#(that i watched a playthrough of instead of playing LOL but you understand)

[bmpmp3]

i love alan wake 2 alan. hes so scared and wet

#art #traditional art #watercolour #paint marker #fanart #alan wake #alan wake ii #alan wake 2 #ive been watching a playthrough #im only a few hours in but its so insanely good so far. might be my game of the year #(that i watched a playthrough of instead of playing LOL but you understand) #like everythings been absolutely wonderful. sagas a really fun character. alex casey is fun too #alan is wet. alan is wet. somebody dry him off please

[cow-legs]

What are some of your favorite videogames? ♡ ♡ ♡

(extremely long post incoming lol turns out i have a lot of things to say on this subject)

usually i have too hard of a time trying to remember anything i like to have answers for questions like these but thankfully for this one i have answers prepared since this is something i try to think about a lot

realistically if i had to pick one single "favorite videogame" above the rest itd probably just, like, ocarina of time & majora's mask (i'm considering them to be one videogame because i said so, it;s a package deal), just on account of how much of an impact they had on me from an early age combined with just how often i Still go back to revisit them in one way or another, but this is just about the most basic boring answer a person can have for this question unfortunately

thankfully you asked for some of my favorites instead of just one so i can unveil my Actual list of favorites instead of the one that only holds the top spot by technicality and not because i actually like it "the most". all of my favorite games have such a range in style and quality it's hard to really compare them in any meaningful way

anyway

crypt worlds, space funeral, and off-peak are all pretty different games made by very different people but i usually group them together when talking about stuff like this since collectively finding them all back in the day at roughly the same time kind of shaped my perception of indie games as a whole which probably gave me a very weird and skewed perception of the media but who gives a shit really it's a perception i hold dear. (they weren't the first indie games i ever saw of course but they were the most personally impactful ones that made me go "holy shit, this is awesome, you can do literally whatever you want")

they've pretty heavily influenced my own games, too. there have been multiple times i've started a project and then days later realized "wait shit this is just space funeral again. i'm just making space funeral again but slightly to the left. fuuuck" which is a pretty good problem to have i think.

anyway,

gadget: invention, travel, and adventure is an old point and click game i found a few years ago that struck me by just how unique feeling its atmosphere is. strange looking people turn to you and say even stranger sounding things, the soundtrack feels like its having a nervous breakdown, the main character is given so few meaningful decisions/actions (read: basically none) by the people around them that it can barely be considered a game at all…it is a very fascinating experience, and one that i think back to a lot

i like Your Turn To Die a lot and am very excited to see how it ends, though i feel like i don't have too much to say on it here. one of those games that has me going "oh man i should draw more fanart for that one of these days" every time i'm reminded of it only to then remember that i Can't Fucking Draw right now lmao

myhouse.wad is something that extremely deserves to go on this list but a large part of my brain is telling me not to just because somewhere along the line i fucked up and became allergic to anything that has ever recently become popular & trendy on youtube because i don't want to look like a poser even though literally no one but me cares about where i hear about these things so i can only bring myself to include it if i also state that i played it BEFORE it was cool &all the streamers started covering it like some kind of shameful hipster. but for real though its awesome, very inspiring stuff. i wish my brain did not force me to want to distance myself from it for literally no good reason. fucking ocarina of time is on this list why is this the thing that makes you afraid of looking like a normie

i have a lot of appreciation for myst in a kind of "i've never played more than 5 minutes of this nor have i even bothered to watch a playthrough of it but i understand what you have done for me and the games i love that came after you" kind of way. i have purchased 3 different copies of it over the years as well as a copy of riven and i don't intend on playing any of them anytime soon. great game, probably. i wouldn't know.

i like a lot of kitty horrorshow's games but i don't really know what my favorite would be. lethargy hill is probably the one i think about most often though.

i like (the steam version of) dwarf fortress a lot and have been trying to play it more often. it is very funny having 80 hours in a game and still not feeling like you understand half the mechanics in it. figuring it out as i go along has been fun though. in a similar vein i also like elden ring a lot and despite being at over 160 hours on that one i still haven't beaten it. i need to get back to it before the dlc comes out but i stopped playing for so long that most of my muscle memory is gone…

for something much more recent than all of the above, absolutely perfect specimen is something really incredible that gave me a lot of stuff to think about, though it can be a little hard to recommend since it's extremely 18+ and has a whole big list of content warnings you definitely need to take heed of. extremely interesting work though, i like it a lot.

i'm running out of things to list off and should probably stop just for the sake of time even if there is more shit that deserves mentioning so i'll just end it off with CLONE ON NET YAROZE BABYYYYYY LET'S FUCKIN GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💯💪🙌💥💯💯

#asks #i like videogames. huge fan of em

[egg-emperor]

people will say it's gatekeeping but I honestly do think you're always more likely to understand a story in a game and be more knowledgeable about it if you've actually played said game

I don't think it's impossible if you haven't but you're definitely much more likely to misunderstand if you don't. binging all the scenes to a game by watching a compilation of all scenes often isn't going to help you understand absolutely everything, especially if you only watch it through exactly once, all in a row

there's a few reasons why- there might be in game story based dialogue that the cutscenes might not cover but will still add more important details and context. plus seeing, or rather experiencing, the gameplay for yourself to see what's actually been happening within the game can also add more context

and one I find most important is that, when you're actually playing the game, the time in between the cutscenes gives you time to process and think about the scene you just saw. if you're being fed all this info back to back binging all the scenes in a row, you're just less likely to take it all in and make sense of it as well

I've played all the games I analyze, replayed multiple times, and rewatched the Eggman scenes through my own compilations multiple times, and memorize and analyze them all down to the smallest details. I'm constantly reanalyzing things I already have to develop my thoughts even further too

meanwhile, a lot of people who have disagreed with me the most haven't played the games they debate me on and only watched all the scenes all in a row once and didn't get to fully take in and analyze it and when I find out I'm baffled. latest example is with Frontiers on the subject of Eggman and Sage

now don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean I'm trying to say I'm automatically right because I have and those who haven't are automatically wrong but it naturally logically makes me more likely to be more knowledgeable on it just because I've looked at it, thought about it, and analyzed it and mulled it over longer

I personally wouldn't be debating people who have played, watched, and analyzed certain games, scenes, and characters more than me if my Switch profile said I've only played the game I'm debating someone on "for a little while" or not at all- but that's been the case with a bunch of those who argued lol

it seems there's a pattern and it shouldn't be considered gatekeeping to point it out. if you can't access or beat the games, I recommend not just watching all scenes in a row but a playthrough instead, or at least spacing out watching them to think them over and process each in between, and revisiting a few times after

make sure to check out plot related in game dialogue too because they're not always included in "all cutscene videos" despite also being plot based and providing important details and context that can help you understand further. for example, the in game dialogue conversations between Sonic and the other characters in Frontiers

I'm saying this because it's something I've noticed and I genuinely just want to help, so this is my personal advice and I'm not saying you should take it or you're not really a fan or something, I just think it helps a lot, especially if you want to interpret and debate the story and characters, so you're best equipped

#sonic frontiers #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #my post

[optiwashere]

what other RPG games do you like?

Heya anon, what a fun question! If I sat and listed all the RPGs I like, it would take forever. Here's a ramble instead because I'm bored on a Sunday.

I've been playing basically any kind of RPG since I got a copy of Fallout 1 in... 1999? '98? I was too young for it, but I was also too young to watch horror films then and look at how I turned out.

Pretty sure I blindly walked into the Glow in one of my first playthroughs and didn't understand why my character kept dying afterwards lmao.

Then I got into BG with BG2 when it was released. After that I started reading Drizzt novels, and that's where everything went wrong.

Either way, I like pretty much any kind of RPG. If you can find it on GOG, Steam, or Abandonware sites, I've probably at least tried it. Old-school, draw a map, tile-based dungeon crawlers like Pool of Radiance or Might and Magic? Yep, love those games. All the Infinity Engine games and their modern clones? Yep! I'm really hoping we get a Pillars of Eternity 3 some day. Even though I think they've all had massive problems so far and I've had bad interactions with the company's community management, I'll probably play the next Owlcat game too. I loved the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games when they came out, but I'm eh on ME2/3 and DA is a really uneven series. I'm less into JRPGs these days, but I've played stuff like Chrono Trigger, Persona, and most of the Final Fantasy series.

Speaking of FF, strategy RPGs are just so, so good and I've had to make do with constant replays of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre for years...

Tabletop RPGs are my only other real hobby these days besides writing, and I'm currently on a break from running anything. I plan on running either Dungeon Crawl Classics or the MCDM RPG (if it's out by then) when I'm ready for another campaign.

I've been a Larian fan since Divinity 2 (that's the Dragon Knight Saga, not Original SIn) and the fact that they got handed BG3 is still kinda surreal even now lol. I remember Kickstarting D:OS1 and thinking it was such a fun tactical RPG with just awful characters. That's what all of their games were like before D:OS2, really. Look how far they've come! And they managed to make a system that I think is largely bad for tactical play pretty fun.

OH! I also love ARPGs. I'm thankful I don't have a real hour count of my Diablo 2 playtime since ca. 2001, because it would not reflect well on me. My Path of Exile playtime is already dangerously concerning.

#hey you can ask me things! #personal nonsense #MMOs I am just way not into anymore... I occasionally play on early expac everquest 1 fanservers but not for long #and I'm eventually going to play the persona 3 remake but finding the time for it is... ough... #and open world “sandbox” RPGs just don't really do much for me either #but these days I love the relatively underplayed/obscure stuff #Voidspire Tactics? Underrail? sure let's go. still waiting on Death Trash to get a full release >:| #(and as a bg and general crpg vet I'm very happy to say that turn-based > real-time with pause) #(+ the contrarianism about BG3 not being a “real” BG game is hysterical)

[bitter-rabbitholes]

I got to watch the Phantom & Ghost playthrough (thanks to @pain-in-the-butler d(^-^)), and I've been dreaming of Phantom & Ghost getting a remaster with HD graphics and a expanded story line, so here's how I would've liked it:

a coherent narrative

I think it would've benefited the story to just stick to one POV for the entire game, and you'll have to complete both Sebastian and Ciel's routes to get the final ending. Similar to other visual games games that have multiple endings depending who and how you play, that give you a true ending after completing the game.

like wow, the game is kinda nonsensical to follow? not only can you switch between the two different POVs while playing, but you can do it after nearly every scene? So all the clues and reveals feel all over the place and referenced in ways that don't make sense.

general appeal

alright lets be honest, the game's main appeal is its characters. getting to play all these scenarios with the servants and Lizzy is what's fun. sadly, the minor characters weren't as interesting to bounce off of, so it would be nice to lean into their eccentricities (when you got a guy named Patrick the Grey wizard).

