#there was also a casino themed dungeon

[taldigi]

Ok so the brain rot has become terminal but had a dream where p4r changed replaced Ted with a weasel/ferret character so I'm calling it now that the p6 mascot might be a ferret

[killoraptor]

Fan Titles for the Limbus Company Battle Themes [Canto II]

Open to constructive criticism

Theme A1 - Your Luck Has Run Out! / Theme A2 - Luck's On Our Side Now

The battle theme against the TingTangers. Honestly, I tried to look up stuff about the tingtangers and reread the story to find something really specific about them to make as the title, but all that came up was the luck tattoos and the car thing. This name could've gone to Theme B, but the more cocky sounding title worked better with the TingTangers.

Theme B1 - Odds Stacked Against Us / Theme B2 - Never Tell Me The Odds

The battle theme against the casino enemies and the first floor of the dungeon. Once again, I had to do a luck theme with the title. It's such a broadly used theme for all the different casino gangs that I couldn't get too specific with it. I originally wanted to do something with the word "chance," but the phrase "never tell me the odds" is just too good to me. "Odds stacked against us" me fighting pre-nerf Aida. That's a lie I fought her a day after the nerf, but you know what I mean.

Theme C1 - Let's Make You Strong! / Theme C2 - Super Power Overload!

The battle theme for the second floor of the dungeon. If you thought the other names were cheesy, here's the silly robots. The sheer embarrassment I felt having to go through names like "It's Super Hurty Time!" and "Ultra Muscle Madness!" I find these names to be a good level of cheesy but not so cheesy that I want to throw myself out a window. "Let's make you strong" is in reference to how the robots are just prosthetics and the ego gift that stops sinners from dying. The second title is me imagining the robots doing the Miku Miku Beam pose while screaming that.

Boss Theme - Frigid Wishes Deep Underground

The battle theme for the third floor of the dungeon. People forget that the instrumental of sarajinae was used as a battle theme. I had to make a choice between referencing the translation of sarajinae (pass on or live on) and referencing Rodion's feelings. I couldn't find a way to fit in sarajinae, so Rodion it is. It's a very literal name but also in reference to how Rodion always ignores the bad sides of her, pushing them down deeper into her. I suppose it's similar to how Rodion looks pretty basic on the surface, but get's much more interesting and complex when you read between the lines. Also, it should've been used for all phases of the Baba Yaga fight and I'm eternally pissed that it wasn't.

<- Previous Canto

[dailycharacteroption]

Book Review: Pathfinder AP #3 Rise of the Runelords: The Hook Mountain Massacre

And now it’s time to resume our review of Rise of the Runelords, going into part 3, and things start to pick up majorly in this book, not just in terms of the plot really starting to tie into the overall connection to the big bad, but also because things get a surge of discomfort and horror in this particular volume. Remember when I said that early Pathfinder really leaned into darker themes? Well, this book has Pathfinder’s take on ogres as a focus, what with their inbreeding and overall The Hills have Eyes/Texas Chainsaw Massacre levels of moral degeneracy and cruelty, which might make some folks squeamish.

Unlike the previous adventure, there’s no murder mystery here, just a classic series of dungeon crawls as the party uncovers hints as to the next place they need to go with some room for roleplaying interlude and a natural disaster or two.

And so let’s get into it.

The adventure starts when the Lord-Mayor whom the party indirectly saved in the last adventure contacts the party about two months after the end of the last book to investigate why the rangers at Fort Rannick have gone silent. (Alternately there’s also the possibility that the party leapt straight into the next adventure if they decided to follow up on the taunting letter to the final boss of the last book from her sister. Which feels like it clashes a bit with the assumed 2-months of downtime, but I suppose that’s up to the GM to work out.)

Additionally, Shalelu, the half-elven ranger from the first book, has the option of joining the party as well to investigate someone with ties to her past at the fort.

This leads the party to a remote fishing village by a lake, where the party might discover that many people are marked with tattoos of the mark that was so integral to the last adventure, which they claim were the membership marks of a special elite club at the riverboat casino that mysteriously burned down about a month ago. Sadly for now that is a dead end until later.

On the way to the fort, the party happens upon a big cat being assaulted by a degenerate mutant of a man, and if they intervene, they discover his connection to an entire inbred family of ogrekin whose have captured a handful of rangers from the very fort the party is traveling to!

If rescued, the party will have allies (and one secret mole) on their side when they storm the fortress, now overrun by ogres, facing off against several giants and even the former owner of the casino, who turns out to be the lamia matriarch sister of the final boss from the previous book, and that everything going on in the town and with the ogres is part of some greater plot.

It is here that the party comes up with no clear way forward, that is until they return to town to find it flooded, and a giant lake monster from upriver attacking!

Though the beast does turn tail and flee, it’s presence and the flood gives the party their next clue, as they must travel to the ancient dam to deal with the ogre saboteurs and other residents, and get the floodgates working again to manage the flow of water.

From there, the party must travele into ogre territory to end the problem once and for all, and find the giants beholden to a stone giant necromancer, another piece in the conspiracy on the region.

The art for this book has some real winners, with the cover showing the party fighting ogres on a rain-slicked mountainside, very evocative. A lot of the ogrekin art is pretty solid too, though you might see an ogrekin matriarch’s nipple at one point. Plenty of character art is good as well, and there are several fight scene art here and there, including an intimidating one in the fight against the river monster Black Magga and another against the final boss.

The locations in this adventure are very solid stuff, and make for some good dungeon crawling and battles alike. Additionally, the writing makes good use of description to describe the horrors of the ogres and the reason why they’re working for these servants of the big bad.

On the other hand, the focus the book puts on the deformities of the ogres and their lesser kin, as well as the atrocities they commit, can be a bit much if anyone in your group would be sensitive to the topics of “cannibal murderer-rapists”. Additionally, certain plot points in the adventure don’t lead into each other organically without player engagement. If the party doesn’t care to investigate what happened to the fort’s commander, somebody has to expressly tell the party to make a detour there so they can meet the nymph ghost. So yes, it has some flaws here and there. Probably try and focus how the ogre’s behavior is what makes them monsters, not the fact that they’re ugly and malformed.

That will do for today though, look forward to more reviews as the week progresses.

[zahmbayy]

Intro!!!!!!!!!

Heya! I'm Tobi, I'm trans and use he/him pronouns. I love reblogging things I find funny, and making stimboards for stuff :3

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My art commissions are open at a permanently reduced price!!!!! Check out the info here.

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Leave a note on any one of my boards for a theme you'd like to see, or go to my page and click the little ask button, and ill do my best to make it happen!!!

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Boundaries and DNI

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[howsitduud]

MARIO PARTY 4 REVIEW

Back on the Mario Party grind. I think I'm gonna go in order from now on, since playing all the 3DS games back to back was not the greatest idea. The only Mario Party games I haven't played at this point are the Gamecube games, Advance, 9, 10, and Superstars, so I'm starting this leg of the journey with the very first Gamecube Mario Party, Mario Party 4.

This game is, in my opinion, the dictionary definition of a mixed-bag of a game. It doesn't do anything too bad, but it doesn't do anything too good either. There's quite a bit to talk about with this game, so I think I'm gonna compliment sandwich this bitch. I'll start by talking about the general gameplay and format of this game, which I think is really solid. Since I've just gotten used to the pace and flow of the newer Mario Parties, I've forgotten how quickly the Hudsonsoft entries go. I'm not going to be that person who says "90 minutes for 10 turns? What's the deal with that" because I expect to have to dedicate a long time to Mario Party games, but I will give credit that turns do go by a lot quicker here because Toad isn't there explaining every single thing. I will also say that some of the boards are really fun, the standouts being Shy Guy's Jungle Jam, Goomba's Greedy Gala, and Bowser's Gnarly Party. I especially love Goomba's Greedy Gala, since the casino theme is so strong, especially in the part where a roulette wheel decides which part of the map you have to go, but you can bribe the Goomba operating it so that it guarantees a certain path. I never do that though, because I LOVE GAMBLING.

The problem here is that the boards I didn't mention are utter trash, all for the same reason! A common problem I ran into was that there were long stretches of the game where nobody could get the star because nobody could get to the star space. There are big chunks of these boards that need you to have extremely good luck or have some very specific circumstances happen in order for you to access them. Take Koopa's Seaside Soiree, where if you want to get past the cabana, you have to go past these monkeys that have a 50/50 chance of sending you down one of two paths, so if you're unlucky enough, you'll go around in circles for a couple of turns, never getting a chance to participate in the game. The solution here is to just stockpile on Genie Lamps, but the lamps are rare enough and expensive enough to the point where that is not a viable option in a lot of cases. I get that Mario Party prides itself on being luck-based, but I like a mix between luck and skill in my boards, and these are way too luck-based for my tastes.

