[Mods]

There's a lot of I don't know questions in here but I'm assuming you are referring to the SWM module. On a basic level, the SWM shouldn't be a problem unless a line of coding is missing in the scripts. Pretty sure if someone with some slight coding knowledge took a look they could get it to work but not sure if anyone has interests in porting it over given debug mode exists

[Have a Battlers folder with .gif moving sprites, but the Pokemon are static during battle?]

Oh boy the moving sprites. Where do I begin with those. I think Ame and O had a theory discussion in that these sprites might be compatible without crashing the game but nobody knows. I don't have the old moving sprite files but it should work if the sprites are named correctly and the previous static sprites are removed

[Where Love Lies Bug]

This one was a wee bit tricky to get around since I don't have all the tools to use like I do for Rejuv. Just ended up deleting the trainer from existence letting me get out and refresh the map. You should be good now.

 

 

Game.rxdata

[Virtual Elite Four]

I'll try to explain this as best I can since I'm vaguely familiar with how this works. So to swap teams the team file has to be stored somewhere which we'll call team A.

 

Team a = Var1

 

Team a is supposed to be refreshed and saved over before replacing with a substitute team from the virtual league choices. Team B is set in stone so it doesn't matter and doesn't need to save. What happened after the first fight seems to have skipped refreshing that variable with a new Team which we'll call Team C. So when the fight is done everything goes back to normal and the code goes to say to load the Var1 for your team. So instead of having Team C you'd get the old team back. What happened to team C? Pretty much where team B went. Gone with the wind.

 

And as for what to do, get a backup save. Pronto. There's no way to recover those lost mons otherwise. I opened up my own version of the game...and I forgot mine is as old as dirt. I actually don't have the changed version of the Virtual League as the version I have you fight all 5 battles in a row (with healing). Pretty much looked at it, turned around, and walked away. If someone wants to throw me map 266, I can probably do some kind of fix since I'm guessing it's just missing some call commands.

 

tl;dr: Game bork. Load backup save. Someone remind me tomorrow night and I'll see what's going on. Until then, don't finish quest.

[The Last, Only, and Very Final X% Hype Thread]

9 hours ago, ShogokiX said:

Many innocent souls were sacrificed to tame the beast that is essentials......

It used up an entire philosophers stone to get where it is now.....

That being said.....we need a new philosophers stone to get EP19 done XD

*puts up "Free Candy" and "Free Ice Cream" signs around a large, suspicious circle on the ground*

If ye asks, ye shall receive

 

Spoiler

 

That'll be 5 gallons of Blue Moon Ice Cream at my doorstep by sundown tomorrow

[Utawarerumono Trilogy: The Only SRPG you can play baseball in [Thoughts/Review]]

No, I am not kidding. They implemented that into the third game. You actually play a round of baseball. Wouldn't surprise me if it was the sadist who made Christopher Robin's Home Run Derby. Ahem I'm getting ahead of myself and that's more like a little bonus. Not really what this series is about but it certainly makes one hell of a tittle.

 

Utawarerumono Trilogy [Review and Thoughts]

 

Oh boy this series. So I've heard the name now and then and just never got around to playing it. Well more like duology of Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth. I can honestly say I'm so glad I waited as a few months ago the last of the trilogy Prelude of the Fallen came out on the PS4 and I think Steam. I played them all on the PS4 so I'll be referring to that. And I just want to also get something out of the way. One of the translations for the first game is A Song for the Fallen Ones which upsets me so much because that title makes so much more sense and fits with the storyline so much more. I imagine they renamed it to make sure people know it takes place before the Mask games. But before I lose half of you, I will make something clear and if you get into the series you'll thank me later. The game order is:

 

Prelude to the Fallen > Mask of Deception > Mask of Truth

 

Play them in that order. You can technically skip Prelude to the Fallen and start with Mask of Deception but if you do that, then there's not much point going back and playing the first game since everything but some humorous scenarios are spoiled. If you want to be an absolute madlad you can start with Mask of Truth but pretty much mute playing the other two games. I played the games in that order and am so glad I did it that way.

 

And for people who only care about scores. PttF is a 7.5. MoD is a 7.5. MoT is a 9.25/10. I felt it was better than a 9 but some stuff was holding me back from giving it a 9.5 so I decided to meet in the middle. Overall I'd say the series is a good 8.5/10.

 

Where do I even begin with this trilogy? I guess I can start by saying that this series is not for everyone. It's actually a Visual Novel Strategy RPG which I'd say is 60% VN and 40% SRPG if you count the postgame content. For the sake of clarity I'll be using Fire Emblem as a comparison since that's about the only mainline SRPG that most people are familiar with. There's also going to be lots and lots of redacted stuff for the story just because each game quite literally builds off of the rest but I'll try to give you the simple down low on what to expect and keeping the surprises well surprises.

 

Story and Music

 

I suppose I should try to give the rundown of the story. I think the best way to describe it is an Isekai slice of life. Obviously being a Strategy RPG it's much more than that but that sentence alone should tell you right now if you should pick this up or not. The first game starts out with an amnesiac masked man who cannot remember his own name. When he tries to remove the mask, it will not come off. A girl named Eruru alone with her grandmother help nurse him back to help. He is given the name Hakuowlo which was the name of Eruru's father. And so Hakuowlo decides in return to help the village out with their everyday needs becoming a full time resident. The other big thing you'll immediately notice is that Hakuowlo is the only character without ears or a tail which comes as a surprise to him. The second game starts off similar with an amnesiac man given the name Haku who Kuon found and decided to be his caretaker until he could find his way in life.

 

And you're probably going to want to ask me a number of questions which the most prominent one is: what the hell is an Utawarerumono. And unbelievably no, it is not a food based item. The game really, really likes to take its time. You'll pretty much be stuck in a single village for I think what feels around 10 hours. It really likes to go slow and lollygag with man subscenarios which can go from silly ones such as two major generals spitting their tongues at each other to really deep and sad scenes of a character barely suffering from their own actions. You will being doing this for a long while before the main plot decides to move forward. And I have to be honest, it can be very, very annoying waiting for the next battle because it will be hours before you will be getting into combat. I want to say at least 3-4 hours before any of the SRPG gameplay. And that's the beauty of this game. You do so many things that really feel inconsequential letting you build and get to know these characters. And if you don't care for these scenarios I suppose you can honestly skip them.

 

And now I can talk about probably the only big gripe I really have: the fanservice. I mean I literally said at one point in the first game is, "How did they get away with allowing that in?" Definitely don't want to be playing this when grandma is in the room. By the third game they calmed down with the previness but the second game is the worst contender. It was certainly an unnecessary amount. Though I am okay with keeping the male fanservice where it is. Those scenes were great. That alone with some of the character tropes can get a bit on your nerves. That's one thing I liked about the first game's cast a bit more since they were more down to earth and not completely defined by some trope like the second one. Especially Nekone. Nekone is more annoying than Eruru, but those probably are the only two I think I had issues with.