Add more scenarios, more character combinations, more dialogue options. Can't tell you how disappointed I was that Stella's pov barely showed anything, esp since the moments between Lizzy and Stella were really good. Like, let's play with all these different povs! Stella's route could have flashbacks and much needed backstory to solve the mysteries. Lets see Lorraine, Patrick, and Stella's parents in the past, since so much of the story revolves around them And having all these expanded character options really build the replayability of the game.

tonal dissonance

This game was disorienting to me because how light the story remained. Kuro is a dark story! It has a lot of morbid humor and something disturbing happening in the background. This game really was just some average errand for Ciel and Sebastian and it falls flat. So I had ideas to bring in out more of those darker tones kuro has, described in the next section.

the villain

I understand why Lorraine was made into the villain as a "surpise twist", but I truly dislike that she was the bad guy after dealing with suggested abuse and getting jealous over a child (without even the backstory to back it up??). There's ways to give misdirection over the villain without resorting to the cheap maid plot twist, that is frankly tired now. (also I thought count ridley would be the villain? what was he around then for lol)

There's still a mysterious air around Stella's father, right? maybe, instead of villainizing an abused maid for the nth time, we can have a more in depth exploration of the maid's abuse and the father's character. maybe we find out the father was quite a vile person. Stella's route could imply the abuse happening in the background and how disturbing it is.

perhaps after the first half of the game, Lorraine is pined as the murderer, but Stella insists that she's innocent and we to find the true culprit. the player is mislead here a bit, because Lorraine's attitude does take a turn and she acts very bitter and erratic (which we find out later her signs of abuse).

eventually Lorraine is found innocent and her father is blamed for the murder, and Lorraine gets with Patrick to take care of Stella at the mansion, a perfect happy ending.

However in the true ending, we find out that Lorraine did kill the father, but it was to protect herself and Stella from his abuse. We don't know how the mother died exactly, but let's implied that he was the one to kill her (mad father vibes). Ciel doesn't reveal this, since the case with the ghost and embezzlement is solved, but Lorraine gets away with the murder. Sebastian could suggest that Lorraine only did it for her benefit, because now she's acting as head of the manor, through Stella (or whatever edgelord nonsense he'll say).

The games ends on the note we, the audience, will never know Lorraine's true motives, all while Stella remains naive, still thinking the best of her parents and Lorraine. All we can hope for, is that they'll take care of each other now, though who knows what the future holds.

So there's plenty of dark aspects to this story while having a rather positive ending for our main characters! let me know what yall think! any other ideas for an ending or story route?

(anyway here's a drawing of Stella and Lorraine to convince yall: x)

#b.au #i really want to go into different endings and the like #i used to be a huge rpg maker fan so the influence definitely shows lol #also any witch's heart fans here? heard the game is getting an update #i should get back in the game it's been sooo long #anyway my versions the sisters unite!! none of this jealousy over a child nonsense #but yeah i have a ton of ideas the more i think about it #you can tell how much better this story got cause it focuses on the women lmao #kuro #kuroshitsuji #phantom & ghost #lorraine mcdowell #stella rose #b.txt

[camelia-phoenix]

So I just needed a place to let my thoughts out on Infinite Wealth. It is likely going to have a bit of controversial opinions and certainly a lot of spoilers about the game itself. Or perhaps just the story.

The first thing I want to say is I am going to be honest...I do not like the new cast of characters from LAD7. While others may enjoy Ichiban and Nanba and etc etc etc and all of them as is WELL within their right to do, I hate having to slog through dealing with the Ichicrew to get to the actual character beats and characters I actually CARE about in the franchise.

I also hate that Kiryu apparently, though he LITERALLY HAS FRIENDS, its decided that oh...he'd rather pal around with people seemingly much younger than him instead of going and seeing the 3jimas or something.

Yes, he does meet them later in the game itself and they initially rebuff coming to his aid, but I honestly am flabbergasted they never came sooner aside from just. Oh big reveal and then they aren't interacting again.

Like why isn't the 3jimas with him in the hospital, why does Haruka only visit? It is baffling to me.

I'll be honest, I consider the end of the series around Yakuza 3 because that was meant to be the end of the franchise [I believe] but then they kept going and the story seemed to just get repeated...several times but in different flavors. Kiryu should have rested then...

In general, it also hurts to just see Kiryu abandoning his friends for this new blood. And I'm well aware he isn't actually abandoning them but goddamn does the writing surely make it seem that way especially with how, despite you know....the bonds of brotherhood with Saejima, the bonds of fatherhood with Daigo, and the bonds of lovers with Majima [my own opinion lol]...those three just get shafted time and time again.

And we are meant to believe that Kiryu is a good person? That he cares about the people he cares for? When he can just go 'lol bye' and dip out?

Listen, I understand that isn't what was meant to be portrayed at all but I can't help but feel that is what it is like when RGG just seems to have him come by, dip out, come by, ask favors, dip out again. One could argue hes trying to keep people safe but it doesn't work and hasn't worked...

I mainly hate him doing that to Daigo and Majima in particular. Especially Majima who does and would do anything Kiryu ever asked of him and had done so time and time again. They are just so inexplicably tied together by red strings of fate, only for Kiryu to just bounce. [Not to mention how RGG just seems to have some sort of issue with realizing just how popular Majima is but then only bring him out as DLC or you know, ways to get money all the same.]

The Kashiwagi and Kiryu scene at the bar just broke my heart too, now the playthrough I was watching, I don't know if you can go back to talk to him but just the brief like...two minute meeting and then the rest being karaoke, it just...idk man. I wish I could have seen an actual cutscene of them truly speaking with one another in private or SOMETHING. You haven't seen each other in YEARS.

Even if you wanted to play off the pretend names and all that, at least if you are alone, have that conversation. Something. ANYTHING. A crumb.

Then Kiryu going to the 3jimas to ask favors and stuff of them to help with the situation. I'm glad we learned why the fuck the Security company fell apart but if I was the 3jimas, I would be reluctant in helping too like...you constantly leave us and dip out on us and the only time you come to us is when you need something? Wtf Kiryu?

Because you know the 3jimas would welcome Kiryu with open arms if he would just commit to actually being their...idk...friend? Maybe that is why I get annoyed with that Ichicrew because...you had three other people right there that Kiryu could have been running around with but no.

I love Kiryu, deeply, but damn if the writing isn't frustrating to no end at times but well, I guess it is because he is meant to be something the player can project on even if it makes his actions so idiotic at times.

Also, I don't wanna get into the whole cancer bullshit, the ending image of Kiryu looking like a goddamn person on death's bed was heartwrenching enough. I understand that Kiryu wasn't meant to be strong forever but did the writers really have to do the cop out of getting cancer while he was trying to help that one dude? Couldn't Kiryu just grow old and go the Komaki route of training the new crew but otherwise be left alone?

And now once again the 3jima's fates are also a bit nebulously up in the air...and at this point, I just wish they would let all the OGs rest. You now have like 6-7 people for the ichicrew and gang and all of that, stop shoehorning them in for a fanservice that serves for like 5-10 minutes in a 50 hour game or what have you.

Also RGG, stop killing off characters too early...RIP Hanawa....Have you not learned yet...Or if you kill off characters, then explain why others are alive. I am looking at you Andre Richardson, where the FUCK is Mine then [Who RGG also killed off way too soon.]

Anyway, I'm sure I have more to rant about but agh.

At the end of the day, I do hope people enjoy Infinite Wealth and I think people that adore the Ichicrew will enjoy the fuck out of this game, but for me and what I was looking out for...well it was disappointing to say the least.

#Phoenix Rambles #Also not looking to fight or debate #if you liked it than you like it and I am genuinely glad you enjoyed #I unfortunately just did not like what I saw

[access--granted]

I'm bad at thinking on the spot, but I have some firm faves, lol. (Disclaimer, I accidentally wrote you an encyclopaedia, sorry!)

1. Jill. REmake was my first game early this year and I played as her. It's what sucked me into fullblown brainrot lmfao. I've played most of the series now and for the most part, Jill has remained one of the most consistent and realistic female characters throughout the series (imo). I mean, I've never looked at my screen an thought "has the director ever seen her character before? What the hell is this?" Which in RE is a rare occurrence lmfao! She isn't super, overly sexualised and I honestly just thoroughly enjoy her personality and story. She knows who she is and what her goals are. Death Island absolutely solidified this for me. It made me feral, I stg. Her arc was phenomenal. I want a brand new Jill campaign. I need her as a main game character again soon. She's one of the best. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH CHRIS KILLING WESKER INSTEAD OF SHEVA SOMEBODY HAS TO SAY IT. An original that holds her own. Just... *chefs kiss*.

2. Claire. Similar reasons to Jill. She has clear motivations and a good arc. Her campagin is my favourite part of RE2make and I think it's shamefully underrated. I found her realtionship with Sherry a lot more significant than Leons and honestly, her A playthrough was just... better? That's perisnal opinion though. I wish they'd let this woman buy a new outfit. She's worn the same jacket since '98. Recycling queen I guess, lmfao. I don't think people really give her enough attention or credit. She's incredibly kind and patient but could also beat me to a pulp. Phenomenal.

3. Chris. Okay, a few iffy portrayals but he's overall a very solid character. I like him so much because he's a "terrifying but actually very soft and huggable" trope in my mind, lmao. I can't shake the Awkward Father vibe, no matter how many 400lbs machine guns he plays around with. I just think he's very tired and wants to watch a football game with friends. Give him a break.

