#you know for a franchise that’s known for being challenging a lot of the fans sure do hate challenging themselves

[dimitrscu]

The whole "Malenia is a Sekiro boss and she'll be easier" is funny. Usually people just think of wholesale porting her stuff as an ER boss into Sekiro, and calling it a day. But if Fromsoft wanted to retain the concept of Malenia, who's to say she wouldn't still be as tough as she is in ER? If she were in Sekiro, she might have more health than Isshin, a different WFD since dodging works differently in Sekiro, different way of healing to account for the deathblow mechanic, move even faster etc.

It’s so wild to me to be honest. I’ve never understood this fascination with putting assets from other games into Elden Ring. There’s mods on nexus that either add Sekiro mechanics like deflects and movement, or there’s the ones that add Bloodbornes quick dash. Like that somehow makes the game better/easier. I’ve fought Malenia with both these mods and she just feels the same. It’s literally no different than fast rolling. The deflects don’t deal poise damage so you just stand there wiggling your sword in front of her like an idiot while she heals off you and that’s about it. Honestly if you want an easy kill then use magic. And I don’t mean that as an insult. Malenia may be weak to bleed and frost, but night sorceries will get you through that fight with minimal effort. Perfect if you want to just beat her.

But back to the Sekiro thing, yeah if Fromsoft were to properly implement her into that game you just know she would be right up there with Isshin in terms of complexity and difficulty. And then the fans would be complaining all over again. In that one clip of her in Sekiro she looked okay, but still too slow compared to other bosses from that game, especially the humanoid ones. But people just wanted to see waterfowl get deflected that's all. Like payback for all the times she blasted them with it. Wolf deflects waterfowl and the crowd cheers kind of moment.

But yeah, saying things like “if only I had deflects!” Or “if only I could play as the hunter!” Always sounds like copium to me lmao. “If only I had my trusty insta kill laser you’d be nothing to me!!” Like please. Elden Ring has so much build variety compared to the other two games and it’s almost like people can’t be bothered to learn the game and instead resort to this “if only I had X, Y, Z then things would be easier”. Maybe the problem is that you’d rather be playing those games instead. But then they’ve always been like this. “Why should I bother learning the fight when the boss cheats?” Brother, she is an AI controlled enemy in a video game, she doesn’t have some kind of personal vendetta against you, she’s not real lmao. I know a lot of people don’t understand how her hyper armor works so they seem to think she makes it up as she goes along specifically to confuse them. They want her to stand still and simply let them stunlock her to death, but then they get mad and call her bullshit when she kicks them back. Insane behaviour really.

For a bunch of people who claim to love these games they sure do love shitting on them all the time.

[sophistopheles]

hey!! ty for posting about the article talking about continuation of aa. I don’t know as much about the production of aa5 and 6 but you mentioned a person names Eshiro being responsible for the “no spoilers” rule being replaced. what/who is that? just in general giving u the floor to rant about aa5 and 6 beyond what u were able to say in that post and ur hopes for the future 💙✨ ok bye! :)

hiya!! (post here)

So, the story of why aa5 and aa6 are so different to aa4 basically boils down to a change in the team making it (and Eshiro was part of this).

Most people know Shu Takumi wrote and directed the original trilogy of Phoenix Wright games and then worked on Apollo Justice (although the director was technically Mitsuru Endo, people tend to think of AJ as the last "Takumi" mainline game). After that, he left the Ace Attorney team to complete and release Ghost Trick in 2010, and then he became involved in the development of Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, which released in 2012.

While he was doing all of this, a "secondary" Ace Attorney team had arisen to keep working on the franchise - they had almost all worked on previous AA games and in 2009 and 2011 they were able to release the two Ace Attorney Investigations games.

The two most well-known members of this "team" are the producer Motohide Eshiro and the director Takeshi Yamazaki, and the fact that AAI2 is so beloved shows that they are by no means unable to make really, really good Ace Attorney games. But, with Takumi still busy with his other projects, and a good few years having passed since AA4, this team was asked to create a fifth Ace Attorney game in his absence.

This was, obviously, a challenge, and Capcom were likely in quite a rush to get a new mainline game out soon. Additionally, initial fan reception of AA4 was really not that good - many people hated the decision to disbar Phoenix in particular - and the game itself had many loose ends.

Eshiro, as the producer, decided that for AA5 it was better for the writers to not be held back by previous games, which manifested in what people think of now as the "no spoilers rule". This is why AA5 does not follow up on AA4, and likewise for AA6. Nowadays this decision is widely regarded as a very bad move, but on some level I empathise with it - AA has always been kind of reluctant to spoil past games, and you were always operating with the presumption that the player might be new to the series and wanted to go back to the previous games. Writing a follow-up that addressed AA4, while being acceptable to newcomers and not spoiling almost all of AA4's biggest twists, without the guy who originally came up with the story, would prove really difficult.

So they wrote Dual Destinies as a new story which followed AA4 but didn't really address it, and indulged in fanservice to try and restore the series status quo. It seems like the scenario changed a lot during development and they were pretty crunched for time, too - the final villain's models are apparently called FINALBOSS in the game files and completely broken if you look at them from any other angle.

After working on AA5, Yamazaki was apparently exhausted and didn't really want to make another Ace Attorney. Unfortunately for him, Shu Takumi was still off on his Sherlock & Souseki Victorian-Meiji Adventure, writing the Great Ace Attorney duology, and he wouldn't get done until 2017 when DGS2 came out.

Eshiro managed to persuade Yamazaki to work on AA6 by bringing him to conventions, and having seen the passion and overjoyed reactions from fans after AA5 came out, Yamazaki agreed to direct the sixth game, with Takuro Fuse (AA5 and 6's main artist) acting as co-director to ease the load. Some of AA6's cases were also created by guest writers; the SOJ artbook mentions a struggle for ideas, which explains the outlandish setting of Khura'in.

To the best of my knowledge (and I'm not sure this account is 100% accurate so anyone please feel free to correct me) this is why AA5 and AA6 are the way they are. Nobody is particularly to blame for how things turned out; there were just a couple of bad decisions along the way which has resulted in the games being looked back on by a lot of people with some contempt. Given the circumstances, I'm actually pretty impressed with how enjoyable Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice are, even if they don't reach the heights of the trilogy.

Yamazaki left Capcom in 2019. Eshiro went on to produce Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2, and I'm pretty sure he's still at Capcom.

What all of this means for the next Ace Attorney title is completely speculation, but the short version of the story is that Shu Takumi has finally come back from getting milk Herlock Sholmes Jail writing other games, and seems to be getting hyped up by capcom as the "Director of the Ace Attorney Series". This makes it very likely he will direct and write the next Ace Attorney game. At present we have no idea what this means - he could follow up on AA4's story as well as he's able, he could write another Phoenix game, he might go rogue and write an Athena game, he might do something completely different. But the next AA game will likely be around the quality of AA1-2-3-4 and DGS, not another AA5/6 situation.

As for the producer, this comes from the November 2020 leaks (which was very real - it's where we first got the TGAA localisation confirmed), but the only thing we heard about their projected AA7 was that it would be produced by a guy called Yasayuki Makino. He also produced The Great Ace Attorney collection, and if you read his dev blogs from that release, he credits AA4 for getting him into the series initially, and generally seems to be a huge Ace Attorney fan himself, pushing hard for TGAA to get a worldwide re-release after its unimpressive initial sales (and look how well that's worked out...!)

That's basically the story. I think AA7 will be great, actually, but at this point I will literally take anything, Capcom please my family is starving

[anxiousdreamcore]

I saw that recent post you made writing out how you view all the Avatar characters, and in it, you mentioned that your opinion of the characters has changed a lot in the past year and a half (I can't believe it's been that long since ATWOW!)

So how did your opinion of the characters change and why? Who changed the most radically? I'd love to hear your thought process!

Warning: yapping ahead

My opinion changed as I began consuming content from different people in the fanbase, as I sadly started out my journey relegated to mostly the recom side of the fandom.

A very specific vision I’ve formed was one of him and Neytiri. Two individuals forced to be close by circumstance, and not necessarily liking each other but they’re known each other for so long that they know each other, you know? The way I see it, they can’t pretend to be strangers, and their argument in the high ground comics, which is the only time any of the children oppose Neytiri makes me think that this is the dynamic going on between them.

Being a Spider fan outside of the recom space was a horrible experience for many of my mutuals, and I heard from more than one person that just liking the character earned them death threats, so I kept to the only space where he was actually liked, which uh…may or may not have been a bit of an echo chamber.

First months after ATWOW came out the opinions were extremely polarising and there was little depth to go around. I realised later on though, I didn’t have to pick a side and didn’t have to force myself to forgive Quaritch, because I never wanted to. I didn’t have to see him as either a 🥺baby gworl🥺 or an emotionless monstrosity.

As I said before, the essays made by Quaritch fans sold me at first. They seemed to provide a lot of proof and I was on board with the identity crisis theory, but as time went on I believed it less and less. Looking at the movie with fresh eyes months later, I formed and opinion of my own and that is — That recom Quaritch is an amalgamation of his past self and the Na’vi instincts/perspective of his new body. He’s a fucked up soup that is, in a way, different than his human predecessor but not different enough to be considered a wholly separate creature. If human Quaritch was a dying garden then recom Quaritch is that same garden decayed to the core, with one single flower emerging amongst the rot, not yet consumed by it. (That flower being his fatherhood obv)

I went from seeing him as a man perhaps capable of redemption and seeing value in Pandora, to a man who, while not enjoying it per ce, obviously doesn’t give much of a damn about the moon or its habitat or its many cultures. All that matters to Quaritch is that these things matter to his son, so he’ll entertain them and go easy on the destruction, just for him. He doesn’t yet accept Pandora, not fully, but he accepts that Spider does so.

The way I began to see it, Socorro is somewhat his only functioning organ. A breathing lung in an otherwise dead body. Miles hasn’t felt anything but manic happiness and rage for as long as we knew him on screen, and that only changed when he stood in the boy’s presence, constantly challenged by him, and brought out of his comfort zone over and over again. He needs him to be remotely alive and likeable to the audience. He needs him to be something more than a chained army dog.

That brings me to my next point; my other big change in perspective was one of his dynamic with Spider. The more I analysed the franchise the more I came to conclusion that Miles is just an unbearable softie for him, and it was really the deleted scenes and the fact that Spider has a new bow in the ikran taming scene that sold me. He not just likes Spider, he loves him, to death. His sacrifices might not seem sufficient, but for his character, they‘re very much drastic, as Miles is traditionally not a loving person.

Quaritch is canonically a traitor to the RDA because he jeopardised his mission three times in a row, all for a single child. His inner father and colonel are constantly fighting each other, as he knows what he should be focusing on, but can’t resist being a father; having priorities of his own. He was an old fool who thought he could have his cake and eat it too; make Spider safe and happy and be a colonel at the same time, but in the end he made up his mind on what matters more, and it’s Spider. The way I see it now is; Quaritch is only truly loyal to Spider. He can hate it, but he can’t run from it.

[jocia92]

Dan Stevens in an exclusive interview (Google translated)

Hollywood star Dan Stevens can currently be seen in the blockbuster “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” in cinemas. The film is currently topping the box office charts and is number one worldwide. We met the charismatic actor in Los Angeles and talked to him about his current film, his next two projects and his choice of roles.

April 5, 2024 by Grace Maier

Can you share with us your first reaction when you were offered a role in Godzilla x Kong: The new empire? It's always a pleasure to work with the same people several times, but this time it was extra special as Adam Wingard, the director, is an old friend. I was also invited to play with an even older friend, Rebecca Hall, as well as Brian Tyree Henry, who I have known and admired for years. It felt like I was being asked to play with friends.

What was it like entering the universe of these iconic monsters? Did you have any ideas or expectations? It's a fun task to be asked to stretch one's imagination to the size of such cinematic titans! I've worked with CGI on an epic scale before, so it wasn't too foreign, and I was surprised at how many practical locations we had.

How did you prepare for your role in this blockbuster? Were there any unique challenges or exciting moments during filming? It was really exciting to shoot in the Australian outback, in the Daintree rainforest - this incredible ancient jungle. That sense of adventure on the way to work every day, passing crocodiles along the river banks, waiting for pythons to be removed from the set, really fueled the mood for the Hollow Earth walk in the film.

“Godzilla x Kong: The new empire” promises to be an epic clash. Without giving too much away, can you give us a hint as to how your character fits into the plot? Trapper is initially brought in to help Kong with his toothache - he is a vet for all Titan creatures - and is then approached by Rebecca Hall's character, Dr. Andrews, invited to the mission. He's a kind of happy, carefree Han Solo type, good to have around, tirelessly optimistic and impressed by little.

The film contains a lot of CGI and visual effects. What was your experience like acting in such an environment and how did it differ from previous roles? I've worked with this type of thing before so it wasn't too scary. I actually really enjoy working with a VFX team and helping to create something using our entire collective imagination. It's truly incredible to see what they achieve long after you've left the process.

Were you a fan of the Godzilla or Kong films before joining this project? How does it feel to be part of their legacy? I feel like I've known these characters my whole life: they are such an integral part of cinema history. I've loved seeing them in all their different iterations over the years and of course being asked to perform alongside them - and even fix their teeth - is a huge honor!

The film will have some intense action scenes. Can you describe one of your most memorable moments while filming these scenes? While it's not the most intense scene, the way my character is introduced - rappelling from a floating vehicle into Kong's mouth to perform large-scale dental work - was one of the more exciting stunts I had to do!

How do you think fans of the franchise will react to Godzilla x Kong: The new empire? What can they look forward to most? I want them to enjoy the ride! You'll see things you've never seen before and meet some fantastic new creatures and characters, but also maybe some familiar fan favorites...

You also have the film "ABIGAIL" coming out in April. Can you tell us a little about filming and what audiences can expect? This is a completely different kind of thrill! Essentially, it's a vampire ballerina heist movie - you know the kind - directed by the Radio Silence guys, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who specialize in a particularly wacky brand of horror-comedy that I love .

“CUCKOO” will also be released in the summer. What particularly interested you about this film? Tilman Singer, the director, is a truly exciting new voice in cinema - he has a very distinctive style that is so captivating and artfully disturbing. I was also very curious to work with Hunter Schafer, the lead actress of Cuckoo, who is such a bright and brilliant artistic soul.

Your career is so dynamic. How do you go about choosing a role? I crave variety, challenge and surprise, so I'm often guided by the search for those things, but it can also be a certain quality in the writing, a desire to work with certain directors or actors. It's different every time!

