#Unicorn Overlord Critical

[antivanwine14]

Thoughts on Unicorn Overlord now that I finished, both positive and negative (long post):

Positives

The graphics are beautiful. The models are great and it was a very pleasant game to play in that sense. I also appreciated the fact you can skip the battles when grinding or just doing minor battles.

Game play: the tactics and team building was a lot of fun and challenging. I really enjoyed building the squads and experimenting with different builts.

Characters: I enjoyed a lot of the interactions and thought the characters really carried it. The rapports were good and there were several times where I wish there was more. Some of them were very funny and others really did a lot of world building.

Drakenhold: By far the best developed of the lands. It is a very strong second area to go to and really builds on a lot of things. The story rapport with Gilbert and Alain is actually some of the best and shows a different side of the relationship between Cornia and Drakenhold which I liked a lot. Even though Drakenhold is supposed to be worse than Cornia, things actually have complexity and I enjoyed it.

Negatives:

The story is middling at best. At the start I enjoyed it and I thought the time spent in Cornia was actually decent if not very close to a middle tier Fire Emblem Story. Drakenhold was good and I wanted more of that. Ellheim was alright but very predictable with nothing interesting going on. But then we got to Bastorias and it was literally a filler arc. There was no real reason to go there besides being curious on how they were handling things. The plot in Bastorias was not related to anything else and none of the main central characters really had anything to do with the area. By the time we got to Albion I was pretty over the repetitive story beats (bad person who really isn't SOOO bad and no we are really best friends) and I thought Albion's bad guy reasoning of ‘I did it to protect the church’ was the weakest. I have no issue with him being against you but I almost wish they had just gone mind control on him rather than his weak reasoning.

Also the amount of times a scene ended with everyone laughing was ridiculous and I don’t understand it. This isn’t an after school special, not everything has to end with a laugh. Let there be emotions besides happy. It would have been nice for there to be more conflict in the areas we have been too besides just clearing out Zenoira. Like, if Zenoira went back and tried to take places or something. It was all just one and done and the war was both pretty easy and happy. A big set back would have been appreciated.

Plot hole: Fun fact, if you accidentally missed the Tatiana quest in Cornia, like I did when I went into Drakenhold, you are going to be absolutely baffled by Hilda’s stuff because characters are going to talk like you’ve been there and dealt with that plague and people.

Character design- oh boy is that something. The female design is so unfortunate and what makes it worse is there are elements of good. Some of the outfits are just fine and not all the body shapes are thin and tiny, which is always nice to see. I don’t mind some level of fan service (Hades did it very well) but SOOOOOO many of the women in UO are just designed to be sexual. To make it worse they try to excuse it with Yahna being like I want to dress like this (completely fine, if this didnt mean ALL the witches had to be dress like her) and then the elves can’t wear metal because of the fae which is interesting in concept but why are most of the lady elves in their underwear but the male elves are fully clothed? PS, Scarlet's boobs bobbing ALL the time got really annoying quickly.

Alain- he isn’t allowed to have almost any emotion except mild and happy and that is unfortunate. This is a character who has been through a lot and he should have been super interesting. I know he is supposed to be stoic but there is more to stoicism than being mild all the time. Let the man have character. I almost wish they made him a little more like Alear (good personality, shows their youth) or even something along what Intsys wanted to do with Byleth (very stoic and closed off in the beginning, starts to open up as the story goes along)

Male Romance- they were cowards and very few of the men can even hint at something more than friendship. You can marry your cousin but can barely get anything from a man. Some of the rapport's show some promise and funny enough some of the most random characters have decent romantic rapports. Rolf has almost no connection to the plot or other characters but is one of the best ones. I am fine with not all the men being romantic (Josef's extremely sweet father son stuff being some of the best and not romantic at ALL), but it would have been to see more done with them.

Romance in General- honestly, I know they would have taken out all the guys but they should have not made every character available for Alain. It takes away from their individual stories. I honestly wished they picked a handful of characters (men and women) and allow them to build the story and romance with Alain and allow the other characters to form their own relationships without worrying about Alain. Sharon and Ochlys have something going on and it really annoys me that they can up with Alain.

Overall:

I had fun and it definitely kept my attention, but I don't know if I can recommend it. Maybe get it on sale.

[nyarlathesleeper]

Follow-up tiem baybeeeeeee

Detective Heart of America: The Final Freedom is an independent film made by Jason Steele AKA Filmcow. It acts as a follow-up to a series of two shorts he filmed about the titular character and his attempts to save America from absurd criminals. I'll revisit these shorts eventually, but I'll mostly be focusing on the film itself. I love this film to no end. It's a ridiculous, fairly stupid story, but it's genuinely very funny and full of meaning. Assuming my internal ramblings are accurate. Spoilers for the whole franchise, of course.

At first, the movie is fairly similar to the shorts, Heart of America is given a job to save America from someone buying its debt from China using Bitcoin. A normal Filmcow plot if I've ever heard one. He chases various leads, encountering characters from the shorts, until he comes face-to-face with the mastermind behind the whole plot: The time-traveling, reality-warping robot Ouya. Ouya erases America from existence, replacing it with the infinitely worse country of Fug. We all hate Fug. Heart of America tries to bring America back to existence, going through what America used to be, what it stood for, even how it came into existence. He learned from the Native Fugmericans, about their knots, their bugs, and their carrots. Then the aliens invade, and after the resistance group he joins is attacked, he and Ouya make their way to the alien's base of operations: The local JW Marriott. After locating the source of the aliens' power, the two discuss what must be done with it, Heart of America electing to make the entire world America, forever. This includes making Africa the US, but larger. The Eiffel Tower was replaced by The Statue of Liberty (funny, given the statue was created by the French government). And even the Moon, our dear sweet Io, was made into the US. Thus America was saved forever.

Okay the plot is batshit insane, so why do I love it so much? There's obviously the overwhelming amount of Jason Steele charm. Awkward conversations between characters, funny voices, random bullshit that occasionally stuns the characters as much as the audience, and a healthy amount of frankly juvenile jokes about Nazi boner germs and the like. There is also, for me and many, the notable political angle.

Jason Steele has always (kinda) been one for political commentary. Some of his oldest videos are about mocking Barack Obama for loving Mr. Mime, or John McCain for being kinda crazy and talking to vegetables and such. His video about the 2012 presidential debate is awfully apt, given recent events. Recently, his finale to Charlie the Unicorn has been pretty thoroughly taken to be a criticism of capitalism and its lack of desire to actually do anything about changing the world in any way that would prevent us from dying horribly. And I think its fair to say that a movie about trying to save America from being erased has some notable things to say as well.

There's of course the Native Fugmerican culture segment, which serves to mock people who appropriate native cultures without understanding them. The beginning and ending of that segment touches on how America, as well as all the other countries that Ouya has created and destroyed, began with the genocide of native peoples.

Most of the political commentary, however, comes into play near the end of the film. In the last 10 minutes or so, we're given a bit more detail as to what Ouya is and what its goals are. To keep it brief, Ouya is a device from the far future who can manipulate reality at will. It has repeatedly created and destroyed country after country in order to draw out the future overlords of Earth, the "aliens" from earlier, who have a similar device of their own. The aliens' device is different, though. It makes permanent changes, and Ouya aims to use it so that devices like it and Ouya can never work in the first place. Otherwise, the universe will be ruled by a tyrannical government whose reach and scale of oppression is so overwhelmingly monstrous, that the people who created Ouya deemed it an infinitely worse alternative to what they recognize as repeated genocides. What this means is that Heart of America, in making the entire world America and preventing Ouya from completing its mission, has doomed the world to being eternally dominated by tyranny.