The item balancing is similarly off. The entire game centralizes around Mini Mushrooms and Mega Mushrooms, and while it's novel to see them floating around before New Super Mario Bros. finalized their designs, these two aren't nearly useful enough to justify how often you get them. Mini Mushrooms let you access mini-gates, but since the dice block is half the normal one, you'll never get through those gates unless you're standing right next to the gate, and Mega Mushrooms lets you roll 2 dice blocks and steal the coins of every player you cross, but you miss out on every single event on each board, including Star Spaces. Way to go, guys, now this item is only useful for traversing the board and not much else. The other items aren't too special, the only exceptions being the Magic Lamp, Crystal Ball, which summons Boo to steal shit, and the Bowser suit, which steals 30 coins from people, except for when you pass Bowser on his board, where he gives you 50 coins because you look just like him. That's actually hilarious.

I have not even mentioned what is by far my favorite aspect to this game, which is the minigames. I think this might have one of the most consistently great selection of minigames in the series because there are so many amazing ones here. Booksquirm, Dungeon Duos, Trace Race, Reverse-a-Bomb, Panels of Panic, The Final Battle, all of these are great games that have become classics in their own rights. There are some bad ones here, this game has shown me that you can never make a game like Blame it on the Crane good in any way, but the great minigames more than make up for them. Beach Volley Folly is also here, and it's the only way you can play characters like Toad and Shy Guy in this game for some reason.

After playing through this game, the word "mixed" is the perfect encapsulation of all my feelings here. This is leagues better than nay game on the 3DS, no doubt about that, but I hesitate to say whether or not it's as good as other ones I've played. It's clear that Hudsonsoft was struggling to create new games on this shiny new Gamecube, as nobody really knew how to create games on the console in the first year of it being out. This is commonly seen as the weak link of the Gamecube Mario Party titles, but if what people have said about the other games are to be believed, I am in for a treat with them.

6/10, better than the first Mario Party.

[linuxgamenews]

Get Ready for Dungeons &amp; Degenerate Gamblers: A Unique Blackjack Roguelike Deckbuilder

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers release is due to out for the blackjack roguelike adventure game on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the creativity of Purple Moss Collectors. Due to make its way onto Steam. Yogscast and Purple Moss Collectors from New Zealand are excited to announce the release date for their new card-flipping, risk-taking blackjack roguelike deckbuilder, Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers. Mark your calendars for August 8th. This blackjack-themed roguelike made a big splash at Steam Next Fest in June, becoming one of the top 25 most played demos. With over 120K wishlists on Steam, this innovative Linux deckbuilder is off the charts. The team has also have a brand-new teaser trailer, showcasing the intense action and high stakes. In Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers, each hand could be your last, so you’ll need to play smart and take risks when it releases.

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers - Release Date Announce Trailer

In this game, you’ll build powerful decks to challenge the greedy business bosses exploiting the local gamblers. At launch, you can choose from over 300 cards, since each demands new strategies to hit the jackpot. Every round is different, and you’ll need to stay sharp to succeed. You’ll navigate through a tavern, challenging patrons, buying new cards, resting when needed, opening booster packs, and take part in minigames. Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers is run-based deckbuilding roguelike that releases you into endless possibilities for unique and exciting decks.

Here are some of the features:

Four unique play styles based on card suits.

Unlock new starter decks when you complete runs, giving you fresh ways to play.

Over 250 unique cards to collect.

Face off against 60 different characters.

Enjoy the gritty pixel art style.

Experience the thrill of a seedy casino without any real-world risks.

So, gear up and get ready to dive into the game, perfect for those who love strategy, risk-taking, and building powerful decks. Whether you’re a seasoned card player or new to the genre, Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers offers a fun and challenging release. So gather your friends, shuffle those cards, and get ready for an adventure like no other. Stay tuned for more updates and get ready to go all in on August 8th. Due to make its way onto Steam for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Make sure to Wishlist today and be part of the action from day one.

[sodapaladin]

Top 10 Games of 2021

As usual, here are my favorite games that I played over the year, not necessarily ones that came out in 2021.

I’ve decided not to include Deltarune chapter 2, because it’s technically part of the same game I already awarded last time, but know that it’s incredible. Now, the annual list!

10. Mario Party Superstars

After half a dozen disappointing Mario Parties, we finally got what fans have been begging for. While there are still some glaring issues, such as the completely busted coin economy and some puzzling minigame choices, I’ve been having a blast with my friends.

9. New Pokemon Snap

At last, a fantastic sequel to the original fun novelty. It’s so charming to see Pokemon living their normal lives in the world. From many of my favorites to some surprising, often forgotten pokes, I enjoyed discovering the many secrets in this relaxing game.

8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

While BDSP disappointed many with its faithfulness taken to a fault, the Mystery Dungeon remake had the perfect mix of new and old. While it stuck to the original three generations of Pokemon like the original game did, it also added all evolutions of those Pokemon that appeared later, such as Mamoswine and Sylveon. As a result, the roster felt totally natural. The QoL additions are much appreciated, and there’s so much content to explore. I loved the music, too; the remixed medley of songs from Gates to Infinity is absolutely lovely, even though I hadn’t played that one. I could easily see myself pouring dozens more hours into this.

7. GameCenter CX 2

AKA Retro Game Challenge 2. Such a shame the original was the only to get officially localized. The experience of playing games with your friend, looking up tips in magazines, and waiting for new game releases as a kid is done so well in this charming nostalgia trip. They could have easily made all of these simple minigames, but they’re all legitimately fun games in their own right. I haven’t even touched the RPG yet, but it’s apparently a full thing with legitimately interesting mechanics.

6. Yooka-Laylee

You heard me right! As a huge fan of Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie, I was looking forward to this, but then put it off for a long time in fear of disappointment. But despite hearing all the complaints, I gave it a fair shot at last, and you know what? I loved it. It’s exactly what I wanted it to be! I honestly don’t understand the hate it gets. If anything, I wish it had more levels. The space one was so cool, and I even loved the casino level. It’s a proper Banjo game in my books, and I’m bummed that the sequel wasn’t also a 3D platformer.

5. Pokemon Card GB2

Another game that tragically didn’t get an English release. The Pokemon TCG was already done well on GBC, and the sequel continues it by including the entire original game’s island, plus a whole new one. The addition of even a single new expansion adds a lot of variety to the game. And that soundtrack! Wow! The normal Team GR battle theme is one of the best Pokemon songs, forever trapped on a Japan-exclusive spinoff game. More people need to hear it.

4. A Short Hike

The definition of “charming.” True to its title, you can see just about everything in the game in an hour or two, but what a lovely hour or two you’ll have. What else to say other than it makes me feel warm inside?

3. Lisa: The Painful

The complete opposite of my last pick. Equal parts depressing and hilarious, this bizarre game gave me an unforgettable ride. On top of the dark humor, the game’s also a lot of fun, with many unique party members. I can’t get the Shenmue grunt sound effect song out of my head.

2. Final Fantasy XIV

Hoo boy. It was really difficult to decide between this and my #1 pick. I had never played an MMO before, and never thought it would appeal to me. But when a friend started the free trial over the summer, I figured eh, I’ll give it a shot. And boom, now it’s half a year later and I’m going to themed cafes with guildmates. My idea of MMOs had always been grinding to fight difficult bosses with minimal story. I didn’t expect to fall in love with a fascinating world. I’ve joined a wonderful free company (read: guild) and made many great friends through it. I’m having the time of my life, and I can’t wait to start Shadowbringers soon.

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

This is the kind of game you wish you could experience for the first time again. Not since 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors have I had my mind blown to such a degree. There are many mystery games that make less sense the more you think about them, but 13 Sentinels is a game that rewards you for connecting the dots. I love how many times I looked into the timeline and realized how everything fit together. Rather than just outright lying to the player, which makes mysteries feel cheap, the game gives you multiple perspectives. What seems like the obvious truth to one character then plays out entirely differently when you see it from another angle. All of this on top of a kaiju-fighting mecha RTS game that’s surprisingly fun once you get the hang of it, which has tons of postgame levels. If you’re not into visual novels, you may become bored from the tons and tons of story. It’s definitely a VN at heart. But if you’re into mysteries involving sci-fi tropes like giant robots and time travel, this love letter to them is an incredible experience.

