he is), but just for tonight (which it’s definitely not). With those thoughts he realizes that writing a song about a wild, crazy night with an incredible woman who he’ll never see again is much more rock n’ roll than ‘I’m madly and desperately in love with my best friend and she doesn’t love me back and I hate my life’, so he tweaks the song accordingly, creating an entirely new person to write about, making the melody much more upbeat, hoping to God that you won’t see right through his second half-assed fictional story. He’s not quite ready for you to know how he feels. Not yet.

153 notes · View notes

waynekelton · 4 years

Text

The Best iOS & Android RPGs

The best RPGs are ones that offer unique environments, well-rounded/written characters, and unusual, original plots. Some of these games are more action-oriented while others are strictly turn-based, but they all have distinct, immersive visions in which the player might find their own ego subsumed, for a time, as deeply as is desired.

Below is not only a collection of great games, but they're also paragons of the genre and represent ‘role-play’ at its finest whether you're playing on Android or iOS.

What are the best iOS and Android RPGS?

Pascal's Wager

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

Star Traders: Frontiers

Demons' Rise

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Legend of Grimrock

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

Chrono Trigger

Titan Quest

Transistor

Final Fantasy IX

Pascal's Wager

Developer: Giant Network Platform: iOS Universal, (Android Coming Q2 2020) Price: $6.99

A more serious attempt to pose the "What if Dark Souls but mobile?" question, Pascal's Wager is every bit as grim and gritty as the iconic murder-RPGs of console and PC. It's 20 hours may seem quite modest by console standards, but is a pretty decent slog for mobile gamers and it offers up some very challenging and rewarding gameplay. It swaps an open world for more enclosed areas, which makes travelling around a bit easier although you may need to back-track every now and then.

You should read our Pascal's Wager review for more.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

Developer: Handy Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

It took as a while to get a review of this out the door, but it was well worth the wait. This indie darling has proven very popular amongst the PC crowd, and with it's slick performance, engaging turn-based tactical mechanics and engaging narrative, it's no surprise it was a hit with us as well. It's a little on the pricier side of but well worth your money if you're looking for a fully-fleshed out RPG experience with all the trimmings.

Not much more to say about it beyond that - you can check out our Battle Chasers Nightwar review for a more comprehensive verdict but this is a pretty good RPG that's been expertly ported to mobile, and we're all the better for it.

Star Traders: Frontiers

Developer: Trese Brothers Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $6.99

One of 2019's best releases so far and an excellent addition to the RPG roster, Star Traders: Frontiers is the culmination of nearly a decade's worth of effort making quality premium games on mobile. You customise your captains and your crew and sail amongst stars trying to eek out a living in a hostile universe. Trade, go on missions, fight pirates and aliens... this is a very diverse sandbox RPG in space, and an excellent port of the original PC version.

The only thing to keep in mind when jumping into Frontiers is that there's a lot to consider all at once, and the openness is almost intimidating. There are some tool tips and an initial main quest that will teach you some ropes, but beyond that one criticism is that its not very good at explaining itself. Still, trial and error is not the worst thing and the more you learn, the more fun you'll have as you explore all the different play-styles and gameplay options. On top of that, the developers are constantly updating the game with free content, so you'll be well served in the future.

Demons' Rise

Developer: Wave Light Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $7.99

This dark fantasy, turn-based RPG is a favourite amongst PT staffers, and the sequel reviewed very well when it came out. Even three years later, it still manages to draw new players with its deep approach to tactical combat, and it's D&D-style treatment of the game world. While there's an argument to be made that Demon's Rise 2 should also be on this list (either in addition to, or instead of), which one you end up picking up you're not going to regret your choice.

Fans of tactical RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and MMO-style combat will really take to the campaign and won't regret adding this game to their collection.

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Planescape is strange and idiosyncratic, its characters ranging from a chaotic fire-lord whose passion is simple, total consumption and destruction of the world around him to a cherub from the Brothel for Slaking Intellectual Lusts. Its take on a D&D system isn’t particularly balanced, for the stats and character builds favor wisdom above all, both in terms of raw bonus experience and the extra interactions and dialogue options. But the story is to die for.

