#i need to figure out how to adapt these characters to my artstyle

[the-river-of-light]

why is joshua like that (on twewy w2d2, no spoilers in tags please!)

[ordon-shield]

Animated Zelda Adaptions

With recent discussion of an animated Zelda film to follow the Mario movie, I got to thinking about ways to adapt different Zelda games into animation. While a Zelda movie wouldn’t necessarily need to be an adaption of a specific game, with the variety of styles the series has gone through over the years, they’d need to pick one to go with — so here’s my thoughts.

Zelda 1/Adventure of Link/A Link to the Past/Link’s Awakening

I’m putting these four together because I think they could all be adapted into animation the same way — based of the original official art, in the style of an 80s cartoon (just with a bit more of a budget). Each game could be a season of a TV show, expanding on the somewhat limited plot by making it episodic and using the extra time to expand on the characters and world within that format.

Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask

For these two, I think stopmotion in the style of Laika (known for Coraline & Kubo and the Two Strings) would work the best (or using 3D stylised to resemble stopmotion, like the Lego Movie). The OoT style doesn’t seem like one that would translate to 2D very well, and I think it would be fun to borrow some ideas from the Link’s Awakening remake for the Switch and have the character designs stylised so they look almost like action figures. While Ocarina of Time would have to be a movie, Majora’s Mask just wouldn’t work in that format, since the sidequests are so vital to the overall story, meaning a one season series would probably be the best way to adapt it.

Oracle of Ages/Seasons

I’ve never played these two myself, but I think going more ‘anime’ with them would work well, although it would be fun to work in the pixel art of the original games somehow. Like the other Downfall Timeline games, these ones would would work best as a TV series — maybe three seasons, one for Ages, one for Seasons, and one for the linked games ending but adding in extra story where Link travels between Holodrum and Labrynna. For an animation studio, someone suggested Toei Animation, who apparently did the animation for the LA remake.

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks

Wind Waker, the one that got me thinking about animated Zelda in the first place! I think this is the only Zelda game that would work with Illumination due to its more cartoony style, although other studios like DreamWorks would also work. Although if it was done in 2D, based on the official art, Cartoon Saloon would definitely pull it off. Wind Waker would work pretty well as a movie with pretty minimal changes needed to the plot, and Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks could make up a Zelda trilogy.

Minish Cap/Four Swords Adventures

Leaving out the original Four Swords due to its complete lack of story — I think these two would work with a similar style to the Wind Waker trilogy, although I’d definitely prefer them to be 2D over 3D. Minish Cap would definitely work as a movie, but I’m not sure about FSA, it probably depends on how much is pulled from the manga.

Twilight Princess

Much like Ocarina of Time, I don’t think the Twilight Princess artstyle as it is would work in 2D. Based on their work like Wolfwalkers and Screecher’s Reach, I think Cartoon Saloon could definitely replicate the vibes of the original game in a more cartoony style. Alternatively, they could go full anime with this one — although it would definitely work better as something more inspired by 90s anime and its more realistic proportions.

Skyward Sword

Initially I was leaning towards Ghibli and while it would definitely work, just doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe Toei again? I’m not too familiar with Japanese animation studios, but Skyward Sword is definitely a good fit for the typical ‘anime’ look. Also I don’t think 3D would work here.

A Link Between Worlds

While technically a sequel/remake to A Link to the Past, the differences in art style make me feel that this one should have its own look — preferably 3D so the contrast with Link’s painting form is strengthened.

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

These ones have got to be Ghibli, there’s no question about it there. The big question is do you make them each a series, or a movie with a number of timeskips? Either one has benefits and downsides.

[luffysus]

I need to talk about Cross Game - Part 1

Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic of the old anime/mangas I used to read, so I decided to re-read Touch by Adachi Mitsuru and that not being enough i needed to re-read Rough by the same author. And just like that I was like fuck it I just can't get enough of this author so I decided to give another one of his mangas a try and OMG I am floored. Btw I have some issued with the tropes Adachi overuses in his storytelling and his artstyle but that's for another post. Anyway, Cross Game is absolutely brilliant, this is Adachi at his best dealing with emotions, grief just like he knows. I actually haven't watched the anime adaptation so I'm just going to focus on the manga for now. I'll try to keep it short but I don't think that's even possible cause I have a LOT to say...

While looking for opinions on the series, I came across lots of reviews but mostly from anime watchers and I was often confused because a lot referred to Wakabe as Kou's girlfriend and I was just sat there like huh ??? Did i missread something in the manga that the anime captured lol ? I mean Kou did love Wakabe but the author from the very beginning of the manga went out of his way to show us their relationship was a bit one-sided. Wakabe loved Kou (mind you they were just like 10 year olds at this point in the story so i feel a bit weird calling it "love" lol) but Kou on the other hand was always more interested in her sister Aoba.

The instances are subtle a la Adachi but there are almost in every chapter. It's the way he sets up his panels, the dialogue or silences that sometimes can be so mundane but highlight obvious human emotions, like longing.

Starting from Chapter 1, Kou and Aoba are the first two characters we are introduced to and already in that introduction we have Kou staring at /taking interest in whatever it is Aoba is doing.

And mind you right before this, is a page of Kou staring at bathing suits, and when his father scolds him he basically replies he is a maturing boy so staring at things regarding the opposite sex is normal...almost like the author is outright showing us the what interests this hormonal pre-teen...

The first part of the story being focused on Wakabe and Kou's relationship actually highlights and cements the fact that Kou always liked Aoba differently. It's in the way he wasn't really intereted in keeping that tradition Wakabe wanted of them buying each other gifts every year.

It's the way he would almost always mention Aoba while with Wakabe (I started taking screenshots of the different instances but there were actually like so many I gave up lol I can't post all of them). I will however just touch upon imo the biggest giveaway depicted. It is when they are exchanging birthday gifts and Wakabe spots a newlywed couple. She's obviously emotional and she mentions how the couple will definetely be happy since they got married on a special day (her and Kou's birthday). When I tell you Adachi has a way of setting up his panels...because what comes next is kind of a brutal hint that only Wakabe was in "love". As she is mesmerised by the bride and imagines herself in that position...one day most likely with him... Kou is not listening and is basically thinking about Aoba and trying to emulate her pitching. You can't make this up...

Now this could absolutely be my head canon, but Wakabe being the very perceptive young girl she was, imo figured out Kou liked Aoba that's why she tells Aoba not to take him away from her when he grows up to be the kind of man she knows Aoba will like (aka a pretty damn good baseball player).

When Wakabe tragically dies at that young age, Aoba could never forget that request from her late sister. That's what makes Aoba's struggling to come to terms with her feelings for Kou as they grow up so poignant. Not only does she have to come deal with the grief of losing the sister she was closest to, she also has to fight her growing attraction for Kou so she literally forces herself to exgerrate feelings of hatred him because falling for him meant betraying the late sister she loved so much.

