#Level 5 looked at Sega and said...

[black-arms-hivemind]

Rank every stage in Shadow the Hedgehog (Yes, every single one) from worst to best.

Oooooh what fun~! I'd love to!

TLDR version:

(Dis)honorable Mention: The Last Way

#22. (WORST) The Doom

#21. Lost Impact

#20. Mad Matrix

#19. Circus Park

#18. The Ark

#17. Lava Shelter

#16. Iron Jungle

#15. GUN Fortress

#14. Westopolis

#13. Space Gadget

#12. Prison Island

#11. Glyphic Canyon

#10. Central City

#9. Digital Circut

#8. Lethal Highway

#7. Death Ruins

#6. Cosmic Fall

#5. Cryptic Castle

#4. Sky Troops

#3. Air Fleet

#2. Final Haunt

#1. (BEST) Black Comet

Below the cut is my explanations for each ranking/reviews of each level

(Dis)honorable Mention: The Last Way

I've never played this level, because I know what comes after it. Idc how good or bad this stage actually is - you end up fighting Devil Doom no matter what you do, and as a Black Arms; I'd rather not thanks

#22 (the WORST one): The Doom

Congrats on being the only stage in ShTH I have yet to complete in ANY sense! This level is such a maze that I found myself unable to complete ANY of the missions! So yeah - awful job SEGA

#21: Lost Impact

I may have at least finished this one, but this level is just as much of a confusing maze as The Doom, being set in the same location (just altered slightly) and all. I personally think that the critique of "No Sonic level should ever tale more than 10 minutes to complete!" just because that's how Classic Sonic worked is pretty dumb, and low key is why now in games like Forces, the levels go by so stupidly quick, BUT

ShTH actually reasonably tows this line for most of the levels, each of them taking around 10-15 minutes if you know what you're doing, depending on the mission that you're doing of course. Lost Impact and The Doom taking at least 30 minutes to finish the level in any capacity sticks out, in a bad way. They feel like utter slogs compared to the rest of the game. Also I'd like to point out that the secret door reward in Lost Impact is an armored car, which is COMPLETELY USELESS! You can't even use it for that long if you want to actually get somewhere in the level due to it's mechanics!

Okay, from here on out, I like these levels to at least some extent. I do willing play these levels, even if they're ranked low! The Doom and Lost Impact really do suck in my eyes, and we can only go up from here!

#20: Mad Matrix

As I said, I like this level! It can be quite a lot of fun! But while the Hero and Neutral missions are relatively a breeze and bring in quite tasteful sprinkling ins of puzzle elements, the Dark mission for this stage can get quite tedious! Mad Matrix's Dark mission suffers for the same reason that make The Doom and Lost Impact downright insufferable - the lack of an in-game map. The lack of a readily available map can make you really feel like an idiot at times as you aimlessly travel through cyberspace looking for bombs (I know, ShTH is a strange game, I love that about it), and that's mainly what drags this level down for me. At least the game is aware of this - it's surprisingly easy to get an A rank on this level's Dark mission as long as you have a low enough hero score.

#19: Circus Park

Again, I enjoy this level, I LOVE the cutscene that plays before it - "Where's that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald?" is truly an iconic line! But am I alone in feeling that this level feels... out of place? Like, ShTH has TONS of weird levels - take Mad Matrix and Digital Circut for example! You go INSIDE OF THE INTERNET! But this level feels like a good Sonic game level, but not really a Shadow game level. It feels almost like a scrapped Heroes level that got thrown into ShTH last second. The level's still good, but it just would probably shine brighter in another Sonic game, that's all.

#18: The Ark

I feel like putting this one as low as it is feels kinda mean, but the exact same I completely understand how this level could very easily become boring and monotonous to some players.

This levels has you traverse through it almost exclusively by flying on top of a Black Volt, which is an advanced version of an element of gameplay in previous levels - the Black Hawk flying sections in some levels, and is generally a pretty fun part of the game! But since that's really ALL the level is, especially if you're going for the Neutral mission, it can absolutely become stale after a while!

#17: Lava Shelter

Oh Lava Shelter... I love your theme and aesthetic.... but you do have issues. Let's talk about them.

Lava Shelter and The Ark both have incredibly prominent gameplay gimmicks that may or may not become too much for the player. While The Ark hinges on the flying mechanic, Lava Shelter hinges on the grinding mechanic. What Lava Shelter has over The Ark, however, is that there's more going on in Lava Shelter that breaks up the constant rail grinding.

The other major issue of Lava Shelter is that... your choice doesn't really matter here. Whether you pick the Hero or Dark mission, you're gonna fight the Egg Dealer. All the difference in mission does is determine whether Omega joins you in the fight or not...

Which makes it a no brainer to go for the Hero mission, Omega is awesome and absolutely should join forces with you.

#16: Iron Jungle

... This list is gonna be way harder than I thought it'd be, huh. I really like this level, but it is VERY linear, which isn't bad! Not at all! But hey, not everyone can be first place! This level's linear nature makes it lose a good bit of replay value, which is detrimental for a ShTH level, since the game hinges on replayablity. But hey, Omega is great as always and this level's track slaps. The Shadow Androids are a bitch to deal with though, even more so than in Lava Shelter if I'm honest.

#15: GUN Fortress

Yes, this level's theme sounds like fancy elevator music, we all know the joke by now. Though, what do I mean by "fancy elevator music"?

GUN Fortress doesn't JUST sound like elevator music, it has this inate sense of dread, of hopelessness to it. The Earth as we know it is about to end, everything is in shambles... any attempt from GUN, or anyone else to salvage the situation is futile...

Which, while incredible at setting an atmosphere, really calls into question the point at doing the Hero mission for this level, at all. While you might at least get a different boss as the end, has anything truly changed from you deciding to play hero last second? Have you saved anyone, anyone at all, by changing your ways so late into the game?

Also this level in general is pretty mid I guess lol

#14: Westopolis

A fine level, a fine first level, even. This level does a pretty great job at introducing the player to just how this game works! Though weird how it showcases a falling mechanic at not just the beginning of the level, but a second time if you go past the goal ring, that I'm pretty sure is ONLY in this level.

But that isn't the main issue with Westopolis. The main problem is that it doesn't really offer much for repeated playthroughs, which is already not great for a ShTH level, but it's practically a DEATH SENTENCE to Westopolis specifically, as it's the FIRST level of the game, which you'll be playing through no matter what route you take.

#13: Space Gadget

This level does a great job at referencing SA2 in a tasteful and fun way, and the Dark mission reveals a whole different path that make the level feel more well-rounded and full of things to do!

So what's the problem?

The main issue with Space Gadget is the sheer amount of automation in the level. Sure, it isn't nearly on the level of Forces in terms of automation, but it certainly is there - and it can get kinda boring sometimes.

That's all, it's a really good level other than that.

#12: Prison Island

This and the next level on the list are both great levels with just one thing that really grinds my gears about them.

With Prison Island, you might be thinking - "Oh, it's the constant use of the air saucer" or "Oh, didn't Prison Island get blown up in SA2?" But no,

MY issue with this level is that THE LEVEL THEME SHARES BLACK COMET'S LETEMOTIF FOR NO FUCKING REASON!! GIVE THAT TO FINAL HAUNT YOU GREEDY SON OF A BITCH-

#11: Glyphic Canyon

... I fucking hate those tornadoes.

Also did you know that this level has quite a few lines from Black Doom that were meant for ot but went unused for some reason? Weird.

#10: Central City

I was stuck on the Dark mission for this level for the longest time! I didn't know that you had to blow up that one building at the beginning to get to those two bombs! The game didn't tell me anything of that sort!

But otherwise pretty banger level with a banger track - that middle section of the song where it breaks down into individual instrument solos? Chef's kiss 👌 And the part at the end where it does that breakdown again but with the main melody still going? That really tickles the neurons. But we aren't rating the tracks, we're rating the levels themselves

#9: Digital Circut

That one worm can be super fucking annoying but hey, at least Rouge is here! That makes it all okay :) (She's also in GUN Fortress but, ya know.)

Also there's no bomb searching in this one. Solid 8/10!

#8: Lethal Highway

WHY is this the only level you can ride a motorcycle in. That thing was all over the promotional material and ALSO it's just plain fun. Like yeah the other levels have cars but WHERE'S THE BIKE S E G A-

Also this level and Westopolis do a similar thing to Iron Jungle and Lava Shelter in that Lethal Highway really does feel like Westopolis Zone Act 2, having the same Hero and Dark characters as Westopolis and all. which I don't fully get doing in a multi route game where you can absolutely end up not playing Act 2 (Lethal Highway/Lava Shelter) even if you play Act 1 (Westopolis/Iron Jungle). I get that it's carry over from Sonic Heroes, in a very similar way to how Circus Park, Cryptic Castle and Death Ruins feel like Casino Park/Bingo Highway Act 3, Hang Castle/Mystic Mansion Act 3, and Frog Forest/Lost Jungle Act 3 respectively. I like that ShTH takes notes from Heroes overall, I love Heroes, and ShTH is a direct follow-up to Shadow's arc in that game!

Also somewhat unrelated as this is just the mini boss that comes after this level and Death Ruins - but oh my Doom the Black Bull is such a big baby I want to sleep on top of it.

#7: Death Ruins

So you know how I said that this level feels like Frog Forest & Lost Jungle? That I PURELY in the level design and setting departments - this level's theme is SO much better than either of those level's themes. Death Ruins' theme is an unapologetic HEADBANGER. The intro part is utterly immaculate. The level itself is a great level but the theme is carrying the whole package here. While Sky Troops' and Air Fleet's themes do slightly better in the atmosphere department, Death Ruins is by FAR the best track in this whole game FULL of bangers.

It's so good in fact that other people have apparently noticed reworked versions of it popping up in other pieces of mid 2000's media! Now that's an achievement!

#6: Cosmic Fall

While not my favorite Shadow the Hedgehog related thing with "Fall" in the title, this level is pretty damn solid, and easily deserves the reward of the BEST Ark themed level. "Find the Computer Room!" Is another truly iconic moment from ShTH. 8.5/10 level overall.

#5: Cryptic Castle

This really does remind me a good bit of Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion, honestly, just without the gravity mechanic from those levels.

None of the missions are a hassle really, and yet both the Hero and Dark missions require some effort be put into exploration, which is nice. Though, why doesn't Cream come with you to find Cheese? I think that would've been nice. Also assuming you're doing a full True Dark route run, what about working with Eggman the ONE time causes Shadow to want to steal Doom's throne rather than wanting to assist Doom in taking over the planet in the Semi Dark ending?

#4: Sky Troops

Glyphic Canyon grew up! Or, uh.. floated up. Into the sky.

I didn't talk about it in the Glyphic Canyon section, but holy fuck is it and Sky Troops jam packed with lore! It really does leave you with so many questions! Why did the Black Arms make this temple so long ago? What was it's purpose? Why do those gems power the temple in such a way that it's able to fly?! Why are the fucking statues LIVING?? WHY DOES DOOM CALL THE TEMPLE "HOLY"???

It does such that we don't get much in the way of answers - but that's what fanfic and headcanons are for, baby!

Also the theme slaps, as always.

