#but yeah that's it

[fluffypichu876]

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

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

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sounds great, doesn't it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now, for my second most favorite game:

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Devil May Cry 5

This shouldn't come off as a huge surprise xD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow

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

Final Fantasy IX

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

Final Fantasy X

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

The Legend of the Zelda: Breath of the Wild

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

Devil May Cry 3

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

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

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

Castlevania: Bloodlines

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

(just three more games I promise)

Pokémon: Black and White (and their sequels)

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

The Great Ace Attorney

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

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

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

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

[soratsuart]

Well, you know what time it is, guys

QSMP Day 40 Lore Summary

Today it will be a long one since so many things have happened, including the mysterious kidnapping of the eggs and, more importantly, the addition of Brazilian streamers to the server. WELCOME WORLD TO QSMP!!!!

We start the day around half an hour before the actual event started, with everyone logging in expecting to spend some more time with their eggs before fighting whatever was coming for them, only to find them and their beds were already gone. This, of course, prompted them to panic and they all reunited to discuss what had happened, somehow ending up with the whole group at Philza's house.

After a while, they get interrupted by a cargo ship crashing into the train station due to a storm. Everyone goes to investigate and they have to make their way through a bunch of monsters until they arrive in a cabin with new Brazilian members trapped. According to them, they crashed the ship because Felps tried to drive without having a licence. The group has to introduce a code in order to let them out and they the Brazilian members introduce themselves to everyone else.

With their new addition in the island, all members go to the adoption centre were English and Spanish members introduce themselves to the new members and afterwards they go Bad's Pizzeria to party and interact with one another. During this time Philza somehow managed to become Forever's sugar daddy by accident (I swear that's what happened, they used the words "sugar daddy").

After a while, Quackity took the Brazilian to have a tour around the island and explain them the history of everything that has happened as well as show them all the buildings, though Forever left after a while to go with Philza. And while all that was happening, Slime transformed into Gegg and finally met Mariana and got him to adopt him. This family dynamic lasted for about five minutes before Vegetta killed Gegg for hitting Foolish and his body revealed him to be Slime, so now everyone knows his true identity.

After some more time, Maxo opened Las Casualonas and everyone reunited there to party (it went exactly as you could expect). However, they were soon interrupted by the QSMP Federation announcing their eggs had been returned in the adoption centre. Everyone immediately goes there to check for them, but they can't find them until Philza discovers them all in the attic. They find all the eggs alive, but they all have cracks. Soon everyone would find out they feel weak and scared, being unable to wear an armour until after a long while, and none of them remember what happened to them.

On the bright side, though, a new egg has appeared, wearing a yellow and green T-Shirt like what Brazil's football team's uniform looks like. All five Brazilian members decided to adopt this new egg and called them Richarlyson. Slime and Mariana low-key have a fight with them to try and kill Richarlyson but they failed so afterwards they tried to fight for their custody. Bobby also started fighting Richarlyson.

Meanwhile, Quackity went to Philza's place to try and get Tallulah to (forcefully) take care of her. However, Bad had already warned Philza since he heard Quackity when he was searching for Tallulah, so he was already prepared and kept shutting him down while adjudging his basement to be Tallulah's room with the help of Bad, Fit and the eggs. Quackity's plan then changed to build a prison with Forever and they want to jail Philza for "rejecting Forever's love and kidnapping Quackity's daughter". They also got Cellbit to join them, but he didn't really believe Quackity, so he went to question Bad about the matter while secretly warning him Quackity was listening.

Cellbit and Quackity have an argument about the eggs and after Quackity jumps from the wall Cellbit allows him to have 1% of Richarlyson's custody. Richarlyson holds now the record of having the most parents of the whole server with 6 parents. Quackity was then adopted as a Brazilian too. They also surprised Cucurucho spying on them.

Also, as last relevant thing, Richarlyson died (yes, already) and Cellbit asked Bad for help to cover it up and blame the Census Bureau for killing them. Luckily, though, their life was forgiven due to this being their first day so they still have two lives.

#qsmp #qsmp lore summary #it's not very detailed but please understand me #there were so MANY povs #i think this is the most relevant stuff #also sorry for taking so long #I've been busy today #but yeah that's it #hope this helped! #soratsu speaks

[polarisbibliotheque]

Nemesis writing session update :)

Oh yes!! Finally!! A decent writing session tonight!!

It's 5 a.m, I don't even think it's considered night anymore

But I wanted to ask you guys something: Chapter 6 on Nemesis, reader is meeting Dante and heading to their first job together! It has around 2.9k words and it has a nice chapter ending line so...

I'm thinking I'm going to make this chapter a little shorter so Chapter 7, with the hunt alongside Dante per se, can be a little longer and not so rushed story-wise!

What do you guys think? Would you be fine with a shorter chapter after all this time...? "^^

Also, I've been using this video to write and it might be good for relaxing, focusing, working, studying or just sleeping ^^

now I'm gonna have some shame and go to sleep :')

#polaris speaks #polaris writes #dmc nemesis #update #writing update #fic writing #devil may cry #dmc #dmc5 #devil may cry music #OK I'M DEFINITELY SLEEPING NOW #but why do creatives have to be so chaotic though? #like 'oh you're not gonna have inspiration for weeks' #then BAM inspiration hits at 2 am and don't even dare fighting it #but yeah that's it #feel free to answer me in this post xD #or through asks if you want to remain anon #but I'm pending on posting this short chapter 6 and then action packed chapter 7 #ok I'm going to sleep #I promise #Youtube

[atsu-i]

.

