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ladala99 · 21 days

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One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - March 2024 - Dark Hollow

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

Welcome to Town Square! The land that tests you for the first time on your gliding abilities. Also: it's the place with the bulls.

Fun fact: as a kid I didn't realize the red part of the horns was supposed to be blood. I assumed their horns were metal and a little rusty, like the swords in Dark Hollow.

Opening Staircase/Nils

You start out in a clearing surrounded by chickens and a circular staircase that leads to the first dragon of the level: Nils!

Nils tells you to gilde over to where the bulls are. He also gives you a tip on how to look around with the L2 and R2 buttons, something I constantly use both in the originals and Reignited (yes, I use classic controls in Reignited. The control stick camera gives me motion sickness. Something that doesn't happen in PS2 games with that type of camera control so I don't know why it's like that.)

Anyway.

"That Area with the Bulls"

The first glide's landing puts you face-to-face with a couple of bulls. Flame defeats them easily, but charging them gets their horns stuck in the ground. Either way, they're considered dead and give up their gem. Past them, there's a staircase, leading up to another platform getting ready for another glide, this time above water.

The first required dangerous glide in the game. I didn't like it as a kid. You couldn't get out if you failed it.

Devlin and the Fountains

Actually, we did learn that already in Stone Hill. But you can play these levels in any order.

Past him, we have a fountain with another bull and a gnorc with a red flag, running from the bull. The gnorc will not attack you until the bull is dead. The bull will not aim for you even if the gnorc is dead, but will attack you if you get too close.

Continue up the stairs, and there's a whole mess of bulls and another gnorc being chased around another fountain! This level is pretty repetitive. Clear those out, and rescue the next dragon.

Alvar

Alvar waits by the exit portal, but tells you about a blue thief nearby that has stolen a dragon egg! That's what was going on with that guy in Stone Hill!

Thief Chase/Top of Town Square

So to the difficult jump around a corner and onto what appears to be level boundary to chase after the thief! This guy is probably THE most annoying thief in the game, because if you let him get to the end of his route, he jumps down and won't reset his position until you jump down after him, meaning you have to do that difficult jump again.

Once you torch that annoying guy, you glide across to the final gems and dragon in the level.

Thor

Thor is skinny, has a squeaky voice, and only has one thing to say: "Thank you for releasing me!" I thought it was funny as a kid, so worth it.

And with that, we are 11% of the way through the game. Double digits! 3% more than last time.

Lore Talk

Town Square does more than anything else in the game to tell us how dragons, or at least Artisan dragons, live. This area is, as the name says, a town. Buildings line streets, and there's fountains in a couple of areas.

Also very telling is how unnavigable this place is for creatures without wings. Which is the point: this area is for dragons and dragons only. Flying from one area of town to another is expected.

Artisan Dragons also apparently enjoy having grassy areas on their roofs. And why not? It's pretty and I'm sure comfortable to sit on. When you have wings, the roof is just as valid a place to hang out as your yard - and these guys' houses are so packed-together that they don't have yards. The roof is the yard!

Next Stop

May's level will be Toasty.

Concurrent Spyro Events

Not much has changed since last month.

Toys for Bob concluded their talks with Microsoft, getting the rights for whatever thing they were talking about.

Youtuber Canadian Guy Eh posted a video confirming that a Spyro game is in development by Toys for Bob, being that thing they were negotiating with Microsoft about. He stated it has been in development since January (...If I actually started this when I intended to, that'd line up really well. What a coincidence!), so it's really early. Which is pretty much what I assumed last month. If they're taking their time, we won't be getting it for another two or so years.

Popular belief in Spyro fanspaces is that he's lying that he knows this for a fact, and the general opinion is that a new Spyro game isn't happening. Which even if you disregard him, there's still been teases? I get not getting your hopes up (that's my default state nowadays, anyhow), but now it's just being contrary because people don't like CGE.

I personally believe him. I've seen enough of his videos to know that when it's speculation or rumor, he says it. He's a big Youtuber and has contacts in the industry. Of course he is going to learn things that haven't been officially announced. He's popular enough conducting his usual hype train - he doesn't need to lie to get clicks.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but honestly that's all that's happened this past month Spyro-wise. At least on my radar.

All that matters for this project is that no Spyro game is getting released this month, so Toasty is on schedule to be toast in May!

#spyro #one spyro level a month until the next spyro game releases #spyro the dragon

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ladala99 · 24 days

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Just hit the credits of the Violet DLC (before having to close it before anything else happens) and I'm completely baffled by the music.

A remix of the credits theme of the main game? Sure, that'd make sense. If this version's wasn't completely omitting every positive part and just describing a depressive spiral.

All the parts about how down he's feeling. Feeling lost. Getting stuck. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

The entire time I thought they had to be fakeout credits because really, that's the message you're going to end on? Is this some commentary on how repetitive Pokemon is as a series? Is it about the feelings of fans who feel negatively about the current state of the series and still feel stuck, getting each new game and being disappointed again?

It's just so confusing and not at all going with how the storyline ended. Like, Kieran is getting better, moving on! He's not stuck in that cycle.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon spoilers

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ladala99 · 1 month

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Pokemon Regionals Vancouver BC - My Experience

After having a good time at the Portland Regionals in 2023, I decided to make it a yearly thing - choose a Regionals to go to and see what there is to do!

I fully intended this year to have a video game team all ready to go with side games, however, I started a full playthrough of Violet for the DLC and did not finish Blueberry Academy's story, let alone with enough time to build and test a team. Let alone trade for Pokemon like Giraffe Raikou because I got Violet. So I did not have a real team. Which was fine because I only had a spectator pass.