This raises a few points of commentary that I think are worth examining. First and foremost, Heart of America is the bad guy. Jason Steele is no stranger to writing protagonists who are world ending monsters (see Llamas With Hats for another example), but Heart of America is interesting because he truly believes that what he is doing is right. Something I've neglected to state in this post is that Heart of America is portrayed by a statue of a Bald Eagle, one of the most potent American symbols, and a fitting choice for someone literally named "Heart of America." HoA (not a home owners association) is meant to represent the classic American patriot who really doesn't know anything about America, but believes in the liberty and freedom crap wholeheartedly. When trying to list all of the states, he's only able to put down Florida, Texas, California, Wyoming, New York City, and Vermont. He's generally uninterested in the other countries that Ouya destroyed, as well as the natives that died because of American colonists. All he truly cares about is the idea of America and American freedom. This is highlighted most directly by Ouya in the climax when it states, "No. But if you care about freedom, true freedom, this is the only way." This is responding to HoA asking whether preventing these devices from working will bring America back. And in response, HoA makes the entire world America. This is very clearly the worst possible outcome, and Ouya reacts as such. America is doomed to become the very oppressors that Ouya was trying so desperately to stop. This is supported by the credits, of all things, which shows the American flag changing, as it presumably adds more and more worlds to its intergalactic empire. It bares a striking resemblance to the masks the aliens have.

Not a one-to-one, but close. Enough to evoke the idea that what America inevitably becomes is exactly what Ouya feared most.

The idea that America isn't exactly the most freedom loving nation shouldn't be a controversial take to those within the proper circles. Enforcing our will on others for the sake of material and political gains is a common trend in American history. From our numerous wars with Mexico, to Vietnam, to leveraging our business relations for pressuring other countries into economic servitude, America has its fingers in almost every pie on the global stage, and it's usually to the detriment of the pie. Heart of America, then, is the blind fool, who believes America to be a nation without fault. Well, mostly, he does acknowledge that subprime lending is a problem. The point is that Heart of America is the kind of person (bird?) who goes to bat for America at nearly every turn, maybe acknowledging the odd thing here or there as bad, but never in a way that challenges the systems America is built upon. He's the perfect American exceptionalist, believing that being more like America will be the solution to every problem facing the world. Very literally, he makes everything America and just considers his work done. He blatantly ignores the idea that Ouya's warning might have any actual weight, charging ahead anyway, creating the world that Ouya came from to begin with. It's with this in mind that the HoA line, "I know you come from a place without America, which is the saddest thing I can think of, but that won't be a problem for anyone ever again!" becomes so much more ironic. Ouya did come from America. America was the only thing it ever knew. And Heart of America is the progenitor of all that pain and suffering. Another detail sticks out to me, that being the aliens' reality writing device. Ouya notes that it was designed by slaves, and that its appearance was, "... a small, final act of defiance" that was not understood by their oppressors.

This is the device. It is shaped like a heart. Assuming that Ouya is from America, that would make this the heart of America. The device responsible for endless tyranny, endless oppression, endless suffering, is Heart of America. Poetry.

Detective Heart of America: The Final Freedom is a movie about a lot of things. Sunny D, Shark Councils and Shark Powers, Merman Jesus, a German space elevator, and a 5th Dimensional Demigod. But it's also about the brutality that good intentions can create. How if you live life without questioning the system, even if you like that system, you could cause unimaginable pain. How the most devoted to an idea may be the ones to betray it most brutally. And how we, as Americans, owe it to ourselves and the world to ensure that we don't contribute to a regime that can and will destroy everything so that the ones in control can live unopposed. Freedom is non-negotiable.

I have other thoughts about this movie that I might share later. Some act as counters to my main mindset surrounding this movie, but are other potential takeaways that I haven't fully thought through. I should probably sleep for now tho, lol.

[mirorbdangamachine]

So I saw a Reddit post discussing who everyone picked to perform the Rite of the Covenant with in Unicorn Overlord, where someone in the comments talked about how he made the choice based on what would have given Alain the biggest political advantage. They listed some examples, and that then got me thinking “What is EVERYONE’S advantages to Alain were he to pick them?”.

So I wrote all of those out for each and every character recruitable in the main portion of the story, alongside some potential downsides too.

Spoilers below the cut up until the final battle of the main game!

Without further ado, I shall now present all of these in sections based upon where the in game library says the character counts as being from:

Cornia:

Scarlett: Not only secures peace with Albion, but also means Alain has direct influence onto the control of Palevian Orthodoxy, enabling religious backing, and the country of Albion itself.

Lex: Nothing politically gained beyond increased public morale. 

Josef: This is his dad, the king’s guard are already secured with Alain because of this, same with all Liberation leaders. Don’t marry dad.

Chloe: Nothing politically gained beyond increased public morale.

Hodrick: This is kind of his uncle figure, probably shouldn’t do that. The king’s guard is already secured anyways. 

Clive: Strengthens ties to the Ashen Blue Knights, potentially making the Ashen Blue region swear fealty to Alain directly instead of his grandfather Gerard. 

Rolf: Nothing politically gained beyond increased public morale.

Sharon: Strengthens ties with the Palevian Orthodoxy, garnering support from religious entities.

Mordon: Seemingly much older than Alain, perhaps not appropriate. Would strengthen support with mercenary groups, may face criticism of perpetual drunkenness. 

Yahna: Unsure whether her power will enable her to continue to live forever or not. Served Alain’s mother as court sorceress, morally gray on whether this is appropriate. Would secure support from the southern swamp region of Cornia, and strengthen ties with Elheim.

Berenice: May garner support from mercenary groups and potentially the Ashen Blue Knights.

Selvie: Nothing politically gained beyond increased public morale.

Auch: Will secure allegiance with House Aubrey of Cornia. May potentially face criticism as a former commander of Zenoira.

Adel: Strengthens ties to the Ashen Blue Knights, potentially making the Ashen Blue region swear fealty to Alain directly instead of his grandfather Gerard.

Fran: Secures support from the Knights of the Rose, potentially able to rebuild the squadron and increase public morale as a result.

Nina: Secures support with a Cornian noble house, potentially may face criticism for former banditry work.

Miriam: Secures support from the Knights of the Rose, potentially able to rebuild the squadron and increase public morale as a result.

Kitra: Secures support from the Knights of the Rose, potentially able to rebuild the squadron and increase public morale as a result.

Melisandre: Secures allegiance of House Meillet of Cornia. May face criticism for swearing fealty to Zenoira during their invasion.

Colm: Significantly older than Alain, perhaps not appropriate. Would secure support of House Meillet. 

Monica: Secures allegiance of House Nordheim of Cornia. May face criticism for swearing fealty to Zenoira during their invasion.

Renault: Nothing politically gained, will most likely face criticism as a former high ranking general of Zenoira.

Tatiana: Nothing politically gained, will most likely face criticism for engaging in inhumane experimentation.

Virginia: This is Alain’s cousin, he realistically shouldn’t marry her. Not like that’s stopped royalty before though. Would ensure that the Cornian royal bloodline is not split and thus cannot have a dispute of royal succession. Also ensures allegiance of the Knights of the Rose.

Gammel: Nothing politically gained. May garner support from some in Elheim, though most likely will face criticism for banditry. 

Mandrin: Nothing politically gained. May garner support from some in Elheim, though most likely will face criticism for banditry.

Drakenhold:

Aubin: Garners support from the desert region of Drakenhold, strengthening ties between the two countries. May increase support from mercenary groups, but may face criticism for former banditry

Travis: Secures allegiance with House Zechshelm of Drakenhold, strengthening ties between it and Cornia. Also may garner support from mercenary groups.

Bruno: May increase support from mercenary groups. May face criticism as a former Zenoiran general.

Berengaria: Secures allegiance with House Zechshelm of Drakenhold, strengthens ties between the countries. May increase support from mercenary group, but may face criticism as a former general of Zenoira.

Leah: Strengthens ties with Drakenhold.

Primm: Strengthens ties with Drakenhold and the Palevian Orthodoxy.

Aramis: Secures peace with Drakenhold in secret.

Magellan: Garners support from the desert region of Drakenhold, strengthening ties between the two countries. May face criticism for former banditry and being a former commander of Zenoira. 

Liza: Garners support from the desert region of Drakenhold, strengthening ties between the two countries. May face criticism for former banditry. 

