#but the series isn't going to do a hard turn on Sonic 3 and become a completely different thing more alligned with your tastes

[movie-robotnik-positivity]

HOT TAKE, GO!

Sometimes it feels like I'm one of the few people in the fandom who understands how the Sonic movies operate.

I see many fans are deluding themselves into expecting Sonic 3 to go on a completely different direction antithetical to what the previous films stablished (directly adaptating the games, no humans, constant references, Sonic becoming more like his game counterpart), even though after two movies we should have a pretty solid understanding of the filmmakers' approach. It's gonna end up in disappointment.

[mama-qwerty]

Thinking about Dread again.

Was going through my saved images and came across these, from the third season.

My deranged beloved has become a sad little meow meow.

So pensive. So frustrated. So defeated.

(My favorite image of him in this scene. I love that pose, it's so natural and conveys so much about his mental and emotional state.)

I still think the way they handled his 'redemption' completely missed the mark, and could have been done much better had they planted a few seeds to begin with. But the pacing of the whole series felt so odd, and I wonder if they had something different planned before Netflix (possibly) cut their time shorter.

(For the record, I think that's part of the problem with the Knuckles series. It felt like there should have been more in that, but Paramount told them they only had 6 eps to do what they wanted in 12.)

But Dread? My beloved little gremlin of a pirate? Oh, he had so much potential. He could have been this wild card, this character who continued to be him despite everything, who was so anti-Knuckles it was entertaining and fun and just a joy to watch him have so much fun being a bastard.

I get that they couldn't keep a Knuckles as an absolute asshole, but watching this delightful character go from this

To this

without seeing anything in between was jarring. The last we saw of Dread before season 3 started was him fighting with Ren as Sonic and Nine took the shards away. He was enraged to have lost his Beauty. Again. We have no idea what happened after that, but this descent into depression seemed sudden and out of character.

But considering how he behaved after his first loss of the shard (when he lost his first ship and crew), maybe this isn't that much of a stretch. He ran before, jumping nose first into denial, and tried to cover his feelings of defeat by being a party pirate. Now his Beauty is lost once again, and he's in a strange city, on another planet (in another universe!) and has made himself at odds with the people there. (With his other him.) He couldn't even contact his crew because he'd turned on them before leaving.

So here's Dread, completely out of his element, the one thing he'd lusted after his entire life gone. It would figure that he'd maybe have a bit of Ren's depressive state, and fall into a "What's the point? What I want always seems to be just out of reach. I'll never have my one true desire." mindset.

And maybe, since the shards were all gone, he's feeling some kind of mental shift. I've theorized that the shard's energy was what made Dread so batshit, and now that it's gone, maybe he's starting to think a little more clearly than he'd ever done before. Instead of that drive to "FIND HAVE KEEP" that gem, he's feeling like a failure for not being able to fulfill that quest. That duty. Because maybe to him, it didn't feel like the normal greed of pirate plunder, the urge to just take and steal and collect as much booty as possible. Maybe to him, because he's a Knuckles and they're hard wired to protect, it was something more personal.

That shard, according to his instincts, was his to protect. And now that it's gone, he's a failure and feels empty. He's coming down off that energy, the inexplicable hold the shard held over him, and is essentially going through a withdrawal of sorts, and dealing with the possibly conflicting emotions it dredged up.

There was so much potential for him. And the writers wasted it, by having him simply join in on the attack on Nine without examining his (very likely) ulterior motives. I don't like that they used that Jack character to draw Dread's selfish desires back out - those should have still been there! The whole agreement to join in should have been a plot to simply get him near his Beauty so he could pull a double cross.

This made it seem like Dread didn't even think about his Beauty during the whole battle. WHAT?? Being near it should have made him almost feral with the want to get to it. I would have loved to have seen him be another obstacle to the shard, so the heroes didn't only have to deal with Nine and his endless army of bots, but also this deranged pirate who was overcome with treasure lust.

Missed opportunity.

Ah well.

Just lookit this handsome bastard.

My beloved. Dread is possibly my absolutely favorite variant of Knuckles. I just love him.

