#specifically on the iidx one

[zeeph-containment-zone]

make your decision, i know it's a tough one

(i hope I did the math right on this)

[wavetapper]

two quastion

1) do you use keyboard or controller

2)if you use keyboard, do you do it staggered or linear; and if you use controller, what controller?

HI smiles

1) I use a controller! part of the reason I got into bms was because I wanted to improve at iidx so I figured a controller would be my best option, but I did play a bit of keyboard before I just. prefer my controller it's comfy

2) I have an FPS from djdao/gamo2 which is considered entry level but arcade cons are fucking expensive regardless of what you get. very high quality can vouch for it though. only "drawback" people mention is the size of the turntable but its honestly very convenient for me bc its small enough that I don't have to move my keyboard out of the way when I play LMFAO

as for keyboard keybinds I tend towards a staggered layout (specifically caps + a for scratch, then z s x d c f v for keys 1-7) since most charts I've come across are mapped for either a controller or staggered like that (I don't play with scratch off and I DO NOT want to deal with consecutive scratches on one key) HOWEVER if your keyboard doesn't have good key rollover then a linear layout is probably a better idea. plus it's more comfortable outside of scratches

[ao3feed-assassin-class]

Bloomin' Feelings in My Heart

bloomin’ feelings in my heart by storiesforeye

“i wonder what the prettiest girl in class e is doing here, at the arcade, cursing at a machine?” “and i wonder what the most rebellious boy in class e is doing here, talking to me.”

kanzaki yukiko can't play iidx today and karma akabane just so happens to be in the same arcade.

Words: 846, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Assassination Classroom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Akabane Karma, Kanzaki Yukiko

Relationships: Akabane Karma/Kanzaki Yukiko

Additional Tags: Arcade, beatmania iidx, a lot of iidx terminology sorry abt that, Very OOC, Crack, Kinda, Romance, Pining, They need more love, bloomin’ feeling is literal shit, self indulgent, a lot of swearing, specifically from kanzaki, special one-time mention of dondonpachi, SECOND WARNING FOR OOC, NOT AN ACCURATE DEPICTION OF CHARACTERS, lapslock

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38998254

[2dkapsddr]

February 24th, 2024 - Phigros, StepManiaX, DDR A3, IIDX 31

ARCADE DAY TODAY!!! but first, i needed to research a degree a bunch before i left without worries, which may or may not have brought my mood down into the pits of worries for the whole day, i tried calming down with a short session of phigros, where i re-FC'ed Non-Melodic Ragez after its nerf and on my new phone, but the panic in researching my degree left me Scared and Scarred and Fearful, not helped by my sister yelling at me on the way to the place after we left super late due to my panic.

so anyways, i got there at a decent time and opted to go here instead of seattle again for a specific reason: STEPMANIAX BABYYYYY!! i never got the chance to play this ever since the last time i played in california, and that was offline too!! so this was my first time being able to log in and play online... and by god did i play it!! (well, only one set and two songs, but i gamed nonetheless)

afterwards, i tried grinding out some previously-locked 16s thanks to my Golden Leaguer's Privilege, and got really close to a PFC on GROOVE06 (not pictured) as well as an AAA on Continue to the new world? !!! (pictured)

the rest of the session, though? well, i wasn't feeling energized enough to play any more dance games, so the rest of the session was dedicated to unlocking content for those dance games... that's right baby, it was IIDX TIME!!! thanks to advice from pro player maya and a setlist to go off of and test my skill, i tried pushing my earth power in iidx and improving beyond what i thought i was capable of doing...! (which unfortunately resulted in a ton of wasted credits as i kept dying on hard gauge or bad randoms in standard play).

i got some decent scores, but the panic was setting back in and i was starting to get worried at my sister's driving since the ride to round 1 felt like such a blur. i couldn't bring myself to play anymore and had to leave early on the upcoming bus, only getting a response when i was already coming back home to focus on KoP and homework anyways. ugh, today was actually really horrible in terms of autism days. i really want to brave this storm and get through everything, but i have to put in the work somehow unfortunately. when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end when will it end

