#especially since Luigi was barely in the movie at all

[istadris]

Blaming @bobombogenesis for inspiring this idea but imagine if after the movie, during the time he's captive, Bowser is angry at everything and especially Luigi who sometimes comes by. Bowser is convinced it's to make fun of him. And maybe at first it is, just a bit : Luigi didn't like his time in a cage at all and wants to make sure Bowser knows it too.

But he's not cruel (just a but mocking when he's confident since it doesn't happen often) and he empathizes more than he should with Bowser's situation. Yes, he knows Bowser has only himself to blame for being locked up in a cage, but he doesn't wish it on anyone else either...

So he comes back and brings a couple of things here and now. Checks on how Bowser's been eating. Refills his water when it seems like there isn't enough. Asks him if he's been sleeping well, he's got very big eye bags.

Bowser at first hates it and snaps at Luigi any way he can. He wishes Luigi would actually put his hand inside the cage so he could bite it, it would be hilarious and very cathartic.

Then one day Luigi shows up right on the day Bowser is having an itchy shell that is driving him insane. In the Darklands or his castle he would have plenty surfaces to rub himself against, but here he only has little metal bars and his dumb piano. He's itchy and furious and filled with murder impulses.

When Luigi walks in, he's confused and scared at first by Bowser's abnormal agressivity (not that Bowser hasn't been agressive but so far it was mostly tantrums, not this bloodthirsty frenzy), until he notices Bowser rubbing himself against a corner of a piano and goes "ooooh....got it!" Before running off and coming back with a toothbrush.

Bowser almost bites his hand off when Luigi slips the toothbrush through the bars but when it starts rubbing his shell...oh. Ooooooh that's....that's so good ??? That's the best shell rubbing he's ever got ?? And before he knows it he's flat on the cage ground, rumbling in pleasure as the toothbrush scratches him just right, sneaks between his spikes, massages and scritches him at the same time, it feels so good his thoughts just leave his head and leave him into a mindless puddle of happiness.

It takes until Luigi is gone for Bowser to get out of that headspace and realize what must happened. And for the next couple of Days he's trying his best to NOT think about it.

(And failing miserably).

Next time Luigi shows up Bowser grabs the bars and immediately yells "What did you do to me last time ?? What was that spell??"

"Oh, you seemed to have an itch and I used to know a girl with a pet turtle and she liked having toothbrush scritches..." (Bowser glares at him like he's about to set him on fire) "I-I-I thought you could use it and you didn't seem to hate it?" He adds very fast.

Bowser glares harder. But suddenly. An idea comes across him. He looks away and grumbles something.

"What?"

"I say, do you know more tricks like that one ?"

Here's Bowser's plan: since Luigi seems dumb enough to actually care for an enemy, he might as well exploit it. And get very satisfying caring at the same time. But only as a side effect of his masterplan ! Not at all because it put him in a weird fuzzy headspace that made him feel happy for the first time in his life !!

Luigi doesn't know the plan. Luigi is kind, a bit dumb and most of all very eager to see again Bowser looking so...cute. so despite being terrible with animals (they all seem to hate him despite his best efforts), he reads up on turtle care and provides them to Bowser. Who is very satisfied and starts looking forward to Luigi's visits.

To the point he even allows Luigi to scratch his head with his bare hand. But only because...it makes him...feel...good....what was he thinking about...? Doesn't matter...

Especially with Luigi's voice crooning nice things to him like how he's a good boy, a cute little turtle, and it makes his tail wag because no one ever said that to him....

When Bowser inevitably escapes (and makes grabs Luigi on the way out), it isn't long before he finds himself missing these strange moments where he was cared for, pet, cherished. Vulnerable yet safe.

And he wants to get them back.

(Or : Bowser and Luigi develop a reciprocated pet kink )

[maboroshi-no]

My impressions of the Hamefura Movie

I have watched the hamefura movie at the theaters in Japan 😊 (and I could also retrieve the 2 extra booklets containing the bonus novel and comics).

Below are my random impressions about the movie.

General Impressions

The movie is a speed run of the novel up to the battle against the sacred beast. They have managed to keep the crucial plot development but they had no time to dwell on the characters' feelings, nor include any event that doesn't directly relate to the plot. For example, all the scenes related to the gang have been removed. As a result, Aaqil's despair, Katarina's despair, Aaqil's growing feelings for Katarina and Aaqil's attachment to his family seem really minor compared to how they are pictured in the novel.

There are nearly no transition between events either. I wonder if the people who didn't read the novel will be able to keep up.

The speedrun aspect of the movie bothered me on my first viewing but it didn't bother me so much on the second time, probably because I stopped comparing it to the novel then.

Since the events happen so fast, Katarina and Aaqil develop differently in the movie compared to the novel.

In the movie, Aaqil feels less "pure / genuine" than in the novel, and he is also a bit sexier. In the novel, Katarina mentioned Aaqil was expressionless, but here he feels more hostile.

As for Katarina, she is way less emotional in the movie compared to the novel. She doesn't dwell too much on things, unlike in the novel where she was seriously scared about Aaqil hating her once he found out about her identity. 

The moments between Aaqil and Katarina feel different compared to the novel, In the movie, the moments are more romantic, with Aaqil hugging Katarina or acting seductive with her at the end. In the novel, there is not really any romantic setting, but we can feel Aaqil and Katarina connecting on an emotional level.

The battle against the sacred beast is completely different in the movie, but I greatly enjoyed it! I especially loved that Aaqil's friends have an active role, unlike in the novel where they were just watching. The horse racing coachman's role is more meaningful in the movie, while in the novel his scene seemed random. The sequence where he drives the carriage while avoiding the sacred beast's attacks is exciting to watch! Geordo's horse's scene is beautiful (but I don't think using fire magic in a forest is a good idea...). Seeing everyone using their magic so spectacurlaly is amazing. Though Keith's earth magic seems underused. I was expecting a giant earth golem to fight the sacred beast or a high earth wall to protect everyone.

Regarding the music, it was very beautiful. I really liked the music played during sweet moments with Aaqil, or the overwhelming music during the fight against the sacred beast.

Comments About Scenes

It is nice to see a glimpse of the area where Uncle Stuart probably lives.

Pochi is so cute~

The scene where Aaqil instantly senses the sacred beast the moment Katarina meets Piyo looks cool to me.

They have included the scene about Millidiana initially furious after learning about Piyo and then accepting him. A rare Millidiana and Luigi scene.

Aaqil makes a princely smile when he meets Geordo (and Ian). In the novel, Geordo said he felt like Aaqil sounded sincere, but he seemed so fake in the movie.

The caravan leader barely appears in the movie. Which is a shame since he did so much for Katarina and Aaqil in the novel.

Aaqil and Katarina's first meeting looks cooler in the movie. Aaqil makes his falcon save Piyo from getting eaten by the tiger. It is a bit inconsistent though, since the tiger is supposed to obey Aaqil.

Aaqil's show is completely different from the novel. In the movie, he is playing some kind of musical comedy with everyone, and includes Katarina in his number. It looks very cool and flashy, with aerial sword fighting. But it feels weird to have Aaqil starring in a show since he seemed to be the kind to hide in a corner in the novel. And I don't understand why he dragged Katarina in his number 😕.

Aaqil and Katarina's moments are cute. But too quick to feel emotional.

They have included the "It is harassment, right?" scene between Keith and Geordo, up to Geordo teasing Keith because Keith is available to seduce the Mutlaq princess since he has no fiancée 😂. It has been a while since I have seen that blackhearted face on Geordo.

The Mutlaq princess is confirmed to be Qumiit under disguise.

Princess Qumiit clings REALLY close to Alan... Alan is SO flustered. And Alan exclaiming "I am saved!" when the servant announces Mary's visit... It is so cute. But I still have no idea why Qumiit needed to pretend he wanted to marry a prince.

Sophia is needed to have Katarina dream about the game, but the encounter between Katarina and Sophia feels so random in the movie.

I wonder if Monkey Girl had the same voice as Katarina in the anime? It felt weird to me during the movie.

It is nice to see Adult Aaqil in the game. And the heroine is Maria with a different hairstyle.

The scene where Aaqil realizes Katarina's true identity lacks some impact. There was so much build up in the novel. Also, I can't believe Katarina chases Aaqil right after while shouting "I  am going to the toilets!" to a confused Geordo.

Aaqil decides to steal the sacred beast on the night of the welcome party instead of the day after. So much happens in one night... I also feels sad that Aaqil disregarded Katarina's warning and did the opposite of what he did in the novel.

Qumiit reveals to everyone he was the princess. Alan's face is priceless!

Sora only appears to tell Aaqil that he senses dark magic from the sacred beast, and then contacts Raphael. That's it.

Aaqil rides the sacred beast while it is flying away. Katarina and Aaqil's friends pursue the sacred beast by carriage (driven by the horse racing coachman). The sacred beast pursuit scene was really exciting to watch and Aaqil's friends are helping! That coachman really has some skills!

Once the coachman has managed to make the carriage jump over to the other side of a collapsing bridge, and everyone is unconscious except Katarina, the sacred beast shouts beam at Katarina. She is saved at the last moment by fire magic cancelling the beams. Then a certain prince on a white horse pulls up Katarina to ride with him, and lures the sacred beast to the place where everyone is. That scene is so beautiful 🥰.

Ian, Alan and Mary immobilize the sacred beast with an *ice* jail. So water magic can be extended to ice magic. And the combination of wind and water magic was awesome! 🤩

Maria casts light magic on the sacred beast and then there's a sudden explosion that wipes everyone but Katarina and Pochi.

Aaqil was able to contain the explosion by controlling the beast. Katarina reveals to Aaqil's friends that Aaqil intended to sacrifice himself for their sake. And then Aaqil and Qumiit's heart to heart talk.

Katarina and Aaqil hear the sacred beast asking them to break the chain. Katarina determinely jumps at the beast. Pochi and Aaqil follow her.

Katarina locates the chain and Pochi breaks it.

Katarina falls from the sacred beast, Aaqil jumps from the sacred beast to catch Katarina (not sure what he can accomplish except dying with her by doing that). But Katarina and Aaqil are caught by the sacred beast, who has come to his sense.

Katarina and Aaqil are in awe by the sacred beast.

The sacred beast explains to Katarina and Aaqil how he ended up in this state, then retrieves the animal controlling power from all Mutlaq people. 

Aaqil and the others part as caravan people and not emissaries. Geordo and the gang unexpectedly let Katarina and Aaqil have a romantic goodbye. The sacred beast tells Katarina he will erase all their memories. Katarina cries because she doesn't want to forget. Aaqil wipes her tears and promises her he will see her again. Katarina tells him to search for his "destined one" on another continent. Aaqil tells her he has already met his destined one. He whispers in her ears that she is his "ranyamu". Katarina blushes.

Katarina and everyone forget their memories. The sacred beast tells Aaqil Katarina will recover her memories when they meet again.

Geordo Post-credit Video

The Geordo bonus video after the credit is funny 🤣. Geordo tells Katarina he wants to take every opportunity to see her since they have graduated. He invites her to move to the castle and commute to the ministry from there (it would actually be closer if she really did it? 🤔 ). Geordo also gives Katarina a point card. He will stamp it each time she has tea with him at the castle, and once she has filled the card, he will arrange for a special cake for her at the next tea party 🤣.

Keith Post-credit Video

Katarina has just returned from the movie and Keith greets her. She tells him about the delicious hot-dog she ate. Keith doesn't know what a hot-dog is and assumes it is Mutlaq food.

Keith notices some feathers on her clothes and wonders if she has brought back an animal again. Katarina denies it.

Keith remembers that Katarina has always loved animals since she was little, and how she used to bring back frogs and bugs, which would make Millidiana or the Claes household freak out (I don't remember which).

Keith and Katarina remembers the time when Keith helped a bird. Keith was still learning to climb trees then. Keith tried to climb the tree but froze up in the middle out of fear. He could recover because Katarina loudly cheered for him. Katarina doesn't really remember, but Keith clearly remembers: Katarina shouted to him "There is nothing to be afraid of because I am here!". Hearing this, Keith was able to muster his courage and climb the tree.

Keith takes on a serious expression and tells Katarina that he will always be with her and that she can rely on him.

Mary and Alan's Post-credit Video

Katarina is just out of the movie and meets Mary and Alan. 

Katarina tells Alan about the delicious churros she ate. Alan doesn't know what it is.

Mary tells Katarina that she has grown some Mutlaq roses and invites Katarina to see them later. Katarina happily accepts. 

Alan tells Katarina that he will hold a piano performance for the Mutlaq people (?) and invites Katarina to listen to the piece he will play(?). Katarina is looking forward to the piano performance.

Katarina suggests to Mary and Alan they should combine the two activities: she can admire Mary's Mutlaq roses while listening to the piano piece played by Alan. Mary is disappointed: she was hoping to have Katarina to herself while showing her the roses. She reluctantly tells Katarina that it is a good idea.

Mary talks about the Mutlaq roses she grew and their meanings. One means "I want you all to myself", the second means "I won't hand you over to anyone" and the third one means "I will eliminate (?) my rivals. Alan thinks those meanings sound scary.

[speedofsoundsketches]

I noticed that you have made it clear that you are not one for the first Sonic the Hedgehog film. And I must make it clear that I respect your opinion on it; it is not for everyone, even all Sonic fans.

However, I get a feeling that you are antipathetic to the future installment(s)- you mentioned some time ago you have not seen the second film. But even if you were underwhelmed by the first film, do you believe that they cannot improve?

in the wake of the trailers of the Super Mario Bros movie, I have seen things like "I used to like the Sonic movies, but since the *trailers!* of the Mario movie came out, the Sonic movies suck now!". Do you believe that is really a "correct" way of thinking? Like, regardless of what one thinks of the movies, should people just dismiss all the hard work that people like Fowler and Tyson Hesse put into the films just because they aren't animated like the Mario movie? Or that they don't use much of the game music, like the Mario movie? is this truly shaping up to be a "1:1 or nothing" thing, leaving no room for deviation?

I ask this because I feel that rational StH fans are as rare as hens teeth, especially these days; consider yourself a hens tooth

The biggest issue I have with these movies is the foundation it laid for itself.

Cue TL;DR rant mode

Let's be absolutely frank and honest with ourselves. The first movie was only saved purely because the controversy of Sonic's design led to him being revamped entirely and Eggman's portrayal was solid. That's really it. I'm not against human characters showing up at all, on the contrary. But this set up is "Take the most superficially basic concept of Sonic then make a bunch of convoluted revisions to the lore of the original series to justify isekai-ing him into San Francisco so we can save money on animated scenes". Like, it's the same problem most children's media being adapted into "live action" suffers from. It's a cheap, lazy adaptation that broke absolutely zero ground and I've held this opinion of it literally since the day it was first revealed and announced with those leaked posters of Chris Pratt and Sonic's initial design.

And just because it didn't end up being as "bad" as it first looked and they brought on actual, talented fans of the series onto the creative team, doesn't suddenly detract from this most basic, fundamental problem. Sonic's movies suffer from what happens when you let Hollywood just go to town on your IP and barely give it proper boundaries to stay in.

Even if they manage to get SOME things right like, Knuckles actually being cool again and the Giant Robot fight at the end of the second film, the reality is they'll still be tied down by the flimsy foundation they started on, like dragging on a wedding scene or putting waaaay more focus and attention on the human characters than the.....main characters we came to watch???

