#GSC Game Works

[brutalgamer]

Become a legend of the zone today on Switch, with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy

The portable apocalypse has arrived, as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy is here for the Nintendo Switch.

[sputniksflight]

Small sketches for actually finished s.t.a.l.k.e.r. inks. It all takes me so long because I'm dumb and have to go traditional art in B3 format :v

[kagooleo]

hi just wanted to say i looove your johto designs!! they sound really endearing from the delightful little notes in the tags, and your work has a ton of personality i always love seeing it pop up on my dash :,) best of luck with your school stuff

aw tysm! I loveee coming up with various character ideas for each of em and giving it my own spin (and ty also for reading my tags! i have. many thoughts stewing in my head as I'm trucking thru all my classwork o|-<)

[shellys-apprentice]

do you have any specific headcanons about what gio was doing during the johto arc of pokespe?

Getting diagnosed with lung cancer

Not much, other than that he kind of had to have been out of Johto and Kanto. I've seen people suggest that the reason he’s looking for Silver again in FRLG despite it having been 10 years is because he heard about him messing around with Team Rocket in Johto, which I like, but you also really have to completely kick him out of both regions in order for the plot to work. I just don't see Pryce keeping control over Rocket if there's even a rumor that Gio's around.

I guess you could make a case for him being in Hoenn, given how quickly he jumps on the meteorite and the orbs, but other than that, I've got nothing.

[epicspheal]

Words Are Unnecessary! A Red Analysis

Picture this: You’re a 90s kid, you got a Gameboy and this new game called Pokemon (or as your parents likely called it, Pokeman). And you get one choice of protagonist, a boy from Pallet Town named Red. 

Game Red is a silent protagonist turned silent NPC, so one may think it might be hard to do a character analysis on him (compared to say his Origins, Pokespe or Anime counterparts). Yet like much of Kanto, Red is a character told through environmental storytelling.

Let’s start with his name, in all official translations his name is Red. The color Red is a primary color which low key represents his role as the protagonist and the top of the Kanto hierarchy. This is most apparent when you compare Blue’s Japanese name Green which is a secondary color (implying he’s the second best of the Kanto trainers). Symbolically the color red represents passion, love, strength, confidence and importance. As time has moved on and TPCi has made Red an important character just as much as a protagonist, we can see that he embodies so much of the symbolism of his namesake color.

He’s described as having a quiet passion and love for Pokemon. He exudes strength and confidence in any game related adaptation and he’s quite possibly the most important trainer in the series. When you consider the fact that originally, Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal were supposed to be the last games in the series you realize that Red’s naming was not just random but meant to be a story of his arc. From your entry into the wonderful world of Pokemon the formidable passionate flame on top of Mt Silver that would serve as your final obstacle. 

Alright so let’s take a look at Red’s team. Now canonically we know he completed the Kanto Pokedex of 151 unique little critters. That’s a huge accomplishment that affords him a vast rotation of Pokemon that most trainers in the world will not have. Yet in his NPC appearances we see that he tends to stick to a certain subset of Pokemon and this actually gives a lot of insight into his character

Like most Pokemon champions he opts for a more balanced team with varied typings. I’m going to focus on his HGSS team since that’s the one that is used the most over generations. We see he has a Pikachu, the three Kanto Starters, Lapras and Snorlax. The first thing that stands out is his use of a (very high leveled) Pikachu in a team of otherwise fully evolved Pokemon. This is of course a reference to Pokemon Yellow, but it also just shows his trust in his Pokemon. The fact that he would still keep one of his Pokemon unevolved due to the Pokemon’s own personal preference shows that Red respects the choices of his Pokemon. He even gives his Pikachu a Light Ball to hold in order to boost the powers of his moves, further showing how much he wants to work with his Pokemon to achieve their ultimate potential rather than deciding for them. 

The three Kanto Starters are a way to not formally canonize which starter he chooses, but they’re also a reference to Pokemon Yellow as all three can be obtained from gifts. The same goes for his Lapras and Espeon (in GSC) which are also obtained as gifts. Snorlax rounds out the team as the Pokemon he gets by waking up with the Pokeflute (the Pokeflute being a gift). So what does this all mean for Red? It shows that despite having caught the entire Kanto Pokedex (including legendaries and mythicals) he ends up prioritizing the Pokemon he got as gifts. This shows a very sentimental side of him. This makes sense when you consider the guide to Pokemon RBG where it shows he wishes to regain his friendship with Blue back after the latter starts being mean. The Kanto journey for Red is as much of a coming of age story as it is a sentimental one as he really wants his best friend back.

Now taking a look at the moves Red chooses for his team we can see he has a varied amount of attacks that helped to hit most types for super-effective damage. A couple of things to note here is that he does seem to have a preference for moves that give status conditions as a secondary effect showing that he tries to open multiple paths to victory in battle. This shows he is calculating and knowledgeable about the moves he uses. For his HGSS Mount Silver battle you’ll notice the Kanto starters all have the three ultimate moves: Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn, and Hydro Cannon. This once again symbolizes the high degree of love Red has in his Pokemon. 

However those moves are much like elemental Hyper Beams in that they require a recharge turn. And indeed Red has Giga Impact on his Snorlax which also requires a recharge turn. Not only that he uses moves like Focus Blast which has not the best accuracy. He also uses moves like Flare Blitz and Volt Tackle which give recoil damage. All this to say, Red has a bit of a reckless streak as well. Which checks when you think about how he single-handedly drove Team Rocket out of Kanto, and his actions during the Pokemas Kanto Villain arc. I do want to point out that he has the move Blizzard on three of his Pokemon which is normally a low accuracy move…except in the Hail. Which, what do you know, Mount Silver has Hail (er snow). This shows that while Red can be reckless he also is very smart in taking advantage of his surroundings. 