The multiplanar quest of an immortal, tormented, amnesiac main character to know thyself is at once alien and deeply human. Enjoying this pre-millennium classic before its enhanced edition debut last year meant overlooking a multitude of practical shortcomings; the non-scalable and at times grainy graphics, to say nothing of bugs and lost content. Now one can meet the protagonist and experience his joys and sorrows with ease, if not comfort. The game’s peccadillos are entirely the point, its strange, singular vision undimmed by age.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Developer: Aspyr Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

In a galaxy far, far away, in a distant time immemorial, the Sith and Jedi wore very different masks. To make something as nostalgic and cherished as Star Wars new again, BioWare and LucasArts flung their players millennia into the past and pitted them against Darth Malak in a struggle for the fate of the galaxy.

The characters remain iconic and memorable to this day (HK-47 as a murderous, seemingly punctilious droid, for example), and the now-standard paragon-neutral-renegade trifecta of alignment-based decision rubric for RPGs was a natural fit for the Star Wars mythos. Choose light or dark, good or evil: these archetypes resonate because they work, as does the class- and skill-systems which were tweaked from the paper RPG baseline.

Legend of Grimrock

Developer: Almost Human Platform: iOS Price: $4.99

An old-school game with grid-based real-time combat, riddles, puzzles, traps and hand-crafted (read: non-procedural, non-roguelike) levels. Good looking and thoughtfully made, its battle pace and minimal input requirements make it a natural fit for mobile. Read our Legend of Grimrock review for more.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

D&D spent a long time banished to the corners of a select few lives, shining for hours at a time in small gatherings held regularly among the elect. There have been many implementations of the various settings and rule systems of the original grand-daddy of pen-and-paper RPGs, but Baldur’s Gate is perhaps the most significant and enduring of them all. (Sorry, Temple of Elemental Evil and friends, close but no cigar).

Read our Baldur's Gate review for more.

Chrono Trigger

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

A journey for the ages, with a motley crew visiting each era to repair the mistakes of the past and break other timelines, zig-zagging across character arcs and plot holes with aplomb. The RPG elements are just as great as the story, both of them equally...timeless. And the soundtrack is nuanced and varied, with mysterious, mournful threnodies as well as rousing boss-battle hymns. The game keeps popping up everywhere, and for good reason, for its characters, music and story both exemplify the JRPG genre and somehow transcend it. Chrono Trigger is Chrono Trigger; to play it involves learning about RPG conventions and mechanics but to experience it is so much more, a different creature altogether.

Titan Quest

Developer: THQ Nordic Platforms: iOS Univeral, Android Price: $6.99, $8.99

A diabolic, pan-Hellenic action-RPG whose loot system and mythic references have earned its place in the pantheon. See the world, from the Aegean to Bosphorus, to the Nile, slay its beasts of prominence. At the time of its release in 2006, the game seemed redundant and derivative; now it shines in a mobile market where a premium game with fascinating, nay, compelling, rich pool of random loot, none of it locked behind premium currency or lootboxes, is something of a rara avis. Serviceable combat, shiny loot, excellent pacing and nice controls: Titan Quest is good simple fun.

Transistor

Developer: Supergiant Games Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

The world is falling apart, being destroyed from without while society crumbles and the citizens of Cloudbank panic and retreat from their formerly comfortable lives. Transistor’s pace has only one setting, relentlessly pushing the player to new areas while a narrator overdubs the scenery and battles with evocative, if florid, prose. Transistor’s techno-utopia has clearly gone wrong at some point, and the whole city is flooded with swarms of the Process, a monochrome enemy whose various forms eerily mimic lifeforms.

The modular battle system with its flexible customization options is fun and satisfying, for any program you acquire can be equipped either as a primary (active) ability, a modifier boosting another active, or as a passive. The relative small number of programs means that this mix-and-match is always interesting, never burdensome. The combat itself is real time with the special ability to ‘pause’ the game and plan out actions.