My Video Game skill level: Battle Tower 50-streaks earned in Gens 3, 4, 6, and 7 for the Ribbons. No competitive experience against real people.

My Trading Card Game skill level: I know the rules but mostly played Theme on TCG Online. Not caught up on the meta at all.

My GO skill level: I don't play GO League. Level 39 in general with random Pokemon I like raised up with little regard for what's good.

My friend does not play TCG or VG, is higher level than me in GO.

Day 0 (Friday)

The venue opened for merch sales and, surprisingly, side events. I arrived in the afternoon and got side event tickets and picked up the GO sheets, since those are very much aimed at a casual audience. It was like a mini GO fest. My friend and I went out around the city to scope the area out for food places and do as many of the GO tasks as we could outside the venue. I also took note that they were testing some formats, which was free to participate in. I made note of when it was happening on Saturday.

That was really all we did first day of arrival.

Day 1 (Saturday)

We arrived early to get in on the testing. I expressed interest in the Video Game format and received a Fighting TCG energy card that told me to come back in an hour.

With that, my friend and I went around the venue doing the Pokemon GO scavenger hunt tasks that required taking photos of various banners in the venue, as well as top off the Raids, trading, and making friends tasks. Most of the making friends tasks were easy to do after raiding due to the built-in friending-after-Raid feature. I got a little concerned I would have to redo some of the tasks since one of the GO players we spoke to said they were instructed to take screenshots of all their tasks as they did them, while we were only told that they'd go through our in-game journal to check. But some of the tasks didn't show up in the journal. It seemed like it was going to be a big mess.

Hour up, I headed back to the format testing area. Sadly, I was the only sign-up for that hour, so I exchanged my energy card for the next hour's, a Psychic Energy.

My friend and I wrapped up our GO tasks after this and headed to the GO prize booth. Luckily for us, the people there just believed us that we had done our tasks and let us turn in our tickets for prizes without checking that we did them right. I got a Mew plush and my friend got a Latios plush!

Hour up, I headed back to the format testing area. Sadly, I was still the only sign-up for the hour, and I exchanged my energy card for the next hour's: a Darkness Energy.

So more GO playing around the venue it was! But my feet were tired so we headed over to where various console systems were set up. N64s, Gamecubes, and Switches all had various games running. There was an empty spot playing Colosseum where evidently someone got stuck not knowing where to go next. The game was at the beginning, post getting Rui (named AAAAAAA here), but before finding any Shadow Pokemon. I played, getting Makuhita and Croconaw before deciding I should give up the spot to someone else.

Hour up, I headed back to the format testing area. This time there were a couple of additional players! Seemed to be brother/sister around highschooler age. But honestly age doesn't matter much when I'm on the lower end of the skill level here.

VG Test Format

The format was interesting: each player gets a pack of cards to open. Each keeps the code card and puts that in their Draft. From there, they draft one card from their pack and pass it around. Each Pokemon is a Pokemon you can use on your video game team. Each Trainer, Code or Energy card is an item you can attach (any item). Pokemon can only be raised one stage above what's on the card: an actual example was that I got a Nacli card and could only use either Nacli or Naclstack - I could not use Garganacl.

Once all players get their 12 cards, they have 45 minutes to build their teams through whatever means they have. This includes HOME, trading, already having it, whatever, though the set chosen only had Pokemon available in mainland Paldea in it so you could build a team just fine with just a completed game, minus if you got the wrong Starter. I purposely did not choose any of the Starters for my team because the game I was playing was not completed.

Only one of my team was something I already had (and was an in-game team member so its EVs and IVs were whatever) so 2/3 of the time was spent catching the team and 1/3 training it. And by "training" I mean throwing vitamins at them and adjusting their movesets.

Then we did the battle phase. The judge had three cards and the two players who drew Fighting Energy fought, best of 1. I was one of them. First round I won, second round I lost.

I quite enjoyed this format. It does depend a lot on how much your game is already set up and is pretty unbalanced, but the luck of the draw really helps.

For testing and sending quick feedback (age range, skill level, did you like it?, would you recommend it?) I was given a pack of cards alongside being allowed to keep the cards I already had!

My friend and I got lunch after that, and right after lunch was the Primal Groudon Raid Event in GO, so we did all those raids. When there is such a density of high-level players in one area, they go by very quick. I got enough Primal Energy to Primal Revert Groudon! Didn't get any Shinies, though.

Impressed by the VG testing (and drawn by the fact that the TCG only needed 2 players), my friend and I did the TCG format testing next.

TCG Test Format

This format was also a draft format, but not random. They had 80 unique Pokemon and item cards stacked up, and both players take turns drawing 5 from the top, choosing one and swapping, and choosing 2 and giving the others to the other player, repeat until both players have 40 cards. From there, they use their cards and Energy cards available from the side to build a 40-card deck, swapping out anything you don't want to use for Energy.

The cards were all lower power than you'd normally build decks around - no Pokemon ex or Pokemon V. Which is just my format since I liked playing Theme!

I won 2-0 but there was a big skill gap so it's not surprising. We really should have exchanged decks for round 2 just to even the playing field a little, since I think I both built my deck better and played better.

After this, I went over to more seriously check out what the side events were and bought three side event tickets. I was most interested in Ogre Oustin' and Pokemon Pinball, but for today I decided to only do a VGC Judge Battle. If you wanted Prize tickets, this seemed like it was the way to go - the judges wanted you to have fun and this first judge went way easy on me, always attacking my higher-defense Pokemon with weaker attacks so I could win.