 

And now we have the cast which honestly I ended up liking most of them by the end. Except Eruru. Bloody healers who are only good at dying. Aruru the shy, spoiled child is one of my favorites because her brain is incomprehensible. Also easily the best hide and go seek player ever. There's also characters like Karalau who is the embodiment of thirsty. She also punched the head off a soldier in the anime. There's also Ougi the shadow who knows everything. There's a lot that I could unload here but the reason why the third game is so high is because all of those pointless moments and silly mini-adventures really do have a massive payoff at the end. You get attached to them and even when you know what's going to happen the writers know exactly how to pull your heartstrings. It really sucks that the voice actor for Haku died recently. He did such a good job with the role.

 

Speaking of loses. The composer for this series died recently as well. The soundtrack has few songs but all of them work rather well. Especially the final boss theme which is just beautiful. It really gives that ancient Japanese feel to the games and while I wouldn't call it the greatest of all time, it definitely served its purpose very, very well. The graphics are a bit dated looking more like PS2 styled ones, but I enjoyed them. The 2d art is really well done. There's a lot of uniquely designed characters with the 8 pillars having some of my favorite designs. You take one look at Vurai and question if he even has a soul. Which is ironic given the plot of...nevermind.

 

And there is one other big gripe before I get to gameplay. The game's lore order is a bit of a jumbled mess. The best way I can put it is that there are two different sets of lore. The first one is about the land in front of you that they spend a lot of time developing Tuskur and Yamato and their way of life. The other one is shrouded in mystery which they try piecing together bit by bit. It didn't all click for me or actually a number of people until you see it fully spelled out in order (or the wiki page) where it all suddenly makes sense. I can't say much else but it doesn't ruin the enjoyment but maybe scratch your head about a plot point or another as many of them are brief and you have to connect the dots yourself.

 

Gameplay

 

And now I get to talk about combat. It's a barebones basic SRPG in the first one but by the third one it gets to be rather complex. First game you basically have a set of characters each with different movements and elemental types though none of that really matters to much. Each has a pretty basic role from being nuke, tank, mage, or the one and only healer who cannot do anything but heal. What real interesting is that exp is gained by damage and opponents level not by killing them. The first game you have a pretty small map with the goal of clearing 4-8 enemies. The main trick to the first game is that you dish out and receive damage based on where an attack is targeted. The back does the most while the front does the least. At the end of every action you set which way you're character is facing. You also have this gauge called zeal which pretty much once it hits 100 you can unleash your ultimate attack and more or less knock out an enemy. Unless you are Mr. OP lance unit, it does take a few turns to build up. You also have a team attack special called Co-op attacks with usually are better for groups of enemies which and cost less Zeal for both (70 for the attacker and 50 for the partner). The only other thing to note is that you have consumable items in the first game to heal whenever.

 

All-in-all the first game is pretty barebones. There's actually one defense map, one escape map, but most are pretty much route or defeat boss. They do try to make it interesting by throwing destroyable objects out of the way for good items. You also pretty much have to deploy your lord, Hakuowlo who is a pretty decent attacker but while there isn't permadeath, if Hakuowlo dies it's game over...unless you rewind to a previous turn. Pretty much an infinite Mila's turnwheel. Pretty handy for when you screw up. The animations at least look nice and there's a small zeal bonus for timing your attacks right in Legend of Dragoon styled timed hits.

 

The second game pretty much took the structure and scrapped everything bad about it. Your characters can't control what way they are facing which is okay since only one character (*cough* Ougi *cough*) even has an ability related to it. Healing items are replaced with equipment which are rewards clearing objectives on maps which range from dodging abilities to reducing damage from certain elements. Picture skills from Radiant Dawn more or less. Characters come with their own skills again but a lot less of them have random buffs. Also, magic attacks don't have a use limit per map. The most significant change is that characters have about three options each turn. Basically when you have an attack or healing move there are a set number of actions you can do called chains. This count can go up to 5 plus a final strike one. First game they all more or less only had one. This cast has three or more. And instead of timing the actions right to get more zeal, you get crits which deal more damage and give more zeal.

 

There's also one more mechanic that really helped make the game more difficult. Whenever your zeal hits 100, you go into overzeal mode. This lets you take an extra turn along with your stats getting a slight buff. Each turn you stay in Zeal mode you lose 50 Zeal and if the counter goes down to zero you exit out of it...unless you use a final strike which ends it immediately. The fact that enemies can use this as well makes them more dangerous and found my units dying quite a bit more. Not too often but way more than the first game which really only the healer I rarely needed died...a lot. The maps also were a lot more interesting as they played with more mechanics beyond beat up the enemy such as some retreating to another part of the map midway through. The elemental chart also plays a greater role as you do way more damage and take significantly more. Also Haku may be much weaker than Hakuowlo but goddamn he makes up for it with an amazing heal skill.

 

Then we have the third game. You lose some abilities you start out with but regain them all through leveling up. More enemies have counters with is retaliation for hitting them with certain attacks. They added more crit times called hidden crits. Status effects are more prevalent, and abilities that will make you internally scream. The game isn't too hard but I certainly had a few shares of game overs having to retry all over again. Especially what would be the equivalence of 3-13 archer sniping my ass from a cliff. The man may as well have a brave bow launching four javelins in a row at me. Yes, the man launches javelins with a bow. Don't question it.

 

I really ended up loving the combat in Mask of Truth. The game really loved to throw curveballs at you often with the goal completely changing halfway through. There also would be side objectives for a better piece of equipment for doing something such as koing all enemies before the boss. Often times it'd be some random sniper in an obscure hard to reach place. The maps may look simple but these ones always some kind of "but wait...there's more" and even by the final map they still managed to find ways to throw me off my feet. Also holy shit that was one hell of a final boss.

 

This third game also has the most elaborate postgame in the series having some very difficult fights along with some of the weirdest ones you'll ever see in a SRPG. There's one where you beat up flying plates of food to rescue your man from a yaoi fanfiction come to life. I wish I could say I was making that up.

 

Conclusion

 

I kind of went into this series not knowing what to expect and I came out of it rather amazed. I know there's the Zan game and the anime but it honestly does not really replace the game trilogy experience but if you do need to cut down then watch season 1 of the anime and play the mask games. Season 2 really butchered Mask of Deception and didn't even bother to include what has to be one of the most important scenes in the game. You can really only experience this trilogy for the first time once. And I can honestly see why the VN database has Mask of Truth as the third highest rated VN on their site. Is it perfect? No. But it's actually those imperfections that made some really impacting scenes for me. If you can make me an emotional wreck by the end, I think that's a 9. If they do happen to make a fourth game continuing the series, I'll definitely buy it. I think the first two are around 40-50 hours while the third one I hit the 60 hour mark at the final boss. Each is definitely a full fledged adventure.

[Is there a way to reload a previous save?]

10 minutes ago, DecShep said:

I'm on MAC if that matters. But I found my save files, but there all from a really old version. Like a couple years ago. Before I even had this specific computer so idk how they're there. Which is also odd since when I started this game there weren't any to load. There's only the last one which is the Game.rxdata the rest have my name, badges and play time. 

