#It was really fun to add every element with a purpose

[ewesie]

Playing party games with the crew?

Astarion: cheats, especially at card games. He sneaks them up his sleeve but can't count cards to save his life. Also tells new players the wrong rules for games (they are always in his favor).

Shadowheart: Stickler for the rules but makes up rules. Claims she's not really into it, but is very into it; she wants to beat Lae'zel

Lae'zel: She plays to win. If she does not win, she wrecks the game. She *really* wants to win and usually does. She is very good at winning games, especially Sorry. Do not let her play with Minthara.

Wyll: Cheats but swears he doesn't cheat, definitely makes secret "alliances" with other players. If he gets called out on cheating, he usually tells on other people cheating, though he never betrays who he "allies" with.

Karlach: Loses, often, but has fun all the while and plays by the rules. Does get bored easily, especially when there are rule disputes. She prefers games with simpler rules because they tend to be more fun. She really enjoys poker with Astarion and she may even be good at it... if he didn't cheat.

Gale: Painatakingly reads every instruction for games and then homebrews an entirely new ruleset. They are usually very wacky rules but people tend to enjoy them— try playing his version of Monopoly.

Halsin: Purposely lets others win, mostly Lae'zel and Minthara but is actually really good at games. He wins often when those two don't play.

Minthara: Plays to win like Lae'zel. Both very, very into it. She is very good at Risk but tries to add an element of torture to it. Do not play Risk with her.

Durge: Prefers to play Operation and only plays the wrong way. Though they can be convinced to play CAH but their answers are... disturbing. On the flipside playing for them as judge is very easy. They always go with the worst possible one (genocide is one of their favorites behind gore).

Tav: Their playstyle varies day to day. Really depends on the game but they tend not to cheat. Usually ends up reading the rules is the dealer or some other game master for games they play.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #gale of waterdeep #lae'zel #shadowheart #wyll ravengard #halsin #minthara #durge #bg3 tav

[trans-cuchulainn]

you tend to write about irish mythology but at the same time you seem knowledgeable about other myths, so i was wondering if you could answer a question? my question is, would be offensive to create a version of arthurian myths but with most of the christian elements removed? christianity seems heavily baked into each and every arthurian story so i was wondering if it would be wrong, or outright offensive, to remove it?

i don't think it would be OFFENSIVE (christianity being a dominant religion so it's not like erasing a minority culture; the texts being literary rather than for religious purpose themselves means it's not like using canonical religious material – people share a belief system with the stories rather than believing in the stories themselves, barring probably a very few outliers; plus it's definitely been done before, tons of modern retellings don't engage with the christian aspects although frequently this is done in a boring way)

arthurian literature comprises a huge range of stories written over a huge time period for a variety of purposes. some of them are super duper christian. some of them are just kind of culturally christian because they're being written by christians within a christian context and that's what they know. some of them only have a light touch of it and some of them are dripping with it

i think whether it can be done effectively without leaving you with a story that no longer bears any resemblance to the story you started with depends very much on which stories you decide to retell. for example, a lot of the lancelot-grail stuff is extremely bound up in christianity and removing it without patching the holes is probably gonna weaken the story. now, you might want to reimagine them entirely within a new belief system. i would consider that to be patching the holes, as long as it's done carefully and effectively as with all worldbuilding. but just taking the story and excising the christian elements and not doing anything else is probably gonna undermine the story a lot

on the other hand there are other stories, particularly some of the romances (knights getting up to shenanigans in a self-contained story within an arthurian setting) where christianity is just the set dressing, and taking it out isn't going to leave such massive gaps; these would be easier to rework in a new context without needing to develop an entire belief system for the characters to be operating within. although tbh the whole of chivalric literature does rely on some pretty specific assumptions about hierarchies, loyalty, obligations, righteousness etc that are often bound up in, though not synonymous with, medieval christianity, so even there you do need to think about what is going to replace it

i would say if you're trying to keep a medieval western european setting, you can't really take the christianity out (of the setting, and really of the characters too in 90% of cases) without making it completely ahistorical. so it also depends if you're trying to retell it as in "i am reworking this story in a world and context of my choosing" (sure, do whatever you want) versus "I am producing a version of this text to introduce people to this story" (taking the christianity out makes it far less accurate and misrepresents the text, maybe don't do that)

i would also say that medieval christianity is much more exciting and weirder and often very different from modern christianity, and a lot of modern engagement with those aspects overlooks this fact and makes it boring and staid. but actually a lot of it's batshit and adds some fun colour to the stories in a way that can be enjoyable regardless of your personal beliefs about any of it. taking it out as many modern retelling seem to do often just makes the story more boring, so something interesting needs to fill the holes imo

so tl;dr. morally wrong, no, not in my opinion. narratively wrong, depends on the story and your purposes.

#arthurian #answered #anonymous

[devilkittydeckbuilding]

HELLO ALL

today i will be talking to you about one of my more recent decks that has very quickly become one of my favorites!!

it is...

GANDALF THE WHITE POLYARMORY

now, this deck name might sound confusing. but its really quite simple. this is a mono white grouphug deck with the sole purpose of copying the etb of wedding ring to give one to the whole table and marry every player. the goal of the deck is to put everyone in the game into a polyamorous relationship!!

the rest of the deck is a mixture of typical group hug elements, such as shared card draw (secret rendezvous, howling mine, font of mythos) and general etb abuse (elesh norn mother of machines, panharmonicon) and when you combine these two aspects the deck helps out all players but can also effectively control the board by triple copying a meteor golem or loran of the third path!!

i havent had the chance to play this deck all that often but when i have played it it has some real killing power surprisingly. the main thing i realized playing this deck is that doubling or tripling your etbs gets out of hand fast. like obviously it does, but youll be surprised if you decide to play with it.

this deck is rather weighted on the artifact side. i couldnt find a large amount of legendary creatures that copy with gandalf so artifacts were the obvious choice. most of them draw cards on etb or add mana, while the rest copy etbs and are just general group hug cards. this deck could easily be changed to be much more competitive if you removed some of the group hug elements and added more interaction (most of my decks have an emphasis on fun and therefore the interaction might be lacking in some of them).

there are a few cards in this deck id like to talk about as overperformers. this deck does some silly things and these cards felt especially strong from my games with the deck-

eriette's charmed apple: this card when doubled with a panharmonicon type effect (aka your commander 👀) is disgusting. nobody expects the mono white deck to untap and steal their creatures for a turn, which results in turns where you steal the biggest creatures on board and swing for lethal on someone. i nearly killed my girlfriend this way out of nowhere in her life gain deck and it doesn't seem far fetched to do that most games. there is also some graveyard artifact recursion in this deck which allows you to loop this which, in the late game, really adds up.

master of ceremonies: this one is probably obvious to anyone who has played the card before, but this was my first time. if you stick this and no one kills it (which they aren't initially inclined to do) it just spits out so much value. you get three things every one of your upkeeps, whether that be three treasures (broken), three cards (broken) or three creature tokens (yay blockers!!) or some combination of the three. this adds up so fast and gives you a huge advantage for the small price of helping your opponents a bit.

tenuous truce: this card single handedly kept me in the gane by enchanting the player with the biggest board. its crazy what people will do when they get an extra card every turn. obviously gets worse the more people know about your deck cause one card a turn wont stop your average player from swinging at who they deem a threat, but still. its still really good and much better then it seems!!

as for how to play the the deck, its mostly stay alive till its you and one other player. you can do this by killing key targets with your etbs (this deck deals with artifacts and enchantments especially well) or getting people to believe you are not a threat cause you are feeding their card draw. this deck can very easily be ran over if you don't pull a board wipe for the creature decks or if you lose to something that you couldnt interact with cause you are mono white. thats just kinda the brakes. but this deck has more staying power then i ever gave it credit for when i built it.

in closing, this deck is probably around a 6 or so in power level and i wouldnt play this at a high power table but if you and your friends want to have fun then you should give it a try!! i got to marry most of the table in my first game with the deck and it was so satisfying, plus when everyone has a wedding ring the amount of card draw and life gain going around gets out of hand fast. especially if you have extra card draw effects out everyone can be drawing upwards of two cards every single turn lmao

(also dont tell anyone but this deck has another thing in it thats fun to do with your transfem friends, and that is jinxed choker. this is an artifact that is in the deck purely to joke about how whoever has control of it at any given time is collared up. you can marry and collar your friends with this deck and both will make your gay friends go nuts at the edh table lmao)

#mtg #magic the gathering #deck ideas #devilcat3d #deck building

[trans-luis-serra]

OK GOOOOOOOO READ THIS POST FIRST I WAS TRYING TO REBLOG IT BUT TUMBLR WOULDNY LET ME ADD ANY MORE PHOTOS OR TAG ANYMORE PEOPLE CUZ IM USING THIS POST AS A JUMPING OFF POINT!!!!!!! GO FOLLOW @theprestigegirly AND @cloverisnonexistantbro !!!!!!!!!

I had @void-detective ask me a few days ago if the ornaments on Luis’ jacket had any particular meaning and as with everything I fell down,,,,,, one hell of a rabbit hole HDNWHWNEHDNX

So, first off; I couldn’t find any super definitive answer to what was on his jacket but I have some pretty good theories!!!!!!!

@vespereargentum and their friend on Twitter helped point out to me that the floral designs are really reminiscent of old Spanish Renaissance furniture and like yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean look at it!!!!!!!!

These photos aren’t very good but you get the gist!!!!!!!

Why would Capcom put visual designs from FURNIATURE onto clothing I have no clue, but considering the fact that almost every single detail of Luis’ character down to the damn rings are extremely purposeful I’m sure we could pick up some pieces!!!!!

It also kinda makes sense, like,,, character wise too y’know- Valdelobos was a glorified Catholic cult and obviously they kept a very old-fashioned mindset so visuals-wise it makes sense!!!!!

@ 11cool also pointed out that his jacket has a lot of similar motifs to Matadors and Traje De Luces which they have their own post you can check out if you wanna!!!!!!!! Ofc there brings up the whole issue of y’know, Bad spanish stereotypes and bullfighting etc etc but this whole post is just throwing stuff at the wall in complete honesty!!!!!

And like the og post and @cloverisnonexistantbro said there’s a not for none Chance that the designers were trying to play into abstract windmill motifs would would be super cool!!!!!

@theprestigegirly and @kaychen666 were also kind enough to point out that the flowers on his jacket kinda look like poppies!!!!!!

And I think most people already know that poppies are a pretty common symbol for death (especially after war which I’ll touch on in a second) which. Y’know. Would be just SUCH A FUN AND SILLY DETAIL if true HAHDHENDHSJ

And like the og already has put so eloquently there are just,,,,,, S O many lil design elements of Luis’ that are so perfectly purposeful,,,;,,,… down to the fact that Luis has a gun from WWI (Realistically probably passed down from hsi grandfather, who would have probably had to have lived through Spanish civil wars (yayyyyy we love generational trauma yippeee another thing to add onto Luis amirite /lh)) and down to the fricken rings he wears and what fingers he wears them on!!!!!! (One of the rings for instance is of the Virgin Mary and it’s supposedly said that wearing a ring on the fingers Luis does symbolises leadership and compassion etc etc etc Yknow ring logic HDBEHEBXHX)

So like idk!!!!!!!! If anyone who actually has knowledge of Spanish culture wants to chip in PLEASE PLEASE DO!!!!!!! I’m the whitest Mf on planet earth there’s only so much justice I can give Luis BSNDHENDJSNSJ

Tl;dr: until Capcom or somebody whose more of a professional in this field outright explains what little design details like that mean for certain I’m just throwing stuff at the wall and letting people see it HDHEHEJEID

#luisposting #luis serra #luis serra navarro

[fluffypichu876]

In retribution to my dear mutual @prototypelq's post, I will also be writing about my 3 favorites games of all time! Making this list was a bit easier than I expected, but because I have too many beloved games to choose from expect a lot of honorable mentions hehehe

And the first game on the list is, of course:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

It's no surprise that this game would be here. I mean, it's not like I replay it every year!