[jazinerambles]

Persona 2 Innocent Sin Review

I wanted to have some time in between playing the game and writing my thoughts for Persona 2 Innocent Sin. I will be referencing it and other Persona games so there may be some light spoilers for games 2-5. 

I played the psp version of the game on a Playstation TV. I beat the game at 76 hours on the dot. I have not completed most of the theater missions, but I have completed the main story of the game and did do a few sidequests.

My review will be organized in several sections-gameplay, story, music, characters, LGBTQ representation, extra content, wishlist and recommendation.

Gameplay:

Persona 2 Innocent Sin was released in 1999. Therefore plays as a game from 1999. The PSP rerelease updated menus, changed the difficulty, and added all out attack art similar to P3-P5 for the fusion spells. I love the all out attack animation and although the menus got a little cumbersome, it didn’t really impact gameplay for me. 

The biggest complaint about Persona 2 IS is how easy and repetitive it is and the high encounter rate. The battles for the most part are easy and if you set up all your attacks in the first round, you can basically use autoplay until an emergency occurs or you encounter an enemy in which you must change it up. 

I never saw the gameplay as repetitive as others do and I feel those who do only just battle and that’s it. I was constantly trying to get all the fusion spells, max up my personas to trade them for items, try different combinations for the demon negotiations and spread demon rumors to get items, spells, and cards (you need cards to summon new personas in the velvet room.) Demon negotiations also allow you a better look into each of the characters’ personalities and relationships. Events in the game will change how the characters react in these negotiations so it is always nice to go back to them throughout the course of the game. 

The demons you encounter have emotions. I believe they are intrigued, happy, angry and fearsome. Make them happy and they will offer a pact with you and give you free stuff and willing to spread rumors for you. Make them angry they will fight you. Make them fear you they will run away. Make them intrigued and you get the cards needed to summon personas and even more if you already have a pact with them. 

I wanted to return to the big complaint though, the high encounter rate. This was something that I felt hot and cold about. Most of the time this didn’t bother me, because I needed to level up my personas anyway. But when I needed to backtrack and explore further, it did get a little bothersome. 

You can use estoma to avoid enemies weaker than you. It is not a passive skill, so once you have a persona that has it, you have to cast it every time it wears off. At the Mu casino, you can also purchase a disguise kit that does the same thing, but it effects last about the same amount of time and it is ridiculously expensive. Just use estoma. 

As briefly mentioned above, unlike Persona 5 in which you can just catch Personas, in P2IS there are only two ways to get them. You get cards from demon negations, take those cards to the velvet room and then trade them in for a Persona. But you have to enough cards to summon it and the persona has to be 5 cards within your character level. 

You can also talk to the demon painter, for him to make you cards for the specific arcana you want by using blank cards. These are also given through demon negotiations that you have a pact with. 

In P2, ALL your characters are capable of changing out Personas, but their compatibility with different personas varies with their Arcana. 

The other way to get personas is through the story. There are certain actions that you must take to get the prime personas and then the final personas. These personas are character specific and you can’t give them to other characters. 

I wanted to talk about three more things before I move on to the story: rumormongers, fusion spells, and dungeons. 

Persona 2IS is based around rumors. Just like P3 is for the dark hour, P4 the midnight channel, P5 around palaces and so on...

To get certain items and progress the story, you MUST gather and spread rumors. There are five characters throughout the game called rumormongers. They will give you information in exchange for receiving information. You then share this information to the detective agency, pay a fee for them to spread them for you, and there you go. rumor spread. As mentioned earlier, there are also demon specific rumors. 

Fusion spells were something I really enjoyed in this game. Although hearing “Are you ready? Here goes” and “Let’s go everybody” will be stuck in my head for the rest of eternity...

Basically, to create a fusion spell, members in your party require a requisite spell and then that party member is placed in a specific order when taking turns. Once that spell is unlocked, it will let you know if you have the requisite spells and you no longer have to adjust the order of party members. Some of the spells you need to unlock fusion spells are persona specific. The fusion spells are elemental. 

I will not go into weaknesses of elemental spells, I am just going to say that you aren’t “down”’ed like you are in 3-5. 

Finally, my first real pet peeve with this game-the dungeons.

Oh boy. Air raid, AeroSpace and one of the four Zodiac dungeons (I am pretty sure its Eikichi’s) gets ALL my hate. There are cheap gimmicks that make the game artificially hard but only for these dungeons and more so, frustrating. 

But I am not going to go into detail why, and the other dungeons are not bad at all. But play the game and experience these dungeons for yourself. That is all I am going to say about that.

Story:

This section will be nowhere was long as gameplay. The story did not go where I thought it would, but that’s a good thing. I would go in completely blind if you can. The ending definitely surprised me a bit. I think it has one of the best stories of the persona games.

It does not follow a calendar like the later Persona games and time just blends together. By the end of the game, you won't know if a day, week or month passed from the beginning to the end.

Music:

The music is actually really good. It is the reason why I played the game in the first place. Just don’t look at the soundtracks names. Spotify has it available if you live in the US. You are better off listening to the soundtrack because I promise you that most dungeons songs will be cut off due to the frequency of battles. 

Some of my favorite songs are Smile Hirasaka, Unbreakable Tie, Kurosu’s theme, Joker and the Taurus dungeon’s theme.

Characters:

Despite Persona 2 not having social links, I feel like I know these characters better than some of the persona games that do have social links. It is also the only Persona game that I can say without any hesitation that I like the entire main cast. 

I truly love them all, but my favorite would probably be Yukino or Maya. 

Unlike other Personas, the dynamics for Persona 2 IS are different, because not all of your party members are high school students. The adult characters have adult problems, the high school students have high school problems, and all of them have deep psychological problems and abandonment issues that will take years of intense therapy (or Philemeon) to forget.

One of the biggest themes of Persona 2 is confronting your past and learning from the mistakes of your childhood. And the characters do! And by the end of the game you are so proud of how far they have come. And then things happen...

LGBTQ representation

Let me say that I started P2IS off on the wrong foot, but I am still absolutely justified at being upset by it. One of the very first interactions you can have with a NPC is through a very uncomfortable exchange between you, Eikichi and a transman that is pretty transphobic. And to add the icing on the cake, Atlus refers to him as a “weird woman.” 

I was literally going to just stop playing the game like an hour in because of that, but I decided to continue.

What I discovered was a game that has highs and lows when it comes to LGBTQ representation. 

You can play as a bi character who can confess his feelings to men and women. *Stares hard at Persona 4 and Persona 5*

You have a gay character that has an interesting story, character development, is unabashedly gay and isn’t a walking stereotype. Nor is his entire arc centered around gay panic. 

From what I understand the dialogue from the NPC does get better, but I am not holding my breath. 

And the one sapphic kiss scene we get in a Persona game is a kiss of manipulation and not love. So that is a little sad. 

But overall, P2IS does try to make an effort. And it definitely makes a better effort than its successor released almost 2 decades later.

Extra content:

Again, Persona 2 doesn’t have social links or a calendar. Please don’t approach it like the other games where you have to fill up your time between dungeons. It is not a necessity, but there are things you can do. 

Mu is a casino that you can visit that allows you to play mini games to gain coins that you can use to get weapons, rare items, and even unlock personas. I spent a little too much time at Mu....

You can also talk to NPCs to do side missions. Be careful though. You have to do the side missions in a given amount of time or you may not get rewarded for it. Also P2IS is very much like Final Fantasy 9 where it is much better to go to a place sooner than later, because there may not be a later...

You also have the factory which is an optional dungeon that opens up more and more as you progress through the game. 

There is the theater which is a PSP exclusive which has side missions unrelated to the main story that you can play. They are okay.

Wishlist

I hear so many people wanting a remake of P2IS so the game can be more accessible. I am very torn about this. Besides the difficulty and maaybe tweaking the encounter rate a bit, I wouldn’t change a thing. However, I also know that I couldn’t enjoy Shadow of Colossus until the controls were updated. Like I tried and then just gave up. 

I honestly don’t want a remake. I don’t trust the Atlus of today with this game.

I do want it to be acknowledged and more accessible though. 

But if I had to make a wish list, this is what it would be. Again, this would be a “it would be nice list.”

Make the battles harder.

Update cut scenes? I really like the art for the cut scenes already, but would like some more. Maybe keep the drawings but update the CG?