With a full and fun day behind us, we headed back to the hotel.

Day 2 (Sunday)

We only had two nights at the hotel and had the trip back home scheduled, so I was a little in a rush this morning. We had to be going at noon.

I immediately headed over to the side event booth to sign up for Ogre Oustin'. 1 hour of standing around later, I swapped to a Judge Battle. This guy was very nice and friendly, and wasn't really all that skilled in Video Game battles. I enjoyed battling with him, and like the day before, I won. My friend and I both wanted Prize Dice as a souvenir, so I gave her this one.

On the mention that it went faster the day before, I used my other token on Pokemon Pinball. 2 hours later, it still didn't go and I had to switch to a Judge Battle again. But even that didn't go in time as a bunch of drop-outs from the competition were in the queue, so I just asked a judge if I could get a TCG pack (the consolation prize for not winning) and take myself out of rotation and he let me. He was going to give me a prize die but I wanted a pack since I had my souvenir and wasn't going to turn them in.

Conclusion

Overall I had fun, but I do think the side events could be handled better. I really would have liked to express interest in several of the more casual side games and go with whatever one ran first, but it seemed that the only ones that were running were those that already came in with a full group, or Judge Battles.

The GO booth was fine, though it was strange that there were four task group tickets and the prizes (which were completely separate from the other game prize booth) went up to 12 for some of the plush and I think there was a Pokemon GO Plus+ there for even more than that.

But for the rest, it was a lot of standing in one spot. Last year, they gave you one of those blinking light devices and you could head around the venue as you pleased. It was frustrating that I was for one thing on a time limit, and for another just. . . no one else was signing up and I couldn't be in more than one event queue at a time.

Judge Battles are a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it is very nice to have a type of competition that WILL run, because it's customer vs. staff and the staff WILL get to you. On the other hand, it is drawing away from the PVP formats, especially because PVP you have a 1/4 chance to get the prize die (if you're all of equal skill, which won't always be the case) and in a Judge Battle you are more than 50% likely to get the prize die. Maybe close to 100%.

Last year, you got a prize die for participating and another for winning. This year, you get a prize die for winning and a TCG pack if you don't win. It's a lot more pressure to win if you want plush.

Last year I bought 5 side event tokens and got two plush and a TCG pack. I also got to play the games I wanted to at least once. This year, I bought 7 side event tokens and got one plush, one TCG pack, and two prize dice, and only got to play one of the three formats I wanted to. I did end up with four TCG packs overall, but three of those were from the format testing event, which was free.

I wish they had some computerized queue for the side events rather than it all being on paper. It'd be really nice to go: hey, I'm interested in X, Y, and Z and I'll play whatever happens first. Maybe even sign up for absolutely everything! While I'm playing, I'm off the lists so others aren't waiting for me, and then I can spend another token to get back on the other lists.

Or even if, instead of Judge Battles being its own thing, have the judges fill the slots in the other formats. That way they'd actually run even if there isn't much interest.

All that being said, I plan to come back next year at whichever Regional is closest and this time actually get three nights, planning on leaving Monday, so I'm not in a rush the last day. I may even compete - I don't know! Or I might do what I intended to do this year: get a decent team and play VGC battles in the side events area.

#pokemon #pokemon regionals #pokemon vgc

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ladala99 · 2 months

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Stardew Valley 1.6 Planning

I've played a little bit of Stardew Valley (mostly on my mom's console - just got the game myself last week!) and I'm definitely more of a roleplayer than anything else.

Wall of text below as I brainstorm my next farmer.

My first and current file, my farmer is bi and may or may not be a dragon in disguise. She's got purple hair, loves fishing and collecting animals, especially dinosaurs. She wants to turn her farm into a complete dinosaur farm once she has the flexibility to specialize. Dating-wise, she started befriending Penny and Elliot, but wasn't really into the sensitive types. So she started befriending Alex and Maru. She's officially dating Alex now and got 10 hearts - I still need to get there with Maru before making the final decision. I don't have the Community Center complete or any of the postgame unlocked, so I could have a ways to go.

But for 1.6, ConcernedApe suggests to start a new file, so I'm brainstorming her character. The things I already had in my wishlist for a second playthrough were: 1) Marry Elliot. He didn't fit with my first farmer's personality but I like him, so I'm going to build a character that likes him. 2) Get the dog as the pet since I got a cat the first time.

Springing from there, the next farmer is a girl again because I'm a girl and prefer to roleplay as one if given the choice. She likes books, and her favorite ones take place on a farm. Is there a genre for that? I don't know but she does.

Her life so far has been stressful. Her legal name is Embursleigh Cleopatra [lastname]. Naturally, she hates it and goes by Em or occasionally E.C. Her parents divorced when she was young, and the crazier side of the family got custody. She escaped as soon as she could and staked it out on her own, getting a decent job at Jojacorp to pay the bills while she figured her life out.

Grandpa is from the side of the family Em barely knew. I can't say why Em was chosen to inherit the farm - perhaps Grandpa knew of her predicament? Maybe she was the only grandchild? Whatever the case, the letter ended up in the hands of the crazy parent and was not sent along until her half-sister, who was in light touch with her, found it and forwarded it.

Em, of course, jumps at the chance to start her dream life.

On the farm, Em is a decorator. She loves plants, especially flowers and vines. She loves the cottagecore aesthetic. She's not huge on animal husbandry, but really likes chickens well enough to raise several.