SOTN is a game of the genre "Metroidvania". You probably know this term if you have heard of games like Hollow Knight or Ori, but if you don't, basically, a Metroidvania game takes place on a huge map consisting of interconnected smaller rooms. When playing, you'll travel and explore around these rooms, defeating enemies and unlocking new abilities that allow you to acess new areas that were unaccessible before.

The OG Metroid on the NES can be considered the very first game of this genre, but Super Metroid and SOTN together were responsible for defining its standards and popularity today. Hence the term, "Metroidvania".

This game is a heck lot of fun to play. Dracula's Castle is huge and full of interesting areas to explore, filled with enemies and secrets of all kinds. SOTN is based on an RPG-like stat and level system, and you gradually grow stronger as you defeat foes, gain EXP, and level up. Weapons, armor, and other equipment are found all through the castle, further increasing your stats and other attributes.

The soundtrack is an absolute masterpiece. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Castlevania as a franchise has some of the best OST's out there. Michiru Yamane is a great composer, and her instrumental works fit CV's themes and tone really well.

SOTN does not use MIDI samples processed by the PSX's sound chip (except for the Librarian's theme). Instead, all of the game's songs are played through audio streams, granting them CD-like quality, which is a little rare in other games on the system. Here's an example of what Yamane could do with this audio quality:

Sounds great, doesn't it?

Another aspect of SOTN that I love is of course, the visuals. To this day, I consider this game to have some of the best 2D graphics ever. The levels and backgrounds are beautiful, and every tile is filled with plenty of detail. All of Alucard's animations are fluid, graceful, and an absolute delight to watch and control. Often, the game will mix in 3D elements to enhance the beauty of an area, and it looks great.

There are so many little hidden details in the game that make you appreciate the developers's love and care even more. For example, in the Outer Wall area, a small suspended room can be found at the area map's bottom. In this room alone:

A falcon/hawk/eagle/bird of prey can be observed in her nest. As you progress through the game and return to this room, you can see the falcon coming back everytime to lay, incubate, and take care of her offspring. It's really damn cute.

A telescope can be found in the left wall. Using it allows you to see the Ferryman from the Underground Caverns.

Alucard can sit in one of the chairs. Leaving him there for a few minutes will cause him to fall asleep. Aditionally, in the Japanese version, the fairy familiar will sing him a lullaby (she can sing in any chair, in fact.)

Now, what is the purpose of this area, you ask? None. There are no items, weapons, enemies, or anything of use to the player (except for map completion). The devs just created this room to add more life and personality to the game. And this is just one example!

As much as I love this game, though, I do admit that it isn't as perfect as most people make it. It does have its flaws: the game has very bad balancing issues, and the difficulty curve is essentially non-existent.

I never liked the Inverted Castle. Not because it's just the normal castle turned 180º, but because it doesn't feel like it was coherently designed, instead just quickly put together so they could ship the game claiming it to have double the original content (Galamoth was a great addition, though. I might make a post someday on why I love this boss so damn much).

Overall, this game means a lot to me. It pretty much set up my standards and taste with video games, and it made me understand why I enjoy playing them so much. It's a great game that I recommend to pretty much everyone! It's fun and really easy to pick up, taking only about 12-18 hours to beat for the first time, at max.

Also, can we just appreciate Ayami Kojima's wonderful cover art for the game?

And now, for my second most favorite game:

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

My first (and only so far) FromSoft game, and boy did I fall in love with this game.

Well, to begin it, Sekiro has one of the best combat systems I have ever had the honor to experience. It's based primarely on player reaction, testing their ability to counter, parry, and dodge the various attacks thrown at them. Equipped with only one sword (and a few very useful prosthetic appendages), our protagonist Wolf must defeat all sorts of opponents, from respected warriors, shinobis with no honor, animals (yes I did die to a rooster. Twice), the undead, demons, and much more, all so can rescue and avenge his master.

Using your trusted katana, you have the ability to deflect enemy strikes based on your input timing, dropping their guard and allowing for attacks of your own. When fighting enemies in this game, you are not aiming for their health. Instead, you aim for their posture. As you deflect attacks with perfect timing, your enemy will slowy begin to lose posture, and once said posture breaks, you can go for a finisher attack that instantly depletes their whole health bar. It's hella satisfying to pull off. Deflecting attacks poorly can lead to your own posture breaking, though, so paying attention is essential.

There are other aspects to the game's combat, such as Perilous Attacks, which cannot be deflected. To deal with them, you must either dodge, jump, or counter, adding even more danger to a fight and demanding focus from the player. Your prosthetic can also hold a few unique abilities, such as the Firecracker, which helps stunning certain opponents. Wise usage of these Prosthetic Tools will greatly help you on the harder fights.

Oh, and there's a catch: Wolf is no mere shinobi. He was blessed (or rather cursed?) with the power of the Divine Heritage, granting him immortality and the ability to revive from the dead for all of eternity. Gameplay-wise, this means that whenever you die, you'll receive one (or two, sometimes three) chance to revive on the spot at half health, allowing you to properly finish off your opponent. But don't think this makes the game easy! Reviving in the face of a tough boss never means an immediate victory, trust me.

Unlike Dark Souls, which rewards a more defensive playstyle, in Sekiro, the player must be aggressive and constantly take risks to overtake their opponents. Dodging everything and staying away will only drag on the fight and allow the enemy to regain their posture. As a certain character would say, "Hesitation is defeat".

But the amazing combat isn't this game's only strength. Another aspect that I love is how beautiful the game looks. Everything from the lighting, the colors, the gorgeous views, and the very well designed areas come together really nicely, and exploring this rather linear game is an absolute delight.

The battles look graceful, and not just because of the combat system. The special effects look amazing, and add great beauty and danger to every strike. The Divine Dragon's bossfight is the most gorgeous part of the game. It's so cinematic and breath-taking that despite being one of From's easiest bosses, it's easily one of the most memorable ones.

The instrumental soundtrack is really nice, complementing each moment of the game pretty well. The Divine Dragon battle above has one of my tracks in the game.

And as expected, the game is tough as nails (I died like, 50 times at the first mini-boss. The Ogre has no fucking chill). One of the hardest FromSoft games, according to fans. This game demands a lot of the player's attention, skill, and mostly importantly: their knowledge of the game and how everything works. Your first few hours will be very difficult, as you slowly get an grasp on the game. But once you beat Lady Butterfly or Genichiro (two of the game's most important skill checks), everything just clicks and the rest of the game becomes a lot more doable.

Overall, this game was an blast to play, but it may not be for everyone. I recommend it for anyone who likes FromSoft's other titles, as well as for those who enjoy a good challenge. If you want to get into more difficult games, this game is not too bad of a choice, since it's extremely balanced and very skill-based, completely free of bullshit.

Oh well, time for my last but not least favorite!:

Devil May Cry 5

This shouldn't come off as a huge surprise xD

I might have only gotten into this game earlier this year, but the 160 hours I currently have on it speaks more than enough. I LOVE this game and don't plan on dropping it anytime soon!

It's rare for me to hyperfixate on one specific game and play it for hours and hours without tiring like this, and DMC5 is currently my second worst case of this xD (the first one being Castlevania of course, in which I have 100%'d like 4 games :P).

DMC's combat system is simply too much fun. You have lots of moves at your disposal, and using them creatively and with as much style as possible adds so much depth to the game that beating the heck out of demons never stops being fun and rewarding.

It's also very skill-based, adding another layer of satisfaction to everything. Building up the skill to perform a new combo, finally managing to use Royal Guard with consistency, defeating that one difficult enemy/boss with an SSS rank, or just beating the higher difficulties is absolutely worth it. And even if you don't have much skill with the game, nothing is ever stopping you from bullying enemies in your favorite ways.

The dynamic soundtrack fits the combat really well and gives you the right ammount of adrenaline and motivation to slash through hordes and hordes of enemies. Also thank you Capcom for adding the Jukebox. I can finally listen to Devils Never Cry during an actual battle (and not just the DMC3 credits one!)

The characters are another great strength for me. The DMC Crew is so unique and fun to watch, and the Spardas in particular have a lot of depth to them, keeping the mind of fans very busy thinking about them xD.

So yeah, this game is way too fun for my own good, aparently. Never saw such a powerful brainrot coming. Absolutely recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes some good video-gamey time!

And now, time to cast the spotlight to a few games that I love, but not enough to consider them my top 3 favorites:

Honorable Mentions

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow

My second favorite CV games. Aria of Sorrow picked everything that was good about SOTN and polished it to perfection, creating one of the best metroidvanias out there. Dawn of Sorrow may not be as good, but it has a very special place in my heart.

Final Fantasy IX

One of my favorite JRPGs ever. This game is so charming, but under it's seemingly light appearance is a great story about the meaning of life, and about coming in terms with your own mortality. The battle system is fun and the music is as good as ever. The characters are wonderful and I cherish them to this day.

Final Fantasy X

One of the best games I have ever played. Of all the (4) Final Fantasy games that I've played so far, this one has the best battle system and some of the best enemy/boss design in the series. Alongside the gameplay, the story is the game's second biggest strength, and it has a very high chance to make you cry. The soundtrack is one of Nobue Uematsu's best works for this franchise, making you feel all sorts of emotions. Can't recommend this game enough.

The Legend of the Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This is the only Zelda game that I've ever played (please don't kill me), but boy is it a good one. The land of Hyrule is vast and very fun to explore. The game has such a relaxing vibe: sometimes I would just ride my horse, let it follow a road automatically, and just chill to the music watching the beautiful landscape. I put 170 hours in this game and didn't even realize it until I beat Ganon xD

Devil May Cry 3

Second favorite DMC game! This game is surprisingly polished for its time, and it barely feels dated at all! I personally prefer DMC3's DMD mode over 5's, as I find it more fleshed out, but it sure is a LOT harder.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

My first Metal Gear game. It may be short and relatively simple in terms of combat depth, but it's a lot of fun, the soundtrack is a BANGER, and the cutscenes are a joy to watch. The memes just never end, do they?

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Quite possibly Kojima's craziest game to date, but also one of the most fun ones! Not as good as MGS3, but there's something about the old-school MGS gameplay that I absolutely adore. Also the dialogue and plot are so batshit insane that you end up enjoying it despite not understanding a single thing xD

Castlevania: Bloodlines

Most underrated CV game ever, and my favorite old-fashioned Castlevania game. It stands up to SCIV, its SNES counterpart, really well. In fact, I personally enjoyed this game's gameplay and level design more than the latter.

(just three more games I promise)

Pokémon: Black and White (and their sequels)

These games are the most fun i've ever had with Pokémon. They're really good. They've got the best plot of any Pokémon game, and the first BW games actually made me question the morality of keeping these creatures and leading them into battles.

The Great Ace Attorney

My favorite Ace Attorney game. Great story with lovely characters. The cases were a lot of fun, and I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes nerd, so it's only natural that this game appealed to me, I guess xD. I still have to play the sequel, tho.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

This game might be technically unfinished, but it has some of the best gameplay in the series. The filler side-missions get repetitive but they're oddly fun to finish. It's my second most played MG game, right behind MGRR.

#and that's it! whew #i put so many words into describing why i love sotn that the sekiro and dmc5 reviews came out relatively tiny xD #but yeah love that game #sorry not sorry for all the honorable mentions :) #i was gonna add ultrakill too but decided to play more of the game first before considering it a favorite #it sure is close to being one #such chaotic fast-paced gameplay #and an absolute BANGER of a soundtrack! #(tenebre rosso sangue my beloved) #but yeah that's it #thank you my dear mutual who answered the original ask and inspired me to write this! :D #castlevania #sekiro #devil may cry #final fantasy #ff9 #ff10 #the legend of zelda #botw #mgs #mgr #metal gear #pokemon #ace attorney #video games #Youtube

[polyamoryisbestgirl]

Mato Shihei no Slave

TLDR: Slave to Hells Soldiers is a really fun adventure full of flashy action, well thought out characters, and a story that makes you want to dive deeper or (in my personal opinion) even inspire you to add to the world

Summary: When the monster-filled world of Mato opened in modern day Japan, the whole world is threatened by the Shuuki that inhabit it. Even more mysterious are the peaches found in Mato as they give women who eat them special powers. Yukki Wakura is an average student who when walking home one day, worrying about his future as an office worker, a gate opens before him. During his rescue the captain of the demon corps 7th unit Kyouka Uzen grants him extraordinary strength and a monstrous form... as her slave. 