Gloucester: Strengthens ties with Drakenhold, though may face criticism as a former Zenoiran commander. 

Hilda: Nothing politically gained, will most likely face criticism as a former Zenoiran commander and inhumane treatment of citizens. 

Jeremy: Nothing politically gained. May increase support from mercenary groups.

Gilbert: Secures peace with Drakenhold, granting Alain direct influence on the country.

Bryce: Nothing politically gained. May face criticism for banditry.

Amalia: Nothing politically gained.

Elheim:

Rosalinde: Secures peace with Elheim, potentially giving Alain influence on the country. 

Lhinalagos: Strengthens ties with Elheim. 

Celeste: Strengths ties with Elheim.

Ithilion: Strengthens ties with Elheim. 

Eltolinde: Secures peace with Elheim, giving Alain direct influence on the country. 

Ridiel: Strengthens ties with Elheim. 

Railanor: Strengthens ties with Elheim. May face criticism as a former Zenorian general. 

Galadmir: Strengths ties with Elheim.

Bastorias:

Morard: Strengthens ties with Bastorias. While no one singular ruler has been selected yet for the country, he is one of the most likely candidates to take the position, which grants Alain direct influence on the country. 

Yunifi: Strengthens ties with Bastorias. While no one singular ruler has been selected yet for the country, she is one of the most likely candidates to take the position, which grants Alain direct influence on the country.

Ramona: Strengthens ties with Bastorias. While no one singular ruler has been selected yet for the country, she is one of the most likely candidates to take the position, which grants Alain direct influence on the country. However, she is implied to be much older than Alain, so this may be questioned on whether it’s appropriate. 

Dinah: Strengthens ties with Bastorias.

Bertrand: Strengthens ties with Bastorias. Questionable whether this is appropriate given his implied age due to having had a son.

Govil: Strengthens ties with Bastorias.

Albion:

Ochlys: Secures support from the Palevian Orthodoxy, strengthening ties with Albion.

Raenys: Strengthens ties with the Palveian Orthodoxy and Albion. Implied to be older based on her having been a lady-in-waiting for Scarlett as a child, so this may be questioned for whether it’s appropriate or not. 

Jerome: Secures allegiance of the Largion region of Albion, strengthening ties with Albion. Seemingly much older than Alain, this may not be appropriate. 

Umerus: Strengthens ties with the Palevian Orthodoxy, Albion, and the Heavenswing Knights. 

Fodoquia: Strengthens ties with the Palevian Orthodoxy, Albion, and the Heavenswing Knights. Questionable whether this is appropriate given his implied age due to having had a son.

Sanatio: May strengthen support from the Palevian Orthodoxy, Albion, and the Heavenswing Knights. Will most likely face criticism due to his part in covering up the murder of Pontifex Arant and following Zenoiran command.

If you happen to think of any other benefits or downsides to the characters, it would be neat to see what you think!

[astralartefact]

Placeholder Name for Atarase's Media Diary

Entry 005 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake

<<Prev: Unicorn Overlord

Synopsis

The Only Plumber I know is made to visit Fantasy America to collect yet another set of mystical stars - and we gladly do it all over again.

How much did I know before playing?

I played the Original and I liked it very, very, very, very, very, very much. One of my favorite games ever.

Did I like it more than I expected?

It was everything I hoped for <3

If you say you like Turn-Based RPGs and own a Switch you owe it to yourself to play the Classic.

Since I liked it, here's what I hated about it

I would be hard pressed to find anything really.

I guess they could have added more things (the Luigi fight we all crave and the rest of the Paper Mario 1 cameos that were even hinted at in the game files of the original) - but I think what they added is good enough. They added Super Bosses, they added non-intrusive QoL - I don't need them to change the face of the game, I like the OG for a reason.

(and also a thought I had was - I don't know how many writers from the OG Games (both PM1 and TTYD) worked on the Remake and if there isn't much overlap I could see the Remake Devs feeling weird about putting those fanservicey kind of things in on their own)

Also the Thinking Music is punishing don't stop the banger while I'm over here being stupid navigating the UI q_q

What did this game make me think about?

Similar to what I said in my Entry on Unicorn Overlord, I kept thinking that this game - at least in this day and age - isn't even all that groundbreaking - it just does the thing you're supposed to do, the normal Turnbased RPG Overworld-to-Dungeon-to-Boss Loop really really well and it's kind of weird that people don't do it more often.

I guess Thematic Takes on RPG Staples aren't interesting enough for the Unique Selling Point Crowd anymore :/

Specific Impressions that will stick with me

the soundtrack

The Excess Express was the Progenitor of my love for Train Levels.

Specifically for this Remake - How having Vivian's Trans Moment* makes Mario's actions more heartwarming.

*look forward to hearing about this in the ramble section

Outstanding Audio

Very non-exhaustive List because Goddamn. This Soundtrack.

vs. Shadow Sirens

vs. Atomic Boo

Moon Battle

vs. Magnus Von Grapple 2.0

There is one single "bad" thing I have to say about the Soundtrack and it is... that I think Origami King's OST is still unbeaten as my favorite. The banger ratio of that game is simply unbeatable.

All the Partner Themes they're all so good and they're used like twice each

Edit: ___the bonetail theme, goodness___

Besides that they did exactly what I wanted them to do. The Paper Mario Sound Team is just amazing, they do not get enough credit. I'm so excited to see what's next - whatever it is the entire team decides and/or gets to do.

btw there's nothing quite as irritating to me than people complaining about remake soundtracks, even in the off chance that i agree with the sentiment its always voiced in the most condescending tone possible and it drives me up the walls. and sure, ppl can voice 'valuable criticisms' and disappointments or whatever, but i also can read them and be baffled why you thought you needed to share it sounding like you're the only person on earth who understood the original, especially when - like it is in this case - the remake sound team is the same as the original, they literally made the thing you like so much and you thank it by calling them names for daring to 'not get' one specific second in their own work as much as you do.

especially now that we don't really have technical sound quality to improve on there's always going to be changes you like more and less because any remaining difference is closer and closer to a lateral move and the only 'value' difference is subjective opinion. and regardless, the original keeps existing, you hear the new soundtrack in context for a playthrough at most, afterwards you can just listen to the og again.

Favorite Character

Toadette. My All Time Fave, she steals the show everywhere she goes <3

Also Mini-Yoshi, Vivian, the Rich Bob-Ombs, Kammy Koopa,...

Favorite Arc/Story Line

The Excess Express, I know it's relatively short but I just really love Train Levels

Also Glitz Pit, I guess I just like when the Dungeon is the RPG Chapter Location.

Favorite Set Piece

The Remake is so beautiful I could really put anything in here.

Honestly I love all of the Chapter 6 locations, the train in the different atmospheric lightings, the Sunset train stop, Poshley Heights,... (Bad Glimmerich in german, one of the reasons I will allow Fluffy)

Favorite Scene

The Excess Express being covered in the Smorgs (is that the name, they're called Fluffys in german which is kind of lame but I will allow it)

Best Performance

I'm leaving this in here because they didn't replace Charles Martinet for this one and they got me too often with random Luigi Dialogue sounds there's a really good one where they talk about luigi and when they show his picture he echo-ey goes 'wahoo!'

Also the new voice sounds they gave all the characters were too cute, some of them sounded really really nice.

German Localization Notes

I can happily confirm that Barbara is Trans in German too! I can't tell you with certainty how the situation was with the original but I'm pretty sure it was also removed there.

Honestly the German Localization for this Game is and was so good, you people have no idea. I don't know how similar the text between the two is (I haven't played the OG in years) but they kept all the names from the old Localization - which I was a little bit worried about since the german names are so wildly weird (in a good way) I could have seen them go back and 're-align' some of them.

The OG Localization didn't give that much of a damn about keeping in line with the source material when it comes to Character and Location Names, but also they got the Vibe so well they honestly did a better job at it in certain places.

