The Ultimate Fate

I started this blog out of boredom so don't expect a lot from me. I might post my own stuff about Danganronpa, whether it's my own headcanons or my personal opinions about the series. I felt sorry for what's been happening with Danganronpa Headcanons recently and was hoping they would post my submissions, but after being a little impatient, I decided to do things myself and post my own stuff. Will I post stuff that's not Danganronpa related? Who knows. Just to heads up, I don't normally take requests. Feel free to like or reblog anything I post on here, I really appreciate it. Also, I should point out that I'm a slow thinker sometimes so if I post anything that doesn't make sense (like if I get the facts wrong) just tell me what flaws I should improve of. Oh, and there might an occasion where if I have a trigger, I might post a rant, so I recommend not checking those out. Any hate comments about my posts will be removed.

[dangan-kagura]

I’ve made a decision

There were a bunch of things that I’ve wanted to blog about, mostly just silly thoughts. But I think now’s a good time for me to say something that I should say now before things get out of hand later this year.

I need a vacation from this fandom!

I’m at a point where I feel like my mental health is slowly getting worse. The more I spend time on social blogs like Tumblr or TikTok, the more likely it’s gonna kill me. The only way to save myself is to just stop coming back.

It’ll be hard for me, but I know I can do it. My plan is to stop using Tumblr and TikTok all together since I’ve spent more time on those sites than AO3 which I've already lost interest in. YouTube I can’t escape from, but I think I’m gonna try and limit myself from anything Danganronpa related. I’ve already succeeded at stopping TikTok, Tumblr is the only thing left. I had hoped to watch all episodes of the Danganronpa 3 anime and I still do, but I probably won't be giving it a review. So I don’t know if now’s the best time to watch it even though I’m announcing my hiatus.

Let me tell you all a story. It’s 2008 and people are bashing the Sonic series for the kinds of games the series had at the time. It kinda has to do with, not only Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, but also certain spinoffs that weren’t that well received. And even when Sonic Unleashed got announced early that year, people were still bashing the series because Sonic 2006 nearly ruined its reputation. As a result, people were treating Sonic the Hedgehog as the video game equivalent to Nickelback. I had to get away from the Sonic fandom because of this and sure enough it helped a lot. By the time Sonic Unleashed did come out, I made sure to stay as far away from the Sonic fandom as I could.

But even with Sonic Unleashed, I didn’t believe the series had fully recovered. That meant that I had to just go on hiatus from playing any Sonic game including the ones I liked playing. I don’t think the series fully recovered until either 2010 or 2011. 2010 was when Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic Colors came out and I really liked playing Sonic 4. 2011 was when Sonic Generations came out and I knew then that that game truly forgave everything that made Sonic 2006 an unfortunate game (I do my best to not be strongly negative about that game cause there are a few things about it that I can’t simply hate).

For this year, I plan to do something similar with my interest in Danganronpa. I need to stop visiting this fandom. Why? Because I feel like with my mental health getting worse, whatever I see in this fandom is gonna ruin my experience for when Danganronpa 2x2 comes out. In fact, every time I hear about someone’s opinion about the new story for 2x2, I can’t help but think that their prediction is gonna spoil the game for me, cause you never know, they might be right in the end and I'll be in complete denial of it. To avoid that, I have to get away from this fandom.

Here’s another story. November 2010 was when I started Facebook. It was good, but things got out of hand as the months went on. I started unfriending some of my friends and they started unfriending me. There eventually came a point where I realized that the person I was on Facebook is not who I am. By October 2011, I closed my Facebook account. To this day, I don’t know what my old classmates from school are up to, but at this point, they’re probably married and have kids and don’t live in my state anymore and I have no way of contacting them. But another reason I closed my Facebook wasn’t just because of drama, but because I wanted to do some soul searching. That meant that I had to go back to learn about things I used to be into when I was a kid in elementary or before. I think it helped a bit.

I’m not saying this is goodbye to my blog. Just a hiatus, because someday I might come back to blog about something. But I feel like if I spend more time here, I may cause some drama and I don’t want to be doing that. I admit that there are some people I’ve blocked because of certain content they have and I deeply apologize to any of them, I'll make sure to unblock them once I publish this. But I think it’s likely that some people on Tumblr have blocked me as well, I can’t blame them. I’m an asshole sometimes, but I can't just stay silent and do nothing, I want to give my opinion about something, but sometimes I'll say things that'll upset some people. I think the world would be better off without me. But I don’t plan to delete this blog, because I do want my opinions to be read to the world, even on the occasions that someone will hate me for saying such things. After all, we're all intitled to our opinions.

I could just say I’m leaving the Danganronpa fandom but I’m still gonna be playing the games. But that’s pretty tough. I’m addicted to Google searches, which is a problem. Sometimes, I’ll come across some cool fanart that I really want to save to my computer so I can look at it anytime (go ahead, accuse me for pirating, see if I care). But then there’s the occasion that some Google searches could lead to triggers and I ain’t up for that. But I think my interest in the fanart is the result of how old I'm getting and I feel like once I hit 40, I'm gonna start being less interested in characters who are either teenagers or in their 20s. So how's a 40 year old man supposed to be into that sort of thing?

On my YouTube, I made a huge playlist of some of my favorite Danganronpa videos that I found. I think the reason I made such a playlist is for preservation and nostalgia. There may come a day when I’m older (before I hit 40) and I feel like I want to watch a video of something Danganronpa related, whether it’s related to some trivia or if it’s just a silly fan video that still exists. But for now, I’m gonna do my best to limit myself from looking at such videos.

I think the only Danganronpa videos I’ll stick to watching are ASMR videos. The kind where the synopsis is that one of the female characters is your girlfriend and they’re trying to cheer you up or help you go to sleep. They’re very affectionate, by that I mean one user, who is probably the best Danganronpa ASMR creator, will include kisses. You’re free to call me weird for being into such a thing, but their videos have helped me when I want to go to sleep in a good mood and I guess they make me feel younger. They don’t make any new videos with the Danganronpa cast, but maybe someday they’ll make more when 2x2 comes out this year, or maybe someone else will make such videos instead. They probably won’t be Girlfriend x Listener, but I’ll settle for anything.

So… Hopefully I’ve managed to say what I’ve wanted to say here. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to rewrite this so it’s updated. Now’s the time. Now or never.

Feel free to message me anytime. Hopefully I’ll have email notifications turned on in case someone out there wants to know how I’m doing. And if you’ve been to my YouTube, just know that I have notifications for that account turned off so I probably won’t be reading comments from my own videos.

