#but using rpg mechanics is not what i'm playing mario for

[rojaceartandgaming]

Hello IEYTD fandom, I know I'm not much of someone who... participates much. I lurk, I drop in to throw an ieytd fic at y'all and put Jackson through more hell, but... I have a legitimate question. Please don't be mad if I am out of line, but I'm genuinely confused as someone who is a storyteller himself and is learning game design in college. This leads me into another point here-

This will go into game and story analysis!

I'll admit most of my questions are rhetorical, so as rude as I may accidentally sound... I want to have a genuine discussion about this fandom, and I am coming in as a third party who doesn't partake in anything here really other then loving people's fanfiction and art. I watch, I listen, and yet... I am utterly exhausted and kind of frustrated with the state of this fandom as a mostly outside observer.

So, I'm legitimately just putting these questions out there to get them off my mind, and I really don't have the energy to partake in any arguments. I am not looking for any arguments like "well I don't think so" or "I don't see that." I have been here silently watching and yet what I shall bring up has stood out to me near-constantly.

Why is there just... such blatant mischaracterization in this fandom? And why, furthermore, are people so... shocked that people enjoy villainous characters? And even furthermore.... why are people constantly dumbing down antagonists? As a writer myself, I often constantly find myself mentally praising Schell on this amazing trilogy of games. Especially because 99.9 percent of the characters are villains. A hero is only as good as their villain - that is a crucial part of video game development. Of storytelling as a whole.

I am studying game design. Actively going to college for this.

I have been reading and consuming and analyzing fiction since I was a kid.

I've been working on an RPG for the past three years, my passion project.

No matter if you're reading a story, watching a movie, or in this case playing a video game, this is a fundamental concept. A hero is only as good as their villain. That is what makes us root for a hero. A villain has to be menacing, a threat to the main hero, needs to be compelling, and furthermore most of the time needs to be understandable. A villain that you can see exactly how they got to that point and can kind of empathize with that is a well written villain.

Being able to see or analyze how a villain got to that point is not excusing their bad actions or ignoring that a character is a bad guy.

That is someone critically analyzing a character and enjoying their arc. And furthermore, that is a testament to good writing.

Being able to understand exactly how a villain got to the point they're at makes them more terrifying.

Characters like Sephiroth (honestly most Final Fantasy antagonists, really), the Dead Three's Chosen from Baldur's Gate, basically every villain from Splatoon, Count Bleck from Super Paper Mario and so much more are not beloved characters just because they're just like, considered hot (idk fandoms be wild) or blorboified (is that even a term?).

They're loved because they are genuine threats who have such depth to their character and are interesting because they are villains. And furthermore, vanquishing or going against these villains feels important because they have depth. Because they can be analyzed.

That's what I love about IEYTD as both a gamer, and a storyteller myself. The Phoenix is a complete blank slate. The Phoenix is a player insert. That is not a personal stance. That is an intentional game mechanic. That is not a consequence of IEYTD being a VR game - many VR games have a proper named main character, even if they are a silent protagonist. The Phoenix is once again a blank slate for the player to project onto, and that is an intentional decision by Schell. This is how they wanted to tell their story. I love an oc-ified Phoenix as much as the the next person - I mean, look at Jackson - but the Phoenix is a literal blank slate. You cannot ignore that.

So how do you make a silent character with no appearance or voice interesting? How do you make the player care? Furthermore, how do you make the game feel rewarding?

You fill the game with a plethora of characters - primarily villains - that have enough character and drive that make the player feel good about overcoming the challenges and trials that come. That is just good game design.

Every single villain - from someone who barely gets any mention like Daniel Sans, to major, major villains like Solaris, Juniper, and Prism, to even a villain who we don't know shit about like Zor - is a menacing force. Overcoming the obstacles that are sent your way leads to a rewarding game play loop where you, the player, actually give a shit about the story, the world, the villains, and the player insert of the Phoenix themselves.

There is so much to every single villain that one can pick apart, that it becomes insulting to the characters and honestly to Schell's writers when you reduce their characters to just "a girlboss who kills people" (Fabricator) or "a whiny bitch of a privileged asshole" (Juniper) or "just a silly guy who likes bees" (Hivemind) or "she didn't do anything wrong, she was just manipulated" (Prism).

Even the most minor of a villain in this game has so, so many layers you could pick apart and analyze and... so many people in this fandom all but Flanderize them. It almost feels like people in this fandom cannot grasp the concept of characters being multifaceted.

And even more, that they cannot imagine liking a villain even though they are a villain.

This is a trend that I've seen a lot within fandom recently and... it's something I don't get. Writing a character who is a terrible person (and liking said character) does not make someone a terrible person. That is something that people do not seem to get nowadays thanks to likely lack of media literacy and... it kind of kills me a little bit as someone who analyzes so many types of media and is working on a story driven RPG, and once again is going to college for game design.

A character who is flawed is believable. No realistic character is infallible.

John Juniper is prone to anger, he is a man who is egotistical, arrogant, and a bit of a prick. However, these bad traits of his were likely preyed upon by Zoraxis and he became worse because of that. I am not saying he did no wrong, I am saying that you have to acknowledge that he is multifaceted.

The Fabricator has a fair bit of flair too, but to reduce her to just a quote-en-quote girlboss ignores her work. She makes Saw-esque death traps and delights in the pain and ultimately death her traps make.

Hivemind delights in killing people with literal bee stings. Think about that, think of how brutal of a death that would be. The average adult can withstand over one-thousand bee stings, or approximately ten stings per pound. And he laughs about it.

Prism knew what she was getting into, and hearing people say she did nothing wrong is... confusing. She worked for the EOD. She knew who Zor was. She knew what they would do. It is no secret that they regularly backstab their own employees. Zoraxis elite have a target on their back from their own employer. Prism likely knew that, and yet worked for them anyways. Yes, she helps the Phoenix in the end. But that is the culmination of her arc. You have to acknowledge that.

These are but a few examples - I am not going into full rants about every single character. I have an essay due on Sunday, I need some of my sanity left. But I feel like this had to be said.

To reduce these characters to Flanderized versions of themselves is to almost insult the writing in these games. To insult the very complexity and depth and thought that was put into these characters. And as a lover of story driven media who often analyzes - occasionally over-analyzing - these sorts of games for fun, and is aspiring to complete a story driven RPG with hopefully in-depth villains.... it is simply saddening to witness.

I felt this had to be said, thank you for your time if you read this. I now hopefully should have some peace of mind for the time being.

#ieytd #i expect you to die

[destiny-smasher]

Stuff From 2023!

List of things of note I experienced in 2023! A few things didn't technically release in 2023, I'm sure, but yea. Will contain my 'Top 10 Games I Played in 2023' as well.

Firstly, something I played a lot of this year in bursts but doesn't quite crack my Top 10 is Vampire Survivors. Very addicting, did some very fun goofy shit that had me laughing and engaged in a lizard brain way. Appreciated the many Castlevania references and jokes, too.

A couple of games I played every weekend for a few hours across many weeks this year were Project Zomboid and Roots of Pacha, both in a group 4. We had lots of fun with those two, and I think they're both great co-op time-sink games. Zomboid is a zombie survival sim that has way more attention to detail than its graphics may imply. It's still in early access but the depth to its is honestly pretty dang impressive. Pacha iterates on the Stardew Valley formula in a ton of small but deliberate, thoughtful ways that make for a nice twist on that Harvest Moon style game.

REMAKES

There were so many great remakes this year, on top of just amazing games in general, I can't fit them all into my Top 10. So here's a segment dedicated to most of the remakes I loved this year.

The remake of Super Mario RPG was such a surprise, and turned out very damn well. That game, turns out, is very near and dear to my heart and I did not fully appreciate that until this remake was revealed. It comes just shy of cracking my Top 10 list and that's honestly only because I finished Mother 3 finally right at the tail end of the year. This game manages to still feel weirdly fresh even today just due to how fucking strange it is, and the remake speeds up the pacing a bit while also adding in some new mechanics and a chunk of new post-game content. Everything was handled so well. This is like the new gold standard of complete one-to-one remakes of sprite-based games imo. I will admit the artstyle is a bit 'off' in some ways but I think it's very clean looking and captures that 90's CGI spirit really well, all things considered. And the music, OOF, so damn good.

The remake of Dead Space I don't have much to talk about, but it's very well produced. It's remade so well, in fact, that it felt like my memories of the original, even though I know it's not an exact recreation. Very well done and still holds up as a great horror action game with these improvements.

The remaster of Metroid Prime is so impressive it feels like a remake, even if the game is identical to the original aside from presentation and some control changes. It's an iconic classic, and yet I have no patience to do the Chozo Artifact stuff, so I actually did not roll credits on this version BUT still thoroughly enjoyed reliving the game with a very nice new coat of paint. It makes me excited to see what Prime 4 will look like on, I expect, more powerful hardware.

SHOWS/MOVIES

The year started strong with a TV adaptation of The Last of Us. While I've come to have conflicted feelings with the franchise at large, mainly due to its leading boss man, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this series. Very well done adaptation that picked and chose what to keep and what to change and honestly makes for a better story as a whole if you ask me, while not really replacing the game's tactile interactive tensions. Cannot wait to see what they do with Part 2 tbqh. I loved that game more than the original but also felt it was worse as an overall game/experience/narrative. But a fresh take on that same plot could potentially address a lot of the issues I had with Part 2, while simultaneously not really 'replacing' it, either.

The Bear. If you haven't seen it, it's just. Very good television. Two seasons in and it's sitting up there chasing Mr. Robot and Better Call Saul as one of the best live action series I've ever seen. Season 2 did such a great job of giving us deeper dives on the various characters and building toward an organic and rewarding conclusion that still leaves room for another season to theoretically wrap things up. Nothing too crazy with this show, it's super down to earth, and it owns that very well with editing and pacing that varies per episode, kind of in line with the different character perspectives.

Super Mario Bros.: The Movie had me worried for a while, mainly due to the animation studio and casting. And while I'm still not 100% sold on this celebrity casting, I will admit it didn't weight the experience down -- even if it's still the second weakest element by far. The weakest element is the writing. It's not, like, offense -- it's loyal to the source material and works, it functions. But it's not doing anything beyond pushing us from set piece to set piece. If anything, the movie is a bit too short for all of the stuff it's cramming in. But on the upside, there is a lot of amazingly rendered visuals and music to take in. A real treat for fans of the franchise, and the most loyal gaming adaptation in movie form, I would say.

