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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 years

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Letter 27: 🐙 The Little Octopus who could 🐙

A letter arrives in the mail. The golden paper shimmers slightly in the light, boasting fluid cursive beneath a lilac banner littered with sea stars, shells, and peals. The Octavinelle emblem rests squarely in the center of the header.

A few coupons come with the letter, each exclaiming of meal deals at the Mostro Lounge. Buy one, get one 50% off! Free appetizer with any purchase of an entree! 10% off your total bill! (There was, of course, also a paragraph of fine print on each coupon detailing their terms and conditions.)

***Spoilers for chapters 3, 4, 5, and the Happy Beans Day event!***

Dear Prefect-san,

I hope that you are well. Surely you and Grim-san are not still living off of canned tuna? I would certainly hope not, but... With what meager allowance that the headmaster gives you, I doubt you have much money to allocate to the nonessentials.

In my infinite generosity, I have gone out of my way to afford you the opportunity to sample the Mostro Lounge’s wares. Please do pay us a visit when you are able; we would love to have your patronage. Ah, and please rest assured that there are no strings attached. Think of it as proof of moving forward from the past.

I will not go into detail regarding my childhood, but needless to say, I was not satisfied with my lot in life. I made an investment in myself and changed who I was, hoping to erase that one weak, pathetic “me” from the world. Deep down, I knew—I knew that no matter how many contracts I made, no matter how many prizes I accumulated, I would always cling to that past “me”. My beginning.

My kindness was a shallow one. It existed to reel in fools who desire a quick and easy fix to their problems. 25 people, 225 people, 225,000 people. The number mattered not. I could collect all the contracts in Twisted Wonderland, and perhaps still not be satisfied. I always wanted more and more, wanting to bury the memory of the “me” I once was, to prove my worth. I didn’t care who or what I had to take advantage of to climb higher and higher. My ambitions ate me alive.

But when that inky cloud of despair lifted, I saw the light piercing through the water. I felt a warm embrace from both sides. Jade and Floyd welcoming me back with snarky smiles. Why? I had lost everything, and yet I was not discarded. I had shown weakness, and yet I was forgiven. I was accepted. The good and the bad, the past and the present.

... Those were dirty tricks you pulled, employing those Savanaclaw brutes to lend you their assistance. Still, I suppose I cannot be dissatisfied with this conclusion. It was thanks to your combined efforts that I saw the light once more. If anything, I must applaud your craftiness. I’ve certainly underestimated you.

Since then, you’ve made my days a bit more lively. Floyd and Jade cause their fair share of trouble, but it is you that as brought some interesting things to the table. Crashing into Octavinelle during winter break, and urging us to assist with a matter in Scarabia... I certainly did not expect that. However, the incident did allow me to understand my dear classmate Jamil-san a bit more—and now Kalim-san is indebted to us, fufu. I have you to thank for that.

You’ve continued to entertain me outside of those tense incidents as well. Who could ever forget your friends’ VDC performance, or your pitiful attempt to defeat the Beast Team during Beans Day? So close to victory, and yet so far.

I came to Night Raven College to further my ambitions in magic and entrepreneurship. And yet, I also find myself having fun these days. Perhaps... this is what was missing from my childhood, what the past “me” never had: community.

Both in business and in life... walking alone is a difficult path. I doubt the Mostro Lounge can function as smoothly as it does without the work of my staff. And... I doubt I would be as successful as I am without the support of my most trusted business partners, Jade and Floyd. No. Maybe... maybe it would be more fitting to say that I consider them to be my confidants. My... friends.

Moving forward, I still plan to expand the operations of the Mostro Lounge (though admittedly this time without claiming Ramshackle dorm in a contract) . It will not be a venture I take on alone—because I am not alone, not anymore. And the past “me” that I once shunned, the bitter, sad octopus that couldn’t swim at the same speed as his classmates... I will take his hand and wipe away his tears, carrying him with me into the future.

That vulnerable “me” is not my weakness—it is my impetus for change.

Prefect-san, you have my sincere gratitude for helping me along to that conclusion. That is why I am willing to hear out your troubles, should you need it. Of course, there will always be a price to pay—but for you, perhaps I can arrange a small discount.