Kou too has some internal conflicts he has to deal with before accepting that he loves Aoba. While he was not romantically interested in Wakabe, he still loved her very much. She was the only constant in his life, always pushing him to become a better person. It's a love that's in a way so much deeper than romantic love. It's the kind of love you feel for a twin (and knowing Adachi this is exactly what he was going with, by setting their birthday the same day and place). Plus like I said because their relationship was bit one side he felt that much more guilt, that she was the one always loving him, always doting on him during their time together. On top of that his feelings for sisters just kept growing...

This is what makes Cross Game so damn heartfelt. The emotions the characters go through are so complex, so human it tugs at your heart. Seeing these two heartbroken people try to cope with the death of loved one while coming into adulthood and dealing with their survivor's guilt, growing emotions... Damn.

I titled this part 1 because I still have so much more to say lmao. I'll stop here for now. Well done to anyone who manages to read all this and if you did I hope this makes you want to watch/read Cross Game.

[somelazyassartist]

i know this is kind of a dumb question but do you have any advice on how to draw wheelchairs? I cant figure out how to stylize them the way you do and the just end up looking too mechanical and complex and out of place with a cartoony artstyle

Hi!! I'll admit I might not be the best person to ask because I don't use a wheelchair myself yet, only a cane as of right now, so I sorta have to rely on references and stuff! (Though tbh if my chronic pain gets any worse I might need one lmao, one of the only things stopping me is that it's expensive and my house isn't very wheelchair-adaptable)

There's lots of models and kinds of wheelchairs so there's a ton of general references if you just Google "wheelchair reference", but here's a few places I learned the most from: Wheelchair Tutorial, Centaur Wheelchairs, also not specifically wheelchairs but Heroforge has a few different wheelchair options under Stage>Ride, which allows you to make a model of your character, pose them, color them if you want, and look at them from any angle you set them at, it's a very good drawing reference in general and it's great that they've finally started adding things like wheelchairs, crutches, canes, and prosthetics!! It can be a little tricky to manage at first but once you get the hang of it it's an amazing tool for art! (Plus if you want to you can even buy the models of your ocs, isn't that cool!!)

What I personally did to stylize wheelchairs into my art style was to practice drawing the really detailed ones that don't really fit with my style, get a decent enough sense of what everything looks like and where they should be placed. After I've gotten used to that I just sorta started simplifying the shapes little by little until I got something that more or less fit with my style, and then I just practiced drawing that version over and over again until I got used to it!

I'm not perfect, I'm sure I've drawn them wrong before because I'm still learning how to draw them properly, but hey!! Practice makes perfect!! I'm sure you'll get there eventually my friend!! I believe in you :)

[blue-bird-lamentation]

this the story post: melohax[.]tumblr[.]com/post/639167543643340800/warning-spoilers-ahoy-only-read-this-if-youve the game has like so many secret scenes it shocked me

Thank you so much for the link!!!

I really liked reading it. I tried to skip the hikikomori route part as I will try to calmly play it, but I‘ve read a few and, as a person who saw that seen of a man trying to cut a tree and saying “you’re not my son” it intrigued me a lot what kind of information I will get from there.

I’m still puzzled and still didn’t try to see what would happen if I collected the wrong letters and if I has opened the door to Mari.

I went far on this answer and wrote a lot of random topics that are also mentioned in that post and other things I remembered too. It’s still too messy, but my memory is fresh and I decided to write about what I was thinking, even if not organized. Sorry for using your ask, but I was inspired by the link, which I think it’s a very interesting reading. I’m also sorry for the mistakes and I may come back later to correct them. There are so many fascinating things in the game, and so many others I haven’t yet explored, besided I feel good writting all of this as it is kind of asfixiating to thing about it and not having anyone to discuss it with.

This game was a rollercoaster. I knew from the begining that the cute artstyle and the pastel colours in the begining were deceiving, especially when you start in a weird whitespace room and take a knife. Omori as a black and white coloured character among the other paster colours also felt weird.

One really interesting comment I received from my brother when he watched me playing a bit, in a fight, was  “oh your character is the real neutral one, the others seem happy” while all of them were in neutral mode. Also his happy expression was scary and he was the one who got to maniac aside from villains (at least for me). The fact he has a knife intrigued me a lot if I should really fight but at first it looked like there were no consequences (aside from feeling tremendously bad for being called bunny killer. Also about these little enemies, it’s interesting how many of them were bunnies when the person we find who has a bunny is Aubrey, which is also the girl from the group that is now “against us”, at least most of the time in the real world).

Also about the knife, there are two other moments that totally hit me:

- the suicide in whitespace, which could foreshadow his suicide in some routes, but is also the means to wake up;

- Kel and Aubrey in the real world who call us out for bringing a knife, which, since the begining, was the correct thing to do.

I really wonder a lot about his family and their decisions.

It’s been 4 years. I wonder if Sunny’s mom ever put him into some kind of therapy, I wonder if her absence was on purpose because she wanted him to say goodbye to his old friends one last time. I wonder if Kel’s visit wasn’t a coincidence. I wonder if Hero coming back was also part of a last chance to bring Sunny back. I don’t know if the other route answers it, but seeing the notes and messages that mother leaves, she seems to be worried about him. I would say a mix of worry and fear, so there must be some strong reason why she’s not there besides going to buy some furniture or whatever.

Saying this, I think only Sunny’s parents know more or less what happened, but not from their son’s mouth, from autopsy report perhaps. The house was adapted to the changes: no family picture, as opposed to what I saw in Kel’s house (and I wonder if it’s only because of Mari or also with his father too as described by the cutting tree scene. I had thought this was directed to Omori and not to Sunny, but this is also part of the dream realm, so it could be Sunny’s interpretation to the end of his parents marriage which was related to Mari’s death), Mari’s bed is gone (which made the scene when she knocks the door even creepier. I never got to open the door because I was scared, but I’m also curious). Also about the 4 years,  I liked the detail of the 4th floor sign in Last Resort, which was resting there on the floor, as the number is also cursed because it symbolizes death.

I find fascinating how the complexity of the situation is represented in the dream world. His team is composed by his old friends, which are human. Mari and Basil are also human but they weren’t totally present. Mari is the safe point and overprotective of Omori, but she is also the element who encourages him to face his fears. As he faces his fears, he unravels more information about what he repressed, also helped by the presence of the blackspace Basil. But it’s ironic as the more he unravels, the more corrupted the story seems to evolve, but also the more they lose the main purpose of rescuing Basil, which is more evident in the deeper well.

I believe the human figures are the most important to him, and then there are the elements that combine real world figures with fantasy, as the candyshop girl and the fiction space boyfriend. Each story is fascinating but it also makes you lose focus on what you were supposed to do. And in my case, there was a point where I just wanted to wander around in these stories because I was to afraid to face the real story that was masked by this fictional colourful world.

These olde friends represent perhaps what Sunny never wanted to have lost, but also what he does not want to face.

