Commander

I'm pretty sure if Commander was a part of the Rejuv world, he'd be complaining about everything while taking pictures like the tourist he is. Anyways, I think it's good to show stuff that's not always episode focused and sometimes you discover some really cool things. Back to Adventure! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode 3: Taelia all about it The Pun..ch. are back baby and in style! I think that's how you pronounce her name. Not like a butcher everything already anyways. So something I didn't go over before that I should have is Kenneth vs Melia. So sometimes I have to dig up the original term and proper meaning of stuff due to words being thrown around and pretty much losing all meaning. Mary Sue is one of those meanings. The best way to identify a Mary Sue is by seeing how the cast acts around that character. There's a reason why I emphasize character interaction which we all should get the point. I'll start with Kenneth as we see a boy adventuring into a new land looking for his way and all the characters treat him like he's a newbie from the worker's "generosity" to Jenner's mocking of the Kantonian. It's not really a good lifestyle giving a bit of a "it's not bad but not good" kind of vibe to the place. Kenneth responds to this by being upbeat and a bit annoyed. He feels fresh and excited despite the torture he's going to go throw which is really realistic to what getting a new job is. The player is unfortunately not the protagonist of Rejuv, but fills the role more of a supporting protagonist or deuteragonist depending on how the rest of the story pans out. This actually is not a bad thing at all and can bring in some interesting perspectives...unfortunately it works best if the character can actually talk since it's one that has more emphasis on thoughts. The mystery dungeon games kind of have the players in a role close to this. Not the point here other than saying not to write off a plot that uses it. So one important detail about Melia is that whenever she is on the screen the characters put a greater focus on her. Ren even tries to show off...which isn't a bad thing. Young Melia is just an okay character with a lot of bad writing decisions behind her to make her unlikable such as the power to teleport...which she couldn't use until absolutely necessary which conflicts with her lack of common sense. Most of the faults there have more to do with the player's position than what she did that makes it unlikable. Having special Pokemon doesn't really help....which I have no idea why that hasn't been removed. So the moment after the player finds out she's not savable (again I don't know why that was added) is when she's completely dropped from the plot. Her best friends forget she even exists. No reflection upon the events and it's like it never happened. Venam got more serious when Melia was in...that's not the point. Now we get to Blacksteeple. Oh joy! So the thing about Xen is that they actually are pretty competent and smart only getting wrecked due to...other...why am I playing Rejuv again? Anyways, Xen was tactical enough to trap six pretty strong trainers with relative ease and put them in a near impossible situation of escape. They defeated people stronger than them. Let that sink in for a minute. It takes a lot of brains and training to do that. Neved was even one to mock Madelis's incompetence in Sheridan. So now we get to Neved. Neved completely trust this girl who not only is hiding her identity, but fabricating a lie about how she got there which Neved knows she's lying about. He decides to "play" along and trust her purely due to her reminding him of his daughter. That actually isn't really a bad writing if Neved had a backstory where he thought he could've saved his daughter by letting her stand by his side in the terrorist organization or something. Basically he made a mistake and this he feels is a way to amend for it. That's not the problem. What is the problem is that he trusts her more than anybody else even telling her classified information which could actually get him killed or be considered a traitor. So this shady girl is so trustworthy he'd risk his life in a sense. Then the icing on the cake was the scene where Melia comes in and pretty much shifts the focus to her. The moment the player could have become a good protagonist is taken away. Madame X completely changes character and anyone who isn't talking about Melia is just a decoration for the scene then. That, my friends, makes her pretty much a Mary Sue. Not young Melia, but older Melia. Why am I telling you this? There's a lot of character conversations here and I just want you to watch and compare them to those scenes with Melia. And yes, you can still like Melia even if most...I think most...people dislike her. Anyways, just watch how the conversations are handled and the dynamics between characters. It's half the reason I even considered doing a run of this in the first place. I need a drink after that rant: (If you have beer, I'm all...oh right I'm broke) (That hairstyle...could it possibly be?) It seems the brotherhood of ponytails has made its course here as well. Anyone with a ponytail is okay in