Across the Spiderverse is in essence the first half of a two part film. That makes it kind of difficult to talk about, especially when it's also a sequel, and the production sounds like it was marred with bad management and crunch. But the results they came up with actually met my hopes and expectations for a sequel, and that is saying something, as I had very high expectations. I completely adore this film's stupendous sense of style, editing, framing, writing, and the way it's making meta-commentary on multiple levels on top of just being an effective narrative on its own. This is animated storytelling running at full capacity in my opinion, and in general just film doing all of the kinds of things film can do. So it's no wonder that there's still a rub -- this is the first half of the story they planned. The editing, animation, framing, effects, acting, action sequences, music, writing, theming, just Farore's sake, this is SUCH a damn banger of a film and one of the best movies I've ever seen, which, again, is kind of insane given the circumstances. I can only hope they don't fuck up the conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was quite the surprise announcement, and as it turns out, quite the surprise adaptation. I won't spoil much but I will say that by the end of the first episode, it becomes very apparent that this series is no mere by-the-books adaptation, and does something unique and edifying, even if it still maintains a certain surface-level depth I wish the franchise would push beyond. Either way, I enjoyed it way more than I expected to going in, and I think it makes for a great companion to the rest of the series. The animation style was super fun, as well, with some great action sequences.

But Blue Eye Samurai sucker-punched me, having released before I'd even known about it. This show is something else, something unlike any other animated show I've seen besides Arcane. And it's not like it's mimicking Arcane, it's just the closest I can think to compare it to: a quality, thoughtfully framed, thoughtfully written, made-for-adults animated series. It tows the line between fantasy and realism in a refreshing way, its protagonist is great, its cast is compelling, its plot goes to some neat places, and things just feel very well thought-out and well-executed. Slap this in second place behind Arcane as the TV series I am the most excited to see more of in the future, just ahead of The Bear.

Something I did near the end of the year was watch The Hunger Games movies, back to back over the course of like, a week. Have not read the books but man, watching these sure made me interested in doing so at some point. I totally get why people were so enamored with this franchise, and honestly, I think its themes and messages are more relevant now than they were when this franchise was at the peak of its popularity. The films certainly have glaring issues for my tastes but yea, I managed to really enjoy them as a whole despite my lack of mainstream sensibilities. Looking forward to reading the books eventually.

Another thing my wife shared with me was 花ざかりの君たちへ (often called 'Hana-Kimi' for short). Specifically, the 2007 version, as, uh, apparently there are multiple adaptations of this. It was a live action Japanese drama about a high schooler who was born female but transfers into an all-boys school, identifying as a boy while she is there. There's more to it than that, and I won't say it handles everything the best (it's from the mid 2000's) or concludes things in quite the way I'd have preferred. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing many tropes I'm used to seeing in anime rendered by physical, real actors. BUT it was overall a really sweet, adorable, funny, heartfelt, and reached for pro-queer expression in a time and place when that wasn't mainstream yet (and honestly kinda still isn't depending on who you ask).

Good Omens Season 3 also dropped this year. I actually don't have much to say partly because I think a big element of it is just not knowing what to expect going into it! But it was also very good, very fun, pretty damn gay, I really enjoyed it and am crossing my fingers hard they get to wrap it up the way they want.

All right! Onto my personal top 10 GOTYs.

TOP 11 GAMES

(I played and finished in 2023)

11) Mother 3

The one entry on this list that did not actually come out this year -- in fact, it's never technically released outside of Japan. Originally release in 2007 on the Game Boy Advance, this quirky RPG has developed quite the reputation. I started playing the fan translation back in like 2020, and only got around to finally finishing it this year. While that likely did tarnish the experience a bit for me, so does the final third or so -- it kind of drags on a bit, and any old school format RPG that requires grinding to progress can become a bit of a chore.

Thankfully, Mother 3 did earn its hallowed reputation in my eyes now that I have experienced it. I totally get the passion for this game now, and I am a convert. It makes me want to finally finish Mother 2, aka Earthbound. But here's the biggest thing about Mother 3 I weirdly did not expect going in, yet smashed my face in like a hammer by the time I finished it:

without Mother 3, there is no way Undertale/deltarune would exist.

The DNA for Toby Fox's works is achingly obvious in its relation to this game, specifically. I won't spoil anything and I won't go into my long list of evidence like an Ace Attorney case, but trust me, there is ample evidence to make this claim.

And that also means that Mother 3 stands on its own merits as doing things that RPGs just plain were not doing in 2007, and in some ways still aren't today. Aside from some pacing issues further in, the characters in your party aren't as developed as much as I'd like. BUT the overall narrative it tells, especially in those opening chapters, have a rare kind of earnest, human magic to them that most games just don't let themselves fall into. And it concludes in ways I did not expect and yet offered clarity as to why it is so beloved, and how Toby Fox was so inspired to put his own mark on the gaming landscape.

I owe a great deal to Undertale, personally, and as such, I also owe a great deal to Mother 3. You don't need to have played others in the series to enjoy it, you'll just be missing some referential stuff here and there. It's quite playable and unique by today's standards and I strongly recommend it if you want an RPG that is heartfelt, funny, fun mechanically, and has some simple but hard-hitting things to say about the world we live in, and what we are doing to ourselves and that world.

10) Super Mario Bros. Wonder

What can be said that hasn't been said already? Nintendo knocked it out the park with this one. This was everything I've wanted in a 2D Mario for like 15 years. The only thing 'missing' from it is playable Rosalina, but hey, we finally got Daisy in a mainline Mario game, so I'll take it. After a decade or so of dragging their feet with low-effort but enjoyable 2D games, Super Mario Wonder finally, at long last, captures what makes Nintendo games great and with their best foot forward. They haven't done 2D Mario this well since World on the SNES in 1991. And they have never put this level of production into a 2D game since... ever?

This is one of the all-time best 2D platformers out there, and for once it finally feels like 2D Mario is running on all cylinders as a big budget passion project kind of game. You love to see it.

9) Scarlet Hollow

This game isn't technically finished yet, as it is episodic, and its developers wanted to release Slay the Princess in the interim, but that doesn't stop its quality from being good enough to make my list. This game is doing the kinds of things visual novels should be doing, the kinds of things I wish to do in a sense with my own visual novel development.

It's a horror themed experience but balances the high tension with actual real stakes very well against mostly down-to-earth conversations, with lots of great tricks and touches of presentation you don't typically see in indie visual novels, along with a fantastic art style, charming characters (my favorite character has turned out to be the one I immediately disliked at first, and that's rare for me), and meaningful choices.

I can't wait to see how this one wraps up but even as it stands it's one of the best things I experienced in 2023.

8) Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed

I will admit I skipped Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after giving it an honest go in like, 2019 or so. A few hours in and i couldn't stomach it, the tonal whiplash from Xenoblade 1 (one of the best RPGs I've ever played) was too much for me. But then Xenoblade 3 came out last year, and is also one of the best RPGs I've ever played, even better than the original for my tastes.

But I wasn't prepared for the DLC to drop a whole ass side-game on us, a self-contained prequel to 3 that serves as narrative cohesion to tie the whole trilogy together with a bow on top, complete with perfectly tuned fanservice (and not the sexy kind, although grown-up Rex and Shulk, well, yes) that really respects its fanbase for investing hundreds of hours in this franchise.

Matthew is easily one of my all-time fav RPG main characters, probably the favorite RPG main character when I think of it (as main characters specifically go, anyway), and his game is a fraction of the length of many RPGs out there. But as usual, the entire cast had their charms, the story was nicely paced, the gameplay and overall length was just about damn perfect for what I could want from the genre.

As an expansion to a pre-existing game, this is one of the top 3 best expansions/DLCs I've ever played. When taken as a side story to an overarching trilogy, I'm not even 100% in on the lore and I still enjoyed the hell out of it, it's just the kind of thing that hits a tone of 'damn, video games are a fucking unique medium that we can do specific narrative things with across years of telling a story.'

I don't know where Monolith Soft is going next, though the ending certainly offers some intriguing teasing, but I suspect I will be there day one to see it, and am looking forward to it.

7) Pikmin 4

Given the long wait (10 years!) one might understand fan concern over the state of Pikmin 4. Turns out, that extra time was spent making this game fucking good. It's not the largest, most impressive, most complex, most inspiring, most 'anything' game I played this year, and yet I can't help saying that this is a damned good video game. It really nailed what it set out to do as a sequel, incorporating just the right ideas to spice up the formula while bringing things back to how Pikmin 2 was, and improving on the series in basically every way -- including stuff to do!

This is easily the most Pikmin game... in a Pikmin game. I still haven't 100%'d it. Without giving away any details, I'll just say that when a game rolls credits and you're only like, halfway through its content, and it just keeps going, that's just kind of wild. It would've felt like a great game even then, but the breadth and depth it ends up going to in order to keep giving you ways to engage with its wonderfully detailed world and addictive mechanics, I love it.

I just want more of it. Give me DLC with more Dandori content, the formula and feel just works so well at this point.

6) Sea of Stars

How the hell I forgot to include this one on my list initially is boggling. Easily one of the best indie games I've ever experienced. The writing is nothing to, well, write home about, but it's not bad. And in fact the story has a lot of great things going on, from an interesting world to a very potent arc with the leading support character (who, let's face it, is kind of more the main character than your two main characters).

The game's art and music are phenomenal, capturing the essence of 90's era RPGs but clearly doing things not capable back then. Made even sweeter, the game is a prequel to the studio's prior work, The Messenger, which I also played and adored in tandem, kind of going back and forth between the two once I was partway into Sea of Stars. The way this RPG repurposes songs from Messenger as well as all kinds of seemingly superfluous elements but makes it feel cohesive is pretty great.

The game also trims a lot of the fat you'd find in older RPGs, as well as lets you customize your experience in a modern way using collectibles you can toggle on and off to grant all kinds of effects, like increasing or decreasing the difficulty in various ways.

The homage paid to classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG is clear but it's not at all copy-cat-ing, instead wearing those inspirations proudly on its sleeves and forging its own path with its own ideas. A fantastic collection of party members, a wonderful world, amazing presentation, and environments and pacing that help it stand apart from the genre that inspired it. I wish we got to know the leads better, there is a lack of character growth in many ways, but that's me grasping at straws to critique, it's just a fantastic experience and the studio should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

5) Hi-Fi Rush

This is gonna be a running trend from here on out, but on any other year, Hi-Fi Rush would've been my GOTY, easy. From this point on, we're talking measures of inches rather than miles in terms of my love for these games.

Hi-Fi Rush finally delivered on something I have waited like 20 years for: a rhythm action adventure where playing the game in sync with the music felt fucking cool and gave me emotional resonance in a way only this medium can. The humor was charmng. The visual aesthetic is almost peak 'my taste.' The music was groovy with a few tracks I did not see coming but loved seeing how they were incorporated. The story was surprisingly fun! The characters were fantastic, I loved the entire main crew in a way I rarely ever do and would jump at the chance to spend more time with (and hey, there's a whole bunch of post-game I have yet to do, so I intend to in 2024).