Now compare that with the Mario movie. From the start, Nintendo I understand had a MUCH bigger involvement on the production. It's not like the lame adaptation I mentioned above. They went full on "Angry Birds" level of staying on brand. The entire world feels like the natural, fleshed out idea of "How do we make this feel as warm, inviting, and fantastical as the games but still make it work as a movie?" It's actually BRILLIANT just from first impressions.

I'm sure it's going to suffer from other typical kids movie problems like "Peach's a STRONG WOMAN NOW because she wears PANTS and DON'T NEED NO RESCUER", dumb movie writing or Mario, Luigi and Peach's flat voice acting. But you cannot look at that movie, how it just unabashedly looks, feels and is completely imprinted in Mario and say that Sonic had anywhere NEAR the same level of enthusiastic production on it. I mean, even the cute commercial of their plumbing business in New York is entirely animated and ALSO feels like it fits. They went to the absolute nines with making this feel like a WAY better adaptation in spirit, story and visuals.

Of course I appreciate the hard work the team put into saving the Sonic films from becoming absolute jokes but WHY did it even have to be so compromised in the first place when Mario shows up looking EXACTLY like how I've dreamed Sonic's movies would've been treated?

I'm not wooed over by the small glimpses of Sonic's world or the tiny references they managed to squeeze in there. I'd appreciate those way more if it were ACTUALLY set in it. And I cannot stand this prevailing narrative that "Sonic's world is separate from Earth" in most of these adaptations because it's not! It IS Earth! He's always lived in the same planet as humans, their animal kind is just reclusive and live on islands. That's the actual lore of the games!

This movie made the mistake of doing what Sonic X did. They think it'd be "too weird" for someone like Sonic to have been from Earth as if the intense popularity of it in the first place isn't enough to show how wrong that is? No kid questioned Sonic showing up in City Escape around humans any more than dinosaurs or other crazy entities existing in Dragonball's version of Earth. It's still Earth, just fantastical.

Mario works with that because him iseaki-ing into Mushroom Kingdom is that original lore of the games too I believe. But in Sonic's case it's not and it's so JARRING because they think Sonic himself can't carry a story as the main character. No, kids need a human or avatar to help them navigate the weird, unexplained parts of the series. I'd rather they'd just do that with Sonic himself without needing to be forcibly tied to a regular human. (I'm so annoyed that he couldn't have just run to San Francisco if he wanted because he "needed directions". What a pitiful excuse. And these movies are FULL of them like that.)

Hollywood is a joke and they cannot for the life of them, understand how to effectively adapt most Japanese properties by themselves. Especially anything even remotely inspired by anime like Sonic.

I know this might make me look like "the most offended Sonic fan in the world" right now but in all honesty, I don't really think about those movies much. They function as effective promotional materials for the games and kids like them so whatever. Like, it's just one big Shrug really.

*sigh*

[faesystem]

Inspired by this post by @legobiwan, which made me realise Mario and Luigi would absolutely have a co-dependency problem after the events of the movie.

Mario and Luigi both underwent a lot of trauma during the course of the movie. Beyond the more obvious experiences of Mario only just being in time to save Luigi from falling into literal lava and Luigi jumping in front of Mario with the manhole cover to shield him from fire, the entire movie has a lot of trauma that revolves around them fearing for the others safety.

They are clearly very close, so close that simply being with each other is enough to remain calm in the stressful situation of literally sucked into another dimension. Then they are torn away from each other.

Let us first look at what Luigi went through. He ended up in what I can only imagine felt like hell itself. I imagine during the ride to Bowser's castle, he would have been thinking about Mario. If that is where he ended up, what sort of awful place is Mario?

Then, as it turns out, a giant monster who seemingly has an army at his disposal is clearly very upset at his brother. Any joy at knowing Mario is alive was probably very quickly buried under the fact that it seems as though it will not stay that way. I like to imagine Luigi blurting out how amazing Mario is was less him being a poor liar, and more so because up until then his mind had been a mantra of, "Mario is fine he is amazing and can handle anything."

His blurted out answer makes the monster very angry at Mario. I guarantee the fact that Bowser said he is going to kill Luigi to get back at Mario was less important than the fact that he made Bowser mad enough at Mario to kill. Did he just write off on his brother's demise? Imprisoned with no way out, it certainly seemed like it.

On the other hand, we have Mario. He watched as his brother got ripped away from him and dragged into some dark place of nightmares. We know he did little but think of Luigi after this. Every single thing he did was to ensure Luigi was alright.

I believe that Mario is the sort of person who buries his feelings under actions. I do not believe that during the actual events of this he would be thinking about what-ifs. Perhaps once or twice he began to spiral, but spiraling does not help anyone. That does not mean that afterwards the fact that he did not know his brother was alive for so long, only to finally see him again as he barely saves him from the clutches of death, would not catch up to Mario.

I like to imagine that after the battle and a celebration, Mario and Luigi ended up in one of their rooms. Mario was gushing about how cool the Mushroom Kingdom is, and Luigi is so relieved to hear that Mario had a better time than he did. He made a comment about it, light hearted.

That is when the missing hours of time caught up to Mario. He stopped and asked what it was like for Luigi. Luigi described it, finding it harder to breathe the further along he got. Mario held onto his brother as he ended up in a full blown panic attack. His own feelings had begun to creep up at first, so he pushed them down. He needed to be there for Luigi.

Life carried on. The two brothers were closer than ever. Especially since they decided to move to the Mushroom Kingdom. That decision may have had something to do with Mario being unable to be outside without being reminded of the fact that Luigi jumped in front of fire with nothing but a manhole cover. That Luigi could have died then, because of him. Because he was not good enough.

No, that is not the point.

Mario and Luigi never left each others side. Any moments apart were only those that were completely unavoidable. During those moments Mario was paranoid that Luigi was hurt. He kept thinking of all of the things that could have gone wrong, could be going wrong. Luigi felt like a lost puppy. Weak, afraid and unable to defend himself should something go wrong.

I would say it is probably Toad who eventually staged a sort of intervention, bringing Peach and DK along with him. Peach was incredibly uncomfortable and felt as though this is not her place. Toad had no such qualms, and told her that is why she had to come. If she was not there, who would make sure they did not overstep? DK is not one to care about what is and is not his place, but he did care that he was more likely to make the situation worse than anything else. He only went because Toad said that him being there would make Mario be more likely to be receptive. He did not really understand how or why, but he was a bit (very) concerned about the loser (his friend) and it is not like he had anything better to do. Toad actually had no idea if it would help, he just felt like was probably what he was meant to do.

Toad sat them down and said, "This is an intervention! You need to not be so close!"

So Peach stepped in and ended up taking over the conversation. She explained that they were too dependent on each other to the point where it was preventing them from healing. She stressed that it is causing harm to the both of them, appealing to their need to make sure the other is alright.

Mario asked what they were meant to do, and no one had an answer. Luigi then said they should probably see a therapist. Mario hated hearing that answer because that meant going back to Brooklyn, and that means no powerups, that means no way to protect-

No.

For Luigi.

They no longer had a job on Earth so their family was footing the bill. They did not wish to cause strain, so they went to the cheapest therapist they could find. They walked into the office and the therapist instantly recognised them. She asked if they were there to speak about the Bowser situation, they confirmed, and she told them she was not qualified for that. Mario began to get upset at that, but she went on to say that they really need someone qualified to handle it. Luigi said that they could not afford that, she said that that is really fucked up since they saved Brooklyn and maybe the whole world.

She directed them to a journalist friend she knew and suggested they begin a Go-Fund-Me. Within just a few days, the Go-Fund-Me was more than filled, medical bills completely covered, and the government was giving them a veteran pension that would continue filling up their bank accounts even if they lived in the Mushroom Kingdom.

They were able to see not just a qualified professional, but an entire team. When it came to working on the co-dependency, they planned with their friends an hour in which Luigi would be with DK in the castle while Mario and Peach ran the training course together. Mario knew how formidable of a fighter DK is, even without powerups. Running the course gave Mario something to do, something that would help him protect Luigi better in the future. By the end of the hour he was surprised how much time had gone by. Anxiety crept in, but he found his brother safe and sound.

For Luigi? That hour was perhaps the longest hour of his life. The moment Mario left his sight he began to panic. He trusted his brother's judgment, he knew he was safe, but also he needed Mario there to protect him. It was irrational and stupid and he refused to let it get in the way of helping Mario with his healing, so he did his best to power through it.

DK was woefully unprepared to deal with a panicking Luigi for an hour. He did his best to keep him entertained to distract him from his panic. This ranged from showing how long he can keep a handstand to challenging various Toad guards to fights. It did not exactly help with the panic, but it gave Luigi something to focus on.

By the time it had reached 25 minutes, Luigi moved to an area of the castle where he could see Mario through a window. He knew if something went wrong he could just break it and yell for help. It helped immensely, not that it helped address the dependency problems.

He was content enough with the fact that he had not interrupted Mario in his path to healing that he decided he was not going to mention it. DK told Mario, who told their team, who began setting up plans that would ease Luigi into it better.

They had Luigi begin to train how to fight with Peach. At first he just found it training and tiring, but as time went along he felt himself getting better. He felt stronger. It also helped Mario, who felt more and more confident that Luigi could hold his own until he got there should something go wrong.

Their recovery was lengthy and imperfect. Many times something would happen that would have one or both of them feeling like they were back at square 1. But they got through it. Together, individually, and with the support of their friends and professionals.

[top-tier-tickles]

Super Mario (NEW/UPDATED) Tickle Headcanons

Now that the movie has been released, I feel that it is an appropriate time to share some updated headcanons!

______________________________________

Mario:

Switch

Super ticklish

He's a walking tickle spot, but his death spots are his belly and belly button

You have to hold him still somewhat, he squirms a lot 😂

Especially weak to raspberries

As a ler, he'll tease the lee about their laugh and how ticklish they are

Can hold his own in tickle fights(which are mainly caused by him)

He can't really take what he dishes out though

He squeals a lot when he laughs and it's precious ❤️

Firehand has made the palms of his hands sensitive as well

The Toads gang up on him and Luigi frequently

He has freckles, and connecting the dots with them MURDERS him

Teasing him also kills him

Luigi:

Switch

A tiny bit less ticklish than Mario

Only a TINY bit though

But still super ticklish

Like his brother, a walking ticklish spot, but his worst spits are his sides and ribs

You definitely have to hold him down, he flails way too much lmao

Teasing will kill him on the spot

Blushy mess

Mario's main victim, obviously

But he isn't afraid to get him back

If he's provoked enough, he's a pretty decent ler

He snorts when he laughs

Like Mario, Thunderhand makes his palms ticklish too

Peach:

Ler-leaning switch

Her laugh is so pretty istg

Worst spot is her ribs

Found out Mario was ticklish cause of Luigi ratting him out and poking him

She's a pretty gentle ler, holding her victims calmly while utterly wrecking them

Bowser tried to tickle her once, but got a big ass shiny black eye because of it

He doesn't try to anymore

Tickly kisses are her specialty

It's pretty hard to tickle her, since she has pretty fast reflexes, but it's possible

Her laugh sounds like bells

Mark my words, she will get you back

She's the only person who can make Mario turn into a complete lee

Toad:

Lee-leaning switch

Almost all toads are lees

His death spots are his tummy and hands

His laugh is very squeaky, like a stress toy

Basically Mario and Luigi's annoying little brother

They gang up on him regularly

Little shit

Will jump on someone's back and surprise tickle them from there

He mostly aids the lers tho

He's able to easily squirm out of people's grip

Donkey Kong:

Ler-leaning switch

He'd rather die than admit he's ticklish

Everyone ended up finding out because Cranky got tired of his shit and told everyone

Worst spot is his armpits

Seth Rogan laugh™

Mario's accidentally- completely on purpose -tickles him sometimes

Diddy and him have frequent tickle fights

As a ler, he's pretty ruthless

He doesn't really know how to tease people, so he just pokes their ticklish spots often

He means well, but sometimes he gets so caught up in the moment that he forgets to stop

He actually made Mario pass out while wrecking him once, and DK totally freaked out because he thought he killed him

He was fine tho lol

Bowser:

Ler

He's barely even ticklish

His only ticklish spot is his neck, even then it's hard to get to

He always wears that collar, and he can hide in his shell at any time

His laugh starts out in a deep guffaw, but dissolves into low chuckles

He's definitely not above tickling someone, though

If you DO attempt to tickle him and fail, you'd better start running (He'll catch you in the end tho)

If he doesn't kill you, he'll definitely make sure justice is served

This motherfucker has eight kids, don't tell me he's not a tickle monster

He laughs along with his victims, teasing them all the while

Utilizes tickle interrogations frequently

He's a cruel ler

Teases like the asshole he is

His claws make it worse

Mario tried to tickle him once and failed miserably

He doesn't stop until the lee is crying or on the verge of passing out

But he's definitely gentle with his kids, not anywhere near as ruthless

______________________________________

And that's it for now! Lemme know if you want some more, or write a fic prompt in my inbox!

[snakeeyesdraws]

What version of Mario is your favourite? Is it the new movie or the game verse?

This is a great question!! Truthfully, there's very few Mario versions I don't enjoy - I can get entertainment value out of all of them!

Cards on the table, I'm always gonna cherish the Mario & Luigi series above all else - I think this series really captures what I love about this world/these characters the most. It really nails the vibe of "two brothers going on crazy adventures with whacky but memorable characters" that I always look for in my Mario content! Making Mario and Luigi both the heroes and emphasizing how well they work together with gameplay mechanics is mwah, chefs kisses, no notes.

Of course, I love all of the Mario series! Mario Odyssey, Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros, all great and enjoyable games. Paper Mario especially is near to my heart. I think while I take most of my inspiration from the Mario & Luigi series (especially art wise - I'm still learning how to draw in that style!) all of the series are wonderful in their own way.

Now as for the movie... I did enjoy it! I'm so grateful that its release got so many people, including myself, either into this franchise for the first time or got them to revisit it. Mario hasn't been a main hyperfixation for me since I was little, but now it's my main one and it's given me so much joy, so I'm super thankful for the movie existing!

That said, I do agree with a lot of the criticisms with the movie, mostly around the plot and pacing. I don't like how much it speeds past all the potential development for the characters, I don't like that fan favourites like Bowser and Luigi barely appear in it, I don't like that no one gets any real development for their characters. Even something simple as "Mario learns the wonders of this new world" and "Luigi learns he can be brave" really don't come across when the film is RUSHING to get to the next plot point.

This keeps the movie verse from being my favourite, BUT. What did I really enjoy in this film?

These goobers and their dynamic, oh my god. My favourite parts of the movie are when they're on screen together and we get to see them interact, they REALLY nailed the sibling dynamic!! I love what they set up; Mario is the over protective big brother (places himself in front of Luigi when confronting danger, makes traversing the construction site easier and safer for Luigi), Luigi is his emotional support, they work together and LIKE working together, they tease each other, they worry about each other when they're not together, it's everything I want out of these characters!

The movie may not be my favourite VERSION, but it def has one of my favourite portrayals of the bros' dynamic. This is exactly how I envision their relationship whenever I draw/write/daydream! And the fact that so many fans have incorporated their "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together" theme and dynamic into fan works has made me just, so happy

TL;DR because I kinda rambled all over the place; M&L series is my favourite version of Mario if I had to pick, but the movie versions of Mario and Luigi as characters are also very dear to me, even if I tend to only rewatch their scenes together as opposed to the whole movie haha

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: The Super Mario Bros Movie

A fan shouldn't always sugarcoat it. Even if you get something you never figured you'd ever want but appreciate a lot, that doesn't mean a bias should bury any deeper feelings. What I'm getting at is Illumination's Super Mario Bros Movie can be so awesome and it was worth going to the theaters to see personally, but I can't get over the crippling flaw it has to say it was as great as I could say now. Better to be honest now than get increasingly unfulfilled later. First, though, I gotta give the props where they are due.

