I liked reading this cause I like to see what people's FF opinions are. I recently replayed 7 and I agree it's a pretty good game! It's not my favorite but it holds up really well. I also played through all of the 13 trilogy and... well I agree the combat is really good and it's definitely not as bad as people say. It falls flat for me when it opens up, so it's interesting to see the perspective of someone who enjoys that part. I think 13-2 is kinda awful (the story does nothing for me) but LR is such a weird game I am curious to see a future update if you end up playing it. I think if they hadn't tied it into 13 it could be released today and do extremely well, because it has almost a rogue-like-ish energy with the timing mechanic and how they pretty much assume you'll play it at least twice, since loops are all the rage. A truly strange game!
The Pixel Remasters... I think you're right on. I'm a sucker so I'd buy all of them as a stack... for anything but PC or mobile. So at least it's saving me a buck, but I'm glad it'll be an option for someone out there.
Anyway, this was a great read. It's nice to see some semi-serious thought on the role of Waluigi. Though I do have a bit to say about the paragraph starting:
I also believe that video games can attach us to characters without using plot or characterisation: an ability that fiction-based media like films and books don't have.
Because I don't know this is exactly true. Boba Fett is the classic example of a character that became hugely popular despite having barely has any personality or plot importance in his initial appearance, but there's also... some other Star Wars robot that did, and countless anime side characters that people fall in love with. Not that I know why, exactly, a lot of it seems to be purely based on aesthetics (Boba Fett looks neat) and maybe one vague characteristic (cool bounty hunter). However, It's hard to quantify and would probably not really stay on topic if you covered it here so I get it. I think maybe Waluigi's aesthetic (endearingly goofy-ugly) plus his vague characteristic (evil version of the lame version of Mario) sparked genuine interest in some people, followed by ironic fans, and with further appearances and more doses of personality, he's developed into something that feels like a character, despite, as you've well pointed out, not really being one. But prove that in a well written essay I cannot!
I had a pretty decent time with this game too! The figuring out clues in Poirot's brain was a cool highlight for me too (kinda like in Judgment where when you are given the opportunity to ask people questions, asking relevant questions gets you a bonus which makes you feel like you're putting yourself in detective shoes). An Agatha Christie plot encasing a puzzle box game is also cool, instead of the pure adventure route. I wish there were more of these.
I hope this continues. I think it could actually work (ie get done) if he sorted a bunch of stuff ahead of time and kept aside some extra cool/weird stuff to show off on stream for the catharsis of other people witnessing it. I'd miss the spontaneity though.
Also I am jealous of that Raiho, why didn't I buy my own copy of Raidou Kuzunoha 2 when it came out instead of borrowing it. :'(
This is a good list! I hadn't played AC since the DS one and agree Flick is a great permanent-ish addition (everyone else... eh). You've really sold me on Katt, if there was any hope of getting a specific character I wanted maybe one of the 3 popstar wannabe girls who're on my island could leave and I could get her instead.
Nice writeup on both of these, though I skimmed KRZ because I'm in the middle of playing it myself I agree with what I saw. I thought I'd be really into it but in a lot of ways it kinda... I dunno... loves its own writing too much? I enjoyed the shorter, less detailed chapter 2 and the pick-your-own-adventure chapter 4 because while it's interesting, some of it is fluff I wish had been edited down.
As far as 13 Sentinels, it's fun to see literally everyone say "how did this have 13+ threads but end cohesively" lol. For Okino it would've been nice to be fully confirmed one way or another. It's not AS bad as most games where you have to headcanon any lgbt themes into it but it'd be nice to be able to point to Okino as 100% genderqueer or whatever. (I did see someone talk about the Japanese version somewhere but I believe it was just as vague on him as the English one.) And the whole ending cutscene is pretty lame, I'd honestly recommend people not watch it because it's just so cheesy to a point I don't need in a cool scifi concept game.
@deathpooky: All of this. I wasn't going to get this because I didn't care for P5, and seeing the deadweight cutscenes brought me right back to it. I know there are some translation issues that make the dialog worse and voice acting slows things even more but retaining that pacing whole cloth in a Musou is wild. Persona 2, which 5 really wanted to emulate, is so much tighter and better for it.
Love your picks Jan, I need to play Sludge Life for sure now. Your passion for 13 Sentinels especially at the end of GOTY was incredible and I hope it convinces more people to give it (and other stuff that's VN-like or "anime bullshit") a shot and not feel like they will hate it by self-imposed standards. (If you are one of those people and reading this please try the Zero Escape games or The Silver Case.)
snaketelegraph's comments