[divine-donna]

lights! camera! action!

in honor of hotd’s golden globe win, have just this random shitpost of an au for the hotd cast.

aka. movie star au! (i also saw someone edit ewan to be aemond on the red carpet so that also inspired me)

anyways where do you see yourself, or your oc, fitting in this au? i’d love to know!!

ser criston cole

say hello to ser criston! or just cris, as you’ve come to call him. a stuntman making his acting debut in the new drama, house of the dragon. compared to his stoic persona, he is very goofy. laughs a lot and can never do one take. being serious is not his forte which only makes his acting chops a lot more impressive. he also laughs when he’s nervous and he’s constantly nervous around the more experienced people. doing combat scenes with him is super fun and he always makes sure his costars, and even you, are alright. does his own stunts. formerly worked on the game of thrones show (according to rumors at least).

“the princess rhaenyra is brazen and relentless. a spider who, haha. spiders. a spider who strings and sucks her prey dry. hahaha. i’m so sorry guys. can i get some water please?”

daemon targaryen

daemon is an experienced actor with a lot of films under his belt. however, he’s most prominently known to have starred in lots of b movies, particularly of the horror genre. he’s given his characters depth but the critical reception has really shrouded his talent. house of the dragon, then, is proof that he can act. and, most importantly, that he’s a good actor. he acts with professionalism and enjoys spending time with his costars outside of work. he does have a loyal following that are willing to watch anything he is in but also, he’s been single for a long time. dating just isn’t in his mind until he meets you.

“that was a really great shoot today. anyways, (y/n), do you want to join me and the others to grab some food? we’re all quite hungry and want to wish the children goodbye and good luck on future projects. kind of sad they’re leaving.”

rhaenyra targaryen

rhaenyra targaryen is a famed stage actor. outside of theatre and drag, they are not well known. house of the dragon signifies their serious television debut. rhaenyra is queer, using they/she pronouns, and presents masc outside of the show. they bring a unique perspective to their character and are well respected in the theatre and drag scene. they got into performing through drag and was even featured on a reality show for a brief time. they become a queer icon once making their television debut and can’t be any happier with their success.

“are those chocolate covered almonds? can i have one (y/n)?...thanks! say, there’s something i want to try with my character. spare me a minute so i can run it by you?...you’re the best!”

alicent hightower

alicent has quite the filmography to brag about. she’s been an actress since she was a child, thus she has as many films under her belt as daemon despite the latter being much older than her and having more experience. she is especially known from her role on a teen show as the sweet protagonist (who everyone eventually got fed up with after 8 seasons of no character growth). so playing a complex character like alicent lets her show off her acting chops while also metaphorically shedding her image as the good teenage girl. you can find her hanging out with rhaenyra or yourself.

“what made me want to take this role? well, it was a chance to grow, you know. and such a devoted mother, wife, woman, has layers to it. it just goes deeper than what i have done during most of my career. and to bring this woman to life is such a great honor.”

aegon targaryen

aegon targaryen is the leading man with a lot of fans and a role in an ongoing multi-movie franchise. a chris evans, if you will. his most notable role is as a righteous man, someone so morally upstanding. so to play someone like aegon provides him with a challenge. he loves the new material and to finally be something different! he’s also very much like criston, always cracking up during his lines and making jokes. he’s always bringing refreshments to set for everyone and there are nothing but good things said about him.

“oh wow. did you get me a smoothie (y/n)? you didn’t have to, y’know. i don’t mind getting you stuff....oh, you just wanted to? you are very sweet. maybe we can go grab some food after this shoot is done.”

aemond targaryen

the newbie. he’s only acted in soap operas and dramas but he blows up after his debut on house of the dragon. aemond becomes probably one of the most popular actors after his debut. his inexperience makes him nervous and after the takes are done, he’s always apologizing and asking if his costars are okay (like with luke). he’s mostly played sweethearts in his roles, so his character is a new change of pace. sometimes, he does need a pep talk from you because it is very intimidating to be working around such experienced actors and actresses like rhaenyra and alicent!

“i am so sorry if i was too aggressive. are you alright?...okay thank god! i was worried that i had pushed it too far....it was a good take? oh wow! thank you so much for the compliment (y/n)!”

helaena targaryen

the it-girl and a rising new talent, helaena is the hottest new actress. she rose to prominence with rom coms and many people feared she would be categorized as a rom com actress from then on out. however, helaena is not one for formulas! she starred in a tv series that went against her rom com image and a dramatic film that had critics praising her for weeks on end. house of the dragon is one of her many endeavors to expand her craft. she is also on the more famous side compared to some of her other costars and has a large social media following, hailed as a style icon.

“(y/n), you want to take a picture with me on the iron throne?...cool! weirdly enough, this is very comfortable....oh, are you cold? here, you can have my jacket. it gets quite chilly on the sound stage.”

jacaerys velaryon

jace has dipped his toes into acting, mostly in comedies because his comedic timing is amazing. but his primary source of income is as a model and a musician. he’s written a few songs solo and heads a punk band. house of the dragon represents his dramatic debut. and a lot of his fans don’t recognize him at first when he comes on screen until they look at the credits. nevertheless, he brings in new fans for his band and his numbers on social media sky rocket. he is a bit of a goofball like aegon and has a large storage of memes for the groupchats.

“hey (y/n), (y/n). why did the bike fall over? because it’s two tired! hahaha, sorry, sorry. i will stop telling you corny jokes. i know you secretly love them.”

[somethingwittyandweird]

What's your favorite game you played this year?

You've activated my “review of my year in gaming” trap card! I was already going to make this post in some form or another, you've just given me the perfect launching point. So, the first thing you should know about asking me for favorites: I never give just one. How could I, when it's been such a banger year of games? (Heads up, this one's going to go long.)

I loved Tears of the Kingdom to death, and it took home my most hours played on Switch. It is a shining example of what devs can do with an extra few months to polish a game. There were so many remarkable moments that testified to how much care and ideas the devs were able to put in. I loved how it used the time since the first game to develop familiar places and characters, adding depth (no pun intended) and also making sure every familiar location had some new twist. The story was a much stronger followup to BotW, and I think this overall has my new favorite ending sequence of anything in the series (I'd love to make a full post sometime about how the final Ganondorf battles just keep getting more spectacular with each new title). I am so, so, so, so normal about this incarnation of Princess Zelda. 

Also in my favorites this year is Fire Emblem Engage, which hit at just the right time to scratch my strategy itch. As a long time FE fan it’s not a surprise I enjoyed this one- though it lost the political intrigue of its predecessor in favor of a more traditional/tropey story, I still had a lot of fun with all its gimmicks and gameplay innovations. Also it is hands-down the most visually appealing game in the franchise, a title previously held by the series’ GBA entries which are masterworks from the peak era of beautiful sprite art. From the incredible crit animations to the spectacle of super attacks to the battle maps which are so beautifully detailed that the game lets you free roam around them after a battle just to appreciate them better. 

I finished the Link’s Awakening remake this year! It was a charming trip back to an older era of Zelda design philosophy and I found it fascinating to compare the ways where the classic puzzles and challenges differ from what the game would be like if it were made today, as well as the places where modern technology allowed for better QoL changes that weren’t in the original. I really enjoyed the music as well, which I find to be a standout among the series still.

Here at the end of the year, I have to give a shout out to Sea of Stars. It has everything you want in an indie darling- very pretty pixel art, very nice music, turn-based battles with timed hits I joke, but Sea of Stars does a great job balancing evoking/paying homage to icons like Chrono Trigger and bringing new gameplay to the JRPG formula. I like its pared-down take on JRPG combat which revamps skills/mana into a much more dynamic resource that’s constantly being spent and regenerated, and I’m a known sucker for character combo attacks which this game has in spades. The later parts of its story are told with a lot of heart, and again I am a known sucker for certain character archetypes. Surprisingly also, I think the movement and exploration is absolutely a standout- not something that’s typically emphasized in the genre. But this game constantly has you hopping across stepping stones, balancing on tightropes, climbing walls and ledges… the emphasis on interesting traversal and verticality is a strength few games like it can boast. 

Before my final pick, I’m including a special section for all the games I didn't play myself but watched my friends play and still want to praise: Hi-Fi Rush, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Mario Bros Wonder, Pizza Tower, the Minish Cap Switch rerelease, and more all came out this year and all of them have brought killer music, excellent gameplay, and stunning visuals that I’ve enjoyed to no end. Anyone considering to pick up any of them would find a quality product without a doubt.

With all that said: I think ultimately it has to be Tunic in the end. Underneath its premise of a Zelda/Souls-like adventure game there is a wealth of secrets that goes as far down as you have the courage to delve. It’s a game built to evoke nostalgia for games that you didn’t understand yet, posing as a game that you watched an older sibling play or a game you could only find a poorly-translated foreign copy of. It obscures everything and teaches you its secrets through context, exploration, and discovering in-game pages of the manual (remember manuals?). It’s a game made for lovers of secrets and puzzles, full of hidden paths and trophies that reward inquisitiveness and observation (and taking paper notes). It was when I saw that it not only has a conlang, but that it gives you the hints you need to fully translate it, that I knew I had to get it myself. It spurred me to screenshot every in-game piece of menu text, then spend evenings cross-referencing it to identify phonemes and construct a key.

The rush I got on completing that key is one of two moments I knew this game was absolutely special. The second standout moment is when the game teaches you its hugest secret, and then invites you to prove your mastery of it by presenting you a huge, multi-part puzzle. But, Tunic does the same thing that one of my other all-time favorites, Outer Wilds, does so well: powerups via knowledge, “unlocking” abilities that you always had, you just didn’t know that you did. The pieces to this puzzle are hidden in plain sight; it’s only when the game tells you what you’re looking for that your understanding shifts, everything clicks, and your eyes are opened to the path you have to follow. I don’t say it lightly, but I consider Tunic to be a one-of-a-kind title, and one that delivers completely on its unique vision. 

In case that brick of text doesn’t make it clear, I love this game. 

I love all of these games.

It's a fine time to be alive.

[echoesofdusk]

Alright folks I beat another game, you know what that means!

My thoughts on

Paper Mario

I had been meaning to play Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for years (ha), and friends told me I'd get more out of it if I played the original Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64, so that's what I did!

I have a kinda interesting relationship with the Mario franchise. While I've played a handful of games and like some of them, I don't think of myself as a Mario fan. When it comes to these games, the more creative and unorthodox games such as the RPGs, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine etc tend to catch my attention more than the others, and as I love RPGs, ofc I'd be interested in the Mario RPGs.

I've never played a Paper Mario game before, however, I've played Mario & Luigi: Dream Team for the 3DS. It's the only Mario RPG I've played, but I had a lot of fun with it and have been meaning to play the other Mario RPGs since then, with Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door being the biggest one. But as I already said, I was told by some friends that I'd appreciate TTYD even more if I played the first Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64. So I booted it up.

Right off the bat, this game is extremely charming and I love the art style. I think the graphics still hold up somewhat after 20+ years. I don't think it needs a remake, let alone upscaling, but that may just be me. Can I say just how timeless this art direction is?

Also, I know this is a 20+ year old game, but a star named Twink still caught me off guard. lmfao

The story is a rather bog standard Mario story on the surface. Bowser kidnaps Peach, and Mario needs to rescue her. However, it has several twists. Bowser steals an artefact known as the Star Rod, which grants him his wishes, making him stronger. Peach makes friends with a star named Twink, and there are several sections where she's playable. And as this is an RPG, there are party members who travel with Mario! Bow is my favourite, ojousama ghost is just the greatest. The writing is great and got me chuckling on a few occasions.

I went into this game expecting it to be an easy and relaxing one, but to my surprise, it's actually a little demanding, particularly in the resource management side of things. Hoarding items in this game is impossible, and you REALLY want to get down the defense timing on enemy attacks. This isn't to say this is a difficult game, but it expects more from the player which surprised me.

I love the badge system and how just changing the setup slightly can completely alter the course of boss battles. It's just good stuff. At one point I also got really into finding star pieces to trade them for more badges.

This game isn't too long, which is a plus in my eyes. Not all RPGs need to be 50+ hours, sometimes a 20-30 hour long journey is great. Paper Mario doesn't overstay its welcome, although I do wish it didn't have the Bub-ulb backtracking. It and chapter 6 are blemishes on a somewhat solid game.

All in all, a sweet RPG with a fun writing which has fun and slightly challenging boss battles.

I also know now what to expect from TTYD, and I don't think I'll play it any time soon, but it's still on my list.

[cobycobsy2k]

Pokemon XY: "the most hasty and unfair generation of Pokemon"

Welcome to this new series called "CobyPop Culture" in which we will talk about music, video games or moments that are part of pop culture or just interesting topics that I would like to talk about. Today we will talk about Pokemon, specifically the 6th generation (XY), since lately there has been a great wave of fans talking about these games 👀😁

So taking advantage of the fact that Scarlet and Violet left 2 weeks ago, and that a possible return to Kalos is being rumored (if not confirmed through leaks), it's time to dust off the beautiful moments and let's travel to 2013.

2013, better known as the year that had a lot of relevance in all the 2010s, was a very Cool year in terms of several aspects; in music, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus released quite interesting albums (Prism, Artpop and Bangerz); in video games, the nintendo 3ds was the boom of that time and several franchises began to make the leap to 3d thanks to that console, pokemon among them.

The Pokemon franchise had just come out of a setback that it had had thanks to the 5th generation (Black & White; Black 2 & White 2, 2010-2011), so it began to focus too much on what would be the jump to 3d with the arrival of the next generation, so the developers got down to work, since the work that awaited them was going to be very long... And finally on October 12, 2013, the long-awaited 6th generation of Pokemon came out with the games "Pokemon X" and "Pokemon Y". But, Was this jump to 3d worth it? Did these games age well?

Chapter 1.-The Games

As I said before, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y came out in October 2013, I remember that at that time, my big wish was to get a 3DS and Pokemon X (Spoiler Alert: I got it for free one year later and two years later, in 2015 , I had Pokemon Omega Ruby). So far, for the moment, these games enjoyed great popularity compared to the last generation. The story was quite disappointing (even worse if we compare it to B&W), since it seemed to be a poorly done parody of what the saga was doing for years (all this before certain 2019 games came out and broke the internet for bad what were they). While the graphics were a great improvement (which in my personal humble opinion that nobody cares about: The 6th generation tried to emulate the Pixel Art era of the 5th generation but adapting it to 3d).

In terms of gameplay, the classic formula is still being used, but adding various decorations such as: Mega Evolutions, Skates (my favorite thing of this generation, a pity they never came back and maybe never will), a much more comfortable Gts (and the best of all 3d era)

In general, during 2013 and part of 2014 everyone was in love with the games, and they were already preparing for a possible "Pokemon X2"/"Pokemon Y2" coming out in 2015 along with the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald remakes.

Until today, these games are crucified for their low difficulty and lack of challenges, they are also for other reasons that we will talk about later.

Chapter 2.- The year of discord

2015... was the pivotal year for the 6th generation, the year that ended up being disappointing for some (including me) and great joy for others.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were already out, leaving us all with speculation and rumors that "Pokemon Z" was already on the way, the rumors intensifying with each passing day... until 2016 arrived... (For those who didn't Whether you know it or not, 2016 was the 20th anniversary of Pokemon, where Sun & Moon and Pokemon Go came out) This year it killed the 6th generation without any warning, leaving several holes that ORAS tried to fix and above all leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouths.