I hope to have your business at the Mostro Lounge.

At your service,

🐙 Azul Ashengrotto 🐙

Octavinelle Dorm Leader

Mostro Lounge Owner and Manager

Board Game Club Member

Second Year NRC Student

P.S. Please purge any memories you may have of my child self or me crying immediately.

P.P.S. Please do NOT mention the contents of this letter to Jade or Floyd. I know they will tease me mercilessly once they catch wind of this.

#Azul Ashengrotto #twst anni #twisted wonderland anni #twisted wonderland #twst #twst anniversary #twisted wonderland anniversary #disney twisted wonderland #spoilers #magic mystery letters

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isnt-it-loverly · 4 years

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little birdie (3)//five hargreeves

Warnings: blood, poorly written fight scenes

Summary: When Five lands in the Sparrow Academy, he must convince one of them to help him reset the timeline.

Word count: 1600

Author note: super short and not the best. This week i got some pretty rough news so updates may not happen as often as I want them too. I do have a plan and its officially going to be a series now! I’m going to try to get an update out at least once a week. Thanks again for all the love on the first two parts it means a lot!!

Part one, Part two , Part four, Part Five

There was a loud bang that awoke Five from his restless slumber. He grumbled groggily as it felt like he had just fallen asleep. He wondered what the hell you were doing out there. There was another crash and Five decided that it’d be best to check on you. Pulling himself out of bed was hard as he was now incredibly sore. He half expected the door to be locked again, he was wrong. Another one of your flaws, he noted, you were far too trusting.

He pulled the door open quietly as to not to give himself away if there was trouble. Unfortunately, his fears were confirmed. Ben has you pinned to the wall, tentacle around your neck, and hand over your eyes.

“Where are they, I know you’re helping them!” He yelled. Five watched silently as he watched you struggle, trying to pry yourself out of your brother’s grip. He gulped in fear that you would break and tell Ben all that you knew.

“I- I don’t know,” you choked out. You were trying everything to get him to let go. Kicking, squirming and digging your nails into his skin.

“You’re lying, I know you didn’t go on patrol yesterday. You’ve been spending a lot of time down here. Something you do when you’re hiding something,” Ben snarled. He squeezed harder and you felt all the breath leave your lungs. You gasped and coughed trying to get any air at all. Five grumbled to himself, knowing full well what he had to do. At least now you two will be even.

“Hey asshole,” Five yelled with a cheeky grin, “looking for me?”

“I knew you were lying, you little bitch,” Ben growled as he quite literally threw you across the room. You felt like all the air had been knocked out of you, and there was a high pitched ringing in your ears. You looked to Five but there was nothing but black dots dancing across your vision. You decided it might be best to give yourself a minute for everything to stop spinning.

Five looked to you worriedly, you definitely had taken a beating. This version of Ben was much more ruthless than his, and if he was being frank, it kind of scared the shit out of him- especially in his weakened state. He flashed in front of Ben and landed a punch square in his jaw. The Horror stumbled back, surprised that such a little guy packed such a powerful hit.

“Your family will be dead by nightfall, too bad you won’t be there to see it,” Ben roared before releasing the beast within him. A tentacle reached for Five, but he blinked out of the way. However one managed to strike him down

, and another pinned him into a wall. He looked down to see the blood seeping through the clean shirt you had given him, shit this was not good. He heard his brother yell out in pain and the grasp on him loosened. There you were, arms wrapped around Ben’s neck and bringing him to the ground. Five watched in amazement as you fought, it was like you were dancing. He was impressed, you were amazingly trained- even by the commission’s standards.

Going toe to toe against your brother was not a simple task, especially when he had a giant octopus monster coming out of his stomach. All you could do was dodge his swings until you could get close enough. You manage a kick right into his jaw, and you watched with pride as he stumbled back with a bloody lip. You felt guilty for doing this. All over a boy, you had met less than a day ago. There was truth behind Five’s words, you knew that the apocalypse was coming and that your family was the spark that ignited it. You knew the consequences, you had to get him back to the umbrellas, whatever the cost. You landed another hit before that royally pissed him off. He came rushing at you, right into your trap. You knew that he’d be blinded by rage. Ben grabbed you by the neck and hoisted you into the air.