For every weird thing like calling Petal Meadows Fire Valley (which makes more sense when coming from the japanese name but still mischaracterizes the 1-1 world of this game in a way that's honestly fascinating to think about) and boring names like Fluffy we have things like calling "The Great Gonzales" Bomba Luigi, a change I will defend with my life, that's such a funny name, it even makes that Bowser Scene with Rawk Hawk funnier when Bowser is perplexed who the fuck Bomba Luigi is supposed to be. (mini yoshi calls you bomba throughout the game and nobody remarks on you being called like your brother - not even luigi himself, which makes it funnier)

Also the Grandma Bubu (Puni) yells the phrase "Soll ich mir in der Kälte hier Gicht holen!?" (do you want me to get gout in this cold) at the Boy Bubu and that's just. I'm still laughing about it. I hope you have a similarly fun-to-shout sentence in its place.

Ugh, I love it. I know if I looked it up people would complain about how much they 'changed'.

--- ENTERING THE PRETENTIOUS SECTION OF THIS ENTRY ---

What about this game gives me Hope for the future of gaming?

I just want this game to be a sign to let future Paper Marios break the character design regulations again. (if you didn't know, these are an actual thing and are why post ttyd has either fully unique looking npc or entirely non-unique npcs, it's for brand integrity reasons so new characters aren't confused as 'official' and like all brand integrity stuff it sucks the fun out of everything)

I'm even one of the four people in favor of letting them do whatever they want with the gameplay if they don't want to do Standard Turn-based RPGs anymore - by which I mean to say I was fine with Sticker Star - but the texture that only PM and TTYD have, the Texture we all want and crave so much, comes squarely from the unique Toads and Goombas and Koopas and Bob-Ombs..., all the ones they're not allowed to do anymore because the Brand Integrity Manager says no.

(okay so to put this a little more thought out: specifically the unique npcs make the paper mario style less about 'haha paper pun' (which, as funny as they might be once in a blue moon, not a single person cares about) and more an abstracted story book-esque depiction of the mario universe. it makes the entire thing work better by just being 'real but less detailed' - which also makes the plot work better with fewer details - instead of... well, a paper(thin) joke.)

What about this game makes me scared for the future of gaming?

The Unique Selling Point will be the end of me.

Ever since Dexit (yes i'm specifically blaming that hot mess) awakened the worst type of Gamer to the fact that complaining about Problems caused by Capitalism means nobody can disagree with you, Nobody gets to have fun anymore. Not gamers, Not devs, Not anybody.

Everything has to have Value now, everything has to have a reason to exist, a unique take and always also a quantifyable improvement on what came before. If it isn't as good as 'it should be' it's an insult to the people paying money for this! You need to fix this, I paid for this! I know what's good and need to share my intellectual opinion on this minor detail that you clearly don't have any idea about! What in god's good earth are you smoking that you thought this was acceptable?

It comes with this "Customer can do no wrong" mindset (which is often enough wrong btw, you're very much responsible for your own goddamn actions) and it always belittles the thoughts and decisions of the developers who more than likely have to fight higher-ups for those to actually end up in the video games they produce.

Sticker Star really is a good example of that, aside from the Brand Integrity stuff that made us lose unique NPCs the other thing people endlessly complain about is that the Sticker System disencourages Battles which i'm pretty sure they just heard someone smart say once and that therefore the system sucks, who could ever have thought of pivoting to something that stupid???

Well, it's actually a really creative idea on a very foundational RPG problem: Turnbased RPG Battles and the Overworld are for the most part distinctly seperated from each other. For a standard TRPG what you do in the Overworld has fuck all to do with your battles. This is an attempt to make Overworld Exploration a meaningful part in the Battle Gameplay Loop. It has its downsides and it didn't work out perfectly, but I think it was an interesting idea to put to the test!

But I guess that's not allowed. The Devs simply were too stupid to realize you would just end up doing a lot of backtracking to get good Stickers. They just simply don't know what they're doing and we have to make that clear to them by lambasting the game whenever it comes up. (and also to prove to everybody that you have very smart opinions)

There's a thing I learned in school and you might have heard that too before: You shouldn't tell people negative feedback (first). And that might sound like "a nice thing" to do, you "shouldn't hurt anybody's feelings" after all, but here's the thing why I think we should do that: Most of the time People already know what they did wrong, but they don't know what they did right - what they can capitalize on.

Maybe keep that in mind the next time you share your "Valuable Criticism" underneath an official Instagram post (btw who in their right mind does that)

The Ramble Section where I get to actually talk about what I thought about

Let's talk about 'Nintendo adds Transphobia.' I know it's just a meme. Still don't like it :) I liked that they added the Transphobia! I just don't like the meme.

It's like bnuuy. I don't get the joke. It's not fun to pronounce. If the joke is that u and n are upside down, then you could also type pnuuh, that's the entire word upside down. Why are you all finding this so funny. I just don't get it. And just for the record, it's fine you find it funny. I hope you feel validated that I'm okay with your choice of meme. I just don't get it.

But with 'Nintendo adds Transphobia' there is this undertone of "What they did is good" (that's the happy reaction gif in the background) - but the thing they added, the Transphobia, is some amount of bad, or else it wouldn't be funny to be happy about it. We would prefer if you added the Trans Character without including Transphobia after all. But would we? Would that be "better" - whatever that would even mean?

And just to get it out of the way, yes, for a lot of people it's probably haha just a joke about how it sounds funny to be happy about adding transphobia - but then i still don't know what you people think you're doing when spreading a haphazard joke about 'nintendo does a transphobia' in a day and age where nobody checks any of the news they receive when nintendo is literally doing the thing they are supposed to be doing, like come on guys i do have the moral high ground here and i am firing shots

Fully aware that I'm taking this too seriously - If this is what's resting at the heart of some these jokes then I would guess this comes from the "It shouldn't be a huge/integral part of their character!"-BS that people (on both sides) have been peddling for years (because assholes really want that and well-intentioned people rightfully don't want to be fetishized) - but regardless of what you're using that sentiment for, clearly it's not that easy. Like, it should matter to the character or else it might as well be a JK JKRO "Dumbledore is Gay" Tweet and never be talked about again.

It's not like Beldam bullies Vivian just because she is Trans, Beldam bullies everybody, she almost bullies Doopliss more than her. It's just that 'her bullying feels meaner ever since she realized she was a sister, not a brother.' You know, exactly what they state in game and exactly like somebody would probably feel about it even if Beldam's Transphobia didn't play any part in the bullying at all, Feelings don't really care about Facts after all and it creates another dimension to Vivian, a tangible relationship between her and her bullying.

Sure, everything about her story would work without her 'being trans' - but a little change like that goes a long way to color all of her interactions. Even just the simple fact that Mario is nice to her hits a little different knowing that her sister treats her differently since she lives as a woman.

But that's all kind of besides the point because while they wrote a Trans Character facing a struggle that hopefully people will at least feel a little represented by - that's not the only thing they did. They put a Canonically, Directly Stated Trans Character right next to the best plumber you know. And that's kind of the thing that annoys me the most about "They Added Transphobia." Like guys. She's a main character. She's not some weird side quest character that appears one time, doesn't even have a name and says a weird line about it before disappearing forever like that one quest people bring up to say FF14 has Gay Representation. You Can Have a Fully Canonically Trans Woman on Screen for 50% of this Game, Right Next to The Mario Man, And He's Like "You Rock Girl. Love Wins." He doesn't even wince when she implies she has a crush on him.

This is a much bigger deal than some of you make it out to be! This is a serious occassion and you made the social blunder to show up wearing "They added Transphobia"!

And for the people that missed it: Origami King also had a Trans-affirming Birdo Moment where they used her for a Secret Drag Show at the Coffee House at the Rainbow Spring. The Paper Mario Writers know what they're doing with Mario's Image and even Nintendo's Brand Identity Manager can't stop them. You look foolish and don't know who you're talking to. These people made Mario canonically visit a gay bar hiding as a coffee shop. Fix your wig.

