#THAT CUTSCENE MADE ME SO HAPPY I'M SO PROUD OF THEM

[noxtivagus]

THE ALCHEMIST/CULINARIAN ROLE QUEST IN SHB 🥺

[torgawl]

someone was cutting onions during the lantern rite cutscene

[katskitscat]

If they ever make a DLC for TOTK, I want them to add two or three cutscenes that have Queen Sonia in it.

(I gotta emphasize real quick. I'm not gonna claim that these are inherently good or would make everything better, they just would make me very happy to see. Even just one of these or something similar would make me pleased, because in the end what I crave is lore above all else.)

We learn from the Steles that Rauru was more of a fan of hunting then ruling, so to me that implies that he often left governing to Sonia.

1) One idea I had is a scene of Zelda learning to use her recall ability in Sonia's study. She is trying to make the small blade come back to the air when she sees Hyrulian tapestries of how Hyrule's monarchy was founded. One of marriage, one of alliance, one of conflict, one of coronation. Rauru and Sonia's wedding, their alliance with the other races of Hyrule, the war with the Gerudo, and then the crowing of Rauru and Sonia as king and queen.

The one I would use for this scene is a tapestry of Sonia securing their alliance under Rauru's reign with the Zora. While Rauru is front and center, it is Sonia's diplomacy that secured their support.

(This also helps give the opportunity to add more info about the ancient sages, especially the Zora sage who in this context might very well be the same Zora that Sonia made a alliance with)

Sonia is a priestess, possibly a diplomat, and likely was already a person of influence in hyrule before her marriage. So I would like to think that Zelda takes notice of this, and Sonia tells her that wars must be fought but that a good kingdom is built, or rebuilt, on strength, courage, and wisdom. All three depend on the monarchy's ability to make connections with their people.

Zelda takes on a more political apprenticeship of Sonia, being reminded of a broken kingdom and a Queenhood that is waiting for her back home.

2- It's my own personal feeling that Rauru was over confident and Mineru similarly resonating. As Zonai, I strongly believe that they were treated like Gods or positions of authority even in their infancy. The last of a mighty dynasty. I think it makes them blind to the present, especially because it looks like to me that Rauru and Mineru had very little interest in the past and is possibly enthralled by the future.

In the throne room tear memory where Ganon swears false allegiance (or even a new memory of their first meeting), I think that Rauru should accepts the oath but carelessly agitates the Gerudo by standing quickly after, staying some informal words to Ganon, and leaving. Ganon and his company probably viewed this as rude, like the swearing of a whole culture to his reign was not as important as his hunts. Like he is so above them and their conflict even tho a entire proud warrior race just bent the knee to him in defeat.

This is mostly fed by the claim Ganon makes in the game that Rauru is arrogant. Considering that Ganon doesn't actually hate Link in the games, and honestly seems to respect him or otherwise is amused by him despite having conflict, it kinda tells you he may have good reason for this claim.

This scenario gives Sonia the opportunity to mend some broken or miscommunicated social etiquette. She stayed seated despite Rauru leaving as the Gerudo bow their heads. She has a expression of disbelief and slightly annoyance, of which turns soft and sweet when addressing the Gerudo. She thanks them for their time, and orders her guards to take them to comfortable sleeping quarters where they can stay before they take the long road back to the desert. She says that she looks forward to their budding friendship as they turn to leave, of which a singular Gerudo woman, possibly the future sage, looks back to her before following her king out.

Zelda probably has been trying to tell him about the calamity Ganon in the past, but he brushes that off as a villain he, a powerful light bringing Zonai, can fight off. He speaks to her in a comforting tone her like she is a frightened child who is scared of a monster in her closet, despite Zelda having actually thrown hands with said closet monster for 100 years. I would imagine he does this rather gently, if he was completely delusional instead of slightly overzealous it wouldn't be the same Rauru. He has never seen anything like the calamity or the demon king yet, so of course he himself is probably the strongest thing he has ever known.

Zelda tries to tell Rauru that Ganon shares a aura and name with the beast that she trapped for 100 years, thought conflicted since her history books claim the Calamity had never had a host or it's own body. This uncertainty makes Rauru dismiss the theory that Ganon is more then just a fellow king. He prides himself on being a king who acts on certainty, which likely would Upset Zelda since she was forced to share a body with Calamity and could be theorized that a part of her Triforce energy being depleted because her own body was infected with Ganon's aura.

Sonia confronts him on his blunders, he does not listen very well and has forgotten that different gestures are interpreted differently by the other races. They have a slight argument, where Nintendo finally gives us the confirmation of a child that they share together. I strongly believe that it's a daughter that Sonia sent to train in light magic, being watched over by three ppl who I believe should be Sonia's sisters who all reside in the ancient goddess Shrines protected by the dragons. Sonia talks about her divine heritage, her ancestor being the goddess Hylia's reincarnation during the legendary Eras. She believes that Rauru coming to the shrine of the light god all those years ago was fated, their souls bound by the divine light of the goddess who gave them their gifts. (My personal belief is that the stones were created by the primordial goddesses when Hylia took a human form centuries ago, and protected by Hylia's descendants in a shrine forgotten by time. The sacred stones were in the possession of Sonia before they were given to the sages)

She urges him to think of the legacy that their daughter will inherit once she activated her powers, and to not think that just because Zelda exists that it means that their legacy is prosperous by fate alone. Rauru hears her and accepts her critique, and he hints that he is thankful for his queen to keep him on track. Sonia jokes that he better shape up, since Zonai out live Hylians she won't be there forever to steer him back on course (foreshadowing of her early death). In the back, we see Zelda but this is the appearance of Puppet Zelda.

