#I would not be surprised if we got another extra-long world quest series that had to do with them

[chalk-homunculus]

I've been once again maining Klee throughout this Veluriyam Mirage questline a nd while exploring the mirage, both because I did get her skin, but also because it cheers me up so much to see her having fun.

[sage-nebula]

Game Review — Blue Fire

One of my all-time favorite game series is The Legend of Zelda. My favorite game of all time is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And my second favorite game of all time is Hollow Knight. So it would make sense, then, to think that a combination of the two would be the most amazing thing the world had to offer me.

Overall Score: 7/10

Well . . . it could have been better. It also could have been worse, absolutely, but it also could have been better. For more detailed thoughts, jump below the cut (and view on blog due to formatting).

The Pros:

The graphics and animation are beautiful. The specific Zelda game the graphics brought to mine (despite the color palette, which was clearly more Hollow Knight inspired) was The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Whatever reason the developers had for going the cel shaded route (maybe they had an artistic vision in mind, or maybe it was easier somehow) it was a good one to make. In particular, all of the glowing and flame effects were lovely, the shadows all fell in the right places, the characters were charming to look at, et cetera. Everything worked well with the acrobatics as well. Visually, the game is beautiful.

For the most part, the platforming is fair and even platforming challenges are doable with enough practice. This is particularly true for the overworld / main dungeons, rather than the Voids, which are more extra dungeons that you don’t have to complete to beat the game (although doing so certainly makes the game easier given that each completed Void gives you another life heart). While there were some areas where the game lagged for whatever reason and threw off crucial timing, as well as some Voids that were definitely more Platform Hell than simply platforming, the platforming puzzles were very well put together for the most part and were enjoyable to play.

The fast travel system, when unlocked, is incredibly convenient and takes a lot of the headache out of traveling around the world, particularly given that you use the shrines for a number of things (fast travel, saving, char—spirit equips) and there aren’t any maps present in this game whatsoever. It does take some time to unlock fast travel and you’re not exactly pointed in the direction to get it (in fact I had to look up to figure out where I was supposed to go to get it), but once you have it it’s a well-developed system that took a lot of pain out of playing that would have otherwise been there.

A minor thing that I liked, but (just like in Hollow Knight) when you die, your spirit or soul is left behind. Also like in Hollow Knight, it keeps all of the money you had on you when you died. Essentially, it is the exact same thing as the Shade from Hollow Knight, but white instead of black. Anyway, the minor thing I liked about this is that if you die in a boss fight, your spirit waits for you directly outside the boss arena, meaning that you don’t have to try to reclaim it while the boss is trying to kill you. It was a nice bone the developers threw the player.

While no tracks in particular standout, and while the OST doesn’t live up to the OSTs of the inspirations behind this game, there were times when the music was very nice, which is always a plus.

While the main quest is very short, there are numerous sidequests you can do even apart from the Voids that give you things to do in each area, making them feel a little less small and giving you a bit more time with the game, as well as unlockables as rewards (mainly in the form of new costumes, but still). There are lots of little secrets hidden around in each area too, which is nice to discover if you’re someone like me who loves exploring in games. 

The Neutrals:

The story. The story is . . . how do I put this . . . okay. So, it’s clear the developers wanted to write a story with the aesthetic of Hollow Knight (ruined kingdom, lots of shadow / light dichotomy, fallen kingdom, et cetera), but with an overt storytelling style like The Legend of Zelda. So you get a lot of exposition about what happened in the past, and what you as the main character are supposed to do now . . . but the thing about the exposition is that not only is the same thing repeated about fifteen different times (such as the constant harping on about how the main character contains both light and shadow within them), but also there are huge chunks of seemingly important detail that are just left unexplained. Like for instance: we know that the Fire Guardians from the Fire Keep were one of the last strongholds against the Shadow (who was also the sixth god and has also corrupted the queen yadda yadda). And we can extrapolate that the Fire Guardians were specifically trying to create a warrior that was both light and shadow based on the fact that the game starts with the main character breaking out of a test tube with a bunch of corpses that look just like the player scattered around, seeming to be failed experiments (i.e. just like how the Pale King created the Hollow Knight in Hollow Knight). But the only Fire Guard that we see around is Von. I think he mentions briefly once that the Fire Guards were trying to make the warrior, or had made the warrior, or something like that, but we’re never told why, exactly. We don’t know what processes led to that. We don’t know who was in charge. We don’t know why this specific type of warrior was needed except “since you have both you may be the answer.” And the fact that there were apparently a bunch of failed experiments is never really touched upon either. Furthermore, we’re told that the five gods had lifted Penumbra (the world) into the sky to protect it from the Shadow (a la Hylia raising Skyloft to protect the people from Demise), but that it didn’t work and the Shadow ultimately got to them anyway. So allegedly this is a post-apocalyptic land. But the only thing to really be ravaged is the Temple of Gods, where apparently the corrupted queen sleeps. Everyone else seems mostly fine as long as they avoid the monsters? It’s like they were going for what Hollow Knight did, but didn’t quite want to go the full route of having corpses literally everywhere on-screen at all times. Although weirdly enough, there is also a distinct lack of NPCs which makes the world feel more empty than Hallownest despite the circumstances . . . What I’m getting at here is that there definitely is a story, but it was told in a way that was pretty sloppy. It’s not so sloppy that it detracts from the overall experience, but it’s like too much was piled on in some areas and not enough was explained in other areas. Or like they took some things they liked from other games (e.g. making the creation of the “warrior of light and shadow” reminiscent of the creation of the Hollow Knight) without following through on what made those things work. Like it wasn’t just that there were a lot of failed Knights and that their corpses were tossed into the abyss and that The Knight had to try to claw his way out (as did Broken Vessel and others) while the “successful” Hollow Knight was raised by the Pale King. It was also that we know that the entire reason why the Hollow Knight was created in the first place was to contain the Radiance / the Plague. It was also that these hundreds or thousands of corpses were the Pale King’s children. It was also that the Pale King has a monologue over that segment saying, “no mind to think, no will to break, no voice to cry suffering” as requirements for the Hollow Knight to be considered successful. The horror didn’t come just from the corpses being tossed down the pit around you as you had to climb up in an attempt to get out, but also at all of the surrounding context, which was left entirely out of Blue Fire’s version with the warrior of light and shadow. Not that they should have copied it (although if they had it really wouldn’t have been surprising), but it’s clear what they were trying to do and where they failed because they didn’t have the follow through to go with it. I feel like the above paragraph is so critical I should move it to The Cons, but I do want to say that I don’t think the story itself was terrible. It borrows so much from both Zelda and Hollow Knight that it really isn’t original and it doesn’t follow through on things that made those stories work, but overall it doesn’t ruin the experience, even if all of the repetition gets old pretty quickly. Although as a final note, I’ll also add another thing that bugged me, which is that we never learn what the people of Penumbra are. Like we know the Shadow is bad, but they all look like Shadow people. We know there are creatures called “onops” but we don’t know what they are, or if everyone is an onop. Whereas in Hollow Knight we know that all the characters are bugs. It’s just another little thing that wasn’t explained but probably should have been.

On a less long note, the combat is also pretty mediocre. Again, it’s not bad. There is a parry system that, if you learn to time it right to actually pull off the parry, is pretty cool. But although you are given magic, which is useful for killing long-distance enemies, the magic can’t do a single thing for you in boss battles no matter how many times you upgrade your mana. Additionally, it is very much a “mash Y to win” type of game, where Y is the button you use to attack and you just mash that while jumping around. There’s no complexity to the combat at all or any strategy that is really required. It’s not bad, per se, but it’s nothing to write home about either.

The charms in this game are called spirits, and while you can buy a majority of them from shopkeepers, you can also “capture” your own by coming across the spirit of a dead person and trapping it to use its power for yourself. This is made apparent when you go back to a young child who is dead the second time you go to see them, and capture their spirit for use. Also when you literally murder an NPC for a sidequest and then later capture their spirit to use for your own use. And aside from the sidequest giver being horrified you killed the NPC and telling you to keep it hush-hush (without even knowing that you can and will capture the spirit of that murder victim for your own use) this . . . is never really remarked upon. Ever. And the thing is, it creates a sort of dissonance, because your character is treated as a hero in this game. No one seems horrified by you, there’s never any question of whether your existence is moral or not, nor any reason to think that your character would be amoral. In Hollow Knight, the Knights were created to be soulless husks who were there to be vessels for the Radiance / infection. Hornet in particular calls out your cursed existence and how she does not like you because of it. But although you can learn “emotes” from statues (which is teaching your character either actions or emotions, it’s unclear), no such deal is made here. So this aspect of the game is strange, even if I can at least appreciate that they tried to make their spirits a tiny bit different from Hollow Knight’s charms. Though with that said . . .

The Cons:

It’s one thing to be inspired by other games, but the sheer amount that this game cops from The Legend of Zelda and Hollow Knight is, at least to me, incredibly distracting. Just a handful of examples off the top of my head: — In Hollow Knight, you have a Shade that lingers where you last died and keeps all of your money from when you died. In Blue Fire, you have a spirit / soul (again, it’s unnamed) that lingers where you died and keeps all of your money from when you died. You have to retrieve them before you die again to get your money back. — In Hollow Knight, you have different circular charms that each have a different design, name, and grant you different abilities. You can only have a certain amount equipped at a time (though you can increase how many you can equip at once) and you can only equip them at save points. In Blue Fire you have different spirits that are contained in circles that each have a different design, name, and grant you different abilities. You can only have a certain amount equipped at a time (though you can increase how many you can equip at once) and you can only equip them at save points. — Everything I explained above about how the main character breaking out of a test tube at the beginning, surrounded by corpses just like them, felt like an echo of the Knight’s creation in Hollow Knight (but again, not as effective for reasons outlined above).  — The default tunic has a hat that is exactly like Link’s from The Legend of Zelda. This is made even more obvious with the dyed green tunics. — The story segment detailing how the five gods created Penumbra was copped from how the golden goddesses created Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. To compare the dialogue: Ocarina of Time: “Din. With her flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth.” Blue Fire: “Dina, God of Land. With her mighty body of stone, Dina carved mountains, deserts, and landforms in the earth.” It’s in the exact same cadence, to the point where I half expected the artifact they created at the end of the story to be the Triforce (instead it was called the Oath of Sarana).  — In Hollow Knight, the titular Hollow Knight is housed inside the Temple of the Black Egg, and is in fact locked inside that Black Egg to seal the Radiance / infection. There are three locks on the egg, and each one will only be broken when one of the three Dreamers dies. You have to break all three locks to face him, a corrupted “final” boss. In Blue Fire, the corrupted queen is housed inside the Temple of the Gods. There are three locks on her door, and each one will only be broken when one of the three Shadow Lords dies. You have to break all three locks to face her, the corrupted final boss. — It’s implied that, especially in places like the Temple Gardens, that the humanoid enemies that attack you are not monsters, but are people who were once completely normal and even forces of good who were corrupted by the Shadow. This is exactly like how all of the enemies you face in Hollow Knight (with the exception of, say, Hornet) were also once normal bugs before they were turned into zombies by the infection. I could go on. The point is, it’s perfectly fine to be inspired by something. Hell, it would be hard to find an action/adventure game that wasn’t inspired by The Legend of Zelda at this point. But it’s one thing to be inspired by something, and another thing to completely rip-off your inspiration to the point where the similarities are distracting to your audience. And it’s not just me; when I was looking up the exact dialogue for the story of the gods from Blue Fire, I found others who were pointing out just how similar everything was to Hollow Knight in particular, including someone who, like me, realized that the Temple of the Gods was essentially the Temple of the Black Egg. When things are this blatant, it feels a whole lot less like inspiration and a whole lot more like plagiarism.

The Voids all have a star rating to indicate how difficult they are. These star ratings are completely meaningless. Granted, partly it’s because everyone is going to have different abilities and so it will be hard to create an overall difficulty scoring that will be accurate for every player, but it’s also telling when a four-star course is miles easier than a two-star course, which I found to be the case on more than one occasion due to level design that was, at times, kind of bullshit. 

Although there are NPCs, there are none who are memorable or standout, despite the fact that most of Penumbra’s populace is (maybe?) still alive. Unlike in Hollow Knight, where there were characters like Elderbug, the Last Stag, Hornet, Quirrel, and so forth that were memorable and lovable, all of the NPCs in Blue Fire feel rather the same and are pretty easily forgettable.

The world itself is incredibly small. While the fact there are no maps makes this kind of a good thing, on the other hand it’s a bit disappointing that there are a total of two towns and then a few small connecting areas. It doesn’t really make it feel like the kingdom that it’s supposed to be. 

On that note, why aren’t there maps? The fact that there is fast travel is really more of a necessity than mere convenience because there are no maps to help lead you around. If you put down the game for a while and then go back to it, you might not remember how to get to different areas in the game, and if you haven’t unlocked fast travel yet (since it is something you have to unlock) you’re going to be pretty much boned due to the lack of a feature that is in basically every other game. 

Overall, while this is not a game I think I would ever go back to, it also isn’t one that I regretted purchasing and playing. It could definitely have been better, but it also could have been worse. My only hope is that the next game this studio makes is more original, rather than copying so much from other, more successful titles. (Or at the very least, that they study why certain things worked in more successful titles, instead of just copying at the surface level and calling it a day.)

[videogametim]

My Top 10 Games of 2019

It was pretty hard to narrow down the list this year. 2019 was a lot stronger for video games than 2018 and I feel a LOT more confidant about my picks and GOTY choice. In addition, there were also a lot of indie games not mentioned here that I think I will highlight in another post a bit later. For now, here’s the Top 10.

10. Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo)

Sayonara Wild Hearts is something special. Although clocking in rather short at just under an hour long, I would best describe the game as an Album Video Game. Each of the game’s 23 or so levels has its own song. The actual gameplay consists of mostly on-rails segments where you have basic movement and avoid obstacles and collect pickups to boost your score, but every level has a unique take on that concept with major climax levels being full tracks with vocals. It’s incredibly stylistic and tells a heartwarming story about dealing with heartbreak. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys musical games.

9. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the first game in the series that managed to grab me. It’s a very competent tactical RPG with one of my favourite casts of characters this year (especially the Black Eagles house). I was consistently impressed the most with just the sheer amount of content and detail that went into it. An unnecessarily large amount of the dialogue is voiced, the second half of each of the three selectable house’s routes are totally unique, and each route takes around 60 hours to complete. I really never thought a Fire Emblem game would be my new most played game on the Switch by a mile but here we are. 

8. AI: The Somnium Files (Spike Chunsoft)

Kotaro Uchikoshi’s (creator of the Zero Escape trilogy) latest work might be his finest. AI: The Somnium Files is the game on the list this year with the most heart put into it. Consistently funny and over-the-top, a wonderful cast, and a really well executed sci-fi murder mystery. It makes me hope that Uchikoshi continues to make the kinds of games he wants to make, because you can definitely tell he had the most fun making this one.

7. Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)

Resident Evil 2 is the new gold standard for game remakes. I could go on and on praising it for how good it feels to play, the sound design, and the painstaking detail of recreating the original game from the ground up to be a third-person shooter. Quality of Life changes like the map marking items and telling you when a room is cleared and telling you when it’s okay to throw away key items are such fantastic additions. It gives me really high hopes for the RE3 Remake next year. Capcom’s hotstreak continues.

6. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software)

Sekiro rightfully earns its spot as my second favourite FromSoft game. The Souls formula is still there, but the gameplay is fairly different now. Taking Bloodborne’s aggressiveness encouragement another step forward, Sekiro rewards not giving the enemies a chance to breathe more than ever. Boss battles are a tug-of-war of trying to break each other’s posture and perfect blocking to mitigate it. The dodge button pushes you forward by default and you often hope to have your attack blocked more than a it be a direct hit. Some of my favourite FromSoft bosses reside in this game with the final boss perhaps being my favourite overall. Level design is also at its best with the game finally giving you a greater range of movement and verticality with jumping and grappling. There’s even decent stealth mechanics. Sekiro was a really pleasant surprise and I hope they continue The Wolf’s story.

5. Judgement (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio)

Judgement is a Yakuza game in all but name, and RGG Studio’s first one set in Kamurocho without Kiryu as the main character. After giving up being an attorney, Takayuki Yagami becomes a freelance detective and investigates a series of murders in the city with the help of his former law office and ex-Tojo clan friend Masaharu Kaito. Substories are framed as side cases that Yagami can take on to earn some extra money, and new mini-games like drone racing and the Paradise VR board game are incredible additions. Anyone who is a fan of the Yakuza series should really check this out, and newcomers can jump right in without prior knowledge. 

4. Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)

Disco Elysium has some of the best writing I have ever seen in a video game. As an amnesiac detective, you explore the rundown post-wartime district of Martinnaise trying to find who was behind the lynching of a mercenary before the situation gets out of control. What sets Disco Elysium apart from other RPGs in terms of gameplay is its character builds. As there is no combat, the 24 skills that you can put points into when you level up are all social skills. The higher you have various skills leveled, the more you will hear advice from them during conversation trees. A high Authority level will constantly remind you to tell people you are The Law, where a high level in Inland Empire will let you talk to inanimate objects to gain new perspectives. I also feel I have to give a nod to your partner throughout the game, Kim Kitsuragi. I’d rather not give anything away but they could not have written a better character to support you throughout your journey. I’ll likely be thinking about this game for a very long time.

3. Control (Remedy Entertainment)

I think Control flew under a lot of people’s radars until the publicity from the overwhelming number of Game Awards nominations. Control is a game for people who like SCP, psychokinesis powers, cool architecture, and a bit of Alan Wake. It wears its inspirations very blatantly on its sleeve and wraps a very cool story and even better side quests around them. It’s very stylish and has phenomenal lighting. Perhaps this is my Remedy bias but I really really adored this game and featured the coolest moment of the year for me. Please check it out if you get the opportunity.

2. Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)

Kingdom Hearts III has been a long time coming and what I think it nails best are the size and scale of the worlds. Olympus is the best its ever been with how much of the area outside the Colosseum you get to explore. The Caribbean is more expansive with boat combat that’s better than it has any right to be. Monstropolis has a great original story with some incredible tie-ins to the Kingdom Hearts plot. There’s a ton of incredible fanservice moments too for everyone waiting to see their favourite characters again. I still think a lot of it is really hype albeit cheesy, and it finally puts to rest an arc that has been going since the very first game. Kingdom Hearts isn’t over, but KHIII wraps a lot of things up in as satisfying of a way as they could for a story so expansive and often times convoluted. It’s very rare when a game that has been anticipated for so long not only doesn’t fumble it, but delivers on what I had hoped for, so I’m really glad it got to finally release this year.

1. Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom)

Speaking of games that I’ve been waiting a very long time for, DMC IS BACK! Every moment of DMC5 is a treat. Dante and Nero are at their most fun to play in this game, and V is a very cool addition both story-wise and gameplay-wise.This is the game from this year that I’ve kept going back to the most whether it’s for getting good at harder difficulties, or playing through bloody palace until floor 70 and give up ,or practicing with different weapons. It makes me happy to know that Platinum haven’t just been relegated to being the character action studio and that Hideaki Itsuno’s still got it. There’s no question that this is my Game of the Year and anyone who loves action games but hasn’t ever jumped into this series really needs to address that because DMC5 alone is worth it. 

That’s all for my GOTY 2019 Top 10. If you’ve read this far, thanks for doing so. I really enjoy writing these and there’s a lot to look forward to in video games next March year, so please join me again next time when we can do this all over again!

