#binary haze

[velvetterabby]

May the lilies bloom for me 🎵

I LOVE ENDER LILIES I LOVE EMDER LILIES AAAAAA this is actually a redraw lmao this is the original:

[goldlightwriting]

On Lilac's Gender (Ender Magnolia)

Lilac from Ender Magnolia is an interesting character for a variety of reasons. Their exact origins are never really hard-confirmed, but there's enough in the game for players to piece together one or two possibilities. This is all quite interesting in-and-of-itself, but ever since Ender Magnolia came out, I've seen some debate as to what Lilac's gender is actually supposed to be.

Right from the get-go, this character design is EXTREMELY androgynous. I remember as far back as the very first reveal trailer of the game that I was a little confused as whether Lilac was supposed to be a guy, girl, or neither.

Now, it should be addressed that the wiki refers to Lilac as female, and uses she/her pronouns for the character. This does make a degree of sense, as Lilac is, functionally, a White Priestess, and there's nothing necessarily contradicting that.

However, it should be noted that the game itself seemingly goes out of its way to avoid using ANY gendered pronouns for Lilac at any point. Other characters only ever refer to Lilac as "Attuner," "Child," or by name. Even Lilac's own character bio ONLY ever refers to them by name, not using "he," "she" or even "they."

There have, allegedly, been interviews with developers that refer to Lilac as female, but I've also seen a fair bit of debate about the legitimacy of these interviews and whether or not they were translated accurately. Admittedly, I don't speak Japanese myself, so I can't really say anything on that front, nor could I do any sort of comparison to the in-game Japanese text. I can only base my thoughts on what is presented to be in the English version of the game.

Ultimately, Lilac's gender is left kind of ambiguous, and until or unless we get any sort of direct confirmation from the devs of Binary Haze themselves, I don't think there's any way to conclusively say one way or the other if the character is meant to be nonbinary/agender.

Even so, I will continue to interpret them as such until further evidence is provided, though I won't necessarily fault anyone for using she/her pronouns either. At the end of the day, it's not really that significant to the game itself, but still a point I think is worth discussing due to the vague language used in the text.

[blueares]

Ender Magnolia Mini Review/Ramble

So, it's been a couple days since I beat Ender Magnolia, and I have some thoughts. Right off the bat, though, I wanna say: absolutely amazing game, definitely worth playing. About as close as I feel like one can get to a 10/10 Metroidvania.

That said, I've been conflicted on whether or not I think this game beats out Ender Lilies, and I have come to a conclusion: mechanically yes, narratively no. The gameplay does feel like a pretty solid evolution of Ender Lilies.

While I did initially miss having two sets of spirits you can rotate between, having four homunculi at my disposal at a time, all with unlimited uses, was definitely a worthy trade-off. The system as a whole was also streamlined significantly. Not counting traversal abilities, you only really get eight combatants this time around... But since each of them has three abilities you can swap between at respites, the number is functionally more like twenty-four.

I am slightly saddened the lack of primary spirits this time around, but I suppose Nola's three forms really do cover most of what you'd want for your default attack. Just a little weird to me that the ranged equivalent doesn't come in until quite a bit later, but that's really more a nitpick.

Now, as for the story... Spoilers below, but I'll just say here and now that I don't think it was bad by any means, just a little confused.

In Ender Lilies, the story has basically already happened. You play through the aftermath of the kingdom's downfall, following a breadcrumb trail of memories and mementos to peace together who you are, what happened to Land's End, and ultimately where the mysterious woman who looks like you has disappeared to. You can choose to either forego the danger of your quest to seek respite in another land, or uncover the truth and save the souls of this doomed nation, letting hope for a better future bloom when the Rain of Death finally subsides.

In Ender Magnolia, you start out doing much the same: waking up in a strange place with an amnesiac protagonist and guardian, both of whom seek answers as to who they are. This time, though, the nation isn't completely screwed just yet. Blight is still an issue, but the Land of Fumes is surviving thanks to advancements in technology and there are actual people to interact with.

The issues really start when you reach the Central Stratum and meet Gilroy: a Homunculus who both oversees the entire country while running rampant due to Blight infestation. The story basically diverges from here as you now have two objectives: continue to search for Lilia, the woman in Lilac's memories, and bring an end to Gilroy's reign of terror.

You ultimately have to face Gilroy as the final boss either way, but doing so without a certain Relic means that Nola sacrifices herself to refresh the barrier, keeping the Rain of Death at bay... The Blight itself, however, is still very much a problem.

Ending B involves uncovering the truth behind Lilia, the mysterious woman and basically Fretia equivalent this time around, and by association you learn more about Lady Abelia: a character who feels like a potential antagonist in her own right.