When Sunny woke up in the hospital, I first followed the kids, and no, that wasn’t the right path. That was the safe path, where there is no confrontation with reality. As it was when Sunny was with company. I think it is Aubrey who says he doesn’t like to be alone, and well, that was me the whole game, imploring to not be left alone, because once the character was alone, his world seemed to be corrupted by the black space, which was also a stepping stone to reach the truth, the dark truth.

And I really like how this is all Sunny’s mental effort, which, I would say, it’s helped by him leaving his house and meeting his friends once again, as well as facing Basil one more time.

I was really sad with how the story developed. What started I was assuming it was a facing your fears story, transformed into an overcoming someone’s death, which at first I thought it would be Basil’s, to go to Mari (which was a total mystery to me why had she died (my ingenuity believed it could have been some traffic accident or something else) at first), to go to save Basil again, but now with some dark remarks about the character himself. In the middle of this development, first time the character wakes up, it is clear that the dream world character is not the same as the real world one, age wise, but is part of him.

I had written that at first I was reluctant about the fights, but well, they were necessary to me to face the villains of each arc. But at the same time thery were never too difficult (I think the most difficult part to me was to be strong enough for the Dino Dig and the rest was pretty easy). When, at the end Sunny had to face Omori I was shocked. So, the guy I had been training which was very seemingly sadistic, did I simply train him so that if Sunny wanted to face his trauma, he would hunt him with his strenght? Like the stronger I made him, ther bigger the reluctance to overcome the past. And while this sadistic character seems to be what I would compare to a Chara in Undertale, to me it was the harsh self conscious, critical part of him who could never forgive for what he had done. And which was also manifested as the monster surrounding him and Basil. It was their perception that what they had done was unforgivable, but at the same time neither of them wanted to carry that burden alone: Sunny “forgot” it, Basil manifests it by making those toxic remarks like “you aren’t going to leave me alone again, are you?”.

I don’t know if we get to see more of Basil’s backstory but he also got me curious. I think that what both of them did was bad, but given what happened between Sunny and Mari, it was really hard to know how to face it. I don’t think it makes them willingly villains, but scared children who were very self conscious and didn’t know what would happen if people found it out.

However, hadn’t Basil been there, Sunny would have been found right away next to Mari’s corpse. So I wonder what led Basil to propose such idea and to make Sunny’s burden heavier, which made him ambiguity of his disappearance with the will to save him as a friend.

I don’t think it was an ill intention, but Basil created excuses to protect Sunny because he was important to him and to the group. As the photo album showed, Sunny was the younger element, seen as the baby of the group, and he was shy, but he loved his friends even if he looked the most expressionless.

I think these elements awoke in him the need to protect Sunny from the darkness that lied ahead his actions, but he didn’t realise how heavy of a burden that would be. At the same time he probably had some issued regardin expectations and self worth which probably told him that they could never be tied to such a cruel action, even if it was accidental.

In my perspective he didn’t see the dark shadow surrounding Sunny at the time, but he engraved the memory as an act not commited by Sunny but by something surrounding him, pretty much like when he started attacking him at the end.

I like to think that, good ending wise, the malevolent side, Omori is not necessarily a potential evil that was always within Sunny, but the self guilt and lack of self worth. The fact the Sunny wouldn’t leave the house and didn’t even take good care of his health shows it. He is self destructive, because guilt consumes him, not a person who needs to apply suffering in the outter world for his own satisfaction. The whole struggle is within Sunny and not ot become a bad person per se.

Some of Basil’s dialogue was too much for me, mainly when he kept repeating for Sunny to not leave him. However I totally understand why. Sunny covered the what had happened while Sunny had to live those years knowing what they had done, as if he was the only one carrying the burden.

It’s a real complicated story where everyone was the victim.

It was so hard to see how sad and angry Aubrey was, and how she had to make new friends to overcome, how alone she was all the time. How Kel kept being such a good person, however had to move away because he didn’t know how to face the others, afraid of being misinterpreted. Hero’s pictures with Mari break me everytime. “A match made in heaven” Basil had written in the description of one of the photos. The fact that he is the element in the group that cooks, but 4 years later he had given up. The fact he can’t face Mari’s grave. The way Kel describes his struggle over Mari’s death. The way he didn’t make new friends in college, although he says it was lack of time. Basil is completely broken and can’t even touch the camera anymore and tries to “destroy” the old memories, which Aubrey discovers. Sunny’s parents, as their life turned upside down. And probably everyone around was too afraid to know how to act around them.

I really like how despite everything, the human figure that Sunny creates of Mari is forgiveful and so cheerful. Mari is such a good influence that wants to help him overcome the trauma for himself (especially when she helps him overcoming the fear of drowning and calls him Sunny for the first time. The ways she asked for his forgiveness for pushing him so hard into playing the recital. It is still part of Sunny’s dream but it’s so in Mari’s character. I believe this part is also connected to the scene where we see her saving Sunny in the real world).

I will end this text here. I will eventually come back to it, and to the omori tag, because this is certainly a very good game with a lot of space for debate and reflection.

[henlp]

Adapting ARCANE into a (non-MOBA) videogame

This is an idea that I've had racking around in my head since watching the first season. Investment in the show as a whole, in conjunction with an artstyle that I adore, really makes me want to explore the environment of Pilltover/Zaun, through the characters I'm now so fond of. At first, I considered waiting for the second season in 2023, as it might've helped flesh this out a bit more, but there can still be something done with what we got from the first season.

(Unfortunately, neither League of Legends or any of its spin-offs can offer me anything I'd like, hence why I decided to spend time on this.)

In order to make a (re)adaptation of Arcane into a videogame, first I need to establish what the core pillars for the show are; these are the aspects that define it, and should be carried over as best as possible in the adaptation:

 - The world. The major conflicts within Arcane stem from the divide between the citizens of Pilltover and those of the Undercity, Zaun. We get only a few tidbits to establish what drove these twin cities together in the past, but we're innundated with a lot on how those residing on either side developed in terms of culture and social standards.

While the vistas on their own are impressive, it's in where characters live, or how certain groups traverse through different locations, that defines a lot of the cultural borders and the means for every character to move about. The world in Arcane is not one of ease and accessibility. Furthermore, a great emphasis was given to set up the "us vs. them" component of LoL matches, one that is present in almost every facet of the setting, even beyond Pilltover/Zaun;

 - The characters. Obvious enough, as Arcane is a character-driven show where you get to follow this story through different figures with distinct backgrounds and perspectives. Each one of our main players is given a great deal of development, and you always know what informs their actions, from their interaction with others, how they approach several situations, and the way they explore and move about the world.

There's no question that the use of League's champions is one of the highlights regarding how characters in Arcane are presented and established. In spite of how unique even the most benign of cannon fodder is designed, you get a good sense of which characters hold the biggest focus, beyond just protag vibe, and where everyone sits in the story and world.

