#but this quest has ROCKETED him up the list of characters I am interested in | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

Text

Pieces of the People We Love, Part 6. (The Borderlands Series)

Description: Not many people had the chance to see a vault or to mean anything in the world of Pandora. Will a hardly built relationship in the loneliness of the desert have the potential to change anything in the world of anarchy and chaos - or will the friends try to murder each other?

Chapter description: The journey is destined to be - or at least, so it seems. Alongside Scooter and your two favorite bandits, you had to leave the Hells Cauldron behind your back.

Warnings: A lot of guns, violence, reader is a tough badass - not a vault hunter tho. They’re badass and don’t give a fuck. And Scooter is a dumb bitch, as always. All Psychos and Fanatics are various Vine references - oh, what luck that reader can understand them since she is friends with Bandits.

Word count: 2.1 K

Tagging: @notaliteraltoad, @nemodoren

Series master list: H E R E

Shortly after what Walrus had told you, the Bandits lead you to their monstrous truck. At least he made Blindy and Rayray go with you and not some random idiots.

As Peter promised, they even packed you some food, money, and munition to go with. But there was something weirdly odd about Peter being so nice - if you would come alone, he would never help you. You were one hundred percent sure of that.

"What you're after, Walrus?" - You asked him quietly, aside from the boys, just before you were set to go on your journey. - "You don't do any of this just to warm your heart, do you? You're not such a good person. I know you, my man."

"Vaults are rumored to hold treasures with enormous value. Be a dear and grab me some while you'll be at it, will you?" - Walrus patted your shoulder with a fatherly smile. Of course. That motherfucker. He was a sly one - not caring that much about Scooter, his well being and meeting with his friends. All he cared about was the vault. And its treasures.

"I am not a VH, how many times I'm going to tell you? Scooter isn't one either, he's just... A local mechanic. That's what he truly is." - You tried to talk him down to let you just take your hands off the whole deal. But you knew how much could Peter be persistent.

"But you were aspiring to be one when you listened to all the podcasts on your ECHO from that guy named Tyron or what... Or am I wrong? Correct me." - The midget looked you right in the eyes. You could just murder him, take the car and then leave Scooter alone to continue his journey.

"I was ten, Peter. Vault Hunters aren't nothing but a bunch of posers. And you know that. How anyone like me ever got the chance to at least get closer to a thing like a vault?" - You mumbled, moving your metal arm uncomfortably. Vault hunters were a great part of the reason why did you had your metal arm in the first place. Damn monster hunting.

"Come on. It's an adventure, it's fun and you have a hell of debt in my bank. You have to do this. And if you'll be a naughty girl, Cowboy, my boys will drag you back to me." - He smiled and with his guards, four extra-armed psychos turned back to The Throne Room. You wanted to yell, shout, shot and kill something. Or somebody.

But you kept it all in and turned to crawl into their truck, to sit on one of the benches. You looked at Rayray who seemed to be extremely happy. Was there a reason for that?

"What? You reached the fourth quarter or what's your problem?" - You mumbled while Blindy and Scooter were settling down in the front of the car. Scooter seemed to be overly fascinated by their car type, so you just rolled your eyes and let him be.

"Back at it at Krispy Kreme." - He answered simply and you closed your eyes, laid down on the bench and prepared yourself for some sleep. It was only proper since it was already around midnight.

"Oh yeah, this is going to be a hell of a road trip, I tell you that." - You answered ironically and closed your eyes.

The next four days were a hell of a time to think. You were changing on the steering wheel pretty periodically - you were driving from the morning to midday, Scooter took the wheel after lunch to evening, Rayray was driving until midnight and Blindy himself was driving until you woke up.

You had... Fun. That was as unnatural as it seemed, but you had some fun. Sometimes, they randomly stopped from the quest to find Janey Springs, the most famous rocket engineer on Pandora, when they saw an interesting lookout. One night, you even took a short break in a local pub to have some beer and small talk. Rayray wasn't too happy about that since he had to stay sober.