And now… My hiatus starts in 3… 2… 1…

NOW!

[dangan-kagura]

Aiba does not support AI Hentai

And yet Date who is a complete gooner could care less.

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

What do you think about the new information from the Spike Chunsoft panel and the fact that new story in 2x2 is called Slayhem?

To be honest, I had no idea this announcement had happened until I read your ask. (The official Japanese Spike Chunsoft and Danganronpa X accounts hadn't mentioned it yet!) So first of all, thank you for bringing it to my attention!

In case anyone reading this hasn't seen the news yet, here's a link to the article:

Danganronpa 2x2 Delay Pushes Launch to Early 2027 With First Look at New Slayhem Mode

Spike Chunsoft has announced that Danganronpa 2x2 has been delayed to early 2027.

As for the name of the new route and its UI, my first impression was basically, "Yep... it really does have that unsettling feeling." 😅

I can't remember if I ever talked about this on my blog, but last year there was an interview video filmed at Too Kyo Games where Kodaka and Koizumi, the scenario writer for the Slayhem route, briefly talked about 2x2. During that conversation, Kodaka mentioned that the new story would "be criticized in a way." The video I'm referring to is this one:

Although this interview is mostly about The Hundred Line, the segment from around 20:28 to 21:07 is about 2x2.

Because of that comment, I'd already been expecting the new story to contain something that would really shock DR fans. So when I saw that even the route selection screen already gives the new story such an ominous appearance, my reaction was basically, "Oh... so that's the direction they're going." It's hard to put into words!

Honestly, I'll be heartbroken no matter who dies, as long as it isn't Chiaki, so the new route really scares me. (Chiaki is the one exception! Even if she dies, I'm sure they'll find some interesting way to use her later anyway!)

Looking at the artwork, though, I wonder if the killing game will take place in what is almost an entirely new location. It looks like the characters might be trapped in a very confined environment, doesn't it? In the original Jabberwock Island, the Funhouse was pretty much the only place that felt that enclosed. So I'm actually a little excited about that aspect.

Those are my thoughts for now! Thank you for asking! ✨

[dangan-kagura]

I kinda had a feeling the game would be delayed for next year. But that's okay on my end, because it gives me more time to focus on a bunch of other games I'm hopefully gonna try out later this year.

As for the new screenshots from IGN, I'm glad I got to see some new sprites with Kazuichi, Nekomaru and Hiyoko.

That comment you said about the Slayhem route, "be criticized in a way". That sounds like the ending to Danganronpa V3. Given how bloody the sign is for choosing this route, what I should be fearing is not who among my favorite characters is going to die, but it might contain some big twist that could destroy the original game. Fans, be prepared for Hell.

[dangan-kagura]

I don't think I can handle the decline of DVDs and blu-rays

Based on what little I know, all the newest movies and TV shows are now being released as streaming only or digital only. A year ago, I saw a trailer for the streaming release of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie. The trailer said nothing about releasing it on DVD or blu-ray, it just said the film is now available to stream exclusively on Peacock. Months before that, I saw a trailer for the streaming release of Inside Out 2 and it said it would be streamed exclusively on Disney+ and no mention of releasing it physically.

This sort of thing isn’t just applying for movies. I’ve learned that Sony and PlayStation are in a few years no longer going to be making physical discs for their games, meaning that sooner or later all PlayStation games may become digital only. Not gonna lie, since the PS4 era, all PlayStation games I’ve had are all digital because I figured that retail stores wouldn’t have the game I’m looking for. Not to mention that these days it feels like getting a modern game on retail doesn’t matter because you can’t just put the disc in the console and play the game, you have to download it too. The only reason I’d want a game on retail is to save space, but if going digital is where it’s at now… Well, someone I know had a very paranoid opinion that if all video games are going digital only, it’d mean that sooner or later those digital stores would shut down in the future meaning more lost games, not to mention that stores that sell used games would go out of business meaning more unemployment. I can’t blame them.

Well this blog isn’t about PlayStation or the future of video games. I can probably tolerate video games being digital only now, but I still believe in video game preservation.

What I probably can’t tolerate more is movies and shows being digital only. I can’t say goodbye to DVDs.

The problem with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu is that some of the stuff they have for streaming is usually for a limited time, and when that time is up, they’ll stop streaming whatever that media is. There’s also the fact that these services have a subscription if you want to watch these things commercial free. I can’t afford that kind of thing. Thankfully, my parents are paying for all these things, but for how long?

That’s why I believe that having a physical copy of your favorite movies and shows should be the way to go.

You won’t have to deal with commercials or monthly subscriptions and you don’t even need internet access to watch these.

I have with me on DVD the complete CatDog series, the complete Courage the Cowardly Dog series, the first 3 seasons of Rugrats and the first 4 seasons of SpongeBob. Best of all, I don’t need to bother going to some bootleg streaming site to watch a low quality recording of these shows. That’s not how I roll.

Many of these shows here are among my favorite childhood cartoons. I bought these at a movie store at a mall I go to, not online. But there are plenty of shows that I miss watching since I was a kid that I wish had DVD releases. Some of those shows do, some of them don’t, and even the ones that do are pretty pricey.

The DVDs I bought here weren’t that expensive. That same store I bought them at was also selling the complete Hey Arnold series, but it was being sold for at least $80. Why is it so expensive? Well, the complete Hey Arnold series would include all 5 seasons, the Hey Arnold movie, and the series finale special. As much as I would love to own it, the price wasn’t worth it.

As for shows that don’t have DVD releases, some of them only have their first seasons on DVD. Shout Factory got the distribution rights to release the complete CatDog series. They also got the rights to release only the first season of The Wild Thornberries on DVD. That’s the only season of that show that is on DVD, to my knowledge at least. And this is a show that I would die for just to watch all seasons. This is a show I really miss watching and haven’t seen in 20 years. The problem in my case is that I never saw how it ended, I never saw the final episodes. The closest thing to the finale was the crossover movie with the Rugrats, unless you’re the type who thinks that crossover specials are non-canon. Even if the finale wasn’t anything big, I’d give anything to watch it in high quality, with end credits, without having to go to some cheap streaming site to watch a low quality recording of when it first aired on Nickelodeon.

But The Wild Thornberries is just one example of that. To my knowledge, Courage the Cowardly Dog is the only classic Cartoon Network show where CN themselves were able to release the complete series. On the other hand, CN was only able to release the first season of Johnny Bravo on DVD, but not the rest of the series. I’m not even sure if CN released any of their other classic shows on DVD.