You might want to check your settings. I know sometimes the backup saves system is defaulted to 0 in which it doesn't create backups

[Pokemon Reborn Redux [Mod][E18.71 Version Released]]

So I probably should have said something earlier but it probably is pretty clear I'm putting Redux on an indefinite hold for the time being. Just for reference I pretty much up and quit when the Gen VII implementation happened which really did drain the life out of me when I revived the project. I think the best way to put it is that many of these changes Reborn is going through are starting to become concerning for me. 18.3 was fortunate since most of the areas I worked aren't affected by what changes were made. But now we're dealing with update and fix after update and fix. There might be a point where things that took forever to fix might break again. And then that'd possibly mean I completely wasted my time on something I have to scrap.

 

I doubt I'm going to straight up abandon it when I'm that close to finishing but I could gut some stuff to save my sanity. Party System is going to get changed into outfits for example. It's more like I could just remove all the extra stuff and mostly keep the fights since those are super easy to port. There's just a lot of "I don't know" right now which is why I think it's better to sit and wait. I think it was pretty obvious but I figured I may as well actually say something.

[Let's talk mood breaking ( Major Spoiler!!)]

16 minutes ago, Egzample said:

I dont remember if she ever stated why she regrets putting herself into the game, nevertheless, without knowing the reasoning, from my perspective it would be better if she kept it as it was.

I think it's better from the creator's mouth and not mine but I believe what you are referring to is the posts Ame talks about disliking the self-insert idea. Let me just start by saying everything I say may be slightly off as I am both going off of my memory and other stuff but hopefully I can kind of clarify this.

 

The reason Ame included a self-insert is that the game was a storyline based around many real time events that happened during the league most notably events during the first season. It's probably one of the weirdest RPs as fact and fiction have kind of blurred together at this point. Ame really did fight all of the gym leaders to make sure they were qualified which did make it into the game. Ame did keep her character to a very minor role due to being a self-insert which can in some people's eyes be bad writing or narcissistic. And you really can tell that Ame doesn't like herself being in the game. She didn't write the story forcefully to kill herself off, but it was more like it was convenient. The story needed a moment to show just how brutal Lin was and it conveniently could solve another gripe Ame had. Two birds with one stone.

 

I think what people have more gripes on isn't actually the death scene which I think was delivered fantastically. I think it has to do with everything else leading up to it. Ame is the champion or pretty much the strongest trainer. Something Pokemon games like to do is build up the character for a big climatic fight. Blue you have this guy who always beats you to the punch and just want to keep beating him down. Lance you meet and he absolutely storms team Rocket and you just feel his power. Steven is there to support and push you forward. The main thing is that they are involved in your journey so you really got to know a few things about them. Ame takes the role of Professor which is the old fart you forget about right away. Suddenly they are broadcasted to actually be someone really important...then they die. It's really anti-climatic when you think about it.

[Pokemon Essentials' Pit of Schadenfreude]

I'm a little bit hesitant to say something as a certain thread really did show how out of hand this has really gotten. I really do think the shit throwing has gone a bit too far. It really does make it sound like Essentials is the worst thing ever built when in fact it's a really good system. It's a massive system made by a few hobbyist which really is a feat and works really well for its primary purpose. And making something from scratch and optimizing things are two things that any programmer should do but one is easier to do than another. I've made things that were nonsensical to someone else with more experience. But at the end of the day there have been some very enjoyable games made from base essentials. Think of it like older cars vs newer cars. They both do their jobs at the end of the day.

 

Let me just tell you that the worst thing I've experienced with essentials is leagues much more tolerable than RMXP issues. Invisible tiles causing the power to walk through walls, events not jumping over to the new tabs, movements failing, movements failing but only if text is skipped, movements failing if text isn't skipped fast enough, tilesets failing to load. Free use sprites in the wrong file format causing them to be glitchy in Game-Z, and many other random whims. My absolute favorite are the event tabs that just YEET themselves from existence.

 

But if you want interesting essentials facts, the follower system has to quite literally be one of the most overkill systems I have ever seen. So the logic is that whatever direction the player moves the character behind will follow and move the same direction. But what if the player is forced to move a certain direction. That isn't built as an exception. No, it just teleports them to be right behind unless it can't then it goes to the North, then South, and so on. It will use this logic when the follower is 2 tiles away, then 3, then more than 3. There is so much code built into this system it actually made my head spin and I don't quite understand everything in it. I've actually torn out a few dozen lines trying to figure out what does what and seeing no difference. And on the flip side it makes for situations like Reborn have quite literally one of the wackiest respawn systems to be ever made. And now you know why Aya is hyper active.

[How do I activate an Oasis in Tourmaline Desert?]

First off, the whole thing is random iirc. You'll start with one set of the oasis and when you click on it, try going to the mirage tower each time. It's very tedious but it'll eventually be the right one. It's very tedious since it'll loop but you'll see the tower in the top right when you have the right oasis

[Paper Mario: The Origami King [Thoughts/Review]]

The last Paper Mario I bought and played was Super Paper Mario. Let's just say Sticker Star felt like an absolute slap in the face and a slap in the face that was Super Paper Mario. Let me at least just talk about the fandom prior. You'll see thousands and thousands of people want the TTYD type one back and pretty much exactly that. People make it sound like it's the greatest RPG ever made. I guess I'm the weird one who liked the N64 one more. The setting really is what sells me on that game and the bosses really still stick out in my head. I also played that game when I was like 6. I'll also put it out there that TTYD is a horrible example to follow since I do think it really went too far. It's a great game but definitely not something I'd say suited for a little kid mascot. There's also a whole bunch of other nonsensical arguments that I'll cover as well. I just want to clear this up because people are basically demanding something without really meeting more in the middle. And believe me, I have so much to talk about with this game.

 

I'll give the tl;dr version first. While there is a lot I really liked about the game, I'd have to score it a 6.5/10 or maybe a 7. 65% of the game is really good but the 35% is all kinds of degrees of bad. There's basically two polar opposites in this game making it hard to truly give a good score. If this is the improvement from Color Splash, I really don't want to even consider touching that game. And as a warning the first two Paper Mario games are some of my absolute favorites so of course I'm going to bring them up, but more to explain this whole split.

 

There's a lot to unfold here, pun not intended. I'll start off with the simplest positive. The music is pretty good. It's very smoothing and while not as memorable to me as the first two games I can definitely say it really helps hype up the battles. The game really gives off Sunshine music vibes which honestly is probably the one thing that keeps my sanity when battling which we'll get into. The graphics are also very crisp and most areas look very pretty and are quite the enjoyment to walk around and explore. There are some areas where I felt they did a bit too much. Peach's castle they tried polishing it a bit too much which feels off. But I must say I do appreciate the heavy nod of recreating two of the most iconic backgrounds from the original N64 game. Any vet will immediately recognize those two.