To your surprise, these guys were fun. They were telling you stories and answered every question you had - you played poker with them one night. And Scooter himself wasn't too bad. He even snatched your playlist from the car you drove into Ham's Creek, so you could jam around to Rapture while driving.

You drove through deserts, forests, mountains which were snowy and even through the miles and miles of Eridium-cracked lands, where Eridium was in huge rocks around the way. And then you drove through even more deserts. It got repetitive over the week, yeah, but as you checked, the COV was still preparing to set to Athenas. Wherever Scooter's vault hunters were, they still didn't have the chance to kill them. Which was good.

After a whole week in their car, you finally reached the destination. It was a town in a cave, very far away from where you started your journey. Its name was Hollow Point and your rocket engineer was supposed to be there.

"Okay man, I will take ya to ma old workshop which I owned with Janey before I, you know, died. Be nice to them, okay?" - Scooter looked especially at you and you rolled your eyes. You weren't about to chew their heads away or anything. You just wanted that damn rocket.

"Fine. I won't try to kill her if she looks at me. Happy?" - You rolled your eyes like a professional and Scooter sighed at your behavior. You were now allies - you weren't friends, but wouldn't get him killed either. It was a thin ice situation, but at least it was something.

"Ya can try, but her girlfriend won't approve that and maybe cuts ya skull opened up with her shield. She's like scary-scary shit. Be aware. Ya shotgun won't help ya against Athena." - He warned you and your small party slowly went down the hill to Hollow Point. It was a silent town - there was a human being here and there, but overall, nothing was happening.

It was almost a ghost town. There was a small pub which you walked as far away from as you possibly could because of its stink and exterior. There was a doctor's office and a gun shop - but it was people you never heard of. Some sister Nina and Mrs. Gunslinger.

Suddenly, everyone stopped in front of a closed mechanic's garage. There was Scooter's name on it, but the light wasn't shining. The shop looked to be closed for a long time now, full of boxes and webs. You didn't like that feeling that anyone's home.

"Is Janey totally supposed to be here?" - You looked inside and made sure that the hat won't fall off your head. There was no one. - "Scooter, did you just dragged us through the whole Pandora to look at your old, abandoned workshop?"

"No, no, no, I swear to God! She's here, man. I'm super duper sure." - Scooter looked scared at you because he knew that you're furious at that moment.

"You think I'm gonna believe you such bullshit? Oh, you're so in trouble now. I thought we're allies!" - You rose your eyebrows and demanded the explanation with the way you stood.

"We are! Janey is here, we just need to find her. Be patient, Cowboy." - He was still walking backward, and now, you for him in a tight corner. An ideal place to kill him. And you were about to.

"Imma about to kill you, Scooterboy, Imma about to kill you so hard." - You rose your hand to pick up the shotgun on your back, clenching your jaws together. Just as you loaded the gun, something flew next to your head, you were barely able to somehow jump to the side.

"What are you two doing here? We don't kill people here since three years ago." - A robotic voice spoke to you from the darkness. You tried to search for the source, but that someone was hidden in the shadows. - "The mayor doesn't have enough money to rent the Hyperion machines. What are you doing in front of my garage?" - The person put their hand high and a red light started to shine on her forearm. The thing flew directly back and clicked silently at that moment.

"See? I told ya that Janey and Athena would still be here, man." - Scooter got up from the corner and ran away from you as possible. - "Thanks for savin' ma life, Athena. Nice to see ya, ya still kissin' a lot with Janey?" - He disappeared to the darkness to greet someone. When he came back to your small group again, a woman was standing next to him.

She looked dangerous in some way. Let's face it - she was terrifying. But staying in your character, you just pressed your lips together and furrowed at her.

The woman, whom Scooterboy was calling Athena, had violet hair and a cute face. But the cute face and big eyes weren't making her any less not dangerous looking. She may be thin, but those thighs were enough to snap your neck instantly. You took a few steps back and fused the shotgun again.