I’m actually going to jump to his Alola Team because you see aside from levels nothing has really changed except for the moves. Once again he still has some high risk-high reward moves but they’ve been toned down a bit. This actually provides a bit of subtle character growth as we see he’s toning down his reckless streak as he has become an adult. We also see in his moves and items in the battle tree that he varies the strategies he uses against opponents in terms of moves and items used. This is fitting given that this time he’s now known as a Battle Legend. He uses quite a few mega items in the Battle Tree which once again affirm the love and trust he has for his Pokemon.

Now let’s take a look at the few quotes we get from Red

"Hi! Do you like Pokémon? Uh no, I just asked you. Huh? You're strange!" 

"Hi! Thanks for earlier! Pardon? Is it that fun to mimic my every move?" - Talking to CopycatThis is one of the non-Pokemon Masters spoken words we get out of Red from RBGY/FRLG. Here he’s talking to Copy Cat who is…copying every word he says. It’s a funny bit of dialogue that shows despite being a living legend he was still definitely a kid with brutal honesty by calling CopyCat strange. But we get to see he is a polite child as he thanks CopyCat for the TM he get while also still curious as to why CopyCat seems to enjoy mimicking him.

"…?""…?!" -if Red defeats the player in the Pokemon World Tournament In Pokemon Black 2/White 2 When most of us think of Red, we think of the fact that he typically speaks in ellipses. I really liked this set of ellipses from the Pokemon World Tournament as it’s possible for any character to beat the player without forcing a rematch to progress the story. So that means any of the champions can claim victory. In the case of Victory with Red, here he seems to express a bit of shock that he won against Nate/Rosa. This shows a great deal of humility for him because by the time of the second Unova story events, he’s well regarded as a living battle legend.

"...I accept your challenge!" - To Blue before the Pasio Tournament Finals

This was a very touching moment between Red and Blue. Blue was admittedly rashly challenging Red to a battle due to his own insecurities about being a good rival to Red especially given the Pasio format of three on three battles. Normally when Red accepts challenges he does so silently, but here we see him make a verbal acceptance. This is huge because it shows how important Blue is to him. He recognizes Blue still struggles with insecurity in regards to the rivalry and rather than just wordlessly accept a battle, he tells Blue he accepts to show that he acknowledges Blue not just as his best friend, but as his rival. Even when he’s challenged by champions like Leon and Cynthia he is wordless, but with Blue he speaks to affirm the challenge. It speaks volumes about how much Red cares about Blue. Again going back to the RBGY guide book that talks about how Red wants to get his friend back, you can see how Red doesn’t want to lose Blue as a friend again and is willing to verbally affirm Blue, because he recognizes that words of affirmation are a love language to Blue.

"(Blue, Leaf...Let's win this—together!)" - in his head Okay so he didn’t actually speak this out loud but this counts. As they’re preparing for the finals of the Pasio Tournament, you see once again how much Red values his two childhood friends. He doesn’t just want this to be “The Red Show” where he, the living legend, effortlessly takes down the opponents and with all of  the glory going to himself. He wants to win it with the help of his friends. This once again shows how sentimental Red is as a person

"Congratulations! You won!"

This is also major in one of the few times he speaks after losing, but also in front of a large audience. Him verbally congratulating Scottie/Bettie and their team for their win shows a high degree of respect that he has for the rookie trainer to be able to lead a team to victory against him and his closest friends. Considering that (despite what team you use against him) the cutscene shows Rosa, Misty and Brock this is also a way of him showing major respect to the first two gym leaders he ever took on when he began his journey in Kanto years ago. 

"... ... ... ... ... ... Words are unnecessary!"

I remember seeing this “A Day with Sygna Suit Red” the first time and absolutely dying of laughter when these words were uttered. Red was absolutely trolling Flint and Scottie/Bettie at the moment knowing very few would believe them if they said they heard Red speak. It’s nice to see a more playful side of him that also shows why he, Blue and Leaf all get along so well. They’re all little shits. 

Alright I’m going to add a few more quotes from some other characters to give a bit more context to Red’s character

"Red is never satisfied with how strong he is. He's always looking for new ways to grow as a Trainer and bring out the potential of his Pokémon." - Professor Oak

With this quote from Professor Oak, we can see once again how despite how strong Red is he never lets it get to his head. He’s always constantly seeking improvement."With Red, what really stood out to me wasn't that he was strong but that he seemed very gifted as a Trainer." - Brock

Even though it may seem like to some that Red is portrayed as having always been this ultra strong trainer, Brock’s words here show that he had to grow into his strength. Yes he may have had a bit of a knack of battling, but those early victories weren’t flawless. He’s still fallible

"Well, don't go overboard with the tough love, Red." - Blue

To be honest, it was hard to choose a quote from Blue, since he won’t shut up about Red. But I really liked this one from the Neo Champion event. It gives some more fallibility to Red as he doles out tough love to his mentees and Blue cautions him about not overdoing it.  "Winning makes you two happier than anyone, while losing makes you the most frustrated. You're both unbelievably straightforward and earnest when it comes to Pokemon" - Blue, again And more quotes from Blue! Here we see him talking to Leon and comparing the two showing how similar they are on a core level. This comparison highlights Red having a straightforward philosophy when it comes to how he interacts with Pokemon and how he deals with battling. It's simple but as we can see from his results it's been very effective in catapulting to the sheer ability and strength he has.