Final Fantasy IX

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $20.99

Nick once considered this the best of all of Square's Final Fantasy ports, so now that we're officially adding JRPGs to the list (for the moment, might spin them off to their own list-ED), we thought we'd pay homage to the grand-daddy of all JRPGs with their finest mobile offering. FF9 was released at the turn of the millennium, and moved the series forward with new mechanics whilst also paying homage to the classical games.

As far as the mobile version is concerned, you couldn't ask for more. Officially it's a remaster of the original game with features such as HD movies and in-game graphics, and they added in an auto-save feature which is essential for the drop-in/drop-out nature of mobile gaming. The only downside of this and any of Square's FF ports is the pricing - at £20 full price, which is far more than what most mobile gamers are willing to pay.

Games like Final Fantasy

Once upon a time, we posted a feature of Final Fantasy alternatives. We're trying to consolidate a bit, so we're migrating that information here for your convenience. We'll expand on this section during a future update, but for the moment, here's a shortlist of Nick's recommendations if you're looking for a FF like game, but don't want to pay the price of admission:

Doom & Destiny

Doom & Destiny Advanced

Symphony of the Origin

Revenant Dogma

Dragon Quest

Dragon Fantasy

Phantasy Star II Classic

Other Android & iOS RPG Reccomendations

Our readers have their own wishlists of top RPGs they want to celebrate, and of course the are other recent releases and old favourites worth noting as well. Sadly we don't have room for everything on our list, but here are some other excellent RPG recommendations to look at:

Legends of Andor

Barbearians

7 Mages

Severed

Monster Hunter Stories

Avernum series

The Quest HD

Aurum Blade

Dungeon Chronicle

Partia 3: Knights of Partia

Demon's Rise 2

Shieldwall Chronicles

Strike Team Hydra

The World Ends with You

Avadon: The Black Fortress

Shadowrun Returns

What would your list of the best mobile RPGs look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best iOS & Android RPGs published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

tonguetiedmag · 5 years

Text

concert: Midnight world tour pt 3

Shows at the Black Sheep will always hold a special place in my heart--10 minutes from my house in the town I grew up in, I went to my first GA show ever here and many more throughout my teenage years. Being a very intimate room in a moderately sized city that has almost no music scene, shows here are always a giant hit or miss; that being said--The Midnight Tour Part 3 may be the best show I’ve seen at this venue yet.

With a giant troupe of Denver-local fans who travelled to be there mixed with the familiar faces of the Colorado Springs crowd, I was surprised at the unwavering energy the crowd held throughout the night. Despite the crowd the room drew in changing pretty drastically in between sets, a new pack of passionate fans, crowd-surfers, and lyric-screamers seemed to pop up for every artist.

Shows at this venue have often been forgettable--I can’t even remember the last time I attended a show at The Black Sheep, but the pleasant shock of the energy this show brought in is something I will never forget.

Pure-Noise group Selfish Things welcomed in the evening, invoking excited shrieks from the room just 30 minutes after doors. Although I was personally unable to watch their set, I surely heard about it from fellow music fans for the rest of the night. I spoke with Denver-local live music lover Alexander Chase about their thoughts on the group’s performance, who told me, “Their set was absolutely fantastic. The mix of going from soft music to music I can beat the shit out of someone [to] was perfect and it mixed well. The best part was .. their stage presence! They got the crowd involved and their performance was amazing.” Despite not having heard of Selfish Things prior to the show, when asked if they would see the group again, Chase answered, “I sure as hell would see them again.” Much of the small talk with friends and strangers alike throughout the evening showed me that many there held similar sentiments, and I’m positive next time the four-piece rolls through the area they will not disappoint.