"Is it you, Scooter?" - She snapped the next moment and wondered. Then Athena put a hand on his shoulder and carefully scanned his face with her eyes. - "We thought you're dead, oh my lord?" - She mumbled unbelievably and hugged him. She truly knew him, but no way she had something with Scooter. Athena was out of his league.

"And no way I'm going to answer your question. And don't ever touch me again, please." - She mumbled and turned at you, Blindy and Rayray standing in the background. You were pretty taken away by the way Athena embraced Scooter. - "Who that?"

"Ma new friends, Athena, say hi. That's Cowboy and she has a few temper issues and a hothead. Those men, they are Bandits, but like... Cool ones, ya get it? One name's Rayray and the other one's Blindy. They saved me and help me to find you two." - Scooter pointed all of you proudly and you nodded to Athena, clipping the shotgun back on your back. Boys were clearly too scared of her, so they just acknowledged her person.

"Nice to meet y'all. I suppose you're searching for Janey?" - Athena walked to one of the building's door and opened up the door. There was some music playing inside while Scooter and Athena were chatting. Athena seemed to be in a good mood just because Scooter showed up.

Your deal with Walrus suddenly came upon your mind - maybe Scooter was a truly close friend of the vault hunters and could get you close, after all? That would be nice. Janey and Athena could ride back home just like that. That would be incredible.

Janey was in the back dancing in a rhythm of some rock song, not paying attention that someone entered the building. She had a messy garage, you needed to say that - oil was everywhere, just as her stuff tossed around like wrenches and shit. Janey was a genius at her worst - genius, but messy as fuck.

"I bring you a surprise, dear." - Athena sighed and trailed off to the next door, leaving you there with Janey.

From under the car, a blonde woman rolled on a small skateboard or whatever it was. You noticed the scars on her uncovered belly, neck and arm; she was probably set on fire or some other shit. That was freaking you out a bit. Janey was apparently a strong woman.

But when she stood up to look at you, she looked like a little loving pure ball of smile and energy.

"Hey, what can I do for ya?" - Janey cleaned up her fingers with a cloth thrown over her shoulder. Her stare almost ended up on you, but then she noticed Scooter standing there. She was amazed and wonderstruck since she stopped and looked only at him. - "Have I fell asleep again?"

Then they also went into a tight hug so Janey would definitely know that he's real-real. It was a nice, friendly moment. The last thing you needed to do was to convince Janey - to build you a rocket.

#borderlands #after the tales from the borderlands #borderlands 3 #athena #janey springs #scooter #scooter x reader #here we go again

7 notes · View notes

guitarpornography · 7 years

Photo

Versus Steam: Game of the Year Award 2016: #4

Have you ever tried to describe fun to someone? It’s an odd thing to do since all the feelings associated with it are rather nebulous. While I could sense that fun is the feeling of joy and catharsis that comes from an activity, I feel like I’m piling up adjectives rather quickly more or less for the sake of doing so. But for all my pretensions about video games as art, I tend to neglect to directly say that a game’s art can come from how much fun you have with it. And this is where my love of video games originally extended from: the point where watching things I interact with move on the screen and I am able to create an action, which in turn creates fun. If this seems like a weird set-up for our Versus Steam #4 Game of the Year Award, it is because it speaks so much for itself.

Developed by: id Software

Published by: Bethesda Softworks (PC, PS4, XBox One)