“He’s been battling nonstop, even cutting back on sleep” - Elio That tough love he dealt to his mentees during the Neo Champion event also extends to himself as he pushes himself extremely hard after his close win against Leon in the Arc-Suit story. This tracks with him disappearing for years on Mount Silver to train after becoming the Kanto Champion. This highlights his drive to improve but also his reckless streak. It also shows just how much he respects Leon’s strength as he’s pushed Red to a limit he’s not used to being pushed to. It's also telling that he picks the three trainers (Elio, Rosa and Ethan) who in the mainline games are shown to be able to defeat his team. Once again highlighting Red's continuous strides for improvement.

Red throughout the years has been a powerful icon of the franchise and is in many ways a symbol for how as the generations pass, GameFreak continues to find new ways to explore the potential of the world of Pokemon. He’s a quiet flame filled with endless passion and a bit of recklessness. But above all he’s filled with love, love for Pokemon, the human friends he’s close to and the thrill of battle.

[hamofjustice]

The Broken Mirror

So, Tumblr... I've been working on a Pokemon fangame called The Broken Mirror for the past little while. If you enjoyed the emphasis on exploring Nemona, Arven, and Penny's characters and unfinished arcs and hanging out with them every day that Ham's League Club aimed to have when the base postgame and DLCs of Scarlet and Violet pretty much didn't at all despite giving every indication they would... this is kinda like that, now coalescing into real game form. And I'm so excited to share it someday. (More info under the cut)

[back of the box blurb voice] Gather up the Zero Crew, hop on Miraidon, and train up new teams together in the misty valleys of Orgul, where one of the toughest Pokemon Leagues yet has taken form. Unexpected encounters hide around every corner, but you'll have plenty of time around the fire to reflect and plan your next move on a journey where your only home is each other.

Can't say much yet because I do love surprises, but features include:

A full-length adventure with 8 Gyms and all that jazz

A return to dangerous dungeons with top-down puzzle design

Speed, slash, and surf through the world with Miraidon, not HMs

251 Pokemon carefully chosen and each given personal attention

Heavy emphasis on story; button mashers will be shot

Dialogue portraits for your friends to show their acting chops

Adventure chat and battle with the crew anytime, anywhere

Custom GSC-era art and tilesets as you probably noticed

The best 8-bit music I can borrow (maybe I'll make some too)

Modern mechanics, including Terastallization and Raids

A level cap per Gym, to make sure you learned all their lessons

Gamechanging new TMs you'll feel so proud to earn

A crafting system no wait come back it's not like that

A tastefully small handful of familiar faces from other regions

Mortal peril

Cuddling

A creator who knows what scope creep is

Probably a Battle Frontier though I mean come on it's me

I'm not gonna give a concrete release date -- it'll be done when it's done. Right now i'm just flitting around doing what I can with art, maps, design, story, etc. while I wait for a new engine update, and then I'll start plugging it all in.

From now on, though, you can follow progress on this by checking #SVTheBrokenMirror on my socials, or read my other stuff to get an idea of what you're in for. Thanks!

[jadeazora]

So, been playing Pokemon Ambrosia over the past few days, and decided to peek ahead since idk if I'm going to continue since more difficult hacks aren't really something I'm usually into-- and not to shit on the game or writing or anything, the dev clearly put a lot of effort and time into it and I don't want to trash their work, but it's so odd that they chose Wallace of all characters as the main villain for this story (and he apparently killed Steven too, tho we later find out he might still be alive).

Like, this guy??? Why???:

The game's opening even has him murking a group of people, including children, with Rayquaza. It's just so wildly out of character, it completely takes me out 😂 I suppose they needed a villain, but at least Lance has an incarnation that's villainous and genocidal in the manga. I can see why they didn't use him tho since it's a GSC hack.

If they wanted to go the war with Hoenn route, Steven might have been a bit more fitting since he's noted to have a more merciless side to him in Masters and nearly had his Mega Metagross plow into Mable in the anime, blowing up an (occupied!) building behind her, and I'm pretty sure he showed up to put down Lysandre all by himself. He definitely wouldn't kill kids either, but he's generally the type of guy that strikes me as if you push him too far, it will be catastrophic for you (it takes him a while to get there tho); he's really not as passive as Wallace makes him out to be in his post-defeat rant.

An OC from a fanon region probably would've worked best tho. 😅

(It's not the first time I've seen villainous Wallace in a fangame, him and Steven are the villains of another hack I played called Pokemon Altair. But at least with that, they were both under mind control from an evil Pokemon. So not really evil of their own volition.)

(All that to say it's funny that in two fangames I've played, Steven and Wallace are divorced and make it everyone's problem. Basically that Doofenshmirtz meme of "if I had a nickel", y'know?)

[mariacallous]

A mod for The Sims 4 that removed LGBT and Black nonplayable characters (NPCs) from the game and automatically changed them to “straight” and “white,” respectively, has reappeared in spite of EA's attempts to shut it down. WIRED has found dozens of similar racist, homophobic, and antisemitic mods for other popular games.

The Sims mod, called DEI Remover 1.0.0, was first made available in March last year, but it recently blew up after @DanielleBuilds, a Sims creator with over 300,000 followers, posted a screenshot of it on Facebook and asked people to report it. In addition to removing Black NPCs, the mod was designed to make NPCs “healthy, (not fat),” switched colorful hair types to “natural” hair colors, and changed any LGBT couples sharing a home in the game to siblings. A photo accompanying an overview of the mod shows NPC Celeste Michaelson, who is Black and trans, being changed to a white woman.