 

Now let's jump into the story and characters. So the overall storyline is what you'd expect or well should expect from this series. Someone is trying to take over the mushroom kingdom/world. I'm just thankful it isn't Bowser for the 4th time now. I'll be putting this all in spoilers as I will be covering a lot of big surprises in this game but I can honestly say that I liked it almost as much as the N64 one and I could see it argued that it was done better than that. It actually kind of shocked me how good the writing was at points which it felt like the TTYD writers were put in charge. This alone is what really made the game worth playing. So let me just get into it here. And reminder that this is going to spoil a majority of the game:

 

Spoiler

I think everyone will agree that the start of the game through the first chapter is kind of really bad in terms of writing. You have a bit of Bowser humor and a hilarious musical number but nothing interesting really happens. The Colored Pencils boss really doesn't even make up for it. Some stuff was kind of interesting but I wasn't really hooked. Chapter 2 is where things actually start to get interesting in which you meet your second partner, Bobby. I think the dynamic between Olivia and Bobby works so well as Olivia is more of a child being exposed to the world while Bobby doesn't remember anything and everything feels like a fresh experience. The two have different personalities but it's pretty great. Especially all the effort just to have one Bob-omb step on a switch.

 

And then you end the chapter which what has to be my favorite character in the game: Rubber Band. His personality absolutely stole the show and honestly is only one of the two bosses I felt had a good design and personality. And you see how Bobby felt a little left out not participating. Chapter 3 then happens and you'd figure Bobby's story would end after he recovers his amnesia but he wants to continue traveling. And I will give IS credit for having the main villain come in and come to stop Mario from ruining his plans. Every other main villain just kind of stood back and waited for the finale. I think what really hits home is the whole time you have to follow Bobby for a way to save Olivia and I had a feeling what was coming and hoped I was wrong. IS had the balls to kill off a party member as Bobby sacrifices himself to save Olivia. At first, I hated how he went out in such an anticlimatic way but it honestly made sense. Bobby's life was always going to be short. All his friends died. He just wanted to do one last piece of good before leaving this world. And the whole segment afterwards really just sold it. You wouldn't expect scenes like that in a Sticker Star successor.

 

And that's something that really sold Origami King for me: the partners. They really knew how to make a colorful world with generics as they did what mattered: gave them personality and dialogue. I think Kamek really showed what they can do with the tools they have as the older games did seem a little stiff compared to how dynamic the movements are in this game. I really like Kamek in this game as he feels like a good replacement for Kammy Koopa. He takes the same role but really comes in with his own spin. Definitely should keep the Bower, Kamek, and Bowser Jr trio the way they are.

 

I think what really hits home is that this game doesn't play any "Gotchas" like the other ones have. It leaves a rather bittersweet ending when you connect the pretty blatant dots. I do think Olly makes for a surprised and welcomed main antagonist. He has motives and really kind of explains all the things that seem nonsensical and out of place. 

 

Something I'd really like for them to explain is the timeline. The first three games very likely take place in the same universe which is often why it is referred to as the Paper Mario Trilogy. Interesting enough there are references to the older games but not really anything to confirm such as a name drop of older characters which would've honestly been kind of nice of Kolorado or Frankly had a mention which actually would have made sense in this game. But we'll just have to assume the originals are permanently discontinued with 0 sign of coming back. But I feel there is a good mix here with the humor and storytelling. The game is a humorous adventure and ended up surprising me how much I liked it.

 

Now for exploration. I haven't played Color Splash or Sticker Star but the connected world actually felt more connected than the first two games. Everything really flowed quite well leading from one point to the next without really any need to backtrack. Toad Town/Rogue Port were the central hubs for those games but Origami King does have its own. You can quite literally beat the game with only visiting this game's Toad Town twice. The second time is only for about 5 minutes at the most. There is stuff to do after each chapter but not that much. I'd say 90% of the content can be done and completed with almost no backtracking. Which actually really helps make exploring fun. You wander around looking for hidden objects to complete a map. My biggest complaint is the confetti system. After chapter 1, it's a pretty pointless system for padding. I would've liked to see a much more clever use of it.

 

There is a major thing about exploration I don't understand. I have no idea who this game was made for. It has quite a number of really clever puzzles which require quite a bit of problem solving. A lot of them I felt like you'd have to be 10-12 to really figure out since they aren't super blatant. Which is really funny as this game has mechanics that make you feel like you're stupid. There's a flame puzzle where you have to jump on tiles in a specific order. Each time you fail they make it easier which you have no option to turn off. I actually failed a few times because I screwed up the jumps. So the game provided a handicap. They do this for everything that may be a challenge.....except for a couple things that are really quite challenging. I leaned I hate Jeopardy. I really feel they should remove some of that hand holding because people will fail a few times and it's okay. That really did piss me off a bit.

 

Now to rip the band-aid off on why I wouldn't want to replay this game: the combat. The combat isn't so bad that the game is unplayable. In reality, there's a number of good things it's done. There's three types of battles in this game: normal enemies, bosses, and paper machete. I'll start with the normal enemy battles. You'll see people spazz out about the no experience system. I don't have an issue with that. Experience is the easiest form to show progression. We'll get into the what I would've wanted after talking about this mess. Random battles are pretty much you solve the puzzle and win. There are only two types of enemies in the entire game that cannot be one shot. And these enemies you have a partner who can one shot them. It's actually counter productive to not one shot them as you gain less profits. And even better is the timer. If you can't figure it out on time, the most efficient solution is to cheat and have the game solve it not by paying for more time. In fact, the timer mechanic just makes the combat even worse and even more reason to avoid battles.

 

I'm not here to say it's absolute trash. I didn't hate these battles. I just dreaded hard puzzles because half the time I just would end up having to take an L and suffer damage. Which isn't that big of a deal since recovering HP is abuseable due to an accessory that recovers some health at the start of the battle. But let's remove all of that for a minute. Enemies actually have pretty unique and interesting attacks. Not as big of a variety as the original two but definitely will see quite some interesting attacks such as an enemy sacrificing another enemy by chucking them to do more damage. Would enemy battles be that interesting? In my opinion not really as they are very limited. You really only have three actions in battle: jump, hammer, and item with the last being the least useful in most scenarios. There are definitely ways to make it challenging as all Paper Mario games are rather easy, but the question is if it'd be fun. I'm more on the side of no but who knows.

 

Then we have boss battles. Basically you have 3 moves on a game board to plan out and take an action. The first few bosses are pretty basic especially the first one who does nothing to the board. These fights get pretty crazy from clearing sets of the board to a burning pit of doom. I'll admit this part of the game is so much more interesting as there's a bunch of choices you have to make. My main gripe is for the lategame bosses where you'll never want to do an attack action making more of them puzzle type fights and not strategy. Which is invalidated by either A) being so confusing nobody would figure it out or B) you pick up the hint invalidating the whole puzzle gimmick in the first place. I'll admit I had to kind of rely on them since it's pretty hard to really know how to win these fights. I liked a lot of these bosses (especially ones who weren't Mr. Green Streamer guard) but I just see a lot of wasted potential due to how in-depth it's made. But they are very enjoyable and make up for the lackluster combat.

