#also. the actual fighting-controls are really awkward and blatantly designed to be used with a controller. which annoys me.

[racke7]

Huh.

So, because I don't have Divinity 2 right now, I decided to look through my game-catalog. And I have Monster Hunter World on this thing.

Last time I played this was the first time I played this (years ago), I played it for almost eight hours straight, and I'm pretty sure I spent 90% of that time cursing and yelling at the game because fuck your stupid fucking run-away mechanics. Stand and fight like a proper fucking monster.

But hey, I like being a little hater sometimes. Let's see-...

Okay, so after another 40min of gameplay, I can safely say that:

Monster Hunter is a game for people who really like the combat-mechanics of Bloodborne's Micolash-fight, but who'd really prefer the actual fighting-parts to be the Amygdala-fight instead.

That is to say, not fucking me.

[ourbloodlinesendhere]

Guess who’s made a fan-house for FE3H? It’s me! I did!

Welcome to the Roseate Wolves, a house for transfer students from all over the world. I took a lot of the locations in FE3H that haven’t been fleshed out and slapped some headcanons onto them, as well as some fun cameos of other kingdoms featured in the Fire Emblem series. Is there any chance that these places all exist in the same universe? Probably not! But I don’t care.

Now, if you’re interested, I’ll drop some rambling below the cut:

(Warning: It’s very, very long and very, very rambly.)

I’ll be talking about what this house would be like if it were actually in the game!

For starters, since we only have three professors including Byleth, either Seteth or Jeritza would be the fourth professor. I’m leaning towards Jeritza for this because iirc some characters do mention that he was considered for Byleth’s position. It just makes his disappearance a little awkward, but oh well. I imagine he would default to teaching the Black Eagles for every route where Byleth isn’t (for obvious reasons) and after he poofs, maybe Seteth steps in and just makes Edelgard hate the church even more.

Anyways, let’s talk about the actual route and it’s characters, not just the setup.

With the other three routes, I’ve noticed that the house leaders warm up to you pretty quickly. This makes sense for their characters and the situation, but I’d like to imagine for a moment a route in which the leader blatantly does not like or trust Byleth at all until later in Part 1. Aren is cold and somewhat brooding, hesitant to trust and avoidant of social situations. Really, he’s only the house leader due to the insistence of his grandmother, otherwise he would never have wanted the task. When push comes to shove, he’s a brilliant tactician and a good leader, but he’s not sociable in the slightest.

During the conflicts with Lonato, the Western Church, Miklan, and other pre-timeskip Fodlan problems, there’s a persistent theme of “Why are we helping? We don’t live here, it shouldn’t be our problem” which settles over the group. More kindhearted folks such as Julia and Ragnar are less blatant about this, but there is just this general feeling of reluctance.

Now, for Edelgard’s reveal, we have a little reveal of our own. Sreng is a small kingdom with a shaky structure at best, and a low population. The only thing that has kept its sovereignty from Faerghus has been a secret it has kept for a long time. Within the various factions that make up its population, beast blood runs through their veins. Not all Srengese have this (making the trait somewhat similar to Crests in Fodlan) but for those that do, they have the power to shapeshift.

Aren, Liara, and Ragnar are all shape-shifters. Underneath his hood, Aren has wolf-like ears (like Keaton’s in Fates), as does Liara (hidden under her hair, like how... certain someones in FE3H hide their own funny ears), and Ragnar’s horns aren’t actually a feature of his helmet. Beast-shifters in Sreng are known as Orthrus. Aren is a wolf Orthrus, Liara is a snow leopard Orthrus, and Ragnar is a mutated, horned black vulture Orthrus. (He has small, malformed wings hidden under his coat. Imagine how uncomfortable he must be)

There is also the fact that Sreng lacks access to Beaststones. Their beast forms are massive and extremely powerful, but volatile. Orthrus often lose themselves in their transformation, and after battle they often need to be subdued by their allies. Without a beast form to help control their shifted selves, the three Orthrus were strictly forbidden from shifting when away from home, even when their own lives are in danger. Not just to protect Sreng’s secret; also to protect themselves and others from their beast forms.

Edelgard, as the Flame Emperor, attacks Byleth. At this point, Aren has grown very close to his professor, but still struggles in showing it. In an expression of his care for Byleth at last, he breaks the rules he was given and transforms into his Orthrus form. Gameplay-wise, he’s like a demonic beast, with four tiles in his hit-box and even an extra health bar. However, he’s an allied unit with purposefully flawed AI. He will rush right into battle without a thought, and him falling is the lose condition for the map (even on casual mode).

After the battle, with no enemies in sight and wild emotions coursing through his bestial mind, Aren goes on a rampage through the throne room as Rhea is horrified. Once the sacred site is thoroughly destroyed, Byleth finally calms him down, and he shakily reverts to his human form.

Once that map is completed, the Srengese students have had their cover completely blown, and it doesn’t take long for Liara and Ragnar to be exposed as well. They plead with Rhea to keep their secret, but she is enraged at the damage to the room and the throne, and exiles all three of them. They have to leave by that night, and she makes no promises about their secret.

Byleth meets with them in the night, and the rest of the Wolves do as well in order to say goodbye. Surprisingly, Flayn appears, having snuck away from Seteth and Rhea. She offers the Orthrus three beast-stones, unlocking the Orthrus class for them. Thank you Flayn! Wonder how she got those, almost like she knows a thing or two about- I mean, what

This will alter their beast forms to be smaller and a bit less powerful, but allows them full control over themselves when shifted. Now they play exactly like Taguel in Awakening, except they stay in beast form whenever the beast-stone is equipped, not at the start of each battle.

Flayn can’t help them any more though, since she’s ultimately loyal to Rhea and Seteth. For the remaining time until the time-skip, they’re not available for use in your party. If for some reason you’re playing classic mode like some kind of masochist and both Liara and Ragnar are out of your party, they’ll still appear in these cutscenes. However, next moon you’ll be informed that their injuries slowed them down and Knights of Seiros caught them, killing them. Ouch!

The battle of Garreg Mach is a different story. With their loyalty to the church shaken, but with no desire to join up with Edelgard, Byleth and the Wolves are trapped between two clashing armies. The goal of the map is to get your students to safety, through a harrowing path riddled with enemy soldiers attacking anyone in sight. Any students from the other houses you didn’t recruit will be enemy units! But they don’t perma-die when you defeat them here, since lots of them will appear again post-timeskip. When Rhea starts wrecking shop, Byleth hurries all the students ahead, fighting off anyone who comes for them. But they gets yeeted off of the cliff anyways.

Now, I hope to design some post-timeskip designs soon, but until then, just picture that everyone’s a little battered. Fodlan closed its borders to prevent foreign reinforcements from coming in and deserters from leaving, so all of the Wolves have become trapped in the midst of a war. Only small exceptions occur for the purpose of paralogues and such (like if you had recruited Bernadetta and Petra, their paralogue happens the same.) but overall, nobody can go home. Also, Sreng has been strong-armed into fighting for the Empire! Lovely. If Liara and Ragnar are alive, you’ll need to face them in battle and recruit them there, Tharja/Gaius-style.