4. Ethan Winters. It's fucking Ethan Winters. Ethan and Rose were excellent new additions to the cast. I adored them. They were something different, refreshing, realistic (minus the lego man hands... dude's made of mold tho so...) and just very likeable. Dude just chills in the background at functions wanting to go home.

5. Leon. Leon's equally one of the most interesting but frustrating protagonists. I think his OG progression is a complete mess. There's some parts I love, some parts I think make zero sense. I always got the sense that they wanted to be ambitious with Leon, but didn't know what the audience would and wouldn't accept. Does this man have a personality? Yes, we'll hint at one, but we absolutely must adhere to naughts cringe hero stereotype just incase. He often leaves me perplexed, but I enjoy him. He's fun to nitpick and study (and make fun of!!!) and he arguably has one of the most interesting long-term stories. I think remakes are going harder to bring this to light. At it's core, the Leon story is about his relationship with corruption, the government and how he deals with it and who to trust. It could be... SOMETHING. I think we're getting there. The changes in remakes are making it more and more possible. They're taking risks and it greatly benefits him as a character overall. He makes sense. He's understandable.

(PS a lot of this sounds like nonsensical jumbled ass, I'm so sorry lmao. I did not sleep and I need pain meds today bc hashtag chronic pain. If this message is total dumbassery jibberish you have my deepest apologies!)

Ahhh, hi! I absolutely love a good old encyclopedia ask, don't you worry. (And you're probably gonna get a long ass answer too, lmao).

REmake Jill is my favourite Jill. Her kick ass determination and personality are just so good. She was my first ever example of a strong female character as a kid, and she's always been my absolute fave. Totally agree with you that DI sold her to me even more. She desperately needs a new campaign in a mainline game ASAP, I've missed her too damn much.

I feel like Claire has had most hate in the franchise (in my personal experience, at least), and honestly, I don't get the whole "Claire is so annoying" crap I've seen people say in the past. She has good motivation. A college student going to search for her S.T.A.R.S member brother when she doesn't hear from him, only to survive a hellish night amidst a viral outbreak and cure a child? So badass.

Chris is 100% awkward dad vibes despite his badassery and boulder punching skills, no doubt about it. He's more sensitive than people understand him to be. (Which literally makes no sense, considering how broken he is whenever someone he cares about doesn't make it, lol). Let this man live, put his feet up and relax.

Ethan, my guy. I fucking love him so much. I remember how so many people hated him, back when RE7 first came out. "Oh, but he's just some random guy who is looking for his missing wife. How boring." Uh, isn't that what makes him so much more interesting? He's not an agent, or a S.T.A.R.S member, or whatever like the others are. He's a man willing to go above and beyond to save someone he loves. He gets put through so much shit and still selflessly sacrifices himself. What a guy.

Leon is a hot mess (affectionately). Capcom wanted to do things with OG Leon, and they just didn't know how to go about it. He's definitely a fun one to pick apart and analyse. You're right, though. I definitely think they could really polish what kind of character they want him to be with future installments since they've already gotten him to a pretty decent place already. I've always loved him, but he sure has been a roller coaster ride, hahaha.

Honestly, I always love getting long asks like this, especially from mutuals I wanna talk more to. It's just a shame I'm such a socially awkward coward and can't initiate conversation myself. 😂 I had a lot of fun answering this, so thank you, and I really hope you can rest up soon!

#lees mail 📬 #askbox: diobrandass #lovely moots <3

[pommmec]

FFXVI

I just finished playing FFXVI. I've kept a twitter thread on non spoiler thoughts here but this post is strictly on SPOILERS so be warned!!

vvvv Read more for my thoughts on FF16 vvvvv

First thing I want to state is that I played this with Japanese voices! I plan on watching lets plays of it which usually have it in English. I will do an update or a separate post once I've seen a full playthrough just to compare.

Combat I never played DMC5 so I don't know how that plays. I've played this without any of the accessibility accessories since I wanted to have a challenge. Its definitely not as hard or frustrating as Dark Souls. Even after playing probably 60+ hours I still find the dodge timing hard. Fighting giant beasts was the most frustrating. It was hard for me to get hits in. The gameplay does remind me alot of ff14 since there's your combos and cooldowns so I often spam buttons. Commanding Torgal does remind me of Nier Automata with commanding the pod but I didn't use Torgal as much as I probably should. It was hard to pick which eikon skills to keep. I mostly kept the high attack ones to spam when staggered. I really like the Bahamut laser beam since it does huge damage. I really like the look of Odin's but it was hard to use.

The Eikon fights were mostly cinematic which is fine. The arenas were quite busy and even busier with the spell effects lol Its very Kaiju battle or even Attack on Titan like. I didn't ever die during them. But as regular Clive I did die a handful of times and luckily the game is nice enough to have checkpoints and give you full inventory of potions. I died more times in Hunts than msq boss fights. I played Octopath 2 a couple months ago which is a turn based game. There's a secret boss that took me over an hour to fight it so I appreciate that FF16 doesn't make me do that, but it is also much easier in comparison. I did find the final boss fights underwhelming, but it does have some annoying af moves that I have no idea how to avoid getting hit by. The fight with Titan is my favorite just for the song and how neat it all was!

STORY Its was quite a ride, but it hasn't moved me as much as FF14 did. The sidequests got me more than the msq. Mostly since they're chains and you spend a lot more time with these characters than the enemy dominants themselves. I like the sidequests ladies more than Jill. I wish they didn't have her get captured multiple times lol I thought she was going to die to give Clive her Shiva powers but seems like you can just give it to him. Jill is an ok character. I wish they did a bit more with her but she ended up having to stay behind. There was a scene or two where she watches instead of helping that bothered me more than it should lol

Having Clive take up Cid's name surprised me. And to have some of the folks in the hideaway call him that too took me a bit to get use to. I did not expect Cid to die so soon or at all. And to have the hideaway destroyed gave me FF14 waking sands vibes.

Dion being gay and having a kissing scene surprised me and wish they do this in FF14! I'm glad they did an obvious gay couple with no stereotyping in a mainline FF game. I did not expect him to last as long as he did since the others died so quick. Quite a tragic character too. I was hoping he'd make it.

I love uncle Byron! What a great character and unexpected comedy relief lol I loved him almost immediately and also feared for his life. So I was very relived that not a single hair in his body was harmed in this game!

I'm glad Joshua is alive! I had a feeling since he seemed too important to just be a memory. Though I don't understand who the hooded figure is in the flashback that Clive saw. Also don't understand why he avoided Clive till the fight with Bahamut. Idk what he sounds like in eng yet but his jp voice is really nice. I was worried he was going to die again and it did upset me when it did happen. For Clive to have all his memories of him flash before his eyes was emotional. And for him to get resurrected and write a book called Final Fantasy in the post credits pleased me.

They did the Sephiroth route with the main antagonist, Ultima. Where they appear throughout the story to mess with you. I thought there might be a surprise never-heard-of last boss but no its all Ultima. I didn't find them to be the most interesting villain since its another alien god being. I did like the argument at the end that they're just the same as human.

Clive is a good boy! Judging by the subtitles eng Clive seems to have a different vibe than jp Clive. Jp Clive's voice has that smooth, kind, and strong quality. He's very much like a wol who chooses the good guy choice. I didn't expect him to die. To have the red star fade and Torgal crying does seem to confirm that he's gone. Definitely not the happiest ending. Idk if the Blight is still a problem lol

With the logo having both Phoenix and Ifrit the story is definitely about the brothers. It seems to come full circle with the beginning having them fight each other and in the end they're one. Joshua dies in the beginning, Clive dies at the end. Makes me wish there were more brotherly moments between them than the sidequest.

Overall I enjoyed FF16! I don't think I'd rate it higher than FF14 or FF7 but its definitely an improvement from FF15. While FF15 did make me cry a lot more than FF16 did, the eye candy that is Clive is really what sells the game to me lol

There was no Cactuar or tonberries! :(

Also the vibrations on the PS5 is rather neat. I've kept it on just because I've heard people say how good it is. The vibrations are happening most of the time in cutscenes but sometimes I don't notice it at all. Its not at all like previous controllers where it rumbles and be annoying. I usually turn it off but I think I wont do that for the PS5 controller.

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

WELL.

I just finished my first playthrough and like. holy shit. I'm still kind of reeling bc even though I think I got a "good ending" main story-wise (destroyed the elder brain and all the tadpoles), the companions' epilogues were not as positive!

I fucked up Gale's story at some point - I was trying to romance him, but I also didn't want him to take the crown for himself, and I think I must have picked an option that backed him up at some point thinking I could convince him later. When we got to the epilogue, we just got in an argument and he stormed off to go claim godhood for himself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ My (vague) understanding is that each companion has at least two endings? And I did quicksave during that conversation so I may go back and see what happens if I back him up - probably not the ending I was aiming for, but something different at least. I also never got his act 3 romance scene, but I'm not sure if that's because of this or because I started romancing him too late (I didn't get his act 1 scene at the party either).

*Quick edit since I just went back and loaded up that last save: there wasn't anything I could do in that conversation to change the outcome of Gale leaving. I think I must have started his stuff too late, so I couldn't get all the scenes, plus probably a few bad dialogue choices on the way. It's a shame, I really do like Gale and he has an interesting story, and that’s not the way I was hoping to end it (even if I wasn't romancing him).

I didn't actively do very much of Karlach's story (got her stabilized in act 2 and that was about it), but GOD her epilogue scene made me cry like a baby. Saying goodbye to the sun and the ocean... telling herself she did her best... 😭 I'm still feeling unwell about it.

I don't think I would have done anything different on this playthrough for Astarion (helped him kill Cazador and disrupt the ritual) but I did feel bad when he had to go scrambling away from the sunlight. I'm planning to romance him for an evil playthrough so I might just go full evil and let him complete the ritual then - we'll see.