[lunatic-harness]

i should compile video game menus for learn graphic design. specifically the cool techy y2k ones like wipEout and iidx

[cerulenyan-fr]

I have soooooo many other plans/projects on the backburner but tatsuma is currently the priority because 1. only needs one gene 2. not a (future) breeding project to get a really specific color combo that no more than 12 dragons have ever had 3. iidx fixation

[logobosscorp]

Osu lazer not opening

Unofficial events and conventions are also being held. Osu! also features different events, such as fanart and beatmapping contests. osu!supporter is not a recurring service.Ĭommunity and competitive play Community events Īn audience watches players idke and RyuK compete at the osu! TwitchCon Booth in 2018 osu!supporter does not affect the ranking system, or provide any in-game advantage. A heart icon beside the username on the official osu! website, additional pending beatmap slots, faster download speeds, access to multiplayer on cutting edge builds, friend and country-specific leaderboards, one free username change, more in-game customization, a yellow username in the in-game chat, and more customization on one's user page (the "me" tab). Players are able to download beatmaps directly from inside the game, without the lengthy process of using browsers through a service called osu!direct. The game offers a buyable service called osu!supporter, which grants many extra features to the user. The game can be played using various peripherals: the most common setup is a graphics tablet or computer mouse to control cursor movement, paired with a keyboard or a mini-keyboard with only two keys. Each beatmap is accompanied by music and a background. The beatmap is then played with accompanying music, simulating a sense of rhythm as the player interacts with the objects to the beat of the music.

Mania beatmaps consist of keys (depicted as a small bar) and holds. Catch beatmaps have fruits and spinners, which are arranged in a horizontally falling manner. Taiko beatmaps have drumbeats and spinners. These items are collectively known as "hit objects" or "Circles", and are arranged in different positions on the screen at different points of time during a song. In osu!standard, beatmaps consist of three items – hit circles, sliders, and spinners. Each mode offers a variety of beatmaps, playable songs ranging from "TV sized" anime openings to "marathons" surpassing 7 minutes. There are four official game modes: "osu!" (unofficially called osu!standard, abbreviated as osu!std), "osu!taiko", "osu!catch" (unofficially called "osu!ctb", or "catch the beat"), and "osu!mania". The original osu!standard mode remains the most popular to date and as of 2021, the game has over 15,200,000 registered users. Four different game modes exist, offering various ways to play a beatmap, which can also be combined with addable modifiers, increasing or decreasing the difficulty. The game is heavily community-oriented, with all beatmaps, the playable songs, being community-made through the in-game map editor. Its gameplay is inspired by other rhythm games, including Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, Taiko no Tatsujin, Happy Feet,īeatmania IIDX, Elite Beat Agents, O2Jam, StepMania and DJMax. Originally released for Microsoft Windows on 16 September 2007, the game has throughout the years been ported to macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Osu! is a free-to-play rhythm game primarily developed, published, and created by Dean "peppy" Herbert, written in C# on the. Screenshot of osu!lazer, the in development stage of an open source version of osu!.Ģ0210821 (August 21, 2021 2 months ago ( )) Ģ021.820.0 (August 20, 2021 2 months ago ( ))

[noisy-weasel]

Honestly I need some friends who like rhythm games, the genre. All of my friends like maybe one rhythm game maybe 2. I need people like me who get excited when they find a new one with good charts no matter the button scheme.

[edencantstopfallininlove]

I’d love to hear more about your two new crushes if you’re up for talking about them!