But why did this happen? What happens is that there were several legendary Pokemon that were not put to good use (Diancie, Volcanion, Floette from AZ and above all, Zygarde), also that several places in Kalos felt empty and needed some event to make them useful...

But also the development of the "Ultimate Game" for the 6th Generation was affected by how busy 2014, 2015 and 2016 were for Gamefreak. So they chose to cancel the game.

Chapter 3.- Pokemon Z did exist? Will there be a decent return in any S/V DLC?

In 2020 or in 2019, I don't remember very well, the codes of the main Pokemon games (during the 3d era) were leaked, ranging from XY to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. What caught my attention the most were two spaces corresponding to the 6th generation, which in their description said they were games for Kalos, XY region). This blew the minds of some fans, as this would confirm that not just one, but 2 games were planned for Kalos.

the possible titles for these canceled games would have been "Pokemon X2/Y2" or "Pokemon Xz/Yz" and obviously the mascot of this game would be Zygarde (who would have a fundamental role like Girantina or Rayquaza). Also that the trio of Kalos legendaries (Diancie, Volcanion and Hoopa) would finally have an important role in the games.

What I think could have been in these games would be:

*More content for Kalos (South Kalos, more events, battle frontier, being able to enter inaccessible places) *More lore *Mega evolutions for starters (Possibly Ash-Greninja would have been Greninja's mega evolution or something like that) *High difficulty

Lately with the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet there has been a lot of speculation about the dlc, there has been too much talk (not to say confirmed) that there will be a return to a region seen before, and obviously we are all thinking of Kalos. but I also think I've heard that there will be 4 dlcs (If I'm wrong, someone please correct me haha).

And here are my predictions (I know that some will come true, others will not, or maybe none will come true, but Dreaming is free!!)

DLC No. 1.- Kalos (Complete region including southern Kalos, here we will see something similar as we saw in Kanto during the 2nd Generation, with big changes to adapt this generation to an open world)

DLC No. 2.- Galar (The same as the previous one and including the DLC islands, but this time the change will be bigger)

DLC No. 3.- Canary Islands (Most likely to happen, and knowing Game Freak and The Pokemon Company, we all know that you will find the legendary ones here for no apparent reason)

DLC No. 4.- Battle Frontier (Better not say anything and pray that it is fulfilled)

I only hope that Kalos can have a bit of justice in the 9th generation, but I also think that we should not get too excited, let's just wait for the direct that will be in February 2023...

Well guys, this has been today's blog so far, I really had a lot of fun doing this, it reminded me of several nice things, and I feel that this is one of the blogs that I liked doing the most during 2022! I hope you like it and give a lot of support to this blog, I love you very much! 💕🤭

[ledenews]

Traditions Continue at The Roosevelt in Bellaire

7 a.m.? “That’s when I start making the sauce.” 7:24 a.m.? “Gotta start the prep. Eggs, noodles … for the pasta that day. And then I fire up the machine to make the noodles.” And then? “That’s when I start getting the meat ready for the next day’s meatballs, and I’m stirring the sauce, and making sure the noodles are getting dry.” So, it’s a process? “It’s a process. Until the first customer walks through the door. That’s when it’s another new day.” Meet Neal Zaccagnini, an avid sports fan who will return to coaching high school football this fall, and who just so happens to own and operate one of the oldest eateries in the Upper Ohio Valley. The Roosevelt opened in 1933, Neal’s father bought the restaurant in 1975, and then the son took over for his father about 12 years ago. “It’s labor intensive, yes, but that’s because the actual food is made on premise each and every day,” he said. “But we do our take-out orders, and we feed the people who sit down at the same nine tables we’ve always had. The tablecloths are still checkered as they’ve always been, and you will see our same employees who have worked there for many years. All of it is what makes up The Roosevelt.” Neal returned to the valley to get a master's in education but he ended up with his family's restaurant , too. Never Ending Homecoming He wanted to play games forever but when that plan went belly-up, he flirted with a career in professional sports management while interning for an NHL franchise and working for the triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. But then Zaccaginini came home. He wanted to get his master’s degree in Education so he could teach and coach on the high school level and he noticed his father, Pete, needed some help at the restaurant. “My plan was to come back home, help my father get to his retirement, and to get my Education degree from West Liberty,” Zaccagnini explained. “As I got more involved on the restaurant end of things, I realized there were certain aspects about it that I really enjoyed, and here I am 15-20 years later and The Roosevelt is still open for business and doing very well. “Being your own boss can be very appealing, carrying on a legacy I watched my father carry as far as he could, and the employees and the customers are some of the best folks I have ever known in my lifetime. I could not allow the doors to close on those people,” he said. “Plus, it’s a lot of fun, and each day is a different day.” The sausage sandwich is available two days per week at The Roosevelt. What is NOT different, however, are the recipes for what appears on the menu. “We have added a couple of items like the cheese-stuff ravioli, the cheese-stuff rigatoni, and the cheese-stuffed gnocchi, and we also do sausage sandwiches on Wednesday and Saturdays,” Zaccagnini said. “But everything else on the menu is exactly the same as it was when my father was in charge. That’s why there are 400 hand-rolled meatballs every day and fresh and homemade noodles on a daily basis. “When I took charge of the restaurant, my goal was to not change a single thing because I’m all about consistency and I’m all about quality. Those are the two things I will never compromise on,” he insisted. “I think a restaurant gets in trouble when ownership puts too much on the menu and that is something I will always avoid. What we have on our menu we do every day and we do it very well, so why change a thing?” The recipes have remained the same since Neal took over about 12 years ago. Closed on Sunday His father served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years before purchasing The Roosevelt in his late 30s. Neal, now 45 years old with 12 years of ownership under his belt already, is prepared for the long haul at 3175 Union Street, and that is why he has worked diligently to position the eatery as a community partner in the Wheeling area. “Our area has its challenges, that’s for sure, and a lot of people have picked up and left like I almost did I don’t know how many times,” Zaccagnini said. “There’s something about this area, though, and its people that keep me and my wife here.” That is why it is not a struggle those six early mornings per week for this entrepreneur to wake and make the sauce, the pasta, and the meatballs for each day. “I am very proud to be the next person to operate The Roosevelt, and we’re excited that, coming next year, we’ll celebrate our 90th year in Bellaire, Ohio,” Zaccagnini said with a big smile. “There are not many businesses who make it to 90 years, and as I tell people, The Roosevelt is as old as the Pittsburgh Steelers because we go back to 1933 just like they do. “I don’t know what my father’s plan was for the restaurant when he hung it up at the age of 74, but he always told me he would have been fine with me doing something other than taking over the restaurant, but now that he is 85 years old, I think he’s pretty happy The Roosevelt is still around,” he added. “When you drive home after a good day at work, there’s really no better feeling. When you have great employees who are more like family, you feed a lot of great people, and you are part of a terrific community, you have something very special and my goal is to hold on to it all as long as it’s possible.” Read the full article

[mydreambatfam]

Batfam Fancast Part 9: Brown Family

I AM BACK. FOR MORE FANCASTS.The ever grounded Brown family . Stephanie Brown (Spoiler/Batgirl), Crystal Brown and Arthur Brown (Cluemaster). Well not really grounded but a bit more relatable in terms of background. I also like to call them crazy ass white people.

Honestly out of all casting choices this was the easiest. In terms of character background and casting its the most basic white of them all. There so many white actresses around I can literally close my eyes and pick randomly and can assume to get a decent preformance of whom I have chosen. So to I need to be careful and not be lazy about this.

For these reasons and the fact that the Brown family canon is a a bit more consistent than all the other batfamily members, their canon will be mostly unchanged with only a little bit of changes.

Crystal Brown

Mother and Nurse and by far the most grounded character in Batman lore. Crystal has been through a lot. She married a D-list super villain, got hooked on pain meds, and has to live through the knowledge that her daughter is a vigilante. She is another of the few motherly figures that have been expanded upon but sadly neglected over the years.

I see Crystal as this single sane mind within the Brown household. She knows she screwed up getting addicted. She divorced her villain husband. Finally she is the only one working a normal job away from the capes. A working class nurse in Gotham? Talk about hell on Earth.Adding her as a nurse in Leslie Tompkins hospital? Twisting the knife now. Like how can you not find hilarious quips when she see Steph , Cass or Tim.

"I was young and dumb once too. How did you think I married your father the rip off Riddler."

"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE THIS RICH BOY EVER! THOSE WAYNES ARE NOTHIN BUT TROUBLE."

"Oh so this is Cass. SO NICE TO MEET YOU!... Oh she's mute not deaf? What do you mean she never learned how to talk?

"Could you get a picture of Nightwing....specifically his ass. Oh his cheeks have names?"

For casting at first I thought Mädchen Amick . But honestly Riverdale has left such a bad taste in my mouth from day 1 I can't see it. One other actress though tops all my other choices. Amanda Tapping if you were of fan of Sci-Fi on the Sci-fi Channel that became SyFy you will know this legendary actress.

Known for her character Samantha Carter of the Stargate franchise and roles in Sanctuary, Supernatural and Travelers, she is a veteran actress. Along with it years of expierence in theater as well. She is the perfect choice to play this miraculous mother.

Arthur Brown (Cluemaster)

Father, dollar store Riddler and all around jerk. Arthur Brown is the definition of D-List supervillain. Even when he thinks he was the main bad guy in Batman Eternal he is shown up by Lincoln March. A ego so big you need a satellite to see it, he is such an unusual character that you question how he still around in Gotham.

A failed game show host , I can only assume that he would get someone like Crystal Brown due him being goodlooking. He might be a terrible super villian , but hey he looks good. At least one redeeming factor is on occasion he cares for his daughter.

For casting I could not help myself but add another Stargate SG-1 alumni to this group. Ben Browder is an actor close in age with Amanda and just as expierenced. Before Stargate he was the main character in the cult sci fi hit Farscape. Bringing to life this ego driven villain will be a piece of cake. He look good too.

Stephanie Brown

The eggplant defender, Stephanie Brown has a a diverse background. From a working class family, bad guy father and had multiple titles (Spoiler,Robin,Batgirl). Hell she was pregenant as a teen. She has been everywhere, but not without many challenges ahead of her.

You see while her parents were generally safe from the wrath of DC editors she was not. I can't remember who but someone either Dan Didio or someone else really hated Stephanie Brown leading to her "dying". This ironically made one of the best comeback stories for a Batman character that lead to her becoming Batgirl.

-----

The question is now how to edit her Canon that keeps it mostly the same but still keeps the story beats that lead to her becoming Batgirl? How can your keep arcs like War Games without ruining characterization? Unlike many of the batfamily characters she is a much more scrappy fighter, by no means master of anything compared to the rest. It seems once again I am going the Zuko route once more. Also she will still be a dork like Tim.

Steph is the quintessential underdog of the family. As Spoiler she does anything she can to spoil her fathers plans. This lead her to eventually crossover with the Batfamily. At first adament of working with her Barbara Gordon takes her under her wing next to Cassandra Cain.

Now unlike canon where due to Batman firing her as robin she tries to prove her self once more and accidently causes a gang war this will be changed. Just as it goes Tim forgoes being Robin for his father who found out. Both Tim and Barbara elect Steph as Robin and Batman accepts. Unlike canon it is actually smooth sailing with her as the Girl Wonder filling the role well.

For the canon change what really makes her stumble and fall into a spiral is her Father. Just like many batfamily members, their parents are a weakness that can make any of then go a bit nuts.

Arthur is out once more trying to prove himself and has come up with a plan that actually works. Using her daughter's obsession of stopping him her AND BATMAN cause an all out gang war involving the Mafias of Falcone , Maroni and Sionis . Roman Sionis (Black Mask) catches wind of Cluemasters doing and plans revenge during the War Games. Hiring high level assassins Deathstroke , Deadshot,Silencer and more to hunt down Steph and kill the overwhelmed Batfamily. While the war wanes his plan commences and each Batfamily member is fighting assassin after assassin. Tim Drake's father being a casualty thanks to Deathstroke.

Steph feeling guilty of her actions drops her Robin title and return as Spoiler to find her father alone. She is then captured by Black Mask and tortured. She escapes but is heavily injured. Cluemaster finds her and in a change of heart moment brings her to the hospital her mother works. While the Batfamily cleans up the war Crystal, Leslie, and a gravely injured Steph make plans and Batman finds them and stays with them in her final "moments". This should leave a less terrible but still dramatic type of baggage once she is "resurected."

After Batman's death does she return to Gotham with her mother and Leslie. Having faked her death and going abroad for medical work.No last words from Bruce to keep Tim sharp. Steph is instead at rock bottom , out of practice and looking to help once more, she claws her way back up training hard again under Barabara. Earning the title Batgirl and regaing the trust of the batfamily.

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For casting I had a mixed bag. She wont be doing crazy moves like Nightwing or Black Bat or has a Smart Brawler style like Redhood and Batman. She is a scrapper. Lightweight boxer type, experienced but nothing to fancy. I'm not as strained for this as I just need someone to capture her bubbly, serious and scrappy personality more than pulling double duty knowing some martial arts.

That all when out the window when I found Jacqueline Scislowski. Another power ranger alumni who fits a lot of criteria. Close in age (21), snarky,blonde, experienced actress, trained in xma, dancer. When it came to finding her it was like hitting the lottery. No other actress I found came this close to completly fitting this eggplant wonder.

[natrogersfics]

PREVIEW - Game Plan: Chapter 3

Artwork by @faith2nyc​ Catch up on Chapter 2  Read on AO3

He can’t breathe. Well, maybe he’s being a touch dramatic. It’s not as if the tightness he’s feeling in his chest right now is akin to having a three-hundred-plus-pound defensive end pinning him to the ground, though Steve’s certainly experienced that enough times to know it’s pretty damn close. And just like when he’s sacked in the pocket, he’s uncomfortable – irritated, even. But the worst part is, he doesn’t actually think it has anything to do with the interviewer that’s been trying to cajole him into a cringeworthy sound bite for the last half hour.

The irony that he’s now sitting for an interview does not escape him. When the Avengers had first announced his signing, the reception was a mixed bag. There were some who cheered, delighting in the idea of him mounting a comeback and raving about what a coup the front office had pulled. Nevertheless, many were skeptical. Hardcore fanatics were, at best, lukewarm about the idea of a former NFC West quarterback jumping to the AFC East. Pundits on Sports Center dissected his ability to play pro ball again after a two-season hiatus. Then there were the ever-unescapable critics. He’s sure they had a lot to say (and likely still do), but if he hadn’t paid attention to them back then, he sure as hell isn’t going to do so now.

Fast forward two weeks, one front page cover, and a charity campaign kickoff later, and suddenly the tides have turned. Such was the number of requests Natasha had received from podcast hosts to talk show producers alike to book time with him that they had no other option but to schedule back-to-back interviews while he trains at the Avengers’ remote facility out in New Jersey. And that’s how he wound up in his current predicament – his patience running thin as he sits mic’d up on a plush leather seat in the Press Room in the middle of his third interview of the day.