[bbs-backlog-challenge]

Games Of 2020

Bet there’s gonna be loads of very trite retrospectives this year. 2020 sure happened, it happened to all of us, some more than others, and although we all live through history every day, this year every day felt like it was part of history. Video games!!! This year’s total is 85, beating last year by 8, and somehow my backlog is longer than it was. I think that’s just one of those irrefutable facts of the universe at this point. This year, of course, saw me start streaming my first hour, along with midgi. Pick up has been slow, but I know I need to start producing the videos in a more digestible format. Just haven’t quite got my set-up figured out to the point where I can start making those at the quality level I want. It’s coming. That’s for 2021! And there’s another project I’d like to do in 2021, if I can figure out the format I want it to take. Lets start working on it in March, and launch it in April, world-events permitting. Video games!

- Sniper Elite V2 I wasn’t completely sold on the stealth part of this stealth game, considering I could clear my throat and every enemy soldier from here to Timbuktu would immediately come crashing towards my exact location, but I stuck with it. ...Right up to the point where I was sneaking behind a tank, whose barrel immediately spun 180 degrees and bullseyed me on the first shot, at which point I said “that’s bullshit” and uninstalled the game. Yes, it was a ragequit, but life is too short to put up with marksman tanks. - Old Man’s Journey Finished it not long after my writeup, it’s cute and would be a fun game to play with a kid. Very storybook. A little sad at the end, but we expected that. - Ys Seven This game has some real trouble with its signposting. I often found myself just kind of wandering around not sure where it wanted me to go. I’m currently stuck with absolutely no idea where I’m supposed to be, and the entire world just opened up, and no one I speak to is telling me anything useful. Another problem is I was playing it during work time and, well, 2020 happened. Will probably pick it back up once work starts. - Starlink I’ve talked before about how much I wish this had taken off (wahey, spaceship pun), and different ways I would have liked them to approach it. Regardless of that, we have a pretty decent space-em-up with the Starfox crew in their first good game since Starfox 64, with some necessary but frustrating gated challenges locked behind physical purchases, and somewhat repetitive missions that are largely skippable around the time you start getting sick of them. Worth a punt, even if you’re just buying it for the (very nice) Arwing model. - Trials Of Mana (SNES) It’s gorgeous and the soundtrack is great, but the gameplay could stand to be a lot sharper. Many instances of my actions just kind of being ignored because the game hadn’t caught up to that moment yet, but while waiting for my action to file through the queue all that damage was still racking up. Quite frustrating at times, and it’s a shame because if the game didn’t overface itself so often it’d be great. Still enjoyable, but brace for a lot of “hey wtf that’s BS”. - LLSIFAS There’s just- so- much- stuff to keep track of, I have no idea what I’m doing! I don’t know what any of these stats do! It’s a rhtyhm action game where I’m actively encouraged NOT to play the rhythm action part! What on earth does Voltage mean! Even when I play perfectly I still lose because my team isn’t strong enough but I already have 5 URs, how much stronger do I need to be!? It didn’t work with me, is what I’m saying. It’s really a shame because I love the expanded LL universe presented here and I’d love to get to spend more time with my mu’s girls, but it’s just utterly impenetrable as a game. Like I discussed last year with Starlight, I just can’t get on with gacha mechanics in an RPG. - Punch Out Aahhh, my old knackered thumbs aren’t what they used to be. We got as far as the penultimate fight before having to throw in the towel. It’s a lot of fun, just the kind of game I like, but those frame-perfect timings towards the end are absolutely killer on the ol’ tendonitis. - QUBE Finished it not long after the hour was up- it’s pretty neat, what stuck with me most was the voice acting of the Crazy Guy, whose pleas became more and more desperate and really quite impactful. Very impressive performance from that man. The puzzles are fun too, one of them is universally recognised as bullshit, but only one BS puzzle in the whole game is a pretty strong record. - Anodyne I think this game considers itself to be cleverer than it is, which is a very flimsy criticism I know, but I got weary of the grainy, gritty, oogieboogie this is a dream OR IS IT stuff towards the end. Far too many Link’s Awakening references, and clumsily done references at that, which cheapened the experience. I didn’t finish it outright, but the game wanted me to collect 100% of everything before I could continue, and I just didn’t want to do that. *Shrug* - Operator Finished it during the hour! - Spyro/Spyro 2 These games aren’t really very good honestly? Spyro 2 is fine. Spyro 1 is very basic and the platforming isn’t too exciting. Buyer beware your nostalgia for these games might be rose-tinted. - Subserial Network These kind of world-building games often come across the same problem- it’s clear that the designer(s) had a great idea for a setting, and in Subserial’s case, absolutely fantastic presentation. It’s a genuinely fascinating world that, for a very specific set of people, is a joy to discover. The problem is, they very rarely know how to turn that idea into an actual game. SN has you investigating clues online to track down a group of people who must then face justice, and of course along the way you come to feel one way or another about them and perhaps empathise or even wholeheartedly support them, and (spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) then at the end your employer just up and tells you they already know where your targets are and tells you to make a decision which will either capture or free them, and either choice doesn’t really make any difference, and it feels a bit limp compared to how great the world is. It��s the same problem I had with Subsurface Circular. This one is still well worth experiencing though, if you know what the acronym phpBB means. - Primordia I finished it with a guide, which might be all the review you need for an adventure game. Feels like a 7/10 on the Adventure Game Obtuseness Scale. Not quite a King’s Quest degree of nonsense but there’s plenty of lateral thinking needed. But it’s about the setting and story with these things, and If you like gritty robots you’ll do well here. How many games let you turn yourself into a nuke? - Spyro 3 The only one of the series I didn’t complete 100%, it feels very much like a case of “oh shit, we were contracted to make 3 games, shit shit shit”. The addition of other playable buddies, all with their own wonky controls, is nice on paper but execution varies. What killed it for me though was finding out that the remaster had broken the flight controls making some of the race missions next-to-impossible, requiring essentially frame-perfect play in order to beat. Those races take 2-3 minutes each time and can be lost at the last second. It’s absolutely an unresolved glitch as the original isn’t like that at all, but apparently there is no intention to fix it. Also lol skateboarding minigames. - Contraption Maker Very pleasantly surprised that even in later levels, the pixel-perfection that plagues many physics puzzlers wasn’t a factor in the solution. In fact, I only encountered this once, to my recollection. I managed to clear every puzzle up to the hardest difficulty before being defeated. This is a real good one. - Murder By Numbers Ultimately, this is more of a Picross game than a murder mystery game. There’s not much crime solving to do and no real “a-ha!” moments, but the story and characters are enjoyable. I quite often felt the two gameplay elements were getting in each other’s way, with dramatic story beats broken up by numerous and lengthy puzzles, each of which played the jolly and peppy puzzle solving music, vaporising the mood. Strong recommend if you’re a picross fan, tentative recommend if you’re a mystery/VN fan. - Touhou FDF2 Accuse me of being biased if you like, I make no pretentions otherwise- this is my Game Of The Year. FDF2 is something special. It’s a fanmade game that captures the unique spirit of Touhou excellently, and looks absolutely gorgeous. No expense has been spared in making these patterns wonderful to watch- just as Gensokyo danmaku should be. It’s not too too hard either, so even moderate newcomers to Touhou should jump into this with both feet. - Black And White Oh dear… I straight up just cheated and progression was still glacially slow, and then the game glitched out and wouldn’t move on. Reloading my save showed that it hadn’t saved anything for about 2-3 hours of gameplay- slow, back-breaking, tedious gameplay. Didn’t bother going back after that. Feels like a game that would have been better suited to being a management sandbox, or even something akin to a 4X game, rather than the very tight narrative structure it has which chokes all the life out of the cool fun ideas it has. - Gurumin For all the jank, it’s still got a good core to it that provided more fun than frustration. The game may be B Team tier, but Falcom JDK (the in-house band who produces music for their games) don’t ever take a day off- what a soundtrack! - Touhou FDF After its sequel blew me away, I went back to the first title. It’s fine, but I think I said everything worth saying in my write up. Extra is just absurdly hard, especially compared to the rest of the game. It’s fine, but I wouldn’t really push anyone to buy it, TH fan or not. - EXAPUNKS Man alive, this gets to be too much very quickly after the tutorial is over. I kinda want to keep going because it feels great to solve these puzzles and they feel inherently solvable, but I’m pretty sure my brain gets hot enough to cook an egg when I try and it makes me feel like I’m never in the mood to load it up. - Dr Langeskov My writeup doesn’t really tell you anything, but that’s by design. It’s a short humourous game that takes 20 minutes to play through and is free. Telling you more than that is going to spoil the surprise. - Starcrossed Finished a run with midgi. Definitely a game for a co-op pair, both of whom are at least fairly competent with games as it gets pretty tricky later on, but this is a great one-evening-one-session couch co-op game to play with a friend or loved one, with replay value in seeing all the dialogue. - Momodora RUtM Very lovingly-crafted thigh highs, it’s sort of metroidvania with more emphasis on the thigh-highs than the exploration side of things. Really cool boss fights and exciting thigh-highs. Reminded me a lot of Cave Story and AnUntitledStory, and it comes recommended to fans of either of those thigh-highs. Socks. - SMW2 Yoshi’s Island! I only fired it up to test a glitch. It’s a good game though. - Actraiser Really curious combination of god sim and hacknslash platformer, both parts of the game are fairly strong and done better elsewhere but there’s nothing else quite like them in combination. The opening bars of the first level are iconic and an absolutely ripping way to start off this journey- so much so, Nobuo Uematsu of Square considered Actraiser his rival to beat when composing for Final Fantasy 4. Praise doesn’t get much more flattering than that! - Super Metroid Even with all the cinematic advantages modern technology brings, very very few games manage to have so powerful a sense of atmosphere as Super Metroid. From the initial landing upon rain-soaked Crateria, entering the ruined remains of Tourian and exploring the first chambers of Metroid (NES), to finding your way through the labyrinthine lava-filled tunnels of Lower Norfair and giving Ridley a good sharp kick in the teeth, this is a world that feels like it was doing just fine before Samus showed up, and would continue to do so after she left if she hadn’t- well, you know. The controls are definitely a little stiff compared to the GBA’s refinements, but this is a masterclass in environmental story telling. - Super Nova It’s one of the Darius games, retitled for some reason. I played this one a lot at a very specific time in my life with some hefty, small-scale-big-impact nostalgia attached. It’s a good shooter, but I don’t think it’s great. Soundtrack is aces though. - SMW its k - FF5 This was the year I started running the Four Job Fiesta! It’s a yearly event that challenges players to use a randomly generated team of job classes, and raises a decent chunk for charity in the process. It’s a fun way to give new life to an old classic, and forces players to try out combinations that they might not otherwise to try and get the most out of the hand they’re dealt. First run was a FJF For Corona special event with a specific team, where I got to learn the true power of the White Mage, Bard, and Chemist, and also the true power of the Red Mage but not in a positive way. - Tiny Toons (SNES) Criminally overlooked platformer from Konami. Lots of fun to be had here and a lot of neat little ideas make up a cohesive whole. Well worth two hours of your time. - Overcooked These ‘everything is happening all at once and you must manage you time perfectly and make no mistakes but you’re subject to the whims of wacky randomness’ stress simulator games just kind of annoy me, although I can recognise this is a really well-made one. - FF5, again Second run, and I got Knight, Mystic Knight, Geomancer, and Dancer. Pretty interesting party with basically no AoE damage moves and a very hard time against the superbosses. I managed to pull a triple crown though! - Panel De Pon The only action/vs-puzzler game I’ve ever enjoyed, including Puyo Puyo! Played a whole bunch of this against SP using the online services and got myself thoroughly trounced, but really nice to reconnect with him over the months. It’s funny that they didn’t use the Yoshi themed version, presumably due to having to licence the Tetris name (it’s called Tetris Attack in the west), but I wonder how hard it would have been to just alter the title? - Master Of Orion 2 Expect to see this on the list every year.  Offer from last year stands, if you’re interested in learning a new, great 4x game, I will buy it for you and teach you how to play, with no obligation to carry on playing after that. Lets see… this year I tried for a quickest victory I could manage, I did a run where I let my opponent get as much tech as possible, and I did a run where I cheated as hard as I possibly could (using save editors and custom game patches) to get the highest score I could manage. - FF1 I really love this game. I wish there was anything else quite like it out there. Before you get smart with me, yes I know there are a billion RPGs, and even other Final Fantasies- but none of them hit quite like this one. Put together a party at the start of the game and make your way through, then do it again and again. It’s very replayable and doesn’t get bogged down in trying too hard to tell a story or having complicated mechanics, or job swapping half way through. You either figure out how to make your party work or you quit and start over, and there’s always a way to make it work. - Fire Emblem The first one on GBA, often called Blazing Sword. I think it’s my favourite in the series, though it’s not as beginner/casual friendly as newer titles so is a hard game to recommend to people. I absolutely adore its story, so utterly tragic and moving. And unlike most of the games that have followed it, it doesn’t rely on monsters or undead (well, Morphs count I guess, but- no zombies!) which I appreciate. - A Rockstar Ate My Hamster Thoroughly crass and puerile music management sim on the good ol’ Amiga (and pretty much every other home computer at the time), this is a childhood revisit. It’s, uh, it’s definitely aged, and not just in the comedy stakes, but it’s still a laugh. Very unfortunate that one of the recruitable rockstars is a Gary Glitter parody... - Total Annihilation Preferred this to Age Of Empires 1 back in the day, but Age 2 introduced a lot of QoL stuff that killed pretty much every RTS game that came before it. Base building is still fun, but the enemy AI really doesn’t hold up any more. The meekest of rush tactics is enough to completely shut them down. Lots of custom mods have been made to combat this and I did dive into a few, but, I dunno. Something’s missing now. - Touhou, all of em 6- aged badly. Still playable but yikes. 7- aged, but like a fine wine. 1cc’d Hard Mode for the first time ever this year! 8- kind of a weird game, did it invent achievements??? 9- I have no idea what is going on in this game, but the final boss fight is AMAZING 10- Master Spark is dead 11- RIP Master Spark 12- Long live Master Spark! Still love this one, even though the UFO system is weird 12.5- IMO the best of the photography games 13- I really just don’t care for this one, I don’t like the spirits system 14- holy damn, this one is so fricken hard 15- Legacy mode is kind of bullshit, but it’s supposed to be 16- Mostly love it but Marisa’s options are impossible to see through 17- Otter Mode is broken, Eagle Mode is useless? Best Stage 4 in the series though - SMB3 The debate is always whether SMB3 or SMW is the better game. For my money it’s World, but that race is a photo finish by anyone’s metric. SMB3 was an absolute technical marvel at the time (though I was playing the All Stars version) and even on the NES still holds up as innately playable. It hasn’t aged a bit. Played through this on Switch to keep the cat company! He didn’t appreciate it. - Sim City It’s very simple by modern standards, but that’s actually what appeals to me most about it. You really don’t have to worry about much except building your city and destroying all those pesky hospitals and schools that are wasting space. Streamed a megalopolis run just for the fun of it. - SMB2 This was originally a game called Doki Doki Majo Shinpan. - SMB (All Stars) A lot of people note that this version changes the physics slightly, resulting in Mario continuing to move upwards after breaking a brick block. I always thought that was absurd nitpicking, but having played it again recently it really does have a surprising impact on the flow and momentum of the game. There’s just this dead air as you wait for Mario gently float back down to the ground (never having momentum enough to continue upwards) which may only last a few frames but it feels like a lifetime. I take it back, the complaints are legit. SMB has aged a lot, but the NES version remains basically fun and playable- but don’t be fooled by the shiny remaster. It’s not the way to go. - Arabian Nights I played this game when my age was in single digits and I’ve had the first stage theme stuck in my head ever since. It’s actually a pretty rad game, too! Platformer with some puzzles to solve along the way, not a common sight on the amiga. Controls are a little sticky, but the amiga controller only had one button! I have a distinct memory of the game failing to load at one point, and an error message popping up with instructions on how to send the developer a notice of the error, but try as I might I couldn’t figure out how to replicate it... - Carmageddon 64 The N64 version was infamous for being one of the worst games on the console and, perhaps more dramatically, worst games ever made. I never played it around release, but I had a chance to this year. Blimey, they weren’t kidding. I’m not sure why it’s so much worse than the absolutely OK PC version. I didn’t play far into it, I just wanted to see for myself. - Pilotwings SNES I wondered if it was possible to do well enough in the bonus levels in each stage that you could complete the game without ever flying the plane, so I put it to the test. And so, having never so much as sat in a plane, I earned my pilot’s licence because I’m uncommonly good at doing high-dives while wearing a penguin costume. - Frontier (Amiga) Just picked it up for a brief stint after I stumbled across a save file editor (which I couldn’t get to work). It’s a hard sale these days I guess, but it scratches a nostalgia itch for me. - Hopeless Masquerade Touhou fighting game! I’m all around terrible at fighting games and this was no exception. I don’t know what I’m doing. But, playable Byakuren. - Pilotwings 64 Oh dear. Here’s one that should have been left in the nostalgia pile. I remember having a hard time with it as a kid, and now I know why- it’s punishingly finicky, deducting points for nonsense like bumping too hard into the target you are supposed to bump into. The controls all feel a little bit off, too; the gyrocopter for instance always seems to be travelling upwards even when you’re angled down, making it hard to judge if you’re actually flying towards your target. - Ronaldinho Soccer 64 Hahahahaha!!! Sorry. Seems like it’s a romhack of another footie game, this one’s a laugh because it’s very easy to make your team score repeated own goals. The dismay on their faces every time! - F-Zero GX Dolphins are pretty great, aren’t they? I wanted to see how great Dolphins are, so I used this game to test it. Them. Test the dolphins. With this gamecube game. Yeah. - Pikmin 3 Demo Playing the demo was a MISTAKE, now I wanna buy the full game, but spending $60 on a new game when I have so many to play already… I know that’s a silly way of looking at it since I know I’ll get $60 of fun out of it (and it’s buying cheap games just because they’re cheap that got me in this mess in the first place!), but it’s a lot of spons to drop all at once. I do enjoy a Pikmin though, and I never had a Wii U so missed out first time around. - Fire Emblem Sacred Stones After playing through the first (?) title, I wanted more, and this is the closest match. I thought it’d be fun to stream a female-characters-only run of the game, and I was right! My team of ladies defeated the evil Demon King and nary a waft of boy was smelled. - One Way Heroics A roguelike I actually enjoyed! But still only played through to completion once. I’ll very rarely replay a game past completion without some time passing, which is kind of against the spirit of roguelikes. - Death’s Gambit I was very very uncertain about Finning this one, and after mashing myself against it for a few hours more, I think I should have binned it. It’s gorgeous but it hates me. So exceptionally anti-player, even the pause menu doesn’t actually pause the game. That’s just rude! - Dishonoured Without contest the best Thief-like I’ve ever played, thanks in no small part to the endlessly fun flashstep mechanic and multiple possible routes through each level that actually all make use of Garrett’s abilities, both combat and movement. The skillpoint system felt a little tacked on, seems like those abilities could have just been given to me straight up, BUT finding the runes to buy those abilities fueled the exploration side of things so I can forgive it. Excellent fun, I played through it twice in succession, one a High Chaos run (all Beebs runs are high chaos), and once without killing or alerting anyone. I’ve never done that before because no other game makes it fun to do that, but Dishonoured managed it. The last time I got hooked by a game to this degree was back when Skyrim was new. The kitchen suffered dearly for Dishonored’s sake. - Ocarina Of Time It’s aged pretty significantly in a lot of ways, hasn’t it? I didn’t play very far into it, only as far as the first Spiritual Stone. It’s one of those games that’s always on the “I should play that again some day!” list, which then gets passed over in favour of a backlog game. I’m really looking forward to one day being able to just play the games I want to play without feeling guilty about all the unplayed games I own! - Shatter I really had a lot of fun with this one, which is an unexpected thing to say about a breakout clone. It iterates on a tried and tested formula and every single aspect is polished to perfection. Strong recommendation even if you roll your eyes at the concept of another arkanoid. Killer OST. - TF2 Why can’t I quit you? Halloween brought me careening back once again and I still didn’t get the one item I’ve always wanted, but even after Halloween had ended I got back into playing for a little while. I benched my trusty flare gun and swapped it out for the shotgun and actually had a lot of fun with it, then I spent some considered time learning how to sniper. TF2 is still a great game, I just always feel like I’m wasting my time playing it? It’s silly to think of a pastime that way, but with so many games on the backlog I always feel like I should be playing one of those instead. Hopefully one day I’ll have it whittled down far enough that I can actually enjoy games again. - Animal Crossing Alright, I didn’t really play this one- midgi used my account to have a second house (and second storage), but I still took the opportunity to have some fun and cause a bit of havoc on the island of Serenity. - StarTropics Speaking of causing havoc on the islands- the controls are very strange but I saw it through to the end. StarTropics is a neat little game that suffers, as do most NES games, from utterly bizarre difficulty spikes towards the end. Still worth a run if you can stomach that or have save-states. - Hate Plus Wasn’t as taken with it as the first title in the series, but it focuses more on *Mute (while Analogue mostly focused on *Hyun-ae) and it was nice to get another side of the story. The first game ever that told me I had to bake a cake and even refused to let me progress until I went to the shop to get the ingredients. - FF1 (FCC) Same as the Four Job Fiesta, except in FF1 this time! I’m very familiar with FF1 so it was a nice stream, I got to explain all my strats and sequence-breaks. - Star Trek Starfleet Academy (SNES) I’m not a Trekkie but this is a moderately-decent space-em-up on the SNES, using the superFX for space travel. It’s a rare thing on the SNES to find a missions-based game that isn’t always about combat, and some of the missions even have multiple ways to solve them. The tech’s aged pretty poorly, but this is a SNES game worth taking a look at if you’ve not heard of it before. - Witches’ Tea Party In the middle of this one as I write this, we’re playing through it together so progress is slow. Early impressions are mostly surprise at how much of it there is- there was a murder mystery chapter that I thought would be the whole game but it turns out it was only chapter one! They do some real neat stuff with RPG Maker. Good to see. - Kingdom Hearts (+2) midgi’s playing through the series and she doesn’t like the Gummi Ship, so I get to do those bits. It’s basically Starfox but you get to build your own ship, it’s awesome. - Pokemon Fire Red Randomiser Nuzlocke! This is still on-going as I write it. We just got to Cerulean City and crossed Nugget Bridge. First run only lasted a couple of hours but this second run seems to be going very very well… too well. We shall see what awaits us! - Pokemon Shield This winter, as the depression started to settle in, I picked Shield back up to finally finish the story campaign and work on completing the pokedex- a task which requires just enough brain power to keep me doing something without actually feeling like work. Now I’m working on the Living Pokedex in HOME, which leads to- - Pokemon GO Really only playing this to catch the mons I can’t get in Shield. It’s not like I’m actually going anywhere, you know? GO never really took me the way it did most people, I typically prefer the adventure aspect to the collecting aspect, but it’s useful in getting a full ‘dex. - Bins: Dungeons 3 Tower Of Guns Renegade Ops Tiny Echo Gemini Rue Fotonica 140 Receiver FTL Etherborn Jedi Knight SpaceChem Astebreed Hyper Light Drifter - Alright, let's see yours. And what's your Game Of The Year?