But where’s Aren? He didn’t return home, actually. He laid low, and upon hearing Garreg Mach fell, he searched desperately for Byleth to find them. He eventually holed himself up in the ruins of Garreg Mach, chasing out anyone who tried to come for it. Essentially like how timeskip Dimitri was, but less murder-y and more just. constantly terrified and lashing out. He became paranoid and desperate, and eventually abandoned his beaststone to remain in full Orthrus form.

When Byleth finds him, he’s fully shifted and tries to attack them. However, upon recognizing his professor, he backs down and manages to return to his human form. His beaststone lays on the floor, now having been attached crudely to a necklace. Byleth puts it back on him, and he regains control of himself.

His personality has become erratic and anxious, even more untrusting than before, but he’s instantly dependent on Byleth and clings to them with uncomfortable desperation. When the other Wolves arrive, he is cold to them, even to Liara, and becomes possessive of Byleth.

The post-timeskip era starts out with the Wolves feeling trapped and simply trying to stay alive, turning Garreg Mach into a sort of hideout for other refugees who wish to escape the fighting. However, after getting to know the suffering of the Fodlan people, the theme shifts to one of empathy. Just because something isn’t our problem, and doesn’t affect our people, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act when innocents are suffering. Faerghus and Adrestia are at each other’s throats, and the Alliance is getting trampled, but the neutral land of Garreg Mach houses a growing force of fighters looking to put a stop to the war.

Aren’s arc post-timeskip involves him eventually leaning away from Byleth as a crutch, and standing stronger on his own. He learns to trust others regularly, and forms a deep bond with all of the Wolves, reconnecting with Liara again. 

Now as for how the route ends... who knows ! ;) I just might write something for this house, so you’ll just have to wait and see.

If people are interested, I’ll also go into more detail about the individual characters! Because this whole thing here was very Aren-centric with cameos from Liara and Ragnar.

[yumeka36]

Frozen in Kingdom Hearts 3

After 5 years of wanting and waiting, I finally played through the first Frozen world in a Kingdom Hearts game. So how was it?

**BEWARE - SPOILERS AHEAD**

Of course I was extremely excited when a Frozen world was confirmed for KH3. But as we got closer to release day and I was reading more about the game and specific things about the Frozen world in particular, I started getting a tad apprehensive. According to this interview with Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura, he said it was easier to get approval from Disney for past KH games because the creative teams for the older movies were no longer there, but for recent movies like Frozen, those teams are still active at Disney and want more control of their titles. In another interview, he talked about how much back and forth was involved between Disney and Square Enix throughout the game’s development and having to get approval from Disney for every little character and story detail. Comments like this, together with the fact that a lot of the Frozen scenes shown in the KH3 trailers were scenes directly from the movie, made me a bit nervous that Disney would be too protective of their precious franchise and not allow Square Enix to have much freedom with making new plot and character scenarios. After seeing the first Frozen trailer, I had all these grandiose ideas in my head, like Larxene convincing Elsa to give in to darkness and Sora being forced to fight her to snap her out of it (like with the Beast in KH2), or even Larxene and Elsa fighting (lightning vs ice!). Or something more complex when they teased the new seven princesses of heart plot, like how Elsa ended up not being one of the pure hearts because her heart almost gave in to darkness (due to all her fears and self doubts) but Anna is one of the pure hearts so Organization XIII captures her and Elsa wants to save her but cant’s so Sora steps in (this would occur after the movie plot resolves of course). But as time went on I came down from those fantasies and realized that although there will be some new scenes and plot points, it’s going to follow the movie closely for the most part. So as release day drew near, I kept my expectations lowered.

I’m sure I’m not the only fan who was disappointed when it was revealed in one of the Nomura interviews that neither Anna nor Elsa would be party members in the game. I understand Elsa not being a party member since it wouldn’t make sense from a story perspective for her to willingly travel around with others. But it made much more sense for Anna and Kristoff to be party members since they’re on a journey together through most of the movie. And it makes even more sense when you compare it to the Tangled world where both Eugene and Rapunzel are party members. So I can’t understand why Anna and Kristoff weren’t the Arendelle party members. Not that I have anything against Marshmallow, and his yearning to protect Elsa was cute and all, but in literally every other Kingdom Hearts Disney world, the characters Sora teams up with are the main characters from that movie, the characters that everyone loves and are the most popular. So having one of the minor characters be the only party member in the world of one of the most popular Disney movies, is disappointing. And Marshmallow doesn’t even join the group until closer to the end, so most of Arendelle is just Sora, Donald, and Goofy maneuvering through ice mazes and snowy mountains fighting lots of Heartless and Nobodies. It’s fun for the most part but I found it getting stale after a while - having the world’s unique characters join the battles makes them much more interesting, so without that here, they got repetitive fast. 

They could have at least made Anna, Elsa, and/or Kristoff “pseudo” party members, like in Birth by Sleep where you’d have to maneuver through an area while protecting a character who doesn’t actually fight in a sort of mini-game fashion. They did have that mini-game of finding Olaf’s parts, but it was short and honestly kind of boring, especially compared to the other world-specific mini-games in KH3 (and am I the only one who thinks it’s ludicrous that Sora is amazed at and Donald is doubtful of a talking snowman when they’ve seen talking toys, skeletons, and tons of other equally unbelievable stuff in their adventures?) To be honest, the only reason I can think of for such a lack of Arendelle party members is solely due to Disney being very restrictive of the characters of their most popular movie and being super sensitive to any “violent” depictions of them and thus not wanting them in any sort of fighting sequences. 

Sadly, not having the main characters as party members just made it seem a bit...empty, especially coming off of the Tangled world. Because Eugene and Rapunzel were party members, they spent a lot of time with Sora and co. and they shared a lot of dialogue both in and out of battles and cutscenes (and the dancing mini-game was adorable). By the end, their friendship with Sora seemed earned and real, but at the same time, it DID NOT take anything away from Eugene and Rapunzel’s character development in terms of the movie plot: Sora helped them of course, but in the important moments, like Rapunzel realizing she’s the lost princess, the lantern scene, and their confrontation with Gothel at the end, Sora did not interfere. The Tangled world had the perfect mix of staying true to the movie while also having enough Kingdom Hearts flavor to make it a new experience. Arendelle got a bit cheated in this regard in my opinion. The cutscenes Sora shared with Anna and Elsa were good, but those were the only times he talked to them. The part with Elsa at the very beginning of the world was among my favorites...but that was literally the only time he interacted with her - no other conversations at all, even at the end. 

This is such a shame as Sora seemed to really have a connection to her and was so sweetly concerned about her throughout the whole story. The scene he shared with Anna where she told him about herself and Elsa via an abridged version of “Do you want to build a snowman?” was a very good scene too, but again, after that and the Olaf mini-game a little later, Sora and co. never talk to Anna again. I can think of a few cutscenes they could have added that would have made Sora’s connection with the characters better but still not take away anything from the main Frozen plot, for example, Sora and co. talking to Elsa when she’s in the dungeon before she flees and they get frozen out, crossing the fjord with Anna (the “hiding behind rocks to block the storm” mechanic could have been used for this), or even having a new area for the trolls - not only would that have added nice variety to the world’s terrain (going back and forth around the North Mountain got a bit repetitive, and Larxene’s ice labyrinth added nothing to the story and was kind of a pointless detour) but I could see definite mini-game potential with the trolls too. Another possible scene could be of Sora and co. visiting Elsa in her palace as Hans is attacking her with the help of Heartless (how else could you explain his managing to capture her without anyone else’s help?)