Now that we have those core pillars set up, I should also make clear that the influences Arcane has from League of Legends aren't minute and unimportant. The major difference between the two would have to be the inherent nature of LoL as a never-ending cycle of battles between two teams of champions; while Arcane (at least in its first season) has a sense of inherent progression to its narrative, and leans heavily on its key story beats and the impact they have on both the characters and the world.

Thus, this videogame (re)adaptation should also take into account both the uniqueness of LoL's approach to its characters and the finality/sense of progression from Arcane's story. In short, it would benefit this hypothetical game to have as many champions present, but not necessarily that all are mainstays or play a major role in the experience.

       ----------------------  Game genres ----------------------

Now that these elements have been established, I can start going through different types/genres of videogames that could fit this experience.

A large roster of uniquely designed characters seems primed for a fighting game. Considering how bombastic and raw combat can be in Arcane, and how characters have distinct abilities and gear at their disposal, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have it be either a 2D fighter (even something simple like Guilty Gear or Dragon Ball FighterZ) or a 3D fighting game, like so many anime game adaptations.

However, limiting the interactions of available characters solely to combat generates the same issue as a MOBA (to a degree), which puts the world of Arcane on the sidelines; even if used, it'd have to be presented with different mechanics completely unrelated, if not a completely different game mode altogether.

In order to better integrate the world, and lean on the impact of the more important characters, a brawler/spectacle fighter could also be a possible choice. Think anything ranging from Streets of Rage, Devil May Cry, to something like Dynasty Warriors; those types of games offer more opportunities to integrate character interactions unique to different locations in the world, and how both playable characters and main enemies stand out from the hordes of enemy NPCs (which is also more in line with a match in LoL).

But this unfortunately runs the risk of characters all becoming too samey, especially the more options you have for playable characters, with actions looking different, but in reality more likely just reskins of one another. And given how combat in Arcane is meant to be weighty and have an impact on its participants, normal enemy NPCs being used as fodder for combat cheapens that impact as they're thrown against champion characters.

Maybe I'm leaning too heavily on combat. After all, the show puts great emphasis on characters being able to talk to one another and actually explain their positions, as physical altercations can end badly, even for the victor; delegation and dialogue are important in resolving conflict... but a game focused entirely on this aspects cuts out a lot of potential characters to focus on, as BOTH combat and dialogue are required for them to function.

Okay, let's try strategy, as it'd make it easier to balance exploring the world while having more than one playable character. A turn-based party RPG is a decent fit and the most straightforward choice, as balancing different approaches to combat for each character can simplify how they all serve different functions, and you can still have mechanics and features to explore and interact with the world beyond just combat.

An RPG like Diablo, Path of Exile and other dungeon crawlers might fit the bill with regards to giving this game a more action-oriented approach, while still retaining elements of strategy and simpler use of different skills. Certainly less spectacular of an approach, but could go a long way in making the world feel lived in by both NPC characters and aggressive enemy mobs.

A tactical RPG, something akin to several isometric games like X-Com, Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics, Shadowrun, etc... definitely can make for an efficient way to combine everything that made Arcane what it was and (re)translate it into a videogame format, at the cost of some spectacle and a more active approach. If really developed to a high level, you could very well make it so that combat isn't dettached from the game world, meaning that familiarizing yourself with the environments could make a considerable difference when fighting.

These options seem to take it in the right direction, but it can still be done better. 'Spectacle' in Arcane wasn't just in the particle effects or big slow-mo action moments. It was in the presentation of everything, which is why exchanging an active approach to the world, or rather, simplifying it, seems counter-intuitive (at least for this hypothetical game idea).

A way to combine all of the important elements of the show, without separating them completely from one another. Taking advantage of the presentation and impact of a more action-oriented game alongside interaction with the environment; joining it with the multi-character functionality of several strategy genres, alongside making it less restrictive to engage with the world and its denizens. And there is a way, we have a foundation for this idea already.

To those of you unaware, FF7-2 is a real-time/turn-based RPG hybrid, where basic attacks are assigned to a single button press, and most other actions can be chosen from a menu once you have filled up your action bar; when using either an ability/spell/item, time will slow down, giving the appearence of a 'split-second' decision by the character you're controlling, while the button-mashing of the basic attack better fits with the frenetic approach to wanting to finish off enemies quickly and without much cost. It also maintains a team of playable characters, but only lets you take direct command of a single character at a time (that you can swap between), and leaves the others to AI control.

Having a combat system that offers a mix between real-time actions and 'split-second' abilities from a menu lets you maintain the energetic disposition from characters in Arcane, while also allowing for additional skills unique to each one, without the need for extensive combos or copy-pasted, reskinned button layouts. Keeping basic attacks to a single button press (with the chance to improve chained attacks depending on each character and skill level) facilitates a simpler control layout that still allows for variety.

Using an action bar/cooldown meter, or something akin to the ATB bar from other FF games, can enhance how each character operates beyond their inherent speed, as some would be less oriented towards regular button-mashing chained strikes, and instead more reliant on abilities unique to them. Combining this with active movement during combat, alongside either a 'defend' command or a dodge button, balances both real-time and turn-based actions.

To exemplify how this can work, let's use Vi and Caitlyn as examples:

-Vi is a hands-on brawler type. Her personality and approach to combat fit well with the kind of character that you'd chain simple attacks with, dishing out as much damage as possible, as quickly as you can. Regarding her abilities and action meter, she'd be someone that fills up that bar a bit slower (maybe depending on how many successfull blows she hits, to boost it up), while her abilities are either more powerful, heavy-hitting attacks with additional effects, taunts and boosts, or her energy shield;

-Caitlyn, as a sniper/firearms unit, is best suited for precise, long-range attacks. You could have her basic attack command be either a quick gunshot or a weaker melee hit, but she's made to keep a distance and attack from afar. Her action meter would fill up much faster than Vi's, and her abilities can take advantage of the 'split-second' effect of using a menu, by having them function more akin to a third-person shooter, as you target enemies directly.

From these two alone, it should be apparent how combat can fit situations where you control a single character or a group. Arcane makes it clear that fighting is messy, and every advantage in your favor is important. By having this combat system, it won't be as foreign to find yourself jumping from solo encounters to team battles, be it against groups of enemies or unique, individual opponents. Furthermore, it also allows you to connect combat encounters with exploring the world, by letting you escape (outside of special instances).

After all, sometimes your best option is live to fight another day. As shown in the world of the show, grit and endurance aren't going to win you the day every time. By establishing when you enter combat, that a perimeter forms in which the fight takes place within the world as is, rather than a separate instance where one party faces another, you make it clear that you can (and sometimes, SHOULD) flee, as the environment you've been traversing is still all there.

Either with a dedicated button prompt or by attempting to leave the perimeter, you'll be ejected from active combat, back to the world; where you'll have a different control layout and assigned buttons to move about and explore. If you aren't ready for a fight, or don't want to bother, then you need to make clear that you're avoiding the confrontation, instead of the encounter ending and enemies despawning from the world. After you leave active combat, depending on whom or what you're facing, you might have to run away, climb a structure, siddle through a tight alley, hide behind something, etc.