She's also pretty contrary, and will become close to Shane and Hailey first, taking their standoffishness as a challenge. She'll even date Shane, but will recognize some of the patterns from the bad part of her family and will break up.

Outside of Shane/Hailey, I'll be having her naturally meet the others. She won't go out of her way to talk to anyone else, but will integrate herself into their friend groups as they meet up. I'll see how naturally she ends up meeting Elliot, especially since he doesn't really hang out in town.

I don't know how much I'm going to stick with this, but I intend her to focus on farming, foraging, cooking, and decorating and less on manual labor and fishing. She'll keep her farm clean and clear, but won't go out of her way to gather materials. She'll prefer to buy raw materials from the shops than to get it herself. She will inevitably have to branch out to complete her goals, though. Especially since I think I'll strive towards Perfection. And the fact that she likes nature and greenery so she will absolutely go the Community Center route rather than Joja.

I am still deciding which farm she should be on. It's between Standard, Forest, Four Corners, and the mystery new one introduced in 1.6. Leaning towards Standard at this point, though. The clean slate, and the fact that Em's aesthetic is pretty homogeneous so I don't need the separation of Four Corners. I did Hilltop for my first file.

Mechanically, I am also disallowing myself from reading the Wiki until I am at least on year 3. I don't want spoilers for what's new in 1.6. I will be taking notes where the game doesn't, such as making a fishing log and monster/material manual to figure out where/when I got things and can find them again if necessary, as well as taking notes on what the library books and other hints let me know that I haven't explored yet.

Unsure if I want Em to have kids. I think it's within her character, but I don't like that they're just walking hat stands. Maybe 1.6 adds more to them? It's not been hinted, though.

Am I overpreparing? Maybe. Will I actually stick to this and not do my normal messy whatever? Who knows! But I am looking forward to 1.6 and especially when it comes to Switch, since that's where I have Stardew Valley.

#stardew valley

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ladala99 · 2 months

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One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - March 2024 - Dark Hollow

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

Welcome to Dark Hollow! The level that teaches you how certain enemies are immune to certain types of moves. But first, we are greeted with the hedge maze architecture that we entered to get into this level. Nice transition!

Opening Clearing/Steps

The first area is a somewhat-open area with some platforms, a lock box, and a section to the side with a large enemy. No more fully-open areas with equally-important looking paths - there's a clear main path and clear side areas in this level.

Smaller Gnorcs surround the platforms, wielding shields and bloodstained daggers. They'll mostly just threaten you with the daggers, but if you stand too close, they'll whack you. This guy got me while I was trying to get the picture, so I had to stand back.

If you're one to just flame everything, you'll notice very quickly that it doesn't work when their shields are up. But as soon as they threaten you with their weapons, flame away. Or just charge at any point.

Better view. You can also see here a large Gnorc in the distance. Try to charge it, and you'll quickly find you can't. But flame works. Get past the Gnorcs up on the platform to reach the first dragon.

Alban

Alban is more purple than Spyro! And he has a hint for something you may or may not have figured out: metal armor cannot be flamed. It must be charged.

Second Clearing

The way narrows for a moment to separate the first and second clearing. The second one has a large Gnorc surrounded by shielded small ones that run away and hide behind their big friend. Torch them while they're running if you want!

There's also some interactables around here that don't do anything important. Sticks you can turn into a raging fire, and lamposts you can charge into for a fun squeaky sound.

Darius

Before the exit portal, and past another large Gnorc protecting some small ones, you'll find another dragon. Darius tells you that large enemies cannot be charged, but flame works. Gee, thanks. Had to figure that out to get here.

Honestly, though - I prefer it this way than having everything spelled out for you before you have a chance to figure it out yourself. Insomniac will figure out better ways to do this in the PS2 era, though - and that's not Spyro so it won't be part of this project.

But hey, we got to the exit portal, and there's still that locked box at the beginning, and a bunch of gems and a dragon missing! Let's go explore the level!

The Passage

Heading back to the section between the two clearings, you'll notice a second way to go. Here's this level's secret! Narrow hallways are patrolled by large, armored Gnorcs, that harmlessly and humorously bounce you back if you try to slide past them. Armor means charge, but large means flame - what do you do?

Well, you wait until their back is turned and flame their hindside. This gives you a preview of a mechanic you won't see again until the second boss!

Oswin

Your reward is a dragon who has a secret to tell you: hold the triangle button to zoom in and look around. A helpful control tip for sure! Also, there's some gems and a key that will open that locked chest at the start.

This is also just a really cool room. The blue glow effects on the walls from the bright water, and if you look up at the ceiling, it pulses blue in the center.

And with that, we are 8% of the way through the game. Just 2% more than last time. We also have enough dragons to head to the next world, but we're not going there yet.

Lore Talk

The walls and the rolling upper hills look very much like Stone Hill's architecture, so it feels like this place is Stone Hill at night, though you see a lot more of the ornate swirly decorations than you do in Stone Hill. It might just be that most of Artisans looks like this.

The enemies here are only Gnorcs, invading upon this area. And the Gnorcs have figured weaponry out. The smaller ones are pretty scared of dragons, but they feel a little braver with their daggers and shields. The big ones are dumb still, attempting to eat their clubs like a turkey leg when they don't see Spyro. But when they do, they are ready to attack.

It's hard to tell what this place is. Maybe a prison? An armory? It seems a bit more closed off than Stone Hill and that glowing blue secret chamber with long guarded tunnels leading up to it seems suspiciously like a place you'd put people or things you don't want leaving.