#3. Air Fleet

Oh my Doom does this level succeed in atmosphere! (WITHOUT making any of the routes feel useless to do, GUN FORTRESS-) The music is intense - everyone fears for what comes after the sun sets - the Hero mission presents you with one Miles "Tails" Prower, a character who at this point in the series still holds the lesson they learned in SA1 dear, knowing how to fight on their own, amd they beg you to help, for the Black Arms have now put the very President's life in danger! (A point which is proven when you meet up with Doom's Eye, as he basically bluntly asks you to kill the fucking guy). This is honestly the only time the placement of the Hero mission character really feels important to the plot. I just don't think that Air Fleet would work as well if Tails wasn't the Hero mission character.

Another thing that makes this level basically the better version if GUN Fortress is that it isn't completely too late to turn back, to realize that you don't want to be the villain, and if you do - fuck, it makes a lot of sense story-wise! Up to this point the worst you've probably done for the Black Arms is destroy Eggman's fleet, and Eggman's already considered a bad guy! Killing the President... might just be a step too far for Shadow, so they retreat, whether that be by just running away (probably pretty fucking terrified yourself) to the goal ring or teaming up with Tails to put an end to the mess you started.

The only critique I really have for this level is that the Dark mission... is a pain in the ass.

But overall this is a definite 10/10 level regardless!

... you can tell what the last two are.

Yes I'm biased.

No I don't give a shit-

#2: Final Haunt

The Black Comet has to be one of, if not the most GORGEOUS locations in all of the Sonic series. The mix of the dark purple and blues of the interior walls with the glowing lights of the floorboards, the wall decails, the fucking fruit bushes for Doom's sake! The deep black of the acid rivers from which giant worms spout from, and the railings along them that separate you from the various twisting towers in the distance. The Black Comet is a world that is much like our own, and yet, very different, in it's own twisted, messed up way. The familiarity comforts some, welcoming them into the Comet as if it's their home too... while it completely horrifys others, making them wonder just what turned a world, a civilization much like their own into such a murderous monstrosity of chaos amd horror...

Okay, that last bit was more my own headcanon, but anyway.

Final Haunt is definitely representative of these feelings, of this atmosphere, but it's not the full package. It's like a free trial. Nothing wring with that, none at all, but it's rather linear compared to Black Comet, leaving a bit more to be desired. 12/10.

#1 (the BEST one): Black Comet

Black Comet is everything that I said about Final Haunt, but even more. It's more open, letting you explore the place, truly take in the atmosphere, it's got more of a "final level" feeling, with there being a lot more of testing the skills you've gained throughout the game, with numerous sections of air saucer sections, flying sections, grinding sections, and of course, platforming and shooting. The music is laid back, but still has a tinge of suspense to it. This is the first time Shadow’s ever been here, they don't really know what to make of the place at first. Despite the presence of GUN, Doom is unafraid, calmly referring to them as mere rats, that he asks Shadow to remove from the premises. As you travel through the Comet, Shadow finds things about it that they've also seen back on Earth - the rails to grind on, and the various types of weapons. In the end, after GUN, and Sonic, is taken care of, Shadow is ready to accept themself as part of the Black Arms, and accepts the Black Comet as their home...

Or you could take the Hero route with Knuckles and then go fight the Egg Dealer which is here for seemingly no fucoing reason.

But why would you-

Actually, why IS Knuckles here? We fight Sonic (and Diablon) after the Dark mission, why isn't xe here instead??

Eh, whatever, I still love this level, and this game, to bits regardless.

#raistarz #hive rose red #hive replies

[frozaru]

Hello and welcome!

A lot happened yesterday in the new Nintendo Direct from many of the big franchises. It had started off weak imo but credit where it's due, got better as things went on! I have much to talk about so let's get on with the show.

𝙋𝙄𝙆𝙈𝙄𝙉 4

The game to kick off this direct. I will admit that it does look visually pretty, and the new pooch is certainly cute! There's chances for a lot of chaotic fun no doubt. I've never tried a Pikmin game before, and whilst it does not interest me enough to say "buy now", I hope people will enjoy this game. We already know a certain blue puppet went crazy over this. 😉 Perhaps I'll take another look when Pikmin 4 goes on sale one day. The game releases on July 21st, 2023.

𝙎𝘼𝙈𝘽𝘼 𝘿𝙀 𝘼𝙈𝙄𝙂𝙊: 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙔 𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙇

An unexpected surprise from Sega happened! This will be the first Samba De Amigo game since 23 YEARS AGO (as of Dreamcast release). Dancing games are not really my thing but hey, maybe this one will be unique enough to consider me giving it a shot! It releases sometime this summer.

𝙎𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙊𝙊𝙉 3: 𝙀𝙓𝙋𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙋𝘼𝙎𝙎

If anything, this announcement was the main course for me! Just...wow. ♡ As someone who started within Splatoon 2, it's going to be so fascinating to explore Inkopolis Plaza for my very first time! Also SQUID SISTER SPLATFESTS ARE BACK! I already know @atlantisportal2 is about to have a nostalgia trip. I'm so freaking excited! 😁 Not only that...but Side Order is looking VERY intriguing for me.

Could this be a corrupt version of what happened if Team Order won Splatoon 2: Final Splatfest? Also Pearl and Marina baby, woohoo! Very glad seeing them back along with what looks to be Agent 8. Also you better believe I purchased it ASAP! With that said, wave 1 is set to release sometime in Spring with wave 2 inkcoming (haha) somewhere on the holidays (according to placeholder dates).

𝘼𝘿𝙑𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙎 1+2: 𝙍𝙀-𝘽𝙊𝙊𝙏 𝘾𝘼𝙈𝙋

I haven't got much to say about these games, however, I did like what they've shown so far and looking to pick it up sometime in future if reviews are looking good. Like the artstyle they're going for! They will be avaliable on April 21st.

𝙉𝙎𝙊: 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝘽𝙊𝙔+𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝘽𝙊𝙔 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀

More games for the service? Yes freaking please! It took a while but now they're here. The games really whizzed by and it would be impossible to put them all here, so if you'd like a glimpse of what I'm personally interested in, take a look. Take your time. 😊 *Tick tick tick* Oh, you're back? Lovely! Nintendo really popped off with the choices imo (looking at you Wario Land 3 and Mario+Luigi Superstar Saga). Some of these games are being released today with others being added in the future.

𝙋𝙇 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙉𝙀𝙒 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝙎𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈

A miracle has happened!! After tragic events with both Level 5 and the original creator years ago, Professor Layton is looking to make a return. I've not played any of these games yet which judging by general buzz, I'm missing out! Hope to see more details soon as they come and maybe look into this considered-to-be underrated series in future. A release date has not been confirmed yet.

𝙏𝙇𝙊𝙕: 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂𝘿𝙊𝙈

GANON IS BACK AND MORE TERRIFYING THAN EVER! With an amazing reveal of more info, this game is shaping up to be something great already. The visuals, music, and maybe even voice acting...it leaves me impressed. The gameplay could even be a step up with new weapon types and tools among other things (we can make our own cars legit now!?) However, it also reminds me that I need to finish BOTW someday. 😅 I'll be sure to look into this game at some point. Sharpen your blade and prepare for adventure on 12th May, 2023...

(Tysm for getting up to this point reader, it's been wonderful writing it all. I'm still not done yet though and might do part 2 in future. Take care! 👋

🎴My Carrd

#nintendo #nintendo direct #pikmin #samba de amigo #splatoon #advance wars #game boy #game boy advance #professor layton #the legend of zelda #gaming #9.2 #2023

[lgwebsummerwork2022]

Sumo Digital

Sumo Digital was founded in 2003, and since then it has grown from one team of thirteen people, to having twelve studios internationally. The locations of these studios include; Sheffield, India, Nottingham, Newcastle, Brighton, Leeds, Leamington, Warrington, Poland, and Canada. Sumo Digital is known for making such games as but not limited to; Sega Superstars Tennis, Hasbro Family Game Night 3, Doctor Who The Adventure games, Disney Infinity 3.0: Toy Box Speedway, LittleBigPlanet 3, Sonic & All Stars Racing: Transformed, Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed, Forza Horizon 2, Hitman 2, Spyder and Little Orpheus.

For the purposes of looking for job listings, I am going to focus on the office in Brighton; also known as The Chinese Room. All locations altogether have over two hundred job offers, while the one in Brighton has a much more manageable number of twelve. These are; Experienced Environment Artist, Senior Environment Artist (twice, one is fixed-term, one is not), Senior QA Tester, Technical Artist, Lighting Artist, Senior Gameplay Programmer, Senior UE Programmer, Animator, QA Tester, Lead VFX Artist and Senior Game Designer. I am going to focus specifically on ‘Senior Gameplay Programmer’.

The role of the job is to assist the lead coder with the design and development of the core gameplay, furthermore being able to write high quality source code. Another aspect is working closely with the game design team to create gameplay experiences that are compelling for the player, and also getting a sense of what the game is fun as well as entertaining. An additional part of the role is being able to author documents for technical designs and best practises for use by the rest of the team and plan work and meet deadlines designated for team projects. The Experience and requirements are as follows:

‘As a seasoned software developer, you understand the creative processes involved in designing and maintaining good code. You have a deep knowledge of current development tools and can learn and adapt to new systems quickly. You’ve got a good feel for great game experience and can communicate your ideas effectively to the rest of the team. A great problem solver that can jump into the code base to help fix the nastiest of bugs. You can think critically and can apply analytical skills in resolving complex issues. You have great code design skills and can mentor juniors in best practices. You’re also a great communicator and love working as part of a team where you play an active role in helping shape the game and its development. You’ve got top notch C++ skills, experience at a senior level of development in Unreal Engine 5, and a passion turning complex code challenges into amazing gameplay experiences.’

The Chinese Room is behind the titles of Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, So Let Us Melt, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and Little Orpheus. They have had ten BAFTA nominations and three BAFTA wins. With the studio being in Brighton, it adds the opportunity to live in of frequently commute to a place they themselves said to have ‘an amazingly vibrant game development scene and a cultural hotspot with fantastic food, arts, music, shopping and sports’.

[clownkiwi]

OK sonic frontiers trailer thoughts HERE WE GO (spoilers below)

love that this game is about a 15 year old throwing hands with a child. a literal child

i'll be honest, i wasnt a huge fan of sega only showing off the grass level and nothing else in marketing before this. but now that we've got a look at even more levels, im a huge fan of how sparse and diverse they are (from the cyberspace levels to the open world levels)

the kokos are the littlest guys and i hope we dont pit them against chaos. if anything, they should be friends!!!

REALLY love the concept of sonic having to save his friends now as theyve been captured in prisons. you never really get any recent sonic games that are about his friends (that are written well) and im glad they focused especially on amy more in the marketing

speaking of, that scene where sonic saw amy in the prison and went "amy? is that you..." Pretty Fucked Up

SONICS GOING THRU ANOTHER METAL VIRUS ARC IN THIS GAME???? SONIC WINCING IN PAIN AS HE HAS A RED GLITCH INFECTION GROWING ON HIS ARM???? OH NO

what the fuck does that lil girl mean when she said "you are hurting this world" sonic is literally for environmentalism. clearly sonic is not meant to be in this world, but why is sage the 5 year old so savage towards sonic

tuesday release date is weird, but pretty average for a big november sonic game

basically, yea this game looks hype as fuck and i hope the story will get executed as well as ian flynn is able to

(as a side note, i hope ian flynns story wasnt cast to the side by sega producers and higher ups as. thats a very common thing to happen with sonic games)

#rubys clown thoughts #SONIC SONIC SONIC HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE IM VERY EXCITED

[101flavoursofweird]

Rating the Parents of Rhythm Thief

I don’t know if I’ve talked about this before but parenting is such a key theme in Rhythm Thief.  

SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE GAME AND THE BONUS EPISODES FOLLOWING THE GAME

Raphael, dog parent to Fondue

Raphael meets the cowardly Fondue (or “dog” as he’s called then) a year after his father disappeared. Raphael looks after Fondue for a few days, trying to find him a new owner, but he almost has to leave Fondue. He tells Fondue that he has his first job as Phantom R coming up and if he can’t pull it off, he won’t be coming back. So... Raphael was planning to leave his home if he failed. (Maybe he was going to search for his father...) 

Raphael is shocked when Fondue saves him from the police and lets him stay at his apartment. (Even though Raphael’s apartment doesn’t allow pets...) Raphael knows first-hand what it’s like to be abandoned. Thankfully, Fondue doesn’t suffer the same fate! Raphael becomes a parent dog owner, he gains a partner in Fondue and neither of them lose their home. 

9/10 (But Raphael’s still a kid himself)

Jean-François, former guardian to Marie

Marie has Jean-François acting (literally) as her guardian. J.F. acts worried when he hears Marie was attacked- by the organisation he works with. At the Opera House, he hopes Duchess Elizabeth will confirm Marie is her daughter. When Elizabeth denies this, Marie is so distraught and she runs off. J.F. just stands there like a lemon and he doesn’t go looking for her, even when Marie doesn’t come home afterwards. He helps kidnap Marie and then shoots Raphael on the Eiffel Tower. It’s revealed that J.F. was using Marie all along to get to the treasure. Later, when Raphael confronts him about breaking Marie’s heart, J.F. announces that it was worth it as long as he can achieve his ambitions. Also, tried to kill Raphael twice. Worst Parent Award by far goes to Jean-François.

-100/10 (Go away, evil British man pretending to be French!)

Duchess Elizabeth, Marie’s mother

In her diary, Elizabeth writes that the best day of her life was the day Marie was born. Unfortunately, Jean-François discovered Marie’s true heritage. Fearing for Marie’s safety and the Dragon Crown’s resurrection, Elizabeth gave Marie to the convent when Marie was an infant. Elizabeth also left her with the music for Moon Princess... which miiight have helped Jean-François to identify Marie. Whoops. Elizabeth must have been feeling sentimental and wanted to give Marie something to remember her by. Elizabeth doesn’t acknowledge Marie at the Paris Opera, but we can see how affected she is when Marie plays Moon Princess. 

That scene when she turns her back on Marie and walks away must have felt  very familiar to Raphael. Elizabeth has to pretend she has no interest in Marie so J.F. will leave them both alone. Elizabeth demands to know what J.F. would want, theoretically speaking, if he had found her daughter. “Money? Honor?” 

Later, when Napoleon threatens Elizabeth’s life in front of Marie, Napoleon reveals that Elizabeth has been lying in order to protect Marie. (Even the evil emperor recognises this!) Elizabeth tries to keep the act up, insisting that she is nothing but a stranger to Marie. Marie decides to save her and plays the song anyway after hearing Elizabeth call her name in distress. 

Then, above the Hanging Gardens, Elizabeth takes a literal bullet for Marie. Elizabeth reveals the truth to Marie and she calls Marie ‘Ma chère, Marie’ before passing out.  

Fortunately, the pendant Elizabeth wore with young Marie’s picture saved her from the bullet. Raphael remarks that Elizabeth was Marie’s guardian angel. 

After the Chevaliers have been defeated, in the final scene of the game, Elizabeth can be seen peacefully listening to Marie’s music at the opera house. In Marie’s bonus episode, she watches Marie at her examination to enter the conservatoire. She’s glad to hear Marie’s laughter and she encourages her to enjoy herself. She tells Marie to “play like you were playing for him”- Elizabeth approves of her future son in law. 

8/10 (Guardian angel)

Inspector Vergier, Charlie’s father

In Vergier’s first scene, we see him sending in an army of roller-skating police officers to arrest Phantom R. Vergier takes his work very seriously.

At Paris Constabulary HQ, Raphael overhears Vergier talking to another officer about how he hasn’t been home in days. Apparently, Vergier has been on a certain case since his wife died. The other officer basically tells him, “GO HOME TO YOUR KID”. 

At the Paris Opera, Raphael again overhears Vergier talking to his colleague. Vergier asks if Charlie has turned up yet. He knows about Charlie’s mission to hunt down Phantom R, but he considers her efforts an impediment to their investigation. Raphael picks up a family photo that Vergier dropped and decides to hang on to it. During his second fight with Charlie, Raph comments that Charlie is just like her father. Charlie snaps at him to “LEAVE HER FATHER OUT OF THIS!” (It’s not like she’s trying to prove her worth or anything- what gave you that idea?)

Raphael goes looking for Charlie after Marie gets captured. He talks to Vergier’s friend from university and learns that Charlie and Vergier just had some sort of argument. Also, the friend comments that Charlie is about Raphael’s age. So... Charlie’s 16-18, maybe. It’s not unheard of for a parent to leave a 16-18 home alone, but Charlie was left at home for DAYS??? Raphael finds Charlie at a cafe and asks her to return the photo to Vergier. Charlier huffs that she doesn’t want to see her father again, but then she reads the message her mother left on the photo. 

During the battle below the Hanging Gardens, Charlie saves her father from a bunch of Chevaliers. He acknowledges that he protects Paris in memory of Charlie’s mother. Charlie reminds him that there’s no time like the present, and she announces that she’ll help him save the city. Vergier doesn’t refuse her offer. 

In the final scene, Vergier and Charlie can be seen pursing Phantom R together.

Raphael’s trying to be polite and keep his voice down but these two are having a shouting match the middle of Marie’s performance!

There’s also Charlie’s bonus episode, where they fight off the last remnants (?) of the Chevaliers. Vergier announces that the case he was working on is officially closed. He’s realised that no matter how much he warns Charlie to stay away, she wouldn’t listen. He just asks her to stay where he can keep an eye on her. 

7/10 (Some character development but please don’t forget to feed your child)

Isaac, Raphael’s father 

Obviously, you’ve got Raphael and Isaac. The first chapter opens with dialogue of Raphael crying as Isaac leaves him. He left three years ago... when Raphael was fifteen. Raphael’s mother previously died in an accident, so Raphael was orphaned.

Raphael became Phantom R and chased after the mark his father left for him on the coin. 

Raphael reveals to Marie that his father was an artist but he never got a big break. Isaac became a forgery artists, swapping his fake art pieces with their authentic counterparts. Raphael tries to fix his father’s crimes and hunt for the mark by returning the real art pieces.  

Raphael thinks that he sees Isaac beneath Les Invalides and at the Palace of Versailles. He’s distressed and frustrated when he loses Isaac in the crowd. Isaac was in a hurry to escape...

During his final battle with Jean-François, Raphael learns that Isaac has been working with J.F. and the Chevaliers. Isaac made forgeries for J.F.’s organisation when Raphael was young and sickly. Raphael insists that he made those forgeries to pay the doctors. So, it does seem that Isaac initially joined the organisation for Raphael’s sake, but his intentions became warped over the years. 

Raphael couldn’t believe that his father would fall in with the Chevaliers and Elizabeth was close friends with Isaac... once. Isaac couldn’t have shown any obvious signs of going to the dark side years ago. 

In his final scene, Isaac discusses with the seemingly real emperor Napoleon that he wants to begin the next phase of their plan. He quietly warns Raphael to be ready for whatever that is. 

2/10 (Too bad we didn’t get a sequel to learn about his true motivations)

Bonus Points:

Alfred the Butler

He will fight you if you threaten the Duchess or her daughter. He almost died trying to defend Elizabeth. He also encourages Marie, though he gets nervous for her too. 

#rhythm thief #lost post #Charlie Vergier #Raphael #Phantom R #Duchess Elizabeth #Marie #Isaac #Fondue #Jean-François #Inspector Vergier #Alfred the butler #character analysis #Level 5 looked at Sega and said... #Mind if we borrow that plot point with the missing father? #Except Rhythm Thief does it 100x more emotionally and weaves it into the story? #Already Isaac's actions are held under some suspicion #If there'd been a sequel we could've gotten his full story #Why can't Rhythm Thief get an anime? #I'd pay to see Raph and Marie solving mysteries around Paris with their dog Fondue #And then having Charlie come in wanting to solve the mysteries instead #Yes I am writing Rhythm Thief meta in the year 2020 #What about it #Spoilers

[alteredalex988]

VIRUS HUNT! EXPLORING A NEW SONIC VIRUS

                                        UPDATE 9:23PM

I'M BACK! 

All the stuff you guys found was cool. Lot's of encounters with the giant hedgehog. People are starting to claim it appears the second they leave the room, not just go AFK. I got someone saying they didn't play until the timer went up and they just got a normal game over, no weirdness at all. Another person said they went to their door frame, closed the door to their room, and when they opened it again, it was there! 

Really interesting stuff. Some people are saying it has to do with Webcam movement. Personally I don't have a webcam, so I'm not sure how it works. 

Luckily I finished getting the "Chaos Emeralds" so I'll experiment with him some more. Before that however, let me show you guys the fruits of my efforts. This was WEIRD.

First off on the ad wall, for around 5 dollars off, was a basic survey. Questions included both personal questions, and SEGA trivia? Personal questions were mostly normal, besides asking for things like blood type, medical history, and "What your windows look like”, but the SEGA trivia was… Kinda cool? Mostly surface level for me, but it was fun. I cranked out a few more of these surveys, just listening to music from my actual computer while I do. Listening to the SA2 OST while doing this really felt like I was saving the VMs life Lol.

After that, though, I turned to one of the games. Called "Chaos Calamity", it was a shitty hand drawn sonic clone that reminded me of bad web browser flash Sonic fangames.

It plays HORRIBLY, but it just needed me to beat GHZ before it gave me my “prize”. The only thing of note was that every badnik was replaced by Caterkiller. Already getting flashbacks to that rematch, yikes..

After that I tried some more games, most of the same quality, most web browser tier, and most Sonic related. 

I really can't be damned to go over them all so here's some screenshots of the weird and funny ones.

After these, I just did some more surveys, watched some weird Sonic animations that were stolen from YouTube, and I watched a few ads for things I have NEVER heard of (Who needs "visors that let you see through one sided mirrors", when will that ever come up?)

Now, after it all, it is done. 600 dollars of credits gained, not a single crypto sent, and the weird upside down adware eggman flipped back, and the normal ransom eggman appeared again. He spoke something along the lines of;

"With this The Chaos Emeralds are MINE!"

"Have your inferior computer back, you've just Doomed your world! Ha Ha Ha!!!"

And like that, the computers back. No files hurt. I'm gonna take a short break, but when I'm back, I'm going to experiment with the shadowy hedgehog. Keep your investigations up guys!

NEXT

[blazehedgehog]

Do you think Sonic would be in better hands if it were SOA was in the helm or SOJ? On the same note, if you were the head of SEGA, what would you do for the Sonic franchise?

Something to keep in mind is that several times over the last 10 or 15 years they have tried to move main Sonic development over to Sega of America.

For example, the Sonic 4 debacle really seemed to be more of a Sega of America failure than any other branch. And everything that happened with Sonic Boom and related things (Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal, etc.) were almost entirely Sega of America dropping the ball.

Stephen Frost, formerly of Sega, was explicitly clear at one point (as the dust was settling on the mess) that Sonic Boom was created because vanilla Sonic merchandise was in a slump. Sonic Boom was different on purpose, because it was meant to refresh and revitalize the series for a new generation of kids who were sick of the regular Sonic stuff. It was Sega's New Coke, and the responsibility largely fell at the feet of their American branch.

