#*review

[welkingunther]

I just finished clair obscur expedition 33 and the tldr: it's a great game with amazing graphics, great music, interesting cast of characters, but the parrying/evading might turn some players off because I can see how frustated they can get because most enemies will attack you multiple times in one turn. You need to learn how to parry against bosses because evading sometimes will not be possible even if you play this game on the lowest difficultly. 

I would recommend this game to people who love turn based rpg games and loves a challenge but you struggle with parrying/evading, this might not be for you. 

Major spoilers under a read more:

Gustave's death in this game felt like it was there for shock value. I think he should have been alive throughout the whole game but I think the reason for his death is to add to the theme's story about grief and moving on. I wish there was some reunion between him and Maelle in Act 3. If he had to die in this game, I kinda wish it was later on because he died way too soon.

Act 3 was kinda rushed? I felt like they rushed a few things to at the end of the story. I do appreciate the game giving me a choice to play as Verso or Maelle at the end. I can understand both character's perspective.  I understand the game's theme around grief and how living in the past is not living.

The romance options were so unecessary? I don't mean this as a shipper. I didn't want to ship Verso with Sciel and Lune because they should have gotten together instead. 

I felt like the game was short but that's probably cause I didn't do most of the side quests and focused on the main story. I think it's because I so used to playing long rpgs. I thought this game would have been 70 hours? I do like it, I might replay it again and look at the other content. 

[welkingunther]

I finished Metaphor Refantazio last Friday (Feb 21st) and I wanted to give my quick review

TLRD:

If you're a huge fan of Persona/SMT games, love turn-based games, or are just a vivid fan of JRPG games. Then this game is up your alley. I enjoyed the story, combat, social links, and companions. I am giving it a 9.8/10.

I'll go over the things I like and the setbacks.

The things I enjoyed:

First, I love the UI design, colour schemes, music, and overall art style.

I like the fact that this game doesn't take place in a high school setting. I love the fact that there are zero romance options and it focuses on the social links and the primary story.

I love the fact that the game gives you an option to restart battles.

I do like that if you're over-leveled, you can easily knock enemies without having to fight them individually.

I loved the companions and I believe this game had some of the best social links in the game (Ex. Alonzo).

Story Thoughts:

I enjoyed the story. I wasn't sure where it was heading in the beginning but I was interested in the tournament to be king and the trials and challenges that awaited in the game. The game does focus on racism but I also felt like it also focuses on fear, anxiety, and fantasy. "Fantasy" in the sense of certain ideas or concepts being nothing but mere ideas/concepts. I think this game explores the idea that concepts/ideas do not have to be limited to just fantasy. These concepts/ideas/dreams can manifest which is what happens with the prince and MC.

I enjoyed the characters, the emotional beats, and what the story was going for. In most games I've played, I tend to drop them if the story is uninteresting but I can say that I never felt that way while playing this game. I would love to stay in this world or get to know the other races, and characters so I am hoping for a sequel. I did have some setbacks with the story so far:

Not taking Joanna with them to Oceanna felt like a huge mistake since she could choose not to be there. While she said she changed, I felt like this was risky because saying that doesn't solidify it, "Actions speak louder than words".

I don't know if it's me but I felt like the pacing of this game, went fast after the Dragon Temple. I thought that there was going to be another challenge to do but it seems like this is where the contest ends. I also felt like the "Mage Academy" was going to be a dungeon but it seems that it was glossed over with a Rella boss fight. It felt like the game was trying to quicken the pace of the tournament and go straight to the end.

Louis trying to kill that family in the theatre area. It didn't make sense to me as Louis has been decisive and calculated in anything he does. I felt like this was a way to give Basilio a character arc with his brother dying. I think this could have been handled better that made sense. Maby Louis tries to kill Junah as she has no use for him?

