#they had an earthbound themed one this year you do not know how happy i am

[mefilas]

buying a new yearly planner is like a religious experience for me. huge fan of beginnings and ends

#hobonichi a6 planner is my one true love in life ngl #they had an earthbound themed one this year you do not know how happy i am #i was thinking of maybe trying their weekly planner this year but as soon as i saw the earthbound one j knew i needed it #maybe next year #honestly it functions as a to-do list as well as a planner for me so i cant really make the space sacrifice of going ti a smaller one #but also the a5 is wayyy too big for me #so im chilling with a6 #its very handy and if i wear cargo pants (i always do) itll fit in the pockets ! neat

[thebigladjake]

AX3001: Oddyssey - TV Show Research and Development: Giygas and the Intrigue of having an unexplainable villain

When it came to making a TV Show, I always had an idea for an Earthbound spiritual successor since 2018 and over this last Summer when we were briefed to make three TV Shows. I had to really think about what ideas I wanted to do. However, during my downtime, I suddenly remembered one specific thing about my Earthbound experience...

Giygas

The Embodiment of Evil, the Universal Cosmic Destroyer or the Almighty Idiot according to who you ask, Giygas is the main antagonist of Earthbound and appropriately serves as the game’s final boss before your adventure comes to a close. Granted, him being the very last thing you fight leads to you leaving with that boss fresh on your mind. But, I hadn’t played Earthbound for a few years... And Giygas just suddenly popped into my head. And a lot of the questions were “Why is he like this? This cute and friendly game has a boss that looks like a nightmare?” I was absolutely fascinated by this boss and it led to my second playthrough of the game.

Onett, the start of the Adventure

This is the hometown of our main character, Ness and effectively our window into the world of this game. We see the town he lives in, it’s so bright and colourful with all the town essentials! A burger shop, a town hall, an arcade, hospital, police station and library, it’s familiar to us as our hometowns most likely have similar locations. The vibrant colours of all the buildings is eye-catching and welcoming! 

The music is also worth noting as it’s very peppy and upbeat, it feels like the theme of a small town with a nice community. Most of the music follows this formula.

Most of the towns in the game follow this design and it does feel like you’re exploring more and more of the world, like you’ve ventured further than you have ever gone before and you’re not going to stop because this world is so interesting and welcoming!

Some towns deviate from the formula, but the good people in the towns help to established the same welcoming energy that we’re used to.

Now, let’s take a look at the final map before Giygas’ lair...

The Cave of the Past, the end of the Adventure

Complete contrast to what has been established this entire game. There are absolutely no colours, there are no buildings, no operations of Giygas’ in the background. It’s just a path to the end of the journey and it’s so simple... But, it’s super effective! The lack of colour helps to make it feel otherworldly, makes it feel alien to the world that you’re used to and that’s exactly what Giygas is, he’s not from the world. 

Even our main cast of heroes could not be transported back in time without being transferred into robot bodies, all of their colour is gone too. All except Ness’ hat, showing a small bit of colour almost as if it’s that one bit of hope of beating Giygas.

At the end of games, usually going to the final boss’ lair will be some huge event where you see all of their plans, what they’ve built over time and will be accompanied by some epic score. Earthbound does things differently.

Just give that a listen, it’s a eerie, droning piece that doesn’t sound like a great confrontation theme. It sounds like ambience more than a score to me and I think that makes it scarier, like you are in the positions of the kids who are probably incredibly scared of what they are going to have to face once inside that cave. It’s so incredible and it’s a sample of the Beach Boys song, ‘Deirdre’.

It’s the opening note and I find it amazing how a single sample can do so much! There is another Earthbound track that I will link here which features a sample of the trumpet in the intro of the Beatles song, ‘All you need is Love’ and again, it sets up so much with just a tiny little sample.

This is used just before going to the Cave of the Past, instead being the Cave of the Present. It’s technically just two notes with a reverb, but the sample adds so much and it just feels uncomfortable. However, we don’t need to talk about this for long, let’s go right to Giygas’ lair!

Giygas Lair, the true contrast to Earthbound’s style!

I apologise for the size of the image, but it’s pretty much a straight path but LOOK AT THIS! A trail of organs and entrails twisting and turning through this dark void until you find this uncanny monstrosity of a machine made of the same organic material you were walking on. This. This is what made me come back, it’s such a disturbing idea. 

This is open to interpretation, but the way caves are represented in Earthbound is to only make sprites of the ground and walls. All the stuff you can’t see is black, just like how a cave should be. Giygas’ lair has this same motif, but there doesn’t really appear to be any walls around. So depending on your view, they’re either walking through a tunnel or entrails or walking through the void as previously stated. Personally, I think both are terrifically terrifying but I definitely see the void more.

The organs pulse as you walk up them, the only noise complimenting the atmosphere is the clanking of robo-feet and the breathing of Giygas which is what I feel gives it the whole void feeling. It’s so unnerving that this is the final confrontation, but the fact that it is actually puts us in Ness and his friends shoes.

Getting to the Machine causes everything to stop, the ambience vanishes. Giygas’ intro music plays as the Machine changes to show the robots a picture of Ness’ face. Ness was prophesied to be the one who brings down Giygas and the first thing we see from the Machine is Ness, already suggesting to us that Giygas knows that we’re here...

Pokey, Ness’ childhood friend and eventual enemy over the course of the game, descends in a Spider Mech and just like that the Final Battle is about to begin!

The Final Fight

Of course, the final boss begins with Pokey standing before you with Giygas’ number one thought right now... Ness is here and he’s come to defeat me. This is a pretty standard affair for a boss, only Pokey can be harmed and he is much more a threat in this Spider Mech than he was previously in battle. 

Giygas has a shield that is impervious to any kind of physical or psychic attacks and cannot be destroyed or disabled. He attacks using the special power that only Ness knows ‘PSI Rockin’’. His shield will always reflect your shots back at the character who attacks him and even when they have shield themselves, they will get hit regardless. The Machine is what keeps Giygas stable and alive, making him completely invincible...

However... He has one big idiot on his side...

Pokey can be damaged and the strategy of the fight is to focus on him and avoid any attacks that hit the both of them. Pokey, like the main cast, is a kid and he’s incredibly immature. So as soon as his mech is defeated, he taunts the main gang and turns off the Devil’s Machine... The one thing preventing Giygas’ defeat...

Giygas Released

Once released, Pokey explains that Giygas isn’t even himself anymore. He became so powerful that his body was destroyed and had to be contained into a machine in order to maintain some sort of grasp on his thoughts. Without that machine, the four heroes are taken into a dimension of Giygas’ thoughts and since we play as Ness we hear his thoughts directed towards us the player.

He reaches out with such thoughts as repeating Ness’ (The player’s) name, saying “I feel... Sad.” or “It feels good.” and added upon these thoughts Giygas’ attacks cannot be comprehended by our characters. It really helps to add a sense of hopelessness because we have no idea what is truly going on and we can’t fight what we don’t know. 

An Unconventional Resolution

Attacks don’t work, defending won’t work either, you can’t heal or save yourself. All hopes seem lost until you notice a certain act that Paula can do. Pray.

When Paula prays, she reaches out to the world she left behind and the folks that are waiting for their return get the feeling that something bad is happening. So, they too pray from the bottom of their hearts...

https://youtu.be/cptFVD3eTEs?start=320&end=374

If you watch the small clip above, once he feels the support from the Earth. The sound cue to signify that Giygas has been damaged and that Giygas is not okay.

Onward to his next form.

Now I would like you to take a close look at this image, I’ve asked a few people about this and sometimes they get it without me saying anything and others don’t. So, just take a moment to find an image amongst the Giygas’.

Got it or have you given up? In the realm of Giygas, here in the black void is a pretty damn distinct shape of a baby. And this is what fascinated me about Giygas, there is a theory that this is symbolism for abortion as you go back in time to kill Giygas but that theory has been disproven by Shigesato Itoi, the game’s creator. There’s evidence that goes against this theory anyway, but this fetus imagery always stuck out to me. 

It’s said to be a coincidence that the Super Nintendo generated these sprites and in this pattern. But, it’s such a definite shape of a baby and I find it absolutely mental that it’s just a coincidence. And that curiosity is what brought me back to Earthbound, just this happy go lucky game where you make friends with a little monkey that chews bubblegum, make friends with a man who converts himself into a huge dungeon man and at the very end, you’re faced with this. 

It’s not only impactful imagewise, but storywise it’s just as impactful for the opposite reasons. As Giygas can now be damaged by feeling the love and support coming from the friends Ness has made across the world. Each time Giygas is hit, it gets worse, but the moment he really breaks down is when Ness’ Mother wakes up in the middle of the night and rushes downstairs with Ness’ little sister and their dog. They all feel uneasy and begin to pray for the safety of Ness and his friends.

https://youtu.be/cptFVD3eTEs?start=702&end=738

This is the moment Giygas truly breaks down, feeling the support of a loving Mother looking out for her son is a feeling he had long since buried. It’s about time I talk about the backstory of Giygas, while it’s not touched upon in Earthbound/Mother 2, in Earthbound Beginnings/Mother we see Giygas as an alien and we learn about how he came to be.

Giygas and Trauma

Giygas was an alien that was raised by Maria and George, a couple that was abducted by the other members of Giygas’ race. Maria adopted Giygas and looked after him while George studied their powers without their approval and eventually escaped with this knowledge, never being seen again. Once Giygas grows up, he was instructed to ensure that no human is capable of using PSI powers and not wanting to betray the people who raised him, he forcefully detached himself from Maria to prepare for the invasion.

Maria was sent back to Earth, but with amnesia and once the Eight Melodies are obtained, she regains her memory and explains that it was a song she used to sing to Giygas when he was young. This is very important.

Giygas’ first attempt to take over the world. He comes down, looking upon the gang and the battle begins. Starting the trend of Mother/Earthbound games having a unusual way of defeating the final boss. This time, the group begins to sing the Eight Melodies which brings up emotions in Giygas that he thought he had long since repressed or even got over. Giygas has a complete mental breakdown and recalls his forces, swearing revenge on the planet and that he will return.

In Earthbound, Giygas has worked on himself and made sure that what brought him down before cannot bring him down again. However, he didn’t do enough since the feeling of a loving Mother reaching out to her son in his time of need still hurts him severely and it’s at this point where Giygas can hardly do anything. His sprite starts contorting, the colours shift and the audio turns into a droning whirring noise.

Ness’ Mothers love is one thing, but it’s not enough. Giygas is wounded, but he is still fighting. Paula keeps praying for one more person and with a few more attempts, that person is you. There’s a moment in the game where the fourth wall is broken and asks you to enter your name. It can even be your full name, my name is pretty long and my name fits into it perfectly. It’s emotionally engaging since it includes you and you feel like in a way you are defeating him rather than Giygas being defeated by the world of the game. 

https://youtu.be/cptFVD3eTEs?start=838&end=938

After this Giygas loses control, the whirring increases, his sprite distorts further to the point where he is unrecognisable, the visuals cutting in with static occassionally. Static that appears at the very beginning of the game, suggesting the approach of Giygas and showing pictures of the invasion, and at the end of the game it suggest that he’s retreating, he’s getting out of reach and eventually he is gone.

And after all of that craziness, the robots are outside of Giygas’ lair. Everything is quiet, “The War against Giygas is over.”

What was Shigesato Itoi thinking?

Shigesato Itoi drew inspiration from an event of his childhood, where he had walked into the wrong screen at the theatre. He walked in on a murder scene which as a kid he mistook for a rape scene which had such a potent effect on him. He drew inspiration from it for Giygas’ final battle and some of the things Giygas says. 

In an interview, Itoi claims that there was a scene where a guy grabbed a woman’s breast which distorted it into a ball shape. He said “It all hit me really hard. It was a direct attack on my brain.” despite the fact that this doesn’t actually happen in the movie, which Itoi admits that his memories are a little fuzzy. It’s probably because it all happened so fast and his child brain may have created false memories or just failed to understand it. Itoi also goes onto say, "this sense of terror having atrocity and eroticism side-by-side, and that’s what Giygas's lines at the end are. During the end, he says, “It hurts,” right? That's... her breast. It’s like, how do I put it, a “living-being” sensation." and the purpose of the scene is to get the player’s mind working.

Another interesting part of this interview is when Itoi talks about typical villains and says this, “Well, you know, having a villain there who simply goes, “Wahahaha!” and the like would clearly be bad. But, actually, when I think about it, having villains go, “Wahahaha!” is a really intriguing pattern. But there’s no point in wondering all by yourself for days on end what it means for a bad guy to go, “Wahahaha!” at the climax of a game, you know? I get the feeling that there aren’t many people in the game industry who would do that sort of thing, though.” Which is something important to consider, Earthbound is such a colourful game bursting with personality, so having it end with just a standard final boss affair probably wouldn’t feel satisfying.

What the Earthbound/Mother series taught me about final confrontations?

Giygas’ character and what it taught me that even “Universal Cosmic Destroyers” can have trauma that they are trying to avoid and bury. It humanises them in a way and it can make the final confrontation that more powerful as it’s a problem we can all relate to. They’re not all evil for the sake of being evil, sometimes they don’t have a choice. 

I think this is a good thing to take on board and I have already begun planning on my main antagonist’s motivations on Oddyssey. It might be changed since it’s a sensitive topic for me right now, but these motivations won’t be brought up in Season 1 anyway

[fantroll-purgatory]

Facari

@ardatable​

((Sorry about the miss send!))

((Sorry about the disappearing for years))

World: Alternia with a different Heiress and Empress.

Name: Facari ?????? - Not her real name. She left that behind long ago, and now her ‘stage name’ is just a knock-off of the Heiress’s name (Monari).

Hmmm. Given her desire to fly under the radar, she may want to pick a name that doesn’t sound quite so much like “Fake [Current Heiress].” If I may suggest an alternate, what about “Modain,” from the French mondaine (a fashionable woman of the world), and which shares a root with “mundane,” which she is presumably trying to be. It still starts with the same two letters as the current Heiress’s name which gives you the initial linguistic tie-in, but with vastly different meaning.

Age: 8 Sweeps.

Theme/Story: She’s not meant to be a Sburb player, and is part of the same band as Alcero Tonori (a gal that was sent in awhile ago).

When she was young, in the hustle and bustle of the dark caverns she was mistakenly listed as a light violet and sorted in with the rest of them. She survived long enough to get a violet lusus and have a modest hive constructed for her on the floor of a coral reef.

Normally, a rightful Heiress such as herself would step up for her title, but an Heiress was already on Alternia. A sweep older than her and already a menace, she knew she wouldn’t win the subsequent duel that would ensue.

When she was five, her lusus disappeared, and she, paranoid as many cull-worthy young ones are, took that as a sign to jump ship. She discarded all clothes that bore her sign, commissioned horn caps for herself, and left her hive behind.

For the next sweep, she posed as a traveling violet out to see the world. She wore a hood to cover her fins, and bounced from place to place. In this time, She wore a fake sign and watched how miserably lowbloods were treated, both by highbloods and by the system itself. She picked up drumming and played for small venues, and that’s where she met her future Matesprit, Alcero. They hit it off and, with one of Alcero’s friends on the Keytar, started a band called the Mythbloods. That’s where she is now.

Hmmm. I don’t know why she’d need to scrap her symbol if she was already mistaken for a violetblood; even with her fins covered I can only imagine the shape underneath a cloth would make it obvious she’s a seadweller even without someone seeing her blood color. She can still be hemoanon, but between the fins and the gold jewelry I’m pretty sure she’d be clocked for a seadweller in a second.

Review Goals: General overview please!

Strife Specibus: Beatkind - Both a pun on her music hobby, and descriptive of how she uses her drumsticks

Lmao I love it. It also means you can make some fun Earthbound jokes when she fights.

Fetch Modus: Eject+Password modus (“Passject Modus”)- Eject Modus and Password Modus stacked. Every item has a password, and an incorrect input will launch the wanted item at high velocity in the other direction.

Blood Color: Anon (Fuchsia)

Lunar Sway: Prospit - While she has considered her dismal future, she’s dedicated to following the road as it presents itself instead of always tearing herself up about her future.

Title: Thief of Void

I find this interesting and agree with your assessment! Instead of seeking the spotlight, she is deliberately taking irrelevance and secrecy for herself, most likely at the expense of making others more noticeable!

Symbol and Meaning: None! She left it behind along with her old name. Probably couldn’t draw it from memory.

Hmmmm. I might still suggest one that’s a happy medium between Pittanius and Aquittanius that’s just greyed out.

Handle: gadoidCamorra [GC]

Once again, the first word of this makes it p obvious she’s a seadweller! And the second word…appears to be the name of an Italian mafia secret society which controls, among other things, fisheries? WILD. If I may suggest an alternate taking from the same root, makybe gadoidParanza [GP[, which is Camorra slang from a word for small fishing boat that means a group of criminal youngsters, which is what the band is!

Quirk: “honestly, i didnt expecct to live this long. im down for anything.”

