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slightly-gay-pogohammer · 1 month

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I haven't played less of p, but can keep asking questions!

Do you have any propaganda for playing the game?

hi welcome to the lies of p propaganda

literally a mix of bloodborne and american mcgee's alice when it comes to aesthetic, vibes, themes and battle systems. if you liked either of them and are upset that bloodborne won't get a port and alice won't get a sequel this is a good alternative

the devs confirmed a sequel and a dlc btw. and they're indie so they shouldn't have many problems

INCREDIBLE soundtrack, and here's some examples of my favorites because i need to share quixotic, memory of beach, shattered memories, hall of fame and arche abbey everywhere

the boss fights are difficult, but most of them are very fair and easy to learn the patterns of. while some are clearly fodder... anyone who played a soulsborne game know that every now and then you have to deal with a curse-rotted greatwood or a witch of hemwick if it means you can have a pontiff sulyvan or a lady maria in return!! if you don't mind spoilers i highly recommend checking out the battles with the king of puppets or with champion victor

tackles themes of overcoming grief, different ways to deal with it, rebirth, what it means to be human, being your own person and honestly and lies, with the latter especially being the most prominent one and heavily implying that even if honesty is good, sometimes a lie is a much better option for everyone

INCREDIBLE visuals hello

i need to talk about how good the monsters design is because body and mechanical horror fans rise UP

you can actually mix-n-match every single weapons you can find around, not including very overpowered boss weapons, and you can have a cannon arm?? like yes it's far from being the fastest weapon but consider: i can either hit and dash or i can make the boss explode

Your Choices Matter you know when a game promises you that they don't. well they do they DOOO literally every single choice starting with your very first one matter HEAVILY in the end

i can't stress enough how good the characters are, they're all full of life and energy and Love. you get a puppet in love, a beautiful charismatic old woman, a spunky young mechanic, whatever the fuck venigni my dad venigni has going on, an actually pretty fun version of the cricket and even pinocchio, who like most soulsborne seems to have little to no personality, is way more human from the get-go, with a lot of characters noting that he's so easily annoyed by their bigger-than-life personality and dramatique

this game made me cry SO many times between the music the lore and the incredible writing and voice acting. it's weird to say i didn't expect that much from it, like when the first trailer arrived we all went haha bishounen pinocchio bloodborne game, but the various npcs and even some bosses feel so human that inevitably seeing them going through situation destroyed me fr fr

but seriously the small details fuck me up so bad. the fact that pinocchio starts by making heavy mechanical noises whenever he moves and occasionally twitches and makes no noise when he attacks and the more "good ending" choices you make the less mechanical noises he makes and the more he occasionally grunts whenever he's hit is so nice?? they literally change every single one of his animation if you aim for that ending and it's so!!!!! aaaa

and also you can play fashionsouls the clothes have no effect other than being fancy so you can literally wear whatever the fuck you want and i, personally, find it very fun. big fan of the workshop master clothes btw that was my main until i unlocked the white clothes

i could go on but it would fall in spoilers territory fnasdmg point is. play lies of p

#gio replies #lies of p

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clay-tries-his-best · 11 months

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! atsv spoilers !

when i sat down in my theatre seat to see atsv im telling you i was being the most autistic fuck you've ever witnessed. you could practically see the sparkles in my eye, dude.

the spot. my godddd he's so silly. the marketing ploy to make him seem like the side villain from the trailers was so fucking smart. I really thought that Miguel was going to be the main villain considering him fighting miles in pracgjcalky every trailer ever and being in the post-credits scene of itsv. and miles dealing with having to be everywhere at once was very realistic and gave me the classic "oh my god this poor boy this is painful to watch". oh and gwen's beginning scene of the drums just gave me the feeling that the movie was going to be fantastic. like, betrayal, amazing visuals, more gwen?? already a wonderful start. also the fact that the spot's whole reason to turn into a major villain is that nobody, not even the person who caused his disfigurement, would take him seriously- like- HUH???? perfect. wonderful. bro just wanted miles to pay attention to him for a little while.

Pavitr and Hobie were also really great additions to the spider team. Despite the fact that Hobie's accent was so thick and deep that I couldn't understand what he was saying a good third of the time, he still managed to work his way into my top 5 characters of the movie. THAT is good character building. At first I thought he was going to be the stereotypical love rival, considering his first mention was miles getting jealous of him and gwen being friends. I was worried that was how the story was actually going to go when he upstaged miles by breaking done the collider force field, but hes actually a really chill and cool guy. pretty sure he even roots for gwen and miles, so that's pretty funny. Pavitr was also super funny with a great character design. " Chai means tea, you're just saying tea tea! " was probably one of my favorite lines / jokes from the whole movie. His world was also very pretty and SUPER detailed. Props to every artist for Mumbatten.

Miguel and Peter B.'s dynamic was really fun to watch as well. This cryptic emo ass mastermind vampire who has watched people die and destroyed a universe next to this middle aged man in a pink fuzzy bathrobe who's oogling over his daughter. also, the line where Miguel said " I've had the right amount of you today " to peter b instead of " I've had enough of you " like the normal saying goes was kinda queer. just saying. but yeah, great villain, and I do want to see him in the final battle against spot, but I eventually don't want him to be the one to beat spot, y'know? If it was to be anyone, it's obviously going to be miles. Whether it's just miles or miles and gwen or miles and the gang gwen assembled at the end of atsv (WHICH HAD SPIDERNOIR YESSS SPIDERNOIR FANS LETS GOOOOOOO I HAD THE STUPIDEST SMILE ON MY FACE WHEN I SAW HIM IM TELLKNG YOU), in the end it's still gotta be miles.

the collider scene with the spot was really cool. spot may be silly, but he's not dumb enough to be " saved " by his archnemesis who only cared about him when he was about to become a transdimensional eldritch horror. boss move. his final form was really pleasing to look at because you can just see the detail that went into it. Looking at some screenshots, I noticed there were a lot of eyes and I'm pretty sure I saw a version of spiderman (original world 1610 peter, possibly?) staring at miles / the audience. despite him not showing up for another hour, hour and a half, I wasn't mad. If a movie can avoid showing the main villain for that long and still have them integrated properly, just, wow. blown away. oh and this part made me even more interested because his beginning ost, spot 1, I think? his random beats and tunes sounded more silly and disorganized and clumsy, like him trying to take the atm. near the end, he got spot 2, which was more shrill and frightening. I'm not musically trained, and I could still tell that it was scarier, and to me, they sounded very similar. To not have too far of a difference between the two and stroke two entirely different chords is just. ugh. wow.

don't even get me started on prowler miles... RAHHH THE CHARACTER AND WORLD DESIGN FOR UNIVERSE 42!!!! it was so beautiful and scary and breathtaking because there is. no. spiderman. when miles's mom didn't know what he was talking about and gwen wasn't really outside, it hit me like a brick in the head. and alternate aaron??? hello??? he made me physically uncomfortable because of how terrifying his face was. i couldnt even tell if he was wearing makeup or he was just that dramatjcally shaded. the turn miles does to see that it was his dad painted on the wall instead of aaron.... GRAHHHHHH

as an aspiring artist, I can say nothing but wow. that movie, the fact that it was 2 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES???? HELLO??? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THAT MUSTVE TOOK??? unbelievable. and you know that sony felt bad for making us wait on a cliffhanger, so they probably were around 3/4 done with atsv and started working on beyond, so we didn't have to wait as long as we would've if they finished atsv and then started beyond. I'm so glad that those 5 years in the Sony team paid off, because that. was. amazing. my depression is vaporized. im going feral, going wild, going insane. i will not think of anything else until beyond is out. can't wait to see my bbg spot have his villain moment in March 2024!!! <333

#spiderman #spiderman atsv #atsv #atsv spoilers #miles morales #gwen stacy #pavitr prabhakar #hobie brown #across the spider verse #peter b parker #miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 #spider gwen #spider punk #spider woman #spider noir #spiderman noir

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otakween · 1 month

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Digimon Park - Final Thoughts

Omg this game was adoooorable! It's the first Digimon game I've played that's aimed at preschoolers. It was released for the KidsStation which is a Playstation peripheral that only came out in Japan. It had a giant controller with the triangle, square, circle and x buttons and nothing else.