Kenneth's book. (The magazines told me to lie but...I'm going with my gut) I wasn't sure what the right answer was so I picked the funny one expecting Kenneth to land a few bruises. (I hope she's not a fire type trainer otherwise "Great Balls of Fire" will have a whole new meaning) (So dating sims can teach you something) Doki Doki Literature Club does not count as a dating sim. I think the last dating sim I played was like 16 or something years ago...unless we count that game. I did get If My Heart Had Wings for fr...I really need to grow some dignity. (So President Miss Aevium, Casanova and Ponytailed Youth Kenneth scores big here) I really need to write the title down. Eh, maybe I'll let this joke die...though the bench never shall. (The only thing rough here is...Gelica's Bark) (That butt must be made of steel then. Something...Something...Keijo) (I'm not) (One of the few RPG characters who understands real life) (Name's Kenneth Jones and this is my buddy Gelica) (Sevii Islands. Yes, they are different) Though I guess someone would say they are from America when visiting a foreign country, but wouldn't you say Japan then...Poke lore is confusing. (I don't know how far that is...) So assuming Orre is Arizona, Reborn is either California or Mexico. Seeing the condition of the place, I'm leaning on Mexico. What? How else would you explain the rare candies there. So based on the geography of Aevium, we're just gonna assume it's something like Iceland. That's the only thing I know that fits off the top of my head. How many islands do you know that shift from tropical to freezing? (Baby, you're more interesting than a 3 month trip in prison) (When you're in the ponytail cult, I guess Kenneth is normal) (I think I found my soul mate. Yes, I understand so well) (Are those the tiles from Neo Reborn...no, just focus on the game at hand, Commander) (I'm not sure. That guy with the Scythers was giving me a dirty look) (Don't believe her. All women are liars) (Please get in my way more. I can bear you.) (Now serving to old men everywhere) (Oh hey, I forgot all about him. His name is Roger, right?) (I was horribly off. Who names their kid Keith?) Sorry to all the Keith people reading this. I just never would want a name that rhymes with Thief. (Keith Dye the business guy) (Nice meeting you random guy who doesn't look like a computer nerd from my home region) (I am all for that, crazy lady...but crazy in a good way) (Yes. You guys are a-holes for tricking people into construction work and not coll...who am I kidding? I'd flunk out of school) (Like when do I get paid?) (Wrong game, bro. Fiorre is on the opposite side of the world) (So far you've been doing a terrible job. Took 3 months just to get here) (I'm starting to think this guy is a thief. Thief Keith...that sounds rad) (And...asshole of the century goes to...) (That does sound better than the cardboard box) I don't think I mentioned I really did have to use a cardboard box as a desk for two weeks with an air mattress for a bad. My back killed from that experience. (Well it would help reduce the poverty rate. This man me be onto something...) (...He's gonna murder me, isn't he?) (...Something tells me I won't be able to sit down after he's done with me) (Meanwhile someone on a certain ship wishes he could trade places right about now) (There's also one good person in anything) (Whelp, there goes the kid friendly rating. Kenneth said a bad word) (Note to self: keep Gelica far away from receptionists after this) (Now I don't have to feel something piercing my back every time I stop) I don't actually believe you can send a Pokemon back into their Poke Ball in the minisode or whatever you call it. Next episode we should get into a funny little glitch which is caused by this event tile here. It's not a very harmful glitch but it leads to something rather humorous. The not being able to retract a Pokemon doesn't really bother me. I do wish you could nickname the Pokemon though. I'm still going to give nicknames to all of them here. (OH GOD! I was kidding about the butthole joke. I like my booty the way it is. Please do...wait. My name isn't Elizabeth) (Kenneth, go back to your magazines and you'll understand) (Keith doesn't want to explain where babies come to this guy) (I'd like a house, money, and some food) (We heard you the first time Keith...Kenneth...why are there names similar) Normally, I'd make a comment about repeating himself, but since the exchange is so brief, it's not that big of an annoyance. Not going to say it was done effectively as there's plenty of ways to say the same thing without saying it, but that's asking a lot from...I'm not saying Rejuv's writing is...we know exactly what I'm saying here. There's a reason I don't play fan-games. (Why do we need to hear this 4 times again?) (We even had this conversation three times. Twice from Keith and once from the worker) So sometimes in long RPGs writers think their audience is...stupid for lack of a better word and sometimes have a scene that's "Okay, let's go over the mission again." There's a reason why the leader of a group usually isn't the most liked character. Legend of Heroes Skies even makes a joke on this where the leader of the group gives a battle speech which was pretty much "Fuck it! Let's go!" It's all about pacing in that scenario though. The best rule of thumb is if it doesn't play an importance in that scene, leave it out. Seriously, where were these rants in the last episode? (And cue the audience nap time signal) (Even Keith acknowledges he's repeating stuff) I...that's better saved for the end of this episode honestly. (Pretty sure Kenneth hasn't heard the concept of student loans) So Commander finally gets to do his job and explain stuff. Basically, people want people to take their money as a loan. For you future students out there, avoid taking as many loans as possible unless they have 0 interest. While you have more money in your hand now, you basically are giving a company more money than they value it. And if you're borrowing that money, you most likely don't have the money to pay it all back exactly. Imagine an entire country in that situation. Blackwell would have a steady income that'd let him invest in many projects which would be mostly aimed at attracting immigrants into the country. The citizens now are basically poor and are going to remain poor due to debts. It's a cruel but probably the most successful route to reviving a dead country. Building Gearen City is the smartest plan of action but obviously the least moral from false advertisement. Definitely better tactics to handling this. (You're looking at them, Kenneth) (Oh boy, rant incoming) (While Kenneth shouldn't be the one questioning stuff here, it's my job to) That's not how economical growth works. Well it is possible, but things just don't magically make a place grow. It's just like successful and good video games don't just come out of the blue. You don't see the next Undertale come out every year. The next Harry Potter doesn't just show up. The key to this success he's talking about is interest (pun not intended) and tastes. Even if something is absolutely fantastic and solid, it could be a failure. If you normally ignore my rants, this may be one to read up on because it is an honest wake up call I think most people can't wrap there heads exactly on. You see people always skew left or right on this subject. Being successful is hard. It takes hard work and most of us will spend 16 years in schooling just to get to what we feel is a successful path. Some industries are harder than others, but let's just go with the writing field. You have to have a good presentation when even getting published which really grinds down to the publisher how many ideas they throw out and not accept. Let's just say they only use 1 out of 20 just for an example. And with that let's say we have a hundred books. Only a single one of those will be considered a great sensation or sell super, super well while 20 or so will be considered successful enough. The people really enjoyed that book which there isn't always a rhyme or reason but just that it really hooked people's interest. This guy is stating that this 1 in a 2,000 chance always seems to happen. It doesn't. Even some really good ideas or really great projects can flop even when there's nothing wrong with them. I would've liked seeing a bit more of a plan over "it'll fix itself" because no it won't. If I was doing a review of this I wouldn't knock for one minor detail that didn't make sense because it's not a focus and more like an answer to a simple question. (By the time I get to this end of this chapter in real time they'll have a whole country built) (Don't you guys have enough apartments to...oh yeah there's nothing to do in this place) (I never noticed that orange paper in the background until now) (Mostly because I have no job and no way home) (I have a Lucario...I can handle them) (Pretty sure one of those...oh wait in the past. That's probably really expensive) (I think that's a map based on Hoenn from the looks of it...though it could be Kanto and Johto) (It's brown and...did you spill coffee on this map?) (A village is not a town. This is the kind of guy who'd mistake a cult for a religious group. There's a difference) (Still better info dumps than anything in Rejuv) (....Did it get burned down by bandits...I have got to stop making FE references) (Maybe an old man lives out there waiting for a half naked boy to wake up) (Something tells me nature would fight back and kill him if he tried that) (If it was turned into a resort, so many problems would have been solved) Just going to put a what if situation up as if this did happen, Team Xen wouldn't have built a base there which would have given them enough time to complete Shadow Mewtwo and the player wouldn't have had a target on their back like they had. I actually don't think anything in the plot past Amethyst cave would've happened other than maybe Venam dying since they player had no reason to head back to Gearan. So this whole mess kind of was Kenneth's fault in a way. (He's a Link at heart) (I thought you said no life...I'm not going to ask how or why he knows there's no life) (Don't quit your job...it'll look bad on your resume) Skipping the dialogue about him getting security called up (Kenneth about to be handled by some strong, muscular