[wingshowdown]

Here are the contenders (alphabetically)

Aisa (One Piece)

Aisha (Winx Club)

Aizawa Mint (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Alata (Tensai Sentai Goseiger)

Albedo (Overlord)

Allay (Minecraft)

Ananas Dragon Cookie (Cookie Run)

Angel Cookie (Cookie Run)

Angel Cure Berry (Fresh Precure)

Angel Cure Passion (Fresh Precure)

Angel Cure Peach (Fresh Precure)

Angel Cure Pine (Fresh Precure)

Angel Devil (Chainsaw Man)

Angella (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Aradia Megido (Homestuck)

Aroma (Go! Princess Precure)

Asreil (Undertale)

Aziraphale (Good Omens)

Barbatos (Genshin Impact)

Beck (Disney Fairies)

Bird Person (Rick and Morty)

Bird That Carries You Over A Disproportionately Small Gap (Undertale)

Blackjack (Percy Jackson)

Brietta (Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus)

Butterfly (The Last Unicorn)

Castiel (Supernatural)

Charizard (Pokémon)

Cheese (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy)

Colt (Hunter x Hunter)

Corvin D’Oro (Montress)

Crona (Soul Eater)

Crowley (Good Omens)

Cthulu (The Call of Cthulu)

Cure Felice (Mahoutsukai Precure)

Cure Grace (Healin’Good style) (Healin’Good Precure)

Cure Infini (HUGtto Precure)

Cure Parfait (Kira Kira Precure a la Mode)

Cure Princess (Happiness Charge Precure)

Cyprin (Spyro the Dragon)

Dahlia (Barbie: Fairytopia)

Dark Pit (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

Dark Pretty Cure (Heartcatch Precure)

Discord (My Little Pony)

Dragonite (Pokémon)

Duck (Princess TuTu)

Eda (The Owl House)

Elina (Barbie: Fairytopia)

Emyr (The Witch King)

Ender Dragon (Minecraft)

Eternal Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon)

Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2)

Fledge (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Fluttershy (My Little Pony)

Genesis Rhapsodos (Final Fantasy)

Giratina (Pokémon)

Goddess Hylia (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Grian (Hermitcraft/Evo)

Happy (Fairy Tail)

Hawks (My Hero Academia)

Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle)

Hue (Barbie Fairytopia)

Icarus (Greek mythology)

Iridessa (Disney Fairies)

Irma (W.I.T.C.H.)

Jake Long (American Dragon Jake Long)

Joshua Kiryu (The World Ends With You)

Junior Troopa (Paper Mario)

Kaepora Gaebora (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

Konan (Naruto)

Kushina Anna (K)

Link's Loftwing (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Little Bird Holding a Rat (Spirited Away)

Lock (Go! Princess Precure)

Lychee Dragon Cookie (Cookie Run)

Mario (with wing cap) (Super Mario 64)

Mariposa (Barbie: Mariposa)

Max (Magical Boy)

Medli (Legend of Zelda: Windwaker)

Megeara (Hades)

Meta Knight (Kirby)

Monet (One Piece)

Paarthurnax (Skyrim)

Palutena (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

Panty (Panty and Stocking)

Parakarry (Paper Mario)

Penelope (Barbie as Rapunzel)

Philza (Origin SMP)

Pikario (Kira Kira Precure a la Mode)

Pit (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

Postman (Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass)

Prilla (Disney Fairies)

Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony)

Raphaella La Cognizi (The Mechanisms)

Rem (Death Note)

Ridley (Metroid)

Rouge the Bat (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Royale Candy (Smile Precure)

Ruby the Red Fairy (Rainbow Magic)

Rufioh Nitram (Homestuck)

Ryuk (Death Note)

Sam (180° Angel)

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)

Shantae (bat form) (Shantae: Half Genie Hero)

Sigrún (God of War: Ragnarok)

Smaug (The Hobbit)

Spamton NEO (Deltarune)

Spyro (Spyro the Dragon)

Star Butterfly (Star vs. the Forces of Evil)

Stocking (Panty and Stocking)

Tank (Forever After)

Terezi Pyrope (Homestuck)

The Sorceress (He-Man)

Tinker Bell (Peter Pan)

Tobias (Animorphs)

Toothiana (Rise of the Guardians

Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon)

Tropius (Pokémon)

Tsunderplane (Undertale)

Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony)

Untitled Goose (Untitled Goose Game)

Venger (Dungeons and Dragons)

Vex (Minecraft)

Vidia (Disney Fairies)

Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

Winged Pikmin (Pikmin 3)

Yasha (Critical Role)

Yume (Mewkledreamy)

[karnalesbian]

recent media update (long but not toooo long)

- the new unpublished jack white album is fucking fire, it's the closest thing to a new white stripes album that we've had in all of his solo work. actually would have been completely willing to believe it was a white stripes album and not a solo album if I didn't know ahead of time. he's my fucking GOAT I missed his guitar work so bad

- stacklands is a neat little game that charmed me immediately! had it on my watch list for PC for a while but got it on switch instead. maybe a slightly suboptimal decision bc it would be easier using a mouse, but not a dealbreaker at all and it feels good as a portable game

- jujutsu kaisen has been so deeply fucking silly that it's almost beginning to wrap around to funny. not quite yet, unfortunately, but almost. for now it just kind of sucks though. the fall off has been unbelievably steep over the last 2-3 years, it's crazy

- ive slowly started recovering from the rust of not playing slay the spire for a couple years! it's just like riding a bike. an incredibly murderous bike that thrives on your failure and is out to get you in ways you didn't even think possible. winrate is still in the gutter for now but it's rising (minus defect. defect will prob take longer to re-learn than the other three put together) cannot fucking wait for sts 2

- I made the critical mistake of putting down unicorn overlord for a few days while busy with work. picked it back up and realized I completely forgot what I was doing with my squad composition and tactics and all. had to put it back down again bc im genuinely going to have to set aside time just to figure out what I was aiming for. feels exactly like looking at code and thinking 'what fucking idiot wrote this garbage wtf' and then realizing it is in fact your own code from a few months ago.

- my forensic accounting textbook is kinda mid. worldbuilding is kinda bland, characterization is lacking, plot is all over the place. would not recommend!

[crystalelemental]

Unicorn Overlord apparently had a new update patch that rebalanced some things (buff to Virginia and Swordmasters; their second shield/sword now gets 50% of their stats factored in instead of 0%), but most critically, added some more postgame stuff. You can redo the final fight, meaning it's now reasonable to achieve level 50 on more than like two teams, and they added fights against Amalia's demon form, five of which have entire teams backing her. I did manage to clear them on both of my files, but only one stood out. The Alain/Eltolinde team on Tactical managed to clear every single fight. Not necessarily first try, but they did it. Ridiel has Ice Arrow to freeze stuff that can become a problem, Chloe gives Keen Call to Eltolinde's big explosion attack, Alain tanks for the party. They had Liza up front, which wasn't like...the best use of her probably, but she does have Toxic Bolt which slows down Amalia significantly. The real fun is that Eltolinde can just Primus Call like eight times in succession to finish the job. For being so low on AP, it's hilarious how long she keeps that running.

[bluebudgie]

art ramble

the urge to make a GBA fire emblem lookalike unicorn overlord animation and then put the 16 bit arranged soundtrack as background music

but effort.

i feel like making the sprites and doing the animation (if tracing existing sprites and altering them) wouldn't be impossible (though effort), but im terrified of getting stuff like the "camera shake" on critical hit etc. right. also trying to find the right sound effects in that 500 unnamed .wav files sound library (that i took a peek at a few days ago).

wondering if maybe recording gameplay from an emulator at native resolution would somehow give me "pixel perfect" frames that could be traced over, but a) idk if any of the gba emulators have internal recording capabilities (google will solve that problem i guess), and b) still effort. screen recording isn't a solution due to compression i'd think.

mh. maybe one day.