If it is an armory, that would explain where the Gnorcs got their weapons. In later worlds, they seem to steal weapons from the inhabiting dragons, so it would make sense for them to do so here, too.

Next Stop

April's level will be Town Square.

Concurrent Spyro Events

I'll start making this series a time capsule, too. Since my last post: the Spyro fanbase got some serious whiplash. Toys For Bob turned their Twitter profile purple with a gem texture, which made excitement stir. New Spyro game announcement imminent?

...Followed by Toys for Bob announcing they're going indie, and their current project, Crash Team Rumble, is thus no longer being supported. Good for them for going indie, because being under a big company clearly sucks. But since Spyro is still owned by Microsoft, it doesn't look good for the franchise.

But! In their announcement about going indie, Toys for Bob not only mentioned they're in talks with Microsoft about a partnership to make more games for Microsoft IPs, but they also had the phrasing "keep your horns on," which is an obvious Spyro reference. Still, it sounds like it's early. Which means we're missing the Year of the Dragon expected release for sure if there isn't something in the works by another studio right now.

If there isn't, we've pushed me finishing Spyro 1 in this project to a near-certainty.

This is what I like about this project. If a new Spyro game comes out, yay! New Spyro game! If it doesn't, then I still look forward to each month where I play a new level in my favorite series.

#spyro #spyro the dragon #one spyro level a month until the next spyro game releases

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ladala99 · 2 months

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Reactions/Thoughts about Today's Pokemon Direct (Feb 2024)

First off: I was predicting a Johto remake over a Unova remake. Because LGPE counts as part of the remake cycle.

I also pre-made a bingo card, so I was paying attention for these things:

I was still setting up during the intro, so I didn't even process the Unown.

Plush in back! Check! (That was going to be obvious)

SV event is Tera Raids, no Mythical. Might still be coming?

Pokemon GO is a tie-in to Horizons with a couple of new species. Neat. No Gigantamax (honestly with how Raids are what Dynamax is based on, I'm not sure how that'll be introduced).

Legendary in Sleep!!!! (I actually play this game, so I'm excited.) I was tempted to put Mew or something as my Sleep prediction, but I thought that was too far-fetched this early and a Unova tie-in would be appropriate if there were Unova remakes. Wait... Johto beasts? Johto..?

Master's EX has Silver on spotlight! Check off the Johto character on spotlight in Master's EX slot! No Unova characters, it seems. We have Geeta, the Aether family, and Riley, which are from neither region. Two Johto things, though...

Cafe Remix has some Paldea Pokemon. I haven't played this game since it came out and every time I think about going back I remember I got stuck on a puzzle and I seemed to need to pay for a microtransaction to win so I just don't.

Unite I randomly guessed Terapagos and I was wrong. Lots of Ceruledge today.

This TCG thing appeals to me. Very much appeals to me. I played TCGO pretty much only logging in daily so I could open a pack every five days - the actual gameplay took way too long. Opening two packs every day with a shorter type of gameplay? Appeals very much. I am the target audience here.

Oh and exploring the artwork? Having the artwork actually designed to look good on the phone's screen? I am the target audience. I love this. I want this now.

Wait, Unown in this transition. Unown in the intro. Johto Beasts. Silver. We're getting Johto this year! I was right!

That font in the Confidential writing... reminds me of the Team Rocket Pokegear style in HGSS.

City design? Is this a spin-off actually?

There's an awful lot of Kalos Pokemon...

That's the Eiffel Tower type thing. It is Lumiose!?

It's a Legends title! And Z! In 2025!

I absolutely did not expect this. I expected something unexpected, which is why I put "No Legends Title" on my card, but I did not expect them to skip over Johto AND Unova to head straight to a Kalos revisit.

Z-A is the actual name. AZ's whole plot took place 3000 years ago, and this isn't 3000 years ago. By other people's saying when the Eiffel Tower went up, it's taking plaace more like 150 years ago, which is contemporary (within 30 or so years) of Legends: Arceus's real-world equivalent.

But Z-A might mean we go back in time further? Maybe? That'd be interesting. But as always, I can't get my hopes up too much.

The A definitely looks stylized like it's an actual Pokemon like Z is Zygarde, but it's not one we know. Mysterious.

2025 is a good sign. Though Legends: Arceus came out in January of the target year and it still seemed it could have used some polish. Not as bad as Scarlet/Violet, but it certainly looked worse than Sword/Shield and Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. So I hope they release it when it's actually polished, not just functional. I hope to see trailers for it in next year's Pokemon Day Pokemon Presents, and its inclusion this year was only because there's no other real headline.

As for my Bingo card?

No Bingos.

#pokemon #pokemon presents

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ladala99 · 2 months

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Highly recommended experience: using Pokemon from GO in a main-series playthrough.

I just beat Violet with a team half comprised of shinies from GO (because what else was I going to do with those?) and the ending. Just, the emotions run so high there and the thought passed my mind that I caught these Pokemon in my local park. And here they are, saving Paldea.

Like it's a cool enough thought when you've taken a particular Pokemon through several games, but having a Pokemon be actually from a physical location that you went to and caught it at is just on a whole nother level. Fourth wall breaking-type feeling. Like the first time I played Skylanders before my brain fully wrapped around the tech so it was just seamless.

Next I'll head to Blueberry Academy with the Pokemon that have been with me on my Ribbon journey (since I'm on a time limit and just want to beat it) and I'll see how that feels. But I really think it's the fourth wall-breaking thing that really got me.