If this doesn’t appear on most Game of the Year Award lists, I will eat my non-existent hat. First person shooters are such a bread and butter genre for gaming and I know what I like in mine: fast, frenzied gunplay, seemingly overwhelming odds, a cavalcade of ways of dealing death and just enough story to let me know why things need the bullets in them. Doom delivered this for me almost to a T, but let me talk about something kind of offbeat that really caught my fancy: I like the fact that the upgrade system is useful but largely arbitrary. I don’t know when every shooter decided it needed an RPG-like upgrade system in their makeup, but it's always struck me as being completely superfluous. Why would killing something make my gun stronger unless this is David Brin’s The Practice Effect (hello obscure sci-fi reference)? The necessity of this seems to be giving the player some sort of triggered reward for playing, as if doing the basic mechanics of the game or finding currency is reward enough to simply make the load a little lighter. Doom has this element as well but in a way that makes more sense to me. Most weapons the player acquires have the ability to have one to two secondary fire modes and the bulk of the upgrade system comes from unlocking these and then upgrading them, with their final evolution coming from use of the secondary fire. While some of these are downright silly to use, others make chaotic fights more enjoyable, as the more ways to deal punishment, the better. The fact that you can more than fully go without them is nice, but I enjoy the fact that rather than make it a reward for playing, they come about as an increased toolset that you are able to use more usefully if you so choose. The rail gun’s alternate fire is very powerful, but starts off leaving the player stationary, so being able to upgrade it by doing my killing business so I can move is a big bonus in encouraging me to use it. The assault rifle’s micro rockets are a hoot to explode demons with, but when they become unlimited, it's even more joyous to run and gun with. Rather than just be an extra thing, upgrades are a way to make the killing more enjoyable rather than less cumbersome in their use and this is such a little nitpicky thing, that it should speak volumes about the rest of the game.

...which of course is awesome. Gunplay in Doom is outstanding, with almost everything having a rather satisfying feel to its use. The shotgun feels meaty in its blasts, while the chain gun feels fast in shooting, slow in carrying and unwieldy in firing. It's a nice touch that the visceral satisfaction of each weapon feels appropriate and the hellspawn you face are a wonderfully varied bunch to soak up the fire. Of all the enemies in the game, I was most unusually vexed by the standard imp, which slings fireballs at the player while crawling all around the scenery. While my usual strategy was backpedal with some spray and pray, the more mobile enemy type could give me fits and whittle my health down quickly. While not an imposing challenge, they’re matched to plenty of enemies that are willing to and will be up in your grill the entire time, chasing you relentlessly or firing huge blasts at your direction, requiring the added mobility you experience. Unsurprisingly, this is very reminiscent of the original Doom with all the chaos transpiring on screen, making shooting not about precision, but instead about overall damage, cutting down what you can without jumping in the center of it. I was also pleased to see health and armor are not regenerating throughout and guns never be reloaded, making things even more frantic as you search for ways to stay alive without ever breaking up the feel of actually staying alive. Coupled with the inclusion of the “instant kill” chainsaw, which costs fuel but can get enemies to drop ammo in copious amount and the glory kill system, which rewards the player for getting an enemy on the verge of health, and a fight becomes a lot to take in: a big mass of enemies of all stripes trying to kill you, the ability to fight them off but not without the risk of resources and plenty of in a pinch fire power to pull it off with.

Now normally, I like to spend a great chunk of these write-ups talking about story and Doom has one for sure. Is it one you’re really involved with? Not… really. Don’t get me wrong, almost all actions are driven by the Doomslayer and his quest to make demons not be alive, but the overarching story is more of a pissing contest that the Doomslayer wants no part of, but is invariably drawn into. I’m sure you’ve heard about the opening segment but it bears repeating about just how cool it is: the Doomslayer is awakened and an NPC begins telling him why, only for him to rip the monitor off the wall so he doesn’t have to listen and gameplay begins. This devil may care attitude is such a wonderful change of pace, as a larger struggle over occultism and energy harvested from hell has so very little to do with what the player is actually doing, making the Doomslayer a player surrogate, caring more for destruction than reasoning. The odd thing is how much this does in making him an interesting character, as we can easily see his viewpoint about how killing hellspawn and shutting down things at any cost might outweigh political posturing. Id does a great job of programming a lot of little gestures that bring across his tough and focused persona, like a revenant bent on achieving his one goal and kind of just going along for the ride for the rest. I’m told the story is well fleshed out in ephemera one can find about the levels but the game is all meat and blood, so the amount you want to engage the brain should be left to such an arbitrary standard rather than forcing the player to deal with it.