With an instant wave of spirited fans rushing the stage and deafening cheers filling the room, I knew that could only mean one thing: Richmond-based pop group Broadside’s set was in its beginning moments. Rocky Mountain Broadside fans were treated with being the first ears to hear the band’s new singles, “King of Nothing” and “Empty” at a live show, and fans made sure their love for the group’s new music was known via their relentless crowd surfing. Broadside also ripped fan favorites like “Coffee Talk” and “Laps Around a Picture Frame” as well as throwing in older, lesser-known tracks like “Damaged Kids”. Despite the altitude and being drenched in sweat, the musicians rose to the challenge of matching the energy the crowd was giving. As a result, the men of Broadside cultivated that intense feeling of adrenaline-fueled interconnectedness between everyone there that is one of my favorite things about going to live shows. Although the music filling the rest of the evening was equally as entertaining, Broadside without a doubt produced the most active crowd of the night and I loved every moment of it-- and I haven’t been able to stop listening to them since.

Emarosa was up next -- Emarosa is one of those bands that I’ve known about for a while, but somehow never got around to listening to before this night, so I had no idea what to expect. When I asked a friend nearby what their sound was like, I was answered with “Dance Gavin Dance, but without the screaming.” Without any prior knowledge of the band’s history, this struck me as a seemingly contradicting description, but less than a minute into the group’s set, I understood exactly what they meant. Although delivering pop-focused tracks, I could hear the influences sonically from the group’s older, heavier releases that they melded with pop and sprinkled some funk into to create their current vibe. The group gave off a light-hearted all smiles energy, spreading an infectious positivity that prompted head-bopping from audience members which turned into full-body dancing and laughter. Although at times throughout the set lead vocalist Bradley Walden’s dialogue came off as overly cocky, I can appreciate that swaggering stage personality is often an integral part of making an artist’s performance. The music and talent from the rockers spoke for itself, who are clearly no strangers to a fun time. They seamlessly strummed out an intriguing groove, producing a slightly disco-esque element that I have yet to hear from a modern rock group. The sound made it impossible not to move and kept my ears paying attention. Adding some flair to their live performance, towards the end of their set previously mentioned lead-vocalist Bradley Walden lifted the group’s guitarist onto his shoulders, working his way through the crowd and managing to deliver solid vocals while balancing his bandmate. As Emarosa’s stage time came to a close, the men had the crowd come close to a huddle, cheering out “Peach Club”, the name of the group’s latest release at the count of three. I appreciated the familial feeling the moment created as the excitement from their set came to a head, and I certainly won’t allow myself to be a stranger to what this bunch does in the future.

Stagehands worked quickly to transition all the moving parts of headline group Set it Off’s production into place amongst the chatter of tipsy moms, excited pre-teens and everyone in between. Before long the room went dark, illuminated only by the nearly-haunting blue light coming from the timer now displayed on stage, paired with a room-filling audio message that said “2 minutes until ‘Midnight’”. A cute play on words in regards to the group’s latest album, ‘Midnight’ and a smart way to build on the anticipation in the air, it quite literally set the stage for the level of production the rest of the night would hold. Set it Off provided all the fundamental aspects of a stellar performance; strong vocals, likeable stage presence, precise instrumentals--but what resonated with me most was the level of production and visuals that united with those fundamentals to create an unforgettable act.

Opening with the danceable and lively track, “Lonely Dance”, the group did an appreciable job incorporating deeper cuts into the setlist along with the fresh releases. Changing things up just before the mid-way point of their set, lead vocalist Cody Carson opted to hop behind the drumset, while drummer Maxx Danziger took to center-stage to the mic-stand, ukulele in hand to strum out a stripped-down version of “Bad Guy”, surprising fans with the treat of welcoming Danziger on to lead vocals for the track. Additional surprises during Set it Off’s performance included the amount of gleeful crowd surfing from fans, Carson cracking a joke in between songs about the potential for concussions in the front row and checking to make sure both barricade-bearing attendees and crowd surfers alike were all doing okay.