Rella being the assassin reveal was kinda mixed. In the beginning of the game where you see the flashback of the assassin cursing the prince. The assailant is quite adult size but in the flashback, Rella is so small talking to Forden. If she was 12 when she cursed the prince, wouldn't she look smaller in that scene? I don't know if I am nitpicking but it didn't feel right to me.

The dialogue choices in this game felt like flavor text that didn't add anything meaningful. Even in the story, no matter what dialogue you pick. The game will force you to pick the correct option with how the story is going. If you reject the idea of throwing the lance at Louis, the game will push you to do it anyway. I felt like the dialogue choices were so unnecessary and added nothing of value. I know P3R had this issue that if you did not agree with what SLs were doing in their story, the game would freeze the SL with them. I understand that this is what Persona Games did and other games as well. I think in a game about a tournament to be king and winning the people over with your ideals. It could have been interesting to have dialogue choices that branch out of the game's story. Maby you choose to be an evil king or choose to have a different mindset when wanting the throne. I could be wrong about this but this is what I thought when playing.

Gameplay Thoughts:

I haven't played SMT and I am unfamiliar with the battle system in those games. When experienced the idea around "archetypes", I was frustrated that I couldn't switch between in mid-battle as I was used to doing that in the persona games. I did appreciate the fact that you can inherit different skills between different archetypes but to only get 4 slots, you need to max out the bond of said archetype. Certain archetypes aren't available until the end of the game so it might be harder to use or get certain abilities or max out the slots.

I did like how you can give any of your companions different or similar archetypes which added a lot of versatility to your play style. I will say in my playthrough, I didn't experiment that much. I mainly used the "healer" archetype for my MC and I made Strohl a mage despite being a warrior archetype. I also felt like the game focuses on elemental weaknesses which is why I didn't put that much effort into physical attacks. The summoning and dancer archetypes were interesting but it seems like I barely customize them as I was almost at the end of the game. I did like how this game had a lot of strategies involved with using synergy and also how important buffs/ are in combat. I can understand people's frustration with how hard this game is but I did appreciate the challenging combat that gave me time to develop strategies while playing. I do feel like the faker archetype could have had the abilities spread out to other archetypes as this archetype isn't used for combat.

There's not much to write in this category as I did enjoy the combat system even if most of the archetypes aren't available to you until the end of the game. I wish the mage archetype was available at least in the theatre section of the game.

Bond/Optional Content Thoughts:

I don't really have that much of a strong opinion with the optional content in this game. I enjoyed the dragon trials, the Colosseum fights, hunts, etc. I did like the traveling aspect and doing things on the ship with your companions.

I have gripes with the calendar system sometimes. I think it's lacking for late party members since you don't have that much time to spend with them. I know you get 30 days but I wish we got more with Basilio and Eupha.

I don't have much to say about the ending. I am wondering if there's a sequel in work.

[crawledthru500]

The Redwood Massacre

dir. David Ryan Keith

Star rating: 1/5

fun fact this was my 222th review on Letterbox

(spoilers under the cut)

oh boy. and i thought The Postcard Killings was a bad movie. (it still is)

now, before i tear this to shreds, i will give it some credit. it is a low budget slasher, something not uncommon for the genre. and with the budget, i'll be honest it doesn't look bad!! the gore especially isn't the worst thing in the whole world. i like how dark the blood is, although it does get a bit too dark at the end. i liked some of the cinematography, it was pretty good for it's budget!

alright, now that i'm done being easy on it, i have to address the elephant in the room. the pacing fucking SUCKS. it sucks so bad. it was a snoozefest. i also didn't know a single one of the characters, so keeping track who is who, who is dead and who is alive, was VERY difficult to say the least. i still have NO idea who even saved the final girl. whenever they treat the deaths as a tragedy im just like... ok? i do not know these people... it was very hard to finish. i forgot half the movie before it was even over.

the slasher monster scarecrow lookin' motherfucker is kinda silly. there's a scene where he's picking through body parts and it's so silly. i dont really understand WHAT he is or WHY he's killing?? i don't think that's ever explained, at least i dont remember if it is. there's a scene where he goes to kill the final girl, but he takes FOREVER even though we've seen him kidnap people with ease. his method of execution is also inconsistent which i didn't like.

i said that i didn't know any of the characters, but the ones i did know (the two girls i forget theyre names) i DID NOT LIKE. AT ALL. the final girl was ok but i honestly don't remember anything about her lol. she has the final line -- "fucking farmer" -- which i did giggle a little over.

there's a sequel, which is actually the movie i got when i shuffled the random movie website. it's rated a bit better on Letterbox, so i might give it a shot. but for right now i need a break from The Redwood Massacre

random movie series | random movie website

[crawledthru500]

Talk to Me (2023)

dir. Danny & Michael Philippou

Star rating: 4/5

changed to 4.5/5

(spoilers free)

THIS is what i want from horror. holy fucking shit.

this was a BLAST, from beginning to end. i genuinely think this is the best horror to come out of 2023. the cinematography was great, the special effects were fantastic. i cannot give this movie enough credit. go into this completely blind, i beg of you.

(spoilers under the cut)

as i said up there ^^ this was the best horror this year thus far. it is gonna be VERY hard to beat. however, i do have some nitpicks, so lets get those outta the way first.

near the middle it definitely drags a little, but nothing really that took me outta the movie. some of the acting can be a little ehhh but again, nothing that took me out, i still had a blast.

it was SCARY?! and i dont get scared during horror most of the time. i was very shocked at how much tension it brought. and most of the time they didnt even have to rely on the loudest possible noise ever to get me to clutch the plush i brought.

the characters were incredible, i genuinely felt like i was peaking into the lives of this group of friends. and theres a trans person!!!! PLAYED BY A TRANS PERSON!!!!!!! i am so so happy, that made me almost cry when they were first introduced. speaking of crying, i actually did end up crying !!! theres a scene where Mia is looking at snapchat memories of her dead mom, and man. that really hits me very deeply as someone who loves my mother very, very much.

even despite the tension, the emotion, it was still funny (when it wanted to be.) theres a scene where Mia gets possessed and SUCKS on her ex boyfriend's TOES and he wakes up and is like "Mia you were suckin' on my foot?!" (said Australian-ly) and that got a giggle outta the theater.

the attention to detail is insane. Mista GG (who i love) touched on this in his review, but all of the hand symbolism is very nice to see. i love details like that. i picked up on a little bit of it, but he definitely opened my eyes to new symbolism like Mia's mom getting wood under her fingernails from scratching at the bathroom door after attempting to take her own life, or Mia constantly picking at her fingernails only to repaint them again. the little shit like that makes my heart happy.

the ENDING, god the ending. so hopeless. it fills you with emptiness. i LOVE IT!!! i love when horror is helpless and scary and dreadful!!!

the amount of love and care put into this movie makes me so, so happy. and it was made by YOUTUBERS !! thats crazy!!! i havent heard of these guys before but you can tell they LOVE their craft, they LOVE what they do, and i am so excited to see more from them. i want to consume everything they create and then some.

i honestly think i'm going to go see this one again if i don't have anything to watch this friday. i am so excited to see what these directors have in store for a potential sequel, the Street Fighter movie that they're directing, and the movie they've been wanting to make that they talked about in the Anthony Padilla interview. i am obsessed!!!

[kiuda]

Today I:

1. Cleaned my room (vacuumed + threw away stuff + clean my wardrobe and my desk)

2. Mowed the lawn

3. Made lunch

[jdeo1997]

I posted 4,232 times in 2021

26 posts created (1%)

4206 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 161.8 posts.