Doubles her Cs and uses all lowercase. Her old name had two Cs in it.

I like it! Since you’ve already established a strong fish theme, if you wanna further trowel on the dramatic irony she could start her messages with a little fishie like this: “><>”

Special Abilities: None, unless her frankly suprising feat of not being dead is worthy of note.

Lusus/Guardian: Used to be a violet blooded lobster with six claws. It disappeared one day when she was five, likely caught by lusus poachers.

:’C

Interests: Drumming, Reading, Writing, Athletics

Appearance: I figured I’d note some things here that aren’t clear in the art. The caps on her horns are made to look like decorative covers of horns that are that shape, but under them she has classic Fuchsia horns. The part of her fins that would usually be colored have been tattoed black, a very painful process that she had Alcero do for her (only applicable in art styles that color gills with blood color)

Personality: She’s a pretty flat speaker that doesn’t present much emotion verbally, but her words are often pretty warm and concerned. Despite her attempts to make herself completely neutral, she’s always been naturally friendly. For her own safety, she’s rather cold to strangers or people she knows are hemoloyal.

Land: N/A

That’s about it for this review! I really do like the concept behind this troll, and I hope some of my belated commentary helped!

-TR

#fuchsiablood #tyrianblood #seadweller #anonblood #submission #facari #ardatable #modain #review #TR review

[notreallythegreatestperson]

FIVE SONGS

list five songs associated with your muse and its meaning to them as a character, or to you as the writer. this can be applied in-character or out-of-character. it can go as deep as looking at the song’s real-world origins or meaning along with the themes it carries to the muses’ story, values, or experiences, or as simple as if your muse would listen to this kind of music, or even if you just listen to these pieces for inspiration.

TAGGED BY: @handspoken​ (i think this is my first time actually being tagged in one of these! thanks!)  TAGGING: @dogandroses​ (any muse you like!), @puzzlebones​, @the-judge-of-bones​, @sxvethequeen​, @ladydreemurr​, @staydetermined​, @nebula-gaster​, and anyone else who wants to do it! 

01. Megalo Strike Back  - Toby Fox

a part of the soundtrack from earthbound, a game toby fox worked on a few years before undertale’s release. though it’s not connected to undertale explicitly, the link with megalovania has led to some headcanons of it being chara’s theme. i was a little hesitant to include this, it felt like a bit of a cliche, but ultimately I do like it as a theme for chara. you’ve got the rich, heavy instruments that remind me of megalovania and other intense battle themes, but with a bright, simple melody more reminiscent of flowey’s theme and the image of something happy and childlike turned bad.   

02. Requiem - Dear Evan Hansen (tw: suicide mention) when the villains fall, the kingdoms never weep / no one lights a candle to remember / no, no one mourns at all / when they lay them down to sleep

not as much a song that could be from chara’s perspective, as the later ones on the list are, but more a song about their impact. the song deals with a family, reacting in different ways after a member commits suicide unexpectedly. it’s not a stretch to see them as the dreemurrs. their sibling is coming to terms with the fact that the person who died was a flawed person who hurt them, and struggles to grieve as they’re expected to. the father feels bitter, regretting that he wasn’t able to provide enough for his child, while the mother remains hopeful that some essence of her child remains in the world. the idea of remembrance - the “requiem” - links in to chara’s bitterness towards the monsters after death, that they literally sacrificed themselves to make a difference to monsterkind and barely see anyone remember that, while frisk gets all the glory and credit. 

03. Everyone Else is an Asshole - Reel Big Fish everybody else thinks of no one but themselves / and no one wants to help cause they're all assholes / and every friendly chat is a knife in the back / a sneaky attack waiting to happen

this is probably the least serious song on the list, but it’s still an interesting look inside their head. the singer here insists that the rest of the world are assholes, that he’s the nice guy, and his worries about what they’re going to do to him drives him to physical violence. while chara fully acknowledges that they play the villain in bad runs, and often enjoy it, i think this song applies to the overall dissonance between their mindset and the actual reality of the world. they have a habit of separating things into black and white, good and bad, despite any evidence that it isnt the case. they believe caring about another person, even just being allies with someone else, is a stupid, unnecessary risk that will only lead to them getting betrayed. this defensiveness, this refusal to connect with others, is a big driving factor in chara getting physically violent towards the people around them.

04. Monster - Dodie Clark i'm guessing that i've grown horns / i guess i'm human no more / i can tell I've rotted in your brain

it’s not a song chara would ever listen to themselves, but i’m always a sucker for a good monster/human metaphor i can apply a little too literally. though it’s originally written about romantic partners, the core idea of two people who used to love each other, and now begin to hate each other, feels very relevant to chara’s life. mix that in with the visuals of hate slowly turning a person into something grotesque and monstrous, and you get an interesting clash of ideas - chara’s rejection of humanity and their wish to be more like their monster family, and chara’s mindset that they are inherently twisted and dark and evil in some way. it also explores the idea of regretting the past, wanting to take it back but being unable to do that or even to communicate how you really feel, and that resonates very strongly with my portrayal of chara.

05. Blasphemy - Bring Me The Horizon you got hell to pay, but you already sold your soul / it's blasphemy, but the words don't make sense no more / what would your mother say?

i’ll be real here, when i first looked through this meme, i was acutely aware that my interests in music are very different to chara’s, and it felt like a disservice to not include at least one song that they’d actually listen to. so after a chat with a friend who has more similar tastes to them, i picked out this. the creators describe it as being about people who make themselves believe something they know deep down is false, because the alternative scares them. looking to what ive mentioned already about chara’s binary, reductive mindset that enables them hurting others, it feels very relevant. throw in some religious imagery, linking to the whole “angel of death” concept in undertale, and the concept of sacrificing yourself for an already flawed belief, and i knew it had to be on here.

#look at what you’ve done (meme) #disconnected. (ooc) #((im sorry in advance for any whiplash in listening to these #ive had chara as a muse for a while and the music i listen to changes a lot over time #hopefully ive got a nice coverage though #definitely a fun one to do!! so thanks for tagging me!!))

[dutchyderpbox]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER!

Seriously, what are the odds of Mother’s 30th anniversary falling on the year of the pig? And Porky is mysteriously absent from Smash Ultimate. Maybe there really aren’t any coincidences. All these signs makes it a perfect time for Nintendo to do absolutely nothing.  Well, I guess a spirits board event isnt ‘nothing’, per say.

So, I’m just gonna ramble about my feelings about this franchise and my journey with it. So, like I assume many of you my age, hadn't heard of an ‘Earthbound’ prior to playing Melee back in the early 2000′s. Ness wasn't a character I remember playing a lot of, but I did like his taunts (OK!) and Fourside was one of my favorite stages. Then Brawl came around and we got the shy boy named Lucas and a big ass stage. Oh, and some music. That was nice, but I was more excited for Sonic The Hedgehog being in a smash bros game.

I didn’t get interested in the franchise until around 2012/2013(maybe) that I found myself browsing on Youtube and by chance I ended up on a video called “Earthbound, The Dark Side of Mother” by Game Theory. inb4 GAME THEORY?! REEEEEEEEEEE

I was completely blown away by the video, and it remains one of my favorite GT videos. I got me interested in playing the game for myself and seeing what I missed out on.

So I downloaded a ROM, booted up my emulator and had a blast! I fell in love with the game’s sense of humor, the combat system, the music and the sprites, as well as the underlying unnerving atmosphere of it all. Walking through Onett and hearing that music for the first time was oddly nostalgic and it reminded me of where I used to live when I was 6 with my Mom. It reminded me of when you play pretend with your friends and travel to distant lands and fight strange creatures and use common household items and pretend they were swords or axes. And sure, I got stuck on some spots, like the maze with those moles who all think they’re the strongest, but it was an otherwise pleasant ride!

Next up on the list was Mother 1, or Earthbound Beginnings, which I started playing in the Summer of 2014.  Finding a translation for the NES rom I had sucked, and I had heard that there was a better one for the Mother 1+2 GBA game that we also never got, so I played a translated version of that Mother 1. It came with an item at the beginning of the game that made things easier because apparently the game has a nasty difficulty spike. I think I game over’d the most in this one of the 3 games.  While I cant say I enjoyed it as much Earthbound, I still had fun with the game, and was satisfied by the end of it. It also made me retroactively feel bad for Giygas/Giegue/Geeg/The Geek. I was surprised by certain songs originating from Mother 1 being reused in Earthbound, like Humoresque of a little dog, Snowman, and the music at Lloyd’s school.  I dont really have much to say, other than Pippi is cute chad, Teddy has Kamina shade and the Josuke hairdo, and that that one factory maze can burn in hell. Also, remember how at the end Ninten’s dad was like “Hey hold on, this might not be over yet!” I dont think anything became of that. I would have liked Mother 1 and Earthbound to have had more of a connection. Maybe answer questions like where Ninten and his crew were during Earthbound? I think they could have been cool mentor characters for the Chosen 4. Oh well.  Happy Birthday, Mother 1! If any of the 3 games deserves a remake, it’s you.

And then there was one. After beating the first two games, I immediately  decided to end my journey by playing Mother 3, which I had heard was the best one. And having played it, I can safely say that I agree.  I’m glad I didnt get spoiled on anything because this game blew me away. Not only did we have more of a story this time around, we had chapters and character development! The sprites were updated and more expressive, the humor was on point, the music fit perfectly and when this game wanted to break your heart, it did just that. I also liked that the main setting was on an island with a town of residents with names, and that we got to see them all grow older as time passed. I also liked the theme of the game being a sort of nature vs technology, as shown from the game’s logo, and how the town became more distant and empty as Porky’s happy boxes began filling every home. The gameplay was still fun as always, and certain fights, like the Barrier Trio, gave me a run for my money.  When they struck their last, spectacular pose, I was laughing hard and felt relieved! ...Too bad the Masked Man took the needle anyways. When I got the the final fight, I had a mixed feeling of sadness and dread and it only got worse as the intermissions kept happening. And the ending to that fight and the game as a whole...Sheesh, they really know how to punch your heart, huh? And when you get to the final screen with the restored logo...it’s just perfect. “No crying until the end”, huh? Well, I bawled at the end, so how’s that? Thanks, Mr. Itoi. And shout out to the team of fans who translated the entire damn game by themselves, cause they did a fantastic job!

Mother is one of my favorite game franchises of all time, and I hope it continues to get exposure and introduce new generations of players into the crazy, noisy bizarre worlds of these games. The games also served as inspirations to many other games, like Undertale, which I loved as well.  I heard that there is some official poll going on in Japan right now that’s asking fans what they want from the franchise. If I’m being honest, other than more official merchandise spanning all 3 games, my pipe dream for years has been getting a Mother Trilogy Remake where the characters and setting looked like those official clay figures. While a Mother 4 would be cool, I’m kinda content with how open-ended things are. Plus, if Itoi isn't on board or doesn't give his consent, then what’s the point? Also, I’d love for Porky to get in Smash cause we need more Mother and villain reps, but I doubt he’ll make the cut. Considering the track record so far, the last two DLC fighters are gonna be 3rd party characters, which is fine.

Anyways, that’s all I got. Happy 30th Anniversary, ya’ll! May the power that be grant us our wishes for Porky in Smash, Mother 3 world-wide re-release and a Mother Trilogy Remake.

Fuzzy Pickles!

Artwork is from here: https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=56436164

#mother 30th anniversary #MOTHER #MOTHER 1 #MOTHER 2 #MOTHER 3 #earthbound #earthbound beginnings

[3w-writer-with-wings]

The end of VRAINS season 2, why was Lightning a failure and future predictions.

To those of you who follow my theories and predictions for future VRAINS episodes and are wondering why I haven’t posted anything lately - there are two reasons:

1) This show is continuing to surprise me, by throwing the most insane plotlines on me that I simply don’t even know what to think anymore. Shin Yoshida is truly a talented scriptwriter and I’m both terrified and excited about what he’ll think of next. Barian Arc and ARC V manga were just a warm-up - VRAINS is the real deal.

2) I still haven’t got over how both Bowman’s duels that were completely underwhelming and made to win. I mean I get it, he is supposed to be an AI that can learn and had to win, but not like that! I was sort of okay with Blue Maiden’s defeat, but Takeru? It was downright disgusting to watch him pull the exact cards he needed and got rid of damage or direct attacks with complete luck. If you want to show off his duelling skills, then do so - not make him overpowered just because he has to be. You basically made him cheat and sure if he was an episodic villain, that’s okay but for a major boss opponent that’s a bit no-no for me. It felt like Pegasus duel (who mind read every one and practically killed off Yugi in order to win) and Don Thousand duel (who actually had a card that makes you LOSE the duel automatically if you didn’t do something), so that was one of the major flaws in the otherwise a really intense round of episodes.

 Okay, now that I have this out of my system, I can finally focus on the main topic - what will happen next. So I am one of those people who checks the cast lists and episode summaries every Tuesday, so if you don’t want any spoilers to stop reading at this point. I apologize, but my thoughts will be heavily centred around the info that came with the summaries for what appears to be the final episodes of season 2.

So where are we right now? Team Playmaker has been massively reduced to only Yusaku, Ai, Ryoken and Ryoken’s loyal generals aka. Faust, Vyra and Dr. Genome. Bowman has absorbed four Ignis, including Earth. I was a bit confused about how he got Earth when I remembered back in episode 79 during the conversation between Windy and Lightning, it was mentioned that Bowman was on a “special mission” and that mission was probably to hack in SOL and take Earth’s data. Ryoken brought it up many times that SOL is not even close to as experienced as he is, so it was most likely really easy for Bowman to get Earth.

Then there’s Yusaku who has just been through another traumatizing experience. The duel between him and Kusanagi has shown just how little Yusaku actually knows about himself as it was clear that he knew something like this would happen, but when it actually happened, he froze completely. As sad as it was, it was shown really realistically since this is something that is very likely to happen to victims of past abuse like Yusaku. I was already impressed by the Takeru vs. Ryoken duel - the pure emotion and amazing pacing and Yusaku’s reaction to the duel with Kusanagi was even better. It showed that no matter how strong Yusaku makes himself to be, he is just a traumatized child underneath a superhero suit. The pain he suffered was the one he was trying so hard to avoid hence why he was reluctant to call Kusanagi his friend or make friends in the first place - he was afraid of the pain of loss. At the moment Ryoken and Lightning are facing off in a duel that will likely last three full episodes and here’s what I think - Ryoken will be the next one to fall.

But why Ryoken? Well several reasons. I’m not saying Ryoken will lose due to a poor strategy - Lightning will most likely play dirty. The summaries revealed that Lightning will use Jin as a hostage and knowing Ryoken, it will work. The guy might’ve been one of the most ruthless rivals so far but at the same time he is also the one to suffer the most. His brutality has been always projected towards the Ignis, namely Windy who killed/seriously injured his partner and Lightning who is using Jin as a puppet. Ryoken might not show it, but he has a great sympathy for the Lost Incident victims and despite him stating that he “regretted saving them” I think that he still believes that he did the right thing by reporting the incident. It was revealed that Jin will be speaking in both episodes as well, so if Lightning pulls a cruel trick like threatening to destroy Jin’s soul right in front of him or use Jin in some other sickening way. It is also possible that there will be a draw or something else will happen to Ryoken. It was also revealed that even Ryoken’s generals will sacrificed themselves to stop Bowman. Akira and Emma might also be absorbed in that data storm that takes the souls of the people logged in VRAINS - awfully similar to how those charms for Earthbound Immortals in 5Ds worked. 

And the result of all this - Yusaku and Ai are completly on their own against Bowman. This will be the final boss of this season. Yusuku will not only have to be the hero everyone depends on, but will have to keep his emotions under tight control. If Kusanagi’s death wasn’t enough, just think how will he react to Ryoken’s death - a person who has been his symbol of hope for the past ten years is gone too. I imagine it will be a really intense reaction which will cause yet another breakdown, but unlike with Kusanagi, I believe Ryoken will say something really meaningful just before he will fade away or even give him three reasons to defeat Bowman and Yusaku will use that as a coping mechanism to defeat Bowman. How will this duel conclude - I have no idea really. At this point, Yusaku will have to win - too many people had died in front of his eyes and this very same person plans to go after more people and change the world to his perfect image. And there’s another thing that sort of bugs me:

Bowman and Haru strangely look a lot like Shoichi and younger Jin. It is probably becuase Jin is Lightning’s Origin and because Shoichi was likely Jin’s three reasons. Also Lightning most likely didn’t have much to chose from when designing new AIs. Though this may have a much deeper meaning - I already kinda brought it up with my Haru is Real Jin theory, but just think - what if this has to do with the reason why Lightning was the only Ignis with no bright future with humans? Why did Light Ignis become an error in the first place? I believe it is because Jin gave up first. Apart from Yusaku, Takeru, Specter and Miyu, we don’t know much what was going on over those excruciating months, but I think Jin has lost his will to fight far before Lost Incident was over. Shoichi described him as a cheerful and kind person, a lot like Yuya and Yuma, and if those two would be put through such hell, they would likely break the most and give up at one point. Jin’s Ignis therefore didn’t recieve all necessary data to be properly developed like other Ignis. This may also be the reason why he kiddnaped Jin - using him as a puppet is a sort of a punishment since he probably blames him for all of this. “It is your fault I have no future! So you will spend the eternity as my prisoner.” 