The quality of the performance didn’t falter for even a moment, despite all the new aspects incorporated into the set compared to previous tours the group has done for this album cycle. It was clear to me the longevity of Set it Off’s career can be attributed to the performer quality these men hold in their bones. It didn’t matter what was happening; intent was present always. In particular, drummer Maxx Danziger offered a captivating personality onstage -- incredibly animated while drumming, and still performing when he wasn’t. Everything between propping his feet up on his set paired with a sassy wink, to engaging the crowd to get excited whenever guitarist Zach DeWall ripped an impressive riff or lead vocalist Cody Carson delivered a difficult vocal.

Danziger’s true shining moment was offered during a drum solo that including a medley of current chart topping songs such as “Old Town Road” (Lil Nas x Billy Ray Cyrus) and “If I Can't Have You” (Shawn Mendes) while also incorporating current internet humor cultural aspects, drumming to the mii theme song and including fun spins on memes that have been circulating around Twitter as of late.

Guitarist Zach DeWall additionally impressed me with his focused finger-picking in one of the final songs of the set, “Midnight Thoughts” delivering a difficult riff and executing it with precision that had the crowd cheering and grooving. Lead vocalist Cody Carson offered consistent vocals and even more heightened stage presence. The power of the individual forces these three musicians hold fusing together was undeniable as the entire room bounced to the closing song of the evening, fan favorite “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”.

Between the deeply rooted and evidently long-practiced musicality and talent this trio holds, paired with the impeccably captivating visuals and heightened production this tour offers, I definitely walked away having been more entertained than expected. I have a feeling that’s going to be a trend with this trio -- constantly presenting an improved performance every tour, every show, every night.

I’m ecstatic that I was able to enjoy the first night of this lineup, and you won’t want to miss it if it comes near your city -- The Midnight World Tour Part 3 has something for every pair of ears, whether they’re familiar with any of the artists going into the evening or not -- you won’t be disappointed with this tour package.

Review by: Liz Holland

#music #live music #concert #liz holland #set it off #set it off concert #emarosa concert #emarosa #broadside #broadside concert #selfish things #selfish things concert #denver #colorado #review #music review #concert review #midnight world tour #midnight world tour pt 3

0 notes

waynekelton · 4 years

Text

The Best iOS & Android RPGs

Below is not only a collection of great games, but they're also paragons of the genre and represent ‘role-play’ at its finest whether you're playing on Android or iOS.

What are the best iOS and Android RPGS?

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

Star Traders: Frontiers

Barbearian

Demons' Rise

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Legend of Grimrock

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

Chrono Trigger

Titan Quest

Transistor

Final Fantasy IX

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

Developer: Handy Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Star Traders: Frontiers

Developer: Trese Brothers Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $6.99

Barbearian

Developer: Kimmo Lahtinen Platform: iOS Universal Price: $8.99

Nick sums up our thoughts perfectly on Barbearian in his review:

Barbearian is a real-time action/RPG that features frenetic combat full of huge hits against vast hordes of enemies. The constant motion, explosive hits, and overwhelming odds of it reminds us of running around Diablo III maps looking for more things to kill. It looks great, is loaded with smashy goodness and visceral feel, and is a ton of fun to play. It offers plenty of challenge without nearing the rage-quit-and-never-look-at-the-game-again reaction some similar games seem to elicit. The ability to micromanage the difficulty and completely control the UI layout is just icing on the cake.

An easy one to recommend to RPG fans.

Demons' Rise

Developer: Wave Light Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $7.99

Fans of tactical RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and MMO-style combat will really take to the campaign and won't regret adding this game to their collection.

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Developer: Aspyr Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Legend of Grimrock

Developer: Almost Human Platform: iOS Price: $4.99

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Read our Baldur's Gate review for more.

Chrono Trigger

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Titan Quest

Developer: THQ Nordic Platforms: iOS Univeral, Android Price: $6.99, $8.99

Transistor

Developer: Supergiant Games Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Final Fantasy IX

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $20.99

Games like Final Fantasy

Doom & Destiny

Doom & Destiny Advanced

Symphony of the Origin

Revenant Dogma

Dragon Quest

Dragon Fantasy

Phantasy Star II Classic

Other Android & iOS RPG Reccomendations

7 Mages

Severed

Monster Hunter Stories

Avernum series

The Quest HD

Aurum Blade

Dungeon Chronicle

Partia 3: Knights of Partia

Demon's Rise 2

Shieldwall Chronicles

Strike Team Hydra

The World Ends with You

Avadon: The Black Fortress

Shadowrun Returns

What would your list of the best mobile RPGs look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best iOS & Android RPGs published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 5 years

Text

Essential RPGs on Android & iOS

Bored of RPGs? How about some board games instead?