To my relief, it works just fine with a regular Playstation emulator (I use epsxe).

The whole game takes around an hour to beat and is full of little mini games that are kid friendly. I can't really think of another game to compare it to (WarioWare maybe?) but the presentation is very visual novel-like which I appreciated. They put a lot of love into this game for such a niche title!

Notes:

Not only do we have the OG voice actors of the 3 main protags and their mons, but we've got the narrator dude from the show as well (he reads the cards out to you). It was pretty obvious that they didn't get anyone else because sometimes you would "talk" to other characters, but they'd always be silent. No biggie.

I feel like there was so much original art and sprites made for this! Great fanservice.

My one critique of this game is that the background music was way too loud! Sometimes it would drown out the voice acting. I didn't see anywhere to adjust that so I just dealt with it.

Love the use of the 2D art for the majority of the game. Holds up way better than 3D, although we did get a little bit of that with the cards.

You know you're playing a preschool game when one of the questions is "which animal is a bird?" and they show you a picture of a hawk, a zebra and a tiger lol. Every single "challenge" in this game was dumb baby proof.

Instead of loading screens there were eye catches with a sting from the anime. I thought that was a fun touch, although they got a little annoying after awhile.

In addition to the main game the "raising Guilmon" game was really cute. The mini games reminded me of flash games I played as a kid and talking to Guilmon was so wholesome. Guilmon's Japanese voice is really adorable.

There were a couple "boss battles" in the game, but my fave was the Etemon battle where Taichi "fights" Etemon by challenging him to a music battle. That caught me off guard and made me laugh.

If you want to 100% a Digimon game, this is definitely one of the easiest out there. I give Digimon Park an 8 out of 10!

#kidsstation #video games #gaming #games #digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon tamers #digimon park

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nihilnovisubsole · 1 month

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phew! finally a weekend where i can set aside enough time to type up The Promised Endwalker Stream-of-Consciousness Post. i finished the base story... a month ago? but work has been busy, and i think tumblr benefits from me being quiet sometimes. anyway, what a ride. when you've been building up to the end of your arc for a decade, you want to hit it like an earthquake, and that's exactly what they did.

i think people love endwalker because it fires on all cylinders. it returns - in both story and vision - to the eorzea we love, and the dev team gets to show off everything they've learned. the dungeons and boss fights are dynamic and imaginative and colorful and bring the game's epic sense of scope to bear. the story callbacks are juicy. the music is orchestral again. we're back home, and we're saving the galaxy. what's better than this?

i love that we go to garlemald. i don't - i mean, you know, i don't like garlemald. i shouldn't have to qualify that. but it's hugely narratively satisfying to see the face of the enemy we've been fighting since the first few hours of ARR. you don't think about them when you're beating them up in castrum centri or ala mhigo. they're star wars bad guys. then you meet them on their own turf. you observe firsthand how they starve and cannibalize their own people to feed their obsession with state power and military strength. the wintry environment makes it seem all the more barren and desperate. my favorite part by far. i wish we'd spent more time there.

actually, on that note:

there is an argument that endwalker should've been two expacs. i've heard similar about stormblood - ala mhigo should've been the whole thing, and doma should've been either patch content or an expac of its own. the prevailing theory is that, after ARR, the devs are afraid of letting arcs run long. i can't speak to that, but i wouldn't have minded, that's for sure!

i won't pretend not to be biased. i've noted in many xiv posts that it hurries through its political plots to get to the magic stuff. i felt more conscious of it in heavensward and especially in stormblood. i made peace with it in endwalker. with dessert this good, who am i to complain? i can do small character drama on my own time. for now, the game wants royce to be a big damn shonen hero, and that can be fun, too.

speaking of characters, urianger and estinien have grown on me. this is the arc where, for me at least, the scions have congealed. they're all good, but with any large cast and custom player character, you tend to form the meatiest bonds with a few specific ones. i think royce appreciates urianger's cooler, more mature head. they're both so formal. he realizes she's someone he can confide in. i think she sees estinien as a gifted, but hotheaded whelp, which i find very funny. patience, child. stop sulking. do your breathing drills.

i love thancred's MGS sequence and in from the cold too. they're stressful, but i love that the team tried, you know what i mean? the fact that you can fight enemies in a pinch makes those duties way more bearable than some other games that experiment with stealth.

in from the cold as a whole, honestly. If You Know, You Know

all right, i can't avoid referencing spoilers anymore, sorry. there's a sense of classical tragedy to the whole elpis sequence. it's like watching macbeth or hamlet. you know how it's going to end, and you know you're powerless to stop it, but if they'd just made that different choice! but we had to leave eden. the warrior of light had to end up where they are to finish what elpis started. i don't do fate/destiny plots, but this? i'll take it.

i also knew what would happen going into ultima thule and still came away from it moved. it's strong writing. that's all there is to it. sure, the visuals are haunting, but the dialogue has to sell a gauntlet of difficult character moments, and it pulls it off. on the design side, there's some interesting intentional friction that forces you to linger in the zone and sit with its sense of despair. that part where you have to search the empty park for signs of life? oof

with the majority of the MSQ under my belt, i started sniffing around for what else there is to do ingame. i tried ninja. did terribly. i tried sage. did terribly too, but at least that gave me access to the healer role quests, which, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). the nier raids are gorgeous. i even did the controversial werlyt quests, and terncliff is so cute. i kind of wish we could have another story there!

what's next? i dunno! right now i'm burning through the hildibrand quests before i continue on with endwalker's patch story. the field operation stuff seems interesting to do after the MSQ, in a "hey, you saved the world, but we have more missions for you" way. i've also contracted Triple Triad Collector Disease, so that'll keep me busy for a long time.

all right. one last thing. Real Gamer Moments: i was in a mount-farming party recently, and i said that i sort of collected mounts, but only used the ishgardian chocobo. it's a roleplay thing - it's the chocobo royce took when she ran away from ishgard. one of the party members said "haurchefant would be proud of you." AUGH

#ffxiv #long post

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klonoa-at-blog · 4 months

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From: Nintendo World (May 2009)

Complete evolution in a remake. Originally released in the competition's first generation, the game Klonoa became famous for uniting graphically superb scenarios, hyper-fun platform gameplay and a very charismatic protagonist in the same package. Now, with this Nintendo Wii remake, things... have changed little. At first, you'll notice that this game is a kind of "remake on steroids": it's exactly the same thing you saw on old consoles, but now with sharper graphics, 3D scenery that really looks 3D, and a or other gameplay tweaks. Despite offering absolutely nothing new, it manages to amuse up to a certain point. Klonoa tells the story of a type of "humanoid rabbit", who, after falling from a gigantic ring coming from space, gains a little friend called Huepow. Later on, the protagonist has a nightmare of pirate ships and dark clouds, and wakes up only to discover that his imagination has become a reality. Now to investigate why this is all happening and prevent the world from being swallowed by darkness, you must take the rabbit and his cosmic friend through a series of levels in the best platform style, while unraveling mysteries in real time. Graphically, the game is quite beautiful, I admit. The settings are alive, verdant, remarkably designed and well designed. You even get a sense of depth, although you can only move in two axes. You use a button to jump, which when pressed continuously will make Klonoa float for a short time. In addition, the intrepid hero has a ring that allows him to capture enemies and throw them in three spectrums of movement - front, back, and background. Couple this simple but responsive gameplay with superb graphics and gorgeous cutscenes, and you have a platform game worthy of the glimpse of excellent RPGs. The problem is that the game is kind of short, and at times too easy. The enemies succumb easily to your movements, while it is difficult for them to overthrow your character. Despite the air of innovation that this Wii version manages to give, you can't deny that the primary objectives can be completed without major mishaps. At least the boss battles can be a bit of a headache, which keeps the replay factor of this title at a really satisfying level. But don't expect epic fights or find an enemy that can beat you right away: as I said before, it's relatively easy to overcome obstacles, and all you'll need here is a little attention. Of course, stupid blunders like "jumping beyond the reach of the ground" and the like won't be forgiven by even the dumbest of your naysayers. The extras are really good: reproduction of the game's music, reverse mode, visualization of the concept models of the primary stages of development of the game. Everything you're entitled to and more. It may not be innovative, but it's worth the investment.