[imustbenuts]

food talk thoughts post. not strictly dunmeshi.

i think one of the interesting things to me is how food is very very human. we all need food to function and survive, but we all need delicious food for the mind. and we will all eat food around others bc we're all social creatures and cooking in big batches is more efficient.

food is. human. to eat is human.

and because we all need food it becomes a core anchor that says what is human and what is not. in stories where food isnt a thing at all, the characters feel like an extreme caricature of humans. i find this extremely true in shounen jump mangas where suddenly theres a long tournament arc and theres just no food in sight. characters just become their power level. they often become ideologies fighting against each other rather than human-like people yelling at each other.

this is true for video games like GTA, call of duty, far cry, resident evil, and cyberpunk 2077 and much of the early final fantasy games where food isnt at all a thing. theres potions and spells and health stims or hiding until the blood red recedes from the screen but. there isnt a delicious meal in them, and when available characters eat them like rations. its not a critical source or even a significant source of health recovery or enjoyment even if its there.

and i think theres been a significant effort to put food in a lot of video games lately. especially the yakuza series, and even fire emblems of late.

like think about how much less human unicorn overlord feels if there wasnt the meal mechanic in it. how much less human kiryu would feel if the player couldnt bring him to stuff his face in Mos Burger. how disconnected alear would feel from the rest of the engage cast without them demanding one of their friends cook them a meal

so food is. good.

put them in stories. thats what i do. i think our blorbos all deserves a treat.

[theomeganerd]

Video Game News Stories for March 3, 2024

Mars After Midnight Lands on the Playdate: The innovative Lucas Pope, known for "Papers, Please," has launched his latest creation, "Mars After Midnight," on the Playdate console. This narrative adventure combines text-based storytelling with unique puzzle mechanics, offering an engaging experience for fans of Pope's previous works.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile Prepares for Deployment: Mobile gamers rejoice! Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is scheduled to launch on March 21st, 2024, bringing the popular battle royale experience to smartphones and tablets. This free-to-play title promises fast-paced action and intense competition for mobile gamers.

PlayStation Plus Offers Sifu and Destiny 2 Expansion: PlayStation Plus subscribers have something to look forward to this month. Starting March 7th, 2024, they can download the critically acclaimed beat-em-up "Sifu," featuring a unique aging mechanic, alongside the "Destiny 2: Witch Queen" expansion.

Industry Updates:

Saber Interactive Considers Independence: Embracer Group subsidiary Saber Interactive is reportedly exploring the possibility of becoming a private company again. This potential move comes after Embracer's acquisition of several studios, raising questions about the future direction of Saber Interactive.

Toys for Bob Goes Independent: Following recent layoffs at Xbox Game Studios, developer Toys for Bob, known for the "Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy," has announced its independence. The studio's future plans remain unclear, but their decision to go independent signifies a shift in the gaming industry landscape.

Looking Ahead:

Gamers can mark their calendars for these upcoming releases:

No Rest for the Wicked: From the creators of the "Ori" series, Moon Studios, comes their next project, "No Rest for the Wicked." This action RPG is set to enter Early Access on Steam on April 18th, 2024.

The Last of Us Part II HBO Series: Fans of Naughty Dog's award-winning game can experience the story in a new way with the premiere of "The Last of Us Part II" HBO series on April 20th, 2024.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf: BioWare's highly anticipated sequel, "Dragon Age: Dreadwolf," is expected to arrive sometime in late 2024. Details remain scarce, but fans of the series are eagerly awaiting its release.

New Video Game Releases for March 5th - March 11th

Tuesday, March 5th:

The Outlast Trials (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S): The long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed horror series, The Outlast Trials, finally launches. This time, players face trials in a Cold War-era setting, trying to survive psychological and physical torment.

Quilts and Cats of Calico (PC): This cozy life simulator lets you manage a quilt shop and care for adorable cats.

Mediterranea Inferno (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S): Experience a challenging action-adventure side-scroller set in a post-apocalyptic world inspired by Mediterranean mythology.

Wednesday, March 7th:

As Dusk Falls (PS4, PS5): This interactive drama tells the story of two families whose lives become intertwined after a robbery goes wrong. Your choices directly impact the narrative.

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (Switch, PC): Explore the whimsical Moominvalley as Snufkin, encountering familiar characters and solving puzzles in this heartwarming adventure game.

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend (Quest 3, Quest 2, PC): Embark on a swashbuckling adventure in VR, uncovering ancient secrets and battling enemies as a daring pirate queen.

Friday, March 8th:

Akka Arrh (PS5, PS VR2): This rhythm game throws you into an immersive world of music and movement, requiring you to match the beat with your actions in VR.

Unicorn Overlord (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S): Play as a mischievous unicorn who wreaks havoc on a fantasy kingdom in this quirky action-adventure game.

WWE 2K24 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S): The latest installment of the popular wrestling franchise arrives, featuring updated rosters, new match types, and improved gameplay mechanics.

[breadedsinner]

I am enjoying Unicorn Overlord a lot it is a very fun game and it does liven up the SRPG format.

But I got to a side quest where the character Virginia, cousin of the protagonist, notes several times to resemble his mother and has the same class as her, runs off to attack the man who slaughtered her original squadron of knights. She criticized the Advisor Character and her knights vow to see this through with her.

And this was the most emotionally charged scene thus far I really wish Virginia had been the protagonist. It’s really all there, she has protagonist written all over.

[antivanwine14]

I have been enjoying Unicorn Overlord. However, I have a massive issue with their handling of Beaumont. Spoilers under the tag for his mission.

So in Unicorn Overlord, you can execute a lot of people, but it is a choice you make. While you might get some negative dialogue about your choice, you are actually rewarded for always choosing to spare. The characters are more valuable than the few bits you get for killing them and the game leans into that concept. However, Beaumont really should have been one of the people who either dies in game or you have the choice to execute. He was shipping orphans into slavery. There really is no redemption for that and there should not have been here. If the guy who hoarded all the food just dies, Beaumont should have just died too. I would rather have seen food guy redeemed than the slaver.

[feotakahari]

Things I really should have known in Unicorn Overlord:

The predicted outcome of a fight doesn't consider supporting fire. This is particularly important when the supporting archers are hiding in a forest and you don't know they exist until the arrows start raining down.

If you always meet the conditions to use your first attack, you’ll never use your second attack. Put some conditionals in there.

You can list the same attack multiple times, e.g. use Passive Steal if an enemy has PP, use a piercing attack if there’s a column of enemies (and, implicitly, none of them have PP), and then use Passive Steal if neither is true and you have nothing better to throw at the enemy.

You can set a truestrike passive to go off when Scouts are present, but if you set the passive to go off when targeting a Scout, it’ll only go off if the targeted ally is a Scout. There’s no way to specify in the passive itself to only use it on attacks against Scouts.

If you have a passive that goes off every time an ally attacks, every time an ally is attacked, or every time an ally takes damage, you’ll run out of PP fast.

Consider setting a “guard allies” passive to only guard the squishies in the back row.

Consider setting a “guard allies” passive to not go off when you’re critically wounded and can't take another hit.

If your enemy is blinded, but your “guard allies” passive goes off, they’ll still hit you. Naturally, there's no way to set the passive to take into account enemies' status.

If you have an attack that inflicts poison but otherwise sucks, consider setting it to only target enemies that aren’t already poisoned.

Poison and fire do damage when the target acts, so they do nothing if the target is already out of actions.

You know those awesome-sounding abilities that go off at the beginning of battle? Your entire unit only gets one of those per battle. You can use conditionals, e.g. set one to go off when Armored enemies are present, and set another to go off when no Armored enemies are present. Otherwise, I think it picks by initiative order.

Ranged abilities will always target the front row unless you specifically say to prioritize the back row,

There is no good way to use Fatal Dive. You want it to prioritize cavalry, to hit the back row, and to only hit enemies that are already injured, but you only get two conditionals. Just delete it from your action list.

Ice is rare in battle, but it will absolutely wreck your shit in arena fights. Iceproof gloves are a godsend.

