BACK IN THE LAB

I AM SO DONE WITH FIRE EMBLEM

[xenoblade]

2018 in gaming

I played very few games in 2018 (reee), and some were even remakes/remasters?? What a disgrace lmao...

Super Mario Odyssey

SMO was a good game! I don’t think it’s really fair to say it wasn’t as GOOD as SMG2, because, well, I love SMG2.................. that game really, really grew on me. I still have a lot of things to collect so maybe I’ll keep playing this eventually...

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology

I’M LOVE RADIANT HISTORIA!!!! What I wasn’t a fan of was the new anime portraits (the og portraits fit the game’s aesthetics very well... why...) and the occasional fan-service art (RAYNIE WTF)... BUT the new storyline and the final wrap-up of the game were A++++. I don’t feel like this game REALLY needed an explanation for it, but the original ending DID feel a bit rushed and left some threads unresolved so... I recommend this version but really, this game is AMAZING no matter which you play ✨✨✨ PLAY RADIANT HISTORIA

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 

YEET!!! A great game. Not to be That One Person, but out of XB, XBX and XB2, the latter is definitely the one I feel more mixed about (maybe because it’s the more recent one? idk). Some of the cast is very great (Mythra, Mòrag/Brighid, Nia), but somehow Rex never really grew on me throughout the entire game :/ Villains were really good though and so was the music (not on XB levels though). The anime look was fine all things considered, and so was the idea of making different artists draw all the Blades 🔥🔥🔥 The gacha mechanic was absolutely awful and I’m so very glad the DLC (more on that below) fixed that. This game is absolutely recommended also for its combat, probably the only part I have very little to complain about lol

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~The Golden Country~ 

To put it bluntly, Torna is almost all XB2 can offer in a packed 20-to-40 hour adventure. The switch system works GREAT and they got rid of the annoying gacha blade system (thank GOD)... I’m sad everyone will probably play this after beating XB2 (NINTENDO RECOMMENDS OTHERWISE-- WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF), the DLC has been fixed and improved since the original game ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ play Torna and be ready to SUFFER

Final Fantasy IX 

Finally beat my Steam copy of this MASTERPIECE. go play if u haven’t yet or be ashamed of urself

Muramasa Rebirth

Had this on my backlog for a while and finally managed to play it 👀 Also a great Vanillaware game, granted it doesn’t play as well as Leifthrasir does (duh) and I had some minor issues with combat controls but overall it was pretty great! I missed the food/seed/exp combo from Odin Sphere tho... The Vanillaware aesthetic though was 💯. This game didn’t grow on me as much as OS did though... I remember really liking the protagonists’s stories though, so totally play this if you’re into Vanillaware ✨

The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki III 

HOLY SHIT I FINALLY BEAT THIS. BEHEMOTH OF A GAME. FEELIOS. EVERYWHERE. HD class 7 has never looked so good. Everything looks 💯 💯 💯 💯  and the old characters look so stylish, I’m flying HIGH. The new characters (including New Class 7) really grew on me, and I’m so glad for Altina’s growth as a character, protect my daughter!!!! ;_; This game becomes a roller coaster of events starting the end of Chapter 1 and by the end of Chapter 3 it becomes very very very obvious the game is obviously out for OUR HEARTS. I still haven’t started IV (how), but the ending leaves your screaming and crying. What a fucking cliffhanger

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Played this game too fast and forgot almost everything about it lol... Maybe I was used to Theatrhythm too much (which was a JOY to play over and over again) and I found myself having some real issues with the way P4DAN did things, especially the audience meter... >_> There weren’t as many songs as I thought (maybe I’m too spoiled on Theatrhythm, again) and some of the remixes were.................. Um. I had fun unlocking everyone and so were the different handicaps/different ways to play ✨✨✨

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies 

FINALLY GOT TO PLAY DUAL DESTINIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Ace Attorney and I’m so glad for all the references the put in them..... Blackquill was great (samurai puns in English were a bit forced, I can’t deny lol) and so was Apollo... I’m love Apollo... I didn’t especially like his depresso moment in the Cosmic Turnabout @_@ Turnabout Academy was great and SO WAS THE ORCA DLC CASE. AW YIS CAN’T WAIT TO START SPIRIT OF JUSTICE