“Rookie mistake,” You muttered while looking directly into his eyes. Just like that, it was over, Your dimwitted brother was much easier to take over than Five. In Number One’s body, you carefully set yourself down. You looked over to Five and rushed to his side.

“(Y/n), please tell me that’s you because I really don’t think I have it in me to kick his ass at the moment,” Five muttered clutching his stomach. You grimaced and you lifted his hand to see the fresh blood. You don’t know why but you hated to see him in pain.

“I’ll fix you up, but not here. It won’t take long for them to realize Number One has gone missing,” you explained while helping Five his feet. He looked exhausted and you were determined to keep him safe. Nothing was going to happen to him on your watch.

“Now,” you looked Five dead in the eyes, “how hard can you punch?

“What?” He responded with a quizzical look on his face.

“Like on a scale of one to one hundred, what would you say?” You asked with a small smirk.

“I don’t know, 94?” He replied.

“Perfect! I need you to knock me out,” You instructed nonchalantly.

“Fine by me, but it’s not gonna hurt you right? I’m punching Ben not (Y/n),” Five questioned as he prepared his stance.

You nodded to let him know that it was okay. Sure you’d feel it but he didn’t have to know that, besides a little white lie never hurt anyone. Five really went for it, all the angry built up in one hit. You stumbled back, closing your eyes tight. When you opened them you found yourself back in your own body and Number One splayed on the ground.

“Ninety-four my ass, that was like a 200,” You complained. You rubbed your jaw slightly trying to ease away the pain that had transferred over. Five mumbled a small apology. You just shook your head and rolled your eyes.

“Come on,” you said in a hushed tone, “sleeping beauty won’t stay down forever.”

You pulled him along as fast as the both of you could move. You were definitely sore, two big fights in the span of 24 hours was draining. Rest was not a luxury either of you could afford right now. Slipping out of the basement and into the corridor, head whipping as you did. The coast appeared to be clear. Before you could move Five pulled you into his chest, with a hand over your mouth.

“Now, I’m gonna trust you. Which I don’t normally do. If, for even a second, I think you’re gonna double cross me and my family- I will kill you,” He whispered in your ear harshly. You pulled his hand away gently and looked into his eyes,

You could tell he was searching your face for any signs of deception but he wouldn’t find any. All he could see was a severely pissed off (Y/n).

“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve let bleed out the first time my brother kicked your ass,” You snapped back. You pulled away in anger, after all you did for that little shit. If any of your siblings found you, they’d kill you- didn’t he realize that you were on his side. That you had already lost everything to reset the timeline and stop an apocalypse that may not even happen. You looked around the corner again and signaled for him to move. He followed you closely before grabbing your shoulder.

“Hold onto me tight,” He instructed. You did as you you were told and held on to his arm for dear life knowing exactly what he was about to do. Five did a quick run forward and suddenly the both of you were outside in the courtyard. You covered your mouth and bit your lip to keep from vomiting everywhere.

“I’m gonna be sick,” you groaned.

“You can do that after we’re far away from the academy,” Five said in a hurried tone. He grabbed your wrist and begun pulling you along into the street. To be honest, most everything looked the same to Five. All of the shops were the same, the people looked normal, nothing except the academy was out of place.

“Do you know where West Street is? There’s a place where we can hide out. Its safe, I promise. Clean clothes and fresh food too,” You asked with hope in your voice.

“There's no time for comfort, Ben knows where my family is. We have to find them first,” Five said with determination.

“He was bluffing, I checked. They have no leads,” You confirmed, “ and on top of that, two kids in bloody clothes will raise too many questions.”

Five looked at you wearily, You hadn't lied to him so far so why would you start now. He knew that you were right about your appearances, they’d be a dead give away. He sighed in defeat and told you he knew the way. You smiled and slipped your shades on, ready to take on the next chapter of this adventure.

“Here,” You said while slipping off your blazer. You handed it to Five and he gave you a quizzical look.

“To cover up the blood, you look like Carrie after the prom,” You joked. Five slipped it on, it was snug yet it felt very familiar. The material was the same as his old one, just red. He sighed and ran his hand over the emblem, that bird did not belong there. You noticed his discomfort but decided not to press it. The faster you got to West Street, the better life would be for the two of you.