The only real thing I could reasonably ask for from this game is a way to play as those other party members in post-game content or new-game plus or something. And who knows, maybe we get that some day. Even if we don't, what they came up with here is the next best thing besides. And what we got is one the most video-gamey video games I have ever played, a real classic and one I think will go down as one of my all-time favs. A passion project given meaningful time, budget, and creatives to bring it to life.

Had this game offered multiple playable characters, a bit more development in its story, and maybe a stronger climax, it'd be higher. I still love it to death and want more games like it regardless.

Hi-Fi Rush is exactly what kind of game we could have gotten more of if the Internet hadn't pushed gaming into a 'live service' direction. It is literally the spirit of a PS2/GameCube game given modern form. And either way, we did get it, at least, in that form, and it fucking rocks.

4) Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

This year was big for remakes and remasters, but one stands tall above the rest, if you ask me. The original RE4 has stood as my fav in the franchise, the one that got me into the franchise, the one that got me into M-rated games in the first place. Lots of nostalgia, but it's held up surprisingly well over the years despite some limitations of the time (mainly the controls) and some older-fashioned sensibilities ("with ballistics, too~").

But Capcom fucking nailed it with this reimagining. Like Final Fantasy VII: Remake, this game is not a remaster, or a one-to-one recreation. It is a brand new game, built from the ground up, reimagining the original entirely, complete with new mechanics and story. But unlike with FF7, this is also shockingly authentic and loyal to the original at the same time. It remixes elements from the original game, maintains most of the original's map design, adds in new stuff, removes some of the more goofy shit -- and even 90% of what feels 'removed' is revealed to be repurposed for the Ada side story DLC.

It looks great, it sounds great, the adjustments to characters and story are improvements across the board, (except for Hunnigan, RIP) the gameplay is improved in intensity and feel and action and replayability. And yet despite all of this, it balances that campy tone of the original just enough to still evoke what I loved about the original's tone. And it doesn't outright replace the original game, either. The two are now like different recipes of the same sandwich or something. There's reasons to revisit the original, though for me this has now replaced the remake of RE2 as my fav in the franchise.

I really don't know where they go from here but I will look forward to it, and regardless, they fucking nailed this one.

3) Street Fighter 6

Two Capcom games, back-to-back? They had a fucking good year in my eyes. The interesting thing about this particular entry is that unlike the others on this list, I will be continuing to play this one for hours and hours into 2024, especially with more fighters still planned. And in another year, this would've easily been my GOTY.

After all, Street Fighter 6 is the single-best traditional fighting game I think I've ever played. And while fighting games are my overall personal favorite genre, I'm more of a Smash player who also loves the hell out of Street Fighter and then dabbles in Tekken and whatever else releases. Street Fighter has always been one of my go-to top multiplayer games since I got into the franchise with SF4 in 2010. While I did enjoy SF5 well enough, it just didn't keep me hungry to come back for more like 4 did. SF6 has fixed that problem by way of a multitude of changes.

It has easily the most fun single player mode I've seen any fighting game have. Like, yea, The Subspace Emmisary (and even then, I don't love that mode like other folks do, I kinda think it's... fine?) but tbqh World Tour is just better in most every way. You get to build your own fighter, earn and mix and match different costumes and individual character special moves with each fighter's fight style. You get to just hang out with the SF characters, get to know them as people, their hobbies, their fears, their insecurities, their passions besides just beating the shit out of each other. On top of this, the realistic art style shift (a by-product of the RE Engine) seals the deal on what Street Fighter 6 is aiming to do: humanize its cast.

Is it still wacky as fuck? Is it still comical and weird and goofy? Hell yes, it is. Is the story mode deep in its narrative? Not in the slightest. But it's still stepping confidently in a direction fighting games should be trying to, not being too self-serious, but also being earnest.

And I haven't even touched on the mechanics! The Drive System alone is a brilliant addition that adds a sort of 'stamina' system that works so well to add an extra layer of decision making and tension. The game's not perfectly balance imo but for how much is here it is surprisingly damn well balanced, especially given they have insisted on not pushing out a single balance patch since it launched in June. For most any other competitive game, that would be like suicide for the scene, but the game seems to be thriving and selling extremely well for the franchise. And it's earned it.

I will absolutely be continuing my warrior's journey into 2024 and I can't wait to see what else Capcom has in store for this game.

2) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Out of every game I played in 2023, Tears of the Kingdom is easily the most technically impressive. From a design standpoint, from a 'how in the hell is the Switch doing all of this without exploding' standpoint. From a 'holy hell how is there this much stuff in a single player game' standpoint. From a 'oh my goddesses that stupid batshit idea I had 100% worked because it actually did make sense' standpoint.

Where Breath of the Wild opened our minds as to what an open world game could be -- fully designed like one giant interconnected 'level' -- Tears of the Kingdom replied in much the way I expected: it pulled a Super Mario Galaxy 2. What I mean by that is that this is a direct sequel, building directly off the foundation of the original. You know. Like video game sequels almost always used to. And which many very successful ones still absolutely do.

But Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to wow me all over again by adding to that open world's verticality in insane ways -- the Depths alone are probably my favorite 'mechanic' from any Zelda game ever besides the time loop of Majora's Mask (and what that did for the story and gameplay). But beyond the scale of the world basically doubling and then some (floating islands and caves on top of Depths), I was curious how this game could stand tall after Elden Ring, which is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time at this point. Elden Ring was Fromsoft's reply to BOTW. And yet Tears of the Kingdom still managed to have something new to say in spite of that very strong reply.

Tears of the Kingdom opened the door to let players essentially create their own mechanics. By removing the abilities Link had to engage with the world before, and replacing them with a brand new toolset that includes abilities you just... don't see games give you, because they'd be 'overpowered,' TOTK designs its massive world in ways that invite you to use those 'overpowered' abilities however you see fit.

Being able to interact with the world and objects in this way, being able to fuse them together to create all kinds of effects, or new methods of transportation, even interacting with things not just spacially but in respect to time, it's nuts and fun and I've already poured like 130 hours with still so much I haven't done. And that's the thing: this game wasn't designed to be 100%'d. It was designed to just... be experienced, as much or as little as you want. And games on this level of scale/budget just do not have the guts to let so, so much 'content' be missed out on. And this game does.

It's a technical achievement and while I had my doubts with how strangely little Nintendo had to show, I am very glad that the experience itself manages to breathe new life into one of my all-time favorite games while improving on it in so many ways. It won't convert you if you didn't love the original -- this is a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style sequel, after all. But it's essentially replaced the original in ways I didn't think would be possible.

The story? Oof. Uh, not so much the story, let's ignore that part. That's what Nintendo wants you to usually do, anyway. But everything else, just. Din-damn.

It expands upon the first game's already fairly open-ended nature in an exponential way that I suspect developers will spend years to come trying to pin down, much like how they've spend the past 6 or 7 years trying to replicate BOTW's open world design.

For much of this year, I thought this was personal GOTY. And for many it will be, because it's just an extremely impressive video game.

Number 1...?

Going into this list, I kept telling myself, 'man, on any other year, this would be my GOTY. And if you know me personally you likely have already figured out what my GOTY is by omission. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how close these top 5 games are, it really is like centimeters instead of inches, and they each -- well, every game I've mentioned here, beyond the Top 10, as well -- offered something edifying that I was very satisfied with.

And no, it's not Baldur's Gate 3. While I have spent hours playing it in co-op and a little bit solo, that game's just not really for me, exactly. Like, I can enjoy it, and I have massive respect for the dev team and what they accomplished with it. But I don't much care for D&D, and the game just didn't do very much for me personally, I lack the motivation to finish it. Remove Karlach from the game and I have next to nothing to really attach myself to, personally. I definitely get why it's many people's favorite game of 2023, though, and I do think it's a bit of a wakeup call for what can be accomplished by just making a GAME instead of struggling to contort it into a service etc.

Street Fighter 6 is fucking fantastic but it could still use some more actual fighters and incentives to keep playing besides monetizing its players in weird ways. I love it, and it will be the game from 2023 I end up playing the most (it already is, I think). But if it ended as it is, I would be very satisfied.

Hi-Fi Rush is oozing with originality and style and I adore it to death, and when I finished it, I was very satisfied.

Resident Evil 4 kept me addicted for over 100 hours, had an amazing DLC expansion, oozes replaybility in the specific ways I like for a single player action game (rogue-likes besides). I am extremely satisfied by it.

Tears of the Kingdom is so massive and fun to just explore that I know I will continue to play more in the months to come. Will I ever revisit it entirely? I'm actually not sure! That massive length does lend some repetition, even if it's the kind I find therapeutic and satisfying.

And that's what made me realize something. My personal GOTY did not just satisfy me. It made me hungry. It filled me up in a way I didn't think was possible and yet I still hunger for more, because I enjoyed it that fucking much. I played through it twice and still hunger for more. I know I will play it a third time eventually, but mainly I just have not been to remove from my brain the particular ways it made me feel, ways that only a video game can. Nothing about it felt like it needed to be overlooked.

SF6 and RE4 had dubious monetization, TOTK had a story I found to be like 90% boring and it still maintains many of the flaws of the original. And Hi-Fi Rush, while amazing, just didn't scratch the particular itch this game did for me.

1) Lies of P

If you told me that Lies of P was a game developed by some sub-division of FromSoft, I'd believe you. Which is to say I would also believe that it was made by people who wanted to break free from some of the shackles of the now infamous 'soulslike' genre.

A narrative that actually makes sense by the end? Opening up options for the player without requiring specific stat levels? Encounters and boss fights that feel ravenously challenging without just feeling like cheap bullshit? Music that crosses borders beyond 'angry chorus, angrier orchestra'?

Lies of P doesn't quite eclipse Elden Ring, but that's an absolutely unfair comparison given the utter scope and scale and variety that game packs. But Lies of P improves at the FromSoft formula in specific ways, while making concessions in others, and as a result it's just an experience that seeped into my brain like no other game this year, not even Tears of the Kingdom, despite that I put half the hours into this one.

I love all of the games I have mentioned here, you could honestly swap around the order of this top 5 and I could mentally meander a way to justify why, no, actually, this one was my favorite game of 2023. In a year so awful for the people who make games, yet so amazing for games themselves, Lies of P is exactly the kind of game I needed. I needed someone to show me that you can make something directly inspired by someone else's work, yet fine tune it in all the right ways to make it stand just as tall in terms of quality and design. Lies of P made me feel things in ways only a handful of games ever do -- and I would actually count Hi-Fi Rush among those in a regard.