First, Bowser was The Best in this and I want him

For real, the animation was what I waiting for this whole time, no problems here. The film is fun. If it wasn't fun, that means Disney would've made it and it'd never come out anyways because of "creative differences". Illumination I found can make animations that are really bouncy fun, and it's best shown here. Plus the characters look incredible, DK especially, and there are moments where, in the best way, it felt like a cutscene from a video game I would want to play. Not to snipe at the Sonic movies, but this is seriously what I've wanted from video game movies since... Angry Birds 2? Like enough with the hybrid live-action crap, make a cartoon if the sourced game is about a CARTOON universe. "You mean like Ratchet & Cla-"

We do not... talk about that one.

This leads to something tricky I had in mind to discuss, and that's "faithfulness". Not long ago I watched the 1993 Mario Bros movie, a fiasco that one can argue was unfaithful to most of the source materials even with the few things they got right. Did we get something more suitable here? Well, I definitely wasn't annoyed with the fucking stupid discourse surrounding Peach's characterization and Mario's voice that's for sure. Many will cite this as having a great fuckton of references but I enjoyed the liberties they took whether or not they were references. The fact it starts out in Brooklyn made me already smile but the final act had my booty jiggle with unhinged glee. There's some corniness to it, especially with the certain musical needle drops they do, but even then it felt like they reveled in the corniness of those moments. This made me believe Nintendo and Illumination were looking to just make it excitable and enjoyable regardless of what fits where. It pains me though, knowing that there is that crippling flaw I mentioned at the beginning because while this film was fun, it went by fast. Ludicrously so... disjointedly so.

It was the Apex Cinema Speedrun, if you will

Many negative reviews claim this has a very thin plot and I honestly didn't consider that a wholly bad thing. A thin plot doesn't mean it wasn't cohesive or focused, or that there weren't any arcs to be had. The real problem comes in that certain moments don't feel earned when we barely get any time to cherish them. The pacing of this was kinda atrocious, the tight runtime truly being a detriment behind ideas for characters getting brought up well only to have shallow payoffs. Peach and Luigi especially had something about them I wanted to see more of, but before you got to see the plant blossom, they keep chugging and you're like "Ah, that's it?" They didn't need to spell everything out but let the characters breathe.

Bowser and DK felt like the exception

If this was the only movie we ever got again (knocking on wood), the fun of it all would soon subside for increased disappointment in the long run. I could say "This needs more movie" as a compliment, but that would mean I was fine with what we got. The live-action film, batshit as it was, felt consistent with everything it wanted to show and tell whether or not you saw the director's cut. That's why it became a cult hit, you remember how batshit it was. I genuinely enjoyed the film, but even with its many stand-out moments, it's gonna be hard to remember this film as much as I want to.

Except for Lumalee, I don't ever wanna forget them

I won't tout this overall as mid or "playing it safe" because they did so much right with this. When I say they stuck the landing with the Mario brothers themselves, that genuinely got to me. When we got the adventure, I relished the adventure. Like for the love of god, give me more of all this PLEASE! However, I won't give it a pass and call it perfect just because it tickled the Nintendo fan in me. Illumination's great when it comes to being in the moment, that's why I stopped hating on them, but in terms of their films having staying power this being a Mario film is carrying it hard from being a potentially forgettable one. For me, this is the movie adaptation of the Super Mario Super Show I never knew I wanted but looked forward to and felt was worth it. At the same time, my mind is fighting my heart strong knowing this Mario movie could've definitely been stronger. My final say is that it's a 6/10 movie with 10/10 moments. If you're looking for fun, this delivers no doubt, and don't let this review stop you from calling it a personal masterpiece.

What matters is that Mario finally made the Range

[the-gamer-blog-for-anyone]

I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO WATCHING THE MARIO MOVIE!

Since I did just watch it, I figured I should give my take on the movie. THIS IS NOT DEFINITIVE. How I feel is my opinion, and you are not inclined to agree with me. Also, this really isn’t a criticism post but more just stuff I noticed or would point out to anyone else who is planning to watch it.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

To start: Plot. It’s about what you would expect of a Mario Bros movie. Just like the games, it’s a simple “rescue story” premise. Someone is in danger, Mario and his friends rescue them. However, I feel like this gives backstory to the games rather than being something happening during the game events. Also, it changes the standard story a little in that Luigi is being sought after most of the movie rather than Peach, who instead is training Mario to come with her and rescue him and the Mushroom Kingdom. We meet who eventually will be Mario’s friends and get some insight on how they might have met, even Mario Kart logic! Overall, nothing groundbreaking, but still enjoyable for anyone who has been with the series, no matter how long.

On those same lines, pacing is strange, but gets to the point so the movie doesn’t take forever. It seems like parts would be longer, like when Peach first meets Mario and he asks for help. It sounds like this would be a build-up of moments to trust him on her journey, but instead she almost immediately trains him. Does this take away from my enjoyment? Absolutely not. If you came to this movie for the plot writing, though, I’d say don’t get your hopes up.

Characters; as I said, we get to meet some of the main characters in many of the mainstream games. Obviously, there’s Mario, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Toad, and Bowser. Alongside those, we also get to see personalities for some characters who have only been seen as enemies or side characters, like Kamek, the Koopas, and the rest of the Toads. I liked that we also got introduced to the fact that more Kongs exist other than three I always think of, which sort of gives a glimpse of Donkey Kong’s background. In short, there are lots of characters and most have been given the personality and backstory they lack. It’s not incredibly well-written, but again, doesn’t take away from my enjoyment.

Animation: AMAZING! I love how goofy it makes the characters look with their actions, while still showing an amazing amount of detail. You could see points where game design was taken into account when characters walked, ran, and jumped; even the go-kart designs were true to the Mario Kart games for the most part. Rainbow Road scene was gorgeous, and I love the design of the kingdoms and Bowser’s… ship? Floating lava-castle-island thing? Whatever it is, it looks awesome. Character designs are so cartoonish but still lifelike, even the hair looks well-designed and animated. Basically, everything about this is just *chefs kiss*.

Soundtrack: Ok, the orchestral stuff I could listen to All. Day. Long. Like, it sounds so cool, especially since I can pick out parts from games I’ve played. Now, the other songs that have nothing to do with Mario? I felt like some didn’t fit. Take on Me is a great song, sure, but it didn’t fit with the whole “racing down the track” scene. Holding out for a Hero? I mean, it works, but such a cliche pick. Now, I loved the No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn pick, mainly because it fit with the scene of them running, non-stop, to their first job. I can’t put all of it here, but overall, Orchestral was great, non-Nintendo stuff could’ve had more thought. Still didn’t take too much away from overall enjoyment.

Game references: I think this is the thing that made the movie interesting for everyone. Even my mom, who barely plays Mario games, could find references she enjoyed (she loved the training sequence because she said it was an accurate depiction of her playing any Mario game lol). We loved picking out the small things, like the kart selection scene, (which, by the way, I LOVE that they used an A button to signal they were done designing because we all know that is always the pick button, at least in my experience), Kid Icarus showing up, Wrecking Crew being a plot point with Spike as a sort-of heckler; Cat Mario’s sequence was legit just taking me back to middle school and my Wii U days. If there was ever a reason this was made, it was for the long-time fans, and this is where you can really tell. Anyone who is new to the world of Nintendo would probably have very little to no idea about any of this, and quite frankly if you had audiences full of people like that with this movie, it might’ve failed. The reason I enjoyed it so much was because of the little references and because of the small details like this.

In short, this was, quite frankly, exactly what it needed to be. Even Miyamoto himself said this was for the fans; it wasn’t like they cared about the critics, and neither did most others who went. A movie like this isn’t about plot perfection or the best writing in general, it’s about what we love from the Mario series, and the rest of the stuff is a bonus.

I did my best to write this a comprehensively as possible, but I’m not great at long writing, so please feel free to tell me if you couldn’t understand something!

[fangirlovestuff]

‘stache Stories - Chris Evans x reader

a/n - hey lovely people!! at last, a fic! behold this astounding feat of- well, i don’t really know, but i’m happy i finally wrote at least one of the requests i had😂 i promise i’m trying to write more but for a few different reasons i’m veryyyy late on stories and i hope the anon is still around to see this! also, i personally have a hate hate relationship with the mustache, so it’s kinda in there too hehe, but we all always love chris. enjoy!<3

for the first time in months, you were finally going to see your boyfriend

not only were you going to finally see him in person after a month of both of your jobs keeping you apart, but you were going to watch him perform on broadway! 

you were so excited to watch him act on stage, you loved all of his movies and you were sure you were going to love the play just the same, if not even more

you texted chris you were there before locating the back door, telling your name to the security guard at the entrance

you asked him where you could find chris and he just pointed in a certain direction vaguely, so you looked around as you went in the direction he pointed in

you were trying to keep an eye out for chris, but you've never really been backstage in broadway before, so you couldn't help marveling at the hustle and bustle of people, and it was still nearly two hours until the show

you saw someone standing on their phone, and you assumed they'd be available enough to help you, since unlike all the other people who were walking around fervently, the man seemed pretty relaxed

"excuse me, do you know where i can f-"

he turned his face in your direction, and it took you a second before a gasp fell from your lips, and then you started giggling like a lunatic

"you made it!" chris grinned, enveloping you in a tight hug

you sighed contently in his arms, holding him back just as tightly, but when you broke away, you struggled to contain your laughter

"babe... you can't just-" you started laughing again, the mustache just as funny as it was shocking, "you can't just ignore That," you gestured at his face

"you don't like it?" he asked, but the shy smile on his face indicated he was aware of the... less than great mustache on his face

"i don't wike it," you confirmed teasingly and shook your head before pressing a kiss to his cheek

"well, the sacrifices we have to make for the craft," he said dramatically

"ah yes," you said, just as dramatic, "the craft. but, i gotta ask, how necessary was it? like is it super necessary or can you like... i don't know, shave it off tonight before we go out?"

"i didn't know it was that bad," he chuckled

"okay, okay, it's not that bad," you shrugged, "but, y'know, i feel like it kinda obscures the view," you pouted

"the view? what view?" he asks, a smug smile stretching across his face

"my very handsome boyfriend who has been tragically kidnapped by a wierdo," you said, your pout now entirely exaggerated

"i don't know is that was a compliment or an insult," he admitted with a chuckle

"best of both worlds," you smirked, prompting him to laugh

"so we're still on for tonight after the show, right?" he asked once his laughter died down

"obviously yes," you said, sincerity showing on your face, "i missed you," you kissed him softly, knowing you still had a ton of other people around, even if they were polite enough to pretend you two weren't there, it was probably a matter of time until someone came by looking for him

"great," he smiled softly at you once you parted

"see ya later luigi!" you winked at him 

"that's... fair," he laughed, shaking his head

you went by to look around the area before you'd come back to see the show itself

after the show, you found chris backstage once more, after he already changed back into his normal clothes, and took his hand, ready to head out

you two were quick, slipping out before there were that many people by the door, and you made your way past whatever crowd was starting to form before you could start walking a little less briskly

"you were wonderful," you bumped his shoulder with yours, smiling

"yeah? you liked it?"

"i mean, i kinda hated you, but that's in the job description, i think," you giggled

"yes!" he pumped his fist in celebration

"wow, if i would've known that's how you'd react to me hating you maybe i'd do it more often," you teased

"i'd rather not," he laughed, before pulling you into a street corner, where you were barely seen from the traffic, and wrapped his arms around your waist

"i missed you," he whispered

your lips finally met properly, tongues exploring, eager to get reacquainted with a beloved landscape

"missed you too," you answered, your voice a bit breathy

you swallowed and then took his hand in yours, "c'mon, let's go to dinner," you smiled, dragging him back into the street

you loved the man, really didn't like the mustache, but it made him a little less recognizable, which you were both thankful for

sometime later, scott grew a similar mustache 

when you first saw him as he opened the door for you and chris when you visited him, all he got was an "oh. so what's up?"

chris looked at you incredulously

"seriously? when i grow a mustache you call me a weirdo and when he does all he gets is an 'oh'?" 

"oh my god, i almost forgot about your mustache," you said, bursting into laughter, "god, that was terrible, wasn't it scott?"

scott laughed and agreed with you, ushering you and a grumbling chris inside

"honestly scott, if i wasn't his girlfriend back then and i saw him on the street, i would run," you said, "and i hate that i need to clarify this, but not into his arms - i would run away," you teased, watching a red tint spread on chris' cheeks from the corner of your eye

"you got a point there," the two of you laughed

"but he has a mustache as well! right now!" chris half-whined the words

"yeah, you do," you snickered at the man in question. "well, you could probably do that crime movie you've always wanted, cop or criminal," you laughed

"where was this energy when i had a mustache?" chris chimed in again

"well, maybe it's because i don't have to date scott," you retaliated

"you never had to date me too," he pointed out

"no, i really think i did. see, charming, wonderful, smart guys aren't that easy to come by, so really i had no other choice," you shrugged

"at this point you'd think i'd be able to understand if you're insulting me or complimenting me," chris huffed out a laugh

"does it matter?"

"nope, i love you anyway," he wrapped his arm around you

"awww. love you too," you leaned into his side, "but please don't grow a mustache ever again. i'll do whatever you want"

"ooo, whatever i w-"

"may i remind you there are children in the room!" you cut him off, gesturing at scott, and the three of you laughed together, "so whatever you were gonna say, spare us"

"fine," he rolled his eyes, "but i still think i looked better than him with a mustache"

"mmmm, debatable."

i couldn’t help referencing the mustache scott has now at the end, especially after the intereview with both of them yesterday (i love them so much omg), and as always i love hearing your thoughts!!<3

Taglist:  @horny-nd-bored​ @shannon124 @perfectlyharolds​ @wintersoldierslut​ @iceebabies​  @sleepingpapermouse @steverogerswasalwaysworthy @holtzkinnon @angelicl-y @stydia-4-ever @thatoneperson5000 @fangirlfree​ @kaitcordx25 @bequeening​ @steve-barry-damon-logan​ @itscrazycherryblossomcollection​ @hollandxmarvel​ @stargazingfangirl18 @readsreblogsfics @onetwo3000 @beritmetal @harrystylesholland @jazbot2000 @anobscurename @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @peggycarter-steverogers @evansphnx12 @starlightcrystalline @procrastinatingsapphictrash

if you wanna join / be removed from a taglist, comment/message me! much love <3

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 309 Spoiler Thoughts: Izuku and Inko Midoriya, and Some More Things Along The Way

The chapter leaks are here again!  Thanks to all the people on Twitter and here on Tumblr for providing us with scans and translations.  This chapter helps explain some things that a lot of us were wondering about.  Sadly, there’s still no Bakugo, or Shoto, or any other UA kids really; they’re only in flashbacks.  But, we do get to see what All Might and the Top 3 Heroes (Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist) are up to, so that’s something.  Anyway, remember to take what I say with a grain of salt until the official translations come out on Sunday:

The chapter starts a few minutes after Deku beat Muscular.  He’s flying through the air taking an unconscious Muscular tied up in his Black Whip.  The other Ketsubusu Academy students from the Lisence Exam see him too.  Thankfully the stubborn civilians from 2 chapters ago are willing to help Yo Shindo recover in exchange for not listening moving to the school shelters.  Also, Shindo’s barely conscious, but he does actually remember Deku.  He’s just not the same Deku as before.  Not much for me to say here except that I wonder if Shindo’s going to help spread the word about Deku’s actions.  Not just to his classmates, but I wonder if the words’ going to get out to the news and UA.  Actually, word might not even get that far since Shindo was only one of the few people in that exam that really even interacted with Deku...