Romance: StHS is action first and romance second, but that's not to say that the romance is bad!. With the strong characters and the dynamics built between them, there is a great foundation that the authors build upon very well. 

Action: StHS action is extremely well done, maybe even some of the best I have seen. It is flashy, and fun, and builds to be larger than life. Refreshingly, you can really feel the growth of the characters through practice and new techniques, rather than getting a new big power up right before the big boss.

Slave to Hell's Soldiers (Mato Seihei no Slave, officially localized as Chained Soldier) is an erotic action manga with romantic subplots, written by Takahiro and illustrated by Youhei Takemura. This review will be up to chapter 125 as that is what I  have access to unless some major things do change.  When I read it a year or two ago I enjoyed it enough, but, coming back and rereading for this review had me falling in love. The story is quick but done very well, with very few scenes that don't build the story, the world, or the characters and their dynamics. It's a prime example of efficiency in writing. When not building up the story or characters, it is pure action and - sometimes - pure fan service. The Action is fast and fluid - doing a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. Even if you know who will win (and there are times where you might be wrong) StHS keeps you wondering what will come next. StHS has built enough faith and trust with me to feel that my recommendation is worth it.

If you look at the story from just a beat-by-beat perspective, then it really is not too out of the ordinary. How those moments are crafted, though, really brings the whole manga to life. The efficiency of the story comes from author skill and maximizing the use of every scene. Most if not all scenes fit multiple purposes, never is there a moment of dead air. A good example of this would be the fan service: It starts off purely for the erotica, but as the audience and characters would be getting used to its presence, Takahiro adds more elements to it. A good example is how everyone reacts to having to do sexual favors as a reward for Yuuki.  Another example is how the characters talk about the latest battle - or what their plans for the next battle, thus adding even more characterization. 

There is an exception: the action. StHS is about action first and foremost; and it takes the  time to let you really enjoy it. There is still some characterization and story in these moments, but the focus never moves away from the fight. Unlike a lot of other action stories that have the protagonist get stronger with a power up seemingly out of nowhere, the reader sees Yuuki and the rest of the Mato Corps train and think about new strategies - even if we don't see them in action until the next large threat comes along a few chapters later. Allowing the growth feels earned and worked for in the quickly paced story of StHS. 

Even when we look at the action as isolated moments instead of as a whole, it is larger than life, often with threats that could take out entire cities if not more - and you really feel the threat. There is not a major fight that is one sided. The person in control is passed back and forth as both sides use different strategies and learn to fight each other mid-combat. That is, with the exception of The Commander of the Defence Corp, who can seemingly take out any threat that comes her way - to the point that no threat that even makes her worry has come yet. It's hard to write a character so overpowered whose strength is still felt. Slave to Hell's Soldiers accomplished it. The protagonists don't win every time, they don't lose in a major way where someone dies or is injured in lasting ways (mostly due to healing powers), but even without that threat you stay on the edge of your seat, biting to find what happens next.

Right after a large fight things need to wind things down and let you rest before the action kicks up again, StHS does this by having Kyouka Uzen's slave ability give a "Reward". This reward system is described as giving a fitting reward to the slave for the work they did based on their latent desires. For Yuuki, this tends to be erotic. There is some level of dubious consent - as the people giving the reward have no control of their bodies - but after Yuuki learns what the reward tends to be, he talks to whoever would be using the power and they have reason they would be ok with the sexual acts. Oftentimes they see the rewards as a means to an end. Others like Yuuki enough that they would do the same acts even without it being forced. In the case of Tenka, she just joins in without any need to, though I would love to see the form Yuuki takes under her control. 

This does bring up the problem of age, though. Yuuki starts the story as a highschool senior, and the character ages are never stated in the story or even in the character bios between chapters. There are hints that time has passed and the cast has since aged, such as when Yuuki calls his friend and they mention that they haven't talked since they were in high school - as if they were in college or were an office worker. With younger characters such as Nei Ookawamura - who is in elementary School they tone it down to the point that it is no longer sexual. She only gives him a kiss on the cheek or head pats. 

The reasoning Slave to Hell's Soldiers provides for having its erotic moments is very light, and it's obvious that it is only there as much as is needed, as it doesn't build on other parts of the manga. It never becomes a point of conflict in the story, but it does build on the lighthearted tone that the series has. 

Outside of the erotic moments, the romance is done very gradually, and hasn't taken the focus of any chapter. There is a lot of character building and showing the relationship growth between Yuuki and the rest of the cast, giving StHS a stable foundation for when the romantic relationships do take a more solid form. Having established that they do care for each other a lot, but explained to the audience (and the chief to herself), as being a fellow soldier or worker rather than romantic. This stays the case until Kyouka starts becoming jealous of Yuuki spending time with other girls. 

Jealousy In stories is a double edged sword. If done well, you can have characters show more emotions - which is especially useful if the character keeps emotions hidden away from others and themselves. Done poorly, it leads to the audience being annoyed at a character and the plot entirely, as the easiest solution of communicating with each other is avoided. In Slave to Hell's Soldier's, it is done beautifully: as they set up the jealousy to where Kyouka doesn't know why she would feel that way; and before she could act on it, Yuuki decides to avoid Lending (the power that lets others control Yuuki and change his form) unless necessary. Even when the plot point is brought back up, by learning that the Lending process powers up the base form as well, Kyouka and Yuuki talk about it and decide together what to do. 

An interesting choice the author makes is that the two people first to  fall in love with Yuuki - and who are most open about their love - are Shushu Suruga and Tenka Izumo. Yet, these two never really use Lending. Shushu often even stops other girls from trying to seduce Yuuki, despite not really getting many moments of just the two of them after she falls in love. Tenka Izumo on the other hand, jumps into others' rewards because she wants the skinship. She even treats Yuuki’s sister as her own, acting like she and Yuuki are already married.

Writing aside, the art style is really cute. It starts off round and expressive, only to calm down and become more generic after the first chapter. It is still really good and the forms that Yukki takes contrast their surroundings by being very sharp and angular, causing  them to stand out and stick in the reader's mind. These forms, either through lending or with Himari Azuma, are distinct and representative of each character, keeping you excited to see the next form. Inspirational in the truest form, I kept Imagining myself in the world and thinking about what powers I would have.

Slave to Hell's Soldiers is an absolute blast of a read that I would recommend to anyone interested in a Erotic-Action-based Harem, especially if you like making fan works. With artstyle so round that sharpens to make stunning characters and monsters. A simple story that is so tight and sleek that it does what it wants and does it amazing. 

I will keep reading it as it releases and have high hopes for where it is going.

#mato seihei no slave #chained soldier #Slave to hells soldiers #review #manga review #manga

[azure-cherie]

Pick a card : Intuitive tarot

How your soul sounds to me :

Hello my beloved's how's everything going for you ?

Thank you so much for 222 followers that means so much to me 😭😭💖💖🤍🤍🌸🌸✨✨.

I don't know if this will be a gift from me you would like but here it goes :

So Sometimes I produce music , i am trying an experimental reading , choose , one of the given pictures , if you do not vibe choose another pile , if you like none of them it's fine , it's just a trial , This is for entertainment purposes.

Although I was confused about how I should add the audios , since i want to keep my privacy , so i added Google drive links i hope its accessible to everyone .

Breathe , meditate focus and choose a VAN GOGH painting poster :

Pile 1 :

This has some lofi and pop elements , along with some drums .

So I get an ethereal essence from this , although you are grounded , you know when to have fun .

Pile 2:

This has elements from rnb , j- pop beats and some Kalimba.

I get a very mysterious , vibe , but the thing here is at the start of the track there are light kalimba elements , so your soul must have grown up from tough situations.

Pile 3 :

This has elements of punk rock .

I get freedom , humanitarian vibes, artists , and also indigo child vibes .

Pile 4 :

This has elements of lo -fi

I get a kind , lovely , social butterfly vibe , sweetheart , academically excelling too and emotional .

Trust me I can make better and lengthier music 🙂 but my instant intuition will allow this much for now. Also if your favourite genre isn't here , i did this really fast so I chose whatever I first saw in my mixer .And this is a general reading so it's not like you have exactly this kind of sound , every soul has it's unique sound , so does yours , you are beautiful ❤️ .

That's all I had to offer , Thank you so much 🌸

Have a great day/ night .

#intuitive readings #intuitive reading #intuition #pick an image #pick a pile #pick a card reading #pick a deck #pick a card #tarot community #tarotcommunity #tarot reading

[queerbuckleys]

hi besties

before i post my rwrb trailer set, i just wanted to let y'all know that i have decided to watermark some of my gifs-- basically those that are not immediately noticeable as unique i.e. without decorative color or typography etc.I never really wanted it to get to this point but I have had several gifs reposted without credit on tumblr alone and i am very fed up with this behavior and this is the best way to combat it unfortunately. This is why I often add color to my basic sets, but that doesn't always serve the content that I am giffing and it slows me down quite a bit as it adds a whole new layer to planning and executing a set. I have tried to make it so it will not detract from the gif while still being visible and readable to serve it's purpose.

i love my vibrant sets with color and having fun with typography and i will do those as often as I can, but this will remove the pressure from forcing myself to add those elements to every set, or worry about reposting.

idk if this ruins my gifs for anyone, sorry if does. but i hope you understand.

#blog updates #i feel like this is slightly dramatic but thats me #making things a bigger deal than they probably are #aj rambles

[spindrifters]

Hiiiii Zoooooo. I have a Regulus related question, triggered by his long awaited return!!

Where did the decision come from to make him blind? I love it- it adds diversity and stakes and and many extra layers.

What came first in your brain- the blindness, or the circumstances in which he became blind? Also- can you tell me more about his cane? ALSO does he have any remaining vision? (Light, figures, etc)

Was there research done in order to write a blind character?

Love it, love you, thank you, good day!

helloooooooo cate

ahh okay. regulus. so. in canon, I tend to think of regulus as a dudley parallel -- not in personality at all, but just in the sense that abusive households aren't always abusive to both children. I think he had a very different experience with their parents and genuinely didn't understand why sirius couldn't just get along with them, and blamed his brother more than his fair share for the conflict there. but! in marginalia, I... primarily needed a reason why sirius at the legal age of 17 was still in the house. 🙃 regulus was the obvious answer. which meant their relationship had to be a fundamentally different thing, which ultimately led to The Event That Happened. it felt like okay, whatever Happened has to have had permanent ramifications that sirius is confronted with every day beyond just "I can't leave him because I'm his older brother" -- because I really think that alone is unfair and unrealistic and not at all their relationship. there had to be a much more profound and twisted up sense of guilt and personal responsibility there.

this is one of those funny things about writing, though. an element spirals from one need but goes on to create all sorts of layers and ramifications you maybe didn't plan for but ultimately are at the heart of everything. reg's blindness started from a plot need but ended up mattering so much to the themes of diversity and eugenics and fascist ideology that run through the fic, and of course to the baseline of what sirius already understood about trauma and the cruelty of the world before ever meeting remus. it inevitably created the common ground for them to land on. stories teach you how to tell themselves, I guess.

regulus has no remaining vision. I did do a little research, though I'm by no means an expert, and it makes the most sense to me that the cruciatus curse created a blockage that caused a double retinal vein occlusion, which is effectively a stroke in the eye that can cause sudden total blindness. I'll be honest, I didn't do loads of character research considering we are really experiencing him through sirius, and largely the arc there was about someone learning that good intentions don't make you not ableist.

the cane!! I love the cane so much. not only because I can imagine pompous little reg with his lucius cane moment (except this one actually has a purpose, mr malfoy), but also because of the early fun I got to have with sirius's magical creativity. the dialogue spells I mention essentially enable telepathic conversation, which isn't so much a disability accommodation as it is something sirius just thought would be neat and useful to add while he was at it. there are also charms that telepathically read and allow him to dictate writing, because I really don't imagine braille or other accommodations are commonly used in accords countries. it also has sensory spells that allow him to sense where the people and objects around him are -- think something along the lines of echolocation but with the vibrations of magic in the air instead of sound. sirius was really out here harnessing all that before he realized it was even there.