Sonic was definitely more popular outside of Japan, and that mismatch of priorities definitely lead to a lot of confusion and failures, but Sega of America isn't entirely innocent or perfectly understands Sonic, either.

If I were the head of Sega, it's hard to say what I would do with Sonic. The responsible thing to do would be to take baby steps in trying to course-correct. I think a lot of Sonic's failings come from a fear of messing up a working formula. Unfortunately, that "working formula" has been a legacy of mediocre-to-bad games punctuated by the rare accidental success. Therefore I assume a lot of decisions get made to "keep doing what you're doing, whatever that is" and nobody understands what that means. On top of being spooked by things like Sonic Boom being such clear failures.

I think building a kind of "New Sonic Brain Trust" would help a lot. Because what made those Genesis games so good? Hirokazu Yasuhara, Yuji Naka, and Naoto Ohshima, mostly. They were responsible for developing Sonic's look and feel. Now, a lot of things have changed since then, including those three people (four, if you include Takashi Iizuka), so I don't think you could just get the band back together and turn the magic on like it never left. I think that's the main problem with Iizuka nowadays -- he clearly means well, but I don't know if he's always equipped to make the best decisions. But he's the Sonic staff with the most seniority at Sega, so he gets to call shots like that.

Not only was it Yasuhara, Naka, and Ohshima, but I think the relationship they had with Sega of America was important, too. Japan got to pitch wacky ideas like Sonic having a stacked human girlfriend, and Sega of America got to step in and say "whoa there, let's back up a bit." While I'm iffy on the idea that the modern Sega of America is competent enough to fully direct the series going forward, I think having an extra layer where one side can cut loose and the other side tempers those ideas might help better structure things like they were when Sonic was at his peak.

Think of it almost like people who maintain something like a Sonic style guide. I'm sure Sega has people like that right now, but I'm sure it's also very corporate and bland. I just mean, like... it's pretty clear there are Sonic fans who know what they want and can identify that pretty clearly, right? Sega only greenlit Sonic Mania, but it was the Sonic Mania development team that knew what they wanted. They honed in on that kind of 90's pop art style and said "this is our Sonic."

And similarly we have people working on the comics who know what they want Sonic to be and they seem to be pretty good at that. Those people grew up in the fandom (I remember, I was right there along with them).

We need more people like that. Not necessarily fans that are just going to run in circles with Classic Sonic nostalgia forever, but the top 5% of talented fans who are going to move the franchise forward in a smart, considered way. People who get it, as opposed to whoever we have right now, where Sonic games feel like they get made by someone throwing darts at a dartboard.

And like I said, I'm not talking about hiring more game designers or level designers or anything like that. I call them a Brain Trust because they'd exist as kind of the first line of quality assurance to keep the franchise's identity consistent, clear, and evolving. A group of people to decide "This is what the Sonic house style is, this is what the Sonic lore is, and there will be no deviation from what we say."

People who aren't Shiro Maekawa, aren't Takashi Iizuka, aren't Morio Kishimoto, aren't Shun Nakamura, people who grew up with Sonic and understand Sonic and want to make Sonic better. Sort of like what Tyson Hesse did for the Sonic movie. Someone to come in and say, "No, not like this. There's a better, more logical way."

Because that's the problem with a lot of these games. It feels like a failure of logic. They make weird, random, confusing changes and it never feels informed. So many games, even the good ones, feel weirdly rushed. Even when games have 4+ years in development, they still stumble out the other side feeling under-baked. Something's going on in there that we aren't allowed to know about. I just want a sanity check, because it feels like that hasn't happened on most Sonic games in a long time.

#questions #sonic the hedgehog #sega #anonymous #sonic team #shiro maekawa #takashi iizuka #morio kishimoto #tyson hesse #sonic mania #sonic boom #sonic 4

[maggyoutthere]

It's funny how I'm actually putting effort on this. I'm putting actual effort on a shitpost.

Anyways I said I'd write a bad sonic creepypasta so here it is. Here's the catch: I like how its turning out so imma make it a 2-pary story. This is the first part. It doesn't have any scary shit but it has the basics for a shitty creepypasta: someone gets a old pirated/unreleased/defective game and tries them out despite getting warned that bad shit might happen.

Again I'm not a fluent English speaker so expect some grammar error and stuff like that ._.,

So ladies, gentlemen and non-bis, I present to you-

Sonic: Battle of Metal and Blood (Part 1)

Synopsis: Teen gets nostalgic mid-quarentine and starts playing old Sonic games. She asks for some cheat codes and shit happens.

So for context; I'm a 17 year old girl stuck home because of quarantine.

It had been 4 or 5 months since the virus sent everyone home. Students were playing Animal Crossing and DOOM all day to fill in the summer hours since no one could go outside. I never liked going to the beach so I was never really bothered by it.

Like many people, I found myself going back in time to easier phases of my life. I was rewatching old cartoon shows from my childhood, getting into MCR and P!ATD and just living in pure nostalgia. I also started getting into gaming again, even going to the point of setting up my Wii again just to play Epic Mickey, but I didn't exactly grow up with the Wii. I was more of a Playstation kid, so much that me and my bro got a Playstation 2 from our cousin when he eventually bought the 3rd one for himself.

My cousin was older than us; I remember him being 16 or 17 when I was like 12, so he was kind of our gaming hero. If there was a level in Crash Bandicoot we couldn't beat, we'd call my cousin and he'd do it in 15 minutes. He knew all the cheat codes, all the secret levels and extra content for the games he had; he was like a genius to me and my lil bro, so when he gave us his old Playstation 2 and games me and my sibling knew we were in for a treat.

We got this Sonic Gems Collection for the Playstation 2 from him. It's like a port of various older Sonic games like Sonic CD, Sonic The Fighters, Sonic R and so on. I grew up playing that game, especially Sonic The Fighters since I wasn't very good at the racing games.

I still had a working controller and a lot of free time so I asked my bro for help setting up the console. The thing was so dusty I was actually scared it wasn't going to work. We clicked the power button and the light on the console turned on. Me and my brother held our breaths as we put the DVD in the console and crossed our fingers. As the screen lit up with the SEGA logo and music started playing, I just hugged him and cheered. He set up the console in my room so I could play without having to go to his room (he was the one keeping all the electronic stuff) and told me to have fun.

I didn't even know where to start. There was so much I wanted to play now that I actually knew what I was doing. I thought about starting with my favourite one out of the bunch: Sonic CD. I'm a sucker for the retro 2D pixel games so that was a must. It was better than what I remembered; the music was so catchy and the art style was vibrant and it stood out from a lot of games nowadays that go for a washed out "hyper realistic" look.

As I kept playing, I eventually reached the level where Amy tags along with Sonic for a while before Metal Sonic bursts through a wall and kidnaps her. Oh yeah, Metal Sonic was a thing. I remembered him from Sonic R and Sonic The Fighters - and the fact he was in the fucking cover art of the DVD case. I absolutely loved the fucker in the games though. He had a cool design, and the idea of the villain being a copy of the hero gone wrong was so interesting to me at the time.

I ended up passing the level and even making it to Stardust Speedway. I was sweating since I'd never come this far at any game. My bro was there cheering me as I tried not falling on spikes or getting hit by Metal Sonic's attacks. I ended up making it till the end on top, but it was kinda sad seeing Metal crash face-first against the door like that.

I was done with that for a while, so I went ahead and played Sonic R and Sonic The Fighters for nostalgia. Again, the fucker was there, either as a boss or as an unlockable character. I ended up noticing how there were a bunch of games missing. There were empty grayed slots with question marks instead of the game titles. I couldn't understand if the game was broken or if there was something I was supposed to do, so I called my cousin in hope he would somewhat tell me what to do. He ended up explaining how the game made you complete all the other games to unlock new ones. I thought that was kinda stupid so I asked him if he had any cheat codes or something to make the whole thing available. He told me he was going to dig up his old stuff and ring me again if he found anything.

A few hours later, he sent me a message telling me he'd found something that should work. He told me he did have a cheat code but he thought it was best if I didn't do it. Here's the transcript from his message.

"There's something that might work but it's kinda weird. I got this memory card from a friend of mine and he said this should unlock all the hidden contents within the disc, but when I tried it some weird shit started happening. Most of the sonic games were unplayable no matter how many times I restarted the console or cleaned the disc. There should be an extra game slot but that's just a glitch. Something about the system trying to make up storage for the extra code. Just don't click on anything that looks like a glitch and you should be golden"

Well that was a bit discouraging, but we agreed to meet that afternoon so he could give me the memory card.

When I got home and plugged the cartridge into the slot on the console, I was kinda scared. What if the thing exploded or something? I gave it a try and the thing actually worked! As I clicked on the games section, everything was there! There were some vectorman games but I didn't know who that was at the time so I didn't really care about them. What I was more interested in was the museum. There were a bunch of unlockable promotional art and illustrations there that I never got to see as a kid, so you could imagine how joyful I was when I saw the museum section filled with pages upon pages of illustrations and renderings of the games. Some of them weren't even on the Gems Collection like some screenshots of Sonic Heroes.

I went back on the game menu and was surprised to see another game entry below all the vectorman ones. It was called "Sonic: Battle of Metal and Blood". What the hell was this? It surely wasn't in the cover art and a quick google search turned up nothing. Was it a glitch? It couldn't be; it looked too clean and intentionally made to be a glitch, not to mention that whole game titles don't just appear out of thin air. Game or not, something was programmed in there. I concluded it was probably someone's fan project that was in the memory card my cousin gave me. Why hadn't he mentioned it though?

I was too curious to turn down a mystery like this one, so I got up first to make a cup of coffee since it was already getting late. As I returned from the kitchen, I remembered to look at the synopsis of the game. I can't remember exactly what it said but it was something along the lines of:

"In this sequel to the famous Sonic CD, step in the shoes of Sonic's friends as they face their biggest challenge yet. Control Amy Rose and Miles "Tails" Prower and fight against the metallic faker himself, Metal Sonic, and stop him before he puts his plan to become the only Sonic in action"

Woah, that sounded exciting; I wasted no time. I got all cozy, kept my cup of coffee next to me

And pressed START.

To be continued in part 2

#sth #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #creepypasta #creepy story #short story #sonic gems collection #sonic: battle of metal and blood #battle of metal and blood #maggy moment #shhh i actually like how its turning out #i'm not that good at writing but this is the best i've written in a while

[biolizardboils]

my super-specific Sonic Adventure 1&2 remake wishlist!

welcome back to another episode of me blasting out Sonic drafts I was too scared to post years ago! rev up those light speed shoes cus this is gonna be a long one!

first off shit I’d want in general

retranslated dialogue thats truer to the Japanese originals' tone and keeps the intended subtext

but with the most iconic English lines left in ("Get a load of THIS", "I'll slam dunk it in there"). The Faker scene can stay unchanged, interruption and all

small additions to cutscenes to help explain Little Things people have debated for decades (like whether G.U.N. framed Sonic to cover up Shadow's existence or if that’s just a legitimate plot hole)

all the MIDI cutscene songs redone with real instruments and/or an orchestra! all the other songs are already perfect and Should Not Be Touched

make the Emerald radar beep in time to the level music so it’s less annoying

okay, time for a spicy one: voice acting. hoo boy

Getting the entire original cast probably isn’t possible (for studio and contract reasons, not just Tails’s growing up and Eggman’s dying), and I feel the series’ current cast is just so different in tone and direction that they’d clash with the Adventure era. (will make an exception for Mike Pollock tho, he’s said some iconic Adventure lines already and I loved his take on them!)