Deku hands Muscular over to the police for them to take care off.  He also makes sure to cover himself up in Smokescreen to hide his identity.  So, Deku really is working in the shadows here.  It is best that the public doesn’t know what Deku is doing so that the LoV don’t track him down.  My man’s really going down the Batman route.  Oh, I also have to admire Deku’s smartphone here kept in this steel case.  I was going to say it’s a burner phone, but burner phones break easily for a reason and this one clearly doesn’t.  Maybe it’s a special one that can’t be tracked down.    

And we finally get to see All Might again!  He is actively working with Deku instead of just not knowing where his protege is.  He’s wearing casual clothes (jacket, jeans, sunglasses, the works) when he meets up with Deku in an alleyway.  I’m honestly glad that All Might is still supervising Deku.  I mean, Deku on his own would’ve been badass, but when you’re going up against people like AFO and Shigaraki, you’re going to need some help.  Especially when laying low.  Even with supervision, I still think Deku counts as a vigilante b/c I don’t think his license works if he’s not at UA.  I will believe this unless proven otherwise.  

It’s explained that the “wrapping” on Deku’s arms are actually gauntlets called “Mid-Gauntlets”, which are what are helping hold Deku’s arms together.  And they are VERY similar to the gauntlets that Melissa Shield from Two Heroes gave Deku.  Deku even says that All Might ordered them from the USA before travel restrictions were put in place.  I know that it’s only implied, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Deku’s new gauntlets were made by Melissa.  Even if you want to doubt it, at this point, Two Heroes (and by extension Heroes Rising and probably the upcoming 3rd movie, World Heroes Mission) are canon.  Honestly, I’m cool with it.  I liked Melissa and I’m glad her presence is still around (she was even in a Team-Up Mission chapter with Hatsume).  I do wonder if we’re ever going to see her in the main story.  It would be nice to see Melissa again.

The gauntlets are test samples and are used to enhance endurance.  All Might says that they can’t withstand 100% of OFA yet.  Which means that Deku actually beat Muscular with less than 100% unlike their first fight where Deku had to use over 100% just to knock him out.  So, does this mean that, say, Deku’s current 45% is stronger than his 100+% back in the Forest Camp?  Or maybe it was just the combo of moves and strategy rather then Deku just punching his way through things.

Small detail, but All Might’s phone goes off with that “I AM HERE” ringtone we heard before and Deku comments that this particular one is from All Might’s Silver Age TV Special!  It’s such a small thing, but I love that Deku still has that All Might fanboy in him despite everything 💚!  Somethings truly never change.

And back to the Top 3: Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist!  Endeavor and Best Jeanist are teaming up to kick a villain’s ass while Hawks is talking to All Might on the phone.  It looks like Hawks got a few costume changes particularly his visor/glasses which look more boxy than they did before if that makes sense.  Oh, and they’re also helping All Might work with Deku.  Makes sense since all three vowed to help take down Dabi earlier and Shigaraki and AFO definitely extend from that.

Deku’s Danger Sense is going off, so he’s probably going to check out any danger he can find in case it’s the LoV.  I do wonder if that harms Deku still.  It was said that it felt like a stabbing in his head and it must’ve been bad enough for the 4th OFA Holder to live in the forest away from society.  Man, I really hope our boy is ok (I know he’s not really, let me have this).

But yeah, Hawks (still wingless, but with a nice little undercut btw😳) explains that Deku's afraid of dragging other people in his battles like All Might.  Hawks also goes on to say that it’s best to take the initiative in taking down AFO and Shigaraki rather than waiting for them to appear all powered up.  He also wants All Might to keep supporting him despite the difficult position he’s in (remember that All Might’s technically Qurikless again and can’t really fight on his own).  It makes sense for them to go after the Villains again while they can.  If Deku fought Shigaraki while Shigaraki was at full strength, Deku would lose easily.  Even at 75%, Shigaraki was able to kill and injure A LOT of people, and Deku was lucky to even make it out there alive.  They need to find Shigaraki SOON!  

Flashback to Central Hospital before Deku jumped UA ship!  Recover Girl and Central Hospital’s high-tech were responsible for many of the patience recovering quickly and being discarged.  Deku was just there a little longer than the others.  So, we can assume that all our UA kids and some notable heroes made it out alive after being treated.  Still don’t know what happened to some people like Tamaki and Fat Gum tho 😭.  

All Might and Deku’s mom, Inko (thank god she’s ok), are by Deku’s bedside as his casts are taken off.  Deku’s doctor (who looks like Super Mario/Luigi; the whole Super Mario crew must run this damn place.  Where’s Bowser and Princess Peach) explains that despite his former warnings about his ligaments, Deku’s limbs are still functioning because he’s not the same as he was before.  So, before, Deku’s injuries were like his limbs were exploding from the inside, but this time those “explosions” were able to escape his body.  Also his Black Whip cast helped keep Deku’s arm in tact so that he wouldn’t pulverize himself.  His ligimates are still degrading too, so Deku still has to be careful.  I think he might have a few more small scars too, but that could just be shadows or muscle lining from Horikoshi’s pen-work.  

Ok, honestly, I’m not sure how this logically works...  I’m no medical professional, but I assume this means that Deku’s built his body up so much that it’s naturally able to withstand more damage than before and that’s why he’s more durable.  But, I don’t know how Deku was able to let the “explosions” escape this time.  I get the reverse; I get how he got injured before, but I don’t get this.  Was it the Black Whip brace he made for himself?  I honestly don’t really understand this.  Maybe the official translations will clear this up.  Or Horikoshi will in a Tweet or Volume Extra.

And Inko is finally informed of OFA thank the gods!  She was in the top of my list of “People who should really, really know OFA and what’s going on with Deku because I swear...”.  She’s clearly shaken up as anyone would be, but I’m glad she at least knows what’s going on with her son.  Yes, she’s still worried, but at least she can stop guessing why all this is happening.  

Deku announces the reason why he won’t go back to UA and it’s basically that Shigaraki can sense where Deku is and he doesn’t want to see anyone else close to him get hurt and/or die.  So, basically what I thought would be the reason.  Absolutely no surprise there.  But, going after Shigaraki and AFO first was originally Deku’s idea, so that’s something new.  Kid’s bold.

And this broke my heart 💔!  Inko insists that Deku stay with her to stay safe, but Deku knows what he has to do.  So, he thanks his mom, thanks her for making him happy, and tells her that he’ll be ok and that he’ll come back home with a somber smile on his face.  We see a flashback to Little Deku and Inko too when they were happier.  Bro, I don’t even know what to say.  I am in tears just writing this 😭  I’ll just post these two panels so y’all can cry with me.  I will never recover from this.  I’m fucking devastated.  You better come home, Deku: 

*sniffs* All Might remembers what he said to Inko.  He remembers how he said that he will protect Deku with his life.  All Might encourages Deku to go and he says that he’ll go with him with tears in his eyes.  He asks the Top 3 to help with this mission (finding Dabi) as their own mission coincides with Deku’s (finding Shigaraki and AFO).  I’m so glad all these adults are staying by Deku’s side throughout this.  It’s good to know that Deku still has support, though I wish it were from some of his friends too.  Maybe one day.

Deku goes to see Grand Torino in his hospital room to talk to him about OFA.  He mentions his friend and 7th Holder Nana Shimura.  Torino thinks he was responsible for killing Shigaraki (he really wasn’t let's be real).  He also tells Deku that Deku shouldn’t be so persistent in saving Shigaraki as killing can sometimes lead to salvation. Ok, few things:

1. I am surprised Grand Tarino is still alive.  I mean, we don’t know what happened to him after this talk, but at least he got to hear from Deku again.  It’s kind of nice to know that Tarino willingly passed down his cape to Deku too instead of Deku just taking it after his death.  Also, I’ve been watching some of Jujutsu Kaisen like everyone else has and this give me some Yuji & his grandfather vibes to it.  Knowing what happens there and that JJK’s magaka is good friends with Horikoshi, I have a sinking feeling I know what happened after this talk...

2. Deku looks so much older here.  Like, it’s not that cute, innocent baby face we knew at the beginning.  I don’t even know what it is exactly (maybe the eyes), but he just looks more mature here.  Also, his uniform some buttons down looks really good on him, I’m sorry but I need to mention that too 💚.

3. “Killing is a means towards salvation”.  Oh, boy...  I mean, I get it.  Some people just can’t be saved or captured in hopes of rehabilitation/redemption.  Sometimes killing people is necessary to save others.  But, Deku is not a killer.  He will try to save Shigaraki no matter what.  That was established again last chapter.   He tried to save Muscular for god’s sake.  But, I am curious if Gran Tarino’s words are going to hold any weight in the final fight. Like, will Deku have to kill Shigaraki?  What will that do to Deku as a person?  I’m really curious if Horikoshi is going to make Deku do this.

And finally, there’s a page showing off the Top 3, Deku, and All Might team up with the resolve to beat the LoV.  I am really interested to see where this goes.  Deku is working with the big Pro Heroes instead of his classmates/friends.  This hasn’t really happened before.  I also wonder if Shoto and Bakugo know what Deku’s doing then.  Because Shoto’s going to help Endeavor and his family find Dabi.  Endeavor’s activley helping Deku.  Also, Endeavor and Best Jeanist are both Bakugo’s mentors.  All Might too actually.  Look, maybe I’m making excuses to see my Origin Trio together again, but I do have to wonder if Shoto and Bakugo are involved somehow.

Welp, that’s it.  This chapter was a rollercoaster!  I was excited, I was confused, I was worried, I cried my eyes out at one point because THOSE TWO PANELS I CANNOT 💔😭!  I’m honestly just waiting for Horokishi to drop some major time-skip on us at some point.  I don’t want him to, but I won’t be entirely surprised if he does.  The end of this chapter is a good place to end if Horikoshi wants to segway into something else like, oh IDK, THE UA KIDS LET ME SEE THEM AGAIN HORIKOSHI PLS I’M BEGGING 💸  

Me @ Horikoshi almost every week:

[vedj-f-bekuesu]

2019 in Retrospect

2019 has been fairly quiet, so I decided to start off this year by looking back on it. I’ll be dividing it by main fandoms/characters/ships because this year there were actually some new ones. That hasn’t been the case since, like, 2013. 

Sonic the Hedgehog

It was an...alright year for Sonic. TSR was fine but too light on content, Mario and Sonic Tokyo felt like a step down from Mario and Sonic Rio but was still alright, and I have not played SEGA Heroes (and haven’t bothered with the Chao in Space short). Lowest spot for me was the IDW comic; the Zombot arc has had one interesting story so far, but the rest has had either bad writing (primarily aimed at Shadow’s turn) or it’s just been wallowing in its bleakness in a way even Shadow the Game didn’t. Then again, I find zombie stories uninteresting to begin with, so no duh I’m not interested in a Sonic take on it. 

Chaotix kind of mirror that. Vector’s managed to get a good showing in, batting 3 for 3 on the game front, and having a key role in two of them. And like I said before, the Chaotix have genuinely had the most interesting stories within the Zombot arc, although with Vector and Charmy turned this may become more limited. Speaking of though, Espio and Charmy have had weaker presences. Espio managed to get into all three games in some form but to a lesser extent (one just by name), and Charmy was really left behind. 

As for Vecpio, it’s been pretty bare for canon material stuff. Espio got mentioned in TSR as contributing the report that reveals Dodon Pa’s true role (with him and Vector being the key to making everyone shut up about him being suspicious, proving they’re best as a team). And Mario and Sonic Tokyo has something if you headcanon some stuff; when Vector talks about the medals, Espio is the first person you’re directed to. Nothing is said by Vector about Espio in text, but you can implicate that Espio was chosen first because of his strong link to Vector, being the first one Vector would trust to compete at a gold level. Other than that? Dry. And with no announcements for Sonic games in 2020, this may just continue. 

Crash Bandicoot

On the reverse side, we have Crash Bandicoot having a really strong year. CTR:NF came out (which is a remake of my favourite Crash game) and has been doing gangbusters. On top of this, it has been going out of its way to revive pretty much every dead character in the franchise, to the point that we have RIlla Roo back in the fold (something I genuinely didn’t think would happen 19 years beforehand). 

Skipping straight to the shipping for this, I wouldn’t have imagined it for Crash ever, but there’s actually some in-game material for me to latch onto for DingodileXKomodo Joe! Dingodile has been pushed into a more jovial character since N-Sane Trilogy, being even more doubled down on in CTR:NF. However, for the past 20 years Komodo Joe has managed to avoid being given traits closer to Espio. This game finally catches up to him, and does it hard. Seriously, his character took a hard turn for the stoic badass Espio did after Heroes, and when did Joe ever use Martial Arts magic ever? Aside from making that dynamic naturally more matching, Slide Coliseum joins in the fun with the visual upgrade. It has holographic projections of a trophy girl repping a couple of racers dancing each, and guess who the devs felt could be paired up for how they go together rhythmically? That’s right, my reptile boys. Man. 

Super Mario Bros

What a weak year for Mario for me. What Mario got for new games this year were Luigi’s Mansion 3 (which I’ve not played), Mario Maker 2 (which isn’t new story content and doesn’t interest me in the slightest), Yoshi’s Crafted World (which I forgot was a thing) and Mario Kart Tour/Dr Mario World (which...um). 

Because of this set-up, Bowser hardly got anything to do so he’s really been on the backburner. Considering how he’s been pushed in the rest of the decade that’s saying something. In fact, the most character stuff he got was in Mario and Sonic Tokyo, and even that was mostly just alright (I think Bowser Jr got the best deal out of that).

Spyro the Dragon

Spyro was alright, but this one’s more understandable. With 2018 being the big year for Spyro’s return, 2019 was a rest for the little guy. That being said it wasn’t completely quiet; Spyro Reignited Trilogy finally got its port on the Switch, and to tie in with that Spyro got an appearance in CTR:NF. 

Because of the latter point, Gnasty Gnorc got a surprisingly strong year. Not only having more people learn about his glow-up in SRT, but bringing over that petty and angry character to CTR:NF. Seriously, his bit in the grand prix intro video is great, and he has more lines in his racing quips than any other game. 

OK KO

I don’t think I made a post about OK KO on Tumblr (or maybe I did one, I can’t remember). But I did manage to get into this just before it got cancelled so there’s that. 

I maintain that the Sonic crossover (aka the first thing I really knew about OK KO) didn’t give me a good impression of the show.It just seemed like “here’s the Sonic and Eggman dynamic but with more cartoon shenanigans*” and it spent more time making endless Sonic references. While some were deeper cuts which actually were impressive, most were references I could see in pretty much any Sonic-referencing material. It wasn’t until I decided to look up more info on Lord Boxman sometime after because I wanted to check if N.Gin was an influence that I found out the plot of the actual show (crossover notwithstanding) was pretty nuts and way more up my alley. 