Speaking of Hans, that’s one movie cutscene they should not have left out: the scene where Hans betrays Anna. Without this scene, Hans gets zero explanation other than Kristoff mentioning he’s Anna’s true love. So Sora and co. have no idea that the guy who carried Elsa away and then tried to kill her was Hans, nor will anyone else if they haven’t seen the movie (yeah, all 2 of you who haven’t seen it). In the Tangled world, we get the full scenes of Rapunzel confronting Gothel about being the lost princess and then Gothel imprisoning her and stabbing Eugene, so why don’t we get an equivalent “villain reveal” scene for Frozen? And while Marluxia explains why Organization XIII wants Rapunzel to stay with Gothel, Larxene doesn’t even acknowledge Hans despite him literally turning into a Heartless in the end (wouldn’t he technically be dead after turning into a Heartless? But his Heartless didn’t actually get destroyed after the battle so does that mean it’s still out there somewhere? That part was strangely ambiguous). I have no proof for this, but I feel like Hans being left out so blatantly is because they couldn’t get a voice actor for him for some reason, as weird as that sounds (would also explain why we didn’t get the scene of him telling Elsa that Anna is dead because of her). 

The battle against Hans’ Heartless was friggin’ awesome though. Such a cool design and challenging battle - but the timing was so awkward! In the middle of perhaps the most important scene in Frozen where Anna sacrifices herself to save Elsa, we’re thrust into this big battle. Then after that’s done and Anna is thawing, we get interrupted AGAIN by another scene with Larxene. Why couldn’t the Heartless battle have been after Elsa thaws everything, then they notice Hans getting covered in darkness, Sora tells everyone to stand back, and then the battle commences. The scene with Larxene could then take place as Sora is leaving Arendelle.

But the single most thing I was disappointed about was not having any sort of closing scene between Sora and the Frozen characters. Literally every other Kingdom Hearts game has Sora exchanging well wishes and thank yous to the new friends he made after the story’s finale via some cute and funny moments. We get none of that for Arendelle - after Elsa thaws everything as Sora, Donald, and Goofy look on (the Frozen characters don’t even acknowledge they’re there), the camera panes away, we switch to a cutscene with Aqua, and then Sora’s suddenly back on the Gummiship. There’s absolutely no excuse to not have a goodbye scene: the story’s over, so it’s not like Sora talking to the characters at this point will affect the plot. These scenes are always such treats for fans, ESPECIALLY for a world like Arendelle that’s already lacking scenes of Sora interacting with the characters. This would have also been a perfect opportunity for the characters to explain Hans to Sora, similar to how the closing scene in Tangled informed Sora about Flynn Rider’s real name. The only reason I can think of for Arendelle not getting a closing scene like this is the same reason for the lack of party members; Disney’s being overly protective of how Frozen is depicted in official media beyond the movie’s canon. A part of me was hoping the new seven hearts plot point would surface again later in the game and involve more scenes with Rapunzel, Anna, and Elsa...but it never did. At least that’s something to look forward to in future Kingdom Hearts games.

But hey, despite getting kicked out of Arendelle so abruptly, at least we’re allowed to go back and do this:

All this complaining probably makes you think I didn’t enjoy the Frozen world in KH3. I definitely did enjoy it and I’m so glad my favorite movie finally got a role in a Kingdom Hearts game. The cutscenes were beautifully done, the music and songs were nice, and though they occasionally looked off at times, the character models looked fantastic. Overall I just felt there was some lost potential. To a Frozen fan who’s not very familiar with Kingdom Hearts, my complaints might seem like nitpicking, but for someone like me who’s both a Frozen fan and has played every single Kingdom Hearts game and knows very well how its Disney worlds are presented, I thought Arendelle got a little cheated. Maybe Nomura and the KH3 staff really did intend to present the world this way, with Sora being much more of a bystander...but my gut feeling is telling me it’s Disney. It makes sense they’d place more restrictions on Frozen compared to the other Disney movies for two reasons; 1) it’s their highest grossing animated movie and Frozen’s director/writer Jennifer Lee is the current head of Disney Animation, and 2) Frozen 2 comes out in less than a year so that would make them even more sensitive to any non-canon depictions of the world and characters that might alter whatever image they want to uphold for the sequel (this would also explain why Tangled didn’t get as many restrictions even though it’s a very popular Disney franchise too). Whatever the reason, I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed, but at the same time, I completely understand that Frozen is only, like, 10% of the game’s substance and everything else about it is fantastic (I will likely make another post of screenshots conveying all the feels I had for the ending of the game!)

And after resigning myself to the fact that we won’t get anymore Frozen scenes in KH3, once the end credits were rolling and they started showing cute little epilogue scenes for each Disney world, I was waiting with baited breath to see if Frozen would be included (I was ready to flip a table if it wasn’t). And thankfully we were treated to an utterly adorable scene:

(More screenshots and video link here)

Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 13 years for Kingdom Hearts 4. I can’t wait to see how the new Lost Masters story arc will unfold and if Anna and Elsa will be more involved now that they’re confirmed to be new princesses of heart. Especially with Frozen 2 coming out soon, Sora’s return to their world is likely (maybe this time Anna and/or Elsa will actually be party members - I can dream can’t I?) Whatever it is, I look forward to all the possibilities future KH games have in store ;)

[wariofranchisefanblog]

A little delayed, due to my awkward vacation timing, but I have been playing WarioWare Gold a ton since coming home, so it's time for an impressions post.

Just gonna say right off the bat that I will be talking about the final stage and while spoilers really aren't a big deal in WarioWare, I do think that the stage is much cooler if you don't know anything about it, beforehand.

Let's go by bullet points, for the sake of organization:

Story

At it's core the individual characters' stories are still simple, but fun affairs, however I do think that the voice acting does a lot to add a ton of energy and personality to it, with the characters being more lively then ever and able to express more, well...character then ever before, I mean who in the world saw 18-Volt's story being so rap-tastic coming? I also enjoy how the remix stages actually have the characters get together and interact a bit, that's something I always wanted to see and here it is.

Amazingly enough the main story is actually a little more developed this time around, with Wario becoming increasingly more agitated by the player progressing in the Wario Bowl. This reaches it's peak during the Wario Deluxe stage, when Wario actively opposes the player and the entire presentation of the stage is not only surprisingly climactic, but it really does give you the impression that you are fighting against someone, especially when Wario starts to take away your ability to know which controls to use for the next microgame, only for Lulu to come in and go against him. Story progression mid-stage, a first for WarioWare.

I did not expect it, but Gold really did go further to do more with the Ware cast and world, which is something I greatly appreciate and I think the team behind WWGold knew what they were doing, when considering the sheer amount of positive buzz that the cutscenes, voice acting and general presentation are generating online.

Visuals

The new designs are understandably divisive and I did raise an eyebrow myself once or twice (looking at you, Dr. Crygor), but honestly, the new style as a whole, along with the designs I used to be iffy on, have grown on me while playing the game, I just appreciate that Ware is getting more of it's own visual identity again, instead of it just copying Rhythm Heaven's artstyle (which I do enjoy, I should clarify), like Game & Wario did.