Portal 2 

Recommended if you liked the first Portal :D I really, really liked the fluids/slimes in this one, especially the moon one............. Portals everywhere bitches

[xenoblade]

🔥🔥 OPENING PREORDERS FOR MY FIRST YUSHIMAKI CHARM! 🔥🔥 GET YOUR FOOT BATH YUSHIMAKIS TODAY!!! ✨✨Preorders open till the end of May, limited quantities available! ✨✨

📬 I SHIP WORLDWIDE! 📬 Preorder here:  http://ysmk.bigcartel.com

[xenoblade]

2017 in gaming

LATE AF (March???) but here is a short review for each game I cleared in 2017! Did this last year, so I wanted to did a little comparison.

Fun fact: according to my Backloggery, in 2017 I bought and cleared EXACTLY as many games as 2016. Holy crap...

FF15

Apparently the first game I beat this year was FF15! I feel I've explained my feelings about this game ad nauseam elsewhere... I've never really picked it up again and I'm not really interested in the DLC Episodes, because like... I liked this game! It was good! But... not THAT good to warrant extra money at the present time. Characters were the best thing so I know I will pick up the Episodes eventually, so... I really don't know how to say this but I didn't emotionally connect with it in the end? I'm sorry, I really wanted to REALLY like this, but many things (unrelated to the game but related to the development processes) got botched and it didn't 'click' with me...

Horizon Zero Dawn

What a blast! Reading about my expectation for it last year, it had me quite unsure of what I was getting into but oooh boy. Yes please. It's a nice take on the whole post-apocalyptic setting (the story DID have me go HOLY SHIT a number of times despite me being a sci-fi veteran I guess), and everything's so polished and so well designed (the machine monsters... yes...). I'm just so NOT used to triple A western games lol... Aloy's so good, her VA does an amazing job and dialogue is real good. Combat flows really well and all the things you can do with enemies, like dismantling parts, and bombs, and setting traps... Really nice. Real, real nice.

Nier: Automata

DEFINITELY ONE OF MY 2017 GOTY. This game does A Lot and does it really well, I still don't know if I like the Yoko Taro part or the Platinum Games part more... I think both come together really well. The OG Nier-style endings, the bullet hell parts, the park, the music, THE FEELIOS. This game is such a joy to play... Even if you're not into the Yoko Taro-style shenanigans, do. play. this game.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

Apparently I uhhh finished it this year so I gotta... TMS plays very nicely, actually. It's very good and very nice, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it over other games, but it was a fun ride! Characters are a bit of a stereotype but they're pretty likeable (Yashiro and especially Eleonora ended up growing on me!)

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest

So it took me MORE THAN A YEAR to actually finish this game (like I had anticipated last year anyway), and I basically forced myself to only after starting Echoes. Playing Conquest basically reminded me of all that I didn't like about Birthright, and the plot... Uhhhh... Again, some characters are nice (especially the royals) but the plot fails to deliver on so many occasions and the maps are basically the same as Birthright... I remember Conquest being advertised as you having to "change an unruly kingdom from inside!", but... you literally do the same thing (invade Hoshido) while trying to convince others you're the "good" guys...? This is so flimsy OTL I thought Conquest was bad enough plot-wise... But then came REVELATION

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Nice. Very, very, very nice. A real treat. This was so refreshing, after having to endure through THREE Fates games that basically had the same problems... orz. Echoes sorta took me back to a more "classic"-style Fire Emblem, it was all very pleasant and "new" while also paying homage to the old, if it makes any sense. I liked the new art style and the all-voiced cutscenes. I guess you could say there isn't much to "do" (not counting post-game) and the story is simple, but I felt it was told in a nice way without being overly pretentious (cough like Fates cough). Some mechanics are BROKEN (5-range bow?? what), but honestly Gaiden was so ahead of its time....