 

The there's paper machete battles. There's the normal ones which honestly aren't that exciting. Just hit the weak spot to expose them and wack them 3 times to win. They have some variety but not really all that fun. There are a couple of unique ones which ho boy those are actual bosses. They are pretty easy but I definitely can say they didn't bore me. It has more of a focus of dodging attacks and then making sure you're within range to do damage. I definitely would say I had more fun with those than anything Super Paper Mario threw at me. They moved faster and you had to approach them in different ways. In other words, they all didn't feel the same.

 

If you have been reading this whole thing, you probably understand why I give it the rating I did. It's not a predecessor that is holding itself back but more like itself being its own issue. It just feels like the combat and gameplay are the real problem. I had fun and got almost all collectibles and toads in the game only missing a single one which is the Bowser one. I'm not doing the trophies though. I don't have the memory or reflexes like I used to. I think it's a game worth playing but I feel like everyone can find enjoyment, but want it to be something else due to lacking in some parts. Really makes me want to replay the first two games again.

 

Now I'm pretty sure everyone is going to say it's completely impossible to both do this new style and satisfy the old fans. You have a lot of people saying to go back to the old style. There is a way and it has to do with both this system and a game called Radiant Historia. All they have to do is two things: split currency and reverse the combat. So take what we have here and turn it from a ring into a chessboard. The difference here is that you have mario and up to two other party members who have various abilities to move enemies around. And lining them up boosts damage but more importantly you can attack more of them at once leading to easier KOs and a better multiplier for beating the battle. Let's say you earn red coins at the end. And those red coins are used at shops to buy power ups such as more HP or maybe even new equipment/abilities. I'd love for them to bring back the FP and badge system, but the current system of breakable weapons is fine. It'd solve the two biggest problems I had: lack of combat variety and lack of linear growth.

 

I'm glad I played this game, but I'm also glad I'm done. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be trying the Masterquest mod for the original and suffer.

[Pokemon Reborn Redux [Mod][E18.71 Version Released]]

15 hours ago, EyesOnKindred said:

I had four Pokemon. It's a double battle?

It may have been possible I messed up the wrong ZEL fight which only has a single mon in a double battle that may be the issue. I'll take a look to make sure

[Pokemon Reborn Redux [Mod][E18.71 Version Released]]

51 minutes ago, EyesOnKindred said:

It's ZEL one. I couldn't continue the game so I wonder whether Taka fight has the same bug. 

By off chance do you only have one Pokemon. If not, try redownload/reextracting the game

[Pokemon Reborn Redux [Mod][E18.71 Version Released]]

On 7/17/2020 at 11:20 PM, ShadollDusk97 said:

Kinda having the same problem, umm if the follower system is the problem, is there a way to remove files from the data folder to take away that feature, run the event then add them again to avoid this bug at least in a temporary manner?

Honestly at this point I'm just thinking about disabling it entirely since it seems to be causing clashing with other features. I'll make a skeletal system to be used for E19 so that it doesn't go to waste but I think it's for the best to just drop the project instead to focus all the other aspects.

 

On 7/17/2020 at 11:52 PM, EyesOnKindred said:

A glitch bug happens when I fight PULSE-Tangrowth. It says "opponents doesn't have two unfainted Pokemon. "

Is this the Taka only one or one of the other two. That's the only one I have a guess on. I'll take a look at this thing and tinker with it to see if I can replicate this.

[Pokemon Reborn Redux [Mod][E18.71 Version Released]]

52 minutes ago, Nutshell said:

Hi, I am experiencing quite a bug (I think) when we fight Tara and Simon with Cain at the Yureyu Building.

Basically the fight goes alright and then Charlotte makes her speach and at some point, right after she says "if you'll excuse me" the character goes up a little and gets stuck. At that moment I cannot do anything except saving, I can't move, I can't open the menu, and I don't think that I am supposed to wait. This is happening whether I use the game-z or regular and with/without mods.

 

I'm putting the capture attached of the exact moment + positioning of the characters.

 

Thanks in advance.

Excuse me while I just scream. This event has not only cause me so many issues, but some of them are completely explainable with my only guess being that it's cause by fast forwarding through the text. Just try going through it without speedup or text skipping and see if it works. I may try to replicate it later but I'm guessing it has something to do with the follower system clashing with other systems.

[Max XP Pokemon do not gain EV]

So let me just give you some context here. I'm assuming this uses the same code structure that I'm familiar with. So this issue was brought up roughly 2 and a half years ago and...I kind of completely forgot about it because there was a godawful coding fix which fixed this. Which is likely why it's never been fixed for any other game using it. But for context, base essentials only allows EV gains under 2 conditions: if a pokemon is max level (usually 100) or it gains 1 or more exp points. The problem there is that a level cap is neither of those...causing this problem. It's pretty much goes unnoticed...unless you're EV grinding.

 

Just letting you anyone reading this you probably aren't crazy and this is just a little bug with the system.

[Game/Save file dissapearing with new update]

My best guess is that the game just doesn't detect the save file due to the multiple save system (which matches up to your story with Rejuv due to both implementing the system recently). Try looking for the save files in My Computer/C:Drive/Users/[Your Name]/Saved Games and you should see one labeled as Pokemon Reborn. In that folder you should look for one labeled with your name and a set number of badges. There should at least be one backdate. If you don't find that see what you can find labeled game. Label this one Game_2. When you open your game instead of clicking continue try clicking other save files and see if your save comes up then as slot 2.

[pokemon reborn no game scripts specified]

Sounds like the scripts are missing. First, have you extracted the game? If not, do that. Second, check the data folder and see if there is a file named scripts. If that's missing, try redownloading the game

[I need help fact checking a script for a video essay on Pokemon Reborn]

I'll at least clarify a couple things since the history of Reborn is rather muddy and even that I don't have the full history book on. I don't know if this is like a final essay or just like a short quick one so I'll just be brief. The game itself is based on an actual league using a battling simulator called Pokemon Online in which challengers registered 6 Pokemon to take on 18 leaders in a live Roleplay like scenario. The community built around it had so much fun and it was so memorable that the idea of creating a game based on it was something in the talks but nobody really figured it be a possibility. The current admin running the league, Amethyst, had quite a bit of experience with RPGmaker and within 3 weeks created the first episode of Reborn. Eventually, a full storyline was drafted for what would be a many, many years process to make the game what we know today. 

 

Reborn's popularity started to increase due to its ability to subvert expectations. Back in the day, fan-games were almost nonexistent and hacks were limited to what they could do. There were two fan-games that stood out: Suzerain's Pokemon Zeta & Omnicron and Amethyst's Pokemon Reborn. The two were compared so much it drove both communities insane calling it a can of worms topic. A lot of people found Pokemon games to be boring and just way too easy or simplistic. What hooked a lot of people in was all the people complaining about the difficulty. That along with mature things like suicide being in the game really shocked people. It was unheard of to do this things. These facts were lost over time or watered down which I'll get to in a moment.