Separating movement controls from combat controls is difficult in most games, but this way, you can have both without them overlapping, and still keep the fast-paced action elements from the show, while allowing the player to explore the world in the way that fits the character they're controlling.

        ---------------------- What kind of game ----------------------

With the approach to combat established, and how it connects to world exploration, we can delve into who our main playable characters should be, the ones you'd directly control (most of the time) while out of combat. One of the biggest reason that I wanted to wait for the second season was how many characters could function as the player avatar for this, rather than just tag-alongs to pop out during combat. So far, these seem like the appropriate candidates:

- Vi. With her standing in both Zaun and Pilltover being shakey at best, she's allowed a little more leeway for exploring both regions, with obvious restrictions that she'd have to cautiously circumvent. However, her parkouring skills and (seemingly) nonchalant attitude means she's well-suited to traverse the streets in unconventional ways;

- Jinx. A dangerous loose cannon and pariah, she'd find herself entering combat more frequently in big populated areas of Zaun, and hunted down by heavily-armed Enforcers if trying to explore Pilltover. The long way around would usually be the best bet for traversal, taking advantage of her also being quite acrobatic;

- Ekko. A better standing in Zaun while not suited up, but not able to move freely around Pilltover. However, thanks to his hoverboard, he'd be able to traverse through inhospitable areas far more easily, and reach restricted locations at any point;

- Jayce. Held in high esteem while in Pilltover, but nearly impossible to access most of Zaun with, be it escorted or alone. Even then, he's not one to go around jumping across rooves or parkouring through city structures, which also means he's less efficient when it comes to escaping from confrontations that have been initiated.

Other characters, such as Caitlyn, Viktor, Heimerdinger,... can still work as party members that don't necessarily have to traverse the world directly (outside of maybe some specific situations); and there could be instances of guest characters, like other League of Legends champions or more cannon fodder-oriented characters (such as some of the Firelights or Enforcers from Piltover) joining in from time to time.

And while some of these main playable characters have different movement capabilities at the start, it would be the desired outcome that eventually, you'd be able to explore the entirety of Pilltover and Zaun with any of them, even if the pace and methods of exploration might still vary.

Now, we can finally specify the main point for this game, since it doesn't have to be a retelling of Arcane's plot. And I'd like to categorize it as a 'Hero Hunter' game.

The show didn't ignore League's main components when recreating its world, and neither should this (re)adaptation. The main premise for such a game should be following several characters, as they handle and explore different parts of the world, interacting with its denizens, and fighting either alone or in a group, depending on whom you're playing as. And on top of it all, to encounter several unique characters that comprise the wider roster of champions from League of Legends.

In order to have the world feel lived in and having these champions proper residents of said world, they can't just hang around very specific locations; some of them need to go about their business, and encountering them in the wild would depend on certain requirements being met (if at all) by the characters you're controlling at the time. This aspect of the game can be extended to normal enemies (for example, Zaun thugs would definitely be more aggressive towards any of the four player avatar characters, and willing to initiate a brawl for no reason), but it's the champions that would be the peak of these interactions.

To better flesh this out, I'll have to use LoL champions as examples, which I had to look up myself. Potential spoilers (maybe) ahead for any subsequent Arcane plotlines, so take caution:

Zac is an ooze golem from Zaun that tries to help residents of the Undercity, as a handyman and protector. You'd naturally find him closer to sewage systems or constructions sites in Zaun. If you were controlling Vi and getting into too many scuffles, Zac might see you as a troublemaker and attack you if you're near him. If you're controlling Ekko, then Zac might never see you as a threat, and in fact, may assist you as a guest character in some fights. If you're controlling Jinx, then Zac would always be aggro'ed, engaging in combat at every opportunity;

Dr. Mundo is a crazy mutant that find himself secluded in the abandoned Osweld Asylum of Zaun, but might be found wandering the streets, looking for victims. While certain environmental requirements might lead you to run into Mundo as he's trundling about, he'd more likely be found in the abandoned asylum, where you could find him and fight him to complete a quest. If, however, you had already fought and beaten him prior to activating this quest, then you'd naturally have it completed immediately, even if he wasn't at the asylum anymore;

Warwick is a vicious werewolf-like chimera on the prowl, lacking in a specific location to be found in, when in Zaun; instead, he'd be hunting down YOUR character based on certain requirements being met, namely, isolated areas with little-to-no NPC activity. He would pose far too dangerous a threat earlier in the game, and therefore would be best avoided at that time. Given his disposition to hunt down criminals in the Undercity, playing as Jinx would make her a prime target for Warwick's bloodlust. However, that doesn't necessarily mean other characters would be safe, especially while wandering alone through foggy areas on the edges of Zaun.

(potential spoilers over)

And with that, I'll end this exercise in hypothetical videogame brainstorming. Hopefully, I'll be able to flesh out this idea in the future, especially after Season 2 of Arcane drops. But for now, the monkey has been taken off my back.

[megareviews]

Winter 2019 1st Episode Impressions

Back again after Issues prevented me from doing these 1st impressions last year. New year new me new season, let’s try to get all four seasons reviewed in a timely manner.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl 2: I would prefer less self-insert otaku protagonist romances in general, which includes those shows getting multiple seasons.

Ameiro Cocoa sideG: I don’t know how a show that’s entire 1st season was 30 minutes long could bore me so I don’t expect them to retain me as a watcher for 5 seasons.

B-PROJECT: Zecchou*Emotion: The second season of what looks like male idols, so… hard pass.

BanG Dream! 2nd Season: When I get fully into idol anime, this will be near the top of the watchlist. I’ve seen the scenes from the first season and this one and there is a big upgrade in quality, not that it was particularly difficult given the rough 1st season.

Bermuda Triangle: Colorful Pastrale: As far as I can tell this is a mermaid slice-of-life anime with characters based off of the card game Cardfight!! Vanguard. I’m interested as far as most shows are not about the supernatural creatures that are mermaids, but there isn’t really anything else that’s pulling me in as of the first episode.

Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019) (Boogiepop and Others (2019) / Boogiepop Never Laughs (2019)): I cheated on this one and watched two episodes before writing this, because the first two episodes premiered at the same time. Good thing I did because episode two explains pretty much everything that was barely set up in episode one. One threw a bunch of names and story bits at the viewer between romantic rooftop chats between the titular character Boogiepop and some guy. Two showed the viewer everything that Boogiepop was vaguely describing and introduced us to the main spookies of the show. Overall the animation felt stiff and generally revealed actions of characters rather than showing them, though the few supernatural events peppered in looked relatively nice. The concept is the only thing keeping my attention on it for the time being, but that’s a weak lifeline.