But overall I really really loved this game! Absolutely one of the biggest, most captivating experiences I've had in a game. I understand why people are upset about the abruptness of the epilogue, but (at least for now) it really didn't bother me. I think if it were much longer, it would have felt like it was dragging, especially when you have a lot of emotional scenes one after the other - I think they erred on the correct side. The story felt so detailed and interwoven and compelling and still managed to be... manageable. Understandable and relatively easy to keep track of, despite being both sprawling and deep. The script and the acting elicited a huge amount of emotional reactions from me all the way through the game - this has taken me about a month, mostly playing a couple hours each evening, and I was still laughing at the dialogue and cringing at my bad rolls and invested in battles almost every time I booted up the game. That was a pretty cool feeling.

It's wild to me that every time I watch other people play this game, they're always finding things that I never found - there's just so. much. game. I expect any subsequent playthroughs will go a good bit faster; eventually I'll probably just watch parts that I'm curious about instead of playing through it over and over with slight changes, but I am curious to do at least one more playthrough with a very different approach to see how different the game becomes. I'm going to be thinking (and posting lol) about this for a while.

Oh! Randomly, I feel like I should mention that I played the whole game on the easiest mode and it was great. This is the first CRPG I've ever played, I have very little experience with turn-based combat or DnD, and I wanted to keep having fun! It was still plenty challenging - there were still a couple times that my whole team died, it's certainly not a story-only mode - but it ended up being perfect for my play style.

#end of bg3 spoilers ahoy :) #j rambles #in which j liveblogs #4 #5 #baldur's gate 3

[jackienautism]

hi again!! no worries at all :) take your time replying lol, i know these updates are usually like. long. and your replies are so detailed! so i get it.

as for my initial confusion with the support system, it was kind of... everything? that i didn't really get at first? it was easier to find a system with byleth where i was getting supports quickly once i figured everything out, vs getting supports with the other characters was a little trickier.

dorothea and sylvain's supports were.... actually pretty good imo? i enjoyed their a support. their paired ending wasn't awful either, but idk. i think i'd just rather pair them with different people. as for ingrid, YEAH, i intentionally didn't get her to a support with anyone besides byleth bc i'm pretty sure the only characters she had paired endings with who i had recruited were felix and sylvain. and i was not doing that.

ferdie and hubert are good!! and MAN caspar and petra's supports..... SO good definitely recommend getting those. i liked their ending fine, but the supports were definitely a highlight and idk if i could do a playthrough without getting them. so interesting. next playthrough (where i'm planning on getting the dorothea and petra paired ending) i'm probably gonna get these two to a support again as well.

and YAYY i love supports between the girls they're sooo good it makes me so mad that so many of them only go to b support!! at least the ones i was getting last playthrough. but i'm v excited to see petra's and dorothea's. and YAY petra in a tree. i love that.

YEAH i thinkk my "recruit everyone possible" route is gonna be. CF. because in that route you can spare hilda and claude, who i like, and if i have to pick between killing dedue and dimitri or killing edie and hubert.... well. i like dedue but it's an easy choice.

yeah i played through marianne's paralogue!! definitely enjoyed it and it very much elevated her to my favorite non-eagle character last playthrough lol. i'm soo excited to see more of her!!

and ty for the class thoughts!! yeah increased mobility is good, i think i'll probably try putting at least more of my units on mounts this time around, but who knows. i like coming at battles and leveling from a character perspective, sometimes to the detriment of actual strategy, but it's fun at least, so. we'll see!

so. i've given little update on my playthrough because i. haven't really played that much. instead, i missed the eagles sooo bad that i convinced my brother to play and hoped he would pick the eagles (he did) so now i've been watching him play (and in true older sibling fashion. sometimes taking the remote and playing for him. just a little bit. it is my switch.) anyway! i now understand how you felt a little because i'm sooo worried he's not gonna side with edie. i've been subtly sprinkling in anti-church of seiros comments to influence his choices LMAOO. im also sooo sad he doesn't really like bernie or hubert </33 his favorites right now are petra and edie though which is good taste. and he also likes caspar and dorothea a lot.

i'm finding on a replay that i am so much more fond of ferdinand than i was my first time around. i didn't realize just how much he had grown on me until i was back at the start and everytime he speaks im like. omg that's my friend ferdinand von aegir. LMAO. still not gonna recruit him on my VW playthrough but it is absolutely gonna murder me not to lol.

anyway! i do plan on playing more VW today. i'm very excited about claude LOL. and i feel a little less distraught about betraying my eagle besties when i'm simultaneously watching a playthrough where that (hopefully) won't happen.

have a good one :)

HIII oh im glad then, i appreciate you saying that! and i love how long your updates are, it rly shows to me how much you care and thats so epic 2 me... thank YOU for taking the time to write these out for me!!!!

mm i see i see. i guess it makes sense that it was easier to get supports w/ byleth since that's like. the main character. and you basically get support points (????) from doing basically.... everything. like the instructing characters individually and even just choosing the correct dialogue choice during explore? it gets you support points or whatever so i can def see that being easier than getting stuff between 2 other characters. its esp annoying since w/ the others you mainly gotta do thw whole like... these characters must be in range of the same enemy unit to get the lil hearts (support points) during battle. and that can get tedious and like i said. annoying. and besides that... you have to eat a meal w/ them or do choir practice to boost support between the 2. which. can only occur so many times per explore. and that also requires you TO explore during free days. which also can only occur so often per month. hopefully that makes sense? dfknf i dont rly know where I was going w/ this. but anyway glad you understand what's going on w/ the supports a bit more now! good luck getting the endings you want this time around!!!! AND THE TEA TIMES TOO.... I TOTALLY FORGOT ABT THOSE.... butyeah youre right theres def a lot more that can be done to get byleth supports w/ the characters

well thats good! i still have yet to see them... gonna try and get all the supports between the black eagles this crimson flower run then do another where i get the supports between the BE and other characters! if that makes sense. and yeah fair enough, do you have any preferences for who you pair them with btw :o? DFJNGDFG YEAH OKAY SO IT WAS PROB INGRID WHO I WAS THINKING OF... its like. this girl has a legitimate fear over only marrying someone just to have kids . just to further her crest's bloodline . or maybe im just making that up. BUT ANYWAY I DONT FEEL RIGHT PAIRING HER OFF W/ ANY GUY BC OF IT TBH!!!!! i rly like dher supports w/ ashe though... i thought they were rly cute, esp their A support. i dont understand why we can't A support her w/ any girl though. its so dumb !!!!! but in relation to her supports w/ felix, regarding their B support, if ANYONE, i dont care how long ive known them, told me to get married and have children or fucking whatever felix told ingrid i would SLAUGHTER someone. i get felix has a problem w/ the way she and other characters view being a knight and therefore the "knight mentality" but jesus christ............

FERDIE AND HUBIE ARE SO GOOD!!!!! i esp love the whole like tea / coffee thing... that was cute iirc. and okay boss !!!! ill def get caspar and petras supports! im def more interested in them now that you mentioned them :] do you plan to recruit caspar and petra durinf your VW playthrough? or do you still plan to do one BE and one BL? regardless have fun w/ them!!! and have fun w/ dorothea and petra's paired ending next run through<3

YEAAAAH THE GIRLS<3333 AND RIGHT???? ITS SO ANNOYING..... LIKE I GET THAT SOME ENDINGS ARENT EXPLICITLY ROMANTIC (like lysithea and raphael's iirc) BUT THE FACT WE CANT EVEN GET TO /SEE/ AN A SUPPORT IS SO ????????? PLEASE... NINTENDO AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS PLEASE TELL ME YOU CHANGED THAT IN ENGAGE...... i just want to see my bestie girl friends interact w/ each other without there being a guy involved is that too much to ask. which supports were you getting between girls last playthrough (eyeballs)? bc like... in previous games all characters w/ supports got to go up to A support.... just some (the ones between same sex characters :/) didnt have an S . which, im glad three houses changed that, in terms of same sex characters actually getting endings together, but sometinmes only having TWO supports between characters is sad

WOOOO CRIMSON FLOWER!!!!! but yeah makes sense.... i was gonna say that in azure moon you can recruit hilda but yeah id well rather not kill hubert and edie.... also did you have to fight dedue in his demonic beast form in CF? bc im pretty sure if you defeat him before he transforms, its left ambiguous whether he dies or not. or not. i cant remember much tbh. i jsut remembering getting a cutscene w/ a black screen of him talking to dimitri. BUT YEAH. ANYWAY. HAVE FUN DOING THAT RUN!!!!!! its nice to have all the best friends on your side

MARIANNE<3 oh inm so glad that you did her paralogue and whatnot! its going to be fun to see her interact more w/ her classmates. she's still mainly quiet during group discussions but she does talk every once in awhile! or maybe she speaks every tijme? i can't remember so dont take my word for it sorry. AND IM FGLAD TOHEAR THAT SHE WAS YOUR FAVE NON BLACK EAGLE FROM LAST PLAYTHROUGH!!! a win for marianne fans

and of course! im not an expert by any means but. thats just what ive experienced while playing and stuff. and by the coming at battles and leveling from a character perspectivve, you mean like. going down a route that you think best fits them right? if not, please let me know what you mean fdgjfg sorry. but either way, makes sense! obv go w/ whatever makes you the happiest :] bc thats what matters msot in games like this.... esp whe n theres jusr SO much you can do and accomplish

AND OHHHB THATS SO AWESOME DFKGDFGG the same actually happened w/ me!!!! thats so fuunny and cool! i got my brother to play after he watched me play a bit and gosh its so fun to watch someone else play. esp when they have the same general opinions as you (he also chose the black eagles and edie as his first route, but thats prob bc of my propaganda LOL) and ssame w/ the older sibling fashion,.... he makes me do all the class bullshit, and sometimes battling, but he's gotten a lot better as he played more! we've been meaning to play together again... hopefully soon! happy that you're getting to experience the same!!!! and FJDGNGF SPRINKLE IN THOSE ANTI CHURCH OF SEIROS COMMENTS YEAAAHH i totally approve of that, ill be over here hoping that he sides w/ edie too. NO BERNIE OR HUBIE????? WELL. HOPEFULLY THAT CHANGES WHEEN HE GETS TO THE TIMESKIP..... (assumign he chooses to side w/ edie, which he BETTER) ouuugh petra and edie<3 good choices for sure. hopefully that means hes more likely to go down crimson flower than silver snow! caspar and dorothea are absolutely good side faves yes yes

FERDIE NAND<33 OH IM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT DKFGNDGF your friend ferdinand von aegir ))): thats so true.... and i feel that..... have fun not recruiting him and therefore having to face him later in battle i assume <////3 i will be hoping for the Best

YESS CLAUDE IS SO AWESOME,.... I WONT SAY MUCH BUT I LOVE HIS CHARACTER AND HIMM SO VERY MUCH...... since you enjoy edie and her route, im sure youre going to enjoy him as well! and thats good!!!! it must be nice to be able to see them in action again through your brother.... ONCE AGAIN HOPING REAL HARD THAT HE CHOOSES TO SIDE W/ EDIE. I WILL ALSO BE VERY DISTRAUGHT IF HE DOESNT

hope you have a great one too my friend<33333 thank u again for sending these in :D

#mine #text #asks #anon #my FE tag #FE #FE3H #long posts

[stormcallgaming]

🖋️ Tiger’s Review; Bully

This has been 5 years and 4 months in the making and I don’t even know what to say about that lmao I’m so bad at starting things and taking eight lifetimes to finish them. In my defense, I get obsessed with stuff and focus only on that for a while but then I move on for a while (in this case 5 years pft.) I thank the Bingo, Kaleidoscope and Casual A-Z challenges for giving me the motivation needed to FINALLY finish this game.