But Lies of P also told a story I found compelling. It had mystery, tension, buildup, it started off seeming like it would do the vague FromSoft schtick only to 100% come together, make sense, be rewarding, and offer a 'true ending' that I got on the first playthrough, organically, without looking things up, because it just... felt right. Not only is the game adapting FromSoft's formula into something its own, it's also doing that with the story of Pinocchio. The gameplay and the story congeal together not in the 'perfect' way that it does with games like Celeste or Undertale, but rather in a more... messy way, like a puppet aching to become a real boy.

The game is full of loss, in its world and for you as the player, who will die many times. But unlike much of FromSoft's catalogue, I never once felt like I died because of bullshit. Was I trolled? Sure, the game definitely 'trolls' you in classic FromSoft fashion, lulling you into a sense of security only to sweep you off your feet. But unlike how FromSoft does it, these circumstances can always be avoided if you're cautious. And if you're not? Hey, 'We got you! We gooottt youuu, haha' and you lose a couple minutes of progress, rather than like fifteen minutes and also an entire level's worth of souls because oh right, this section you just got through is kind of bullshit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Souls. But the thing is, Lies of P takes the parts I love about Dark Souls, admits it can't pull off quite the intricate web of level design, but then throws away everything I do not like about Dark Souls, improves on the things I already liked, and then pushes me to meet it on its level.

The satisfaction of being a boss you spend an hour, two hours on, cannot be understated. It's a feeling unlike any other, and one only this medium can provide. And Lies of P kept me motivated, like Sekiro before it, to keep improving, keep growing, keep trying. And unlike Sekiro, it gave me so many more tools to play with, to learn, to balance in an arsenal with intent. Enemies have elemental weaknesses if I so choose to exploit them, the moveset of one weapon's handle can be applied to a completely different blade, my robotic arm can leverage things in a pinch, or be the backbone to dealing with a boss. Mastery is rewarded with practice. A vicious boss that annihilates you in five seconds can be defeated without a single scratch if you practice enough. Mastery, creativity, quick thinking, and reacting are all rewarded here.

I am more than the hands pulling the strings, I am more than a puppet, I am human. And games like this can only be made by humans, who get that specific itch that only video games that challenge us can scratch. It's not an itch everyone has, but that's why it's my GOTY and not yours, innit?

With its unique setting, its wonderful music, its cozy hub area, its narrative that offers just enough to make me care, but not so much that I am bored or feel misled, its amazing boss designs, and its wonderfully tactile and engaging combat, Lies of P is a game I just can't stop feeling something about whenever I am reminded of it.

It epitomizes so much -- not all, but much -- of what I love about what video games can do, what adaptations can do, and much like how Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, what people can do when they are inspired by someone else's work.

As far as I can tell, this is developer Round8's debut game, and just. Holy hell, what a way to come out swinging. I haven't seen a debut game hit this hard since, I don't know, Bastion.

Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right.

I did, and I do, and given what you teased at the end of this game, I have extremely high hopes of what you come up with next. And in a landscape where things feel more difficult to get excited for with each passing year, much less new IP, it's so damn refreshing to have both Hi-Fi Rush and this game standing out as signals that, hey, some folks are still willing to invest bigger budgets into new games, new ideas.

Again, a battle of centimeters here and at this point I should wrap this up and go to bed.

But yea, Lies of P reminded me of what makes me, specifically, human, in a very particular way that only it has. And I honestly think out of all of single player games of 2023, I think it will actively stand out in my heart the most in the years to come.

#GOTY 2023 #goty #video games #gaming #Mother 3 #scarlet hollow #super mario wonder #future redeemed #Pikmin 4 #Hi-Fi Rush #re4 remake #TOTK #LOZ TOTK #Tears of the Kingdom #Lies of P #long post #Sea of Stars

[game-boy-pocket]

Well, today I beat the Super Mario RPG remake. Only 4 days did it take, but i'm a veteran who knows this game very well and I was using almost every moment of free time I had to play. Not that i'm saying less experienced people are in for a 100 hour game, it's a very short game for an RPG... but I kind of like that it's not overly long. If any series can get away with being a short RPG, it'd be Mario.

I have almost no complaints with this. There's a few changes I don't care for, but none that are significant enough for me to care that much about.... except for two things...

Enemies that know sleep abilities really love to spam them, and it annoyingly reactivates the sleep status. Yeah there's accessories that prevent sleep, but I don't always know when these enemies are going to have these abilities, and they didn't spam them so much in the originals anyway.

The other one is the fight against the boss, Boomer. There's frame rate issues here that throw off the timed hits. I couldn't get ANY timed hits right because of the lag.

Those are the only real significant blemishes on the game. But they're not significant enough for this to not be the definitive way to play the game for me ( I still might pop in the SNES version once in a while for shits and giggles, but this is better in almost every way )

I will say, this remake solved one problem I had with the original. Once I got Bowser and Peach in my party, I almost never switched Mallow or Geno back in. I liked them. But Bowser was a powerhouse and Peach was an OP healer. There were only three active party members, and no switching out mid battle. Because of that, the only time i've ever beat SMRPG playing mostly as Mario Mallow and Geno was me forcing myself to do it as a self imposed challenge run.

Well this game feels like it buffed both Mallow and Geno, or in Geno's case, fixed him so that his special attacks actually functioned as intended. It gave Mallow a purpose of finding out weaknesses and reistences, as well as getting completed entries in the monster log book. The triple specials are also different for every party combination, and if one party member falls in battle, or is put to sleep, or just because you feel like it, they can be swapped out in mid battle. So for once, I was actually using my whole party, and even swapping out strategically so I could buff someone with Geno's boost, or swapping in both Mallow and Peach to do a super healing move on specific turns, it was great, it feels like this is how the game should have worked to begin with.

Now it might sound like this change makes things a bit too easy... well first of all, let's not kid ourselves, Super Mario RPG is a very easy game, especially if you know what you're doing, and even if you don't grind... second of all, this game imposes limits on recovery items you can carry, so only six revival items instead of filling your whole inventory with them. They also introduce the occasional special enemy that provides more challenge and a frog coin on defeat... that's another issue addressed because Frog Coins were way too tough to come by. They're still rare in this game, but you no longer have to grind ridiculous jumping challenges to get them.

This remake is very faithful, but every mechanical change they made is more than welcome in my eyes.

I've taken a little peek at the post game, emphasis on little, I really don't know what all is in store for me, but I have a general idea of how it's going to go... how they've implemented it seems very clever, doesn't seem to step on the toes of the ending much. But it looks like it's going to be a hell of a lot tougher than the main game, so I may need to do some level grinding. I'm just glad there's still some things to do, because, and I know i've said this with almost every major release lately, i'm not ready to be done playing.

It feels so fucking good to be a fan of Mario RPG right now. I do hope the Thousand Year Door remake makes Paper Mario fans feel similarly happy. I still think it's an odd choice not to remake the N64 game first but the fans didn't campaign for that now did they? Here's hoping Mario and Luigi RPG fans have something to look forward to as well.

That's it for now, maybe i'll give further thoughts when I beat the post game, but this covers most of the important stuff I think.

#pocket plays #super mario rpg

[blazehedgehog]

Thoughts on the recent Nintendo Direct?

Things that jumped out at me:

Splatoon 3 Side Order really feels like, to me, somebody at Nintendo really likes NieR. Keep in mind, I have never played a NieR; I've only seen someone play the Xbox 360 version of the first one. But I definitely have that vibe.

A lot of Nintendo's porting/remaking efforts are starting to feel very strange to me:

Luigi's Mansion 2 on Switch, but not 1. Technically they "just" released Luigi's Mansion 1 on 3DS in 2018, but not only was that five years ago, it was on the jaggedy low-resolution 3DS. If they think LM2 deserves to be seen in HD on a TV, why not LM1? "Starting" at 2 like this is weird.

Similarly, it's weird they're doing Mario vs. DK and not starting with DK94. Both are great games, but again, they're kind of starting with the sequel.

Doing both Thousand Year Door and Super Mario RPG at the same time is also weird, especially given they're skipping the original Paper Mario. I guess that game is available through the NSO app, but it's kind of a jumble they'd remake an SNES game, skip the N64 game, and then remake a Gamecube game. They could have also put Super Mario RPG on the NSO SNES app, too. Again: Weird.

Another Code never entered my orbit in any way shape or form, so I feel nothing about that remake.

Princess Peach Showtime looks sort of interesting but somebody said "it looks like Wario: Master of Disguise but for Peach" and that thought alone left such a bad taste in my mouth I am keeping my distance from it for now.

Have no connection to SaGa or Detective Pikachu, so those do nothing for me. Actually, I think I played the Detective Pikachu demo on 3DS and that was in one ear and out the other for me.

The Tomb Raider remasters look bad. I've been curious about those games for some time now, because I think I understand more of what they want out of me mechanically now, but those look like $10 Xbox Live Arcade remasters and I bet the trilogy will sell for $40-$50.

Can't decide if Wayforward's Contra remake looks terrible or passable. It looks early as heck, so maybe it'll get more polish, but Wayforward's output can have some pretty wild swings in quality, so that's a hard "wait and see" at best. At least it looks better than Rogue Corps.

People were going wild for Vanillaware's new game (Unicorn Overlord) but I am not a strategy game person and I have no experience with Vanillaware games in any capacity.

It's weird for an American Nintendo Direct to talk about a small museum opening in Tokyo. I've never flown anywhere before, but a quick glance puts a plane ticket to Tokyo at nearly $2000. It's nice they brought it up, I guess, but the amount of Americans who saw that Direct and will actually be there during the time the Museum is open will probably be very, very small.

Good to see they're still making Amiibo, though they definitely aren't celebrating them like they used to. There's a weird part of me that wants to get Sora. I probably won't.

I have played F-Zero 99 now and it's kind of crazy how polished and nice it feels. A lot of these previous 99 games have felt expectedly low budget, but F-Zero 99 has a multi-phase tutorial and vehicle customization and a map voting system. It looks and feels really, really nice. I'm impressed.

It's funny how quickly they threw 1-2 Everybody Switch under the bus and are now talking up the WarioWare remaster that is a lot of very similar concepts.

Everyone I've seen talk about Dave the Diver seems to refuse to say why it's so cool, "it just is" and they never say anything else about it. The Direct here was the most I've seen of it in motion beyond just the first few basic dives and it actually does look pretty neat.

#questions #Anonymous #nintendo direct #remake #remaster #mario vs. donkey kong #luigi's mansion #warioware #f-zero 99 #amiibo #nintendo #switch #paper mario

[sketchesfullofdoodles]

A pitch idea on a game project I'm working on!