#pokemon #pokemon go #pokemon scarlet and violet

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ladala99 · 2 months

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Petros REALLY has no faith in Eranthis's matchmaking skills.

Petros's preferences: Female, Nonbinary, Special Bases, Special Eyes, Strong Markings.

Petros's dislikes: Any traits that have anything to do with November's event. (Though Lorcan's fine since he has nothing to do with the Faelcu. But he's also a guy so Petros isn't interested.)

Who Eranthis has introduced to Petros so far:

6 female wolves. One of which has Fae eyes so is hated. But also one of which has a Special Base and strong markings, so score one?

1 nonbinary "wolf." It's literally a Faelcu so Petros attacked on sight.

15 (FIFTEEN) male wolves. Over twice as many as non-male wolves. Also one has Fae eyes so is hated.

I went over the list, and while there are more male dateables than female ones, it's not to this scale. Eranthis is just trying to diagnose Petros with gay, and he's not having it.

#wolvden #wolvden matchmaker event

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ladala99 · 3 months

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One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - February 2024 - Stone Hill

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

Welcome to Stone Hill! The level that teaches you to explore. And that enemies might be dangerous.

First off, we're greeted with a ram on a hill. As you approach, he'll attempt to ram you with his horns. You might get the idea to do the same.

Enemies here, much like in the homeworld, can either be charged or flamed at your preference.

The Well

The first secret of the game is a mysterious well in this first area. You might think it's just a background detail and think nothing of it. Or, you might try to jump in. In the latter case, you'll be rewarded with a dragon and a few gems!

Gavin

This guy proves that adult dragons don't have to stand on two legs. Too bad the remakes ignored that.

His actual information is that you can keep Sparx healthy by feeding him butterflies. The game assumes you've figured out where butterflies come from. I mean, you probably have, by toasting everything you see.

But going down in this well right now is not that helpful - there's a chest you cannot open, no matter what you do. It's a good thing a whirlwind shows up to get you out of there!

Lindar

Next on your list of things to do is pick a door, any door. Because there's three of them and none give any indication of where they lead.

The one I chose first leads to a room full of treasure, and a trapped dragon - Lindar. This room is incredibly satisfying to run through.

Lindar teaches you that saving a dragon or running over a platform saves your progress. This is somewhat misleading - yes, it gives you a checkpoint, but it does not actually save your progress. For that, you need to speak with the fairy that appears afterwards and ask her to do that manually.

Astor

Well, that was a dead end. Let's try another. This one leads to a ram, an extra life, some gems, the exit portal(!) and Astor.

Astor tells you about exit portals. They'll get you back to the homeworld. And we also start with the running joke of old dragons being boring and Spyro wanting to get away from them.

The Beach

But wait, before we head back to the homeworld (or turn around and check out the rest of the level), we need to head to the beach!

This is another secret. One that if you're being thorough, you'll probably notice the strange coloration as you're looking around and might decide to drop down. You'll be rewarded with gems and a key!

A key to the chest at the bottom of the well, to be exact!

Shepherds

Heading down the final tunnel, we reach another open area, full of sheep and shepherds! These shepherds are dangerous and have a long reach. As I found out trying to snap a photo of one.

Gildas

If you haven't figured out how to get the gems on the ledge by the castle in the homeworld yet, Gildas has your back. He'll let you know that for the longest glide, you need to press X at the very top of your jump. He'll also let you know how to drop down mid-flight, but that's not quite as useful yet.

And he's a hint towards the best part of this level, and even arguably the entire game: you can glide to what looks like the level's barrier. Run around on top of it, and collect gems.

The Egg Thief

We don't know why we want to attack these guys yet, other than that they're taunting us and thus they must die. In reward, we get an egg! What type of egg? Someone will tell us eventually.

With the top of the hill cleared, Stone Hill is 100% complete. Now we're at 6% of the entire game.

Lore talk

This seems to be the place that sheep are raised. But are those shepherds there because of Gnasty, or are they actually the ones raising the sheep and they're protecting their flocks from encroaching dragons?

I think what can be conjectured is mostly due to the locations of the dragons. They're inside. They belong in the buildings (or in the well. What did you do, Gavin? Is everyone offended by your quadrupedalness?). They live there or work there or something.

So the shepherds are probably not normally there. I think this is evidenced by the fact that they appear in a later level that has no sheep whatsoever. Well, okay there's one. But it's not the shepherds that are protecting that one.

Silliness

I ran around for a while, and these two sheep got stuck in the same spot. They continuously bounced, but neither could move. They looked merged.

I also followed the sheep around, assuming they had set paths, but no! This one got stuck next to the whirlwind.

Next Stop

March's level will be Dark Hollow.

#spyro #spyro the dragon #one spyro level a month until the next spyro game releases

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ladala99 · 3 months

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One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - January 2024 - Artisans Homeworld

Intro/rules

Next Level

(Shh. Pretend it's January)

Complete with awful pictures I took of my PSP screen.

"Looks like I've got some things to do!"

Nestor

The game places you right in the line of sight of the first dragon in the game: Nestor. Just walk forward to investigate, and as you touch the platform, he is freed!

Nestor gives you the run-down: you can't fight Gnasty yet - you must find dragons first. That is our first goal.

As a kid, I thought Nestor was Spyro's dad.

From Nestor's platform, there are several interesting ways to go. There's a castle up ahead, enemies on the hill over there, a maze, and even more if you look around.