The microgames themselves naturally got a lot of graphical updates, some more major then others, but it is the usual zany WarioWare fare and in some cases the visual changes can help to make a returning game feel just a touch more different.

One downside to the visuals is that the added production values in the form of full voice acting make the very flash-esque nature of the cutscene animations a lot more appearent. It's not a huge deal, since WarioWare has always been simplistic in it's animation style (though it did start to look surprisingly nice in Game & Wario) and in a way that's part of the charm, but it can be distracting at times and it's really blatant when a character just has their base artwork plastered into a scene, rather then a unique drawing.

Music

The game is full with catchy beats as always and I was bobbing my head along a lot while playing, but I want to adress two particular highlights:

-First are the unlockable records, which include all previous vocal themes, but not in their in-game versions, but rather their uncompressed original forms! Sure the instrumentations for several of the tracks are a bit simplistic, but clearer sound quality is really nice, even if I liked the original GBA/DS versions all the same.

-The Final Stage theme, which adds to the surprisingly climactic nature of it all, especially since it is essentially a dark reprise of Gold's main theme:

Voice Acting

A major addition to the game and there were bound to be a lot of voice changes, so this is where opinions are going to split a lot, but I found the acting quality as a whole to be a pleasent surprise. Nobody sounds bad, I got used to the voice changes rather quickly, the voices fit the characters, with Ashley and 18-Volt being particularly perfectly cast and Charles Martinet continues to be brilliant as Wario, to the surprise of nobody ever.

Gameplay

It's WarioWare, but for the first time since Smooth Moves it's a new title where control is really the only major gimmick to the game, which is nice to have again. We get four stage dedicated to the Mash, Tilt and Touch controls, two remix stages  and Wario Deluxe, which mix those, along with Fronk microgames and Mic games, several Challenge modes and missions.

The Fronk and Mic games have a more downplayed presence then I expected, especially the Mic games, which there's only 5 of, along with a few Wario Deluxe games that also involve the mic and I honestly think that's alright, I didn't mind the Mic games in Touched as many others did, but the control scheme makes many of the games feel very alike in how you play, so it's not really suitable for a whole stage in my opinion.

The basic gameplay is classic WarioWare, without any major tweaks to the formula, though some stages will have you switch between the different control schemes, which thankfully works better then I initially worried it would, with the transition being pretty smooth and giving you time to adjust, without breaking the pace.

The microgames are an interesting case, most are returning ones, but a number of them have seen some tweaks to make them feel a little more fresh, such as Smooth Moves' games being repurposed to work with Tilt or Touch controls or how Loot Scoot from the first game is now a boss game or how some games while largely the same have slightly altered objectives, such as the Mario Clash microgame requiring you to hit an enemy twice, on Level 3. With that said, even with those changes the feeling of familiarity with the old games is still quite appearent, the combination of new visuals, gameplay tweaks, new games in between and having them all mixed together does a good job of not presenting the game like a rehash, but rather a ''best off'', but if learning and memorizing whole sets of brand new microgames was one of you favorite parts in previous games, then this one won't deliver as well in that regard.

The challenge modes range from the usual Tower modes, to the welcomed return of WarioWatch and Gamer, as well as four new ones, like my personal favorite of the new modes ''Split Screen'', which has you alternate between the 3DS' screens, essentially playing the games back to back, with no transition and very little time to prepare. After Game & Wario I got interested in the idea of trying to mix the WarioWare gameplay with some major gimmicks like Gamer did, so I was naturally happy about this.

Souvenirs

This is one part that's a bit disappointing, there's some good ones here, such as the music records, the ability to voice cutscenes yourself or extra minigames, but many of them feel like filler, such as alarm clocks of every single character or phone numbers, which are only there to be used on the phone souvenirs and aren't interesting on their own. This is one aspect of the game that feels like it got the short end of the stick, the souvenirs were always just toys to play around with, but you got a lot of creative stuff out of it, there isn't a whole lot of that here, unfortunately.

Wario Land References

I am fine with Ware doing it's own thing, but I always appreciate nods to Wario's other major series as well and Gold is really generous in that regard.

-The entire plot of the game is kicked off by Wario stealing a treasure.

-Loot Scoot which was blatantly Land inspired has been promoted to a boss minigame.

-The new version of Driver's Ed from Smooth Moves has Wario drive in his car from Land 4.

-18-Volt's set includes a Land 3 microgame.

-The new version of Fly ' n' Fall from DIY features Tiny Warios.

So yeah, you have listened to me gush over the game for long enough. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's the first Ware game in a long time and the first non-experimental Ware game in an even longer time and it does a lot of things that I like and/or wanted to see, so yeah, of course I'm going to be happy.

Good game, that's the sweet and short version right there.

[mortimemedoodles]

Lotor Friendsim?

Hey yall, this isn't much I just took the mc of Homestuck-Friendsim and replaced them with Lotor bc I'm out here to have fun. without further ado, here.

You have just crash-landed on a planet called Alternia, and staggered from the smoldering wreckage of your ship. You don't recall how you found your way out of the quintessence field, but better here than there, you guess. You are now completely alone in a strange world. Desperate for information, for provisions, and possibly a bit of medical attention. But most of all, you are desperate for...

FRIENDSHIP? 

Won't someone on this godforsaken rock be your buddy?

....Actually, no. You really are looking more for medical attention and provisions more than anything else. A buddy would be a good provider of these things, but really any weirdo will do. You're not that picky. You know more than anything that making friends can have disastrous side effects if you are not careful. You decided not to dwell on the series of events that lead you to be here and put voltron out of your mind. After all, your ship is ruined and you don't think you will be going anywhere any time soon. Best to look for help. Hang on... What's this now? Is someone approaching...?

Yes, someone is approaching! A strange, grey-skinned alien, clad in blue. Perhaps they will make for a good friend? You smooth out your hair and try to look half presentable despite your blatantly horrible wounds and burns.

ARDATA: dear god. ARDATA: and just what are you supposed to be? Your stammering reply eventually conveys that you are a lost traveler to keep this interaction simple, you also let her know you are hungry and probably in some need of medical treatment. You're also quite disoriented from your sudden landing in a strange new world and wouldn't mind making a new friend right now. ARDATA: oh. oh my. mmmmhmhm. ARDATA: hmhmhmhmhmhm... ARDATA: hmhmmhmmwahahahahahahaha. ARDATA: oh how funny thiiis iiis. how very droll. you... ARDATA: YOU want to be MY friiiend? ARDATA: iiit's too much. thiiis, thiiis THIIING at my doorstep, wiiishiiing to know me iiin any capaciiity. the hiiilariiity somehow escapes my abiiiliiity to capture wiiith maniiiacal laughter. how rare. You apologize for your presumptuous request. You replace your helmet, turn around, and begin to walk aw-

ARDATA: and just what the fuck do you thiiink you are doiiing? ARDATA: who iiinviiited you to leave?