Another less believable theory is that Lightning represents Jin’s anger. Because really, we’ve only seen Lightning being pissed off in the last few episodes. Before that he was calm and collected, like highly educated person in charge. But the second his insecurities were brought up, he completly lost it. Maybe Jin did develop strong hatred during the Lost Incident, resulting in Lightning’s own rage. Maybe Jin broke down at some point, crying and asking why that happened to him. After some time those tears might’ve turned into anger and swore to punish the people who did that to him, but then more time passed and Jin realized it was impossible and instead of plotting revenge he slowly became an empty shell of himself until he was rescued. That pushed down anger was then passed to Lightning.

One last detail that I would like to point out - Kusanagi Shoichi. Ryoken specifically ordered Faust that he has to get Shoichi. But why? Why would he need him for? One reason is kinda obvious - he needed him to wake up Yusaku. Faust and Dr. Genome entered the truck with unconscius Shoichi and after a while Yusaku woke up after hearing Shoichi’s voice. Coincidence? I think not - Faust and Dr. Genome did soemthing to wake Yusaku up. Let’s not forget - both Yusaku and Takeru are also in the truck, logged in VRAINS. Could be possible that they wired Shoichi’s duel disk to Yusaku’s chamber or something?

Plus that might not be the only reason why Ryoken needs him. The summories stated that Lightning will use Jin as a hostage. What if Ryoken will use Kusanagi’s body and his consciusness data that Ai holds in order to save Jin? What if Shoichi is in fact the ultimate weapon against Lightning? There is a high possibility that Jin was kidnapped while Shoich was looking after him, hence why he blames himself so much. Maybe Jin kept calling after his brother for months and Shoichi so became Jin’s three reasons. This may be the reason why Bowman looks like toughed up Shoichi - he represents the perfect savior. So what would happen when Jin sees his big brother? Will he manage to break through Lightning’s prison and finally be free of his hold? Breaking through the mind prison has been a common theme in yugioh so I won’t be surprised if VRAINS uses it as well. Maybe that’s what will lead to the happy screenshot in the new ending, of the two of them watching stars together. 

But what were to become of Yusaku, Ai and other Ignis. I imagine that no matter what happens, Bowman will absorb Lightning and maybe Ryoken as well (that way we will actually have Yusaku indirectly fighting all Ignis except for Ai, his entire team plus Specter and Blood Shepard - kinda like how possessed Yuya fought all of his friends) and the final battle will occur. Playmaker will have to save VRAINS once more.

And then? Maybe Bowman will give human society one more chance after his defeat. Considering how developed and honorable he has become in the last few episodes, I believe that he will realize that humans cannot be surpassed by AIs since they have something he will never be able to have. Bowman so releases everyone that he has absorbed and restores VRAINS back to the way it was, returning the souls back to the people who were sacrificed during the duel. Then he lets himself being absorbed in VRAINS, saying he won’t be alone since Haru is in there somewhere. This may be the last calm before the storm that is SOL (that still deserves to pay for all of their crimes!). And judging from this screenshot from the new ending, only Ai will be left.

 Now another source of what we may see is the new ending that is actually a one big tease. Right after Ai is shown, mourning after other Ignis, the scene switches to Roboppi watching the stars as the shooting star crosses the sky. What if that shooting star was Ai? What if this is the hint that Ai will sacrifice himself for others? There’s even a scene with Yusaku’s duel disk without Ai. The Dark Ignis has become really protective of Yusaku, so what would happen in the next fight against SOL, if something happens to Yusaku? Queen has proven to be the most merciless memeber of SOL, willing to kill a living being and risk an employee’s life for the good of the company. What is stopping her from getting her hands on the last Ignis in order to power up their own Artificial Ignis. SOL basically means sun and when you get too close to it, you get burnt. There’s no doubt Yusaku will do anything to keep his promise to Ai, especially now that he is the only one left. But what if SOL will discover Yusaku’s real identity and attack him in the real world? What if that will anger Ai to the point of turning completely against humans and become the very Ignis that Dr. Kogami was so afraid of?

Ai already hates SOL for killing Earth, so just imagine what he would do if they would capture and torture Yusaku, like Akira did in the first first few episodes. Maybe they will make it even more emotional by showing the flashbacks of how Yusaku was tortured during the Lost Incident while Ai’s eye couldn only observe. I often see Ai and Yusaku as Astral and Yuma and Astral has sacrificed himself for Yuma and also became corrupted. Shin Yoshida wrote a lot of Zexal episodes with such scenes, so there is a great possibility he will be in charge of the concluding story. 

What I would like to see? Ai becoming that terrifying Ignis when SOL invokes him by hurting Yusaku. Maybe Ai loses it to the point that he starts attacking everyone and Yusaku duels him in order to get him back to his senses. Maybe this last ending flashes before his eyes - showing the perfect reality where Ignis never existed and knowing that as long as he is there, more harm will come to Yusaku and the people he knows. So my prediction is - Yusaku will defeat Ai in one last duel to bring him to his old self and when it seems like Ai will be willing to recreate Cyberse and stay there, Ai will ultimately change his mind and instead sacrifice himself to wipe up any signs of Ignis research and data. The Lost Incident will once again become lost, but maybe this will be finally a chance for Yusaku and others to move one and live peacefully.

Happy, sad or bittersweet ending - I don’t really care as long as it is conclusive.

#yugioh theories #yusaku fujiki #ryoken kogami #lightning (vrains) #kusanagi shoichi #jin kusanagi

[lgbtqiahistoricalromance]

LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels with Ghosts, Ghouls, and Gothic themes-October 2018

(Warning: Some books may have triggers such as abuse, questionable family morality, dub-con, and mentions of suicide attempts.)

James Eyre by Jade Astor

- A gender twisting adaptation of the classic Gothic romance Jane Eyre!

In Victorian England, 21-year-old James Eyre, frightened by his feeling for another man, decides to leave the boys’ school where he has spent ten years, first as a student and then as a teacher. He manages to secure a position as a private tutor for Axel Vance, the ward of a wealthy man who owns an estate in Yorkshire.

From the night of his arrival, James begins to sense that things are not as they should be at Thistleton Manor, the home of the enigmatic Edmond Manchester. Late at night, wild screams seem to echo through the house, and during the daytime objects disappear from James’s room and are replaced with sinister-looking voodoo dolls. Though his instincts tell him to flee, James stays on because he enjoys his duties and the company of his pupil—and even more so because he has begun to develop an attraction for his employer, Mr. Manchester.

To his surprise, Mr. Manchester seems to return his feelings. However, a jealous former lover and a phantomlike presence in the house seem determined to tear them apart. If he is to have any hope of a happy future with the man he loves, James must solve the mystery of Thistleton Manor and save Edmond’s life as well.

Resurrected Heart by Jade Astor

- Knowing that the kind of relationship his heart longs for is forbidden by the laws of Victorian England, college student Gray Langley fights his loneliness by throwing himself into his studies and his artwork. One gloomy afternoon, he is out sketching a graveyard when he meets Dr. Arthur Striker, a man who seems to share Gray’s scandalous desires. Though Gray is encouraged when Arthur seems to return his feelings, he is unnerved by the scientific experiments Arthur seems to be conducting in his home. Even more frightening is the strange and violent madman who appears and tries to kill him whenever he and Arthur get close. And why does his attacker look exactly like Arthur?

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles (I’ve read this one several times. Several short stories in one, with lots of creepy details, arguably the least romantic MC of all time, and wonderful erotic elements w/light D/s. Also, Charles joined forces with Jordan L Hawk to create a crossover with Hawk’s Whyborne & Griffin series. The short story is called Remnant, and it’s free on the authors’ sites.)

- A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes. A note to the Editor Dear Henry, I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide. You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told. So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death. I dare say it may not be quite what you expect. Robert Caldwell September 1914

An Unnatural Vice by KJ Charles (Few authors do the Enemies to Lovers trope as well as Charles does.)

- In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies. Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.

Merrick & William (sequel) by Claire Cray (Merrick was a pleasant surprise, and William is on my TBR.)

- New York, 1799: the future looks bright for the charming young book dealer William Lacy, until a raucous night of drinking lands him in shackles. He narrowly avoids the brutal prison system thanks to his mother, who negotiates with the judge to secure him a five year apprenticeship in lieu of a prison sentence. And so William finds himself in a carriage bound for the remote woods upstate, where he'll spend the next years of his life learning a new trade under some old master. When he first sees Merrick, William thinks he's been dropped into a medieval horror story. Tall and gruff, dressed in a hooded robe that completely conceals his features, and riding a black mare, Merrick might as well be the Grim Reaper. But appearances are deceiving. An uncannily skilled apothecary and healer, Merrick proves to be a generous host and a gentle teacher, and William soon finds himself surprisingly comfortable in his new surroundings. Yet troubling mysteries abound: Why does Merrick never show his face or hands? Why do his movements seem so young and sure beneath his robes? What lies within the cave behind the stone cottage? Something unnatural is afoot. But most alarming by far is William's own reaction to his new master. For Merrick's strange charms are bewitching enough by day; but by night, in the darkness of the room and the bed they share, William finds himself entirely overwhelmed by desires he never imagined...

The Captain’s Ghostly Gamble (Seasonal novella from the Captivating Captains series. It’s actually modern day, but the ghosts dominate the story, so you hardly notice.) by Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead

- When a ghostly dandy and his roguish companion try their hand at matchmaking, things definitely go bump in the night.

For centuries, foppish Captain Cornelius Sheridan and brooding John Rookwood have haunted the mansion they duelled and died for. Now these phantom foes must join forces to save both their home and their feuding descendents.But when Captain Sheridan sacrifices his afterlife for the sake of true love, will Rookwood risk everything to keep his companion by his side, or is it too late to say "I love you"?

The Medium by Bonnie Dee (This is one of her best, in my opinion, and I’ve read most of her material.)

- To win a heart, he must risk his soul… Cast out of his family for being a freak, psychic Justin Crump helps others find peace by using his ability. When he’s called upon to release a distressed soul from a haunted house, a child’s angry spirit draws him into a dark mystery. Equally intriguing is the skeptical homeowner, Albert, a man who has buried his sexuality deeper than the grave. Albert Henderson humors his mother’s wishes by inviting the medium for a visit. While he doubts Justin’s gifts, he can’t deny one truth: the man stirs desire in him that Albert has spent a lifetime denying. Slowly, the walls of his proper life crumble. And when Justin proposes some emotion-free experimentation, neither imagines it might lead to love…and danger. After learning the terrifying truth about the deceased child’s persecutor, the two men pursue a perpetrator of great evil. When they coax a confession from their quarry, the vengeful spirit unleashes power nearly beyond control. To free the earthbound ghost from the past that holds it shackled, Justin must risk his own soul. And Albert must find the courage to break free of the chains of doubt that will deny him and Justin the future of which they once only dreamed. 

(Part of Victorian Holiday Hearts Boxed Set) by Summer Devon and Bonnie Dee

- Delaney and the Autumn Masque: Delaney, a member of the Andrews theater clan, performs magic tricks at a fancy dress ball where he's struck by the dramatic figure of the Grim Reaper. He follows Death to a quiet room for a glorious, lustful encounter. With his identity hidden, impoverished gentleman Bartholomew Bancroft dares to indulge in an impulsive liaison, but can he find love with the magician when the masks come off?

The Psychic and the Sleuth by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

- Psychic and skeptic—how could their love affair go wrong? Inspector Robert Court’s relentless insistence the wrong man hanged for the murder of Court’s cousin has him on his superintendent’s bad side. Court is assigned lowly vice cases such as exposing a confidence man posing as a medium to fleece the wealthy. Down on his luck, Oliver Marsh learned he had an aptitude for conducting séances. He assuages his guilt by bringing comfort to the grieving and offering occasional insights coming from true psychic flashes. Marsh has tried to deny these flashes, but when he’s bowled over by a vivid memory of murder coming from the other side, he can no longer pretend he doesn’t possess a gift. Marsh reveals details about that night which only Court’s cousin would know, and the detective vows to track down the truth—by staying as close to the fake psychic as humanly possible. But close leads to closer and soon the pair is involved in not only a torrid affair but a hunt for a killer—before he strikes again.

The Bird by Eli Easton (Novella from the Dreamspinner Press anthology Bones. Excellent read, as long as you keep in mind it’s written from the perspective of an Englishman in 19th century Jamaica.)

- Third son Colin Hastings has subverted his desires for his entire life, intent now on bringing his family’s plantation back to its former state of solvency, and marrying his friend Elizabeth. But, when he helps save the life of one of the plantation workers, he’s gifted his passion back, and must come to terms with his love for his lifelong friend, Richard. What happens when nightmares are not what they seem, and horror is not as bad one fears?

A Brush with Darkness by Erestes

- Florence, 1875 After making a grisly discovery one night, I needed proof that there was still goodness in the world. I never dreamt it would come to me during my next commission—with a subject whose very name means light... Yuri was glorious in his otherworldly beauty, surrounded by a bright halo of iridescence, but I detected a fierce darkness lurking underneath the surface. Sketching all night, I could hardly wait to capture his likeness in a painting. For Yuri has stimulated not only my creative urges, but my sexual ones as well. His very presence infuses me with joy and passion, but what will happen if my patron should discover our trysts? Dependent on his good graces, I can't afford to lose his support. But I fear the time will soon come when I must choose between restoring my family's fortunes and obeying the temptation of the muse before me... Previously published as Chiaroscuro, newly revised by author.

The Gilda Stories: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition by Jewelle Gomez (This is not exactly romance per se, but does include a lesbian protagonist, and follows her world through all that comes with being a vampire, including romantic interests.)

- This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who "shares the blood" by two women there, Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story.

Unchained by Ainsley Gray Review

- If he takes their life, they can never truly leave. That's the mantra Noah Wilmington has lived by for years. He picks up whores and deviants from the local taverns, enjoys their company for an evening...and then hides their bodies in the woods. Edward Yorke has approached the same man in the same public house time and again, never deterred by the cool dismissal he receives. There's something about Noah that calls to him. A shared pain, a shared sadness... But Noah doesn't trust himself. It's too risky to permit someone too close, and Edward is the one person in the world whose life Noah wants to spare. So, every time Edward has asked to buy him a drink, Noah declines. Then one night, out of sheer loneliness, that "no" becomes a "yes." When Edward's night with him sheds light on some of Noah's dark secrets, Noah cannot simply let him walk out the door. But if he doesn't want Edward dead, and he cannot let him leave, only one option really remains... 

Briarley by Astor Glenn Gray (This novel was so unique and it’s just a charming May/December romance.)

- An m/m World War II-era retelling of Beauty and the Beast. During a chance summer shower, an English country parson takes refuge in a country house. The house seems deserted, yet the table is laid with a sumptuous banquet such as the parson has not seen since before war rationing. Unnerved by the uncanny house, he flees, but stops to pluck a single perfect rose from the garden for his daughter - only for the master of the house to appear, breathing fire with rage. Literally. At first, the parson can't stand this dragon-man. But slowly, he begins to feel the injustice of the curse that holds the dragon captive. What can break this vengeful curse?

Lover’s Knot by Donald Hardy

- Jonathan Williams has inherited Trevaglan Farm from a distant relative. With his best friend, Alayne, in tow, Jonathan returns to the estate to take possession, meet the current staff, and generally learn what it’s like to live as the landed gentry now. He’d only been there once before, fourteen years earlier. But that was a different time, he’s a different person now, determined to put that experience out of his mind and his heart….The locals agree that Jonathan is indeed different from the lost young man he was that long ago summer, when he arrived at the farm for a stay after his mother died. Back then the hot summer days were filled with sunshine, the nearby ocean, and a new friend, Nat. Jonathan and the farmhand had quickly grown close, Jonathan needing comfort in the wake of his grief, and Nat basking in the peace and love he didn’t have at home. But that was also a summer of rumors and strange happenings in the surrounding countryside, romantic triangles and wronged lovers. Tempers would flare like a summer lightning storm, and ebb just as quickly. By the summer’s end, one young man was dead, and another haunted for life. Now Jonathan is determined to start anew. Until he starts seeing the ghost of his former friend everywhere he looks. Until mementos of that summer idyll reappear. Until Alayne’s life is in danger. Until the town’s resident witch tells Jonathan that ghosts are real. And this one is tied to Jonathan unto death…

Man & Monster (Book two of The Savage Land) by Michael Jensen

- A monster stalks the ancient forests... It’s 1799, and Cole Seavey is a trapper running from a guilty past, seeking refuge on the vast American frontier. Lost in a raging storm, he finds himself face to face with a terrifying, otherworldly creature that seems to have emerged from a nightmare. Cole is saved from certain death by a handsome Delaware Indian named Pakim. Together they learn that the monster is the fearsome Wendigo from native legends: a creature with a heart of ice, drawn to the evil of men. Soon the Wendigo is terrorizing the frontier — settler and Indian alike — and Cole and Pakim join together to defeat the mysterious monster. In the process, Cole finds himself falling for the strapping brave and the promise of a new life together. Unfortunately, the legends say that the Wendigo can only be killed by another creature with a heart of ice. But how can Cole hope to defeat the monster if it means denying the love he's finally allowed himself to feel?