#marginalia blogging #regulus black

[crof-fwf]

What the….?! and this alucín?

Okay, I can't blame anyone for looking for content on the "fun social network". However, the comments of a certain person have caught my attention. And it wasn't until my curiosity have rewarded me with something that really left me with "My honest reaction". And this was My honest reaction:

And specifically, this was the "compilation" of posts that prompted me (in these moments) to simply share my thoughts on his comments. NOTE: It seems confirmed that the user is probably CanonSeeker [yeah, "Ese loco del centro de la ciudad"] so the "exposure" to his twitter profile can be useful for Content Creators or simply fans who want to avoid him. So do not think about debating with him since it would be in vain,and in addition to wanting to talk about his comments.

Now yes, to the posts that I want to dissect

First the antecedent

"Everytime somebody triest to "FIX" RWBY" ?

Here he expresses himself on how the "Fanworks" of the "Fix Fic" category are based on misrepresenting every aspect of the canon.

Although here I will say that I have no references regarding "Fix Fic" in general beyond Celtic Phoenix's "Fixing RWBY".

I start about how he falls into the "generalization" that he gives to the "Fix Fic". And my comment is about how prejudiced he is when talking about said FanWorks.

Although, it may be that before I fell into this fandom there was a time when this type of FanWorks abounded but coming to sin the same or worse errors than those of the series or simply wanting to be pretentious.

But even so, it is not about invalidating that at the end of the day a "Fix Fic" can be considered a fic where the author has to be committed to fixing aspects of it without having to separate so much from the canon, being like a challenge for the author.

And now let's get to the subject.

This user has commented on suggestions to consider for a "Fixing RWBY" and here is the "short" list of suggestions that Dori/CanonSeeker has shared...

My quickest and most sincere reaction:

It is an exaggeration to consider this list as very long, but it is the specifications shown that are "eye-catching". So well lets see line by line the list. My points are mainly focused on the "Fix Fic" section. In which, from my perspective, a "Fix Fic" tries to stay within the events of the canonical series, while at the same time deciding to rewrite elements that were not satisfactory within the canonical execution or additionally add elements that do not try to unbalance of the canon. So, let´s begin:

"Try to focus on the female protagonists." "jaune is a side character. " "Do not make a cis white male have more of a role than them."

For a "Fix Fic" section it is somewhat understandable to keep what would be the main cast, but still it would not be bad to have to explore other characters (and yes, also include the male ones).

"Do not have a straight white male shame them for their actions."

I don't know what he mean by "shame". But if he mention it as a form of "consequence" for the cast for non-positive actions. I don't know what to say, that the team is can be "shame" by any character that doesn't fall into that category… and in case we take it into account I doubt that's the answer, because imagine if other characters [outside this "category"] "shame" the cast, and Doris/Seeker gets angry anyway, it only makes it more ironic.

"No straightwashing. " "keep bumbleby canon."

At this point I don't know what it means, since let's say that the "Fic Fix" is in charge of "fixing"… this "Ship", either due to the lack of growth, moments, or rewriting the "conveniences" of its development.

At this point I can't find a purpose for it because… "A Fix Fic" would not seek to carry out that type of "washing"

"And NO Fanservice. "

Short: If it turns out that he was always Seeker, then this would be… laughable.

But in no short: I think that such situations would not be necessary for a "Fix Fic"…

Don't make evil men "morally grey"

Here I have a question for my estemeed…. If there can be gray morality in the male antagonists or not?

And the answer: Honestly, it's ironic to settle for "cartoon" for the male antagonists but both the fandom and the series want to take it upon themselves to give depth to the female antagonists…

Don't have jaune or adam date anyone in team rwby.

Okay, and I ask again: Is a romnace necessary for a RWBY Fix Fic? And I want to apply this in general. Because if you are going to make a "Ship" in a "Fix Fic"... it would be with too much care and detail

Ruby is to be idealistic, and it shouldn't be a character flaw.

Doesn't the fact that a character has no mistakes make her a "Mary Sue"? and even more so for the fact that he wants Ruby to be idealized.

Yang is not a party girl, not alcoholic, and not a slacker.

From a "Fic Fix" point of view, ok, it's well aimed to NOT downgrade a character to be a "party girl, alcoholic, and a slacker."

BUT : ) , they can simply be aspects or defects so that there is a challenge or a purpose to overcome, but not reduce the character to what was mentioned

(But ironically to reduce it to half a Ship, there they are quiet)

Adam taurus is irredeemably evil. So is torchwick.

… I don't have anything relevant to comment except for the fact that you can make an "irredeemable" character, BUT : ) the same is how it is written / handled…

One (Adam) being able to offer more crumbs and (Roman) the other would be a "enough but I wouldn't complain if there were more"

Don't call it a rewrite or a fixit fanfic. Call it an AU. A fan AU.

In short: Depending on the story you write, as well as the one you want to "tell" is what would classify the "Fanfic" as an AU or "Fic Fix". As I said, the "Fic Fix" in the end would enter the category of FanFic but its purpose would be a more ambitious one. (in the sense of giving yourself as a challenge to "improve" the deficient aspects of a series)

That will show your respect to the show and its writers. And showing CRWBY writers Miles and Kerry that respect will cause others to give your work a chance.

And the only salvageable thing at this point is basically: "The impression", honestly you would cause a lot of distrust to most of the fandom by being "rude" with the CRWBY, but hey, it's not like it's not a guarantee that the fandom will give a chance to a "Fic Fix" for the same reason that the fandom is also very "defensive" when it comes to aspects of the series, to such a degree of humiliating or harassing the author because "he had ideas that could hurt the canon" . A good impression does not guarantee a positive reception from the fandom to your "fix fic".

And to give a quick conclusion: Apparently the "Fixed" version or idealized for Doris/CanonSeeker is the "over exaggerated" representation (or flanderization) of what RWBY is... And last: I know that I argue when it is a "Fic Fix", and in the case of an "AU" I will only tell you that: Have fun as you also have fun when structuring and making your AU story.

Now to "Mimir".

#CROF: Quick Thought #CROF #rwde

[stationerybear]

One Month in the Hobonichi HON

Another review that nobody asked for but I am going to write anyway because it makes me happy.

Tl;dr: I've really enjoyed using the HON so far!

I had some anxiety before ever even using the book that the A6 would be too small and that I should have gone for the A5 HON or even the Cousin. But I think because my writing is smaller to fit on the small grids and I am using a thin tipped pen (Jetstream 0.5), it makes entries that would have taken more space on a 5mm dot grid A5 paper fit just fine on the 0.37mm grid. I have had a few entries spill onto the next page of the book, but I've not had any entries take up more than a bit of room on the next page nor have I had to tape in a new page to compensate for the amount of excess writing one entry takes up. Honestly, if I had gotten an A5 Hobonichi, I probably would have been lamenting about all of the wasted space I had on each page (though, perhaps I would have room for bigger pictures or more decorative elements than what I use now).

Since I don't use the HON for planning anything, I use the checklist at the top of the page just as a gratitude log for the day, just to write a few moments from the day that made me happy so I can remember that there is indeed good in every day. I don't really use the monthly calendar other than to back-fill appointments or holidays, but I rarely remember to flip to it since I keep that information in an actual planner spread usually. Perhaps I will find a better use for those pages someday, but I don't think I'll be that upset if they go mostly unused. The reason I got the HON was for daily entries, and I have been maintaining that function for it well.

There is a bit of warping along the edges of the used pages that is noticeable when looking at the closed book, plus a little bit of extra bulk from a few pictures being stuck onto some of the pages. But I think that just comes from the journal being used as is its intended purpose. To be loved it so be changed, as they say, and I can't expect the book to stay in perfect, pristine condition forever if I am using it. The bulk of January is not particularly noticeable when the book is held closed, though.

I do want to add more pictures and maybe decorative elements like stickers or washi tape to my entries, but I am a little afraid of adding more bulk to the HON than it is capable of holding. I think I've seen a few folks say that it doesn't hold bulk as well as a Techo Original or Cousin. I might play around with it and put sticky notes or scrap pieces of paper intermittently throughout the book to test it's durability in handling bulk before I make any commitments to sticking more stuff in it. But for now, I am having fun adding a couple of images here and there from my day, whether it be a picture of something I drew, something nice that I got in the mail, a meal I had that day, or the sunrise from that morning. It's nice to have a little visual snapshot of something from that day that made me feel good without even having to read through the entry.

I have also been considering using color-coded "tags" to label the contents of my daily entries since they can vary at times. Sometimes my entries document the severity of symptoms I experienced through the day, summarize the events of my day, or serve as a place for me to empty my head of excess unneeded thoughts that make it hard for me to rest at the end of the day. I think it would be nice to know what entries have what kind of content at a glance, or if there are any entries that overlap in content. I've been trying to find stickers in stores lately, but I may just have to order some online since I have yet to find any that suit my fancy.

I can truly say that I look forward to continuing to use the book through the rest of 2024!

#hobonichi #hobonichi hon #hobonichi techo #notebook review #bear.txt

[elllteo]

🎹 🙌 🍀sends u these for whichever oc u wanna do!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAHOO LETS SEE

🎹 : Do they have any hobbies?

Matteo - He writes his own music and also plays a few instruments! He wanted to go into music production for college, but that never worked out. He also really likes to write - he writes buffy the vampire fics, and many of them are self insert or smutty LMAO. He'd get into x-files too once someone showed it to him :)

Ellis - He does embroidery! His mother taught him and he's really into it. He also watches trashy soap operas - and he draws, but most people don't know it and wont get a chance to see it. He's very good - he would've done something more arts or sports related if his father hadn't pushed him towards being a detective u_u

Blake - He cooks (if you consider his chefly abominations cooking). He doodles. He games like a gamer. He causes fights on purpose. But more than anything. He likes to take pictures :)

Vance - Classical music enjoyer and also Hyperpop enjoyer. Hobby wise....he works. gfkjshdf He's worse than Ellis.

Julia - Walks...she likes to wander a lot, but in doing so, she often gets lost. fgkjshdflgk They've had to track her down a few times before her phone battery died. Dangerous game she plays.

🙌 : How many siblings do they have?

Matteo & Blake - Siblings!! Except they have like 5 more half siblings they don't know about and probably never meet!!! Thanks mystery-dad! :D

Here's them being stupid little rat-creature-babies when they're supposed to be in BED

Ellis & Erin - They're the only siblings they have. And also really the only close family left, either. Sadge :(

Travis - He has two sisters who are twins...I still need to make them tho so shhhh FGFKLSJHDF

Vance - An only child if you don't count...whatever she is. Or the ones before.

Julia - Her mother and fathers least favorite only child.

🍀 : What inspired this oc?

Okay this is a fun question bc I drop the Matteo lore every chance I get bc its so funny to me. Ferret inspired little man. But the truth is, the others...all came about because the world Matteo resides in, needed them?

LIKE GFJKSHGFL He is the sun around which the ocs I have created rotate even if they don't really ever interact, bc through him I start thinking about gaps in the world or things that would be fun to add. He's the filter and everyone who appears is condensed little nuggets of an idea.

Vance exists because he needed a Boss. In needing a Boss, Vance's storyline also very nicely added up to being a catalist.

Julia exists because the plot needed a hook. Because of that, she's developed into something more, and my wife and I are actually in the middle of reworking her purpose to better fit agency into her whole situation.

Others came about for similar reasons - what is this story missing, and who can I fit into it to help fill it out?

From there idk. I just take elements that feel like the right "vibe" from the mental library in my brain and fiddle with it until it looks/feels right....it's not often a very directly-inspired-take??? Moreso I'm not often entirely aware of the influences going into the oc, bc I do it based on vibes KJKJGHSLKDJF

I hope that helps bc I don't really have direct inspiration for other ocs!!!