“Let’s talk about your career.”

The suggestion comes from his left, where a wooden desk with a surfeit of props across the surface has been situated on the makeshift set. Behind it sits Johann Schmidt, the famously mercurial host of the streaming talk show HAIL HYDRA! and known to sports fans across the nation as the Red Skull – a moniker bestowed upon him for his impossibly sharp features and his penchant for dressing in the fiery color.

“7 seasons, 102 games played, 23,671 passing yards, 171 total touchdowns, 73.4% pass completion rate…”

As Schmidt rattles off a list of his career statistics, he steals a glance towards the front of the room, half expecting Natasha to interject that his pass completion rate is actually 74.3%, not 73.4. But she doesn’t, and he realizes that unlike the last few times she’s cut in when an interviewer misstates a fact about him or his career statistics, she isn’t doing so now because her attention is elsewhere. Or, more accurately, it’s being monopolized by the towering stranger she’s been talking to since the start of this interview whose words now have her tipping her head back in laughter.

The thought triggers a bitter taste in his mouth, and right then and there, it hits him. The inexplicable tension in his body, the irritation he feels – it’s nothing short of the green-eyed monster.

He’s always been competitive. He is an athlete, after all, and he’s almost certain that anyone would be hard pressed to find one that didn’t prioritize winning. But jealousy is just not an emotion he’s ever leaned into. It’s childish, nonsensical, and he’s seen the crazy things it’s driven other people to do. Not to mention the fact that right now, he has absolutely no right to feel it – especially when it comes to Natasha. With that in mind, he shifts in his seat in an effort to shake the feeling away, turning his attention back to Schmidt.

“The New York Avengers haven’t had a successful run in the playoffs in quite some time,” Schmidt states into the windscreen covered microphone before him. “That said, it’s still the most storied franchise in the league, which is why it’s understandable that fans may be dubious about whether or not you’re the right man to lead the team back to glory.” Schmidt pauses, his expression bordering on menacing as he leans forward in his seat. “So, tell us, Steve, why do you think you’re the player to do that?” Schmidt lifts a shoulder. “What makes you so... special?”

“We all know I’ve suffered a major injury and that I haven’t played professionally in two seasons. So, I get it,” he acknowledges. “I get why fans are skeptical to give me a chance.” He shakes his head. “You ask what makes me the man to lift this team back up… What makes me so special? The answer, Schmidt, is nothing.” He shrugs. “It’s true that I’m often associated with LA because that’s where my career began. But at the end of the day, I’m just a kid from Brooklyn-”

“Just what every fan base wants to hear, am I right?” Schmidt interrupts, practically reveling in delight as he smirks. “The savior they’ve been waiting for… and he turns out to be nothing but ordinary.”

“Perhaps you see it that way, but I disagree,” he says, prompting Schmidt to raise a brow. “Being a kid from Brooklyn means that I can’t” – he pauses, shaking his head – “I won’t back down from a challenge.” He sighs. “So, while I can’t guarantee fans a Lombardi at the end of the season, what I can guarantee is that every time I put on that uniform, I will leave my heart out on that field.”

Schmidt is stunned into silence, and it’s only when the room suddenly bursts in applause that he comprehends why the man’s glib expression has soured into a scowl. Turning away from the host, he allows his eyes to sweep across the room to see the entire crew – both from the Avengers and from HYDRA – clapping enthusiastically. As he spots Darcy and Wanda in the corner, both of whom offer him two thumbs up, pride begins to surge through him. But it’s only when he sees Natasha next to them, her lips quirking as she gives him a nod of approval, that he smiles – his earlier discomfort all but forgotten.

“You killed it!” Natasha exclaims as he walks towards her at the end of the interview, and he’s surprised when she leans in to wrap her arms around him.

“Think so?” he says, returning the embrace and letting his lips pull upwards into a smile.

“Know so,” Natasha says as she pulls away. “Oh, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Natasha moves to his side, and he looks up to see the man she was talking to earlier standing before them. He’s dressed in an impeccably tailored charcoal suit, his stature massive enough that he could easily be a tight end or even a center. “Steve,” Natasha begins, “this is Thor Odinson, CEO of Point Break, the country’s leading athletic wear brand and your new sponsor.” Her words cause the tension in his shoulders to dissipate. “Thor, this is Steve, our starting quarterback.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Johann Schmidt stunned into silence before,” Thor says, flashing his perfect teeth as he smiles and extends his hand out to him. “Seriously, good job.”

“Thank you,” he says, shaking Thor’s hand. “But that was all Natasha. She prepared me well.”

He beams in pride as he turns to Natasha, because if he’s learned anything in the last two weeks, it’s that her dedication to her job is unparalleled. Every day since this media campaign has started, she’s easily the most prepared person in the room – ready to fire off a Plan B, C, or D when necessary. While things haven’t always been smooth sailing, he’s certain that nothing has ever escalated into a mishap because of her quick thinking. If he’s had any success in turning the public’s opinion on him, it’s only because he’s been fortunate enough to have her as his guide every step of the way.

More impressive than Natasha’s work ethic though, is her capacity for kindness, and it’s something he’s witnessed time again throughout their relatively short time together. As his Publicist, she’s often the first line of defense when it comes to the media, and though he’s only been back in the public eye for a brief period of time, he’s seen how brash they can be when they press her for information. And yet, she’s never been anything but professional, even when the person before her does not warrant it. Add to that the way she watches over her team and how lovingly she speaks of her sister, and he’s not sure how anyone can do anything but admire her.

“This one,” Thor says, pointing a thumb at Natasha, “is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” he says to her more than anyone else, and as she playfully rolls her eyes, he pretends not to notice the hand Thor places on her shoulder.

“When he can nail interviews like that, my job is basically a breeze,” Natasha says, turning to Thor. “Anyway, shall the three of us discuss the rollout strategy for the sponsorship?”

“Yes, let’s,” Thor says, gesturing towards the door. “Lead the way, Nat.”

He arches a brow as he follows them out of the Press Room. Nat?

Read all of chapter 3 here

[bronyinabottle]

G5 MOVIE THOUGHTS FOLLOWUP - THE ANCIENT EQUESTRIAN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

SPOILER WARNING: THIS WILL GET INTO SPOILERS FOR THE G5 MOVIE EVEN BEFORE THE BREAK. IT HAS BEEN JUST OVER A WEEK SINCE THE MOVIE PREMIERED. BUT IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T SEEN IT, PLEASE SCROLL PAST THIS.

This is something of a follow-up to my thoughts on the movie. My thoughts on the movie were generally positive. Though much like the movie itself, the positive thoughts were on what it’s doing on it’s own merit as the start of a new generation of pony media. As someone who had followed Generation 4 from all the way in the middle of Season 1 to the ending of Season 9, the connection the G5 movie makes with the previous generation in the opening scenes are enough that it’s necessary to give a perspective from a G4 fan’s point of view. Again, I do want to say that G5 will be within it’s right to not have to answer so many plot things at once and try to stand on it’s own by exploring the characters and this new Equestria first.

That said, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the longer none of the questions G4 fans will have are answered. There is a huge elephant in the room with the unanswered questions from G4. And It is Hasbro’s fault in the first place for telling us it’s the same Equestria, There will be fans that are annoying about it from multiple angles, and there will probably be times where people who just want to enjoy G5 on it’s own just outright snap at anyone who wants their answers about what happened in between G4 and G5. Even if the person who asks the question is just genuinely curious and not being demanding there be answers. This is just the kind of thing that all fandoms that have timeskip sequels, especially ones where it overrides a happy ending where discussing with other friends can get dicey.

HAPPY ENDING OVERRIDES AND ALICORNS

Until we get an official answer from the show itself, we can only theorize with each other. Though theorizing about a happy ending override, regardless of how long it’s been and/or how sensible the theory is can start some heated discussions, Cause many were content with the happy ending of the original. While no realistic story ever has a happily ever after, a story within a fantasy land such as MLP’s can be an exception.

Let me give something of a comparison by bringing up another show. Avatar: The Last Airbender is perhaps my favorite show of all-time. And while it’s true I didn’t like the sequel series Korra as much as A:TLA. It wasn’t because of some happy ending override with at least half of the main cast from the previous series deceased. The Avatars themselves are just as human as the other characters in the world. Avatar’s still a fantasy world when all is said and done, but the way the world building is done still made it feel like it it was possible for the world to be in danger again by the time the next Avatar is grown up, most known Avatars had challenges they had to face. The Avatar series blends some form of realism but still manages to provide a fun fantasy world. It’s a case where it’s believable that the main legacy of Aang’s time as the Avatar aside from defeating the Fire Lord where he created Republic City would have it’s own fair share of problems that would be left to his successor to solve. Aang in turn was finishing the war that Roku failed to stop. So while I have my criticisms about Korra, none of those are related to the way the world is after the timeskip. It reasonably makes sense in the context of the Avatar universe.

In contrast, there isn’t much we know about the past of G4 and it’s a much more idealistic setting then in Avatar. Yes, ponies die with what I assume are human-esque lifespans for the exception of the Alicorns. But Friendship is Magic is a setting where the power of friendship is literal magic power that can save the day even when things look bleak. As a result it can get very sappy, but FiM is the kind of show you watch to put a smile on your face rather then go to for a multi-faceted plot. Most episodes of FiM are the kind of thing you see in a lot of other shows. But what brings most of it’s fans back even for the most overdone plots is the characters and their interactions. FiM’s lore is a lot less straight forward, and sometimes may feel not as consistent given there were so many different writers over the long span of time. That said, there is something about the series that sort of ties in heading into G5 and that’s G4’s history, and especially Alicorn lore. We don’t get a lot of either even back in G4, as the most we get is the founding of Equestria was through the Hearth’s Warming Eve story, and the knowledge that Alicorns like Celestia and Luna are at least older then 1000. Which is a huge gap compared to the Avatars that no matter how powerful, have similar mortality to our own. Throughout G4’s time, the debate about Alicorns have raged throughout the whole time even before things got really heated upon Twilight becoming an Alicorn in Magical Mystery Cure. Some went with Celestia and Luna being the only immortal Alicorns while Cadence and Twilight were somehow lesser Alicorns that aren’t immortal but maybe at least still a longer lifespan then their normal pony friends and family. Though as of Season 9, that may be turned on it’s head when in The Last Problem. Twilight eventually grows to Celestia-size as Celestia and Luna even retire to let Twilight succeed them. If Twilight is somehow a lesser Alicorn, why did she grow to Celestia’s size? Why did Celestia and Luna retire in the first place if they knew Twilight will not be as long lived as they are? Perhaps part of the reason G5 has as many questions as it does is because G4 itself created questions it never promised to answer.

That said, the implied length of Celestia and Luna’s rule still presents G5 with a problem that will be asked everywhere. Even if we go with the possibility that most of the Mane 6 have passed from old age, you still have to answer something about Twilight. If Twilight is also dead, how long did she live? Did she at least have an over-1000 year reign as Celestia did? Was perhaps Luster Dawn chosen to be her younger co-ruler if Luster herself ascended at some point? The kind of things that might actually force G5 into a corner when it comes to Alicorns despite the fact G4 never had to, especially now that Sunny may have just become one herself. This is once again, another of the traps Hasbro put the writing team through by having them put it in the same world. G5 thus not only adds questions about what happened in between the Generations, but also now has to inherit what remained unanswered in G4. That is a VERY tall task on a team that will likely just want to do their own little fun pony show. It’ll raise expectations too high, and there will be annoyed fans regardless how they spin it. Which could have all been avoided if they set it up that this was an entirely new world, or made G4 a fictional story (With all the references to it being mainly merchandise for a really meta look at things) in the G5 universe. You’d still have people complaining about it not being as good as G4 probably, but the approach they went with added more gasoline to the fire whenever G4 Vs. G5 debates happen in the MLP fandom. And inter-fandom generation fights are never fun, just ask the Pokemon and the Sonic fandoms how that turns out (Even though there’s no Generation number count for the Sonic franchise. You could say Gen 1 of Sonic was the classic era. Gen 2 was the Sonic Adventure Era. Gen 3 was the “Dark Age” Sonic 2006-Sonic Unleashed era. Gen 4 the Sonic Colors and Generations era. and Gen 5 the current Sonic Forces and Team Sonic Racing era. And then of course there’s also the different TV shows and comic books that also have their own fans that can be at each other’s throats).

There isn’t going to be an easy solution to something that will no doubt have fans on the edge on their seat even if they will be left to hang on that edge for a longtime before G5 starts to give some answers. I think I’ll at least bring up 3 things that will probably be part of the discussions of just what happened between G4 and G5

(More after the break)

1. AND THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE FIRE NATION AN UNKNOWN THREAT ATTACKED

With G4 being considered Ancient Equestria. It’s probably safe to assume this is at least 1,000 years after G4. And 1,000 or more is a really, really, long time. Where anything could of happened, including *GASP* a villain actually winning at some point (Or at least, did some lasting damage even if they were ultimately defeated). Though I think even with that possibility, there has to be a sense that the villain didn’t defeat the Mane 6 while the other members aside from Twilight were still alive. If Twilight was at some point defeated. Perhaps the villain struck when Twilight was most vulnerable. You could also have it that Twilight somehow sacrificed herself to defeat a large threat. She saved Equestria one last time, but at the cost of even her long-lasting alicorn life. With the populace left on their own to continue life without Twilight, but the loss of their longtime leader too much for Equestria. Thus a slow decline happened.

As for who the threat was it’ll probably be a while if we ever know. Perhaps the real Grogar showed up at some point and was truly a harrowing threat to deal with. Or something entirely new. Maybe it wasn’t even a villain, but a catastrophic natural disaster. Whatever it is, if this is the case. We’d have to deal with the sad thought of something being too much for even Twilight to handle

2. TWILIGHT BECAME DEPRESSED/JADED AFTER HER FRIENDS PASSED. POSSIBLY EVIL TOO?

This would basically be the cliche sadfic ending. Where after everyone of the Mane 6 has passed. Twilight just never felt the same afterward. Though I do feel like there is the slight counterpoint that maybe Twilight would still have Celestia and/or Luna (maybe, again we’ve never ever gotten full confirmation of how long Alicorns live. Just assured that it’s more then 1000 years) and she’d most certainly still have a full grown Spike and any of her friends descendants. Death is always a sad reality, but you have to wonder if Twilight would have prepared herself by the time that comes. Twilight would have not gone as far as she did without the rest of the Mane 6. But while I’m sure it would be a tearjerking moment, it’s not like Twilight wouldn’t have other friends she made throughout the generations. Celestia and Luna also must of gone through the same thing living for more then 1000 years, yet they seem pretty fine. So while the subject of “immortality blues” is prime for sadfic material in the fandom. It feels like there’d have to be more nuance then that, if this were the reason the time between G4 and G5 led into each other.