#klonoa #wiimake #magazine #translation

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hollowtones · 9 months

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final thoughts on zapper?

1st world isn't as bad as I remember, 2nd world is rough, 3rd world feels actively mean, 4th world is mostly kind of boring. If child-me had played past world 2 I think I would actively hate video games today.

Sound design is consistently real weird and unpleasant but sometimes that wraps around to being funny

Level design doesn't usually feel very interesting & if you're trying to get all collectibles it sometimes feels tedious. The best bits are the little self-contained bonus rooms & the levels where things are more puzzle-focused. I don't think it really needed a boss fight at the end but I'm glad there was only one, rather than one for each world / each level.

Individual art assets are okay, but sometimes levels are a little hard to parse visually & paths you are allowed to take aren't very clear. Issues with depth perception. Fixed perspective makes it hard to see details on the models I thought were cute. (At least we have Dolphin free camera...)

Visual theming of levels feels really, really incongruent, outside of the first world. I still don't know if I like this or don't. But it sure is noticeable!

The jump button snaps you in weird directions sometimes & every time it makes me scared for my life. It straight up killed me in some of the moving platform segments. Sometimes the jump lets you get to very high platforms and sometimes it makes you jump over them and go into a pit.

Camera's weird. Zoomed in too close, very easy for things to just get you from off-screen. When you have to deal with moving platforms it feels straight up nauseating (& I basically never get motion sick!! This game got me!!)

Music is good.

This Did Not Need A Lives Mechanic. Getting knocked back to a checkpoint feels fine. Having to redo entire levels from the start because of bullshit getting me made me feel like a ghoul.

A lot of hazards have weird hitboxes. Spikes can kill you after retracting. An object can be fully moved past your location but if you move parallel to its trajectory it'll sometimes kill you anyway. Slow-moving enemies in front of you need the world's widest berth. Moving platforms in combination with hazards is a special hell. A couple times I was killed by a seeming act of god.

Mercifully short.

Zapper as a character is like if someone went "what if Gex didn't talk" and that's real funny to me. Also very funny that they gave a cricket lightning powers instead of, like... sonic / music powers. I guess "a wall of noise so loud it kills slugs and explodes bricks" wasn't cool enough for a radical, sardonic wise-guy.(??)

lol the bird has tits

This is just a Frogger game. It's kind of blatant. You can very clearly see the bones of "Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge" in all of it. (The four screenshots I have seen of that game make it seem like its level design was much more easily readable at a glance, though. Four screenshots do not paint the picture of an entire game, but...) Honestly, I can respect the "we have Frogger at home" angle to it. They clearly wanted to make a game like this again, and good(?) on 'em for doing it, I think.

Didn't like it very much. Had a laugh, at least.

It's no "Claymates". (Future scholars will debate what she meant by this for decades.)

#I feel like I'm forgetting something here but this is basically all my thoughtz.

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mirror-to-the-past · 2 months

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So, I stopped liveblogging after a bit, because I just got absolutely lost in the EVERYTHING that was the OMORI Concert, but holy SHIT. What did everyone think of it? Any favorite pieces???

As I previously mentioned, "Trouble NEVER/ALWAYS" leading into "You Were Wrong. Go Back." was NUTS. The way that the orchestra made it so hype, you'd really think it was the introduction of an evil galactic overlord, rather than some guy throwing a tantrum after his girlfriend broke up with him, haha!

I can not emphasize enough how their rendition of "Trees..." tremendously altered my perception of the song. I liked it a lot before, really, but it wasn't particularly moving to me- just peaceful. This version of the song was so. wow. I struggle to find words for it. Same with "Sugar Star Planetarium" right afterwards. Fucking. Gorgeous.

Also putting "Just Leave Me Alone" and the rest of which I shall now call the Hooligans Suite, as they meshed it together in such an epic and cohesive way, after "Where We Used to Play" was just diabolical. I FELL OUT OF MY SEAT I WAS SO SURPRISED BY THE LOUDNESS, LOL. Speaking of the "Hooligans Suite" the guitarists just. URGH I LOVE THEM. This concert was way more metal than I expected, and I LOVED IT. The entire "Just Leave Me Alone"-"Cram It Wad"-"It Means Everything" was insanely epic, I felt like my heart stopped. Just like Space Boyfriend's theme, using the other Hooligans pieces as buildup to the main boss theme was so, so good. Did Aubrey and her gang such justice, like. I just felt so happy for my girl.

And then they put "Home for Flowers (Empty)" right afterwards, lol. If anyone's curious about how I looked after that sudden mood shift:

I'm now thoroughly on board of loving World's End Valentine now, because the instrumentation hurts my head less now, with this version, haha.

I am ADMITTEDLY a bit bummed that they didn't perform "Poems in the Fog" and "Forest Frenzy," as I can visualize Music Engine's style for those pieces so well, and I know it would be soooo beautifulll... but oh well...

I'm plesantly surprised that "Swirly 1000x" made the cut!! Very underrated piece, only used for one fight but godDAMN does it hit hard. The guitar 🎸🎸oncccee agaiiin. Crazy.

Also I knowwww it's not the most amazing piece in the world, but the jazz section of The Last Resort could have opened so cool with "Hanging With the Boys" right before that, but it's alright, I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.

The way I laughed when they jumpscared us with the organ for the first time because GoldenVengence was important enough as to demand the need for such a stately instrument, lol!

Can we talk about the clarinet in "Underwater Highway" because oooooghhh bleeeeh dead upon impact. It was so wonderful.... I love that piece already, but they made the descending notes so magical, and tranisitioned into "Squall" so beautifully.

You know what I AM gonna lose sleep over? THEY DIDN'T INCLUDE "H20:HCL" in the underwater section!! That piece is so beautiful... 😭😭

I think I blacked out and entered a trance-like state with everything from "See You Tomorrow" to "Truth." Somewhere within that period, wine and a tissue box appeared magically at my side, lmfao. Small comment in the midst of everything else that was That Section of the concert, but I'm so glad they kept "Gone," because that piece is so necessary for me, within that whole climactic sequence. It just oozes catharsis, it HAS to be included, no matter what.

But yeah anyway, "See You Tomorrow" and "Crossroads" just emanates the warmth of evening in summer. Those songs are laced with something magical, because I can see the orange of sunset so palpably in my mind's eye whenever I hear those pieces. Sweat on my skin, old t-shirts with fruit juice stains on them, other kids shrieking in the streets, being afraid of my neighbor's loud dog, getting pricked by thorns after walking into the forest- that's what those songs sound like to me. I don't get too nostalgic for the past much, but those songs make me feel like I'm a kid again. This rendition captured them perfectly.