The irony of me being really into something so largely gameplay heavy is not lost on me, but dammit the game is fun and acts in quick witted ways I enjoy. While I can definitely enjoy most shooters, it feels like its been awhile since I’ve gotten so into the chaotic feel of combat, the whirling dervish of death I can become at the right moments. Doom provided me a fairly challenging, but ultimately satisfying way to engage all my visceral instincts and I really appreciate the depth of ways to execute the same general ideas. While certainly old school in feel, Doom is all for the power of smarter faster feel a new game can provide and along with Shadow Warrior 2, has shown me that shooters can still be the crazy fun rides I love them as.

#versus steam #versus steam game of the year awards #versus steam game of the year awards 2016 #doom #doom 2016 #id software #bethesda softworks #ps4 #exbox one #fps #first person shooter #doom slayer #cyber demon #game of the year #game of the year award #game of the year award 2016

1 note · View note

poweredboredom · 7 years

Text

Pokemon Sun

It’s good. You should play it. It’s a Pokemon main series game and they’ve been pretty decent with each new addition since coming to the 3DS. The boost in power and interest makes them pretty accessible, fuller versions of Pokemon Colosseum the series has always wanted to be. 3D fights, enjoyable mechanics and enough here that mixes things up to make Sun/Moon worth picking up.

It’s accessible while still being a challenge. Wonderful! But how does it pull it off? Well...

The first thing that comes to mind is that Pokemon, as a series, seems to be desperately trying to grow a personality. In games gone by, things such as stories or characterisation or even dialogue was costly. If you put in a diatribe about man’s inhumanity to man and pokemon alike, you might have to cut out a boss encounter. Give villagers too much to say and you may have to replace an entire town with it as there wasn’t enough on the cartridge. Pokemon lasted as a pretty basic looking RPG for many a generation while stuff like Golden Sun or Megaman Battle Network looked gorgeous in comparison. That pokemon database takes up a lot of space! Modern flash cartridges seem to have an acre of room for all the 3D rendered models and the lush looking environments. It seems there’s room for storytime with Uncle Pokemon.

And you know he has an epic tale to tell! So grab an eevee and listen.

The story told is the one they’ve been telling for years now. Blah blah, you just arrived in town, blah blah, you’re a natural trainer, blah blah, go become a Pokemon Master. The difference is in the flavouring. Not-Hawaii location of the Alola Islands do offer a new lease on life for a tired plotline for your mute-ten year old to run through in the form of The Island Challenge. Instead of battles upon battles, sometimes you have to best a dungeon or photograph ghosts or find then defeat a powerful Totem pokemon. This is neat. While I don’t bemoan the older games too much for their reliance on the gym system, which made each a house where the boss lived while occasionally having a small fetch quest. Usually a fetch quest you need to do in order to face them at all! Here though, Challenge Captains and Kahunas interact with the world. They ingratiate themselves with the islands, which helps sell their supposed knowledge and skill naturally. Previously, Gym Leaders would have to have special quests and things to prove that they did more than just stand in a big house behind some elaborate set of traps.Challenge Captains and Kahunas are part of the community. They run shops or perform for tourists. They’re active in the world, meaning you’ll likely bump into them as you meander around. It works so much better to make them at least a little intimidating when you have to face them yourself.

Weirdly, not everyone gets rich off of unregulated betting on battles with random strangers. Which seems strange to think about but then again, it’s you, the rando wondering around aimlessly with money to burn, that they sell to.

The other thing about the story is that there’s more characters. Somewhat like Pokemon Black/White you begin the game meeting with your new friends. They’re what replaces the ‘Rival’ of older games as they’ll challenge you to battles regularly like a surprise pop quiz. Hau is the trainer that tries to stack himself against you and he’s not bad. He throws regular challenges at you while also being an all right character. I like him but I also feel like he floats around the story at large without any major impact. He’s appealing enough; a hopeful, enthusiastic son of a Kahuna that likes to stuff his face and battle. Fair enough. He doesn’t get in the way but also does make you want to punch him, unlike Blue or N. He, and almost all of the game, is overshadowed by the adventures of Lillie, however, Lillie is positioned as something of an anomaly within this world: someone that abstains from Pokemon Battles. I mean, you assume they’re out there somewhere but it does appear to bite her in the arse regularly. I get the motivation of not wanting to see Pokemon hurt but in a world where the wildlife can, and frequently does, attack at random, you’d think she’d figure out that battles likely arose out of a need to protect herself. She’s fine not to want to take part in battles but we’ve seen time and time again that people should have a pokemon for protection at all times! Oak wouldn’t stand for it, Burch presented a lovely example of why you’d need one and Lille of this game gets attacked by a Spearow flock that she is powerless to fight off or flee from.