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

Oh boy. A worthy conclusion to the first part of the saga. Honestly, I'm still reeling from that ending... Somehow I ended up enjoying this more during my second run than during my first play... Still. Falcom owns my ass so they can put out any kind of Trails and I'm going to love it. 10/10

Tokyo Xanadu

Another Falcom game that FINALLY got released in english-speaking countries. This one was very nice! I liked the cast and it had a very Persona-y feel to it. I played the Vita version and uhhh... unfortunately it was marred by localization issues, like typos, unfortunate grammar, random names left in kana... From what I heard, these issues were fixed by AkSys in the PS4 release though, yay? Maybe one day I'll play the PS4/PC version, I had a fun time playing through this.

Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation

Not gonna lie, I could finish this only because Echoes gave me drive to play more Fire Emblem. This was such a chore... I guess it can be argued THREE GAMES EXTREMELY SIMILAR TO EACH OTHER didn't really help here. This one had extremely GOOD premises, but it falls apart like, RIGHT AWAY, because things basically make no sense. Azura makes no sense. Characters from both sides joining you for no reason. And then Corrin starts being like "Please believe me, we're fighting an INVISIBLE enemy!"... This is so stupid lmao... Maybe I could've dealt with it if it hadn't been THREE games but I just. I'm so glad it's over.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition

I love Geralt. I just wanted to get this out here before anything. Okay, good? Good. The Witcher 2 was so good! A bit short, but everything I love from 1 is back here. The hidden twists and treachery are back, and so is a pretty engaging storyline! I can't deny a good 75% of the reason I love this series is the charisma and wit of the protagonist, though. Geralt being an actual protagonist instead of a silent type-ish character makes a HUGE difference. Combat also got so much better than W1, and I can't wait to have a laptop that can run W3 properly... orz...

[bulan-tula]

Hi friend and I are trying to save up for the new switch and LOZ…  No slots, I’ll be taking as much as I can over the next few months.

[More examples here]

reblogs are appreciated ;w;

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[xenoblade]

2 cents about FFXV

SOOO I cleared FF15 yesterday and I’ve been meaning to gush about it for a while now (except I can’t do that on twitter because spoilers)... I have so many things to say (good AND bad) about this game we’ve waited for 10 years so here we go!

(THIS IS VERY LONG AND VERBOSE READ AT UR OWN RISK)

Basically I can’t deny I DID enjoy my ride-- combat was good (if only a little flawed), characters were GREAT (PROMPTO ARGENTUM), the music was also great, dialogue was good... I started getting comfortable with the exploration after a while too, despite the fact I was kinda eh about it at first...

That was it. That’s my main problem with this game honestly, I’m not even mad about the plot, but rather how everything was handled, from the horrible storytelling to the fact that, starting chapter 9, the game is like A FRICKING ROLLERCOASTER RIDE TO THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH???

I mean. Starting from the Not-Venice Altissia chapter, everything you’ve known about the game changes dramatically??? No more open world, no more exploration, no more camping, NO MORE REGALIA. Even the combat system gets changed in the one-man Chapter 13 (which I didn’t mind as much as people said I would lmao)... Like. This is probably due to the staff changing so suddenly in a 10-year game development cycle but. THIS IS COMPLETELY NOT COOL ON A NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW??? Up until Altissia it was a four-man bro trip on the car and then. Shit happens. People die. It becomes a ride on a train till the very end (literally) and the tone of the game shifts completely-- which is not BAD in itself but just the way it was done. Honestly it felt really “god-we-gotta-speed-this-game-up-and-finish-it” to me lol

Such a shift isn’t Bad because in the end I REALLY enjoyed the 9-14 chapters way more than the beginning lol... I’m not saying the whole “bro trip” was bad or I didn’t like it, it’s just... to keep me going in a game I need a (good) narrative that keeps you going, that makes you want more... And honestly this was one of my main gripes about this game-- at the beginning it just up and throws at you the “GO GET UR BRIDE” and. That’s it. No story, no nothing. ???????????? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET INTO THIS