#number five #number five x reader #five x reader #five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #number five x you #five x you #Umbrella Academy #The Umbrella Academy #aidan gallagher

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notajinn · 5 years

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Ranking Video Games Played in 2018 But Less Detailed Because of Procrastination

Starting this in the evening on the 31st, so let' see if I even get this done in time. Normally I start more ahead of time, and provide seperate detailed post for each game in my list. Initially I wasn't planning on making a list at all this year since I played very few 2018 releases. But then I realized not only that I played more than I thought, but that the non-2018 games I played for the first time this year deserve some love as well.

I conveniently played ten games this year, so here is the ranking of my top ten games:

10. Marvel Puzzle Quest (Mobile)

This game is garbage, and I play it every day. It's a Match-3 puzzle game, which I somehow never played until this year. And it's on mobile and with a Marvel flair to give it an edge, plus a Gacha mechanic for longevity and scum.

Pros

The actual puzzle gameplay is fine. I have no other Match-3 to compare it to besides Puzzles and Dragons, which I tried out around the same time solely due to Persona 5 characters being in it. And I enjoyed Marvel more. You can only move each gem one space rather than across a line or column, or straight up anywhere like in Puzzles and Dragons. But there is no time limit, which I really appreciate.

I like a lot of Marvel characters, so I don't mind them as the rewards. Each one also has different Abilities which make a bigger difference in the gameplay than I initially expected. I unfortunately do not have Ms Marvel, Gwenpool, or Silk yet, but I do have Spider-Man.

Speaking of, the free characters they give you are pretty decent. Within the first few missions, you will come out with Spider-Man, Iron Man, Storm, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thor. You can also get Juggernaut and Venom with only slightly more effort.

The game has thus far been very generous with the gacha resource, but I can't comment on the actual pull rates (which may be where they really make their money).

Cons

You may get a lot of chances to pull, but you have a limited barrack you can recruit characters into. And the resource to increase slots is VERY slow. Which means you could potentially pull a great character, but either wait a few weeks to earn enough coins to buy a new barrack spot, remove one of your existing characters, or give them money. And if you wait more than a few weeks, your un-recruited character will be automatically "sold" for resources. I've lost one or two characters to this already. At this point the smart thing seems to be to never pull unless you have open slots, since your recruitment resource does not expire (that I'm aware of).

The difficulty is all over the place. Even the so-called "Prologue" has unusual difficulty spikes in terms of enemy levels.

The leveling system is also garbage in general. You need duplicates of characters to level up, but higher rank characters start at higher levels. Which means even though I pulled and merged like 6 Iron Man, the single 3-star Dr Octopus is significantly stronger with no effort.

Final Thoughts

This game is garbage, and I will continue to play it.

9. Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)

Not long ago, Fire Emblem Heroes was one of my favourite games. But the game fell so far in 2018, perhaps outlining the heightened speed of a gacha game's life-cycle.

Pros

They started adding alts of characters that were not from Awakening or Fates. It's not exactly good that we're getting so many alts, but at least they're not all Camilla or Xander.

The new Aether Raids mode is legitimately good. It allows you to create your own mini-maps with different structures and traps, and play against other players. You win a new resource called Heroic Grails, which you can use to summon otherwise limited-time free characters like those from Grand Hero Battles, or the Tempest Trials. I should specify this lets you select characters, not go into a random gacha system. You want more of Joshua? No problem, just select him from the list and hand of the Grails, and you've got him. A lot of characters I like fall into this category, so I especially appreciate it. The actual mode of fighting in user-created maps is also fun.

Book 2 of the story had some good moments early on, and I liked some of the new characters. Said new characters were also added into the summon pool, and not as limited-time units either.

A lot of older characters got new weapon refinements to help them keep up with the cast slightly. Some of these are only okay, but some have been amazing. Still waiting for my man Matthew to get one.

Also this one is kind of cheating since it didn't happen yet, but we are confirmed to finally be getting Laguz (the beast units from the Tellius games) in 2019, which I am very excited for.

Cons

After a decent start, Book 2's story fell into disarray. A comically bland villain was the worst offender, feeling like an OC a child came up with that kept getting sudden new powers for no reason.