Then take one of my pokemon and go get him then! I have running around in circles to do until my pokemon are all level 20! Vital, important work here!

In short, she’s kind of an idiot that can never go anywhere unaccompanied. On the plus side, I can report that she’s quite a sweet person. Her care for Pokemon and everyone around her is genuine, making her somewhat endearing. This marvel was created because Pokemon’s writing has improved considerably. For once, they’re attempting jokes and jabs at things. Hau is a doofus but it plays into his character. Lillie is selfless and that plays into her character too. Their defined, distinct and decently memorable. I wouldn’t call them stellar or fascinating but I didn’t mind meeting them.

This writing buff has permeated everything else, teamed with the 3D presentation to make a greater scope than I thought possible before. Pokemon Sun actually attempts to have ideas greater than ‘bad guys find sleeping monster and fail to control it’. I always found the attempted return of Team Rocket fascinating but Sun throws around the idea of Pokemon from other dimensions, Pokemon gangs, loyalty to family members and when you cross the line as a parent into being a child yourself.

I’m not joking.

While I will not say that this entirely works, I will say that it’s pretty out there for what I was expecting but I am so onboard for more. There’s elements that seem neutered or maybe didn’t connect as it should because it’s all still textboxes on a screen but there were clearly places where I was supposed to care but honestly didn’t.

The game is trying though. You can give it that much.

I can identity one major weakness with it’s story: it’s not mine, it’s Lillie’s. Lillie is the one that grows, goes through an arc and learns the magic of Pokemon Battles, if I might spoil that for just one moment. You are the silent protagonist that has a completely different story happening outside of the conflict between Lillie and the Ultra Beasts. Say what you like but older games placed you at the center of the story. You fought Team Rocket when you tangled with them and they declared you an enemy. You fought Team Aqua or Magma and put and end to their accidental damage to the weather they caused. You changed N’s mind and stopped Team Plasma.

But it’s Lillie that has the final say that puts the bad guys in their place after she sicks you on them. Sun has two stories that meet up then part ways at regular intervals. Do some island challenges, then go fight some story-related goons, then back to the thing you care about because it’s your story. Lillie’s little journey is fine but it feels like something I have little investment in because I don’t get the benefit of advancing there, Lillie does. My reward is being allowed to go back to doing what I want to do; catch pokemon and win challenges. The game will handhold and corral you into their straight path regularly just so that Lille gets her time in the spotlight.

If you could play as Lillie or fight your way through her story, then that would be something. But otherwise, I’m just her powerful trainer friend that she asks to solve her problems for her. And I ain’t that attached to her. A big problem when I’m a character that has no personality at all outside of my clothes.

That deep, unwavering stare forwards as if paralysed in the brain and only capable of that mild, cheery smile. Enjoy that for most of the game.

I love Team Skull though. The jokes and their personality was wonderful. Loved them! Keep them around.

Gameplay wise, it’s mostly the same. There’s a long list of tweaks and changes from previous titles that matter but ultimately don’t bother me so let’s focus on the major changes. The pokemon here are a good selection of old and new that draws on the Hawaiian tie to spirituality and it’s tropical climate. Ghost pokemon have a real spotlight in this place, making it likely they’ll appear in most teams this time around, even giving a welcome return to Phantump and Gastly, two pokemon I had to go find when I heard they were in the game. I like Toxepex, a poisonous anemone that can withstand a beating, and I like Sandigast, a possessed sandcastle that eats life energy. Yes, that’s a thing.