Stoker & Bash by Selina Kray (Book two coming soon!)

- At Scotland Yard, DI Timothy Stoker is no better than a ghost. A master of arcane documents and niggling details who, unlike his celebrity-chasing colleagues, prefers hard work to headlines. But an invisible man is needed to unmask the city’s newest amateur detective, Hieronymus Bash. A bon vivant long on flash and style but short on personal history, Bash just may be a Cheapside rogue in Savile Row finery. When the four fangs of the Demon Cats of Scavo—trophies that protect the hunters who killed the two vicious beasts—disappear one by one, Stoker's forced to team with the very man he was sent to investigate to maintain his cover. He finds himself thrust into a world of wailing mediums, spiritualist societies, man-eating lions, and a consulting detective with more ambition than sense. Will this case be the end of his career, or the start of an unexpected liaison? Or will the mysterious forces at play be the death of them both? And just who is Hieronymus Bash?

Gothic Romance by LV Lloyd (Gothic light, but includes a trans side character.)

- When Jonathan Winters accepts a post as tutor to the only son of Lord D’Anvers, he looks forward to sharing his love of learning with his young pupil.  Not even arriving at Castle Blackstone in the middle of a thunderstorm can dampen his enthusiasm, nor the fact that the wing above his head is forbidden. Absorbed with Evelyn’s education, Jonathan is completely unprepared to find himself the object of Lord D’Anvers’ attentions. Until D’Anvers kisses him...

Threadbare by Clare London (Beautifully written, but NOT HEA!)

- When Edward inherits the family textile mill from his deceased parents, he knows where his duty lies. As a young Victorian gentleman, he devotes himself to the family business and doing right by his customers and employees. What concern is it that he surrenders his own artistic ambitions and romantic passions? But a hideous accident at the mill one day brings him into close contact with Mori, one of his most productive workers, a beautiful yet seemingly delicate and vulnerable young man. Edward takes Mori under his protection, bringing him back to his house. At last, Edward has found a friend and companion. His fascination for Mori grows swiftly into love, and he’s drawn out of his quiet introspection into a world of delight and passion. Yet Mori has a private task that both baffles and concerns Edward: the completion of a stunningly beautiful, abstract tapestry. Edward doesn’t understand its significance, Mori’s devotion to it, or Mori’s strange behaviour when Edward tries to part the man from his mission. Mori loves him in return, he’s sure – but can that ever be enough? As Edward is tangled more deeply and irretrievably into the web of Mori’s love and mystery, what bittersweet price might he have to pay?

Precious Possession by Clare London (Ambiguous ending!)

- Lucas Fides has inherited his Victorian family’s auction house, good looks and a keen, passionate mind. But he has far less control over his body’s desires than his business, hiding an illicit and unspoken love for his boyhood friend and dependent, Valentine. As a result, Lucas suffers recurring, deeply erotic dreams, where a mystery lover demands and guides his sexual responses. When the auction house runs into financial difficulty, Valentine introduces a new client to Lucas. Gideon Arnaud is a mysterious and charismatic man who seems to scorn society’s restrictions. He offers Lucas a spectacular collection of jewels for auction and also his intense, seductive attention. He appears to know more about Lucas than any stranger should. Affronted by Gideon’s bold pursuit, Lucas puts up a spirited defence, despite being increasingly exhausted by his dreams. His heart is already committed to Valentine, even if he thinks it’s his secret alone. When Valentine announces his engagement to Lucas’s sister, Lucas’s pain and frustration are almost intolerable. Torn between his need for Valentine’s comfort and the determination to avoid Gideon Arnaud’s disturbing presence, Lucas becomes more vulnerable by the day, until his loneliness forces his desire out of his dreams and into the light of day. The consequences will change his life forever.

The Blue Ribbon by Katherine Marlowe (I love everything she’s written, but this is one my faves.)

- Theo Aylmer's perfectly satisfactory life as a chemistry professor at Cambridge is upended when he receives word of his father's illness. Forced to return to Cornwall, he is robbed for everything he's worth by a dashing young highwayman. When he finally reaches his father's stagecoach inn, he finds it dilapidated and the village around it groaning beneath the thumb of the hateful Earl of Glynn. All Theo wants to do is return to his life and work in Cambridge, but as he tries to recoup the funds necessary to travel, he finds himself plagued by brandy-smugglers and rumours of ghosts. And at the center of all Theo's problems is a certain handsome highwayman who has charmed his way into Theo's bed and heart. When the highwayman turns up shot, Theo can't turn him away, even though doing so risks bringing the wrath of the customs men, the law, and the Earl of Glynn upon them both.

The Possession of Lawrence Eugene Davis by EE Ottoman

- At the beginning of the Great Depression Lawrence Eugene Davis returns to his family's ranch to set his father's affairs in order. But the house stirs memories of his unhappy childhood and his miserable time in the trenches. Memories are not the only thing woken, however, and Lawrence finds himself hunted and eventually overcome by the sinister presence. Salvation comes at the eleventh hour in the form of a stranger who claims he can rid Lawrence of the demon threatening to possess him—but in exchange he wants Lawrence for himself.

To Serve the Count by Cassandra Pierce

- In 1815 Austria, Rupert is cast out of his village after he is caught kissing another man and seeks refuge in the mysterious Castle Blutstark. He soon realizes that this is no ordinary castle, and his new master, Count Kaspar, is far from an ordinary employer. In fact, he isn't even alive in the conventional sense, and he wastes no time informing Rupert of his unusual new duties. Everything Rupert has ever learned in life tells him to run for his life, but then again nothing has ever prepared him to deal with the undeniable allure of his enigmatic new employer.

The Master of Seacliff by Max Pierce (I barely finished this one, because I didn’t like what seemed to be an abusive relationship and a vapid MC, but it follows in the tradition of Holt and Varga, with overall great reviews.)

- Seacliff is a mansion enshrouded in near-eternal fog, dark mystery and suspicion - perhaps a reflection of the house's master. An imposing Blackbeard of a man, Duncan Stewart is both feared and admired by his business associates as well as the people he calls friends. And his home, in which young tutor and aspiring artist Andrew Wyndham now resides, holds terrible secrets - secrets that could destroy everyone within its walls.

Guardian Angel by Hayden Thorne

- When nineteen-year-old Dominic Coville’s parents die in an accident, leaving him not only alone but on the brink of poverty, he desperately searches for work and is thrilled when the post of secretary is awarded to him despite his obvious inexperience and ignorance. Mr. Wynyard Knight of Mandrake Abbey, however, gladly welcomes Dominic and earns the young man’s immediate sympathy for his fragile health as well as gratitude for the promising new life now awaiting Dominic. Inside rock and timber, hungry shadows seek... But unusual things soon happen and appear to focus solely on him, and Dominic begins to wonder about the true history of Mr. Knight, the strange young man haunting the third floor, and Mandrake Abbey. With the persistent and increasingly violent attempts at communication by an angry ghost shadowing his hours, Dominic struggles to unravel the mysteries of his new home. And even with the help of a handsome young gentleman who’s an aspiring supernaturalist as well as his clairvoyant sister, danger closes in far too quickly. Then it’s only a matter of time before carefully constructed façades fall away, and the sickly, decaying underbelly of Mandrake Abbey’s centuries-old collection of stone and timber will reveal itself. Set in an alternate England sometime before the mid-19th century, Guardian Angel weaves a tangled and dark tapestry of old magic, romance, and madness, a celebration of classic gothic fiction and its macabre sensibilities.

Cast From The Earth by Leandra Vane (poly romance)

- An epidemic that turns men into monsters has seized the nation. At first the disease only spreads in cities but soon cannibals are roaming the prairie, threatening the quiet little towns of the late 19th Century heartland. At an isolated poor farm in rural America, Sara Warren has survived a tumultuous life of loss and an accident that leaves her with one leg – but she is hopeless of any other future until a woman named Cordelia arrives at the farm and changes Sara's life forever. Along with Dan, a man who can't hear and Grace, a young woman who is more concerned with her sewing needles than people, they face the oncoming apocalypse with their wits and their bare hands. When it seems like all is lost, a man from Sara's past named Jack returns to her life and they all realize the only way to survive is together. A story of romance, violence, sex, and the wild prairie that proves broken bodies still feel pleasure and broken souls can find love – even at the end of the world.

Gaywyck by Victor Varga (Book one of trilogy)

- The first gothic romance featuring gay MCs.

Robert Whyte replaces the traditional damsel in distress in the household of Donough Gaylord. He’s young, beautiful, an introvert not wishing to follow in his father footsteps--he longs to be an artist. Family friend helps him to become the librarian of Gaywyck, a house teaming with strange characters, and artists of various sorts. The house is in New England, but due to the original Gaylord owners, was built in the style of an antebellum mansion.

Donough Gaylord lives a grand lifestyle, is rich beyond imagining, but tortured by memories of dead twin and secrets that have dominated his life since boyhood. He spoils those of his household constantly, especially young Robert, who is like a breath of fresh air.

Without giving anything crucial away, I will just say that the events that cause Donough such pain are far from ordinary, and familial love is tested to the breaking point. If you don’t mind your romances a bit twisted, and with a million references to literature, drama, music, and painting, you will love this novel.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Deanna Wadsworth (Thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s erotic, but also has a the enemies to lovers is really well done, and there is a twist ending.)

- Ichabod Crane, town schoolmaster and self-proclaimed supernatural expert, wants to better his situation by marrying the wealthy Katrina Van Tassel. But, there is a rival for her attentions. Local hero, Brom Bones. Brom lives to torment and tease Ichabod, leaving the schoolmaster wondering if he is more interested in besting his rival than winning Katrina’s hand. Especially when each time Ichabod goes into the backroom of his favorite tavern – a place men can be men –his imagination conjures Brom's face on every lover. Late one night, Ichabod is chased by the legendary Headless Horseman. Terrified the ghost wants his head, he tries to outrun the specter. To his horror, he is taken captive by the evil spirit. Ichabod awakens, naked and tied to a bed, only to discover the Headless Horseman is none other than his rival Brom Bones! Brom confesses that Ichabod has been haunting his own fantasies and he vows to make Ichabod Crane his in every way. Ichabod wants to believe the pleasure Brom offers comes from his heart, but he is afraid it is another one of Brom’s tricks. Though surely an enemy's touch has never felt like this...

Affinity by Sarah Waters (f/f)

- An upper-class woman recovering from a suicide attempt, Margaret Prior has begun visiting the women’s ward of Millbank prison, Victorian London’s grimmest jail, as part of her rehabilitative charity work. Amongst Millbank’s murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by one apparently innocent inmate, the enigmatic spiritualist Selina Dawes. Selina was imprisoned after a séance she was conducting went horribly awry, leaving an elderly matron dead and a young woman deeply disturbed. Although initially skeptical of Selina’s gifts, Margaret is soon drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions, until she is at last driven to concoct a desperate plot to secure Selina’s freedom, and her own.

A Light Amongst Shadows by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood (Dark is the Night series book one)

- James Spencer is hardly the typical troubled youth who ends up at Whisperwood School for Boys. Instead of hating the strict schedules and tight oversight by staff, James blossoms, quickly making friends, indulging in his love of writing, and contemplating the merits of sneaking love poems to the elusive and aloof William Esher. The rumours about William’s sexuality and opium reliance are prime gossip material amongst the third years…rumours that only further pique James' curiosity to uncover what William is really like beneath all that emotional armor. And, when the normally collected William stumbles in one night, shaken and ranting of ghosts, James is the only one who believes him. James himself has heard the nails dragging down his bedroom door and the sobs echoing in the halls at night. He knows others have, too, even if no one will admit it. The staff refuses to entertain such ridiculous tales, and punishment awaits anyone who brings it up. Their fervent denial and the disappearance of students only furthers James’ determination to find out what secrets Whisperwood is hiding...especially if it prevents William and himself from becoming the next victims.​​content warning: violence, sexual/physical abuse, some sexual themes

Recommended series w/Mediums and Things That Go Bump in the Night beneath the cut...

Hexworld series by Jordan L Hawk (I cannot express how much I love this series, and another novel is on the way!! A different couple in each novel, but they all work together or are related.)

- Dominic Kopecky dreamed of becoming a member of New York’s Metropolitan Witch Police—a dream dashed when he failed the test for magical aptitude. Now he spends his days drawing the hexes the MWP relies on for their investigations. But when a murder by patent hex brings crow familiar Rook to his desk, Dominic can’t resist the chance to experience magic. And as the heat grows between Dominic and Rook, so does the danger. Because the case has been declared closed—and someone is willing to kill to keep it that way. The 13th Hex is the prequel short story to the all-new Hexworld series. If you like shifters, magic, and romance, you’ll love Jordan L. Hawk’s world of witch policemen and the familiars they bond with.

Spirits series by Jordan L Hawk (Such detail. This series is amazing, and features a Native American MC and trans supporting character that is so well done.)

- After losing the family fortune to a fraudulent psychic, inventor Henry Strauss is determined to bring the otherworld under control through the application of science. All he needs is a genuine haunting to prove his Electro-Séance will work. A letter from wealthy industrialist Dominic Gladfield seems the answer to his prayers. Gladfield’s proposition: a contest pitting science against spiritualism, with a hefty prize for the winner. The contest takes Henry to Reyhome Castle, the site of a series of brutal murders decades earlier. There he meets his rival for the prize, the dangerously appealing Vincent Night. Vincent is handsome, charming…and determined to get Henry into bed. Henry can’t afford to fall for a spirit medium, let alone the competition. But nothing in the haunted mansion is quite as it seems, and soon winning the contest is the least of Henry’s concerns. For the evil stalking the halls of Reyhome Castle wants to claim not just Henry and Vincent’s lives, but their very souls.

Whyborne & Griffin series by Jordan L Hawk (I’ve read this series three times, and Griffin is one of my favorite characters in any series.)

- A reclusive scholar. A private detective. And a book of spells that could destroy the world. Love is dangerous. Ever since the tragic death of the friend he adored, Percival Endicott Whyborne has ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man. Instead, he spends his days studying dead languages at the museum where he works. So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons after the death of his partner. Now in business for himself, he must investigate the murder of a wealthy young man. His only clue: an encrypted book that once belonged to the victim. As the investigation draws them closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. But when they uncover evidence of a powerful cult determined to rule the world, Whyborne must choose: to remain safely alone, or to risk everything for the man he loves.

#gothic romance #historical romance #two men in love #m/m romance #f/f romance #poly romance #lgbt romance #kj charles #jordan l hawk #bonnie dee #summer devon #katherine marlowe #ee ottoman

[ryanmeft]

No, Nintendo Does Not Hate Metroid

Nintendo, a company that makes video games, recently announced that after almost two years, they were scrapping all current work on Metroid Prime 4, taking it from whatever mystery studio was working on it, and giving it to the hallowed minds at Retro Studios to start over with, hoping to get it right.

This was greeted with rapturous applause by Metroid fans, who almost universally recognized how good Nintendo was being to them, and were highly appreciative of the fact they’d be willing to write off all the resources they’d spent so far, just because the game wasn’t up to snuff.

I am of course kidding. That up there was a joke. Metroid fandom contains the whiniest, most entitled, hardest-to-satisfy fans of any Nintendo property, and while the majority of fans were cool, the loudest ones were typically the whiners. Most notably, a not-insignificant section of the fandom has gripped, with an unshakable hold, the idea that Nintendo doesn’t respect or even dislikes the franchise. I’ve listened to this particular whine for years and years, ever since there was an unimaginable eight-year gap between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. Never mind that other beloved series of yore, from Mega Man to Final Fantasy, have also gone similar periods without a new game. Never mind that non-Japanese fans of Nintendo’s own Earthbound are still denied the chance to play the final game in the series, and probably always will be. Never mind that Sonic fans suffered under a notorious drought of good games lasting two decades before Sonic Mania finally happened. None of that means shit: Metroid fans are the most persecuted, victimized, and unfairly treated fandom in video games.

Now, I’m the last guy to feel I need to defend a massive company like Nintendo, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Because just like Ghostbusters fans who can’t figure out their particular obsession just isn’t as relevant as they want it to be, Metroid fans need to grow up and start appreciating what they have gotten, rather than what they haven’t. Below are the three reasons why Metroid fanboys aren’t even the least bit as ill-used as they think are.