Below is not only a collection of great games, but they're also paragons of the genre and represent ‘role-play’ at its finest whether you're playing on Android or iOS.

Community Favourites

Our readers have their own wishlists of top RPGs they'd want to celebrate. We can't we'll be able to rotate them into the main list, but that doesn't mean their voices can't be heard. If you're looking to widen your RPG net, these recommendations from other PTers might fit the bill:

7 Mages

Severed

Monster Hunter Stories

Avernum series

The Quest HD

Aurum Blade

Dungeon Chronicle

Partia 3: Knights of Partia

Demon's Rise 2, Shieldwall Chronicles & Strike Team Hydra

Battle Chasters: Nighwar (Review)

Developer: Handy Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Not much more to say about it beyond that - you can check out Brittany's review for a more comprehensive verdict but this is a pretty good RPG that's been expertly ported to mobile, and we're all the better for it.

Star Traders: Frontiers (Review)

Developer: Trese Brothers Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $6.99

One of 2019's best releases so far and an excellent addition to the RPG roster, STF is the culmination of nearly a decade's worth of effort making quality premium games on mobile. You customise your captains and your crew and sail amongst stars trying to eek out a living in a hostile universe. Trade, go on missions, fight pirates and aliens... this is a very diverse sandbox RPG in space, and an excellent port of the original PC version.

Barbearian (Review)

Developer: Kimmo Lahtinen Platform: iOS Universal Price: $8.99

Nick sums up our thoughts perfectly on Barbearian in his review:

An easy one to recommend to RPG fans and definitely GOTY material.

Demons' Rise

Developer: Wave Light Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $7.99

Fans of tactical RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and MMO-style combat will really take to the campaign and won't regret adding this game to their collection.

Also look out for: Wave Light have recently released another fantasy-themed tactical RPG called Shieldwall Chronicles. We quite liked it, although whether it's better than Demon's Rise is a matter for debate (we think probably not). Still, if you've already checked out DR and are looking for a new challenge, Shieldwall would be a good place to start.

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition (Review)

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Developer: Aspyr Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Legend of Grimrock (Review)

Developer: Almost Human Platform: iOS Price: $4.99

What is Grimrock? Four prisoners marked for death are flung into the heart of an ancient mountain to see trial by the elements. By delving deeper as a party, defeating the enemies and unravelling the riddles, you will overturn your sentence and start afresh. The mysteries of the game’s titular dungeon, whose design indicates was intended a prison for a multitude of strange beings, mount with each level until the mother-horror is finally met on the deepest level. An old-school game with grid-based real-time combat, riddles, puzzles, traps and hand-crafted (read: non-procedural, non-roguelike) levels. Good looking and thoughtfully made, its battle pace and minimal input requirements make it a natural fit for mobile.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (Review)

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Chrono Trigger

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Titan Quest (Review)

Developer: THQ Nordic Platforms: iOS Univeral, Android Price: $6.99, $8.99

Transistor

Developer: Supergiant Games Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Final Fantasy IX

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $20.99

Final Fantasy-like Alternatives

Doom & Destiny

Doom & Destiny Advanced

Symphony of the Origin

Revenant Dogma

Dragon Quest

Dragon Fantasy

Phantasy Star II Classic

Hall of Fame

These games graced the list in a previous life, but have since past on into legend. Here's a reminder, in case we forget:

The World Ends with You

Avadon: The Black Fortress

Shadowrun Returns

What would your list of the best mobile RPGs look like? Let us know in the comments!

Essential RPGs on Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 5 years

Text

Essential RPGs on Android & iOS

Bored of RPGs? How about some board games instead?