Remember how I mentioned where I bought those DVDs? They were sold in the section that sells kids & family movies. As I was browsing, I couldn’t find anything related to any of Cartoon Network’s old shows. I’d give anything to watch the complete Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy series on DVD if something like that existed. But the odds of me obtaining something like that are low. I’m well aware that you can stream Cartoon Network’s old shows on HBO Max, but in my case, I don’t even know if I’m still subscribed to that. My parents use YouTube TV which has HBO, which means they probably aren’t using the HBO Max app on our Rokus. But many of Cartoon Network’s old shows aren’t even available on YouTube TV. Heck, you can probably stream Nickelodeon’s old shows on Paramount+, but I don't even know if we're subscribed to that too.

The only streaming services I’m limited to using are Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Amazon, and I think Apple TV. Disney+ is probably the best because it’s commercial free and the way things are spread out feels well organized. For some reason, I was having a hard time logging into Netflix with my dad’s account and was forced to start my own account. But I don’t even like the recommendations Netflix has for me. I had to tell my parents that the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie was exclusive to Peacock just so we could get Peacock. It is very likely that Peacock is also gonna exclusively stream the Super Mario Galaxy Movie and not release it on DVD or blu-ray. I really love that movie, and not having a physical copy of it means that I have to make sure my family keeps using Peacock.

Ironically, my mother doesn’t use any of those services. She just buys and rents movies on Amazon. She told me that if streaming services don’t have what you’re looking for, it’s better to just buy these movies digitally. That probably upsets my father who’s in charge of our bills, because if my mother is always using Amazon, no one in my family is using those services meaning more of our money is being spent. Me? I’m too busy playing long adventure games to have the time to use those sites and they never have what I’m looking for.

It’s not just childhood cartoons I miss watching. There are plenty of anime out there that I never took the time to watch. I don’t have Crunchyroll and I’m too scared to even get it, but that could be because I have a particular taste in anime. Netflix and Hulu have anime but that’s extremely limited. Those sites never have the anime I’m looking for. I seriously doubt that buying them digitally on Amazon is gonna make me feel better, because most anime distributors don’t actually release any of their anime on DVD or blu-ray.

Even if there is an underrated anime that has a DVD release, it’s very likely bootleg.

I hope I don’t go to jail for sharing this information. Last year, I bought a bootleg DVD of the Danganronpa anime. It looked legit at first, but once I played the disc in my blu-ray player, that’s when I realized how cheap it looked. It was low quality looking, and when I tried to use the settings to switch between English and Japanese dubs, it didn’t work, it just stuck with the Japanese dub with no English subtitles. If that wasn’t enough, the menu setup featured character sprites from Danganronpa V3 but NONE OF THOSE CHARACTERS ARE IN THIS ANIME! Furthermore, the DVD wasn’t very specific about which anime it was, to be clear, there are 3 different Danganronpa anime, the Danganronpa 1 anime, the Despair Arc and Future Arc. This DVD was just two discs with disc 1 featuring all episodes of the Danganronpa 1 anime and the first half of the Future Arc. Disc 2 featured the 2nd half of the Future Arc, all episodes of the Despair Arc as well as the Japan-only OVA Super Danganronpa 2.5 which has no English dub. No wonder the menu setup wouldn’t let me play this in English.

By comparison, I have official blu-ray releases of the Senran Kagura anime and the Neptunia anime. One detail I will note is that these blu-rays include the Funimation logo as Funimation at the time distributed these blu-rays. The bootleg Danganronpa DVD doesn’t have the Funimation logo, that’s something you should look out for before you suddenly buy a bootleg DVD of your favorite anime.

This video by a Malaysian YouTuber has better information about bootleg anime DVDs.

If you like that one, this other YouTuber has a video about bootleg DVDs in general (and the potential dangers of owning one).

This same YouTuber also has a video about the decline of DVDs and blu-rays.

In conclusion

I don't know how to best end this but I'll try my best. Because DVDs are facing decline, it means that bootleggers are gonna take over that business. It would be dangerous to search online if the complete series of your favorite anime or childhood cartoon was on DVD because the seller is bound to be a pirate, even if they were selling these things as legit. If I can't get my favorite movies or shows on DVD and at the same time chose not to give in to streaming services, then I can't watch what I want to watch.

Maybe if I feel like it, I'll comprise of a list of anime I'm interested in.

[dangan-kagura]

Supergirl movie was fair to poor. Storyline or plot was weak, involves revenge. Action happens real fast.

At least that's what my parents thought when they saw it. As for what I think... I wasn't sure about Jason Momoa playing a character who wasn't Aquaman. I at least thought this was more interesting than the '80s Supergirl movie because at least this one had Superman even if it was a small part. I'm also not over the fact that they tried to introduce a tomboy Supergirl in the Flash movie three years ago.

[dangan-kagura]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about the new Halo remake coming on PS5.

Weeks ago, I found out about Halo: Campaign Evolved, a next-gen remake of the first Halo game... And it's coming to PlayStation 5!?

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's surprised by this decision to release a Halo game on a non Xbox console. But this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Last year, a remastered edition of the first Gears of War game also came out on PS5. That lead me to ask the question why Microsoft would do such a thing.

Thankfully I had the guts to Google search, "Why is the new Halo game coming to PS5?" This was sort of the answer, "Xbox's strategy is to grow the franchise's audience by taking games to where players already exist. This multi-platform approach was initiated during the previous era of Xbox leadership to maximize revenue and increase the player base." Another answer I found on the PS5 subreddit was that the game is, "best played when we have a large, healthy community" says the developers, but most of the comments claim that Microsoft is just looking to get richer.

But I guess the reason I bring this up is because it just feels... ironic? I come from a generation where back in the late 2000s, everyone was obsessing over the Xbox 360 and were making false claims that the PlayStation 3 would be a commercial failure and the end of PlayStation (it wasn't). Now, almost 20 years later, if feels like Xbox is about to surrender to PlayStation. When I was in high school, my classmates teased and bullied me for being a PlayStation fan and giving in to their obsession with Xbox was like peer pressure to me. But with how successful PlayStation has become over the years, look who's laughing now.

Think back to when Sega discontinued the Dreamcast, that sought the end of Sega's console business but the company didn't stop making games and decided to release their games on other consoles. That's what this feels like to me, like Xbox is about to end because Microsoft wants to make their games for PlayStation or perhaps even Nintendo.

In fact, Halo coming to PlayStation has lead me to ask the question...