You stop in your tracks, and turn to face her again. Your possibly broken ribs are throbbing in pain. But this does not strike you as the right moment to exhibit weakness. ARDATA: iiit dawns on me that we may have gotten off on the wrong saunterpod. where are my manners? ghastly behaviiior on my part. ARDATA: after all, iiit iiisn't YOUR fault you seem to be some sort of hiiideous freak, iiis iiit? and such a tragiiic creature cannot be held responsiiible for such a devastatiiing shortfall of sociiial competence. ARDATA: iii would weep for you, really. except that cryiiing out of three eyes at once gets a biiit messy. so iiinstead, iii thiiink iii'll be saviiing my tears for someone less offensiiively worthless. You... aren't sure if she's inviting you inside? Or if she just got you to stay a little longer, so she could insult you some more. You cant say youre fond of it, but after all that you have been through with voltron you cant say you feel you are above being criticized for many things. You try to remain stoic, while your confrontational new friend decides what to do with you. You have objectively been through much worst. Still you cant help but wince. Not only over your broken ribs but the stabbing pain of being abandoned once again. You would think this would be something you were used to by now. You sniffle slightly despite yourself. ARDATA: oh. ARDATA: oh my, oh dear. you're... ARDATA: sad? hmhmhmhm. ARDATA: hmhmhmwahaha. so amusiing to me. miiildly endeariiing, even? ARDATA: perhaps. iii'll decide later iiif iiit's endeariiing, once iii have more iiinformatiiion. iiit's entiiirely possiiible iii wiiill retroactiiively deciiide iiit's diiisgustiiing. ARDATA: but for now, try to put yourself at ease. you completely piiitiiiful fool. not one more sniiiffle. ARDATA: do you understand? You nod, while practicing exemplary control over your nose. ARDATA: you have gotten yourself so agiiitated. iii wonder why. you have nothiiing to worry about from me. ARDATA: of course iii wiiill be your friiiend. condiiitiiionally, iii mean. there iiis a chance the desiiignatiiion wiiill be formaliiized, iiif you behave iiin ways that iii approve of, startiiing now. ARDATA: let's call iiit a friiiendshiiip iiin progress. agreed? Your heart swells. This is what you've been waiting for. A new friend... oh gosh. All you have to do now is try not to fuck anything up at all, possibly for many hours. This seemed very good until you thought about it like that and now you really just want to leave. ARDATA: come iiinto my hiiive. thiiis way, after me. you look liiike you could use nouriiishment. ARDATA: iii don't know what iiit iiis that whatever you are eats, generally. but iiit doesn't matter. you wiiill eat whatever iiit iiis iii have on hand, iiif iii tell you to. how does that sound? How DOES it sound? It sounds good. I'll do whatever you say. You tell her. You can tell by her very unpleasant disposition that she is the type you want to speak with respect to to get what you want. God, its almost like your father decided to come back in the form of a strange looking teenaged girl.

ARDATA: obviiiously iiit sounds good. you wiiill defiiiniiitely enjoy it.

ARDATA: you wiiill enjoy everythiiing iii proviiide you wiiith, and tell you to do. iii can't iiimagiiine any sort of negatiiiviiity or diiisagreement comiiing from one of my friiiends.

ARDATA: iii wiiill assume that we share thiiis phiiilosophy, when iiit comes to friiiendshiiip?

You say, oh yes, absolutely. You nod as enthusiastically as you can, without aggravating your broken ribs. You resist the urge to roll your eyes into the back of your skull.

You consider giving her a thumbs up as well, until you realize one of your arms is probably broken too. You'll try to make sure she doesn't notice though. It would probably leave a bad impression.

ARDATA: come wiiith me. there's somethiiing iii need your help wiiith.

You follow her into her hive. It's a bit gloomy in here. You suppose she's going to fix you something to eat soon, as promised.

You pass through her kitchen, and... out the other side, to another room? Ok, you guess dinner can wait. Better not to piss her off and get kicked outbefore she can help you.

ARDATA: thiiis way. try not to let any of your broken liiimbs slow you down.

ARDATA: a good friiiend wouldn't allow such triiifliiing physiiical aiiilments cause me any iiinconveniiience.

Ah. Shes seen your injuries and does not intend to do anything to fix them. At least this is what you gather from your observation of her personality so far. You want to be angry but at the very least she has decided not to do something that would force you to work with your broken limbs. You are absolutely not in the mood to fight for example. You hobble a little faster, through another door into a much darker room. And now, down a flight of stairs?

It's hard to see. There are torches along the wall ahead. A monstrous noise rumbles below.

ARDATA: don't miiind her. she's just hungry. she's always hungry though.

ARDATA: what's that? you're hungry too? iii have not forgotten. what sort of piiiece of shiiit friiiend do you take me for?

You didn't remind her that you're hungry. You thought it though. Can she... read your mind? You hope not. That's going to make this friendship slash food excursion in progress a bit awkward. Not to mention that most of your thoughts on her thus far have been particularly kind.

ARDATA: here we are. thiiis iiis where you wiiill be most useful to me as a friiiend.

You look around. With a sense of relief, you see no sign of whatever hungry thing was grumbling down here. You are less relieved to see several other kids trapped in cages of various shape and size. If anything you are rather disgusted but decide to quickly clear your mind of that repulsion.

One of them makes eye contact with you.

The boy is the same kind of alien as her. Horns and all. He has a dark red symbol on his shirt. His expression seems to plead with you.

He struggles to say, "Hel..... p". Your new friend looks unamused and twitches her finger. "Hel... plo!" he says.

"Helplo. By which I mean, hello of course. Looks like you're the new friend in progress chosen by the great and beautiful Ardata."

"She's my savior, my reason for being. I am nothing without her. I'd hollow myself out and let her make a nest inside of me, if she'd permit it!"

You turn away from this boy. You don't want to hear anything he has to say, ever again.

ARDATA: hmhmhmmmm. don't miiind hiiim. he's always regarded hiiimself as a comediiian.

ARDATA: come. over here. thiiis iiis what iii need your help wiiith, iiif you're goiiing to have any value to me as a friiiend.

You're led to a dank corner of this, well, you're going to call it like you see it. This dungeon. Your new 'friend' has a dungeon full of sad, suffering children, and presumably a monster lurking somewhere in here as well. It's not ideal.

Then again, beggars like you can't be choosers. Not yet at least.

ARDATA: iii've been haviiing an awful tiiime wiiith iiit.

ARDATA: you can do iiit for me. iiit wiiill save me tiiime.

You look at the thing in question. You doubt she's been having an "awful time" with it. You doubt this because it's still in its box, looking completely untouched since it was brought down here.

It's a box containing a... table? A table that looks ominously like it was designed to keep a person strapped to its surface. You somehow find yourself missing the quintessence field looking at it.

ARDATA: iii wiiill need you to assemble iiit.

ARDATA: here's a screwdriiiver, iiin case you need iiit. iii wiiill assume other requiiired tools are contaiiined wiiithiiin the box.

You take the screwdriver with your non-broken arm. This isn't exactly what you had in mind, but you cant say its unexpected in hindsight.

You don't know what you had in mind, really. A warm meal, and friendly banter? Perhaps a sling for your arm, and a remedial balm for your ribs. Still, you open the box without protest.

ARDATA: hold on. before you start, thiiis wiiill make for excellent content.

ARDATA: my fans wiiill appreciiiate thiiis.

She sets up a video recording device on a tripod, and points it at you. A video feed comes to life on several monitors just behind you. You see in one corner of a screen, an unflattering angle of your torso hunched over the furniture box.