Supposedly, this theory is picking up some form of steam. To the point that a head canon is rolling around is that it was actually Twilight who sealed the magic away in the first place for one reason or another. Essentially making Twilight, in a huge plot twist, a villain in G5 or at the very least someone who took the magic with them into some form of Limbo very similar to Starswirl and the other founders during the Season 7 finale. I… personally don’t know how I’d feel about that. They’d have to be very careful with the execution of such a twist. And I’d want more nuance then simply Twilight getting sad about the deaths of her friends. At the very least, it’d likely eventually get to a point where this villainous incarnation of Twilight is reformed and probably becomes a recurring character from then on. But the writers will have to tread very carefully if this is the direction they take.

3. G5 IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT UNIVERSE/TIMELINE. JUST FOR THE MOST PART THE MAJOR EVENTS OF "ANCIENT EQUESTRIA" STILL HAPPENED

Perhaps this last one really gets into a more desperate side to deflect any possibility that the ending of G4 could of deteriorated into what the world becomes at the start of G5. I know there will be plenty that will be too frustrated with the lack of satisfactory answers that they annoy people in the comment sections, getting into situations where sometimes the only answer to those people will be others that just want to watch G5 as a fun show with a “cope”, “read a history book”, or “deal with it”. But honestly, there can be a case here. As I mentioned in my thoughts in the movie. There are visual details on characters and/or lore that while they may seem minor, to the point that even if they do ever answer important questions such as what caused magic to disappear and/or what happened to Alicorns like Twilight. That the staff may ignore completely because they think it’s too small of a detail to bother including. But the most nitpicky fan can and will latch on small excuses into why it can’t be the same.

Let’s begin with the one-sided Cutie Mark. Again, while it’s true that previous generations made this a tradition. And it was only on one side on the G4 toys as well, as the actual reason it was on both sides in the G4 show was because it was easier for the flash animators. That said, it’s still a big pony design inconsistency. Because regardless of it was only to make things easier, it became a staple because of how long G4 lasted. So it was still so weird to see early screenshot and artwork of G5 characters with grown ponies with no mark. When that wasn’t possible in G4, as it turned out it was because the one-sided cutie mark returned. But one side as opposed to both sides is still a significant difference. Similarly, the horns and wingtips being a different color then the coat may also be a significant difference. Of course I know it can be just waved off as art style difference, as the art direction is no longer based on what Faust wanted the ponies to look like. It’s still plausible enough for someone to discredit it as truly in continuity with G4. Cause even for those that are on the side of “More then 1000 years is a long time, anything could of happened” it’s a lot harder to argue against inconsistencies such as cutie marks only being on one side unless they switch gears to the meta explanation of “G4’s double sided cutie mark was not intentional, at least at first”. But from what most people saw in the G4 show, G4 ponies had marks on both sides. And the G5 ponies don’t. It’s again, quite nitpicky. But it’s enough to start a case that at the very least, the ancient past of G4 is not 100% the same G4 we saw in the show.

Speaking of not the same G4 we saw in the show, another possibility is that G5 actually came out of an alternate timeline. Where perhaps the last two seasons did not happen. If perhaps it’s a timeline where major events in the show either ended anywhere between the end of Season 4 or the end of Season 7, then it starts to feel a little more possible. (Supposedly, the tree of harmony in it’s Season 9 form that might counteract it. But then again it had none of the treehouse architecture and was all wood. Which ironically may lead into it leaning more that the G4 show isn’t the same continuity). If the events of the Friendship School nor everything else that leads to the ending we saw in The Last Problem. It’d be a lot more palatable because the pretty much implied world peace ending with non-ponies in the mix included is discounted. There’d still be questions even in this scenario, like did Celestia and Luna still retire in this timeline then. And regardless if they did or not, the show would still be burdened with the question of what happened to the Alicorns. But it’d at least solve the most pressing question with the peace of The Last Problem being squandered. Because perhaps in this timeline, the Mane 6 never went that far. Perhaps it would imply some sort of indirect failure in that case. But this is perhaps a scenario they had a similar foreign policy as Celestia did. Not really hostile to anyone, but not intervening even in ways that could be helpful. Heck, if we go far enough in saying that G5\s G4 (As confusing as that may sound) was different from what we saw in Friendship is Magic, what if there were differences even early on for one reason or another? With how vague the connection is, we only know that the Mane 6 were friends and Twilight still became a princess at some point. From there. potentially a lot of other things may have gone differently other then that.

Again, saying G5 is a completely different universe/timeline is probably always going to sound like a desperate way for people who cannot possibly believe the ending of G4 eventually led to the start of G5. And I’d understand why that’ll annoy people who just want to watch the G5 series on it’s own merits. But it really wouldn’t be entirely the fans to blame for that attitude. G4 lasted a whole decade, many got attached to the characters/world we saw that had about the happiest ending it could possibly be. It should naturally make people unhappy that in a few ways it’s stomping over a happy ending for this fantasy world that many watched to escape from the realities of the real world.

Even with the long time allotted of 1000+ years or more, that’s made complicated by the implied long lives of the Alicorns from G4. Only opening up that can of worms further by seemingly making Sunny an alicorn. There’s a debate on whether this form is permanent, but if it’s NOT permanent. That arguably adds yet another addition to the list of reasons it may fall out of continuity. The only time we had a temporary Alicorn transformation (outside of Animation errors, or dream sequences like Big Mac’s) was when Cozy was an Alicorn after receiving some of the magic from Grogar’s bell. But even in that case, Cozy’s wings were not more like a glowy hologram like Sunny’s wings seem to be. And even if it is permanently on Sunny now, the design for Alicorns is too different. Adding onto the one-sided cutie marks, and different colored wings and horns. So the G5 writers may actually be stuck in a lose/lose situation when it comes to Alicorns after the ending of the movie. I think whether Sunny is permanently an Alicorn or not, they may not elaborate enough about it. And it’ll be among the headaches in the comment section (Though may at least be a reprieve from the political discussions G5 are going to have on occasion I imagine.)

Hasbro chose to try to say this is the same Equestria, and a new show needs conflicts to solve. But from the perspective of some G4 fans… it forces a world they loved, to get torn down into arguably a more divided world then even the Hearth’s Warming tale. Which said tale seems to have been implied to be from before Princess Celestia and Luna were around (Based on the lore of the unicorns being the one to raise the sun and moon) and thus yes. Somehow, if everything that happened in G4 is canon to G5. Then the world peace in The Last Problem in just a thousand years or so become worse then even Celestia’s sole rule.

RESPONDING TO “READ A HISTORY BOOK”

I’ve mentioned before, you can try to point to World History to point why this is a realistic take. But again, we don’t have an ancient civilization from 1000 years ago that we look up to as the pinnacle of peace in the world (Like I said, the Golden age of Ancient Greece and/or Rome still had slavery and brutal wars). That has literally never happened. What was shown in the Last Problem very much looked like it was that for Equestria. I feel it’s a terrible interpretation of time, especially in regards to the context that the leaders of Equestria tend to live for at least more then 1000 years to imply things would just go backward like that.

CONCLUSION

The movie on it’s own merits is a good start for the generation, though at the same time. It’s going to have some hard questions that’ll often be no-win situations for the writers. They can choose to ignore the G4 questions, understandably trying to tiptoe around as many cans of worms as possible which would allow them to do whatever the heck they want with G5. Maybe even getting a few stragglers frustrated with no answers to just shrug and continue watching anyway if the show entertains them enough. Or they can certainly try to at least give some answers on the biggest questions (What happened to the magic, and/or what was the fate of G4’s alicorns) but risk having an answer that just adds even more questions.

The movie is a decent start for a new generation if you only view it as a pilot for a new series, but if you view it as a sequel to Friendship is Magic. There are certainly problematic issues with that currently. Maybe the special in Spring, or the eventual Series will cover some of this but it does leave fans waiting a while for answers that they’re not promised to get, or at least not as quickly as they’d like. Remember when I mentioned that I may view some of this similarly to how I was about Starlight Glimmer after her sudden redemption at the end of Season 5? With many questions I wanted to know about Starlight before I could really accept her as a recurring character? (And not really fully coming into terms with her until I expanded on her myself in a story for I Dream of Twilight Sparkle) This may be how I have to view the connection of G4 and G5.

They can go one of two routes: At least try to give as much of a clear explanation as possible. Even if it’s one that doesn’t exactly answer everything, at least giving a good try may help with those who have questions remaining in relation to G4. If instead however, they go the Season 6 Starlight route of just about ignoring all the questions fans have, it’ll make things frustrating for many. At least with Starlight, she wasn’t the major focus in every episode. That said, Season 6’s job was to endear us more to her reformed character. Now with G5’s setup, it may be running well into a corner where they must try to answer what happened in between G4 and G5 or else you end up making a lot of fans lukewarm or worse to your series. Starlight’s reformation and then lack of ability of Season 6 to explain more about Starlight to us was a divisive moment. And G5 involving G4 brings over the same kind of feeling but on a larger scale because now it’s in the very premise of the generation’s plot, it’s less avoidable compared to one character. Because even when it comes to episodes that will not further the plot and it’s just a fun friendly moment between the members of the mane 5, this movie is how they met and thus the not fully explained premise would always be looming over like a large shadow. It probably doesn’t help that they’re basically starting with a reformed Starlight-esque moment when it comes to introducing it’s premise AND on top of that something similar although certainly with at least a lot less backlash then with Alicorn Twilight since it came so soon. Though I do have to think there will be people who think this was way too soon to be ascending Sunny, since at least we got to see Twilight’s journey to Alicornhood (Even if you weren’t a fan of the episode she ascended in). Sunny arguably does earn her Alicornhood through implied years of working to unite the ponies. But it can still feel too soon when you had 2 1/2 seasons worth of episodes before Twilight did, while Sunny did so within one movie.

Someone’s ultimate thoughts on G5 might end up being what they are looking for in this new generation. If they’re looking for just about everything new. The movie provides plenty of that with new characters, new locations, and a more modernized world compared to G4 Equestria (Even if G4 Equestria had it’s own fair share of electronics it looked like, such as video game machines). If you’re in this for the G4 references. Aside from the very beginning of the movie, you’re kind of stuck doing a where’s waldo for most of the movie. And no guarantees you’ll get much more then that later. As I said in the trailer thoughts, the G4 stuff could very much be just Hasbro trying to bake it’s cake and eat it too. With a world that feels like it should be it’s own thing, but they didn’t want to commit entirely to that. So they shoehorn G4 in as the ancient past without giving a proper explanation to how point A (the end of G4) got to point B (the start of G5). It’s only been about a week since the movie premiered, but there is just so much to digest. And for those looking for answers to the G4 elephant in the room, may feel like they get nothing but metaphorical tummy aches for a long time.

I’ll end this off by having a message to both people who already feel like they’ll be fans of G5, as well as people like me who were fans of G4 and have concerns about where G5 may be doing to it’s legacy.

For the G5 fans, as I mentioned in the trailer thoughts. I still hope that it turns out ultimately good. I don’t know where things will go from here but the G5 movie taking in context that it’s basically a really long series premiere, had some genuinely enjoyable moments. At the same time, I hope anyone in the G5 fanbase can try to understand why G4 fans have the concerns that they do. I’ll repeat, G4 lasted a decade and was the absolute peak of MLP’s popularity. There will be a lot of people attached to that world, and understandably upset about the implication that it got torn down into how the world is at the start of G5. If they’re really annoying about it, I can understand why you couldn’t hold the urge to snap at them to “Get over it” just try not to snap at the ones who are just asking curiously. I’m personally not going to spam comment threads with “THIS DOESN’T FIT WITH G4!” or “HASBRO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS PLEASE”, but I would be lying if I were to say I’m not just as curious about what those type of fans want to know too.

And as for G4 fans like me, if G5 ever upsets you in some fashion. It’s ok to stop watching and just stay quiet whenever you find yourself in a conversation about G5 and only participate in G4 matters in the fandom. This is a natural evolution of a fandom’s lifecycle where eventually a direction a franchise is taken to a place some others don’t like. So you’re only left to mainly talk with those who prefer an older generation and/or incarnation. Just because G5 has started and even though Hasbro says it’s the same world as G4. You can still do G4 content by itself and ignore G5. If you still have the inclination to do stuff with G4, do it. Generation 5 is not stopping people from still drawing the G4 characters, or writing more stories about them, or even if you don’t feel you’re that creative. Support artists who are still drawing G4 ponies, and/or rewatch some of your favorite episodes of Friendship is Magic that give you a smile. MLP has lasted since the 80s, and while for the most part to Hasbro it’s to sell toys. Toys, and the shows surrounding them’s purpose is to make the people watching or playing with them smile. From the little girls in the 80s to the much more diverse both gender-wise and age-wise fandom that came out of G4. The cute ponies are supposed to make us happy, and it’s ok to get back into a comfort zone if perhaps a different part of Ponies don’t give you the same feeling or even upset you in some way. Also as a vice versa to my message to G5 fans, try as best you can not to provoke those enjoying G5. If the G5 movie and/or episodes makes them as happy as your favorite G4 episodes/movies you should let them be. Many of us had to deal with that crap just for daring liking a pony show at all early on in the fandom. Try not to add to the toxicity as best you can. G4 is not going to be forgotten, the fact Hasbro decided to try to make it in the same universe actually has the side effect of making sure of that. Cause maybe you have fans that enter the MLP franchise through G5 curious about what happened in the past. And thus, they can be led to watch the previous generation. New G5 fans could potentially also become new G4 fans and friends. In other words, friendship… is still magic!

[agentnico]

Free Guy (2021) Review

“Don’t have a good day, have a great day!”

Plot: When a bank teller discovers he's actually a background player in a brutal open-world video game, he decides to become the hero of his own story - one that he can rewrite himself. In a world where there's no limits, he's determined to save the day his way before it's too late, and maybe find a little romance with the coder who conceived him.

Last time I watched such a hyper-actively positive film I was seeing little LEGO figures jumping about on screen with Morgan Freeman hanging off a string in ghost form. Yes, The LEGO Movie shares a lot in common with Free Guy, not just in its opening sequence where Ryan Reynolds’s loveable Guy is starting off a perfectly good day every day with a nice cup of coffee and wishing everyone not a good, but a great day, goes to the job at his bank and goes back home, and rinse and repeat. But the character of Guy himself is basically Chris Pratt’s Emmett from The LEGO Movie - full of sunshine and innocence and taking everything that comes with child-like excitement and energy. You can also treat Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” song usage here like “Everything is Awesome” with how many times its played, but damn if it isn’t catchy! And the film comparisons don’t end there. You wouldn’t be faulted for seeing references to Ready Player One with all the cameos and Easter Eggs and pop culture references thrown in the mix, to The Truman Show based on the general concept and obviously certain video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row and even Sims due to the video game open world that the movie creates. 