3- the Last idea I had. Sonia's funeral. We should be given a opportunity to see more Hylian culture before Rauru had them temporality take the culture of Zonai. Sonia's funeral involves interring her body in a ancient crypt that can be revealed to be the time shrine that we start off in (being the only one that has a Hylia goddess statue) or a crypt that had collapsed on itself on the normal earth. The memory included Zelda being farther away from the ceremony, and watching as Sonia's sisters, Rauru, and a hidden 6 yr old daughter and heir bury the queen.

I like the idea that her grave has a stone slab statue on-top of it that looks like Sonia sleeping. The statue has a sundelion in its grasp.

I think it would help out more of a impact on the viewer about Sonia's end. If Link awakens all the bright bloom and shrines, he should not only get the ancient hero aspect but discover the hidden tomb of this queen. Better yet that it was once kept there as part of Sonia's own personal blessing, likely put in the crypt by her own daughter who may have been the first Zelda to fight the Calamity with the Legendary hero.

That's pretty much most of my thoughts for Sonia and the royal family. I love TOTK for what it is, but I understand that Nintendo is a game mechanic first kind of company instead of story driven one. I would love to see comics or even a dungeon mini series for this timeline of Zelda where the reward is knowledge about the Zonai and the workings of the goddess Hylia. (even tho the guy in charge of the game is saying he's exhausted everything for it, I personally think he's wrong and Nintendo needs to have him work with someone who prioritized story telling first.)

[egg-emperor]

I can vividly see Eggman pulling the "you're no daughter of mine" line against Sage if she did something that displeased him or if she failed him one too many times. That's what people aren't picking up on how canonical Eggdaddy works: it's extremely conditional and based entirely on selfish motivations. He likes Sage BECAUSE she's actually competent and effective at doing what he built her to do. He sees himself as her father BECAUSE it makes him feel better about himself to feel like he created life that is superior to natural reproduction. He is proud of her BECAUSE of how she reflects upon himself as her genius creator. And if any of those things stopped being true, if she starts slipping or if he makes something newer and better, then paternal bonds also go out the window. Both because he really would be willing to sever all ties at the drop of a hat, and also because it'd make Sage feel like she has to work twice as hard to try and earn his approval back.

It's all there in the text. This isn't stuff we're just making up lol. It's fine to make up your own fun little ideas, even if I personally chafe at acanonical depictions of the characters people are still more than within their rights to portray them however they want. But this denial about the way the nature of their relationship is portrayed IN THE GAME in the (few) cutscenes he has and in the Egg Memos, is just kind of silly. Ian Flynn literally said himself "you WANT to feel happy for Eggman cuz love is a good thing, but it's coming from this extremely dark place of Dr Frankenstein being happy about his monster." Regardless of what people WANT Eggdaddy to be, the intended interpretation could not be more black and white.

YES THANK YOU. I've brought it up elsewhere but not here yet but one of the biggest things that I can't emphasize enough is that Eggman didn't change and develop into a better person at all in the game and that's not what was happening in the forming of Eggman and Sage's bond. There's a reason Ian Flynn is still emphasizing that he's a "BAD person" and warmed up to the idea of the father daughter dynamic "for all of the wrong reasons"

Eggman's usual personality and outlook are actually the very reasons WHY he even accepted the dynamic and values Sage at all- it's all down to his self-centeredness, selfishness, and ego. The Egg Memos literally had him say it word for word with him saying she's great because she's loyal and efficient, because her father is a genius, and because he made her in an impressive unique way with code and electrons like a true genius too.

It couldn't be any more blatantly clear than in this memo. It's literally just "me me me" all the way through. She is an extension of himself as his creation and a reflection of his genius with her existence and abilities for him to take pride in, and she's loyal and useful to him so he can value her for something and take pride in it when she accomplishes in that too. It's all about himself and what's in it for him, like always.

They're literally the specific circumstances he praises her for anything in the game. To the point he can yell at her for doing something he doesn't want one second and praising her highly and saying he's proud of her the next for doing something he does want.

It happens in the scene where he's furious with her for suggesting teaming up with Sonic but she saves him in the next and suddenly he's all like "wow you surpassed expectations I'm so proud"

It's crazy how you can get the second scene to play IMMEDIATELY after the first, I got it in my second playthrough. It creates a parallel to the Eggman and Gamma scene in Adventure.

Right after raging at them and calling them all dummies, when he finds that one of them did get the right frog then he immediately changes his tune, praises him highly, and pretends he knew he'd be of use to him

It's literally the same vibes with Sage lol

And he can just go right back to being angry when she does something he doesn't like, like when she tried to urge him to get back into Cyber Space and team up with Sonic again and he keeps snapping at her.

If that's not conditional and selfish as FUCK then I really don't know what is lol

I see people question why he hasn't scrapped her yet like he would much quicker with other creations but why would he? She can make him angry but she still has potential, he can take pride in her, and he needs her in those times to protect him, try to fight Sonic and gather information for him. Plus she is loyal and when she goes against his exact orders it's still only with his best interests in mind.

And who's to say he wouldn't have reacted in worse ways towards her if he wasn't in a situation where he was reliant on her? We might not even get to find out as he's likely to restore her back to her original red self without all the development she went through only thanks to Sonic and friends- makes sense as he'll want to keep total control because he still only values her for what she was actually created for.