What if Master Chief was a guest character in Super Smash Bros.?

Probably won't happen, but I remember back in 2008 when Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out on the Wii, EVERYONE on the internet were making topics about what non Nintendo characters they would want to see in Smash Bros. Someone said Master Chief and that may've been because SSBB was released half a year after Halo 3 came out and there was a lot hype about that game back in 2007. Heck, I even remember back in the late 2000s, Nintendo fans were angry at Xbox for acquiring the rights to Rare games like Banjo-Kazooie. It was because of this that Nintendo at the time couldn't rerelease the original N64 version of that game or even use these characters in Smash Bros. Thankfully, Microsoft was nice enough to give them back the rights to release the game for Nintendo Switch Online, but that could be because there's a Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft. And if Microsoft was also nice enough to allow Banjo-Kazooie to appear in Smash Bros., what's to say the same thing could happen with Master Chief from Halo now that Halo is coming to PlayStation.

But maybe I feel this way because I actually am tempted to play Halo. I actually do respect the series, but that could be because of all the hype Halo 3 had back in 2007. But playing it on PlayStation feels kinda... inappropriate. I can't imagine how angry Xbox fans must be now that one of the best Xbox games is coming to PlayStation. People like them would probably attack me for saying I got into Halo by other means that weren't related to Xbox.

Then again, PlayStation is doing something similar with some of their games. Certain PS5 games by Sony now have Steam editions, specifically these games, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, God of War: Ragnarök and The Last of Us Part II. If that wasn't enough, Bandai Namco got the rights to release Patapon on the Nintendo Switch even though Sony had the rights to that franchise and originally released it as PlayStation only. Like, did Sony lose the rights to Patapon?

Overall, I can't make a decision. To play or not play Halo on PS5. To play or not play Gears of War on PS5. What is the future of Xbox going to be like? They're still making Xbox Series X|S games. But once we suddenly enter the era of the PlayStation 6, which I won't be ready for, what's to say all Xbox games come out on PlayStation and Nintendo? Heck, I don't even want to imagine a Mario game on PlayStation, that would be the end for Nintendo.

[dangan-kagura]

So about that review I wrote the other month. Consider this a sort of follow up but is also a review of something else.

I realized at one point in the review, I said some harsh things about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. I recently gave the game another chance and now I have a better more positive approach of the game.

When I first play this, I was worried for a moment that this would be just as difficult as any of the GBA or DS Castlevania games and it just bothered me because I never could beat any of those games. I still stand by that, but this game also did a great job at including all sorts of things that made Symphony of the Night a great game too. I think that may've been the objective all along, Koji Igarashi wanted to make a next-gen metroidvania with 2D gameplay and 3D graphics but bring back the greatness from SOTN.

The problem in my case were these personal criticisms.

Zangetsu is a hard 2nd boss and not a good one.

The game does provide hints on how to solve some of the puzzles but there's a catch. You have to talk to Dominique and she'll tell you that you have to find a certain boss and get that certain shard from them, but she doesn't tell you how to use it, you just have to figure it out on your own. And you can only hear these hints once, meaning if you're not paying attention to the cutscenes, which I wasn't on my first playthrough, you could get stuck with no clue where to go.

I do wish the cutscenes had an option to auto-advance the text, all the newest visual novels and RPGs have that. A bug that wasn't patched is in a cutscene where the subtitles don't appear when one of the characters was talking. So when I advanced, I didn't hear the entire voice line.

Because this game was made from a Kickstarter campaign, I was probably worried that this game was gonna be like Mighty No. 9 which was a hot mess from what I've read. This is better though.

On my 2nd playthrough, there was a bug where the game crashed when I tried to use a Waystone to warp.

The shards you collect from enemies is RNG based. The Hidden Desert stage is where you need the shard that lets you sink underwater, but first you have to get a different shard from an underwater enemy. That shard has jank controls and it requires you to swim through an underwater section full of spikes that deal heavy damage.

It's hard to tell from the UI how much health you have left because the shade of black in the empty health bar is too red. There is a number that tells you your total health, but it's pretty small looking compared to how big my TV is.

This game has a DLC story about Dominique after the ending but I'm not convinced into buying it. It follows up one of the extra modes that plays exactly like how the retro Castlevania games are played, except that this one plays exactly like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Retro 1980's gaming ain't really my thing.

But before I get to the positives, let me talk about my mixed feelings for certain voice actors.

I was actually worried at first that I wouldn't like the voice acting because I never did like the voice acting in indie games like Freedom Planet and Skullgirls. This game has better voice acting than those. But out of the voice actors, two of them I feel like were casted because the game designers clearly come from people who are fans of classic Konami games like Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid which I'll explain right away.

Casting David Hayter to voice Zangetsu felt more like it was the game's attempt to address Hideo Kojima that this man will always be Snake, not the A-list celebrity you thought was better in Metal Gear Solid V. Lately, David Hayter has been doing some voice acting, most recently in certain Yakuza games where he now voices Kashiwagi, so maybe I can tolerate him voicing Zangetsu.

Casting Robert Belgrade to voice O.D. was clearly a call-back to him voicing Alucard. Last I checked, I don't think he has a Wikipedia article. The only other voice role I know him for is for voicing the narrator in the prologue cutscenes in Tekken 5. Now hear me out on this next opinion. If you've played Castlevania Requiem, the PS4 port of both SOTN and Rondo of Blood, you should know that it's based on the PSP version that appears in The Dracula X Chronicles and this version has a new set of voice actors as Konami at the time probably believed the original voice actors weren't that good or that the dialogue was just cheesy. In the redub, Alucard is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, but despite how famous of a voice actor he is, a majority believed that Robert Belgrade was a better choice for Alucard. That same thing can be said for any of the voice actors in SOTN. Robert voicing O.D. was like it was a message that Yuri Lowenthal will never be Alucard.

But enough about that, let me talk about the positives I now have.

I finally cleared another metroidvania by IGA! I can now say that the difficulty in this game is clearly on par with SOTN, maybe even Lament of Innocence, and this is coming from a Castlevania fan who has a neutral opinion about that game. I will point out that some enemies and bosses are extremely powerful, and if you're at a low level or don't care so much about crafting potions and food, you could die and start all over.

A personal voice actor I liked was Ben Diskin voicing Johannes. So it didn't surprise me that Johannes had that same British accent for when Ben voiced Numbah 1 from Codename: Kids Next Door. Lately, it feels like he's been doing more voice work for anime than cartoons, I want to say I also know him for voicing Caspar in Fire Emblem: Three Houses whose voice style is basically how Ben voiced Numbah 2.