Speaking of the video game open world that is created, you could tell director Shawn Levy and the producers went through a lot of effort to research modern video games and all the tiny little details and quirks that exist. For example it was a lot of fun seeing characters tea-bag someone they just killed to then a character glitching out and jumping into the wall repetitively or the obvious inclusion of Fortnite inspired dance jiggles. You also get cameos from various real-life game streamers such as Jacksepticeye and DanTDM, and I found an interview on IGN where those guys spoke about in regards to how Hollywood can never seem to get video-game-to-film adaptations right, and how they appreciated that the producers of Free Guy went to them and asked questions and actually showed interest in wanting to create a realistic feeling video game in the movie and getting the terminology right. Evidently unlike other video game adaptations Free Guy manages to succeed from the fact that it doesn’t need to replicate a specific game from real life. There are nods to certain games as I aforementioned, but otherwise they’ve created their own entire game and as such there is no expectation to impress a certain individual fan base. So in conclusion what I’m saying is that I guess Hollywood should stop trying to adapt film versions of popular video game franchises and instead do their own original stuff maybe? Then again I do want to see that Ghost of Tsushima adaptation come to life, so yes, I’ll just go and kindly shut myself up.

Taking the video game matter aside for the time being, I found Free Guy to be an absolute delight from start to finish. Well, to be exact from 20 minutes from the start to finish. Honestly when the film began I was concerned if the movie was going to turn out to be the typical “I live in a simulation” story, and though as a basis it is exactly that, there’s so much goodness thrown into the mix with funny jokes to the cameos (the cameos are to die for!) to the visuals to the music choices to the performances - the movie is such a joy to watch. Speaking of the cameos and pop culture references, Free Guy is also an interesting film outside of its narrative. This movie was in production during the time the studio that was behind it - 20th Century Fox - was being sold to a certain little known company called Disney. As such, you can tell after the studio’s transfer to Disney was complete, this film underwent some additional reshoots and last minute changes, mainly in the finale because there are certain surprises at the end of the movie that will be a geek/nerd’s wet dream and were only made possible after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now known as 20th Century Studios. Personally I still have my qualms about Disney being the massive conglomerate business giant that is buying out all the other studios, but not going to lie even I got excited and jumped up like a kid in my cinema seat when a certain something happened at the end of this movie. Luckily only my lovely fiancée saw me like this as she was sitting next to me, and yes, I’m certain that me revealing my true nerd colours definitely lost me some attraction points from her, but nevertheless I don’t care, the Easter Eggs at the end of this movie are real fun!

The entire cast is top notch here. Ryan Reynolds does his usual shtick that he’s been doing ever since he found success with Deadpool, however naturally here he’s kept PG-13 and not swearing every other breath. That being said, his charm and sarcastic charisma really worked for the role of Guy, and he presented himself as really loveable and naïve and it was impossible not to like him in this film. Jodie Comer in her role has also been getting humongous praise from critics and reviewers alike, and yes, the rumours are true, she shares great on screen chemistry with Ryan Reynolds and also is proper cool and badass as to be expected. That being said I was told by a certain someone that they know someone who knows someone who knew someone who spoke to someone who said that they worked with Jodie Comer on the set of Killing Eve, and this was just some behind-the-scenes worker, and apparently in their experience they found Comer to be a real diva and challenge to work with. So that’s now me here spreading some gossip for no apparent reason besides causing a little stir and now I can move on. Joe Keery has a much bigger role in this film that the trailers made it seem, and I must say the lad has really been doing well for himself ever since his appearance in Stranger Things. Whenever I’ve see him in anything since such as Spree or Death to 2020 he’s always been wonderful to watch. Here in Free Guy he’s no different, getting to play a character who at first comes off as a villain but then is revealed to simply be a guy working for the wrong person. Speaking of that wrong person, the villain of the movie is played by none other than actor-director Taika Waititi himself, and his role is really interesting seeing as he plays the owner of this big video game business company who only cares about money and sequels over art, which I found quite ironic seeing as this movie is distributed by Disney that’s all about sequels, remakes and reboots. Just saying. Also found it funny how even though this movie marks a little reunion of sorts for Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi, they don’t share any scenes together which was probably for the best, as last time they worked together Green Lantern occurred. Anyway, Taika is as goofy and over-the-top as you expect him to be, and I can see him being very divisive. You’ll either find him hilarious or super annoying. However both opinions would work seeing as he’s the villain.

Free Guy is an absolute cuddly crowd-pleaser full of casual mayhem and crazy ideas, and is sure to be a welcome boost of fun in a summer that naturally lacked bigger blockbusters due to what’s happening in the world right now. However nonetheless, this and The Suicide Squad have really made a point that cinema is back, hopefully to stay.

Overall score: 9/10

[messiahman69]

eight pages of single spaced smt v ranting/rambling now that im done with the game (more like whining about missed opportunities/potential)

SMT V

was one of my most anticipated game releases for this year. SMT is a beloved franchise for me due to its handling of concepts and mature themes that I have not seen explored in other rpgs handled in such a way. Which concepts and what themes? Well for one, people die (nothing new to jrpgs i know), Or at least when characters tend to die in smt iv (Issachar) and smt strange journey (the crew of the arctic expedition the main character is a part of), their deaths are not taken lightly – death and criticisms of how the world is governed in its overall treatment of people seem to be themes that are tackled in the smt franchise– especially when it comes to the “routes” aka the multiple endings the games are known to have.

Most smt games boast three factions, law chaos and neutral– most smt fans know what each route implicates. But for the rare rare unfamiliar with smt person reading this. Law and chaos tend to be extremist takes on how society should be ran. Law boasts totalitarianism and loss of individuality all for the sake of maintaining a utopian peace (and theres angels running it all too, working  underneath a very strict God), chaos tends to favor what the name implies – a lawless land where might makes right and if you want something then use your fists and willpower to overcome any obstacles (demons run rampant in this one) while the “neutral” route tends to be a human safe option, where neither law nor chaos win – but it is never portrayed as a good end since it is just an extension of the status quo and the factors that led to the events of a smt game taking place. I feel as though smt challenges the player to question what pushes people to make extreme decisions. It asks what would you do if your values and beliefs were tested to their limits. Most games featuring a cast of characters that eventually start to drift as the apocalyptic circumstances force them to fight for their beliefs or die on the spot.

Unfortunately, smt v is a game that is missing these weighty choices and changes of character that the cast of smt games are known to go through when face to face with life or death circumstances.

Im actually pretty impressed with its remixed versions of the typical law, chaos, and neutral routes

Actually now that I think about it law is more or less the same

But law is not even shown to have a utopian spin to it, but rather smt v seems to push law as the faction for people that don’t like to think for themselves and would rather have another being make choices for them, and that’s literally it.

Which is a shame because law is a lot more than that, and this game only shows that loss of independence side of law, I don’t even like law but here I am advocating for it. Law in previous games seem to be a good and decent option to consider if one wants to live in perpetual peace.

Chaos in this game is now I almost want to say the same as how the world is now, which is to say inhabited by many gods. Which I find confusing since all these gods is why there is so much fighting, the game doesn’t really explain why an extension of more fighting amongst gods is a good thing. Nor does the chaos route explain how the reign of myriad Japanese gods will be an improvement. Actually what bothered me most about that route (and to some extent the game itself) is the lack of attention given the rest of the world. We are told that Tokyo is basically in a state of decay since it is literally Tokyo after the conception happened in smt 3. We are never told how the rest of the world is taking this conception. I would have been fine not knowing or caring about the rest of the world if this game did not feature the other gods from bethel.

If this game had said that the rest of the world exploded thanks to the conception, I would be fine, but we are shown zeus representing Greece, odin representing … Nordic European nations? Whatever, and Vasuki/shiva representing india. Are we ever told how those nations, or those representatives are handling their respective societies? Nope! I really wish the routes in the game were focused on letting you side with the factions of bethel (I would sign up with india) but sadly that is not a choice as you are tasked with killing rather than talking to each representative not too long after the bethel summit section of the game

These characters should have been given so much more care in terms of their character, views, even boss music – unfortunately you just murder them in some boring winter outdoors area, nothing special like the fight with shiva – which I wish each representative got a special stage and fight to emphasize their country of origin.

Your choices in smt v may as well not even matter – the only punishment you get is in a side quest that charges you money if your choices do not match with what route you end up with. Your human cast of characters don’t really care about what you say, their view of you does not change, and the events still happen as normal until the last hour and a half of gameplay (and that’s just because of some boss fights changing, and the final boss as well)

Speaking of, fuck all pretenses of trying to type calmly I just want to rant

How come I can’t fight lucifer if I go neutral, the other routes get to fight lucifer and they don’t have to complete a billion side quests and beat shiva (just learned shiva is a requirement for the lucifer fight in smt v neutral??)

Also each route sucks ass

How is neutral going to coincide with yakumo and nuwa? Yakumo literally tells you he thinks weaker people should just die off and for a while I thought he was pushing for chaos but nope! Mr “I think only Japan and Japan alone matters” is the real chaos guy but yuzuru only comes across as having tunnel vision and being extremely narrow minded. Nobody thinks to ask hey how is America doing right now (first off, fuck my cringe ass country, second I only bring up America because even smt 1 brings up America AND it has ties to odin, something I thought would be a recurring trend in this game since we have odin -- but doesn’t end up happening! Which is sad, that’s a missed opportunity for a reference and tie into smt 1, speaking of references

My god does this game love smt 3, I had high hopes for this game soley because the developers said they were aiming for another smt 3 like experience, which in my mind was like “great idea” as I love smt 3 for its bleak setting, pushed by very artistic dungeons and music, and the variety of npcs you come across and the human cast. This human cast, who really seem to be taking all this apocalypse stuff pretty appropriately ! like imagine for a second youre an unstable highschooler (who wasn’t) and your entire world has ended, no more family, school, nothing. And now you’re alone, isamu and chiaku are fantastic characters who develop their own sense of identity when coming to terms with what is happening to the world around them, and like I said I bring up smt 3 because the developers said they were using it as an inspiration for this game

They say inspiration but there is hardly a drop of atmosphere or depth in character writing in smt v that resembles what smt 3 held.

I am not asking for characters to be beside me the entire time, I am simply asking that they transform and adopt views they weren’t aware they had and embrace them. This cast of characters is so. So, bland???? Theyre dead fish

They don’t react to stimuli im sorry to say theyre so lame

Dazai and miyazu are the biggest culprits for being living corpses that won’t even flinch with a live taser pressed against their temples.

I remember being at such a loss that miyazu, nor the rest of the human high school students were stunned or amazed to be in the fairy forrest. Can you imagine standing next to oberon, THE oberon from Shakespeare and being like “I wish I was in bed right now” (ß one of the npc lines that stuck with me) and miyazu being like wow theyre so nice 😊 its like BITCH, YOU ARE IN A *FAIRY* FORREST. ARE YOU NOT IMPRESSED? OR AMAZED TO LEARN THAT FAIRIES EXIST? THERE IS A TALKING JACK O LANTERN RIGHT NEXT TO YOU, you could say wow this is like a fairy tale come to life, nope nope none of that, no , observations are none whatsoever just “wow they healed us and thanks for looking out for my brother” (her brother, who is entirely capable of taking care of himself) and what gets to me is that miyazu doesn’t question anything, was she aware that her brother worked at bethel? How long has he been working for bethel? How does she feel about her brother working for bethel? Hello? Earth to miyazu? Nope. Nothing she says is note worthy in my head, maybe the line about wanting to be a nurse but

Like what? Also is her short life span the reason why yuzuru works for bethel? Are they helping him keep her alive? I guess not since its revealed that Khonsu was doing all that, and

God Khonsu what wasted potential

I was so looking forward to how Egypt was going to participate in an smt game! Egypt! Wow ! I was very excited at the prospect of Egyptian participation in my smt game (hes on the goddamn cover) but to have his entire character development happen off screen, he falls in love with a human, and she reciprocates to this in such a weird way like

Oh my that part towards the end of khonsus quest where he Is about to kill himself for miyazu – and the game gave me three options to stop him, do nothing, or a third option which I don’t even remember – I genuinely thought I was going to make the choice for miyazu who – is standing two feet away watching me have a pretty dramatic battle with the Egyptian God Ra in the buttcrack of a concrete building in oberons backyard (very . epic . setting to be fighting Ra. I know. ) miyazu did nothing lmao oh my god I was hoping khonsu would forcefully fuse himself with her without her consent but I guess for nahobinos to form it has to be mutual but imagine if you will, Khonsu willing to force himself upon miyazu with the intention of saving her life (which I mean I guess he was considering? But iris said that if he fused with her the nahobino wouldn’t be miyazu anymore and Khonsu was aware of that) still though a lot of wasted potential, actually what sucks a lot is that all of this Khonsu stuff is shoved in a SIDE QUEST. The guy on the cover art has character development off screen and this information is revealed by NPCs in a SIDE QUEST, an OPTIONAL SIDE QUEST. ONE that you can prematurely end if you decide to kill Khonsu on the spot after his boss battle (which I was considering doing since at the time, since I didn’t know if letting him live would have some kind of repercussion in my throne seeking adventure) but alas.

I don’t even like his design hes just a green dude, and if you look at iris shes awesome, even seth is this dragon thing but khonsus just a green lad. Fuck man ra and their design given all its importance suCKS,

Yuzuru sucks so bad man oh man, muh Japan. Muh rebuilding of Japan (hey bro hows the rest of humanity doin---MY JAPAN IS GOING TO DISSOLVE PROTAGONIST DO YOU NOT CARE—oh ok then) if this was a better game they would’ve written yuzuru as a racist and that would have been interesting but nah like I said he comes across as having tunnel vision and the game doesn’t really bother explaining why hes willing to work with bethel or fight for Japan other than some shallow “gotta save my home” vibe. Also he could not be any more bland I swear, the game shows you what a nahobino is capable of, how powerful they are, even yuzuru comments on your power, and then when hes told he can be one too, his reaction? …. Yuzurus reaction….? “wow” and that’s it, hes not even asking you, the protagonist, what its like to fuse with another being, he doesn’t care what its like for you, another nahobino what its like, how you feel about it, how it feels, nothing -- all he says is “I hope we don’t fight” pretty ominously in Ueno and its like ok??? What prompted that? since yuzuru and the protagonist are on pretty good terms practically the entire game. And by good terms I mean absolutely nothing gives you the chance to side against him even at that point when he says that. It comes off as an empty threat. If I was given the choice to run away from bethel I would have done it. Hell this game coulve vastly improved if aogami was more involved

Look, near the beginning aogami is taken to bethel to have his memories examined and to restore his memory function. That doesn’t happen ever again, tsukiyomi could have been a better villain (or character) if he displayed the same distrust that Abdiel expresses for us. We are literally a threat to his plans as a nahobino– and he could’ve side eyed us with suspicion and have aogami come for more frequent memory examinations as we grow in power – something I would be doing if I was concerned about a powerful potential ruiner of my plans. But nah, tsukiyomi is like youll side with us right protagonist? And doesn’t give me the option to do anything but listen and do as he says. Now again, im pulling this out of my ass as I write this, but I suspect his lack of suspicion IS because we fused with his “brother”

Actually what the fuck is aogami even – we are told that tsukiyomi fused some magatsuhi into artificial bodies, but aogami is mass produced, and he barely seems to hold a will of his own, so by fusing with aogami are we seen as being more – robotic? Willing to follow orders? The nature of our fusion isn’t exactly addressed – like I don’t know if the protagonists actions are influenced by aogamis will and our fusing with him, but nothing in the game suggests a conflict of interest between the actions of aogami and the protagonist (would be interesting if aogami stopped our hand in the middle of killing tsukiyomi…..more wasted potential)

Oh my god speaking of – the demon king in that dungeon being mr vagina vulva was sooooo lame, I was hoping lucifer would have a more direct role in the game considering as how this game is practically nocturne 2 electric bugaloo but nah lucifer stays hiding like a coward the entire game – like do you know how active that guy was in checking in on us in nocturne?