Bully is one of those classic games that can easily withstand the test of time. It’s such a good game with a damn good story and pretty cool characters. The main character has that little brother feel to me and I had that feeling throughout my playthrough.

I wanted him to succeed so I tried my best. And by “tried my best” I mean I failed a shit ton of times. Which brings me to my first complaint. When you fail a mission, there’s no option to retry, it just kicks you out and you have to run ALL the way back to the NPC that gave you that quest. This is super annoying, especially if you’re like me and fail a lot. I ended up giving up a few times because I got tired of having to run back and do everything over lol This is pretty understandable given the game’s age, though.

Another really weird thing for me is the button layout. Like, instead of O being the back button, it’s triangle. The amount of times I sat there pressing the O button repeatedly wondering why the feck nothing was happening lol And to pause the game, you press the touch pad instead of options. L2 and R2 cycle through your weapons/items, while you aim with L1 and shoot with R1. That kept messing me up on Mass Effect because I was pressing the wrong button (but I did learn the Mako has boost so it’s not all bad.)

I didn’t learn this until I was literally on the LAST chapter of the game, but you have to press the left side of the touch pad to get the map up. As someone who gets lost easily, this would have been really helpful lol

The trophies are all pretty simple, at least for the PS4 version. I didn’t really have any trouble with any except for “Sharp Dressed Man.” I’m not really one to buy clothes in games unless it’s my own character, like GTA, so I only have a couple pieces bought.

Between running around trying to make enough money and trying to FIND all the clothes, I think this is the trophy I spent the most time on. I was so confused because I bought out all the clothing stores, the school shop and the fair but still hadn’t reached 250. I read that the barber shop sells clothes, but I went to two and they had none so I didn’t bother checking the third. Turns out, 3rd time really is the charm lol

One thing I really love about this game is the fact that, when the game ends, it doesn’t actually end. It lets you run around and continue whatever you missed so you don’t have to play through the game again to collect trophies. The fact that this game, old as it is, had the thought to do this while new games don’t is honestly incredible. They do make you sit through the credits first, though. No amount of button pushing can skip ’em.

I suggest getting the flower trophy out of the way before finishing art class. You CAN flirt with guys, but there’s only like 2 or 3 that you can flirt with while you can flirt with ANY girl. I wish they had put a bit more into the NPC students… there’s only a couple unique students in each clique before they just copy and pasted them a bunch of times. It was kind of offputting… and creepy.

Maybe it’s just me, but the kiss trophy was painful. It’s so cringey watching them makeout and I had to look away, it’s just uncomfortable lol And the thing with Zoe… it was so weird because he had literally met her TWO TIMES and then they were talking about love. Is that normal for fifteen year olds? Am I just old?

Speaking of romance, here’s a hot take: Johnny Vincent deserves better! The whole game, I kept wishing he would just break up with that cheating [redacted]. Why did he keep taking her back? She claimed to love him but as soon as he turned around, she was making out with another guy. Not just one, either, she was with basically the whole ass school okay.

My man deserves better. Period.

Speaking of characters, whats-his-face nerd leader was creepy and annoying as hell. I thought he was cute at first but after seeing how he behaves, he became uglier every time he was on screen lol Derby is cute but I want to punch him sometimes. He reminds me of Atobe from Prince of Tennis in a way. Russel is the man and he is a precious idiot, okay.

The gym teacher was also a creep and I hate him. Like I said before, Jimmy is great and I view him as a baby brother. Must protect. Finally, I felt bad for Pete. He’s such a good kid but everyone treats him like dirt, even Jimmy – I would smack him for this if I could. Honestly, I think he’s the only sane person in this whole damn town.

I almost forgot to mention Dual Nebula. This trophy requires you to beat the high score in three different arcade games. The sumo one is the easiest, in my opinion, it only took me two or three tries. The one with the squirrel flinging nuts is second. I died a bunch of times but most of that was because I was trying to glitch it, having ZERO faith that I could do it on my own. The glitch didn’t work and I made it! Finally, the hardest one is the monkey one. It took me sooo many tries to get this one because you can’t jump over the spiders, you just gotta wedge yourself in the corner and hope for the best.

It was fun, but it’s time to say goodbye, Bullworth.

I think I’ve covered everything I wanted to about this game. It’s a really great game and I highly recommend checking it out. I didn’t do a playthrough of this game, but I do have some clips posted and a bunch more waiting to be posted. You can check out my playlist here.

I started this game on September 5th, 2017. I completed this game on January 14th, 2023.

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

Honestly, I wish I hadn’t done the clothes one last. Just look at the damn platinum screenshot, it’s terrible ò_ó) I should’ve waited on the last quest for Kleptomaniac… oh well. Nothing I can do now.

#Game Reviews #bully #bully game #rockstar games #video game review #review #stormcallgaming

[uglygirlheaven]

YESSS THE YIIK PLAYTHROUGH WAS SO GOOOOOOD I love wanwan <:) I miss seeing em a lot. But the newer people have grown on me SO much as well (even if I guess they’re not really new anymore lol)

Yea the new host are fun too !! I was really enjoying the worm lets plays. Zach is an absolute creature of a man. I think its scientifically impossible not to pick up his CLASSIC little catchphrases

Besides im happy wan wan are prioritising (okay i dont know how to spell that 🤨) their games !! Im really excited to see it. Trigger treat looks sooo good

I mean I miss their lets plays because it was really the cream of the crop for me, i briefly watched game grumps but i quickly switched over... they had unique outlooks on gaming and they always made their own opinion instead of following the zeitgeist

You can see it in yiik cuz they're really trying to understand what the hell this train wreck of a game is trying to do, instead of bashing it like others have

They're also so fucking funny. So many classic funnies..... the monster mash...dingdong president.....would you torture tiny hitler....THE KICKSTARTER BIT

#but i actually havent watched much recent stuff #if there is a letsplay theyve done recently that you find good id love to hear about it #also what wanwan era lp is your fav #because that would probably be kh2 OR crash bandicoot for me

[piracytheorist]

Since the first thing that strikes me about re8, story-wise, is that it seems to be all over the place? Again, I’ve no idea how it ties to previous games but it feels like this parental/mother-child theme is just hanging there with no resolution at all? I mean yes, Ethan saved his daughter, presumably breaking some sort of abuse cycle, yay, congrats, but what about his wife/gf? Isn’t she supposed to be like the main protagonist of the story of a mother bereaved to the point of tyrannical madness

Or rather, this specific story is not the right choice for his character since there’s SO many ethical and philosophical issues and questions implied but never properly explored because of Ethan’s ‘fuck you, idc’ attitude (which is completely understandable in those circumstances but adds virtually nothing to the plot and arguably even ruins it a bit). Heisenberg could’ve been an excellent ally with fascinating grey morality (provided the writers wouldn’t push him to the point of absolute insanity and let freedom, not power-hunger be his main goal and motivation for rebellion).And again, aren’t the lords supposed to represent child development stages? In which case Ethan what? Kills the possibility of some evil version of Rose? Or his own chance to experience fatherhood throughout all of those stages? Either way, it seems a bit… weird to have a Parent destroy multiple people whose main relevance to the plot is that they’re children of an abusive antagonist in a storyline so extremely focused on parent/kid relationships.

I feel like the main theme of re8 is not just parenthood/motherhood, but the relationship itself of the parent to the child. There's a lot of mentions to "children being used". Miranda kidnapping people, experimenting on them and mutating them and then treating them like they're her kids; Miranda kidnapping and practically killing Rose; Dimitrescu making daughters out of reanimated corpses she experimented on; Heisenberg wanting to use Rose's powers, etc etc.

And it's important that Miranda is at the center of this. There's something very interesting she says to Ethan in her boss fight:

"Why do you interfere? Surely you have no need of Rose now, so close to death?"

And that's where her mistake was. Ethan wasn't doing all that because he needed Rose herself. He was doing it to save her, fully aware that he wasn't going to be a part of her life cause he knew he was dying. Miranda was way too dependent on her love for Eva - and like, I honestly get it that losing your child can devastate you (if anything my fear of that is one of the reasons I don't want to have kids) - so much that her life literally revolved around her child. Once Eva died, Miranda wanted to die. Once she found the Megamycete and discovered she maybe had a chance to bring Eva back, she dedicated her entire life and ruined multiple others to do just that. Her one and biggest need was to get Eva back. It wasn't a simple want or wish. It was a need. She'd get her child back, damn everyone else - including other people's children.

Miranda had no-one to blame directly; Eva had died from the influenza, it wasn't like she had any chance to change things. Ethan's case was different; he had people to blame, particularly, the one who kidnapped Rose and dismembered her, and her lackeys who kept said parts and fought him for trying to take them back.