I like how the game takes advantage on how you can use the control stick to perform special moves for certain weapons. The commands for these moves work in the same way as how special commands work in 2D fighting games.

The way the shards work in this work more similar to the abilities from Castlevania characters like Shanoa (Order of Ecclesia) and Soma Cruz (Aria of Sorrow / Dawn of Sorrow). So this is a nice alternative from playing either of those games.

As I established, the game did a great job at including the best things about SOTN, that includes easter eggs. I didn't discover this easter egg below until now and I've realized that SOTN has so much timeless gameplay, I can see why some people would think it's one of the best games ever.

I don't have the skills to make this a gif. You get these pictures instead.

There's plenty of other Castlevania references found in this game in terms of character names and designs. There's a lady you meet who offers you side quests where you defeat a certain number of enemies in order to avenge the deaths of certain people, a few of which are named after Castlevania characters. There is even an optional boss who is basically a zombified Simon Belmont but with his incredible strength.

I think my favorite shard is the one that lets you turn the world upside down. Clearly an attempt to bring back the inverted castle.

I was surprised to realize that this game has a Japanese dub with some familiar voice actors. The MOST interesting of them was the Japanese voice of O.D., Ryotaro Okiayu. He was also Alucard's Japanese voice actor. So now I'm suddenly tempted to replay this game but in Japanese.

And of course, the music, enemy designs and stage designs are beautiful. And that sound effect for defeating the final boss is just... disturbing. The final boss itself being a three-head circle monster was creepy, but surprisingly, I didn't die fighting him.

I don't think I felt this enjoyed from playing a metroidvania since I played Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Like Bloodstained: ROTN, that Prince of Persia game also felt like it was able to capture the greatness from SOTN, at least in terms of gameplay and stage layout. But maybe I feel that way because I got to finish this game. Compared to Bloodstained, at least Prince of Persia was a game where they took the time and effort to make sure nothing is broken, not to mention that I like how The Lost Crown is one of those modern games with custom difficulty settings so you can play it on normal but take damage like in easy mode. I just wish ROTN had something like that.

I'm well aware that they are making a sequel, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement. I am worried as to how that game is gonna end up being. Like, what if the game brings back the hard sh** from the GBA or DS Castlevania games and suddenly I don't think it's good? And at this point, it's been a year since the announcement trailer came out, and I don't know any other news regarding the game, but that's just because I don't like to follow news media or even follow my favorite game companies on social media. I hope the game turns out okay though and hopefully it won't be as slightly broken as ROTN. And who knows, maybe it'll be as good as Castlevania: Belmont's Curse.

On the 5 star scale, I rated ROTN 3 stars. I praised it for how it was able to capture the greatness from SOTN, but I felt bothered by how cheap and short-handed the game was made. Those criticisms led me to think that I've played better, but after beating the game, I can also say that I've played worse. It's probably not the most broken PS4 game I've played but it is nothing compared to one of the most broken PS5 games I've ever played, Kao the Kangaroo, which is a game that I can't help but feel sorry for in terms of its interesting premise, but the brokenness of the game doesn't convince me to buy the DLC.

To make it fair for everyone, I'd give this game a 7/10. Not great, but still good.

[dangan-kagura]

So these are some upcoming video games coming out later this year and later in 2027 that I plan to get (hopefully)

Star Fox 64 remake

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2

Dynasty Warriors 3 remake

Rayman Legends Retold

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

Danganronpa 2x2

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake

Stranger Than Heaven

Virtua Fighter: Crossroads

Out of these games mentioned...

5 of them are next-gen remakes.

One of them is a small compilation of ports and that's MGS. It includes Metal Gear Solid 4 and Peace Walker, but I think I'm only going to play MGS4 (I never could beat Peace Walker, it was too hard when I first played it). An average playthrough of MGS4 should only take a couple of days, but since it's 5 acts, it could also take a week if I do one act at a time.

The Dynasty Warriors 3 remake looks like it might play similarly to Dynasty Warriors Origins. The length of that game was practically the same length as Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes and I think for both games it took less than 2 weeks to clear a single story route. Don't know if it'll be the same for this one.

The Rayman Legends remake came out of nowhere. It looks like it might be the same game but with added 3D graphics and storytelling. It's also gonna come with, I think a remake of Rayman Origins. Shouldn't take too long to clear both games.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a new metroidvania developed by Evil Empire, the developers for Dead Cells and The Rogue Prince of Persia. Unfortunately, it won't be a roguelite, but depending on what's there to do, it shouldn't take that long.

I feel like one of the reasons why Nintendo is remaking Star Fox and Ocarina of Time isn't just so they can get on that trend of next-gen remakes, they probably wanted to make it up to fans who preferred the 3DS remakes over the original N64 counterparts as the 3DS versions fixed certain issues, like not having to pause when equipping the iron boots.

I'll have plenty of time to enjoy Star Fox before all these game come out in fall.

Virtua Fighter: Crossroads is confirmed to be Virtua Fighter 6. Notice how the "V" and "I" in the title are highlighted to reference the Roman numeral for 6. This new Virtua Fighter game based on the trailer looks like it might be an adventure game as Ryu Ga Gotoku, the developers for Yakuza/Like a Dragon, Lost Judgment and Stranger Than Heaven are making the game. That means this Virtua Fighter might end up being as long as any of those games. But this game won't come out until next year, I'll have plenty of time to play these other games first.

Danganronpa 2x2 is gonna have two different story routes with equal length (unless the new story route is longer than the original). I might just play the new story route and save the original route for next year.

Aside from these games, there are some already released games that I'm very tempted to play but don't know if I should or shouldn't.

I'm shocked that a next-gen remake of the first Halo game is coming to PS5. Not gonna lie, I want to play this, but I feel like it's just "inappropriate" to play Halo on PlayStation as that series started out as Xbox exclusive. I was planning to write a blog about what I really think of this.

If I decide to get Halo: Campaign Evolved, I should make it fair for Team PlayStation and try out God of War: Ragnarok. I've always respected God of War but never played it as I was worried I would be bad at it. Puzzle solving ain't my strongest suit in gaming. But you know, I'm thinking of getting it anyway for lots of reasons. I like the beat 'em up/hack 'n' slash genres and there were a lot of perfect 10s for when God of War 2018 came out.