An admin on the video game forum RPGHQ said that they received a request from the IP enforcement department of EA to delist the mod. The admin, who goes by the user name “Rusty Shackleford,” described this as an act of targeted censorship, and included screenshots of what they said was correspondence with EA.

”I write on behalf of Electronic Arts Inc. ("EA"). It has come to our attention that you are hosting material that infringes copyrights owned or controlled by EA,” reads the screenshotted email, said to be from EA’s IP senior counsel Lisa Chin. The email identifies the DEI Remover mod as the “infringing material.” EA has not responded to WIRED’s request for comment.

On May 6, the original post moved to a new thread, where the mod was reposted with a copyright disclaimer for “Fair Use” along with instructions for downloading it. Some commenters cheered and jeered the repost, with one saying “cut off one head, two more shall take its place. heil hydra,” and another saying, “Yea I'm sure antagonizing litigious publishers will work out well.”

The Sims has a track record of culture and LGBT representation going back over a decade. In 2023 the franchise featured the Celeste Michaelson NPC in the expansion pack Growing Together, while in 2022 it featured a lesbian couple on the cover of the My Wedding Stories game pack. That same year, The Sims 4 provided a free update to allow users to add gender identity to their game with customizable pronouns, and in April 2025, the game released free downloadable content featuring LGBT-themed clothes and decor. The franchise has also released items to help celebrate holidays in the past, such as Juneteenth-themed clothing, Christmas trees, Hanukkah menorahs, and Kwanzaa kinaras.

Meanwhile sites like Patreon continue to host mods that erase this diversity in The Sims 4. In addition to DEI Remover, RPGHQ hosts dozens of controversial mods for other games, including a mod called “Balduran Salutes Hitler” for Baldur's Gate 3, and “Negro Remover” for Stalker 2. WIRED found one Patreon account from December featuring a mod that switches out inclusive language, such as changing “spouse” to “husband and wife,” and removes the pronouns on premade sims. That Patreon creator explained they created it because the franchise had “fully embraced the pronouns (sic) idiocy.” WIRED has reached out to Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, and Patreon, and has not received a response.

The modding community is a vital part of the Stalker series, and we deeply value its contributions," says GSC Game World spokesperson Zakhar Bocharov. “However, we firmly oppose mods that promote harmful messaging, such as cultural appropriation, hatred, racism, or any offensive content.”

Video game mods allow users to download third-party add-ons created by other players that affect the gameplay experience. For the PC and Mac versions of The Sims 4, mods have become integral to the Sims community as a whole, giving players free access to custom content like clothing, furniture, and artwork, and in-game capabilities such as functional banks, preschools, and adult content.

Many in the modding Sims communities were up in arms over the DEI Remover mod. One TikTok user said they were inspired to start a new series called “F You, Sims Community.” Comments echoed her frustrations, with one commenter saying, “may everyone who downloads this experience the worst save corruption bugs.”

The quick replacement of the banned Sims 4 mod demonstrates that keeping on top of the issue can be like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole.

While this mod was created last year, President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting DEI initiatives have contributed to a more hostile climate for marginalized Americans.

While modding has been a key element within the franchise for decades, EA’s mod policy states that it has the right to “address any inappropriate Mods, including Mods that infringe the intellectual property or privacy rights of others, contain obscene, objectionable, or harmful content, jeopardize the integrity of The Sims 4 gameplay, or otherwise violate the EA User Agreement.”

[ancapsass]

RANT TIME!!!

The stalker community is in a war with the "chads" of gaming rn I swear.

What do you expect for a UKRAINIAN -a nationality of a country that was being invaded since 2022 (really the 90s')- to do in a time of war? You wouldn't think to still try and develop a fucking game right?

Well that's what they did, they listened to their community who was giving and is currently giving all the support to GSC game world and you think that your complaining is valid? Because it's a little "buggy"?? I think the fuck not.

GSC has never been in this situation when it comes to making a game as such, yes they had some internal issues with the companys inner workings but a fucking war? Mind you a war that made them fucking evacuate? So of fucking course a games gonna have MINOR flaws when not only are you fearing you and your teams safety but also trying to release a promised game 15 years later.

Stalker is known to be buggy, it's THE charm of the game, yes some can be annoying but you know what you can do instead of bitch? Go into their discord and mention something Abt it or or shut your fucking mouth and play the game.

This game wasn't made for the "chads" to be criticized it was made for GSCs supporters and those who have a love of the first 3 games.

They were in a war, went through loss, and still got a game out on the promised release date.

Get fucking over it, don't complain, they have other things to worry about.

If you think you wasted 60 bucks then that's on you, I'm sorry but if you willingly buy a game apart of a buggy series and complain about it being buggy then that's on you.

If you really think it's an issue, they have a help desk in their discord, report to that and go on with your day.

-rant done-

Sorry gang people can't be greatful and it's pissing me off

I heart you GSC keep doing what your doing

[esperderek]

After my last post about the Screen Rant response to Jenny Nicholson's Galactic Starcruiser video, it was pointed out to me that Gizmodo's I09 division also put out an article defending Starcruiser. I'm not going to spend as long analyzing this one.

It's the usual you've already heard: people were confused that it wasn't just a hotel, how you had to put effort into it to get results back, that the staff and Imagineers worked real hard on it, there were people who liked it.