So on one end, you have a parent who lost her child due to a tragedy, and ended up destroying other - innocent - lives in order to get her back. On the other, you have a parent who lost his child due to a crime, and ended up going after the criminals responsible in order to get the child back. Like, it wasn't even revenge, and it wasn't that he "needed" Rose in his life. He simply wanted to save her and ensure she'll be alright.

I fully agree it could have been Mia as the protagonist in re8, and that it was a wasted opportunity to simply fridge her and have her in the sidelines angsting over her husband. But whether it was Mia or Ethan as the protagonist, I feel like the theme that I explained above does offer a resolution, showing the opposites of Miranda and Ethan, and ending Miranda's tyrrany of her "need" to have her child back through Ethan's determination to ensure his child's safety and happiness - even if he doesn't get to be a part of any of that later on. Miranda showed obsession; Ethan showed dedication.

And this is how I see the abuse cycle breaking and the resolution is reached; an obsessed parent hurt a good parent's child to bring their own child back - the good parent's dedication stopped the former, allowing the former's tyrrany to end and their child to grow up safe.

Seeing as this is a horror game, I don't tend to focus on the morality issues (if I'm interpreting your second message correctly). Like, the developers are making a grant effort to put us in Ethan's shoes, first-person POV, plain character protagonist and all; our child got kidnapped and practically murdered, and we have the chance to bring her back. We'll absolutely raise hell to the people who are responsible for it and we will get our child back, fuck any moral dilemmas we might have. When someone is threatening your life, you have the ability to kill them to defend yourself. In the case of a caring parent, that ability may multiply by a lot when the threat is towards their child. And I feel that this is what the game explored in the end. Though the whole survival issue is taxing on Ethan, he doesn't give a damn about who he has to kill if it means saving his daughter - but again, it's only the responsible parties. We see how watching all the people at Luisa's house die affected him, and even before Elena died, he wanted to ensure her safety before he went searching for Rose; he is sympathetic and morally rational, but also capable of cold-blooded murder if someone is threatening his child. To a lesser extent, we saw that in re7 too. With his life on the line, he killed Jack (multiple times) and Marguerite, and at the end he recognized how they were actually victims of Eveline. But they were still actively trying to murder him so he wasn't given the chance to help them. With Zoe, he promised to send help, and he did, even wanting to talk to her once she'd been rescued by her uncle and Chris. The same applies to re8, but as I said, it's multiplied since it's his daughter who's in danger, and the end of re8 proves he cares for her safety more than his own.

Now, all that said, I think it's important to note how it's stil a Resident Evil game. I haven't actually played or watched any playthroughs of other games, but the basic concept in these games, from what I understand, is that the player shoots zombies; ex-human beings who have lost any human mentality and will just come for your throat if you don't kill them first. They're not humans anymore, they can't be reasoned or sympathized with. It's not really an issue of morality, ethics or philosophy. Your life, and the life of your child in the case of re8, are in danger. You don't give a shit. You just start shooting and hope for the best. Again, I don't know if the morality issue is explored in other RE games, but to be honest... Resident Evil doesn't sound like the kind of franchise that's thematically into going super deep into the morality of shooting zombies to save your life.

I have to admit I haven't thought of the Lords being representative of child development stages. I think they could be put as Moreau being a toddler, fully dependent on their parent - funnily enough, the Greek word for baby is "moro", pronounced almost exactly the way "Moreau" is pronounced in the game - Donna as a child, Heisenberg as a (rebellious?) teenager, and Dimitrescu as a late teen/young adult (if anything, Dimitrescu seems to behave like the eldest child of the bunch). But I'm not sure the connection that has to Ethan as a father, if anything because the bosses are fought in complete random order of age, if my analysis is correct. Like, I understand the symbolism behind the Lords' behaviours, maybe as you said they represent the obstacles Ethan had to overcome. In one single day and with his life on the line, instead of in the course of Rose's entire childhood and adolescence, but that's exactly why he hated being a protagonist of a horror game, lol.

Anyway, yeah. All in all, I don't think Resident Evil is a franchise where we should expect to sit down afterwards and ponder whether we were right to shoot the zombies that were trying to kill us. Again, I'm not the right person to ask this, since I don't know anything about other RE games, but that's the conclusion I'm making in a meta-thinking way.

#Resident Evil #Resident Evil Village #Resident Evil 8 #Ethan Winters #Mother Miranda #re meta #anonymous #ask and ye shall receive

[dipperdogrpg]

Cloud and Aerith theories/facts and not canon pairing essay

Ended up writing way more then intended lol and thought to share what’s  happening in the FF7 story between Cloud and Aerith. This is a response text I did on my youtube channel where I do commentary as a Cloti supporter. Instead I decided to move it here.

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Wahh lol I got carried away! I enjoyed but also felt bad for Cloud having to dance at the Honey Bee thanks to Aerith and her plans. Gosh darn it though Cloud dancing was great and I squealed along with Aerith, but a tinge of guilt hits when I see his troubled face haha. The thing people confuses here is that Cloud pushes himself to do it for Tifa because he was ready to walk away. Instead of busting through the mansion he sucked it up to ensure Tifa’s safety and chose to sneak inside as a woman.

Yes, I’m also very curious how Sephiroth's schemes will develop and how Aerith will try to stop him in Remake. She's much more focused on Sephiroth and stopping him compared in OG. In the other game Aerith originally joined to understand her Cetra abilities, but it feels pretty evident she has new mysterious powers as a Cetra in Remake and her relationship with Sephiroth is more personal. Also, I think Sephiroth and Aerith’s ancestry will have a bigger role and focus on Jenova and the Cetra's relationship/History. I plan to do an Aerith Theory and a character analysis in the future because she is, as the developers describe her, mysterious. 

It's obvious Sephiroth is harassing Cloud mentally then later physically through his clones. He is scheming something big and I look forward how Aerith will try to counter it because she is probably the only one capable to do it as a Cetra. One of the big schemes was removing the Arbiters of fate, but I think they both wanted that. Both Sephiroth and Aerith want to change something that doesn’t fit with the planet’s “destined” agenda.

In Max's commentary he mentioned Sephiroth was intentional with stalling Cloud running into Aerith, which caused a butterfly effect to ruin the events the planet has planned. While it tries to fix itself, the party are becoming aware of the Arbiters of Fate existence and sees it as a problem. At the end the team removes it when Sephiroth had some control in manipulating it. Its been mentioned the three figures you fight are a representation of the three sephiroth remnants from AC, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. So maybe we are getting hints of Sephiroth's abilities with the clones and the lifestream which could lead to some complicated trouble. We also get evidence Aerith is already more powerful than her Og counterpart by creating the portal to fight the Arbitors. When the heck did she learn that? 

My theory about removing the arbitors of fate are so the creators can have wiggle room for slight variation in scenes they've considered fixing in the past to improve a more consistent story and of course a new way for Sephiroth to exercise his goal along with Aerith because definitely getting hints those two know more then they should. My theory, they are from the future and traveled to the past using the Life stream and I’m using the OTWTS Novel as evidence when Aerith and Sephiroth talk about their time in the Life Stream. In there they gained new powers. Evidence- Sephiroth talks about it at the temple of ancients and that he gained new knowledge from there, so why not Aerith too. Either way the party will stop him at the end with Aerith's help because her role in the story is to save the world while Tifa's role is to save Cloud. That is a canon statement by one of the developers btw. Aerith and Tifa have their roles to play in FF7 that lead to its success.

Fun fact, but Cloud is not himself with Aerith. The developers did say Cloud truly is himself with Tifa. Why? because love. Now, the cool thing in Remake we are witnessing is Cloud learning how to make friends. A poor social skill set that may have contributed with his insecurity when he was a child. Wanting to join tifa and her friends but instead stayed away. To make himself feel better he makes up a story that he chose not to play with the other kids because he is special. In FF7 we get to witness Cloud learning these relationship skills, which helps develop his character to grow up until we get to the Lifestream sequence. It's after that he can stop pretending to be what he think is the ideal cool grown up version of himself and instead work on his real self with the new bonds of friendship he made who stuck around Cloud regardless of him pretending to act as someone else during their adventure. Cloud is still Cloud. Even with the messed up memories he had. He is not Zack. He is like a little boy picking up traits he likes from other people and mimic them. Very confused why people think he is Zack. He’s not. He is Cloud trying to be cool and does it poorly. That’s a canon thing.

Soldier Cloud is a facade, an illusion of himself he truly believed in until he sorted out his memories and realized "oh I'm not being myself and just mimicking what would Zack do. A friend I look up to"  It's been pointed out Cloud isn't actually grown up mentally and is still a child with insecurity about himself along with 5 years of trauma thanks to Hojo. Poor BABY! This whole copy/mimic theme gets reflected with the kids in sector 8 that mimic Cloud in remake over time during the side quests. Cloud is doing the same thing with Zack. Even Biggs hints that Cloud and the kids have a lot in common. I'm not crazy about Sector 8 but it shows best what Biggs told Cloud before the plate falls. And one more thing I want to add lol. When Cloud gets his red drink from Tifa there's a pause of him looking up and down at the drink and Tifa, before he says beautiful. That moment of pause he thinks to himself what he should do here and then came up with what he believes a confident person/Zack would do. Zack doesn't hesitate when giving a compliment. Confident people don't normally hesitate when they talk. It's why we get moments of Cloud saying some awkward lines when he doesn't give himself time to think and its one of the best moments to watch lol cuz I think that's when real cloud slips out trying to act cool or is at a lost for words. It's canon by the developers that Cloud isn't cool but tries to act it.

Another Fun fact. Most party members and NPCs in Remake mention and hint in game they see past the facade Cloud puts up. Tifa, Barret, Wedge, Biggs, Marle, Jessie and Aerith are some of the characters that see past it and either go along with it, poke fun at his attempt or tell him to his face they know he's pretending to be someone he's not. Basically seeing past the character he pretends to be and can see he has a good heart over the course they spend time with him. Even though Cloud tries to convince others and himself he could care less about them and is only in it for the money.