Circlet Princess: When I saw VR e-sport in the description, I was excited, but if the sport doesn’t progress beyond the 1v1 duel that was showcased in the first episode, they I probably won’t care. The show starts out by accidentally introducing the main character to a new sport by fighting an ace in it, and then progresses to her transferring to the school where the sport originated from, only to find out that the school no longer has a club for the sport. From this I’m going to guess that the show will just be her struggles to revive the game at the new school with friends she’ll make and train for a rematch against the ace, since their first bout ended in a tie.

Date a Live III: As somebody who’s watched all the previous material for this show (two seasons, two OVAs, and a movie), I was surprised at how good the second half of this episode was. The first half was a fairly normal slice of life x harem hot pot scene to reintroduce the main cast minus my favorite character. After that came the introduction of the newest addition to the growing list of enemies that will eventually join the harem, codenamed Witch. Her main abilities seem to be transformational powers, changing her enemies weapons into much less lethal objects and disguising herself. After the main guy accidentally angers her, she decides to use these powers to ruin his life, which I won’t spoil because that’s the best part of the episode. Overall, I can’t really recommend this series but if you’ve made it to season two, the art style might be different… again, but keep going.

Dimension High School: There are many shows that I struggle to fully classify as anime, and this one is probably one of the oddest, as about half of the show is live action, with 3D CG for the other half. The premise is very simple: solve the puzzles of the sphinx or lose what’s the most precious to you. If the main cast was more interesting or if it wasn’t trying to be purely comedy, this could be a fun show to watch, but there’s just a lot going on that doesn’t really work well together

Domestic na Kanojo (Domestic Girlfriend): Another show with a premise that theoretically could be interesting, but I am fairly certain is just going to be pseudo-incest garbage. So we got a main character who has a one night stand with a girl he meets at a mixer, and then it turns out that his father is getting re-married and the girl becomes his new step-sister. I think there is some promise in this as a concept, as that is just supremely unlucky and not really anybody’s fault for how awkward that is, but the key visual and title of the show looks like it’s going to be a romance after these high school kids become family. Oh yeah in addition the main character has a crush on his teacher at school who becomes his other step-sister due to the re-marriage.

Dororo: A modern adaption of an old manga (by Osamu Tezuka) about a child trying to get back the pieces of his body that his father traded away to demons in exchange for successful leadership of the lands he lived in. The first episode was pretty introductory to the main character, who hasn’t been named yet, and the titular Dororo, a very young but talented thief. The action has been pretty cool so far, and the full body prosthetics of the other main character are a nice touch, though I’m not sure how that will continue as he defeats the demons to reclaim his body.

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue (My Roommate is a Cat / Sometime, Your Roomate is on Your Head): An eccentric writer who works as alone as possible because other people are just too loud, while visiting the grave of his parents and finds a cat that inspires his new work. At first he loves this cat for being so inspirational, but ends up getting annoyed with having to balance taking care of it while writing his book. From his perspective it’s a bit of a boring story with a goofy twist at the end, but then when we watch the same events narrated from the cat’s perspective, it’s quite a bit more interesting. Only somebody who really likes cats, or this cat in particular, could make it through this whole show, as I’m expecting ~50% of it to be a slog to get through.

Egao no Daika (The Price of Smiles): We’ve got a princess who’s just turned old enough to start taking on more of her kingdom’s duties and the people supporting her in different divisions. While she just wants to put a smile on everybody in the entire world’s face, that’s a tough job for a space 12-year old to do. That’s the plot from the first half of the episode, while the second half is a decent mech battle between some new additions to the kingdom’s defense force, and the ace of the force, who happens to be a childhood friend of the princess. There’s a lot of places that this show could end up going, so I’ll be sticking with it for at least a little while.

Endro!: So, the heroes defeat the demon lord, the credits roll, and wait hold on there’s still another 17 minutes left in the episode. We’re suddenly back in adventure school teaching the heroes how to be proper adventurers, and the new teacher for their class is… the demon lord? The demon lord got sent back in time and now tries to stop the heroes from becoming strong enough to beat them in the future, and fails so much that they end up advancing the heroes’ progress. I can only describe the artstyle as saccharine, which is the main thing holding me back from watching it in season, but if you can stomach it this looks like a fun show.

Fukigen na Mononokean Tsuzuki (The Morose Mononokean Continued): Season two of something that I didn’t find interesting.

Girly Air Force: Two childhood friends escape Shanghai due to alien attacks that are mainly focused in China, only to have the ship they’re fleeing on be attacked by aliens. Like most media with alien invasions, standard military force is useless against them, but Japan has the secret weapon to deal with them. There’s a squadron of planes piloted by artificial humans programmed to overcome the technological advantages the aliens have, which happen to be based near the protagonist. He apparently is a stabilizing factor for the artificial humans, who are all female by the way, and gets recruited into this secret branch of the Japanese air force as a support unit. Based on the first episode, I bet this is going to be a harem with the pilots, or at least a bad romance, which I’d rather not spend time finding out if I’m right.

Gotoubun no Hanayome (The Five Wedded Brides / The Quintessential Quintuplets): When a poor genius meets a family of rich, nearly failing, quintuplets, that sounds like a win-win situation, except the guy manages to get on the bad side of four of them before realizing that they were who he needed to tutor. It’s also framed as a flashback for this guy’s wedding with one of the five, so it can’t be a harem… right? So far it’s pretty lighthearted and I can get behind a guy who orders a yakiniku set minus the yakiniku because it’s the most cost effective item on the menu.

Grimms Notes The Animation: In a world where everybody’s fate is written down on an individual book and there are many worlds based off of fairy tales, there also exists beings known as “Chaos Tellers”, who seek to destroy these worlds by rewriting people’s fates. Fighting to keep the stories intact are a group of people whose books of fate are blank and can take on the forms of famous story figures. The first episode shows an example of this fight through the story of Red Riding Hood and has a unique take on fate by framing it through these fairy tales.

Hulaing Babies: If you thought this show was about babies doing hula, you’d be 50% right. It’s about high school girls trying to make a hula club, and other than that all I can really say at this point is the art is uniquely soft and springy, so I’d recommend checking it out purely for that at this point.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen (Kaguya Wants to be Confessed To: The Geniuses’ War of Love and Brains / Kaguya-sama: Love is War): Instead of having one character that’s too embarrassed to confess to the other for a rom-com, this show is about both characters too proud to do so. The show is incredibly dramatic for the characters bouts of wit to try and force each other to confess first, while being incredibly oblivious to each other’s and even their own feelings. In addition to following the thought processes of the main characters, there’s the narrator who sounds like he should be in a shounen battle anime rather than a rom-com, but he fits in perfectly with the ridiculous tone of the show.

Kakegurui xx (Gambling Addiction xx): Horny gambling is back for a second season, and guess what, everyone’s still horny and gambling. This season reminds you of this with an advanced game of chicken, which includes a finger guillotine and the opponent betting on the fact that the protagonist has the ability to feel fear, which the viewers show know by now, she does not.

Kemono Friends 2: After the director was fired during the success of the first season, the second season feels lackluster compared to the previous one. If you liked season one, check out Kemurikusa right below this for where the animation studio and director for this went.