I added 491 tags in 2021

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Longest Tag: 137 characters

#literally only found out coldplay has a new album coming out in october and imagine dragons has one coming out tomorrow a few minutes ago

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

10 notes • Posted 2021-10-05 19:02:05 GMT

#4

I've been thinking of the what it would be like to go back around the releases of the previous 4 Smash games and showing someone the roster of Ultinate (which would be funny as a good chunk of the series repped wouldn't exist at the time of N64), but imagine showing a fan the roster in 2017 or even shortly after the initial reveal:

-They would doubt everyone is here due to rights, issues with popularity (who'd want Young Link and Pichu back), Konami being Konami and keeping Snake out, and Square's bare minimum with Cloud in Smash 4.

-Inkling's one of the whole 4 newcomers that would be readily believed as a lock for the next game. If you showed someone after the first reveal, well, of course they'd believe you, they literally announced it with Inkling.

-Maybe Daisy would be believed

-Sakurai said Ridley is too big, so he's not getting in.

-Simon and Richter would run into Konami issues.

-Chrom would be believed due to Fire Emblem Bias.

-Dark Samus might be a maybe, but could just as easily be disbeleved pre-E3 2017 as Metroid was thought of as Dead.

-King K. Rool hasn't been in any games since Mario Super Sluggers, why would Nintendo want him to appear again when not even the new DKC games used him.

-Isabelle might be believed, but said 2017 fan might think Nook is more likely then her.

-Ken might be seen as ressonable if Capcom was willing to be in again, but would run into the issue that they would probably expect a new playable character from Monster Hunter over him.

-Incineroar would be believed due to Pokemon always getting a new rep, but they might wonder why it over Decidueye/Lycanroc/Mimikyu.

-No one would believe Pirahna Plant getting in.

-Joker recently came out on a competing console, why would he get in?

-Hero is Square-Enix, why would they bring in Hero.

-Sure Spencer said he'd like Banjo and Kazooie to be in Smash, but they're still from a rival console maker. Why would Nintendo want to promote a rival?

-Outside of the FGC and Latin America, they might ask what's a Terry?

-3H was known as Switch Fire Emblem without any footage, so they wouldn't know what the fuck a Byleth is. If you say they're from the next Fire Emblem game, they'd believe you due to FE bias.

-They'd probably expect an Arms rep, but the two most prominent are Spring Man and Ribbon Girl. They wouldn't believe Min-Min as the rep even if you showed them after she was announced for Arms.

-Minecraft is owned by Microsoft, so there's the same issue as Banjo, with Steve's only saving grace being that Minecraft released on Wii U, but still, it's Microsoft, why would Nintendo promotw a rival?

-They might expect a new Xenobpade rep, but would probably expect Elma or Rex over Pyra and Mythra. They probably wouldn't even recognize Mythra putside of some trailer appearances.

-Whule a new Namco rep could be seen, even ignoring Lloyd, Luke, Yuri, KOS-MOS, and Mrs. Pac-Man; why would Kazuya get in over Heihachi, who got a Mii Costume in the last game?

-Sora is owned by Disney, so they would be extremely skeptical of him being in, which would only be the cherry on top of the obvious fan-made roster you showed them while trying to claim it's the next game's roster.

And yet, here we are, with such a wonderful roster that simply breaks belief because Sakurai is a wonderful madman. And it's beautiful and has been a ride since that initial teaser in March 2018 and Everyone is Here at that year's E3 up to today, where Sora is released as the capstone to Smash Ultimate.

It's been a hell of a ride

12 notes • Posted 2021-10-18 23:03:11 GMT

#3

See the full post

12 notes • Posted 2021-04-01 04:00:56 GMT

#2

Did Nintendo just casually announce the release window of BotW2 as 2022 in a montage with no other warning?

17 notes • Posted 2021-12-10 03:55:54 GMT

#1

So Samus' DNA make-up at this point is Human baseline, half thoha chozo, half mawkin chozo, half metroid, and maybe part X with the possible side effect if mutations from phazon?

She's essentially a walking genetic cocktail at this point

23 notes • Posted 2021-10-15 07:34:51 GMT

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[thereandtrashagain]

ronaldo can choke with his little toddler tantrums but we were robbed robbed wow