 

There are two pretty iconic moments in Reborn's history past the point of the game. One happened a bit after I shortly joined. A Youtuber named Shofu created a Let's Play of this fan-game in which is many videos of him getting flustered and downright rage quitting while struggling to get through this game. This attracted a lot of people to the game which back in the day was called the "Shofu Era" which brought on a lot of key members which some of them are working on their own fan-games. The other one is when someone posted a meme on Gizmodo about making the choice for the starter, something most Rebornians felt when entering that room. This attracted so many people to play the game, the site managed to crash.

 

Now back to the game itself. You talk about the game being difficult and forcing you to make use of features such as EVs. This is actually, incorrect. Pokemon Reborn forces you to change your perception of how to play the game. It's often why the words "unfair" are used to criticize it. Most games before Reborn pretty much you could breeze through a leader pretty effortlessly taking no more than maybe 2-3 attempts. Any struggle could be easily conquered by simply leveling a single Pokemon to a really high level. In fact, the mainline games favor training one over many Pokemon creating an imbalance. Reborn is one of the first fan-games to pioneer stopping this style with it's infamous level cap system. It doesn't stop there. Many people would just pick up really strong mons to plow through. But Reborn interesting enough brought up in the story that Pokemon are scarce and that "elite" mons weren't going to be something you go out and find.

 

In other words, it felt like it was a punch in the gut. What's really funny is that the solution for everything due to a lack was a certain Pokemon named Gyarados known as the Janitor to pretty much resolve all issues and struggles. Pretty much got snapped out of existence due to that. There was a delicate balance but it worked and taught people to appreciate when good things like Shadow Ball came. In fact, this core idea promotes the whole exploration aspect early on in the game. To get anything better than just junk, you had to run around doing monotonous stuff but the reward was really rewarding. Talk with a random trainer standing on a piece of grass? You get a decent item to get a Budew. This was a learning process but people eventually adapted. In fact, Pokemon Reborn can likely be completed with 0 Exp/EV growth. It's a game that pushes you to get good and push through whatever methods you believe are needed.

 

Then we get into the second most controversial topic about Reborn: Field Effects. This is pretty much a split opinion. Some people think it's good and some people think it's bad. People like it because it's different and adds more uniqueness to the game. Some people think it's unfair and added another layer of frustration since it's always in the favor of the opponent. I actually lean more towards it being poorly done because the mechanic was meant to be something to be able to make advantage of...in the span of 5 minutes. It's a great mechanic and well done, but not so great in Reborn. That's just my opinion though.

 

Now for the most controversial topic: the story. There's barebones info on the story itself but a majority of the criticism and disdain for the fan-game comes from the story itself. Pretty much another double-edged sword. You can find valid criticisms on this beyond "Lol, so edgy". I lot of people remember it for the dark elements for both good and bad reasons and honestly kind of makes it stick out. In the end though, it really did inspire quite a number of people from many fan-games hosted on this site and I believe Suzerain's Pokemon Insurgence as well.

 

That's probably well more than whatever info you needed but I figure someone else in the future may ask to write a report and may as well have something to reference back to. I don't have a lot of my sources off-hand since this is just info I've gained over the years but if you need any direct stuff I probably can find it.

[Pokemon Reborn Redux [Mod][E18.71 Version Released]]

6 hours ago, Reflow718 said:

First off, awesome mod. Love dying 6 times against the first trainer.

 

Currently, I'm almost up to Shade. I encountered a small bug, all my wild encounters are tag teamed. So, I unable to capture anymore. Also, my tag team partner is a guy named "Nekomaru" who's at level 85, instantly killing all the wild encounters. Anyway to fix this ?

Oh uhhh that's interesting. I have an idea what might have caused it but not idea how that happened. Send me the save file in a PM and I can fix it.

[Commander's Rejuvenation Adventures (A Rejuv Not Cancelled Run) [Chapter 62]]

On 5/24/2020 at 10:52 AM, DerogatoryTrainer said:

Also a tip from someone else in the screenshot biz: You should put your updates in spoilers so my computer doesn't die trying to load all of them at once.

I probably should have done that a while back but the codes to put spoilers just does funky things last time I tried. Hopefully a new page will come up one of these posts fixing the problem.

 

As for the other thing, you're probably right but god I hope not. What'd happen if I caught and released it then?

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Oh god so much stuff has happened since I last updated the run. People be sick of the virus, protesting along with burning the world, and top that off with the absolute hellstorm that came about from a certain video game sequel. I'll start with the game. I had zero interesting in the last of us 2. I never was going to run out and buy the game and the first trailer really turned me off. It looked like a stealth game with a plot I had zero interest in. 7 years later I become interested in it because Sony decided to play politics and the sheer amount of backlash for the shitty things they've done. I hope to god this is a wake-up call to Sony that they can't just push people around and expect people to just take it. Probably won't but a man can dream. I can't really formulate an opinion on the game itself.

 

And now for some good news. So Hamilton came out on Disney Plus and I loved it. Not a fan at the start but by then end I'd easily watch it again. Favorite song from it was "Wait For It". Really recommend watching it if you have Disney Plus. Desolation V5 also came out recently which I'm playing. I'm going to write a full post when I get through the game but if you kind of at least want to know my impressions so far. The game is a little rough around the edges but overall a rather interesting experience. I have a couple pointers for some minor issues I had but I haven't really found that much harsh criticism. I don't think hitting the second gym is late enough to give a good opinion but it does swing on a more positive side.

 

Also been playing Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen which is a surprisingly fun Visual Novel/Strategy RPG hybrid. Not sure if I'll make a post on that one but yes, sometimes I choose to play video games over other stuff. I have at least 3 years worth of backlog. Anyways, let's get this...chapter on the road. I just remembered what it's about. Help me.

 

Chapter 62 We're Past that Point

 

My god, I started this run 3 years ago and I barely got anywhere. I mean it's not like I'm in a rush since the game still has a ways to go but it does feel like I could move a bit faster. It's probably because I'm bouncing around doing all kinds of stuff compared to what I used to. Redux has to get done, play through deso, work out, family bounding, I have a full time job, and sometimes I want to do other stuff besides work like play a video game or honestly talk with people. I've been able to do a lot more since I work from home right now but I imagine that'll come to a halt eventually. Even with the larger workload, I do feel a lot better. Sure I can't do as much as I could but I don't feel like I'm at a point where I can't do stuff which is honestly something I was afraid of. Now we can all suffer, while I suffer figuring out subcaptions for this forgotten history at one point was called a run.

 

Spoiler

(I really need this. I really, really need this for what's coming)

(I'm quite literally the only person who ever played this fan-game and spent two years on this damn island. I'm clearly not in a rush)

(If it's spend another 2 years here, I'll pass)

(I don't like where this is going. Being alone with a girl in a house...)

 

usually leads to me running out of money fast. We're unofficially siblings. Not like anything is gonna happen. How old is Amber again? I feel like it's 16. Seems to be a common number for character ages.

(If there's booze, I'm leaving. Your mother would burn me alive with that Talonflame)

(Technically, I'm the first friend she's had in years. Can't really blame her for being clingy.)