And this way, if I decide to become a God of War fan, I can also play the Gears of War remake also on PS5. I never was interested in this series to begin with, but now that Xbox is losing to PlayStation, should my old beliefs still matter? On the plus side, Gears of War was developed by Epic Games, the creators of the Unreal Engine and the same team that made Fortnite. Then again, I still don't understand what the deal is with the Fortnite hype.

There's a new Silent Hill game coming out in September, Silent Hill: Townfall. Just like PT and The Short Message, Townfall will be a first-person Silent Hill game, but bigger. As in, it'll include all the traditional things in the series like multiple endings. But the other part of me is thinking, "Is it even worth it?" I'm also tempted to play the Silent Hill 2 remake and maybe Silent Hill f as there is a lot of highly positive reception with those games. I did see a little bit of a playthrough of the SH2 remake and a key feature is that is has difficulty settings for the puzzle solving so maybe that'll come in handy. The multiple endings though might be a challenge as I'm bound to get a bad ending on my first try and find out later that there's a difficult means of getting the true or normal ending. I'm not really big on those kinds of games.

Once I learned about Stranger Than Heaven, it got me looking up another Ryu Ga Gotoku game, Lost Judgment and it's prequel Judgment. It's suppose to be like Yakuza/Like a Dragon but involves using detective solving gameplay. But I'm sort of confident that I might like it.

I think that's about it.

[dangan-kagura]

Where can I watch episodes 18, 19 and 20 of Touhou Memories of Phantasm?

There's a good chance that even if these episodes get to have voice acting, they'll get taken down on YouTube. For two likely reasons. First, copyright reasons. Second, sexually explicit content.

I've already seen episode 18. Episode 19 I don't know about. There's only one scene from episode 20 I've seen and it's the onsen scene. Now episode 3 has an onsen scene with Yukari, Ran and Chen and they're fully nude, but there's convenient censoring that hinds their nipples and genitals. Episode 18 also has an onsen scene, once again, convenient censoring hides their privates.

The onsen scene in episode 20 takes this further by actually teasing us viewers with some areola!

I unfortunately can't show you images of this scene due to the porn ban on Tumblr. But that's not gonna stop me from explaining it in detail.

There are a few shots where if you look REALLY close, you can get a glimpse of the areola and perhaps even the nipples of Sakuya Izayoi. (And before you complain, Sakuya DOES NOT WEAR PADS in this anime!)

There is even a sexual innuendo where Patchouli stands up panicking and behind her is a geyser erupting but the geyser I'm gonna assume is made to resemble an upwards c*mshot? And Patchouli has that panicked look on her face that says, "OMG, he just came inside me! WTF am I gonna do if I get pregnant!?"

Even though this is Touhou we're talking about, this is some Highschool DxD shit right here. There's a fine line between what's allowed in fanservice anime. There's the kind that does tease viewers with some nudity but convenient censoring to hide any nipples. And then there's the kind that does show the nipples leaving the viewers thinking, "This is so hot, I can't believe it's not Hentai!" The fact that the newest episode of the indie anime based on Touhou is going this far kinda asks the question if the next episode is gonna show another onsen scene with fully drawn nipples.

Anyway, Google searching these episodes is pointless because you won't find what you're looking for. The Touhou Wiki has nothing on this as well. That's why I'm asking if anyone knows the existence of these episodes. Someone told me that they happened to stumble across episode 20 on Bilibili but that site was no help for me.

The only site that does seem to have that scene is the Rule 34 website. But c'mon... Who would even go to a porn site to watch anime?

[dangan-kagura]

One thing about Danganronpa 2x2 I hope will be included. Better camera controls!

In Danganronpa 1 & 2, when you're exploring in the protagonist's point of view, the camera would always stay in place even when attempting to move it up or down. I think this is designed to be more like how first-person dungeon crawling RPGs are played.

Danganronpa V3 introduced an option to move the camera freely in the style of a first-person shooter. This made it more convenient to look at your surroundings while still moving.

I do hope they bring back this feature. I've never played a first-person dungeon crawler and I know from looking at videos that they'd feel much different from first-person shooters and I'm unfortunately one of those gamers who's become more comfortable with camera controls in shooting games than RPGs.

[dangan-kagura]

What is this controller that Chiaki is holding?

It's probably a made-up controller, but in all the official Danganronpa art, Chiaki is usually holding a controller that looks official. I can't find an image of this controller from it's front, just the back. It sort of reminds me of the Sega Dreamcast controller, but it probably isn't.

[dangan-kagura]

I'm interested in Steins;Gate Re:boot. Anyone want to tell me what it's about?

I get that it's a visual novel but what kind? I've never actually seen gameplay or videos online. Are there multiple endings based on your choices? Does it come with voice acting? I'll still play it even if there's no English dub.

Part of the reason I'm interested is because Danganronpa publishers Spike Chunsoft are getting the rights to its English release. And also because of this character.

I think Kurisu Makise is cool.

I've only seen the first few episodes of the Steins;Gate anime, but there's a catch. I only chose to watch the Japanese dub because of a specific voice actor. That would be the Japanese VA for Kurisu, Asami Imai. I want to say I know her for voicing characters like Noire/Black Heart (Neptunia) Chihaya Kisaragi (Idolm@ster) and Ikaruga (Senran Kagura). And apart from singing Idolm@ster music, she also sung the theme songs for two of the Neptunia games. I just think she has a lovely voice.

[dangan-kagura]

I wish people would appreciate this game more / My review of Ariana and the Elder Codex

Back in April, I got the chance to play Ariana and the Elder Codex, a metroidvania by Idea Factory. I gotta say that it is a fun game. I once wrote that I’m no good at the metroidvania genre despite how cool I think these games are and there are only a small portion of games in this genre I’m good at. For half a year now, I’ve also been playing Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and The Rogue Prince of Persia which I’ve also come to enjoy. But I’m not here to talk about those games, I literally am going to attempt to write a good review of Ariana after a certain series of recent events occurring in my gaming life.

There will be a little bit of spoilers for those who haven’t played the game but nothing huge so I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. I won't be talking that much about the story. I also want to say that I’m no good at writing reviews, but I at least want to try this one time.

As I mentioned, it’s a metroidvania, a 2D platformer with lots of action gameplay and exploration. But since this is a brand new kind of game with brand new characters, it’s really not that big. The stage layout isn’t like the old Castlevania games where stages are connected, I’d say it’s more like any regular 2D platformer. You basically explore or progress through the stage but you do have an objective for each stage. Things like head for this location, follow the story, backtrack and proceed towards a different route to face the stage boss. It’s really not that bad though so long as you’re a fan of the genre.