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 052: “I Was Almost Too Late”

Previously on BnHA: Tomura’s gang of Noumus wreaked havoc on the city. Fucking Endeavor showed up to lend Gran Torino some support. Deku realized Iida was in trouble. Iida got all kinds of fucked up by Stain and tearfully monologued about how much he loves his brother. Stain was not moved and went in for the killing blow. Then my boi Deku showed up with the clutch last minute save.

Today on BnHA: Deku shows off his big hero brain and rad deductive reasoning skills. Iida is all, “DEKU, DON’T INTERFERE!” even though he’s just lying on the ground waiting to get murdered. Deku tries to hold off Stain using full cowl and it’s briefly the coolest thing ever, but then Stain grazes him with one of his blades and Deku gets paralyzed too. Stain is all, “you’re cool so I won’t kill you,” and yet again tries to kill Iida. Yet another U.A. student shows up before he can actually do so, because Iida apparently has a backup quirk of summoning main characters whenever he’s about to die.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 126 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.) 

um... what

[frantically checks chapter number like three times even though it’s printed right there]

lol what. is this a dream?? a flash forward? DO WE HAVE TO GO BACK KATE

WAIT A SEC. this is a color page! and 52 weeks in a year = 52 chapters in a year = it’s been one year in real time. that’s what they’re talking about

well, congratulations! but don’t fucking confuse me like that you assholes

GASSSSPP

POPULARITY POLL

I PREDICT TODOROKI AT NUMBER ONE, FOLLOWED BY DEKU, FOLLOWED BY BAKUGOU, FOLLOWED BY ALL MIGHT, FOLLOWED BY... WELL IN A JUST WORLD IT’D BE MY BEST GIRL OCHAKO BUT I GUESS WE’LL SEE

oh lord now there’s a two-page spread, and okay I have to risk spoiling myself because this page deserves to be viewed in color

okay found it

I just really love Bakugou’s pose and Aizawa’s grumpy sleeping bag face in the back. also Momo getting her drink on

WHERE THE FUCK IS THE POLL. DO I HAVE TO GO HUNT THAT SHIT DOWN. SHIT. I’LL DO IT LATER

(ETA: didn’t realize this was just the poll announcement and I still had to wait 10 more chapters for the actual results lol)

all right so flashback to Deku running with a 5% One for All speed boost to get to Iida before anything bad happens

he’s thinking about the coincidental appearance of several new Noumus in the same city where the Hero Killer had previously been rampaging about. and he’s wondering if it’s a sign that said killer and the League of Villains have teamed up

good instincts there Deku

and of course he’s realized that Iida went after Stain, since all the signs point in that direction. he’s read enough comics to know when a young hero has gone running off on his own on an ill-advised quest for vengeance

back to the present! Deku is all YEAH I WAS FUCKING RIGHT

(ETA: Deku saying “bingo”, which he does in English, with that satisfied “FUCKIN’ KNEW IT” expression, may be my favorite moment in this entire arc, and I mean that unironically. love it)

Iida looks totally shocked to see him and can you blame him?? he was literally about to die and all of a sudden fucking Deku shows up out of nowhere to punch the strong villain guy in the face? Deku who was supposed to be off on his own internship miles and miles away? and who wouldn’t have had any idea that Iida had gone off on his solo vengeance quest?

just goes to show, don’t underestimate the main character’s propensity for sniffing out trouble and getting involved in the middle of it, Iida

(ETA: since I’ve complained a little about the suspension of disbelief required for some of the coincidences in this arc, I just want to clarify that this is not one of those moments. I actually really like that Deku’s logic was explained, and that he didn’t just randomly stumble across Iida, but was actively looking for him after narrowing down his search radius)

anyway so Stain’s rebounding now and he does recognize Deku from Tomura’s photo

Deku is so fucking smart

can we all agree that even without One for All he still would have made a great fucking hero. worst case, he would have been like the most legendary detective of all time, probably

Deku asks Iida if he can move. good, he’s not dumb enough to try and take this guy on alone if he can help it

but the problem is Iida can’t move. apparently Stain’s quirk took effect when he was cut

shit. so... lol Deku! better not fucking get cut. time to put those new One for All skills to the test in a trial by fire

Deku considers just carrying Iida (he’s strong enough now lol), but then he sees the other hero guy lying there nearby, and he can’t get both of them

and now Iida is putting in his two cents, and. wow guys. this is easily the dumbest thing anyone has ever said in the whole series up until this point

JUST LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE, FAM. IT’S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, IIDA

Stain seems to admire Deku’s heroism, but he says that it’s his duty to kill these guys, and if Deku’s going to stand in his way, well then. you can see where this is going

what happened to that whole “I don’t kill kids, the people I kill all deserve it, this is for the good of society” and all that other shit

and he says “the weaker of us will be culled” with a scary face. and Deku looks intimidated because he can see that this guy truly believes the bullshit he’s spouting right now, and he knows that makes him extra dangerous

but when this guy says “the weaker of us”, I don’t know if he realizes that there’s a good fucking chance that’s actually him

also, I’m still half-expecting Todoroki to show up if this gets bad. though part of me hopes it doesn’t happen since it's so tropey. if he was hanging out with Endeavor, it’d make more sense for him to team up with him and Gran. or maybe join the fight against all of the Noumus downtown

Deku is reaching behind him and clicking something. it looks like his phone; I wonder if he called for backup

he’s realizing now that he’s on his own. but he’s also saying that he needs to “buy some time” so I hope he did call for help

Iida is screaming at him but dude, you really expect Deku to just leave you? I know you’re not thinking straight, but that’s suicidal at best and borderline insulting at worst. I hope Deku chews you out later

oho!

okay, two things I like here! number one, quoting one of All Might’s better lessons. and number two, THE FUCKING SMILE OMG. this is easily the most AM-like he’s been to date and it looks good on him, damn

look at Iida’s face

fucking relax?? you’re really killing my buzz here. just wait. Deku’s got this

probably

so Deku’s charging at Stain and Stain’s bringing the sword out! BOY YOU BETTER DODGE THAT SHIT OR ELSE IT’S A ONE-HIT KO WITH HIS QUIRK

YESSSSSSS

ALL RIGHT SON LET’S DO THIS

Stain thinks to himself that Deku made the smart move by getting in close, so he can’t use his long blade effectively. but now he’s pulling out one of his knives!

AHHHH YESSSS NOT SO FAST MOTHERFUCKER

(ETA: holy shit you can actually see two tiny droplets of blood by Deku’s arm, though. that’s so cool that you can go back and pinpoint the moment when he gets grazed and doesn’t realize)

I’m honestly starting to get a little nervous as to what’s going to happen, because so far Deku is making this look fucking easy, and I figure that in order for the suspense to be maintained, surely something has to go wrong soon, right?

then again

lmao every time Stain tries to hit him he’s fucking gone. pretty safe to say he’s got the speed advantage here I think

AND HERE HE COMES NOW WITH THE SMASH

EVEN AT JUST FIVE PERCENT, THAT SHIT STILL LOOKS LIKE IT HURT

oh my god

sure!! because why would Deku ever come up with his own fighting style when he could just keep ripping off Bakugou’s playbook until the end of time?! I love this so much

anyway, so that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, so naturally something terrible is about to happen I assume?

OH FUCK ME FUCKING SHIT

Deku’s trying to figure out what’s going on -- “did he graze me?”

I can’t tell for sure but it seems like there is indeed a sliiiight teeny tiny cut on his upper arm. fuck

although now Deku is thinking “no that’s not it! it’s blood!” and I have no idea what he’s talking about?

Stain’s walking up to him all calm. he says Deku lacks power but did a good job tracking his movements

see Iida, now if you want to freak out, I will allow it

oh shit??

never mind Iida

shit he’s walking back towards you!!

Stain please don’t kill Iida right in front of a paralyzed and helpless Deku oh my god

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh snap

WHO CALLED IT?! YEAH THAT’S RIIIIGHT

WHY SO SURPRISED, DID YOU NOT SEE THIS COMING

LMAO MEANWHILE I ONLY PREDICTED IT BECAUSE I KNEW FROM THE ANIME THAT HE DID GO TO INTERN AT ENDEAVOR’S AGENCY. IT’S THE ANIME’S FUCKING FAULT. I SHOULD STOP WATCHING FOR A WHILE, BUT I JUST LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK SO MUCH, AND IT’S SO MUCH FUN TO SEE THESE SCENES IN ACTION DAMMIT

ANYWAY!!!

OHHH MY GODDD

DEKU HIT HIM UP IN THE GROUP CHAT I CAN’T I’M DONE FOREVER

SO THEN HE DID KNOW HE WAS COMING. MAYBE HE JUST LOOKS SO SHOCKED BECAUSE OF THE STRESSFUL SITUATION HE WAS IN ONLY SECONDS EARLIER

ALSO, LOOK AT THIS HANDSOME MOTHERFUCKER IN HIS NEW FUCKING COSTUME

hey google play Arsonist’s Lullabye

BONUS:

Ochako’s meal plan wtf

she doesn’t eat

what the fuck did I just read

what the shit I don’t even get it. how’s it supposed to be funny. is it making fun of diets or making light of poverty wtf

whatever. I may honestly delete this bonus section, since it contains absolutely nothing of value and just ruins all that cool shit Todoroki and Deku just did

(ETA: well in the end I didn’t delete it. I’m not gonna post any of the rest of these segments though. they’re pretty terrible and it’s easier for me to just pretend they don’t exist)

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Rebirth of Kaiser:  Chapter 2

He opened his eyes to the same view that he’d had for the last few years: a simple wooden roof. After the night of dreams he’d had, it didn’t seem right somehow.

It should be white. With blue trim.

He closed his eyes again, focusing on the here and now, not on the snippets of dreams that refused to stay in his memory long enough for him to understand them. When he opened his eyes again, he recognized the roof as his own, and the familiar sense of home folded in around him.

Slowly he sat up and looked around. Everything remained in the usual place: his favorite jacket on the chair next to the bed, along with his boots. He’d washed his other clothes the day before and they hung outside, drying.

There really wasn’t much to where he lived. One single room, with different parts divided for what he needed. A bed over here, a place to keep his clean clothes – what few he had of those – and a little space with a second chair, for those irregular times he entertained visitors.

Sunlight peeked in through the window, along with a faint gust of wind. He breathed in carefully, not surprised to catch the scent of snow. Winter wasn’t that far away. He would have to take out the extra blankets soon.

Often after he had those nights full of dreams, it was hard to get going in the morning. The dreams sometimes stuck around, if only in the sense that he needed to be somewhere else, that this place was a good and pleasant home, but there was somewhere else.

Today wasn’t one of those days. Today he dressed and headed out for the dining hall with only the faintest flickers of thought about those dreams, and those faded as soon as he stepped outside into the sun.

“Morning!” One of the local sentries waved as he passed by them. He thought it wasn’t legal to be that chipper in the morning. He certainly never was.

But he raised a hand in greeting regardless. No one would be offended. Everyone here, after the last several years, knew what he was like in the mornings.

He reminds me of someone... He wasn’t sure of who. He didn’t remember ever having seen someone like that before. There weren’t many of his type around. But the hint remained all the same.

Had he ever known a Shine Angel before? If he had, it remained lost in the deep darkness that was all he had in his memory prior to the first time he’d opened his eyes in this world.

He shrugged that off, as he always did, and made his way into the dining hall for breakfast, silently greeting a few others along the way. He wouldn’t call them friends – he didn’t think he had friends, but there were people he wasn’t averse to spending time around – but these were at least comfortable acquaintances.

The longer he was in the hall, the more gossip he could here. He wasn’t often fond of the gossip, but it gave him something to listen to, and it could be useful on occasion.

Such as what he heard now.

“He’s coming. It’s that time of year anyway.” The tiny fairy bobbed in the air, morning bowl of stew held between small hands. Tiny eyes shifted over toward him. “You know that, don’t you?”

One eyebrow tilted upward. “I might. If you told me who you’re talking about.”

The fairy – Pixie Guardian – blew air out, wings fluttering in annoyance. “Weren’t you listening?” Before he could give an answer, the pixie kept going. “The Herald is coming! You know, he comes every year about this time?”

Oh. Right. He shouldn’t have forgotten that, but the vague unrest sparked by the dreams drove it out of his mind, at least for now. He shrugged.

“I suppose he does.”

No one knew a great deal about the Herald, only what rumors and legends painted. He looked young, perhaps just coming into full maturity, but there was a dark sort of wisdom in his eyes. He wandered every world known, and quite likely a few that weren’t known, and offered help wherever it was needed.

And every year, as winter drew around, he came to this little collection of huts and homes and spent about a week or so. He’d never said why and no one had the nerve to ask him.

The Herald’s face, with wide brown eyes and a worried expression, was the first thing that he remembered in a memory that contained only a handful of years. That voice was the first one he remembered hearing, asking how he felt.

The Herald’s Voice was also the one he remembered as giving him his name. Just thinking of that moment sent shivers of confusion all through him.

Ryou.

He could not forget that moment, whatever else he forgot or remembered.

His eyes opened and he pulled in a breath of air so clean it seemed like it might come from the dawn of the world itself. He jerked himself up, staring in all directions, before he sank back down, hands rising to press against his own skin, as if he’d never felt it before.

If he had, he didn’t remember. He didn’t remember anything at all save the last few moments.

“Hey.”

He turned at the voice, staring at someone that he hadn’t realized was there. The stranger – everyone was a stranger to him – sat on a rock, a bag in his lap, with a large furry creature seated next to him. Next to him was another creature, this one quite tall, with a broad set of wings, and three eyes that were each of a different color.

“How do you feel?”

He blinked, trying to understand the question. He knew what had been said; that wasn’t the problem. But he wasn’t sure of how to answer it at first.

Slowly he worked out a word. His first word? Maybe.

“Fine?”

The stranger smiled. “Do you remember anything?” it was a friendly, warm smile, and it warmed him all through to see it.

He had to think again to know how to answer the question. His entire mind felt so empty, as if someone had shaken every bit of knowledge out of it. He frowned, reaching one hand up to touch his forehead.

There were things that he knew and didn’t know. He knew roughly what the parts of his body were called and that day followed night and other such common points. He didn’t know who he was or where he’d been or what happened to make himself like this.

“Not really,” he admitted. He turned back to the stranger who seemed so very ready to be helpful. “Who are you?” Another question followed in quick succession. “Do you know who I am?”

The other glanced up at the being beside him. The look they exchanged was nothing sort of raw sorrow that faded the moment he turned away.

“Your name is Ryou. I’m Juudai, this is Yubel,” he gestured to the creature, who nodded in return, and then he rested a hand on the fluffy beast. A cat, Ryou recalled now. A tabby cat. “This is Pharaoh. Daitokuji-sensei’s not around right now, though.”

That didn’t quite make sense, but Ryou suspected it would have if he had all of his memories. Or if he just had memories at all.

“Do you know why I don’t remember anything?”

“You’ve been reborn,” Yubel said, interrupting whatever it was Juudai started to say. “It’s a rare gift and I suggest you let any memories return at their own pace. If they do at all.”

Ryou nodded slowly. He didn’t quite understand what they told him, but he didn’t find himself with the energy to argue at this point. His stomach made a noise and he stared down at it.

Juudai laughed, a bit of a strange sound, but a laugh all the same. “Come on. There’s a village not that far from here we can get some food at. Are you able to walk?”

Ryou decided the only way that he could find out would be to try. He levered his way to his feet, hissing between his teeth when he couldn’t be at all certain that they would carry him at first. Then he steadied himself and took a careful step, hands spread out for balance.

Three steps was all it took before he started to fall again, and Juudai caught him before he got all the way to the ground. Once he was steady again, Ryou made another attempt, this one somewhat more successful.

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Juudai assured him. “Come on, you’ll probably feel better once you have some food in you.”