And hoo boy, even just getting to Nestor, I could feel the difference in the controls. Spyro is the default game I'll play when I'm feeling down, and since Reignited came out, I've been playing that version. The controls are so different, particularly how fast Spyro turns.

Anyway, what I did was head right back where I came from and over to the next dragon in front of this funky-looking waterfall.

Delbin

Where does the water go? Who knows! Maybe there's a drain underneath. Maybe there's some magic involved.

Anyway, Delbin tells you about Sparx. And if you decide to take a swim in the water behind him, you really get to know what Sparx does. Notably, Delbin only tells you that Sparx is "helping and protecting you." Which isn't all that helpful. But you know, I respect the game telling you to figure it out on your own. Eventually we'll get more details.

The way this conversation goes down is really weird in a lore perspective. Like Spyro has no idea there's a dragonfly following him, what its doing, or what its name is. Or maybe he does and he thinks its such a stupid question he doesn't even know how to begin.

Not pictured: the Gem Thief Gnorc.

Weirdly unique, this guy requires three attacks before he can be fully defeated. Perhaps he is meant to help you learn how to fight.

The Maze

I went into the maze to grab the gems and extra life inside. It's not a very big or effective maze - it just gets the point across. Probably just meant to be pretty.

Also, did you know - the Gnorcs will all go off to specific locations. Follow them to find interesting portions of the level!

Alongside the maze...

There's one in the castle,

One past the tunnel, and,

One in the middle of the rising columns!

While we're in the rising column area, that's another thing this level does well. It gives you some low-stakes challenges to get you used to the controls. The rising columns teach you how to jump and move in 3D, as you must go in a circle to reach all of them and the gems on top.

Also, not pictured, is the platform next to the castle wall that you must glide to from the hill. If you can make that jump, you can make any jump in the game. It requires a mastery of gliding at height, and you will probably not be reaching it until later in the game your first time playing.

Inside the castle, I got some treasure and spoke to the balloonist. He told me to come back when I get 10 dragons. I briefly considered taking his advice, but honestly, I want to do all the levels before moving on. I feel the pacing would be weird to backtrack towards the end of the game.

Argus

I next headed over to the side area, where Argus is trapped. He will tell you about bosses. This boss uses a feature not used until the end of the game: you must exit one of the other levels through the exit whirlwind in order for this portal to unlock. Probably so that you don't try to tackle the boss the first thing.

Argus is unique in that he has two lines of dialogue - if you reach him before you go to another land like I did, he will tell you that you are not yet ready and must complete one of the other Artisan lands. If you free him (or replay his cutscene) after you accomplish that, he will tell you that you may go in if you feel you are ready.

After freeing him, I looked around a bit, wondering what I missed, before remembering I hadn't actually gone into the area after the tunnel outside of following the gnorc. Whoops!

Tomas

Tomas makes fun of you. At least, I always interpreted it that way. He tells you not to be afraid of falling, but he says it in a way that he seems to think that you already are.

He's in front of an area you definitely should not be afraid to fall off of, because aside from dying in bottomless pits, you don't take fall damage.

This area shows you that this game will have a lot of verticality, and tests your platforming skills. It's a good practice for later levels, like almost everything in Artisans Homeworld.

Artisans Homeworld complete! With that, we are two percent of the way through the game.

Lore talk

Lots of gameplay analysis above, but what about lore? What is this place?

Well, I believe that it is a dragon-controlled area and a port of trade, as evidenced by the portals and the pier the balloonist stands on.

The whole area is built to look friendly. There are pretty pink flowers planted throughout, and various structures around that just look pretty. This is where the Artisan dragons show off their skills.

The balloonists are the only non-dragon friendlies in the game, and they all won't help you until you help the local dragon population. The one here won't help until you free ten dragons - he needs his customers to be free! Perhaps he feels they'll protect him a bit better than the little guy that is Spyro.

The enemy gnorcs also tell a story throughout the game. This is early on in Gnasty's takeover, and his warriors here are afraid for their newly-gained lives at the sight of an enemy. They have no weapons, and they just run away and tremble in place.

Starting to overthink it - early open-world game design

You know how in Breath of the Wild, you exit the Great Plateau and there are all these interesting sights in the distance, beckoning you towards them? That's exactly how this level is shaped.

Where will you go first? The castle? The maze? Will you follow the enemies? Do you want to know what's in that dragon head? Or will you just throw yourself into that portal sitting out in the open?

There weren't that many 3D games out by the time this one entered the fray, and a lot of even those were pretty linear (for example, Crash and Croc). It's pretty incredible that Insomniac had this basic piece of 3D worldbuilding figured out already.

And well, maybe they actually didn't, because Spyro 2 and 3's first homeworlds are not built this way at all. And even later levels in this game become a lot more linear, with side paths feeling more like secrets than choices.

But here, now? The world is your oyster. Go wherever you feel most drawn towards.

For me? I'm going in the most logical order. February's level will be Stone Hill.

Next Level

#spyro #spyro the dragon #one spyro level a month until the next spyro game releases

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ladala99 · 3 months

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One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - Intro

First Level

Rather than putting the rules/whatever into the first entry, I'll start it here.

In December, someone on the Spyro subreddit make a joke post about shaving an eyebrow until Spyro 4 was announced. They only did one post, probably because the image they used wasn't of them and had happened quite some time before.

I saw that and was like: well, that might be fun to do an infinite countdown. See how long it takes. But I'd want to do something that isn't really a big time-sink or would hurt me in any way. Just something short and fun.