How quickly he can switch from being mad at her to praising her highly when she does something he wants really gives the impression that he's buttering her up to keep her loyal, which he clearly values most. He's smart and cunning, he knows what he's doing and he's always thinking about what's in it for him- so I'm certain it's what he's doing. And it's definitely fact that it's very conditional.

But if she does start slipping and fail to meet expectations, fail him, no longer be of use to him in comparison to a newer creation, etc and he loses the two main qualities that he praises her for, her loyalty and efficiency + his pride in her as his creator as a result, then what's left? I can see him dropping the act immediately and making a deep cut with harsh words like her being no daughter of his because she doesn't reflect his brilliance and genius anymore.

Eggman is saying what he knows Sage wants to hear. He may accept her as his daughter and Orbot and Cubot as being like her siblings because it also makes her happy- and it all keeps her loyal and with the drive to succeed. It's just like how he explained that he designs robots with sentience in The Murder of Sonic, to take advantage of it for selfish benefit as it gives them more of a drive to serve him.

And yeah while it makes me uncomfortable as fuck and makes going into her tags feel like walking into a line of fire on a battlefield unarmed and makes me come out covered in blood lol- people are allowed to do what they want in their fan works. But the way people take issue with us for seeing what it really is in the game and being so vile and aggressive over those who portray it that way is ridiculous.

What you really have in game is Eggman's side being shallow and self centered and conditional as fuck. Sage's flashback montage especially shows that super wholesome family bonding didn't happen. The nicest thing he did was say he's proud of her- for doing what he wants. But any time she doesn't, he thumps things and yells at her. He also cares so much about her fulfilling her original function that he let her go and sacrifice herself to save him.

Much wholesome. Very pure. Happy family.

I really like Ian Flynn's summary and I wish I could shove it in everyone's face a million times over until they finally get it and stop denying that it isn't as wholesome and sweet and especially not deeply heartfelt and selfless on Eggman's side in the actual game. And what he said was right and it's because they want to be happy about it, they want it to come from a genuinely pure place but it just doesn't.

What was intended was so much more interesting to me over how it was sanitized and changed so heavily in fanon and I wish I could analyze it for what it actually is and create based on that without getting shit for it. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of their official dynamic in the main game canon especially. But the small glimpse at them in The Murder of Sonic and in Minecraft is a good sign!

I really like how it's handled in canon because Eggman's massive ego affects literally everything he does like interactions, behaviors, motives, goals, outlook on life, etc, it'd make no sense for his relationships like familial bonds to be a sudden exception. It wasn't with Maria and not even Gerald. In fact his ego and selfishness are the reasons WHY he accepts the dynamic with Sage in the end and that's great!

[afriendlygoblin]

my thoughts on TOTK because i need to ramble about it somewhere and my friend hasn't finished it yet

SPOILERS

i'm gonna go through the main quests/parts as i completed them

1) the opening, Great Sky Island, Temple of Time and landing in Hyrule

it made me really really really happy to see that Link and Zelda were still around each other like this, exploring stuff together and all. the awakening cutscene gave me chills and really all i could think about was finding Zelda.

discovering the Great Sky Island was fun, though i was used to my comfort in BOTW so it was quite a shock to not have the paraglider and get one-shot by literally anything. but i guess that's normal

then i really liked meeting Rauru though i missed having at least a clue of what was going on. like in BOTW, the king tells you "alright, the world is shit because this happened, Zelda is over there waiting for you, now u do u". there i had this feeling of being absolutely clueless for the first few hours of gameplay and it was frustrating at times.

Lookout Landing was a heartwarming sight, seeing people rebuild and stuff genuinely made me smile. i did feel a pinch in my heart when i recognized that it was built on the very ground where Link swore his oath as Zelda's appointed knight. but overall it was great and i loved the concept of the new towers.

2) the Temples and Sages

i started with Rito Village and the Wind temple. i love Tulin with all my heart and i have to say i use his ability the most. the temple was a pain to access and the cold was annoying but i had a blast with the boss battle. didn't really use Tulin's help there because it was really easy to do on my own but i enjoyed having a supporter during the fight.

i was favorably surprised when i found out that Tulin's clone would accompany me forever. BOTW was a pretty lonely game. peaceful and beautiful but lonely nonetheless. also seeing Teba give his son the Great Eagle Bow made me emotional i admit. i wish there were more references to Revali (and the Champions in general) but eh at least he has a Landing named after him. also where did the Flight Range go?

next i went to Goron City. it felt strange to not instantly catch on fire but well, i was happy with no more elixirs and ugly outfits (not a fan of the fireproof set). the battle against the 3 headed monster in Death Mountain was awesome and it reminded me of how fun it was to yeet Yunobo around. speaking of which i was so relieved when i got him back to normal because that rock boi is precious and seeing him being mean was not cool.

the Temple was a bit annoying tbh, i got lost in the rail system so i just went and monkeyed around climbing everything and flying everywhere. the boss fight was also quite forgettable though i liked using Yunobo's ability more. again, there was zero mention of Daruk (that i remember) and Daruk's Protection has been entirely forgotten. i know the goal isn't to live in the past but i find it sad to see it pretty much forgotten about in some areas.

after that i went to Zora's Domain and had fun yeeting splash fruit at the sludge. i almost had a heart attack when i saw that the Mipha statue had been replaced but i was so thrilled to see it relocated to where the Lynel used to be. they really built her a splendid memorial and she can really watch over her people from there.

i had missed Sidon and his smile, and helping Yona bringing him back to his true optimistic charming self was really great. i liked that since the Zora live long lives, everyone remembered me (Link) more than in other parts of Hyrule. oh and Sidon's coronation had me smiling ear to ear because i was so proud of my fish brother.