Hi there, my name is SlackerArtist and I am the creator on an indie game I'm working on called "Doodle Madness: Shattered Memories"

So... what in the fresh hell even is Doodle Madness: Shattered Memories anyway? Well my fellow compadre let me tell you on what the game is (along with some art work too)

This image below for example is a mock up on what I would want to have as a character select screen by the way, giving it that arcade select screen feel to it!

The game is essentially an upcoming 2D platformer filled with exploration, combat and most importantly... comedy, it takes heavy inspirations to the game's that were released in the 4th, 5th, 6th and even 8th generation of systems.

And with the inspirations, comes from the many different games that inspired it, and these games are:

Mickey Mania, Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, Ducktales Remastered, Super Mario World, Shantae: Half Genie Hero, Wario Land 4, Sonic Mania, the UbiArt Rayman games, Go! Go! Kokopolo, the LittleBigPlanet series, Crash Bandicoot 4, Rabbids Go Home, Psychonauts 2, Persona 4 Golden, Miitopia, Runner3, Hextech Mayhem, Mad Rat Dead, Devil May Cry, Sunset Overdrive and the Disney Infinity series.

The idea on the game's story is that everyone's memories are planned to be taken away from a so called "King of the Space Pirates" named Lord Commander Xander so he can use it to power a machine to rule on not only the world... but the entire universe, so to save everything at all costs, a ragtag group of individuals lead by Johnathan McCamperbelt must journey from their home country, The Grasslands and beyond to fully stop him once and for all!

I do plan on adding in stuff into the game, like exploring over 15 locations that includes a hub area, playing as over a total of 15 characters, a dedicated combat system with a move list for the characters to attack either the enemies or the player for that cartoony slapstick feel to it, 22 weapons to use in combat, different transformations, each with their own positive and negative effect, an RPG levelling system where the characters can level up and can unlock new moves in their own unique skill tree,

While that it is mainly going to be a comedy focused game, the game will get quite emotional in certain scenes that I won't tell you just yet, but you will see soon enough.

I do have stuff planned for the game after it's release like doing content updates, like adding in the different game modes such as a gender swap mode similarly to how it worked with Shovel Knight but with a dating sim mechanic and a battle arena mode that would be a fighting game, modding support via using Steam Workshop support, adding more characters, more color skins, a level editor, the introduction of both costume skins and gadgets and lastly... brand new story content titled "Doodle Madness: Side-Stories"

I have been creating and gathering ideas Doodle Madness: Shattered Memories for about 4+ years and it is becoming one of the most ambitious projects I'm ever creating and that will take years to get it done, it was originally going to be an RPG using RPGMaker MV, but then decided to turn it into a 2D platformer instead using Gamemaker Studio 2!

#gamedev #indiegamedev #doodlemadness #doodlemadnessgame

[poof346]

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, An Unlikely Success

So yeah, VERY late on this game, specifically reviewing the first one since I beat it recently, today actually. Much like everyone else, I was super confused when it was first leaked, as the entire concept of Mario teaming up with the Rabbids sounded...stupid to be blunt. And I'm not a huge fan of Ubisoft as a company either, that didn't help.

One way or another though, the game ended up in my hands somehow, and I initially stopped somewhere in World 3, the penultimate one. I don't remember why that was either, but I decided to finally get through the whole thing as something to hold me over while waiting for Sonic Frontiers to release. And then I got to the final world and forgot to continue for like 2 weeks. Whoops.

Fresh off the heels of my actual completion though, I'd say Kingdom Battle is pretty solid? Certainly had room for improvement that I hear its sequel capitalized on, but this was a fun time! I'll speed through the basics of what the game actually is to get to brass tacks. So, it's a turn-based strategy game where you lead Mario and his allies across battlefields and wield cartoony/sci-fi laser blasters to fight Rabbid fusions with Mario elements. The mechanics are streamlined more than a typical game of the genre to make it more accessible, but that doesn't mean there's no depth.

Characters have specialized roles, weapon kits, and skills to aid them in said roles. Luigi is a sniper, so all his attributes are built for him to fire from a long distance, etc. The game puts enough control into the player's hands that I felt I could approach the missions in any way with almost any team composition (you're not allowed to take Mario out of the team). So I'd say battles never lost their luster, even by the end.

What I think DID was the overworld, unfortunately. I got the impression that all the collectibles were placed after the fact, and that each world was designed as a linear path you only run through once. Makes more sense for a platformer than a role-playing game, and is also something the sequel apparently addressed. The puzzles within the worlds also contributed to this meh feeling, as pretty much all of them involved activating switches and/or pushing blocks. Not mindless by any means, but I would've appreciated more variety.

Thankfully, I can much more easily praise the music. If there's anything people who played can agree on, it's that Kingdom Battle has a very pleasant, whimsical and fun soundtrack befitting of Mario's world. Don't think there was a single one I disliked as I played, worth a listen for sure.

So as a whole, I'm glad to have finally finished this game, I liked it. Not the best RPG I've played but it gave me exactly the experience I was hoping for, a cozy and fun romp with only occasional bumps in the road. Will I play the sequel? Eh, maybe if I can find it used, don't wanna be directly giving money to Ubisoft.

#review #mario #mario + rabbids

[goombasa]

Who was Crash Team Rumble For?

By the time this blog post goes up, it will have been almost two months since active support was ended for Crash Team Rumble. While the game is currently still online and can be played, and pretty much everything has been made really easy to unlock for anyone who jumps on the game at this point, this being an Activision title, it's only a matter of time before it goes offline for good and can never be played again. The game was actively supported for only 9 months, putting it roughly on par with any Live Service game being put out by Square Enix.

While you could say that the game's sunsetting is due to its developer, Toys for Bob, went completely independent, getting out from under Activision's thumb (good for them, btw, I'm really happy about that), I think Activision would have put another one of the dozens of other studios they own on this project to continue developing and maintaining it if the game had been a smash hit. 

So that begs the question: Who was this game for? Because I think it was a game that was just very poorly timed and very poorly thought out.

I need to preface, this is not an attack on the developers who worked hard to put out and keep the game going, nor is it an attack on the game's fans or its quality. I actually have not played the game, though I have followed it at a distance, just out of curiosity, because I actually think that the idea has some merit; a competitive MOBA platformer game? That's decently unique! But was this what people wanted to see from Crash? No, I don't think so.

Look, Activision actually managed to work up some good will with Crash Bandicoot over the last few years, with a very well received remake of the original trilogy, a remake of Crash Team Racing that brought together some of the best tracks, characters, and mechanics from multiple Crash racing games, and a brand new Crash platformer with Crash 4: It's About Time.

And then they turn around and make a live service MOBA game? Please forgive me, but I don't think there's a lot of crossover between Crash fans and MOBA players, is there?

I'm totally fine with franchises branching out into new genres. In fact, I encourage it. Placing characters in different genres away from their norm is a great excuse to experiment and show off mechanics or standard features in new lights. Mario is an excellent example of this, as he's dipped into puzzle games, RPGs, racing games, and of course sports games, and has managed to create something very entertaining almost every time. Sometimes, the shift doesn't work out for a multitude of reasons, like with Sonic Chronicles (though I'm one of those freaks that still believes that Sonic could work as an RPG), but more often than not, if an honest attempt is made, I think it's a good thing. Even Crash himself has pulled it off, with his racing games. Sure, not all of them were great, but they were overall decent at least, and the first game and its remake manages to stand on the same level as Mario Kart in terms of how fun it is.

But MOBA? I don't see it. The core audience that this was trying to appeal to, Crash fans, I don't think, were interested in a game that has no single-player element to it, and is essentially a grind fest for characters and cosmetics. Yes, I say that knowing that CTR was basically used as a testing grounds for this, what with its limited events and its ever-rotating Fortnite-style shop, but that at the very least was something that could be ignored in favor of just completing missions in the game. Here, though, the grind is kind of the entire point, regardless of how fun the game itself is.

This also kind of extends to Spyro fans as well. Some of the last playable characters to be added to the game consisted of Spyro, Elora, and Ripto, from the spyro series, once again squandering the good will that Activision had managed to earn with the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Rather than using that momentum to revitalize another beloved classic Franchise that would hopefully translate into more sales over time with new mainline games, Spyro and friends are once again essentially playable cameos in their brother series. It was an attempt to rope in the Spyro audience in the same way they tried to rope in Crash's audience into a live service experience.

So it's a situation where the target audience was alienated by the rather extreme shift in genre. But the other big factor, probably the biggest, and by some measure the most obvious point, is everyone's sick of Live Service games in general. Everyone's sick of games that are meant to go on forever, sick of games that require you to play them every day or you miss out on rewards, sick of games that require an extreme grind to unlock basic cosmetics, or new characters, or new arenas or tracks or basically anything that they can hide behind an arbitrary achievement that will be gone eventually. It's a highly over saturated market that the industry all decided to try to catch up to after Fortnite became the big thing. This isn't just a problem with Crash Team Rumble or with Activision, this is a problem industry-wide, a very costly one. Crash was just an unfortunate victim of a much larger trend.

So to sum up, who is this game for? Not really anyone. It's a live service game releasing in a time when everyone is sick of live service games, it's a unique type of multiplayer game that, while it is cool to see a new idea in an over saturated market,  it might have been too much of a departure from the familiar for those established and interested in MOBA's, and it managed to isolate and push away its intended fanbase of Crash and Spyro fans because this wasn't the experience they wanted coming off the heels of the successful revival of the franchise. I'm not saying this idea couldn't have worked (my understanding was this was originally supposed to be the multiplayer mode for Crash 4 before it got spun off into its own full game, and it was replaced with a very basic, rushed multiplayer mode in the main game), but the timing was all wrong and the player base just wasn't there.

It's a shame. As I said, I had no real interest in playing the game, and after its launch, it just sort of dropped off the map in terms of mainstream gaming news coverage until its inevitable end of service at the end of March. And the worst part about it all is that I just know that Activision is not going to take any of these lessons to heart, or are going to learn the exact wrong lessons from this whole debacle. Or maybe they just won't care. People are still going to buy Call of Duty anyway, right?