Also wow, Basil, I see you and "A Home for Flowers (Daisy)" in the orchestral version, sounding like you jumped directly out of a Ghibli movie. I see you. T_T

Ha-ha-ha when the lights dimmed during "You Must Carry On" I didn't start freaking out at all..ha-ha-ha. What? I would never break out into goosepimples and jitters. Ha-ha-ha. Full body shakes who? I don't know her.

When "OMORI" started playing, a few others in the house who had never played the game and knew little to nothing about it stopped talking amongst themselves and came to watch the TV. It's THAT POIGNANT. I'll be honest, I love love love "DUET" as much as the next OMORI fan, but the song that makes me cry upon hearing it every time was never DUET, it was this one. DUET is a warm resurgance and appreciation for the things left behind, with a slight twinge of regret. "OMORI" is just pure, raw pain. And the string section didn't let me forget ittt hahahaha.

Tears were shed, people (me) were shaking, etc. etc. THANK YOU KAWAI KOTA for your amazing work in acting as Sunny's role amonst the violinists and concertmaster, your solo violin work and passion fully recaptured my feeling of playing the game for the first time, biting my nails with anticipation and heartache at whatever was happening next. Same goes to Kawamura Noriko for her work on piano, just... aaaaaaa!

Also bo en jumpscare!!! I love and respect that one individual in the audience who yelled "hands...!" during "My Time." It's honestly cruel for live orchestra to have the rule of "be silent during the performance!" because I would've had a vein popping if I was there from wanting to sing along so bad. I MEAN. IT'S *THE* SONG. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SING ALONG TO IT. Lucky for me, I was at home, and got to tipsily sing along to the lyrics from muscle memory, lmao.

I was expecting the choir that I saw filing into view to be for "My Time" that ended up playing later anyway- "Tee-hee Time" was a welcome surprise and amazingly epic!

Anyway that's about it from the top of mt head at the moment!! Please yell at me about what you thought of the concert- I stayed up late, went to sleep, got up again, and am still vibrating about it, lol! This has been the best part of my year so far- no joke.

ALSO WOOO OMORI MANGA. Can't wait for ENG translations- if this adaptation gives Sunny more explicit character voice, I'm not going to shut up about it ever. I won't shut up about it anyway, but I'll be not-shut-upping about it even more.

#omori #omori concert #omori manga

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revelisms · 9 months

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Silco, Sevika and Jinx Headcanons (music ver 🎵)

Since my playlists are running rampant (and they're largely how I get a sense for writing character voices/actions/etc.), I thought it'd be fun to share a few HC tidbits via some tunes :-)

Silco — aka the Bloodshark, the Eye, Mr. Crime Boss himself; the man, the myth, the slippery bastard. Also clocking in with nearly 8+ hours worth of songs for this sack of bones...I am...side-eyeing myself. Anyway.

Foundation — Sunlit Grave, Saint Mesa

This basically kickstarted the playlist earworm, for him. At a high-level, this is the song I think of anytime I write him: it's dark, eerie, regal, persevering. I always get an image of someone sinking beneath the depths at the beginning, and clawing out of a deathly cage/prowling to a bloody pinnacle by the end. The lyrics themselves also capture a flavor of his character, as a dead man speaking to someone (potentially his killer and/or lover) who knew him before; who must choose to let go of their knowledge of who that dead man used to be. He is gone, irreparably changed, and he's not coming back—and he'll drag a kingdom to its knees, by the end. (Maybe it's what landed him in that grave, in the first place.)

Inner Voice �� The Wondersmith and His Sons, Astronautalis

This gives a sense of past and present: a glimpse into the hard-cracked persona he'd built in the mines (which I associate with folksongs, especially of an English or Gaelic nature), twisted up into the sly, scheming charisma he harnessed as co-founder of the Lanes. For me, the song paints a potential tale of childhood (the lyrics tell of a family of swindlers, from which the narrator is the cleverest son) and a foreboding hint into the future (too much grease can break down a machine; for all their success, a brutal end is eminent). It also just feels like him—it's growly, arrogant, and jovial; drawling in some moments, and spit-fired in others.

On The Record — Time & Place, Queens of the Stone Age

In terms of what he'd actually listen to (of which I think he'd have a extensive range, to the point of his tastes skewing past eclectic into downright bizarre), this would fit easily between a swath of blaring industrial rock, crooning big band classics, jazz, folk-tunes, experimental funk, r&b, etc. It's got that flavor of 80s post-punk vocals that would be a staple in his sets, with a snappy flare in the instrumentals (something he'd nod his head or tap his pen to)—and, funnily enough, has a slight echo to Snakes (Vi's and Jayce's fightsong), which...oddly fits, given I see him and Vi as actually very similar, at their cores.

Sevika — aka the Lioness, the Teeth, "step on me and I'll thank you for it" Miss King. She's badassery in a gilded package, baby—but there's a tender spot under it all, if you squint.

Foundation — Little Girl Gone, CHINCHILLA

Another song that kickstarted the playlist earworm. This is a baseball bat to the gut with prowess, swagger and Try That Again energy—and the transition of the whisper to the drop just hhh. Gets me every time. This song is the battle anthem from a woman who's earned her armor (fittingly, working under a gangster)—test her patience, and she'll be wearing red on her sleeve; dare to cross her in a fight, and she'll drink you down like liquor. I can visualize a snappy two-punch brawl every time I hear this.

Inner Voice — Milk, BONES UK

Dipping into that tenderness here, with a stark note of ceaseless ambition, we've got this song—a reflection, a demand, a love letter, a hunger. There's so many layers folded into this: the desires of a self-made life to be everything and more their host yearns for it to be, even if, underneath it all, what they truly yearn for is belonging. This feels like a young, angry, cropped-hair and bloody-fisted Sevika fighting down the world—and an older self looking fondly, if a touch melancholically, back on it all.

On The Record — Know Better, Janelle Monáe

Put her on the aux, and she'll have the dancefloor congealing into a neon haze of sweat and glitter. The mix of the sax and the bassline here just thrums with her energy, to me: self-assured, watchful, slow-smirking. It's often the kind of tracks she reaches for, especially for a crowd; she's got a bold streak in her, and it doesn't take much to stir it to full display (come here now, stranger; gimme that sense of danger).

Jinx — aka the Loose Cannon, the Bombshell, everyone's favorite lil' gremlin. I tend to interpret her character in distinct "phases"—i.e., Powder, Jinx, and Jinx post-shimmer. These also factor into what I musically associate with her; each piece of her character feels very distinct.

Foundation — BLOODMONEY, Poppy

This is like...the Jinx song, to me. It's about distrust, sacrifice, self-identity, denial, rage, all wrapped up in a spiteful bow of religious allegories—a flash-cycle of whose opinion she worships, at any given moment (when nobody is watching, what do you believe?). It's also just a sensory meal with the sound design, and could even match up with soundbites of her voice so easily.

Inner Voice — Crimson, Skott

Take a stroll into Powder building Jinx's persona from the ashes. This is a haunting, beautiful song, with an undercurrent of something fight-eager, spiteful, and hopeful brewing beneath the surface. In the wake of tragedy, there's still a thread of strength; someone picking up the pieces while trying to find a path back to their own mind. I almost hear this as an apology and declaration of war, in turns, from Jinx to Vi.

On The Record — BOOM, Cassyette.

You know this little metalhead is listening to any splitzy mechanical tracks she can get her hands on (fuels the inventor muse, y'know?)—and I think she'd love this. I mean, c'mon. It's a song about explosions, told through a narrator saying how slipping into different mental spaces feels like a bomb waiting to blow. I could see her jamming to this on loop in her workshop while tinkering with a new flare gun. (Also, as a close runner up, I associate anything Djerv with her, given they were the artist for Get Jinxed—she'd probably have things like (We Don't) Hang No More always on the gramophone, singing to it word for word.)