Other rectangles contain shots of the other kids in cages around the room. You suppose cameras are pointing at them, too. You had no idea this so called friendship came with the perk of instant stardom. Fucking fantastic.

ARDATA: now you may begiiin.

She's suddenly sitting in a comfortable looking chair facing you, and holding a chalice, swishing around some viscous liquid it contains.

You have all the parts spread out on the floor, organized according to their labels in the instructions.

You remember the last time you assembled something like this. You don't recall enjoying it. To be perfectly honest... this doesn't look like it will be fun at all. She frowns conspicuously.

ARDATA: oh. how sad for you.

ARDATA: iii'm sorry. iiis thiiis actiiiviiity not to your liiikiiing?

You reassure her vigorously that, no, it actually looks amazing. You love shit like this. It's what you were born for, you say, as you swoosh the screwdriver around, demonstrating your plainly evident skill with the tool.

Forget the thing you just thought. Completely arbitrary and WRONG thoughts pop into your head all the time. It meant nothing, you swear.

ARDATA: mmmhmhmhm.

ARDATA: yes. iii hear that a lot.

ARDATA: contiiinue.

You open the little bag full of screws. goodness, there are about, fifty screws to this thing. Where could most of these screws POSSIBLY even go? Judging from the picture, the table really doesn't seem that complicated.

You look at your screwdriver, then study the screws. Every single one requires some sort of wrench. Does this even come with a wrench? The instructions seem to suggest it does.

You look around, but don't see one. Did you open the bag too forcefully? Did the wrench go bouncing off into a dark dungeon crevice nearby? Maybe you lost some of the screws too... damn it.

You hold back a sigh and look around curiously. You check underneath one of the parts. No, it's not under there. You grip the screwdriver a little tighter to fight back frustration.

You wonder what to do next.

> Get the hell out of there.

First, you clear your head and try to think innocent thoughts.

Altea. your lovely little cat Kova. Your trip to Oriande. Ardata's long black hair spilling over her cloak. Her tripping down the stairs and breaking a horn. Her...wait. These are NOT innocent thoughts. If anything theyre more likely to make her want to berate you again for imagining such foolish things. Shut it down. SHUT IT DOWN.

There's no time for thinking. You have to act. You hurl the screwdriver at her and run.

She calmly lifts a hand towards one of the kids in the cages. The kid tenses up and lifts a hand in the direction of the screwdriver. The screwdriver freezes mid-air, right in front of Ardata's head.

You run up the stairs. She twitches a finger, the caged kid does a full body spasm, and the screwdriver goes sailing toward you. It stabs deep into your leg, and you buckle over, tumbling backwards down the stairs.

You're a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding, and you think your arm is broken in two places now.

ARDATA: that diiidn't seem very friiiendly to me.

ARDATA: luckiiily for you, iii'm very determiiined to make relatiiionshiiips work.

ARDATA: even ones wiiith people who flee siiimple furniiiture assembly projects.

She stands over you. You attempt to pull the screwdriver out of your leg, but your entire body locks up. You can't move. She holds an outstretched hand just above you.

ARDATA: you shouldn't try to move yet.

ARDATA: and you certaiiinly shouldn't try to pull out that screwdriiiver. you'll get blood everywhere.

ARDATA: to my three liiittle eyes, under the present condiiitiiions, iiit seems to me that only one of us should attempt walkiiing up these staiiirs.

You feel somewhat relieved. Perhaps she has some... alien means of levitating you up the stairs? Wait... no. That doesnt sound like something she would do.

Your body is tensing up again. It's moving without your permission. You get to your feet, without taking the screwdriver out. Wow that hurts. What is she making you... wait. What? She can't be. There are many things she could be doing to you right now in your mind, but surely she doesnt intend to..?

You use both of your arms, and all your strength, and pick her up entirely. The pain from your arm is excruciating. Arms with broken bones are not meant for heavy lifting. The additional weight on your wounded leg isn't great either. Wonderful.

You hold her as a groom would hold a bride. She wraps her arms around your neck, to hang on to you in what strikes you as an overly familiar manner. She looks directly into your eyes, and grins.

ARDATA: thiii2 iii2 better.

ARDATA: now. onward and upward, new friiiend.

ARDATA: mmmwahahahaha.

Your legs begin to operate without your consent. They wobble and struggle under the weight, the wound throbs. You lumber back up the long flight of stairs, carrying her all the way.

You take her back to the kitchen and set her down in a chair seated at a table.

ARDATA: you diiidn't thiiink iii'd forget about diiinner tiiime, diiid you?

ARDATA: let's put your unfriiiendly behaviiior behiiind us. iiit's a good thiiing for you that iii'm benevolent enough to overlook diiisgustiiing acts of betrayal.

ARDATA: you may have notiiiced iii keep several friiiends iiin my hiiive who iii have siiimiiilarly forgiiiven.

ARDATA: consiiider the transgressiiion blood beneath the abattoiiir.

You exhale. Now that she mentions it, yes, you are hungry. Somehow you feel this is not going to end well for you, but you also know that thinking negativly is not going to make things better either.

Maybe a warm meal, if you even get it, will lift your spirits and get this heretofore turbulent friendship back on track. Maybe you'll even get the chance to pull this screwdriver out of your leg.

You pull out a chair and attempt to sit down. But your legs lock up, and then you stand again. Apparently this was not the right thing to do. As you expected, but you tried to have hope.

ARDATA: oh. but why are you siiittiiing?

ARDATA: there's cookiiing to be done.

Of course this is happening. You stagger mechanically over to the fridge, and open it. You pull out a large hock of some sort of alien mystery meat, and put it on the counter.

With your broken arm, you reach in anguish for a big dangling meat cleaver. You chop the hock, wincing with each swing of the cleaver.

You didn't know that's the way she likes it, but you surmise this is what she prefers in a piece of meat, since technically she is the one doing the cooking.

You put it on the table in front of her, along with a fork and knife beside it. Your muscles relax, as you apparently are allowed to control your own body again. She does nothing, except look at you with a pleased expression.

You eye the meat in front of her. Then the meat on the counter. And the chair on the other side of the table.

What should you do? Prepare a plate for yourself? Is that what she wants you to do? You hope it is but you know its not.

ARDATA: well?

ARDATA: iiit looks liiike you're confused.

ARDATA: iiisn't iiit obviiious what to do next, under your own voliiitiiion?

ARDATA: a good friiiend would know what to do. iiin fact, iii don't thiiink a good friiiend would take nearly as long to deciiide what the riiight thiiing to do next iiis.

ARDATA: iiit actually seems to me that a very rude friiiend would hesiiitate for as long as you are hesiiitatiiing.

ARDATA: or perhaps. someone who iiis not a friiiend at all?

You hold back on sighing again. You clearly don't have much time to make up your mind. If you wait for even a few seconds longer, you will probably be guilty of being a bad friend. Maybe even a dreadful one.

you are already neck deep in this and going through this hell for nothing seems pointless to you now.

What will you do?

> Feed her.

This feels like the only obvious thing to do. She is looking up at you quite expectantly. You reach for the fork with your good arm. You go for the knife with your other... ow.

You can't do it. The arm is much less serviceable when the muscles are not being forced via psychic override to disregard the pain response.