It's all the same defenses that clearly are hoping that you haven't watched the video, and probably they haven't either. Since, you know, the video basically dismantles all of those arguments one by one.

I will say it also attempts a slightly bafflingly progressive take on it, like saying stuff like:

"To many Star Wars fans who were able to check out Galactic Starcruiser during its short-lived existence, the attraction presented a chance to act on the frustration many share in their day to day lives of watching atrocities happen and feeling like there’s little we can do about them."

Which is pretty gross, right? Comparing 'going to a hotel on vacation' with 'fighting the good fight against the bad shit in the world'. I mean, especially when you consider one of the paths is joining with the fascists? Also it's owned by a billion-dollar corporation? Which even the article briefly points out...which is the point the article writer should of rethought their stance.

Now, more importantly, looking at the articles from Screen Rant and Gizmodo and I'm sure there's others, I'm sure people are wondering/thinking that Disney had a hand in this. And to be honest...

No, probably not. Well, not directly, at least.

Rather, these websites require access. Access to press releases, access to interviews, access to special events. So writing a puff piece defending Galactic Star Cruiser is a pretty safe bet to do, especially if you suspect that Disney is planning to still do something with the GSC. As has been pointed out, the building still remains intact, and a lot of the signage in the parks is still there. So if they reopen it as, say, a dining experience, then the website who wrote a puff piece defending the honor of the Halcyon is much more likely to be invited to opening night than Jenny Nicholson is.

Additionally, these days websites such as Screen Rant pay like crap, to the point where the only people willing to work on them are the true believers. It's like how game developers are some of the worst paid and most overworked dev teams, because the industry knows they can get true believers who want to Design Video Games in the doors.

So no, I doubt Disney is directly in anyone's ear about this. But rather, it's websites taking advantage of the situation to try and get into Daddy Disney's good graces. There are always useful idiots.

[ana-nya-cat]

rhydon, and rhyperior, day 16 of drawing every mon in gsc OU

not a halloween drawing, refer back to the gengar drawing for that

really happy with this one, once again

was extremely difficult, tho, but i took mytime and came out with something i like

i sadly made some fumbles on their designs, i almost didnt draw rhydons ears, but i do feelike noneof the mistakes are too egregious

i think i did all my tricks for this drawing, i was just staring at the canvas questioning myself of what remained

i decided to leave the colour pallete and the small sprites i take the basic colours from, becase theyre so important to the proccess

this was a blast honestly, such silly pokemon, specially rhyperior, like everyone knows what rhydons deal is, but rhyperior is so funny, it looks very belic, like it has massive cannons for arms, but its not like that is referencced on how it works in game, only in the evolution i guess

i do love its stat spread, the patented rock type spread, 120 140 130 55 55 55 if i remember correctly, so based, unmostuarized

[sputniksflight]

Strelok 1.0

One of my first s.t.a.l.k.e.r. doodles from way back when 💪

[taffybee]

not that anyone's asking BUT my hot take on giovanni is he should be retired rn. not from like a "the pokemon company should stop talking about him" (weeeeelll that's sort of part of it but. hear me out) kind of way BUT in a. he should LITERALLY not be doing team rocket shit in ANY canon universe anymore. and it would be TOTALLY in-character of him to do so if the medias still using him characterized him the way he should be. welcome to my ted talk let me explain myself

FULL DISCLOSURE: i like giovanni. like, a not normal amount i fear. all of that opening sounds like i don't but i totally feel stupid emotions about this guy. anyways:

GEN 1. gen 1 games are like... NOT known for their compelling dialogue. and in cases like archie and maxie in gen 3 getting remakes in gen 6, their characterization and dialogue gets (kind of subjectively but i feel this is a popular opinion anyways) Much Better. i think that goes for a Lot of stuff where they give old guys new dialogue in spin offs (gestures at masters ex which i think is Great for making characters Actually Interesting)

but i feel like with giovanni there's been a DOWNGRADE in character since his appearance because he no longer Progresses.

i WILL say masters ex does Some Work to try and make him Deeper than just "I'm Evil for the sake of Being Evil grahgghh 😈" but it's like. overshadowed by All The Other Stuff.

plus he IS rainbow rocket giovanni in masters and i'm like OBSESSEDDD with team rainbow rocket. but i also don't think it should. Exist. I'M GLAD IT DOES but i find it out of character for giovanni to do At All. I CAN EXPLAIN I PROMISE.

team rocket's goals as an organization are and always have been: make money via stealing or otherwise exploiting pokémon. that's all it NEEDED to be. because it was gen 1 and no one needed to be ripping apart the universe yet.

giovanni himself sees pokemon as a means to an end. that much has stayed consistent in all of his appearances. but what CHANGES things in what happens when he LOSES for the FINAL TIME in r/b/y:

I WILL DEDICATE MY LIFE TO THE STUDY OF POKEMON. that's like CRAZY sort of redemption. and you Could argue against me to say "well have you considered he was lying" and i Have but i think it's SO much cooler if he was being legit. if he was so Changed by losing So Many Times to a little boy who just cared So Much for his pokémon that he needed to experience that for himself.

I mentioned in my previous giovanni post that pokémon origins has characterized giovanni "right" and THAT'S because via continuously fighting red and seeing his passion for battling as well as his love of pokémon firsthand, giovanni rediscovers his lost passion for pokémon that he had when HE was younger, and he sees HIMSELF in who red is and decides to disband team rocket after their gym battle so he can turn his life around. i HIGHLY recommend watching episode 3 of origins if you haven't seen it. it's freaking Marvelous.