Almost Every Metroid Game has Been Excellent

The nature of video games is such that many more entries in a successful series are usually produced than in other mediums like film. Even a series like Metroid, which has been iterated less often than Nintendo’s other properties, has had eight fully fledged games since 1986, and 10 if you count the heavily re-worked upgrades of the original game and Return of Samus. Of those, only a single one, Other M, has been poorly received, and there’s no indication that’s what Nintendo expected. After all, fans were excited when the series got handed to Team Ninja; the idea that this was callous on Nintendo’s part, for not developing the game themselves, is something that only took hold retroactively, and you know what they say about hindsight. The original Metroid, Super Metroid, Fusion, and two of the three Prime entries are among the more critically lauded games in history, and excepting only Other M, all of the others have received highly positive reviews. The Metacritic average for the mainline Metroid games is an 89 of 100. Boy, look how much Nintendo hates this franchise, going out of their way to make good games for it and crap like that.

The Bad Spin Offs are Nothing Compared to Other Series

One of the big pieces of evidence Metroid fans like to roll out to prove Nintendo loathes Samus like unto the heat of a sun is that they’ve spent some of their time on it making poorly received spin offs, like Blast Ball and Federation Force, that don’t capture the spirit of the series. “Look!” they shout, from atop the Tower of Cluelessness high on the Oblivious Cliffs, “They aren’t doing what a bunch of us fans who have never programmed a game or made a decision about a franchise think they should be doing, so they clearly don’t care!”

You might already see the flaw in this thinking. By this standard, nearly every company with a long-running series hates that series. Capcom has inserted Mega Man into soccer and allowed him to be licensed out for extremely shitty PC games, and have pooped out almost as many crappy Resident Evil-themed spin-offs as there are main Resident Evil games. Square has pimped Final Fantasy out to every possible genre, from racing to fighting to freaking tower defense, all while taking ages to finish the next main entry in the series. Nintendo themselves have slapped Mario on every possible thing they can, and despite strong sales to dumb people, Mario Party is notorious for being a bunch of slapped together mini games for people who like their games to be completely random.

If bad spin-offs proved anything about what Nintendo thinks of Metroid, the fact they’ve spared it from as many as other series get would actually support the idea they are more protective of it.

Metroid Doesn’t Deserve as Much Love as You Think it Does

Economics 101 is now in session. All right, children: why does a company make things?

“To make their fans happy, Mr. Eft!”

Wrong, little Dingleberry! They make things to---say it with me---MAKE MONEY!

See, companies like money. And this is especially important for an industry with relatively low margins and high costs like video games, because folks like the evil satanic Metroid-hating demons at Nintendo need games to sell well not only to justify further games in that series, but to fund further games in that series. Unlike, say, Disney, they don’t typically have the option of busting out an Avengers and making 1000% profit. Unless it is something really massive and popular and guaranteed to sell, like Call of Duty or Pokemon, most franchises live entry to entry, relying on the previous one being profitable to decide if the next one will ever be made.

And here’s some economic reality for you: almost from the outset, Metroid has failed that test more often than it has passed it. Yes, the series has sold decently---for a minor franchise. The fact that it is legendary among gamers and highly influential among designers has not traditionally translated into the kind of money it needs to guarantee the entries keep rolling out. One of the most frequent desperate cries of the Lesser American Hardcore Metroid Fanboy plays out something like this: “If only Nintendo put as much effort in as they do for Mario and Zelda, it could be a real blockbuster!”

Except it couldn’t. And it has proven that time and again. It has sold, it is often said, respectably. That’s a business term for “We didn’t lose money…but it didn’t exactly pay our salaries, either.” Metroid’s critical and fan status is simply not reflected in sales, where Samus is holding at the 14th overall spot in Nintendo’s history. She’s managed to scrap together around 17 and a half million units moved in three decades, compared to just over a hundred million for Zelda and hundreds for Mario (that’s including every Mario game of any kind, but if you only include platformers, the series is still on top).

Simply put, Metroid doesn’t get the same attention as Mario and Zelda for the same reason Luke Cage or Cloak and Dagger don’t get as much love from Marvel as Spider-Man and X-Men: financially speaking, it doesn’t deserve it. No one argues that means Marvel hates Luke Cage; the sales just aren’t there to justify an equal amount of time, energy and resources.

Given all that, fans ought to be grateful the series is still around at all. Nintendo has tossed all of the Prime 4 resources spent so far down the crapper and re-started it just to get it right, when they would have been fully justified with just abandoning it. As a big fan of many minor characters and series, take it from me: when your preferred fan obsession is far from being top dog in the overall culture, sometimes you gotta stop whining and take what you get.

#Metroid #the legend of zelda #nintendo #Final Fantasy #video games #resident evil #Super Mario #Mega Man #call of duty #marvel #spider-man #X-men #luke cage #metroid prime 4 #ghostbusters

[wrydsigil]

HOUSE-BOUND INTROSPECTIONS FROM AN AGING LIFE

These days my wife cares for my needs. It comes with age, I suppose, this realization it will end one day, this mystery of an Earthbound life. One thinks he drank too much from the cup.  I’m spent and can’t get it up.  Tuckered out from my heighten adrenaline fueled rough and rowdy ways.   Not really.  Pretty mild mannered, and avoid conflict if I can.

It was after my close call with gall bladder cancer decades ago. If you don’t care, mindful of the thoughts you create from the abyss of the subconscious’ metaphysical dreamscape, I followed a mosaic path lined with twinkling kaleidoscope of crystals in my mind cinema. Distractions, life choices, what we do today plants a randomness of the future events to unfold.

Take a risk with magic and love, my life is a rom-com feature, unbathed in my naked naivety of how to monetize my American existence. 

Outside my home, things go on all around me, unfazed that I'm sinking into the past of memories. The seasonal temperature fluctuates from winter freeze to desert heat, and nature's way will  out last.  

One's life of decades span, full of fresh events and strife, those accomplishments and failures, are now all spent.  We all leave a legacy, usually not in the way we want.  

In my house-bound remoteness fragments of memories enter my mind.  Unknowing the side effects, regrets and happiness will arise.  With resolve in my heart, seclusion and privacy bring a settling peace.  Regardless of the daily turmoil's going on in the world that exist in a vacuum of pain; I can breathe deep into serenity for this discord is behind me now, tranquility prevails, my heart is at ease.

Oh how life is a constant challenge, this I now see.  When the decisions made turned out to be my own undoing, causing other misery.  Seeking consolation, solace or even relief, what disquieting acts I have committed are now released.

Imaginative illusions that drove my perceptions from classical literature in my youth, those golden years promised elude me now, what was it all worth?

Physical stamina is waning as age creeps over me.  Perhaps it pushed me to reflecting on this connection to the Soul within me. Ancient esoteric rituals of energy alchemy now come to me in round about ways.  But what I always came back to was "...ask and it shall be given unto you" my salvation.

On my shelves are stacked the chronicles I transcribed from daily events. The Grimoire rituals, shaman crafting seals.

Honing a way to express myself, for good or bad. Nothing mattered more, than to learn about what I didn't know behind the illusion that would make me sad.

I was transported into a world of other dimensions. There are others that came along later, mystical out of body excursions that I couldn't explain.  Because the system of civilization dictated to me a punishing conformity to live and act the same.  

You get a spark of inspiration so nothing else matters.  There is a natural feeling to it when it comes.  You read the words that speaks to your heart. The muffled Lord vernacular that carries you down those deserted roads to ancient ruins where the beginning of our story is told.

So, I ventured out to get an informed view of the world. My own odyssey prevailed to guide me that became an unknown swirl.  I disentangled the lies that veiled the Truth, and deciphered the ancient wisdom that illuminated my youth.

This was the standard to live by, chaos at every turn.  Unlike everyone else, things stuck with me, especially the ones with wounds I cared for, being human for all it was worth.  

High drama makes demands on us,  so the narrative related remains intense. Dramatic encounters were sought as a test, to set me apart from the herd.

Then there are allegories from the prophets that came along. You tolerate their belligerence, as they all react differently to the same situations expecting pay, that's a fact.  Make it plain and understandable, that's all I say.

The tapestry of history carved in cryptic sacred imagery within temples and shrines.

A catastrophic storm came along one day.   Some were lead to God.  Hindu myths, Greek deities, the coronations of anointed the kings were all left to bespeak.  

High brow or low brow, they wrote the embodiment of their affidavits upon their Souls. As we were left to interpret whatever they meant, the words were just paradoxes that abandoned us by evening in a pouring rain that wouldn't relent, the chimes of golden bowls rung the toll.  

The path of my purpose as savant of encrypted prophecy is based on the Tetractys of divine power.

That theme works its way into my day, today.  I see the Oneness of archetypal powers, my tablet of enlightenment points to the Golden Ratio, the exact science.  

Once I was an innocent youth.  Then the war of horror stories emerged.  It gives you concern for others, this I learned.

Once upon a time I had big dreams, loving life, now it is being shot to pieces.  Falling rain, muddy roads, pandemics, all life is breaking down all around you, but I have the foundation of the Universe built within my solitude.

Warfare has no limits. No matter how it is defined.  Birds perched on the cadavers, paying it no mind.  Nothing else is possible. Merciless attacks prevail.  Open your heart to being turned into an adversary of that morality of humanity and you'll see yourself in hell.  

All those power grabbers, stinking up your nostrils, in the trenches of their torture chambers of riches, they refuse to be accountable by throwing curses down your well.

Yesterday I tried to save a wounded dog. You have to finish the job, like a Roman soldier and be careful of those Germanic girls, I wasn't myself, this I could tell.  

There can just be a miscalculated equation that skews the mind; we call it an anomaly all the time.  Put the historical legends of war tablets down that lavish discourse of fallen heroes.  Lyrics that spin an epic tale like a Greek mythological, Hermetical awareness.

I once read about warfare making heroes,  but their underworld ain't talking to me now.  I got good common sense, you see, in case they were cursed to come after me as ghosts in the night.

I learned to protect myself with spell-crafting incantations from bohemian wizards, shamans and the like. Resurrect the Spirit Angels from cosmic dust through chaos protocols that reflect the Light. 

Metaphysical aliens are an optical aberration in the Third Dimension, but when flooded with DMT, hold on to your true nature sense of self.  Nature abounds in molecular orbs spinning in fluctuations around electromagnetic frequencies, photons and protons, the Milky Way of star-studded energy passes through you.  

You realize, you physical form is transparent, as only the essence of your spirit enlightens one to the divine flow of life’s other language, a cypher coded symbolic portal of ancestral interpretations, now you understand the origin our existence upon the Blue Planet..

The long journey home, it was full of pitfalls and dangers from trouble makers I recall.  This could make me deranged if not for the other means of meeting interesting people who explained it all.

So you ain't talking to me unless you use kind words.  Otherwise, it's futile, I won't hear your terms.

The ballads of hating words, left to wonder while such close calls from spitting vitriol verbal bullets zipped past my ears. Treachery swarms all around this world, that was all I came to know over the years. People exist in their beliefs out of fear.

You're given two paths to choose from in the trenches of the life and both are doomed to fulfill their destiny, regardless of your flight.  

Some gods and goddesses want to protect you, while others want to infest you with plague and gloom.  There is a way to overcome this archaism, I thought to myself, sequestrated in solitude, in my throne room.

I recalled I shared my bed with the wrong woman once, that angered the people I shouldn't have done. Something to remember, don't get into a mess, it can't be undone.

The wind blew across the desert plain when I returned to my realm, finding that misfit rivalries, those cagey squatters have moved in causing my betrothed goddess' skin to grow thousands of rose thorns.

But the misfits fled, forever banished when I charged the sky with a thunderous scornful damnation rage.  When the real life feud fell quiet, my goddess' thorns fell away. She embraced me with loving heart as rose petals fell from the heavens, whispering My freedom fighter has thus slayed.

I told her of all my adventures, adorned her with artifacts and rare coins from places and cultures distant and far,  before I settled down into a deep sleep, with Angels all around.

So if the story moves you, evokes your Soul to emerge, that's all that's important, these are just wyrds.

What does it all mean makes no difference to me. For everyone else has their own perceptions projected upon thee.

Beliefs and Duality is the trappings of death. Everyone has their own projection, an image of perception that they think they must protect.

Yet, this tale of chaos inflicted upon the rational mind, has just influenced your subconscious to join with mine.

You’ll see the angels around you when death is near.

Now, put this on a shelf, and forget you ever read it.  

The magical wonders of Life are about to happen to you, as they have for me, for we another of ourselves.

[invertedfate]

Attack of the Asks! ...Again.

My inbox has over 350 messages. I THINK IT’S TIME to fix that. So, consider this the first of many jumbo ask dumps where I will (hopefully) answer those questions you’ve been dying to see answered. Also, apologies for the repost. Tumblr accidentally posted it BEFORE I was ready.

Well, I’ll put it this way. IF No Mercy is an expanded campaign with at least six major boss battles. My goal is to explore cause and effect rather than replicate the original UT  No Mercy mode. The story will be more thorough, and I aim to explore how these iterations of the characters would handle the threat of an actually hostile human. Make what you will of that.

Golly, wouldn’t that be something? Hehehe…

Alphys Takes Action is a pretty cool song, I will admit, and that does sound neat. I’m just hesitant of basing IF music off of other fantracks overall. One Shall Prevail has a Backbone influence, but recent iterations have made it more unique. I like that.

Imgur is the go-to site for most AU makers, but bear in mind that you may have to manually rearrange all of your caps. Imgur can be a bit temperamental.

I have a few vague ideas of how an IF + Fell combo might work, including Pap as a wacky, Dr. Eggmanesque scientist trying to make Frisk his sidekick among other shenanigans. I think he’d still help Frisk, but do so in more dangerous ways to prepare them for their deadly circumstances, whereas Sans would be a more legitimate threat and Undyne��� I think she’d be even more consumed by her thirst for justice against humanity to a point that it’s ALL she focuses on anymore, and she’s more distant from her friends and the monsters that once looked up to her. IF Undyne may be fixated on getting that final soul, but while it has left her desperate, aggressive, and with tunnel vision, she’s not so consumed by it that she only cares about revenge. She still actively works to make monsters’ lives easier and make their dreams come true. I feel that fear would be a central theme in IF + Fell, with monsters wearing red and black and generally being more aggressive as a response to their fear of humanity (inspired by voltra’s Underfell interpretation). In the aftermath of the war, there’d be a mentality that only the strong can survive, thus the kindness and compassion innate to monsters would be suppressed in favor of hardening themselves off to a more hostile world. Thus, Alphys would probably be more cold and disciplined as a result of having to suppress her weaknesses. Whereas IF Alphys tries to bury her emotions and act the part of a strong leader, in the case of IFell, the mask would have consumed the poor girl, and her passionate, nerdy side would be deeply bottled up. MTT himself probably take on his human annihilation robot status with a bit more gusto while still serving as the Underground’s shining star. Probably more of a propaganda figure, though I think deep down he’d still hold humanity in high regard and desire to see their strength and convictions firsthand. I think he’d also be extremely protective of Napstablook, acting as a bit of a bodyguard for his ghostly cousin. I can’t say much about Toriel and Asgore due to IF spoilers, but on the whole, I think IFell would be less about edge and more about helping these monsters see that there IS still room for love and compassion in the world, allowing them to open up once more and embrace their true selves. Flowey, however, would be the same sassy weed we know and love, because it’s an IF derivative, and I like my Flowey’s manipulative and wicked. Siding with Frisk would be a matter of convenience, as humans ARE strong. Also, I think it’d be funny if he remembered canon and was like, “Oookay, when did everything get so dark?”

That’s basically the angle I run with on the whole. The fact that Chara in the No Mercy route states that the player’s guidance is what led them to their conclusions leads me to believe that Frisk’s choices impact whether they choose to see the world in a hopeful light or believe that the only way to proceed forward is through power. I’m also inclined to believe that the path of the  No Mercy route leads them to believe that Asriel’s pacifism was wrong and, thus, he betrayed them, thus he is an obstacle, whereas Paci proves that Asriel’s choice not to kill was not without merit, culminating in them offering the memory that ultimately opens the door to “SAVING” him in the final fight. Thus, IF Chara remembers all this, thus they are already predisposed to Frisk’s kindness while also fully aware that Asriel won, that he reset the timeline in a significant way, and that Flowey likely sees the potential in this outcome. And yes, even the noncanon IF No Mercy will be influenced by Chara’s memory of canon paci.

Well, it’s certainly possible!

;) I couldn’t resist. IF, after all, is its own entity.

Final Fantasy may not be an anime, but it is obviously anime inspired, appeals to a similar demographic, and has had movie and anime spinoff materials. :P And yes, the references for LEsser Dog were rather apparent and intentional. ;)

FL Studio 12.1 and 12.3 (depending on the computer I’m using at the time). My go-to soundfonts include SGM, 8bitsf, THe Ultimate Megadrive Soundfont, Arachno, HQ ORchestral 3.0, Touhou, Earthbound, and the VSTs Realguitar, RealPC, Shreddage, Magical 8bit Plugin, and more.