i had so much fun in the temple and its weird gravity, sometimes i go back just to jump around and dive in slow motion. the boss fight was correct, though it was annoying to go so slow through sludge.

finally, i made my way to Gerudo Town. the gibdos surprised me but by pure luck i had a fire lizalfos horn weapon equipped so i was never in any real danger. i loved organizing the defenses of Gerudo Town and fighting alongside Riju's warriors.

i loved seeing how Riju had grown since we last saw her, she and Tulin were like my young niblings and seeing them grow made me so proud. again i don't remember any tribute to Urbosa but seeing Riju's dual Scimitars of the Seven was a nice touch so i didn't say anything.

the temple was really cool and the boss fight made me rage quit once or twice so i consider it to be awesome. i thought i was gonna throw my Switch against the wall but then i remembered Zelda needed me so i took a breath and went back to the fight.

overall i really liked this part of the game, seeing my old new friends was very heartwarming and having their clones follow me in my daily life made the game so much less lonely than BOTW was.

3) Tears of the Dragon

no. i am still sobbing, throwing up, rolling on the floor. no. seeing Zelda finding not one but 2 loving parental figures only to lose them 20 min later, Ganondorf's ascension, Rauru's sacrifice, ZELDA'S SACRIFICE ABZBZBFKGNDKDLS I WAS NOT READY. i didn't find the memories in chronological order so when i found the one that hinted what was going to happen to Zelda i rushed them all and stayed up until like 4 am to see them all. the final one tore me apart and i basically cried myself to sleep (not really but almost). i actually had to go spoil myself online just to put my mind at ease because like what if we could never get her back???

after that and the Master Sword quest, whenever i saw Zelda not too far from a tower i'd go see her and rest on her head for a little while while imagining Link talking to her.

i was at a point where i didn't really know what to do with myself, i still had Gerudo Town to visit but eh i was a bit sick of boss battles at the moment. seeing the memories remotivated me and pushed me to finish the main quests as fast as possible to get Zelda back.

4) the Master Sword

as eager as i was to just go and beat up Ganondorf, i couldn't imagine doing it without my trursty blade, and also the reason why Zelda sacrificed herself. so i decided to go see the Great Deku Tree so seek counsel. after a quick in and out trip to the depth, i found a dying tree in no shape to answer my questions.

Phantom Ganon handed my ass to me a few times but once i got his attack patterns right, it all went smooth like a baby's butt cheek.

getting the Master Sword from Zelda's head made me so emotional, i had just seen a fanart of that scene where Link let himself fall while crying and clutching the sword against his heart. that was how i felt it really.

5) the Depths and Fifth Sage

so after crying my eyes, heart, lungs and intestines out, i had to continue investigating to know where the hell Ganondorf was. that led me to the Depth, searching for all the abandonned mines and everything. on the way i had fun in the battles against Kohga, i had missed his ridiculous... him.

i'm not the biggest fan of the Depths but hey, you can find pretty awesome stuff down there so i do spend a lot of time farming Zonaite and throwing Brightbloom seeds around.

finding and assembling Mineru's construct felt a bit ehh. the shrine like puzzles to get the limbs were thankfully not too long but really all i wanted was to get over with it. funny enough i was fully prepared for a big twist like Mineru revealing that she was with Ganondorf and having to fight the construct i had just built myself.

what i got was even better. like mech fight??? hello?? that was awesome though it took me some time to get the controls down. but ah as a kid who grew up playing Solatorobo, riding the construct was just cbfkdkd SO COOL.

6) the Final Fight

i'll just focus on the battles because the way to get to the Gloom's Lair or whatever was just like yeah sure go off i guess. chasing Zelda through the Castle was just a delay of what i knew would happen underground and then i mostly dodged the monsters except the Lynel because come on who has time for that.

the. EPIC. BATTLE. AGAINST. AN ENTIRE. ARMY. my Goddess fighting hordes and hordes of monsters alongside my friends with the most epic music was just so euphoric and cathartic and just fullfilling ahhhhgg. when i saw the temple bossed coming back to life i was gully prepared to take them on with my friends but nope, the game had other plans for me.

and what plans oh bloody hell this FIGHT? THAT is what i call a boss battle. in BOTW, Ganon wasn't hard to kill. like it had taken me less than 5 tries i think, 3 of them being just to learn the fight's mechanics. but here? the first part i got quickly, after all it was just a one on one against a (large) human sized villain. the pace was slow, there was no music, in a word : a warmup.

then he activates his secret stone and turns into a human emo LED. alright sure. and then his health bar replenishes. AND KEEPS GOING. i was expecting it to just go beyond the screen border at this point. and oh the clones, how many times did i accidentally get killed by one of them. having my friends fight them for me was cool but too many times i ended up ignoring them and taking a lost bullet becayse of that.

then comes the real 1v1 againt the Demon King. THAT was the fight i'd been waiting for. the final confrontation between the Hero and Evil, the final battle that would- he can Flurry Rush? what do you mean he can Flurry Rush?? alright then, i'll just be careful, good thing i have a good shield haha HE CAN FLURRY RUSH MY FLURRY RUSH?????? HOW WHAT WHY WTF ah at least i can Flurry Rush his Flurry Rush that he Flurry Rushed from my Flurry Rush. McFlurry.

after at least 20 tries, tears and a break because my left index was sore from keeping my shield up, i finally got to deal a final strike. and then oh my GODDESS THIS PART

Zelda rushes to my aid and together we face that giant Demon Dragon. she soars, allowing me to dive and land right next to one of the Demon's weak point. i attack it, then bet blown off. Zelda gets me back and we repeat the maneuver 3 times. finally, i dive one last time to the Demon's head and shatter the Secret Stone.

no more Demon, no more Ganondorf, it really is over this time.