*Eden enters Coward Mode and doesn't answer for days, help*

Firstly, meet Nyah! (Pronounced “nye-ya” as in the science guy and not “nya” as in a cat noise) Though she originally hails from Hong Kong, she relocated to Tokyo after her kid sister died in an accident. (Or did she...?) Now 21, she stays with her granddad, who runs a restaurant. She's known for her cool demeanor and has earned quite the winning streak at IIDX, though that's partly down to her hating to lose. She's famously strict with men and reacts with dismay at her legion of fanboys, one of whom is notably pathetic, but she's gentle towards children. In fact, in my investigation, I found a Drama CD episode where she's shown cheering up her baby sis by having her sing a song that (I assume) they made up when they were younger. Her motto definitely seems to be “do no harm, take no crap”. I get the feeling she’s not straight.

Her hairstyle is somewhat versatile; she's worn it short, long, even in a ponytail! This Stage Clear art from Cannon Ballers is my personal favourite. Just look at how happy she is!

This guy’s full name is Leonardo Baxter, but everyone calls him Duel. A fellow British scum, he grew up in London. He often got into trouble in his youth, always finding a reason to get into a fight. But one day, he happened to see a film from a certain series and, inspired by the kind-hearted nature of its lead character, he decided to turn over a new leaf and study abroad... Specifically in Japan, the film’s country of origin. It’s there that he discovered and fell in love with IIDX. When he speaks Japanese, it’s a little odd-sounding since it’s influenced by the dialects of the friends he’s made up and down the country. He dreams of running a web business selling music by artists based in Japan, as well as other exported goods. While he seems outwardly rough and tumble, and he still has his moments of causing minor problems on purpose, he’s surprisingly sophisticated when the situation calls for it. For instance, he never fails to observe tea time; black tea is his favourite. I get the feeling he’s not cis.

And these are his bangs without his trademark headbands! Also, if you look close, you might see (and be unable to unsee) a tiny fang...

[nyrator]

and so ends another birthday week with Kresnaaa

by week I mean ten days, but it was a good ten days

full of DDR, EDF 4.1, Ghost Stories, red square pizza, guitar serenading, and plenty of good times

godddd so much to remember

Well for starters Kresna’s amazing of course and continues to prove it

This trip had several ongoing stories it feels like, but let’s see...

had to work my normal schedule most of the week unfortunately for us, but we still did a lot with the time we were given- he even came to visit during lunches and made me lunches and nyaaaaaa

HE ALSO MADE ME THOSE LOVELY MY MELO PANCAKES... unfortunately they tasted like rubber because the ingredients in my apartment are garbage BUT STILL MY MELO PANCAKESSS (I made the one on the left with the mouth rip)

in terms of food I’ve eaten, let’s see... risotto was the big one (rice again AND mushrooms, mannn), also these soft baked protein bars or something, they be neat. Also more eggs, asparagus, kiwi, wing bites (aka my first exposure to chicken, though technically the second time we’ve had wing bites), and french toast for the first time~

ALSO FUJI APPLE BUNNIES... apple bunniess... also fuji apples are probably my favorite apples I’ve discovered so I should probably use them to try eating more apples

We also went for pizza a lot at our usual place (good ol’ Nina’s red square pizza), we were stuffed every time but it’s the only good pizza there is. Also one last ice cream trip for the season before they closeddd

But yes, enough about food for now~

One of the main events was our classic DDR routine- andddd the machine has just broken on our first visit there, ripppppppp-

BUT WAIT. The owner of the place walks out and tells us it’s out of order, and Kresna’s like, man, I can probably hook you up with ways to fix this, I know people who own these machines, and we got into talking a lot- this dude takes really good care of his machines, it was a really nice experience. Just for wanting to help, he gave us both a few free passes for laser tag (the main attraction of the place) and Kresna and him kept in touch.

And of course, Kresna, being the genius that he is, manages to find out the problem. And we go in the next day, talk with him, inspect the innards of the machine, talk more about solutions and stuff, Kresna sends him some other CDs for the machine to see if it’d work, and sure enough, on Friday, my birthday, it’s fixed- and even better, since Kresna told him how to unlock the secret songs and everything in the cabinet.