Speaking of, there’s Voxman. Whereas other ships on here I have to dig through material to construct nuggets from them, this was literally in the text. And why not, they have a good dynamic and are usually the most fun to watch bounce off each other. And I still like the fact that if KO and Lord Boxman were the Sonic and Eggman parallel, the story ends with Eggman becoming Sonic’s stepfather. Let’s see IDW tell a story like that, it’d be better than the Zombot stuff. 

*I think that was the point but still. 

LEGO

Man I wouldn’t have thought they would have remade LEGO Racers but the one they made this year was gre--

Okay no, this year basically reignited another flame that I thought was snuffed out like 16 years ago. For a brief history of me and LEGO, when I was six I had a freestyle box which I used to make an elemental superhero persona. I played with this until I was 11. Before then, my sister got some LEGO Harry Potter sets (which we still have in the loft), I played LEGO Racers a lot (and wasn’t very good at it), and I owned two random other LEGO sets (the trike from Life on Mars and Lava from RoboRIders). 

After that, I only dabbled in LEGO when there was a Sonic set done for LEGO Dimensions. I did try to play more into it, but it was really prone to crashing in certain worlds so I eventually got frustrated enough to stop playing it. Sometime in the interim though my sister started enjoying LEGO films without me knowing, so when February came around I was dragged to see LEGO Movie 2 when all I wanted to see in 2019 was Toy Story 4. Dad insisted on it since we rarely have family outings. In retrospect; 

LEGO Movie 2 hit me in a way a piece of media hasn’t for years, or even decades. It’s shot up to be my third-favourite film of all time. And it’s revealed to me that LEGO is shockingly good at making endearing characters. So much so that breaking it down (pun not intended) has to be done by theme.

LEGO Movie: Part of the reason why I didn’t get into LEGO earlier was because I did see LEGO Movie back in 2014 when my sister was given it on DVD (she wasn’t into LEGO then) and I wasn’t impressed with it. In retrospect, I can appreciate what it did more, and I bring it up because it’s what makes Unikitty, Benny and Metalbeard so endearing when combined with what happened in TLM2. Lucy’s okay (moreso in the sequel), Emmet’s cute, President Business is fun but the MVP is definitely Rex Dangervest, who’s this feral monster but with Emmet buried away deep inside ready to flesh him out. When I make LEGO stories, I just have Rex change his mind on rescuing himself after getting the dinosaurs, and instead wreaking havoc in the present. This kills Emmet off in any story I do but it’s a worthy sacrifice. 

LEGO City Undercover: As a video game person I’m kicking myself for not getting into this before. Frank Honey is the best; he’s adorable and weird yet still feeling very much human and basically the Emmet of his city. Rex Fury has grown on me lots since my initial assessment of him,it’s infectious how much fun he has with being a criminal (while Vinnie is more fun when not doing criminal stuff and Chan seems to be more focused on doing criminal stuff as a job. I also think his calmer side is criminally (no pun intended again) overlooked). Also Ellie is underrated, she is the best straight man you could ask for. 

LEGO City Adventures: As I’ve said before, pretty much everyone in LCA is adorable, especially Duke and Harl. Still hoping for more Daisy time in the second season, she could be a riot if played properly and not just a Fendrich stooge. 

Ninjago: Coming in with the hot take here; I prefer the movie version of Ninjago to the series. I think the problem with the series is that it has so much baggage from before the series started to iron out some of its issues and cliches that it’s kinda hard to get into as a new person, whereas movie Ninjago is a lot more approachable and written better off the bat (although I do see why it wouldn’t go down well with existing Ninjago fans). This all just makes me think of that moment in series 11 where Nya sees her worst fear of being normal in an artefact and it shows her movie self, almost as a take that. It just makes me think the show writers are salty about movie Nya kicking show Nya’s ass in being a better character. Also shout outs to Kai, Cole, Zane and Lloyd for being great characters as well (Jay is cute in the movie, his show self can be punted off a cliff for all I care). And I am with the movement to have Cole come out as gay (or at least bi if they want to keep Tournament of Elements I guess). 

Nexo Knights: This show is regarded as another Ninjago wannabe, but it feels very different to Ninjago to me. So much so, there’s not a single one of the heroes I don’t like and they all need to be cherished. Macy gets props for being the best female character to me, Aaron is probably my favourite now and this is a house of Clance for future reference. 

So, with all that being said, what do I think of the prospects for 2020? I think it’s going to be quieter than 2019 to be honest, since there’s a lot winding down, and on the game side there’s been zero announcements. Crash and Spyro having a rest is understandable, Sonic’s going to have to get past the movie before gearing up for 2021 probably (for the record I have no interest in the movie) and Mario just needs to try harder. And with OK KO dead, only LCA is holding the fort for guaranteed new content I want to engage in right now. 

You know what would be fun though? Series 20 of the minifigures theme is due at the end of this year. Wouldn’t it be awesome to use the occasion to give some phsical minifigures to characters who never got them before? LIke, Rex Fury somehow still has enough demand to be a persistent feature in the customs market, give him an official figure (especially since he’s the only character from LCU that’s not Chase that’s even appeared in merch outside the game). Or let Sky Lane get her LEGO Universe look in physical form to go with her LIXS look. Or heck, finally give Rocket Racer his original look, that’s how I discovered the minifigure world in the first place!

[professorprophetess]

Lost in Adaptation

Though there have been successful game based movies before, like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, that was about a fictional game coming to life. It worked for a different set of reasons and they all had to do with the concept of half-real Juul talks about in the book of the same name(Juul 121-162). That begs the question, can real games get proper adaptations into film without having their attempts fall flat. The short history of video game movies does not really suggest that this is usually possible. Yet even then exceptions can exist. For the sake of simplicity I will be sticking to movies produced by the West AKA Hollywood that are not animated that feature real game properties being adapted into films. To get the greatest breadth of the attempts to adapt games into movies I’ll pick one per decade since the very first live action adaptation of a video game came out in 1993. That movie is one that I’ve often chosen to pretend doesn’t exist as it was a very disappointing childhood memory: Super Mario Bros. Next I’l jump ahead to the 00’s with 2008’s Doom. Finally, I’ll look at the recent game based movie Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. Where did the previous two movies from prior two decades go wrong where Pokémon: Detective Pikachu got things right is the question I seek to answer by analyzing these games based films from those decades. Please note, I will not be counting any movies made by Uwe Boll amongst adaptations that got things wrong as I am lead to believe he does not care about how far off track he takes his films and it would appear as if he does it on purpose. Therefore, all films he makes are anomalies and should not be counted.

First, the movie that started it all. Super Mario Brothers was a very big deal in the early ’90’s. As a child of that decade, I know first hand how ascendant Mario and Luigi were. My older siblings and cousins all clamored to play as much Super Mario Brothers games on their NESes as they could. Naturally, a movie based on their beloved game was going to be awe inspiring.Oh, it was but for all the wrong reasons. To be fair to Hollywood, games are hard to adapt into a movie because of that half-real element many games have to them, especially story light platforming games of the NES era. However, that still doesn’t fully explain how they went from a fantasy romp where the hero—an everyman Italian plumber— rescuing the princess from a monster into gritty sci-fi dystopia, extra emphasis on the gritty. The set design, cinematography, plot choices, and direction are all bizarre when one takes a step back to just look at it. For instance, their redesign of the iconic Bowser into a man with weird hair. Because of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film coming out three years prior, the ability to have made a puppet suit for someone to wear to bring Bowser to life in all his dragon-turtle glory existed. Yet, for some reason, instead of respecting the intellectual property, whomever had purchased the rights handed the project off to writers who clearly were so embarrassed to be adapting a video game that they didn’t bother actually adapting it. As a small child, all I’d cared about was that they’d made Yoshi look weird and the goomba’s looked wrong. Now that I’m older, I’m more perplexed by why they’d choose to go so far a field. Their idea had no business being grafted into the Super Mario Brothers’ universe. In fact, had they not been supposed to be adapting Super Mario Brothers, their idea would have been fun for a Sci-fi B-Movie. Instead they just went so far off to the side that it left a shadow that kept Nintendo from allowing anyone to make movies from their IPs. The actors did what they could but a bad script and bad direction cannot be overcome by anyone. (Super Mario Bros)

The shadow wasn’t just cast by Super Mario Bros but other movies kept the belief that video game movies just would not work alive. Thus we get to Doom. I was far too young to play Doom at its initial height of popularity but I knew what it was. So by 2005, after strings of other not-so-good-to-so-campy-its-fun video game adaptations, it was Doom’s turn. The trailers looks promising. Then what happened was a clumsily cobbled together film that used elements of Doom’s barely there plot, as well as plot threads from Alien and other space horror flicks to produce a B-movie that bears next-to-no resemblance to Doomat all. There’s an instance where the movie switches to first person POV like the game, and the human antagonist has become and alien creature called a “pinky” which is a demon from Doom, but ultimately being PG-13 could not deliver on the gore factor needed to fully capture what it was that Doom was: a bloody maze of gore and violence. In this case, it was likely based on the fact it was Doom that they thought adapting it was a good idea, but in their fumbled and neutered execution they made a so-so space horror that almost utterly fails as an adequate adaptation of the game of the same name’s fame it had tried to cash in on. Again, the set design is questionable as it is set largely on a space ship instead of in a maze of tunnels through Hell, and the tame levels of violence are not reflective of the core part of Doom’s appeal at all. The acting was decent enough, but otherwise the story direction and direction in general are suspect. 2005’s Doom failed because it did not try to be the by proxy gore fest that its source material was and without that gore, the classic Doom doesn’t have enough of an identity to fall back upon (Doom).

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu: A film I’d initially thought would also fail. One reason was because I thought the game it was based on was a silly idea when it came out, but also because it had become an almost accepted maxim that all video game based movies would continue to be awful because when it comes to gaming that Half-real effect I mentioned that Juul wrote about makes it hard to fully adapt a game because we, the players are not just passive watchers but active participants with game play, meaning what we do is projected into what happens so even with highly story based games, like a Final Fantasy title, no two people are going to have the exact same gameplay experience (Juul 121-62). Yet, those games have a higher chance of being adaptable.  Those games prior to Pokémon: Detective Pikachu that most consider to be meh-to-passable all tended to be those based on games that tended to have far more of a narrative world to them than something like Doom or Super Mario Bros which were adapted from a story light FPS and story extra-light platformer. In the case of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu versus the series it spun-off from, until Generation V, there really wasn’t much to the story to speak of, and though it’s still not central to the main games, it’s stepped up to keep with what Generation V did. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a point and click adventure the is full of story and characterization that is not dependent wholly on the player, making its world and story far more adaptable into film format. A second thing the makers of Pokémon Detective Pikachu got right was they kept the aesthetics of the Pokémon world whenever they were designing the set design. They only deviated as such to make sure that these things looked coherent and real in that sense but it still reflected the worlds the games had presented. The pokémon were also a huge factor. They had to be redesigned to fit with the humans in the movie, but those redesigns were made with respect to how these creatures would look were they actually real creatures, keeping the uncanny valley at bay. Also, in a start contrast to the Super Mario Bros movie, this world was not only vibrant but it was a live and full the the fantastical creatures people expect to see in a world full of pokémon. Which is to say, we expect to see pokémon and they fulfilled that and then some. The plot is nothing extravagant or especially complex, but it was fun, it had genuine moments of heart and it fit in perfectly with the insanity that can happen within the pokémon universe. It felt like it and the games took place in the same world (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu).

Doom and Super Mario Bros on their own are not actually purely awful films. Doom fits right in with a lot of passable sci-fi horror trying to be Alien—and failing— whereas Super Mario Bros is more like an 80’s sci-fi B-flick that is trying to be cool—and also failing. However, the problem is these movies do not exist on their own, they were in fact adaptations of other intellectual properties that their makers did not respect enough to properly adapt to the silver screen. Whereas the Pokémon: Detective Pikachu film had nothing but respect for the game franchise it was representing into a live-action/CGI hybrid. Pokémon Detective Pikachu fits into the Pokémon World. It feels like it belongs there, and these events could be in that same universe. That, ultimately, is where the other two films failed horribly. Both films, so caught up in trying to be appealing to everyone, lost their identities to the point that they no longer fit in the worlds they were supposed to be adapting.

Works Cited

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. Directed by Rob Letterman. Performances by Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, and Kathryn Newton. Legendary Entertainment, 2019.

Doom. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Performances by Karl Urban,Dwayne Johnson, Rosamund Pike. Universal Pictures, 2005.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Directed by Jake Kasdan, performances by  Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart , and Jack Black, Sony Pictures, 2017.

Juul, Jesper. Half-Real. MIT Press, 2005. pg 121-162.

Super Mario Bros. Directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. Performances by  Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper. Allied Filmmakers, 1993.

[operationrainfall]

Title Luigi’s Mansion 3 Developer Next Level Games Publisher Nintendo Release Date October 31st, 2019 Genre Ghost Hunting Platform Nintendo Switch Age Rating E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence Official Website