[starlightsigner]

I have things to say. Thoughts and closing remarks on the Knuckles show (light spoilers)

WHO TOLD THEM THIS WAS OK?

not in a fun wat but like in an actual way. It's so disheartening because this was such a good premise and the show had a great message it wanted to deliver. It had everything it needed to be a fun, feel good, nod to the fans of all ages show. All i9t was missing was a good writing staff. Ya'll the writing in this thing is ROUGH. The two main points of the show are that the power to be great is inside you and it's ok to allow yourself to be happy and have a home to return to. but they decided to go 80/20 splitsies on how much weight each plot point/message had. wade get's his whole character arc, he becomes the champion he was always able to be. knuckles (the TITULAR CHARACTER) doesn't. yes, he realizes that earth is his home and he learns to relax more, but it absolutely takes a back seat past episode 2. the show immediately starts with knuckles getting grounded and having to stay in his room, where he stays for 10 minutes until pachacamac tells him it's his duty to turn the local deputy sheriff into a warrior. there is no closure to this plot point. the show ends with them driving back to green hills. they could have written a fantastic scene where knuckles comes home to an absolutely livid maddie, who throws all that anger aside because her son is ok and he's home, and he admits that it's a home he's glad to come back to.

The villains are lackluster at best and useless to the plot at worst. only 2 out of 3 have a motive, the other one is just there. the two were both betrayed by GUN in different ways that were extremely interesting, but this was only touched on in a short exposition scene.

I could keep going until i started nitpicking, so instead I want to talk about the number one sin this movie committed, referencing sonic 06. I have no doubt that they thought taking elements form 06 would be seen as a 'fun little thing' to throw in for the older fans, but it's not, its borderline insulting. hardcore fans of any media franchise know the lore, even if a fan isn't neck deep in the series history it doesn't take a scholar to know about major events in a series. by taking iblis and the flames of disaster and slapping them onto knuckles' origin story is like ripping the band aid off 06 and slapping it onto knuckles, it doesn't work was needed and it makes both things worse. 06 can not be cannon in this universe, it just cant (unless you use a lot of au and cannon bending), so why take the inciting incident of a well known game in the series and use it as past events for your short special? there was absolutely no reason to expand on knuckle's backstory, the echidna tribe fought with the owl tribe and they lost, leaving knuckles as the sole survivor of his race. there was absolutely no need to tack on 'oh and then he decided to go find the flames of disaster and take it (no explanation or elaboration is given for this)'. not only does it muddy the waters lore wise and have insane implications for how 'powers' work in this universe, but it also feels like a slap in the face for people who like the story for 06. silver and blaze have always been some of my favorite characters of all time, and to just take their battle and sacrifices and give them to a character who didn't need a new backstory is just ludicrous. they don't even expand on it. they just say knuckles searched for and found a demon of fire and ash (who they don't name but is 100% iblis) and took the flames of destruction from it. this has nothing to do with the death of his entire race or seeing his dad die in front of him, there's no prophecy that says obtaining this power will help him find/guard the master emerald, it is literally just there.

I'm gona make a hard pivot here, there were things i actually liked about the show. not even 'this was a good concept but they failed to execute it' bc there ALOT of that, but there were a few things i legitimately liked.

as much as i hate the flames of disaster thing, i unironically loved the rock opera. it's stupid and watching it is a trip and a half, but also it was the past of the show where I could tell every one of those actors and dancers had so much fun. it reminded me so much of a sonic shitpost made with love and some of the props and costumes were legitimately impressive. the giant iblis puppet was so interesting to watch and even tho it was 'low budget' you can tell that the prop department put their entire hearts into the puppets and props for this.

Another thing I absolutely adored was knuckles' friendship with wade's mom. this small lost orphan and this single mother who just wants to have dinner with her kids who don't visit. how she tells him about their religious and family traditions and how he both respects them and is clearly interested in learning about them. the fact that after both of her children leave the dinner early, he stays with her and they both openly learn form and enjoy each other's company.

I also adore the girl scout and how she goes from wade's bully to his teammate in the final event, I wish they had put more focus on her and wade's relationship and her coming to respect him as he became confident in himself.

and of course the wachowski family and all of their interactions were perfect, from sonic trying to be a good brother to knuckles by helping him get used to earth to maddie being oh so tolerant of her three alien sons (to an extent). also the fac that she openly tells the construction crew that her son just so creative and imaginative with home defense, he just like to be a little warrior please don't sue us i'm so sorry he hog tied you to your truck.

also knuckles trying to teach ozzie (the family golden retriever) how to reclaim his wolf heritage in defense of the home was priceless and until tails called him away he was 100% paying attention and trying to be a good student boy.