So dance a lot we did this weekend~ First night we didn’t see the owner, but the next (after he unlocked the songs), he gave us basically 20 free plays (each two rounds), plus one of his employees who loves DDR gave us a free play as well (and he also invited me to and destroyed me in a round, dude goes hard without a bar), really really nice people. On our last visit the owner tries to give us more quarters for more free plays and we’re like “stop, stop, we’re still trying to spend the ones you gave us!”

And now I feel obligated to go to this DDR place more because man, would like to support this place more (and y’know get good at DDR beyond a level 4-5 intensity song). And it’s great, since right before we first visited, we were just talking about making connections with people and getting our own DDR cabinet (which we shall, someday, once we have a stable place togetherrr)

In terms of DDR, we also set up my dancepad and played some Max~ My first song pick was Sandstorm once Kresna pointed it out and I regretted it instantly, I think I might have jeopardized our relationship because of it

We also went to another Round One- this time in Middletown NY, good times. I think I preferred the one in Exton a bit more, but man, gooodd times. It had Music Gungun 2 and that’s all I need (ALSO IT HAS TWISTER FROM TWEWY...) Got a high score with it and I feel proud of us

(would also totally be down with owning a Music Gungun someday)

Kresna meanwhile is still impressive at IIDX, also speaking of games that had TWEWY music

not the greatest game but hey FF music (of which Kresna is great at playing on guitar by the way, his FF2 Town theme is so gooddd). Also played more of that one Gunslinger Stratos game, this time a functional one- went through the tutorial and it seems neat, all the crazy gun combinations and stuff, but it feels a bit like Dissidia NT which is just painful for me to think about that game.

also as you can see above, Kresna won us Kirbyssss

so we both decided to have one try at the machine, and I failed, and then Kresna tried and won the laying Kirby first try for meee- Then before we left, we decided to use our last credits to win him one, and together (mostly him) we won the standing Kirbyyy- both are staying with me at the moment but they are our Kirbys (and I need to play more Kirby games- only played the first two Dream Lands and Adventure, and a bit of Dream Course)

good kirby (with a beautiful orange sunset my phone can never capture properly)

as for my birthday itself it was nicee

I had to work of course but Kresna brought me that cake and it was lovely and goodddd

a random customer came though and took the piece we were giving to my coworker and that was very... odd, but okay, enjoy it, random lady.

he also decorated my room as seen a bit above (also admire aforementioned guitar that plays aforementioned Town theme very well)

I also got him a little something~

He also got me a nice shelf which I need to fill up so I can take nice pictures with it, as well as coat hangers and other nice things, but nya~

We also as mentioned played a lot of EDF 4.1 again (this time, more Inferno missions/DLCs) and boy, who hurt you, DLC 2 pack maker. We grind, but not a super lot, and mannn those glowy flying red drones are death. We got to the last DLC 2 mission before calling it quits, but I might do solo grindinggg

Also, in honor of this spooky month, we decided to watch a classic, one he’s seen before ages ago- Ghost Stories dubbed. Mannnnnnn. It’s definitely not something that’d fly in today’s environment, but man is it so good. Both of us were completely out of character with our language from quoting it and general jokes inspired by it (I myself have been letting my language slip lately and as someone who dislikes specifically myself swearing and making crude humor it’s nyehhhh), but man, what a show. The f-bombs, the insulting every possible thing with extreme prejudice- it’s almost refreshing, y’know? Being able to appreciate the humor in that kind of stuff from time to time while knowing it’s just doing it for comedy and not maliciousness, it’s very cathartic. 

overall a great birthday and good times and he will be misseddd, until next timeee

oh yeah did I mention he stole my phone for a bit and changed my wallpaper early this visit

I don’t know much about Detroit but the man loves his boys and so I left it on all week for him

tried changing his in retaliation and failed and he finally gave me the chance and immediately regretted it when I gave him an image of the Worst Girl (TM) as his wallpaper

I am still amazed he’s still with me to be honest, but he is a good

[dotzines]

I couldn't decide on a single song and for that I am so sorry...

Don’t worry, you can change your song during creation period. You can also do more than one if you want. 

Honestly, your ideas for new zines are so wonderful and at this point I'm just blown away every single time. I know you're very organized and everything is super neat so thank you for really giving it your all !

(∗∕ ∕•̥̥̥̥∕ω∕•̥̥̥̥∕) thank youuuu~

This is my first time joining a zine so any information is helpful

You can find info in the FAQ page or in our q/a tag or q/a Thread on twitter. If you need more specific info you can ask or @ us on Twitter. 

What sort of content counts as g-rated?

Anything SFW. If you’re unsure on your idea you can check with us later on Discord. 

Can you make creative genres like in Pop'n Music and Beatmania IIDX (Examples: Drum'n Coredust, Fascination, Nadeshiko Rock, etc.), as long as it matches the style of the song?

You can choose anything you want. 

I might DM you a mock up / sketch for the cover if thats okay?

Once you get choose as cover artist, yes.

Will the artists be able to sell their art made for this zine for a personal profit? Thank you! Yes! You can sell prints, or do whatever you want with your zine pieces. But please wait a week after zine release. 

Applications for Loop are still open!

Fill the form and join us~

[twentythousandvolts]

HI RADIO uhhhm uh uh uhm i have nothitjng to say uhgm uh . ihope you're doing good tell me your like favorite rhythm games i would like to hear them (<- bad at them but they're silly and fun tho so)

HAIIII my favorite rhythm gamez are beatmania iidx and pump it up theyre sooo fun like. piu is like ddr but not by bemani. so it has kinda worse music (well not worse but smooooch isnt there and neither is mind mapping :-/) but the controls with piu are sooooo much smoother 4reaaaal like there is one extra button u need to hit but 1) 5 is nothing iidx has 7+turntable and 2) the arrows are diagonal instead of uhh the other way. and its SOOO nice so smooth i miss piu so bad. ALSO I WANNA TRY DANCERUSH STARDOM IT LOOKS SO FUN BUT ITS ONLY AT LIKE SUPER SPECIFIC ARCADES AND THE ONE CLOSEST TO ME IS 5HR AWAY </3333 OKanyways this is fun to talk about i love you thank you for letting me talk about video game :-)

[2dkapsddr]

March 14th, 2021 - DDR A20 PLUS, SDVX VW, DRS, IIDX 28

WE ARE BACK (((FOR REAL THIS TIME)))

my first full arcade session in a year, using the session from 2 days ago as a warm up, and absolutely KILLING IT on both the white and gold cabs!! (feat random selfie in what looks like tactical gear, but is actually just my casual COVID-19 wear)

this session, i had way better acc compared to when i started, and actually got a really good score on RPG!!! but then i got overconfident from watching the chart video during quarantine and ended up failing on PSMO

BONUS EXCLUSIVE SCORES NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN: these SDVX scores (and one score from DRS) that i got from google photos!!! turns out probably due to laziness when updating the old scores and not wanting to make another tweet, i left these out of the thread for this session and skipped to IIDX (which ALSO has a few missing scoreposts), so here are the elusive SDVX scores i never posted right before moving onto IIDX

NOW, IIDX TIME!!! of course, i was playing for fun while also working towards greater skill, but i also really wanted to play for a different, very specific reason...

THIS SONG!!! Denjin, akatsukini taoreru, which i didn't even KNOW had a beginner chart!!!

I def played a bunch more than just that though, and got a couple of really nice scores for a beginner this session, including a CLEAR ON LION SUKI SPN-4 AT LAST!!! (also a really goofy fail on VOX RUSH SPN-8 even though i was nowhere near the skill level to clear it and just really liked the song)

right before i left, i played another set or two of DDR to bid it farewell, and it just kept getting BETTER!! like check out this first try clear on Ishtar CSP-16!!! then, to close off the session, i tried the challenge difficulty of my favorite song and somehow got an AAA??? even despite missing along the way??? hell YEAH my acc was indeed getting better if i could pull this off on an 11. that derusting session on the 12th was INSANELY beneficial for this moment, i'm so glad i got my skill back so soon :]

[shinhito]

ShinHito Plays Beatmania IIDX INFINITAS (Feb 25th 2018)

Hope you’re all having a great Sunday! Getting those last minute errands done before the week! But stop all that NOW because it is time for some Music/Rhythm gaming via Beatmania IIDX INFINITAS! I’ve been a huge fan of this game for awhile, but it takes a lot of skill to master and it’s hard to improve on it due to the steep difficulty curve. But I still love it! So come hang out with the best group of Gaming Gays I know and listen to me ‘play’ some music!

Also, I will stop Streaming on YouTube in the near future as there is really no current benefit to do so. None of my videos get monetization anymore because I don’t have 1,000 subscribers, so I’m going to be focusing on Twitch in a short while. So if you followed me on YouTube, I thank you for your support! But come follow me on Twitch! There are a lot of better features on there too!

You can use the link in the title to travel to Twitch or head over to YouTube via the video thumbnail! The benefit with Twitch is there are a lot more interactive elements with StreamLabs, you can earn points for watching and can redeem them for stuffs! On the StreamLabs site you can check out your points balance and you can also donate if you would like to support my Streaming or just support my Life™️ in general, and if you donate above $1 while I’m streaming Live your name will appear in the stream (and you can write a message or include an animated GIF if you’d like)!

I’ve also started a GameWisp page! You can subscribe to my channel and receive benefits (the benefits are listed on the GameWisp page and my Twitch channel page) for supporting my Streaming such as being able to play with me during the Stream!

Someone asked if I had a Kofi page, and I did not! So I made one! Tip me a Kofi if you like what I’m doing and if I gave you a few moments of entertainment!  😘

As always, thanks for watching and if you have any ideas or ways I can improve the stream, please let me know! I’m relatively new to this so I would love to hear any thoughts or ideas! 😄 For example, if there’s any specific games you would like to see me stream please let me know!

[lostsummerdayz]

Castle Point Anime Convention Wrap-Up!

Castle Point Anime Convention is in the books! It surely indeed was one for the books as well, coming from someone who has not attended Castle Point in literal years. Try...2012 to be exact. Seven years passes by so flipping fast. To think, the last time I was at this convention was back when I was a mere nineteen year old! Regardless, time flies and as we get older and we evolve, so too must our conventions that we attend. If conventions do not improve of evolve, then they will never last for the long term. Rather dire things to say for an opening to a wrap-up post, but it’s how I personally feel on the matter. It’s a challenge for grassroots conventions to pull it off, but for those who do, the payoffs are grand. In Castle Point’s case, they have pulled it off. They have evolved greatly from the small yet modest “college con” that I recall attending way back when.

KDA Akali by projectxayah and KDA Evelynn by melanubis

As such, to end this foreword, I’ll be making some comparisons to the last time I attended CPAC back in 2012, to now, throughout this article. It’s going to be quite a lengthy read, so strap in everyone!

The Meadowlands Expo venue was simple to arrive with no issues on our end. A simple fifteen-minute-at-best-half-hour-at-worse-due-to-traffic bus ride from Port Authority was all that was needed to arrive. The bus stop even lets you off directly in front of the convention center itself! Here is where I can immediately talk about how helpful the staff was towards myself and the rest of the podcast. When we needed help as far as knowing where to go and con assistance in general, everyone was able to help, but, there weren’t any crowding that I noticed as well. Lines were handled well, and the Dealer’s Room/Artist Alley, places where there’s known to be a packed pandemonium, was handled well. Mainly this was due in part to there being a designated entrance and a designated exit. Take notes future cons!

As the time drew nearer for the gates to be open, the hall slowly but surely filled itself with various cosplayers, attendees wearing gaming and anime inspired apparel, and soon enough the events began.

One of the first events was a maid performance, made to kick off the opening of the anime convention. It certainly had set the tone for the convention for sure, where one could hear it in ambiance even if they weren’t there to physically attend.

After the opening ceremonies concluded, I was left to explore the event as it were. One of the first stops I take in any convention is within the game room, so to speak. Majority of the games featured, due in part from the Snow Phoenix team, in the game room below are games in which I have played at least once, play on a regular at the local arcade, or games in which I never had played before (Or ever will play outside of cons)

Regardless of which category the games fell under, it’s always fun to go back to these games from time to time. Free play is just a bonus in all honesty. My personal favorite of the games featured here had to have been Sound Voltex, always a fine game in my book. The second being Crossbeats, a touch based rhythm game which, sadly, development ceased as of last year. It’s still a great game to go back to from time to time.

Another portion of the game room were console setups. These had a slew of fighting games ranging from the Street Fighter Collection to Mortal Kombat 11, Soul Calibur 6 to Tekken 7, and of course an entire section of CRT televisions dedicated to Melee. Tournaments were held throughout the weekend, which, unfortunately I didn’t make it as far as I would have liked. However, those who I had met were friendly enough to me.

Back on the topic of rhythm games, I had attended a rhythm game panel that was being presented later on that afternoon. The convention was split into two venues. The main venue, at the Meadowlands Expo, had the main events while the Holiday Inn had the extra panels. This was where the Rhythm Game panel was held.

Held by RhythmCore Gaming, the rhythm game panel spoke about the history of rhythm games, mainly focusing on Bemani games, as well as touching upon mobile rhythm games briefly as well. For those reading who aren’t aware of what a “Bemani” is, essentially it’s the rhythm game division of Konami. Familiar titles include Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania IIDX, Sound Voltex, Pop’n Music, and so much more.

All in all, as far as presentation, it was a well run panel. From a technical standpoint, the Castle Point staff made sure all equipment that were in use were running well, as far as projectors for example. Crowd control was also handled quite well, to avoid overflow. From the panelist’s standpoint, I feel they had gotten the gist of what each game is and how they play. Being slightly critical, I feel some of those who were assigned to talk about a specific game went more in depth with their game than others, but I know more than anyone the challenge of running a rhythm game panel.

See, way back in 2013, I, too, ran a rhythm game panel at a convention that has long since been discontinued. A good friend of mine and I both ran the panel, yet, with technical difficulties due to the inability of the staff to assist us, as well as not informing the panel ahead of us that we were running late due to the technical difficulties, the experience gave me more of a headache than I’d like to admit.

An awesome ass couple cosplay that, sadly, did not have any social media :( I still dug it!

However, this is where I can once again praise the Castle Point staff for being on top of making sure the panel ran smoothly. I can also give respect to the RhythmCore Gaming group for tackling on a subject to appeal to a crowd that may look at an arcade rhythm game in fear and confusion. I suppose I admit I attended this panel to see how others would tackle such a topic. I give the panel a “Certified Nay’s Thumb Up.”

For the rest of the convention, I had made sure to try to get my fill in of taking pictures of as many cosplayers as I found whom caught my eye, all of whom you’ll see throughout this post. One in particular who caught my eye was a Kasumi cosplayer.

Kasumi from Persona 5 Royale by ZodiacKind

See, again, for the reader who may not know this about me. I am a huge Persona fan. When I had heard news that Persona 5 Royale was a thing and I had saw the trailer earlier that same week, I was hoping that the cosplay community would work fast.

The cosplay community would not disappoint me.

This cosplayer deserves special mention just for having this at the ready so quickly, so, for that I appreciate this so much!

Another cosplayer who I felt deserved an honorable mention was a woman who was a very good Sub-Zero, but also earlier that weekend she was Kratos. I had the chance to interview her as Sub-Zero in which the video can be found below.

Sub-Zero by Amarys Berry

I mentioned in my previous post about Winter Brawl that vendors are the underappreciated glue that holds a regional/major together. There will be a post separate from this one where I interview one of the vendors from Artist Alley, but the same sentiment is stated here. There are so many vendors in the Artist Alley with their own story and own purpose for doing what they love.

I, in fact, covered an Artist Alley vendor at the Con itself! However, I feel a paragraph alone won’t be enough to give them justice, so please be sure to read the companion article here where I discuss meeting with Bunnies & Cream! You don’t want to miss it, for sure!

In any case, the same could be said for cosplayers. Cosplayers are not so much the glue, but the exoskeleton that makes the entire convention worth it. Each cosplayer has their own story in terms of what got them into it, how long they’ve been doing it, and what made them cosplay certain characters.

Unfortunately, things can tend to go awry when you least expect it. The blade on your sword prop may hang loose, an annoying thread may linger on one’s dress, a shirt may be ripping from the seams. All of these nightmares are easily avoided by those on standby who are dedicated to make any mess a fixable one!

This was quite possibly one of the few points of interest that I saw at the convention. An “all in one” emergency repair station not unlike one you would see at a convention. I couldn’t help myself. I had to learn more. Thankfully these guys were friendly enough to answer my questions I’ve had. Big thanks!

With all of the maintenance that goes into making the perfect, subjectively of course, cosplay, no matter if it’s been a decade or ten days, every cosplayer is equally important to the well-being of any convention.

Even moreso when cosplayers engage in violent carnage within the squared circle and go for a swinging neck cutter as a finishing move.

In what was perhaps the highlight of the convention, the Cosplay Pro Wrestling event was a fitting end to an action packed weekend. Although I had caught it while in the middle of the event, what surprised me the most was how there was an actual story arc.

From what I was able to gather, the main story arc revolved around the face, or hero, Big Boss, feuding with Team Rocket, who formed an allegiance with Princess Peach. The main event was scheduled for Big Boss vs Princess Peach for the title.

Throughout the set, one of the matches I did see in its fullest was Winter Soldier versus, and I quote, “Jeff Harley Quinn.”

As you could expect from the name alone, this Harley Quinn shared a lot of Jeff Hardy’s likeliness as far as his mannerisms and his moveset. What one may not have expected, was Winter Soldier, who bore resemblance and a moveset similar to Roman Reigns.

Spears, Twists of Fates, Leg Drops, and Swanton Bombs were present here as one would expect to see from fans of both wrestlers, yet they also brought about some of Quinn’s cunning which was what gave her the overall victory.

Harley Quinn by Catie V

Eventually, after a match of Link vs Liu Kang, the main event transpired. Paing homage to heel stables of the Attitude Era, trickery was used while Team Rocket was able to give enough damage to Big Boss to have Princess Peach secure the pin.

However, when all hope seemed lost... Mario and Luigi, decked out in “Bullet Bill Club” shirts, went out and chased Team Rocket as well as Princess Peach out of the ring. What followed after was a tag team match, with more story building now that the Bullet Bill Club entered the scene.

There was so much more that could be said as to what transpired in this two hour finale to an otherwise action packed weekend, including one of the guys from Attack on Titan fighting Isabelle from Animal Crossing, but it was one of those events where you had to be there to experience it.

That’s the one thing I can say about the convention. For a two-day con, there was always something to experience. If you wanted to meet one of your favorite voice actresses like I had, you could do so.

If you wanted to take in the sights and experience panels and learn new things about otaku culture and the like, you could do so as well. There’s literally no right or wrong way to attend the convention and the only thing that I can recommend is to do everything you possibly can. Unfortunately some conventions don’t have that, but, with this year’s Castle Point I can definitely say that the community as well as the staff had pulled out all the stops to make it memorable.

With that said in conclusion, for this being my first anime convention of the year, it was a fantastic way to start. Thank you once again to the Castle Point staff for giving myself and my fellow members of the Geeks podcast for giving us the opportunity. I’ll definitely try to attend next year for sure.

As always, may the Lost Summer never end! Tune to us soon for the next post!