Julius

Italy hanging on by a thread here, but they've been resolute. Doesn't deserve to end, but penalties would be a cruel way to resolve this match.

Couldn't be more excited by the prospect of extra-time for this match. Both teams have proven that they are more than worthy of making it through -- a real semi-final worthy of being the final itself. I think the longer this goes on the tougher it's going to get for Italy, purely because they've had to do a lot more chasing in normal time than Spain. They need to come out with pace and grab what they can as soon as they can; they can't afford to chase this another 30 minutes, because they need something in the tank to counter. This should be good

Oh man these Italy changes are making me very nervous for them. Barella has been getting less of the ball, so having Locatelli come in to help with the battle in the middle of the pitch makes sense...but unless Insigne is actually injured (seemed to have a bit of a niggle) I think his influence will be missed up front. Then again, his pace certainly dropped off in the last 10. Morata tearing the defence apart, might be a stroke of genius from Enrique. He's a very fast striker and can stretch two legendary - but importantly, aging - centre backs apart to make space in the middle. Bringing him immediately changed Spain's shape and Italy have been struggling to adapt - because they have no time to. Hope Italy can see the rest of this half out.

Game on! Happy for Morata, he always looks like he lacks confidence, but it's been coming. Italy are getting overrun in the middle of the park now Verratti is gone - we're seeing Chiellini have to come into that space to shut player down - and now all of the momentum has gone Spain's way. Cracking game, this will be ones coaches point to for a looooooong time, an instant classic. Give me that extra-time I asked for before and I'll be happy.

Emerson coming off makes sense, he's become a bit tired in the last 15-20 minutes and hasn't gone forward as much as he was earlier in the game, inviting pressure. Taking Verratti off seems like it could be a decision which Mancini could end up regretting, though, if Spain do manage to nab an equaliser.

Brilliant goal from Chiesa! This is a classic of a match already. Unbelievable stuff from both sides, Spain dinking it around and then Italy countering - and just in time too, because they started looking a bit tired there. I'm getting tired just watching this match. Love it.

This has been one hell of a 0-0 so far some 55 minutes in, would gladly see another 30 minutes with extra-time. Real end-to-end stuff, you can see the teams on the pitch figuring each other out, repositioning themselves, and you're seeing both sides having to adapt to what's in front of them. Been one of the more cerebral games of football I've ever seen. Some great chances too, just missing some goals.

I want Italy to win and think they've been the better team this tournament, but it's possible. I think the match will be won on the flanks, and I think Spinazzola's absence is going to have a huge impact on the game: do Italy give Emerson what is normally Spinazzola's responsibility - of roaming forwards and linking up with Insigne - and still revert to 3 at the back, leaving their flanks pretty open to the counter? Spain's high-pressing possession also leaves them open in a similar position. Do they sit a little deeper to invite them in? Probably not, it's Spain, but you never know Italy just need to not let Spain dictate the pace and momentum of the game. Will be an interesting one I'm sure!

I opened the link and this was my reaction too I just don't know how much of a game like that you can communicate in (hopefully less than) 10-15 minutes, it's not like that's enough time to dive deep with the systems, and while you could show some ridiculously insane run like I've seen people do in some of the Dishonored games, it's not going to be a great representation of what people should be expecting as moment-to-moment gameplay for your average player. For indies, I'm kind of expecting an update on Kena here, and maybe some of the other indie titles we saw at their presentations last year (I really want to see more of Little Devil Inside), and I feel like Solar Ash needs a good showing here, as it's been shown off so poorly elsewhere. Final Fantasy XVI is the only big AAA game that I really want to see here, though. It's been nearly a year since the first (and last) trailer, I know they're saving it for next year for the anniversary, but it's time. Especially with how poorly Square Enix disemboweled the IP at their own E3 event, with the remasters that shall not be named and the absolutely terrible trailer for Stranger of Paradise, I think they need to just appease fans a bit. Though, they might be holding onto it until Tokyo Game Show? But hopefully not!

Oh yeah, I think this release more than anything - with it not being a Pro - is them having anticipated a potential dip in sales this financial year and doing something to keep it going. It's releasing the week after the end of their Q2/H1, so you definitely get the feeling it's well-timed to stabilise any potential concerns over a dip. My biggest concern now that we aren't getting a Pro is a returning one over how the densely forested areas are going to run in the Breath of the Wild sequel. For me it's been nice as someone who grew up mainly on their handhelds to branch out and get to experience new entries in their franchises (as well as a good number of ports, remasters, and remakes), but for me personally, there haven't been as many games as I had expected going in and picking up a Switch that I've been interested in. There's been the odd few games being added to my shelf (which I don't mind doing because I guess their prices won't go down anyways), but I'm seriously missing the presence of Virtual Console (the NES and SNES apps aren't cutting it for me), and the eShop is a bit of a nightmare to explore, so I haven't been nosing around for weird games like I might normally be (not that virtual storefronts are much better elsewhere at the moment). I've genuinely been thinking of picking up a Wii U lately, as there are a load of Virtual Console and Wii games I'd want to play there, as well as a few games which don't seem to be getting ported anytime soon (Wind Waker and Twilight Princess for starters). Total aside, though: this thing has to have a different theme to the two we've had since launch on the regular Switch...right? Can we see some folders too please?

XVI or we riot.

For me, I'm really liking the white Joy-Cons, and I really like the actual design of the new dock itself (the smaller logo footprint makes it look sleek), even if it looks a bit tacky in white. I don't know what's up with console manufacturers pushing white all of a sudden (clearly we need to get the Series S instead of X now, so it all matches, right?), but the white PS5 has really grown on me, so that won't turn me away! Like @Hero-of-Time I also play the vast majority of the time in docked mode, and I also haven't played my Switch in a while, though that's just because I own other consoles and I've been putting a couple of games off for other things. But then I think about next year when the BotW sequel is aiming for release (so probably 2023), and that's a game like the first one where I absolutely would bring it with me around the apartment and potentially elsewhere. I might stick a pre-order in when they go up and have a think about it, but like others I am a bit disappointed that it's not a Pro model, because the Switch is quickly showing its age, and the increasing frequency of next-gen games over the next 6-12 months will only further emphasise that fact. Let's see what the price of this thing is first I guess. Yeah, so this is the part that's stumping me a little bit. We've heard for years now that the aim for the Switch is to have a longer life cycle than some other consoles in the past, but with this not being a mid-gen refresh like the PS4 Pro or One X...how is that being accomplished exactly? Because now I'm waiting for a Switch 2 between 2023 and 2025, which was almost the expectation anyways, even after the Pro rumours started turning up. I guess they might just be counting a potential true successor to the Switch as being a continuation of the Switch family, but it is odd.

Internal stuff: Yeah I changed it, bugged me once you pointed it out too. Mainly took it out to save the two sets of brackets (with the date)

First dose get! People behind me in line were my best mate from primary school and his older brother, had a bit of a catch-up as we walked out, which was nice. And then one of the girls from my high school year group I used to hang out with came in...but pretty sure she didn't recognise me because of the mask. Picked up a McDonald's breakfast on the way home, I'm off work today and tomorrow just to be on the safe side, so just going to relax More seriously though: what are everyone's thoughts on good old Boris tearing down most of the rules and not enforcing masks from the 19th? It seems like an extremely naive and shortsighted decision (and obviously not the first one from this government). I'll continue wearing my mask until I at least get my second jab (towards the end of September), but to be honest, as someone who has had a pretty bad run of health the last few winters, I'm tempted to just wear it in most indoors situations for the foreseeable future anyways.

No problem! No rush, but would enjoy reading your thoughts if/when you get around to trying one out!

Made some decent progress yesterday. Took my first steps through the door down to Blighttown, and the change in colour palette to blacks and greens immediately filled me a good bit of dread (though not quite as bad as the Tower of Latria in Demon's Souls). Made my way down the ladder, and as I start crossing this wooden bridge an ogre runs over to me, so I just circle him a fair bit and get off a few backstabs. Not too bad a start. Continue forward, the next one comes over, and as it charges up its first attack - the walking overhead swing - I got stuck on something, blocked its attack, but then plummeted to my death. Made my way back over, and this time figured that, as these guys move pretty slowly, I'll try and parry. They hit me a couple of times, but after a short while, I was pretty dependably able to parry all of their attacks, and just had to keep an eye on the poison gauge. I had over 8k souls before coming down here, and after beating a few of them and retrieving my souls was at over 10k, so made my way back to the bonfire and used a good chunk of it to level up, as I figured it would give me more chance to practice parrying and also because I can zone in a bit better when there are fewer souls on the line. So, made my way back on over, parried the attacks from the ogres, and then these right freakos come running out of the shadows - they looked a bit like the Depraved Ones from Demon's Souls, but...freakier. Took them out and then dealt with this guy who blew toxic darts, followed the path around by him and rolled down to find some armour. It really isn't fun traversing narrow beams and bridges in the dark, especially with how ladders seem to have a habit around here of blending into their surroundings. Anyway, I must have aggro'd some of them as I heard them smashing pots and falling to their dooms all around me, and I couldn't see any of them. Made it over to this concrete area on the other side when I got caught between two of them and got killed, the way they jump on and bite away at you is pretty disturbing stuff. I then got back to the same place - woo! - and died again - haha - as some guy in the distance blew toxic darts at me while these freaky, furless fire pups chased me around along with some of those freakos I mentioned before, and this just as I was about to consume some Estus. I made it back to the same spot and then made it much, much further than I did before, looping around Blighttown, seeing this freaky wall creature off in the distance (and naturally opting to not head in that direction), getting better at reading the freakos (this is their name now ) - either by parrying them, reading their lunge when they try to snack on you so that I can move to the side and they fall off, or (sometimes precariously) moving around them as they attacked for a good old backstab and kick off the ledge - and just taking it nice and slow. Eventually I managed to get behind the wall creature (there was a hole behind it), but I couldn't see its health bar or if I was doing damage, so I just whacked it for a minute and it eventually died. At this point I was on a slither of health (less than a bar) and out of Estus, mainly searching for a bonfire, but I carried on. Came across an ogre, who I managed to parry and riposte, before a freako turned up, and I made decent work of him too. Eventually I got close to the bottom, see some of these giant fire-breathing mosquito things (I'm guessing mosquitoes because there are also actual mosquito-looking things down there too), and pull out my Heavy Crossbow and Heavy Bolts I'd picked up before, as a nearby note said to try ranged attacks...but I was too far away. I went down there, drew it out, and the Heavy Bolts weren't that effective, so I carefully made my way around it as it whipped some fire around and cut it up from behind. Ditto for the next one. And then, naturally, one of those toxic dart guys got me. Hate those dudes. I did come across something on this attempt which gave me a chuckle though, a freako falling endlessly into...the corner Well, the next time? I went a slightly different route when I made it to the concrete side...and immediately found a bonfire. Go figure! I then continued to make my way down, retrieved my souls, slowly dealt with a whole bunch of those giant fire-breathing mosquitoes, and I had made it to the bottom! I could see a white land mass on the opposite side of the lake, with some items strewn about in-between, but I headed immediately right, as I figured I could circle my way around the lake and try picking up the items without setting a foot in the swamp. Well, I was wrong, and got poisoned pretty quickly, but thankfully - as had been the case up to this point too - I had a lot of Purple Moss Clumps to hand from my time in Darkroot Garden, and so I was fine. Eventually I came to a small cave, and found a bonfire! Spent as much of the souls I had to hand as I could, headed to the back of the cave and found a Dragon Scale (the chest and a note left to it seemed sketchy so I whacked it ahead of time, because I figured I'd get attacked from somewhere as I opened it). I then made my way back out of the cave and continued heading right, eventually coming across a waterwheel. I figured the direction I needed to head was the other side of the swamp, but what could be the harm in checking it out? The mental damage sustained through death would be the answer. The first time, I made it over a branch and heard some clanging nearby, so figured there must be a blacksmith around here (in hindsight this was from the guy shooting toxic darts at me), and seeing some flames not too far below that kind of looked like a fire, I rolled off the side...and died. Whoops. The second time I had exhausted my search of this area and was making my way back over the branch and slipped off. Whoops again. After that, I decided to head on over to the other side of the lake, as I couldn't see a way forward by the waterwheel. Swatted away some mosquitoes - big and small - then came across some ogres who wanted to play catch with some boulders as I made my way around picking some items up in the swamp, but I eventually make it to the other side. The white colour I'd noticed before was from everything being covered in webbing, and I headed down through a tunnel into Quelaag's Domain, the clanging sound of a bell - the second bell! - getting louder and louder, and I came across some guys on the floor that were praying. They didn't seem interested in me, so I carried on, eventually coming to a fog gate. I stepped through, and was treated to a cutscene, where this flaming spider thing lugged itself around, but eventually revealed itself to have the upper half of a topless woman attached to it. She gives a dry smile before the battle starts. Got to say, thought the way they played with your expectations for the boss's appearance was handled really well. Yeah, I died first time to Quelaag, mostly down to not having any Estus left by the time I made it over due to my time in the swamp, but I got to learn a good chunk of her moveset at least. The second time around I unfortunately learned, as I was slashing away at her spider legs, that this thing had an explosion AoE, and so that got the better of me. The third run went really well, at this point I decided to run past everything in the swamp and just use a Purple Moss Clump to heal myself from the poison (which would take between 15% and 20% of my health). I got Quelaag down to less than a third of her health this time, but I'd run out of Estus a while ago and while strafing took a step back into some lava spewed out by her before. It was on that attempt that I came up with a general strategy: strafe, keep my distance as she pulled out her flaming sword and tried to catch me with it's spin and thrust attacks, then when it does it's sweeping lava spray attack, I'll hit it's leg furthest out with some two-handed slashes and then run away. I did also toy a bit with rolling through the flame attacks with some i-frames, but it didn't seem to give me too much of an advantage. On my fourth attempt I died after getting her down to half health, but I knew I had a bit wreckless with my Estus management as I got through them quite quickly. It was worse the fifth time, and I didn't even manage to get her down a third. The sixth attempt was a particularly annoying death where I tried to roll away between Quelaag and the wall, but couldn't see myself because of the camera's angle and rolled into one of her attacks. The seventh time was the charm, though! I had felt myself getting a bit wreckless on my last few attempts so I took it slow, drew out her attacks, rolled through the flaming sword, coaxed her as best I could into using the fire spray attack as that's when I could get the most damage off, all the while strafing, deselecting my lock-on and looking around quickly to make sure I wasn't about to guide the fight towards some lava she had spewed out, and then quickly locking back on and continuing to strafe. I got very aggressive (and maybe a bit lucky) at the end, slashing her two-handed five times instead of the three I used for most of the fight, as I didn't want to risk it after running out of Estus. Good battle, and great track backing it up (made even better by the bells you can hear in the game, but which they didn't add to the actual OST): After defeating Quelaag, I got my composure back and carried on, eventually coming across a lever -- which I pulled. And, just like that, the second Bell of Awakening had been rung. I was treated to a quick cutscene of a giant pulling some chains which raised the gates I had found before, on the other side of Undead Parish, next to Siegmeyer. Guess that's where I'd be heading next! I carried on down the steps and eventually came to a room with what looked like an elevator, but I stepped on it and it didn't seem to do anything. There were some signs off in the corner, which told me there was an illusory wall ahead, and it turns out there really was. Spoke to this nice guy called Eingyi, who was shocked I hadn't brought any eggs...and next to him was a bonfire and another half-woman half-spider hybrid. I tried talking to her, but she didn't seem to understand a lick of what I was saying, so I carried on. Took a few steps out into the next area - Demon's Ruins - and lit it's bonfire...before feeling like this place looked and felt like a bit much. I had rung the second bell, I knew that the path forwards was seemingly up above ground on the other side of Undead Parish, and so I bailed. I figured I'd give the waterwheel another shot, as the only alternative was making my way all the back up through Blighttown, which wasn't an exciting prospect. I quickly found a ladder I somehow didn't notice before, so carried on up, but following the path around, I fell taking on a guy shooting toxic darts at me and was quickly surrounded by the furless fire pups, and a bunch of other toxic dart guys too. I died. Made my way all the way back over there from Quelaag's Domain, and died again. Fun. The next time I made sure to make it back to the nearby bonfire (which I never kindled), then ventured back up, and found a different path to follow instead, coming across some ogres. The first one was fine - parry and riposte against these guys was all good - but the real challenge came when I accidentally drew the next two out at the same time, and so had to face them both down at once. Going back there was a risk of running into the toxic dart guys, and going forwards - but with my face to these ogres - there was a risk I'd get attacked from behind, and so I made the choice to take them on. It was rough, there were times where I would parry and riposte or backstab one and the other would come bumbling in and whacked me the moment my animation and i-frame advantage was gone, so I got poisoned a few times and had to back off a few times to swig some Estus Flasks down and get rid of their poison with Purple Moss Clumps -- and it got really close a few times. In the end, once I'd taken one down, it wasn't much bother taking out the other, but I did manage to do something I haven't done in this game yet against them: a double parry! I was pretty proud of that! I carried on forwards and eventually made my way out into a small canyon area called the Valley of Drakes. There was a small bridge to the other side, with a locked door -- luckily for me, I picked the key up somewhere before, and so I unlocked it. At this point I was down to my last 2 Estus Flasks, so I knew I had to be careful. I followed the stairs up, eventually coming out into the dark of the New Londo Ruins. There was no way I was going to be able to withstand another area, even if I found a bonfire soon - I was definitely drained at this point and just wanted to get back up to the surface. I was surrounded by more guys praying, but I chose not to interact with them. There was a slope heading down, but I wanted to go up, so looked to my left and there were some steps and what seemed like a tower going up. I made my way up the steps and followed them around, eventually coming making my way to an elevator. I head on up, take a step out, and I hear the first few notes of this, immediately realising where I was. I take a few steps forwards, and surely enough: I had made it back to Firelink. Chills. I stepped outside and followed the path around. I came across this barred cave, interacted with it and it said 'Dead'...okay, I don't even know who was in there, so what are you trying to tell me, game..? I continue on up and find myself coming out of the steps down that I mentioned avoiding at the very start of the game -- and hadn't gone down since! I take a few steps forward, go to rest at the bonfire, and... Fire Keeper is absent? Who the hell is the Fire Keeper -- and why can't I use my favourite bonfire? I talk to the guy nearby and he says the place is filled with a stench (of blood, I guess?), and he mentions that he might take care of it himself. And then I slowly piece it together: the thing I interacted with in the barred cave below - 'Dead' - must have been the Fire Keeper. I'm not one to point fingers, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it was that bastard Lautrec. I knew I should've killed him. I haven't seen him since accidentally freeing him. For a moment, I was pretty frustrated. I hadn't even gone down that way before, hadn't met the Fire Keeper, and now I couldn't light the bonfire in the only place in the game I truly felt safe? But that anger quickly died down: I found something very poetic about overcoming the part of the game I knew I'd dread the most - The Depths and Blighttown - to miraculously return to the only place in the game I felt safe, only to find out that it was never safe at all. The Fire Keeper died without me ever speaking to her. And it was freeing, almost like the game was telling me to just go continue my journey, and detach myself from this safe place; it's symbolic of my relationship with the game, which is pushing myself out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways, and it felt like a cathartic moment where the game - intended or not - is kind of screaming that staying in your comfort zone can be dangerous too. What else had changed around Firelink? As I found out, not too much...other than this right freak called Frampt sticking his head up from the depths of the shrine. He told me a bit more about my purpose, that I was heading to a place called Sen's Fortress (filled with traps? Sounds like a madhouse), and eventually a place beyond that called Anor Londo to get something called the Lordvessel. Sounds like gibberish right now, but imagine it'll make sense sooner rather than later. I used the lift up and made my way over to the other side of Undead Parish, and used both of my Large Titanite Shards: I upgraded my Broadsword to +6, but then accidentally while looking around turned it into a Raw Broadsword (there wasn't even a greyed out method to get +7, so I figured that might be the end of that path). I've looked it up since and it seems a pretty bad idea for me to go with Raw (seems to be for a STR/DEX build and I've put nothing into DEX), so I'll probably have to start my next session off by trying to undo that, seemingly to a +5 and with no way to get my Large Titanite Shards back. Hopefully there'll be somewhere later in the game to farm them. But for now, next time... ...it'll be onto Sen's Fortress.

I guess you could say that Sega were Switched off to the possibility.

Oh no it didn't come off that way at all, sorry if I sounded stand-offish, was more just excited because anime yeah anime was something I watched bits and pieces of growing up (Pokémon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, bits and pieces of Dragon Ball Z, some Ghibli films) but it wasn't really until I started getting into films way more in 2015, as high school was winding down for me and with The Force Awakens in sight, that I started to seek out new things to experience and learn more about how they're made, the history of it, and so on, and eventually I got onto really seeking out anime. I think there was part of me that put it off for so long simply because I'm half Asian and it seemed like unnecessary ammo for people around me to say unkind things, and while bullying hasn't gone away, a lot of the baggage that comes with being into these things has slowly faded since I've left highschool. My younger brother who is in highschool now, for instance, loves it, he has plenty of friends who love it, and there's no real shaming going on, which is always cool to hear. The globalisation of things like this has been pretty awesome to see from the outside. In terms of recommendations, I'd honestly point you in the direction of some anime films to get your feet wet, as jumping straight into a series (especially a long one) can be tough to commit to, so I'll recommend a few. It almost feels like cheating, but Studio Ghibli - and specifically the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki - would probably be an ideal place to start, as they are all very accessible, with well-written characters, purposeful dialogue, some beautiful hand drawn scenery and animation, and many of them are backed by amazing soundtracks from Joe Hisaishi (the only composer still living that I'd put on John Williams' level in terms of influence). They also have probably the most consistent voice for great female lead characters, and this stretches back to the early 80's. All of Miyazaki's works are worth checking out, but I think Spirited Away would be the obvious jumping in point, as it (somehow, ridiculously) is the only film from the East to have ever won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and it would be underselling it to not say that it's a masterpiece. It's a coming-of-age story which is incredibly heartfelt and relatable, I think you'd enjoy it. After that I would point you in the direction of Princess Mononoke, which is my personal favourite, and I'm convinced you'll love it for two reasons: it was clearly a huuuuuuuuge influence for Breath of the Wild, and it's also one of Filoni's favourite films (trust me, all of the wolves we see from him in Star Wars will make much more sense after you've seen it). It's an epic tale on morals and mankind's destruction of nature, and is by far the most mature of Ghibli's films, but I really don't want to say too much other than that it's a must-watch. For something a bit lighter, and perhaps more Disney-like, My Neighbour Totoro is a tale of two sisters and these cat/rabbit/bear-like creatures that are spirits, and it's just a very cosy time. I'm not even joking when I say that I could list all of Miyazaki's films and wholeheartedly recommend them, but those would be my suggested starting points, and then you can experience his other great work. A great thing about these as well is that, thanks to the English dubs by Disney, they all have stellar English voice casts. A good chunk of them - the three I mentioned above included - are also all currently available on Netflix. In terms of other anime films I'd suggest, Akira would have to be one. It's the film that helped anime break out in the West, and its influence on popular culture worldwide is immense. It's set in a cyberpunk Tokyo where things have, as in most cyberpunk settlements, gone awry, and things get weird. But I think it's also a great insight into Japanese creation in particular (the impact of the nuclear blasts in the dying days of World War II) and will help get over the hump for some of the other, stranger things in anime. Your Name would be another, imagine Freaky Friday but just, well...made about a million times better. Makoto Shinkai's and co.'s art is fantastic, it's genuine eye candy and it's hard to not be dazzled by it, but it also has a really well told romance, I think it's the only time I've audibly rooted for someone in a film. Also has a killer soundtrack. Last recommendation for an anime film would be A Silent Voice, it's a good bit heavier than some of the other things I've mentioned, but it's got a very endearing cast of characters and sinks it hooks into you. It's about a bully connecting with a deaf girl he bulled in school, and I think it can hit hard for most. Lastly, if I do want to recommend a series, I think there can only be one. As much as I've enjoyed plenty of other shows - and don't get me wrong, there are other great jumping in points - I think a lot of them can be hard to relate to because of the location, or how edgy some things are (or try to be), or just not that approachable in how they rely on some tropes of the medium. The one anime series I would recommend to anyone for a first time series would be Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Awesome set of characters, a great journey set in what is effectively an alternate universe's Germany, and another great soundtrack, it focuses on these two brothers and their quest to find a Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies after one of their attempts to perform alchemy goes wrong. It's on the same level as The Last Airbender for me, and it's a similar length too (64 episodes long). I've recommended it to a lot of people at this point and I don't think one of them hasn't ended up enjoying it. For its length, it also has surprisingly little filler and recap content, as it didn't need to stall (the 2003 series suffered for this and they needed to stall and then just ended up going in a direction not dictated by the manga). And all of those other films and the show I mentioned are all on Netflix too!

Continued my journey yesterday. Started off by heading over to Andre in the Undead Parish and spent some souls on Titanite Shards, reinforcing my Broadsword to +5 and Tower Kite Shield to +4, also handing him a Large Ember I picked up at some point. He's asking for Large Titanite Shards to modify my Broadsword further, but that's on the burner for now as I don't have any. Looked around at the rest of what he had and found an item going for 20,000 souls called the 'Crest of Artorias', which mentioned something about unlocking a sealed door in a forest, so I've got to imagine that's for the door in the Darkroot Garden with that white glow in its centre. Hopefully I'll remember to come back for it! After that, I headed back on over to Firelink, and then onwards over to the Depths. Once I got down to where the butcher was before, instead of rolling through the boxes to go down the hole, I instead followed the path from the other side of the room down into some shallow water, where some dogs were waiting for me. Dispatched those and continued on, continued on, and suddenly I found myself in some tight and dark tunnels -- kind of grateful I'm not claustrophobic, because otherwise think I would've started freaking out! Came across some loot, went to grab it, and this slime fell onto me from the ceiling and sliced my health in half, so I diced it up in retaliation. Picked up the item and carried on, coming across some rats and getting poisoned a few times, so after dispatching them, I threw the Purple Moss Clump into my equipped item rotation and ventured forth. Eventually I came to a room with some barrels and a guy stuck in one asking to be freed, so I rolled into them (didn't want to risk angering an NPC by hitting him!) and learned his name was Laurentius of the Great Swamp...but I couldn't get any further interaction with him beyond that. Exited the room, read a note on the floor which said something was behind me, and so I quickly turned the camera to see I was face-to-face with one of those big boy butchers, like the one from before. Same tactic, stuck close to it and backstabbed it a few times, not too much of a problem. Carried on, had to sprint through a tunnel with slimes falling from the ceiling, then took a left and carried on down. There was a ladder in the room I found myself in, but the giant rat from before was down there, so I didn't risk it (from the perspective I was standing at, it looked like the ladder led down to it). Eventually I came to a network of really cramped tunnels, with some rats which scurried away from you when you got close, so I was careful about swinging my sword in here, as I didn't want to hit the walls while fighting them. Now, I check every corner before turning them in this game, and so I was hilariously met by the image of one of those tall, robed magic guys walking into a doorway which he was way too tall for and couldn't make his way through. There were some rats trying to get through too, but made use of the doorway and hacked them to bits from a safe position, and carried on through the door (the magic guy only took a few hits to kill too, which was nice after my last battle with one taking quite a bit of time). Found myself on a long balcony overlooking this massive arena with crumbled pillars (clearly a boss fight was coming up), and a fog door up some steps to my left. I carried on firm the balcony and found a Large Titanite Shard hidden away in a corner, before turning back. Figuring that the fog door would lead in the direction of the boss, I left the area in search of a bonfire - there had to be one somewhere, surely? In my search for a bonfire I found another fog door that I didn't step through, before eventually making my way back over to the end of the tunnel where the slimes had fallen from above before. Somehow I missed the door which is clearly right at the end of the tunnel, and so I tried to unlock it...and I did. Think I picked up a key through some bars by the giant rat, so that was a welcome surprise to not have to go searching for it! I then rested up, before heading back into the direction of the fog doors. I tried the one on the balcony first, but it just led straight back into the nearby tunnels. At this point I couldn't remember where exactly the other fog door I came across was, and all I could remember was that it was in a narrow tunnel (yes, I realise in hindsight that it was the other side of the fog door I'd just walked through, but it didn't dawn on me at the time!). So, I continued running back and forth through these tunnels, trying to be careful and rolling over these trap holes, circling the whole area multiple times...before I eventually fell down a hole and found myself in a very familiar location, with some of those big-eyed freaky curse lizards nearby. Pretty sure I audibly groaned at this point. With no clear way back up, it seemed I would have to make my way through these tunnels to get anywhere, but I was also fully aware of the risk of getting cursed again -- while I did have another Purging Stone to hand, I'd rather not use it for now, as I wanted to keep one to hand moving forwards. I made my way through these tunnels, then, in the same direction I went before, coaxing out these freaks and methodically slicing them up. I found some items, but it came to a point where I felt like my luck was wearing thin, so I used a Homeward Bone to get back to the bonfire -- I seriously didn't want to get cursed again! At this stage I'm down to about 7 Estus Flasks from the 10 I came in with originally, but the bonfire I guess only gives me 5, and so that number didn't go up when I rested. Turned the corner and this time tried the ladder down that I spotted before, and as it turns out, it doesn't lead to the giant rat, but a caged room next to it with a door nearby. I made my way over and...I can't open it from this side. Fun. The search continued for a good 15 minutes or so before I caved and jumped down one of the holes towards the basilisks, but I took a different turn and found myself in a pretty big room with a couple of rats and slimes instead. Dispatched them, found some stairs up which led to - you guessed it - the door that I couldn't open before, which gave me a nice shortcut. Went over and talked to this funny-talking NPC called Domnhall of Zena, but he didn't have much to say, or anything that looked particularly helpful to sell either. There was a massive metal door next to him, which I tried to open, but it was locked. Made my way through the other doorway in this area and up some stairs, which led me to an area below the balcony overlooking the arena from before. I slowly made my way down before coming to another fog gate. This was clearly going to be it, another boss fight. Heart rate went up, adrenaline started kicking in, and I was ready. I only had 4 Estus Flasks to hand at this point, but figured I'd give it a try, as the shortcut I'd unlocked wouldn't make the trek back too difficult. Stepping through the door, yeah, the arena was massive. Probably the largest actual arena that I've come across for a boss fight in my Souls journeys so far. Anyways, this creature called the Gaping Dragon makes its way over the ledge at the end of the arena, and it sure is one ugly critter. There are some pillars near me, so I stay in this area and it of course crushes the pillars and flops it's tooth-filled mouth onto me, instantly taking me to within an inch of my life. I actually get trapped inside its mouth, so have to roll out through the side of its mouth, which was a bit weird. I run away and put some distance between us before swigging down 2 Estus Flasks, which put me up to about three quarters of my health and down to only 2 Estus Flasks remaining. Not a very promising start to the fight, then. As I learned from some of the other boss fights so far, utilising the environment is key, and so naturally with this room being so big, I just start running around the room and away from this thing. This gave me ample time to watch it's (attempted) attack pattern, and I quickly noticed that it flopped it's teeth down onto the floor before charging in the direction it was pointing. After seeing this a few times, I start coaxing it towards me, and surely enough, it sinks its teeth into the ground and darts straight at me. It's not particularly fast, but it is big, so I had to be careful to not get hit by its legs or tail. After reliably drawing it towards me for a charge a few times, I start circling around and swapping over to two-handing my sword and then whacking away at its tail, figuring that it's either a weak point or will fall off (like the tails of the Gargoyles did in my fight against them). Surely enough, it's tail did fall off after a few times, by which point I was more than confident that my shield wasn't going to be much use, and so I stuck with two-handing my Broadsword instead. After hacking away at it, it would either fly up and crash down, or try swatting me with it's not missing tail (though it's arm did follow through too), so I just got in four hits each time and would run away. The battle continued like this for a good while, and I continued with my strategy of coaxing it out into flopping its teeth into the floor and charging at me, before circling around and slicing at its hind quarters. There was a point around halfway in the battle where it didn't seem too interested and would wait until I was in a tighter space to charge, so there were a couple of close shaves while sprinting away, but nothing too concerning. Eventually I got that comfortable with the fight that it would charge at me and I would just run to the side of its legs' trampling range, wait for it to finish charging, and then get some more hits in that way. At some point towards the end it starts spitting up this yellow liquid - I'm going to guess some kind of acid - but because of my tactics, I'm more than halfway across the arena anyways and it's not getting close with that attack. Eventually I get it low enough that I think I can get enough hits in to finish it off, so I get my usual four hits in (three using up my full stamina bar, one when it starts filling back up), and just as it starts to pick itself up to fly, I manage to land a fifth hit, and surely enough, it was down on my first try! Look, I know fully well that there are going to be other bosses in this game where they will kick my ass and it will take more attempts to get by, but I found this fight to be really underwhelming compared to some of the others. Even in some of the other boss fights where I got by first time and used the environment to my advantage - the Asylum Demon, Taurus Demon, and Capra Demon - I was still on edge throughout and felt like I could get killed at any time, whereas that just wasn't the case here. Other than its attack at the start, I don't think it did any more damage to me throughout the rest of the fight, and I didn't have to use any Estus after the initial two swigs I needed to recover. I'm happy that I'm moving on and making progress, but I think it's just because I've really enjoyed the other boss fights so far - and they are some of my favourite parts of these games - that I think it left me feeling just a bit unfulfilled. Probably wasn't help by having a really epic track for what was a pretty slow battle: Anyways, I made my way back over to the bonfire and did some levelling up, but not before using the key to unlock the big metal doors I came across before. Blighttown next, then! I've heard a lot about it, and I won't lie, I'm almost intimidated by it. The Fifth Archstone in Demon's Souls was by far my least favourite, and though I've got a good amount of items to relieve me from poison, I can't exactly say I'm looking forward to a stress like that again. Hopefully I can get through it today and the second bell isn't too far after that!

Hell yeah, this is exactly what I wanted it to be. Couldn't care much less if it's canon or not (you definitely get the sense it's up and down the timeline), this looks incredible, and you could sense the passion not just from those working on the anime, but also those on the Lucasfilm side of things. Studios involved and their episodes are: • Kamikaze Douga – The Duel • Geno Studio (Twin Engine) – Lop and Ochō • Studio Colorido (Twin Engine) – Tatooine Rhapsody • Trigger – The Twins • Trigger – The Elder • Kinema Citrus – The Village Bride • Science Saru – Akakiri • Science Saru – T0-B1 • Production IG – The Ninth Jedi I think to anime fans the most recognisable names here are Trigger (Kill la Kill, Promare) and Production IG (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho Pass, Haikyu!), without a doubt. Given that there are those big names on here, I'm really surprised by just how strong the "smaller" studios are: Geno Studio (Golden Kamuy) and Studio Colorido (Penguin Highway), Kamikaze Douga (some of JoJo's intros), Kinema Citrus (Made in Abyss, The Rising of the Shield Hero). Of the "smaller" studios though (I guess they'd be more borderline compared to the other smaller studios), the one that has me the most excited is without a doubt Science SARU, they do some really awesome yet unique and weird stuff! The most bizarre yet visually stunning episode of Adventure Time (Food Chain, it's seriously worth looking up if you haven't seen it already, it is real weird), Ping Pong The Animation, some work on Space Dandy, Devilman Crybaby...think we can safely say that will be the most uniquely animated and weirdest of the we'll see going in. There's a full press release here, but heck yeah, I'm all in on this. I was talking to a friend earlier who isn't as much of a Star Wars fan, and we were talking about how even though we've both enjoyed Disney-owned Lucasfilm's content to varying degrees, it feels like it's missing something a bit unique and off-kilter to keep it fresh -- this could be exactly that. Man I hope the openings for these are good. I know it's a fan edit of bits and pieces of Galaxy of Adventures using Shinzo wo Sasageyo, but this is still one of the most hype Star Wars trailers I've seen in the last few years: Praying that Visions is successful just so we can see some other studios take a crack at this too. Bones, MAPPA, Studio Wit (I know, technically Production IG, but it's a subsidiary and they're credited differently), Madhouse, A-1 Pictures, Ufotable...hell, I'm just imagining what Shinkai could make 5 minutes on Coruscant look like. Now that's the dream. @Ronnie I know you mentioned you've never really been into anime -- not to call you out or anything (!), but is it something you've given a go? Because I'd be happy to recommend some stuff which I think you'd really enjoy. The weird thing about anime is that sometimes from the outside looking in it can seem like its own weird thing, almost like it's own genre - I know because even though I grew up with some of it, it's only been the last 5-6 years where I've really sunk my teeth in - but it's a medium above all else with some great stuff that I don't think anyone who enjoys a great story wouldn't enjoy - and who doesn't like a good story? Heck, one of my three favourite movies of all time, alongside the likes of The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather, is an anime movie (Princess Mononoke). I'd really recommend checking some anime out, because there's absolutely an anime for everyone, and I'd be happy to suggest some things to you (if not in this thread, you can always shoot me a message ). And if my words won't convince you, hopefully Visions will, so fingers crossed it's good I think it could be a great gateway for a lot of people into anime, the only potential pitfall I guess being that there aren't any on Disney+, but there's plenty on other streaming services at least. Oh, and as a total side: The Bad Batch was good this week, definitely felt a bit like a boilerplate Saturday morning cartoon at times, but I'll take it, as I still enjoyed it. Hopefully the next episode or two will start setting up the final arc, which I'm nervous to see play out!

Great result, goes without saying. Luke Shaw was fantastic, what a strange surprise that Sancho played great -- who would've thunk? (We did, literally everyone did, he better start against Denmark) Flashes of complacency do have me a bit concerned going into the Denmark match. Some passes too short, or too long, or too sloppy, Pickford looks like he's always capable of making a mistake or overthinking things, and to be honest we were lifeless for long periods in that first half of the match. Not looking forward to the next few days where everyone says stupidly arrogant things about this England side. It's an enormous result, but there are still games to play against hard-working sides. I'm hopeful, I want us to do well, but I think there are objective weaknesses to this side on show for all to see, and that's why I won't be running away with it. The clean sheet run is the main source of my optimism. Oh, and one last thing: Rio not knowing the last time England scored more 4 in a knockout match is heresy. Seriously, when else other than the cup win we don't shut up about would we have scored 4?

Nice to see us extend the lead, but Ukraine look knackered. Passing has been sloppy and they've look laboured since coming back out. It'll be a shame if this is how they go out. They might not be able to turn it around - I hope they don't - but I hope we still see some spirit from them in the remaining 40 minutes or so.

Yep, exactly what we needed after the break. Now control the game. We've been poor at managing games so far, let's see it now.

Maguire not accepting that hand up was embarrassing. He was looking for that foul and he got it, I can't blame Yarlomenko for pushing Yaremchuk. Commentators are blind -- it was clear to me that they weren't giving Maguire an earful over winning the foul, it was over the lack of sportsmanship. Ukraine have maybe been too respectful so far, but they've had chances of their own, and have looked stronger since their change. We should be 2-0 up, so the fact that it's only 1-0 means we need to go out there and get that second goal, because they're going to keep coming at us; we've been slowing it down too much for large parts of that first half, so we need to kill it off.