#Crash Bandicoot #Crash Team Rumble #Make More Platformers #no one wanted this #Activision is a shitty company

[glassmarcus]

I guess I'm just bad at enjoying games

*Played in February 2022 on Emulator, Written in December 2022

Let's just get this out of the way. This is likely a bad take. I’m probably just a baby gamer. But Donkey Kong Country 2 is overrated. The level design is dynamic and constantly throws interesting platform challenges at you. This is dragged down by enemies being extremely aggressive, placed in complete troll locations, and attacking you from off screen. The levels are too long and so much of it is trial and error. I wouldn't be so opposed to it if the game didn't have you pay in-game currency to save your game. That shit is so fucking evil and inexcusable. It's the epitome of ‘game that wants you to play it a billion times whether you like it or not’. I played with save states between checkpoints and levels because I have a limited time on this earth and have a list of games I want to play this year that are better than this. So I wasn't too frustrated, but I don't really respect this philosophy. While it's understandable for the era, I won't ignore that it makes the game less time proof. Maybe if I played it legit, I'd see the true beauty of this game. But I'm playing this in 2022, where every game coming out appears to be a yoked up prison yard bully. I've done this song and dance before. I know what games are worth bashing your head against and this is not one of those for me.

Also these graphics are still ugly. It's better looking than the first Donkey Kong Country for sure. But it's still a dark plasticy grimy grotesque galère of pixels the whole way through. It fits the tone of the game for sure, but I really don't like looking at it. Can we hang up the cap and finally admit that SNES prerendered graphics look repulsive? I'm kind of over this meme and I'd welcome a new age of just shitting on Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario RPG. Can we start doing that please? No? Fuck me? OK, that's fair. Have a nice day.

I'm dogging on this a lot even though I do think it's pretty good. I like the big brained secrets in the levels, I like the use of the throw mechanic, and I like the speed you can blast through levels once you know what's up ahead. Seriously, this game had some Sonic moments at certain points. I'd love to see a widescreen release of this game where I don't have to memorize which enemy is gonna teleport out of the right side of the screen and murder me. But we can't have that because this game is already perfect according to everyone else. I know, I hear it. I’m fighting with straw right now. I'm just so fucking salty over having to endure 2 decades of unceasing Diddy's Kong Quest dick riding, only to play it and it be just ‘good’. I'm starting to realize that Rare might not be the team of super stars I perceived them as. I'm scared shitless of replaying Banjo Kazooie because I'm no longer 12 years old.

#donkey kong country 2 #donkey kong country

[runimanio]

2024 Game Clear #4 Mega Man X: Command Mission

This is an interesting one, a tradition turn based Mega Man X RPG that has much to love, but also leaves me wanting in a lot of way. Perhaps because this is the final X series game I needed to play it also left me thinking about the storytelling & characterization of the X series so this will probably be a long one

The story here is that a maverick named Epsilon has formed a army aptly named the Rebellion Army to occupy Giga City and form a reploid supremist state and now the Maverick Hunters must intervene! If your familiar with the X series this will sound extremely in line with the general plotline the action games tended to have & it's clear that the developers really wanted to translate as much stuff and mechanics from those games into a RPG format (there's even a boss rush teleport room at the end!)

That thinking creates a pretty neat battle system but being so loyal to the plot structure of the main series X really does the story of a RPG & the new charters a disservice, you could very easily cut this 20 hour game into a standard X platformer & lose very little of the actual meat.

X and Zero are fully in their deadly serious mode that they've been in in for the late series X games, gone are Zero's days of confidently giving a thumbs up we're full broody edge lord & X is in cop mode at all time which is a shame since this could've been a great way to really explore these two in more depths then normally allowed.

I liked the new characters but they don't really get anything to do here, after their recruitment there character arc is pretty much done & i'm pretty sure Spider aside, the other 3 maybe talked to Zero & Axel maybe once throughout the entire game. I wish I could tell you anything about Marino or Cinnamon other then what written on the tin. Massimo is a brute struggling to live up to his mentor name, Marino is a thief who unexpectedly finds herself embroiled into the conflicted, Cinnamon is a living blacksmith forge i guess? And Spider is a bounty hunter who's later actions makes me question his early actions. They all have a lot of potential they're just unserved.

Let's move on to a lighter note for a bit, This battle system is pretty cool, it uses a turn system similar to the Digimon Story games (it's probably comes from something older but I'm blanking lol) where you can see the upcoming order of who moves first & even have your unit act multiple times before your enemy can under the right circumstances, two buttons can be equipped with special weapons that use Weapon Energy to fire and can be used before taking your action for the turn. Instead of healing items you have sub tanks you can collect and fill that you can pull from for healing.

Action Trigger are essentially limit breaks where you use all your weapon energy & play a little mini game for a big attack, its a little repetitive and i don't love doing a Mario Party style stick rotation for Cinnamon's heal trigger but it's fine & everyone has a hyper mode which is a temporary transformation that massively buffs the character or even in some cases change out their weapons and Action Triggers, X and Zero have secret unlockable Hyper modes that are super OP and fun to use.

It's a really fun and unique system & I do appreciate that I never really felt I need to grind but it can get pretty old when your binging through the game since enemy can feel pretty spongy and the encounter rate sometimes can a little aggressive where I'll get out of a battle and slightly adjust myself to get my barring again only to be thrown back into a battle immediately but sometimes i would go several rooms without any encounters so it probably varies.

And when you get lost the constant battles can be grating & getting lost can be easy as the entire game looks like this

All the stages feel like I'm exploring a bunker with almost entire game being made up of narrow hallways, even Giga City the city in the sky kinda just feels like another a bunker also slight tangent about the game's world it's funny that even in this RPG the X world is devoid onscreen humans, I don't know what Sigma and all the other Mavricks are complaining about, seems like the humans are doing a great job leaving reploids alone!

It probably sounds like I really didn't like the game but I did ultimately enjoy the game but I just see so much untapped potential in this game, these characters & this world, I can imagine a version of this game were Massimo has a longer character arc struggling with feeling like he's failing to honor the mantle, Maybe Marino learning to believe in the cause, More of Cinnamon learning what she wants to do beside just being a actual tool for people to use. My mind races with possibilities with this world & I only got a fraction of what I would've liked.

I truly wish it got a sequel because this is a very solid base to build on & really Mega Man has always been an iterative franchise but in hindsight of all the baggage the next generation would bring, the mega man recession of the late aughts, & Inafune gaining more power within Capcom & apparently hating the idea of a X RPG to begin with Command Mission was probably made at the last possible moment it could've been made.

Anyway here's some random thought to end off on

recontextualizing Axl's A Trans ability into summons is very cool

Everyone in the city getting new dialogue as the story progresses is neat

Cinnamon's design uses the red cross logo so this game is a violation of the Geneva Convention

I'm not really sure why they needed this to take place in 22XX causing it to have no place in the timeline due to the Zero games also taking place then other than maybe wanting to remove themselves from the earth is damaged after X5 continuity idk

This version of Ultimate Armor is crazy, X ain't playing around anymore no way Dr. Light signed off on this lol

After her chapter Marino never vocally speaks again for the rest of the game, she didn't deserve to be done like that.

Absolute Zero is very cool

Shout out to my friend Talion for gifting this to me for Christmas, thanks buddy!

#Runi's Gamelogs 2024 #mega man x command mission #megaman x #rockman #command mission #mega man x #mega man

[zephyr-rat]

2023 Final Games Ranking and Thoughts

Heya folks. This is just a ranking of games that I have played and personally enjoyed, similar to last year.

Overall, I'm very mixed this year. While we had some fantastic games, there seems to be a lot of terrible games that I did not play including Redfall, Silent Hill Asension, Gollum, or anything GameMill entertainment has made. Additionally, this was the year the game industry had the most layoffs after both the Pandemic bubble and the Live Service bubble bursted. Luckily I didn't touch any of the really bad games; most of the games I've played were decent, but I do hope the games industry actually gets their act together in the coming years. If the Game Awards this year was any indicator, they won't. So here's my list, counting backwards

13) Baldur's Gate 3: I highly respect this game's writing and extremely open gameplay systems, and from what I heard from DnD and RPG fans, its very faithful to DnD, but god does onboarding new players suck (I never played DnD or a Larian game in my life).

12) Convergence: A very frustrating game that, as a fan of Zaun and metroidvanias, I was hyped for. The gameplay is inconsistent, going from some of the most fun combat to just bullet hell nonsense. The rewind just feels like an extra life for how much the developers said it was designed to be more than that. Also, this has to be the worst story of any Riot Forge game. Most of the champion cameos felt worthless, they butchered Camille's character, and they didn't advance anyone's character or story. At least the art's pretty though. -------------------------- GAP------------------------------- 11) Song of Nunu: A very cute game with mostly okay and functional gameplay. Willump is super cute. My biggest complaint is that the ending didn't advance Lissandra's story that much given the events that actually happened, making it feel rushed and somewhat incomplete. I also think this game will probably be the representative of what I expect from Riot Forge stories. They star the characters you love in a different context, allows you to explore the world of runeterra, and advance the main character's arc BUT they will not advance too much. The status quo still lingers over us all.

10) Have a Nice Death: A cute roguelike-metroidvania with a beautiful artstyle and sometimes comedic writing. The gameplay feels solid with decent combat and powerups. That being said, there is some gamefeel and balance issues that can get annoying. Some weapons just do not feel good to use at all and there can be ALOT of visual clutter with all of the effects running around

9) Stray Gods: Extremely good visual novel story with a very unique take on greek urban fantasy with fantastic Worldbuilding and thought. Good artstyle and general staging. My biggest complaint and why its not ranked higher is simply because the music wasn't memorable. For a game that markets itself as a musical, that's a pretty big flaw

8) Cassette Beasts: An actual modern take on Pokemon that beats Pokemon Scarlet and Violet out of the water. It has a great doubles combat system, a unique typing system that forces players to think, and a lot of interesting story hooks and mysteries for the world it creates. If Pokemon Scarlet and Violet made me jaded about these types of games, Cassette Beasts revitalized my interest. I still think it needed a bit more polish and the ending felt a bit sudden, but overall a good game.

7) Street Fighter 6: The first game in the new modern generation of fighting games and its a very promising start. Modern controls and a very substantial storymode to onboard newer players with extreme mechanical depth with the drive gauge system for older, pro players. I think this might be the best launch Street Fighter has ever had.

6) Super Mario Wonder: A super mario game that made mario feel fresh and polished. It has extremely fun co-op with really cool game moments with the wonder flowers, albeit a bit short-lived. It has extremely fun co-op that I was able to play with both my sister and my dad, who never plays that many games.

5) Mageseekers: A game that adapts Sylas kit extremely well and actually gives the mages of Demacia a legitimate voice against the Mageseekers without having to sugarcoat the horrific warcrimes of a fascistic anti-mage state. There some gripes, but this is definitely the best Riot Forge game currently. Also Jarvan the 4th should not be king.

4) Pikmin 4: An incredibly polished and engaging gameplay loop that was hard to get out of once you find yourself in a flow. It was relaxing to just command Pikmin and watch them do your orders. It singlehandedly made me a Pikmin fan and I'm excited to see more of the franchise.