3 out of 10 - don't watch this unless you are a diehard. it will still disappoint you, but the moments you can see what it could have been shine when given the opportunity

also the sister is the worst character even more so than the villain who betrays GUN bc he wants to fight aliens and make money, something he was already doing as a super secret government agent. I will admit the thumbs up after the rescue got a genuine laugh out of me

[j-minte08]

Why do I award BalanWonderworld as a masterpiece?

Introduction

⚠️I'm using a translator, so I apologize if any parts are difficult to read.

In this article, I will write about why I award Balan Wonderworld as a masterpiece, with answers to criticisms.

When I played the demo version, I thought this game was SO BAD. But I believed Yuji Naka and bought the full version. (Before I knew it, I had bought four of them...) I'm not raving blindly about it.

At first, I was hopelessly disappointed because nothing had changed from the demo version. However, in chapters 2 and 3, I was impressed by the three-dimensionality and beauty of the stages, and in chapter 4, I realized the comfort of gaining freedom through the acquisition of costumes.

By the time I was completely finished, I was convinced that this game was a great piece of work.

This is an article that I wrote after spending nearly 100 hours on this game.

I hope you will read it.

Main part

First of all, this game is not a game with flashy action as its primary objective. (Flashy battle action is possible in some scenes.)

【Puzzle】　【RPG】　【Exploration】

It is structured around these three main components.

The game also features a "Balance AI" that senses the player's movements and makes changes to the difficulty and world. There is also a presentation of my own work, so please take a look!

Please read with the above in mind.

■ One button action is stressful.

▶︎ As mentioned earlier, this game is not intended for flashy action. At its root, it is an RPG and does not require multiple buttons. The reason it's a simple operation is because it doesn't need to be.

There is only one button, but instead the player is given the freedom to select up to three actions of their choice. The way to play Balan is to find your own strategy within these constraints.

Some people point out that you can't jump, but only a few outfits limit jumping. Most of them are attack-oriented outfits. It's up to you to decide whether you want more attack power or more movement power.

If you're still not convinced, this game just isn't to your liking.(If that's you, I recommend the Wii version of Rodea.)

NiGHTS and Sonic are also action games with simple controls, but the concept is different from Baran, as explained below.

From the very beginning, NiGHTS and Sonic are one-button games that allow for exhilarating action. The action feels good and allows for improvement through trial and error.

However, Balan begins in a state of helplessness. One of his goals is to use his wits and eventually gain the power to run freely around the three-dimensional stage.

Freedom from discomfort. This catharsis is the best part of Balan.

It is also linked to the story's theme of opening closed minds.

■ The structure of the puzzle is sketchy.

▶︎ There is an intention behind this. By making the puzzle structure more flexible, the player is given more choices.

Therefore, each player will have a completely different solution to obtaining a single statue.

Also, each time you play the game, you will find new strategies, making it a game that can be played repeatedly.

This is the reason why Yuji Naka was so confident about this game.

Personally, I think that this action with a puzzle concept has a similar point of view to card games and rock-paper-scissors.

The Mega Man series is a typical example of a game that requires you to observe the situation and your opponent's movements to find the right technique and move. In fact, there is a famous episode where it was derived from rock-paper-scissors. This is also a game where you can enjoy improving through trial and error, but I think the structure of the rules is similar to that of Balan.

■ It's a pain to stock up on costumes.

▶︎ There is no need to overstock costumes. The minimum number of costumes needed to clear the course will naturally be available. Dependence on certain costumes can make the game monotonous. Also, the BalanceAI can sense your movements and take countermeasures.

As the difficulty level increases, you will have a hard time because the costumes will not come back.

The game is made more interesting by the style of play that allows you to use all the costumes to their fullest extent and bring out the true value of each one.

If you run out, explore the stage while collecting costumes. It may lead to new discoveries.

Even if you don't have a specific costume, there are many situations you can get through by applying other costumes.