Vance looks like slender man I guess but that's more an unintentional side effect of him being Wrong and arriving at the same kind of place. Divergent evolution or something??? LMAO

#answers #ocs #oc stuff #ellteocs #teehee #my art #long post

[martenarts]

"What're YOU gonna grow up to be?"

"...Happy?"

I must admit, the Lion Guard is a show that I didn't really enjoy, personally speaking. I was certainly not the target audience. For an obsessive nerd such as myself, I felt as though many interesting idea's were missing, such as expanding on the Outsiders or the effects of Scars reign. There are many idea's I do love from this show, though! Such as expanding on the role of the King/Queen, attempts to add some culture (even if it is as simple as using the Swahili language more), and showcasing the residents of the Pridelands. I believe the expansion on the Hyena characters and the idea of the Lion Guard were probably my favorite idea's to come out of the show.

And honestly... I thought I was losing my mind when Kion got a literal cutie-mark on his shoulder! I've since grown much more appreciative of the supernatural elements thanks to some amazing fan interpretations over the years. (australet789 and Kaikree are personal favorites of mine recently)

The show still has good things to offer, though, and I love getting new things to develop in my humble little AU. The whole magic roar thing? Yeah, that isn't real here. Instead, the entire Lion Guard show is nothing more than a fantasy conjured up by Simba's youngest and most aimless son. Kion has an immense amount of free time in his cubhood. The only responsibilities he really needs to fulfill is staying close to Pride Rock and playing, as play is the only real way for any cub to prepare for their adulthood. Although many times his adventures do end up leading him and the animals into trouble that they must navigate.

Kion has endless energy and a healthy thirst for fun, always eager to include anyone in his games, lion or otherwise! Simba encouraged this friendship with other animals- after all, the King himself had been raised by a meerkat and warthog. He knew the value of befriending other animals, something that Kiara had never quite understood beyond showing respect to the animal tribes in their kingdom. Occasionally, Simba would even play the role of the "antagonist," insisting that Kion couldn't possibly form a Lion Guard of other animals! (In reality, Simba loves the idea's his son comes up with, and regrets being unable to play more often with his cubs) His game took many of the young, neighboring Pride Land animals by storm, and very soon, Kion had an entire group of playmates to meet up with day after day. He's popular, far more popular than Kiara, and he knows this.

The siblings have tough moments sometimes, like any siblings would. While neither would ever admit it, both cubs are very jealous of the other. Kiara has never stopped craving freedom and fun since before meeting Kovu (contrary to her Lion Guard alternative), even after nearly getting eaten by crocodiles, she only came to crave more adventure. Or at least the chance to befriend another lion cub that wasn't aware of her royalty. Still, she has not quite shaken the feeling that she doesn't want to be queen… Yet she grows to work against this instinct for the sake of making her father proud. Kion does a very good job of hiding his insecurities, but in truth, he craves a purpose or role within the pride. Even as a cub, he is aware that he will eventually become a migrant, as is expected of every male lion that grows to adulthood. Leaving his home to explore the world certainly isn't the worst fate, but leaving his friends and family behind? Abandoning the exploits and treasures that the Pride Lands had to offer? Being all alone…?

Unwilling to share his insecurity, Kion taunts his sister instead. Putting on a front for all to see, and letting almost no one know about the doubts that secretly poison his dreams.

Follow on DeviantArt.

#Neither really want to hurt the other #But kids... people of all ages can be complicated #lion king #lion guard au #kiara #kion #fanart #lion king au

[owlgoddess24]

i’ve talked about this a little bit before but i’ve been thinking about it again: as a vehicle for creative expression, minecraft is incredible, but as a video game, minecraft is shit.

i mean it. unless you mod it to hell and back it’s just shit.

tutorials are done about as clearly as story in a dark souls game, that being through vague things you might see in the world that don’t clearly tell you anything. minecraft is so ubiquitous that most people don’t ever think about this, but to me i think having to go on a wiki to understand basic elements of a video game is bad design. progression is so small and basic that you’re encouraged to just try to go through it as fast as possible, some tools and armor sets are completely useless because the only thing they need to do is get you to the next tier of materials. the durability system on said tools is fucking awful, everything breaks extremely quickly, and once you get to the higher tiers of diamond and netherite you end up feeling like you have to prevent tools from breaking at all costs, because then you get into the WORST system of the game, enchanting. the purpose of the system is to give your tools cool extra boosts in ability, and it’s fun conceptually, but in practice a piece of shit grindfest. a tool can only be enchanted in a table once, but you can add more using enchanted books in an anvil, so you end up grinding out those books until you get the one you want. once you do get the enchantments you want, you run into another problem: every time you use a tool in an anvil, the XP cost increases, until eventually the game just arbitrarily decides it’s “too expensive” and you can NEVER use that item in the anvil again. this wouldn’t be too bad if anvils were just for enchanting, BUT THEY ARE ALSO FOR REPAIRING TOOLS, MEANING THAT IF YOU PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO ENCHANTING A TOOL YOU WILL AT A CERTAIN POINT BE UNABLE TO REPAIR IT. this then basically forces you to seek out the rare mending enchantment, which repairs held tools slightly every time you gain experience, but even that just turns repairing tools into its own piece of shit grind session. getting this enchantment requires either getting an ultra rare drop from the unbearably boring fishing mechanic, or from villager trades. however, rather than simply being a high level trade for librarian villagers or something like that, mending is just a part of the random pool of possible enchantment trades, meaning that a player is usually forced into exploiting villager job mechanics for even a chance at getting it. oh, and THEN there’s the problem of the villagers and their trading system themselves, because this game basically encourages players to enslave its humans who are suspiciously designed like anti-semitic caricatures. i have no fucking idea how mojang has let this sit for as long as it has, nor do i understand how their changes to villager mechanics almost always just make it worse. the optimal strategy most players use for villagers is to steal them from their villages and lock them inside of small areas for the sole purpose of trading, as there is no penalty for this and no bonus from treating them like people. god forbid children think frogs can eat fireflies, but sure! lets teach the kids the wonders of slavery and human trafficking! i don’t think mojang is malicious here, but just. how haven’t they noticed this!!! it’s an active fight against what the game seems to be telling you to try and play it in a way that doesn’t feel colonizer as shit! on top of all this, at its core, i think minecraft is just… boring! building is fun, but playing survival has always felt to me like i have to slog through a million other things in order to do that part of the game that i really like. and i like building in survival! there’s a satisfaction to it that i don’t get in creative! it’s just that first i have to go through the boring ass mining and the boring ass progression and the absolutely brutal enchantment system and only THEN do i feel like i can start doing the fun stuff. i can’t act like this is a good game with a couple of flaws anymore. minecraft sucks. i’m sorry.

#owl hoots #long post #this got so long it started to lag my phone

[beneaththetangles]

Reader’s Corner: Solo Leveling, My Special One, and Alice in Borderland

Oh, the games we play! In our everyday lives, “playing games” could refer to video games or board games or, more figuratively, relationship games. But the world of manga knows no bounds, and such games may involve being dropped into an Alice in Wonderland-like dimension. Or it could mean playing matches against gods with a cute goddess right by one’s side. And they could be contests that put lives at stake. This week on “Reader’s Corner,” we dive into a variety of “games” in our reviews as we look to releases both old and new.

Alice in Borderland (Vol. 4) • Gods’ Games We Play (Vol 1) • Megaman NT Warrior (Vol. 1) • My Sister, The Cat (Vol. 1) • My Special One (Vol. 1) • Puella Magi Oriko Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition • Solo Leveling (Vol. 6)

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My Sister, The Cat, Manga Vol. 1

When I first heard about the title My Sister, The Cat, I laughed and brushed it off because “What kind of strange premise is that?” Well, Past Me, it’s a very funny one, and you shouldn’t be so quick to judge titles and skip them! Ha! Indeed, the premise of this manga is unique because Nekota has lost his mother, and when no family members will take him in, one of his mom’s good friends offers a place in their family. However, said family just happens to be a family of cats whose daughter absolutely adores our human hero and desperately wants him to be her big brother. My decision to pick up this manga was completely inspired by my four-year-old daughter who loves cats, and I’m honestly glad I decided to give it a chance because of her. It was super cute and a very lighthearted read, with the occasional serious vibe sprinkled in at the end. I’m not sure why only the mother talks, but I absolutely love when Neneko-chan wants to make her brother smile. Her antics are so adorable because she has the cutest and funniest expressions that really make you smile at how much she loves him! While there isn’t a lot of “depth” to this story, I found I smiled often and really enjoyed my time reading it! I have volume two on pre-order because this is one of those feel-good stories you pick up every once in a while when you need something fun and cheerful! ~ @lauraagrace​

My Sister, The Cat is published by Seven Seas.

Puella Magi Oriko Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition, Manga

Taking place between the fourth and fifth timelines of the Madoka Magica universe, Puella Magi Oriko Magica adds a new, dark chapter to the franchise. But any intrigue that this story might have is outweighed by the messiness on display throughout the tale. Oriko Magica introduces three new magical girls, two of whom, as Kyoko and Mami discover, are seemingly involved in killing other mahou shoujo. There’s a heavy focus on these two new girls, both with respect to their tragic backstories and their dependence on one another. But while we as readers are supposed to be equal parts appalled by their actions and sympathetic towards them, each character is lacking in elements that would help create the necessary empathy. Kirika is full of energy but her backstory is flimsy, while the titular Oriko has a tragic event in her past but no personality to speak of. Meanwhile, a third new character, a young magical girl Yuma, plays a major role at first—particularly as a foil to Kyoko—but then ends up functioning as an intentional distraction in this story. It’s a strange, unnecessary addition. Also out of place are Sayaka, Madoka, and Homura: while they are vital to explain the purpose of the events in this story, they feel like messy add-ons. I’m never quite sure what it is they’re up to or doing. The artwork doesn’t either. Illustrated in a cute but off-kilter style, the aesthetic is different but fitting for Madoka, but the quality of the art varies and doesn’t portray the action very well. The entire story, really—both in plot and art—was like looking through glasses that aren’t magnified quite enough for one’s vision issues; nothing was ever quite clear. The side story additions in the last third of the collection help fill out the tale a bit, but by the point I had reached them, I was already through with this below-average addition to a great franchise. ~ @animepopheart​

Puella Magi Oriko Magica is published by Yen Press.

Megaman NT Warrior, Manga Vol. 1

Living in a world where everything is digitally connected sounds comfortable, right? Everything is efficient and on time, and we just make sure things are running smoothly. Well, wait till viruses start disrupting daily activities like school, hospitals, businesses and any other sector that people use! Thankfully, there are Netops like Lan Hikari (remember LAN parties?) and his Net Navi Mega Man [Should it be “Megaman” like the title? – Ed.] to delete these digital critters. The manga doesn’t give much backstory for the world it’s set in; even though I have watched the anime adaptation, I would have liked a little more explanation. It had some slow parts, and this volume is broken up into short episodes that aren’t tied together. I would have liked it to be more of an introduction to the characters; instead, it seems disorganized and doesn’t flow well. If you are a fan of the series as I am, I believe you will enjoy this one as it takes characters like GutsMan, FireMan, Dr. Wily, and Roll and recreates them so that they are familiar but still new. Give at least volume one a try and see if it’s for you—though this is an old manga, so you likely will have to find it used somewhere as I did. ~ Samuru

Megaman NT Warrior was published by VIZ Media.

Gods’ Games We Play, Light Novel Vol. 1

When it stays the path, focusing on its identity as a battle-of-wits light novel, Gods’ Games We Play is an engaging, heavenly read; but in those few moments that it strays, the series about human “apostles” who compete in televised matches against the gods falls back to earth. Thankfully, it rarely drifts into that territory. Right from the start—when “former” god Leshea and top rookie apostle Fay team up after realizing they are equally excited about playing high-stakes games—the novel balances cute characters, an exciting but not-too-serious tone, and interesting games and strategies. The duo participates in three matches: one with each other and two teaming up with others in official matches against the gods. The games are described well, and the volume is very visual: I could picture them in great detail (the recently announced anime adaptation should be a natural fit). It’s just a joy to read. The only drawback is when the series goes the route of thousands of other properties and turns to fanservice, small boob jokes, and harem-building. Not only are these passages derivative, but they’re also done better elsewhere (almost everywhere else, in fact). Here’s hoping future volumes focus on the games that gods play, rather than on the ecchi. ~ @animepopheart​

Gods’ Games We Play is published by Yen Press.

