Jonnas

So those rings work just like Pokéballs, huh? Not much else to say, besides... expect a "Fallen Marth" in FE Heroes soon

Not sure if this was already known, but it seems that the official tracklist is out, including which tracks are in the Digital Deluxe version, and which ones will be part of the DLC. From my own observations, the only tracks seemingly missing from Curtain Call are: Precipitous Combat (FF Tactics) real Emotion (FFX-2) Leviathan Battle (Chocobo Dungeon) We Have Come (FF Type-0) Zero (FF Type-0) Echoes of the Spiral (Legend of Mana) That Person's Name Is (Bravely Default) Wicked Flight (Bravely Default) Serpent Devouring the Horizon (Bravely Default) Horizon of Light and Shadow (Bravely Default) Technically, we still haven't info on all the DLC yet, but the absence of all things Bravely Default so far is mighty strange, especially when "4 Heroes of Light" actually has music this time around.

This is one of the more boring series of lineups this show has ever presented. Literally the only thing I thought was unusual was the "Best RPG" category, which contained Elden Ring (shouldn't that be in Action/Adventure?) and then 4 Switch-exclusive games. Also, Triangle Strategy somehow didn't make it to "Best Strategy Game". It feels like that game was everywhere at release. Specifically, the outlets who usually focus on "mainstream" games were giving it a lot more screentime than one would think of an Indie game. Even sites like GameFAQs and Howlongtobeat were featuring it on their front page. Regardless, I'm always happy to see Indie games get the occasional spotlight, so this was nice.

Took a while, but I'm finally done with the Halloween "remnants". INMOST Not an imagery that you see Inmost games Ever since I bought those Charity Bundles on itch.io, I didn't actually play any of the games in them. Until now. INMOST is a 2019 game made by a Russian and an Ukrainian, both of them residing in Lithuania. They describe it as "a game to be played in a rainy night". I figure the game is a smidge too long for that, so "evening" or "afternoon" would be more accurate. It follows three characters in distinct scenarios: a little girl playing around a scary house, a badass knight killing a bunch of enemies, and a clumsy man navigating a hostile world without any weapons. The last one is who I'd call the true gameplay protagonist, as we spend most of the time with him. His segments are structured like a Metroidvania, but without any meaningful combat. I'd argue it's more like an adventure-puzzle game in 2D. It's well made, at any rate, with the protagonist feeling a lot like Wander from Shadow of the Colossus with how he moves (desperately grabbing onto things, tripping all over the place, barely handling many jumps). The girl's segments are simpler puzzle affairs, while the knight's segments are all action. The real star of the show is the story, which I won't spoil. I thought it was well told, and really got to me by the end. All I'll say is that the three characters are connected in a way that isn't immediately obvious, but will become so by the end. I think it's worth a few discussions on the meaning of some of its elements, as well. So yeah, this was a winner, and one I should've picked for the 31st. Ah well. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 Now with less curse, but more moon. Also, more blood, but somehow less stained. Despite loving the first game, it took me a while to start this one. But at some point in the middle of October, I found myself having to wait in a car in the middle of hilly rural Portugal during a stormy evening and no reception whatsoever (long story), but I had a fully charged Switch with me (really long story), so I figured this was a good time to get into it. And I had a grand time with it. Inti Creates took the concepts behind the first game and turned them up to eleven, while adding some Megaman flavour into the mix. Like the first entry, it's a game designed for several playthroughs, but the UI makes it clearer this time around, dividing each into "Episodes", which defines the party and/or moveset you get for that particular run. Any given person needs to do at least 5 runs to see all endings. The playable characters are: Zangetsu, who feels more Mega Man Zero than Ninja Gaiden this time around; Dominique, who combines Eric Lecarde from Castlevania Bloodlines with DuckTales' Uncle Scrooge (yes, really); Robert, a more original military-type character with long-range attacks. Basically, what if Hammer from the Sorrow duology was playable? That's him; Hachi, a good boy corgi who plays like those Mecha suits from the SNES Mega Man X games. Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel return as the Castlevania III clones. A couple of notes, though. The first is that this game handles Episode 2 poorly. Basically, if you get the "Good Ending" to Episode 2, you immediately unlock Episode 4. If you get the "Bad Ending" to Episode 2, you unlock Episode 3 instead, and if you then beat Episode 3, you unlock Episode 4 anyway. This was a poorly thought-out decision, and as such, I recommend to everybody playing this game that you never bother with the Good Ending in Episode 2, it's seriously not worth it. The second note is that this game gets HARD. As in, Inti Creates pulls no punches, you better get good at 2D games and master these characters' pros and cons, because you'll need them to overcome the game's challenges. The good thing is that, if you just want to take a casual look-see through the game, you can adjust the difficulty to suit yourself, and the game is kind enough to give you some leeway with the way character's lives work. On my end, I loved the challenge, and Episode 4 felt great to finally beat on Veteran Mode. On the other hand, I'm still trying to beat Boss Rush Mode (they put some frustrating limitations on your moveset here), and I'm not even trying right now to get the Hardest, Silliest Ending for Episode 4 (it's a solo Zangetsu run, basically), which is an attempt that must come much later. All things considered, this might be one of my favourite Inti Creates games ever. The MM Zero series is probably the only things that beats it, imo. I really gotta wrap up some remaining games I'm leaving unfinished...

Down to the day, three years from now!? Man, that is some careful planning!

Yeah, plenty of interesting stuff in the Direct, but nothing mindblowing. The best announcements were pretty much just confirmations that certain games were coming to Switch as well. Space for the Unbound, Rogue Legacy 2, World of Horror, and Inscryption are all games I already had on other wishlists, so I'll be adding them on Switch as well. Coffee Talk 2 was a nice surprise, because I have the first one wishlisted (played the Demo, too). I wonder if the developers plan on making this an episodic long-runner. Have a Nice Death and Pepper Grinder look like fun action romps. Hadn't heard of the latter. Venba, Goodbye World, Desta, Storyteller, and Curse of the Sea Rats look to be interesting unique titles, I'm always on the lookout for those. ONI, Blanc, and maaaybe Dordogne seemed to be the only Adventure-focused games to catch my eye. At least there was no over-representation of a single genre.

"AND NOT MUCH ELSE INTERESTING"

Happy belated Halloween, everybody! I had a few spooky games saved to play on Halloween, but as I was trimming through my wishlist a few weeks back, I found out there was a Horror Bundle for Switch (I think it was literally called that) for 0,99€ that contained two short Indie games, both in the style of PS1 graphics: Fatum Betula Trust me, there's no picture that properly illustrates this game An indie game literally made to look like a PS1 game from 1995, down to save files, and low-resolution jpegs for menus. It's a first-person adventure game (specifically of the point&click variety) and that's pretty much everything that's obvious. One of the most cryptic games I played in years, this game holds no hands whatsoever. It doesn't point you in any direction, it doesn't state any endgoals, it doesn't tell you what's interactive and what's not... It's just a small sandbox where you can try to interact with objects and NPCs in various ways that may or may not make intuitive sense. So it does feel exactly like a game from 1995. Ambience-wise, it's aiming for bizarre horror. So bizarre that it's unsettling. It's an irrational world with self-contained logic, and its aim is more about filling you with existential dread than actually... scare you. Ultimately, it wasn't a good game to play on Halloween itself, because it bases itself so much in exploration and experimentation, and all I wanted was a more linear experience. The game is quite short (I unlocked two endings in a couple of hours), but it's not about reaching the ending, it's about immersing yourself into this bizarre world and soaking all of its creepy retro tapestries. If I had to describe it in a sentence, I'd say it's like... PS1 creepy-pasta structured like Stanley's Parable. If I had to describe it in two, I'd also mention that its creator (Bryce Bucher) was aiming to recreate his first experience with Majora's Mask at the age of 6, from memory alone. I'll leave it on the backburner for now, I think I might occasionally revisit this some time later, to explore its intricacies more carefully, outside of the constraints of a thematic holiday. Paratopic Don't call me friendo, mate Did I want a more linear experience? I got it. Paratopic feels like a very bizarre indie short film. The sort that's clearly inspired by Pulp Fiction, Blair Witch Project, The Ring, and other late 90s references. It's a series of disconnected and non-linear vignettes where gameplay is a formality. You jump from scene to scene and from perspective to perspective very quickly (with insanely abrupt cuts, too), as it tells you a bizarre story of a VHS smuggler, a hitman, and a... journalist (?) each being witness to disturbing paranormal events. The retro 3D look is here to better bring you to the uncanny, absurd valley. While intriguing and fast-paced in the first half, the game slows down to a crawl in the second half as you sloooowly walk and drive from place to place with nothing of note happening. I legitimately almost fell asleep during this part, and I beat the game in less than an hour. I figure that maybe (and that's a huge maybe), this slow segment is more engaging in a system with achievements, because at least you're led to believe that looking at weird places will unlock something. It's definitely a disturbing experience. One that's sadly undercut by its dreadful second half. After being disappointed twice on the Switch, I went for one of the titles I previously had on reserve. Distraint 2 Did this person've a not so superb bladder? So this series had to pull me back in. I had my fun with the first game a couple of years back, and I just couldn't resist going for the sequel on GOG. It's much like the first one. The horror setpieces are well executed, and it manages to stay creepy as shit, even in the game's narmiest moments. Gameplay-wise, most of the puzzles have been streamlined to be much simpler than the first game's. On one hand, this allows the game to have a faster pace, while on the other, it makes certain events more predictable than before. I guess the game's pretty short (only a couple of hours), so this was likely intentional from Jesse Makkonen. Story-wise... less ridiculous than before. The general themes of the story can feel simplistic at times, but nothing as goofy as the capitalist metaphors from the first game. Plus, the dialogue's better written this time around, less cheese overall. Ultimately, Distraint 2 is something a bit more decent and inoffensive than the first one, with the downside of it losing some of its unique charm... thankfully not completely, at least. I'd say it's still just about as good as the first one was. Since I knew what I was getting into, this made for a better Halloween game than the others. So that was nice. I'm still finishing some other spooky games I started in October. Fitting for the cold nights that have finally arrived.

From here, this sounds positive, at least. The baby isn't suffering, and can have a healthy life until the surgery.

I hope it's not as easy as "You can choose to Break an opponent, and so you do", otherwise that would trivialise most threats. But if it's a random chance of happening (like with crits), I think that'll be fine.

Last few gaming magazines I bought were copies of Retro Gamer... and I haven't properly read them Goes to show why I don't purchase them anymore, as they don't really fit with my schedule. Moreover, I used to read magazines because they were also gaming news. I kept up with releases over various consoles thanks to the magazine I used to read (hence why I still remember the existence of say, Psi-Ops, Forbidden Siren, or Onimusha Tactics), but now I have such easy access to trailers, screenshots, opinion pieces, and even demos and soundtracks, that the need has become obsolete. Still, I should get around to reading those issues of Retro Gamer, they seem legitimately good.

Sure, I'll live to 100. It'll be fine as long as I refuse to age. More seriously, I see folk who's still cheery and energetic well into their 80s, even when their bodies can't quite keep up. I'd like to aim for that sort of mentality.

For the record, I fully agree with Ike's take on Byleth as well. What I disagree with, is this blatant Luigi erasure, @Glen-i EDIT: Also, why are Incineroar and Greninja on the list? I get Mewtwo, he's a psychic genetic horror (very Resident Evil), but what are ninja-frog and tiger-wrestler in Halloween for?

Barely one hour in, and I already found the peninsula of power. If I hadn't previously known about it, I would've never noticed its secret. I like that the encounters there are "Winter Wolves", though, it suggests that they manage to get there because they walked through a thin layer of ice, or something like that (there are occasional stories of Swedes being able to walk to Denmark in very cold days, so maybe these Wolves did something similar). Regardless, I won't be using it. I don't want to grind at all, anywhere. Anyway, GBA!Bikke is somehow funnier than 8BT!Bikke. I love how, instead of a boss battle, he just meekly surrenders after you wreck his men. It's so anti-climactic, but funny. Lore-wise, I've decided that the four Warriors all met in Cornelia by chance. Braev is a local, Jack is a friend that travels often, Quann and Farise are mysterious travellers with unknown motives. They met when they were all ambushed at the same time by goblins, twice in a row (true story), and Farise got her clock cleaned. They revived her in a church ("Arise, Farise" got a stupid chuckle out of me), and there they noticed they were each carrying a crystal. King Steve said "Good enough for me!" and declared them heroes. At the slow rate that I'm beating games? Maybe.

I personally find that Brotherhood's first 15 episodes are way too rushed. They were made for people who watched the 2003 series, but are pretty bad at properly introducing the setting for newcomers (for example, they cut the Youswell episode, despite that containing the whole backstory for Yoki. Also, I don't think they ever explain how Mustang's powers work). After that, it's a pretty good adaptation of a 10/10 manga. There are so many scenes I love rewatching (like the tank scene. You know the one). Notably, every opening and ending manage to be great, too. It's nice to see more people finding the series, despite the rough, rushed start.

So, due to much exposure to this series lately (including Theathrythm), I decided to revisit an old game I never got around to finish: the original Final Fantasy. As a teen, I never felt compelled enough to finish it, but now I'm far more appreciative of basic RPG adventures, those with very little nonsense on the way. So I'll give this another try. I'll be doing the GBA version on an emulator, occasionally playing it on my phone. Each character was named as a reference to something Final Fantasy (or adjacent). I'll try to come up with backstories and personalities for each as I play. "Zero white mages? It'll never work"

I doubt Killer Instinct was ever in Sakurai's radar. First, because he implemented no mechanic in Smash Bros. that's similar to Combo Breaker (while he definitely used mechanics from KOF, a series guilty of the things he criticised). Second, because there's zero KI representation in Ultimate, not even a spirit or music track. Third, he used no footage of it in this video. This suggests he has zero nostalgia for Killer Instinct. He likely spent very little time with the game, if any.

I loved his comments on the nature of fighting games in particular. That line about how the player on the losing side of combos is unengaged... I felt that. No wonder my favourite fighting games are the ones where you can still attempt to do something while getting bodied. "Smash Bros. is an antithesis to fighting games, but it's not a rejection". I love that line, too. Sakurai's past comments on what Smash is "supposed" to be have always been misinterpreted, often being brought up as proof that he hates fighting games or whatever (when he clearly respects the genre quite a bit), but he clarifies that quite nicely here.

Now that's a blast from the past! Not one I personally played, but a friend was pretty into it back in the day. Anyway, what have I been playing in October? Castlevania II: Simon's Quest What a horrible game in which to have a curse I barely played this for more than 10 minutes. It was on the Castlevania Classic Collection, and the only title from it I had never finished, so I gave it a whirl. You can guess I didn't like it. As if the cryptic clues and mechanics weren't bad enough (I actually reached the place I was supposed to be very easily, but I had no idea I had to use the white crystal. They didn't actually tell me what it did), this game is just... boring! In the original Castlevania, Simon walks slowly because it fits the intricate level design, and the various foes you meet throughout that game, but importing that directly to an exploration-based game (this is a Zelda II style Metroidvania, in case you didn't know), it's just unbearable, I couldn't stand to explore any nook OR cranny. Plus, so many simple enemies that I could just kill with a coupe of whip swings. Nothing engaging here. And the icing on the cake was the day/night system that does nothing but delay whatever I wanted to do (since I can't talk to NPCs during the night) and increase the hit points of enemies without actually making them harder. At least the music is still great. The curious thing is that... a lot of people have fond memories of this game, regardless. They liked the sense of dread it gave them back then, and they were legitimately intrigued by the open world. I wonder, did this game just age like milk, or was it just the sheer lack of options? Food for thought. I was sad that this was all the Castlevania I had left to play... but then @Hero-of-Time gave me an idea. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Richter Mode I brought everything except the coffin, as Drac already had one Despite really liking Portrait of Ruin, I never really played its bonus modes. True enough, it's something I never really do, besides that one time I did Julius Mode in Aria of Sorrow. But this time, I decided to quickly revisit this underrated entry this way. I specifically picked Richter&Maria Mode (instead of the Sisters Mode) partly because I've been using the Belmonts a lot lately in Smash, partly because I really just wanted to properly whip some enemies. And yeah, it's a cool experience. Richter can't equip armour nor use healing items, but in turn, he hits extra hard and carries the traditional Belmont arsenal at all times. Furthermore, he tag teams with Maria Renard, who can summon a bevy of animal friends to attack. Maria acts as the "frail, powerful mage" of the group, while Richter has better mobility and physical prowess (this game distinguishes between physical and magical damage, you see). Both of them feel like glass cannons, at any rate. The playthrough felt like an extra long traditional Castlevania, considering how easily I could die (and often did). It helps that I played on Hard Mode. The boss fights felt very different this way, with the likes of Legion and Dullahan (or even certain regular enemies) becoming much harder. And somehow, Dracula was still the toughest beast on the block, as it should be. Won't do the Nest of Evil, though. I need to find all of the secret rooms to unlock it, and I won't do that obnoxious activity in a mode where I can't check map percentages. On a side-note, I'd like to say, the writing/plot for PoR is actually pretty serious and somewhat dour, but the entire tone of the rest of the game is the silliest thing! There's enemy clowns, succubi who yell "Come hither!", a headless skeleton called Yorick... Heck, the main villain is motivated by the tragic grief of losing his innocent family to WWI, but then you fight him and he's all Jojo poses and "A PAINTING OF THE SOUL!". It's wild. There will be more spooky games in October, hopefully.

So, looking at the previous posts, it seems that Avatar Studios is looking to release both that movie AND the Kyoshi movie in the same year? Isn't that a risky move for a new studio? If either flops, that might put a serious dent on their future. Looking to remain positive, but I can't help but be a realist. Avatar went from nothing to suddenly getting animated films as content. Despite its acclaim, the franchise is not exactly a sure sell right now.

I can't say I understand where the hate for Ed Sheeran is coming from. He's a good, pleasant singer. Also, his music isn't exactly the sort of uptempo schlager one associates with pop music: he presents himself as a guy with a guitar by a camping bonfire. He even did the main theme for one of the Hobbit films, and that turned out well. All of the usual worries for "celebrity cameos" in videogames are justified, of course, it's just the dislike for the man's concrete work that I find surprising.

...I never thought them to be literal dogs...

Damn, that sort of thing is never easy to hear, even moreso with the scare you guys already had. Let's hope it's nothing serious.

Wait, you actually defeated them? That's amazing, all I could ever do was hold the 2 minutes required for the door to open. Glad you enjoyed the game, it's definitely an underrated one It's got some cool level themes that Castlevania doesn't use too often (like Egypt. Astarte is a funny boss battle, too). Plus, excellent music. I've never done any of the extra modes, though. You know, like Richter Mode or Sisters Mode.

So, did anybody try the demo? I feel like this game has been getting a lot of unfair criticism. It's not my genre, but I wanted to at least give it the fair shake it deserves. So I tried the demo yesterday and...mixed feelings: The scenery and art style look lovely. Character design as well, it's distinctive enough to be memorable, and detailed without being overbearing; Except for the enemies, those looked different, but... not exactly good; Music is excellent and soothing; Plot was more intriguing than I expected. The writing was also pretty good (in a subdued way), most lines are doing something for either the setting or characterization; The combat is basic, and lacks a lot of oomph. Serviceable at best; The farming side of things feels like an afterthought, weirdly enough. Maybe it's just because of the start of the game. Controls were pretty snappy, at least; Sadly, the exploration side of the game is super clumsy. Your character can jump, but they meet invisible barriers everywhere. Loading times are very bothersome, and they happen very frequently (basically everytime you go through a door or entrance)... It's a shame, but at least the loading times Another thing to compound this further: days go by incredibly fast. With that in mind, exploration is discouraged even further, when you could spend the day farming, fighting, or collecting loot. Finally, and this might be nitpicky, but there were a lot of segments where characters talk inside a room, they all leave in a hurry except for you. At this point, you get the prompt "LEAVE THE HOUSE" like two times, so you take control, move the character to the exit door... and the plot just continues from there. It feels incredibly clumsy, from the broken pacing, to the unnecessary prompts, to the quest marker hovering above the door... and the game did this all the time! All in all, it feels like a lot of individual parts are pretty good in a vacuum, but it lacks the direction it needs for it to gel together. The high price doesn't help either. Still, it's pretty promising in parts, so I might get it if it ever finds its way into an affordable price.