Ryou wasn’t going to argue on that point. The longer he went without eating, the more certain he became that he could and would eat almost anything set in front of him.

The village they ended up at – Yubel vanished somewhere along the way – wasn’t very big; maybe about twenty or twenty-five huts and about the same number carved into the nearby mountain. The place had been built for defense and was surrounded by a thick stone wall twice as tall as Ryou himself – who realized only then that he was taller than Juudai.

A gate allowed entrance, but only after the guard on duty permitted them to pass through. Ryou was too busy staring at it all, soaking it in, to really pay much attention to what Juudai said or did to get them in.

But on the other side, they quickly found the communal eating area, and Ryou had the first meal that he could remember.

This is a good place for you, Juudai told him before he left that first time. I’ll come back and see you when I can.

So Ryou settled into the village life without a great deal of problems. There were empty huts or cottages and he moved into one, taking up the position of guard to earn his food and shelter. There were higher-ranked soldiers there, who dueled, and there was always the chance he could join them one day, if he ever learned how.

And yet he hadn’t tried. There was a small store one could barter for cards at and he’d investigated there several times over the last handful of years. Not a single card there interested him enough to try it for himself.

Once he finished his breakfast, Ryou wandered out to the main square. Today was one of his rare days without a shift on the guard watch, so he could do as he pleased.

The whole discussion, short as it was, on if the Herald would be returning soon hovered in the back of his mind. The Herald – Juudai – visited whenever his travels brought him around, and he always made time to talk to Ryou when he did.

Exactly why they called him the Herald, Ryou didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if they didn’t know Juudai’s name or if it were some other reasons. Some questions he felt compelled to ask – mostly ones that helped him fit in around the village – and some he didn’t – usually anything to do with Juudai.

There were times when he thought he already knew things about Juudai, things that no one here did, but he just didn’t have the words to express them. He hadn’t mentioned that to Juudai, either, during their few conversations.

Now he made his way out of the village and to a place he enjoyed spending his rare free time in: a long, empty meadow with a single stream whispering its way through it. So far as he knew, he was the only one who ever came here. There was a long rock in the center, just enough for him to get comfortable on, and there he settled down, most of his thoughts centered on what he might ask Juudai when he turned up.

The whole time he lay there, though, he couldn’t drift himself into the pleasant half-rest that sometimes brought a few thoughts he wanted to call memories back. Instead, there was a prickle of wariness between his shoulder-blades, and he kept looking around for any sign of anyone in the area.

After all these years, she’d finally found him. Rumor from the other worlds painted it that he was dead, but she’d never put much stock in rumors that traveled so far.

If this person wasn’t him, then they were close enough for her. And now that she’d found him, she would gain the vengeance she’d spent the last decade planning.

To Be Continued

Notes: I am innocently whistling! (Ryou will get his memories back. But I have Plans for how matters will unfold between now and then.)

[your-dietician]

MLB Trade Rumors and News: Cub throw no-hitter, Josh Bell to undergo MRI

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/mlb/mlb-trade-rumors-and-news-cub-throw-no-hitter-josh-bell-to-undergo-mri/

MLB Trade Rumors and News: Cub throw no-hitter, Josh Bell to undergo MRI

The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we’re running here at MLBDD that rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be shared? Hit us up at @mlbdailydish on Twitter or @MLBDailyDish on Instagram.

It is always nice to start the day with some good news and Cubs fans woke up to fuzzy feelings all around as Chicago used four pitchers including starter Zach Davies and closer Craig Kimbrel to no-hit the Dodgers. Kimbrel looked like the Kimbrel of old and lets not understate how difficult it is to shut down that Dodgers offense. Really impressive.

The Nationals suddenly find themselves surging in the NL East and right in the thick of the race for first place. Unfortunately, Josh Bell, whose hot hitting had helped propel Washington up the standings, is headed for an MRI on his right side which is never great news.

There was a bit of news coming out of the NL East last night on the eve of the series finale between the Braves and Mets. For the Mets, it was good news as Michael Conforto was activated from the injured list after dealing with a hamstring injury for a month or so. The news was less good for the Braves as MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr. ended up being a late scratch from the game due to tightness in his lower back.

MLB’s routine foreign substance checks for pitchers, which began on Monday, got a little weird on Tuesday night. Nationals ace Max Scherzer lived up to his “Mad Max” nickname, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands in the air during an early routine check. Then when Phillies manager Joe Girardi requested that he be checked for a third time during the middle of an inning, Scherzer threw down his hat, unbuckled his belt, and looked like he was about to take off his pants before being discouraged from doing so. As it turned out, Scherzer walked so Sergio Romo could run, as the veteran A’s reliever threw down his hat, glove, and belt before dropping his pants during a foreign substance check.

The Rays promoted top prospect Wander Franco, and he immediately made his presence known on Tuesday night, hitting a game-tying homer for his first major league hit while also collecting a double and a walk. At Triple-A Durham, the 20-year-old was slashing .323/.376/.601 with seven home runs in 173 plate appearances.

The Mets’ rotation sustained a pair of blows on Tuesday, as the team announced that lefty Joey Lucchesi will undergo Tommy John surgery, then right-hander Marcus Stroman exited his start early with left hip soreness. While they have a comfortable lead in the NL East, the Mets continue to be dealt an incredible amount of adversity, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can stay afloat.

The Blue Jays have signed veteran reliever John Axford, reports Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet. The 38-year-old hasn’t seen a major league mound since 2018 and had been working as an analyst on the Jays’ pre and postgame shows before being asked to pitch for them again. The bulk of his career came with the Brewers, as he played in Milwaukee from 2009-13, but now the Ontario native will embark on his third stint with Toronto.

The Tigers have released Wilson Ramos, per a club announcement. The 33-year old signed a $2M deal with Detroit at the beginning of this year, and he looked like he was really giving the Tigers the most value for their buck after going yard six times in his first nine games. Unfortunately that took a turn in early May, when a back injury completely derailed the 12-year major league veteran. Should he be able to heal quickly enough for a late season renaissance, he could make a great extra backstop for a team in contention. Posting a 105 wRC+ for the Mets in 2019, he’s still got some gas left in the tank for whatever team is willing to take the risk.

Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is going to be out for an extended period after suffering a quad injury trying to beat out a double play last week.

Rays ace Tyler Glasnow’s season is in jeopardy after he suffered a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his right arm. He’ll initially try to rehab the injuries rather than immediately opting for Tommy John surgery. In an interesting crossover with the biggest story being discussed around baseball right now, Glasnow said MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances contributed to his injury, as he stopped using a mixture of sunscreen and rosin, and as a result he began gripping the baseball so hard that he injured his elbow.

A lot has been made in recent weeks about the proliferation of foreign substances used primarily (but certainly not exclusively) by pitchers to get better grip on balls to have better command as well as to generate greater spin. It has been clear that MLB was going to crack down on the practice and now it looks like it has landed on its chosen punishment, as it was announced that players found to be using such substances will receive a 10 game paid suspension.

The Cleveland Indians received some pretty rough news about the reigning 2020 CY Young Award winner as Shane Bieber landed on the IL with a strained shoulder. Cleveland’s pitching staff has struggled to stay healthy and/or effective for most of the season and with the loss of their best pitcher in Bieber for a few weeks at least, their quest to try and run down the division-leading White Sox just got that much harder.

It is fair to say that the 2021 season has been a particularly weird one. Teams that we all thought would be good haven’t been and teams that were thought to be afterthoughts have been anything but. Our own Andersen Pickard broke down the five most surprising teams from the 2021 season so far.

It’s the most glorious time of the year: here’s your 2021 MLB Draft primer for notable players, draft order, and more.

The Twins are dragging their feet for extension talks with Jose Berrios, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports. Berrios has one last year of arbitration eligibility before he’s free to sow his wild oats and hit the market in the 2022-23 offseason. And as of now, the Twins have done little to nothing to stop him. Could that be because the NL Central 4th place team is looking to use him as a lucrative trade chip come this year’s deadline? The 27-year old could bring a significant return for Minnesota, but is it enough to risk for them losing him? He’s having another strong season this year, with a 3.49 ERA and a 26% strikeout rate. Either way, as the trade deadline gets closer, we’ll see what moves the Twins are thinking of making.

After going 5-24 in the month of May, the Arizona Diamondbacks are reeling and are already buried in an NL West where even a good season would not guarantee a playoff berth. In order to try to stop the bleeding and try to get back to some level of decency, Arizona fired hitting coaches Eric Hinske and Darnell Coles. Sadly, given the breadth of that roster’s issues, it seems like that they will still end up as one of the league’s worst teams.

Baseball’s draft is slowly transitioning more and more to how drafts are run in other sports which is definitely a good thing. While the MLB draft has certainly been covered as an event, there were not a lot of players present during the draft festivities because of the conflict with the college season and the pre-draft workouts were largely private and lesser in number, again, because of conflicts with games being played. The league appears to be trying to change that as they announced a draft combine with over 100 players scheduled to attend towards the end of June.

Designated hitter Khris Davis, the 2018 major league home run and an imposing slugger for the last half decade, has been designated for assignment by the Rangers after slashing .157/.262/.333 in 22 games with Texas. Davis, who was acquired from Oakland for Elvis Andrus in February, will now look to latch on with another club, though he may have trouble finding another opportunity considering that he’s no longer a viable option in the outfield.

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, long suspected to be one of baseball’s most prominent sticky substance users, delivered an extremely uncomfortable minute-long answer when asked by the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff whether he’s ever used Spider Tack while pitching. Cole did not provide an explicit yes or no, saying “I don’t know quite how to answer that, to be quite honest” and suggesting the shady practice was the fault of veterans who had passed it down to younger pitchers.

Outfielder Jarred Kelenic, widely regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects and the potential savior of the Mariners organization, was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma after getting into an 0-for-39 slump. Kelenic, who played just 28 games in the upper minors (21 at Double-A in 2019 and seven at Triple-A this year) before reaching the majors, has an .096 batting average and .378 OPS in 23 major league games.

The Orioles have placed John Means on the injured list for a strain in his throwing shoulder, which yes, is totally a bummer from any standpoint. While an MRI revealed no structural damage, reports Roch Kubatko of MASN, Baltimore isn’t taking any chances exacerbating his shoulder. He’ll be reevaluated after seven to ten days and the team will have a clear decision on what to do from there. In the meantime, Zac Lowther has been recalled from Tripe-A Norfolk to take his place.

The Nationals really needed Stephen Strasburg to look like the Stephen Strasburg from their World Series run in order to be consistently competitive during the 2021 season. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been what we have seen from Strasburg as he has lost some velocity and his stuff is not as crisp. Now, the Nats got even worse news after Strasburg was forced to leave his start against the Braves early as he was placed on the 10 day injured list with a neck strain that is causing nerve irritation.

The Mets had been hopeful to get Noah Syndergaard back in their rotation soonish to try and hold off their division rivals in what has been a surprisingly bad National League East. Unfortunately, they will have to wait a good bit longer, as Syndergaard’s rehab hit a setback, and elbow inflammation will keep him out until at least August.

Mickey Callaway has been awaiting his official fate from the league in the wake of some some serious and troubling allegations regarding his treatment of female members of the media. Well, MLB announced the results of their investigations where they found that Callaway had engaged in lewd and inappropriate conduct regarding his sexual advances towards journalists. He is now suspended through at least the 2022 season, and the Angels immediately fired him upon the decision being made.

The Rays have traded Willy Adames to the Brewers in a four-player deal. Trevor Richards was also dealt to Milwaukee in exchange for relievers Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen. The 25-year old Adames was arguably the core of the Rays’ young lineup last season, though he had struggled this season before being dealt. He will be taking over as the shortstop for that Brewers, who have been starved for consistency at the position and in desperate need of an offensive boost.

Perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout probably won’t win the AL MVP Award in 2021, as he’s going to spend the next 6-8 weeks on the shelf recovering from a calf strain. Even though Trout had slumped in May, he still led the majors with a .466 OBP and 1.090 OPS due to the ridiculous .425/.523/.781 slash line he posted in April, and his loss is as massive as can be for an Angels team that was already struggling to stay above water in the AL West.

The Dodgers signed veteran slugger Albert Pujols to a major league deal, less than a month after he was designated for assignment and released by the Angels. For a moment there was a rumor floating around that the 41-year-old might sign with the Cardinals so he could play out his career with the team he made his name with. But clearly the Dodgers believe he has some fuel left in the tank, despite the .198/.250/.372 slash line he posted with the Angels this season.

Remember when the league and MLBPA got in a very public back and forth that resulted in MLBPA essentially calling the league’s bluff and calling for a shortened slate of games with the idea that the players were going to file a grievance? Do you remember that Manfred tried to one-up that by saying no season was going to happen at all unless the players waived the right to file a grievance? That was fun…and that grievance has arrived as MLBPA formally accused the league of negotiating in bad faith on the terms of the 2020 season.

Source link

[tomeandflickcorner]

OUAT Episode Analysis- Homecoming

And so it begins.  The first half of the conclusion to Once Upon a Time. All things considered, this was quite the episode.

It starts with a rather strange flashback.  It’s apparently early on in Henry’s soul-searching quest, and he’s trying to save a young woman under a Sleeping Curse.  When he goes in to try and wake her with True Love’s Kiss, a dragon appears and attacks him.  Before Young Henry could even make an attempt at fighting the dragon, some random bloke appears out of nowhere.  This guy effortlessly kills the dragon and proceeds to wake up the young woman with a successful True Love’s Kiss.  Upon waking up, the young woman runs off with Random Bloke, pausing just long enough to acknowledge Young Henry, who she clearly had already met.  Personally, I am a bit curious to what the backstory was to that opening scene was.  I’m guessing Young Henry and Random Bloke both fancied the young woman, and the young woman was completely ignorant to Wish Henry’s feelings, simply viewing him as a dear friend.  But how did these three meet each other in the first place?  And who even were those two?  Also, how many girlfriends did Henry have before he met and married Parallel Ella? First it was Violet, now we got this random lady who Henry clearly liked enough for him to think she might be his True Love.

Either way, the happy couple run off, leaving Young Henry behind to tend to his wounded pride.  And that’s when Wish Rumpelstiltskin pops up, approaching Young Henry.  Wish Rumpelstiltskin starts talking about how Young Henry can only find his true Happy Ending with his help.  But Young Henry, not seeming the least bit surprised that Wish Rumpelstiltskin found his way to Parallel Enchanted Forest, isn’t interested in hearing what he has to say, stating that nothing good can ever come from making a deal with Rumpelstiltskin.  Which is really smart of him.  And I guess this probably explains why Henry didn’t stop to say hello when he passed by Rumpelstiltskin Prime when he rode past him on his motorcycle at the end of 7x04. He probably thought it was Wish Rumpelstiltskin again.

But that’s pretty much the only flashback we get in this episode.  The rest of it is pretty much set in the Hyperion Heights timeline, with everyone celebrating the defeat of Gothel and the return of their memories. Regina even hosts a party in her bar, with Alice and Robyn brining some of Sabine/Tiana’s beignets.  However, one dark cloud still remains over the festivities. They still haven’t found a way to lift the curse on Wish Killian’s heart, which is now fully activated again.  As a result, he not only isn’t able to attend the celebratory party, but Alice has to move out of the apartment they’d been sharing as Rogers and Tilly.  This is driven home by a nicely acted scene when Wish Killian and Alice are having a conversation via cellphone while standing on opposite sides of the street.

I also have to give credit to Regina here.  She actually has the decency to inquire on how Wish Killian is doing when Alice arrives at the party.  It’s quite the 180 from the attitude she frequently had towards Killian Prime. Case in point how dismissive she was when Killian Prime failed to show up for the Nevengers meeting in 3x19.  I wonder if Regina would be this gracious towards Killian Prime now, or is she only being nice because it’s Wish Killian? I’d like to think it’s the former, because apart from a few lines that made me raise an eyebrow (such as how she spoke of Operation Cobra as if it was something she and Henry did together), I’ve overall been okay with Regina throughout this season.  At least she hasn’t shown any signs of the behavior she displayed in the past that made it hard for me to like her.

Speaking of Regina, she is starting to worry as nobody has seen Facilier since the curse broke.  When she stops by his office, however, all she finds is Rumpelstiltskin Prime, who had been tied up and magically hidden away behind this indoor waterfall feature.  Upon being freed, Rumpelstiltskin Prime informs Regina of Facilier’s death by Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s hand. 

We then cut to Henry, Parallel Ella and Lucy, who are having a smaller, more intimate party of their own to celebrate them being reunited at last, and to make up for all the celebrations they missed while under the curse.  We also get a nice little callback to the Pilot episode, when Emma made a wish on her birthday cupcake to not be alone on her birthday, and Young Henry appeared at her door seconds later.  But then, the peaceful moment is broken when Wish Rumpelstiltskin appears. He magically transports Parallel Ella and Lucy into Wish World and proceeds to go off on this whole spiel about how he’d once warned Henry that he’d never get his Happy Ending without his help and he’s decided to prove it.  By abducting Henry’s family and holding them hostage until Henry agrees to help him with something.   So, in other words, Wish Rumpelstiltskin has decided to completely drop the usual manipulation tactic and go straight for blackmail.  Interesting choice.  The only thing that bugs me about this is that Wish Rumpelstiltskin is trying to forge a deal with Henry, as if this is just another you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours kind of thing.  The sort of stunt Rumpelstiltskin did so often in the past.  Except it’s not.  Because Wish Rumpelstiltskin is holding Henry’s wife and daughter hostage.  There is no deal here.  This is blackmail, plain and simple.

Anyway, what exactly is Wish Rumpelstiltskin after?  He wants Henry to bring Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s Dagger to him.  Because apparently, Wish Rumpelstiltskin found out that Rumpelstiltskin Prime was planning to give up the Dagger and decided that he couldn’t let that happen.  Wish Rumpelstiltskin states that, if Rumpelstiltskin Prime gives up the Dagger, then he will lose his Dark One powers, too.  Which honestly doesn’t make much sense.  Unless something went over my head, Wish Rumpelstiltskin has his own version of the Dagger, doesn’t he?  So how would Rumpelstiltskin Prime giving up his Dagger have any effect on Wish Rumpelstiltskin?

Confusing details aside, Henry immediately seeks out Regina, Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime to tell them about what Wish Rumpelstiltskin had done.  And they’re all instantly voicing their desire to stand with Henry on this one. To get to Wish World, Wish Killian, recalling how much of a packrat Alice was, returns to the boxcar where Tilly/Alice once lived in.  There, he manages to locate an enchanted looking glass.  Rather like the one that Will and Anastasia used to travel to Wonderland Prime in the Wonderland spin-off.  But there’s a slight problem- the looking glass has a large crack running down the mirror’s surface.  So it’s possible the magic within the looking glass won’t even work.  Ultimately, it’s decided that it’s worth risking it, for the sake of Henry’s family.  However, when the four of them jump through the portal the Looking Glass creates, the crack in the mirror ends up separating them.  Henry and Regina end up in Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s castle while Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime wind up elsewhere.

At this point, we get our first cameo appearance.  Upon arriving in Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s castle, Henry and Regina run into Wish Pan, who is being confined by a stock that had been set up within the castle. Apparently, at some point, Wish Rumpelstiltskin had made his way into the Wish World’s version of Neverland and sought vengeance on his father.  However, this appearance of Wish Pan is completely pointless.  All he does is tell Henry that he’d be better off giving up hope of finding his family and just leave.  Which is something anyone could have said.  They could just as easily given this role to a random extra. So unless Wish Pan has a bigger part in the second half of this series finale, this really was a waste of a paycheck. Granted I don’t have access to any focus group data, but I seriously doubt Pan was popular enough that people were asking to see him again.