7) the End

is it? the sky is peaceful, as i, behind my screen, thank the princess for her help and tell her that we succeded, i start floating off of her head. Rauru and Sonia appear and somehow channel their magic through my arm.

and there she is. my princess. my Zelda. the one i travelled through Sky, Land and Depth to find. the one i've been chasing for (in game) months (days irl).

and she's falling. shit. so i dive as fast as i can, i extend my freshly restored arm and.... i got her! a perfect echo to the opening, an exquisite parallel, i took so many screenshots of this scene and i will cherish them forever.

then i watched the last cutscenes, my Zelink heart that was already screaming exploded when i saw Link gently put Zelda down on the grass. she wakes up, sees Link, looks around and... "you really did it" no princess, we did it together. "Oh Link... i'm home" AAAAAHAHBBFNDKDBBF I SCREAMED i really screamed and thank the Goddess that i live alone because it was again 4am and had i been at my parent's place, Zelda's smile would have been the last thing i'd seen before certain death (not that i would have minded). i wish i could hug my princess in that moment. yes, you're home. i promised i'd get you back when i saw your memories so here you are. and you're never leaving me again.

end credits, i use that time to process what i just lived. then i watch the post credit cutscene, shed a tear watching Mineru rest in peace and the new Sages swear their oath. everything's good now.

and then i'm transported back to Castle Chasm. yay.

Additional 1) the Gameplay

as an engineering student, i had been waiting for this game for so long (only could play it a month after release because of finals) and it didn't disappoint. well to be honest i was used to BOTW's controls and though they were similar here, i missed using the cross' top arrow to pick a rune. minor stuff like that. BUT WHO CARE WHEN YOU CAN BUILD CARS, PLANES, ROCKETS AND TORTURE DEVICES

i fully started enjoying vehicle building when i expanded my battery. from then on i was unstoppable, roaming around Hyrule on my Turbo Deadly Flying Tricycle that shoots fire and laser beams.

also i'm a pretty peaceful being but i have to admit that nailing a Korok to a cross and pulling it around with your horse like "do you have time for our Lord and Savior Korok Christ?" is really really fun.

Additional 2) the World

also i loved the additions they made to the stables like the Pony Points system. and ah finally i don't have to talk to this random girl to change my saddle.

i'm a sucker for fantasy sky island so i was so happy to see some in Hyrule sky. though i wish there were a bit more or at least some bigger ones. Great Sky Island was nice but then in other regions, aside from a shrine here and a dispenser there i didn't spend a lot of time up tthere.

Hyrule was at the same time the good old same and a totally new and foreign place. cities and villages were in the same place but they were so different. Tarrey Town had grown so much (btw fuck you Rail Car guy i built this place you should pay ME). Kakariko had its new Ring Ruins, Hateno had developped a mushroom frenzy... AND ZELDA HAS STOLEN MY HOUSE??? HAY PRINCESS YOU HAVE A CASTLE AT LEAST LET ME HAVE THIS oh? is that my hair tie? and... you're writing about me in your diary? oh so we live together... alright then all good! also seeing the photo from Champion's Ballad exactly where i hung it in BOTW brought a tear to my eye. no, our omd friends aren't forgotten. and they will always be home.

i'll stop there because i'm hungry and i've been rambling for an hour and a half but this game is just so so so good. the story touched me a bit less than that of BOTW for some reason but it did make me emotional af. i wish we had a postgame which solely consists of completing the secondary adventures and like... farming in Hateno Village with Zelda but eh, be grateful for what you have i told myself. i think i will go have a cutscene marathon starting with Age of Calamity now.

Additional 3) the Side Quests

while i ignored most of them (will get to them eventually no worry about that), i particularly appreciated the Monster Control ones and the Lurelin line. these quests really made me feel how important community and cooperation are in this game. because you have your own community of heroes with the Sages and also the researchers, people who are in the heart of the story but there you get to see other communities. the losers with a valiant heart, fighting silver moblins with mops and buckets as helmets, the exiled fishermen who lost their town but with your help get to rebuild their home etc. this makes this game whole because it reminds you that yeah, there are always epic tales of legendary heroes, dramatic tragedies and heroic sacrifices but there are also smaller, equally as important stories. there's the story of how anyone can rise up and fight monsters and there's the story of how to rebuild your home after it was totally destroyed. and you get to be a part of all these stories, big or small. and that's beautiful.

also i liked stealing Zelda's horse again. you took my house i take your horse, fair is fair.

[firefromthegodspro]

Final Game Jam Dev Log: It seems we have reached... an end

Greetings, greetings, fair Tumblr. Tis I, local crackpot wizard Fire. It's currently 2:30 in the morning, and as I type this part of the post, Messier Mystes' prototype is uploading to Itch.io for submission into the Jam!

It's admittedly not... great, I did run out of time to get it to a point I wanted. But it is at the very least functional. Lacking cutscenes, balance, and quality. But functional.

Safe to say, this is the farthest I've gotten on a creative project not meant for a class, so I'm both relieved I managed to finish something (I am literally that one Jimmy Neutron villain IRL), and disappointed I couldn't even polish the vertical slice I made.

So before we talk about the bad, let's talk about the good!