3) Little Gator Game: An incredibly cute game that's a perfect duration for what it offers. It's not a long game, but I was always charmed by the fun writing and solid movement tools. The ending even made me tear up.

2) Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom: This is essentially an expansion pass of BotW, but goddamn is it a fantastic expansion. The bosses are better, the resource crafting is cool, the machine creation allows a lot of creativity, and the world is still fun to explore. The ending is extremely climactic and satisfying with a decently solid fantasy story. This game has a lot more flaws than #3 and #4, but I admire the ambition and craft on display.

Hi-Fi Rush: This was easily the GotY for me. It has an extremely fun rhythm mechanic that works extremely well for the 3D style beat-em-up. The Saturday Morning cartoon artstyle is breathtaking with a witty, comical story to perfectly match its tone. The audio engineers deserve all of the awards for this work to get everything to bop to the beat. The music is not good on its own, but when you play the game, its fantastic in motion. Easily best art direction, best game direction, and best audio design for me.

#2023 #Rankings #video games #gaming

[tsukai22]

Stuff

I got SMT3: Nocturne from the Black Friday sales on Steam. I'll wait until I finish Persona 3 Portable to start playing it though since I could easily mix up a bunch of stuff such as battle mechanics or move effects if I alternate between the two.

I'm not sure if I'll get Super Mario RPG or not. Some of the out-of-combat stuff seems like it'll be annoying for me. I also already know the story so there won't be any exciting plot twists for me.

I have a few Bluesky codes but I don't know if I should share them given how doing that could easily be breaching ToS somewhere. Or maybe it doesn't, I don't know. My anxiety certainly isn't helping in this regard.

The video I might upload on Youtube is coming along okay. I'm using Lightworks, which has some quirks but I'm working it out. Here's a hint as to what the video I'm making is:

Yeah, I'm probably going crazy if I'm not crazy already.

[obiternihili]

2, 9, 11, 38

Cool! So tumblr didn't give me a notification that I got this ask!

context is this post:

2. Top 5 games of all time?

A few of the Zelda series could probably make the cut. I go back and forth on Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask for my favorite from that series.

Skyrim modding has eaten months of my life.

Undertale's probably up there

Fuga: Melodies of Steel (and its sequel; they're more like episodes of one game than two standalone games) might take a spot, but it might be a honeymoon effect.

There's a few runners up out there like Night in the Woods, Yoshi's Island, La Mulana, Pokémon: Emerald etc. And a few series I really like but can't in good conscience say are my favorite (Sony's Horizon comes to mind).

But I think of games that I associate with myself maybe the number 5 spot should go to Yu-Gi-Oh: The Sacred Cards. More as a representative of the Yu-Gi-Oh series as a whole and that unspeakable time I tried to become a let's player. Plus it's just a weird unbalanced game.

9. Most hours you've put into a single game?

Easily skyrim, caveat: much of that time is just turning on the game, cocing (using the console to warp without loading a save game) into riverwood, and sprinting to whiterun checking for CTDs, or in other words, testing mods to make sure I didn't make the game explode.

If you don't count mod testing, probably OoT 3D rando, usually still bug testing, but actually playing at the same time.

11. Favorite game genre?

Probably action-adventure.

Like I like puzzles and I like pretty/cute worlds to explore. And I like RPG story crafting.

If I'm honest I tend to prefer games that are easy to moderately difficult over hard. I like power fantasies a bit, I guess, and that's best achieved by earning it.

So zelda-likes, open world games, and certain metroidvanias are pretty much my ideal games. Which isn't to say something like really good writing or music can't propel things like Undertale or Fuga into my top games.

38. An unpopular gaming opinion you have.

I've got a few of those, I think.

Paper Mario's decline began with Super Paper Mario, Sticker Star unfairly gets the blame for it. And the mechanics weren't that bad, people just absolutely refused to learn them because they were too upset at it doing SPM things instead of TTYD things. SS is still deeply flawed, I mean, but it's not like "bad sonic game" bad.

Many gamers want to roleplay when playing or just unwind with a comfort game and not everyone games for the feeling of overcoming shit. And that's entirely valid. But they can be a kind of competing access need: there are kids who need absolute silence to focus on a test, and there are kids who need noise to drown out distractions; both kids are valid, but their needs are antagonistic. If you take the games of gamers who want accomplishment and put easy modes in, often you make more work for devs who have to rebalance the game around both modes. Or, like the more action adventure open world gameplay you inject in the Elder Scrolls, the less of a difficult Table Top traditional/chance and skill check kind of RPG there is for the Morrowind and earlier fans who loved the series for those elements. Likewise, taking someone's animal crossing and adding soulsbourne mechanics to it would change that kind of game entirely. I'm not sure that the answer is "put an easy mode in dark souls" or "don't put an easy mode in dark souls". I don't know what the answer really is but I'm not cleanly on either side of that argument.

I'm starting to be one of those "actually graphics matters" guys. I can't really easily play switch games anymore, it's insane. Aliasing and blur feels like visual noise (unlike texture) and makes me feel tired/annoyed. Plus, like, too much pop in or flickering gives me headaches; I had to drop Legends: Arceus because it made my head hurt. And I notice low framerates now, and it hurts similarly to pop in. Fwiw I think a lot of it's also COVID related; my family used to travel a ton, but now the easiest ways for me to get my "green fix" is a game like Skyrim, BotW, or Horizon: Forbidden West. And I guess playing higher framerate games has just trained my brain to vibe that fast.

Trainers, mods, cheat codes are, so long as it's only used in single player content, cool and great. They do not change level design. If it's hard to set up, then it's a reward for being smart enough to set up, no different than writing down information on a piece of paper to solve a game's puzzle. They're good things.

---

Thanks for the asks! Sorry I didn't get the notification.

[letstalkassassinscreed]

Ubi Forward Part 1

Ubi Forward has officially finished streaming and in the stream, we were shown some fantastic trailers and gameplay, in this first of two blogs I'm going to unpick some of the most incredible moments in the show Avatar Frontieres Of Pandora 

The first big game title was Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, the game was shown as a mix of trailer and gameplay, and from what we've seen the game is shaping up to be a fantastic title. Not only did the world like vibrant and alive it also invoked the same amount of wonderment that the movies give, the game also features a lot of fat movement and verticality. They also showed a few mounts and mounted combat but the highlight for me was the character leaping off a high floating island and summoning their flying mount, it looked like a lot of fun and something I want to try. The gameplay showed a lot of 3rd person movement and also intractable environments, but also action gameplay from guns to bows and arrows. This mix could allow us to tailor our combat experience, there was a skill tree briefly shown but I'm unsure how that will play. The game officially launches in December this year 

Xdefient The next title was the amazing free-to-play FPS Xdefient which I did a small write-up about the closed beta here:https://www.tumblr.com/letstalkassassinscreed/719949858963881984/xdefiant-by-ubisoft?source=share   they did announce some news like an open session on June 21st, this open session will feature a good amount of content from; 14 maps, 4 factions with a 5th unlockable and that is the dedsec faction, 5 game modes and 24 weapons. We were also shown their ambitious year 1 plan which featured 4 new factions 12 new weapons and 1w new map. I'm very excited and hoping to make this my main competitive shooter. Prince Of Persia The Lost Crown The next trailer shown was one of the 3 titles I was hoping to see and that is Prince Of Persia The Lost Crown, this new title is a 2d Metroidvania combing the acrobatic and fun combat of the action Rpg Sands of Time Trilogy. The trailer started as a cinematic highlight of bosses' anime types and combat and it looked amazing. But the ending showed more gameplay that highlighted the fun traversal and puzzling features, there is also a time mechanic which I cant wait to test out, I don't want to say too much now as I'm currently writing more detailed thoughts and impressions. But safe to say on January 18th 2024 I will be playing this. Captain Lazerhawk I don't have much to say on this as it wasn't a game title but more an animated show by the creator of Castlevania based on the far cry 3 blood dragon expansion, it did not get my attention as I don't have Netflix. The Divison Resurgence A mobile title based on the division is all I can say on this, it does look cool and I have had my eye on it since the announcement but I'm waiting for a full reveal and a chance to play before I update my thoughts on it. The trailer we did show was cinematic and fun and there was some gameplay mixed in which is always a nice touch. We had some smaller updates here with a song from the Skull and Bones game, brawlhala and Mario Rabbid's Sparks of Hope. The Crew Moterfest I'm not a big racing fan but this game looks amazing and I did try The Crew 2 and enjoyed it, so I'm excited to see what's next for this franchise. This section showed some amazing visuals and gameplay on the isle of Hulu. it featured some cool biomes from beaches and rainforests. The cars also looked cool, I will be paying attention to this title over time. The biggest announcement was the ability to port your The Crew 2 collection into Motorfest for free. This title will also be launching on September 14th 2023 Assassins Creed Nexus 

This was a very surprising title as it's a Vr exclusive, as someone who has 0 experience with Vr it may be a title I miss. From what we did see it looked pretty fun and it showed to have 3 characters to choose from which is a cool detail. I'm excited to see how this game develops Assassins Creed Jade

Mixed into the Nexus segment was Jade a title im excited to play as im an avid mobile gamer, the game will be free to play which is a great starting point for all fans to test it and hopefully enjoy it. The gameplay shown blew my mind I want this game and hope my phone can run it haha im still sceptical of the free-to-play model and if it'll have a pc port, but im signed up for the beta so I have more news soon I hope. Assassins Creed Mirage 

I could talk for hours about how excited I am for this game haha the showcase featured a phenomenal story trailer you have to see it, I like the mix of old and new and the callbacks to AC1.  there is a lot more I want to say but I am leaving that to an upcoming podcast episode where me and James can fully unpick it, but the story does look to be very gripping, emotional and amazing. The gameplay was perfect if im being honest there is a strong sense of parkour in this game with a lot of paces to move, there was also a destructible environment that helps break the line of sight to get away which is a great feature to see. Tools being back is much needed if im honest, I cant wait to do a few more updates on the gameplay trailer as there is a lot to unpick 

#gaming #video games #ubisoft #assassin's creed #assassin's creed mirage #podcast #the division 2

[gaming]

Indie Game Spotlight: Stratospiel

We're exploring the colorful and mysterious world of Stratospiel in this week's Indie Game Spotlight! Stratospiel is an upcoming turn-based RPG that follows the journey of a child who awakens on a strange planet with no memories and is faced with a vast array of enemies and the choice to either destroy or befriend them. The choices you make will impact the tone and outcome of this story. We caught up with Stratospiel's designer, writer, programmer, and composer, Vaughn Haynes, to learn more.

Stratospiel is reminiscent of other turn-based RPGs like Earthbound and Undertale—was Stratospiel inspired by either? Were there any other games that inspired you during the development process?