Said main villain is also the focal point of the powercreep in the game this year. The absurdity of how good 2018 units are compared to before is frustrating, and I say that as someone who doesn't particularly care about ranking. A lot of these new units and skill sets are just plain not fun to fight against.

Outside of Aether Raids, the game felt pretty stale in terms of having things to do, and I simply found myself far less interested.

Final Thoughts

Laguz will keep my interest for at least some of 2019, but I see myself playing this far less next year. And with a new real Fire Emblem game coming out, I may leave this game entirely.

8. Final Fantasy Record Keeper (Mobile)

This is an unusual one because I didn't play this game much this year. For a few months, I didn't even bother logging in. And 90% of the time I do log in, I just grab the daily rewards and leave. So how did this beat Marvel Puzzle Quest and Fire Emblem Heroes?

Pros

This game is absurdly generous with resources. Keeping in mind this is a gacha game way past it's prime, and being cannibalized by its own parent company through other newer Final Fantasy mobile games, Record Keeper has been trying very hard to keep people playing. Even as someone who barely plays, I am flush with good resources. Enough so that, if I get interested enough, I could probably catch up to the meta-game.

The game has also continued its policy of "characters are free, the gacha is for equipment" that I love. I have no trouble getting characters I want (new ones I liked added this year include Marche from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and Sora and Riku of Kingdom Hearts).

The gacha itself is also generous, with multiple event banners that guarantee at least one 5-star for every 11-pull. I wish other gacha games were this generous.

It also keeps the great aesthetic and soundtrack that got me into the game.

Cons

I've played it so much over the years that it's not super fun, but I appreciate it's there for me and doesn't feel like scum.

Final Thoughts

Thank you for doing a gacha game well, Square-Enix.

7. Mighty Switch Force (3DS)

Though I got this years ago in a Humble Bundle, it wasn't until one bored weekend this summer that I actually tried it out Wayforward's other first-party game. The Mighty Switch Force DLC trailer for Shantae: Half Genie Hero also helped.

This is an interesting little arcade action/puzzle hybrid that's a little unusual. It puts you into different areas where you have to use the main gimmick of moving things into and out of the foreground along with other puzzle mechanics to find and arrest some escaped criminals.

Pros

The main mechanic of moving objects forward and backward is pretty fun, and while it's been occasionally seen in other games it's worked more effectively here than I've ever seen. I also appreciate that most levels will add a new mechanic you have to learn.

The levels are short and easy to digest on the 3DS.

It's got the classic Wayforward cartoon aesthetic.

Cons

This is mostly personal preference, but I don't play puzzle games a lot; they don't hold my interest too long. So this was a one weekend game. I didn't beat it, but I got my fill in those two days.

The lack of story really drives home the "arcade" aspect of the game, which is frustrating because I like the often silly pacing of the Shantae series. I'm also someone who invests in characters heavily, so having very little to go off but designs really hurt my long-term interest here.

Final Thoughts

This is a fun little puzzle game I recommend to try out considering it's often on sale and under $10. It's far from the best game, but you'll probably have fun with it.

6. Bayonetta (PS3)

For better or for worse, my first introduction to Bayonetta was when she was added as a DLC character to Super Smash Brothers 4. Suffice to say I was bummed a character I had no interest in won the people's choice, and that definitely negatively tainted the series for me for a while. But after getting itnerested in character-action games by playing Nier Automata and Platinum's Legend of Korra, I ended up picking up Bayonetta on sale on the PS3.

Pros

Oh my god, the combat is so strong. I knew this from Platinum's other games, but it has a different feel. Korra was ultimately a budget game, and Nier Automata was an RPG first, but Bayonetta was a character-action game through and through. The combat is not easy to learn, but when you figure out and see the radical moves you're pulling off, there's a certain unmatched joy to the gameplay.

The plot is campy and silly in the vein of Devil May Cry, and has a good handful of characters I like (particularly Jeanne and Luca). It ramps up to hilarious scales.

The music is so good, and I wish more of it made it into Super Smash Brothers.

I love that you have a space to practice combos without any repercussions by turning off the timer in the loading screen transitions. This helped me so much early on to get a hang of which combos I could both pull off effectively, find a use for, and actually enjoy.