Although Luigi’s Mansion 3 isn’t my first outing with the constantly terrified brother of Mario, it’s the first time I reviewed this series for the oprainfall site. Add on top of that the fact this is the first of Luigi’s ghost hunting adventures on Switch, then the bar for this review was set pretty high. However, as someone who enjoyed the first Luigi’s Mansion way back on Gamecube, as well as the updated spookiness in Dark Moon, I wasn’t too worried about enjoying the game. So long as it brought with it tight controls and substantial content, I was pretty certain I would have a good time. And while that ended up being true, there were a few annoying quibbles that kept this one from a perfect score.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 starts with Luigi, Mario, Peach and the Toads heading to relax at a new luxury hotel, the Last Resort. They were invited by the proprietor, Hellen Gravely, and after spending most of their time stopping Bowser related crimes, I’m sure it seemed like a nice offer. Our Mushroom Kingdom residents get pleasantly settled, Luigi and Polterpup head to their room, and quickly fall into a calm sleep. Suddenly, that sleep is broken by Peach’s terror stricken scream. Luigi goes to investigate, and can’t find her, Mario or the Toads. Suddenly the golden hued hotel reveals its hidden murky nature. Confused and alarmed, it all clicks into place for Luigi when the elevator dings and reveals Hellen. Turns out, she’s not the proprietor of the hotel at all. In fact, she’s not even alive, she’s a mischievous ghost in disguise! Worse yet, fan girl that she is, Hellen already helped free King Boo, and he managed to quickly capture everyone in magical paintings, and Luigi’s next. The only thing these villains didn’t count on (somehow) was Luigi’s spinelessness, as he runs screaming into the laundry chute, barely avoiding being turned into a piece of art himself.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It all seems dire, especially since Luigi isn’t initially equipped with his trusty Poltergust. Luckily, thanks to the keen nose of his Polterpup, Luigi quickly comes upon an upgraded model in the basement, and soon finds the Dark-Light attachment. Led by his canine champion, Luigi manages to discover and free a trapped E. Gadd, who instantly wants to flee the hotel. Somehow Luigi manages to fight his own fear, and they instead head back downstairs where the mad professor activates his portable lab, your safe haven and operating base. Turns out, Hellen went after E. Gadd first, and lured him in with the offer of rare ghosts (of course). E. Gadd may be brilliant, but he’s also more than a bit twisted and strange, and rarely sees past his own self interest. And while Luigi may well be a coward, he’s still imbued with the heroic spark to want to save his friends. Together, these two very different men work out a strategy to recover those companions and defeat King Boo again in the process.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The first step is finding all the elevator’s missing buttons. Those sneaky ghosts have stolen all but one of them, and you have to find and beat ghosts to recover each one. Considering there’s a total of 15 floors, plus two basement areas, that’s a lot of ground to cover. Thankfully, the game is structured in such a way that you’re constantly being led towards the next goal, and you really can’t get lost. Worst case scenario, the path forward may not always be clear, but E. Gadd will generally yell the solution at you if you’re stuck long enough. But if you’re not ready to progress, E. Gadd will instead direct you towards a handy upgrade first, such as the Suction Shot, the Gooigi module and Super Suction. Each item does a good job of opening up exploration possibilities, and I felt they all had their proper place. My main complaint was with Luigi’s Burst move, which has him jump upwards with a gust of air which can occasionally destroy items or open barriers. I never felt using this Burst was intuitive at all, and constantly forgot about it. In a game involving ethereal ghosts you can’t physically touch, it just didn’t seem that relevant to give him an awkward jumping move that could never let you surmount vertical distances. Also, I kind of wish there were a couple more upgrades for your Poltergust G-00. You get most of them relatively early on, and then very late you get the Super Suction, and I only ended up using it once, which felt like a missed opportunity. To be fair though, it’s quite possible there’s other hidden areas where you can also use it, because I didn’t even get close to finding all the optional items in the game during my time reviewing it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While each floor doesn’t have a boss, there’s a bunch of them spread throughout the hotel. Each and every one is a delight, looking entirely unique from the others and armed with distinct attack patterns. These were easily a highlight of Luigi’s Mansion 3, and even when I was irritated by some, I still enjoyed fighting them. Though I will suggest you purchase a Gold Bone before each boss fight, since that will let Polterpup revive you if you’re defeated, which happened to me plenty. A few examples of my favorite boss fights were Captain Fishook, a pirate shark that possesses a galleon to try and devour you; King MacFrights, who rushes about a stadium forcing you to stun him and rip his armor away; and Dr. Potter, a twisted gardener who fights you with a ghostly Venus flytrap. Even some of the more annoying fights, such as Clem, a hillbilly water maintenance ghost who fights you atop rubber duckies in a spike lined pool, was worth my time, despite how difficult that battle was. There’s just a ton of personality and creativity on display here, and I’m very happy the usual action was punctuated by these challenging battles.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When you aren’t fighting bosses in Luigi’s Mansion 3, you’ll spend a lot of time wandering, sucking up ghosts and solving several puzzles. I liked the general flow of things, except when I got totally flummoxed by the occasional head scratcher. Most aren’t that tough, but the first truly difficult one takes place on a movie set. Solving it requires using a bunch of TVs that teleport you to different sets and grabbing items from each. What wasn’t clear to me was that I could hold onto items while teleporting, which was key to getting past the puzzle. Thankfully, I found a solution thanks to the fine folks at Gamers Heroes, but sadly that wasn’t the only time I got stuck. I also got very stuck in the trap-filled pyramid, as well as in a dance hall filled with a ghostly dance troupe. Each of these areas were doubly frustrating since the hints from E. Gadd I received didn’t do enough to dispel my confusion. Thankfully, I wouldn’t say this sort of roadblock was the norm, and generally I got through the Last Resort at a pretty quick clip. My favorite puzzles generally involved clever uses of Gooigi to explore in areas Luigi couldn’t reach, traveling via grates to hidden areas and squishing through spikes. And there’s even a series of cool puzzles in the boiler room that involves water pipes, Luigi, Gooigi and a rubber ducky float.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

More Haunting Fun on Page 2 ->

If you’ve played any previous games in the series, you’re probably wondering about how the controls fare. I would say they work pretty well, with some provisos. It’s easy enough to use one Joy-Con to move my flashlight around and move Luigi with the other. It’s also easy to use the shoulder buttons to suck things up or blow them out. The problems come with how many moves are mapped to a single Joy-Con. To use the Dark-Light, you have to hold X while also using that stick to move it around. If that sounds difficult, that’s because it really was. The same problem happens when I needed to hold the Strobulb with A to unleash a massive flash of light. Neither of these would be as problematic if it didn’t require holding a button and then moving the stick on the same Joy-Con simultaneously. This is also exacerbated by accidentally summoning Gooigi, which is done with a single press of the right stick, and often happened when I was just trying to aim. While I did eventually find a Dark-Light workaround, which was moving Luigi side to side while training the Dark-Light in front of me in a crab-like manner, it was far from comfortable. Only much later did I discover there’s an alternate setup, which is holding L and R and then moving the right stick around to maneuver the beam. Problem was, the game never told me this, and I only found out due to a fellow gamer informing me. I really, really think Luigi’s Mansion 3 should have allowed the remapping of buttons to the other Joy-Con, which would have easily solved many of these problems. Cause while these weren’t enough to make me hate the game, it did turn what could have been a perfect experience into a one that was less enthralling.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Though I managed to beat the game in a little over 12 hours, there’s a ton of replay value here if you want it. Each floor of the Last Resort has 6 deviously well-hidden Gems, and there’s also tons of vindictive Boos hidden in dark corners. The latter are always tricky to find, though I liked how the vibration feature of the Switch was cleverly used to indicate how close you are to them. There’s also something called Rare Ghosts, which can only be found in the multiplayer mode, though I was unable to find a single one. Because the game kept pushing me forward, I didn’t focus on many of these optional searches, which is probably why I got rewarded with a measly C when I beat the game. I’m glad optional items are there to offer incentive to play longer, though I don’t believe they gate anything truly important behind them. I was under the misconception that after beating the game you couldn’t return to that file and keep hunting, since when you go up to fight King Boo, the game indicated I had reached the point of no return. Considering the game only autosaves, I worried that meant I had to start a new file first, which I did. Thankfully, my friend pointed out that even though Luigi’s Mansion 3 autosaves, it uses multiple autosaves, so you’ll always have the option to go back and play from a different slot, even after you’ve beaten the game. Having said that, I’m still confused by E. Gadd’s Gallery having an empty spot where a boss ghost should be somewhere in the middle.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I rarely cover multiplayer when I review a game, but given how much Nintendo pushed it for Luigi’s Mansion 3, I felt obligated. Me and a friend tackled the Scare Scraper, since it allowed us to play without both using the same system, unlike Scream Park. Quite frankly, I was very disappointed by the multiplayer. In theory, it sounded fun to wander about, teaming up with a buddy and hunting ghosts. In execution, it was a garbled mess. For one thing, multiplayer doesn’t actually encourage you to play cooperatively. Every time I wandered into a room, the door instantly shut on my partner, forcing me to stop the ghosts solo. You’re also encouraged to split up so you can solve each floor’s mission in the small amount of time allotted. Even though you can grab some more time, you’ll never have enough to lounge around for more than a few seconds, and even with my partner constantly grabbing clocks, we ran out the timer more than once. Each floor seems to have a different mission. The first one was a simple clear all the ghosts in time, whereas the second involved finding and bringing a group of Toads to a safe haven. That mission was royally screwed up because I didn’t realize where to take the Toad, and thought I had safely deposited him, only to have him follow me into another room and get captured by those bastard purple ghosts. When you throw in other features like carpet traps that wrap you up and prevent you from leaving for up to half a minute, and which can oddly only be freed by your partner, you start to see why we didn’t much enjoy Scare Scraper. Thankfully, I almost never play a game focused on the multiplayer, so while I didn’t enjoy it, the experience also didn’t lower my final score any.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Besides the multiplayer, there were other aspects of the game I didn’t feel were as polished as they could have been. One is that sometimes, the controls are more than a bit finicky. I would occasionally try and suck up a drape, and try getting far enough to rip it off, and not have the right angle to do so. Other times, aiming and firing either plungers or grabbed items with precision was a serious hurdle, especially during tense battles. I also didn’t like how the camera would go farther away from you whenever you summoned Gooigi, making it harder to make out precise details on screen. And while this last one isn’t a serious problem per se, it is worth noting. Despite how much larger the Last Resort is than previous locales in the series, it felt both too short and too long simultaneously. Maybe that was due to the linear focus of the game, but even Dark Moon somehow felt more substantial to me. Perhaps I was just hoping for more freedom to explore like in the original Luigi’s Mansion, but I feel fellow fans should be aware of the issue.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Visually, I have zero complaints with the game. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is beautiful, haunting and bursting at the seams with goofy humor. Luigi makes the absolute best faces of terror, and even the ghosts show a wide range of personality. I liked how most every floor had a different style and flavor from any other, even when they made absolutely zero sense, such as a pirate ship or pyramid inside a hotel. There’s some really cool environments on display, though one of my all time favorites is the Garden Suites, which involves a giant stalk growing out of control at the hands of a demented gardener. The game also uses color really well, despite the general dark hues the game utilizes, and I never was bored stylistically. And as I stated earlier, the bosses are all great, and have wonderful designs that distinguish them all. Musically, the game is also top notch. There’s not a lot of music tracks, but they all do a good job of keeping you invested and setting the sinister and playful mood. Special shout out to Luigi’s many yells of terror, the startled shrieks of captured ghosts as well as the indescribable noise that Gooigi makes every time he’s summoned, including his trademark “bye bye” when you retrieve him into your tank. And perhaps best of all is the gibberish sounds each character makes while talking, from the chipmunk ramblings of E. Gadd to the screeching metal laughter of King Boo. As far as design goes, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is of the highest caliber.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the end, I did still have a great time with Luigi’s Mansion 3, despite the quirks I ran into. Sure it’s not perfect, but fans of the series should be happy, and you still get a lot of game for $59.99. I’m happy this is a Switch exclusive, since it has that trademark Nintendo magic. While I would like it if the overall experience was a bit more polished, I still had a lot of fun exploring the Last Resort. Also, Polterpup and E. Gadd are now some of my favorite Nintendo characters. The puppy is easily the MVP of the entire game, an adorable rescue animal to help the constantly flustered plumber. And E. Gadd is delightfully strange and just twisted enough that I kind of want him to become a villain in the next game. Overall, I’d say this one is worth the price of admission. Here’s hoping it’s not the last haunted adventure of Luigi and company.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″]

Review Copy Purchased by Author

REVIEW: Luigi’s Mansion 3 Title Luigi's Mansion 3

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll Favorites 2018 Part Two: VIDEO GAMES!

Welcome back for Part Two of Crunchyroll Favorites 2018! Yesterday, we shared our favorite anime and manga of the past year, but this time, it's all about our favorite VIDEO GAMES!

  I always like to start these end-of-year lists by saying something like "2018 was no 1998 (or 2005, or 2017)," but y'know what? 2018 was a very good year for video games, and I don't feel right saying otherwise. Games about dads, games about the dead, people still playing Overwatch and Breath of the Wild with plenty of gas left in the tank, we got a new Call of Duty and a new Assassin's Creed as expected, and I told an ungodly amount of people to buy Stardew Valley for their Switches.

  The rules were simple: only games that were released (or received a re-release) in 2018, or had a major update or expansion. Now, let's get started!

  Nate Ming

Dragon Ball FighterZ- What a world we live in where the purest, meanest fighting game to come out in 2018 is also its most beautiful. FighterZ is exacting and ruthless when it comes to advanced play, but is still accessible enough to let new players have a total blast. And for once, it's a Dragon Ball game that not only plays excellently, but is filled to the brim with callbacks to the manga, TV anime, and movies--what absolute perfection.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life- The end of Kazuma Kiryu's long, violent road took us from the sleepy streets of a Hiroshima neighborhood back to the bustling Kamurocho. The Yakuza games are so perfect, and full of so much to do: recruiting for a gang, managing a baseball team, adopting kittens, lifting weights, babysitting, beating the crap out of people--this was the best way to say goodbye to the Dragon of Dojima, and a surprisingly thoughtful and emotionally smart look at masculinity, fatherhood, and legacy.

God of War- The other Dad Game this year was also a great ride, this time dealing with a regretful father who wants to make sure his child never ends up like him. This game really felt like a long holiday weekend with my own old man, making it equal parts endearing and infuriating.

Return of the Obra Dinn- A rich, multilayered mystery from the creator of the equally-slick Papers Please, there were no games in 2018 that took over my life like The Return of the Obra Dinn. I was taking notes, studying the ship's layout and crew's roles, and basically becoming the investigator character as I worked to find out what killed everyone aboard the H.M.S. Obra Dinn. What a ride.

Into the Breach- I'm kind of a perfectionist, which makes a game like Into the Breach so much more difficult for me to play. This is a game about either making hard turn-based giant mech-vs-kaiju choices and living with them, or constantly resetting the timeline to try and get things perfectly right this time around. Spoiler alert: you very rarely will.

Honorable Mentions: GRIS, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Mega Man 11

Cayla Coats

    Hollow Knight (NS)- I’m a big fan of so-called “Metroidvania” action/adventure/platformer games, and Hollow Knight is the best I’ve played in a long time. The game feels wonderful to control, the player character and attacks both having a real sense of weight to them. Wrap it all up in some beautiful 2D sprite and background artwork as well as an ethereal and haunting soundtrack and you’ve got one great game and one happy Cayla.

Soulcalibur VI- I honestly haven’t played a Soul game since Soulcalibur II, and just happened to play this entry after my roommate bought it. And I love it. Every character is a joy to use, and offers the seemingly impossible mixture of accessibility and complexity. Also Voldo is still… Voldo, and that’s worth something, right?

Night in the Woods (NS)- I missed out on this indie gem when it first launched in 2017, but thanks to the surprising indie game oasis that is the Switch, I got to enjoy it early this year! Equal parts Animal Crossing, Gone Home, and Twin Peaks, this cute-but-creepy coming-of-age tale makes the best of its midwestern setting.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I mean… it’s Smash. It still rules. There are approximately 3 billion really fun modes to try out and 9 billion characters to unlock. It’s just good. Go play it.

  Nicole Mejias

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- The amount of hype this game generated was one of an undying level. Was that hype warranted? Oh, hell YES! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is an insanely fun game with unending hours of mayhem for you and your buddies! And most importantly, EVERYONE is there!

Yakuza Kiwami 2- I’ve been playing through every single Yakuza game available, and it’s been one gaming journey that I’m glad I took! The series really has it all: hot-blooded action, romance, heart-wrenching drama, and even comedy, which wasn’t something I was expecting at all. Some of the fights in this game had me on the edge of my seat and made me fall completely in love with the series. If you haven’t checked out the series yet, now’s the perfect time!

Battle Chef Brigade (NS)- Ever since I heard about this game, I’ve been itching to play it. A challenging puzzle game with some beat ‘em up elements? I’m ALL IN! Battle Chef Brigade did not disappoint; it’s such a charming game with a lively cast of characters and intriguing Iron Chef-like story! My only complaint is that it was over way too soon and it left me hungry for more.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee- Pokémon is pretty important to me; playing Pokémon Red as a kid helped me grasp the English language when I was still living in Puerto Rico. Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee is a passionate love letter to Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow, and experiencing all the battles and events from those past games in this brand-new one was a delight! A must for Pokémon fans for sure!

Deltarune- Deltarune is probably one of the biggest surprises in 2018, with Toby Fox giving us the most delightful of treats on Halloween! It didn’t take long for me to be smitten with this new world with some familiar faces we all know and love. This time around, your choices don’t matter, but what will that mean for the next chapter? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Daniel Dockery

Dragon Ball FighterZ- Finally, Dragon Ball gets a fighting game that lives up to the franchise’s immense legacy. Not only is it fun, but it’s a huge “LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THIS IS!” love letter to the series as a whole.