And hey, the Spyro series has a lot of levels. Mostly because it has a lot of games. Let's see how far in the series I make it before the next announcement! And to make it really low-stakes, it'll be one level a month. That way I only have to do a write-up once a month.

And I decided the best time to start this would be 2024 rather than December 2023 - Year of the Dragon is pretty significant in the Spyro franchise, as that is the year the batch of baby dragons hatches. Chances were that we'd see at least an announcement this year, right?

...Right?

Well, with Microsoft completely gutting the formerly Activision teams, including Toys for Bob, we might not be seeing Spyro anytime soon.

Which makes it a great time to start this project. Keep in mind: Spyro 1 alone has 35 levels. 1 a month from January 2024 onward means I won't be finishing the first game until November 2026. I have not calculated how long the entire series will go - but the point basically is that it should be impossible to finish, as the fun is finding out how long I go before the next one comes out.

Rules:

I will be playing one level each month and making a write-up of the experience/reviewing the level/thinking way too hard about it, etc.

Despite actually starting in February 2024, I will act as if I started in January 2024 and start with two reviews. These may be on separate days.

I will be going through the series in chronological order, playing every game I own and can play in the moment. (Disclaimer: as of writing I lost access to my PS3 so if I don't get another one or copies of those games on another system by the time the games I have it for come up, those games will be skipped)

This include GBA, DS, and 3DS games if I own them. I may or may not obtain the ones I don't own when or before they come up. In cases where the same title has different experiences on multiple systems, I will first play the console version, then the handheld versions in ascending hardware quality (example: ANB PS2, then GBA, and finally DS - assuming I get the handheld ones since I don't currently own them).

I am including the Legend of Spyro and Skylanders.

Reignited Trilogy counts separately from the original three games.

I will only play the Skylanders levels I actually have. I may or may not care enough to get Adventure Packs or elemental characters I do not already own.

If my Skylander figures do not work by the time the respective games come up, I may skip the game. Same as if I lose access to any other required hardware.

Backtracking will count separately from the original level. For example, once I obtain Climb, I will be taking three extra months to climb the ladders in Summer Forest, Glimmer, and Sunny Beach.

I will not be using glitches to skip backtracking.

When the next Spyro game releases, the project ends wherever it is.

First Level

#spyro #one spyro level a month until the next spyro game releases

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ladala99 · 3 months

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Wolvden February Event: Sorting the Dateables into my gameplay's political parties

For the uninitiated, these have nothing to do with real-life political parties. There's four of them with two aspects:

North/South - Indicates whether the wolf is focused more on stats/survival(North) or looks/decoration(South)

Easy/Challenging - Indicates whether the wolf wants to elevate the lowest/struggling (Easy) or the best of the best (Challenging).

Every wolf is part of one of each category, so the four parties are Easy North, Easy South, Challenging North, and Challenging South. In my gameplay, they are assigned by favorite biome, and everything else follows.

For assigning the dateables, I will be looking at:

1) Their personality if it happens to fit something obvious

2) Their favorite and least favorite locations if they both fit into the same category (most of the time, they don't seem to, in order to give players with less unlocked more opportunity)

3) Their favorite and least favorite gifts if they tell a story.

I'll be doing three per day, starting with ones I have unlocked. Not sure if I'll be doing this daily or if this is a one-off since it's kinda taking away from my serious writing time but I feel like doing this right now!

Without further ado, here's our first wolf:

Lorelai

Assigned Party: Challenging South

Reasoning: So, so, so elitist. She's knows she's pretty (I kinda disagree because green-yellow is ick, but she says she is) and she has super high standards. She demands perfection, according to her introduction. This is just so cut-and-dry.

Both of her liked locations are also in the Challenging South category, including the most challenging and southern location: the Rainforest. Her dislikes include the Glacier, the polar opposite of the Rainforest, being a Challenging North location, though she also dislikes fellow Challenging South location Swamp.

Her favorite gift: the pretty-but-useless Gemstone. Her least-favorite: the healing Herb.

She is almost a textbook definitition of Challenging South.

Next wolf:

Nomia

Assigned Party: Easy North

Reasoning: Going from an easy one to a hard one. Nomia's intro quote indicates she is fairly looks-obsessed like Lorelai, but not quite as elitist. However, her likes tell a quite different story and some of her other quotes indicate she's looking more for a well-rounded individual for her mate. She'll comment on your strength at 2 hearts and above.

She likes going to the Coniferous Forest (Easy North) and Mountains (Easy South - but only because of ID - it's in the middle). She dislikes going to the Swamp (Challenging South) and Rainforest (Challenging South). So averaging, she's far more aligned with Easy, and slightly more aligned with North.

Additionally, her preferred gift is the practical Food and disliked is the pretty Flower. So she is not really a fan of beauties, focusing most on practicality and thriving, making her very clearly North-aligned.

And finally for today:

Omen

Assigned Party: Challenging North

Reasoning: Also a bit of a difficult one to place. There isn't much to go on from his quotes - he doesn't speak too lengthily. So I largely have to go by his preferences.

He likes Desert (Challenging South) and Glacier (Challenging North) He dislikes Coniferous Forest (Easy North) and Swamp (Challenging South). All this really tells me is that he's in the Challenging portion of the chart. But South or North?

He likes Gemstones and hates Flowers. Here's where I will just say that you find flowers more abundantly in the South and less often in the North. He likes pretty barren and rocky areas in both.

And that barren and rockiness is what is tipping me towards North. South is about nature, north is about survival. So I'm going with Challenging North, but he is on a bit of a line.

#wolvden

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