Social side quests. I do not want social links in Persona 2. However, side quests that allow you to learn more about your character like a social link would, would be something I would be very interested in. 

Make the portraits consistent. The art from the original game and the new art put in the PSP game (I am talking about you climax lady) clash so much. Pick one style and stick to it.

I want to fight Ms. Ideal. Let me do it for reasons. Give me a chance to battle her.

I want the option to switch out characters. I love both Jun and Yukki, but I want to be able to play with both. 

Let me skip the animation when I create a new Persona. 

*EDIT*  I can’t believe I forgot this and feel awful I did, but I do think they should keep the trans NPC, but change the dialogue and the the name. It isn’t the NPC that is the problem but the dialogue and actions. Otherwise, I think it would be ok. 

I think that’s it.

Recommendation:

So should you play Persona 2 IS? Short answer, yes. Long answer is that it is complicated. In a few months the game will no longer be accessible for psp consoles. The physical version of the game is ridiculously expensive. You will have to accept the fact this game is on psp and its sequel’s psp version never came to English speaking markets.

You may not like the graphics, gameplay, or that it doesn’t feel like the later persona games. And as much as I love this game, that is alright. You do you. But I truly do think you are missing out on a great game. So if you have the opportunity to do so, yeah absolutely give it a shot. 

[randomidiocyncrazies]

going into more detail about the P2/P4/P5 Persona Q idea, I’m thinking of breaking the cast into the following chunks:

P2 IS: Tatsuya, Lisa, Eikichi and Jun (separated from Maya in Xibalba)

P2 EP: Maya, Ulala, Baofu and Katsuya (before Tatsuya officially joins the party but after the P1 party member leaves?)

P4: entire IT (cultural festival like in PQ, or after fighting the culprit)

P5: all PTs (before Casino heist like PQ2)

Having the P2 cast all come from the EP timeline with Lisa, Eikichi and Jun getting accidentally involved & regaining their IS memories works too, but the storyline would have to revolve around that + Tatsuya’s reaction to justify introducing that plot element imo, cause it’s A LOT to deal with. Also if the overarching plot is centered on P2 (particularly the IS party members), then why are the P4 and P5 casts involved? Also while I think it’d be interesting to re-introduce Philemon and Nyarlathotep to the Persona setting and have them play a bigger part—especially since Nyarly isn’t banished until the end of EP—their involvement might skew the plot too heavily towards P2? (although I admit the “nobody remembers this adventure” ending of PQ games would work especially well for Lisa, Jun and Eikichi here) 

tbh PQ had quite a lot of nods to P2 IS (the clock tower, school mysteries + moving statue urban legend on P4-side, and the true form of the main antagonist). I kinda like the idea of the setting being a fake school like PQ, with details of the school influenced by the persona users when they arrive, but the story might have to be tweaked a bit (different final boss probably, and maybe bring in more themes in P2/4/5). 

potential themes

I liked that PQ and PQ2 had plots that were ultimately about the new characters, since it justifies their inclusion (and i think it’s a bit unfair if the game focuses too much on the cast of a particular game). I have mixed feelings about some of the execution of PQ and PQ2, but I do appreciate the intent behind it. I do think reinforcement of the games’ themes could help make the overarching story more cohesive, so here are some potential themes with P2, P4 and P5 in mind:

rumors, gossip and the role of mass media are important in all 3 (4) persona games here: P2 antagonists manipulate various media to generate rumors, and in turn manipulate rumors to bring about the end of the world; the Midnight Channel in P4 reacts to local gossip and it’s about the casual dehumanization of individuals through media (mostly TV); in P5 people’s perception of the PT is literally a plot point, and the game reminds you of the PT approval rating almost constantly

(distorted) memories is primarily a P2 thing (”worse than death\ forgotten”, Nyarlathotep’s manipulation of Jun and Philemon’s deal to the IS kids, Tatsuya’s ‘sin’) but it could work with the mystery aspect of PQ games. Distorted memories arguably lead to distorted self-perception (P5), and uncovering the truth is P4′s jam

as mentioned in the previous post, the tension between P5′s teenage rebellion and P2 EP’s adult guidance could be really fun to explore and incorporate into the plot. Persona games are about coming of age, but with EP there’s also a secondary theme of guiding the younger generation and fully grappling with adulthood—the heroines of PQ and PQ2 are quite young, but I can potentially see the new character(s) being a little older here (maybe 17-18?)

stroll ideas

Of course the reason why this idea exists in the first place is all the potential interactions between everyone! There’s just so much potential with all the different dynamics and topics they can discuss :3 Here are a few ideas:

Stomping Grounds: P2/4/5 discuss where and how they bust Shadows. P2 “we had to sleep in dungeons sometimes!!!” is incredibly envious that demons aren’t running around the real world for the others. P2 and P4 are jealous of P5 for not having to repair/replace ruined clothes (”you just think about cool clothes and they appear on you?!” “man we should try that in Xibalba...” “it’s really not that simple! Morgana can explain it better, but basically it’s our mental image of rebellion” etc etc).

Lisa’s Brutal Makeover Corner: Teddie gets jealous when Lisa demonstrates her makeup skills on Jun and wants to get dolled up too—he won the Yasogami cross-dressing pageant after all! He has to be the prettiest!!! 

Butterfly Effect: several P4 and P2 characters try to use P5 cast’s knowledge to their advantage, but is stopped by the detective trio to prevent potential time paradoxes

Say It With Flowers: Jun and Haru (and Yukiko?) discuss flower language, share gardening tips, and swap demon/shadow intimidation tactics. Everyone around them is slightly afraid of their enthusiasm on the topic...

Fashion Gurus: Eikichi and Yusuke have a discussion about ~aesthetics~ and comment on their companions’ styles. Kanji is roped into the argument

Fashion Gurus Strike Again: Ulala, Ann and Rise discuss latest fashion trends and comment on the others’ fashion choices

The Audiophiles’ Alliance: Futaba and Yosuke chat about headphones and the greatest bops (with Futaba lamenting she can’t make him eat his words because the song she’s thinking of doesn’t exist yet in his time). Eikichi—aka the great Michel-sama—senses a prime opportunity to get some new fans... 

Strangers in a Familiar Land: Lisa and Ann get into how people tend to act... weird about them due to their foreign looks; Teddie, on the other hand, loves the attention his human form gets from the people around town (and the girls conclude that Teddie would probably get into trouble in a big city)

Everybody Loves Kung Fu Fightin’: Makoto, Ulala, Lisa and Chie show off their moves and swap training tips. Lisa and Chie talk about their favorite martial arts movies and convinces the others to check them out

Big Bro’s Worries: Katsuya and Yosuke complain about their younger brothers, while P4 and P5 protags are slightly smug that they don’t get that much trouble from their sisters, especially P4 protag 

Velvet Room attendants

Since P2/4/5 all have multiple Velvet Room attendants, they’re gonna double up on some jobs to avoid over-crowding:

P2: Demon Artist: he’s in charge of the Workshop. Unlike the other attendants he’s human, so Margaret and the twins are probably intrigued/unsettled by him and Marie might also be curious as someone else who also stays at the Velvet Room but isn’t really an attendant

P2: Nameless & Belladonna: they handle the healing service. They can sense something unusual with the P2 cast due to the split timelines, but it has no bearing on the plot. I’m on the fence whether to include a healing service at all, but if there is one I think it suits them, since their music is supposed to put guests at ease

P4: Margaret & Marie: like their PQ and PQ2 roles, Margaret manages the Persona Compendium and Fusions, and Marie handles skill cards

P5: Caroline and Justine: the twins handle the quests, since Margaret does the fusions. Caroline enjoys ordering the persona users about

[you can find more on this AU tagged under PQ Triple]

[twilightknight17]

So I’m seven hours into Royal and I forgot how much tutorial was in the beginning of the Castle. X’‘‘DD But some of it is new tutorial, so that’s okay!!

And I installed the dynamic theme for the PS4 and it made the settings icon a little Morgana. <3

You know you love a game when you boot it up and the opening movie just makes you smile so much. I missed the kids. <3

So I currently have no strong feelings about Kasumi, because I don’t know enough about her. What I do know is that I’m not fond of how they incorporated her into the Casino escape. It was definitely a “we’ve got to show off how cool and mysterious our new character is!” I don’t like the idea of her showing up to “save” him. Joker kills a shadow and dodges two more, but Kasumi kills three on her own (without sneak-attacking them or anything), and then gets higher-level skills than Joker and an all-out attack right off the bat? 100% the devs showing off.