I've literally never made a game before, so just the fact I did this is an accomplishment to me. Like genuinely. I was given RPG Maker MV in high school as a gift, and I've never been able to sit down and release something playable, so this was insanely satisfying! Even if I don't win anything or I get bad reviews, I'm just happy to be here.

Additionally, as scuffed as my Timetable system is, the fact I managed to make a semi-functional one abusing If/Else statements, Common Events, and Variables makes me proud. I problem solved, and while it is basic I think it's somewhat creative for my first foray into the engine.

Now onto the "what I'm disappointed about" section.

I am extremely disappointed that I didn't budget my time well at all. I really should've either chosen a smaller scope, or focused hard on a vertical slice, but I didn't manage to. It led to me cutting a lot of corners in the final hour, and I'm unhappy with it. It kinda sucks to me I didn't manage to even implement music or cutscenes properly, but its whatever.

Enjoy this Rouxls Kaard gif as a line break.

SO! What are my plans for the future?

Well, near future, I'm taking a couple days and binging both FGO and Tsukihime. I managed to NP2 Arc on the Anniversary banner, so I feel obligated to consume her route in the VN as quickly as possible. I haven't exactly been only game devving, but I do wanna take a couple days and let my creative juices refill.

I'm bone dry, man!

Secondly, in the slightly less-near future, I need to focus on my novel. I've let Quest for the Sacred Sword fall by the wayside, and I wanna get more progress put into that before I hop back onto Messier.

But never fear! My middling Dev Blogs and game development talents will return.

In terms of what's in store for the future, obviously things like adding cutscenes... adding the Social Link-type mechanic, and all of that is on the docket. But I also need to redesign my dungeons to meet my initial vision for them. Additionally, while I might stick with the ad hoc bootleg Timekeeping system, I definitely want to refine it a bit more if I don't outright replace it.

I also need to seriously overhaul my spell list. I have a perfectly fine basic outline, but as I implemented it I realized I forgot to focus on where the spells would fall in the level tree...

Yeah, again, I've never really done this before.

So revamping that is a must.

I also need to improve my map designs. I have some pretty basic ones, but improvements can always be made, and I want to make them.

That all being said, I'll still be posting here, just not Game Dev stuff. Probably more random thoughts, novel updates, or random garbage essays I come up with about my hyper fixations. The Wordpress (with a total of 1 post) is going to go silent for now, and will return when important updates exist. I'm still going to be working on Messier slowly in the background, but I won't really talk about it until I have something significant to show off.

Whelp, as of this line its just shy of 2:50 and I have to be up at 8 for work. The game's uploaded and submitted by now, so I'm going to go crash.

Walking the path of heaven to rule over everything.

-Fire

[allqrcoded]

Devlog 2: Assets , bug fixing & kool stuff

hello.. we're back here ...! this month, i worked on more talk sprites (as you could see from the picture above), a game mechanic , directing cutscenes, more maps… and bug fixing

i've been bogging down on some (overdue) asset work this month... and i think im reaching the end of the road for that part (in terms of maps)

Asset work

speaking of roads, im done with the street map.. which is one where i've experienced countless difficulties with, even as of remapping.

it used to look like that, but now it looks like this! isn't that great?. i'm thinking of using animated assets to give more life to maps where clouds are shown.. just for a bit of movement, but i'm not sure how that works, so time will tell. also, i reached my map making dl!! for once! im very happy :^) i thought i wouldn't make it, but i did.

with other assets, i'm pretty proud of the stuff i've drawn for shan daxing's (another character in the game) . he's so cute. i think all of the assets where hes blushing are my favorite, because i can't pick one.

the assets for a side character have also been done! 100% now because she doesn’t have that much screen time, so the work is a little bit light on her.. unlike the main trio’s with their 3 separate outfits and all.

Autohotkey goodness

i also found out about the existence of ahk and the power of ctrl+enter for adjusting things, so i definitely got a lot of things done in that department :^) i capitalized (iirc) all dialogue that needed so + changed every dim text box to be windowed. yay! ahk is also the reason why i made so much progress during this month. most of the cutscenes have also been directed (aka have movement in them).

CGs

i’m thinking of adding cgs to the game as well. this is a draft to show what they’ll be like. slightly cropped and not so polished. i'm not focusing that much on them these days, so the earlier cgs i have planned would take a while for me to draw.. my priority right now is technical issues over aesthetic ones.

about the game mechanic

the “game mechanic” i mentioned before the cut is actually pretty simple to explain! there are parts in the game where you get a bit of breathing time + interact with the objects in-game to get optional lore and extras. during that breathing time, i’ve made it so that whenever you talk to a character in the same room, you can get a talking mini game where … in certain choices — reveal some said lore. this mechanic is partly inspired by blood orange (the mechanic’s gameplay) along with slow damage (the breathing time from the story).

angel care has a lot of lore.. and i don’t want to info dump players in every cutscene where it’s relevant, so i made some of them “explorable” to say the least. the idea of “breathing time”, as i mentioned.. came from slow damage because i think that game does well at giving players a break from all of the bam wow story & lore with its exploration mechanic. it’s very simple, but effective! it lets players control the pace instead of the game doing it for them & makes them take time to process the story whilst at it. it's pretty normal, but it does the job in relaying info.. & making said info explorable/optional

final words

just this week, i've started to playtest the game chronologically ^^ i'm still in early game, but the bugs there are being fixed at a relatively quick rate to make up for my tendency to not playtest whilst coding... we're getting there! may is coming up and for that month, i'll have a lot of time to work on the game itself.