This degree of freedom is what makes Balan so interesting. The strategy is left to your imagination.

■ The stage is curved. Isn't this a useless design?

▶︎ The curvature of the map allows you to see every corner of the stage. You may be confused because there is no other game that tries to do something like this. However, this is an ideal map for exploration games.

The basics of this gimmick are used as of chapter 1. Chapter 7, which has particularly large differences in elevation, makes good use of this gimmick.

■ The difficulty level is too low.

▶︎ Basics → Application → Review (Boss battle)

This game is designed to follow the above flow thoroughly. As a result, the difficulty level in the early stages is kept low, but the endgame is quite difficult. I almost lost my mind in chapter 12.

The bosses are easy to defeat. However, it is difficult to conquer all three strategy patterns.

Also, if you keep defeating enemies quickly without taking damage, the difficulty level will increase.Stronger and faster enemies will appear in large numbers.I found the difficulty level increased at chapter 3.

In other words, the difficulty of the game depends on how good you are.

■ I want to have a HP separate from my costume.

▶︎ This system prompts the player to use a different costume in case of failure.

Depending on the situation, you can either sacrifice valuable costumes, or use inconvenient but well-stocked costumes... The game throws a variety of choices at the player. This gameplay becomes more apparent as the difficulty level increases.

If you separate the HP from the costume, this tense gameplay will be lost.

The system of choosing outfits based on what will happen next fosters the ability to think and survive on one's own. It will also help the child's ego independence.

■ I need more explanations and hints. It's designed in an unfriendly way.

▶︎ It's not a game that requires you to do anything difficult, so if you think about it, you should be able to understand it to some extent. All you have to do is immerse yourself in collecting statues by any route you can think of.

Some people criticize Balan for being old-fashioned, but they are missing the point.

Games are essentially content that teaches you to think and act for yourself. This is a posting of what games should be, and a refreshing return to the basics.

However, I don't mean to criticize modern games. The immersive feeling of being in a movie, and the friendly design of the UI that shows you where you are going so you don't get lost. I think it's a beautiful evolution for today's hectic world where it's hard to find time to be alone.

However, to be honest, it is abnormal to say that only works that follow the latest trends are evaluated, and it is difficult to say that there is creativity in such works. Evolving technology and the presence or absence of originality have completely different meanings.

I would like to say that games like Balan, which have their own rules and think for themselves, are what we need today.

■ I don't understand the story. I want subtitles.

▶︎ With both video and dubbing, the amount of information is extremely high. By not using real words, all the people in the world have the exact same experience. Very romantic, don't you think?

It's not to dismiss the unspoken parts as non-existent, but to let your imagination run wild and have fun with it.

Since ancient times, there has been an aesthetic in Asia that finds meaning in blank spaces.

If you want a more substantial story, I recommend the novel version, which probably has what you want. It is available for Kindle.

At the end

Balan Wonderworld is a game designed to grow with the player the more time they spend playing.

Despite its gorgeous visuals, the reality of the story is deep and Yuji Naka's philosophy shines through, making it a masterpiece that can be called a compilation of his work.

At first, you may find some scenes difficult or the system annoying. However, they all have a meaning and will make sense as you continue to play.

Balan is built on a very complete system.

EVERY MOMENT IS AN ADVENTURE... This tagline is true.

But the fact is that Balan is a very peaky game. But that's also true for Sonic and NiGHTS.

If you have enjoyed Yuji Naka's past works, you will surely understand the quality of Balan. I recommend that you take the time to face this game first without any preconceived notions.

Now that I've spoken highly of Balan, I'd like to offer some criticism of the official advertising.

I think the main reason for this failure was the poor choice of stages included in the demo version, which made it difficult to convey the fun of expanding the degree of freedom by acquiring costumes, the sense of freedom, and the fun of being able to create a number of unique strategies.

As for the official SNS, rather than introducing the costumes and the storyline by themselves, the official should have done a better job of showing how they are all connected to make this game interesting.

That's how it looked from my personal point of view, but I believe that the current situation is the result of continuous failures in the area of advertising.

I'm so disappointed that this masterpiece is being buried, and I hope that the officials will have the guts to turn its reputation upside down even now.

Hopefully, this game will get the recognition it deserves. I love Balan Wonderworld.