We talked it over and decided that Frisk will still speak due to their dialogue being so integral to the story. However, if the game does reach completion, there would be more dialogue options so that the element of choice remains. As for Frisk being absent, you’ll just have to wait and see.

Aw, thank you so much! I’m always doing my best to make IF enjoyable and unique, so I’m happy to hear it’s paid off.

Again, thank you! I will say that I have every intention to see the main run through to the end. As for geno and anything else that may come after, I am making it my goal to get there, but on the off chance that I DON’T, I will of course reveal the plans. But again, my goal is to see things through to the end.

Undyne and Sans have a.. complicated relationship. Some of it I may delve into later, but as for her reaction at the end of the bonus, she is VERY aware that Sans is not to be messed with. He’s smart, he’s skilled, and his opinion of her isn’t the highest these days. She’s frustrated that he can’t see that humanity has OBVIOUSLY taken too much from monsterkind and believes that letting a human stay close to Papyrus puts his safety at risk whereas Sans thinks she’s being reckless, disregarding Papyrus’ feelings, and once again biting off more than she could chew. But perhaps it wasn’t always that way.

Jerry would thank you, but it seems he’s too busy eating cheese puffs and smacking his lips. But I’m glad you liked it! My goal with IF is to make it unique and surprising, as there are already so many role swaps out there.

Indeed. ;) Not that I have anything against folks liking Uswap, but meta jokes are fun.

I’ve heard bits of their work, but I really do need to listen to more. It’s quite an ambitious and fun project to say the least!

@ut-scramble-saga​ Chara is definitely up there. I mean, even aside from the lovely spritework created by E-Clare, ScrS Chara fascinates me due to their circumstances. Ten years in the Ruins, alone, has obviously shaped them in some saddening ways. There are cuts in the Ruins walls and pillars to show that they’ve had their share of fights. Knives hidden in their house as a result of paranoia from fending for themself at such a young age. Gardens to provide nourishment monster food likely lacks. They have matured in a way where they have clearly survived, but their loneliness coupled with the loss of their parents and just how quickly they grow to care for Frisk despite their views on humanity... it’s frankly touching and compelling from a narrative standpoint. Though I also adore Tale’s End Flowey and Sans for how unique their dynamic is. Papyrus!Flowey may lack a soul, but he tries so very hard to be good, and his relationship with his brother is so bittersweet. Sans clearly still loves his brother and does his best to recapture the bond they shared before Pap got dusted, but knowing that Papyrus can no longer feel love as a Flower... that he’s only pretending, grasping at emotions he no longer possesses... it hurts in all the right ways. Knowing what I do about Storyshift Chara, I could gush about how tragic and thought out they are, but as the Snowdin kids are so popular, I’d rather draw attention to the tragedy that is Storyshift Asgore. He is so kind, genuinely wishes to help Frisk for selfless reasons, yet it is clear that the determination experiments have taken a toll on him psychologically. He offers up his SOUL to them, despite the loving family he’d be leaving behind. He is THAT burdened by his mistakes, and it hurts so much, yet it’s so very ASGORE. Just. Hug the goat dad, okay? He is a sweetheart that must be cherished.

Thank you so much! Alphys and Mettaton’s friendship is tragically overlooked in fanworks, so I aim to fix that with IF. As for Frisk’s flaws... hahahaha... This child is a piece of WORK.

Yes.

#asks #inverted fate #no mercy run #sans #undyne #chara #ask dump #genocide run

[wickedbaggins]

2016 In Review - Games

Wow did I not finish much. But here they are!

Ladykiller in a Bind - This here visual novel is probably game of the year for me. This would mean more in a year where I hadn’t failed to finish nearly everything I started, but still. It’s funny and dirty and drawn with skillful personality (for those who dislike dirty, there’s now a Christmas sweater mode, although I’m not sure how much that’s really going to help). What makes it especially memorable is the hard-dropped relationship insights and the neat-o conversation systems. I love that you can hold out for a better option, I love that you have to negotiate suspicion. Christine Love is a game designer I admire, but I’ve found her work a little heavy and strident in the past. This mingles a few difficult themes with a lighter touch and also jokes. And, y’know, sex. I enjoy the side stories more than the main romances, but good stuff all around. Just don’t expect a treatise on consent or anything as carefully lecture-like as Hate Story. It’s a sex comedy first.

Undertale - Maybe should be my game of the year, it’s something, it really is, this beautiful, surreal, unnerving little game with skeletons and cow-dudes and jokes, jokes!! But I am really bad at bullet hell and my frustration with the mechanics made it a very nearly miserable experience for me. Still worth it, though. When it goes all late-stage what-the-hell Earthbound, totally worth it.

Solstice - Another runner-up for game of the year. Moacube’s latest is beautiful and fascinating, a lovingly nuanced and complex murder mystery with a whole lot of character-driven philosophy stuff. It’s a little short and opaque, but every moment is wonderful.

Tyranny - Half of it threatens to be Obsidian’s most interesting game (and that’s saying something). The other half is tediously under-developed. The good stuff is wonderful, though. Your party may not have any quest lines to follow, but they, like most of the characters, are fascinatingly awful people, except when they’re not, and then it’s even sadder. The dialog ranges toward the rich, dense. I could’ve personally gone without the combat and just wandered around talking to people and hovering over the green footnotes. Next time, Obsidian, next time.

Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition - I finally dragged all the way through it. The high points are really high, as in Sarevok’s got some actual depths, Durlag’s Tower is a great dungeon, and it was terrific to pretend to be a cat while robbing that one guy. The rest of it is fine, but maybe I’ve played one too many games with real time with pause. I just couldn’t get into the combat, and if you’re story-moding your way through that, it is an awful large part of the game to be disengaged by.

Baldur’s Gate Siege of Dragonspear - The new expansion! There’s more line-by-line writing than in Baldur’s Gate and it really ain’t bad, but the story bothered me a lot from a thematic perspective (our opponents had perfectly good points and were needlessly villainized) and was railroaded in such an obvious way as to be frustrating. I don’t expect a lot of choice and consequence in a Baldur’s Gate, and the game as a whole was fine, but I wish the greater amount of text had done it more favors.

Pillars of Eternity - White March - Pillaaars. White March is neat. A little more polished than Tyranny, if not quite as compelling. The new companions were good (up golems, man) and the worldbuilding exquisite as always. I think a lot of folk didn’t get around to playing it, though, as I still have achievements on my showcase everyone should’ve gotten by now.

Witcher 3 - Heart of Stone - I think I finished it this year. I think! Neat expansion, more focused and interesting for my tastes than the bigger Blood and Wine (which I still haven’t finished). Terrific villain, a lot of great weirdness, the guy I was supposed to redeem (and I guess did) was a loser, though, and his wife needed a little more— something.

The Shivah - Early Wadjet Eye game. The first? Very short, but good. Depressed rabbi solves a murder. Includes conversational boss battles with rabbinical answers and some theology. One of those things where I don’t agree with the protagonist’s perspective (we don’t need to), but he’s presented with a lot of nuance and personality. 

It’s Spring Again - You can finish it in ten minutes and it’s only challenging if you’re two, but beautiful. Everything’s done up in dense patterns. Sun, tree, dirt. Snow is beautiful, fall is beautiful, it’s all beautiful.

12 Labours of Hercules - A click-click-click time management game with a tiny touch of opacity, but mostly just nice, colorful fun, not too taxing. Prettily designed. I enjoy that Hercules doesn’t do squat 90 percent of the time.

Sorcery, Part 1 and 2 - I had a hard time with these games, which is sad, because they seemed up my alley. They’re nifty, the writing is good, the art is charming, but some of the gamebookiness in 2 I found frustrating and arbitrary. Missing one piece early on was enough to make the game unfinishable at the very end, or near enough. I have 3 and 4 left to play, which everyone is very glowing about, but I’m hoping for less old school “guess what, you never looked in the right place at the right time and now you don’t have that telescope!!” Rewinding can only help so much.

OZMAFIA!! (one route) - I got so excited by the art and the premise, but this was just dire. Maybe dire’s too strong a word, maybe, but all I can remember of it is a staccato, confusing sense of time, thinly drawn characters and— that’s it. The big sin is that it’s dull.

Little Lily Princess (two routes) - The crime is I’ve only done two routes. Hanako’s work is always very solid, and this light yuri take on A Little Princess is immensely charming. My problems with it are the problems inherent in the source material, but the game manages to wring some legitimate pathos from these relationships without feeling quite too sweet.

Psycho Pass Mandatory Happiness (one route) - Man, I know I need to get more than one of at least a half-score of endings here, but I found this really disappointing. Can I really expect too much of the creator of Madoka? Can I? The premise (your ability to exist in society is predicated upon your ability to perform mental health) is killer, but, man, I just didn’t care about anyone. I know from personal experience that writing a purely thinky narrative risks turning all your characters into cyphers, and Psycho Pass suffers hugely from this. I’m not sure the pleasures of the thinky bits are worth it.

One Way Heroics (bad end) - Cute little harried-retro thing where you have to outrun the Nothing— well, the darkness, anyway. You outrun the darkness to kill the dark lord. I’ve finished, but I haven’t won. Premise prompts some lovely bleakness. If you do defeat the Dark Lord, is there even anything left to save, or has it all been devoured behind you?

Epistory - Typing Chronicles - You’re a cool gal who rides on a cooler fox. You, the player, get to type a lot for the sake of murdering murderous insects. It’s appealingly designed and fun, even if the story is a bit of a nothing. It’s a typing game, y’know?

Planetarian - the reverie of a little planet - Short little weeper from Key. A good test of whether you dig their style or not. I do, if not passionately. Post-apocalypse thing about dude rediscovering wonder after finding a still-functional robot in a planetarium. The star bits are pretty darn effective.

This Book is a Dungeon - Cool, if cludgy game book with some entertaining bad endings. It’s cludgy because it has no real save system and making a mistake means replaying, replaying, replaying.

[nlutherrealtor]

Some of you may know me personally and know that for years, I have had an insane addiction to accessories. Lots of women love their designer purses or shoes, but me…. I am a sucker for some fashion jewelry. Every pair has a story, the ones in this photo I bought and wore in the Cayman Islands. Every time I put them on it takes me back to those happy moments.

For the longest time I had my earrings hanging on a board in my master bathroom. One of those DIY Pinterest earring hangers. Once the collection got bigger and bigger this idea wasn’t working for me anymore. I also found that a lot of the earrings and necklaces were getting very dusty and turning color. Turning color is common when the jewelry is not the fancy kind, but I still enjoy them whether they are $2 or $20. Some of the earrings we purchased in Jamaica on our honeymoon that were handmade, so I wanted to find a solution that was easy to access them but also keep them dust free.

Enter in these cheap and durable organizer cases from the DOLLAR TREE! 

Well folks, I ordered an entire case of these to finally dust off all my earrings and necklaces and give them a proper safe place. I love many things about these cases, of course that they are only $1, but also that they close tightly. If you drop one on the floor it is not going to burst open and also that it has different size compartments that way various size items can be put into each spot.

The top of the case is clear, this makes it SUPER easy to look inside. I can quickly pick out what color goes with my outfit or which piece I am looking for that day.  I organized them in my own chaotic way with long necklaces in the same box, colors or themes in the same container, just so that I know where they are easily.

I store the cases in the drawers of my makeup vanity, which is comparable to the Ikea ALEX drawers. There is still plenty of room for more cases and I am really happy with the way they fit perfectly in the separated spots. Some of the jewelry you see pictured are from Earthbound Trading Co. and Charming Charlie.

How do you store your accessories? I would love to hear about what you find easiest and how you organize your life. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and I hope to inspire you with this one and others in the future. Any questions or comments please feel free to leave below. Interacting with each other is something I am striving for.

  -Niki Luther

  EASY! (and cheap) Jewelry Organization Some of you may know me personally and know that for years, I have had an insane addiction to accessories.

#accessories #diy jewelry organizer #dollar tree hacks #earring organization

[krustentier7]

The games I played in 2016

You’re probably expecting the first paragraph to be about what a shit year 2016 was in general, but that’s so played out and I don’t really want to waste too much time. With video games specifically, I can say that this year at least for me has seen a massive drop off in quality compared to last. We did have a few pretty monumental releases that were a long time coming, but really nothing as legendary as any of my Top 5 placements of last year.

That said, I went over the list of game releases in 2016 last night and god damn, I played (and beat!) a lot of fucking games this year. In fact, while the number of games that I was interested in and didn’t get a chance to play is still pretty high, I managed to play *more* games than that. I keep feeling myself being increasingly strapped for time, and yet I still managed to play a lot and be part of the conversation, which I’m really happy about.

Still, I want to give you a list of titles I was interested in, but didn’t get a chance to play much of (despite even owning some of them) before we really kick things off: Owlboy, The Silver Case, Severed, Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (own that one), Dragon Quest VII, Thumper, Rez Infinite (mostly for Area X but fuck paying $30 for an HD remake of a Dreamcast game, even if it’s Rez), Amplitude, Salt and Sanctuary, Pokkén Tournament, Enter the Gungeon (another one I own), VA-11 HALL-A, Let It Die (first impression was pretty bad, but I dig the concept, so I want to give it another shot when I have time), Grow Up (own this one too), Steins;Gate Zero, ReCore (it’s on my hard drive), Darkest Dungeon, Gunvolt 2, Gears 4.

See, I did a similar thing last year and a lot of the games I mentioned there I still haven’t played, soooooooo… yeah… just thought I should mention them before anyone wonders where they are, let’s move on.

I’m also vaguely interested in Dishonored 2, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (which I actually own since I’m bad with money), Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, Watch Dogs 2 and Pokémon SuMo? Mostly because I’ve heard good things about them and less because actual personal desire to play them.

Now, one thing I want to do that I didn’t last year is talk about a few games that I played that didn’t come out in 2016, they’re pretty noteworthy titles that I’m glad I finally got around to and mark some of my high points for this year.

Earthbound and Mother 3

The best roadtrip games that I played this year. I tried getting into Earthbound countless times over the years and always stopped not very far in for various reasons, but when it was released to the 3DS’s Virtual Console earlier this year, I knew that now was the time. It’s a great game to play on a handheld, the fact it took me months to complete (I played it on and off before Summer and then started dedicating entire days to it as I was closing in on the finish line) kind of added to this feeling of going on a huge journey in a way. I love that Earthbound doesn’t hold your hand too much, the environments have so much detail and personality crammed into them and are really fun to explore. The RPG gameplay is fairly basic, but there’s enough room for experimentation to allow for clever and fun strategies, and the limited inventory really keeps you on your toes. I really didn’t expect to like Earthbound as much as I did, it holds up so well both as an experience *and* as a game.

Mother 3 on the other hand is a pretty different experience! It’s a much more linear and guided journey that goes all-in on its more personal and literal story. While Earthbound was all about the adventure with all its ups and downs and less about a larger story, it’s the complete opposite in Mother 3 – and while I ultimately came to prefer Earthbound, this approach does have its merits. It’s become such a meme over the years, but Mother 3 really pulls at your heart-strings, and some of the game’s darker moments I’m really unlikely to ever forget. The story wouldn’t work as well as it does if it weren’t for all the streamlining and hand-holding, and I think as a counterpoint to the first two games in the series, it was a worthy sacrifice. I do think a lot of the RPG open-endedness suffers in this transition to a much more linear journey, and while I do really like the rhythm combo system, I think purely as an RPG, Earthbound is the better game. Side note, but I gotta say that I vastly preferred Earthbound’s more isometric style and open environments to Mother 3’s top-down perspective and extremely linear progression. Both are totally worth playing though and I wouldn’t want them to just be the same thing, it’s good that they’re so different. The Mother 4 fan game is looking to combine aspects of both titles into one, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Final Fantasy VII

That’s right, I literally *never* played Final Fantasy VII for longer than ten minutes before it came to PS4. It’s hard to say how much the extra features of that version enhanced the experience for me, turbo mode and toggleable random encounters definitely make this game much more palatable. Overall though, I’m extremely happy to report that the game completely holds up and is *not* overrated.

It really encapsulates what I think RPGs are good at: thirty, forty, fifty, sixty hours, that’s time that is rarely afforded to a story. When I think about Final Fantasy, I think about huge long ass journeys, with so many ups and downs and so many different little arcs, worlds that feel massive and alive, mysterious heroes and grandiose villains, twists and turns, revelations and dramatic high points… that’s Final Fantasy and that’s what VII offers. You really come to love this ragtag group of friends and exploring Gaia (I really love how many different vehicles you unlock by the way) is an absolute joy. Beyond that, I love the Materia system and how flexible it is. I usually only expect that kind of open-endedness from games like SMT, but FFVII has so many wacky combinations and ways to play that it’s almost mesmerizing. Just a wonderful, wonderful game.