My Special One, Manga Vol. 1

Although My Special One wasn’t a series very high on my radar, after reading this first volume, it definitely has the strong potential to be in my top five of favorite shojo series this year! Sahoko, our heroine, tells off a famous Japanese idol, Kouta, in her family’s restaurant where she works: when he displayed affection for her, thinking she was one of his fans, she needed him to know she was not one of his fans. She had vowed to herself to never fall for a gorgeous man because of a past experience, but that vow will certainly be put to the test when Kouta continues to come back to her family’s restaurant time and time again. As adamant as she is that she won’t fall in love with him, he seems to be just as adamant that he will get her to fall for him (as a fan) with his shining charisma and personality. Sahoko is a fun and refreshing heroine to follow because she is sooooo adamant she will never fall for a gorgeous guy (even less an idol—HA!). I very much enjoyed the progression of her character growth and her feelings as the story went on, especially in her thoughts toward Kouta. Speaking of, Kouta surprised me just as much as he did Sahoko! I quickly found myself rooting for these two and very much desperate looking forward to the next volume! I highly recommend this new series to those who like contemporary romances, seeing the behind-the-scenes of idols, and fun stories that are easy to read! ~ @lauraagrace​

My Special One is published by VIZ Media. It releases on February 7th.

Alice in Borderland, Manga Vol. 4

In volume four, Alice in Borderland continues to deliver surprises. Not only in death match games, but more unexpectedly by displaying humanity in inhuman circumstances, pulling on our heartstrings even for characters we only get to know briefly, and putting main character Arisu through a crisis when he seems to be on the point of a personal breakthrough. The setting for all the emotional drama is the end of the beach arc, in which the beach utopia has devolved into violence as the players search for the witch. The answer to who and why are supremely satisfying. I continue to be caught off guard by how gracious mangaka Haro Aso is to his readers. He gives us solutions. He gives us heart. And in volume four, he gives us a ton of answers as to what this world is all about, as the story transitions into a brand new set of circumstances that bring added excitement to the series that might otherwise have fallen short of topping the grandiosity of the last arc. I’m thrilled to see where the games go now, and even more so, how Arisu and the others continue to develop as they make their way through this harshest of worlds. What a journey it’s been! ~ @animepopheart​

READ: Alice in Borderland Reviews Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3

Alice in Borderland is published by Viz Media.

Solo Leveling, Novel Vol. 6

Things have finally gotten “real” in Solo Leveling. Despite the non-stop and excellent action in the previous five novels, the actual story for Solo Leveling has only revealed itself in bits; but in volume six, it blows right open, establishing the real conflict hinted at previously. It’s a wonder to imagine that the adrenaline in the previous volumes came basically from just world building and mining for Jin Woo as he increases his strength to a level to fight the real bad guys in this series. This installment opens with Jin Woo fighting giants in Japan and then coming to the U.S. as mysteries involving the gates and the Rulers quickly unravel. It isn’t unusual for novels and manga to go off the rail when the larger story comes into focus and more powerful enemies become involved; but both the track record for Solo Leveling and this volume itself demonstrate that author Chugong can handle it and continue to deliver material that will have you unable to do anything else until you’ve finished the chapter you’re on (and then the next chapter…and the next). That’s not to say that the web novels are perfect. Jin Woo is still a difficult character to root for, making selfish choices and seemingly only doing the right thing out of a sense of duty (though—and without giving too much away—this seems to be an angle that Chugong will take advantage of in later volumes). Even more cumbersome is that the entire series is Korean propaganda. With Korean media becoming so widespread internationally, readers may be used to this tone; but even as a Korean-American, I rolled my eyes a dozen times at how pro-Korean this particular volume was (matching the previous one), with Jin Woo moving on from traditional adversary Japan to embarrass big brother America. But other than that, Solo Leveling continues to be as enthralling as it ever was. ~ @animepopheart​

Solo Leveling is published by Yen Press.

READ: Solo Leveling Reviews Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Solo Leveling #Alice in Borderland #Megman NT Warrior #Gods’ Games We Play #My Sister The Cat #My Special One #Puella Magi Oriko Magica #Mahou Shoujo Oriko Magica #Imouto wa Neko #Rockman EXE #Kimi ga Tokubetsu #Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru. #Imawa no Kuni no Alice #Na Honjaman Level Up #Reader's Corner #Manga Article #Manga Blog #Light Novel Article #Light Novel Blog #Articles #Author: Laura A. Grace #Author: TWWK #Author: Samuru

[third-energy]

Third-Energy's Way Too Late 2021 Games Write-Up™

I wanted to do this since the beginning of the year, but I both kept putting it off and constantly reformatting it, but it's finally here and in a state that I'm satisfied with. It's incredibly long, but thorough and I hope you enjoy taking a gander at the games I felt the most strongly about last year.

「Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth」

    While I am not at all familiar with the original Record of Lodoss War novels or anime, I was enamored with Team Ladybug’s last outing with Touhou: Luna Nights and was excited to see a new game from them that seemingly veered closer to likes of Iga’s Castlevania outings. Wonder Labyrinth, while not quite as strong as Luna Nights in my view, is pretty damn close to it. This game is oozing with gorgeous art, something LB is no stranger to, but they’ve surpassed themselves here. Every room is screenshot worthy in some way and every sprite is lovingly detailed and animated. The variety in weapons adds quite a bit of depth and the Ikaruga-styled familiar system provided some nice strategy and exhilaration to enemy and boss encounters. You are also given a bow for its obvious purpose and for solving minor puzzles within the labyrinth. What puts it right below Luna Nights is that while all of the bosses are great, WL’s doesn’t keep you on your toes the same way the former did, though that may be more advantageous depending on your preference. Luna Nights lived up to Touhou’s legacy for bosses and the ones further into that game became more and more exhilarating. I can't really comment at all on the story, as I'm unfamiliar with the source material, so I'll have to leave that to fans of the series to determine. Wonder Labyrinth is an easy recommendation if you like search-action style games and I’m vehemently looking forward to what Team Ladybug has in store next.

    「Shin Sakura Wars」

    I had played the original Sakura Wars about a year or so before this one, and I’m incredibly glad I did. Boasting a wonderful cast and soundtrack, I can see why it was one of Sega’s tallest pillars for the longest time [in Japan]. Playing the newest entry in the series, I think they were able to capture that spirit again. The cast is incredibly lively and has so much personality, I was always looking forward to talking to them in between missions. They had a lot of great and emotional moments throughout, and there's few higher praises I can give to a piece of media. The music is also absolutely stellar. Series composer Kohei Tanaka has not once missed in his career and certainly not here. Everything from the background music to the vocal songs hits the right notes and makes every emotional impact much stronger. The combat is admittingly kinda weak, but every other aspect of the game shined so brightly to me, that it ended up not bothering me at all. Much like the original, the way the adv elements were mixed with the combat is cool, but was by no means the highlight, either, at least for me. I’m really glad Sega was able to release a new entry in this series and managed to capture what made it so great originally, and I can only hope they can continue from this and also share the original games with a new audience.

    「Azure Striker Gunvolt series」

Gunvolt is a series I observed from afar for awhile, since it was initially 3DS exclusive but never got into cause it was a 3DS exclusive (also cause it ran at 30 fps). The games ended up with console-based ports sometime after, but I hadn’t jumped on them until a couple years after, and I’m incredibly glad I did. Being a large fan of the Mega Man Zero series growing up, I felt right at home with Gunvolt. The game’s fast, fluid, and incredibly addicting with its scoring system. The way you engage with enemies, tagging and zapping, is unorthodox on the surface, but can be acclimated to fairly quickly and makes for some incredibly frantic and fun boss fights. The art of the series, both pixel and drawn, are of magnificent quality, as is to be expected from Inti. The story isn’t a main draw, but I liked it enough and while it’s bittersweet in the end and the twist could’ve been handled better, I think it’s a bold and welcome move on Inti’s part. Gunvolt 1 was a good game, but 2 raised the voltage.

Gunvolt 2 is much like 1, but refined and with a whole new verticality in the addition of rival character and turbo racist, Copen (or Acura in JP). Copen’s fast dashing and gunning is incredibly visceral and does a great job of distinguishing his gameplay from GV’s. GV2’s plot is also an upgrade, while still not great, had more nice moments and a great climax. The ending was effectively emotional and also a little funny, but that’s mostly me being mean, I think it still works for the most part.

Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX is a spin-off starring exclusively Copen, and if you enjoyed their gameplay in GV2, iX is for you. Copen’s gameplay is refined mildly in Luminous Avenger and gives him the perfect level of control that makes the levels and bosses immensely cathartic to shmoove through. The story also has a cool twist near the end that elevates it and actually caught me off guard. I have a bit of a confession, Luminous Avenger was actually the first Gunvolt game I played, and while it didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the series, I’d strongly encourage playing 1 & 2 first. I think it would allow more appreciation of the series’ growth mechanically, and make later parts hit more effectively. Gunvolt has been a wonderful journey to scroll through and is now my favorite Mega Man sub-series.

「Undertale」

    I realize I’m several years late to this party, but better late than never, as they say. I don’t think it’d be hyperbole to call Undertale a perfect game. I struggle to name even one aspect of this game I even approached disliking. It’s the most obvious element to mention, but the soundtrack is one of the all time greats. Fox has never missed on a composition and every song is great to legendary, and knows how to make the hardest hitting moments hit even harder. The game’s also consistently funny throughout while also remaining completely heartfelt, without the former ever undermining the latter. It’s a tightrope that’s extremely difficult to balance, but Toby does so masterfully. Undertale also occupies the same space in my head as Nier:Automata where the final boss makes me fucking bawl like a baby. It’s masterfully done and it’s the sort of thing that can’t really be captured in any other medium. Undertale is a masterpiece and I finally understand how and why it became so universally revered. I can only hope Toby’s next game can be as impactful as UT was.

「Deltarune」

    I didn’t play Deltarune until Chapter 2 dropped, though that ended up working both for and against my favor. For, since I had just got off Undertale and now had two more games to go through and against now that I gotta wait with everyone else. Deltarune is much like Undertale though mechanically expanded and much MUCH more gut-busting. The battles are now party-based, but still feel familiar enough to those who played UT while adding more variety and flavor. These two chapters also had me constantly on the floor cackling. Undertale was already a pretty funny game but Deltarune almost puts UT to shame with how consistently side-splitting it is. The only thing UT, as of now anyway, has over DR is that there haven’t been any gut-punching emotional moments on the level of the former’s, but the latter isn’t even half-way finished, so it has plenty of time to catch up. There’s plenty to theory-craft about DR’s future, but I’m the type that’s always just been along for the ride, and I fervently await the rest of Toby’s plan.

    「Mega Man Legends Series」

I had previously played the original Mega Man Legends a few years prior to this, but since I intended to play the rest, I decided to refresh myself on it before I plunged into the 2 following. I’m ecstatic to report that Legends 1 more than holds up more than 2 decades later. The obvious pillar of praise is that every game in this series has not aged even a day graphically. From the vibrant colors and textures to the expressive characters, there are games released to this day that the Legends series continues to vault over. They’ve always been my go to for how much style usurps fidelity. While I can certainly enjoy some incredible fidelity in games, I will always gravitate more towards those that can come into their own style and stand out from the rest. I recognize how it might appear suspicious to focus on MML’s visuals, but rest assured it holds up in its other aspects, especially the characters. While there are other spin-offs I have yet to fully digest, MML boasts my favorite portrayals and cast of the series. They’re incredibly lively and always a joy to watch, special mention naturally going towards the Bonne family, whom I adored every second they were on screen throughout the entire series. The action-adventure dungeon crawling, while definitely an earlier example of the genre in 3D, was almost never a frustrating experience. I’m far from the first one to posit this, but if you remastered this game changing nothing but the controls to be more in line with modern games, I firmly believe you could sell it today, especially given the growing amount of retro-throwback games blooming in recent years.