Now OG is really awkward with the romance honestly from my playthroughs so far. (Follow me on Youtube Dipperdog15 if you want to catch my FF7 commentary when I go live playing OG and Intergrade.) But with Remake it's very clear they are building up Aerith's love story with Zack so we can cry hard later. All of Zack scenes so far is related to Aerith. In Remake and OG Aerith display some of Zack's mannerisms too because people copy/mimic what they do to feel closer to them when in love. She continues to wear the bow Zack gave her and the pink dress in memory of Zack. She's said "gotta move forward not back" in remake and/or that Zack probably moved on with another girl in Og but what if what she said is a lie. We have Cloud as the unreliable narrator so why can't it also happen with Aerith who is likely lying to convince herself to move on to protect her heart. In fact a lot of characters in FF7 lie to themselves and we get character development when they stop and face the truth. It's one of the many themes in FF7 which I think I’ll deep dive into on my podcast channel in the future.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Zack is risking it all to make it to Midgar to see Aerith while risking Cloud's life on this mission, because he promised her. Promise is a big important theme in FF7. Cloud and Tifa are the canon couple and Zack and Aerith are the canon couple in FF7 because these pairings promised each other. I won't disagree about Cloud not caring about Aerith, but he cares for all his friends as said in AC. Also why make it possible the idea to bring Zack back? To create a love square? No. It’s have us the players focus instead the reunion of Aerith and Zack. That’s more attention grabbing because we never got to see it before and I’ll cry when they cry finally getting to be together. If they don’t I’ll cry some more. The developers are pushing for Zerith and their development in Remake/Intergrade. 

Another thing to notice, there are a lot of similarities between Jessie and Aerith's relationship when they are around Cloud. This directive choice, I believe, isn't a coincidence in order to water down scenes that are suppose to be special. It is instead not a “one of kind’ scene. They both get carried bridal style. They both tell cloud My Hero. They both invited Cloud over for dinner. They both ask about who Tifa is. They both got a pikachu face from Cloud when jessie optionally kissed Cloud on the cheek and Aerith wearing the optional red dress. They both have strong personalities that overwhelms Cloud and that is a developer canon statement. They both worked hard to befriend Cloud so he can open up and be nicer to them. Cloud treats them both the same.

Aerith’s relationship with Cloud in Remake is directing us to friendship. In the novel it mentioned she loves Cloud, in what way we don’t know. But we can say for a fact Cloud was living a lie in OG and his real self loves Tifa. In fact his other self loved Tifa too, you just have to catch the moment. Example, Barret teasing Cloud if he is eager to see his baby when you first see Tifa in OG. It happens when you run to the bar, but only if you catch Tifa on the porch before she goes inside. That’s means in both remake and OG, Barret knew something was up with those two. Another moment is the interest Cloud has with what Tifa almost said in the gondola. It was obviously sounding like some kind of confession from Tifa at Gold Saucer. When you get this date the story is more fluid when you arrive at the northern crater and Cloud says “only your opinion matters” to Tifa. Huge RED FLAG Cloud considers Tifa important to him. Meanwhile Aerith and Cloud’s relationship was open for interpretation that it may have been love in OG, but the scenes that helped implied it were removed in Remake. The point system was just for fun because it was a popular thing in the 90s. Plus the points for Tifa, Aerith, Barret and Yuffie’s are their feelings for Cloud not Cloud’s feelings towards them. Then you get rewarded learning a little about the character, but that’s it. FF7 remake/intergrade is not an otome game. Cloud ends with Tifa no matter what. Even if Aerith was to stay alive the Life Stream sequence will always be Cloud and Tifa’s moment to learn about their feelings for each other. The developers have said it is one of their favorite scenes, so they won’t change it. ok now back to Remake. 

Aerith in her resolution tells him not to love her and it’s not real. A deliberate choice of words I think she picked to shoo away the thought they could be a thing for both their sakes and us the players lol. Doing that made it weird now because Cloud doesn’t want to ruin what ever progress he has with Tifa in Remake. Plus Cloud only known her for a few days and if his actions are making her think there’s this growing romance between them he’s not going to encourage it. Those lines raised his awareness to watch himself I bet, so Tifa doesn’t get the wrong idea and you can see the distance he put between himself and Aerith later in game. Meanwhile in Intermission we see Cloud continues to make quick glances at Tifa whenever he can. We get it Cloud. You can’t keep your eyes off her. Ok getting off track. So Cloud and Aerith are instead just friends. Doing this allows Tifa to pick up the role to be there for Aerith. Which will help develop their friendship to be stronger as the two girls encourage each other. because I didn’t pick up on the two being best friends in OG but in Remake it’s very clear. He already looked uncomfortable when Aerith grabbed his arm back at the ghost station in front of Tifa. To include Cloud with this idea of him falling in love with another woman in front of Tifa would leave a poor taste in our mouths after spending several hours watching him develop several intimate moments with Tifa. That freaking hug scene and train roll you guys screamed sexual tension and love. Cloud is not that kind of guy who easily falls in love. His whole hero’s journey is because of Tifa and he makes sure to be nice to her while trying to get her attention. With anyone else he is quite hostile with new people and slowly learns to tolerate them before liking them.  Cloud treats Tifa differently in a special way. He’s been pinning for Tifa since they were kids and even imagined scenarios of Tifa noticing him. That’s right, not all of Cloud’s visions may be accurate. We may see more scenes of kid Cloud imagining moments with Tifa to confuse our perspective they are childhood friends. Again, Cloud is the unreliable narrator thanks to Jenova and 5 years of trauma.  Now back to Aerith. Their relationship definitely felt different when Cloud, Tifa and Barret rescued Aerith. In fact Aerith’s relationship with everyone is different in a better way. The relationship between Tifa and Barret are better fleshed out compared to OG Aerith and I’m for it. Very happy they removed the jail scene. It was upsetting watching Aerith flirt with Cloud while Tifa was stuck in the cell forced to listen and Aerith owing Cloud a date. Which changed also in Remake. Taking Aerith home and spending time her was the date as mentioned in game by Aerith herself. 

When I play through Chapter 8 and 9 I get this feeling Meta Aerith looks uncomfortable sticking to the OG lines of herself but does it anyways so the Arbiters of fate won’t come for her because she wants to hold on to her memories. Something she believes can help her friends I’m guessing. This is if my theory is right lol. What we have now is an Aerith that’s more mysterious than she was in OG. If this is OG Aerith making a return in Remake then I believe she was acting a lot, but then we see hiccups of her mentioning Cloud being a mercenary when he never mentioned it or acting like she knows Tifa for like forever before she actually met her in Remake. And then there was her knowing the plate would fall in sector 7. I’m betting the burden of knowing it was so hard to hide that Tifa picked up that she might be hiding something. 

We are near the end! 

Aerith’s resolution explored further. The resolution helps proves my theory this is OG Aerith that travel back to the past using the Lifestream to help her comrades in the fight against Sephiroth in Remake who also returned to the past. What’s also interesting about her resolution are the things she said are something you want to tell someone before you disappear. It was so sudden in OG that it sounds like Aerith wants to make up for it and also doesn’t want Cloud to suffer in guilt as he did in AC. Cherish the moment. Every one dies. 

Aerith knows the truth with Cloud and Tifa’s relationship hence her stopping herself interfering. Now maybe Aerith did fall in love with Cloud, and maybe while Cloud pretended to be someone else was loving the idea, which is a stretch cuz there are plenty debunking the idea which I can go over later. They both may have been using each other to fill the hurt in their heart not having their true loves instead. Zack and Tifa. In her resolution, Aerith has declared she will not pursue Cloud as she did in OG and we have evidence of that when they rescue her. there were so many opportunities for Cloud to be Aerith’s hero. Instead those moments were replaced with Tifa consoling her and rescuing her.

The Arbitors of Fate are gone, so I believe Aerith’s normal clips of her flirting with Cloud will get removed or changed as many have already. This allows the directors to remove lines that painted Aerith poorly some moments and better her relationship with the team too. Aerith will still have flaws like everyone does. No one is perfect and I’m perfectly fine with that.

Crap if I keep going this will turn into a podcast in writing I think lol. Anywho, yes the arbiters of fate were eliminated, who knows if it's permanent, but as the developers have repeated, FF7 story will remain the same at heart. Iconic moments will remain. If it is not then that's a risky move to say to fans. Aerith will die to protect her loved ones and the planet and will reunite at the church in spirit with Zack perhaps. She can’t escape her role as the last living Cetra. That is her truth which she denied when she was little as shown in a flashback with kid Aerith. The other theme in FF7 is trying to move forward after a loss. Which extends to Advent Children which some of the team members has to deal with survival guilt. Some fans are getting their hopes up that Aerith will live. The developers are using Biggs and Jessie’s possible surviving scenes to prove lives lost can live in Remake. I think they may die later though if that is their fate, but we never actually saw them die in OG either. It was just implied. This is a set up so Aerith’s death scene can be impactful again in Remake, so we can cry again.

This was a lot and little bit everywhere, but I hope you enjoyed it. You can follow me on youtube in the link below where I invite other FF7 fans to talk about the story and Cloud and Tifa’s relationship Or me doing my own Cloud and Tifa commentary and Remake talk while I play the game. Thanks for reading! Hope you check out my channel and sub to check out my videos when convenient for you. Thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/c/Dipperdog15/featured

#cloti #FF7 Remake #ff7 #cloud strife #final fantasy vii #Final Fantasy 7

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

I wouldn't mind that post on VNs!

So I was gonna write three different lists, but then after writing the first part I realized this is very long and takes a while to write and nobody cares anyway so I’ll just post my recommended list only. Well, I mean, you asked, but I doubt you wanted all this lol. Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about this stuff, though. Hope you enjoy my ramblings!

An explanation for what this list is: Sometimes I know a game isn't perfect in many aspects but I still had a genuinely good time playing it, hence why I'm recommending it. Also I should mention that I could talk for hours about some of these games so if anyone’s curious about more of my thoughts, let me know.

Alright, now that that's out of the way ...