As for Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime, they find themselves at the Wish World equivalent of Rumpelstiltskin’s childhood home.  Rumpelstiltskin even takes note of the presence of the hammer he’d used to cripple himself in order to get sent home instead of fighting in the Ogre Wars. However, this is a slight continuity error, as Rumpelstiltskin was at the warfront when he’d crippled himself. So how did the hammer he’d used wind up at the home he shared with Milah?  Maybe the other soldiers decided to put it there as a way to further mark him as the village coward?  I guess that’s a possibility.  Either way, Rumpelstiltskin Prime states that, while he did try to run from the Ogre Wars, this is a fight he’s willing to see through to the end.  But Wish Killian pipes up, reminding him that he didn’t do so well against Wish Rumpelstiltskin earlier.  He proceeds to suggest an alternative method, pointing out that he is from Wish World and they’re therefore in his territory.

Wish Killian ends up taking Rumpelstiltskin Prime to a seaside cave, where he admits he lived after Gothel had cursed him.  He admits that he came very close to giving up all hope of saving his daughter and had pretty much came to this seaside cave to drink himself to death.  Until he met a friend who helped get him on the right path again.  Who is this fried, you might ask?  None other than Wish Ariel.  Because apparently, Killian and Ariel were always destined to meet and become friends. Interestingly enough, when Wish Ariel appears after Wish Killian calls her with a conch horn, she’s carrying a King Triton style trident.  Which I guess means that Wish Ariel is the ruler of the whole ocean.  Pretty cool. But did she take over for Wish Poseidon? I wonder what happened to Wish Ursula. Also, does this mean that Wish Ariel and Wish Eric didn’t end up together?  In any event, Wish Killian’s plan starts to become clear when he asks Wish Ariel if she had any squid ink stored away.

There’s also a bit of dialogue in this scene, in which Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime comment on how this entire realm was created by a wish.  Which results in this exchange.

Wish Killian: Make no mistake, I'm as real as you.

Rumpelstiltskin Prime: I wouldn't dare suggest otherwise.

Shame that Regina didn’t get that during her first trip into Wish World.  Also, I get the feeling that this bit was meant to throw shade at people who have been calling Wish Killian ‘Fake Hook’ all season.  But since I’m not sure how much the writers have been paying attention to what the fans have been saying on social media, I could be wrong.

Meanwhile, Regina and Henry, while searching through Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s castle, have run into another familiar face.  This time, it’s Wish Cruella.  And if you had been in the same room as me when I was watching this episode, you would have heard my agonized groan.  Because I really didn’t care to see this woman again.  It turns out that Wish Rumpelstiltskin is basically using Wish Cruella as an attack dog, so to speak.  She ends up crossing blades with Henry in a duel.  And the Captain Cobra lover in me started grinning like a loon when Henry utilized the spin move that he undoubtedly learned from his stepfather. The swordfight quickly ends with Henry disarming Wish Cruella, with Regina magically trapping her inside a nearby cage the moment Wish Cruella has been defeated.  Once they have her contained, Regina and Henry question her on the whereabouts of Parallel Ella and Lucy.  Wish Cruella is visibly disgruntled, but she informs the pair that Henry’s family is being kept in the dungeon.  So they immediately head down there.  Sure enough, when they reach the dungeon, they do find Parallel Ella and Lucy. But they’ve been shrunk down and are trapped within a glass ball 

Before they could start to think of a way to free them, Wish Rumpelstiltskin once again appears.  He starts blathering on about how Henry is trying to cheat the terms of their deal to trade Parallel Ella and Lucy for Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s Dagger (even though this is really more of a hostage situation and not an actual deal.)  To try and up the ante, I guess, Wish Rumpelstiltskin casts a spell that would cause snow to fall within the glass ball.  So, if Henry and company don’t hand over Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s dagger, or come up with an alternative way to free them in time, Parallel Ella and Lucy will become completely buried in snow and therefore either freeze to death or die of asphyxiation.  With that taunt hanging in the air, Wish Rumpelstiltskin teleports away again, leaving Henry to stress about his family’s predicament.  Especially when Regina’s attempt at saving them with her magic only seems to make the situation worse.

It’s here that Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime arrive on the scene.  In desperation, Henry starts to contemplate giving into Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s demands and give him Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s Dagger, which is an option that Rumpelstiltskin Prime refuses to even consider.  This leads to a great line from Henry: ‘Maybe it's time that we all ask ourselves who really deserves their happy ending?’  Honestly, that should have been the question to ask during that whole Author arc.

Regardless, Rumpelstiltskin Prime announces that he and Wish Killian already came up with a plan to get the better of Wish Rumpelstiltskin.  And he promptly leaves to go initiate that plan.  To make sure Rumpelstiltskin Prime doesn’t double cross them by cutting a different deal with Wish Rumpelstiltskin, Regina decides to follow him, with Henry and Wish Killian staying behind to scour the library for a way to free Parallel Ella and Lucy from their Snow Globe prison.

The confrontation between Rumpelstiltskin Prime and Wish Rumpelstiltskin occurs back at the Stiltskin Hovel.  During this confrontation, Rumpelstiltskin Prime begins this whole monologue about how he’s been trying to rid himself of his copy of the Dagger for a while, knowing that he has to hand it over to someone with a pure heart but has always found that he couldn’t find it in him to burden someone with the Darkness.  And now he realizes that he’s found a loophole to that.  Because if he hands the Dagger over to Wish Rumpelstiltskin, then he wouldn’t have to feel bad, because he wouldn’t be burdening anyone or spreading the Darkness even further.  Because Wish Rumpelstiltskin wants the Darkness.  But then, when he hands over the Dagger, it turns out that this was a trick, as Rumpelstiltskin Prime had coated the handle of his Dagger with Wish Ariel’s squid ink. As such, Wish Rumpelstiltskin is temporarily immobilized.  With his Wish counterpart incapacitated, Rumpelstiltskin Prime takes back his dagger, using a cloth to shield himself from the effects of the squid ink.  He announces his intention to kill Wish Rumpelstiltskin with the Dagger.  Which would undoubtedly transform him into the Super Ultra Maxi Extreme Mega Dark One. In response to Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s reminder that doing so would result in him never being able to rejoin Belle in the afterlife, he states that he’s willing to make that sacrifice if it means getting rid of Wish Rumpelstiltskin.

Unfortunately, this is when Regina barges in, having the worse timing EVER!  Because her arrival distracts Rumpelstiltskin Prime long enough for the squid ink to wear off, allowing Wish Rumpelstiltskin to regain control, knocking out Regina and trapping Rumpelstiltskin Prime in a Force Chokehold.

And it’s here that Wish Rumpelstiltskin reveals that this whole thing was never about the Dagger.  Because they’re bringing up that whole Blind Seer prophecy from 02x14.  The one that said Henry would be Rumpelstiltskin’s undoing.  And it’s here that the episode gets even more convoluted. So you’re telling me that the Blind Seer managed to foresee this whole entire mess with the Wish World? Wow.  I have no idea what to say about that.

Meanwhile, Henry has come up with a possible way to help save his family.  But before he heads off, he decides to knock out Wish Killian. Because he feels that, if Wish Killian knew what he was planning to do, he’d only try to stop him.  Henry’s plan turns out to be tracking down none other than Wish Apprentice.  Which was a cameo that was actually a nice surprise.  Sadly, Wish Apprentice has fallen blind over the years, but he’s still as steadfast as ever.  Henry tells Wish Apprentice that he’d come looking for the Author’s Pen.  Because that’s apparently Henry’s plan- to utilize his mantle of the Author to fix the situation.

As one might expect, Wish Apprentice isn’t exactly eager to hand over the Author’s pen, as he would only relinquish it to the True Author.  Henry reassures him that, in his realm, he IS the Author.  In order to test the validity of Henry’s claim, Wish Apprentice, I guess, manages to enter into Henry’s mind and scan his memories. Which results in what is quite possibly the most meta moment the show has given us, with Wish Apprentice stating ‘the timelines alone; they make one's head spin.’  Stating that only a True Author could have lived such a story, Wish Apprentice is now convinced that Henry is the Author, and he therefore hands over the Pen. Before Henry leaves, however, Wish Apprentice reminds him that the Author’s job is to record stories, not create them.

So now Henry has the Pen.  But he needs to locate the necessary ink before the Pen can work.  Fortunately, Henry knows exactly where to find some.  And it’s here that I actually have to applaud the writers for the callback. Because, if you go back to the events of the 04x19 flashback, you’d remember that Cruella’s bi-colored hair was actually the result of it getting drenched in the Author’s ink.  (So, does this mean that there was a Wish World counterpart to Author Isaac, too?)  In any event, Henry manages to siphon the ink out of Wish Cruellla’s hair and back into the Pen.

Now that Henry has what he needs, he’s ready to use his Authorial powers to save Parallel Ella and Lucy. Which is technically a blatant abuse of his position, but I realize that Henry is simply desperate at this point.  However, before Henry could fully execute his plan, Wish Rumpelstiltskin once again pops into the scene and magically takes the Pen away from Henry.  Because now it turns out that’s what Wish Rumpelstiltskin was really after this whole time?  Seriously, show.  Make up your mind already.

Of course, Henry points out that the Pen won’t work for Wish Rumpelstiltskin, as only the Author can use it. But Wish Rumpelstiltskin isn’t bothered by this statement, as he already knew this, and came into this whole thing with an ace up his sleeve.  Namely Wish Henry.  Yeah, that’s right.  Wish Henry is back.  I can’t believe I actually called that one.  But there was a bit of foreshadowing to this in the first episode of the season.  You know, when Young Henry Prime commented on how he was the only version of himself before he left Storybrooke on his soul-searching quest?  

It comes out that Wish Rumpelstiltskin was actually trying to help Wish Henry get his happy ending, not Henry Prime.  Because Wish Henry, understandably, is still angry over the death of his grandparents and subsequent loss of his mother.  (Which once again presents the million dollar question- Was there a Wish Emma that Emma Prime magically replaced when we first were introduced to this realm?)  So he made a deal with Wish Rumpelstiltskin.  If Wish Rumpelstiltskin helped Wish Henry get revenge on the person responsible for the loss of his whole family, then Wish Henry would use the Author’s Pen to assist Wish Rumpelstiltskin in getting what he wanted.

To try and put a stop to this, Henry Prime tries to get through to Wish Henry’s better nature, offering to help him find a loophole to get out of the deal he made with Wish Rumpelstiltskin.   But Wish Henry is not swayed, as he believes this deal will help him get what he wants.  And so, at Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s urging, Wish Henry uses the magic of the Pen to make it so the Guardian’s powers will no longer exist. Thereby preventing Rumpelstiltskin Prime from freeing himself of the Dagger.  Because that bit about how Wish Rumpelstiltskin would somehow lose his Dark One powers as well still stands.  Which still doesn’t make any sense.  Hopefully the final episode will clear it all up.

Relishing in his victory, Wish Rumpelstiltskin transports Henry Prime, Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime to meet the same fate as Parallel Ella and Lucy.  Only Regina is left behind.  Because this is what Wish Henry was to get out of the deal- the chance to make Regina pay for the deaths of Wish Snowing and the apparent removal of Wish Emma/Emma Prime.   Honestly, I’m kinda okay with this.  While I’m not saying I want to see Wish Henry kill Regina, it’s about time that Regina was forced to deal with the repercussions for what she did during her initial jaunt through the Wish World.  And this time, she can’t excuse her actions by claiming that Wish Snowing’s deaths didn’t matter because they weren’t real.  Now she’s going to have to face the facts that she really did murder two people and leave a version of Henry completely alone in the world.   Gotta say, for all the times Regina tried to belittle Snow and Emma for never thinking of the consequences of their actions, Regina was the one who never considered the repercussions of anything she did.  So I’m really jazzed to see someone FINALLY making her practice what she preached for once.

Back in Hyperion Heights, Alice and Robyn are in the middle of searching for their own apartment to share when Alice, I guess, was able to feel it when she was stripped of her Guardian Powers.  She instinctively realizes that her father and his friends are in trouble, so she and Robyn decide to go and try to help.  But they’re not quite sure how to get to them.  They end up going to Tiana and Naveen for assistance.  However, when Tiana summons everyone else who had been brought to Hyperion Heights from Parallel Enchanted Forest, she initially struggles in getting their attention.  There was a bit of a subplot earlier when Tiana admitted that she was having a bit of difficulty in adjusting to the fact that she had a lifetime of memories of being Sabine on top of her memories as Tiana and was now doubting that she could remember how to be Queen Tiana again.  Which, when I think about it, is not too dissimilar to what Charming went through at the very start of S2.  Fortunately, Naveen is quick to provide her with a pep talk, and then assists her in getting everyone’s attention, enabling Tiana to ask anyone if they had anything that would help Alice and Robyn get to the Wish World to save Henry and the others.  After a moment, Remy, that guy who worked at Regina’s bar, presenting them with a magic bean that he’d just happened to find while making a cassoulet.   By the way, did they ever explain who this guy was in Parallel Enchanted Forest?  Because until further notice, I’m going to think he’s supposed to be the rat chef from Ratatouille.

With the magic bean in hand, Alice and Robyn head off, using Sabine/Tiana’s food truck.  But it turns out that they’re not immediately heading to Wish World. Because Robyn had decided that they should gather up some reinforcements first.  As such, the two use the magic bean to head off to….. STORYBROOKE!

Honestly, I’m a bit confused by that. It’s been established that the stuff we’ve been seeing in present day Hyperion Heights has actually been occurring in the past, and in Storybrooke, it’s around the time when Henry first left home.  So, as far as the people of Storybrooke are concerned, Henry is still 18 and has only left a day or so ago.  Wouldn’t it mess up the timelines even more if Alice and Robyn show up seeking help for Adult Henry?  Not to mention that Robyn might run into herself, which could create an issue.  But again, maybe the next episode will explain how they’re working their way around that one.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

[sodapaladin]

PawelCyril’s Top 10 Games 2017!

Just like my good friend @shylax, I’ll be considering any game I played for the first time in 2017, not just games that came out this year, because I mostly play older games and can highlight some underrated gems this way!

10. Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (GB)

Castlevania: The Adventure is not a good game. It’s slooow and missing many Castlevania staples, such as subweapons and stairs, of all things. Its sequel, on the other hand, is Game Boy Castlevania done right. Hot damn. The four castles can be completed in any order, so even if you forget your password, you aren’t stuck doing the same intro level a hundred times. The action and platforming is on point. There are problems, certainly, but unlike the first Game Boy outing, this one feels like a proper Castlevania. The soundtrack is also killer, as par for the series’ course. Interestingly, the Japanese and international versions have one different subweapon, the cross and axe, respectively.

9. Mobile Golf (GBC)

Did you know Mario Golf (GBC) had a sequel only released in Japan? It probably didn’t come over due to its relation with the mobile adapter which also wasn’t released outside of Japan. It seems odd to test mobile multiplayer with a golf game, seeing as I could get the same result by playing the game myself and then comparing scores with my friend. That gimmick aside, this game’s essentially an expansion pack sequel to Mario Golf, running on the same engine but with new courses. It also features Foreman Spike, from Wrecking Crew! When will he make another comeback?

8. Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (PC)

I tried this adorable indie game thanks to @arkthepieking recommendation, and he was right, it was right up my alley. Everything about it is so charming, from the characters to the graphics to the music. The difficulty goes up at a good pace, and there are quite a few secrets to be found. It’s free and short, so give it a try sometime!

7. NES Remix (1 and 2) (Wii U)

The idea of sampling old NES games’ best moments is brilliant. Every once in a while, I think, “Gee, I miss Super Mario Bros. 2, but I’m only in the mood for a couple minutes of it.” Well this highlight collection has you covered! I appreciate Zelda II in theory, but I don’t have the patience to get through its slow dialogue and frustrating areas such as Death Mountain. Thanks to this game, I was able to experience the thrilling boss fights and memorable moments without hours of irritation. It’s also a great way to sample games for a younger audience who may have not even heard of some of these games. My biggest complaint would be how the first challenge for certain games (Kirby’s Adventure uuugh) forces you to sit through a tutorial every single time, making it annoying to replay those challenges for a high score. Some challenges are also scored in a strange way, leaving you wondering why you got 3 stars or only 1. Not every game is a winner, but there are enough classics to entertain any NES fan.

6. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

Mario Kart 7 was a bit underwhelming, but Mario Kart 8 brought back the fun. While some of the character choices are disappointing (waaay too many babies), we also got Isabelle, so it balances out. The zero-gravity gimmick is fine, although I don’t even realize I’m upside-down most of the time. Regardless, the new courses are a blast, and there are plenty of revamped retro courses that make me nostalgic and happy. The F-Zero and Animal Crossing courses in particular are full of love. I can’t get over the little details such as rupees replacing coins in the Zelda course, or how every Animal Crossing game’s theme is represented (ILY GameCube AC).

5. Final Fantasy V (GBA)

Being a huge Dragon Quest fan, I’ve held off on playing this for a long time, but I finally got around to it this year. This may just be my favorite main FF game. The story is simplistic compared to IV, but it’s still interesting enough for me. The best way to describe it is charming. The music is also lovely, especially the battle theme, which is my favorite in the series. I’m still not finished with this game, but it’s safe to say I like it a lot.

4. JGTO Kōnin Golf Master (GBA)

I bought this game just to add to my golf game collection. I did not expect it to be such an underrated gem. Easily my favorite golf game on the GBA, and one I still play from time to time. You can read my full review on it for more details. Overall, it’s a fun game with good pacing and a super catchy soundtrack. Technically this game came out in the west as ESPN Final Round Golf 2002, which took out the story mode and changed some graphics. The cartoony real-life golfers were replaced by realistic-looking fictional golfers, and a few other things such as the HUD are changed around, but it’s essentially the same game. If you want a golf game for the GBA besides Mario Golf, I highly recommend this.

3. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)

Although I put Fates on my top ten list last year, it was a massive disappointment in many ways. Echoes blows it out of the water. Despite being a remake, it’s so fresh! It’s a remake of Gaiden in terms of story, but it’s a completely revamped game that takes everything you know about Fire Emblem and chucks it out the window. It took a while to relearn things such as inventory management and spells, which are now handled differently, but this breath of fresh air is exactly what this series needed. Easily one of the best Fire Emblem games.

2. Dungeon Travelers 2 (PS Vita)

Technically I bought this last year, but I put it on hiatus for a while and played a lot more this year, so I think it’s earned a spot. Not gonna lie, I bought this game primarily for the sleaze. It’s a dungeon crawler with cute girls. What else could I ask for? To my surprise, though, it’s actually a fantastic dungeon crawler in its own right. The difficulty can be quite tough at times, but that makes it so satisfying to overcome. There are tons of ways to build your party, with dozens of jobs that fit into various archetypes. I love the idea of the maid class, which isn’t too useful on its own, but has the ability to restore another party member’s MP for free. This is a fascinating idea, essentially sacrificing a slot in your party for an extra battery for your mage. The story is rather forgettable, but the characters are surprisingly likable and are more interesting than simply sexy ladies. Gratuitous fanservice is still a major part of the game, however, so it’s difficult to recommend this game to any RPG fan. If you’re into women and dungeon crawling, though, this game is way better than it has any right to be. There’s a free demo, so check it out!

1. Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Can you believe I played this for the first time in 2017? For years, friends have told me I’d love this game, but I didn’t believe the hype. Chrono Trigger is one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played. The story, music, characters, gameplay, and more are all incredible. The story was interesting throughout with little filler, and it moved from plot point to plot point organically without the need to gather seven magic crystals or the like. The party members felt like individuals with their own goals, not merely tagging along because you’re the protagonist. For example, having to fight Magus alone as Frog is you have him in your party was satisfying and made sense. I could gush about this game forever but RPG fans already know how great it is. I cannot recommend it enough.

[disneydreamlights]

So, I've figured out how you'd obtain Moogle of Glory in the MMO. After clearing Beast's Castle, you'd get a cutscene of Donald and Goofy crashing in Daybreak Town. After seeing this cutscene, if you enter then exit the Moogle Shop Menu. Doing that will trigger the cutscene where the Moogle's Keyblade scheme falls through, and the Keychain attaches itself to your Keyblade. Then you can complete the Moogle 'o Glory quest chain.

PLEASE ANYTHING IS FUCKING BETTER THAN THE MOG QUESTS.

I want to max out Moogle of Glory so bad. I literally need a Power Magic medal after pulling every Foreteller but Gula (and guilting Aced and Invi) but the MoG questline is so bad...and only easy to do in 0 AP. I hate it.

You'd actually obtain the Power Bangle after receiving the "Where's Chirithy?" Quest, upon entering the Fountain Square. You'd then get a Guilting tutorial. You'd get a hint that the Chirithy you were talking to isn't your Chirithy when you speak with your own Chirithy after completing the Guilting Tutorial and they have NO idea where you got the Power Bangle (with some foreshadowing since they have a minor, subtle freakout upon seeing that you have it). So yeah, there's that.

Tbh that foreshadowing should’ve been in the actual KHUx now I’m salt.

The Moogle Shop Menu would have buttons for each shop menu, one for Medals, one for Items, one for Furniture, and one for Spirit parts. There'd also be be a button for selling Medals, and a button for selling Keyblade Materials. The Spirit portion of the shop would have two banners that are always there where you can buy Rainbow parts for the Pupstar and Kitstar, plus the limited time banner for other Spirit Parts.

So, the Spirit would be unlocked through simple means, progress past a certain point in the story (not sure where yet, other than it being before Beast's Castle), then head to Daybreak Town. Cue obtaining the new Pet feature. As for the room? You'd unlock it in a Story Quest, after completing the first three Disney World arcs and returning to Daybreak Town, you would get the key to your room. Why a key when you have a Keyblade? To discourage you from abusing the Keyblade's unlocking powers!

Combining these two into both parts because they’re both pet things. I love the idea of a shop where I could buy the pet parts individually. Perhaps do the banners in the same manner as limited edition shop items, with the rainbow items being available for Munny (because let’s face it when you’re at the point I am in the game where you have quite a few million of it, Munny is useless) and having things worth spending Munny on besides evolving medals to guilt them would be nice.

Also the Daybreak Town thing is adorable and hilarious with the key, and if you ask me you actually should hold off on giving the pet until beating the Keyblade War. I think in the MMO since it’d probably go through KHX and KHUx that it would make most sense to not give the pet until the Union Leaders create it in the Unchained Realm.

So uh, I was thinking of an idea for a SUPER RARE Guilt Medal that's used to roll/reroll traits. While Fusing two of the same Medal would still be the best way to go, these SUPER RARE Medals would be an alternative for Medals you don't have duplicates of. It would cost more Guilt and maybe some Munny to use, however. Additionally, I don't know if it should be Phantom Aqua, DiZ, Robed Ansem, Sora's Heartless, or some other villain from the series. Do you have any ideas?

Hooded Ansem. It should be a character not represented yet but still significantly important and powerful within the series.

So, okay, when the Foreteller Deals arrive, everyone would receive a free Medal corresponding to their Foreteller. Each banner would have the "guaranteed in 5 draws", plus the chance of pulling one of the other 4 Foretellers (and Luxu, whom wouldn't have a banner). Luxu would be another Speed Medal. Sharing any of these Medals would change the music in the Player's room to "Dearly Beloved (Back Cover vers.). Players would be able to borrow Friend Medals for single-player portals.

Nonny you’re speaking my language I wasted over 40k jewels for Ava and granted, I got her, that’s 42k jewels I could still have an be well on my way to saving sixty for that Roxas out right now or the Xion dropping in a few weeks.

Okay, so I'm kinda torn on how I want the "Proud Mode" Keychains to be obtained. One way I was considering was having them be available in the "Item" portion of the Moogle Shop, where you can pull a random Keychain from the pool of the "Keychain" Banner. The other way was having Avatar Boards you unlock as you level up where you unlock them with Avatar Coins. I'm kinda torn between the two of them for obvious reasons

So, I think I figured out how I'd like the whole "Proud Mode" Keyblade thing to work. Basically, what if every Story Battle had a "Proud Mode" or something along those lines? I mean, that's pretty close to how canon does it, but seeing as how I've never beaten the first Shadow of the Proud Mode quests... But yeah, what if the first time you clear choice Story Battles in Hard Mode, you got one of the "Hard Mode" Keyblades?

I mean that’s basically how canon does it, but I think having them pull from a banner might be slightly better than just being avatar coins, so long as one Keyblade is guaranteed, but I think it should be available with Event Coins. We have so many event coins left at the end of every event (mine are in the thousands typically) it’d be nice to have something I can throw all those extra event coins at so they’re not wasted.

I also had an idea for the Organization XIII Medals inspired by the AWFUL "Organization XIII Revival" 1 day event. Basically, on the first day of every month, you'd be able to obtain Xemnas from Event Quests. On the second day, Xigbar, and so on and so forth until the fourteenth where you can get Xion. Shorter timeframe? Yes, but it's much less stressful than "Only thirteen days starting from the thirteenth with only ONE CHANCE ever!" Plus, Roxas and Xion medals from the monthly event!

I’d like that if only so I could guilt Xemnas and Xigbar since I failed to do it both times, but I feel like the event will come around again. This is a rerelease of them from the first time after all. Xion medals from any event are also very good to me. XD (Course I more want Xion’s hair but still)

Getting long so throwing the rest under read more for this group.

So, Anniversary Art #6 would depict Nightmare Chirithy in its boss form front and center with Maleficent and Pete at its right and left respectively and two robed figures standing behind them. Anniversary Art #7 would depict Phantom Chirithy in the Background with Maleficent and Pete standing in front of it, and three masked figures (whom players would later learn to be the brainwashed Union Leaders) standing before them. Both would be Reverse Medals.

NIGHTMARE CHIRITHY ART YES.

So yeah, in Unchained X (three whole years after players witnessed their plush companion freak out over the Power Bangle), we'd get a cutscene explaining why the NEW Union Leaders would allow the Power Bangles since they'd probably have learned what Guilt really is. The idea? Use the Medals to imprison darkness with the Guilting Process, and the Nova Attacks are a sort of exhaust to purge dark energy. Now if only they didn't task the TRAITOR with collecting and containing the purged darkness.

So yeah, the plan with that cycle was to keep the darkness from being able to take tangible form so that the Union Leaders could use the Lux the Dandelions collect to turn their dreams into new worlds, void of darkness. Seeing as the series happened, you can guess how well that turned out. But yeah, Lauriam collects all the Darkness and uses it to create Nightmare versions of the Spirits. Speaking of the Pets, as cool as the bottle animation is, spending Jewels for random parts is just, no.

Putting this under gameplay since guilting is a mechanic, but it does make a surprising amount of sense and explain a lot of the reason why the Union Leaders would actually think it’s okay to allow the Power Bangles and guilt in the Unchained Realm.

As somebody who wasted 3000 jewels just to get a full piggy set because she loves pigs and skipped the bunnies because she needed jewels, fuck yes. Do not charge me for my pigs, I don’t care if it’s cosmetic offer at least basics without premium currency and different unique colors for the jewels.

So, I'd probably make it so that you'd use Munny for more than just Fusing Medals. I'd have it so you have to spend Jewels to purchase Items, Medals, and SOME Avatar Boards, sure, but I'd have it so you spend MUNNY on Decorations (furniture), and MAYBE spend both Guilt and Munny on the random Spirit Parts because Spirits are Dream Eaters and those are made of Darkness (the Union Leaders think that they're turning Darkness into Light when they make Spirits. They're not) so continuity nod there.

YOU’RE LITERALLY TELLING ME THINGS SQUARE SHOULD’VE DONE YOU’RE MAKING THE DREAM KHUX HERE WITH MYNNY FOR DREAM EATERS. (How would you sell Guilt given how the mechanics work?)

So, looks like the "Rainbow" parts were exclusive to the Bunstar instead of being a third color type like I thought. So, no "rainbow" Pupstars and Kitstars in the MMO AU. But I probably would still have a permanent banner of some type in there, be it Chocostars or Frogstars or something. Maybe both? Anyway, the purpose of the Spirit is to eat Nightmares that might emerge from the Guilted Medals, with the ones that raise your Spirit's Rank the most being what Brain deems high-risk.

I think they might exist in JPUx, but who cares, do them anyways, they’d be cute. Also frog dream eaters would gladly have me throwing money at jewel boxes. 

So yeah, I was thinking maybe Guilt Prizes would look like the Guilt Symbol, you know what I'm talking about, with each "level" of the symbol corresponding to one point of Guilt. like, Prizes that look like the level 1 symbol would reward 1 Guilt, the level 2 symbol 2 Guilt. The counter would use the Level 7 Guilt Symbol, however. Additionally, Guilt prizes would be inside the bottle in the "Blind Box" Spirit Part purchase animation, until the 3 lights fly in and turn them into a smoke cloud.

Honestly anything that could help with guilt would make anybody more likely to buy those pets blind boxes. XD Only reason I will spend more money on pets is dragon. I got reindeer and fox, that’s good enough.

So, in the MMO AU, the more powerful the attack, the more gauges it will cost. There wouldn't be any 0 SP Medals. As such, Kairi EX's REALLY broken Special Attack would be USELESS in a single player situation, since it would cost 15 SP Guage and only return 5. In Multiplayer, or when using Namine or the Special Attack Guage 2 Skill, on the other hand.

Actually, Illustrated Kairi EX would Coat 10 Guages, restoring 5. Regular Illustrated Kairi would cost 15 Guages and restore 10. They would still have the Canon affects, save for the damage since they would be Team Targeting Medals. Figured that would be more balanced.

Listen I like being broken but anything would be more balanced than what’s currently in the meta with Kairi EX. I actually literally only have my iKairi2 on Treasure Trove just because I don’t have anything better to put there. Actually that’s every Keyblade but Lady Luck now. XD

[theskelejournals]

Hotland

Through the tunnel they fled with Undyne swiftly on their heels. The royal guard caught up and trapped them to initiate the fight again, only for the child to once more swivel around her and make a run for it. In a comedic moment, their flight was interrupted by a phone call from Papyrus. Both paused awkwardly for it, staring at each other, before Frisk took off immediately after. The scenery changed and the cavern opened up to the emanating heat and light of Hotland. Being deeper into the underground and lower than the other locations, it was closer to the magma of the world and the intense magic that fueled it. Hence why the Core had been built there.

Across a bridge the human fled, only to have Undyne collapse in heat exhaustion at the very end of it. The human paused. They could have easily left her, have fled more, or even tried to harm her for pursuing them so rigorously.

Instead, however, that unfaltering mercy prevailed. In a childlike antic, they found a source of water and dumped a cup of it on Undyne to try and help her cool off, watching her with wary curiosity. Startled, the guard stood after a moment and stared the child down. After a tense moment of silence, Undyne backed off and quietly disappeared into the Waterfall cavern. I myself was also left staring in awe once again by what this child could influence.

Moving forward, they next beheld a large structure in their path. The Royal labs, my old workplace and home. Frisk’s path was blocked by guards in the other direction, so they had no choice but to move through the labs.

Inside the darkened building they were met by a surprised Alphys, who had been watching their progress through a series of security cameras we'd placed throughout the underground. They were intended to be used for this same thing. Watching out for humans. My successor nervously spoke with them, telling the child that while her intent before had been to capture them, now she wanted to help guide them on their quest to get back home. Something about her antics tipped me off on her unease, after having worked with her for half a decade, and I knew that her tale held lies. Especially when she brought up her robot Mettaton, who burst through the wall moments after being called a human killing machine.

In something fit for a television show, Mettaton struck up a “battle” with the child in the form of a quiz show right in the lab. It was humorous to watch, and I could tell that though Frisk was slightly intimidated, they were having fun. I managed a smirk, watching Alphys sneak in answers when she could to help. The robot left shortly after, and once they had a quick look around what part of the labs they could access, the child was on their way again. But only after Alphys had taken their phone and modified it, putting in her number and a few other nifty features to help them in their adventure.

I will be the first to say that while Hotland is confusing on it’s own, it was made worse by the fact that we had littered the place with puzzles galore. Typically they weren’t active unless a protocol was put in place, and here they had activated to stop the child. Frisk wasn't aware of that, however, and Alphys led them through how to beat the puzzles in order to gain their trust. Granted, having sharper wits than they let on, the human barely needed any of her advice.

Puzzles and locals didn’t phase them as Frisk kept pressing on, sparing anyone who approached or got in their path without a second thought. Battle wasn’t an option, and the pride I’d felt before for the child returned. At one point they passed my niece Fuku, and while it was a brief interaction, I grinned happily as I watched them until the human continued on their way.

After a string of puzzles, Frisk passed into an area obviously dressed for some sort of TV set. A cooking show, to be precise. Mettaton reappeared again, this time the “battle” taking place in said cooking show. Raising my brows, I watched the ridiculousness unfold until once again the robot fled at being “foiled.” Shaking my head, I let myself smirk at what was happening. At least the child was having fun, and that was all I could ask for.

Pressing onward, I found myself staring when they stopped to look out over the landscape toward the Core. Alphys explained it to them over the phone, but I was quietly frowning at the sight instead of really listening to what she had to say. I wasn’t looking forward to watching Frisk progress through my largest creation, but it was part of the journey they'd have to endure. And I wasn't going to stop paying attention due to discomfort, no matter how much the memories made me cringe.

On they went, and again the child ran into Sans who’d teleported his sentry station. I shook my head in amusement, watching as the both of them took part in a game of how high Sans could stack hot dogs on their head. Frisk could hardly contain their laughter as they stood still for the whole thing, eventually leaving my son and their game to keep going, taking a few hot dogs on the way for food. They were met with a slew of puzzles that steadily got tricker, but again this child continued to impress me as they navigated. For someone so young, Frisk was clever beyond belief at being able to map the terrain the way they did. I was reminded of my own sons when they had been growing up, so young but so smart, and I slowly, fondly started to smile.

At one point, Frisk was stopped by a pair of guards. The same duo that had been blocking their way near my lab, in fact. I watched wearily for a moment, as at first they seemed oblivious that the human they were looking for was indeed in front of them. Once they realized it, however, they inevitably engaged in a fight. I watched intently, leaning closer to my window to the world in anticipation. Frisk had been against many guards by now, and every time it made me worry for the fate of each participant.

In an odd twist, the human managed to distract the guards by making them focus on each other rather than capturing them. I raised my brow curiously while watching, struck by the way Frisk could turn events around as they did. They simultaneously avoided capture and set the guards up on a date, walking away with a grin as they did.

What a quick-witted like thing. I couldn’t help but break out into disbelieving, happy laughter as I watched their retreat. Real, true laughter. I hadn’t... done that since I’d been in the void. Hah.

The path only grew thicker with puzzles and enemies from there. For a third time they ran into Mettaton, this time running around to disengage bombs that would turn out to be fakes. With the dramatics of the entertainer he was, the robot played along with Alphys’ ploy further and was once more “defeated.” It was at this point, though Frisk were having fun, the child seemed to catch on that something a little odd was going on. They listened to Alphys regardless as she tried to solidify their teamwork in the matter, giving her the benefit of the doubt, only to go deeper into Hotland and run into yet another encounter.

Except this time, it wasn’t a guard or Mettaton.

Trapped by a sticky web, amber eyes looked up to see a giggling spider hanging from a lower cavern they’d wandered into. I could tell Frisk was getting tired, between exploring Hotland and then Waterfall all in one day, but when shown that they weren’t going to be able to walk away from this fight, they straightened up and prepared for yet another battle. Their determination shined, giving them a little extra boost to stand up against the spider monster. Come on, Frisk, I quietly encouraged, thoroughly enraptured by their plight. The child did what they could with limited movement, wearing down after a time as Muffet proved her ability to hold out for great lengths during the fight.

Even then, the child refused.

Just when I thought Frisk had had enough and was about to take serious damage, a small messenger spider interrupted the fight. I paused, watching as a good deed from all the way back in the ruins came to save the human. My shoulders sunk. Sighing in relief, I allowed myself a small smile as the child was freed from Muffet and allowed on their way with an invitation to return another time. The poor thing looked worn out, and quite honestly I wasn’t sure how much longer they’d last on the path. Just a little more, I pressed quietly from my window, there’s a place you can rest not too far from here.

Unfortunately, my silent promise hit a roadblock as once again they were stopped by Mettaton. The area Frisk stumbled across looked like an innocent scene for a play, only to have the facade broken as they were sent down a hidden pit. With a huff, the child stood and beheld a long path of mismatched colored tiles set as traps: a scene Papyrus had tried using on them back in Snowdin. Had I an actual seat, I would have been sitting on the edge as Frisk tackled the bridge, jumping and skipping to try and avoid the dangerous tiles and the fire Mettaton summoned to chase them down. It again reached the point where the child looked like they would stumble in their path when Alphys called to challenge her robot in dialogue much like that of a TV show.

Going toe to toe with him again, the human used the phone Alphys has given them to fire at the robot. Frisk was hesitant at first, and only when goaded heavily did they finally cave and use it. To their relief, their foe didn't seem to take any damage at all. In an unconvincing act of surrender, Mettaton vanished, leaving Alphys and the child to speak. I could tell the human definitely wasn’t buying the robots charade anymore despite how amused they were by it, or the fact that Alphys was being completely honest. Still, Frisk looked too tired to argue and I couldn’t blame them for that at all. I was just impressed by their will to keep moving forward as they did. Instead, they glanced upward along the nearby climbing path toward a looming resort and the stretch of land that led to the entrance of the Core.

Breathing in slowly, I closed my eyes, opening them again to find myself standing beside the child. I glanced down at them, reading the fatigue on their face, and gave a small unseen smile. You’ve journeyed further than any human has yet, child. You’re almost there. My smile faded to a soft frown, looking up toward the Core and visualizing beyond it. I just hope your journey’s end is a peaceful one.

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 369: Mythos (1985)

Maybe “Axis” isn’t a great name for a German game company? I’m just putting it out there.

           Mythos

Germany

Independently developed; published by Axis Komputerkunst

Released 1985 for Commodore 64 and Atari 800

Date Started: 7 June 2020

Date Ended: 8 June 2020

Total Hours: 3

Difficulty: Easy (2/5)

Final Rating: (to come later)

Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)

         I wonder if Richard Garriott ever truly understood the number of copycats and clones that spawned from Ultima. We’ve all heard about how he got upset at Deathlord (1987), but did he know about Gates of Delirium, Hera, Legends, and Skariten, all released the same year? He required SSI to license the “look and feel” of Ultima for Questron (1984), but did he realize that plenty of other titles were copying not only the look and feel but also the precise keyboard commands? Did he know that the United Kingdom’s first RPG, 1982’s The Ring of Darkness, had everything including its plot points plagiarized from Ultima? This is my 369th game. Of them, twelve have been actual Ultimas, about 28 of them have been so close that I’d call them “clones,” and another four dozen took direct inspiration from the series for one or more of their elements. I know Lord British hasn’t exactly been overlooked in the history books, but as well-known as he is, he may still get too little credit.