            After Legends 1’s ending posed more questions about the greater setting during its furling climax, Capcom opted to create a spin-off of the spin-off set prior to the events of Legends, with the Bonne family in the starring role. The Misadventures of Tronne Bonne compiles a few separate styles of gameplay set across replayable missions, consisting of action levels comparable to that of Legends, first-person dungeon exploration, and my most dreaded nemesis in any game, box-moving puzzles. While I found the dungeon exploration levels to be rather dry, I immensely enjoyed the other styles throughout, with each mission of both feeling fresh. It also has shockingly, more Bonne content aplenty, and I don’t think I could ever grow tired of them bouncing off each other and other characters. If you enjoyed the Bonne family’s antics in Legends, Misadventures comes in at a safe recommendation.

            Legends 2 continues a few months after 1 and raises the scale and stakes quite a fair bit, with Rock & Roll traversing the globe to achieve their goals to combat a more imminent threat. I think I enjoyed 1 a little more overall, but one large advantage 2 has over 1 is that I found it far more emotionally investing. The more impactful scenes helped carry it and made the ending all the more distressing, knowing that it never received a proper continuation. The gameplay is more of the same, but with a more diverse array of settings to traverse, though I did miss the more personal feeling Kattleox from 1 had, since it was the one place you explored, allowing more time to invest in it as a setting. Legends 2 was a more than satisfying progression, although finishing it will most likely leave you feeling a vacancy, knowing that it won’t receive a proper conclusion anytime soon. Capcom is still deep in its redemption arc, and I hope Legends 3 can be part of that sometime soon.

     「Death Stranding」

Death Stranding is a game that almost feels like it shouldn’t exist. Not that it shouldn’t be allowed to, but more so that it defies so many conventions, that it’s a miracle that it even came out the way it did. Kojima somehow got away with directing a AAA stealth-action game where killing other people is not only disincentivized, but practically not allowed. If you were any developer attempting to sell a publisher on such a concept, they would laugh you out of the room and, I presume, resume feasting on the blood of developers. If it were anyone other than Kojima, I’m not sure they would be able to smuggle it through. There are plenty of games from 8th gen that I would place above it, but Death Stranding is probably the game I’ve thought the most about after playing compared to any other from that gen. The only one that matches that space in my mind is probably Nier: Automata. From a distance, DS’s gameplay loop almost seems repellant, given it’s a game about making deliveries in a barren post-apocalypse, with not much in between you and your destination. When you throw in factors such as terrain traversal, equipment and cargo management, invisible enemies, and bandits, that’s when it becomes compelling, and even addicting. It’s difficult to put into words, but there’s something almost relaxing about just trekking across this barren, yet beautiful post-apocalyptic world. I like to refer to it as the perfect podcast game. The story I think is a little more divisive. I liked it overall and especially what it was going for, but it was admittingly hard to follow for me, although a replay might help remedy that. The themes of connecting with one another I think are incredibly resonant and something that we all need to hear. Even if it wasn’t my favorite from that gen, Death Stranding is a game I’m still constantly thinking about and wanting to replay every time I do, and I’m not sure there’s higher praise you can give to a game. Also Kojima has impeccable taste in music. Also please make another Snatcher/Policenauts-style adventure game, and take a break from stealth.

     「Yakuza: Like a Dragon」

Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Or Yakuza 7 as I’ll correctly refer to it, had nothing short of large boots to fill after retiring original series protagonist, Kiryu. Thankfully not only does new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga fit them, he home runs with them. Ichiban immediately rocketed to being one of my all-time favorite protagonists after my playthrough with his combo of positivity and optimism, despite being at his lowest point, something I think can easily resonate with most people. Every party member for that matter is great and I always enjoyed listening to them bounce off one another. Special mention should also go towards the dub actors who all managed to superbly dissuade any fears I had of playing this series in English for the first time since the very original. The most obvious aspect to mention about Yakuza 7 is the transition from beat-‘em-up to turn-based rpg, and for the most part, I think it managed it pretty well. It’s a tad more simple than I prefer compared to many of its contemporaries and stage hazards can fuck off, but they translated Yakuza’s trademark charisma to this new system perfectly. Every heat action is gold and I’m elated they carried it over. The class-change system also adds a lot of variety, so you’re never hurting for options. The biggest praise I can give to this game, and any game for that matter, is that it had me bawling several times, especially at the end. It’s the most a Yakuza game has emotionally affected me up to this point and that’s mostly the reason as to why it’s now my favorite in the entire series. I eagerly await what Ichiban’s gang is up to next and have nothing but hope for the series going forward with him at the helm.

     「Nier Replicant」

I had attempted to journey through the original Nier some period before Replicant had been announced, but for one reason or another never found the motivation to complete it. After playing through all of Replicant, I’m not sure I could ever revisit the original. It’s practically never an occurrence where a remake can serve as a replacement for an original work, and while I wouldn’t be so bold as to declare Replicant as a part of that pantheon, I feel it does come close. The only reason I’d say it doesn’t, is cause I feel there is still value in playing through the same story as Papa Nier. Replicant’s combat far exceeds the original’s and is the primary reason as to why I feel it would be difficult for me to pick up the original release. It doesn’t have the depth of a DMC or Bayonetta, but it’s very fast and fluid and the weapon and magic variety keeps it feeling fairly fresh throughout, with bosses that are able to keep you on your toes. It’s the same great story and cast as the original, I could never grow tired of these assholes even if I tried. I love them dearly and Kaine is still one of my all-time favs. The new chapter added in between the original story is also very appropriately Nier, with each playthrough naturally elevating it further. The new epilogue is something I could see as divisive among fans of the original, but I personally loved it and felt it to be a perfect cap to the original. The whole sequence left me beaming in a way most games don’t reach. The score is naturally as perfect as ever, and the new tracks composed for Replicant are unsurprisingly just as perfect. Keiichi Okabe once more never misses. If you haven’t played Nier up until this point, it has never been a better time to get into one of 7th gen’s most radiant gems.

     「Dragon’s Dogma」

Playing Dragon’s Dogma evokes the same feeling of a gentle spring wind pushing against your face. I had to get it out of the way at some point. Dragon’s Dogma is a superb action-rpg and one I wish more devs in the genre took notes on, since it’s one of a handful where the combat doesn’t feel like an obligation. It’s dynamic with each class, the enemies have a ton of moves and ways to confront them, including climbing them, and it just feels good and responsive to hit enemies, as should be expected from the director of the Devil May Cry series, Hideaki Itsuno. While the story and quests leave a little to be desired for me, it’s so much fun combating enemies in this world that it didn’t really matter. Other than a dragon steals your heart and you control pawns, I couldn’t recite the plot to this game, but I don’t have to because I can climb a cyclops and stab its eye out. One point about the plot I will praise is the antagonist Grigori, the dragon. Every scene he appears in is a 10 and is backed by incredible dialogue and voice acting. His boss battle lives up to all the buildup throughout the game as well, it’s as bombastic as you could want from a fight with him. Dragon’s Dogma obviously has some corners cut, as was pretty standard for Capcom at this time, but it’s still an excellent action-rpg that remains fun throughout its runtime. When I started writing this, Dragon’s Dogma 2 hadn’t been formally announced, but leaked and now that it has been announced formally by Capcom and is once again directed by Itsuno, my hype is through the stratosphere. A Dragon’s Dogma more fully realized on next-gen hardware backed by the black magic that is the RE Engine is approaching levels of dream game for me and I can’t wait. Also, bring back B’z for the theme song and keep it this time.

     「Shin Megami Tensei V」

Shin Megami Tensei V is a game I technically beat this year, but I started before then, so I say it still counts. SMTV has the distinction of being the very first real™ SMT game I’ve played through, and after finishing it, I feel more compelled to branch out with the other mainline entries if/when they release on other platforms. There’s often contention between whether or not Persona or SMT series is better, but I don’t think it’s really fair to compare the two since they have different goals, and I think they both succeed at what they want. I will say after experiencing SMTV, I think I’ve been converted over to press-turn. Combined with negotiation and fusing, SMTV’s loop is downright addicting and the combat, while brutal, is incredible to engage with, no matter the wall. I think V’s most standout aspect are the environments and how much fun they are to traverse and explore, and despite the technical limitations of its platform, there’s beauty in all of them in their desolation. Doi’s art still shines through in both characters and demons, and Nahobino is easily a top 5 protagonist design for me, he’s so cool. The only real negative I have is that I wish the story and characters were more compelling. They’re not really bad, but unremarkable for the most part. Nothing in the story save for one moment had a significant emotional impact on me. If the characters were much more fleshed out, this would no doubt be an all-time favorite of mine. Instead it’ll just have to settle for being one of my 2021 favorites. Hope they can figure out porting some of the older mainline games, cause I want more now. Neutral btw.

     「Alan Wake」

Being a huge fan of Remedy’s Max Payne series, it seems like a no-brainer to have played Alan Wake at some point before now, but I’d never done so up until last year. While it’s not as good as MP, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The story was compelling throughout and I think I managed to understand what it was trying to convey. Perhaps I’m off-base, it happens frequently with me, but the general theme I got from Alan Wake is artist self-reflection and introspection and how that reflects in reality. If you’re a creator, I can see a lot of AW resonating easily, though I think that can still pierce through to those who aren’t necessarily creators. It’s aided by a superb atmosphere and the framing of the narrative as if it were read from a novel was a cute touch. It’s a style that’s endemic for Remedy and one that’s always welcome. The combat, while cool and certainly serviceable, did leave a bit to be desired. The idea of weakening enemies with your light and then firing on them is great and feels good, but it definitely could have used more variety in enemies. It helps tremendously that Remedy are masters of sound and particle effects, so it’s always entertaining. The non-canon expansion, American Nightmare, while not as good as the base game, is still fun and I like how it doubles down on the base game’s message even more. It’s a lot of asset reuse, but it’s done in an at least somewhat clever way and ends up paying off a bit. Now that AW2 is slowly approaching after I’ve finished 1, and with it leaning more towards survival horror, I’m plenty excited to see what’s next in store for Mr. Wake.

「Panzer Dragoon Saga」

    Panzer Dragoon Saga has achieved something of a mythological status in the realm of video games. Being a game not many have had the opportunity to play until fairly recently with the advent of Saturn emulation, it held this disposition of a legendary rpg that no one was allowed to play, since Sega shipped so few copies and made no effort to preserve it. Sometimes the figure doesn’t live up to the legend, but I’m elated to report that Saga does live up to the hype. By far my favorite part about Saga is the battle system. It’s a unique take on the active time battle system where you slowly fill up meters, and this determines the actions you can take from basic attacks, to devastating special skills. You can also adjust your position at any point during the battle, which can factor on whether an attack hits you or how much damage it causes. It’s a shame I’ve never once seen any developer replicate and build upon it, cause it might be my favorite interpretation of the ATB style system. One of my favorite parts of Saga, and the entire Panzer Dragoon series at that, is this almost alien world these characters inhabit. I’m sure the Saturn’s limitations when it came to 3D graphics factored heavily into its aesthetic, but I think it ended up being for the better, cause it has an identity all its own and it was always joyous discovering new locales. I can’t say the story is heavily remarkable compared to many of its contemporaries, but I still enjoyed the characters quite a bit, with special mention to Azel and Craymen. Panzer Dragoon Saga is wonderful and I think it’s a damn shame not many people have been able to experience this masterpiece. I can only hope Sega finds a way to share this gem with more, someday.