ANYWAYS. THIS is the characterization of giovanni i support the MOST because it's not terribly complicated but still has nice depth to his character that you could read into.

BUT if we're going by this characterization of him, he should. NOT BE DOING TEAM ROCKET STUFF NOW! he SHOULD have been retired storywise by game freak after that and retired job-wise. studying pokémon and touching grass.

but THEN. gen 2 happens. (... well, gen 2 and the first gens 1/2 remakes.)

gen 2 introduces the concept of "let's bring giovanni back". which i wouldn't complain about if giovanni wasn't ALSO trying to get back. WHY. WE ESTABLISHED IN THE FIRST GAME HE'S DONE. and gen 2 didn't DIRECTLY SAY giovanni was up to come back (as far as i'm aware, i did NOT play gsc, someone correct me if i'm wrong). but when frlg released, they Changed dialogue from the original to FIT this idea:

NOW "studying pokemon" has become "training". there IS no character development for him here, he JUST wants to get stronger to be a Better mob boss. and this is supported by the celebi time travel event where he's ABOUT to rejoin team rocket before you beat him

the big problem with this (and any giovanni dialogue in the time travel event) for me is that it frames everything that happened to him in gen 1 as "giovanni wasn't a good enough mob boss then but now that he's had some time to Train he's ready to be a Better Mob Boss" WRONG! THAT WAS NEVER THE ISSUE!! part of the pros of team rocket at its peak was that giovanni was Unknown to most and could direct operations in the shadows AND he could keep his business as a gym leader because NO ONE KNEW. but now EVERYONE knows and team rocket can LITERALLY NEVER REACH THAT PEAK AGAIN. the ONLY CORRECT thing to do in this situation is Disband and Do Other Shit (cough cough study pokémon and touch grass cough cough)

this seems obvious to me that this desire to keep dragging him back into things is the games way of being like "woaahh!! callback time!!" and then later down the line "woaaahh!! nostalgia time!!!" (because they wouldn't have retconned that final gen 1 dialogue if it wasn't) and while i can Appreciate it to a degree (because i am Not Immune to getting STUPID EXCITED when old blorbos show up) i think continuing to make giovanni show up to Be Evil isn't the way to go about it. or at LEAST not canon timeline giovanni.

and the gen 1/2 remakes for ME is like... the beginning of the issue, but as we've gotten Further Away from gen 1 in time, the more i feel they stray from where he ended in the original in favor of making him More Blandly Evil. he feels constrained to one-liners about how the worlds an EVIL PLACE and he's just playing the game or whatever alpha sigma shit he's on in the masters trainer lodge

rainbow rocket is kind of CRAZY to me because they take this mob boss who likes exploiting pokemon and scientists for money and they make him start. opening interdimensional bad ending au wormholes to take over the world with aliens. (also having him willing to share the power with all the other evil bosses, some who have in their universes Successfully taken over the world??? heeeellll no. not even my proposed toned down characterization of this guy would be cool with that realistically.) it all just seems to be Way Beyond what team rocket SHOULD be doing. they're The Mafia. making The Mafia open wormholes is CRAZY. but giovanni HAS to be the main guy because. Nostalgia.

idk how much sense i make when i say this but when you make team rocket less cunning and less focused on doing their work in the shadows and running their shady operations stealthily. you get. a more ambitious team skull. and there's nothing WRONG with team skull but it's NOT WHAT TEAM ROCKET IS SUPPOSED TO BE. they've got more of a reputation than that but modern depictions of giovanni and the organization as a whole water him down to "i love Causing Problems" and less "i love Good Business"

whatever. giovanni in modern depictions MAKES SENSE if you followed along the slow regression of his character in real time. but i feel like if you look where he is now and look where he Ended in r/b/y you have like. Two Different Characters. and i think having a redeemed or even kind-of-half-redeemed giovanni could be SO much more interesting in showing up again than having him be Generally Evil

AND IT'S NOT LIKE THAT REALLY POSES ISSUES FOR MASTERS EX. cyrus is half-reformed WITHIN the story. archie and maxie too (although they were already kind of like that). lysandre HAS an evil moment but he DOESN'T DIE like he does in canon and THEN he's FINE. he still "runs" team flare but he's NOT LONGER A THREAT TO THE PROTAGONISTS

what i think COULD'VE been cool in some hypothetical scenario is have giovanni come back for cameos but Not as team rocket's leader. have him Turn Down the rocket admin radio broadcast. hell, having him come back to help the player Stop Them if he feels particularly annoyed. LET THAT MAN GO ON VACATION. WHATEVER. there's SO MUCH you can do with him the way cameos are done for the Other non-evil characters and there are options where you could Still battle him as a Test Of Strength but THERE'S JUST. SO MUCH WRONG WITH HIM STILL BEING OVERTLY EVIL.

i understand keeping giovanni evil for nostalgia. i Get it i PROMISE i do. i just think it makes him a weaker character, and the companies sacrifice character development for sales. but if you wanted to have a bad guy who was JUST BAD and would CONTINUE to be bad if given the chance,

GHETSIS IS. RIGHT THERE.

that's the end of that for me i think. i'm SO down to discuss or debate this take for fun. i just think giovanni should retire and pet his cat because it's funny.