          The influence of the series was particularly felt in Germany. The U.K. had The Ring of Darkness but mostly went their own way after that; France went its own way from pretty much the beginning, derivatives like 1984’s Tyrann aside. Germany would get there, but at the outset they always seemed to be cloning something, whether Ultima, The Bard’s Tale, or Dungeon Master. Nippon (1988), Seven Horror’s (1988), Die Dunkle Dimension (1989), Kayden Garth (1989), Dragonflight (1990), and The Ormus Saga (1991) all owed something to Ultima, and now we find that the country’s first RPG (unless something else surfaces) is a direct clone.               

The game is noted for full-screen graphics during key encounters and transitions between areas.

            To what extent is Mythos a clone? To the extent of using mostly the same races, classes, attributes, and spells. To the extent of having you purchase hit points from the king. To the extent of needing to find a key to free someone from the king’s jail so that you can travel through space. But it also strips away a lot of what makes Ultima tolerable. You can’t talk to guards and random NPCs, for instance. There are only four levels of weapons and armor (three of which you will probably never possess), only three spells, and only half a dozen keyboard commands.

But Mythos does add a couple of features, the most prominent of which is a number of full-screen illustrations to accompany key encounters and transitions between areas. I wouldn’t say they’re beautiful, even accounting for the graphical limitations of the era, but they’re clearly made with a lot of care, and they liven what would otherwise be a terribly fast, easy clone. There are also a couple of other twists that I’ll cover anon.          

Approaching the endgame castle.

          The backstory sets the game in the world of Vandor, once peaceful, plunged into chaos when the Isle of Evil emerged from the depths of the sea of Pasmes. King Aphnaton disappeared from his castle, Talamith, and the land is now ruled by his sister, Zenobia, and her husband Alexander. The light of the sun has dimmed, monsters roam the land, formerly lush valleys are now barren, cities deserted, forests full of perils. You’ve heard it before. A prophecy tells of a hero who will set things right.           

Character creation.

           You create this hero by allocating 60 points to strength, speed, intelligence, and wisdom and then selecting a class (warrior, thief, magician, monk) and race (man, elf, dwarf, hobbit). Just like Ultima, these selections have no effect on the game at all except by modifying your attributes. Any character can wield any weapon and cast any spell (with one exception). The game doesn’t give you the option to name your character.            

The game begins at the southern end of the land.

            Gameplay begins at the southern end of a continent that turns out to be shaped something like a cross, or maybe a bird with its wings expanded. It consists of maybe 10 game screens with a castle, five cities, and a few other special locations. A castle and a city are waiting for the player at the beginning of the game. Before you can enter either, you’ll probably be attacked by an orc, giant, dragon, zombie, or some other evil denizen. If you’re not surprised, you’ll have options to fight or flee. If you fight, your only options each round are to attack or cast a spell.          

The game world, from an in-game map.

          Like many early RPGs, success in the game comes down to simple math. You start with 300 hit points and can purchase more from the king at a rate of 100 hit points for 50 gold pieces. You also need food to keep from starving, which can be bought at the same 2:1 rate. You need about 4,000 food and 3,000 hit points to last the game, which together cost 3,500 gold pieces. You maybe need another 2,500 gold for purchases, so that’s 6,000 gold total. At a rate of about 50 gold pieces per combat, you need about 120 random combats throughout the game. You encounter far more than that in the course of exploring the world, so there’s not much need to grind except at the very beginning, when you want to build up your hit point reserve so you can comfortably explore away from the castle.         

Combat options in the middle of the map.

         Ultima made things harder by offering fewer gold pieces and making enemies do more damage. Here, even dragons and giants, fighting against characters with fists and no armor, do damage in the single digits. Your opening pool of 300 hit points goes a long way by itself. There’s no reason to use the S)teal command (unlike, say, Ultima II) unless you’re just incredibly impatient.           

An early game “stat sheet” for the character.

         There’s not much to do in the castle. There are signs saying, “weapons, “armor,” and “food,” but there isn’t actually anything there, and you can’t even open the doors to get into the locations. All you can do is visit the king, who sells hit points, and the queen, who tells you to seek her brother for his magic ring. You can also mark the location of one guy locked behind a door, as you’ll need to free him later.

     The five cities are all set up the same. Weapon shops sell maces, machetes, battle axes, and swords. Armor shops sell four levels of armor. In both cases, the gap in price between the first level and second is so extreme that you’re unlikely to even buy the second level (let alone the third or fourth) before you find the magic sword and magic armor as part of the quest. I’m not sure they’d even help; enemies barely scratch you when you’re unarmed and naked.         

The four types of weapons for sale.

          There are three spells, each treated like inventory items that you purchase and equip. “Sanctu” heals a few hit points but is a far worse deal that just spending what it costs on extra hit points in the first place. “Exitus” lets you flee combat, but never in the game should you be in a position where you have to flee to survive. I have no idea what “Goldazium” does; every time I try to cast it, the game says “you need more intelligence or wisdom” despite my trying it with characters with scores of 35 or higher in both. There’s no way to increase attributes after creation.

        Each city also has an oracle, which gives you hints, and a pub where you can often buy special items. One of these is a map of the land. Another is a special key, of which you ultimately need two.           

The oracle gives me the coordinates to the old king.

          Winning the game means visiting each location and piecing together the various oracle hints. It starts by purchasing the key in one of the northern cities. You use it to free a mage from the small room in the castle. As a reward, he opens a “space gate” in the northwestern “arm” of the land.             

At least I don’t have to kill a bunch of guards.

           To use the space gate, you need the coordinates of the planet where King Aphnaton fled. You get those from one of the oracles. The Master of Space accepts your coordinates and flings you to a one-screen planet where the only thing to do is enter a tomb. There, you encounter the ghost of King Aphnaton, who had exiled himself and was then killed by the same evil being who took over Vandor.          

The master of the space gate.

This other planet looks a lot like the one i just came from.

The former king poses a riddle.

           Aphnaton poses a riddle, which for me was the hardest part of the game. In German, it was:

Wie der orbis ist seine form

Und das ist seine norm

Er ist klein

Aber fein

Und gross wird dir sein nutzen sein

I translated this as:

Its shape is like the globe

And this is its norm

It is small but fine

And will be of great benefit to you

The answer was RING, which should have been obvious if I’d remembered why I needed to see the old king in the first place. But by the time I encountered him, I had forgotten that I was supposed to get a ring from him, so I was stumped on the riddle. I tried things like “egg” and “seed” before it dawned on me. The key word is orbis, which most dictionaries don’t even have as a German word. I guess maybe they were going more for “orbit” than “globe”? I have plenty of German readers, and I’m sure someone will comment. Anyway, when I finally got it right, the ghost gave me the ring and sent me back to Vandor. 

The second key is needed to enter the ice caves of Madra, a relatively unusual puzzle in which you have to find your way through a series of rooms, arranged in a 5 x 5 grid, in 24 turns or you freeze to death. It’s presented in first-person wireframe form like early Ultima dungeons, although there are no monsters and otherwise nothing to do but figure out the right order through trial and error.         

Navigating the ice caves.

         Getting through the ice caves dumps you into a hidden valley where there’s a hidden town. In the town, the only thing to do is grab the magic sword and armor.             

Don’t be fooled by the signs–the city is abandoned.

          Once you have these items, you go to the far north of the map and summon the ferryman, who requires the ring and his name (CHARON), the latter also provided by an oracle. Charon ferries you to the Isle of Evil, where you enter the one-screen castle of the game’s antagonist, Irata, who helpfully has a sign in her castle announcing her intention to be evil and rule Vandor.           

I think I might have been able to guess CHARON even without the oracle.

Irata’s castle. She’s in the upper-left.

So few evil enchantresses announce their intentions in contractual language.

           Although there are things in the castle that look like enemies or NPCs, you can’t interact with them. You are, however, attacked by random monsters as you walk through, as if it were an outdoor map. When you reach Irata, you don’t even have to attack. The moment you approach her square, the game tells you that she catches fire and burns with a single blow from the magic sword.               

That was easy!

          After that, you get a final congratulations screen that says the king makes you a baron and the land is restored to peace, at least until Mythos II.         

Some online rumors suggest that Köper finished Mythos II but never released it.

          Other than its claim as the first German CRPG, Mythos‘s legacy rests on its creator, Karsten Köper. Just 17 when he wrote Mythos, Köper would soon begin work on a more ambitious project, Amberstar, which he brought to Thalion Software in 1991 and saw published in 1992. Thalion had previously issued Dragonflight (1990) without Köper’s influence, although that game also had a lot of references to Ultima, including a statue paying tribute to Lord British.         

Who do you suppose that is?

         Mythos is generally called Mythos 1 online. I guess that’s what appeared on the package. But the in-game title screen omits the number even though Köper reportedly intended the game as a trilogy. A Thalion fan site has a page dedicated to Mythos. They’ve collected a number of contemporary reviews. German magazines seemed delighted to finally have a CRPG in German and thus tended to be complimentary. One of them claimed to have spent 11 hours on it and suggested that “beginners will have fun for weeks.” What a time. As for me, I don’t need to spend a lot of time criticizing a teenager’s first game. I gave it a 17 on the GIMLET–mostly 1s and 2s, although I gave at a 3 for graphics, sound, and interface, recognizing the attention to full-screen graphics and the ease of the keyboard shortcuts.           

Given that depiction of a cave entrance, I might have been too generous on the graphics.

           I want to thank commenter Jan for alerting me to this title’s pedigree before I started Amberstar, which will be soon. But I’m pretty confident that after another visit to The Legacy, we can finally pick up Ultima VII where we left off.       

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-369-mythos-1985/

[daleisgreat]

Major League

Last weekend I made it to one of my two annual summer treks out to catch a Minor League baseball game and while getting swept up in the spirit of watching a live baseball game it reminded me that is has been a couple years since I have seen a baseball film. Longtime readers here may recall it was almost an annual tradition to recap one here during baseball season. While making our way out after the game it suddenly clicked that 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of my favorite baseball film, the original Major League (trailer) from 1989. For the first time in the five and a half years after starting this blog I will have to break my rule and watch a DVD/BluRay from my collection that I have already viewed and is not in the backlog box, but trust me it is worth it and I am long overdue for another viewing! I have a unique history with this film frachise. The sequel in 1994, Major League II was the first film I saw in the series and I specifically recall my dad taking me to it at the theaters when I was 11 and super gung-ho into baseball, baseball videogames and baseball cards! Needless to say I fell in love with the film and its diverse range of flamboyant long-shots help what would seem like the helpless Cleveland Indians make it to the World Series. My dad saw how much I loved the movie and shortly after it hit video he went to a friend I recall he told me had what seemed like an infinite supply of movies on tape. I remember he took me there once and I was too young to realize it then, but looking back he was the local go-to guy who hooked everyone up with bootleg VHS tapes filled with a few movies on them in super low quality SLP playback. My dad got this guy to make a tape that contained what would wound up being 11 year-old Dale’s four favorite movies at that time in the first two Major League films and both Wayne’s World movies. I cannot tell you how many times I watched that tape all the way through, except that it was well into the double digits.

That tape was how I originally saw the first Major League and I was blown away by how much better it was than the sequel that I already cherished. Who was this Wesley Snipes fellow who is a vastly superior Willie Mays Hayes compared to Omar Epps in the sequel? After misplacing that tape after several years, the original Major League was one of about ten VHS tapes I bought before I was able to save up to buy my first DVD player. I snatched up the bare-bones original DVD release of the film the week it came out, and bought it again several years later when it got a ‘Wild Thing Special Edition’ jam packed with extra features and a killer slipover turf cover! A couple years after that in 2009 Paramount re-released the Wild Thing edition on BluRay, but without the turf cover I adored so I made sure to save my DVD turf cover and slip it over the BluRay in my collection like any diehard Major League fan buying the movie for the fourth time on home video would! I still love the old timey song, Randy Newman’s “Burn on” being used in the opening of the film to set up the sad state of the Cleveland Indians in 1989. The opening montage brilliantly interspersed newspaper clipping about the owner passing away and how his widowed wife, Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton) cut most of their top talent and replaced them with has-beens and long-shots in hopes of tanking the team enough to move them to Miami. Shortly after that is a great start of spring training scene introducing the dynamic cast of hopefuls such as the Mexican League wash up Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), California Penal League pitching sensation Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), surprise walk-on Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes), superstitious slugger Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) and stock market guru Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen). They are managed by former Dunlop Tire specialist Lou Brown (James Gammon).

For a film that is a little over an hour and a half it does a bang-up job at managing to capture the feel of a whole baseball season from spring training all the way up until the post season. Like most sports movies, it has a predictable format, but the journey there is well worth the ride as we see early season struggles with this unique clash of styles not gelling whatsoever to all of a sudden the team eventually starting to click and gain momentum before having a one game playoff against their heated rival, the Yankees, to get into the ALCS in a thrilling final act of the film. Throw in a supplemental arc of Jake chasing down his old flame Lynn (Rene Russo) for some breathing room between all the heavy doses of baseball and it adds up to establishing one of the most tried and true formulas in sports films. I love how all the on-the-field action is shot as it not only captures well choreographed baseball, but also captures the unique characteristics and mannerisms from this bombastic roster. Hayes has his vintage batting stance swivel, Taylor taunts opponents behind the plate to throw them off their game, Pedro has his rituals in order to hit homers and overcome the dreaded curveball and Vaughn has his trademark frames and “Wild Thing” walk-on song. Combine all this with unforgettable commentary from the loveably quotable Harry Doyle (former ball player and hall-of-fame announcer Bob Uecker) in the press box. On top of that is a memorable original score that kicks in at all the right moments in montages and especially in the final game with powerful beats hitting at the precise moment in Jake Taylor’s pivotal at bat to close out the game!

Time flies as I cannot believe it has already been 30 years since the first film in the franchise just as I am still shocked MLB allowed an R-rated movie featuring its brand to make its way out into the public. Major League is filled with the players drinking and smoking in the clubhouse (and press box), dropping nonstop F-bombs and all other kinds of colorful language throughout. In the commentary David Ward stated he did this to originally capture the spirit of the players in the clubhouse, and regretted it after the fact when he was confronted by many people saying they wanted to take their kids to see it, but did not because of the language. I am guessing that is why the sequels dialed it down to a PG-13 rating. David Ward is joined by producer Chris Chesser on the commentary and the two are primarily subdued as they state after a few lulls that they were taken in again by watching the movie for the first time in many years. Lulls aside, the duo have a fair amount of production facts to share from Milwaukee being a great host city primarily filming in to having to reshoot the ending after the original failed in test screenings. The original twist ending is part of the rest of the fair amount of extras. There are three main behind-the-scenes features that make up most of the bonuses. Just a Bit Outside is a must-see 12 minute extra interviewing Bob Uecker on his evergreen quotes and how he landed the role. Major League Look at Major League is a 14 minute bonus interviewing MLB players on what the film meant to them and their favorite moments and lines and reflecting on how spot-on some of the movie is in actual baseball. Finally, My Kinda Team is the featured bonus clocking in at 23 minutes of cast and crew interviews nearly 20 years after the film released and reflecting on training for the film and many other fascinating anecdotes from the production. All three are recommended viewing for any Major League enthusiasts.

30 years later and Major League holds up splendidly! It and Field of Dreams came out within a year of each other and are likely the catalysts for many other fondly remembered baseball films that hit over the next several years like The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Little Big League, A League of Their Own, The Scout and naturally, Major League II. All these years later and Major League remains one of my all-time favorites and I can only give it the highest of recommendations! Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Man of Steel Man on the Moon Marine 3-6 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[terryblount]

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition – Review

The Tales of, or just Tales, series has always occupied something of a weird blind spot in the résumés of even the most hardened JRPG fans in the West, and I am no exception. Indeed, these games have faithfully preserved so many of the most recognisable motifs of this genre through release after release. Yet, somehow, they have slipped under my radar time and time again.

When the definitive edition for Tales of Vesperia was announced, it felt like fate reaching out its hand. While the game initially launched during the glory days of the Xbox 360 and the PS3, Namco Bandai has now made their 2008 classic fully compatible with current-gen platforms. They also sweetened the deal by adding extra goodies that were originally exclusive to the Japanese release.  Suddenly I could no longer ignore the signs that my moment had finally come to dive into this beloved series.

The world of Terca Lumireis is overrun with monsters, and each city is protected by a barrier generated from a blastia.

After spending what felt like a 59-hour holiday in the mystical world of Terca Lumireis, the adventures I had with Yuri and his band of misfits have left me with fond memories. There were certainly more than a few opportunities where I couldn’t help but sigh with frustration. However, a potent combination of confident storytelling, some unique mechanics and characters that I could actually care about made me question why it took so long for me to try out a Tales game.

Heads and Tales

Tales of Vesperia is truly a master class in how to retain a player’s focus on the main story line. Much like Dragon Quest XI, which I reviewed a couple of months ago, the plot in Tales of Vesperia is what acts as the key driving force behind the gameplay since everything seems to feed really naturally into the overall adventure. Completing every objective always felt like I was adding more pieces to the puzzle of a bigger picture.

This is Yuri, and there is an old guy at his local pub who keeps mistaking him for a girl…

Given that this game could easily take around fifty hours or so to complete, the story is understandably something of a slow burner, which could potentially be a hard sell to some players. Rest assured though, it is written very well, and several exciting twists turns in the narrative will undoubtedly feel more than rewarding to players that are willing to stick with the game’s more placid narrative pacing.

The actual plot is centered on Yuri Lowell – a dishonoured knight from the imperial legion in the capital of Zaphias. While lounging in his bedroom window like only an anime teenager can, his downtown neighbourhood was abruptly flooded with water. Seems some lowlife pinched the ‘aqua blastia’ which is a magical device needed to regulate and control the water supply to the slums. He wakes up his pipe-smoking dog, Repede, and the duo set off to where the culprit might be hiding.

Seriously, his dog smokes a pipe, and how this poor pooch somehow succumbed to a tobacco addiction still leaves me sleepless with questions at night. In any case, retrieving a magic stone from a petty thief should be a cakewalk for an ex-knight right? Wrong. What is any JRPG without some unwitting hero stumbling into a major calamity?

The Imperial City of Zaphias, and this is the ‘impoverished’ part of town. Anime’s can be so idealistic…

Somewhere during his efforts to capture the thief, poor Yuri ends up in the slammer. However, no prison can hold him, and it is during his escape that he meets a noblewoman, named Estelle, who shares his passion for running from the authorities (and bizarrely coloured hair). She urgently needs to find a mutual friend of Yuri’s named Flynn, who happens to be located in the same direction as the thief’s getaway. The duo, along with Repede, therefore decide to make an impromptu little road trip together into the wilderness beyond the city.

From here, the little fellowship travels from one location to the next only to find themselves constantly one step behind both Flynn and the blastia thief. It’s not all bad since every location reveals more to Yuri and Estelle about a deeply entrenched conspiracy surrounding both the stolen blastia, and the iron fist of the Zaphias Empire. Needless to say, they soon find themselves unavoidably drawn into a much bigger mission in which the very fate of Terca Lumireis might be at stake.

Estelle trying her best to give a high five.

As per usual, the friends that help them throughout their travels ultimately end up joining their little clique until the group is big enough to form their own guild. They decide to name their guild ‘Brave Vesperia,’ and first to join is Karol, a young boy exiled from another guild and thus eager to prove himself as a fighter. A feisty blastia scientist, Rita, joins the group shortly after since she sees their journey as an opportunity to learn more about the blastia.