[anerol152]

hi, it me again (again)! about everything mia: i think it's all capcom being capcom about its female characters (remember Claire? Jill? Rebecca? Ada? literal mains and they've been gone for years from the games, it's all been chris and leon main and chris as the only main that appears in the last two, with Ethan as main; remakes not count) so what little they gave us is just ehh not enough for a full picture like you said; she was kinda interesting in 7 but sidelined in 8+dlc, and damsel in distress for both main entries. as capcom said they're done with the Winters for now... we may never know if there was something interesting like, oh she got reminded of Evie and trauma, or resentment because Ethan's dead after saving her, or just chris taking the bow child away because she's dangerous?? idk, capcom tell us! and stop sidelining your women characters!

no one telling Rose about Ethan in dlc just rubs the wrong way. like 16 years of nothing, no pics or stories... like they didn't even tell her he'd be proud of her? isn't that something most people tell kids with a dead parent? i am a sad panda (but it's narratively nice because she gets to explore his memories, that's so very private and adorable <3). like, I get it the memories are painful but taking away the kid's right to know? D:

"...if I'm misremembering but I think Ethan found some suspicious documents about things Mia was doing at the start" Ethan never found out anything about mia or her involvement with the connections or what happened in Louisiana, and she made a deal with the bsaa to not tell him anything about her if she rats out her employers (post re7, and chris hadn't gone rogue yet - you can find all this in 'the baker incident report'). He only knew she had something to do with it but nothing concrete, and every time he wanted to talk about it, they fought; last instances with the real mia were the hospital where she "blew up" at him for mentioning Louisiana and the flashback post crash at the beginning of RE8. (Miranda took her place a day before or same day 8 happens, because same clothes) It's Chris that finds photos of mia with miranda and eveline in Miranda's lab, but he already knows they worked together so he has no reaction to that, but he does to her documents of Spencer.

"I cannot tell you how little respect I have for anyone doing that to her." right?! imagine honking at a graveyard to hurry up D:

"#still so very curious about that figure next to the car in the last cutscene" free cam mods in both RE8 and DLC show it's Ethan and the car stops :D (please let me dream that it's him watching over Rose or she accidentally brought him back, like his ring). And fingers crossed they don't just forget about Rose though they said they're done with the Winters for now. thnx for answring all these! and oh wow these things got long, sorry!

Hello hello XD

"idk, capcom tell us! and stop sidelining your women characters!"

Oh if only, oh if only. I do love the male mains bc they've fleshed them out true. I live for every crumb we get about Ada tho. We need a girls only centered game. Let them be awesome capcom, they deserve it. Mia disappearing is my 'favorite' [sarcasm] mystery tho, because I can and will make 20k conspiracy theories about her not being there since doubt we'll ever get an answer. I just hope it wasn't anything that hurt Rose too much.

"like 16 years of nothing, no pics or stories… like they didn't even tell her he'd be proud of her? isn't that something most people tell kids with a dead parent?"

Right!? Someone, anyone, should have told her at least the bare minimum! If nothing else, to keep 'the asset' happy so she wouldn't become a problem. Like, if nothing else you'd expect them to at least use that logic if the problem was them not seeing her as a literal child. It's so very odd. I mean, it's obviously that way just so they can get that one cute scene (I too absolutely adore the childhood memories scene. was one of the best moments of the game really) but that doesn't work as well narratively-wise. Capcom we need hindsight to be part of the plot planning too!

"Ethan never found out anything about mia or her involvement with the connections or what happened in Louisiana, and she made a deal with the bsaa to not tell him anything about her if she rats out her employers (post re7, and chris hadn't gone rogue yet - you can find all this in 'the baker incident report')."

Yeah that! I am, not good at remembering which ch knows what tbh. Too many wikia binges at 2am. Brain just accepted Chris knowing as Ethan knowing as well. Still sad to see those secrets making Ethan and Mia fight tho. Though, makes me wonder what would have happened if Ethan knew of her involvement from the start. Or if like, Chris and Co. told him they suspected Mia was replaced.

""#still so very curious about that figure next to the car in the last cutscene" free cam mods in both RE8 and DLC show it's Ethan and the car stops :D (please let me dream that it's him watching over Rose or she accidentally brought him back, like his ring)."

I wish, I wish. Bit odd the car stopped there if it's just his spirit or smthn tho. Also really? Thought it wasn't possible to make the pic clear enough. I mean, also been hoping it's him but the whole 'the father's story is finished now' thing keeps me guessing. (I will never get over the ring. The sheer implications.) Really do hope we see more of the remaining Winters soon enough (like by 2025, preferably).

"thnx for answring all these! and oh wow these things got long, sorry!"

No need for saying sorry! I am really enjoying these discussions. It's nice being able to talk to more than just a few friends about it. Always happy to answer asks. Thank you for starting the discussion!

[foibles-fables]

Do you have any tips for aspiring people trying to write Aloy and Talanah( more specifically expressing their personalities)?

Oh gosh. First of all, anon, this is such a flattering ask and you've made me feel so very soft on main on this weekend morn. I hope you're proud of yourself and I hope you're having an amazing day!!!! [cryingcat.jpg]

Second of all--this is a super hard question to answer with specific regard to these two fruity-ass yearning-ass sad-ass dumbass machine hunters (equal measures affectionate and derogatory). That said, I'm more than happy to make an attempt at coherently sketching out the way I try to capture character in general. It's one of the coolest and most challenging and most rewarding parts of writing fanfic--and also my personal favorite undertaking when I meet new pals to write about! Here goes.