The theme for the game is fantasy. The story is about these magic books known as the Seven Hero Codices that have had their stories altered by a mastermind. The result is that the magic elements they represent are dying in the real world. A librarian girl named Ariana Virellis is tasked by the head director to go to each world of the Seven Hero Codices and restore the stories within them. In each Codex, Ariana will witness shadows of the Codices’ characters who will narrate the stories of the Codices. Towards the end of each stage, she will have to face a boss that represents the villains of the Codices.

For every Codex Ariana completes, she will unlock some new elemental abilities she can use in battle. But these abilities must also be purchased from the shop before you can actually use them. Defeating enemies and exploring the stages rewards you with crystals which are the game’s currency. They can be used to purchase new abilities or upgrade them to make them stronger. You can pretty much customize Ariana’s abilities however you want. Each elemental ability does have cooldown time before they can be used again. There will also be enemies that are either weak or immune to certain elements. The combat is actually fun, it sort of feels like how beat ‘em up or hack ‘n slash games are played where you can start with melee attacks and then proceed to finish the enemy off with some badass magic elements. You’ll need to practice how each element works if you want to find the right ones for the job.

Now I will say that you can do any of these Codices in ANY order you want! But the game recommends you do these first four Codices which represent these specific elements, water, wind, earth and fire. I will point out though that the Water Codex is the game’s starting point. The game will tell you how difficult each level/Codex is based on how many bookmarks are displayed at the level entrances, the more bookmarks, the higher the difficulty. It’s sort of like how Castlevania: Lament of Innocence lets you play any level order you want but still recommends you do certain levels in a specific order.

Speaking of Castlevania, Ariana and the Elder Codex incorporates an EXP system for defeating enemies. Gaining enough EXP will level you up. Unlike Castlevania (at least the ones by Koji Igarashi) this game feels less like an RPG and more like how any action platformer is played. If you die, it’s not Game Over and back to the main menu, you go back to the last checkpoint you visited and you can keep whatever currency or EXP you’ve attained. There aren’t that many games out there that have this feature, the Ratchet & Clank series is the only one that comes to mind, so I find this to be a convenient feature.

As you explore each Codex, you may come across some side challenges available. These usually include things like defeat all enemies or race towards the end within the time limit. Upon clearing these challenges, you will be ranked by how much time is left. Clearing certain challenges with an A rank will reward you with a special bonus, usually it’s something like a health upgrade, attack upgrade or defense upgrade. These challenges are optional unless you were aiming to clear the game 100%.

Since it is a metroidvania, that also means you’ll get new moves if you want to explore everything within the Codices. This includes moves like double jump, dashing, or smashing through the floor. There aren’t that many of these abilities though. As I said, the game recommends you do the Codices in a specific order, meaning you’ll need certain abilities if you were attempting to try the hardest Codex as your first one.

And being a metroidvania also means hard boss fights. You’ll need to strategize with the right attacks if you want to stay alive. The game does provide you with item equipment you can have to increase your attack and defense, but as I said, this is less of an RPG and more of an action game so these items are very basic compared to what you can equip yourself with in Castlevania. If I had to compare them to something similar, I’d say they’re more like the equips used in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. I'd explain what each elemental skill is if you were looking for a recommended strategy, but I don’t want to spoil that much. I can say this, the game will reward you with a trophy/achievement for dying for the first time. Earning achievements allows you to trade them at the shop for things like currency, EXP, upgrades and items. The item equip for earning the death achievement should reduce the amount of damage you take.

But don’t sweat it, this metroidvania has an easy mode. There’s no shame in playing the game in easy mode if you’re not that good at this genre.

Screw what this meme has to say about easy mode!

I will say that before you face the final level, one of the supporting NPCs, Divina Orden, tells you that if you don’t feel confident in your abilities, there’s no shame in replaying any Codex you’ve already completed if you wanted to do some grinding. You can revisit any Codex you’ve completed and even replay the boss fights, and defeating them a 2nd time will still reward you with EXP and currency. On my playthrough, I chose to not do any sort of grinding, I only died once in the final boss fight. It actually is challenging since it’s more than one fight and the final boss really does have some HIGHLY powerful attacks!

Since I’m trying to keep this positive, I really don’t want to complain so much about the downsides. One downside I will address is that each Codex is filled with the same looking enemies. It’s not like how each level in Castlevania is filled with a different type of monster. This is not some recurring franchise, it’s brand new, but it’s also niche. I’m not gonna complain about this not being a big triple AAA game, or not being as big as popular metroidvanias like Metroid or Shantae. I’ve tried those games and they were too hard. I’m fine with how Ariana turned out though.

These are the only personal criticisms that I have.

It’s nice that this game has an English dub, but it’s unfortunate that the English dub is uncredited. You have to either guess the voice actors or look them up online which I don’t like doing.

The hardest achievement to get is the one for defeating 5,000 enemies. I've only defeated half of the total amount of enemies I need to get this during my entire playthrough.

One of the stories in the Codices is set in a post-pandemic world and the survivors are trying to find a vaccine. I’m very uncomfortable about how today’s pop-cultures are now talking about post-COVID topics, but that’s a different story for a different blog.

I have mixed feelings about one of the supporting NPCs, Vestor. She runs a shop where you can purchase item equipment, but that’s not the issue. In terms of backstory, Vestor is an automaton who was assigned to be Ariana’s caretaker. And it sort of sounds like she’s voiced by Kira Buckland… Well.. This is awkward…

On the plus side regarding that last criticism, I did enjoy the ending where Vestor is comforting a crying Ariana. Very wholesome, but I don't want to spoil the rest of this scene.

I’m sure that my review of the game isn’t going to reach out, but there’s a reason I wanted to write this now of all times. YouTuber JB Spinkles didn’t like this game. He even has a video of his *ahem* “bad” review of the game. But I can’t help but think that his review is just the result of him complaining about every little thing in regards to Idea Factory and Xseed Games. That’s all his new videos even talk about, he’s always complaining about the criticisms for all his games. Last I checked, one of his newest videos was him complaining about Brown Dust II now having censorship issues, so he’s now one of those gamers who just gets off on review bombing any kind of anime-themed game with censorship. He and I are Senran Kagura fans, but in his case, I don’t think he ever got over Senran Kagura 7even getting cancelled, and based on his other videos, I don’t think he’s a Danganronpa fan like me.