Monster Hunter World- I’ve been playing Monster Hunter since 3, and I must say that while I deeply enjoy the 3DS entries, it was nice to really feel the scale of these gargantuan beasties that I’m tracking down. Switch Axe 4 Lyfe.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee- Didn’t expect to like this game. Ended up loving this game. Tattoo Pikachu on my eyeballs, for I need to see nothing else.

That One Mission From Red Dead Redemption 2 You Know The One I’m Talking About- Walking up to a mansion with your crew to rescue a boy, fighting your way through it, and then burning the whole thing to the ground is a high moment in a game that could go from satisfying to “JUST EQUIP THE RIGHT GUN, ARTHUR, COME ON” in a heartbeat.

Luigi’s Mansion 3DS- My favorite Mario-related game that isn’t Kart or Smash Bros. came out on the 3DS. Clear the mansion of its ghosts for the sixth time in my life? Gladly, Professor E. Gadd.

Peter Fobian

God of War- An awesome reimagining of an old franchise, and one of my greatest hopes for ambitious narrative single player titles in the AAA industry. It absolutely deserved every award it got in the Game Awards. The story, characters, and world were all top-notch. The cinematics were fantastic and brutal. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Monster Hunter World- My first dip into the Monster Hunter franchise, this game probably had the biggest skill curve I’ve ever seen in cooperative gameplay, with mechanics stacked on mechanics that seemed to have no bottom. I got a lot of frustrating and satisfying hours out of this game, and I’m still not sure if I’ve discovered even half the things you can do in it.

Hitman 2- There were a lot of questions about the future of Hitman that were riding on this release, and I’m very happy to report that the newest title in the franchise is extremely good. This one got particularly creative, with some of the mission set-ups and conditions and each new map was excellent, even making American suburbia into an interesting mission area.

GRIS- I’m glad I was able to find time to play this final addition before years end because it definitely deserves a spot. Although I can’t really say GRIS is unique in being a atmospheric platformer focusing on depression/loss, it might be the best. The visuals and soundtrack were amazing, especially together. The environments and use of camera were also excellent. Also go play The Missing.

Dead Cells- I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of indie roguelike platformers and Dead Cells, as above with GRIS, may be one of the best of its genre. It’s got a cool aesthetic, some wicked gallows humor, and an unlocking system of items and powers that can result in the player having to formulate some absolutely ridiculous strategies from life to life.

Joseph Luster

Celeste- Playing Celeste reminded me of all the fun I had when Super Meat Boy first came out, but this time I actually cared about the characters and the journey. The narrative is woven into the action, as it should be in a video game, and it actually has something interesting to say. The way Celeste treats difficulty and accessibility will no doubt prove influential, as well. At its core, though, it’s simply an unbelievably tight platformer that provides ample challenges for players of all skill levels.

Ni no Kuni II- The sequel to Ni no Kuni isn’t actually all that much like Ni no Kuni. The battle system is completely different, the Pokémon-esque monster collecting is gone, and the story has been boiled down to the bare essence of Japanese RPG motivation. It’s almost embarrassingly earnest, but it’s also gorgeous, and combat is a joy for the full 30-hour run. There’s plenty to play around with after the credits roll, too, but I was mostly just proud of myself for actually having fun with and completing an RPG in 2018.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon- The award for “Game I Actually Bothered to Beat Multiple Times in 2018” definitely goes to this unassuming bite-sized prequel to Koji Igarashi’s upcoming Bloodstained. It’s so much more than just a downloadable “extra,” and in many ways it out-Castlevania IIIs the original Castlevania III. Play this game immediately if you haven’t, and take the time to get every ending for maximum satisfaction.

Dragon Ball FighterZ- I don’t really play fighting games anymore. I haven’t in years, despite trying to pick them back up seriously when Street Fighter V first came out. Not living with roommates anymore has a lot to do with it, but that enthusiasm roared back to life when Dragon Ball FighterZ arrived in jaw-dropping style. This is the essential anime fighter, and nothing made me and my friends cheer and shout at the screen more in 2018.

Iconoclasts- Like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Iconoclasts came early in the year and started 2018 out on a really strong note. This is probably the “smallest” a list has ever been for me in terms of the sheer scale of the games themselves, but titles like Iconoclasts just fired up my imagination more than the big AAA beasts. From the lush sprite-based visuals to the soundtrack and the excellent pacing, this one is going to stick in my mind for years to come.

Nick Creamer

Hollow Knight/Dead Cells- Though both of these were technically 2017 releases, their continuing developer support and my own delayed play schedule means I’m celebrating them now anyway. And they’re great! If you enjoy games like Metroid or Castlevania, you absolutely must pick up the richly atmospheric and remarkably vast Hollow Knight. If you want an experience like that in a more arcadey, roguelike package, Dead Cells cannot be missed. It’s nice to live in a golden age of challenging indie action games!

Celeste- Speaking of great indie titles, this year’s Celeste likely needs no introduction. Though it theoretically falls in the same punishing platformer space as something like Super Meat Boy, Celeste’s charming storytelling, neatly partitioned challenges, and robust assist features mean it’s a platforming experience that basically anyone could enjoy. Thoughtfully written and brilliantly designed, Celeste shouldn’t be missed by any platforming enthusiasts.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I am perfectly comfortable admitting I’m one of those Smash fans who up until now, basically just stuck to Melee. The combat in Brawl and Smash 4 always just felt far too floaty for me, with both my character jumps and the impact of my hits making me feel like I was constantly wearing a big balloon suit. Ultimate counters that complaint with crisp, speedy combat harkening back to Melee’s rapid-fire exchanges, along with the most luxurious suite of characters and secondary modes Smash has ever seen. This truly feels like the definitive Smash experience.

Monster Hunter World- MHW was my first experience with the Monster Hunter franchise, and it was glorious. Well, it was eventually glorious--the first fifteen or so hours were an interminable learning process, while I figured out the game’s inscrutable controls and systems, ponderous movement, and extremely vague directions. But after that, hoo boy! Monster Hunter is essentially “Boss Rush: The Videogame,” complete with dozens of intimidating creatures who all demand their own hunting strategy. As an insatiable gobbler of challenging RPG-adjacent action games, I had great times hunting deadly beasts all through last winter.

-----

And that's a wrap for Part Two! Be sure to join us at the same time tomorrow for our third and final installment, focusing on the EVERYTHING ELSE of 2018--movies, TV, books, comics, food, life experiences, and more! If you're in the mood for more CR Favorites, here are the links to past years' features:

  Crunchyroll Favorites 2017 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2016 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One | Part Two

What were your favorite video games of 2018? Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST-OF list, so there are no wrong answers--sound off in the comments and share your favorites!

-----

Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. His comic, Shaw City Strikers, launches January 15, 2019.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[crowcawcus-blog]

Interview with Rob Crow, circa 2012

Crow says you need to be “a real music nerd” to appreciate Devfits: Devo in the style of the Misfits and vice-versa. When I hear he's playing a benefit for UCSD's Ché Café, I jump at the chance to witness this spectacle.

After scuttling about like any good roadie, setting up his equipment, Crow steps into a corner and wrestles on a suit constructed of duct tape, a creepy skin-toned mask, and thick geeky glasses while a film clip of his five-year-old son instructs the audience to buy lots of merch and tell everyone how well the show went, "even when it sucks."

He bursts out onto stage and takes hold of the mic, which is hopelessly tangled around its stand. After belting out his first lines, he brandished the offending machinery and commands, “Please undo this thing from here.” I grab it and unravel it awkwardly, nearly spearing him in the process. He nevertheless tells me, “Thank you very much,” and forges on.

I'm charmed by his manners, but moments later my opinion shifts when he charges his way through the audience, trailing the mic wire behind him heedlessly. Me and two other spectators barely squirm our way out of a firm trussing-up, and I twist my shoulder in the process.

Yet his performance is hauntingly beautiful, especially his rendition of the Misfits song “Hatebreeders.” (Devfits (Rob Crow) @ The Che Cafe on 01.07.12) The herd of UCSD students seems mostly bemused. Near the end of the set Crow tells us that he’s “been coming to the Ché since way before you were all born, and that's not hyperbole."

Crow steps back into the corner and removes the duct tape suit. I watch him chat with a few fans, and after they help him pack up and he's at liberty, I approach. He greets me with a handshake and another thank-you for detangling his mic. His sweet demeanor makes it easy to screw up the courage to ask if he'd consider an interview.

"Sure!" he agrees. "You know I do 'em all the time, for my podcast. Can it wait a few minutes, though?"

I assure him I'm not going to interrogate him tonight, that I meant to schedule for another time. He looks relieved, pulls some rolled-up t-shirts out of his bag and spreads them out on the merch table, scribbling in Sharpie that they’re available for at least a $10 donation to the Ché. Again I am impressed by his gentility.

I email to ask if I might pick his brain at his "Super Amazing Happy Funtime Night" at Bar Eleven. The poster for the event intrigues me; someone pasted his torso onto a horse's body. He looks natural as a centaur. "Sure!" comes the scarily succinct reply again. I hope the whole interview won't go this way of brevity.

I sip a Monkey Paw Sweet Georgia Brown Ale while he painstakingly plots the trajectory of his projector. Then he upends a bag of 99-cent store toys: 20-piece puzzles, bubble wands, foam airplanes, barrels o' monkeys, and paint-by-numbers on all the bartops and booths. I grab bubbles. Then, again, he retreats to the corner and pulls on... a gorilla suit. Only then does he visibly relax, stationing himself in between the turntable and the bar. The smirking bartender, Justin Bess, hands Crow a beer. I start with what I hope is an innocuous question: why the gorilla suit? 

“’cause I hate thinking about what to wear,” he states matter-of-factly. I blink, at a loss. He adds that often he wears it around the house and forgets to remove it between home and the recording studio.

He downs a draught, then pauses and looks at his cell phone. “My Words are piling up,” he laughs, showing the screen with a long list of Words With Friends requests.

He busies himself in switching vinyl – so far I've heard King Crimson, Metamatics, Nomeansno, The Locust, Dead Ghosts, Electric Light Orchestra, and Neil Young. Does he remember the first album he bought?

"The soundtrack to Over the Edge, a phenomenal movie," he answers immediately. "It's the truest movie about the seventies I've ever seen. Cameron Crowe called it the greatest soundtrack ever. And I spent a lot of money on The Ramones and Cheap Trick."

A glance at the stream of videos on one screen informs me that "Your Masonic friend thinks very highly of you! You should be proud!"

"Where do you find this shit?" slips out of my mouth before I think about it. He chuckles: "I delve."

I inquire as to when he realized his voice is such a beautiful instrument.

“When I was a kid, I always thought I was gonna be a guitar player. The first band I was in [Heavy Vegetable], we didn’t know who would sing, so we’d take turns. I remember we’d go into the bathroom, which we thought would have an awesome reverb effect – which it didn’t -- and sing into this machine, and there was this giant boa constrictor living in the bathtub –"

I can’t help but interrupt. A boa constrictor?

“Yup," he affirms without elaboration, and rattles on: "And I’m standing over the toilet, all wrapped in this snake, with a drink in one hand and a mike in the other, trying to sing this dumb song – everyone liked it. And I thought, ‘Oh, okay.’”

He notes, in fact, that he likes his singing voice but despises his speaking voice as “super-annoying.” I respond that his speaking voice is very pleasing and radio-friendly on his podcast.

“That’s super-edited,” he replies. I shoot him a doubtful look. “Well, I’m being hyperbolic,” he admits.

A Western saloon-fight with dogs as cowboys starts up on the screen, and I remember that Crow said in an interview with popmatters.com (Contrary Opinions) that he does not like dogs.

In the same interview he says he dislikes the Beatles, confessing that “It’s also just really fun to tell people that you hate the Beatles and watch them flip out.” I wonder, therefore, if he’s merely being "hyperbolic" to be provocative. I mean, who doesn’t like dogs unless mauled when young? Does he really hate dogs?

“Ummm, nah," he says vaguely, distracted by a stubborn wrapper on a velvet paint-by-numbers set. "Well, it just depends,” he hems.

He seems disinclined to explain what makes a dog odious or not, so I switch gears. On the cover of his newest solo album, He Thinks He’s People, one of his signature illustrations shows a stick-figure in the doghouse under a starry sky with two feeding bowls labeled “calzones” and “Speedway Stout.” Is Speedway Stout his favorite local brew? “Pretty much. But it’s not something I could drink twenty of in a night.”

I ask, does he get his calzones from Etna’s?

“Noooo, no Etna’s,” he intones firmly. “Luigi’s. Not Pizzeria Luigi’s, who does have the best pizza in San Diego, but Luigi’s At the Beach, in Mission Beach… I’m from New Jersey; I know my calzones. Every year my family and Pushead’s meet to go there.” My eyebrows shoot up, and he pauses to gauge my reaction. “You know who that is?”

I nod. Pushead is a fixture in the heavy metal and punk scene. I best know him for his grotesquely gorgeous Metallica album art which features skulls, twisted body parts, and lots of fire and ooze and gore, beautifully rendered, a stark contract to Crow’s signature stick-figure art.

I mention off-hand that the San Diego Reader called his cover art 'crass.' His eyes flash and his heretofore soft voice increases an octave. “You know, I’ve never NOT been misquoted in those two magazines [the Reader and the San Diego City Beat]."

The white stick figure upon a black background is Pinback’s little unassuming avatar. After a show at the Belly Up I had watched Crow dutifully draw dozens of the unique pictures on tickets, stolen set-lists, and whatever else fans brought up to him. I ask him now, why a stick figure?

“Early in Pinback’s career, we wanted to do everything ourselves,” including album art. He pauses, meditatively, then surges on: “I feel the stick figure represents the Everyman, with all its foibles or alienation or loneliness… it means a lot to me in its sameness. It’s zeroing in on the darkest parts of mortality."

I in no way expected such a profound, introspective reply, and before I feel I’ve grasped it, he continues: “I think art’s pure escapism. It shouldn’t be the purpose of art to really express joy. I mean, through art one should know what true happiness is; but once you know the real states – this whole life-deathy thing we’re in – it becomes this mobius strip…” He trails off and laughs shortly.

“I’ve been in a mid-life crisis since I was 18… manaically depressed. I don’t want to call it a perpetual e-motion-al machine, because that’s just horrible –“ I stop him to demur, because I love wordplay. He shakes his head and continues:

“But to not be able to enjoy the best parts of life because it’s all worthless… worthless!... there’s no hindsight in death – even wasting your time feeling shitty about it is just a waste of the time you have left but you STILL don’t feel great – it’s endless feedback.”

I think of the song “Scalped” from his album. Crow’s plaintive, prophetic voice cants, “I suggest you don’t waste your time... /Don’t kneel to the alter.” When I first read this line, I thought “alter” as opposed to “altar” was merely a [sic] in his handwritten lyrics, but now I think he punned on purpose, implying one shouldn’t live in a constant off/on, binary state. When happy, be happy: don’t dwell upon sadness, or impending mortality. And conversely, if sad, then address it and embrace it, as Crow does with his music.

Then again, maybe he’s just a weak speller. But given his penchant for Words With Friends, that’s improbable.

Does he mind that his solo album wrapper boasts a sticker declaring it "The new album by one-half of Pinback!"? He blinks; it's news to him.

"Does it?... No, I don't mind. What I DO mind is when they call me the Pinback 'Frontman.' It's 100% a collaboration." [with Zach Smith] I ask if he attended Torrey Pines with Smith.