#arcane #arcane headcanon #silco arcane #sevika arcane #jinx arcane #crime family shenanigans #music headcanons #i just love these three #they're going to ruin my spotify stats this year

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 6 days

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The Decay of Complex Characters and Character Development in Helluva Boss (Stolas and Octavia’s Relationship: Part 1 of 2)

Part 2 here

I’ve seen this in a few different places, but it’s been on my mind in particular since the animated “Look My Way” music video that dropped a while back.

The way the song was updated for the animated music video made the changes to Stolas’ character stick out even more to me, and I really want to talk about what I perceive as some really flawed writing decisions around Stolas’ character.

If you’re a fan of HB please know that I’m not trying to attack the creators or change whatever opinions or feelings you have about the story. If you love this show and this character and they mean a lot to you that’s great! My goal is never to spread negativity or toxicity—it’s always to talk openly about media and how we interact with it. ☺️

I want to start by saying I was a big fan of Helluva Boss, and of Stolas, up until the second season started. And before the second season, my favorite episode by far was “Loo-loo Land”.

(TLDR at the end of the post if you don’t have time to read thru!)

I still really like the episode now, and I especially love the opening scene and song. It’s beautiful, and the song “You Will be Okay” has brought me to tears more than once. It’s one of the best songs in the entire series, and I think the only one that tops it for me is probably “The House of Asmodeus”.

The whole sequence of “You Will be Okay” is both heartening and heartbreaking—it captures the unconditional love and protection a parent promises to give their child, while also expressing the sad truth about that promise that only a parent can know—that you can’t and won’t always be around for your child.

No matter how much you want to protect them from the dangers of the world, you can’t—parents have to let their kids go out into the world and become their own person—the most a parent can do is try to always be there in any way they can for their kids, even if they can’t be there physically.

The lyrics and tone of the song tell us as much. It’s very clear that Stolas is acutely aware that something may happen to him and that he needs to let Octavia know that while he may not be there with her physically, his love for her will always be with her, protecting her.

The build up to the song’s crescendo matching the visuals around Stolas and Octavia bring everything in the scene together really well, and Bryce’s performance is so good that it made me believe for a second that he would keep his promise to Octavia. That he would never abandon her, and would always put her needs as his child first.

That, somehow, he will truly be with her always protecting her, and that she really will be okay.

For a moment it was possible for me to forget the dramatic irony of the situation. That this was the past, that I already knew for a fact that Stolas would cheat on Stella and jeopardize his family life.

The song comes to a close, and through all the seemingly random chaos happening in space around them, Stolas keeps Octavia safe, and lulls her back to sleep. They return to her room, and the scene ends on Via in bed sleeping peacefully.

The whole sequence does such a fantastic job of showing you what Stolas’ and Octavia’s relationship was like when she was a child. She trusts him implicitly, and, at least at this time in her life, he seems to have been a present and loving father.

What makes this scene work even better though, is the transition to the present that follows RIGHT after it.

At the end of the song we get this jarring and sharp match-cut of a teenage Octavia being jolted awake by the shrill screaming and fighting of her parents in the background. In that instant, we as the audience see her going from feeling safe and having a seemingly idyllic childhood, to being a moody and neglected teen with a turbulent and unstable family life.

The music change that accompanies this not only fits the change in mood perfectly, but it quite literally tells us what she is feeling—her whole world is crashing down around her.

To this day, I think this transition is wonderful.

The visuals do such an amazing job conveying the changes that have happened in the Goetia family through Octavia’s perspective. And it’s extremely important because it immediately shows the audience that Stolas broke his promise.

I watched this episode when it came out, and when the only other Helluva Boss story and world-building we had was the Pilot and S1E1-“Murder Family”. While it could be assumed that Stella would not be happy about her husband’s cheating, we didn’t know anything about her personality and how she would react.

So. while it was clear that Stella wasn’t acting appropriately or maturely in the next scene, it was also VERY clear that Stolas was at fault for breaking up their relationship by cheating.

I will be talking about Stella’s character in “The Circus”, and how she is used as tool to absolve Stolas of any wrongdoing in season 2 later. For now, I want to stress that I will NOT be talking about future development of her character here.

After Stella leaves Stolas tries to connect with Octavia like they used to and just continuously fails. It’s clear that she’s still very angry with him for cheating on her Mom, and that his trying to carry on like nothing is wrong is irritating her.

Stolas asks her if she slept well and all she can sarcastically say is “Is that a serious question?”

What Stolas does next to try and reconnect with Octavia is very very important because it shows that he’s still being extremely selfish.

He decides they’re going to LooLoo Land, in a poor attempt to recapture some of their old good memories together and does not once LISTEN to Octavia and what she actually wants to do.

They go, but he uses the trip as an excuse to meet up with Blitzø, and behaves inappropriately and flirts with him the whole time, right in front of Octavia.

This, rightly, is extremely upsetting to her, and she runs away. Stolas follows after her and they have a heart to heart where he FINALLY FINALLY takes the time to listen to some of her concerns and why she is upset.

The episode ends on a happy note-with Stolas asking Octavia what SHE wants to do and what her interests are, and Octavia admitting to Stolas that, “You’re okay sometimes”.

This episode is extremely important to Stolas’ character because it does such a good job of getting across to the audience that Stolas is not a perfect person. That he’s someone who has people he genuinely cares about and loves, but that he can still royally fuck up. He’s sleazy, he doesn’t respect Blitzø’s boundaries, he neglects his daughter, and he doesn’t listen to her, putting his own desires and needs ahead of hers.

And the resolution to this episode is important, not because it fixes everything, but because it is the first STEP in the right direction for Stolas becoming better and becoming the father his daughter needs him to be again.

This episode ends with Stolas meeting the BARE MINIMUM to START making amends with Octavia. He doesn’t even say sorry, just that he would never leave her to run off with Blitzø. There is still a lot that Stolas needs to do to make amends with her, and to repair the ruptures in their relationship.

Due to this, at the time this episode came out, I thought that this was just the very beginning of Stolas’ first character arc—realizing his actions could truly HURT those he cared about, and having to come to terms with the fact that he was in the wrong. That something he did, hurt those around him, and that he would need to take responsibility for that.

“Loo-loo Land” went to such great lengths to show us that Stolas is imperfect. That he is someone who is capable of mistakes and doing the wrong thing, of being oblivious and selfish, and of needing to do better.

And before “The Circus” and “Seeing Stars”, I believed that the writers could develop his character to grow and change and become a better person for his loved ones.

This doesn’t happen however, as again the writers bend over backwards to make sure that Stolas never has to actually directly answer for his mistakes. So much so that they literally don’t let him say “Sorry” to Octavia the next time he breaks a promise to her and doesn’t consider her needs before his own.

After S2E2 of Helluva Boss, “Seeing Stars”, came out, I officially lost any faith in the writers to have Stolas ACTUALLY take ownership and responsibility for the ways he harms those he loves. That first step he took on the path to healing his relationship with Octavia from “Loo Loo Land” has been totally erased, and I can’t imagine whatever resolution they come up with for his character will be satisfying.

I have no doubt that Stolas will receive a happy ending, but I predict it will be one with 0 stakes, and 0 satisfaction, because it will not have been earned. I worry that with any character flaw or upset he causes, another character will be swept under the rug in order to make Stolas appear as if he was always in the right.

As I’ve said before, if that’s the story the writers want to tell, that’s fine. It’s their story, not mine.