(Calling him “senpai” in the middle of the metaverse is a bit weird too. X’D)

Anyway, it’s been long enough since I played the original that I don’t necessarily remember everything, so I don’t always know what’s different and what’s not. In terms of both dungeon puzzles and small things, like...

I don’t know if this question mark was always there the first time you look at the bed in Leblanc, but it’s hilarious either way. Yeah, ‘Kira, that’s your bed. Sorry. X’DDD

It still sucks how badly everyone treats him. Sojiro, the teachers... God, Kawakami basically says to your face that she wishes you weren’t there. And then you get stuck in traffic with a grumpy Sojiro, as usual, and...

...oh. That’s different and weirdly specific and also oh no I think this is the first example we’ve been given of collateral damage from a psychotic breakdown. I mean I assumed that was the case but they never really said it before.

“Country boy”, hglksdjfs, where is he from, Atlus? Just tell us!

I like the new details around the school and the trains stations and such, how you can sometimes see other named characters in the crowds or walking along with the generic NPCs. For example, here is my future wife talking to a teacher on the first day:

The teacher mentions that people aren’t allowed on the roof, but they’re leaving the door unlocked just for Haru. Which is the reason both the Thieves and Shiho have access. :(

Kamoshida is still a bitch and I shouldn’t be surprised he took a shine to Kasumi, but if the game’s goal was to make me feel protective of her, putting Kamoshida anywhere near her was a good way to do that, because we all know what he does to star athletes that might take attention off his precious volleyball team.

I still don’t know how I feel about Kasumi. The way she talks feels too mature/polite. It might just be the situations I’ve met her in so far, idk. I’ve seen people saying they dislike her voice; I think the VA is doing a good job but the voice itself could be a little higher. She sounds older than she seems, and conversely Takemi now sounds younger than she seems. Takemi’s VA is doing a good job too, I’m just used to her voice being a little deeper and it’s throwing me off. She sounds like she’s in college or something, not someone who’s probably been a doctor for a while.

The Castle hasn’t been too different so far. There have been little changes like the grappling hook stuff and the “Will Seeds”, the snapdragon seed pod things. But what I REALLY like is that you can come home from the metaverse and do things around Leblanc for your stats. You have multiple options, even. You can read or clean or do crossword puzzles, and I don’t remember if you could manually solve the crosswords in the old one but you can now and I like it!

Lastly, I know in my soul Sojiro is a dad and he’s going to love Akira dearly by the ending, but he’s so harsh at the beginning. Like, do you have to remind the poor kid at every opportunity that no one wants him and you’re waiting for him to do something wrong? He’ll say something that could maybe be sympathetic towards Akira and then follow it up with something like this.

Maybe I’m noticing it more b/c I’m in the middle of an Akira Palace fic, but... ow.

[eggoreviews]

Persona 5 Palaces RANKED

After recently finishing up Persona 5, I'm sort of aching a bit for more content but not quite enough to splash on Dancing in Starlight. So, to sate my cravings for more of the phantom bois, here's my personal ranking of the main palaces you traverse through in the game. This list is based on how fun and consistently interesting each palace is in terms of gameplay, puzzles, soundtrack, character, aesthetic and overall relevance to the story. Hope u enjoy/agree! Kinda goes without saying, but MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for the whole ass game

8. Okumura’s Spaceport of Greed

Who saw this coming? Probably everyone! Because Okumura's palace is pretty much consistently ranked at the bottom of every ranking I've seen. But before I go all negative, let's start with what I actually liked. First off, I ADORED the spaceport motif and the whole theme/aesthetic of this palace was amazing. Alongside that, the music, while probably not the strongest in the game, was still mega catchy and fit the palace perfectly (it's still a banger, even if it isn't Whims of Fate level banger). So yeah, this palace's rock bottom ranking is nothing to do with its look or its soundtrack, because they're both pretty tasty. It was everything else I had a slight problem with. Now this isn't to say I disliked this palace, I just felt that it was the weakest part of an absolutely stellar game. While the majority of the puzzles weren't terrible, the infamous airlock puzzle definitely got in my bad books, as I'm pretty firmly in the 'this puzzle is weird luck-based bollocks' camp on this one, with it being the only puzzle in the game I had to look up the solution for. The constant back-and-forthing to different points of the palace to pick up keycards from the stupid robots became unfortunately very repetitive, especially with Morgana constantly screaming at me that the treasure was real close but (spoiler alert) it totally wasn't. And to top all that off, I felt this palace brought with it the weakest characters arcs in the whole game. I really struggled to become attached to Haru, the last true member of the thieves. While she was an okay character and I sympathised with her plight of being sold off to that one arsehole, I felt she wasn't written to be particularly interesting and her introduction to the thieves felt really shoehorned in compared to the natural-feeling transitions of all the other characters. She didn't quite feel as if she belonged there as much as the others (big sorry to all the Haru stans). And echoing this, the character of Okumura himself also felt incredibly bland and he was without a doubt the least interesting villain of the bunch. Oh, and his boss fight? Objectively the worst in the game. You fight the same robots you've been fighting the whole palace, with a timer, and then you kill him in one hit. Yeah, so the tea is, palace looks and sounds great, but that's really it.

7. Mementos Depths / Prison of Sloth

From this point on, I had very few problems with any of the palaces. As the final dungeon of the game, I felt that this one had definitely had adequate build-up but, as many others seem to say, didn't quite live up to the other palaces. For one, the design and soundtrack was much less interesting (though I guess this can be forgiven, as it's Mementos) and it was over pretty quickly in the end. But I really did enjoy those pressure plate puzzles for some reason and it was pretty cool to go around the velvet room and save all your pals before the final fight, so I just kind of liked this one. Not much to say here other than that it was really good, but the others were better.

6. Kaneshiro’s Bank of Gluttony

While it was fairly difficult to rank Kaneshiro's palace this low, considering it has the awakening of my favourite character, thinking about the palace as a whole compared to the others is what did it. The bank motif? Really cool! Seems inevitable for what is fundamentally a heist game and pulls it off really well. And that soundtrack is easily one of the best tracks in the game. The palace itself is split vaguely into two main sections, the main bank and the vault. The bank section is mostly pretty fun and well-paced, but the palace starts to get just a little bit iffy when the vault section kicks off. The idea is cool, but most of the second half of the palace feels a bit like padding, which becomes a little repetitive overtime. These really are minor gripes though, I gotta stress that, because I genuinely enjoyed this palace for the most part. Something else I enjoyed was Kaneshiro himself and his role in the story. Out of all the palace owners in the game, Kaneshiro felt the most like a true archetypal Bond villain and it does feel awesome to take him on as the phantom thieves are finally starting to get their feet off the ground. On top of that, you've got Makoto joining the team, which makes this one a real treat character-wise. In conclusion, I want Makoto to step on me.

5. Madarame’s Museum of Vanity

This one really did have a tough act to follow. Being the second palace you take on (as well as the awakening of my ,,,, second favourite character), I remember how impressed I was the first time around with how cool the visuals are in this palace. The soundtrack to the palace is generally fairly unremarkable, but very calming and surreal which definitely fit the setting. This palace definitely feels the most trippy out of the bunch, placing you in odd gold-plated mazes and endless corridors plastered with distorted paintings and tripwires to constantly make sure you're paying attention. This palace really does feel like you’ve been placed inside the mind of a deluded artist, even if the game’s attempts to make Madarame seem despicable only really serve to highlight how awful the previous palace owner, Kamoshida, is in comparison. This isn’t to say Madarame isn’t a trashbag, it just becomes obvious that the game is trying hard to make you hate him. That aside, Madarame’s palace provides a welcome challenge and effectively build upon what you learned in the first palace without overwhelming the player, all the while not compromising on the creative, stunning visuals. The ending pay-off with Madarame’s showdown, while a satisfying conclusion to Yusuke’s main character arc, provides a boss fight that is over a little too quickly, though that’s kind of just nitpicking at that point. All in all, a solid dungeon from start to finish.