Nevertheless, she looks at you patiently and smiles. That's nice for you, you think, for her not to be mad about it. You feel like you're pleasing your new friend more and more by the minute.

You put the fork down, and pick up the knife with your good arm. You cut the meat into several pieces with a careful sawing motion.

You put the knife down and pick up the fork, and stab a piece. You put it close to her mouth. She seems pleased.

ARDATA: very good. niiice techniiique.

ARDATA: well siiized morsels, too.

She chews the meat with excellent form. She has very good table manners, you think. When she finishes the pieces, you slice off some more, and continue.

The meat looks very good. Your mouth is watering, but she doesn't offer any. Oh well, when it's the right time for you to eat too, you're sure she will let you know.

The meal is finished. There is no more meat, except for a few pieces of unchewable gristle, which you did not try to feed her. That would be thoughtless, very bad service.

She reclines, and steeples her fingers, looking quite pleased with how her evening has gone so far.

ARDATA: mhmhmhmhmhm.

You aren't sure why she's laughing. Does she have more cruelty up her sleeve shes ready to dish out?

ARDATA: mwahahahaha.

ARDATA: oh my. hahahaha.

ARDATA: what a fool.

You point at yourself, wondering if she's referring to you. You don't know what you've done that was foolish, if so. You're also still not sure what she finds so amusing.

ARDATA: hahahahaha.

ARDATA: hahahaha.

ARDATA: mmha. haha.

ARDATA: ha.

ARDATA: ...

She pauses her laughter for a minute or two. Then slowly begins to frown. A faint blue tear rolls down her cheek, from her bottom eye.

ARDATA: the truth iiis. iii don't even know why iii'm laughiiing.

ARDATA: thiiis iiisn't very funny, what's happeniiing here.

ARDATA: iiit was a good diiinner. you diiid a good job. whoever you are.

She puts her face in both of her hands, and sobs quietly. You have no idea what to do about this. You stand there, still holding the fork, feeling a bit useless. Shes tortured you horribly but you can see shes still just a teenager. You feel a little bad watching this.

ARDATA: there iiis a lot of pressure, you know.

ARDATA: beiiing so respected and admiiired for your hiiigh status iiin thiiis world.

ARDATA: iii diiidn't ask for thiiis. to be so superiiior to so many.

ARDATA: much iiis expected of you. much iiis presumed about what your personaliiity wiiill be, before you even develop one.

ARDATA: you work hard. and buiiild a brand. based only on what you thiiink people assume you should be liiike.

ARDATA: sometiiimes iii wonder. am iii even that GOOD at beiiing siiiniiister?

ARDATA: could iii be MORE siiiniiister, iiif iii triiied harder?

ARDATA: maybe thiiis iiis not my true calliiing after all.

You begin to offer words of sympathy. This all seems heartbreaking to you. this child needs some sort of support you think. But your jaw muscles contract, and your mouth shuts involuntarily.

You guess it's not your turn to speak yet? Fine, that works for you. You dont really know what to say anyways.

ARDATA: but what would happen iiif iii changed my brand? iiif iii stopped beiiing so siiiniiister onliiine?

ARDATA: my friiiends and followers wiiill deriiide and reject me.

ARDATA: and my superiiiors wiiill eat me aliiive.

ARDATA: iiif iii show weakness. iiif iii scale back on my bloodthiiirsty content.

ARDATA: wiiill iii iiincur the scorn of a wiiise ass clown wiiith a hundred miiilliiion subscriiibers?

ARDATA: wiiill iii be iiin a cage some day. liiisteniiing to a fuckiiing fool honk hiiis horn for liiikes?

ARDATA: no. iii must persiiist.

ARDATA: how lonely iiit iiis to know thiiis iiis all iii can do, untiiil the day iii leave thiiis planet.

ARDATA: iii have no materiiial or sensory comforts left for me here.

ARDATA: untiiil iii can get on a shiiip and fly away. paiiin iiis my only solace.

Your hand holding the fork grips it tighter. You're horrified to realize what it is in the process of doing.

You bring it down hard on her hand which is placed flat on the table. She doesn't flinch, or react in any way. Three trails of cerulean blood flow from the tines where they pierce her skin.

That wasn't very friendly, you think. You expected her anger from that. But then, you weren't the one who did it, were you? You're so confused.

ARDATA: my subscriiibers are not real friiiends.

ARDATA: they adore me only for my siiiniiister content. the show iii proviiide. my wiiicked, iiinfectiiious laughter.

ARDATA: iii get jealous of them someiiimes, because they get to watch my content. iiit must be thriiilliiing, iii thiiink. but maybe...

ARDATA: iii'm just jealous of them because they get to be people who aren't me?

ARDATA: thiiis iiis fucking deep. iii know. apologiiies iiif you cannot relate.

She pulls the fork out of her hand, and lays it gently on the plate of gristle you didn't feed her.

ARDATA: the people downstaiiirs iiin theiiir cages aren't my friiiends eiiither.

ARDATA: they act liiike they're my friiiends though. and sometiiimes, iii even beliiieve iiit.

ARDATA: but they don't really want to be friiiends wiiith me.

ARDATA: nobody does.

ARDATA: the only person who has ever really wanted to be my friiiend. who's ever TRIIIED to be...

ARDATA: iiis you?

You clear your throat, and point to yourself innocently.

ARDATA: that's iiit. iii've deciiided.

ARDATA: you have passed the test.

ARDATA: you wiiill become my friiiend. offiiiciiially.

ARDATA: as such, iii thiiink a reward iiis iiin order.

You are overjoyed. Your heart starts racing. You can't believe it. A new REAL FRIEND. You hope this means the hell shes put you through is over. But you don't have much time to enjoy this achievement. Your body is doing something again.

You bend down in a strained motion and pick up the plate and fork. You position the plate over your wide open mouth, and scrape in all the remaining gristle, and begin chewing.

It's virtually inedible. Your mouth humors the act of chewing for two seconds, and then you swallow all of it whole, in one painful gulp.

Tastes like friendship.

[scrawnydutchman]

Why “Justice League” is One of the Best Shows Ever Made

Let’s talk about one of the hottest topics of the week . . . the Justice League. What is perhaps the most exciting and mindblowing crossover superhero team in comic book history, the idea of DC comic legends like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and many others coming together to fight off the baddest villains in the DC multiverse is an idea too good and too profitable to pass up. The team has seen many incarnations across many mediums over the years. Many are heartfelt and memorable, others we’d like to forget. But Today I‘m talking about my introduction to the team; Bruce Timms animated run on the JL and the rise of the larger expanded DC animated universe, also known as the “Timm-verse“. After all, what better time to talk about this show than it’s 16th anniversary?

Oh, also the JL movies out I guess. Yeah, cool.

Premiering on November 16th, 2001, the Justice League animated series was an in-canon spinoff of the previous highly praised series Batman TAS and Superman TAS, both also produced by Bruce Timm. It offered everything it’s predecessors offered and more with tighter, more concise animation with fewer errors, faster paced action, thicker plots and schemes and best of all an unforgettable dynamic between the main cast. For all these reasons, It is easily my all time favorite TV show, and it gets even better with Unlimited. I’ve been thinking a lot about just how amazing this show is and watching some episodes in retrospect, it hasn’t gotten old in the slightest. Here are just some of the reasons why Justice League and Justice League Unlimited kick so much ass.