I just personally cannot imagine not wanting to explore those character faults and acknowledge them. Maybe, hopefully, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’d really like that.

I’ll be following up to this post with a critique specifically of how “Seeing Stars” is very much a retread of “Loo Loo Land”, but in all the worst ways possible.

TLDR;

-In my opinion, the initial handling of Stolas as a flawed and complex character who could make mistakes and be in the wrong was really well done.

-The first canon episode that gives Stolas focus, “Loo Loo Land”, goes to great lengths to show us the ways in which Stolas has failed Octavia.

-This was a great set-up for character development and for Stolas to have to come to terms with his actions and change, but future episodes do not follow through on this set up.

-Will be talking about the episodes that undo the set ups for Stolas’ character development in Part 2.

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #stolas critical #? I guess? not really? more just examining what I interpret as poor writing choices with his character #media critique #media criticism #long post #HB critique #I don’t know if I want to tag as critical cause I’ve seen some people dunking on the creators #and I just don’t feel comfortable with talking that way about people I really don’t know #I’ve gleaned from some other critique accounts that there is a good deal of drama within the fandom and surrounding the creator #but again I don’t know the creator personally and I also don’t think it’s very fair to chalk every single decision made in a collaborative #to a single person #part 1 of 2 #octavia goetia #poor Octavia

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4ragon · 1 year

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Can I convince you to play Octopath Traveler 2?

Hello my lovely followers! I have recently run into a problem where I have fallen in love with another video game and do not have enough people to talk about it with. I have therefore decided I’m going to do what I do best and talk WAY too much about the subject for an unreasonable amount of time.

So! Why should you, dear followers of mine, play this hip new rpg called Octopath Traveler 2?

Well, to put it simply, this game was the most genuine fun I’ve had playing a video game in a very long time!

What is Octopath Traveler 2?

Octopath Traveler 2 is a new turn based action rpg by Square Enix, combining the charm of old school pixel art with modern graphical capabilities to create one of the most beautiful-looking 2D games out there. Like. It’s so pretty! Look at this shit!

It’s so good! Look at that presentation! Great graphics, full voice acting, orchestrated music, just. The presentation, guys!

The Gameplay

Now. Here’s the deal. I am not the most crazy about turn-based rpgs. I like them fine, but they can get very repetitive! Pokemon is a prime example. Rival sends out a Charizard? Well, better go get my Vaporeon and wreck his shit! And yes, I know there’s more strategy behind it, but like. I have never once bothered. At a certain point, the game is just “water beats fire, grind levels until you win” and that’s kind of as much as you need to bother with.

BUT

BUT BUT BUT

Here’s the deal. Octopath (both 1 and 2) is SO much fun. It is the greatest turn based rpg I have ever played. Because it’s no longer about elemental damage and sending out the right Pokemon that a lot of other turn based games use.

In each fight, the enemy has an unknown list of weaknesses, which you can discover as you fight. Each successful attack chips away at their “shield points,” until you can knock the enemy out for one round, weakening their defenses and stopping them from mercilessly beating your ass. (At least until they wake up in the next round and get to attack first.)

There are also boost points which build up each turn, just as long as you don’t use them up. Those either boost the damage on your single attack OR, and here’s the kicker, allows you do use a regular melee attack up to four times.

These two things in tandem open up a HUGE amount of strategizing! Suddenly, it’s not “will my Vaporeon be able to use hydro pump before Charizard uses fly,” it’s “do I use my turn to heal, or do I boost my attacks so I can knock this boss out before he kills me? Do I knock him out now, or do I save my boost points to do one massive attack once he’s weaker? Do I knock all of the enemies out at the same time, or should I stagger it so they don’t all Kick My Teeth In next round?”

It’s about timing! It’s about strategy! It’s like one huge puzzle combined with all of the terror of a normal action rpg! And it’s!!! So fucking fun!!!!

Just. I know most of the people following me are following me for my love of murder mystery visual novels like Ace Attorney, so this may be a bit of a harder sell than if I was trying to convince you all to play Murder By Numbers or Return of the Obra Dinn, but still! It’s not too terribly difficult to get into the game, and hey, it’s turn based! Reaction speed not required.

(Important note: Octopath Traveler OG is also just as fun to play. They added some cool mechanics in 2, and tweaked certain characters’ movesets, but overall, both are just as much fun. Try 8path 1 too! I highly recommend it.)

The Music

I have a running list of games with the greatest soundtracks of all time. We got Zelda of course, we got Kingdom Hearts, Ace Attorney, but Octopath is quickly clobbering its way into my favorites. Every single track in both games slaps so hard. Boss fights? Town music? CHARACTER MUSIC? I mean. Come on.

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Come on.

Every song is gorgeous. Fully orchestrated, incredibly well done. I don't know shit about music theory, but 8-Bit Music Theory did a cool video on game one that I think holds up pretty well.

AND, because this game added a Day/Night cycle, most of the songs have multiple arrangements. Even the character themes have multiple arrangements. And I won’t spoil any of them here, but I swear, when Agnea’s final battle track started playing, I had the biggest, goofiest grin on my face. It’s just. It’s so good you guys.

The Story and Characters

Okay. Alright. Here’s where Octopath Traveler 2 goes from good to great. And here’s also where Octopath 2 edges out the first Octopath game. Now, this is not a dig at the original game. Play the original game! I love it so much! The characters are so much fun! The story is wonderful! But Octopath Traveler 2 does everything I wanted the original Octopath to do and more! More character interactions! More story! An endgame that isn’t deeply anticlimactic and actually involves the characters I care about! It’s so good.

Octopath Traveler 2, of course, stars 8 wildly different characters, each with completely different motivations and completely different skillsets, both in and out of battles. Different weapons, different spells, and different ways to interact with the NPCs around you.

And man, I love every single one of these characters so much. I feel like there’s a character for everybody, I’ve seen so much art of basically all of the main cast because every one of them is so different and interesting.

There's a favorite for everyone! We’ve got the dark, broody character, the pure-of-heart character, the character struggling with a dark curse. We’ve got revenge, chosen ones, amnesia, cowboys, one asshole detective who I am a little bit in love with. (Murder mysteries, guys! Come on! That’s my jam!) Often times, there’s usually one character that falls a little flat to me, but I just find all of them so much fun, even the ones with less going on in their backstories. They're fun! They're charming! I love it!

None of these stories are particularly complicated, of course. It’s no Tales game, where the stories twist and turn and build on each other constantly. In fact, by the very nature of this conceit, where no player character is the true main character, they can’t really build the sort of story other RPGs would usually have. Each character’s story is simple, even if they branch into different routes and do slowly start to tie into each other in subtle ways. Sure, there were surprises (and like holy shit to a few of these surprises) but overall, the stories are simple and straightforward.

And yet, even with 8 relatively simple stories, the characters absolutely shine. Sure, I took one look at the character who secretly did that murder in chapter one and went, “Ah. It was absolutely you.” And sure, we had an evil king who was so cartoonishly evil to the point of becoming farcical. But still, these stories didn’t have to be these huge, sprawling, mindblowing paths. They’re about the leads growing and meeting new people and bettering themselves. Each route has its own eclectic bunch of NPCs that bring so much life and color to the world, from the put-upon knight being dragged around by the world’s shittiest cleric to the happy-go-lucky scrivener looking for her big scoop to whatever the FUCK is happening with the Blacksnakes holy shit jesus christ what the actual fu

These stories made me laugh. They’ve made me cheer. They made me sob like a baby. They made me rage so fucking hard that I had to put down the computer for several hours and lay on the ground, which to be fair was absolutely the intended effect but I’m also still so fucking mad about it I swear to god.

PLUS

PLUS PLUS PLUS

Okay, I always say a jrpg with a huge cast rides or dies on their character interaction. Love is found in the found family y’all. And, again, it’s certainly no Tales game, in part because the game isn’t quite as scripted, but there’s still so much. Each chapter has a set number of side conversations between whoever is in your party (which if you miss them you can go back to that chapter in your menu and watch them anyway thank god). Several pairs of characters get to go on fun little side quests together throughout the story. Characters talk to each other during battles, which doesn’t feel like a ton but it really does add so much charm. They feel like friends, and even if they don’t tend to interact during story cutscenes, it feels like their relationships grow and develop over the course of oh holy shit I played 90 hours? Oops. Well. Whatever. That’s fine.

Anyway. That’s my pitch. Play this game. Join me in hell. Come on. You know you want to.

#octopath #octopath traveler #octopath traveler 2 #whoops why did i spend an hour writing this

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theslowesthnery · 1 year

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I’ve never played elden ring but I just like seeing your thoughts. Just wish I had a primer on who your M guys are and their relationships to each other because I can’t keep them straight but I like your art and your words about these strangers!!

okay, so.

MORGOTT is this guy:

he's an obligatory boss in the game, and also goes by the extremely good pseudonym "margit". he's the son of the "god" of the world, queen marika, and her first husband, godfrey. unfortunately he was born an omen - monstrous beings with horns, tails, wings and other animalistic features considered to be caused by a curse - so he was locked away from childhood in an underground sewer labyrinth called the shunning grounds. at some point he became free and took it upon himself to defend the royal capital of leyndell from invaders, becoming its king in practice. despite the golden order (the ruling law of the world, led by his mother) hating and shunning him he still defends it and does its best to uphold it.

he's a grumpy old man with a great voice, a fancy way of talking, and an air of nobility, so he's very well-liked among the fans of the game. he's also the first proper boss most players face in the game and can be extremely challenging, so people end up spending a lot of time trying to beat him and therefore get attached to him lmao

this is MOHG:

he's an optional boss (could even be considered a "secret" boss). he's morgott's twin brother, so he's also a son of marika and godfrey and was locked in the shunning grounds. unlike morgott, though, he does NOT care for the golden order and is in fact actively working against it. he was at some time in the past contacted by an outer god known as the formless mother, and has been doing her bidding while being empowered by her ever since, working to build and establish a dynasty of blood underground. as part of that, he kidnapped miquella and is utilizing cursed blood to try to raise him to godhood, wishing to become his consort. he goes by the moniker "lord of blood", and a lot of his attacks consist of throwing burning blood at you.

a lot of people like his visual design and his fight and his music, but other than that most people fucking HATE him because "ewww gross pedoincest rapist", i don't think there's any other character in the game who is as hated. i personally love him because he's fucking GORGEOUS, he has an amazing and memorable voice, and he's in love! he's my top favourite, my beautiful little meow meow

here's MIQUELLA:

he is the son of marika and her second husband, radagon (who is also marika, don't ask), and the twin brother of malenia, the game's mascot and most infamous secret boss. he and malenia were both born cursed, miquella's curse being that he stopped physically aging and remains eternally young. despite that, he's an extremely intelligent and capable and is called a prodigy by many, and when he realized that the golden order was unable to cure his sister from her curse - a deadly rot that slowly but surely takes over and destroys her body - he set out to create a new, better order. he's beloved by all, but also apparently has the ability to forcefully compel affection, though to which degree he's used said ability is not known. malenia calls miquella "the most fearsome empyrean of all". (an empyrean is a demigod - an offspring or descendant of marika - who has the potential to ascend to godhood and replace marika as the head of the golden order)

miquella's plan to cure malenia included ascending to godhood, something that apparently would've cured him of his own curse as well, and to do that he grew a giant tree which he watered with his own blood, then cocooned himself inside it. while he was slumbering inside, mohg kidnapped him, and is drenching his cocoon with blood to "aid" in his ascension (and no doubt to make him whatever the formless mother wants him to become). so far miquella has not awakened, not even if you defeat mohg.

as for their relationships, well, this is a fromsoft game so we know practically nothing. like mohg is obviously in love with miquella (though some people claim that he's only interested in power and is only using miquella as a stepping stone and doesn't otherwise care for him), but other than that we don't know to which degree the three care about each other or even know each other. morgott does list miquella and his sister among people he considers traitors (but not mohg, so he either doesn't consider him a traitor or just doesn't know what he's been doing), but we don't know if they ever actually even met. as such, there are all sorts of different versions and interpretations of these characters' relationships. miquella's affection-compelling power also creates room for theories that he either intentionally or accidentally bewitched mohg into loving him, and either it ended up backfiring or being kidnapped was part of miquella's plan all along, and that it is he who is using mohg. some people also theorize (or at least like the idea) that miquella and mohg might've been willingly and knowingly working together.

SO IN SHORT: mohg and morgott are twin brothers, and miquella is their half-brother (technically 2/3 brother but y'know). mohg seems to be in love with miquella, has kidnapped him and wants to become his consort, but that's all we know.

#elden ring for blacklist #incest cw

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exoticalmonde · 5 months

Text

II. Arknights OSTs Top 20 of Eve's Favourite Songs for December 2023

I honestly thought 20 would actually be too much for me, but Monster Siren, Team Kazdel and everybody else who is working on the Arknights music... Kudos. 10 million kudos and a kiss because they are what actually help me get out of bed in the morning.

11. Flame Shadow - Reed the Flameshadow OST There's something very romantic, calming and sweet in this song in general. The second I heard it - I knew it was a me type of song. On a very surface level I vibe with Reed Alter and her song managed to touch me. That's all.

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12. Sentenced - Penance OST And in contrast with FlameShadow this one is rather sad, mournful, it resonated with me at a moment where I was very sad myself and because of that it managed to bring me up. Which I don't know how it works. but thank you Penance, my first wife, first Arknights woman I wanted, for being there.

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13. Lullabye - Mephisto Boss OST Crying. Sobbing. Actually throwing up from how hard my body is getting sick of despair.

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14. Rhythm In Literature - Phantom and the Crimson Solitaire (IS3) Playwriter Boss OST ... I hate IS3, but I very very much enjoy the music. Everything that is Phantom is dramatic and lovely. Why the Playwriter boss exactly? Who knows. I haven't beaten a SINGLE ending so far, but I have indeed seen: Save him.

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15. The Rides To Lake Silberneherze - Lobby Theme Can't wait for this event in 6 months. It will very intensely remind me about 'The Lion's song' which is one of my favourite visual novels. I'm sad now, I want to play it again. Maybe one day over streams. I need the world to KNOW. For now, Silberneherze!

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16. Zwillingstürme im Herbst - Lobby Theme Again - soft, sweet, somewhat mysterious, especially in the way it begins as it feels like a record/vynil playing. Such a Dr. Eve theme.

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17. Abyssal Ravings - Stultifera Navis OST (part 4) No excuse. I love the abyssal ravings. Sounds like the voices in my head.

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18. The Whirlpool That Is Passion - The Sanguinarch Boss OST Have not yet reached this boss fight, but I am SO excited. I might check Arknights right now to see if I can pull any Sanity pots out of the weekly rewards so I can continue the campaign.

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19. Control's Wishes - Kirsten Boss OST Didn't like it at first. I thought I was too good for the futuristic themes because I really do not enjoy sci-fi that much and the whole 'make a space ship' was over my head. However, the boss fight was cool and the music is cool. Never seen a better themed introduction to a boss than when the music counts down '3, 2, 1' and she shows up.

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20. Absolute Zero - Frostnova The Winter's Scar OST ... ... May you sleep finally warm and comfortable.

