#backlog battle

[backlogbattle]

What We Lose When Physical Games Disappear | Backlog Battle via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rn8eKMrljo

[front-facing-pokemon]

[hydrossity-zone]

Slugger Sonic & All-Star Amy turnarounds + reference! (requested by @artisan-sab) (as usual, click for better quality)

full-res images: Slugger Sonic (alt link) All-Star Amy (alt link)

[mister-e-muss]

Alright everyone. Hope you’re having a happy pride month. In the meantime, it’s time for another Backlog Report.

In case you couldn’t tell, I’ve been busy during May 2025. As always, brief thoughts are below.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

Coming back to this game was like getting to know an old friend again. It’s just as fun and involving as I remember, if not a little bit more. The soundtrack courtesy of Hiroyuki Sawano is just as amazing as it always was. (NLA themes they could never make me hate you.)

The quality of life features brought in truly make a difference in smoothing out some of this games rough edges. Thanks to the new speed at which you gain affinity, I was able to do missions that I never so much as touched in the original version. I’m not too sure how I feel about the instant cooldown though: it trivializes too many fights and when it doesn’t, it just feels like a cheat. Yes it makes responding to ally prompts easier, but it feels like a patch job rather than a proper mechanic the game is built around.

As for the story, I like it. I do think that even the original release deserves more credit than ‘cliffhangers bad.’ The new stuff added is a bit of a mixed bag that really deserves it’s own post. The sum of it is that while I’m willing to accept the new ending as a conclusion, and I loved the final dungeon, there’s more than a few things that could have been handled much better. That said replaying the main story did remind me of how well it handles itself in the beginning. It does front load a lot of exposition, and the beginning may not give you many options, but by the end of chapter one you have a full arts palette and know how to use it, and by chapter three you have a goal and an antagonist to race against. However replaying also made me realize just how short some of these story missions are. Chapter 7 in particular can be cleared in less than thirty minutes with all the fast-travel.

I’m happy to say that not only do I still love this game, by the time I was finished I had put in enough hours to make this game my second longest played on my system. (Neatly sandwiched between Xenoblades 3 and 2.)

Tales of Graces F Remastered

The Tales series is an interesting one to me. I’ve always felt that action games tend to fall into one of two broad categories of ‘dodge dodge dodge poke’ or ‘mash mash mash dodge.’ Dark Souls and Monster Hunter, DDDP. Kingdom Hearts, MMMD. These two categories themselves feel almost identical to me across multiple games. That’s part of why I generally prefer turn-based battles: I can feel the difference between Octopath Traveller and Final Fantasy 7 better than the difference between say Bayonetta and Kingdom Hearts. I bring this up because the Tales series has been generally unique in its combat: in that it borrows heavily from fighting games and the series feels markedly different from other action RPGs because of it.

If Tales of Vesperia is a traditional 2D fighter, than Tales of Graces is an anime arena fighter. It is a mash mash mash dodge, per my definition, but it gives you reasons to control when and how you mash buttons. At its best, ToG’s combat feels like badass butter sliding across a smooth-as-hell skillet. Though I have to say that I’m not wild about the Eleth bursts and breaks as a replacement mechanic for Overlimits. They are generally not player-driven. Sure the meters that cause this go up faster or slower depending on what you do, but they will fill up sooner or later unless you have all your party members on standby. The Nova barriers are also a minor irritant. They’re meant to make you think about how you want to end your combo and pay attention to what attributes your artes have, but really it just comes down to having one at the ready, pressing B, and then it’s back to business as usual.

The story is generally good. I enjoyed the main cast, and I found (*Spoilers!*) Richard and Lambda to be an intriguing antagonists. That said I wish that the voice acting was given a little bit more direction. It’s serviceable as is, but some of the deliveries sound stiff or awkward. (Sophie’s VA gets a pass on this: she’s supposed to sound stiff.)

Over all, I rate this as my second favorite among the Tales I’ve played, right below Abyss and right above Vesperia.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

I genuinely find myself loving these games. As someone who emphasizes storytelling in games, it’s a delight to find these emotional narratives in a genre dominated by ‘funny Hoohoo man.’ The music is beautiful, the landscapes a painted beautifully, and the movement is just as smooth and addicting as it was in the first game, if not better as more tools are acquired earlier.

The team evidently did everything they could to improve the experience from Ori and the Blind Forest, giving the player more combat options, new movement tools, and the ability to swap around different set ups for a customizable experience.

That said, that is also why I prefer Ori and the Blind Forest. In trying to make the experience a better video game, I think they’ve lost some of the thematic charm of the first. Will of the Wisps feels more like a video game than its predecessor, if that makes sense. The Blind Forest was remarkable among action-platformers in that it emphasized the latter over the former. It had no boss battles because, as I said before, combat wasn’t the point. Now everything else about the story is still great. Shriek being an eldritch mutant monster until her mask is cracked, and then staying a monster because that is what she’s chosen to be by now, is just 👌. The framing of the story flipping from parent and child to siblings is just 👌. The ending coming full-circle and revealing the true identity of this games narrator is just 👌.

I still loved this game. I’m sure many people find this one to be an improvement in all regards to the first, but thematics are enough to make me remember the first one just a bit more fondly.

MegaMan Battle Network 2

And now for something completely different!

These games are known for their battle systems, and quite rightly. As a trading card guy, I love the process of collecting chips, putting excess ones through the trader, and assembling a custom focused folder. I love the random hand that you draw, and that there’s an in-universe mulligan for chips you don’t need. These games are almost always fun in nearly any situation.

That said, I do think the Freezerman segment drags the pacing of the game down a lot. Thematically, it’s cool that the second-to-last boss doesn’t have a dedicated dungeon, but instead changes the entire overworld of the internet. In practice however, there’s just too little information and guidance to go off of, leading to a lot of aimless wandering. Of the 23 hours this game took me, an embarrassingly large portion of it was spent on this one episode.

I enjoyed the story, but I think this is also a case for why I prefer Starforce. The main antagonist turning out to be just a lonely kid lashing out at the world and Lan becoming his first friend afterwards is great, but it’s all backloaded. Starforce would have likely introduced the character behind the mask first, and then played out this emotional beat with the buildup and the payoff it deserves. I don’t need to talk theoretically, because that’s pretty much what they did with Pat, Rey, Jack and Tia.

Play this game, and if you get stuck, open a guide.

Reynatis

Remember how when this game was first revealed, it was fresh off of Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Verum Rex discussion? How this game was going to be the ‘fine I’ll do it myself’? Remember how this game came out and then people just stopped talking about it?

Unfortunately, it’s not hard to see why. This is a game that needed to hide its limitations better. Shibuya is a vibrant and interesting setting with tons of alternate history lore to dig into, but exploring it can get tiring when you only have about two tracks for it, and neither of them are exactly sweeping orchestral masterpieces or bright and catchy pop. Oh and there are addicts and gang members and magic cops on every single corner that want to stick a knife in you, that the game then punished you for fighting. Going dungeon crawling through fog portals sounds fun, until you realize that they’re almost always just forests with a single path, and they only come in flavors of red or green. For how grandly it tries to present itself and how vibrant the character designs are, Reynatis is surprisingly monotonous.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this game, I did. But for how good many of its concepts are, the game itself needed two or three more passes through the revision process to be truly brilliant. I hope we get a sequel because I would Love to see this team realizes their full potential.

[cricketydevin]

"If any of you go beyond the forest. You will suffer worse than him."

Surreal Salvation Exclamation Mark! What a fun guy.

Also an animatic too :]

[aqueousablution]

(January 2024) My first emote since switching from GNU IMP to Aseprite \o/

[valkariel]

Soul Fire

Head: Catoblepas Horns - default Body: Idealized Bhikku Cyclas - rust red Hands: -- Legs: Paglth'an Hose of Striking - default Feet: Lakeland Thighboots of Striking - default

Earring: Ronkan Earrings of Slaying Neck: The Emperor's New Necklace Wrists: The Emperor's New Bracelet Right Ring: The Emperor's New Ring Left Ring: The Emperor's New Ring

Main Hand: Replica Law's Order Knuckles - default Off Hand: --

Fashion Accessory: -- Minion: -- Mount: -- Location: Faeberry Atelier

Shader: Faeberry Studio

[kirkwallguy]

idk how people have finished the game already im unemployed and gave myself a headache from playing too much and im literally in act 1. am i just bad at the combat.

[aculka-the-shark]

¿¿¿ glubby ???

[laurarolla]

Okay, so time for the poll for the next game, and this time, I'm up for some giant robot action! So, we have 3 action mecha games, two of which are on the PS2 (first chance for PS2 games to show up in the Backlog Resolution games list). Time to figure out how to buff the graphics on PCSX2.

I'll be uploading the rest of VC 4 over the next few days while I wait on the poll. Also I have a few more tiny games to try out thanks to my foolishly brilliant decision to maintain a Humble Choice membership. X3

[backlogbattle]

In Video Games, Power Means Nothing - An Unscripted Rant | Backlog Battle via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXexUUJqfso

[incindis]

omg so late but here are some artfight pieces!!!!! For @/nanocolors and Just_p3achy on artfight!

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I am plagued by a gajillion ideas that either don't hold my interest enough to write them, or that would take too long to write.

[eggwishing]

hi can you uhh. draw 4 from bfb. i know this is a weird request considering you mainly draw other things but i just really love your artstyle. thank you and have a nice day!!!

what a silly guy!!!!!

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Do you have an ao3 account?

I do! Same url as here.

The goal is to actually post something on it lol

I currently have three ideas that I feel are within the realm of my current writing capabilities for a one- or two-shot:

• Don and Gilda sharing a moment with each member of the full score trio pre-Cuvitidala timeskip. I'm still not a hundred percent sure what their moment with Norman would be, but for Emma it would be going over Norman's letter and finalizing their escape plan (with them asking is it really okay to leave Ray on his own until January), and for Ray it would be him approaching them after he returns from Goldy Pond but before Emma wakes up from her coma to apologize for not being all there after Norman was shipped out and to thank them for being there for their family when he couldn't be. • Memory Keeper Ray AU set during the search for the Seven Walls. • Mostly canon-compliant, Cuvitidala-era one/two-shot where Ray pushes Emma out of the way of a demon ambush (which may or may not have been necessary) during one of the times where they’re on the way back to the bunker that winds up with him getting sick. While not a repeat of "The Day Emma Cried" story from the first light novel since Ray isn't fatally ill like they believed Norman was that summer, she can't help but notice the similarities in the situation as she goes off to find a solution to help speed up his recovery. Meanwhile, Ray's fevered dreams drift to his mother and eventually the missing member of their trio. This story was born from the desire of wanting RE to discuss Emma's dream from chapter 93 and as part of a set-up for endgame REN that leaves them off at a reasonable place for where I see them on that front: Emma always unconsciously gravitating and finding solace with the boys but not understanding the totality of those feelings (because Emma loves all of her family dearly; it's an immutable truth of the universe. So what makes them different) so there's some secrets unwittingly being kept on her side of things. Ray, in contrast, accepted that he loved Emma and Norman long ago, back when he first locked up his heart in order to maintain the mental fortitude needed to carry out his escape plan. While he also doesn't comprehend the full magnitude of those feelings (though this is a very poignant declaration),

he can consciously put a name to them, but he's intentionally holding back for a variety of reasons on this front (not wanting it to seem like there's an expectation of reciprocity, still dealing with the grief of Norman's apparent death, but the big one being they're still trying to find a way out of the demon world) and wrestling with the idea of revealing his connection to Isabella, what that connection says about him given the choices he's made, and potentially hearing someone else say things he's been telling himself for years.