You can set passives that buff allies’ next attack to not go off if the ally is blinded. Unfortunately, you can’t stop yourself from using attacks that cost extra AP while blinded.

You can also set attack buffs to not go off if the target has no AP left.

If an attack gives extra AP when you kill something with it, consider prioritizing enemies with low health.

Consider setting heals to prioritize lowest HP%.

Thankfully, most buffs won’t go off if you already have the buff. Same for debuffs on enemies.

Evade triggers to automatically dodge an attack, but only if you wouldn't have dodged the attack on your own. Boosting your evasion can save you some PP.

Not a combat thing, but if you don't have the resources to fix a broken bridge, you can usually get around it by conquering a town near the ocean and rebuilding the port. I ignored a town because I didn't think I needed it, so I had to save up 30 basalt to fix the bridge to the quarry where you can easily mine basalt.

[wingshowdown]

Round One Match-Ups

I cannot find a 128 contestant bracket template that isn’t two pages long, so I’m only going to make a visual bracket for the second round. So, for now, here’s the match-ups. They were randomized via Random.org

1. Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle) vs. Tobias (Animorphs) 2. Aradia Megido (Homestuck) vs. Ridley (Metroid) 3. Charizard (Pokémon) vs. Tsunderplane (Undertale) 4. Crowley (Good Omens) vs. Spamton NEO (Deltarune) 5. Dahlia (Barbie: Fairytopia) vs. Yume (Mewkledreamy) 6. Megaera (Hades) vs. Terezi Pyrope (Homestuck) 7. Rufioh Nitram (Homestuck) vs. Ruby the Red Fairy (Rainbow Magic) 8. Asreil (Undertale) vs. Parakarry (Paper Mario) 9. Dark Pit (Kid Icarus: Uprising) vs. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy) 10. Philza (Origin SMP) vs. Little Bird Holding a Rat (Spirited Away) 11. Genesis Rhapsodos (Final Fantasy) vs. Mario (with wing cap) (Super Mario 64) 12. Ender Dragon (Minecraft) vs. Brietta (Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus) 13. Kushina Anna (K) vs. Duck (Princess Tutu) 14. Link's Loftwing (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) vs. Dragonite (Pokémon) 15. Max (Magical Boy) vs. Smaug (The Hobbit) 16. Lock (Go! Princess Precure) vs. Rem (Death Note) 17. Goddess Hylia (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) vs. Lychee Dragon Cookie (Cookie Run) 18. Albedo (Overlord) vs. Pikario (Kira Kira Precure a la Mode) 19. Elina (Barbie: Fairytopia) vs. Butterfly (The Last Unicorn) 20. Toothiana (Rise of the Guardians vs. Ananas Dragon Cookie (Cookie Run) 21. Vex (Minecraft) vs. Giratina (Pokémon) 22. Dark Pretty Cure (Heartcatch Precure) vs. Tinker Bell (Peter Pan) 23. Spyro (Spyro the Dragon) vs. Bird That Carries You Over A Disproportionately Small Gap (Undertale) 24. Eda (The Owl House) vs. The Sorceress (He-Man) 25. Aroma (Go! Princess Precure) vs. Bird Person (Rick and Morty) 26. Monet (One Piece) vs. Yasha (Critical Role) 27. Grian (Hermitcraft/Evo) vs. Vriska Serket (Homestuck) 28. Royale Candy (Smile Precure) vs. Cyprin (Spyro the Dragon) 29. Star Butterfly (Star vs. the Forces of Evil) vs. Cure Princess (Happiness Charge Precure) 30. Untitled Goose (Untitled Goose Game) vs. Aziraphale (Good Omens) 31. Panty (Panty and Stocking) vs. Cheese (Sonic the Hedgehog) 32. Mariposa (Barbie: Mariposa) vs. Eternal Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon) 33. Angel Cookie (Cookie Run) vs. Aisha (Winx Club) 34. Prilla (Disney Fairies) vs. Cure Parfait (Kira Kira Precure a la Mode) 35. Meta Knight (Kirby) vs. Corvin D’Oro (Montress) 36. Palutena (Kid Icarus: Uprising) vs. Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2) 37. Tropius (Pokémon) vs. Penelope (Barbie as Rapunzel) TIE 38. Cure Felice (Mahoutsukai Precure) vs. Konan (Naruto) 39. Pit (Kid Icarus: Uprising) vs. Kaepora Gaebora (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) 40. Aisa (One Piece) vs. Shantae (bat form) (Shantae: Half Genie Hero) 41. Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) vs. Tank (Forever After) 42. Discord (My Little Pony) vs. Venger (Dungeons and Dragons) 43. Cure Infini (HUGtto Precure) vs. Fluttershy (My Little Pony) 44. Mew Mint (Tokyo Mew Mew) vs. Angel Cure Pine (Fresh Precure) 45. Joshua Kiryu (The World Ends With You) vs. Angel Cure Passion (Fresh Precure) 46. Sam (180° Angel) vs. Alata (Tensai Sentai Goseiger) 47. Winged Pikmin (Pikmin 3) vs. Irma (W.I.T.C.H.) 48. Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon) vs. Cthulu (The Call of Cthulu) 49. Beck (Disney Fairies) vs. Barbatos (Genshin Impact) 50. Emyr (The Witch King) vs. Raphaella La Cognizi (The Mechanisms) 51. Iridessa (Disney Fairies) vs. Sigrún (God of War: Ragnarok) 52. Angel Devil (Chainsaw Man) vs. Rouge the Bat (Sonic the Hedgehog) 53. Castiel (Supernatural) vs. Ryuk (Death Note) 54. Allay (Minecraft) vs. Vidia (Disney Fairies) 55. Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony) vs. Paarthurnax (Skyrim) 56. Blackjack (Percy Jackson) vs. Crona (Soul Eater) 57. Jake Long (American Dragon Jake Long) vs. Angel Cure Peach (Fresh Precure) 58. Stocking (Panty and Stocking) vs. Angella (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) 59. Colt (Hunter x Hunter) vs. Medli (Legend of Zelda: Windwaker) 60. Hawks (My Hero Academia) vs. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy) 61. Angel Cure Berry (Fresh Precure) vs. Hue (Barbie Fairytopia) 62. Fledge (The Chronicles of Narnia) vs. Cure Grace (Healin’Good style) (Healin’Good Precure) 63. Icarus (Greek mythology) vs. Junior Troopa (Paper Mario) 64. Happy (Fairy Tail) vs. Postman (Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass)

Round One will last for four days with sixteen polls posted per day. See you then!

[smokeybrandreviews]

Stuffed

It’s been a while since I've done something like this but, considering this year has been gangbusters for anime, i needed to go ahead give my nod towards that ex excellence. Anime in 2022 is an embarrassment of riches and every season had at least one killer app. Obviously, there are some that mean more to me than others but, overall, these are the ten (or so) which left me wanting more. Now, before we get into the actual list, i need to recognize both BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War and Overlord IV. Both of these shows are continuations of long established franchises. Both of these shows are, arguably, the best of said franchises. Both of these shows are on my all-time list and o shill hard for them. Both of these shows would sit comfortably at the top of this list but i refuse to put them on here. They are absolutely serving on that top spot, don’t misunderstand, but it feels like a cheat to place something so established, something I'm on the record to shill so hard for, when here are brand new franchises getting their clout out there. BLEACH and Overlord are masterclasses in how to adapt anime and deserve to share the top spot on my list. They do. Go watch them because they are pure excellence. That aside, let’s get into my top ten of the year!

10. Skeleton Knight in Another World

This is the first Overlord clone to make this list. Obviously, it’s here because it IS an Overlord clone and i love Ainz so very, very, much. I think i made that exceptionally clear above. That said, Skeleton Knight pales in comparison to not only Overlord, but it’s derivative cousins who will make an appearance further down on this list. Disclaimers and criticism aside, i had a lot of fun with this show. The manga is much more fun, mostly because i enjoy the art, but this adaption is rather faithful, giving the anime a very familiar energy. If I'm being honest, Skeleton Knight is the weakest entry on this list and there are probably more deserving shows out there, but i just think Skeleton Knight in Another World is neat.

9. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

I genuinely enjoy Gundam but i can’t say I'm a hardcore fan. I can best be described as interested but not enthusiastic. I've enjoyed certain entries more than others, Unicorn and Iron-Blooded Orphans come to mind, but, for me, it’s Gundam Wing. I have never enjoyed a Gundam narrative as much as W, until i saw Mercury. Now, when i say that out loud, i know how ridiculous that sounds. With of Mercury has very little in common with Wing yet, i adore this show. I can’t say it’s the strongest of the franchise, it definitely isn’t, but i loved my time with this world. Also, Aerial has a pretty dope design.

8. Lycoris Recoil

I’ve been a fan of the “Schoolgirl Hitgirl” sub-genre for years. My chick got me into with Gunslinger Girl way back when. Recoil wasn’t initially on radar but i picked it up midway through it’s run after dropping another show. I was happy with that decision because, holy sh*t, this show is awesome Never mind the high production values and the absolutely enchanting characters, Recoil is basically John Wick in a sailor outfit and i am here for all of that. I’m not just talking action, but the world building, too. There is just SO much content here, so many avenues to explore, and it just happens to be focus on two of the cutest protagonists this season. Come for the clandestine assassin wetwork, stay for the charming ass personal interactions between Chisato and Takina.

7. Spy x Family

I slept on the Forger family until the last two episodes and had to binge the entire series at once. I’m glad i did because this show is AMAZING! It has a throwback feel to it, kind of a Lupin III-esque vibe, but does it’s own thing with it. On paper, this narrative comes across as some of the most chaotic, out of place, shenanigans ever conceived and yet, everything works. It all fits. I adored every second of this show and feel bad i waited so long to partake, strictly because of my own stubbornness. I ate when shows are over-hyped and Spy x Family definitely was. Its absolutely deserving but people talk about this show like it’s Naruto or Demon Slayer or Attack on Titan; All of which are aggressively disappointing, Not Spy x Family. That sh*t lived up to the hype and more.

6. Uncle From Another World

This one was a real treat. It’s an absolute send-up of the Isekai genre and a complete breath of fresh air. As a kid who grew up in the Nineties, i remember fondly the old timey Console Wars. I, too, was a Sega shill so seeing Uncle have his many, many, meltdowns about the absolute sate of the company, was hilarious. I mean, the fantasy stuff was dope, too, don’t get me wrong (Sui is best girl) but the strength of this show, for me, is the out-of-place naivety of Uncle. Dude doesn’t fit in in either world and that sh*t makes for top tier comedy. It’s a little rough to watch at time, can’t even deny that, but the writing is more than strong enough to overcome those sus ass production values.

5. Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man at number five? Blasphemy! It’s the most expensive anime, ever! It’s based on top tier kino! Muh Makima! Listen, i enjoyed Chainsaw Man. I thought the adaption was fine. I don’t hate Mappa for their weirdly floaty, computer generated-to-rotoscoping, animation style. That’s fine. Chainsaw Man, to me, was kind of a disappointment. It’s solid as f*ck if you are kind of a casual, but for a guy like me who has consuming anime and manga for probably thirty-five years, this ain’t special. It’s odd because i thought this adaption was going to f*ck up the fandom like Onepunch Man did all those years ago, but nope. That sucks because Fujimoto’s manga is f*cking exceptional. There’s so much heart there and i think that’s what is missing from the anime and there is no Pochita to take it’s place. Power is dope, though. As long as you watch the Japanese version. Power in the dub is horrible.

4. The Eminence in Shadow

I like Overlord. I like Albedo. Shadow is basically Overlord if Ainz made all of his Floor Guardians Albedo. That’s it. That’s the show. This is the second Overlord clone to make this list, which is wild to me. I never expected that The Nazarick Chronicles would become a sub-genre of Isekai but here we are. That said, Shadow is f*cking excellent. It might be derivative of Overlord in tone and scope but it is definitely it’s own thing. The world on display here definitely gives Ainz’s New World a run for it’s money in terms of depth and i am here for all of that. Plus, the MC, Shadow, is one of the most complete, overpowered, protagonists in the genre. I love this chunibyo so much. Also, the production values. Like, holy sh*t, does this show LOOK great! That whole “I Am Atomic” scene lives rent free in my head!

3a. Call of the Night

Yo, if you’d have tole me that another adaption of Kotoyama’s work would f*ck around and make it into the top five of my year end list, I'd have called you a liar. I couldn’t stand Dagashi Kashi but i saw potential in dude’s work. When Yofukashi no Uta released, i understood the hype. I was hooked by the time chapter one closed, couldn’t wait to see the adaption whenever it released, and absolutely did not disappoint. Call of the Night is a very solid narrative, shepherded by amazing character work, bu it’s the overall style of presentation that does it for me. This thing uses color like nothing I've seen in anime for years! I am so sincere when i say that this show is an absolute feast for the eyes. Also, that soundtrack is easily the best of the season. I mean, it’s tied with Edgerunners in that regard but it’s definitely up there. f*ck it, it’s tied with Edgerunners, period. I like this show that much!

3b. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

This one surprised me. I didn’t expect one of the most beautiful, one of the most grounded and emotionally resonate, anime of the year to come out of f*cking Trigger. I did not believe they had the maturity to write something so goddamn tragic and do the entire Cyberpunk franchise justice like Edgerunners. I thought their animation style and use of color would clash with the rather drab and neon tinted dystopia from the game. Wrong again. Edgerunners is one of the best anime I've ever seen in my entire life. It’s and incredibly and emotionally debilitating watch. I felt every emotion on the spectrum witnessing these character struggle against the overwhelming content that is Night City. Edgerunners is so f*cking food, man, and the only reason it’s not number one on this list is because is because i genuinely love the top two more. That’s it. On the merits, alone, it’s hard not to say Cyberpunk: Edgerunners isn’t the best anime of the year.

2. My Dress-Up Darling

In a year where Chainsawman, Spy x Family, and Sabikui Bisco get released, how does a slice of life, romcom, snatch up that number two spot? Because it f*cking deserved it! My Dress-Up Darling is f*cking brilliant and you’re crazy if you think any other anime stands a chance against this thing. If I'm being honest, bias aside, this one should take the top spot based strictly off the character work. The core relationship between Gojo and Marin is everything but all of the character presented are strong as f*ck. They feel real. Those interactions feel organic. Everything about My Dress-Up Darling is quality as f*ck and really tugs at the heart strings. If you’ve ever crushed on a person back in high school, this sh*t rings true. The ONLY reason this isn’t my number one is because of how much i love the Reincarnated as a Sword narrative, overall. That said, Marin Kitagawa is best girl of the season, fight me!

1. Reincarnated as a Sword

I loved this show, man. It deserves all of the shine it’s gotten to date. Admittedly, i was a fan long before the adaption was announced. I gushed about the manga months ago, you can search that up in this blog by punching in Murder Mittens, so my adoration for Fran’s misadventures was already at a fever pitch. When her show dropped and still felt faithful to the narrative on the page, i was hooked. Reincarnated as a Sword has no right to be as good as it is. The character work is strong as f*ck. The world-building is rich and very deep. The systems developed in order to explain the abilities of these fantastical characters, are detailed and make sense. Reincarnated as a Sword is a goddamn masterpiece and deserves all of the shine it’s got thus far. Read the light novel. Read the manga. Watch the anime. Buy the merch. Fran and Sensei deserves all of that.

Honorable Mentions: In the Land of Leadale, Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Sabikui Bisco, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, Black Summoner, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs, I'm Quitting Heroing, Love After World Domination, Summer Time Rendering, Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World (yes, even though i dropped it, sh*t is still worth a watch. Even with all of the uncomfortable and problematic sex.), Danmachi IV, Fuuto Pi, Mob Psycho 100 III, Urusei Yatsura, Bastard!! -Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy-