Julius

Great set of penalties honestly, great to see "Aaron Ramsey was brought in to produce big moments" Everyone: oh he missing

Lenz shushing the Rangers fans, like that'll help

Can't remember the last time managers have come up to shake hands and thanks the refs while waiting for the coin toss, that definitely added some tension!

What a freaking save from Trapp! (EDIT: twice, the potential tap-in and free kick!) Absolutely, I'm honestly getting a little tired watching them been a very stop-start final, a lot of it down to the physicality. I think the lack of energy as the game has gone on due to fatigue is one of very few downsides to having two sides who don't often go deep in Europe coming face-to-face, and neither side being all that fitter than the other.

So, a new prototype of Shenmue 2 has been shown off, and the best part? You can play as Yu Suzuki! Awesome stuff

Yeah, definitely. Even more egregious is not getting a card at all, I mean not even a yellow? He was stretching that much - and his leg was that high - you'd think he was in a Thursday morning yoga session rather than the Europa League final!

I feel like that should be a red. It won't be because it's a final and it's so early - probably down to nerves, definitely not malicious - but that was clearly very dangerous. Peter Walton chiming in to remind us that he's an idiot. Also, someone should've told the Frankfurt team doc to pull up his joggers...

It always confuses me when indie developers make moves like this, because I feel like they're risking long-term gain and success for a very short-term, flash-in-the-pan moment in the spotlight? Like awesome, your game looks almost exactly like the remake of a critically acclaimed game which is nearly 30 years old now -- by arguably the strongest first party developer in the history of the industry, and taking heavy "influence" from a series with one of their most dedicated and larger fanbases. Now you've shot yourself in the foot because when people play this they'll only be comparing your game to Link's Awakening? Looking at this I feel the same way I do when I look at pretty much every Soulslike I'm all for drawing influence and inspiration - it's standard for any creative medium - and to be fair to them, they have a few interesting ideas (I like the idea of the little ball puzzle they have, reminds me of Screwball Scramble), but making a 2D Zelda-like which looks exactly like a Zelda game? I feel like it's about as surefire a way you can get to come out with a bang and then quickly vanish off the face of the earth. People have been screaming out for Earthbound or Pokémon in this style, so how about a JRPG? Or a farming simulator, that'd look great in this style? Or, if you're hell-bent on going with making a Zelda-like which looks like an actual Zelda game, how about you set the entire thing in a Dark World-looking setting, or something cyberpunk, so that even if the geometry and general look is the same, it at least looks somewhat different? You know...to stand out and so that you give yourself the best chance at success, and don't so directly ape off a massive game like the Link's Awakening remake?

Always love a decent interview. What Moses Ingram said when describing her character has me a little concerned, though... Hayden describing Anakin as "Jedi Knight, never a Jedi Master" had me cracking up, though Elsewhere: somehow, Kelly Marie Tran returns! To give an interview for AANHPI Heritage Month: A lot of love for her in the comments, which is always great to see

Still weirded out by the decision to schedule the Europa League final ahead of the Europa Conference League final rather than it being the other way around, but hey, it's football, so I'll watch Rangers have done a great job of turning their ship well and truly around the last few years, whereas Frankfurt have a stellar fanbase and it was fun seeing them tear Barça apart in the semis, so I'll probably be rooting for Frankfurt seeing as I've watched them more either way, hopefully it should be an exciting match, neither side is really an underdog so hopefully that helps them let loose and really go for it!

So Nomura is teasing news next month for VII's 25th anniversary... I think we all know what this means: along with all of the additions from Intergrade and the base game, you also get a Sephiroth wig, as part of Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission, the first PS6 exclusive

Awesome, thanks @Ronnie, will do eyes immediately drift towards everything to do with sand

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund (aka the Public Investment Fund, or PIF) has claimed a $3 billion / 5% stake in Nintendo. Hoo boy. The tweet mentions Capcom, but they've also claimed a huge stake in SNK previously too. Some choice quotes to give greater insight from the Bloomberg article on the subject: Nowhere near as aggressive as they were when acquiring stakes in SNK (where they were majority owner before scooping up almost all of the other shares in the company), so I doubt a complete takeover is on the cards -- likely just diversifying in the face of a future without oil. It also doesn't necessarily mean Nintendo had any say in this transaction, what with them being publicly traded. But still, diversifying with the bloodstained hands of a murderous and backwards family (and state). It's not exactly a great look.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is dropping 17th August:

It's Breznican and Vanity Fair, so I'm sure that passage about the show taking place during the era of the New Republic is based on *something* very substantial and which they've been advised of directly by someone from LFL, but it's a shame they don't really go into who they were told that by. Just seems really weird to come out and share the codename of something currently in production too to me, at least in something as high profile as VF. Honestly, wouldn't surprise me if some wires got crossed or some assumptions were made to reach the conclusion that it takes place in the High Republic, especially with how many projects are in the works right now! Does make me wonder that if it does take place in the New Republic era, if there's anything from the High Republic era in the show? I'd happily take either, in any case, I just care that the story being told turns out good

More PS5 plates inbound -- Starlight Blue, Galactic Purple, and Nova Pink:

For sure! We got a similar thing at the end of Empire too with Han and Leia's love theme leading straight into the credits. Episode I mirrors VI in similar fashion (both end on a celebration track), and Episode IV's Throne Room, Leia's Theme, and an encore of the Main Title are included in the credits for Revenge of the Sith. It's like poetry, it rhymes Honestly can't blame you, it's one of the few shining spots in an otherwise really bad film (even by the standards of the prequels). Definitely felt very Star Wars-y

Vanity Fair's June cover story, written by Anthony Breznican, is a piece on Star Wars' move to television and their abundance of shows: There's also a mention of a new show, which is still without a name: Can't help but wonder if that's why John Watts stepped down from Fantastic Four? Either way, great way to ramp up towards Celebration at the end of next week

I don't think we have official confirmation through anything on the PlayStation site itself, but I see this floating around where someone emailed PlayStation support with a similar question a while back, and they provided this response: So pretty much the same solution Nintendo have in place when upgrading from standard NSO to the Expansion Pack, from what I gather

New Chainsaw Man trailer (still scheduled for later this year):

Blackpool's Jake Daniels today has become the first professional footballer to come out as openly gay in England since 1990: Fair freaking play. Oh, and he's only 17 too. I imagine he knows the heat and attention this might bring his way, but if courage is doing great things in the face of adversity, then this is the epitome of what it means to be courageous, and so I hope more people rise to support him than there inevitably will be trying to attack him. For that, he immediately has my respect

Man, I really loved playing this for a hot minute there in the middle of that 2020 COVID summer, but I can't help but wonder if they're just too late on striking the iron here? I hope it gets a second wind with this, but from what I've come across of it since I put it down, 90% of what I've personally seen of it has been tie-ins with other IP – I don't really have any idea what state the game is in now? That 2B skin still gives me nightmares...

Haha hey @drahkon It's unfortunately not complete yet, we're waiting on a third part for Season 4 which is scheduled for early next year It's fantastic. Like a lot of shows as long as AoT is (nearly 90 episodes now), it definitely has some dips at times, but overall I think it's great: awesome music, some really smart writing that I love that we've got much more of in Season 4, best in class animation (for a long time, in terms of action in anime, it was probably top dog), etc. YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD! Kind regards and au revoir

Attack of the Clones first released 20 years ago today! Probably my least favourite film in the saga overseen by George, it has its moments...but they are few and far between. Still, though, it gave us one of the best love themes in all of cinema, a proper throwback to the romantic scores of old Hollywood in Across the Stars... ...one of the best sound effects of all time... ...and the awesome planet of Kamino. And, I mean, this is probably owed to it mostly lacking dialogue, but I always thought the ending was probably the strongest part of the film: A lot of cool musical stuff going on there

Cinematic trailer: Okay, can't speak to the game itself, but that seems like a great and accurate depiction of their characters. It's not quite got that Sakurai charm to it the Smash trailers do, but clearly what they've gone for, and I think they did a half decent job! Especially that Iron Giant team-up with Superman, that was perfect