So my preference? A compromise: a separate voice cast comprised of whichever OG’s are still game and soundalikes for the rest, complete with an actual kid as Tails. Too good to be true? Probably, but whatever it’s my wishlist

lighting and other subtle effects based on the Dreamcast originals (long story short a lot of these got broken from the GameCube ports onward, there’s video comparisons)

textures remade from scratch cus as much as i love that they used their field trip photos, it probably wouldnt fly today lol

new character models based on Adventure-era promotional artwork! after these games, the characters' proportions shifted over time, giving the impression that they've grown up a little since. it's a very subtle difference, but its enough that just using the now-standard Modern Sonic models would look kinda off

said models shouldn't change between games. like if youre playing SA1 and switch to SA2, the only thing that should change about Sonic is his shoes (before upgrades of course)

speaking of upgrades, an option to remove them visually would be nice, they can get kinda distracting during cutscenes

Unleashed-style redesigns of all the humans!! my heart yearns for it!!!

an option to turn off the Ball of Light/Omochao

the SA2B multiplayer mode but with the SA1-exclusive characters added maybe?

every DLC thing ever reinstated! the extra Kart Races and special Chao as unlockables, maybe the holiday stuff can show up at wintertime NiGHTS style? the Nike one might not be possible tho

Super Sonic/Shadow in normal levels as an unlockable like the Lord intended

Very Important: the game must be revealed with Eggman “hacking” the screens at a public Sega presentation, followed by a trailer that starts with this scene in modern CGI. It’s the hypest way I can think of to do it, and also people could slap A Certain Meme onto it as soon as humanly possible

absolute balls-off-the-walls ad campaign that targets the following demographics: 20-smthns who grew up with a Dreamcast/GameCube, ska enthusiasts, & the entire state of California. more on that here

SA1

fix Big’s fishing. idk how, i haven’t played enough fishing games to know what constitutes a good one, but there’s gotta be something they can do

replace the A-B-C level goals with the 5-missions-each system from SA2 cus it allows for more variety

use the ranking system from SA2 too cus it got used in every game made since anyway

use Generations’s Perfect Chaos design since that’s how he was meant to look in the first place

maybe go the extra mile and add hints of the dark blue armor to his earlier forms too?

finish the unused Sky Chase Dragon and make it a bonus boss maybe??

have Tails look away if Sonic uses the shower in Casinopolis, I know it’s a tiny thing but it always bothered me

make the CD flashback actually look more like CD cus i had no clue that's what it was when i first played it lmao

also make Tails' flashback to when he met Sonic more obviously set in Sonic 2, like Emerald Hill or smthn. this cutscene means a lot to me but its so obvious they just used Mystic Ruins as the bg hfbfv

just. make it more obvious that the Classic games happened? cus that's kinda important to understanding these ones

just generally do better visual storytelling now that the original game's limited animation engine isn't an issue lol

SA2

nerf the Artificial Chaos pretty fcking please

an option to turn off certain upgrades functionally as well as visually? ngl this is for the Magic Hands. to the one person who actually uses them: i’m so sorry but they’re just not popular

either replace the beeping noise Tails/Eggman’s mech makes while targeting with something more subtle or just remove it altogether

get rid of that stream that can sweep you away in the Biolizard fight, like good god it’s hard enough without it

remove that... unfortunate hand motion Sonic and Shadow make when they go Super. you know the one

make an achievement/trophy for waiting till the last minute to beat Finalhazard, so more people can hear that one Shadow line. like that shit should be required reading but i didn't know about it for a criminally long time

this as an unlockable, it’s truly criminal that it never left Japan

redo the Green Hill remix so it actually fits the rest of the game lmfao? something like this

Chao stuff gets its own segment because of course it does

all six Chao Gardens connected by a single Chao World lobby that's accessible from both games!

new unique themes for the SA1 gardens? there’s nothing wrong with the original, but it’d be weird if they all shared a song and the SA2 ones didn’t. the old one can go to the Station Square one

add the Chao Key to the SA1 levels for quicker access like in SA2

new behaviors for Chao to learn, new hats and accessories, new toys, new race courses, maybe new breeds?? new Chao stuff in general!!

make it so animals don’t walk into the garden entrances!! you don't know true pain if you've never tried picking one up, accidentally left the garden, went back in, and the animal was gone

swap out SA1′s racing mechanics with SA2′s. keep the “alternate paths based on stats” thing tho

imagine if you will.... an 8-player online Chao race. imagine the chaos (pun completely intended)

a brand new minigame to join the legendary likes of Racing and Karate! personally id love one based on Chao In Space. like your Chao has to beat the others in a dogfight and its stats determine its ship's stats and weapons

an optional mobile app that combines the VMU’s Chao Adventures and the GBA’s Tiny Chao Garden! maybe with some extra Pokemon Go-ish features??

that’s all i got.... Good God i love these two games. of course they’re not spotless, i just made a long list of issues i have with them. but they’re still important cornerstones of the series in many ways, and it’d be nice to see them remade so people can remember why :’)

months-later edit: added more ideas

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic adventure #sonic adventure 2 #sonic adventure dx #sonic adventure 2 battle #sonic adventure 2: battle #sth #me talking #long #sa1 #sa2 #sonic adventure remakes

[aion-rsa]

15 Best PlayStation One RPGs Ever Made

https://ift.tt/3rHgcZn

In our look at the best Super Nintendo RPGs ever, we mentioned that the SNES is arguably the greatest RPG console in video game history. Well, if there is a console that makes that discussion an argument, it would have to be the PlayStation One. 

With a lot of help from Square, Sony quickly established the PlayStation as not just the home of incredible RPG experiences but as a console that was capable of effectively convincing people who previously had no real interest in RPGs that they absolutely needed to devote 50+ hours of their life to the next gaming epic. That sudden rise in genre popularity inspired some of the industry’s greatest RPG developers to try to outdo each other creatively and commercially. 

The result was a classic collection of role-playing experiences that still rank comfortably among the absolute best ever made. With due respect to the 20+ other games that deserve to be on this list, these are the 15 best PS1 RPGs ever made. 

15. The Legend of Dragoon

The Legend of Dragoon’s legacy has only grown since the game’s late 1999 release, and it’s not hard to see why. While this game was initially criticized for not living up to the standards of some of the other PS1 RPGs we’ll soon be talking about, time has been kind to the various things this game does so very well.

The Legend of Dragoon makes up for its slow story with an incredible combat system that emphasizes an almost QTE-like mechanic that helps ensure you’re rarely simply watching a battle play out. This RPG’s character transformation mechanic is also one of those brilliant gameplay concepts that should have been copied many times since this game’s release. There’s also always been something special about the fact that Legend of Dragoon‘s ambitious CGI cutscenes ensured this epic spanned four PS1 discs. 

14. Wild Arms

Wild Arms is another one of those PS1 RPGs that were initially overshadowed by some of the all-time classic games it had to compete against, but the thing that stood out about this title at the time is the thing that still makes Wild Arms special to this day: its style. 

Wild Arms‘ blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and western design concepts shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does here. Developer Media.Vision deserves a lot of credit for ensuring this game’s ambitious world always felt cohesive and for finding some truly clever ways to subvert genre expectations through this title’s approach to exploration, combat, and puzzles. 

13. Breath of Fire III

The Breath Of Fire III vs. Breath of Fire IV debate will likely not be settled here, but the third entry in this series ultimately gets my nod due to the ways it so clearly raised the bar for this franchise and its genre competition. 

Breath of the Fire III’s 3D visuals and voice acting helped sell this game’s engaging story, while the game’s combat and wonderful cast of characters ensured you were constantly engaged and ready to see where this absolute gem was going to take you next. 

12. Front Mission 3

Front Mission 3 rewards players willing to put the time into its fairly complex mechanics and deep storyline with one of the best tactical RPGs of the era and one of the best mech games ever made. 

This game is rightfully remembered for its customization options and often punishing tactical gameplay but I don’t know if it gets enough love for its faction-driven narrative and the ways its visuals convey epic mech battles without relying on more traditional action gameplay. 

11. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

The only reason this all-time great game isn’t higher on the particular list is that there are just other PS1 RPGs that better represent the genre and the kind of epic experiences we think of when we think of one of the best RPG platforms ever. 

Having said that, the way that Symphony of the Night incorporated RPG elements not only changed the franchise forever but eventually helped inspire developers everywhere to enhance their own action titles by utilizing role-playing mechanics. This is still one of the best blends of role-playing and action/adventure ever made.

10. Valkyrie Profile

Long before God of War took us on a journey through Norse mythology, Valkyrie Profile caught many PS1 gamers by surprise with its unique blend of Japanese design and a Norse narrative that tasks you with assembling the perfect party of heroes to assist you through Ragnarok.

Valkyrie Profile‘s true calling card, though, is its turn-based combat system that essentially assigns a button to each character in your party. Getting the most out of your party of heroes requires you to successfully assign each character the right actions at the right time in order to unleash powerful combo attacks. It’s complex, original, and a whole lot of fun. 

9. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete 

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete may have started off as a Sega Saturn title, but it’s hard not to ultimately remember this as a PS1 game due to the many ways that Sony’s first console allowed Lunar’s developers to share their full vision for this classic. 

It’s true that Lunar is an “old-school” JRPG in a lot of ways that might turn some people off, but when level grinding, party management, and methodical turn-based gameplay are done this well, it’s hard not to see this as one of the ultimate genre comfort zones. 

8. Star Ocean: The Second Story

It’s hard to talk about Star Ocean without eventually getting around to the fact that it has almost 90 possible endings, so let’s not bury the lede. What’s even more impressive than the game’s number of possible endings, though, is the fact that many of those endings are clever, logical, and, in their own ways, complete. 

Really, though, this game’s incredible number of possible conclusions just highlights the various ways this sci-fi/fantasy title makes you feel like every action you do truly matters and that anything can happen. I also have to pay respect to this game’s brilliant “private action” system: a unique mechanic that allows your party members to have their own adventures that ultimately contributes to some of the best sidequests in RPG history.

Read more

Games

25 Best RPGs Ever Made

By Matthew Byrd

Games

Was Final Fantasy Really the First JRPG?

By Matthew Byrd

7. Xenogears

Xenogears features a fascinating blend of styles and mechanics that is quite appropriate considering the details of this game’s complicated development history (it started off as a pitch for Final Fantasy VII before briefly being designed as a Chrono Trigger sequel). Admittedly, there are times when you can tell this game is trying to find its creative voice and gameplay footing. 

Yet, all the concepts this RPG touches upon ultimately come together to form something wonderful and memorable. It features one of the best ATB combat systems ever, a complex and creative story, a lot of heart, great visuals, and a truly incredible soundtrack. Sure, the game struggles a bit in the second half, but it’s easy enough to overlook those shortcomings as the byproduct of ambition. 

6. Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII should be a victim of its own success. After all these years, all the praise, and all of the discussions, you would think we’d be at the point where the dreaded term “overrated” might linger just above this game’s legacy. 

That’s not the case, though. Maybe Final Fantasy VII was eventually surpassed, but it’s truly tragic to imagine what RPG gaming in the ‘90s and early 2000s would have been like if it wasn’t for this game. It alerted millions to the fact they loved video game RPGs, and it did it without sacrificing depth, quality, heart, or ambition. 