#hey #i just feel like saying #have a nice day/night wherever you are ^^ #also i kinda miss being active a bit weirdly enough lol #but yeah that's it #i will be active again i think #not like anyone cares lol but yeah i will try lol #and will do whenever lmao #anyways #stay safe 🖤 #take care always 🖤 #hoping you find a reason to smile today too ^^ always want that for yall tbh #later~

[episims]

"Alison-"

"No cringe comments, no intrusive groping, and ugh, we definitely don't need to kiss. Oh and you will give your best effort to make sure the benefit is mutual. Are we on the same page?"

"...Very much so."

...You gotta be fucking kidding me.

#ts2 #ts2 gameplay #the sims 2 #the sims 2 gameplay #sims 2 #sims 2 gameplay #foxfire forest #playing foxfire forest #chase craig #jonas root #alison quinn #i wish i was #ally looks so unhappy too i just... #sigh #but yeah that's it

[fire-but-ashes-too]

Can you tell me about Questionable Decisions?

yessss

its my latest WIP, based on an idea I got a t two am so it isn't fully mapped out yet

it's a Six of Crows, kanej centric, enemies to lovers fanfiction set in our time

both Kaz and Inej are really good fencers, the two best of the whole Kerch(cliche I know) and, of course they're rivals because they have to be the best

as for the snippet here you goooo

KAZ "Kaz Brekker doesn't need a reason" that's what they all said, whispering in the hallways as he passed by, gossiping in cars and shops, staring at him in class. And they were right. He had a habit of doing the impossible just prove it wasn't. "When people say impossible they usually mean improbable" said constantly Nikolai Lantsov, one of the only right things he ever spoke. And just him standing there, waiting to walk in a stadium he knew would cheer for him the moment they saw him, that alone was nearly impossible, yet there he was. Theoretically he had to wait for his coach to give him the sign to enter, but as always the man wasn't there, and the wait was getting pretty tiring, plus he had matches to win, so he lingered for just a jiffy more and walked in. As always, he was right. He would never admit it, but it was kind of pleasing seeing all of those people staring at him with a mix of awe and fear. It gave him a rush of power. A dangerous one. Of exaltation. Too frail to count something, as it could be broken in an instant. He went and joined his two "colleagues" on the bench, gloating in their bitter glares like a lizard would do in the sun. They were the only Kerch fencers that day, the only that passed the selections and so sent to represent the country at the championship in Ravka, Not a word was spoken between them, but he could see the two girls eyeing each other constantly, and it was honestly hilarious. The host was calling the various teams now, and it was now their turn to stand up and wave around, like fake royalty.

#sorry if I explained it badly #i can explain a plot to save my life #but yeah that's it #i think today I'll post it #six of crows #fanfic #tag game #writerblr

[hellolovers13]

Finally ❤️🎈❤️

#we will ignore the new york one bc who knows when that's gonna ship #but yeah that's it #🥰🥰🥰🥰 #faith in the future #fitf #vinyls

[cafffine]

be pro-aging but wear sun screen. sun protection is not beauty industry propaganda it will save you. wear it. or else.

#the girl was like ‘ugh yeah i’m done with all that mascara sunscreen makeup stuff’ and I !!! I completely agree except for!! bro come on. #double shot

[temporalteardrop]

bass makes a dollar. i make a dime. that's why i think about lesbian sex on company time

#me serving customers while chappell roan's red wine supernova is stuck in my head #me: yeah that'll be £3.60 / my brain: she did it right there‚ out on the deck: put her canine teeth in the side of my neck #rose's incessant yearnings #rose's gay little job #rose's ramblings

[pocketss]

mmm soob

#comics #these guys consider cooking to be a respectable branch of magic #as powerful as any other arcane skillset #yeah man nice divine incantation #check out this beef bourguignon tho

[mias-back-from-the-dead]

tbh i think the funniest phenomena that's been happening in the last couple years is "youtuber, having gone too deep into the research hole, has been made an investigative journalist against their will"

#like im not gonna name names but i can think of at least 3 channels #where they stopped posting short form content and went #wait the patreon is paying my rent im no longer a slave to the algorithm gods #HELL YEAH TIME TO SPEND 5+ MONTHS PUTTING TOGETHER A 3+ HOUR VIDEO #and i eat that shit up every time

[wynsvre]

i <3 menial tasks. for srs.

#can i get a hell yeah #my art #samposting

[membraneshock]

rip to all the “fuckyeah___” blogs that carried our society at one point </3

#last post in 2011....yeah sounds about right

[powpowhammer]

faded blue house portrait hanging on the wall at the local urgentcare

#medical assistant: yeah i never saw that show but i heard it was popular in the 90s? #me: (takes lethal psychic damage) #house md #good post good post

[lesbianralzarek]

"life doesnt get better, you just get stronger" does NOT include ages 11-17. life does in fact just get better from there. those years are dogshit. like, you do get stronger but its mostly just a factor of not being 11-17 anymore. positive thinking helps but it doesnt fix whatevers going on at 15, you have to brute force through that one raw

#i originally posted this as just a 'hey remember how fuckin bad middle/highschool was? shit was wild' type post but now #there are a bunch of teens in the notes being like 'oh my god are you serious? it gets better? im not stuck in hell forever??' #and im reminded that the only people who told teenage ella 'it gets better' were speakers at mental health assemblies #aka the least relatable people alive who were seemingly born to lie to you #so. uh. yeah im a certified adult who isnt here to lie or sugarcoat the realities of being a teenager #the only thing more certain than the pain is the transcience

[velinxi]

Lord of the Rings fanart! I watched for the first time recently and loved it

#vel draws #lotr #lord of the rings #yeah this was kind of random but this series brought a surprising inspo for me #have some old men and powerful women #will also have the first piece as a print for my next store update this friday!