"Errrrr, I got kicked out of all the schools in Oceanside," he states somberly.

Crow's buddy Tony Gidlund, who has listened to my questions with half-lidded and somewhat suspicious eyes, mutters something to Crow, who notes they might not make it. I look at him quizzically. “In-N-Out," Crow explains. "We always try to hit it before they close.” I ask him what he gets, because every late-night fast-food aficionado I know ritualizes what they order, especially after a solid drinking bout of the sort he put in tonight. “Grilled cheese with onions” is the reply.

“Are you vegetarian?” I venture. “Yup! I used to be vegan, but I couldn’t keep it up – It’s awesome, though. I recommend it.”

“But I love eggs,” I frown, “and besides, the chickens GIVE us the eggs, don’t they?"

He looks thoughtfully at his beer and says, “You’re very close to a Woody Allen monologue right now.”

He seems wont to self-effacing mannerisms. His 2007 solo album Living Well features a song called “I Hate You, Rob Crow." He flips off his own reflection in a recent video, “Sophistructure” (a perfect slice of his hypnotic mesh of visual and sonic). And he introduces his podcast, "Rob Crow's Incongruous Show," by styling himself "San Diego's Foremost Overrated Indie-rock Manchild!"

Meaning to explore this theme of self-flagellation, I instead blurt that I think he’s brilliant. Incredulous, he leans over asks me to repeat myself, then utters a short ironic bark of disbelief. “What?! Look at me! I’m in a monkey suit playing with dinosaurs!”

When I mention this to my pub-mate on the right, she nods sagely and says, “He doesn’t revel in himself. He’s an artist but not... pretentious. He’s a creative genius. I mean—“ she breaks off and gestures at one of the screens, currently occupied by a band of skeletal warriors from Jason and the Argonauts who, eerily, are shimmying to the death metal music in perfect time.

As he's packing up, he mentions that today was technically his one day off. "I should've spent it with my mother," he says, mostly to himself. I ask him how his wife feels about his late-night solo projects, and he says that as long as her vampire shows have recorded correctly, she is content.

I ask him if he liked having the last name ‘Crow’ growing up. “No, I didn’t enjoy it especially.” I tell him I really like crows, and instead of giving me the odd look most normal folks do, he says, “The other day there were 43 crows in my yard.” He counted them? “Yup. But when I went to get the camera and they flew away.” Typical Crow behavior.

[gamestoryuk]

Archive Post: Making a game writing portfolio

Post-migration note: this was the very first of the advice posts I did, way back in late 2014, in response to an email I got from someone I met at the Dublin Writer’s Festival. There’s nothing in here that I now disavow, exactly, but there are certainly things which I would phrase or emphasise differently. 

For a start, back then I was still mainly a studio writer, which gives you a certain perspective on this stuff. itch.io barely existed. It was the “year of Luigi”. Look, it was a strange time.

I’ve since replied to a whole lot more questions like this, eventually under the tag Cairn Questions. But this was the original, which might explain why it’s a bit all over the place, a mite over-thorough, expansive let’s call it. 

This was me setting out my stall for something which I still believe: that it should be possible for a talented writer to make a decent living in this industry, either pursuing their own artistic vision or as a 9-to-5 story engineer. Sometimes, it feels like it’s no easier now than it was back then, but a glance at the indie games lists gives me faith. 

So let’s get into it.

Say I was making a video game, primarily to have something to show when I apply for writing-internships at game studios. What would be better suited: a completely text-based game, such as the ones made with inklewriter (do-your-own-adventure-type), or a game that also incorporates visual elements?

Obviously, these are two completely different methods of story-telling. Both have their merits. The question at heart is: Would studios want to see that I know how to tell stories visually, game-ly, or is it enough to write a very, very good branching story?

My thoughts on this are below. 10min read!

I got this question from someone who’d been to a panel I did at the Dublin Writers’ Festival, and who was wondering how best to apply to some internship oppotunities. It’s fairly specific, but it kind of raises a lot of the things that I wondered about myself, when I was first starting out. Answering the question turned into kind of a screed! So I thought I’d post this response in edited form in the hope that it’s useful to others. 

Disclaimer: In case it’s not clear, my own career is really just starting out (hope so anyway), and I definitely can’t pretend to be a true veteran. But I’ve had the good fortune to work as a writer both within studios and as a freelancer, and I’ve been in the unenviable position of having to hire writers myself. The following suggestions are based on what I looked for in other writers, or based on questions that I myself have been asked while applying for jobs.

Firstly, it’s great to hear that you might have some internship opportunities. Most game production schedules have very little margin for error, and when it comes right down to it, most studios tend to want to hire someone with some kind of track record, any kind of track record. And this, naturally, is inherently unfair on people just starting out, of course.

If you’re talking to a studio who’s prepared to take a risk on a new writer, then to me that’s a really good sign: that’s a studio that’s prepared to invest in younger professionals, and they will get fresh, interesting writing as a reward. But it doesn’t happen too often as far as I know.

(By the way, I’m not necessarily talking about ‘experience’ in terms of total years spent writing. Part of the problem is that studios are likely to look for writers with experience working to a similar tone to the game they’re making (e.g. “military” or “fantasy”) or for someone with experience writing for a similar audience, (e.g. kids). This doesn’t necessarily mean that as a starting writer you need to pick a genre to specialise in, but it can be useful to point to writing samples from a relevant genre, even if that’s as vague as ‘sci-fi’.)

Applying for an internship, on the other hand, you’ll hopefully have more scope to show off how original or self-starting you are, even if you don’t have much of a portfolio yet. Which is great! I’m glad that companies are doing that sort of thing, to be honest. It’s the kind of thing I’d be trying to set up if I was still full-time at a studio.

So let’s get into it.

Answering this it depends a lot on what skills you already have. If you’re intending to learn the skills to develop something with a strong visual element, then great, you won’t ever regret it (this is true even if you’re talking about learning the skills to implement other people’s art. Being able to make something visual can be as simple as becoming skilled enough with Unity to utilise a library of other people’s art.) 

BUT if you don’t have these skills now, this will take time to learn, time in which you might be able to make three or four high-quality twine games or other text-focused games, and hone your craft.

This is really about how best to present your work. Unfortunately, the fact is that anything with nice, well-done visual design looks impressive compared to something that’s text-only. (This is often true even if the person reading your application is a writer themselves.) Adding great visuals to an already-great story definitely won’t hurt your application, and it could help.

HOWEVER, that doesn’t necessarily mean that creating a bunch of visuals and UI is the best use of your time right now. Especially if it’s the difference between having one reasonably-polished visual game in your portfolio, and having two or three (or more) well-polished text games.

You should definitely operate on the principle of know your audience: if you’re fairly sure that your application will be reviewed by fellow writers, then visuals definitely will matter less. But it’s hard to know that in advance.

If this seems like a lot of guesswork, well, it kind of is. That’s the trouble with trying to join the least-professionalised profession in a still-young industry.

(Btw I DON’T mean ‘least-professionalised’ as in ‘game writers aren’t professional’. Actually any working game writer has to be extremely professional, not to mention flexible, to work within an industry with no standard format for portfolios, no established writer career path, and enormous variety from studio to studio in terms of working practice.

There are positives and negatives to this kind of flexibility of course, and the sheer variability of games as an artform compared to, say, movies, means that a lot of the writer’s craft will never be ‘standardized’. But it does make it a bloody difficult and mysterious process to get started as a game writer...)

So instead of guesswork, let’s first look at some of the other things I think you definitely SHOULD show off in your applications, visuals or no.

-

When I was a lead writer hiring other writers, the things that I looked for above all were:

a) style

and

b) something I don’t have a good word for yet: the ability to hold multiple story strands in your head at once, design your words and characters accordingly, and play out all the possibilities. So basically creative cognitive dissonance. Or, like, a fruitful, creative attitude to cognitive dissonance. 

(This, by the way gels pretty well with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s definition of a ‘first rate intelligence’: the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in your head at once.)

In this case I mean the ability to think something along these lines: “at this point in the game, my player might be thinking THIS. Or she might have ignored THIS altogether and be focusing on THAT”. 

Or, the ability to think “I need to write a sentence which expresses idea X, when the player MAY or MAY NOT have accessed related idea Y”. 

It’s like asking an actor to get onstage and start performing in the second half of a play, when they don’t know whether the first half was a comedy or a tragedy. Sometimes you need to make it as clear and unambiguous as possible what’s going on. And sometimes, you need to preserve the mystery for as long as possible.

Inklewriter/Twine and text games in general provide lots of opportunity to demonstrate both of these skills: style and let’s call it creative dissonance. Just look at Porpentine.

Whatever you choose to have in your portfolio, these are the things I think you should show off most of all. If you can do that in something that’s pure text, then do it, and link me to it when it’s done!

-

So with all that said, we still have to face the fact that a text game may not look too “shiny” in your portfolio. In an extremely competitive application process, something with a visual component will PROBABLY have a better chance of making a strong FIRST impression. The question is whether this extra margin is worth your time.

After all, if you’re a writer considering making a game all yourself, then doing something that has a strong visual component might just be an exercise in trying to show off something that isn’t your core skill.

Bear in mind that any game with a layout of any description requires a large amount of design skill to make properly. The simplicity of something like Papers, Please is part of the sheer amount of design skill which went into it. And if you make something that has really clunky interface or doesn’t work, then it will be a worse showcase for your writing than a nice clean Inkle interface or Twine page. 

(protip: you can always describe something as a “whitebox prototype”. This will cover up a whole range of problems, but remember there’s no disguising a crappy mechanic.)

Again, if you do have the technical aptitude to make an interface-driven game, then fantastic! But bear in mind that if you do, you are actually advertising yourself as a triple threat – writer, designer, coder. So the onus may be on you to emphasise that your real love is for writing.

Of course, there is absolutely no shame in not having the technical skills. In the last few years the industry has started entering a phase in which a person can have a major creative role in a game WITHOUT having come up through Code, Art, Tech Design or QA. That’s the only way I got my first jobs: I was lucky enough to come in as an editor when a studio knew they’d be working on a very wordy game, and I worked my way up from there.

To me this is a natural progression, in the same way that eventually Hollywood movies started being directed by people who only sort-of knew how to operate a camera, but who had more big-picture skills. For myself, I have no technical aptitude to speak of and am, let’s face it, absurdly lucky to be in a position of being a game writer in the first place, sitting here trying to sound all authoritative while giving you advice.

-

At this point, a voice in my ear is telling me that above all you should make the game that YOU want to make, rather than considering everything you do as a ‘portfolio piece’. The owner of that voice is right. Actually she hasn’t read your email or anything. She just comes into the room and tells me that on a regular basis, in between working on her own highly commercially-viable work, and pausing so that I can make her cups of tea.

-

Is there a third option, somewhere between the graphical choice and the text-only choice? Well, yeah, you could get involved in a project with other people. There’s plenty of ways to go about this, and you have the enormous advantage of having fairly niche skills (writing) and the ability to work completely remotely (Google Drive). 

Pretty much everyone who starts a bedroom-based indie game has a story they want to tell, and (in many cases) a slightly over-inflated sense of their own ability to tell it. Many startup devs with games posted on, say, Kickstarter, will appreciate a politely-worded email offering to help out with scripting, especially if you offer to do it pro bono. Try to avoid pointing out the actual typos in game dialogue in their Kickstarter video, unless it gets really drastic.

There are other options too: cruise co-working spaces or game jams and offer yourself as a general-purpose story person. I got my first job in games because, above all, I could spell. 

Bear in mind that with any of these enquiries you’ll have, like, a 10% hit rate at best. But it’s worth persevering if that’s the route you want to go down. Sooner or later you’ll find someone who’s up against a deadline, and when you offer to take the whole ‘dialogue’ issue off their shoulders, you’ll find your hand bitten off.

Any opportunity to contribute in some small way to a game which gets made is a good thing. 

If your aim is to make your own games, then the experience of scheduling, version management, and above all COMPROMISE will be invaluable. 

If your aim is to be a studio writer, then all the above will be useful, and in addition any kind of team project in your portfolio shows future employers you have survived the various rocky phases of a project roadmap, not had any really terrible tantrums, and demonstrated an ability to tailor your work to the changing needs of the project. And that’s what they’re looking for.

-

If you do choose to make a game with a group, then great. But bear in mind that, whether your job is ‘scriptwriter’ or ‘writer-designer’ or even ‘co-founder’, you will have to be EXTREMELY flexible when you have your writing hat on. You WILL have some big, beloved chunk of your writing cut from the game because of an unforeseen, unavoidable change, and you WILL have to stay late re-writing and re-recording a bunch of lines in order to change all references to something being ‘blue’ to ‘grey’, because apparently it’s easier to change all the words than to just make the damn thing blue in the first place.

(Yes this has happened to me.)

It’s important to understand that this is not necessarily because of hierarchy issues, (though in most studios, story is generally further down on the org chart than I’d like). But the fact is that story/dialogue is the most flexible element in a business surrounded by inflexible elements like time and money.

And to a certain extent, that’s as it should be. Rewrites ARE cheap and, compared to re-drawing or re-animating something, easy. Talk is, fundamentally, cheap. I don’t want to calculate how many five-dollar words you’d have to write before you equalled the dollar value of one second of traditional character animation. Further, changes to almost any ‘technical’ aspect of a game can potentially introduce errors which can appear unexpectedly elsewhere, and which may have to be tested and re-tested throughout the game. 

A change to dialogue, meanwhile, will at worst, introduce a continuity errors, which while annoying definitely won’t be making it to the top of any of those dreaded ‘top 10 most hilarious glitches’ lists.

-

All of this is the reason that valuing your own time is crucial once you do go professional. No-one else will do it for you.

In some cases, it’s only once you have spent time and money getting dialogue recorded that you, as a writer, will have any kind of leverage to say to your Producer that the script shouldn’t undergo some kind of last-minute change, or be cut entirely, subject to the needs of the schedule. Learning to use this kind of leverage will be essential if you want to work within a studio, produce great work, and stay sane.

And, even more important, will be learning when to dig your heels in, stand by your vision, and fight story’s corner. Some story changes are worth causing time and trouble for other team members. Sometimes a word is worth more than a thousand frames of animation. Picking which hill to die on is probably the most valuable skill you will need to be a studio game writer. And sometimes you will die on that hill; sometimes you won’t be listened to, and that’s when you need to start the difficult process of deciding who else deserves your skills more.

-

In short, I don’t have a helpfully definitive answer to your question. To a certain extent, it all comes down to what kind of person is reading your application. In the absence of any certainties, the advice I would always give is: play to your true strengths. Don’t apologise for not learning skills which don’t directly benefit the kind of job you want to do, and the kind of games you want to make. Make the kind of game you can see yourself making for a living.

The bottom line is this: having a flashy, shiny visual portfolio is useful, but having a smooth, highly-accessible portfolio is even more important. State clearly and plainly as early as possible what you can do, and what you want. Give your auditor the opportunity to see as much as possible of your work in a short time, with as few clicks as possible – include a one minute video clip summarising your work, as well as your carefully-crafted two-hour masterpiece. Don’t count on them playing through your demo - include a clip of your favourite story moment as well. 

Give whoever reads your application as much opportunity as possible to like you – especially if they’re just skimming it, or they’re having a bad day, or they don’t have time to play all your games. Flashy visuals work because they are accessible at-a-glance. Even if you have a purely text portfolio, if it is clearly laid out and user-friendly, you will be showing yourself off to the best.

Above all, good luck!