It's funny—I've been told by my friends that the game has a lot of Earthbound vibes, but I've never actually played any of the Mother games. I'll definitely have to as soon as I'm finished making this game :) I can say with confidence that this was very much inspired by Undertale, though. I played that for the first time on my Switch back in February 2020 and was absolutely blown away. I've wanted to make a video game forever but always backed down when I saw how much of an undertaking it is. Once I found out that Undertale was primarily made by one guy, I was like, "yeah, I can do this," and finally got to work learning how to code and all that fun stuff. Undertale has a huge influence on Stratospiel, with its defining mechanic—acting/sparing the monsters—being implemented here. In a broader sense, though, I'd say the Mario & Luigi RPG series has had the biggest influence. I played Bowser's Inside Story as a kid, and I loved how fast-paced the battles were without losing that feeling of RPG strategy. I also liked how the items you used in battle were also used to manipulate the overworld. Stratospiel's battle system is a happy marriage between those two games' battle systems. Other games that influenced Stratospiel are the WarioWare and Ace Attorney games—absurd humor is my favorite, and that has definitely worked its way into Stratospiel.

What made you choose pixel art as the art style for Stratospiel?

Because it's the cheapest! Also, because it complements the tone of the game as well. A lot of the humor in Stratospiel is derived from fun visual gags. The further away you are from the uncanny valley, the less likely it is that your brain will get weirded out and go, "Hey, this isn't real!" and will be more accepting of the silly things happening onscreen and hopefully laugh along with the game. The same goes for the more serious moments, too. By having a simple art style, you're forced to make each character as distinct as possible, which helps people form closer bonds with them, which is great for eliciting a powerful emotional response.

What types of enemies can we expect to see in the game? Can you tell us a little about the main antagonist and how they fit into the game’s narrative?

I’m really happy with the enemies. I think, aside from composing the music, designing the enemies has been my favorite part of making the game. The enemies you fight can range from cute, to silly, to fearsome. They’re all unique, with their own wants, needs, goals, likes, dislikes, etc. You’ll meet a cast of fun characters along the way who accompany you on your adventure, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. As for the main antagonist? You’ll have to solve the mystery to find out who that is :)

In what way will players’ choices impact the story of Stratospiel? Will the game have multiple endings?

Your choices impact two big things in the game: the plot and the tone. In terms of plot, I can’t really say too much because of spoilers, but the basic idea is that if you defeat someone in battle, then they’re dead. They’re out of the picture forever now. Their friends' and family’s lives have been forever changed. But if you befriend them, then they’ll contribute their skills and resources, and that just may take you to different places. The same goes for tone—killing people is pretty dark, I would say. And of COURSE, the game will have multiple endings!!! I love it when games do that, so you bet I’ll implement that here :) You can see a little bit of that in the demo right now.

What do you hope players will take away from Stratospiel?

I hope players take away an appreciation for the themes that are in there. Each character and area has a central idea baked into them, and how you as a player interact with them determines their direction and arc. Like I said earlier, the game is very personal to me and is sort of like my own “shout into the void.” With everything going on in the world today, it can be hard to feel heard, getting drowned out in all the terrible things happening. Everyone has something to say, and this is my way of doing so. Choices in video games are nothing new, but having players think about the consequences of choices is something that I think games really excel at, and Stratospiel is no different. I can guarantee that fans familiar with the genre will be surprised with how things turn out!

Stratospiel will be available on Steam for Mac and Windows in Fall 2023. Follow @stratospiel for updates and other announcements, and check out the Kickstarter here!

This interview has been edited for clarity.

#indie game spotlight #stratospiel

[sonic7ischaos]

So y'know how Sonic can use Chaos Control as of Sonic Adventure 2?

Why does that...never come up again? Why is that not an ability he just has now? Like, you wanna change up Sonic's gameplay, don't replace his foundational gameplay with car mechanics, give that motherfucker the ability to slow and stop time. Let the bitch teleport. They're doing an open world in Frontiers, perfect way to implement a fast travel. Introducing a combat system, rather than going full Werehog (an idea I still say was stupid to begin with), give Sonic a Chaos Emerald and chain homing attack combos by teleporting back and forth between distant enemies, jumping across the battlefield to quickly take out clusters without touching the ground for style points or some in game reward or something. He doesn't even need to fully unlock Chaos powers, that can stay Shadow's, but it's strange that they introduced Chaos Control as an idea, let Sonic use it, and then drop it entirely.

I mean, there's a lot of that in Sonic these days, especially post Penders lawsuit. No more echidna or Gizoid lore, the established Chaos Emerald, ancient civilization lore has dropped by the wayside, no more babylonians, but there's not much good reason for the Chaos Control thing.

*Sigh* I wish someone who cared about that stuff got a big decision making role with Sonic Team. So much of what made Sonic great in the first place has fallen by the wayside. Any argument made in its favor decried as just an aversion to change. Like NO, I don't mind change. Uekawa Sonic was change. Chao Gardens were change. Rpg elements were change. Voice overs and written dialogue was change. Tails' character arc was change. The progression structures of the characters in the Adventure games was change.

I'm not against Sonic trying new things, what I'm AGAINST is fundamental, subtractive changes that REMOVE IMPORTANT SHIT FROM THE GAMES, and EVEN THEN, only when it's done recklessly, thoughtlessly. As an example, Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker is just Mario 3D world without a jump button, which is itself Mario 3D Land with a bigger scope and more features, and I could go on all the way to arcade Donkey Kong. The POINT, is that the change was careful, it left everything but the one single thing they wanted gone intact, and then built levels around that change. Similar thing with the long jump's absence in Sunshine, it's gone to enable the numerous functions of the F.L.U.D.D.'s aiming, to make the big new feature even more user friendly and capable. You want to subtract something from Sonic's established core gameplay? Take the spindash, or the homing attack. Replace the lightspeed dash/attack with something new. You wanna take rolling? Harder sell but if you can justify it in the context of the core momentum gameplay, go for it.

But it's ADDITIVE changes that keep that core identity intact more often than not. The addition of the homing attack, of the spindash, the drop dash. The addition of the backflip, the long jump, side jump, wall jumps, slide, slide kick, ground pound, triple jump. Mario's run and jump are still in there, Sonic's run and jump are still in there, they just layered new stuff on top.

Mario always feels like Mario. Zelda always feels like Zelda. Kirby, even in the weird fuckoff side games like Canvas Curse or Epic Yarn (where they take away his suction/copy power, fancy that) ALWAYS feels like Kirby to control.

Sonic...Sonic hasn't felt like Sonic since Mania, and aside from that? Hasn't felt like Sonic since what? Rush Adventure maybe? Heroes if we're generous? SA2? Even if we say it was Sonic Rush Adventure, that game came out in 2007. 15 years since Sonic felt like Sonic to play.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog movie #sonic adventure #chaos control #chaos emerald #lore #sonic lore #shadow the hedgehog #game design #sonic avance #sonic advance 2 #sonic advance 3 #sonic battle #sonic adventure 2 #sonic heroes #mario 3d world #mario 64 #kirby #kirby's epic yarn #sonic mania #sonic team #sega #primary gameplay loop

[megumri]

HI RI! 🥰

How are you? Just out of curiosity what games do you play? 👀

HI HELLO hehehe i’m good, how are you doing !!

ok so, i've been hesitating to mention this on here, but i work in the video games industry (pls no one ask which one !!) so i have both played them for like research purposes and for work, but most definitely mostly for fun

but i play a lot

i put them under the cut cause 😁😅 i wrote wayyyy too much lmfao

horizon zero dawn

I LOVE THIS GAME IT MIGHT BE MY FAVORITE GAME EVER, to be clear: i mostly play story based games/rpg games cause it always felt like an interactive tv show with its story chapters and like side quests and this one's story?? amazingggg, i don't want to give anything away so i'll just say: the world building/lore is fantastic, and the scenery alone is to die for

i also love that for the most part what you are fighting are robots, but like, with a bow and arrow🤪 i loved being able to like sneak around and stealthily kill or dismantle them and get super creative on how i approached them it was one of my favorite parts of the game

the sims

okokok i srsly love to just fuck around on here and do literally whatever with a ton of mods, i love how customizable it is and the building houses/buildings/venues is unmatched and it just like takes me right back to my childhood when i would steal minutes playing this when my brothers weren't around to demand the controllers; i will add that the gameplay itself is fun for a bit but i tend to loose interest a lot quicker unless i'm doing a challenge

ghosts of tsushima

this game is absolutely gorgeous, stunning, and like so soothing!? basically you’re a samurai and you’re taking back the island from invaders, the gameplay mechanics are unreal, like they try to make the experience as seamless as possible so its like you’re just watching this play out in front of you while you push some buttons

i will also add that i felt like i improved with holding and using a controller with this game, there’s a lot of fighting where you have to hit the button at just the right time, and like it sounds kind of stressful when i put it like that, but the training sessions you do for them are just so well done that i felt i grasped the concept but it changed my gaming skill from that point on; had to sit down and like take a minute after that

Honorable mentions:

- portal 2 (that AI is funny as hell and the puzzles are fantastic) - last of us (have only done the first one so far, but this game🥲) - the witcher iii (one of the first games i’ve played all the way through) - journey (marvelous, soothing, short, beautiful, highly recommend) - assassins creed (but specifically that one in italy, love it) - little big planet (2&3 the user created levels on this are works of art) - fallout 3 (this game scares me shitless, so...when i’m looking for that this is where i go lol) - phasmophobia (also where i want to go when i want to be scared) - mario kart (how can i not put this on here) - first class trouble (my friend is too good at lying in this game but def look this one up its a riot) - jedi fallen order (playing this one right now, i like it but some gameplay mechanics don’t flow that well imo) - star wars knights of the old republic (best star wars game imo but since it can’t run on my operating system anymore i can’t play it unless i so some wild as hook ups) -tomb raider (the original one, was a ton of fun/classic rpg)

super special mention: garfield kart

ok look, this game is dumb as hell. like it glitches so bad you’ll get stuck against a wall; someone gives you a slight tap on the road? your roadkill; you literally fly too high in the air and it bitch slaps you until you’re eating that pixelated cement. its the stupidest, weirdest, most vindictive game i’ve ever played and i love it with a burning passion, if you ever want to spend the five dollars when they’re running a sale: do it. please. i’ll play the online multiplayer with you with a headset. i’m dead serious.

#wow this got so long i'm sorry #i went in depth a little for my top thre favs right now and then listed some others that i really like #also if you read to the end #or even just skip to the end #i'll do it #i wasn't joking #[🎮: game talk] #[🌾: replies] #[🪴: nature]