5. Final Fantasy Tactics

Considered by many at the time to be the best tactical RPG ever made, it has to be said that the most impressive thing about Final Fantasy Tactics is the fact that it’s still difficult to argue against this game’s claim to that title nearly 24 years after its release.

Final Fantasy Tactics‘ surprisingly accessible (yet still deep and rewarding) gameplay perfectly complements its colorful visuals, engaging character, and surprising story. I don’t know if it’s the best tactical RPG ever made, but it may always be seen as the standard in the eyes of many. 

4. Vagrant Story

It feels like people have been waiting for Vagrant Story to get the love it deserves ever since the game was released in 2000. While Vagrant Story absolutely has a cult following, it seems pretty clear at this point that it’s just never going to reach that level. It’s too difficult, too different, and it will probably never get the remaster it deserves. 

However, those who have played Vagrant Story know it was Square’s most mechanically ambitious and unique PlayStation RPG. From its stunning visuals to its deep combat and mature narrative, Vagrant Story has honestly aged better than all but a few of the games of this era. A game this different and innovative shouldn’t feel as complete and confident as it does. 

3. Chrono Cross

From the moment Chrono Cross was released, it feels like the first line about this game has been that it disappointed those who were expecting a direct follow-up to Chrono Trigger. Even when we learned that the Chrono Cross team never really saw this as a Chrono Trigger sequel, Chrono Cross still lived in the shadow of its all-time great predecessor.

Maybe there are ways that Chrono Cross would have been better off sticking closer to that SNES classic, but even at the time of its somewhat controversial release, many praised Chrono Cross for its innovative combat, weird and wonderful story, large cast of characters, music, visuals, and commitment to defying expectations at every turn. This shouldn’t be your first PS1 RPG, but it might be the one you end up remembering most fondly. 

2. Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX was essentially Square’s PS1 swan song. While the title’s return to the medieval fantasy style of classic FF games highlights the studio’s jovial mood at the time, the fact is that many people wondered if Square could recover from the controversial Final Fantasy VIII and produce an RPG that effectively ended their unbelievable run of hits in style. 

The fact they managed to do just that is an accomplishment that should never be overlooked. To this day, I struggle to think of even a handful of RPGs that challenge Final Fantasy IX’s charm, humor, and cast of characters while still providing a role-playing adventure that will feel rewarding to veterans and newcomers alike. This is an across-the-board triumph that delights and impresses in equal measure. 

1. Suikoden II

Suikoden II was pretty much “doomed to fail” from the start. It was released in the wake of Final Fantasy VIII’s massive debut, wasn’t widely distributed, and featured “retro” graphics that initially turned quite a few people off at the time of cinematic PS1 visuals. It didn’t help that its predecessor was a very good, but not great, RPG that also failed to find a wide audience. 

Yet, Suikoden II is quite simply one of the best games ever made regardless of genre. I would love to tell you about its nuanced and deep politically-driven narrative, varied combat system, minigames, world-building elements, and score, but how long can you really talk about Suikoden II without getting around to its cast of over 100 recruitable characters and the ways Konami managed to make each and every one of them (as well as their interactions with each other) among the best of their era? 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

I wouldn’t call this a perfect game, but at the same time, I’m struggling to think of a single thing I’d change about it. 

The post 15 Best PlayStation One RPGs Ever Made appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[zippityzap]

My Top Ten Favourite Moments in Sonic Games

The past 30 years the Sonic series has had a lot of memorable moments, too many to list fully, so in celebration of my recent follower milestone, today I’ll be presenting and explaining my personal top ten favourite moments. I would like to emphasise that this list is very subject and is highly influenced by my personal experiences with the Sonic series. It’s not intended to be objective by any means, and I would love to hear what moments you guys would put on your own lists! Additionally, this list is only for things from the games, in the future I’ll make another list for other Sonic media

Without further ado, let’s get started!

10) City Escape’s GUN truck

Interesting set pieces and small scripted moments in levels have been a staple in the Sonic series since the beginning. Sure, they’re not always challenging from a game-play standpoint, but they’re always an entertaining spectacle. One of the most ionic of these moments (and one of my personal favourites) is being chased by the GUN truck. City Escape is already a highly memorable level from the get-go, but the truck sequence is the cherry on top. An additional shout-out to both of the Generations versions of the level for not only bringing it back but changing it up just enough to surprise you and keep you on your toes!

9) Escaping Null Space

Forces is one of those games that I would describe as a truly mixed bag. Yeah, there are a lot of things about the game that kinda sucked or were disappointing, but when it hit a high, BOY did it hit. While I agree with many people that having the Null Space portion of this level actually have gameplay in it would’ve made this moment impact a little harder, I’m just in love with that transition from the silence of null space to the bombastic chorus of Fist Bump. I thought it was a really exciting moment that hypes you up for the rest of the level.

8) Sonic Heroes’ opening cinematic

Heroes was my first 3D Sonic game, and consequently it was my introduction to a lot of things that are staples for the Sonic series. Vocal themes, an extended cast and their interpersonal relationships, story routes that connect to each other. These are some of my favourite things about the Sonic series, so even if some aspects of the game aren’t that great, I could never ever hate or even dislike Heroes. I feel like the opening cinematic to Heroes (the one with the theme song as the music) is the aspect of Heroes that really encapsulates those feelings best. I must’ve spent hours as a kid letting it play over and over again singing along to it.

7) Shadow the Hedgehog (2004) title screen cinematic

Before you laugh, here is where I must remind you that this list is extremely subjective and highly influenced by my personal experiences and memories. Ok now imagine this: you are a 7-8 year old kid, and your experience with media that isn’t mainstream radio or educational children’s tv shows is fairly limited. You’re getting deep into the Sonic series for the first time thanks to playing Heroes and seeing some of the cartoons and you’re interested to know more about the series. You visit Sonic Central, the official site at the time, and they have a music player with a variety of songs from the games. One of the songs it plays is I Am (All of Me). I won’t lie, I was a little blown away because I’d never really heard anything like it before, so I go to find out more about the game it’s from and I come across that opening cinematic.

I think it’s very, very, easy as an adult to laugh at the Shadow the Hedgehog game and it’s… direction, but adult me was not the target audience of that game, kid me was. Say what you want but the effect that game was going for I think is something that just hits best with sheltered little kids, and I’d be curious if anyone else had a similar experience.

6) The ending of Sonic and the Black Knight

I won’t go into too much detail on this one, since this is very much a fan favourite moment and many others have gone into detail about why it’s so great. Black Knight is certainly one of the games that captures Sonic’s character the best, and his words at the end of the game certainly encapsulate this. Followed by the amazing credits theme of Live Life, the ending of Black Knight is certainly one of the most emotional moments in the series.

5) Sonic Generation’s credits

Anniversary games can be a bit of a controversial subject for the Sonic fandom; 06 was one of the games released for the 15th anniversary while Forces is often considered to be a 25th anniversary game. I think Generations really achieved the feeling and the specialness of a celebratory event though. It’s one of my favourite Sonic games and the whole game is full of brilliant moments but I feel the credits really evoke the celebration vibe: a Sonic 1-esque music melody as the credits song, showing footage from the original games each stage is from, and the cherry on top: a ‘Happy Birthday’ message to Sonic recorded from fans who attended the 2011 Sonic Boom and Summer of Sonic conventions. It genuinely warms my heart every time I finish the game.

4) Metropolis Capital City level

Forces gets another representation on this list! Honestly, I believe the parts of Forces that were exciting, such as this, really demonstrate my opinion that Forces had a lot of potential to be a really good game. But I digress, this was my favourite level from Forces because it shows how fun of a villain Infinite could be. The way that Infinite follows you for most of the stage and uses illusions to fuck around with the stage itself? That’s really fun, and it’s not just stage gimmicks for the sake of having a gimmick, it ties into the powers of the villain and makes the player feel involved in a way because Infinite is messing around with you specifically and is having to make to think on your toes. Granted, part of makes this stage stand out so much in a good way is because it’s so different from the rest of the game and it takes you by surprise, so maybe the impact wouldn’t be as hard hitting if this sort of design was used more in the game, but c’mon when you have a villain who’s powers are illusion-based, the sky’s the limit!

3) Sonic Unleashed’s opening cutscene

Can you believe this game came out over a decade ago and the opening cutscene still looks this stunning?! Depending on who you ask, some might even argue that this cutscene has yet to be topped, and honestly, I’m in that camp. Not only is the rendering beautiful and the choreography of the action exciting, but this scene does a wonderful job of setting up for the viewer regardless of how much prior experience they have with the series who Sonic and Dr. Eggman are, as well as setting up the events of the game. I recall being very happy when I heard the animation team for this cutscene would also be handling the animation for the movie.

2) Beating Sonic Unleashed for the first time

So, this is another pretty personal one. I played Unleashed for the first time a few years ago and it is in my opinion, one of the most difficult Sonic games. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes for completely bullshit reasons. My first ever run of Eggmanland was around 40 minutes long and apparently that’s considered a pretty decent time for your first go, but christ it was a nightmare to finish (looking at you, that one section where you have to platform on pipes without a drop-shadow). The following boss sections weren’t much easier- I don’t rage much with video games, I tend to whisper swears under my breath at most but that part where you’re running on the Gaia Colossus had me screaming in anger every time I lost a life.

BUT when I finally beat the difficult sections? Felt like finally cracking your back after feeling stiff all day. Like taking the first sip of water after a walk on a hot day. The relief and satisfaction I felt was indescribable and slowly winding down while Dear My Friend plays as the credits theme was blissful. I don’t play difficult games that often so Unleashed is one of very few games that I have this sort of memory with.

1) Watching my dad get the good ending of Sonic 1

Here’s a small amount of backstory for this pick. My dad got his first job at 19 and he used his first pay-check to purchase the then newly released Sega Mega Drive. He had a lot of games for the console including Sonic the Hedgehog. He kept the console and games in good condition, and they were still perfectly playable by the time his first child was born (aka me!). Sonic 1 was the first video game I can remember playing at roughly 2-3 years old. I wasn’t good enough to get past Green Hill Act 3 but I loved watching my dad play through the game.

I’ll admit; his playstyle’s a little odd, he avoids speed when he can and instead, he likes to search for as many rings and extra lives as possible, but it was so enjoyable to watch nonetheless. The best bit was whenever he would manage to get all the chaos emeralds in a playthrough and be able to get the good ending. Sure, the only difference between the good and bad endings is just some flowers, but it was nice to see him be happy that he was able to achieve that ending.

And that’s the end of my list! Upon looking over it I realise most of it is either openings or endings to games…oops. I suppose they tend to be parts of games that get special attention during development since they bookend the journey. When I get around to making the second list, I’m sure it’ll have more variety, and as I said before, I’d be very interested in hearing what everyone else’s favourite moments are!

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic forces #sonic unleashed #sonic heroes #sonic generations #long post

[stirpicus]

I don’t know if this is a stupid question or not, but did you grow up playing games or did you play any games when you were a kid? If so, and if you remember what did you own, and what was the first game you played? My first game was Mario Bros on the Wii. I asked because you said you wanted to be a “writer,” and that can mean anything, it doesn’t just mean video games. Did video games have anything to do with it? Did they inspire you to be a game writer?

Oh this is a fun one!

I was born in 1988 so I was still a pretty little kid during the heyday of the Sega vs. NES/SNES war. By the time I was old enough to start wanting a video game console in the mid-90s, my mom had witnessed her older sister’s kids go through 5+ harrowing (and expensive) years trying to keep up. From my mom’s perspective, it looked like a new console came out every year (at like $500 a pop no less!) and every time you needed to buy whole new games for it (which were also $60-100 apiece!). We didn’t have a ton of money, so she decreed that we would not be a video game console family at all and banned any talk of getting a Genesis, NES, SNES, whatever.