Actually we get zero character interaction in general, and no im not counting tao’s return as character interaction, shes a pathetic excuse of a saint. In smt saints are usually beings with massive importance, which smt v got the memo for but it forgot to include the fact that the saint of smt 3 was heavily sad over her lack of power and lack to do anything. Yuko was nothing but an instrument for the worlds demise and left to be a bystander afterwards, unable and incapable of shaping the world to how she deems fit as she is unable to obtain Reason like Chiaki and isamu could. God that was cool. My god, man I did such a massive groan when they showed me super Saiyan tao I was like are you serious what even happened to you and why are you returning to me

One possibility I just came up with now is her returning to us because of our nature as a nahobino, in which case why the fuck does she not side with yuzuru when I reject the concept of recreating the world in the neutral route – would that not be fitting ? seeing as how she literally fucks off when I tell her im not interested in remaking the world? Oh youre so lofty and holy and powerful wow, ok bye she just flew off never to be seen again for the rest of the game LOL oh wait didn’t she kinda fuse with us by giving up her life for us? Im making up reasons because as much as the game likes to spell out stuff for me sometimes it really doesn’t do it for questions im genuinely wondering

Actually we aren’t told anything about taos backstory she says she had powers when she was little and worked with bethel when she was young but what does that even imply, did tsukiyomi seek you out when you were a kid, are you an orphan, where is your family, how do you feel about the conception, what the fuck did you do when u worked for bethel even – none of this is brought up.

I hate to say it but dazai is the only written character and his arc is PATHETIC

Dude I was laughing so HARD when he swept his hair back like what where did that come from why are you acting like a villain???? They tried to make him villain coded and his entire character to that point has been sniveling whining cowardly bufonon, and even that’s not enough for me to accept his view that someone else should handle his decision making because he was actually handling himself pretty well in the location leading up to the demon king castle and managed to make it in pretty far! All by himself and the demons that Abdiel provided him with, now we don’t see how he handles these demons in detail – maybe they did all the work for him who knows, but the fact of the matter is that for a character so insecure being given the opportunity to help Abdiel and advance in a dangerous location by himself would be more reason for him to gain confidence

Im writing all this because he does not change his ways despite all that, actually what pissed me off so much is his presence during the bethel summit, actually

Nobody stepped in for nahobino when Abdiel decided to fucking fight us, wouldn’t dazai or yuzuru step up for their former classmate about to die? Or tsukiyomi step in since we technically work for bethel Japan (and our death would mean the loss of a powerful asset)? Nothing happened! So after beating the shit out of Abdiel and so mercifully sparing her (not my choice to do that) after she tried to KILL me, dazai hobbles over like some decrepit dumbass and asks wahhh, im so sad protagonist, wont anyone think of wittle Abdiel, like bitch she just tried to kill me why don’t you ask me how im handling my bruises, and he asks me where she is, like zero concern for the protagonist – it doesn’t even matter if you tell him or not and his view of you does not change if you withhold this information

Actually dazai had zero concern at our first reunion in Da’at, and that should have been an indicator for how the rest of the game was going to handle yuzuru, dazai, and tao’s reactions to the protagonist

We all went to school together? Does nothing matter? I can see tao and yuzuru feeling detached about dazai and the protagonist since they have been known that the Tokyo we live in is a lie, but for dazai to have a similar disinterest really got to me. If anything it felt like a betrayal lol we were homies when we found out that Tokyo was fake , but omg dazai treats the falsehood of Tokyo and disappearance/unknown status of the rest of the world like it’s a Saturday cartoon – which again could be what they were trying to express with his character. But he doesn’t even say something stupid like, wait if Tokyo is fake how am I getting my super cool American imported camera for my youtube series, like, im begging for a crumb over here

His hobby as being a youtuber isn’t even expanded on, its just like a bow tie – just arbitrarily added on traits that serve only for…. Looks? I don’t know, none of this character information is brought up or referenced in any interesting important way – just like miyazus nurse ambitions, that’s not really addressed and nothing is leading up to that impression that she likes taking care of other people because the entire game before that reveal shes this meek stupid thing that cant speak up or do anything, shes not a go getter, or someone that takes care of people. Hell they could’ve just had her say I take care of yuzuru who is so hard working by making him lunch I don’t know.

How does 50 hours of gameplay have so much nothing, fuck man like I beat up nuwa and we get stopped by yakumo and he introduces himself and then they leave, ok? Later for no reason and with zero build up here comes yakumo again and hes back for?? Well the dialogue implies that nuwa wants to keep us alive (despite her wanting to kill us so badly when we first met) because we’re interesting, she does so by doing a stupid little saunter away and leaves us with yakumo who.. again I cant even remember why he wanted to kill us – I guess because he knew wed get in his way and he doesn’t like us because we are working for bethel ! hmph! (I wouldn’t be working with bethel if I had the choice)

SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS FUCK THAT STUPID RED MOTHERFUCKER GOKO WHAT THE HELL WAS HIS DEAL OTHER THAN BEING STUPID AND ORANGE AND STANDING AROUND MUTTERING SOME NONSENSE AND HUFFING HIS OWN FARTS IN A CORNER OF THE WORLD. Oh my god I was laughing really hard when I went neutral and blew up the throne and all he could do was idly stand by and be like “NO” LIKE THAT’S ALL DUDE?? DID YOU NOT KNOW I WAS GONNA DO THIS LMAO

He doesn’t stand by any side and probably licks pavement in his free time because he does fuck all the entire game I don’t know why they even added him in the game, the game could have replaced each of his appearances by a loud obnoxious fart sound effect and the game wouldn’t have changed because that’s how I felt like every time I had to interact with this bitch, just listening to him was akin to pressing my ear against some ass and hearing it rip because he didn’t contribute anything to anyone. I had to google what his deal is just now and hes actually Amitabha, a celestial buddha whos job is watching the world in wait for someone worthy to take the throne, which again I was hoping hed be a boss fight when I signed up to destroy the throne but nah he just idk stands there and thinks about how many toes he can shove in his mouth god idk what they even added him in for.

Speaking of yakumo again, I got his backstory or at least tid bits of it from npcs, that’s pretty lame. These guys again. Are on the cover of the game (at least nuwa is) and they get so little attention, nuwa just wiggles her ass here and there when shes involved in a scene and says barely anything of relevance (all she talks about is yakumo) oh wait she did explain how he acts once but that wasn’t even a cutscene it was just normal dialogue

SPEAKING OF, you know what deserved a cutscene – the reveal that aogami is susano-o. what a let down, they talk about it like its another Tuesday and afterwards aogami doesn’t address this and you as the protagonist aren’t given a choice to ask about anything, I have a feeling even Flynn was allowed to ask some plot heavy stuff when the game gave him the choice :/

My biggest struggle is trying to verbalize why and how nocturne did what smt v did but way better. They have the same amount of character interaction I feel like, and nobody really interacted with demifiend for a majority of the game. But it hits different, maybe it’s the massive changes everyone went through as you yourself were busy galivanting around trying to survive I don’t know, but now that I think on it, the characters of smt 3 were actively in the plot – Chiaki fuses with gozu tennou, isamu fuses with a bunch of similarly depressed spirits in the amala network – they do this because their views on life changes as soon as they stick around post conception Tokyo and come to terms with the fact that they cannot go back to the Tokyo they once knew. I always looked forward to my next run in with character in that game because they would kind of update you on stuff. Hell even isamu is like bro why didn’t you save me when I was in thors stupid chaos jail cell and kinda guilts you over it before he fucks off to the amala network.

Wait why did yakumo even break into the medical lab at bethel god….. all I know is he handed out demon summoning programs to people in Tokyo but that still doesn’t get addressed or go anywhere

Also no Stephen 0/10 game

The axiom is not brought up, Stephen given all his importance in the diamond realm dlc isn’t brought up (maybe hes gonna be dlc again), ugh, the events of smt 4a are not addressed. I was really hoping he would be here to address the franchises biggest mysteries but I guess silly redesign lucifer does that as a lore dump in the final 30 min of gameplay lmao

Lucifers redesign is OK, that’s it. I don’t like his legs, this is going into the subjective zone though and if you like lucifers redesign then that’s ok, im just kind of disappointed because it has one of the things I don’t like about doi’s demon designs and that’s having a bunch of useless  lines all over the demon’s body (take a look at loup garrous arms, or redesigned smt 4a satan’s chest)

Wait a second smt v lucifer and smt 4a lucifer have the same stupid stubby legs what gives…anyways I also dislike smt 4a’s satan, silly big hands, non functional wings? Whatever im going into my subjective tastes too much..

Nahobino as a concept is very interesting and I wish it was expanded on more, for example, was the being that lucifer killed also a nahobino before he ascended? I think its implied yes but that still doesn’t cover the axiom/great will’s role in all this. And I very much love how our existence is a constant nuisance to Abdiel since if god were alive then the formation of a nahobino would not be possible and it could be that every time she looks at us she is reminded that the death of god could very well be real and is something she is trying not to address or come to terms with.

For no reason I want to bring up that I dislike amanozako

No reason why, I just cant stand her, she is another goko to me and every word out of her mouth is flatulence to my ears. I think she comes across as doing fake mannerisms, which even she points out at the end of her questline like “oh whoops teehee did I reveal I was trying to use you like a bodyguard” and im like girl this has been obvious with your annoying ass the second we met why are you acting like it worked oh that’s right I have zero input regarding anything as a silent protagonist.

Da’at environments needed some kind of diversity, I can only go through so much sand and listen to bland weird trumpet horn and not lose my mind. It took until Taito for me to start enjoying the overworld AND its music combined, every other area I felt like I was trudging miserably (while still having fun finding treasures ß probably my first compliment of the game) oh yeah and fairy forest was nice but I hesitate to call it a forest, its more like a sad river with all the npcs shoved in one corner and the rest is whatever, but please like even dark souls (yeah yeah I know why bring up that) has cool environments – evil swamp, shady dark forrest, CAVES, spider nest, CASTLE (I guess smt v had the demon king castle but it felt like a series of weird red corridors and funny air vents),

Ok im tired I literally cant see myself writing more about this I cannot give a fuck I would die for aogami I wish he said more stuff in game but hes a sweety and I don’t understand the dedication maybe its his programming but

Wait why was aogami sent to fuse with the protagonist in particular and not someone like dazai I don’t get it. Ugh. Another thing not addressed. I was ready to abandon each route for aogami but I wasn’t prepared for him to die for me and by die I mean cancel out the existence of demons

Hang on that’s an issue I have with this game none of the demons seem to give a single FUCK about their surroundings, the ones in smt 3 were like oh wait are we fighting with the ones from hijiri right now? And theyd be like omg whats happening, but here they really really don’t care, um,

Yeah but I guess aogami is our himbo burroughs who loves us because even burroughs didn’t seem that into it when you decide to side with the white and kept giving you status updates on the reactor thing u were beating the shit out of on how damaged it was but aogami was like. My own death? Sign me the fuck up (he does say he would have done the same actions if u go to true neutral ending tho) um.

Yea no Stephen 0/10 miss that motherfucker

(my actual rating for smt v would be a 5/10 – the gameplay is SO FUN. I loved exploring, I loved demon fusions, I love running around, getting lost.. one entire point is awarded for shiva’s tandava animation and boss music lol)

[guettaes]

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Director Brings a Bittersweet Leon to Life

Director Eiichirō Hasumi discussed the process of bringing Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness to life and his youthful take on Leon Kennedy.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is the fourth CGI animation set within the Resident Evil universe. Taking place between the events of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, the animated series centers around Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield -- two previous protagonists of the franchise who debuted in Resident Evil 2. Leon and Claire find themselves chasing the same lead as they investigate an attack on the White House. As the pair search for answers, they confront not just the undead but a well-kept secret from Penamstan's past.

Directing the impressive series is Eiichirō Hasumi, known for his work on the Umizaru film and television series. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness marks Hasumi's first foray into animation and the world of Resident Evil. In an exclusive interview with CBR, Hasumi spoke about the global appeal of zombies and what it was like joining the classic horror franchise.

Hasumi, who previously adapted Assassination Classroom to a live-action television series, discussed what it was like directing an animated project for the first time. Reflecting on his time directing Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, Hasumi shared, "This was my first full CGI animation project, so obviously that was a challenge. Not to mention, [Resident Evil] has fans all across the globe. So it was really exciting to be a part of it and a really fun production to be a part of. Although I don't have any experience making anime, I approached it like it was a live-action feature, so it wasn't a challenge in that way."

He continued, "However, I'm not a gamer, so, I hadn't actually played the games like so many of the franchise's fans have. I wanted to make sure the tone and the feel felt just right." For that expertise, Hasumi revealed that "a lot of that came from our producer, Hiroyuki Kobayashi." Kobayashi is a producer with Capcom, who actually got his start by working on Capcom's first Resident Evil game as a programmer. Thanks to his depth of experience with the franchise, Kobayashi "helped [him] and guided [him] in regards to the details." He added, "I was also greatly helped because the mo-cap actors who played Leon and Claire had both been part of the franchise in the past. For me, it was like jumping into a live-action franchise."

The Resident Evil franchise has been a global juggernaut in pop culture for over twenty-five years; but, it's certainly not the only zombie project in media. Looking at the pop-culture history of the undead, Hasumi recalled being a child and seeing George A. Romero's horror film Night of the Living Dead for the first time. He shared, "I remember getting really excited watching that as a child. It's interesting... Students making independent films, a lot of people make zombie films. I don't know why we do that. Of course, there must be passionate zombie fans who do that too. Maybe it's because it's kind of a rule that you can base the story on that's globally recognized. It was new when I was growing up, but now it's become a classic. It's timeless. It's enigmatic."