The World Ends With You

TWEWY is a game with so many unique ideas crammed into it, none of which I’ve seen before or since its release, that somehow manages to make it all work. It’s easy to forget that games like Persona weren’t nearly as popular then as they are now, so the sheer novelty of a Square Enix RPG set in the modern day that really feeds off Shibuya teenage fashion culture was really something to behold. You eat food and need to wait for it to digest to get buffs, you need to set trends and wear appropriate clothing to raise your stats, YOU FIGHT ON BOTH SCREENS AT ONCE… it shouldn’t all gel together as well as it does, but, well, it does. When the combat and the music completely click, you get one of the most exhilarating and fun RPGs ever made, and the story handles contemporary themes like identity and adolescence with a lot of confidence and vigor.

That doesn’t mean that the game is without flaws though, far from it. I feel like the team spent a lot of time polishing the combat and the presentation (it’s really one of the most stylish games you’ll ever play) and put a lot of thought into its story, but the overall structure feels like a complete afterthought.  You’re constantly asked to run back and forth through a tiny game world, story progression is often gated off behind menial tasks. The combat is so much fun and the learning curve so steep that it really carries the experience, but if they ever decide to make a sequel (MEME), this is one area that really needs to improve. Beyond that, a lot of important abilities that really round off the combat and make it actually feel fully playable are locked behind story progression; you feel artificially gimped for way too long. The game has problems differentiating between similar touch inputs at points, having to drag Neku across the screen to move is tough to get used to (I realize there’s no real way around these problems though), and the dual-screen gameplay can vary wildly between a tightly choreographed ballet or a button-mashy mess.

All of these flaws are easy to forgive though when TWEWY pulls off so many unique ideas with such confidence – it’s a game that’s impossible to hate.

Doom

In preparation for the 2016 sequel, I finally played the original Doom and it’s fucking good? I love the emphasis on high-speed movement and exploration, the gunplay is still insanely polished after all these years and every encounter feels completely hand-crafted. Not much else to say, a total classic.

Max Payne

The original Max Payne is banned here in Germany, but my girlfriend gifted it to me through Steam (<3) and I finally got a chance to play it. It’s really good! Recoil and sound effects on every single gun are spot-on and bullet time/shoot dodges really never get old. I do think it’s a bit of a contrast to Doom, it made me realize that shooters designed around hit scan weapons aren’t really my preferred type of game, but that does little to blemish what’s here.

Resident Evil 4

My last RE4 playthrough had been a while ago, the only reason I’m mentioning it now is because I somehow spent thirty hours replaying this game I know front to back on Professional?? I dunno how that happened, I just know it was fucking GOOD.

I just realized how much time I’ve already spent writing about games that didn’t even come out this year, so before I waste any more time, let’s move on to my honorable mentions, games I played but didn’t make the Top 10 for whatever reason:

Furi

The most impressive thing about Furi is that it’s a great display of working smartly around a tight budget. Crafting a deep action game moveset and then building a game around it that takes advantage of it is nigh-impossible on the scale of a $20 downloadable game (see Platinum’s Korra game for what an attempt at that looks like), so what they did instead is give Rider, Furi’s protagonist, a very limited number of moves that all have purpose and make every single combat encounter in the game a full-on boss fight.

Every boss has a number of unique gimmicks and mechanics for you to figure out, and the game remains engaging and, dare I say it, hype for its entire runtime. The only real problem with Furi is that it’s fundamentally a game about reacting to your enemy and executing a strategy rather than player expression and decision making, the latter being what defines action games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. The main innovation of DMC1 was the game’s ranking system: there’ve been countless other games were you run around and kill enemies before it, but DMC1 incentivized you to also try and look cool. That element, playing around with your enemies and exhausting your character’s potential, is what gives these games their staying power, and it’s sorely lacking from Furi. Again, this was really the optimal and only way for this game to be made with the budget that it had, but it sadly fails to offer a lot of the satisfaction that I expect from games of this genre. That’s also why I haven’t gone back for a replay, it’s nice that enemy patterns are mixed up on higher difficulties, but the way I react to them is always going to be the same.

Street Fighter V

I don’t really agree with a lot of the backlash against Street Fighter V, while the relative lack of modes compared to other fighters is pretty baffling, I don’t really know why anyone would purchase this game if not to play 99% online, which is decently robust here. The game has a lot of structural issues, big and small, I think the currency system especially is so incredibly stingy that it might as well not exist, but it’s really too much to get into right now.

The reason Street Fighter has always been my preferred fighting game is how grounded and based on fundamentals it is. I really do get the appeal of games like Marvel, but spending hours upon hours in training mode to learn combo execution is way too daunting for me. Street Fighter gets to the, to me, interesting part of fighting games almost immediately, you can have small mind games and strategies even on very low levels of play. Street Fighter V makes great strides to emphasize this aspect even further: combos are easier to understand than ever, every single character is unique and the V system really helps bringing their strengths to the forefront. You immediately understand what any given character is about and how to play them, which makes finding the right character for you easier and more fun than ever.

I will admit though that there’s a bit too much overlap between different V-Skills and V-Triggers, and the latter generally don’t have as much utility or change the game up as much as I would like.

I have to say that I kind of hit a personal wall with the game, and a lot of the Season 2 changes are looking… questionable. Still, I really can’t deny that I had a great time with it, generally.

Fire Emblem Fates – Conquest

I was pretty burned out after beating Conquest despite enjoying it a lot, which is why I still haven’t gone back and played the other two parts that make up the whole of Fire Emblem Fates. There’s really not much I can say without going super in-depth, I know saying how great the map design is without explaining why is just really blegh but you’ll have to trust me on this one. Every map uses some unique layout and gimmick, your troops complement each other extremely well and you it feels really rewarding to figure out the best positioning and approach for any given situation. My only major misgiving is that Awakening’s relationship mechanics feel very out of place in Conquest’s more linear structure, they incentivize you to play differently from how you actually should and I found them to be really distracting. Other than that it’s an excellent entry into the series.

The Witness

The Witness is really good but I still haven’t beaten it (198 puzzles solved?). I kinda just want to leave it at that but there’s more I can say about it.

While the island the game is set on almost completely disconnected from the actual challenges you encounter, it lends the game an air of mystery and discovering how all the locations are connected and intertwined is really engaging. The Witness has been criticized for this disconnect a lot, every puzzle uses the exact same interface, but I think this approach has a lot of advantages over games like Portal, Limbo or Jonathan Blow’s own Braid. It’s always immediately clear when you’re on the wrong track, and there’s basically no real execution required – any person can draw a line on a grid, the only thing that matters is having the brain power to figure out how to do it.

Two annoyances that I can think of: you have a map of the island, but you can only look at it when you’re on a boat? And some of the puzzle mechanics really didn’t make a lick of sense to me, even after begrudgingly checking a guide. Like, I know I would’ve never figured some of the puzzles out myself because their rules were so arbitrary and hard to understand to me.   Uncharted 4

The action and combat sequences in Uncharted 4 are honestly some of the most breath-taking and heart-pounding I’ve seen in any game, I had moments where my jaw literally dropped to the floor and I was in genuine disbelief at what was happening on my TV. This stands in stark contrast to basically the other half of the game which mostly consists of slowly walking through linear environments, listening to dialogue and pushing crates. These moments served as pace breakers in earlier Uncharted games, but here they’re almost the main focus; it’s no coincidence that, for the first time in the series, there is a menu option to select and play every combat encounter (and just those) after you beat the game once. Some of the climbing and puzzle mechanics were expanded, but not to the degree that they can really stand on their own. I enjoyed exploring Madagascar on the jeep or riding the boat and exploring different islands with Sam (because here we get to do *actual* exploration of sizable environments), but so much of the non-action in Uncharted 4 is barely interactive and, well, boring.

What’s baffling is that the gunplay is so insanely good now that the game really didn’t need hours and hours of unengaging simple ass platforming or walking down straight lines. I love how the little dot inside the aiming reticle moves and twitches offset from the cross, the way enemies and their clothing react to bullet impact. I also find it almost offensive how utterly convinced Naughty Dog seem of their new direction: I think a lot of the quieter moments in The Last of Us were justifiable, but it annoys me that people are under the belief now that walking in a straight line and listening to dialogue is good storytelling. Watching the PSX demo for the upcoming DLC honestly had me burying my face in my hands in disbelief. Storytelling seems to be the only thing they’re passionate about anymore, and it’s to the point that you can just tell how bad Uncharted 4 wants to be a movie instead of a game.

Monster Hunter Generations

I love the Style system and how seamlessly it ties into with the existing weapons and mechanics, not every combination is a winner and you’re required to experiment and find what works best for you. Beyond that though, I found Monster Hunter 4’s story structure to be a huge leap forward for the series, and Generations basically takes all that progress away in favor of barebones quests with next to no context. So many of the Village Quests are based on gathering and mob hunts, you still can’t see Key Quests, and the satisfying progression of unique and charming hubs that defined MH4 has been done away with; hubs are pretty much completely meaningless now and merely serve as nostalgic throwbacks.

I’m making the game sound awful now, it still has everything we’ve come to know and love about Monster Hunter and I would recommend it to anyone, but compared to the evolution that MH4 was, it feels like a stop gap before the series (hopefully) moves on from 3DS. Final Fantasy XV

I plan to talk more in-depth about XV later down the line, and if it weren’t for me tempering my expectations to such a degree it would probably fall under disappointments rather than honorable mentions. I did enjoy my time with it, no doubt, it really nails the feeling of going on a journey and traversing an entire continent mainly through its impressive use of scale and some really cute mechanics like Prompto’s photos or camping. The game can have a really satisfying pull of exploration and combat that, when it clicks, it *really* clicks. It’s clear though that a lot of it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny, and I want to examine it more closely and explain why hopefully in the near future.

Oxenfree

I think what annoyed me the most about Oxenfree is how on-rails it feels? You’re trekking through the woods and Jonas warns you to not get lost, and I just sat there wondering how I’m supposed to get lost when I’m quite literally exploring on rails. That’s mostly what is making me hesitant to play through the game a second time, I really see it becoming something of a slog on repeat playthroughs despite the short length. The story is cute, but it fails to give you a tangible sense of danger or ever really raise the stakes significantly. I think it really could’ve used some puzzle/action moments to inject some variety and engage the player more.

What I’m really impressed by is the dialogue system and how the game really goes all-in on it: conversations and dialogue choices happen without any sort of interruption and feel completely seamless, the dialogue choices themselves almost never follow any discernible patterns or fit inside a box, and the resulting branches and outcomes feel real and natural. I love how talking is really the main bulk of what you do in Oxenfree, and it’s something more games need to try in this fashion.

Overwatch

Overwatch is really good and I think it’s amazing that a multiplayer-only FPS can have such a fleshed-out world and a colorful personality like that, but I don’t really care about objective/team-based games for various reasons and I wish it had a singleplayer. I also haven’t been wanting to dedicate time to games where I don’t make “real” progress lately, and if you take one look at my backlog you’ll know why.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan

I like that you can play levels out of order and a lot of the mechanics kind of start to make sense once you get to the boss fights, the open level structure is also interesting (though not as well executed as Anarchy Reigns or MadWorld), but everything else is pretty much as blegh as you’ve been told on the internet. Mob fights especially are such an incoherent mess that I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

What’s puzzling is that the game really doesn’t seem to lack polish in any way, I don’t get the impression that lack of time or money is the culprit here. That’s pretty disconcerting and I hope it’s not an omen of what’s to come out of Platinum going forward.

Quantum Break

Quantum Break has cool gunplay and a nice little story, but I instantly forgot it existed once the credits stopped rolling. I think a lot of shooters limit their enemy design by choosing a realistic modern day setting, and that issue is on full display here: the number of generic soldiers you mow down just completely washes over you after a while. It’s also easy to draw comparisons to another third person shooter, Vanquish, and one thing I realized when I thought about it this way is that powers in Quantum Break almost never combine in meaningful ways and have too many similar applications. Slowing down time after a dodge, stacking bullets into one big cluster, doing a melee takedown after running – these moves all serve to either buy yourself more time to do damage, or to do a lot of damage at once.

In Vanquish, you can slow down time at basically any point; after you jump over cover, during a dash, after a roll, after you launch yourself in the air with a drop kick or certain melee attacks. From these examples alone you can already see different actions intertwining to give you much more utility than is immediately obvious, but it goes even deeper with things like boost dodging or SHOOTING YOUR OWN GRENADES.

Quantum Break lacks that kind of depth and, while the gunplay is as polished and exciting as you would expect from Remedy, it’s what makes the game rather forgettable.

Disappointments

Games that came out this year and not only didn’t make the Top Ten, but ended up being very disappointing to me personally for various reasons. I do have to add that the three following titles aren’t bad, in fact I’d argue they’re better games than a lot of the honorable mentions; I just happen to be particularly attached to them, emotionally, which obviously creates certain expectations, expectations that weren’t exactly met.

Zero Time Dilemma

The conclusion to the Zero Escape trilogy, it’s kind of hard to talk about what made Zero Time Dilemma disappointing without going into spoilers. I did have a really good time throughout most of the adventure, even though there were a lot of structural aspects to this story I wasn’t entirely on board with (without saying too much, I feel that a lot of events lack lasting consequences and end up falling flat for me and sapping away a lot of the tension). It only really falls apart during the final act, we’re served up ass-pull upon ass-pull (a lot of which have become memes, understandably) and it completely fails to tie up the loose ends of the previous two Zero Escape games. None of the burning questions that VLR left are even remotely addressed, instead Zero Time Dilemma feels very much like its own story, and it isn’t a particularly satisfying one. This trilogy had been such a journey up to this point, and ZTD really had the potential to deliver a massive payoff for all those who stuck with it over all these years, potential that sadly just wasn’t acted upon.

Most of the smart and praiseworthy aspects of this game were already present in VLR (how game progression is closely linked to your understanding of the story) and it’s hard to replicate the same wow factor by just repeating old tricks again. Beyond that, the move to fully animated 3D visuals is well-intentioned, but uh… just look at any of the trailers, really. I’m fully aware that 3D modelling and animation is much easier today than sprite/pixel-art, but I’m finding it hard to believe that they couldn’t just have hired a bunch of artists to draw a few dozen character portraits and environmental backdrops in the vein of 999 with the same budget. I think that’s something a lot of people would have preferred, and it would’ve been an artistic choice that is much more conscious of the team’s capabilities and the available resources.

Not only would that have made the overall presentation much tighter, I also think the game in its current form has a harder time handling exposition and info dumps than its predecessors. You can hardly have a ten minute exposé on Ice-9 within the confines of what is essentially filmic storytelling. There are certain rules animated cutscenes must adhere to: pacing, frequent cuts, length. A huge storytelling advantage games have over other forms of entertainment is that they can have lengthy dialogue sequences using text boxes and the like, without the player becoming unengaged over time and on a much tighter budget. This is something 999 and VLR reveled in, but ZTD’s move to animated cutscenes means that that isn’t an option anymore. These ass-pulls I mentioned earlier are so much harder to buy into now that the world and its rules aren’t as fully established as they were in the previous Zero Escape games.  

Dark Souls 3

I don’t really know what to say about Dark Souls 3. I’ve talked about a lot of misgivings in terms of level design in recent Souls games previously. One thing I would definitely like to add is how mishandled hubs have been in the series ever since Dark Souls 2: in Demon’s Souls, the Nexus was a necessary compromise since From Software weren’t yet able to connect all the areas seamlessly. The game managed to make this into a strength, however, by having the hub constantly change throughout the adventure and giving the player the option to tackle levels in any order. Items are places so deliberately throughout every single level that, on repeat playthroughs, the player will have a deep understanding of where to go early and how to give themselves an advantage through sequence breaks.

Dark Souls doesn’t have quite the same flexibility as Demon’s, owing to its move to a seamless world structure. I still think it’s a great trade-off though, because the feeling of knowing a game inside out and having the wit to figure out the perfect order in which to do things is so much stronger now that the game world is completely interconnected and requires you to map everything out in your head. Figuring out that you can go to Blighttown early or fight Pinwheel as your first boss is so much cooler when you actually physically have to perform these leaps and sequence breaks instead of just using a level select like in Demon’s Souls.

Firelink Shrine was an important piece in this puzzle: Lordran’s layout is so smart that just progressing through the game and using shortcuts as you normally would meant you had to return there frequently, and every time you would discover some new interesting change that further informs your understanding of the game world.

Now, two things: first, I think warping from the start of the game is a huge mistake. It completely removes the need for shortcuts and an interconnected game world, and it compromises this feeling of understanding and getting to know your surroundings. Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne both have branching points where you get to choose which area to tackle first, but that’s really not the same as figuring these connections and branches out yourself. Even so, while both games have very wide and expansive areas, game progression is almost entirely linear compared to Demon’s or Dark Souls. I think 3 is a better game than 2, but I would honestly go as far to say that Dark Souls 3 is the most linear Souls game yet.