The one exception was my beloved grey brick of a Gameboy. See, that was only $100 and my mom was able to set the rule “It only gets played in the car.” I received that as a present in ‘92 or ‘93 and every dang road trip it was my everything. My games of choice were Kirby’s Dreamland 1 + 2, whatever lame movie tie-in games were out (I remember burning a lot of time on the tie-in Pagemaster and We’re Back! games), and Pokemon red when that eventually made it to North America towards the end of the 90s.

Now PC games, on the other hand... That was a whole other story.

My dad was an engineer at IBM so we had computers in the house before I was born. Some of my earliest memories are of punching in DOS command lines at our family’s computer to play Mickey’s Alphabet Adventure or Goofy’s Number Party. I had to copy the commands from index cards my dad left next to the keyboard for me because I couldn’t read yet. Consoles may have been banned in my house through the 90s but there was a whole world of PC games waiting for me to explore.

The single most formative game that I played on my family’s computer was The Secret of Monkey Island. No joke, that right there is the reason that I decided I wanted to be a writer. It was funny, it was exciting, all without any spoken dialogue - just words written on screen. (Ironically, I wouldn’t realize that “video game writer” was a job you could have until much, much later) That game led me to all the other LucasArts/Lucasfilm Games adventure games of the 90s which I played religiously. To this day, I still have practically every puzzle, every story beat of those games memorized. Last time I tried it a few years ago, I was still capable of running Secret of Monkey Island in less than 30 minutes.

But it wasn’t just adventure games that captivated me. I devoured games of every kind on my beloved computer and, when we got internet access in 1995, I became a connoisseur of shareware demos. For a kid without a ton of money to throw around it felt like I was let loose on an all-you-can-eat buffet... and eat I did. I probably played thousands of hours-worth of the opening levels of puzzle games, platformers, bizarre RPGs... Game developers in the early days of the internet seemingly threw anything and everything at the wall, hoping something would stick and become the new hit title. Particularly beloved memories from that time include Gubble and Rayman, beginning my love of games starring goofy-looking protagonists.

Around the end of the millennium we got our first computer with a 3D graphics card and, ooh baby, that was a whole new world of possibilities to get lost in. I had loved Rayman and now suddenly there was Rayman 2, which brought Rayman and his strange, wonderful world into 3D and I was entranced. There were even ports of the games my friends were playing on console! For the first time I could talk the latest games with my friends and I was in heaven. I think I spent more time playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 in 6th grade than I did sleeping, learning the perfect combos and technique to send my scores into the stratosphere on the wings of my manuals and bowl-grinds.

So all of this is a long-winded way of saying that, even though I didn’t have any video game consoles as a kid, video games have been a pretty deep part of my DNA for a long time now. I might not have figured out that “video game writer” was a job you could have until I was in college, but my deep love of the medium means I clicked in pretty easily.

This one was fun - Sorry if I wrote too much, ha!

[another-sonic-blog]

Tumblr Slam Book

Tumblr Slam Book 🌻

@lonelypalmtree tagged on me on this! Thank you bebe, I don’t usually get tagged on things like this haha. 

1. You can call me: another sonic blog is fine, also Hani is fine too! You can call me whatever I am fine with everything tbh. 

2. Three random facts about me:

I love fashion, I am super into it and would like to work for a fashion magazine in the future. I model in my free time lol.  

I HATE ketchup. 

I used to live in Japan. 

3. My hobbies are: Reading/ writing fan fiction. Panting, sewing (This is my fav thing to do in my free time) going to arcades and level up on PUMP IT UP dance machine (I am a level 9 lol) Dressing up pretty.

4. Things I love: sleeping, writing, the smell of wet soil, the smell of new shoes/books, chocolate, coffee, when things are clean, eating without feeling guilty afterwards, talking about my dead without being consider a mental health issue. PIGS

5. Things I hate: Taco Bell, people who have negatively teased me because of my accent (fuck you all :D)  when there’s not an equal amount of investment in a friendship.

6. Things that make me happy: when people like/comment on my stories. I cannot express how much reading comments help me stay motivated to keep writing cause sometimes I think my writing is bad lol. Finding a good written fan fiction, I like to write it but I love to read others’ work sometimes too. Smiling Levi Ackerman makes my heart Doki Doki. There I said it. 

7. Things that make me upset: looking down and seeing my tummy. When a character I love is mis-written. *cough* Shadow *cough* Sega I am looking at you *cough*

8. I’m currently obsessed with: Attack on titan! I am still obsessed with Sonic but I need to finish writing my AOT fan fiction (so I can move on) because I need to get the idea out of my mind. When I am done writing that, I’ll continue with my Sonic fanfics. 

9. If I had an anywhere door: to the AOT universe so I can hug my baby Levi lol. Or maybe go to an alternative universe and meet the version of myself who has a better life than me so I can take her place. 

10. My favourite fictional character is: Levi! 

I don’t have many friends on Tumblr, but here are a few to who I have talked to and I appreciate. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want lol @itsdaqueensposts @mycatnoir-is-stupid @redsunlight

#I feel so vulnerable I don't really talk about my self lol #as far as you all know #I just dedicate myself to writing fanfics #You all shall forget this post :D #I never existed #me

[light-and-heartful]

Nick Arcade | The 90s Show That Put Kids Inside Video Games - Retro Gami...

I always had an idea for a reboot of my favorite Nickelodeon Game Show of all time, I call it “Nick Arcade Restarted”

the show would have Phil Moore returning to host (since he still has the energy and spunk to do it), Mikey and the Video Zone would have a more 16-bit look to it (while still working the same way and still having the enemy animations for Mikey), and the style of the set would kind of be the style of an old school retro arcade, with all neon and brick walls while still having the colors of the original 1992 show, and the music would consist of retro techno beat, think something out of "The Splat" on TeenNick

the game would play the same way as before (with Mikey, Video Challenges, Puzzles, and of coarse the Video Zone, which would all work the same) just with a few added stuff to it to make it more interesting:

including the face-off game that is played in the beginning of each round won't be games the studio made up, it would be multiplayer modes actual video games from the NES, Super NES, Genesis, Sega Saturn, Playstation, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Playstation 2, & Wii (I'm going with these systems because A: It fits the retro feel & B: they're more simple to play and manage) and they can include fighting or racing eachother to playing a co-op game to get the higher score in a time limit

and there would be more spaces

Commercial Rewind: where they play an actual old commercial from the 80s, 90s, & 2000s and the contestants would have to answer a question related to that, whenever it’s something on the commercial or what the commercial is supposed to represent

Video Head-to-Head multiplayer gameplay: where it's works just like the Face-Off where two players play against eachother in a video game where it’d have the team who's currently controlling Mikey choose one of the opponent’s team members to play against him in a video game that the player from the team who was in control of Mikey chooses, and that chosen player from the opponent’s team will also secretly draw a number to bet how many points the player would win after the Head-to-Head is over  

more Video Challenges: to test a player's gaming skill, including the new Virtual Reality Video Challenges, that would have the player play quick VR games with the Oculus Rift (to show off the new technology) in order to win points

and a new Power-Up Square: where there's one per board, & when Mikey lands on it, it starts a roulette wheel, that the team controlling Mikey would have to stop it by pressing the button on their joystick, and depending on what it lands on, something will happen [with the roulette wheel would consist of a 10 light up spaces with some items repeating on multiple in each of them (including dud's where nothing happens and they just move on with the game)],

and these would be the power-ups:

Roller Copter: an inspector gadget-esc helicopter hat with a roulette wheel on the front of it, that the team controlling Mikey would press the joystick button to make it stop on a number between 1 through 5, and depending on what number the roulette lands on, the Copter will lift Mikey up and automatically move him that number of spaces in random directions (however, the space wouldn't be triggered, he'd just get placed there)

Defender Blaster: a raygun that can act as a one-time safeguard for the team controlling Mikey so the next time when the team that's currently controlling Mikey lands on an enemy space, it’ll show an animation of Mikey zapping the enemy with the baster and then cut to a close up of Mikey's face blowing to the blaster smiling as the enemy sits there defeated and control of Mikey doesn't move to the other team

Spring Shoes: shoes with springs on them forces Mikey to automatically jump to another open space that hasn't been turned into a bomb yet, and that's determined by the team controlling Mikey pressing their joystick button at the right time as the marker moves to random spaces very fast (but again, the space wouldn't be triggered, he'd just get placed there)

Auto Bomb: a bomb that automatically triggers a Time Bomb puzzle for the team controlling Mikey

Slot Tokens: 3 golden tokens that automatically turns the screen into a slot machine, and the team controlling Mikey would get to roll said slot machine 3 times (by stopping the slots by pressing the Joystick button for each row) in order to get certain matching pairs to try to gain bonus points to their score

Pocketwatch Portal: an old fashioned pocketwatch that sucks Mikey right back to the starting square of board and refreshes the squares by turning all of the Time Bomb squares back into their original squares before they got landed on, they'd still be covered up, but still be in the same place they were

also, the video zone would have two new Wizards, a Blue Atlantian Water Knight named "Marineor" & a Yellow Steampunk Wind Harpie named "Starknie" also each different wizard would have different hazards in their Wizard Level (while still having creatures and throwing energy blasts) to zap their energy (and by the way, all of the Video Zone levels would have a Floating Turning Heart for restoring energy, a Floating Spinning Hourglass for stopping time, and a Floating Spinning Stick of Dynamite to get rid of all the enemies, to make it easier) with:

Scorcha's level having flame jets popping out of the floor randomly (and you’d be able to tell when the fire is about to fire when a little fire is lit for like three seconds that doesn't do any damage, but then it has a flame jet go on for five seconds)

Mongo's level having Earthquakes that come as little waves of earth from the ladder to the edge of the screen on each of the four walkways that the players has to jump over

Merlock's level having lighting clouds from the top of the screen moving around side to side, stopping for 5 seconds to charge, then rain down lighting in a straight line 8 seconds

Marineor's level having sudden tidal waves that every 8 seconds it would have an orange Triangular Traffic-esc sign with a black explanation point on it show up blinking on top of the screen for 5 seconds in one of 5 parts of the screen each time, (the far left of the screen, the far right of the screen, the middle of the screen where the latter is, an area that's in between the far left of the screen & the middle of the screen, and an area that's in between the middle of the screen & the far right of the screen), and after that five seconds, a huge wave of water will come up and splashes the bottom floor on that part of the screen

Starknie's level having large cyclones that would pop up at the the end of one side of screen on one of the levels on one of the two sides, and it’ll slowly go towards the center ladder before it evaporates and after it's gone evaporates for 8 seconds and a new one will appear on one of the four walkways  

& lastly, before the wizard level, the players would choose the difficulty of the video zone they are about to face, and depending on what difficulty the players choose, they get certain prizes from completing the video zone in that difficulty (and the consolation prizes would still be some new shoes & ether a large amount of Quik Milk Mix or NERDS Candy). and this would be the prize list:

Easy (with it being basic your basic Video Zone run)

For beating the first level: a collection of classic Nintendo Power and/or GamePro Magazines and/or player's guides*

for beating the second level: ether a Ping-Pong Table that comes with automatic ball receiving robot net, a folding basketball hoop, or a state-of-the-art Karaoke Machine

for beating the Wizard Level: a special Nick Arcade style Dave-and-Busters or Chuck-E-Cheese game card that has 3,000 game credits on it when you win it

Medium (the same as the easy, but with more enemies floating around)

for beating the first level: a classic Video Game Console with multiple controllers (and a multiplayer adapter if the system requires one to play with more than two players) and an assortment of hit games from the system*

for beating the second level: a Big Parasonic Old Fashioned TV that has a Built-in DVD & VHS Player, a Stereo Sound System, and an assortment of various DVD's & Videotapes of Famous Films*

for the beating the Wizard Level: a paid vacation trip to a big major hotel, complete with hotel commination's, airline travel, & rent-a-car

Hard (the same as medium, just with the enemies moving faster in the first two levels, and the Wizard Level having twice as many hazards at once)

for beating the first level: ether a New Laptop computer complete with a headset, PC game controller, or an Oculus Rift VR Headset System

for defeating the second level: a specially made game room consisting of two of these 4 things (a pool table, an air hockey table, a stick hockey table, or a foosball table), and three Arcade1Up Cabinets of the team’s choice

for a defeating the Wizard Level: a trip for four on a long paid expensed cruise ship getaway

* means that the announcer will tell how much the prize is worth in-case the team wants to sell it online

do you think that would be a good idea?