1. A strong showcase of multiple DC characters

When writing a long format piece like a film or television show, juggling multiple main characters is no easy task. It’s a great challenge to make each character involved feel real, distinct and like there really is crucial difference between them and the rest of the cast. Without doing this, there’s no real reason for an audience member to pick their favorite outside of who is the most physically powerful (hence Power Rangers). The best way to go about it without resorting to clichés too often is to make a central theme of the show all about interaction; express each characters personality in how they react and perceive each other. This show gets it, and as a result has excellently portrayed DC icons really show their chops in a way where everyone can pick a favorite based on their personal preference. It’s hilarious to watch the stern, cynical, no-nonsense Batman work off of the lighthearted, goofball Flash, and it feels extra sweet when in spite of their comedic banter they really express that they have nothing but respect for each other. The Flash is made all the more goofy by Batman and Batman is made all the more bruiting by Flash. Then of course you also have the noble boyscout Superman, the proud but compassionate Wonder Woman, the militant authoritative marine Green Lantern, the spunky and hard hitting Hawkgirl, and finally, the stoic and softspoken Martian Manhunter. All of them become lovable for different reasons and bring their own signature charm to the show. Not only do they work well off of each other, they each get a healthy dosage of screentime to do something silly, something badass, something sad, something touching. This show perfectly balances these heroes to really make them seem like a team and it becomes a fun discussion to talk about who in the group is your favorite. Not like a lot of other DC properties where they constantly insist Batman should be your favorite because he can beat anyone, solve anything by himself and really, if not for him the rest of the characters would apparently be incompetent assholes. Here he’s WAY more interesting because he still has badass moments but he‘s allowed to need help every once in a while. It also helps that the show has SUPREME acting talent like Kevin Conroy, Phil Lamarr, Clancy Brown and George Newbern.

This element of the show only gets better in Unlimited by the way. the team expands to lesser known characters like Green Arrow, Vigilante, Vixen and so on, and each one of them gets their fair share of badass likeable moments and nobody ever feels like they ever get too much or too little exposure. Except the Question and Star Girl. the Question should have been on screen way more often because he’s the best part of Unlimited and Star Girl was the worst part of it because everytime she appeared she was a snarky condescending bitch who ended up getting her ass kicked more than anyone else. 

2. Great Action (and Animation in General)

*this show has more than a few bitchslap moments and I love it for that*

Now, I’ve mentioned before and still hold onto the opinion that Justice League is the best work of Bruce Timm’s. I know many people hold Batman TAS to that stature for it’s intense drama and theming, and I certainly agree it is groundbreaking, but JL and ESPECIALLY JLU perfected what Batman TAS established. Batman TAS was the first look into what would become the DCAU and it very clearly shows that the show writers and animators were still trying to find their voice. If you watch the Batman TAS (especially earlier episodes) with a trained eye for animation you’ll notice more than a few consistency errors, with awkward stills and elements of character designs dropping out of frame here and there. JL and JLU is consistently more crisp and the errors are MUCH farther and fewer between. Not to mention the action and pacing are just better. I LOVE Batman TAS, I never want to make the impression that I don’t, but it DID have a tendency to move a touch too slowly at times, especially for what were supposed to be intense action scenes. In justice League the fighting is dynamic, it’s snappy, it‘s crackling with energy and creativity. Every punch, every kick, every spit in the eye really feels painful due to how quickly and smoothly it happens; you feel the weight of all of it. Each and every fight has a genius setup and plays further into enhancing how badass every character is. Not to mention the stakes are always high, be it on a physical level of how many people could die in the process or what the fight represents in who is in the right and who is in the wrong. One of the best examples is the fight between Superman and Captain Marvel. The context is Superman thinks Luthor is hiding a sinister motive because he can’t find it in himself to trust him, while Captain Marvel is defending Luthor by saying he believes in the merit of giving people the benefit of the doubt. The physical fight really came down to a difference in ideology and Superman losing sight of who he was. The fights are never random; they always serve the theme of the show greatly and the outcome of them further instills the drama of the subject matter. Going along the same example, Captain Marvel delivers a chilling and biding speech at the end of the episode that gives the conflict a bitter sweet resolution. I love it.

Oh, did I mention it’s all in GLORIOUS frame by frame? Yeah, this is right up there with Avatar: The Last Airbender as some of the most glorious and high quality animation to ever hit the airwaves. The easing, the anticipation, the reaction, the timing, it’s all on point.

3. Great plots, better execution

This show has TONS of iconic episodes and plots, whether they be wholly original or inspired by a comic book plot of the same name (like “The Man Who Has Everything”, the only Alan Moore adaptation approved by the man himself). The conspiracy about Superman murdering president Luthor, the invasion of Darkseid, the dark heart, the hijacking of the annihilator armor, both fights with the android Amazo. I honestly can’t think of a single bad episode of this show. I think the reason this shows stories are so strong are largely due to the reasons I already listed above. They play largely into character interaction which usually perpetuates some sort of central theme of the episode (and in some cases we get a showcase of a one time appearing DC character like Captain Marvel or Deadman). They also showcase well choreographed, well animated action that perfectly compliments the conflict and feels very deliberate. This shows greatest tool however, is how it uses escalating stakes. when making an action oriented show or movie, in order to keep the action truly compelling, you have to make it feel like there is something being lost as a consequence of the action. The reason why so many people don’t like Superman is because they don‘t see the drama in it if they feel like he can never lose. But this show ALWAYS makes sure there is something to be lost like mass destruction, the health of our heroes, sometimes straight up death. Or sometimes the fight results in a greater lesson being learned. The point is, the fights are never inconsequential. Something changes as a result of what has transpired. This seems so blatantly obvious but You’d be surprised how much media just throws a bunch of mindless shit at the wall and thinks it’s engaging because there’s a lot of shit going on and that‘s the only thought you have to give to it. This doesn't just apply to the physical fighting either. Everything that goes on is governed by character decision making, NOT by coincidence or happenstance. It’s such an easy trap to fall into to just have shit happen to people out of nowhere and on any other given day it would have never transpired, but real compelling storytelling happens as a result of who is in control of the situation, not nobody having it. So much of new fiction has an issue of “this guy robbed a bank JUST as Spidey was swinging around one day“ or “they were in a bad trap but luckily Batman had JUST the right gadget for the occasion” and other deus ex machina shit where the only reason the day is saved is basically because the heroes got lucky, but here each and every hero involved actually influences something in this show. It also helps that they made the DCAU more balanced physical wise so that more characters are actually a presentable threat to Superman. Also, though not completely necessary, this show will often reference previous episodes as justification for characters actions which makes for great continuity.

Conclusion:

Justice League and Justice League Unlimited is fantastic for all the same reasons many shows out there are fantastic. It gracefully juggles attention between a diverse set of characters, it perfects the Bruce Timm animation style with crisp and consistent animation and it has high stakes manifested by the characters being in control of the conflict. It certainly isn’t the first to accomplish any of these things, but it IS one of the very few shows ever put out to pull it off just so darn effectively. For those reasons among many others, Justice League is EASILY my personal favorite show of all time. Bruce Timm Himself once said it’s his favorite of his productions because it’s the only one he can go back to and still wholly enjoy every time, and I wholeheartedly agree.