[oftheriverseine]

*using a shitty disguise that would make TR proud* So, I wanna hear about this XZ YZ that a certain fletching told me about ôwô)

You rn /j

Hello suspiciously-Pearl-like stranger! XZYZ is a romhack/mod I wanna make for the original XY games, except everything’s restructured to tell a sequel story to the original XY (or rather, my slightly modified hopefully-better-told version of XY :P). I kind of wanna work backwards from the XYZ anime and XY manga to write a story that could’ve been XY sequels a la B2W2, since we know that (a) XY sequels were planned and scrapped and (b) the anime tended to get the planned story for the games ahead of time so they could adapt it to Ash’s story. I also wanna include Southern Kalos and elements from the ZA game, when it comes out :D

So far, I’m brainstorming ideas for the protags, rivals, previous protags/rivals roles, Gym Leaders, and Elite 4! At the moment I think Sawyer and Mairin should be the protags, with Bonnie as the rival character. Sawyer and Mairin mostly because they both have green elements to them (something something Zygarde) and I love their characters, and Bonnie because of her in-series connection to Zygarde! I mean, look at them!

Protag energy <3 Sawyer just needs a hat. And Bonnie would bounce so well off of them (especially since, a la Serena and Calem, I’m considering making the non-chosen protag a rival as well, so all 3 starters are in rotation)

I’m also basing the Gym order off of Sawyer’s badges in XYZ. The Gym Type order would be Fire (Meyer, Lumiose), Bug (Viola, Santalune), Water (??? No idea, maybe Siebold?? But definitely southern Kalos), Grass (Ramos, Coumarine), Flying (No idea, but definitely something to do with Sky Battles because CMON! Maybe Yvette from Pokespe?? Idk), Psychic (Olympia, Anistar, though I kind of wanna make her the final Gym Leader), Fairy (Valerie, Laverre, and I definitely wanna give her a new outfit a la Elesa (maybe based on the Florges one she gives Serena?? And her ace is Florges??)), and Ice (Wulfric, Snowbelle). And the Elite 4 isn’t ironed out yet, but I know I want Clemont to be on it (and maybe Korrina??). As for Champions… something something bringing back Gen 5’s Seasons mechanic and having who you face out of Serena and Calem be based on the time of year??? Similar to what GSC/HGSS did with Red and what they planned to do with Hilda/Hilbert in B2W2’s PWC.

As you might’ve gathered, I want these games to start in Lumiose, and I want Sycamore and his group (which includes Trevor, via inspiration from the manga!) to be more involved.

For the story, all I really have is that I want the protag and Bonnie to watch over one of the cores (whichever one’s color symbol matches the Prequel legendary of that game), and that Malva or Xerosic (or both!) are leading Team Flare. I think a couple mini-adventures like the ones in the anime would be fun as well (maybe reworking Showcases so it can be a game mechanic? Or add dance competitions for Tierno??). I’d love some help brainstorming, though!

That’s all for now.

[bureau-of-mines]

More (spoiler free) thoughts on STALKER 2

Haven't beaten it yet, but still really enjoying it at hour 39, although I think Steam's internal counter is glitchy. Whatever. Might have left it on accidentally while running errands or something.

Q: Is the game polished and finished? A: No.

Q: Is it unplayable? A: It's very playable, and at the risk of sounding like I'm coping, (which I am, I really want this to be good) It's fucking STALKER. If you've played the old games and can make some concessions to STALKER being STALKER, you'll enjoy it. That said, not everything works lmao. There's a couple of situations and quests that are softlocked currently, based on what I've seen the few times I've googled stuff.

Q: Does the game have (X from the previous games) in it? A: Probably, it's got a lot in it. The first three games established a lot of lore, and 2 sits at a comfortable distance from them while still bringing back a lot of old memories and characters, either directly or in passing. The game uses many setpiece locations from the older series, but remade and re-positioned. It's not like Clear Sky where they literally copied over maps from SoC and added some new ones. This game has an entirely new zone, with many old memories.

Q: Should I wait 2-3 weeks until either GSC or the modding community patches it up to play it, if I don't want to bang my goddamn head against a wall A: Honestly I don't see why not. The meat is here. GSC is slightly infamous for buggy coding but the vibes are immaculate. If you played Metro Exodus and wished it was less linear, more complicated, and much more open-ended, this is what you've been waiting for.

Q: You sound like a shill. A: I probably am. I love this series.

[doubleddenden]

Gen 2 mc and rival time. Fun fact: this was the first gen I ever played, so I have a bit of attachment to these guys

Old, but Gold, as they say. The first mc introduced for GSC, and like Red, he was the only one available for a time, so girls were a cool tomboy again until Crystal. There is no canon age given in game, but you could assume you're of similar age to Red given the similar stories. Depending on the official art, Gold can appear anywhere between 10 to 20 imo, but this one is definitely around 11, while the sprite is whatever- decent enough for a blank slate to either project yourself or make whatever you want of them.

The outfit is peak end of 90s, but still pretty cool. Note: the cap is backwards, you know this is the coolest kid ever. The design takes a lot of cues from Red in some ways, mostly the red and white with black hair- btw, Gold has always kept his darker hair no matter the era, so that's another way he one ups Red imo. The other way is that cozy looking hoodie with a HUGE pouch up front, the cool backpack, the poke gear on the SLEEVE, and them shoes. Bro what even are those? They look cool as hell, but they also look like they'd be jet propelled or in Shadow the Hedgehog's closet. The shorts are fine, not really my choice and I'd prefer pants, but the colors kind of go well with it. And let's not overlook that blue pokeball- pokeballs were still ambiguously designed and capsule like back then, so that could be anything from a Great Ball to a Lure ball. All in all, a Certified Fresh TM look. 8/10. His anime counterpart, Jimmy, is also cool. Cyndaquil coded

Crys wouldn't come until Crystal, and a lot of younger players may only recognize her from Masters these days, but this is the first playable girl character in the franchise. Her look is pretty unconventional for most MCs, which makes her stand out a bit more, and I personally really like the design- which is why I feel bothered when they replaced her with Lyra. The anime kind of changed up the colors, but her counterpart with Marina is also just a fun character, especially her dynamic with Jimmy.