#nick arcade #nickelodeon arcade #nick #nickelodeon #nickelodeon game show #nickelodeon game shows #game shows #game show #90s nickelodeon #classic video games #nes #super nes #snes #n64 #genesis #sega genesis #sega saturn #playstation #sony playstation #nintendo 64 #nintendo entertainment system #super nintendo #super nintendo entertainment system #gamecube #nintendo gamecube #playstation 2 #wii #nintendo wii #90s #1990s

[blazehedgehog]

i hope you start another sonic rumor

You mean like a hoax? Those are too much work to do well and literally any goober can write a 4chan post. I mean, there’s at least two or three rumors about Sonic Colors Ultimate Edition going around right now, most of which sound like the most ridiculous fanboy wishlist garbage ever.

Like I said in this post, I found healthier, more creative outlets for that kind of stuff. Hoaxes became a deeply unfulfilling thing for me to take part in. For me, it was a chance to flex certain artistic skills and learn to dissect what the “professional look” was.

It’s too hard to pull that off nowadays and too easy to get found out. It’s not 2004 anymore and my skills for creating “fake screenshots” did not evolve with the industry.

And writing text posts... I mean, beyond what I just said, it’s also like... what value is there to be gained from that? If I say something totally crazy and over the top, nobody will believe it, and if I make educated guesses on where I think things will probably go, that would be boring and depressing, because my leak would be something like

Hey guys, I work closely with the localization team at Sega, and if you were excited for the new Sonic game, don’t be. The team working on it is at a loss on what to do with Sonic next, but they were told they had to get a game out THIS YEAR, so they’re slapping together something last second that doesn’t have nearly enough polish or content.

Its pseudo-3D sort of like Sonic 4 Episode 2 was, but with Sonic moving around more in 3D space, like old PS1 games like Klonoa or Tomba something. There are a bunch of chase levels like the first level of Sonic Adventure 2, but think more Crash Bandicoot. Instead of a boost meter, Sonic has a wisp energy meter he can use to equip different skills, like a temporary shield or the ability to glide. A speed boost is one of the abilities, so I guess it can kind of be like a boost meter.

The current name I heard marketing toss out was “Sonic Blur” and it’ll be releasing on Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series SX, Switch, and surprisingly, mobile phones. Last gen versions are going to be a dumpster fire. Think Cyberpunk, but worse. The phone version will be free to play, but it’s more like a demo where you have to pay for additional levels in packs of three using premium currency.

Like, that sucks to write, it sucks to read, but that’s what it looks like when I make a realistic assumption on what Sega might do with the next Sonic game. Which is to say I think they’re still trying to make Sonic Colors 2, but it’ll be just another Sonic Forces, or Sonic Lost World, or Sonic Heroes, or Sonic 06, or whatever.

They had a string of three really good games and they let a lot of the most important people from those games either leave the company or they promoted them in to roles where they aren’t being utilized properly, which is allowing these newer games to succumb to the same old problems that have plagued this franchise for 20 of its 30 years.

Nothing about that is any fun.

#questions #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic team #rumor #hoax #Anonymous

[msbowser]

My Top Games of the Last Decade

The year 2020 is here, ushering in a new decade to live in. Instead of looking at the bad events that occurred over the years, I instead want to look at my favorite games over the last 10 years. It’s crazy that back in 2010, I was only in my second half of the fifth grade. Oh how young and naïve I was and an even worse gamer. Now in 2020, I am in the second semester of my second year of university, studying in the psychology field. I feel how I was raised over the last years shaped of how I am as a person and I am still learning, no one is perfect. Those developments shaped even the gamer I am now. Back when I was younger, I just liked games that were fun to play. But now I am a person who puts Character Development and Story before Gameplay. You will see this shift as the years go by.

Well let’s start with 2010. And I will try to limit how much I write each game to about a paragraph each. Don’t want to make this post too long. I can give a more detailed explanation at a future date if someone is interested. 

PS. All the games are Nintendo Games. I’m only a Nintendo gamer so sorry if you don’t see like Persona 5 or Last of Us.

2010: Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Gosh this game is too freaking cute for words. I remember the stories about how much I wanted this game when I was younger, even the embarrassing ones. While this game is easy even for Kirby standards, this game is so fun to play. The levels are enjoyable to play, you can get lost hours doing minigames and playing music (Frosty Wheel is still the best), and is just cute. This game is cute incarnate. And if you don't want to play the original version, you can play a port of it on the 3DS with even more goodies on it.

2011: Pokémon Black and White

My favorite Pokémon games and generation even if I started with Pearl. Gen 5 of Pokémon is super special to me as I know it is for many others, being the first game I bought the day of release. I was also pretty blind in my playthrough, finding new discoveries as they came along and finding new Pokémon that I might have not liked at first but became my favorites. Pokémon like the Krookodile line, Emolga, the Leavanny line and so much more. The game also first brought to my attention to how characters can be written well and still is my favorite story in a mainline Pokémon game. 

2012: Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure

So I’m kinda cheating with this one since I didn’t play it until 2013 but damn it, I don’t care! This game is awesome. I am super terrible with rhythm games but this game is one that is very enjoyable with an excellent story and characters. Phantom R is such a cool guy that you just want to hang out with and go dancing with and not the fact he’s a gentleman. The rhythm minigames are mostly enjoyable and have a wide variety to play so you can't bored very easily (the gyroscope one can go die in a fire though). All I want to know is where is the damn sequel already Sega?! It’s been 8 freaking years with that teaser you showed at the ending of the game and no I don't count that bad IOS game you made a year later. We fans need our fix and answers now. 

2013: Mario and Luigi Dream Team

Bowser’s Inside Story will always be my favorite Mario and Luigi game but this game comes to a close second. As part of Year of Luigi, this game did not disappoint. Luigi is front and center and he is the best of the part of game, with his dream abilities and overall character. The story is also very good with the adventures the bro’s have on Pi’illo Island and the soundtrack of the game is my video game soundtrack of all time. There is also the fact that giant battles return and if anyone knows me, knows I love me those giants <3

I also have two honorable mentions for 2013 that I will give a brief note while I like them

Fire Emblem Awakening 

First Fire Emblem game, got me in the series. Characters are great and story left me generally shocked at points. Make a yearly tradition to one playthrough each year

Super Mario 3D World

Favorite Mario platformer, Peach being playable and being a cat. Yes please

2014: Kirby Triple Deluxe 

I freaking love Kirby games :D Triple Deluxe was the first Kirby game on the 3DS, using an engine that looks beautiful on the 3DS that was used for the next game they did. The game is super colorful with its vibrate worlds and use of pastel colors. The new abilities is super fun to play with as well, Archer being my favorite. Supernova is also a neat gimmick for the game and glad it was present in many of the levels and used in new ways to solve puzzles. 

2015: Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle

Surprise! I said favorite games of the decade and mobile games count. This game means so much to me, being the one of the mobile games I keep track of everyday, even looking at what the JP version gets. I am proud of my account and how far it has come over these past years. Though I was not there right when it released, it has felt like that long as I have had my account for over 4 years now and don’t plan to quit now. One day I will have my full husband team, just you watch <3

2016: Dragon Ball Fusions

This game was my answer to a playable Dragon Ball RPG to play on Nintendo consoles (before Xenoverse 2 got ported over on the Switch). The chibi artstyle gave this game its own identify from other games like it. The gameplay was fun as you can make your own character and fly all across the world fighting characters from the Dragon Ball timeline. The game is all about the fusion mechanic, but with an expanded roster of characters to fuse and the ability to fuse your favorites is a blast. 

Brief Honorable Mention to Pokémon Sun and Moon for a fun region to explore, new pokemon to love and pretty good story.

(Lillie is so precious for this world I swear. And Snowy as well :D))

2017: Miitopia

A lot of people would write off this game as a simple Mii game, but it is so much more than that. This game has much more personality than one might think, with its class system, characters even when you chose who is what role and the story as well. The story and characters allows many possibilities of ideas for stories and art for creators to make and enjoy, as this game and Tomodachi Life was used as a template for a rp that me and my bf do. And this game can get hard, like wanting to rage quit hard, so be prepared for grinding. The OST is also a charm of the game, being one of my favorite OSTs ever. 

Like with 2013, I have two honorable mentions that I will give a short comment on.

Splatoon 2

Love it more than the original, Aerospray is still the master race and Off The Hook is better than Squid Sisters, don’ t @ me XD

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia 

Amazing story, characters and unique experience from other games I have played. Berkut x Rinea OTP

2018: Dragon Ball FighterZ

As much as I like the Super Smash Bros games, I was more excited for this game to come out. I was glad it did come to Switch so I can play it. FighterZ was my first proper fighting game with button inputs and it threw me for a loop, but eventually I got the hang of it and is still learning. The story is a fun experience if you don’t think too much about it, me loving Android 21. And of course I main my husband that is in the gif above <3

2019: Pokémon Sword/Shield and Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission (That’s right, a tie)

I was excited for SwSh since day 1 and was not disappointed even with the dex cuts. The Wild Area has been a blast exploring, finding all the new raid Pokémon to catch and train. The new Pokémon are super fun to use, some of my favorites being Ponyta, Scorebunny and Dreepy. My baby Eevee also got a GMax form and she is super freaking fluffy, big and I want to hug her <3 I’m excited for the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC when they come out.

This game was huge to us USA fans of the series as this was the first time we ever got anything DB Heroes related here. The cards were fun to make teams with and make even custom cards. It was a full experience without to play the irl game, which would still be fun. Though the game is slow to add updates, I will be waiting for what will be coming. I am glad the game came out so we can finally enjoy all of what the game has to offer. (Though I played the previous game in the series being Ultimate Mission X through Citra, so I got a headstart XD)

This is it for this post. Even though I am late at posting it, better late than never. If anyone is interested, I’m glad to give more detailed descriptions. I realize I have to do better at explain my opinions in a more detailed matter.

Thank you so much for reading :D

#kirby epic yarn #pokemon black and white #rhythm thief #mario and luigi dream team #fire embem awakening #super mario 3d world #kirby triple deluxe #dragon ball z dokkan battle #dragon ball fighterz #dragon ball fusions #pokemon sun and moon #miitopia #splatoon 2 #fire emblem echoes #pokemon sword and shield #super dragon ball heroes #video gaming in the last decade #thanks for reading