Starting as a zombie-led video game series, the franchise branched out into multiple corners of mass media. The Resident Evil franchise has developed a memorable and deep cast of characters, with Leon S. Kennedy growing to become one of the series' most iconic figures. But this isn't the only reason he's been at the center of the animated films, according to Hasumi. "In all of the four CGI animations," he explained, "Leon has always been a protagonist. This is, according to Kobayashi, because Leon is an agent. He has more freedom, which gives us more freedom as storytellers to move him around the way we want. With Chris Redfield, he's a B.S.A.A. Agent and that makes it a little difficult for... He doesn't have that kind of freedom."

Looking through the history of the Resident Evil series, and its established canon, the producers of the series ended up planting it in 2006 due to how well it fit in the narrative. Hasumi explained, "That was an opening we had. No stories had been told during that time. It fit perfectly there. As I was looking at Resident Evil: Vendetta [which takes places canonically after Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness], Leon is already fatigued with all the things he's done, all the battles he's experienced. He's actually drinking a lot. He's very different from the very first introduction of him as a young cop in Raccoon City when everything was about justice.

"I wanted to find a place between that, where he's maturing, where's he being a little bittersweet about life," he added. "He can't do everything based on justice as Claire does. It's not like he sides with the government, but he's in a very vague place and I wanted to show him maturing as a person... That's why the visual of him wearing a suit was very important to us. It's like your college friends, after starting their jobs, start wearing suits. You feel a little bit different about them, how they're going about their life. For me, it was kind of like that."

Directed by Eiichiro Hasumi, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness stars Nick Apostolides as Leon S. Kennedy, Stephanie Panisello as Claire Redfield, Ray Chase as Jason, Jona Xiao as Shen May, Billy Kametz as Patrick, Joe J. Thomas as Graham, Doug Stone as Wilson and Brad Venable as Ryan. The CG anime premieres on Netflix, July 8.

Information by Me 🙂

Me: yes but there are secrets about Leon. now in the animation and games I say "how could he survive more deadly situations?" and Re vendetta how he wasn’t so drunk, there’s strong whiskey in that movie, and if he had it all here, he should have been drunk enough even if it was a few glasses. and how the spine of Re damnation and the Vendetta had not been broken, with such momentum it would have been broken. "maybe Leon is almost like Wesker."

And Leon fans said: Leon is a superman! And God agent! 😂

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite? - Part 1: SILVER

There are some heroes I like. And there are some heroes I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a series in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the heroes in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves over the course of time. Two things to keep in mind:

1. These reviews will be focusing mainly on game portrayals. Though alternate media will occasionally be mentioned, it'll be for the sake of adding onto a point if a portrayal is similar enough, or to compare and contrast if a portrayal is different enough.

2. These are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, I decided to challenge myself by starting off with a complicated one. Born from the future, and never content to stay put in said future, it's the saviour whose debut came from the most unfortunate game... Silver the Hedgehog.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in the distant future, there was an idealistic young hedgehog named Silver, gifted with the power of telekinesis for reasons unknown. With his amazing potential, he was truly destined for a wonderful, prosperous li-just kidding, it was shit.

“All two of us.”

For as long as he knew, the world was forever plagued by Iblis, the terrible Flames of Disaster. Cities stood in ruin, flames stood high, the floor was lava... it was a bitter life to be certain, all thanks to Iblis. Not even defeating the titular creature did much good, since it would simply come back to be a shitty boss fight another day. What was he - and his friend, Blaze, a character we definitely never saw before and definitely didn't have a completely different backstory before - to do?

Trust the first person he sees, of course. Even if they look like they might be related to the same Flames of Disaster that he fights so constantly.

If he had eyelids, he'd be winking at the camera.

This mysterious fellow, Mephiles the Dark, informed Silver that if he were to wipe out Iblis for real, he would need to take a trip into the past, and eliminate the root of the problem... Sonic the Hedgehog? That was what Mephiles claimed, yes. What was his proof? There was no proof.

That was good enough for Silver.

Oh look, it's Fleetway Sonic.

After an elaborate series of events, which should sound exciting but really isn't because it was just Silver going “Iblis Trigger grrr” in varying tones of voice, he was finally able to corner the blue hedgehog... twice! And despite having less fighting know-how than the hero who saved the world plenty of times, he effortlessly came close to killing the blue hedgehog... twice!

This looks like a jobbing for...

Why twice? The first time was halted by Sonic's friend Amy Rose, who Silver had met beforehand after she mistook him for Sonic, an understandable mistake that even the keenest of eyes would be forgiven for making.

The second time was also interrupted, this time by Shadow the Hedgehog. There's only room for one controversial non-blue male hedgehog in this franchise, sonny boy. Actually, his reasons were more benevolent than that: he wanted to show Silver the truth about what was going on, by time travelling to the incident that gave birth to Iblis. Why was one able to to this, so long as more than one Chaos Emerald was present? No one knew.

That was good enough for Silver.

“I challenge you to a dumb-off.”

As it turned out, Iblis was one half of a sun god called Solaris, the other half being the aforementioned Mephiles. The Duke of Soleanna wanted to reunite with his late wife by harnessing Solaris' power, which succeeded from a certain point of view since he's dead now too. The resulting blunder split Solaris into two halves. One half was all brawn, with little capacity for intelligence. The other half was Iblis.

Understanding the error of his ways, and after making peace with Sonic, Silver went back to the future to try something different, which consisted of doing the same thing he always did. Luckily for him, the script decided it would work this time, albeit at the cost of Blaze sacrificing herself... Maybe? Sort of? It’s not entirely clear what happened to her, and it’s not like this was the last we ever saw of her.

~La laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, heading to a better game, la laaaaaa~

But ohhhhh nooooo, turns out THAT didn't solve anything either! In the present, Sonic was killed by Mephiles, after the latter realised he should probably do that already if he wanted to make any progress at all with his plan. This incident led to Iblis being brought into the present, and they fused to become the omnipotent Solaris once more. Such power... such divinity... such devastation...

Actually, he was really easy. The antlion from Underground Zone was harder.

Manchild robots - 1, god of time - 0.

With their super forms in tow, Silver, Shadow, and the revived Sonic joined forces to defeat Solaris, with Sonic in particular going the extra step in retconning Solaris out of existence entirely. Since time itself reset, meaning Iblis was no longer a memory, Silver's timeline was given a second chance. What was he to look forward to in this new, promising future?

Shit.

The Design: Let's take a closer look at Silver's appearance, shall we?

Or rather, a certain thing that's wrong with it.

He's holding up fifteen fingers.

Yes, you all know what I'm pointing to: the hairstyle. Let it be known that I'm very aware of the intention behind this design choice. It's supposed to be based on the Japanese Red Maple Leaf, which holds a lot of relevant symbolism for Silver's character. This is a fine idea in theory, and I can respect the intent and the creativity.

But here's the thing: If it looks like a ganja leaf, people are going to say it looks like a ganja leaf. I know some fans will gnash their teeth at me saying this, but the fact of the matter is that intentions and ideas, no matter how good they may be on paper, don't always translate well into the final product. Unleashed Secret Rings Black Knight Sonic '06 in general is certainly no stranger to showcasing examples of that, and Silver's hairstyle is no exception. There are ways to incorporate symbolism in a character’s design without making them look like meme bait in the process, and no amount of “umm ackshually” will change that, I'm afraid.

That said, there's another reason why I'm staying clean of Silver marijuana: it doesn't work for a hedgehog character. With the other hedgehogs, their hairstyles are simple and get the point across: Sonic's goes without saying, Shadow's is more angular to befit a slightly rougher hero, and Amy's is a cute bob cut of sorts. But Silver? Even without the ganja, you've still got the two tentacles making up the back of his head.

I'd rather not be reminded of hentai quills, thanks.

“I thought Crusher-san would like it :’(”

I do find it hilarious that they went through numerous designs for Silver, and this was what they chose to go with. Some of his prototype designs may have fared better had any of them been used instead... but we didn't end up with any of those ones. We ended up with this one, therefore I'm judging this one.

But don’t worry, it’s not all bad with Silver...

The Personality: As far as actual character goes, Silver's personality is as straightfoward as most characters in the series, yet it's no less interesting, because it took a while for it to fully evolve to what it currently is. The seeds of his character - a good-natured yet awkward and rather insecure kind of guy, who doesn't fully understand how the present time works - have always been there, but it was often downplayed in earlier titles due to him being hungry for Iblis Trigger blood... or being an arsehole for no reason.

Although to be fair, everyone in Rivals is an arsehole for no reason.

Eventually though, after the writers gave him a Snickers, these traits got more opportunity to shine. Mostly in side media admittedly, but it's been noted in the games as well. With no Iblis to angst over, he's proven to be a surprisingly bubbly chap, who just wants to know how you're all doing, fellow anthro kids. And whereas his naivety was previously used for intended tragedy to benefit the evil plan of a guy who thought taking the -istoph- out of Mephistopheles would make him inconspicuous, now it's been used for a bunch of low-key contexts that do a much better job at endearing him to the player.

Finally, something I can relate to.

Hell, he even seems to have learned from the Mephiles incident, as he was quick to make it clear to the next shadowy deep-voiced anthro with demonic eyes he met that he wasn't gonna fall for any of them fibs no more, ya hear?

“YouTube and Twitter don’t count.”

All in all, it works well enough, in my opinion. His personality does pave the way for some funny and wholesome moments, and since they’re no longer trying to build him up like he’s Shadow 2.0, he's nowhere near as much of a tool as he was before. So I guess you could say... I like it?

Does this mean I can say that I like the character as a whole then, design and '06-induced idiocy aside?

Well, not quite...

The Execution: This is where the complication part comes into play. We know now that I like his personality, not so much his design, but that's only the half of it. It would be more accurate to say that I like his personality... and dislike everything else.

Aside from that, obviously.

For starters, the creation process for his character and story was summed up with, in their own words, “Think Trunks from Dragon Ball Z”. So he comes off as rather lazy and uninspired. Now I'm not expecting my Sonic characters to be 100% unique, there's always going to be similarities to other franchises no matter what you do, even if subconsciously or by complete coincidence. Taking inspiration in itself is no big deal at all.

But... was that it? Copying a DBZ character to such a blatant extent? Was there no other thought put into it?

Naturally, this ties into an overarching problem: the franchise's mid-00's habit of trying way too hard to be the anthro Dragon Ball Z. Sonic has had DBZ influences since the early days, with the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic, but it didn't assimilate itself into every waking aspect of his universe. It was merely an additional flavor that added to the complete package, in the same way that a Death Star with a moustache didn't mean the franchise was suddenly Star Wars the Hedgehog.

But come the turn of the millenium, nearly every main title in the series ended with Super Sonic and/or Super Shadow saving the day, while everyone else either stood around being useless, or only helping in ways that no one actually cares about. Including the in-universe President apparently, since only Sonic and Shadow were featured in the photo on his desk.

Amy smiled. “I guess the rest of us can go fuck ourselves, huh?”

This reached its peak with - of course - Sonic '06, with Silver in particular being an obvious result of this then-ongoing trend. And yes, it would be unfair to use him as a scapegoat, considering it was already a problem long before he turned up. But moreso than even Shadow, it's an era that Silver is forever a relic of, for better or for worse.

But it doesn't stop there. Since Silver is considered a mainstay character, his gimmick of being from the future also creates problems of its own, because in order for him to make further appearances, he keeps turning up for little explained reason, and thus he suffers the Deadly Six problem of being shoved into places where he doesn't belong, for fanservice's own sake. Take Sonic Colours DS for example, where he went back in time JUST to check out Eggman's theme park... Okay...?

On one hand, I’d visit it too, since it's made by Eggman. On the other hand, I’d stay clear of it, since it's made by Eggman.

And when there IS a justification with more weight to it? It's just recycling the '06 routine of trying to avert his ruined future, which isn't much better. The cause may differ depending on the story, but if his future is a permanent shitehole for one reason or another, he might as well cut out the middle man and stay in the present altogether, since that's where his friends are anyway. But they seem intent on not doing that, despite the future schtick being a noose around his neck at this point.

In hindsight, maybe this was a hint to how the rest of the arc would turn out.

And then there's his dynamic with a certain purple cat... No, not Big. The other one.

“I’m here, by the way.”

Simply put: I don't like this dynamic. At all. Or rather, I don't like how they keep milking it. Blaze's backstory was radically changed to justify her presence in Silver's future, and it really shows, since she barely even shows up half the time, as if the developers themselves forgot she was in the game. But her backstory has since been restored to her original alternate dimension interpretation, so hanging around with the grey hedgehog is all good now, right?

To be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't care for this dynamic regardless. But I would be more willing to tolerate it, and I'd refrain from groaning every time they're seen together... if they weren't intent on playing it up so much in spite of '06 being wiped out, sometimes with a bit of commentary involving their thoughts and memories, which only succeeds at making things more confusing. If Blaze is around, Silver will be nearby, and if he's not at first, he will be soon enough. This franchise does have a problem in general with restricting who's allowed to interact with who (I personally believe Sonic Heroes may have led to this, or at least it accelerated it), but I'd argue it's at its most insufferable here, with Blaze's potential and her entire world taking a backseat to being the sidekick of Ganja Man.

And you might say “Well, it's part of the franchise now, so you'll just have to accept it”. To which I ask: Have you accepted Two Worlds? Have you accepted Solo Sonica? Have you accepted Sonic's friends not doing much as of late?

Yeah. That's what I thought. “It’s just how it is” doesn’t mean you can’t criticise it.

Meanwhile, Marine is lucky enough to get so much as a shout out.

So yeah, I have quite an extensive list of grievances involving poor Silver. But... very little of it has to do with him, right? They're all indirect problems that he just so happens to be linked to, as opposed to someone like Chris Thorndyke, who is genuinely a shit character through and through. This is more comparable to Tails being bitchy in Lost World, or Amy being manipulative in Chronicles, or Sonic being a smug dumbass in IDW, or Shadow not wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Boom. Frustrating, regrettable, but not really the character's own fault.

Yet even after all that, there's one last kick in the teeth... How do you fix all this? And how do you fix it when he's since gained a sizable fandom, many of whom like him for these very attributes? If you leave it as it is, you're stuck with this big, awkward mess that everyone pretends to ignore. If you try to do something about it, you'll get complaints about disrespecting the True Silver Spirit, and you’ll get questions about why you didn't create a new character instead... And if you did use a new character for the sake of a clean slate, THEN you'd get complaints about not using Silver.

It's a tough call to be sure, and it's such a shame because like I said, I do appreciate his personality, so I can't say he's bad outright. But with all this... clutter, I can only put him in the average category. So, in he goes.

Crusher Gives Silver a: Thumbs Sideways!

Well, I'm glad this one's out of the way. Putting my thoughts into words with Silver was harder than it should have been. I do slightly regret starting this series off on a rather downer note, but rest assured, it's a lot more positive from this point onwards, since while I have higher praise for some heroes more than others, the hero characters as a whole fare a lot better than the majority of villains not named Eggman.

I guess you could say that I hope to show why Sonic's friends aren't as shitty as the haters would suggest. ;)