(...It'd be easier to remember if it didn't change each version)

(I'm sure if I wander around long enough I'll figure it out)

 

Only took me 10 minutes to figure it out

(Looks like it symbolizes my soul: empty with non matching furniture)

(Oh thank the high heavens it's not another Melia and Venam adventure. Just nice relaxing time)

(Not for probably another 3 years)

(Because the French have been fried)

(They pushed me into a volcano. Do my needs not matter?)

(...That might not be a good idea. Probably boring stuff like Presidential Tweets)

(Ew this isn't cartoons. Put on the cartoons)

(Even in my vidya gamez I cannot escape the pandemic)

(This has no correlation to the questionable Chinese restaurant in the sewers)

(Eh, never liked Gearen anyways. Too big and confusing)

(Wow, that was boring)

(As long as it can be made into clickbait, yes, yes it will)

(My god, what sorcery is this)

(Is it a brick wall...I miss them so much)

 

I also find the lack of fire puns disturbing

(If this is the "something cool", I'm leaving)

(So that's why I'm in a better mood. There's no Mary Sue draining all joy from my body)

(Nobody cares about the plot right now. Especially not I)

(Thank you for being able to do the one thing I never could)

 

Does bring me great joy to see Venam shoved out of a scene. Amber really is a mood

(A younger less wise me would make a joke here, but not today.)

(We really need Adam here. That way we could be a true Red, White, and Blue family)

 

I miss my rock. He was my rock.

(Eh, I'd give them a 7.8/10. Packing too much heat)

(You mean gym leaders actually hold multiple different months to challenge people of differ...)

(Or they're your mom's. Something tells me she doesn't but can't say no. Oh dear, this is an accident waiting to happen)

(It's Moltres. Please let it be Moltres)

(Well shit, Tesla is gonna burn me alive anyways)

(I mean if I take one of them, then nobody would realize she was missing one of her Pokemon. Problem solved)

(I have a feeling I know who has it but I like breathing so I'll keep my mouth shut)

(Oh look who it is. My favorite character in the world just couldn't keep away. My curse magnetic personality for troublemakers strikes yet again)

(...That's my sister. If she talks any more, you have my permission to clobber her)

(In a different universe, Amber is a main character who supports the hero on a perilous journey. Sadly, this is not that universe)

(I mean it's a piece of rock. Those things have the power to control animals so...can you blame them?)

(This is the first time she opened up to someone and you just want to take it away. Like how you took all my expectations of being engaged in the plot)

(Siri, play the sad inspirational music)

(Amber, I mean this with the bottom of my heart. If you want to do it, I will assist in disposing the body)

(Do it, Amber. Fight the plot. If anyone can beat it, it's you)

(......Oh shit, this might actually be happening)

(Whelp, now we're back on the crazy train)

(Maybe Crescent's suggestion isn't so bad. Where's the adoption papers? I wanna be part of this family)

(Sigh...hello misery, my old friend)

(We're doing this. We're really doing this again. We're really chasing after Melia again, aren't we?)

(Wouldn't it be smarter if I dunno went to the rangers and inquired if they have anything on Melia? As incompetent as they are, I'm sure they could at least locate a lost child. Not like Venam needs my help to talk to an old fart)

(The man crashed straight into an island. Not sure if he can see anything at all)

(Sigh...we're really doing this. Delightful)

 

And that's it. That's the end of Amber and the Player's story. I'll just spoil it in that Amber pretty much is demoted permanently to side character. I don't think that's a bad option but I'm going to be honest that it's a kick in the balls type thing. Amber barely is in the Amber segment and when she gets a bit of development time, screenhog Mecgee pops in to push the plot forward kind of forgetting this whole family idea. Feels less like we're concluding this arc and more like "gotta move on to the next thing" which is something that happens later on as well. I think a musical analogy might make more sense here. So think of a random couple of songs you've heard. Two of the most common ways to end a song is to either pander out slowly with a single note or with a powerful loud jab. What we see here is a crescendo up, but that's it. It just builds up and suddenly you're on the next song. That's how I feel about this stuff. 

 

Play around with too many loose strings and the whole thing will start spiraling at the seams. Think I have the saying right, but that's my honest opinion. 

(Seriously, why am I here? I mean don't we have cell phones or some way to contact. They implemented that in Gen V)

(This sounds like the start of a fanfiction. I'd rather deal with the Volta news than this)

(Can I go back to my house? I've ignored Melia for 3 years and 90% of the time she was just fine. I'm sure this is one of the 90%)

(I had a realization Gen 2 was the first time we had telephone communication. Geeze this long and no fan-game uses any of that tech)

(If zey zound like zis, hang up immediately)

(I'm saddened by the lack of facetime)

(...excuse me while I scream. Why is Amber the only one in this game with a goddamn brain)

 

So that caption I made earlier I actually forgot this happened.

(Maybe she's taking the term "Burn the witch" a bit too seriously)

(I mean that's the only thing that makes sense. A girl has to have her wood)

(I'm as serious as I can get right now. She went into a forest inside the Volcano probably to return to her people. We'll call them the Deusians)

(This is why Amber is best girl)

(Well either we're going through a long dungeon or an ancient demon is getting released. Giant doors never are a good sign)

(...It's a single teleporter away. I just walked a 5 mile hike today up a cliff no problem. You're telling me you can't even do that)

(Kids these days. Can't even walk half a mile without passing out)

(Who is this writer and what did they write? I have so many questions for them right now)

(Oh thank god I don't have to walk all the way up the bloody mountain again. It was painful enough the first 3 times)

 

I'm never going up the mountain again. I will choose the worst ending over having to do that again. Always.

(I'm pretty sure that's the sound of someone cracking my sanity)

(Gonna be real honest, how on earth can you tell? It looks locked to me)

(So color on a door means it's unlocked. Good to know. Well it's been like a year since I've seen it)

(Look down below. There's snow on the ground. It's freezing in here)

(And thus a new arc begins)

(It all started with a girl in the woods)

(Yes, Venam. Very observant of you. Now let me continue my story. She was confused, lost, but most importantly, sad)

(Trees can grow in mountains. Anyways, she knew not why she was sad)

(...But she knew she had to keep moving forward)

(Yes. Now let me narrate. It's the only thing keeping me sane. With her heart empty of sorrow, she walked further step-by-step)

(Check like 20 captions up. Until she saw a beautiful crystal in the heart of it)

(This was her ticket home, but she hesitated. Something was keeping her back)

(Suddenly, a jarring yet soothing voice called out to her. 'twas one she danced with time and time again)

(This startled the poor girl shocked at who she saw. Heartbreak was easy, but this was not something she was prepared for)

(The voice from before, as inconsiderate as it may be, demanded answers for why the girl had run away)

(She had spent so long searching from and even halted my vacation to make me look for the girl too)

(The girl explained that simply was doing what she had to do)

(She had to go back to where she belonged to carry out her mission. Go back to place where she belonged)

(The purple hair girl was frustrated. How could anyone leave me without saying good-bye? She lashed out of the girl in frustration. Just like every other friend she had, her closest one would simply abandon her when she got bored and have to move on. After all, who would want to be friends with her)

 

Well seems like I'm in a pickle. Might not be able to dig myself out of this hole. Whenever you're stuck in a hole, dig deeper until you die as I always say.