There are also regional versions of old pokemon, mostly in an attempt to make them a touch more appealing. Mostly, they’ve given dark typing to Raticate, Grimer and Meowth. Which is fine to me. I got a lot of use out of the new Grimer as it’s second typing allowed for more varied and interesting tactics. Dark works decently with Poison, I reckon. The other two are fine but are now fatter in design than before..

Pokemon seems to be trying to make it’s new additions stand out more though. And their method this time round is to make their lives a little more miserable. There’s pokemon that feast on others, there’s pokemon said to possess horrid powers but the breakout star for me is Mimikyu. Not only is this pokemon a wonderful Physical Sweeper, it’s appearance is a point of self-awareness. It’s lonely and jealous of Pikachu’s popularity. As such, it wants some of that attention so dresses as Pikachu to garner some love. Aww...Makes me want to hug it till the horrible phantom inside claws my soul.

Who’s my little hellspawn? You are! You are! Who sweeped half the opponent’s team?! You did! Good widdle snookums!

You see? Pokemon is trying to grow a personality. Some of it works.

Gameplay is also trying to aid in this: Pokemon may now call for help. At first, this sounds fine. More pokemon to fight means bigger payouts and you can always throw out a second pokemon to even things up, right? No! If a pokemon does this, you’re now outnumbered two to one. You cannot capture anything while the other pokemon is present. You also have a high chance that if you defeat one of the pokemon, the remaining one will attempt to call for further backup. Some pokemon have a high likelihood of receive help, giving the impression of fighting a pack that’s happy to wait in line for it’s turn. A good mechanic in theory but it drags out fights that you don’t want if it happens. It seems to have been implemented to allow for a new way of finding pokemon (Toxepex can only be found through coming to another pokemon’s aid) and to help make the relatively compact islands feel like their encounters have just as much impact as previous games as patches of long grass are often small with a clear path you can use instead. You have to want to go looking for pokemon to find them, usually, rather than having to wade through long grass that had overgrown paths you needed to cross to get somewhere.

If you can’t force more random encounters, then give them the chance to increase in magnitude instead. Doesn’t entirely work.

You must be the most popular Pokemon in the world if they’re still coming whenever you use ��Call for Family’! Are you royalty or something?!

What I am in full favour for is Z-Moves. These are special moves that act as an alternative to a Mega Evolution. Personally, I think they’re superior. Yes, having a big, nasty pokemon that boosted it’s stats and became more powerful when you needed it is cathartic. However, it’s limited to select pokemon and does nothing but change the pokemon’s capabilities. Z-Moves can be applied to any pokemon and any ability. While some pokemon have unique Z-Moves, all pokemon are capable of using them. The reason this kicks so much arse is obvious: more powerful move that’s based on the type of z-crystal you give and which move you decide to turn into a decisive finisher. Where this gets interesting is that it can apply to status moves too. Performing Z-Status moves often grants additional effects to the move, such as some moves doubling the effect it has on a pokemon’s stats. Heck, a Z-Move Splash increases that pokemon’s attack by three stages. Not insignificant. So, your choice is now a powerful slam or a tactical edge but you can only choose one per battle. I think this is a lovely idea that means that any pokemon can become worth something, rather than hoping they’ll be given a Mega Evolution.

I like a game that can hand you a new tool to fiddle with and flip what you knew on it’s head.

It helps that they’re all kind of bonkers.

Oh! And there’s this thing where you can pet and feed your pokemon jellybeans. It is adorable. I’m not fully aware of how it benefits you but it’s cute to pet a Genga then feed him his favourite bean to make hearts appear. Bonus points from me.

So, yeah. Get this. It’s a little more self-aware and ambitious than usual. Either they had a change in design team or they wanted to make Sun stand above it’s competition, which appears to just be Yokai-Watch right now. If you enjoy pokemon or you enjoy a relaxing and simple RPG, this is worth picking up.

0 notes