Design wise, she's also ambiguously aged according to the games, although I'd clock her between 13 and 20, making her a pretty decent blank slate character. I even remember my older sister kinda excited because she looked cool and older than Gold, who I would identify with. Anyway, the outfit is certainly uniquely and barely attached to this plane of existence, but it is certainly a sporty look, and the bike shorts are a fun addition. The jacket is also just really cute, if not the best kind of impractical. The hat, I will say, doesn't really work, but it's still a classic part of her design. Her hair is also just really fun and super unique, being the only mc to have a non natural shaded hair color- although Dawn comes close in anime art. At least Masters acknowledges her as separate from Lyra, because Crys is just a really good design that I feel is a shame it got swept under the rug for so long. 9/10

Next we have one of, if not my favorite rival just in terms of personality and progression- keep in mind that GSC were already pushing the GBC's limits. ???- er, Silver is what a lot of people think of when they say they want an Asshole Rival tm- just a jerk, belittles you, is just plain rude, and you get to beat his ass and feel good about it. Not like most modern rivals that praise every little thing you do, talking about their hopes and dreams- and then you yourself crush em and they smile about it. Nah, Silver was a shit talking piece of shit that really made you wanna get better just to beat his ass, and imo was the original ambush rival. For as much as I like him as a rival- especially the later lore we'd learn about him having a huge chip on his shoulder as Giovanni's son- I wish his team was better balanced.

Both a Gengar and a Crobat- well more like a Golbat, but you can actually see character progression after Johto when it finally becomes a Crobat due to high friendship. Still, that's two psychic weaknesses. A Magneton- I feel like like you could probably do better by giving him something like a Scizor, Skarmory, or Steelix if you really need that steel type rep. Alakazam would be a decent choice if they didn't already use it for Blue, but it's still okay, I just think if you have Gengar then you should sub one or the other with something. Then of course, Sneasel, which even in gen 2 wasn't really doing any favors, and I feel was just added to give him a little guy tm. Of course, the opposite starter that happens to be stronger- stealing it btw, that is pretty intense in comparison to how others get theirs, and I do appreciate that he even tried to give it back later. It's a difficult team for Johto- but you're also going to the championship with teams in their mid 30s at this point.

As for design- peak late 90s bully. Long hair cuz he just don't care, and his outfit is almost just like gen 1 Blue's as far as color goes, but it fits looser and he has different shoes. It's a simple get up, but you can tell he's a dark abd edgy individual, and his striking red hair really helps him stand out as well. A solid 9/10 for me

And now to the HGSS redesigns

"Ethan" is more or less just Gold or Jimmy in an updated art style- this era was probably the most recognized as Pokemon's true art style before getting experimental in gen 7. Age wise again depends on the art, but you're probably looking at an 11 to 15 range because of the face. In sprite form, it's easy enough to overlook to make as a blank slate. I also feel like the design is simple enough that most girls I know played him because they didn't like how Lyra looked, so I guess you could have another tomboy time if you use your imagination.

The outfit is basically just Gold's but improved. The jacket actually makes a little more sense and has some additional details like a collar and zipper, while the Pokegear still rests on the arm. The hat is the same, but beta shows they actually wanted to add a symbol to it- probably ditched due to sprite limitations on the DS, which is fine because this is a cool hat, very Ultra Ball vibes. The backpack is certainly sleeker, but I can't imagine it holding too much. From the waist down is brand new to this design, with better pants imo. The shoes kinda match the design, but I also think different colors would have worked better, simply because white shoes get dirtier easier. Overall this is a pretty fun redesign that stays faithful without the fear of changing too much. 9/10, I would probably wear long pants.

Next is Lyra, the new girl on the block nobody really asked for imo when Crys was right there. Lyra I think is fine enough as the role she plays as a quirky friend in the game with her Marill, but I don't really think of her as a protagonist. Design wise, it is cute, probably a reasonable 12 or 14 just eyeballing the design without in game data to tell us otherwise, but that tighter age range does make it harder to project imo, and the design overall isn't really a blank slate. Still, cute, like if Mario had a niece. The hat is huge, which I'd probably shrink a little, maybe add some more white or black to her shoes, and maybe re use Crys's colors instead. This is a rare instance where the FeMC isn't as good or better than her counterpart, imo. 6/10 as a player character, 7 as a side character.

We end things off with the redesign of this asshole. You can certainly see a better resemblance to Giovanni in the face and demeanor, and he looks more confident and slightly older. I think the clothes are fine, maybe I'd prefer the original top, but it's basically just another Silver. What I do dislike is the redesigned hair- there wasn't really any reason to make him look like Roark or Mars from Sinnoh imo, and Legends Arceus doesn't really add to this either by way of ancestry with Arezu (although I'd certainly make sure she had PLENTY of descendants if you know what i mean AYO). Imo they should have kept his old hair- in a beta for hgss, it actually looked like that was the plan as well. I wonder what the deal was? Eh, 8/10 regardless. Still my favorite asshole rival

Gen 3 next, and that one will be both simpler and complicated