Below is not only a collection of great games, but they're also paragons of the genre and represent ‘role-play’ at its finest whether you're playing on Android or iOS.

Community Favourites

7 Mages

Severed

Monster Hunter Stories

Avernum series

The Quest HD

Aurum Blade

Dungeon Chronicle

Partia 3: Knights of Partia

Recently Released

One recent release of note is Nomads of the Fallen Star (pictured), a sci-fi sandbox RPG with a tactical turn-based strategy layer. It's been ported from PC and would be a shoe-in for this list, if it weren't for some lack-lustre implementation. The mobile interface especially is well below what you'd expect for a game of this nature. Still, we highlight it because it's the kind of game we like seeing on mobile, and there's always the chance the interface will be fixed in the future.

Star Traders: Frontiers (Review)

Developer: Trese Brothers Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $6.99

Barbearian (Review)

Developer: Kimmo Lahtinen Platform: iOS Universal Price: $8.99

Nick sums up our thoughts perfectly on Barbearian in his review:

An easy one to recommend to RPG fans and definitely GOTY material.

Demons' Rise

Developer: Wave Light Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $7.99

Fans of tactical RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and MMO-style combat will really take to the campaign and won't regret adding this game to their collection.

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition (Review)

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Developer: Aspyr Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Legend of Grimrock (Review)

Developer: Almost Human Platform: iOS Price: $4.99

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (Review)

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Chrono Trigger

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Titan Quest (Review)

Developer: THQ Nordic Platforms: iOS Univeral, Android Price: $6.99, $8.99

Transistor

Developer: Supergiant Games Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Final Fantasy IX

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $20.99

Final Fantasy-like Alternatives

Doom & Destiny

Doom & Destiny Advanced

Symphony of the Origin

Revenant Dogma

Dragon Quest

Dragon Fantasy

Phantasy Star II Classic

Hall of Fame

These games graced the list in a previous life, but have since past on into legend. Here's a reminder, in case we forget:

The World Ends with You

Avadon: The Black Fortress

Shadowrun Returns

What would your list of the best mobile RPGs look like? Let us know in the comments!

Essential RPGs on Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 5 years

Text

The Best RPGs on Android & iOS

Bored of RPGs? How about some board games instead?

Below is not only a collection of great games, but they're also paragons of the genre and represent ‘role-play’ at its finest whether you're playing on Android or iOS.

Community Favourites

7 Mages

Severed

Monster Hunter Stories

Avernum series

The Quest HD

Aurum Blade

Dungeon Chronicle

Partia 3: Knights of Partia

Star Traders: Frontiers (Review)

Developer: Trese Brothers Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $6.99

Barbearian (Review)

Developer: Kimmo Lahtinen Platform: iOS Universal Price: $8.99

Nick sums up our thoughts perfectly on Barbearian in his review:

An easy one to recommend to RPG fans and definitely GOTY material.

Demons' Rise

Developer: Wave Light Games Platform: iOS Universal, Android Price: $7.99

Fans of tactical RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and MMO-style combat will really take to the campaign and won't regret adding this game to their collection.

Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition (Review)

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Developer: Aspyr Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $9.99

Legend of Grimrock (Review)

Developer: Almost Human Platform: iOS Price: $4.99

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (Review)

Developer: Overhaul Games Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Chrono Trigger

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $9.99

Titan Quest (Review)

Developer: THQ Nordic Platforms: iOS Univeral, Android Price: $6.99, $8.99

Transistor

Developer: Supergiant Games Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Final Fantasy IX

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $20.99

Final Fantasy-like Alternatives

Doom & Destiny

Doom & Destiny Advanced

Symphony of the Origin

Revenant Dogma

Dragon Quest

Dragon Fantasy

Phantasy Star II Classic

Hall of Fame

These games graced the list in a previous life, but have since past on into legend. Here's a reminder, in case we forget:

The World Ends with You

Avadon: The Black Fortress

Shadowrun Returns

What would your list of the best mobile RPGs look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best RPGs on Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes