#yes yes I can. silksong moment.

[apotelesmaa]

This is so heartwarming but also so so so funny. ratata arts went please support our studio so we can make ratatan here is our goal :)!! and within like 47 minutes patapon fans swarmed the Kickstarter like starved piranhas and not only fully funded it in under an hour but with 20 days left to go have met almost all of the stretch goals (2 more left to go). Reading the comments underneath the announcement is like “patapon trilogy raised me and every night it would tuck me into bed and kiss my forehead. I will be giving my life’s savings towards ratatan in your hour of need. Thank you”

[zorasink]

hornet man,,, (spoilers for Hollow Knight Endings)

like okay I’ve been thinking about hornet for a while and it’s because

how fucking

lonely she is

like I’m the “hollow knight” ending— her half sibling will never know the truth and as her will she will protect Hallownest herself

or in the “sealed siblings”, not only we betray her during the fight and continue fighting PV instead of Radiance, but after that she becomes a dreamer and she is the only dreamer in that realm now

or in the “dream no more” ending, she passes out when ghost dream nails PV and only is awake after the fight of Radiance, the cutscene where she looks over and sees ghost’s mask shattered too 😭, and now her duty in that ending is over and she can leave Hallownest

or like in the “embrace the void” ending like BRO she’s waiting for us in the black temple, next thing she sees is the infection fading away and sees PV out of its chains and she— by herself— is prepared to fight PV

and now with Silksong? She’s alone in a entire different kingdom, yes she will make friends, foes, rivals, will get to know her past as well, etc.

But no matter what her path is lonely and I hope that in Silksong there’s this moment of reflection in her loneliness, I get that in the “Bonebottom” song that Larkin did how like there’s people living their lives but smth is underlining and there’s that loneliness in the melody

anyway yeah I love hornet a lot man and I don’t want her to be lonely 👍🏽

[inflammatoryfandomblog]

re: hollow knight story, and why it’s not amazing. finally beat pantheon 5 btw. bitch radiance.

now thinking about a very certain type of storytelling in video games--you know, the one launched into popularity by demon’s souls, where characters are basically vague and most of the lore is in item descriptions and environmental storytelling.

and like in a vacuum this isn’t weird--a lot of games have lore in item descriptions, a lot of games have environmental storytelling, a lot of games have very vague plots, but demon’s/dark souls was the popular game that really tied them together in a very satisfying way. because so much of the lore was hidden in item descriptions, loot and their locations meant something and told a story. the base game mechanics were contextualized, and the story was reinforced thematically by everything around it. dark souls, for example, was a story about trying to rekindle lost flames, whatever they might have been, and so much of the world an imagery was reinforced around that.

you were never 100% what the whole story was, and that was for good reason: miyazaki said he modeled the experience off when he would read fantasy books in english. so you get the gist of things but the details are lost for you to fill in. and there’s something really unique about that sort of experience--that ambiguity that sort of rekindles the way you used to read when you were a kid, because everything seems *bigger*, and there’s more yet to understand.

and i’m thinking about this because of a certain HIDDEN GEM INDIE GAME called hollow knight. a lot of people compared it to dark souls on release not really because of its gameplay, but also because of its approach to storytelling. characters talk in sort of cryptic ways, items have lore attached to them, etc. you can sort of go through the game without really understanding what’s going on besides “oh orange thing bad, gotta kill my bro and replace him!!”

it even has lore channels dedicated to trying to solve the backstory of the game, just like dark souls. but for a long time i knew there was something lacking in hollow knight’s story--and i think it’s the same thing that’s lacking, for example, in the stories of later FromSoft games: theming. Hollow Knight isn’t really thematically coherent, and the vagueness seems less like an artistic decision and more a result of how the game was developed (the devs developed the game in such a way that they could stop adding new areas at any time--so each area just seems like “yes this And This and This.”)

and, yes, it’s about something. the emotional core of the game lies in the relationship the player character has with their “brother.” easily the best scene in the game is the one in the abyss. “no cost too great” is a well-known quote for a reason. the pale king makes vessels expecting them to be perfectly hollow, but none of them really are. the pale king heartlessly makes a sacrifice, fails spectacularly, and hides away, his last moments spent trying to convince himself that he did the right thing. there’s something really satisfying about joining your siblings and using your combined might to defeat the radiance, rejecting your “purpose” to merely contain it.

but most of hollow knight doesn’t really reinforce that. instead you get “oh here were some people living here” and “here were some people living there.” the respawn mechanic isn’t really contextualized in a way that matters (contrast this with the souls series--losing your will was how you “turned hollow,” except that you have lingering regrets or something.) hollow knight, however, does contextualize your silent protagonist (vs. hornet in silksong who talks back to people): your character actually can’t speak because of the circumstances upon which they were created.

that’s not to say that hollow knight is about nothing. there is an attempt in there--hollow knight also seems to want to say something about holding onto the past.

(radiance wanted to be worshipped again. pale king wanted to found the last kingdom. you are constantly finding ruins build upon older kingdoms, etc etc. the world seems to be dying somehow--not a coincidence that you find the collector mold right outside the white palace; as she wants to preserve things, almost too obsessively, so too did the pale king.)

it’s there, but it lacks a certain artistry and je ne sais quoi that really makes you linger on something or think about something. the only reason you would care about the lore is really to fill a wiki--and that’s something i always thought was a shame, because hollow knight could have been a really special game if it had nailed its themes more coherently instead of throwing vague ideas at the wall and seeing what stuck.

i think silksong might have potential to be a better game, if they manage to get that right.

[warriordream]

Parts of Hollow Knight that blatantly refer to the Knight as a child or imply they are a child. Quote analysis. Updated with additional information if some was missed. - - - 1 update.

IMPLIED.

Showing the Knight in their just hatched form, similar to the Hollow Knight, & showing Broken Vessel who could be a tall child, preteen, or a teenage vessel. This is only an implication. I try not to use headcanons in my posts, as most people try to use their own against others to prove their point, or justify the things they do.

BLATANT. (Explicitly referring to the Knight as a child.)

ELDER HU: "Wait, child! Why have you come here? Have you come to tame this savage, ruined land?"

"Beware dreams of glory, child. Turn back, and do not return."

"My mind... it clears. Have we been... sleeping, child?"

- Unlike No Eyes who does not seem to be blatantly speaking about the Knight when referring to a child, later calling the Knight a monster, Elder Hu seems to be directly speaking to the Knight.

IMPLIED TO BE A CHILD. (Not explicit, but child coding is implication enough.)

NAILMASTER MATO: "I hope you don't think me too forward when I say that I consider you to be my child. Yes! When I saw you perform my Nail Art I felt a bond between us suddenly flash into existence!" - A grown adult would not look at another grown adult, and forwardly press to them, who is likely capable of caring for themself that they are now their father. But a child bug without parents, or a home, is a little more feasible. ELDERBUG: "Little did I know, one young bug was taking my words to heart and would repay my kindness." - While Elderbug is known for calling most bugs around him young, while being the youngest in the game, it is notable that he refers to the Knight & Bretta as young, two of the most child coded characters in the game. ZOTE: "What are you still bothering me for? I'm a Knight. I'm not interested in your childish games. I need my rest." - Zote implies that being a Knight makes him the Knight's senior, that they're simply being a child. ETERNAL EMILITIA: "No doubt this one will meet its demise at the nails of the city's guards. I'll outlive you too little grub, as I did all the others."

NAILMASTER SHEO: "A visitor! Why have you crept in here, little grub? Perhaps, like me, you have a taste for discovering new things?"

- Grub is a word for a young, recently hatched bug. A synonym for nymph, larvae mean the same thing. A pupa would be a teenage bug. It is unlikely this word is used for adults, and is more a recognition of a child. "Fully-grown vessel, carrying the plague's heart within it's body." - Implies the Hollow Knight is a grown adult, whereas all other Vessels aren't. Common theory or headcanon is that the Hollow Knight grew unnaturally, but this implies that all Vessels would grow to this state but have not lived long enough to get to this point. Despite living long enough to grow or molt to this size, Ghost is still small, and thus is still a child in comparison.

THE HUNTER: "Tiny squib... You approach fearless. Are you a hunter like me?" - - INFORMAL: a small, slight, or weak person, especially a child.

- To refer to the Knight as a tiny & little squib, would be redundant. So to use the word as a recognition of them being a weak child, is likely. Until he recognizes the Knight as a skilled hunter, he will refer to them as 'squib'.

The same can be said for Tiso's Dirtmouth dreamnail dialogue. TISO: "This little squib clearly fears me."

BOSS, SPIRIT'S GLADE: "You too are a warrior? I see your nail, but your shell seems underdeveloped." - They can recognize that the Knight is a warrior, but sees that they are a child and likely have not molted or grown.

REFERRED TO AS 'LITTLE (NICKNAME)': - This will not include moments of being referred to as small, or tiny, as those are usually remarks on their height. Little one, or little '(blank)' is usually used as a term of endearment. This is disregarding Silksong dialogue since that is subject to change, and how the relationship between Hornet & her rival may change with time.

HORNET: "Too weak, little ghost..." "Again we meet little ghost." "I'm impressed little ghost. You've burdened yourself with the fate of this world, yet you still stand strong." "Little Ghost... What dreams we share..."

- Hornet knows the Knight's age, she was raised around the same time as the Hollow Knight and knows that the Hollow Knight is an adult.

She isn't afraid to only call them Ghost, meaning she is either doting on them (she does recognize them as her sibling, "Would you supplant our birth-cursed sibling, or would you transcend it?"), or pitying them ("Only pity for your cursed kind.") "Ghost. I see you've faced the place of your birth, and now drape yourself in the substance of its shadow." "Ghost of Hallownest, you possess the strength to enact an end of your choosing." "Leave me now, ghost. Allow me a moment alone before this bedchamber becomes forever a shrine." "Then do it, Ghost of Hallownest! Head onward. Burn that mark upon your shell and claim yourself as King." "Come no closer, ghost."

THE DREAMERS: "Let us sleep little shadow." "Go no further, little shadow." "Fade away, little shadow."

SNAIL SHAMAN: "Oho! What brings you back through here, little shadow? Are you lost?" "It's just perfect for a little one like you! Ohoho!" OGRIM: "How funny that I see you in my dreams too, little one."

- Ogrim was around during the time of the Hollow Knight, and recognizes the Knight as a Vessel or the Hollow Knight's sibling. ("...So there were others...") He would recognize the Knight as a child, much like the Hollow Knight once was.

GHOSTS: GRAVEDIGGER: "Do as you will little wanderer. Cut a path toward your goal." CASPIAN: "Beware your own mind little one." "Do you think dark thoughts little one?" GARRO: "Are you a warrior, little one?" "Stand strong little warrior." MARISSA: "Welcome to my stage little one." ATRA: "Don't fear little creature." HUNDRED NAIL WARRIOR: "Do you like my nails little wanderer?"

[ganymedesclock]

Do you personally interpret the end of Quirrel's storyline as him being dead or him just leaving his nail behind to search new things? I wanted the last, but people always talk about how he wouldn't leave his nail behind since he cares so much about that and I think they got a point

So Quirrel talks about weapons twice, once at the Black Egg Temple, and once at the Lake of Unn.

To persevere in this ruin, that old nail alone just won't be enough. Though that's no problem! One only has to look around.

Plenty have come before us and most have met their grisly end, many more equipped than you and I. I'm sure they wouldn't mind were a fellow explorer to relieve them of their tools. It's a kindness really. The dead shouldn't be burdened with such things.

I'd planned to offer greetings, though figured I'd first tend to my nail on chance our meeting goes poorly.

Your nail looks a fine instrument, but it's showing signs of wear.

I'd wager up there it would take you far. Down here however, I suspect you'll soon meet dangers the surface world can't match.

From that, I don’t necessarily take that he has a personal relationship with his own weapon, though I don’t take specific evidence to the contrary; he seems to have a utilitarian view about equipment.

How I personally see Quirrel’s final scene is Quirrel leaving his nail behind as a symbolic death. There’s a theme of death in general in Hollow Knight, often literal, but there’s also a point made that the happiest and most actualized people are able to address their regrets and let go of them- both parts. Ghost has to challenge their Shade and take it back into themselves rather than leaving it out there, but with it restored they are no longer haunted. You can argue, in a selfish sense (not hedging it in terms of they’re here to save Hollow)- Ghost came to this kingdom in the first place in order to ‘no longer be haunted’.

Quirrel, as we interact with him, is a haunted person. He is haunted by who he used to be. Quite often he talks, and more often he thinks without speaking, about the curious haze of his memory. 

I think what we witness, in a game, is Quirrel laying a ghost to rest, and while in one sense, that’s Monomon, in another sense, it’s himself- the old him that lived in Hallownest. From there, I think it’s basically just personal preference and relatively fiddly headcanon whether or not laying this ghost to rest takes the present Quirrel as well; my personal sense is no, because I feel like the game fairly consistently makes a divergence between “your role” and “your self”- Ghost as specifically not the chosen Hollow Knight and people arguing said chosen knight might’ve been chosen falsely (by a metric that Ghost, themselves, if they supplant their sibling, is also ‘chosen falsely’).

To me, Quirrel is not someone I would suspect of yearning to die or believing his death is at hand. Out of everyone in this setting, he’s one of the most optimistic about the future. He’s earnestly curious, earnestly drawn, and I think it’s easy to assume he left his nail behind simply because that past Quirrel, that was relevant to Hallownest, was dead, and the present Quirrel, who is ready to leave all of that behind, lays the scholar’s nail alone in an unmarked grave and moves on.

If he did die, I’d presume that it wasn’t his choice, but also, I think, the people who ‘die when their role is exhausted’ are people who we are shown had a poor balance. The Pale King, who appears to have died by no particular means other than self-neglect, killing himself as he killed the vessels, by simply abandoning in an inhospitable environment- as if he felt that the kingdom couldn’t need him anymore and just left his own body out to collect dust. The Radiance, who has suffered a progressive deterioration from a goddess that did once preside over other living beings, before giving everything to her anger as fuel to stay alive, and who cannot really be saved; she either dies violently, or she continues to fester in wrath and imprisonment.

So I think yes, “Quirrel does die” in one sense of the word, but I think also, in some ways, it’s thematically important to my understanding of the game and its messages that he didn’t. He merely got over Hallownest, and walked away. He did not, as other characters such as Myla, chase his obsessions until they consumed him. There’s plenty of other places in the world. There is a definite sense of closure, of finality, to the moment at the blue lake and its foreshadowing- him commenting at the City of Tears that he’d like to see the source of its rainfall before he leaves the kingdom, that we are told this is our final moment with Quirrel- but I think that finality is hopeful in nature. Ghost, in some ways, is a funerary god; they are a companion of the lost souls that wander this deathly perimeter. Quirrel, ultimately, diverges his path from them- he climbs out of hell, and walks away into the world of the living.

(also this is just me saying if there’s ever a third HK game after Silksong, playable Quirrel would be fun)

[takerfoxx]

Some stuff from 2020 that I actually liked

Okay, so 2020 was a godawful year, we all agree. But a lot of good did happen to keep us sane, so I want to go ahead and list everything that made me happy last year. Also, note that some of these things actually debuted earlier than 2020, but I came across it in 2020, so it counts for me.

TV!

-The Hollow.

The Hollow is a truly underappreciated show. A cool premise and interesting characters that just got better every episode.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

This is one of the best single-season shows I’ve ever seen. Absolutely brilliant, and fuck you Netflix for pulling the plug!

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

This show is not my thing by any means, and I would never have checked it out if the opening wasn’t so attention-grabbing. Glad I did, because it gave me genuine joy. Though it probably should have debuted later in the year, since it seems custom-made for the quarantine months. 

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 5

What more can I say? One of my favorite shows of all time going out with a fantastic bang. God, I love this show.

Honorable mentions: Kipo and the Age of the Wunderbeasts, The Owl House, Magia Record, and SSSS Gridman.

MOVIES

There wasn’t a lot of movies worth talking about this year, and fewer that I actually saw. This one had the good fortune to drop just in time to dominate the box office right before quarintine shut everything down. And for a film with such an uninspired premise, such a problematic production, and being a video game movie no less, it just brought me so much joy.

VIDEO GAMES

Stinkoman 20x6: Level 10

Homestar Runner was my first favorite thing on the internet, and I spent many hours playing through Stinkoman 20x6 well over a decade ago. So when they finally announced the final level mere days before flash died forever, it was a big of closure I never thought I would get.

A Hat in Time

This game was a surreal delight. More like this, please!

Hollow Knight

On the other end of the spectrum, good lord was exploring the world of Hollownest a joy. Can’t wait for Silksong!

Honorable mention: Orri and the Blind Forest

PRO WRESTLING

Tetsuya Naito achieves his Destino

I’ve already got into detail why this moment was so special, so I won’t repeat myself here. But man, was it incredible.

Kota Ibushi, back-to-back G1 winner!

If it were anyone else, I would be annoyed. But it’s Kota.

I started watching Lucha Underground!

This show is years old, but I only started watching it this year, and I’m glad that I did, because it is so much fun. It’s basically Mortal Kombat as a wrestling show!

Honorable mentions: the Firefly Funhouse match, Roman Reigns turning heel, Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley’s AEW championship wins

LITERATURE

Two Dresden Books

The Dresden Files is my favorite book series, and after waiting so long for it to return, getting two books in the same year was a real treat

Dance in the Vampire Bund

This is probably my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, because unlike other guilty pleasures like To Love-Ru or the Hollywood Undead in which their unashamed schlockiness is part of the charm DitVB is largely a fantastic vampire story with a richly drawn world, great characters, a compelling plot, and some truly great action. It just has that one really gross aspect that overshadows everything else, and unfortunately is promoted as its main selling point. That being said, I was happy to see it return.

PERSONAL WRITING

Returning to fanfiction

Ah, IM and RD, how I’ve missed thee. Sure, my heyday may be over, but it’s still wonderful to return to old stories

Finishing both Walpurgis Nights and Restless

These two were both passion projects that have been taking up space in my head for years, so finishing both was a dream come true, no pun intended

Getting Blood Island going

I have no idea how my future in original fiction will go, but I hope it’s good.

MUSIC

DemonDice

Yes, we all know who she is now, but finding Calliope’s older stuff kind of makes me mad about how unappreciated she was. 

Mystery Skulls - Ultra Rare vol. 2

I remember asking Mystery Skulls right after vol 1 dropped if a vol 2 was in the worlds, and he said definitely. It took a while, but it’s finally here.

Skyhill returns

God, Howling at the Moon came when I needed it the most.

K/DA All Out

I found out that this was coming out literally days before it dropped, and it ROCKED!

Ken Ashcorp

Why yes, I would like more incredibly catchy, shamelessly horny songs about nerdy stuff that I like, thank you very much.

Honorable Mentions: Hybrid Theory deluxe edition, In This Moment, Gorillaz Song Machine

Misc.

hololive

This is the era of the Vtuber. I still don’t fully understand why these cute but psycho anime girls bring me so much joy, but I’m glad that they do. 

And finally...

Donald Trump gets voted out of office.

Fuck you, you narcissistic, fascist piece of shit. You losing didn’t make up for such an awful year or for the four years in which you ran this country into the ground, but it was a good start!

[thegamecollection]

Nintendo Direct E3 2019 Highlights - Part 2

And we’re back! Miss us? That’s understandable. Now where were we? Oh yes. Approaching the end of this year’s Nintendo Direct at E3 2019. What’s next?

Well we guess it’s time to get the negative out of the way. With the highs from the likes of ‘Luigi’s Mansion 3′ and surprises like ‘No More Heroes III’ inevitably comes a low. Sadly ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ has been delayed until 20th March 2020. We guarantee that we’re just as upset as you are about this but Nintendo have cited their reasons being that it needs more time to become the absolute best it can be. We appreciate your perfectionism, Nintendo! But this one hurts. We did however get a trailer which we’ve dropped for you below. We’ll get through this wait together!

Pre-order right here.

Think back to part 1 of this blog and how it was kicked off with new characters for Smash Bros Ultimate. Got it? Good. Now think about our brief mention regarding potential new characters from an iconic Nintendo 64 title. Got it? Even better. In a truly Rare occurrence we are treated to what fans have been calling for... Banjo Kazooie are joining the Super Smash Bros Ultimate roster! And what a way to introduce them with this epic trailer that integrates Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong for the reveal! Take a look at the magical moment below and prepare for their entrance before the end of this year:

We’re now approaching the end and the Direct is drawing to its close. We’re saddened and somewhat knackered from all these epic announcements. A good lay down is needed in order to process and reflect. But wait... Could there be? One more? Oh go on then. What ya got?

OH S**T.

We knew there’d be Link’s Awakening. We were prepared but not for this. WE DID NOT SEE THIS COMING. Nintendo already have a sequel to ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ in the works! In a short trailer that does EVERYTHING for us, is there a better way to end this presentation? For those of you at the back that is a rhetorical question. Take a look at the clip below and join us in this wait for more...

It brings a tear to our eye. It really does. You’re too good to us, Nintendo. I mean we’ve not forgotten about that Animal Crossing delay but this will do for now eh...

Before we close this off we’ve also made a list below of other titles from the Direct that are certainly worth a mention and which are coming to your Switch across 2019/2020:

Contra: Rogue Corps - 24th September 2019

Daemon X Machina - 13th September 2019

Panzer Dragoon - Winter 2019

Astral Chain - 30th August 2019

Empire of Sin - Spring 2020

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order - 19th July 2019

Cadence of Hyrule - 13th June 2019

Spyro Reignited Trilogy - 3rd September 2019

Hollow Knight Silksong - Coming Soon

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - 20th September 2019

Minecraft Dungeons - Spring 2020

The Elder Scrolls: Blades - Fall 2019

My Friend Pedro - 20th June 2019

Doom Eternal - Coming Soon

The Sinking City - Fall 2019

Wolfenstein: Youngblood - 26th July 2019

Dead By Daylight - 24th September 2019

Alien Isolation - 2019

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles S - Remastered Edition - 2019

Dragon Quest Builders 2 - 12th July 2019

Stranger Things 3: The Game - 4th July 2019

Just Dance 2020 - 5th November 2019

Catan - 20th June 2019

New Super Lucky’s Tale - Fall 2019

Dauntless - 2019

Super Mario Maker 2 - 28th June 2019

Thanks again for joining us on this highlight reel of what’s to come from Nintendo in the following months/year! We’re seriously excited on the back of what is for us, the best presentation of this years show...

That Animal Crossing delay seriously sucks though and we’d better be getting an actual Banjo Kazooie game from all this. Never satisfied.

-Jack

[jmindigo]

Nintendo Direct Blathering

 (What, me remember to hit post after I write something? ha. Well that was a fantastic Nintendo Direct - worth the wait in my opinion, though please Nintendo don't make us wait that long again!)

Video Link

 *screams in Mario* I'm so so so excited for Mario Maker 2!! So excited I missed the bulk of the announcement and had to watch it over again because omg there's so much to be excited about here - slopes! switches! the themes! Luigi! It's coming out in June!!! I love the original Mario Maker, though I admit I didn't play all that much of it. I'm... not that good at old school Mario. I get through the games, somehow, but I'm definitely below the average skill level. Or at least I feel like that. It doesn't take away that I love the games though, and more then playing Mario Maker I love watching truly skilled players play it and the sound of it is sort of comforting? So I've fallen asleep to Mario Maker more times then I can count, and I'm looking forward to doing the same with Mario Maker 2. Fingers crossed for thwimps!

That Marvel game is mildly interesting, in that they spent so much time highlight Captain Marvel - it seems like a gesture of confidence in that movie, and that's promising. It's something similar with Joker in Smash - they aren't showing much of him, which is interesting because there's a big Persona 5 announcement planned for March. If Joker being in Smash is part of Persona 5 getting a switch release then it sort of makes sense to hold back. Yeah I'm pulling for a switch release of Persona 5, and I'm more hopeful for it after seeing the push for hardcore games. I hate that term, hardcore. The games it describes aren't necessarily harder than other games, and the easy games aren't any less core to a system's library. But what else do you call those games? Anyway, after seeing that sort of games, the Final Fantasy, the Dragon Quests, the Assassin's Creeds, the Hellblades, and even strong rumors of the Kingdom Hearts games? I feel confident in having some hope for Persona 5.

 I love that Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is getting some love, because I'd really like to see a sequel to that one - there's so much more they could do with that concept and I'd like to see it. I have that one on the Wii U, but if I had the cash to burn on buying a game I already own? I would. 

Bloodstained looks amazing. The Castlevania games are one of the gaps in my gaming experience, as I've only loved them from a distance, but I'd love to dig into Bloodstained. It looks like all the best parts of the SoTN style games, but polished and with a female protagonist.

I'm not really a fan of the series, but I've heard such good things about Dragon Quest 11 I can't help but be excited for it. I'm always down for a solid jrpg experience. Because of it's release window I imagine it's going to be my birthday game. I suppose it shows my age as a gamer that I can't quite escape the console wars mentality, and oh does it feel like a coup to have the definitive version of the game be on a Nintendo console. That's one of those good signs about the Switch and big games.

Oninaki looks beautiful. Again, I'm a sucker for pretty jrpgs. 'Deep, single player campaign' is my ultimate catnip, and I am Setsuna has been on my radar for forever. *sobs over empty wallet*

I of course downloaded and played through the Yoshi's Crafted World demo immediately. It's a delightful game, and I don't know why I'm surprised about that because of course it's a delightful game! Epic Yarn and Woolly World were delightful games so how could Crafted World be anything else? I love games that just give me a mode like Mellow Mode, so I can chill out and play a game, and it's not like it strips the challenge out of the game like some people might think. The end of March is awfully close, I need to start saving...

Fire Emblem isn't my game at all, but I have to admit on second viewing of the direct Three Houses is kind of sucking me in.

Like everyone else I downloaded Tetris 99. I'm... not great at tetris, but it's more fun to lose then I thought it would be. A nice little distraction game.

Final Fantasy VII on the switch is just.... *vibrates with excitement* FF7! Portable!! Final Fantasy IX too! I still wonder what the deal is with Final Fantasy VIII being missing in action. I'll have to look into that when I've got a spare moment.

Astral Chain is a game that at first game I wouldn't be in to - actiony, not much there to hook into. But made by Platinum Games? *hearteyes* *hearteyes* Bayonetta 3 still happily in development? *HEARTEYES INTENSIFIES* thank goodness they said something, I imagine if they didn't there'd be an uproar because of the uncertainty after Metroid Prime 4 getting restarted out of the blue. I buy the theory MP4 got handed back to Retro because Retro is finished with whatever they were working on and I'm dying to know what that was. A rerelease of the Metroid Prime Trilogy? Donkey Kong? Something new??

With a lineup like this it's hard to say they saved the best for last, but they certainly saved some strong hype for last. Link's Awakening!! I knew it was that the moment I saw the waves, just.... *screams in Zelda* That artstyle(I typo'd 'heartstyle' there, and honestly? yes!!!), that music! *buries face in hands and happy cries* Every time, it's like coming home. I don't even like that high bloom, out of focus edges graphical style, but it looks good here and I will follow Link any where.

Not part of the direct, but I the news about the Hollow Knight sequel is intriguing. Again, aren't played Hollow Knight - too poor - but the style is beautiful and I don't need to play to know the gameplay is excellent. Silksong looks like more of the same, but better and with a female protagonist. Makes me wish I'd backed the kickstarter to get in on both of these games.  

comments x-posted to anindigomind on dreamwidth | comment there