I personally think that if JB played those two other metroidvanias I mentioned at the beginning, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and The Rogue Prince of Persia, then maybe he would've liked this game, because I do think that Ariana isn't any different from those two games.

And it might just be me, but I don’t think JB has ever played Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

I have no evidence of that, but here's something else I want to talk about. It’s only until now I finally figured out the reason why Konami hasn’t made a new Castlevania game (up until the announcement of Belmont’s Curse coming soon). I think it has something to do with Koji Igarashi resigning from Konami back in 2014 and I guess the company just didn’t know how to proceed with the franchise without him. The reason Iga left Konami was so that he could start his own gaming studio and eventually create the Bloodstained series. Once I figured that out, I decided to try out Ritual of the Night…

And I felt a little disappointed by how it turned out.

Bloodstained is clearly the spiritual successor to Castlevania. Ritual of the Night did its best to be like Symphony of the Night, but there were times where it also felt similar to any of the GBA or DS Castlevania games, things like intense enemies/boss fights, RPG shit, confusing puzzles, no beat 'em up gameplay and a lack of an easy mode. If that wasn’t enough, this game was made from a Kickstarter campaign, so not only is this game full of bugs, but the game is left in a very, VERY cheap looking state!

Bloodstained is so cheap looking, it makes niche games like Ariana look good.

Ariana and the Elder Codex is a game where its developers HYDE took the time and effort to make a decently good looking game. Its publishers Idea Factory have some very niche games but they’re not that bad, they too are games where the game designers took their time and effort to make sure nothing is broken or rushed and I do believe they’ve made some fun games.

When I played RotN, I couldn’t help but notice a few moments where certain bugs still weren’t patched so it’s not a perfect game. I can’t help but complain that Iga is still dedicated to making a hard game and not toning down the difficulty for casual gamers. I hate to say I didn’t like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, but no offensive to what JB Sprinkles said, but I think Ariana and the Elder Codex is a BETTER game!

And if Ariana wasn’t that good, then Idea Factory wouldn’t have made this accolades trailer.

It proves that there is some positive reception with this game. Heck, Spike Chunsoft has made accolades trailers for some of their niche games like Shuten Order. I just wish JB was more appreciative. I’m part of the Danganronpa fandom and I know a few people in the Tumblr side that are very appreciative of other games by Spike Chunsoft and Too Kyo Games. But we clearly live in different gaming worlds.

In fact, I personally think Iga should play this game too. If Iga really wants to impress me with his Bloodstained series, then he should consider making his next metroidvania easier like how Ariana turned out. A game that feels like Castlevania but without any of the challenging BS. It also doesn't help knowing that RotN was codeveloped by Shantae developers WayForward because even that series was too hard for me. There is an upside to me favoring Ariana over Shantae, there are TOO MANY people out there trying to sexualize Shantae! I'm better off not getting involved with that.

In conclusion

I really enjoyed Ariana and the Elder Codex. It might just be me, but for years now, it feels as if Idea Factory is making more action games. The company is famous for their Japanese RPG series Neptunia, but some of the latest games in the series have been action RPGs. Last year, IF released a roguelite third-person shooter, Scar-Lead Salvation. I do wish that game had some sort of a cult following, but I still think it’s a fun and interesting game. Ariana is no different. If HYDE is reading this review, I want them to know that they shouldn’t give up. If possible, consider making a sequel and improve on any criticisms others may have. I would love to see a sequel to this game or at least give Ariana a guest cameo in the next Neptunia game. And if Idea Factory or Compile Heart is reading this, I hope they consider making more action games.

On a 5 star scale, I rated Ariana 4 stars. Many of its reviews in the accolades trailer are 8/10 so that’s not really bad. If you’re a fan of metroidvanias or 2D platformers in general, I think you’ll like this game. Ariana and the Elder Codex is available now on PlayStation 5/PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam. A demo of the game is available for anyone who wants to try it out.

[dangan-kagura]

Danganronpa AU where Miu Iruma is the Ultimate Child Caregiver

She's still hypersexual and she still uses strong profanity, but she's smart enough to not act like that in front of the kids.

[dangan-kagura]

Danganronpa AU where Makoto takes Kyoko on a movie date and they go to see The Sheep Detectives

[dangan-kagura]

It's already May 2026 and I still haven't learned anything new about Danganronpa 2x2

Ever since the demo from back in November, we still haven't received any new sprites for characters who WEREN'T in the demo. Those characters are Teruteru, Mahiru, Hiyoko, Nekomaru, Sonia, Akane, Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi. That's only half of the total cast of characters. Now I know that Mahiru has a new sprite from the first trailer, but that's only a small portion of her new sprite compared to the characters who GOT new sprites in the demo. But I really wanna see some new sprites for those who weren't in the demo. Give me those new sprites NOW!

I feel like Spike Chunsoft isn't gonna announce anything new until this year's E3 which is normally held in June. It's also likely that E3 will have a confirmed release date. Worst case scenario, they delay the game for release in Winter 2027.

[dangan-kagura]

I'm thinking about getting Persona 5 Strikers.

But I'm sort of concerned about spoilers from the previous games. It states that the game is a sequel and contains major spoilers from Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. I've never played those games and don't plan to.

Now you might ask, "Why would you play this if you know you're gonna be spoiled?" The truth is, I didn't realize until now about the game's choice of developers. This Persona game was developed by Omega Force, the developers for Koei Tecmo's Warriors series (e.g. Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, etc.) So part of me is now thinking, "Well, I'm a fan of those games, maybe I'll like this one too."

In fact, I've never played Fire Emblem: Three Houses and don't plan to, but that didn't stop me from playing Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Since that game is technically set in an alternate story away from the original game, I don't think I had to worry about spoilers. But because the game didn't have 100% of everything from the original game, there's some things about the characters that I don't know about.

Getting back to P5S, since it calls itself the sequel to Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal, obviously it's gonna talk about things from the original games that I'm not gonna have a clue about. Like, what's the Metaverse? Why did the characters become Phantom Thieves in the first place? But do I really want to know the answers to all my questions about the original games? I'm too lazy to even look up someone's playthrough of the games.

Then again, I've never played Persona 4, but that didn't stop me from playing the rhythm game Persona 4: Dancing All Night since that's a genre I'm good at. I've even played the rhythm game spinoffs for Persona 3 & 5, but I think the plot for P4D is close to being considered canon. And when I look back on it, I don't actually have any questions regarding the characters and setting, I already know the plot from the original game where they're presuming a serial killer in their hometown and have go into a TV world to fight Shadows.

But I'd really like a second opinion if anyone is reading this.