Kemurikusa: A post-apocalyptic survival of a group of siblings living on a chain of islands and fighting against “Red Bugs” who appear from “Red Mist”. They all have some form of supernatural power, but struggle to find enough resources to live, and while gathering water from a lake, they run into a human who ends up being able to sense the Red Bugs. It’s done by the people who formerly made Kemono Friends, and it definitely looks similar, but the genre is quite a bit different, so try it if you like the genre or the staff, you might find something that broadens your horizons.

Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai (The Kotobuki Squadron in the Wilderness): Once you get past the weird way that some characters are 2D and others are 3D, this is a great show. It’s about a squadron of pilots fighting to protect a cargo blimp, and the fighting scenes that take up a good chunk of the first episode are amazing. Even watching on a pretty small screen, it felt like you were actually flying around in a plane with how the camera was used, and while I’d assume there’s not usually music playing during a dog fight, it was never obtrusive and sounded right for how it was used.

Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka (Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka): After a large war against creepy stuffed animal aliens, the five out of eight surviving magical girls return to dealing with humanity, as their enemies are no more. We follow one who swore to quit being a magical girl at the end of the war and is just trying to reintegrate into society. This is an issue due to the PTSD she suffers from, her former superior officer trying to recruit her to training future magical girls, and outbreaks of terrorism in Japan. My enjoyability of this show will be determined by if they go down the “help soothe the girl who fought wars in middle school’s PTSD” path which would be great or “Maybe the real evil in the world is humanity” path, which would be… less great.

Manaria Friends: Cygames is bringing back it’s Rage of Bahamut characters for one more anime, which I’m up for. It looks like a slice of life in a girl’s academy, and that’s about all I got from the first episode. It’s got a dragon girl as a main character (yeah it’s Grea), so I’m willing to see if there is any sort of a plot, or if it’s just gals being pals.

Mannaka no Rikkun (Rikkun in the Middle): Well… this show was supposed to have aired by now, but I can’t find any traces of it on the internet.

Meiji Tokyo Renka: I knew from approximately 3 seconds in that this was adapted from an otome game, and just kept going. Our main character has ~2 personality traits which was more than I expected given the source, a love of roast beef, and depression stemming from the lack of interaction with other humans since her friends found out she could talk to ghosts in elementary school. After the setup of those traits, she gets transported to the Meiji era by a hot dude magician, nearly gets run over by a carriage containing two hot dudes, and then goes to a party with roast beef and more hot dudes. Oh yeah and the main character and hot dudes can see the ghosts that the main character has been talking to since she was a child.

Mini Toji (Mini Katana Maidens): A series of shorts for people who liked the character designs from Toji no Miko, but couldn’t get into the story/fights/CG. Shows the off time of the characters and helps develop some others who didn’t get as much screen time in the main series.

Mob Psycho 100 II: A good episode to get back into the Mob Psycho 100 flow, showing how Mob uses his powers with people and against spirits, brings back some characters the viewers might have forgotten about, and revealing at least one interesting secret.

Pastel Memories: A slice of life-looking show that morphed into a steampunk action show in the last two minutes. After the shutdown of the manga and anime industries, Akihabara becomes a normal city, with only vestiges of the otaku hub it once was remaining. The first episode introduces us to the cast of characters working at a café with daily customers in the single digits, and a request in their guestbook to read a certain series. This prompts a search of the entire district to find all the volumes from the last bookstores open. There’s a whole swath of character archetypes showcased and a couple of motifs that seem odd, at least until the genre shifts right at the end to how some enemy is destroying the existence of the same series that the cast worked so hard to gather.

Piano no Mori 2 (Forest of the Piano 2): I’m not suffering through ugly CG fingers and hair for whatever the story here might be, I’ll get the story from a printed form instead.

Revisions: During a kidnapping incident in elementary school, the protagonist and his friends are told that they will be the people to save the world in the future by a mysterious hooded figure who helped them. Since then the protagonist is the only one in his group to still believe in those words, and lives in a battle ready state all the time, only for their school to be teleported into the future with a giant robotic being to terrorize, capture, and / or kill the students and teachers. Helpless to save the people he cares about, the hooded figure shows up again, without memories of the protagonist’s group, but still offers the protagonist a secret weapon because she recognizes his name. It’s all in CG, but it’s a mech show so it actually looks decent, and those last facts are probably the deciding factors in whether a person should watch this show.

Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan: A short about a poor girl living in the city and working multiple jobs to make ends meet? The episode is 23 minutes long like a TV-length show, but most of it is an interview with the director and voice actor for Ekoda, because it changes with every episode. Kind of an odd way of doing it, but if you enjoy the ‘behind the scenes’ of other movies and shows, this show packs that in the main show, otherwise you can just watch the first couple of minutes for the animated story part of it.

Star☆Twinkle Precure: Pretty Cure is a monster of a series that I may or may not ever watch any of.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (The Rising of the Shield Hero): With a double length first episode, a lot happens, and a lot of red flags are raised for me. I’ll try to keep the length of this similar to others by streamlining what occurs which is: four heroes are summoned from different realities to save a kingdom from invaders, each with their own legendary relic, three of which are weapons, and our main character gets a shield. Due to him not playing a game in his world that function like this world, and the lack of being able to wield a weapon, nobody joins him except one lady who dumps a fake rape accusation on him while stealing his stuff, causing him to lose trust in others, and leads to him buying a 10-year old demi-human slave. There’s just so much reasoning that’s either damaging to real people or downright nonsensical to fuel this guy’s persecution that I can’t reasonably find a way to enjoy this.

Ueno-san wa Bukiyou (How Clumsy You Are, Miss Ueno): Starring a super genius middle school inventor trying to confess to her crush through “testing her inventions” with him during science club meetings. Unfortunately he is incredibly dense and when given the opportunity of (arguably) most boy’s dreams, he gives reactions of either confusion or scientific boredom. The tests as of episode one are somewhat perverted and since they’re middle schoolers, so I generally don’t feel too comfortable watching them.

Virtual-san wa Miteiru (Watching Virtual-san / Virtualsan – Looking): A show featuring a large cast of Virtual YouTubers (VTubers) which is executed as a large series of shorts like episodes from their respective channels. For some of the more knowledgeable about VTubers, the main cast are some of the more popular characters, while missing two of the most popular, Kizuna Ai and Kaguya Luna. The animation and art quality vary rapidly between the signature styles of various VTubers, and overall it feels like watching a bunch of hyperactive kids interact. They do promote lesser known characters, in sections where they give brief introductions and ask for viewers to send in their own characters to promote.

W’z: It’s listed as a sequel to Hand Shakers, which I found an odd premise with clashing art between great 2D are and hideous 3DCG.

Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita! (An Angel Flew Down to Me!): A show that was relatable for about a minute before becoming creepy for the rest of the show. It’s about a shy, cosplay crafting college girl who… falls in love at first sight with her 5th grade sister’s friend. I thought UzaMaid last season was a creepy enough show starring a pedophile, but somehow we’re already on another level of creepy. It almost alleviated the main issue I had with UzaMaid (College student with an elementary schooler is still illegal, but closer in age than an ex-airforce pilot) but introduced quite a few problems, such as bribing the target with sweets to wear certain clothes and take pictures in them, and the target agreeing to come back as long as she gets more sweets, since they’re homemade by the college girl.

Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland): The other of the two shows that I’ve read the source material for, and as of episode one it looks like it will be a great adaption of the original. The story takes place in an orphanage where the kids train their minds by constant testing, and their bodies by playing tag in the forests. There’s a decent amount of spoilable plot that goes on other than that so I’ll just leave a recommendation to watch. The music and shot composition just often enough hint at the viewers that something is wrong before the big reveal at the end of the episode.

[recentanimenews]

Should Mega Man X Newcomers Buy the Legacy Collection?

Jump. Shoot. Dash.

You only need three buttons and a D-pad to play Mega Man X. That’s it. In a world where games increasingly require more inputs than a controller can handle, this may seem novel. Gamers who started out in the Nintendo 64/Playstation era and after might even see this as archaic. But great game design is timeless. The question is: does that philosophy apply to the newly released Mega Man X  Legacy Collection for those new to the blue bomber?

Before we get to answering that question, let’s talk about what exactly puts the “X” in this strand of Mega Man. The jump from the 8-bit NES to the 16-bit SNES saw classic franchises sizing up for a twice-as-powerful console. It may not seem like it now, but this was one of the largest technological jumps between gaming generations ever. On top of that, the new console’s controller featured a staggering four addition buttons: X, Y, and the R and L shoulder bumpers. With the ability to realize digital worlds to greater effect and utilize more control inputs, video games leveled up in unprecedented fashion.

So too was the case for Mega Man X. Higher graphical fidelity meant the oppressive cityscapes and menacing mechanical foes breathed (ha) with life. X (this game’s incarnation of Mega Man) benefited from this overhaul in particular; no longer being confined to a tiny sprite, the hero felt like a character rather than an avatar. His expressions sell his struggle in this world of technology gone awry. The edgier aesthetic in line with the preferences of early 90s kids renewed interest in the franchise as it moved further away from abstraction and into cartoon realism.

As for its controls, Mega Man X only added one new button – but that changed everything. Mega Man's new dash ability gives the game a sense of forward momentum that puts the “run” in run and gun. It fills out the moveset to give X a sense of satisfying agility, so much so it is held up as the entire franchise’s core gameplay. It’s this defining factor that separates X from classic Mega Man. Worth noting also is that sub-weapons obtained from beating each boss are now cycled through via the shoulder buttons so you don’t need to go into the pause menu to equip them, another addition that keeps the pace brisk.

But these aspects are nothing without great game design. It’s a good thing, then, that Mega Man X is often looked to for its mastery in that department. Every platform, obstacle, and enemy is carefully placed so as to telegraph exactly what a player must do to overcome them. It’s almost like a puzzle, trying to figure out how to execute a situation to escape unscathed. In a stroke of brilliance, these elements can often be nullified depending on the order you defeat bosses. The clearest example of this is that defeating Chill Penguin before taking on Flame Mammoth will freeze over that level’s lava-ridden floor. Basically, the more you get to know the game, the more you realize that every corner of its world is thoughtfully crafted.

It’s for all these reasons that Mega Man X was deemed a masterpiece and that fans have been clamoring to return to its stark robotic world with Mega Man X  Legacy Collection. This definitive collection compiles every one of the eight X games – every region’s version included – as well as artwork, soundtracks, and achievements. But most importantly, it remasters the games with HD visuals that make them pop on modern televisions like never before. There’s never been a better time to get into the X franchise and discover for yourself why these games are so revered… or at least some of them.

  Mega Man X Legacy Collection is split into two halves, each priced at $20. The first compiles the first through fourth games while the second packs in five through eight. Both include the aforementioned extras plus two: a 24-minute prequel anime OVA and a boss rush mode. The latter comes with a unique catch: each fight comprises of two bosses pulled from across the X series. After picking a difficulty and selection of three sub-weapons for the job, you take on these baddies simultaneously, having to adapt to their combined might with new strategies. It’s a substantial addition to the collection that reframes these classic boss battles.

Yet more than anything, the biggest addition to the game for newcomers is the Rookie Hunter mode. When turned on, Rookie Hunter mode drastically reduces the health you lose from enemy damage and in a few games nullifies a fail state caused by falling into pits. The X games are no slouch in the difficulty department and this toggle alleviates much of that pressure with results that vary from entry to entry.

For the original Mega Man X, it eases the difficulty while upholding the game’s integrity. Carelessly running through levels can and will kill you, and boss patterns still need to be learned for sure success. However, in many of the other games the difficulty in this mode is eased too far, making it near-impossible to die in some circumstances. You can basically walk from the start of the level to the end without even needing to shoot in these scenarios. That might sound super negative, but given how punishing the games can be otherwise it's good that these concessions make them far less daunting for first-timers. I just suggest taking the training wheels off once you get a feel for things, as gameplay can become monotonous otherwise.

When it comes to the included games, there are clear winners and losers. Every title included in the first collection is masterful. I’ve already praised the original to death but X2 and X3 continue the SNES era of X to great effect and X4 – which marked the series’ jump to the PlayStation – carried that tradition forward with visuals more beautiful than ever and a fleshed-out story. Across these titles you get a healthy serving of everything that makes this franchise click.

Sadly, the same can’t be said for the second collection, of which all but one game can’t hold a candle to the earlier entries. X5 is the best of this bunch with levels that center around setpieces from runaway mine trains to an underwater battle with a mecha-whale. It was the last time the X series would land upon anything I found engaging, though. X6 was a last hurrah for the pixel artstyle but bungled things with repetitious level design and annoying enemies. The franchise then took an turn to unfortunate polygons with X7, a game I found incredibly frustrating to play due to finicky lock-on mechanics and disorienting perspective shifts. X8 tries return to the franchise’s roots, but the controls feel sluggish, the levels are incredibly flat, and HD polish does its 3D graphics no favors. Suffice to say, I would recommend only dipping your toes into this second half of the collection only if you're pining for more after exhausting the first.

But let’s not end this review on a downer. The first collection is a must-own for all platforming fans. These are timeless games that continue to be exhilarating to this day. My own experience is a testament to this: I had never played any X game except parts of the first and yet became glued to my TV for an entire weekend as I blasted and dashed my way through stark but colorful environments. Everything from the way X responds to button presses to the tiniest sound effects is satisfying, even euphoric at times.

So should Mega Man X newcomers buy the Legacy Collection? When it comes to X through X4, it’s a resounding yes.

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Tim Rattray (@timrattray) is a features and video writer for Crunchyroll and founder of Thoughts That Move.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com