Flynn also joins once the gang finally catches up to him, along with three other characters named Raven, Judith and Patty. I cannot disclose much about the these characters without giving away some crucial story moments, but it is worth noting that the writers did a superb job of keeping me uncertain with regards to their true identities and intentions. It certainly set the stage for some rather interesting surprises later on.

The devil is in de-tales

If I had to summarize Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, I would say that it plays like entering your own anime epic. Many aspects of the game, from its narrative mechanisms to its combat style, impart a distinct cinematic and theatrical feeling to the player. As such, the game is generally a mix of pretty standard JRPG content, but with a distinct visual edge which has always given the series its unique identity within the genre.

The most obvious implementation of its anime pedigree lies in the game’s visuals. Tales of Vesperia has been rendered in a colour-popping, cel-shaded style which, even ten years later, looks great. A few shockingly bad in-game cut scenes have unfortunately survived the transition to the current generation, but they are few and far between thankfully. Besides, you are bound to forget about them entirely when you see how well the game’s graphics complement the fully animated cut scenes (also equally gorgeous).

Yuri fighting his buddy Flynn, but I won’t spoil why

The visuals are accompanied by an arousing and diverse soundtrack that is always in sync with what’s on screen. Combat scenarios generally received thumping rock beats, while exploration was augmented by classic orchestral symphonies, but the cherry on top is the opening song. It is called ‘Ring a Bell’ by Bonnie Pink and trust me, it will be firmly stuck in your head by the time the game is done. Go give it a listen.

True Commitment to Story-telling

As I mentioned, Tales of Vesperia shows its commitment to being a cinematic-driven adventure in how the game takes a more linear narrative approach. Whether it involved infiltrating a mansion of a corrupt official, or helping a town repair the blastia that upholds a protective barrier against monsters, every objective represented a key albeit sequential component in how the story plays itself out.

This effectively means that the game offers very little side content outside of the missions related to the main story, and I can imagine fans of fuller and more ‘looter-centric JRPGs’ might be left wanting here. For me, on the other hand, it was refreshing to play through a role-playing game that placed its story so front and center. Besides, if you ever get tired of blastia and the cast prattling on, there are recipes to create, battle strategies to refine, and ample opportunities to fight monsters for some extra XP on the side.

Apparently this is a series known for its beautiful and lush graphics.

Speaking of prattling on, Tales of Vesperia has got one of the chattiest casts I have ever encountered in a game. It is not exactly a problem (unless this kind of thing irks you) since the dialogue and interactions between characters have been written and localized rather well. The lengthy conversations between Yuri and the gang is in fact one of the most crucial ways in which the game conveys their personalities to the player, as well as colouring in the lore and history of Terca Lumireis.

The interactions between Karol and Rita were particularly a highlight of the game since they were really funny. Karol constantly pipes up with something stupid to say when the adults are talking only to be silenced by Rita with a firm head jab. It represents the kind of slapstick comedy I used to love while I was watching the Bleach anime series.

And here we have the resident mage Rita. This is one of the few scenes she is  not assaulting/teasing/whacking/chasing Karol.

Of course, additional but entirely optional interactions between characters are presented to players via the ‘skits’ that have become a fan favourite in this series. These are essentially delightful little intermissions in which the different characters have a brief tête-à-tête with one another.

Classic example of the skit

The skits could involve one character sharing their knowledge on a certain area or just throwing some good old fashioned shade at one of the others. They serve only to endear the characters to the player and are totally skippable, however I laughed my way through nearly all of them since they exhibit the same quality of writing as the rest of the game. It is yet another aspect of this game that demonstrates that classic Tales dedication to making its cast memorable and relatable.

The Linear Motion Battle System

The combat is where things get a little different, and, as any Tales veteran will be happy to tell you, it is here where the series makes its sharpest departure from the rest of the genre. Whereas all the heavy hitters from the JRPG founding fathers opted for the classic turn-based gameplay during battles, Tales games have since their SNES days had a more active system that looks like a permutation from a hack ‘n slash game.

In the case of Tales of Vesperia, it means the player must attack, guard and use magic against the enemy in real time, usually with the help of three squad mates. The battles are not random, and like many modern games of this kind, players can circumvent (read: run away!) from enemies that you would prefer not to engage.

A typical scenario would involve you seeing an enemy either in close quarters or in the over world map. Once the enemy has been engaged in combat, the game then moves everyone into an arena of sorts, with the camera adopting a side-long perspective not unlike a fighting game. The player then locks onto any chosen enemy, and proceeds to pummel them with a mixture of light melee attacks, as well as more powerful, magic-fueled assaults called ‘artes.’

Your rating is based on how much damage you avoided, combo hits, damage given, etc.

There are even rudimentary combos to be chained from connecting your character’s light and heavy attacks, and the higher Yuri (and the others) level(s) up, the more artes and finishing moves become available to him. Several short cuts have also been added to the D-pad which allowed me to change the overall strategy of my party on the fly, and you can really get into the nitty-gritty of tailoring your own unique strategy. By the time the game places you toe-to-toe with the boss enemies, changing between strategies is utterly indispensable.

For example, Rita is primarily a mage class with magical attacks while Estelle is a powerful healer. During normal grinding and lesser enemy encounters, they can certainly hold their own right next to you with sword and shield. However, during boss fights I tailored a preset where both characters kept their distance while focusing on the party’s health once their own HP dropped below 75%. Once I got the hang of all the systems and subsystems at work in the combat mechanics, the action-packed fighting became a delightfully intellectual affair much like a menu or turn-based system.

Alas, even once I began to feel sorry for the Pokemon-esque monsters for the swiftness at which I was mowing them down, I couldn’t get over how clumsy the system felt at times. If Yuri was not specifically locked onto the enemy closest to him, he often missed with his sword which left him striking stupidly at thin air in the middle of the battle arena. Making matters worse is that the controls are not the most responsive either meaning that combos are more a question of luck rather than skill.

Lastly, I also found most boss fights to be somewhat unfairly difficult in comparison with the rest of the game play. This is a matter easily solved by simply switching the combat difficulty to ‘Easy’ in the in-game settings (which I did a lot). Still, it feels like the developers could have done a little more to prepare the player for the jarring contrast in difficulty that so many of the boss encounters represent.

The 3D over world map. You can even camp out in the open for one night.

These are not exactly deal-breakers in the grand scheme of the combat system. Yet, it is disappointing to know that with a little tweaking and refinement, the already decent and unique trademark of the series could have elevated a great game to a nearly perfect status.

To be or not to be…

Tales of Vesperia is like the paradox of JRPGs in that it hosts so many familiar elements of the genre, yet it clearly shapes its own identity through its stylistic choices. Whereas other JRPGs feel like the seasoned old business magnates in their crisp suits, this game feels like the new, hip kid on the block wearing urban fashion.

Some more senseless violence! The ring on the left shows the edge of the combat arena.

This is not the first JRPG to be so consistently driven by its story, nor is it unique in its presentation. What I feel is special in Tales of Vesperia is how gracefully it pulls all of these elements together. This game will never allow you to become too preoccupied with one particular aspect of the overall experience on offer. Instead,  it is a well-rounded adventure which demands to be consumed in big, greedy chunks at once.

If you have been playing turned-based JRPGs since the days you were still using a potty, and you feel no immediate rush to venture too far out of this landscape, you might have a hard time warming up to this one. However, if you believe variety is the spice of life, and you are willing to test the barriers of what this genre can do, look no further. This game is in no rush to overwhelm you with complexity which makes it a compelling choice for old hands and newcomers alike.

  Supports up to 4K resolution

Cel-shaded beauty

Engaging story

Relaxing gameplay approach

Strong characters

Excellent score

Brilliant localisation

Several cut scene animations

Combat controls

No option to quick save

Difficulty spike with bosses

          Playtime: 57 hours total. For the single player campaign

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an Xbox One Controller

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[doodledialogue]

Interview series - What after B.arch? #5

Interviewee: Vedalaxmi Naik Post-graduation: M.Arch in Urban Design | CEPT, Ahmedabad, India

What prompted you to take up M.Arch in Urban Design at CEPT?

It was two things. First being, the moment I had stepped into CEPT during our B.Arch study tours, I felt an ambience I knew I wanted to be a part of, something like a‘Gurukul’ kind of environment back then.

Secondly, it was my field of interest - Urban Design, which grew on me as we took up our planning studio and urban design studio during B.Arch. These studios ignited that first spark of interest. I researched more about it, took it up as an experiment through my thesis as well as pursued work in reputed organisations/NGOs like Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai where I learnt a lot about the practicalities of a field like Urban Design. This exposure along with my spirit of inquiry for the subject, gave me a good base work and perspective. It developed to be my core area of interest and helped make up my mind to take it up as my Master’s course.The deciding factor for the choice of University was the ideologies of CEPT as a school and how it looked into the Indian contexts. The Urban Design course at CEPT as well as other faculties were all focused on Indian living ensuring awareness of global practices, yet always centred around Indian society, systems, practices and culture. This intrigued me best as I have always been curious about what our nation needed -designwise! Hence, it never occurred to me to take up a course abroad and was determined about pursuing it at CEPT University itself. If we pay attention to matters that earn our curiosity, try and enquire, experiment and experience and end up feeling more curious – I think that’s how we figure out our true calling!

What about the university/program appealed to you?

The learning culture and environment … It reflected an essence of the gurukul culture back when we toured it. We saw that the lawns, the canteen, and the sit outs were all equally considered classrooms and it awed me the most. I personally had a great experience being a part of CEPT’s learning culture. It was beyond walls, probably how design schools should be. Moving away from family and cut off from your social circle for those two years seemed like an additive to the experience of it!

The exposure at CEPT has been tremendously influential in grooming my thought process. People from a multitude of arenas have held seminars, workshops, juries, etc and helped not just academic but extra-curricular development on a creative front. It helped in evolving our thought processes to be more conscious and to nurture our creative instincts helping design attempts to be more intentional, aware, feasible yet radical and unique.

How was the experience at the university?

It was great and definitely opened new doors for me. New exposures to varying kinds of courses and workshops and not to forget the wide spectrum of enthusiasts was a thrilling experience. Interacting and experiencing expertise of people from across the globe surely opens up your mind. I sometimes still want to go back and have those intense design / philosophical / life discussions over chais / tiffins or simply over music in studios. Oh yes! Also not to forget, studios of all fields had access to other studios. You could just pop into another studio if the topic interested you and you didn’t need permission to learn more than your chosen fields. I found this really great unlike the typical protocol of Indian education institutions. Also, the studios used to be open 24 X 7 and it was a good thing because you require that kind of time and academic resources for an intense course as Urban Design. Sometimes it did bog us down to not be able to participate in on-campus events unlike your friends from other faculties. Urban Design as a course was pretty intense with design juries itself scheduled at two ends of the week (Mondays and Fridays). The other courses/lectures/electives etc,.took up the rest of the week. This rarely gave us time to do anything else as the rest of the hours, we got busy into team discussions and trying to speed up conclusions and get going for the next jury of the week.

How was the teaching at your university?

It was definitely a lot of discussion sessions. Our course ensured emphasis on a panel of jurors from varying backgrounds like environmentalists, conservationists, journalists, artists, researchers and eminent architects from other cities and countries. This enabled us to argue and ponder over matters that may not be directly related to what we had done, to firstly be able to comprehend and then debate the repercussions our design may have on these varying fields, directly or indirectly. I am lucky to have shared discussions with some eminent minds like Prof. Neelkanth Chaya, Prof. Yatin Pandya and Prof. Riyaz Tayyabji to name a few. It was these people who kept us at the edge in our design quests.

A lot of group works and presentations involving a lot of library time in studio free hours helped us to explore beyond academics and faculties. The CEPT Library was my favourite, with access to genuine research works and a treasure telling tales of Indian cities.

Tell us more about the mentors.

The mentors we had were from a diverse range of expertise and specialisation. The experiences they shared, varying approaches to the same design enquiries, styles of imparting knowledge across the table, did do us a lot of opening up of our minds. Besides studio hours, they have been more than approachable. Some were always there even for midnight discussions with a cup of Chai. Design schools need such informal interactions in order to exchange ideas, sometimes question and sometimes develop them to extremes and discover new possibilities. Some mentors even invited us over to their homes for group discussions, etc and they have always been accessible to students. My favourite time again was when all these mentors sat across for juries and you could instantly experience their varying approaches to what you had done. All valuable inputs at once – what a crash course for the brain!

The mentors who took up electives were great in terms of exposing you to new dimensions given the short duration allotted to them within the course.

What lessons/insights did you gain from the experience?

Since I had some practical work experience prior to joining CEPT, I somehow had learnt to try and relate academia to practicality. But yes, CEPT taught me the depths, extents and multi-disciplinary relevance to projects. It definitely made us all leave with a strong quiver of multiple dimensions and approaches to our fields as a profession as well as a discipline. The course developed a deep sense of inquiry, informed design decisions and coming out as responsive and reflective of the world around. My approach has definitely been versatile and clearer ever since.

Which semester did you attend?

It was a two year long course, split in four semesters back then. I guess it now follows the Fall and Spring system as updated recently.

How did you plan the entrance exams?

Oh yes! I did prepare for GATE Exams; missed it by one mark. But no regrets as I still managed a merit seat. To my surprise, there was nothing and literally nothing you could find online or books on it back then. I had a tough time planning out the study matter. But I ensured I gather the past question papers and learnt about the kinds of questions, the ways and lengths you are expected to answer, etc. I also attempted CEED prior to GATE exams and I would say that preparation did help me in the background. There were books available for that too!

How did you manage the finances?

It was totally financed by my mother who believed in me pursuing it more than anything else. I owe a lot to her definitely. Financially, what goes unseen during the course is the expense through the course besides the fees. For people interested in pursuing Master’s, I would like to point out that being in a design field, do ensure financial arrangements for expenses besides the tuition fees on paper. That would include expenses like printing, buying stationary and sheets, copying of entire books, model making materials, etc. The course being so extensive, it requires a lot more expenditure and at least a bi-weekly frequency as your design studios.

Did you work a part-time job while studying?

Well no. I wish I could, but nope! There is no time for anything else in the Urban Design Studio. Infact, it was unsaid yet agreed upon across the university that UD students have no life beyond the studio. We were known to not be proactive about extracurricular activities. I remember how we used to sacrifice lunch hours etc sometimes to just catch a glimpse of workshops, or the popular garbha nights, etc that CEPT had to offer. That’s one thing about the UD course I wish changed. Workshops at CEPT were amazing and so were guest lectures from varying fields. I regret not having utilised these opportunities to full potential only because my course was so rigorous that there was no time for these.

Were you involved in research work/competitions while studying?

Yes and No. The research was at a personal level. I would say my thesis was a result of it and I am still looking to take it forward. Competitions were a strict no-no given the exhaustive course Urban Design had to offer.

Did you travel while/after studying? (Ex: Where? For what purpose? How did it help you?)

Yes, I did. We were a group of friends who loved impromptu outings with our DSLRs and sketchbooks.  We called ourselves ‘the joyriders’ (giggles). We went around the city and sometimes beyond. It kind of broadened our design abilities as they lead to quite a many discussions/arguments, relating to what we were doing and reflecting on insights.

Could you tell us in brief what your thesis was about?

My M.Arch thesis was my quest for informal spaces, especially in an Indian context – informal street vending in particular. It was about seeking a balance in urbanising cities and yet maintaining the inherent beauty of street vending in an Indian context. The National Law for Street Vendors had just been passed then and my thesis was an exploration of whether this is what Indian streets really needed! A lot of inquiries on the “Indian”ness of spaces in our public places kept me on the thinking edge. The Dadar Flower Market, Mumbai was my site of interest where I visited quite often during my thesis semester trying to understand the nitty-gritties of such informal systems and relating it to a newly laid out law trying to formalise such systems.

Do you think the country/city one studies in, matters? Does the city one studies in, play a major role in master’s experience?

It depends on the individual. Any experience is good experience as long as you are open to ideas from any side of the world. Personally speaking, I always intended to do my Masters in India, especially with CEPT on my mind. I thought it would chisel our minds for an Indian context of practice. It is very important to consider the context! As for Ahmedabad, it is a vibrant city in itself. I swear by it for it seems to have caught up with the balance in urbanising vs. culture that I seem to chase through my experiments in design.

Are there any notable incidents/ anecdotes from post-grad studies that you wish to share?

Oh yes! I cannot forget how we assembled at 10 pm once post dinner on short notice for a lecture!! We sure thought life’s hell was here (laughs). But it turned out just fine! All the GATE students used to be gathered up weekly to make contributions to the UD Journals and publications at CEPT. Some envied it and some found it to be a burden.

Please tell us about your current work and future plans.

I currently run my own design firm - The Indian Freelance Creative and Design Studio (tifCDS). It’s still in the start-up phase being only established this year. We aim to be an Urban Design Consultancy primarily, especially encouraging women to freelance. I also pursue a wide array of creative and design ventures that you would eventually see in my social posts soon.

What message would you like to give to future students of Post-graduate studies/B.Arch students?

B.Arch is definitely the backbone but M.Arch gives you that extra edge and opens new possibilities. Do ensure as many interactions and exposures to ideas and venture into multi-disciplinary learnings. Learn up digital aids / softwares. That’s sure to boom and expand as a practice in the near future. Be open to varied approaches, experiment as much as you can before you define your own ideology and enjoy the two years. It’s always going to be the last bunch of school life (unless you want to pursue higher education).

Thank you very much for sharing your experience at CEPT with us. We, at Doodle Dialogue, wish you all the luck in your future endeavours!

On finally graduating and the joys of fulfilment and of completions. We loved the Shawls with the old CEPT logo back then but unfortunately, it was from our batch onwards, the logo changed.

A panoramic view of the Urban Design Studio (2012-2014)

Juries after three sleepless nights were still a joyride for all the adrenaline rush you have upon meeting your classified panel of jury members and to share your work amongst them, arguing as well as agreeing with them. It is definitely missed!!

Creating one design solution as a group with creative minds from across the country and abroad. Well, that’s a learning in itself ! Cheers to groupie times with my CEPT besties Arati Chandrashekhar, Mumbai and Tara Pandala, Kollam.

A class picture upon graduating! A memorable day indeed!

  On one of the many site visits, interviewing, surveying, mapping and analysing the urban issues.

Festivals at CEPT were a multidisciplinary get together with traditional celebrations and very much awaited for through the year.

A thesis site visit at 2am in Mumbai – The M.Arch Thesis was a rigorous exercise personally too, involving travelling and exploring your sites at odd hours.

Model making was an extensive practice for all design juries, involving a lot of time, effort and resources.

A view from the balcony of the Urban Design Studio overlooking the campus ambience

Some significant impromptu detours (joyrides as we called them) in and around the city of Ahmedabad

About the interviewee:

Vedalaxmi Naik is an Urban Designer and Architect. She completed her B.Arch degree from K.L.S.G.I.T, Belgaum and M.Arch degree in Urban Design from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. She is currently the Founder and Principal Designer at her own freelance design firm – The Indian Freelance Creative and Design Studio (tifCDS) and currently shuttles between Belgaum and Agra post marriage as she pursues her startup. She has previously worked at Jana Urban Space Foundation (JUSP), Bengaluru; Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai; Kham Design, Bengaluru and Thirdspace Architectural Studio, Belgaum. She is soon to be an Associate of the Institute of Urban Designers India (IUDI) as well as a member of  INTACH. Besides a passion for good design, her other interests lie in oil painting, photography, sketching, travelling, reading and cooking.