Checkpoints are fairly generous, and so long as you don't care about your score you can continue to try again with no repercussions until you win.

Cons

There are certain sections of the game where you are pulled into on-rails vehicles. These sections are not fun, and last FAR too long. To make matters worse, the best boss fight in the game is in the second half of a level where the first half is one of these terrible vehicle sections. Which means I'll never fight that boss again since I don't want to go through that initial part.

Through a combination of the initial negative reaction and the fact there are more interesting characters around her, I didn't end up attached to Bayonetta herself, which is disappointing considering how much I like Dante and the Nier Automata cast.

The first few levels are also far harder than the rest of the game. This happens because you're learning a new combat system, have less moves purchased, and most importantly do not have the Bat Within ability that increases your dodge invincibility. This move probably saved me so much, and you can get it pretty early, but not until you get past some hard parts. In particular, the first major boss has you contend with the above issues and, for no particular reason, is the only major boss without any checkpoints. This boss almost made me give up on the game, and heavily slowed down my progress and general enjoyment.

Probably the biggest issue is that this is a PS3 era game, which means you can expect tons of QTEs that cause instant death if you fail them. These even happen during bosses. It's such a product of its time.

Final Thoughts

If you can struggle through those initial hard (but not un-fun) levels and that first frustrating boss, you have a great game ahead of you. With some truly awful vehicle sections thrown in, but mostly great. At the very least, grab the soundtrack.

5. Dragalia Lost (Mobile)

Oh you thought the mobile games were all at the bottom? Then you forgot about Nintendo's newest IP, Dragalia Lost. Which would be fair, because this game is available officially in very few countries, and it's kind of crazy.

With the success of other mobile games, Nintendo decided to try out a new IP in a mobile game with the help of the experienced developers CyGames. What we got was a mobile MMO with a heavy anime aesthetic and a lot of love.

Pros

The character designs vary, as they do in any mobile, but one major strength of Dragalia Lost (and the reason I started the game) is the large percentage of dark-skinned characters. It may seem silly, but as a South Asian it's so rare to see dark-skinned characters in this aesthetic. You'll get your token characters here and there, but Dragalia Lost alone probably has more than I've seen in a few other series combined. I'm pretty sure they have more than Fire Emblem Heroes, or at least an equal amount.

The developers have been very generous with resources, and so far have given you a free 10-pull whenever there's a new event.

We've also already had a lot of improvements due to developer feedback, which is a great sign for the game's future.

The strangest thing perhaps is...the gameplay is really fun for a mobile game. It's a top-down action RPG with heavy MMO elements in terms of leveling and co-op play. While your party setup means a lot, your skill in-game means even more if you're skilled at dodging, effectively moving around the map, and knowing when to throw out which ability. As you have such a heavy level of interaction with the characters, you also feel more attached to them, which is great for longevity in a gacha game. Each weapon type plays very differently, and with different elements and abilities you get a lot of variety. You also have different dragons you can transform into as essential limit breaks.

I really love how seamlessly co-op is integrated. You can play any mission with or without co-op, and it takes very little effort to group up with people.

Cons

It's still a gacha game, so a certain level of garbage is expected. The rates of pulling a 5-star seem far worse than Fire Emblem Heroes and Final Fantasy Record Keeper. To make matters worse, you can potentially pull a 5-Star Wyrmprint (a type of equipment) instead of a character or dragon, thus resetting your pity rate.

In co-op, if a host quits the entire battle is considered a fail. Which makes logical sense, but it's frustrating when the host quits while you're winning.

Bows are also significantly worse than the other weapon types, but my favourite character is an archer. This presents a problem.

It’s only available in a small number of countries, with still not announced plans for others.

Final Thoughts

It's the best mobile game I've played this year, but it's still a mobile game. Unless you're looking for a mobile game, I recommend just appreciating the art from afar. If you ARE looking for a mobile game, however, I highly recommend this. And if you care about Nintendo, maybe keep an eye on this; I could see this IP eventually coming out of mobile.

4. Deltarune (PC)

It's tough to write these all at once. Okay, Deltarune. The surprise game from Undertale's creator. I still don't want to get into too much detail in case you haven't played this free and relatively short game, but it's been a while. There will be sort of spoilers below, so if you want to go in blind, skip down to number 3.