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#arknights #doctor of ri shenanigans #Dr. Eve has opinions #Arknights music #arknights themes #arknights character themes #arknights boss themes #arknights ost #arknights event #rating music #music #part 2 #Youtube

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miloscat · 6 months

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[Review] Wario Land 4 (GBA)

A disappointing misstep... am I the only one who thinks this??

Despite coming so soon after Wario Land 3 (the fourth Wario Land game), Wario Land 4 (the fifth Wario Land game) makes a lot of changes. It tries to synthesise new ideas with the old and ends up feeling like a bit of a mess. It has a good reputation but honestly I don’t get it!

The first thing you notice is the visual refresh. We’re on the cusp of Warioware completely revolutionising Wario’s characterisation and setting, and WL4 gets a bit of a ripple from that. Wario is flexing and posing, driving a muscle car… read the manual though and it leans harder than ever into his hilariously gross habits and self-aggrandising mannerisms. Unlike a lot of other things in the game, this combination works well.

In a premise most reminiscent of Virtual Boy Wario Land, Wario is on the hunt for treasure and goes to explore an ancient ruin only to stumble on a series of wacky out-of-place environments contained within and a big weirdo out of nowhere as would-be antagonist. The use of magic portals does a little something for plausibility, I guess. Did Wario really need a princess to rescue though? Was that necessary? Shokora at least has a presence in the story thanks to her transformation into a mysterious cat who pops up in cutscenes / Mr. Game & Watch-style silhouette person who acts as shopkeeper.

The levels feel initially like throwbacks to pre-3 style, with a critical path and side rooms, where it isn’t always clear which is which. But you do need to thoroughly explore because getting all four chests in each level is mandatory to unlock the zone bosses, plus there’s a key to find to advance to the next level. Having to redo entire levels if you miss any of these is a real drag. There's also optional mini-puzzle challenges sectioned off in their own rooms, removed from the flow and aesthetic of the rest of the level. But things change when you find the frog switch: a giant timer appears, and you have to backtrack to where you came in. Sometimes things change in the level, or you find a new path to return via, but often those progress items are hidden in this time-pressured sequence as well.

Far from being an exciting combination of ideas, I think these concepts of structure and design are at odds, pulling in different directions. Similarly, the non-damaging conditions from WL2 and 3 return here, but in a position of reduced prominence, and they've reinstated a health meter mechanic on top. (The GBA's shoulder buttons also prompted a return of the run button from VBWL, but it feels underused.) Removing the timer and health system was a breath of fresh air in WL2... now they're back, and for what!?

The boss battles are another miss for me. They're also timed, and you have to do them quick to get maximum treasure, which is otherwise kind of a non-factor. Collecting coins in levels lets you play one of three minigames (none of which are very fun) to earn tokens. You can spend these in a shop before the boss door, for a variety of effects that simply remove health from the boss. This Breath of the Wild-style "reward" of making the fights shorter by just subtracting from their health bar is such an odd choice to me. The fights themselves are fine at best, but the bosses are visually overdesigned in a purposeful, grotesque way; I suppose it's meant to be amusingly absurd but I just found them ugly eyesores.

Playing the Wario Land games one by one, I've enjoyed seeing them refine the concept and bring in fresh ideas. WL4 on the other hand feels like it's trying to force ideas in and fumbling in the process, with a result that doesn't quite come together. Even though the play control is tighter and snappier, the game is less than the sum of its parts, less pure than previous Wario Lands. The music is really strange too, trying for some kind of esoteric wackiness but maybe trying too hard... The series has never looked better, but this might be a sign that it's losing its direction. Meanwhile Nintendo R&D1 themselves are soon to be restructured, splintering into oversight roles and smaller teams, and I think the "Wario platformer" series suffers as a consequence, while Warioware's star rises. We'll see in the next few reviews I suppose...

#wario #wario land #wario land 4 #nintendo r&d1 #gba #review

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spinningbuster98 · 12 days

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles Ending: Y'got duped Chuckles!

Lava Reef has issues with how often it likes to pelt you with fire but having a Fire Shield can mitigate this a lot. Honestly a bigger issue is the fact that the level constantly has you stop because of those enemies disguised as rocks but other than that it’s solid and with the most distinctions between its two acts

Sky Sanctuary is not my favorite but it’s pretty cool what with its theme of ascension as you’re chasing the Death Egg, the call backs to the Sonic 1 and 2 bosses which gives this a sense of finality as the last of the Mega Drive trilogy and if you’re playing as Tails you can just skip most of this stage and all the boss fights except the last

The Death Egg is, aesthetically, my least favorite of the 16 bit final stages. The first act is nice with that Death Star inspired background but the Earth in the background of Act 2 looks ugly! It has no visible landmasses, only clouds that even look blurry! However gameplay wise it is the most balanced final stage so far, being much more thought out than the liked of Metropolis and Metallic Madness. It even has a gravity room that has you bouncing around everywhere and....die sometimes when the screen scrolls too quickly....did the game process too much blast there? Oh well that’s for another video...

The battle against Eggman’s mech is pretty simple and much easier than the one in Sonic 2, but still very memorable and climactic due to its multiple phases, the music and the very menacing design...which actually led me to some observation on this game’s artstyle but I’ll handle those at a later time. (also that last phase where you have to stop Eggman from escaping is cheap because on your first time you won’t know that the floor will immediately stop crumbling upon landing that last hit which will probably lead you to fall as the screen abruptly stops scrolling)

Doomsday Zone is basically a borderline interactive cutscene, hell once you reach the second phase you pretty much only have to mash buttons and that’s it. It’s style over substance...that I am 100% fine with because the game earned this moment. For all intents and purposes you’ve already fought the final boss, this is just the cherry on top, you get cool visuals and a cool setup combined with one of the best tracks on the Mega Drive! The only criticism I have is that the game doesn’t really tell you that you have to mash buttons in order to accellerate, which made 7 year old me extremely confused and unable to beat this at first

One of the most memorable aspects of this game is the way it tells its story. Now the story itself is pretty standard fare for 90s platformers, it’s barely any different from the previous games’, but it’s the WAY it is presented that makes it so special. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other platformer of this era utilize quick in-game cutscenes that don’t interrupt the gameplay to tell a story. Stuff like the act transitions or Knuckles figuring out the truth or him looking on as Sonic and Tails make their leave with a small smile on his face gives the game so much more character, and that’s without going into Knuckles’ own side! (which is coming next, don’t worry!)

In fact I’d go as far as to say that Sonic 3 & Knuckles actually has better indirect storytelling than Super Metroid! I love that game as much as this one, but I never understood what people meant when they say that it has unmatched background storytelling, because Super Metroid doesn’t really have much of that, it mostly has background LORE, like the Wrecked Ship being implied to be a derelict ship that brought Zebes’ Chozo on the planet, or the Mochtroids being implied to be defective Metroid clones that the Space Pirates threw in Maridia like garbage, but that’s not telling a story that’s implying background lore. The only times when Super Metroid actually tells a silent story is during the intro on the Ceres Colony, when Samus makes planet fall and naturally during the iconic ending sequence. Don’t get me wrong: that ending is so good it blows even Sonic 3′s out of the water with how emotionally impactful it is in spite of its simplicity...but every other time Sonic 3 is much more consistent with the way it keeps presenting its story as something always happening to keep the ball rolling, unlike Super Metroid where there isn’t much of a narrative reason why Samus goes from point A to B. Of course that is because the game is a non-linear adventure game, with something like Fusion serving as an opposite example and something that actually beats out Sonic 3 in terms of indirect storytelling, but still, as far as the 90s are concerned, I believe Sonic 3 to be the king in this aspect

#youtube #sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog 3 & knuckles #my gameplay

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