     「Resident Evil (2002)」

            The Resident Evil remake, which I’ll colloquially refer to as REmake from hereon, is a game that I’m forever kicking myself over for not playing up until now. Before REmake, the only classic survival-horror style games I had played were Dino Crisis, Resident Evil 7, and RE2make, where resource management is paramount to the gameplay loop. REmake was, and still is, the peak of survival-horror, 20 years after its initial release. I’d go so far as to call it a perfect game, struggling to find any major fault in any aspect of it. Everything from the masterful atmosphere, the timeless pre-rendered backgrounds, and with every visceral and tense moment in-between, REmake rapidly shot up to being one of my all-time favs. I did frequently get lost during my playthrough, resulting in a 17 hour total runtime, but I always place that more on myself than anything else, as I’ve always been directionally challenged. Playing through more of Capcom’s survival-horror catalog has further cemented their resource-management focused gameplay loop as one of my absolute favorites and one I wish more developers properly imitated. That tension molded by your management of precious resources and even limited saves elicits such an exhilarating feeling that’s difficult to capture, but exceptional when done right. Of note, I did play the remastered version of REmake, which offers a more 3D-oriented control style for players, but I opted to play classic, as I feel it fits much better with the static camera angles and provides much needed tension. Despite the hem hawing over tank controls, I found them always more than playable and I think would’ve dissipated my personal enjoyment a little utilizing the newer style. I think having them as an option is more than good for other players, though. It’s an everyone wins scenario. REmake is well-deserving of its moniker as a survival-horror masterpiece and a game I would call essential.

     「Resident Evil Village」

            Resident Evil 7, while not perfect, was nothing short of an incredible comeback for Capcom when it was released. After years of the sinking hole that was late 7th gen to early 8th gen, Capcom put out a true banger and have yet to stop since then. I’m ecstatic to report that Resident Evil Village is no different and part of Capcom’s redemptive pantheon. Village feels like a half-way point between 7’s classic survival horror and what will no doubt eventually be Resident Evil 4 Remake’s more action-oriented style. Resource management still plays a role, though is more lenient in providing you assets needed to forge ammunition and other items since you’re often against several enemies. The best way I can describe RE8 is that it’s 7, but better in every way, from the level design, my highlight being Dimitrescu’s mansion, to the bosses, my highlight being Heisenberg, to even the story. Ethan’s story 8 is hands-down my favorite in all of RE, and he earns every bit of that. His arc concludes incredibly emotionally satisfying in a way no other RE hero has done for me, yet. Much like another game here, the climax left me grinning and hollering for the entirety of its duration. While it concludes Ethan’s story, it does leave some things open and I hope RE9 can follow-up on it, cause I would love to see the direction it takes. CapGod continues to be CapGod.

「Duke Nukem Forever」

After putting it off for a full decade, I had decided to finally plunge into the condemned brothel that is Duke Nukem Forever. I’d wanted to finally put it behind me and there’s not even an infinitesimal amount of guilt in me to confess that I couldn’t even finish it. The two or three dollars I ended up spending on would have been more responsibly spent on a gas station hot-dog. I planned to only talk about games I enjoyed this year, because I prefer to focus on what I like, but at the suggestion of a friend and because DNF is too historically important to me, it beggars elaboration. DNF is far from the worst first-person shooter, even just restricting it to the acidic bog of 7th gen, but it’s still pretty bad and hurts considerably more than most for a myriad of reasons. It’s visually grotesque, to the point that a friend I was streaming this game to had to close out it due to how eye-straining and nauseating the visual effects were. The gunplay outside of the shotgun does not feel nearly good or responsive enough and the enemies and bosses are almost all a pain in the ass to deal with. The writing is painfully unfunny and misogynistic and makes Duke Nukem significantly less of a cheesy action movie hero and more of a sociopathic narcissist, going so far as to cruelly ridicule the people he fails to save. DNF is mired in poor design decisions throughout the few hours I played it and the effects of a decade and a half of scope-creep regularly seep through like overflowing sewage as you play. It’s needlessly often you must engage with poorly designed puzzles and platforming, which is not something you wanna hear about an allegedly fast-paced action shooter. Don’t even get me started on the RC car. One kinda cool thing about DNF is Duke’s HP, or EGO to be more precise. It increases with both story progression and through Duke’s trademark of interacting with the world around him, like admiring himself in a mirror. It’s a cute detail, but I say ‘kinda cool’ because some of these are luck-based and depending on your level of skill and observation could inadvertently make the game even more of a pain in the ass. It’s been stated ad-nauseum, but the reason DNF hurts more than most bad shooters is it’s the Duke game myself and millions had waited for since the late 90s. Nobody in their right mind thought DNF would’ve lived up to 15 years of hype even if it hadn’t turned out as miserable as it did, but even a fair amount had figured it would have at least been passable given the original talent behind the series. The worst part of the whole ordeal is that despite the surprisingly strong sales for DNF, the scathing reception has more or less put the series in a dormant hibernation for the foreseeable future, buried beneath the grease swamp that is Randy. Fortunately, there is a small glimmering nugget that has floated to the surface after all this time in the form of the recently leaked 2001 build of DNF that fans are currently rebuilding. I don’t have any real hopes for this series within official capacity barring some license rescue, but I’m enamored fans are doing everything they can to keep the spirit of the series alive through their efforts.

     「Metroid Prime」

            Metroid Prime is a game I always observed from afar even as a fan of the series, but never got around to for one reason or another. It’d probably help if used Nintendo games weren’t scalped by criminals or were ported forward. I still found a way to play 1 & 2 in the end, but don’t tell Nintendo. It’s been repeated ad-nauseum, but Prime 1 and 2 perfectly capture the essence of Metroid in its trademark marriage of isolation and exploration of an alien setting. The fresh first-person perspective was especially helpful in aiding that feeling, from the suit’s HUD to even seeing Samus’s reflection in her helmet under the right conditions. It made you feel like you were part of this world and it ended up being one of my favorite aspects, small as it may be. I’m sure it’s something most people were skeptical about when it was initially announced, but I think it’s safe to say all those worries ended up dissipating shortly after release. A low point for me ended up being some of the bosses. Some were fine, but I remember others feeling unnecessarily hard. I’d probably have to replay it just to be sure. Prime 2 is much like 1 but more balanced and with a cute evil slime girl flirting with you the whole way. The duality of the light and dark world introduced in 2 made for some interesting expansions into Prime’s exploration loop and made familiar parts feel fresh throughout. It’s probably worth mentioning that I frequently got lost playing both Prime games and heavily relied on what I like to refer as the “over here, idiot” prompt that appears when you spend several moments not making progress, but I always chalk that up to my lack of spatial direction rather than the game’s design. You can’t discuss Prime 2 without mentioning Dark Samus and what a cool addition she is to Samus’s rather sparse rogue’s gallery. I’ve heard she’s a bit too similar to SA-X from Fusion, which I don’t think is necessarily illegitimate, but you see Dark Samus’s actions expressed much more throughout and even get to confront her a few times, which gives her a more personal feeling compared to SA-X, in my opinion. I still have to play 3 as of this writing, but I’m elated to cap off this trilogy and wait fervently for 4 to finally manifest.

     「Metroid Dread」

            Metroid Dread is nothing short of a miracle for a myriad of reasons. It’s the first console 2D Metroid in almost 30 years. It continues right from where Fusion left off in terms of story almost 20 years later. It’s the first game developed by Mercury Steam that is truly great in ever. And above all of that, it is the best Metroid game (as of this writing, I have yet to play Prime 3 and Samus Returns, but I feel confident in that assertion, regardless). Dread is the game that myself and many others waited years for and despite any reservations held about its chosen developer, it more than delivered. Dread’s story is the culmination of Metroid’s overall narrative up until this point and not only sticks the landing, it shatters the earth beneath its feet. It advances Samus’s story from Fusion in an incredibly satisfying manner with a climax that left me ascending every second it played out. I could not have asked for a better follow-up. The traditional Metroid exploration is perfected in Dread, with tightest controls in a Metroid yet, upgrades that are all satisfying to use, and a plethora of optional secrets and puzzles that utilize them all masterfully. All capped by exhilarating bosses that I’d declare a golden standard for the genre. The EMMIs are also a great addition to Dread, evoking the original feeling created by SA-X in Fusion, but now with the technology to fully realize it. Each one bringing their own gimmick made each encounter feel fresh and always tense. It made me want a Fusion remake just to see them utilize this system to its fullest. It gives me shivers just contemplating it. Raven Beak is also probably Metroid’s best antagonist since, probably ever. As much as I adore SA-X, Dark Samus, and Ridley, Raven Beak’s presence is the most realized a Metroid antagonist has ever felt and helped facilitate the previously mentioned bombastic climax. Need the next Smash game to include him, stat. Much to no surprise, Dread was my game of the year. It’s the game I had been waiting over a decade for and against all odds, it not only met my expectations, but exceeded them. The fact it also outsold all expectations has given me a plethora of hope for the series’ future, hopefully letting Nintendo know that there’s fervent interest among players.

    2023 Games I’m looking forward to.

Just a handful of games I thought I’d share that have me the most excited for next year. These will have significantly greater brevity, like two to three sentences tops, since this document is way too long already. You might be asking why this is in a 2021 games list, and the answer is chronic procrastination.

「Exoprimal」– I hope this one has enough single-player content to interest me, but it’s still a cool-looking action shooter. I remember seeing quite a bit of positive reception around its network test, so I think there’s probably something here. Could be Dino Crisis 4, you don’t know.

「Pragmata」- I dunno what this game’s deal is, but I trust Capcom in their present state more than just about any developer right now, so I feel fairly secure about its quality. Could be Dino Crisis 4, you don’t know.

「RE4make」– I saw Leon Sex Kennedy parry a chainsaw with his knife and now this remake’s existence is 120 percent justified.

「Eiyuden Chronicle」– Very excited for Suikoden II-2. Playing Rising this year was a nice appetizer for this world and I’m ready to dive even deeper. Even Konami realizes how hard they’re getting clowned on by their former alumni, so they’re no doubt rereleasing Suikoden I & II to compensate.

「Final Fantasy XVI」– I was skeptical about XVI veering from being an rpg, but then I saw the protagonist doing Nero combos and started feeling more secure. Real interested to see how the narrative and characters play out in their first almost pure fantasy in forever.

「Final Fantasy VII Rebirth」– I hope Square takes it even further. Remake’s ending sequence was so great and I’m aching to see where they take it. Still need to play Intergrade before then.

「Like a Dragon: Ishin」 – I attempted to play the JP version of this years ago, but playing a story/text heavy game with a guide is like trying to watch a foreign film while the subtitles are on a separate screen behind you, so I’m excited to finally complete this one.

「GrimGrimoire OnceMore」– Never got around to this one despite owning the original on PSN for years. Very curious to see how its VN/strategy hybrid approach works out. Vanillaware has yet to miss, so this one’s a safe bet.

「Trails into Reverie」– The culmination of my favorite series up to that point and only 3 years after it was released in Japan. Saltiness aside, I’m ready to be emotionally destroyed again.

「Witch on the Holy Knight」– Technically this releases this year, but I’m grabbing the limited edition that’s releasing next year because it’s too important. Gonna be beyond surreal to play a Type-Moon VN officially in English for the first time.

「Double Shake」– Every handsy 5th-gen platformer rolled into one. Looks incredibly cute, and I’ve been longing for something to scratch that Klonoa and Mischief Makers itch.

「Compound Fracture」– Ecstatic that Dino Crisis has finally joined the pantheon of inspirations for “Fine, I’ll do it myself”-tier indie games. Love the atmosphere and aesthetic on display. It’s a perfectly captured frame and I can’t wait to be inside it.

「Dragon’s Dogma 2」– I don’t even know if this will be released in 2023, but let a boy dream. Refer to Dragon’s Dogma section above for further elucidation.

「Hollow Knight: Silksong」– T-this year, right? It’s coming this year, t-they promised.

「Spider-Man 2」- Insomniac made the best superhero games of the last decade and I’m ready for them to do it again for SM2 and Wolverine.

「Phantom Fury」- I liked Ion Fury, but the bigoted comments unearthed from the devs kinda soured me on it, so I’m excited to play a new one with a Goldsrc-esque aesthetic from completely different devs.

I dunno how to properly end this, other than thank you to everyone, especially my moots, for putting up with my shenanigans for this long. So uh.. here's to 2023 and I hope to release another iteration of these (among some other things) sometime earlier next year.

Au revoir, baby.

#my txts