Long story short, Abelia is basically a sleeper agent for the Ancients. A lone note you find in the Land of Origin reveals that she's not merely a descendant of the White Priestesses; she was one that actually lived during the Time of the Ancients, back before the First King basically wiped them off the map.

We already knew that the Blight infestation plaguing these lands was their final, spiteful act toward the invaders, but what we didn't know was that the Ancients had placed their trust in a lone White Priestess to help them reclaim their home after the Blight had torn down the invaders. Abelia was apparently reincarnating herself over what I presume to be at least a couple centuries by placing her soul into new bodies, and Lilia was meant to be her next vessel...

Until Nola and Joran intervened, basically putting a halt to that entire plan by killing Abelia off-screen. That just feels... A tad wasteful to me, if I'm being honest. Like, Abelia is playing the longest of long cons, acting as a major political figure in the Land of Fumes while seemingly plotting its downfall (and presumably that of the other nations as well), all to enact vengeance on behalf of her people.

While the rest of Houses Frost and Milius have their own concerns, Abelia is basically the true villain hiding right under their noses, but the most we ever get of her is the Lorna flashback that shows her sudden death. It really feels like she should have had a bigger impact...

Similarly, Lilia feels a little underbaked as well. Not quite the same extreme, but as I said before: she is effectively this game's Fretia, even sacrificing herself and hiding away deep underground to keep a Blight infestation in check (or try to.) We learn from flashbacks that she's effectively Lilac's adopted mother, goes around tending to and befriending several boss characters, has a whole motif with white flowers... Again, basically everything the Priestess of the Fount did in the first game.

In spite of that, the reunion with her felt less... Impactful this time, I suppose. Like I'm not saying I wanted or needed another Blighted Lord (definitely not), but it's a serious shame that we don't at least get see to Lilia doing her part with the Pillar of Purification when the True Ending hits.

Really, I think that's the single biggest issue with the game as a whole: despite having a cast of actual characters you can interact with, it feels like a lot of their individual storylines and quests aren't as fleshed out as they could be. Gordon, Levy, Heath, Yarrow, Cassia, No. 7's friends... It feels like they just kind of stop mattering to the plot after a certain point, which really sucks. Like, the crew from the Arena Tower basically just get themselves killed off-screen, and most of the humans just linger in one spot forever once their quests are complete, not even getting new dialogue to reflect changes in the story.

At the very least, it would have been nice to know how everyone else reacted to the sudden disappearance of magic in Ending B, or maybe have some brief dialogue with Lilac discussing the plan with them get a feel for everyone's thoughts and feelings on the matter.

All of that aside though, again: the story itself isn't bad. If anything, the fact that I like these characters enough that I wish they got to say and do more is a testament to the quality overall. If there's ever a third Ender Flowers game, I do hope they'll continue to expand on this idea. No idea what Origin Magic disappearing means for the future of this franchise, but I'm sure the good folks at Binary Haze can think of something...

[vgmremixtape]

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OCR04562: Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights: The Glass Tower - Michael Hudak

[North, North (Save Version)]

from OverClocked ReMix; more by Michael Hudak here

[dragaorpg]

ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist terá lançamento completo em 22 de janeiro

A Binary Haze Interactive anunciou que ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist será lançado 22 de janeiro de 2025 para Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 e 5, Xbox Series X|S e PC via Steam. ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist está em acesso antecipado desde 25 de março de 2024. Nele, jogadores se aventuram em um RPG metroidvania 2D sombrio que se passa em um mundo moribundo onde formas de vida artificiais…

ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist terá lançamento completo em 22 de janeiro

[thesplintering]

Tactical RPG “Redemption Reapers” Now Available on playstation ps4 Nintendo Switch, Steam PC

Tactical RPG “Redemption Reapers” Now Available on Consoles, Steam PC | #gaming #NintendoSwitch #pcgaming #Steam #PlayStation

On Wednesday, publisher Binary Haze released the dark fantasy tactical RPG Redemption Reapers on Steam PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch via each platform’s digital storefront. Physical edition preorders will begin in April. Developed by Adglobe, Redemption Reapers boasts an talented creative team including an original story by the game’s director Hiroyuki Kobayashi (Producer – ENDER LILIES: Quietus…

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[thesplintering]

Dark Fantasy “ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights” Coming to PlayStation on 20 July

Dark Fantasy “ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights” Coming to PlayStation on 20 July | #Gaming #Fantasy #PlayStation #PS5 #videogames

Publisher Binary Haze Interactive has announced that ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights is coming to both PS4 and PS5 (via backwards compatibility). Already available for Steam PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and SeXbox, ENDER LILIES is described as a “metroidvania” (or a nonlinear 2D action adventure game) set in a dark fairy tale world. Here’s the breakdown of ENDER LILIES from Binary Haze,…

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