Pros

From the graphical style to the writing to the soundtrack, it's got the same great charm of Undertale in a smaller package.

The battle system is more involved and honestly a lot more fun. You're also not forced to go Pacifist to get the good ending, so you can actually enjoy it like a normal RPG. Even if you do go Pacifist like I did, the inclusion of different abilities gives you a lot more to do than just dodge enemy attacks.

The progression of Susie and Lancer as characters is fun to watch unfold, and the game does a great job making you invested in these characters within such a short time frame.

The final section of the game, without mentioning any spoilers, is also a nice little reward.

Cons

Simply because of playing Undertale, you may assume you have to play Pacifist and thus miss the main combat. This is untrue, but hard to know since you also want to go in blind on your first run. This is entirely a self-made issue, but it is nonetheless a common issue I can see.

..I don't really have any other negatives offhand except that it's short?

Final Thoughts

If you played Undertale, play this. If you didn't play Undertale, probably play that first and you'll enjoy this more. But you'd probably enjoy this regardless. And hell, it's free and under 5 hours, and runs on probably any modern PC.

3. Dragonball FigherZ (PS4)

There have been so many Dragonball Z games, but the quality never hit this level. Remember when we considered the Budokai games to be amazing because of the competition? Now we have a DBZ fighter that's not only the best of the series, but also a legitimately great fighting game when compared to the other big fighting series. No weird 3D mechanics, no attempt to heavily integrate fighting. This is just a solid 2D fighter with some unique elements and a DBZ flavouring.

Pros

Made by Arcsys, the gameplay is unsurprisingly amazing. It's fluid, has a lot of ease-of-use for beginner players, and a lot of more complex mechanics to make high-end gameplay fun to watch. I was able to teach some friends in a short amount of time how to play this decently, which is very important with a multiplayer game.

And despite most of the characters fighting extremely similarly in DBZ, each character feels unique here. They're all just throwing punches, kicks, and energy blasts, but they all have their own distinct feel. Even the various orange-gi-black-hair characters all stand out with different silhouettes and colour tinting.

The new OC that Arcsys seems obligated to add may be strange as an Android/Buu hybrid, but adding a new female character to such a male dominated series is much appreciated.

The online lobby is easy to find the types of fights you're looking for, and provides a good deal of variety.

Cons

The DLC lineup is awful. Two versions of Goku, two versions of Vegeta. Really? Do we really need that? Then we got Goku's dad Bardock, who visually looks like another Goku. And then we got Fused Zamasu, who is basically an alternate version of base game charater Goku Black. The only characters unique in both design and gameplay are Broly (who I generally hate), Android 17 (who's great), and Cooler (who's not quite as cool as his brother). There's so many good choices for DLC, but short of a second season, this is what we got stuck with. And honestly, good DLC characters can make or break my interest in a fighting game long-term. This was what broke it.

Final Thoughts

It's a great fighting game, and hands-down the best Dragonball Z game. But there's only one fighting game series that is able to hold my interest long-term.

2. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (Switch)

It's still wild this was announced and came out in the same year. After being used to a long pre-release for Super Smash Brothers games, Ultimate really bucked the trend. It's also not like the other games in other ways as well, opting to include as much old content as possible instead of taking the usual "add a lot but cut a lot" approach.

Pros

One of my long-time top wished characters finally made it in: K. Rool! And he's so well-animated and sporting so many references! They really put a lot of love into him.

I'm vicariously excited for all the Ridley fans who finally got their big space dragon into Smash. They were always steadfast beside us K. Rool fans, and really deserve this win.

No one has to worry about their main being cut, because everyone is here. For those few people that legitimately liked Pichu, that must be a great feeling.

The core gameplay also received a nice boost in speed so it's not overly-fast like Melee, but still a lot more fluid than the other games. Bringing back moving air dodges, and clamping down on over-dodging have helped make the gameplay feel much smoother.

After the disappointingly poor single-player of Smash 4, I love all the single-player modes here. Classic has been redesigned to give each character a tuned and unique experience. We have a big single-player mode in the World of Light, and the smaller but more long-term Spirit Board.