4. Futaba’s Tomb of Wrath

Without a doubt the most emotionally charged palace in the game, this dungeon is a unique experience unlike anything else you’ll find in the game. Instead of taking down a despicable villain or giving a certain prosecutor a push in the right direction, you’re instead helping to heal the heart of a traumatised girl, who requested herself for her heart to be stolen. You’re reaching the halfway point during this palace, so it’s a brilliant change of pace from the dickholes you’ve been stealing the hearts of up to this point. The game truly makes you feel genuine sympathy for Futaba and seeing her recovery slowly but steadily take place over the game really tugs on the heartstrings. As for the palace itself, the game takes its love of ambiguous metaphors and cranks up the dial, giving the player an interesting but oddly melancholy setting in the form of an Egyptian pyramid. The background music for this palace is perfect to help accentuate this, as the soundtrack works with the visuals to make you just feel a bit sad. The puzzles are well thought out and never overstay their welcome, the layout of the palace is consistently unique and fun to traverse and the ending boss is one of the most creative, high-stakes battles in Persona 5. And while Futaba’s awakening wasn’t my favourite, it’s great to see her finally face her demons and accept that her mother’s death wasn’t her fault. But most of all, this palace reminds you that you should never get too comfortable when playing Persona 5, as the tables could turn at any minute and suddenly make you care about the person you’re changing the heart of.

3. Kamoshida’s Castle of Lust

Kamoshida is arguably the biggest scumbag you take on in Persona 5, so it makes a lot of sense that his palace is one of the most satisfying to undertake. The castle acts as the perfect starting dungeon, teaching you the ropes without too much hand-holding and providing you with simple but visually interesting palace to boot. Before the game drags you into its grandiose main plot, you start with a much smaller scale, but equally despicable villain that you immediately know you have to deal with. And on top of that, each character introduction is seamless and fits perfectly in with the narrative. The puzzles here are simple enough to be basically harmless and each area of the castle you navigate changes things up to keep it unique while teaching you the inner workings of the palaces you’ll be taking down for the rest of the game. As for the first boss, the build-up feels perfect as the tension amps up and reaches boiling point as you send your first calling card. Oh, and Kamoshida’s boss design himself as this horrifying, weird lust demon definitely sets you up for what’s ahead. Great as a beginning act, but also a heckin solid dungeon in its own right. Plus, I’m a sucker for castles, so I might be a little biased here.

2. Niijima’s Casino of Jealousy

I’ll be honest with you, I think a casino is one of the most awesome ideas for a dungeon I’ve ever heard of in a JRPG. And everything about this one is near enough perfect. The reveal that you’ll be targeting the person who’s been interrogating you for the whole game, the link back to the very starting cutscene, the tension mounting as you desperately try to work out who the traitor is, Makoto’s emotional turmoil as she wrestles with the ethics of targeting her own sister. Story-wise, this is totally perfect. And the dungeon itself? Definitely the most consistently unique in the whole game. Each floor you traverse in the casino offers something new and interesting for you to work around, from the rigged dice games to the dark labyrinth and the battle arena trial (not to mention the whole ‘collect enough coins to proceed’ thing reminded me way too much of Sonic Adventure and for some reason, I’m putting that down as a good thing). Whims of Fate is a perfect soundtrack, because it totally fits the atmosphere and also it’s a bop and I love it to pieces. And the palace wraps itself up neatly in a little bow with a boss fight that totally kicks arse. Sae Niijima starts the battle by, of course, rigging the game against you. But once her cheating facade falls away, the true battle begins and she morphs into a weird, distorted mech thing that takes heavy inspiration from Makoto’s persona too. Basically, it’s cool. And I love it.

1. Shido’s Cruiser of Pride

This is likely to be a controversial choice for the best palace in the game, as it’s generally agreed among most fans that Shido’s palace was a bit slightly rubbish. But really, I couldn’t disagree more. Yes, Sae’s palace was the definition of awesome, but something about Shido’s just one-upped it somehow. Of course, your character’s personal connection with this mission that was absent from the other previous palaces gives this one a much more dramatic feel, as you finally get to take on the guy orchestrating everyone’s suffering (if you don’t count good ol’ Optimus Prime from the final palace) and it’s as satisfying as it needs to be. The soundtrack is suitably epic and lends itself well as a precursor to the finale and exploring the cruiser is both intriguing and enjoyable throughout, as you navigate each section of this bloated paradise filled with rich arseholes. But at the same time, the whole Noah’s Ark thing with Shido only saving those willing to submit to him makes this palace as chilling as it is visually stunning. For me, this was a brilliant dungeon beginning to end, as collecting ‘letters of recommendation’ from each of Shido’s cognitive allies allows for a deeper insight into Shido as a character, but also builds you up nicely to the palace’s climax. Plenty of nice character moments and the boss fight, while not the best in the game, was still a strong point. Oh and yeah, I actually really liked the rat puzzles. The puzzles everyone seems to hate? Thought they provided a nice amount of challenge and never really felt like they were dragging on for hugely long. But what really peaked this palace on top of all the others was the encounter with Mr. Pancakes towards the end. Akechi was a brilliantly crafted character throughout his stint in the game and his arc had a fitting conclusion before you finally take on Shido. I was mega happy with this palace and honestly, it was the one cemented this game as one of my big faves.

Got a palace ranking of your own? Or even just one that stood out as your personal favourite? Let me know down below!

[buttersgra42]

Rumination #3: Mood Management via Dungeons and Dragons.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4sJG3lloPLogJpm5ulzMcu?si=TjchpZi8StCiSAgCxes4ag (this is a good playlist that I will be using for Dungeons and Dragons. I run a pirate-themed game, but they will be venturing into an ancient Abbey. This is my accompanying Narration that will go with the soundtrack.) 

“As you set off in the Keelboat towards Abbey Isle, the sea becomes rougher as the waves threaten to topple the boat. However, after an hour of rowing, the Siren’s Embrace, your beautiful Sloop, becomes a thumbnail on the horizon. Ahead of you, lies the broken towers of the Abbey, concealed through the high sandy dunes of the isle. 

*Pause for effect* 

“As you touch down on the abbey, the high sand dunes that surround you seek to overwhelm you. The high winds kick sand into your face, as the ruined wood that seems to have made up the surrounding island is now covered over with sand. As your footfalls become softer and softer on the bleached white sand, you hear the sounds of bones being rubbed together. As you crest the first dune, you see that- off in the distance- hordes of undead skeletons wandering in listless circles through the dunes.” 

For me, when it comes time to actually do preparation for my Dungeons and Dragons campaign, I typically shut off my phone, turn off the wifi on my laptop, and pull up my saved playlists on my laptop/desktop. It leaves me to focus, tune out distractions. I should probably be doing that more often to write all the papers I have due. 

I’ve been really enjoying to make all the soundtracks I use for them, it helps to add to a really sketchy feeling. One of my favorite moments is when the people that I run for go “fuck, what is this from? It’s so good.” 

Especially in the case of Dungeons and Dragons and my campaigns. Here are some more examples: 

Casino Playlist: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/205LeCObj2OCpvBiD9vjDF?si=GjnGTON7SHal1EAvWrtkFQ

When my players ask their NPC pirate crew to sing a song:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IF2OhUfjiCAZ5Pmni4L4z?si=yBbl_HEISruCPsJZDtNOBw

When you get locked into a duel with someone out of his league: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4eniRv2AejGMLUaW1VU3Yi?si=4Wd8l5vcTh6dyyqVwoXLWw

A lazy day hanging around the pirate city the group is based out of: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1SOB7GKo1XECX0c0tGVTAz?si=FalTq76OSsWgW-ThvYc2Fw

I use these different playlists to help set things up-mood wise- for my players. I also enjoy putting these together for my drives to my boring food service job (gotta get that zest in there at some point). They get you in the mood, and they help to bring you into a location or 

[howtohero]

#216 Swarms and Hive Minds

It’s been said that there is strength in numbers. Many of our readers will surely be surprised to learn that that saying was not actually coined as a response to the emergence of several ridiculously strong anthropomorphic numbers in South America. (I was today years old when I learned that.) It actually used to be a pretty famous turn of phrase referring to the phenomena that a group of beings acting towards a shared goal is often stronger/more effective than the sum of its parts. It has nothing to do with that insanely ripped number 7 I’m telling you. Supervillains recognize this phenomena (though I promise, many of them are not aware of the phrase’s age) and that’s why they’ve been known to employ or create large swarms of unthinking creatures or animals to do their bidding. 