Second, it’s obvious that From Software recognized fundamental flaws in this design approach: if you can just warp anywhere and the world isn’t really interconnected, it means you’re not naturally going to return to your hub like you would in Demon’s or Dark Souls. And if the player doesn’t do that, they’re going to miss out on important NPC interactions and it makes it impossible for the designers to reset the player’s focus when they want to.

Their solution to this was to remove the ability to level up at any bonfire; the only way to do that in post-Dark Souls titles is to go back to the hub and speak to an NPC. I think the fact this change had to be made just shows that the whole idea of warping from the start was ill-conceived. Whereas the hubs in Demon’s and Dark Souls had purpose and a reason to exist, they’re nothing more than a contrivance and old baggage here.

To talk more about Dark Souls 3 specifically, a few rapid-fire points: the bosses are really great and varied and unique, and I like the weapons a lot (even though Weapon Artes didn’t live up to their full potential). I’m extremely conflicted on the amount of references and callbacks to other Souls games; every moment that I found hype or memorable was thanks to my experience with every other Souls game up to that point, which just makes me really sad thinking about it. I also think the way some of the open questions that Dark Souls left are answered so lazily here that I honestly wish they hadn’t bothered and stayed away from the first game’s legacy. Final point: god this game looks so much like Bloodborne that it’s uncanny, I genuinely can’t tell the two apart sometimes. That’s all the more upsetting because Bloodborne was a much, much better game with a lot more creative energy behind it. WHICH BRINGS ME TO...

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

This game is fucking shit and I’m legit not joking when I say that I have not even the faintest as to why anyone would think it’s better than the original.

Actually okay, let me back up, this game has all the trappings of any good SMT aka monster collecting/fusing and fast-paced high-stakes combat. On that fundamental primal level, Apocalypse can be pretty fun, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy min-maxing and planning out how I’m going to build my party. Some of the balance and system tweaks I’m also on board with (Skill Affinities and Demon Negotiation, namely), but everything else is such a far cry from the original SMT IV that it’s honestly hard to believe. I know I’m gonna go more in-depth with this game in the future, so I can’t go into full detail about my complaints just yet, but needless to say that, seeing how much I loved and appreciated SMT IV, this is easily my biggest disappointment of the year.

On that note, I am very curious if some of the mechanics on display here are going to find their way into Persona 5, which is not something I would be against.

And now what you’ve all been waiting for, here are my ten favorite games of 2016:

10. Superhot

Superhot was really cool, but I kind of just instantly forgot about it when I beat it. Crazy potential for a sequel and I would definitely play it again and again if it weren’t for me trying to avoid replays in favor of working on my backlog.

9. Hyper Light Drifter

I really love the combat, the aesthetics and the approach to tone and storytelling in Hyper Light Drifter, but I think it didn’t quite live up to its full potential. I keep seeing people comparing this to the original Zelda (a game I am very fond of), and while I can see where they’re coming from (both games are comparatively minimalist and open-ended to most games out there, and they emphasize combat and easy-to-understand challenges over puzzles and the like), it’s really not on the same level for me. While there are plenty of secrets tucked away in HLD’s world and the order in which to tackle every area is up to you, it still follows a very basic, formulaic structure: here’s your hub, here are four areas connected to it, every area, while expansive, is its own completely separate challenge.

Compared to games like Dark Souls or yes, the original Zelda, item placements also don’t feel as deliberate, the world’s layout doesn’t seem to reward knowledge and efficient replays very much. Important, powerful items are often either rewards for completing story tasks are upgrades you buy with points from a shop in the hub. I think this basic four-area structure and the fact that everything outside the hub is very much challenge-focused (meaning you’re not gonna encounter NPCs or special shops like you would in the other games I mentioned) is a real missed opportunity.

What also put a damper on my enjoyment of the game are a lot of the technical problems I had with the PC version, which have been largely fixed over time, making me wish I had waited a bit longer to play it. I am really excited to revisit it though.

8. Super Mario Run

I’ve tweeted about this before, but what I like the most about Super Mario Run is that I’m not punished for running through every level as fast as I can. That’s the most fun way to play 2D Mario to me, stopping my forward motion to look for secrets just isn’t something I’m really into. Thankfully, 100% completion and fast-paced platforming aren’t mutually exclusive in Mario’s first mobile outing. It’s impressive how Nintendo’s designers have managed to cram clever and varied optional challenged into the confines of an auto-runner, and watching Mario vault over enemies and do a turn after every walljump is an absolute joy; he hasn’t felt this acrobatic since Mario 64. Super Mario Run is proof that control or hardware limitations can sometimes open up completely new gameplay possibilities, and I think it’s something future 2D Mario games can definitely draw from.

7. Titanfall 2

Why is this game so good?? I don’t think anyone really saw it coming. I have a lot of fundamental issues with military-style shooters (two-weapon limits, a lot of weapons fulfilling the same purpose, emphasis on hit scan enemies, regenerating health, sprinting meaning I can’t shoot while I’m moving at top speed), and while Titanfall 2 has basically all of those same trappings, it adds enough on top of the formula to somehow make it work. You have a staggering amount of movement options, most of which allow you to stay on the offense while traversing at high speeds, and the expansive environments mean you can approach any combat situation as you please without being forced into cover very much. So many times I would let off shotgun blasts while sliding along the ground or detonate C4 charges in mid-air, and the mechanics are so insanely polished and versatile that they wouldn’t feel out of place in a Platinum game.

I also think that the idea of Titans is such a smart addition to the formula that I’m surprised other shooters haven’t come up with it before. It injects gameplay variety and means the player has to be competent at two completely different styles of movement and shooting, which also intertwine in logical and cool ways (lots of opportunities to switch between Pilot and Titan gameplay on the fly). I love that you can change between so many completely different Titan loudouts at any time (not having all of them unlocked from the start for New Game+ or something of the sort is a huge missed opportunity), and they’re also an amazing way to have boss fights in this style of shooter. That also ties into how well the game expands on this idea for its story, every opponent you face throughout the adventure has their own personality and mechanics to come to grips with, and the bond between you and BT feels tangible. It’s unbelievable how this game was sent out to die by EA, they really didn’t know what they had.

6. Doom

This game is so insanely talked about that I struggle to add anything to the conversation, so just trust me when I say it’s good. I love how smartly it bucks a lot of recent FPS trends with its movement and health mechanics, with how every weapon feels like a meaningful part of the adventure and enemies don’t use hit scan, rewarding constant movement and awareness of your surroundings (which reminds me a lot of Metroid Prime somehow?). Every part of your arsenal has some limitation on how often you can use it, and later stages of the game especially become all about planning ahead and thinking constantly about when and where to use different abilities.

Glory Kills especially are such a fantastic mechanic and accomplish so many different things, and I love how your position/camera angle relative to the enemy affects the animation you’re going to get. Small thing, but too often I would trigger a Glory Kill only to watch Doomguy turn a demon into mush with a single half-hearted punch, I know they were made shorter after some feedback, but I actually prefer what they used to be like I think. The level design is very wide and vertical and encourages exploration, but that is sadly mostly limited to optional secrets; you can crit path your way through Doom very easily, the main story doesn’t require you backtrack and learn the layout of a map like the original two games or 64 did. That’s probably my main gripe with the game, but it’s still an absolute blast and something everyone has to play.

5. Inside

The only thing I really want to say and praise about Inside is that it’s a game that is not afraid to be completely and utterly disgusting in its imagery, but also paces itself and builds suspense so well that it never feels like shock value. Inside really delivers on the curiosity it creates inside the player’s mind from the word “go!”, and it feels so confident in its execution that it makes Limbo look quaint in comparison. The move to 3D visuals really elevates the experience in ways you wouldn’t expect. I honestly just don’t want to spoil anything, just go and play it.

4. The Last Guardian

I said everything there is to say about The Last Guardian in my recent post on it. All I can say now is that I hope the fact it trumps so many excellent games on this list is what’s going to give you all the urge to play it.

3. Star Fox Zero

I’m not fucking sorry.

I know I look like a crazy person, but hear me out, I’m even going to start with the bad if that makes you happy. I think rebooting the Star Fox story was very much necessary with how every attempt to move it forward has resulted in.. well, you know. The fact that it is the Lylat Wars again and that Andross is the villain really isn’t an issue to me, it’s more that this game really had the potential to elevate the story telling in the series to the standard of something like The Wonderful 101. I’m not sure if Miyamoto would’ve focused his efforts on that front if he had been given more time (I doubt it) and it still makes me yearn for a Star Fox game directed by someone like Hideki Kamiya.

This directly ties into the game’s other big shortcoming: it could REALLY use more levels. I think the length that is here is perfectly fine for a Star Fox game, my issue is rather that it never seems to be able to fully spread its wings and unleash the complete potential of its gameplay. With the Wii U suffering a less than peaceful death, I doubt we will get another attempt at this, and I have to say that if we ever get another Star Fox game, I’m really going to miss these controls.

Yeah, you heard me. I LOVE Star Fox Zero’s controls.

Just the ability to aim independently from your ship’s movement affords you a degree of control and precision that just hasn’t existed in the series thus far. You can draw comparisons to games like Kid Icarus Uprising and Sin and Punishment 2, but what makes Star Fox an interesting case is how your ship always moves forward; these other games use a setup where you move your character across the screen while the camera shifts and pans dynamically to capture different sensations of movement. In Star Fox Zero, the camera is always (mostly) behind you and you’re always in danger of being hit by whatever is in front of you. The idea that I can now aim anywhere no matter where I am on the screen gives you so much more freedom in how you position yourself and approach any given situation, and that’s what makes it such a great addition.

This all also means that there is another layer of skill involved with aiming that you don’t get in other games. For example, certain targets are harder or easier to hit depending on your Arwing’s vertical position on the field, and the fact you’re moving forward constantly means you have a limited window in which you can even attempt a shot. What you can now do is morph into the chicken walker (which halts your forward motion), use the thrusters adjust your elevation and hit your target. The game is full of little tricks like that and I haven’t seen much else like this in other shooters of this nature.

The dual-screen aspect of the controls is such a cool and interesting idea that I would love to see expanded upon in future titles, because it’s clear that it sadly never unleashes its full potential here. It still really elevates the experience though, mostly during All-Range mode where it perfectly intertwines with another new mechanic: Target View.

Holding ZL will make the camera pull back and center on an enemy, giving you a much better view of your surroundings than was previously possible in past Star Fox games. The reason this could be implemented here IS the second screen: if you put Target View in Star Fox 64 with the exact same controls as before, it wouldn’t be of much use since you a.) can only shoot at what is directly in front of you and b.) YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT’S IN FRONT OF YOU SINCE YOU DON’T HAVE A SECOND SCREEN. This addition makes Star Wolf especially so much more fun to fight since you can constantly stay on the offensive and react to your enemy’s movements immediately, frantically shifting back and forth between both screens. A lot of bosses will also use attacks that would be impossible to dodge without something like Target View, which makes them much more varied and interesting than bosses in previous Star Fox games.

I love how you can basically pick a flight path on the TV, then shoot from the gamepad to go on a sort of bombing run. I love how the gamepad expands the field of view, letting you shoot targets you’ve already passed by and creating opportunities for hidden targets in most stages.

By far the cutest thing about the controls is how the right stick is used to manipulate your Arwing’s movement. Tilting the stick left or right will make the Arwing gradually bank in that direction, giving it a quick rattle results in a barrel roll – it just feels so tactile and *right*. That’s especially true when you use it in conjunction with the left stick to adjust your turning speed (I do wish you could turn off the Somersault and U-Turn stick commands and just use the B and X buttons) or smoothly go into a boost or pull the break by pushing the right stick up or down, which also just feels right.

There’s more I could ramble on about, but this whole thing is way too long already and I mostly just wanted to address the main sticking points everyone’s been up in arms about with Star Fox Zero. Everything else is mostly the Star Fox you and love: frantic, fast-paced action with a satisfying learning curve and plenty of incentives to keep playing after the credits roll. The Wii U and maybe even this series might have died an unsavory death, but I’m glad I still got to experience Nintendo and Platinum to take on one of my most dear and beloved franchises in such a bold and innovative and exciting way.

2. AM2R

By far the best Metroid game since Zero Mission (maybe even better than that? I need to replay Zero Mission and Super) and in fact so good that I really don’t give a shit it’s not made by Nintendo. A few rapid-fire points:

Biggest and most varied array of bosses out of any 2D Metroid game.

Expansive, vertical areas with tons of different layers and great shifts in pacing and progression.

Controls like BUTTER.

Unlocking areas in chunks makes it a bit more linear than I would like, but there are still plenty of opportunities to get lost, do things in different orders, explore and sequence break.

More to that point, I think the idea of hunting down Metroids and unlocking chunks of world in set intervals makes for a slightly different and very enjoyable pacing compared to most Metroid games.

The visuals aren’t an exact copy of either Super Metroid’s or Zero Mission’s art styles, instead they try to adhere to and recreate the GameBoy original in a 16-Bit style. A lot of the tiles and surfaces have a rougher, flatter look to them than what you’re used to in these other games, and combined with the way color and space are used, it creates a style that is completely unique and extremely faithful to the original game.

I don’t want to get too upset about Nintendo taking this game down and denying it any sort of recognition, it’s their IP and they can do what they want with it. I personally just have to question if this was really the best way to handle the situation, and it’s sad to see such a phenomenal game be dragged out of the limelight. Coupled with Metroid as a franchise being basically dormant at this point, it’s an unfortunate state of affairs all around. None of this can diminish the quality and the value of what’s here though, and I urge everyone to give AM2R a try.

1. Dragon Quest Builders

I think… a discussion as to whether or not it’s alright to praise Dragon Quest Builders as much as I have and will continue to do when it rips off another game as much as it does is absolutely worth having… but this is not the time and place for that right now, because right now I have to gush over this beautiful, jolly, wondrous game.

Dragon Quest Builders has given me a sense of adventure and wonder unlike any game I’ve played this year. As someone who hasn’t played a lot of Dragon Quest, what always drew me to the series is how it radiates joy and manages make things that could be seen as menial or pedestrian in other games feel exciting and meaningful and sincere. All of that is true in spades for Builders, I just have to watch the CGI intro every time I boot up the game because just seeing that stubby little anime boy flash a cheeky grin or take a bite out of an apple puts a smile on my face.

Dragon Quest Builders takes everything that makes Minecraft great (building stuff and complete freedom in how you do it, a world that has a sense of vastness and randomness and mystery) and adds structure and characters with unique personalities and desires into the mix. I love that everything I build has a distinct purpose: this is my smithy, this is my Inn, this is that person’s bedroom. What’s brilliant is that while the story doesn’t take place entirely in your head like it does in Minecraft, you not only still have the potential to bring in your own creativity, you’re very much encouraged to do so.

What I mean is this: even though I don’t technically have to, I feel much more inclined to decorate a private bedroom according to the owner’s personality than I normally would be if I were just building it for myself. The game never asked me to put a cute little table in Pippa’s room, I just thought it would suit her. This gets to the point where you design your entire town with its residents in mind, and it’s an element that is sorely lacking from other building-type games.

The game is very smartly designed in that it frequently shifts between vastly different tasks that not only satisfy a lot of different urges, but also take great advantage of the existing mechanics. Often, you’re simply asked to raise the level of your town by building whatever you desire in it, and I had the bar well maxed out halfway through the first chapter (every chapter is its own story and long enough to be a full game). Sometimes, the game will give you rough outlines, saying that the structure you’re about to build must meet certain conditions (this many tables, this many chests, a window, etc.), but besides those you’re given free reign in how to approach your creations. Other times, you’re handed exact blueprints telling you what to build, the challenge being more about gathering the necessary materials, which results in frequent and satisfying bouts of exploration.

These portions of Dragon Quest Builders aren’t all that special on the surface, there isn’t much to combat, and yet the fact that I can dig into the world at any point, how huge and imposing everything feels, how varied and fun the enemies are, how resources are limited and that you need to pay attention to hunger and health at all times… it creates such a great sense of adventure that makes me yearn even more for Breath of the Wild than I already am. I love the sense of immediacy you get from finding little caves and dungeons, how every treasure you find feels real and earned (the fact that the game doesn’t shove a mini cutscene down my throat every time I open a chest and presents its spoils at face value is something I really appreciate) and just how idyllic it feels to mine the earth and  gather resources as you watch the sun go up and down, its reflection drifting softly along the calm water.

It’s also incredibly refreshing to see Dragon Quest Builders making crafty changes to Minecraft’s formula when necessary: placing blocks below and above you is so much easier thanks to the use of the shoulder buttons, you can smoothly draw entire lines of walls without any hassle, and I love how you can essentially upgrade the materials of any structure you’ve already built after the fact (you can craft an item that lets you change a wooden wall into a brick one, for example).

This game is simply incredibly, and I really urge anyone to try it, even if it doesn’t look like your kind of thing initially. It wasn’t on my radar at all before, and yet here I am, proudly declaring it as my favorite game of 2016.

#goty 2016 #favorite games of 2016