Spirits in general are just a great way of reusing Stickers from previous games in a way that makes everybody excited. Seriously, they are just your typical gacha JPGS, but throwing effects and levels onto them really makes them feel more involved than trophier or stickers in past games.

My main, Zelda, got significantly buffed. This is really specific to me, but it makes a big difference.

Mii Fighters also feel far more viable this time around.

The range of music and stages in the game is just amazing.

Cons

For a game that promotes itself as having everything, it's bizarre and frustrating that the Stage Builder was completely removed. I really enjoyed playing around in there, and being able to use tracks I like from stages I don't like.

We also lost modes like Target Smash and the Home Run Contest for almost no reason. Short of these being added in future updates, I find this odd.

I could make a lot of complaints about character choice, but I'll keep it short and mention that I'm one of the few people not happy about the Piranha Plant, and I would really have had almost any non-3DS FE character instead of Chrom.

World of Light is also really long, and unlike the Subspace Emissary lacks cinema scenes. The opening scene everyone has seen is great, and then...that's it so far. I am expecting one more at the end (I'm maybe halfway through), and maybe one in the middle, but it's not going to live up to the SSE.

I also can't believe the huge backwards step taken in the online mode. Rather than having a separate Casual and Competitive mode like every other fighter (including the last Smash Brothers), there is only one queue, and you can easily get thrown into the opposite type of style you want. I actually cancelled my plans to buy the online service after I heard how bad this system is.

Final Thoughts

It's a Super Smash Brothers game, so I will enjoy it for a long time. The Spirits add a lot of longevity, but unless the online is heavily fixed I can see myself dropping out of this game within the next year.

1. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)

This game had such bad timing. Released alongside the similar but more anticipated Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on a competitor system, and the different but same-system Persona 5, I think a lot of people completely missed this game. Or as many as can miss a big AAA game. If this came out just a few months earlier or later, I'm sure I'd see a lot more talk about it. But as things stand, it seemed to disappear from everyone's minds very quickly.

If you're one of the ones that forgot, Horizon Zero Dawn is an open-world action-adventure about a post-apocalyptic world where humans are left to deal with the increasingly dangerous machine robots built by pre-apocalypse humans, and is just as much about dealing with different tribes and cultures that emerge in this new world.

Pros

Alloy is one of my favourite new main characters in a long time. Not just in video games, but in general. While having some of that player-character "choose their personality" feelings here and there, she is mostly a defined and often interesting character with distinct strengths and weaknesses.

Voice acting from Alloy as well as the entire cast is superb, and really sells the world.

The gameplay is heavily archery focused with a lot of traps and different ammunition to help you bring down the machines that heavily outmatch you in a straight fight. The game is built to allow you to play with stealth or as an action game depending on how you select your skills. It's also got a good level of difficulty where you will definitely die a few times, but never get overly frustrated.

The story hits on many different points, and most of it has something interesting to offer. Don't expect story quality on the level of something like Nier Automata, but for a new IP it's pretty impressive.

One thing I love about fast travel is that, early on, you have to use consumable items to do so. This means you're initially encouraged to manually explore, and in doing so will learn a lot more about what the game can offer. Once you get a little further, you can unlock the ability to fast-travel with ease so you can backtrack and do quests without an issue. It's a good way to try to balance having people skip over environments.

Also it's a big AAA game with NO MICROTRANSACTIONS AT ALL!

Cons

The subtitles are pretty small based on my TV size and the distance I sit at. If you sit closer to your TV, it's probably fine.

For a game with such good quality everywhere else, the soundtrack is honestly pretty average outside of the main theme.

The open world is nowhere near as fun to explore as in Breath of the Wild, and holds far less secrets.

Final Thoughts

This feels strange to say for a AAA game made by first-party Sony, but please don't sleep on this game. It's really good, and it's been insanely cheap for the latter part of this year.

That's it. That's all the games. This took a lot more time than I expected, and I don't feel like proofreading since now it's already almost midnight. 2018 may not have had that many good new releases, but I found fun with video games.

Looking forward to playing Fire Emblem Three Houses and Kingdom Hearts III next year, and talking about them next December. Hopefully not on the 31st again.

#top games of 2018 #even though half came out in different years #holy crap this took forever

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