(The blonde girl finally snapped. Now more than ever she needed a friend)

(She may have no tears to hide but her world was empty. A friend and a father. Two things lost that could never be found again)

(She was frustrated as all anyone could think of was celebrating instead of weeping in her sorrow)

(She took a deep breath and smiled. It doesn't matter in the end. She knew this would get nowhere)

(More words would only make the parting harder. Something she already couldn't bear. It was time to go but this time, she'd at least say good-bye)

(It was time itself had froze. The corroded girl interrupted saying two words no demon would ever say) 

(And finally something that wasn't utter rubbish came from that punk's mouth)

(She fails and slips up even to the point of driving a certain hero mad, but her heart is in the right place)

(She'd be willing to change just so that she wouldn't lose another person. Perhaps she learned her city is a lonely without those who care for her are around)

(All the blonde girl could say in response is the purple haired girl's name. Perhaps having a heart-to-heart in the freezing cold was not the greatest of plans)

(Purple suggested the unthinkable in this day and age: working for her love)

(The blond girl teased saying she already earned enough by being the leader of the people which may or may not come with a salary. Seriously, do they let anyone be a gym leader?)

(She also loved purple just the way she is which I will never understand)

(But that's okay as love is like this plot: no matter how many times it angers, frustrates, and confuses you, it sticks around bringing you warmth and comfort.)

(And that warmth thawed the girl's frozen heart)

(And what worries and emptiness from before fled)

(Embraced by those who stand by her side now and forever)

 

Or until the game gives me an option to betray

(Purple was still saddened about losing her friend once more but this time accepted a farewell)

(The blond girl knew time was running out and it was time to say good-bye to this land)

(But for once, she would not do this alone.)

(With puzzled confusion, purple and the white haired man wondered why should they be wary of a mineral)  

(Little did they know that their brains were to lose comprehension for the events that shall unfold)

 

About halfway I started to hate doing that but as shown with Geara when I commit to something, I commit to it. Now to remind myself to never do that again. Considered stopping here but let's go on. Literally only did that to help the pain of losing Amber...pretty much for the rest of the game.

(This is not what it looks like. I can explain)

(Much to my dismay, I have to keep this thing alive so long as blondie is around)

(We were teleported by a magical crystal)

(According to the save screen, we were in the forest of time. Take a guess what happened)

(Well it's better than being stuck on bloody Terajuma)

(Curse you linear paths forcing me to follow orders)

(..........Oh god I'm stuck in Hoenn)

(I want to go back. The trumpets, they scare me)

(Oh look a gym. How convenient. Can I just get another badge to add to my count?)

 

I got a badge from a dead guy and a child of presumably god. I think we're past the point of badges making any sense.

(Yes, we're in good ole flat overworld era)

(It's amazing how she's saying that with an NPC standing 2 feet away from her)

(At this point, you could tell me there's another dimension where the world is destroyed and it wouldn't faze me)

(I literally saw a women wearing armor jump off a giant tower she threw me off of, inter dimensional monstrosities, people that can fly, and Texen. I'm past the point of disbelief) 

(Just do what I do and say heck with it and just go with it)

(Everything but a down to earth plot)

(That explains so much. No wonder you made poor decisions. The trumpets got to your head)

(My god, how are you still alive?)

(Honestly, people will probably just think you're crazy.)

(At least one of us is enjoying this)

(...So they're literally created something to make their problems our problems)

(Purple is the color of evil. Don't trust anyone with purple hair)

 

True fact. Name one purple haired character who is an upstanding citizen. I'll wait.

(Alright, hold the phone)

 

While the internet did exist, online shopping wasn't really a thing until 2010. So either we be living in 2060 or that woman is very confused right about now. If that's what I look like in 50 years, does that mean I'm immortal? These are the questions that need not be answered.

(I blend in with the crowd. It's almost as if I'm invisible)

(Is Melia about to shave Venam's head? This I gotta see)

(Oh good I get to explore...and hopefully challenge the gym)

(Take you're time. I gotta get me a gym badge)

(I just realized something very important)

(I forgot to get Vulpix in the mountain. I'm coming for you, baby!)

 

So I guess maybe I could throw in some interesting writing stuff when I don't have anything to say. I've talked about time travel and I really dislike it. I just don't have much to say on this chapter. But let me just tell you a bit of interesting things about how I write and I've debated getting back into it. It's probably easy to think this stuff is easy and you get it done whenever you want. Nothing ever gets done quickly. These chapters take like an hour or two and that's really fast. Of course, I don't really rush when writing it so it does take longer than it should. But back when I was really, really writing I'd say I spent 4 hours on a short day. And this is something I did daily. Writing days I usually spent a good 8-10 hours often but there were days I've spent 14 or even 20 hours straight to get longer chapters done. I did that for 4 years straight and then had to calm down a bit due to health. I knew it was unhealthy. My body cannot physically handle what it could even three years ago kind of insanity. And crazier is that I'm sure there are people who go days without sleeping to get stuff done.

 

The main reason things take so long to get released is because most people can't work like that. Hell, I can't work like that anymore. I think the 8 hours is easily plausible for me still, but not something most people could do without going crazy. Imagine typing 5 essays a day every single day. That's the best analogy of the experience I could give. Now you know when you give criticism to someone who is working on a massive project they might be peeved or annoyed by you. Now I'm going to bed. See you guys in a month

 

[Position Not found]

I tried testing it and everything ran perfectly fine on my end. I made a save with V12 just to see if this fixes it. Not sure what's causing the crash. Just rename it to Game_3 (I have no idea why I have all these saves fixing files).

 

Game_8.rxdata

 

 

 

[Debug Mode Poke Desolation v5.0]

There currently is no debug mode. Typically it is up to the creator if we can even release mods or any features like that. Give it a month or two and I'm sure one will come around though.

[The Mysterious Case of Budew Eggs]

So I discovered something rather humorous happened when I was trading for the Budew...it came out as an egg.

 

A very mysterious egg.

 

Budew is not supposed to be an egg. In fact, nobody so far has experienced this scenario so it'd be easy to believe I screwed up my game. I tinkered a little bit and...lo and behold I was able to get a normal budew and working backwards I found something crazy to be the culprit. Something in a million years you'd never guess could cause this...a Pokesnax.

 

Most people probably won't experience this glitch as Pokesnax aren't obtainable under normal circumstances. I don't even remember how I got one. My only guess is that I picked one up using Pickup as it is still an obtainable item from the pickup list which...was what my Zigzagoon was doing.

 

This doesn't really break the game but if you are experiencing anything weird, I'd check your bag for a Pokesnax and remove it since it's linked to a lot of placeholder code. I'll try looking more into where that Pokesnax came from in the meantime.