How to Take Off Your Mask / How to Fool a Liar King / How to Sing to Open Your Heart (f/m): This is a trilogy of smaller, single-RO games where you can take one of two routes depending on how you act, and they’re all interconnected where you get to meet and interact with the previous games’ characters in the sequel games. I went into this expecting very little but what I got blew me away with how funny, charming and cute the games were. They don’t take themselves too seriously, at one point an angsty male character monologues deeply about some shit, and another one just slides into frame and starts mocking him. It was so fucking funny, holy shit. Also, a central theme is literally racism against catgirls? Which is monumentally stupid, and probably the games’ main flaw, especially in the final game where it pairs up a catgirl with a catgirl racist, but that one still ends with a literal bisexual queen literally making a man her malewife because she fell in love with his cooking, so like ... It speaks for itself. My favorite game of the three is the second one, where you get to play a punchy fake catgirl and romance a pink-haired prince. And honestly, all the female protags in these games are lovely and a breath of fresh air, and the male characters are fun and not abusive assholes either. There’s full Japanese voice acting, and two out of three female protags are literal catgirls who pepper in “nya” and “mya” into their dialogue, and it’s just treated as a quirk of their catgirl race. I AM NOT KIDDING. Yet somehow it never comes off as cringe, because it doesn’t take it self too seriously. These games are just cozy. That’s the only way I can describe them. Cozy and hilarious. Play them yesterday. Dream Daddy (m/m): Man tumblr did this game dirty. This is just a cute, wholesome daddy dating simulator with gorgeous art. Coming out on Top (m/m): So you know Dream Daddy? What if it was EXTREMELY, MAJORLY NSFW? Though I realize how bad the comparison really is, the only thing these games have in common is that they’re gay dating sims and don’t have an anime art style and oh, yeah, they’re both really well-written. Or at least, extremely funny. COOT (heh) is DDADDS’ horny older cousin, and I first encountered the game on a lesbian letsplayer’s YouTube channel. Yes I watched a lesbian play a gay porn game and it was GOOD. I was there for the cringe and fun and got surprised by how genuinely funny and sometimes actually touching the game was. I can’t give it my universal endorsement because it’s not a game for everyone, as I said, it’s extremely NSFW and the menu theme literally includes the singers screaming “SEX SEX” at the top of their lungs. There’s more to this game than the porn, but there’s just so much porn. It can be censored in the settings but it’s unavoidable. However, I still think it’s worth a look just because of how funny it is and how charming the characters are. If you don’t want to play it yourself, at least watch Anima’s playthrough of it. It hasn’t aged super well in some spots but I still go back to it every now and then. Akash: Path of the Five (f/m): This game markets itself as a more “professionally produced” western dating sim, and that’s accurate in some superficial aspects. The game is pretty poorly written, but it’s absolutely gorgeous and has really good English voice acting by actual professional voice actors. The premise is quite self-indulgent, but I genuinely respect that about it. You play as the only female elemental in a village with only men, and all five of your classmates want a piece of you. It’s clear the writers have put some thought into the lore and worldbuilding of this world, but barely any of it comes through in the actual writing and plot, which is basically just a vehicle for you to get together with your boy of choice. The ROs aren’t very well-developed either, and the plot is the same in every route with only minor variations depending on which guy you pick, up to the point where the protag has the same voice lines in some parts regardless of which guy she’s talking about. It also has one extra half-route that’s so bad and pointless I genuinely wonder why they wasted resources on making it instead of spending a bit more on the writing/adding some variations to the main plot. So why am I recommending this game? Well, it’s pretty, and it sounds nice. This game is a himbo, gorgeous but dumb as rocks. Enjoy it for what it is. I know I did. Get it when it’s on sale, I think if I hadn’t gotten it at half-price I would’ve felt a bit more cranky about it. Also Rocco is bae. Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons (f/m): Yes that’s the full title, no I don’t know what it means either. You may have noticed how most of the games so far I’ve enjoyed because they don’t take themselves too seriously? Well, this one does. It takes itself SO FUCKING SERIOUSLY. Like, way too seriously. It’s a little embarrassing at points because baby, you’re an urban fantasy dating sim. Calm down. But the game has gorgeous art and 3 out of 5 routes are very good. The last route, the one with your teacher, is both the most problematic yet somehow the one that breaks down the very concept of a dating sim within its own narrative (yes, this shit gets fucking META) and it got so wild at the end that 1) I still listen to the soundtrack for that route and 2) I still remember it to this day despite finishing it ages ago. My favorite route is Shou, he’s a sweetheart, but the mindfuck route is so buckwild that I think the game is worth playing just for that. There’s also a route that’s like a neo-noir mystery? I Do Not Know. This game is many, many things and it does them so sincerely and tries so hard, you can’t help but respect it. It doesn’t always stick the landing but man, just let this thing take your hand and wax poetic at you for a bit. Also get this one at a sale because it’s very expensive to get the full version. I got it for 9 bucks on itch.io and I felt that was a fair enough price, I’d say I wouldn’t have minded paying more for it because there’s a lot of content to enjoy and/or be baffled by. Arcade Spirits: This one’s a bit more weird from what I recall, and I honestly couldn’t tell you much about it, but I remember having a very good time with it and recommending it to a friend when she was going through some tough times and she said it made her feel better. I remember it making me feel better, as well. This is a VN about an arcade and the ROs are wonderfully diverse, with very real human conflicts that get explored in each of their routes. It can get quite existential and heavy at times, but in the end it’s a kindhearted game that I think everyone can enjoy. The main character was also, how you say, mood. It’s a game about getting possessed by a video game and then learning self-love. Ebon Light (f/m): This one’s free/name your own price on itch.io so go play it. It’s a weird plot where you play as a girl who ate an elven relic? And then the elves kidnap you because you’re the relic now. All the ROs are extremely pasty (like, literally white, as in literally the color white) dark-haired elves, except for one, who’s an extremely pasty blond elf, so ... diversity? I honestly don’t know what this game is aside from unique. I used to be a bit put off by the art style but now I think it contributes to the general atmosphere. It’s a weird game that technically doesn’t do anything groundbreaking but still left an impression of “huh. weird” in my mind and I think more people should play it. The ROs are all pretty generic dating sim archetypes but done well, with bonus points to Duliae who’s just a massive creep and I love him, and also Vadeyn who’s the only bitch in this house I respect. The worldbuilding is honestly a bit buckwild and I can’t give enough credit for how unique the elves’ culture is in this game. Definitely give it a go. Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds / Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (f/m): These two are newer releases of an older Japanese visual novel. I wouldn’t call it a dating sim, it’s ... it’s more of a super depressing historical fantasy epic with some minor romance aspects awkwardly wedged in. It’s seriously some of the heaviest and most grimdark shit I’ve ever played in a VN/otome. I don’t understand why it’s a dating sim, it doesn’t read like one, it’s just historical fantasy based on real world events with characters based on real people, and they kill and they die and they grieve and they suffer. The games are literally about the downfall of the Shinsengumi, there’s no way of avoiding everything going to shit and you get to watch and be in the middle of it all as they struggle to stay alive and relevant in a world that doesn’t need them anymore. And there’s the protag in the middle of it all, being useless and submissive and bland just the way the usual otome protag is. I don’t think these games are necessarily fun, and the romance is certainly a lot more downplayed and deeply problematic just based on the age differences alone with some of the men, but the sheer amount of horror and sadness in these games make them stand out above its peers. It’s like watching a war movie. Since most of the characters are based on real people, they feel like real people instead of the usual otome archetypes, and they are so, SO flawed, it’s interesting to just watch them deal with the shit the world throws at them. It’s an Experience, and if you’re up for it, I think it’s worth the time. Cinderella Phenomenon (f/m): This game is free on Steam so go get it. You play as a really, genuinely shitty princess who gets cursed to be poor and forgotten and she has to help one of the ROs break his fairy tale curse so that she can learn about being a good person herself and return to her normal life. This game doesn’t look like much, but it has a genuinely well-written main character who’s actually at the center of each of the stories and in the overarching plot instead of just being around to make eyes at the real protagonists, aka the love interests. Aside from the main character, my favorite part of this game’s writing is how each route slowly but very smoothly expands upon the overarching intrigue. If you play them in a certain order, you get more and more info revealed to you that you didn’t see in other routes, gaps are filled in as you find out more about what actually happened and why, but every route also stands on its own as a full experience and none is more canon than the rest. There’s also some really heavy emotional parental abuse explored, which I found quite potent at times. The romances themselves were alright, I think Karma and Waltz were my faves.

#eff plays

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Lol, this is just a rant about a FFX blind playthrough (this is just me being ranty and just a straight up nerd about the game). I also totally get people having issues with the game (it isn’t perfect, nothing is), but when it is just bitching about the issue... : / Meh.

Ugh, I hate when I find a blind playthrough of FFX and then the person or people playing just hate on Tidus or bash on things like the VA work or graphics without taking the time period into consideration at all. Like, I was just watching a live playthrough (and have since clicked out) because the players kept bashing on Tidus, bashing on Wakka (which is understandable, but they also were refusing to acknowledge his character growth and him working through his bigotry), and they kept complaining about the graphics - specifically, they kept bitching about how not all the cutscenes were done in the FMV graphics. Like, yeah, it’s a remaster, but FMVs are different from the regular type of in-game graphics. 

Their complaining about that wouldn’t have bugged me as much, if it wasn’t for the fact that they both (the guy especially) were coming off as kind of “know it alls” (since one of them was a writer and such). They were bitching about the linear nature of the game too, without taking into consideration the in-game narrative that Yuna was on a pilgrimage and the whole point of the story is that Yuna learns to walk off the beaten path, so to speak, break from the traditions and expected journey she is meant to take to defeat Sin, and instead forge a new path, which we see really start going into motion once the game opens up a little bit with the use of the airship. You would think a writer would pick up on that narrative aspect of the game develop, but nope. 

I saw one of their earlier streams as well, it covered the Laughing Scene (tm), but neither one got the importance of the scene (they just went straight with the cringe reading of it). Even later after more context is added (when Tidus thinks back on the moment at Home) they just saw it as cringe and nothing more. -sigh- I should know by now, if someone only has a shallow, cringe reading of the Laughing Scene (tm) then I likely will not enjoy their playthrough because it shows a lack of understanding the characters, scene, and overall narrative and message that the series is trying to tell. I think I’ll use that scene as my test for future blind playthroughs in the future.

#not tagging this because it is just a rant