Swarms are great for committing large scale chaos because, unlike henchmen, swarms are just mindless hordes that will just go out and wreck stuff. They don’t have the same sense of self-preservation as your average punchclock henchman who is only in this for the money that he hopes to live to be able to spend. They also don’t have the same risk of developing a conscious. Yet, at the same time, their mindless, animalistic tendencies make swarms bad for any type of precision crimes. A cloud of killer bees can’t pull off a casino heist or surgically implant a nuclear bomb into the heart of the mayor. (Please don’t send us any emails. We know about the time the cloud of killer bees did surgically implant a nuclear bomb into the heart of a mayor, but after consulting with several apiologists we have determined that was both a fluke and an accident.) But they can provide the perfect distraction for a supervillain with some finesse to pull off those crimes. Think of it like this, a swarm is like a can of spray paint as opposed to the supervillain’s fountain pen. Point them right, and they’ll get the job done, but if you want something more delicate, a bad guy’s gonna go somewhere else.

But you’re a superhero, you don’t need to get bogged down in all the finer details of when and when not a supervillain is going to unleash a swarm of mindless, malicious, evil-beasts. You just need to know how to combat them when they do. One of the things that makes swarms so appealing to supervillains, their lack of any real higher functions, can also serve as a great weakness to them. If suitably confused, or even just cut off from their assigned task, a swarm will often lose a lot of its potency. They don’t have any personal stakes in, well, anything. So they’re unlikely to go to absurdly great lengths to achieve their goal of being a large nuisance to the populace if you make it hard enough. 

One tried and true method of swarm-stopping. Get a giant box and lure the entire swarm inside of it. Obviously the size of your containment unit and your method of luring the swarm will depend mostly on what exactly this swarm is made up of. If it’s zombies, some artificial brains and an abandoned shipping crate will do the trick. If it’s giant metal-eating termites obviously you’ll be using that giant shipping crate as bait and then sucking them all up into a giant, plastic, vacuum cleaner. If its brainless cyborgs, obviously you’ll be using those giant metal-eating termites we just captured to chase them into a stanky dungeon where they can’t draw power from anything. If your goal is to destroy the swarm as opposed to just capturing it, then the best way to do that is to force the entire swarm through a small opening where you can fight them as they enter, or set up automatic weapons to blast them as they pour through. To do this you need to box the swarm in, perhaps by using one of the techniques outlined above, and then you need to create a small opening for the swarm to escape through. Size is key here. If the opening is too big you’re going to be very quickly overwhelmed. But if the opening is too small, nothing will be able to get through and the swarm will begin attacking all of the walls of the containment unit and, if they’re successful, they might escape for any direction and quickly overwhelm you. 

All of this means that you need to be able to determine what exactly this swarm is made of. Oftentimes swarms are entirely engineered by supervillains or the mad scientists in their employ. Which might make it tricky to determine what kind of base instincts they have at a glance. So you and your team are going to need to extract one member of the swarm for studying. Depending on the ferociousness and density of the swarm this can be very tricky. If the swarm is spread out over a large area, for example if an animal-themed supervillain is using a swarm of beasts to terrorize a small country that they’d like to conquer, or if a bad guy just dreamed to big and the swarm they brought is way too small to fully saturate the territory they want to terrorize, then it’ll be easy to corner one of the swarm-members by itself and detain it for observation. If you have to dive headlong into a wall of creepy alien parasitic bats from hell, then things might get more complicated. In order to protect yourself from the swarm you should make sure that none of your skin is exposed. Swarms mostly do harm through biting, scratching or otherwise puncturing the skin of their victims. You’re not going to find a pack of evil wolves that are toting guns or using explosives. They’re inherently close-range fighters so if you armor up and take steps to protect yourself from acid or venom spitting you’ll be a lot safer. Depending on the size of the swarm you also may be at risk of being trampled. Many a good hero has been lost to an evil wildebeest stampede and that’s just evil wildebeest, a good deal more have been killed by just regular wildebeest stampedes while trying to reenact the Lion King. (Though, to be fair, being killed by the wildebeest stampede is the only to reenact the movie correctly.) To avoid being trampled in a stampede, make sure not to actually land on the ground unless it’s absolutely necessary. If the swarm is made up entirely of land-based animals or monstrosities, you’d do well to just hover above them and toss a net down to capture one of them for science. 

Then there are swarms that have some sort of intelligence. Generally these swarms exhibit a hive mind meaning that the entire unit has one mind controlling all of them. Each individual in the swarm is like a limb of a larger organism, a simple cog in a larger machine. These kinds of swarms are usually much more difficult to fight. Because they’ve got a brain. It’s always harder to fight someone with a brain. Jot that down somewhere. Having a brain means that this swarm can be creative in how it fights you. It means that it can take things personally. It means that they’ve got some sort of plan, and that plan is usually to assimilate other organisms into the hive mind. Yikes. We don’t want that. to fight the hive mind you need to identify whether or not there is “queen” of the hive. If one of the members of the swarm is the dominant party that the other members are an extension of. If you can identify the queen, that’s who you need to focus your firepower on. If you knock out the queen they’ll either lose their grip on the other members of the hive making them easy pickings for you and your team, or the resulting mental feedback will knock the rest of the swarm out. If, however, there is no queen and the consciousness of the hive is spread out over all of its members, things get a bit more tricky. You’re left with two options. You can either take the time to fight every single member of the hive and make sure each of them are knocked out or captured (if you leave even one member active then the villainous hive is still a threat and can be rebuilt) or you can just carpet bomb the entire location and pray that you got everything. 

To avoid being assimilated into the swarm I recommend developing a very strong sense of self. Before going to fight the swarm, take stock of all of your accomplishments and laud yourself for each and every one of them, no matter how small. With your inflated ego, there’s no chance you’re going to let some weird bug alien take over your mind and turn you into a mindless drone. You once won a swimming competition, and you’re not even an aquatic superhero! You’ve done incredible things. You swam so many laps. You beat King Water Breather! Turns out that dude isn’t even that great of a swimmer (his royal garb probably slows him down too) he’s just good at breathing underwater. Ha! Eat my dust King Water Breather! With pride like that you’ll never allow some weird brain collective to infiltrate your mind and use your body as a puppet. Get lost hive! Nobody even likes you!

And of course, strength in numbers goes two ways. (Just like that bus that the grotesquely muscular number 2 ripped in half that one time.) So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by an evil swarm you shouldn’t hesitate to call in some superhero friends. 

[thelegendofbumbo]

Bum-bo Teaser Trailer!

It’s finally trailer time!

The Legend of Bum-bo is a randomly generated, turn based puzzle rpg where you take the role of Bum-bo (from the binding of Isaac) as he punches the faces off hordes of paper goons and takes their coins! …only to gamble them away at the casinos. 

Utilizing his bag of trash bum-bo forms pagan glyph's (via a match 4 puzzle system) that create offensive and defensive attacks and gain specific types of mana to cast epic spells that range from jagging stuff with a fish hook to summoning mom's leg to crush all who stand in your path. 

Every dungeon bum-bo enters will be randomly generated and much like isaac feature hoards of monsters, bosses, traps, puzzles and randomly chosen spells, so each run will be totally unique and each successful play through will unlock more items, trinkets, playable characters and more. 

Most may notice Bum-bo seems to have a lot of ties to the binding of isaac. i like to call it a prequel, but what i mean by that outside of the obvious themes isnt something i can really explain without spoiling too much, but i can assure you if you enjoyed isaac and also like turn based combat and puzzle games, the legend of bum-bo should be right up your alley. 

The Legend of Bum-bo is being developed by myself and James id and once again features the musical stylings of Ridiculon!

After a few years of work we are nearing the end of development and will be releasing sometime later this year on both steam and iOS via The Label, hoping for a Switch release sometime next year.  

Follow me on twitter for more info, we will also be updating the blog more as the release closes in. 

stay tuned!

[englishvisualnovels]

Craft Items, Get Rich, and Find a Husband — The Bell Chimes for Gold Now on Sale on Denpasoft and Steam

Developer: OTUSUN Club Publisher: Sekai Project (All-Ages ver.) & Denpasoft (18+ ver.) Release Date: April 6, 2018 Platform: Windows Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+ Price: 

$9.99 (All-Ages ver.)

$14.99 (18+ ver.)

Note: This post contains links that may lead to NSFW content.

Earlier, Sekai Project released The Bell Chimes for Gold on Denpasoft and Steam. The 18+ version is available through Denpasoft while the all-ages version can be purchased through Steam.

The Bell Chimes for Gold is an indie otome RPG/visual novel hybrid developed by OTUSUN Club. To celebrate its launch, fans can purchase the game for 10% off until April 13th.

Sekai Project and Denpasoft are also running a drawing where winners will receive a cloth mousepad featuring the characters from The Bell Chimes for Gold. Please note the giveaway is available to only residents of the United States. The giveaway ends on April 12th.