But okay, okay. I get it. They wanted an easy start so the characters would be comfortable and shit. But even after Regis died, I kinda... I expected the story to pick up, but instead it was “Oh cool, this shit happened. Whatever, let’s go back to our bro trip on our cool card” over and over again. AS IF THESE PEOPLE WEREN’T FUGITIVES????? I’M NOT ASKING FOR COMMON SENSE IN VIDEO GAMES, I’M JUST. some sense of narrative here, I DON’T KNOW

Characters... I loved the main cast, but there’s a lot to be said about the way ALL of them were handled :/ I’m not one of those people who complain because “boooo no women in the main cast!” because okay, that works! But the way Lunafreya was handled was so fucking awful to me, like. She barely appears every now and then (don’t give me the “but she supports noct from the shadoooows!” bs) and even her role as the Oracle was barely explained :/ I won’t bother to comment on the fact she always looks pretty-- pretty hair, pretty clothes, HEELS (that’s mighty smart to go fight Leviathan with heels but ok)-- and that reminds me of a trophy wife but since this game wants to be ~stylish~ I kinda get it... Kinda :/

The other big offender was Ravus. I know people like to rant about this, but??? He was supposed to be a great villain, but how can we be bothered to Care if he literally appears 3 times, then up and dies OFF SCREEN and comes back as a zombie who asks to die. Um. Okay? I don’t know how Tabata plans to “fix” this shit but ???

But IN GENERAL characters and worldbuilding were treated as shit-- Cor gets some, but Gentiana? who’s Shiva? Aranea??? What about the Six? THE FRICKIN NIFLHEIM EMPEROR????? How am I supposed to care about these characters if there’s more about DAVE THE HUNTER than about these supposedly important ones? Even the whole “empire” thing went to shit, all you get to know about it is that “they all became daemons”. Uh... Cool. No lore, no world building, NO NOTHING? 

And even the main party... I know Episodes Gladiolus/Ignis/Prompto are A Thing and I would understand if those were extras, stuff that added TO the story... But this is literally a plot hole and I honestly we shouldn’t have to pay to have stuff that wasn’t explained in the first place? Gladio just up and leaves mid-chapter (”I got stuff to do” what?????) and Prompto’s final revelation about his origins... That just comes out of nowhere and isn’t further explained??? “i was a lab experiment” “okay cool let’s go”

BUT I GOTTA SAY THE IGNIS EYESIGHT TWIST WAS COOL AND BOY IT WORKED AND I’M GLAD BECAUSE MORE GAMES SHOULDN’T BE AFRAID TO DO RISKY STUFF LIKE THIS

As I wrote, I enjoyed the final chapters a Lot more because the story actually picked up and Shit happened... The epilogue was good and so was the timeskip thing (although I wish they had given us the “world of ruin” sooner and that it served more of a purpose in the grand scheme of things)... The way it ends gives this game a nice closure and it ends with what worked the most in this game-- Noctis and his three boys.

I feel BAD because this could’ve been so much more (without having A SPIN OFF GAME, A CGI MOVIE, EXTRA DLC i mean) considering it had a 10-year development cycle but yeah... It’s far from being a 9.5 game (lol...) but it has Its Great Moments(tm) 

[xenoblade]

2016 in gaming

So I saw Mom Steph do this and hek, I thought it'd be a nice way to start off the new year! 

(of course bless Backloggery for keeping track of all my beaten games because otherwise GOOD FUCKING BYE)

Tales of Zestiria

lol funny how this one is the first game I finished last year? Anyway I can't deny I *DID* like Zestiria but I also have a lot of mixed feelings about it :/ Characters were okay and the OST was great (THOSE GO SHIINA TRACKS, BOI), but I had a lot of framerate issues so my overall experience was... meh. Here's hoping Berseria turns out better?

Ys: Memories of Celceta

AW YIS MEMORIES OF CELCETA! I got a Vita just to play Ys and it was a great ride and I 100% recommend it! I don't have much to say about this also because everything Celceta does, Lacrimosa of Dana (more on this soon) does better so... GET BOTH

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Boy. BOY. I started this game over a year ago and I already have a lot of nostalgia over it?? Some of the best 300 hours I ever spent went in there. It's not Xenoblade (Chronicles), but I managed to find a lot to love here <3

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter

Rarely I enjoyed sequels more than their originals... UNTIL SECOND CHAPTER. Holy moly FC was GOOD but SC has all the plot twists and a faster-paced story that I found it impossible not to love it? FC builds up the story like a traditional coming-of-age RPG tale so that when SC comes along, it pulls out the big guns. YEAH

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

I loved TP for a number of reasons (apparently I'm a minority? lmao) and I didn't think it could get any better seeing it all in HD

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright

I'm glad I managed to beat at least Birthright before I ran out of fuel and drive to play all of Fates? Game was great, the OST had some pretty great stuff, I really liked some of the characters, but I just couldn't get past Corrin as a whole ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Plot was also okay (for FE standards at least), but apparently Conquest and Revelation have it even worse which is why it will be a looooong time before I beat either one

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

THERE IT IS, ONE OF MY GAMES OF THE YEAR! I completely, utterly and totally fell in love with this game! The cast is GREAT and I love how the plot starts easy and progressively gets all political and complicated, what with terrorists, nobles, different agendas and all that. I'm not too much of a fan of school settings, but it fits this one and I love how the game takes its time so it can tell you a grand story of an empire. PLAY THIS GAME

The Witcher

It took me a year to finish this game because of technical issues (lol I had to start it 3 times) but I'm GLAD I made it at last. Dialogue here is GREAT, Geralt is great and so were some parts of the story (the investigation). This regularly goes on sale on Steam for $4 (together with Witcher 2), so yeah, you have no reason to not play it.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

THERE IT IS. MY ULTIMATE GOTY OF THE YEAR. I JUST CANNOT STRESS HOW GREAT THIS GAME IS. It looks great, it plays great, characters are great! This game is a joy to look at and play so if you enjoyed Celceta, you will LOVE this one! Also I know it sounds like obvious from a Falcom game, BUT THE OST IS ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS! I can't wait for it to come to US/EU because EVERYONE needs to appreciate this game!

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

In time for this list, this is yet another game I LOVED. I have a PS2 copy somewhere, but I could never get into it because of clunky controls and the difficulty. Thankfully I got this as a birthday present and boy. BOY. I loved EVERYTHING about this game. Aside how great it plays and how good it looks, I found myself falling in love with the characters and the plot: I loved every single character (INGWAAAAAAAAAAY) and the story was so old-school and reminded me of an epic play that. aaaaaaaa. BOY I'M IN LOVE (also yes I cried at the end)

[xenoblade]

hi guyse i know i ditched tumblr horribly but here’s a quick lord of the dorks to make up for it 👌👌👌👌

[xenoblade]

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ELIWOOD!

WHOOOOOO!!! ELIWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!

[oolongnoon]

full color drawing commission for @xenoblade 

[xenoblade]

BACK IN THE LAB turned 8 today!

H O L Y  FUCKING S H H IT

SHIT

S H I  T

[misreckon]

“I vow upon my honor.

I see it in within you, as well.”

[xenoblade]

WAH HEY

GUESS WHO’S BACK FROM JAPAN

[xenoblade]

some old fates dooooods

(DREAD NINJAAAAAAAAS)

[xenoblade]

NEW YS GAME, NEW “HOW DO I GET ON THIS TOTALLY NOT DANGEROUS ISLAND” ADOL CHRISTIN

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[xenoblade]

friends y’all i’m sorry i’m never around here lately lmao (cold steel has swallowed me whole tbh)

i’m always on twitter these days and feel free to ask for it but tbh all i do is rant and post tacky drawings of my albarea son and his angry bespectacled boyfriend

[altaircosplay]

“I now know what path I want to take.”

Tales of Zestiria - Mikleo & Sorey - ConnectiCon 2016

cosplay by @altaircosplay | photo by @where-digo

[xenoblade]

Trails of Cold Steel: Land of Blue Skies