1. First point's a little tangential (we're off to a great start), but there's a definitely difference between media I consume/enjoy passively and the pieces that really get to me. With the latter, I'm much more likely to get attached to characters than to a specific genre. Hence why my taste is somewhat eclectic! There's a character archetype I find myself most drawn to [weary sidelong glace at Kahlan, Talanah, Beatrice, Asami] and they're the ones most likely to make me sigh deeply and open a Google doc. So for me there's the immediate benefit of knowing exactly who makes my brain go brrr, and using that to both dig into and/or make fun little twists on their canon characterization.

2. I can't say enough for close and repeated consumption of the source material. Eventually their little mannerisms, body language, inflection/cadence, speech structure, vocabulary, general attitude, strengths, weaknesses, false beliefs, hypocrisies, etc. will become ingrained. Once you know 'em, it's easier to embody 'em and extrapolate 'em while being careful not to exaggerate 'em. I've watched Seeker and Warrior Nun in their entirety enough times to scare the average human, and I swear at least a third of the views on the "Talanah (All Cutscenes)" YouTube video are mine. Spend time with your faves. You'll all enjoy it and benefit from it.

3. Canon use of language goes a long way in making the character sound like the character, in both narration and dialogue. Check out the diction used in the source material if ever in doubt. I control-F scripts often for this purpose. Did you know the Carja know and use the word "miasma?!" Who even says that word, ever. What absolute dramatic fools.

4. Related--when putting dialogue together, it super-helps to imagine the actor/voice actor saying the line. The aural cue is a good way to check up on your characterization. If it sounds off, you might need to make adjustments. I also totally ascribe to narrating dialogue out loud as I'm working it out. Ask my cats.

5. Practice, practice, practice. There's not a single person who undertakes any craft and doesn't benefit from repetition and honing. Each iteration is a chance to improve and evaluate yourself. Do it often, do it with abandon.

7. Exude absolute feral gay energy and project all of your problems and demons and weaknesses and insecurities onto your faves Ignore this one please

I hope that was at least somewhat of an answer for you! If anyone else has any advice or thoughts, please reply with them because I was starstruck enough by this ask that I'm sure I missed a lot in my flustered flattery.

[egg-emperor]

The Japanese Egg Memos are a lot closer to the English version than the cutscenes are (which vary a lot in general, not just with the Eggman/Sage stuff). Eggman still gets closer to Sage, and his line about Sage being a "chip off the old block" in Memo 18 is even more direct in Japanese, where he says "Like parent, like child" before hastily brushing the idea off. I'm not saying this to upset you, but you deserve to know instead of holding false hope that it wasn't present at all in Japanese.

Yeah I know, I've seen them but thanks for the consideration of giving me a heads up. I now know enough to be sure that I actually love Japanese Frontiers Eggman's characterization so no, I'm not upset. I'm very happy that it feels it was handled a lot better there. 🥰💜 I'll be taking this version that's still much more faithful to the lovable bastard in ways English came close to but had to flub with the worst dialogue that was very different to what we got in Japanese. So the latter is all I'll take into account for it now and nothing else thanks lol

It fixed most of my biggest issues in the memos and reworded parts that made it feel more right and understandable with how he thinks and acts. He's more lowkey with whether she feels more real than other creations and seems like it's more for how advanced she is, than English mentioning family blatantly. And of course he'd take pride in for how impressive it is to create, which they did try to portray. And he doesn't seem to praise her in ways that isn't always blatantly praising himself as creator in JP, much clearer than English.

And he just doesn't call himself her father or her his daughter in such sincere ways in actual cutscenes where I felt like it was the worst and most forced. I don't think him making a "like father like daughter" joke in a memo over having a similar sense of humor as creator and creation, one of the only blatant things in JP unlike how there's tons more in English, is coming off as quite as strong and forced. They specifically removed most mentions in English, even in the memos that were more faithful to the English version than cutscenes.

I think the adjustments and total removal of mentions at some parts are saying something and it feels more right. I'm relieved it seems the real game Eggman was considered much more. The vastly different context of my least favorite scenes and parts in Japanese changes a lot. Just feels like my beloved selfish bastard man praising himself to high heaven as usual and the attachment seems more in her being an especially impressive life-like creation, rather than implying sudden genuine softness and empathy and deep care beyond that.

I would prefer if the dynamic didn't exist at all because it's just not necessary but like I said earlier, I can accept it being done in more casual ways, as long as it's handled right. How it's done a lot more subtly in Archie and IDW for example was acceptable and even mildly likable at times because it was just funny and didn't take away from his evil or imply it comes from a place of genuine softness and care and feels more like "I'm technically like a father to them as my creations so I'll act like a proud one, look at the brilliant manifestations of my genius"

The Japanese version seems similar in subtlety, which doesn't take away from his evil or disregard his core character traits in the same way. English came off way too strong and overemphasized, especially in the last few scenes where it felt like he suddenly became Mr. Tinker. Apparently, in Japanese, he just calls her his greatest creation for her ability and his genius and it makes the "so emotional please cry" parts look more like disappointment to let such a great accomplishment go before it could be fully utilized in the way he intended.

While I would've still worded a couple things differently for that extra Eggman essence some parts still need, it's nowhere near as bad as English. I feel Japanese is more accurate to how far they can reasonably have a dynamic like that exist in any way and amount at all, without giving a middle finger to an important ever persistent aspect of his character at his core. So I'm satisfied enough, knowing that his actual attitude towards it and his ways of thinking about it feel much more like him. I just hope they keep it that way.