Relevant Links:

Where to Buy (Digital): Denpasoft (18+ ver.), Steam (All-Ages ver.)

Official Site

Launch Giveaway

Sekai Project

Denpasoft

Features, via Sekai Project:

Woo the hearts of 5 potential middle-aged grooms with tough and unique personalities.

Explore through different dungeons such as forests and mines to collect materials.

Make useful items in battle with Maria's Herbalism skill or you can sell them for money to add to your funds.

Contribute to your favorite character with your hard earnings to unlocks special scenes.

Enjoy your favorite love interest speaking to you in full Japanese voice-over.

Replay through your favorite scenes  with the Memories section.

Switch between English and Japanese languages in-game.

Synopsis:

Maria is a plain old herbalist training diligently under the watchful gaze of her loving mentor.

Her skill in crafting items gets her within arm’s reach of her goal of getting enough money to marry. But then, her mentor who she was supposed to be a happy couple with suddenly marries his pretty childhood friend!

“With your skills in crafting, you can just buy any man you want.”

After getting turned down with such cruel words, Maria resolves herself and declares:

“I’m gonna make a buttload of money and marry someooooneeeee!!!”

What encounters are in store? Earn, save, and marry. A happy end awaits you ♪

Cast:

Maria Scissorland (Name cannot be changed.)

The main character; a highly skilled herbalist.

Because she is so dedicated to her research and her craft, she has almost no chances to get into contact with men.

The only man she’s had a relationship with is her mentor. Without ever having done the deed, he broke up with her.

The items she makes are first-class, and fetch a high price.

Samuel Double Voiced by: No Name

Although well-built, muscular, and a great warrior, he destroys his body with alcohol.

His main weapon is a great sword. However, it’s currently being pawned. Has has so many tabs running with bars that he’s on the verge of running dry.

Though he’s not really a bad guy, he’s still a drunkard of an old man, so there aren’t many prospects for him. He can often be found sipping on booze at bars.

Ben Koo Voiced by: Shiraiwa Kazuma

A thief, and compulsive gambler.

His luck in anything related gambling is as exceptionally horrible as he is excellent in his other skillsets. The debt has piled up so much that he isn’t even allowed into any casinos or gambling dens. In fact, his own life is already at risk.

A dagger and sling are his primary weapons. He often sits in dark corners of bars so that he doesn’t stand out.

William Bloom Voiced by: Takeda Naoto

An elven ranger. He is also a skilled user of the spirits, as well as being skilled with the bow, but he is so naive that he is easily fooled.

Having been tricked into shouldering a debt from a complete stranger, he is always chased after by debt collectors. Also, he has a problematic tendency to just give money away whenever he sees anyone in need. His main weapons are his mythril short sword and his bow.

He can often be found in the adventurers’ guild, looking for work.

Ben Starly Voiced by: Sugiyama Atsushi

A priest coming from fallen nobility. Though he grew up well, his family had lost all of its assets due to his father’s debauchery.

Despite being absurdly poor, he can’t help but show off. He dreams to one day buy back his family’s estate, furnishings, and treasures.

His main weapon is a mace.

Often, he can be found in the adventurers’ guild looking for work.

Walter Pleasant Voiced by: KK

A necromancer dedicated to his work. He has been placed under special surveillance, and is not allowed into cemeteries. His primary theme of research is to create zombies who retain their conscious reasoning. As a practitioner of his craft, his skills are top-notch, at a level where he can make use of the undead, prolong life, and even restore youth. He has no interest in anything but his own research, so his social skills are terrible.

He has no sponsors so he is extremely poor. Because his research deals with raising the dead, he was kicked out of the sorcerers’ academy, and so he can’t get a job. He can often be found rummaging around the garbage bins around town.

[aion-rsa]

James Bond Producers on the Next 007: “We’re not thinking about it at all”

https://ift.tt/3ALDSQb

The delayed release of No Time to Die, at long last, inches ever so closely. Yet, it’s understandable that fans of the James Bond franchise find themselves looking beyond the film, since it serves as Daniel Craig’s long-signaled cinematic swan song. Indeed, even before Craig sips his last onscreen shaken-not-stirred martini, speculation over his replacement has already snowballed to the point where it arguably overshadows the film itself. Thusly, the stewards of the franchise confirm that there is no rush to even start that inevitable casting process.

The highly-anticipated decision centering on who will ultimately portray MGM’s seventh officially canonical big screen James Bond—and all the controversy that comes with it—won’t even be considered until 2022. That notion has come straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth, in this case Eon Productions, via producer half-siblings Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, while speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today (via Deadline) regarding the new Bond elephant in the room. Obviously, making said decision—potentially the biggest watershed turn of the franchise’s nearly-sixty-year history—this early in the process is ill-advised as No Time to Die rounds its October wide release. Yet, according to the producers, it’s also a matter of common courtesy.

“We want Daniel to have his time of celebration,” says Broccoli. “Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”

For Craig, it’s a celebration that’s well-earned, albeit one that punctuates years of behind-the-scenes tumult regarding the demands of the role. The actor’s tenure as Bond, which started with 2006’s Casino Royale, has been punishing, both physically and emotionally, on an entirely different level than it was for previous portrayers of the voraciously suave MI6 agent. Yet, after returning for 2008’s Quantum of Solace and the record-breaking entry that was 2012’s Skyfall, Craig was essentially already spent, resulting in his immortally controversial 2015 statement to Time Out, in which—upon having just wrapped 2015’s Spectre—he derisively said, “I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists” than return to the role. Despite that, when all is said and done, Craig’s five-film tenure will make him the longest-serving big screen Bond with its 15-year duration. Moreover, it’s been a lucrative one, with the already-released four films having collectively grossed around $3.1 billion worldwide.

Consequently, with the salve of prospectively boosting that tally past the $4 billion mark before walking off into the horizon having been applied, Craig has been feeling a lot more gracious about his legacy as James Bond. As exemplified by the emotional farewell speech he delivered to the cast and crew upon his wrap for No Time to Die, his torrent of emotions has clearly come full-circle, and has clearly achieved a kind of peace upon his exit. “He knew it would change his life, which it obviously has,” said Broccoli on Craig’s imminently-ending tenure. “He enabled us to explore the emotional life of Bond, to go deeply into the personal, complexity of the character.”

Read more

Movies

Should the Next James Bond Care About Continuity After Daniel Craig?

By Don Kaye

Movies

No Time to Die Director Addresses James Bond’s Problematic Past

By David Crow

However, the specter (no pun intended) of the franchise’s potential future has already made its presence felt in No Way to Die, notably regarding themes that come across in advance in its trailers—reflecting Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s late-stage script-doctoring of director Cary Fukunaga, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade’s screenplay. This centers on the notion of Bond being rendered a womanizing anachronism suddenly thrust back into an altered world that has seemingly passed him by during his apparent retirement between the events of previous outing Spectre, notably reflected by the fact that MI6 has given his iconic 007 spot to Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, a black woman who’ll be tasked with helping the reactivated Bond rediscover his sea legs, so to speak.

The film’s trailer-teased dynamic seems destined to make Bond come across—initially, anyway—as an unironic version of parody Austin Powers. “She gave us an interesting point-of-view for several of the characters,” adds Wilson of Waller-Bridge’s contribution. “It’s unfair to think of her as a female writer… she contributed to the whole plot of the film.” Yet, it could also prove indicative of the direction to replace Bond himself with a person of color (and potentially a woman), in spite of the continuity-clashing nature of such a choice. Indeed, amidst the ongoing speculation of Idris Elba (the default fan-casting choice for “the new” character of many franchises,) being the next Bond, a new dream contender recently emerged in Bridgerton standout and instant sex symbol Regé-Jean Page. Potentially-pertinent to Page, British actor curiously—some might say conspicuously—opted not to return to the smash hit Netflix series after just one season. Further fueling speculation, Page’s post-Bridgerton docket is oddly light, consisting of just two films, The Gray Man and Dungeons & Dragons, both of which are already in post-production, notably leaving room for a life-altering turn on a franchise the scope of James Bond.

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Regardless, No Time to Die will represent the end of a well-regarded era of Agent 007 when, after nearly two years of pandemic-pushed delays, the film will finally face the music to hit U.S. theaters on Oct. 8. This debut will occur by way of a premiere across the pond at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 28.

The post James Bond Producers on the Next 007: “We’re not thinking about it at all” appeared first on Den of Geek.

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