men) (It's supposed to be an m and not an n. Slight error, but easily forgivable) (Why do I have the feeling Kenneth wasn't his first?) (Wow this guys are aggressive. They make Mongols look like priests) (If this is him being nice, I don't want to see him being mean) (If this weren't an anime, he'd be in the hospital for that) Yeah...this cliche is...not very realistic but it does happen. Most of the time it's merely escorts if someone complies because carrying someone out like that can dislocate something if you aren't careful. It is 150 pounds you are carrying around which certainly isn't light. (This gravely is a symbolism of your situation. It's dirty with some parts missing) Not going to make assumptions but I don't think a lot of time was spent QA checking this place as you occasionally have tile errors like this with no edges in place. Then again it could be an issue with using borrowed assets. Yes, it is illegal if you don't have the creator's permission. I'll talk about Nintendo properties in a minute, but if I had to guess fan-game makers who use assets from other fans without asking permission I'd take a guess of roughly 40-50% of them at the very least. I guess I could be counted in that pile for one song I used for the Hardcore mod, but if that person said something to me, I would take it down no question. Obviously, I know Jan has permission to use Ame's assets in his game as he has done for quite a number of places like here, but you can probably dig up a lot of games that don't. Nintendo's property I have an odd stance on. I'm not going to throw you out the window for using them since most of these are just passion games...most, but we're in a much bigger gray area than most hacking communities are. I'm not going to dwell on the developer moral compass as that's something they should be aware of but more on the player compass. If you still support and buy nintendo products, I don't really see an issue with it, but there's always a price when playing fan-games which isn't money, but time. While I enjoy a fan-game here and there, I so much prefer the RPG experiences made by experienced developers which one of those could take longer than 3-8 hacks and fan-games. One full game experience that cost 29.99 could bring me more enjoyment than 5 free games that I only thought were meh. Fan creations are definitely good at tiding people over until the next big game comes out. If you learn to balance it out, then waiting on games pretty much becomes a nothing. I waited 8 years for the announcement of a Vesperia port for the better edition of it. If any of you complain about a game taking too long, just remember that. Also if you're bored and feeling impatient, just do a run like this. It's both a stress reliever and good practicing to get back into good writing habits. V9 just came out when I started working on this run. Waiting times become a noth...Reborn is already nearly 70% done. Geeze...kind of funny how the game probably only has a year and a half development time left. It's even weirder that I'll have a degree and likely a job when I first learned about this game in high school...what was I? Oh, run. (Least you can enjoy a nice meal of dirt down there) (This kid watches way too many cartoons if he though that'd work...wait, how old is this guy anyways?) I kind of picture Kenneth being a 16 year old though that could be Jan's style to write characters mostly in a teenage perception. I can't really blame him as I used to do that when I was younger. I still try to avoid making a main character younger than 12 though but my main age range is 16-28 when creating them. It doesn't matter that much as age is just a number. I do feel a lot of media made for children and young adults shoves out older folks from even being considered in a main cast. Funny when some very well recognized and well recieved characters are adults. All Might from Hero Academia, Kratos from Symphonia, Magus from Chrono Trigger, and Olivier from Trails in the Sky. (You didn't even have a job in the first place) (Maybe there's a bigger mystery on our hand...maybe Elizabeth murdered Mr. Blackwell. DUH! DUH! DUUUUUH!) (Probably didn't want to pay another lazy ass worker) So looking at the worker in the left corner you'll notice him moving. I can't help but think of the workers doing the YMCA dance now. (Then where the hell does Jenner even live?) (That...probably isn't a good idea given it's an ice type. You'd probably kill it) (Kind of wish the egg was on the bench with them) OMG! I just remembered in Paper Mario TTYD when you had the egg it'd follow you around with your party member. I absolutely loved that little touch. Also that chapter is my favorite in the entire paper mario/mario RPG games in the series. (Never gonna give you praise...never gonna...) (Finally we get to do something interesting) (What happened to Aevium again? Was it a volcano eruption? Oh yeah, some kind of plague) Keeping track of Rejuv's lore is almost as bad as following the Kingdom Hearts franchise. It's a headache to understand since the games keep dropping more questions over answers. I'm still gonna buy 3 because it looks like it's going back to KH2 styled combat which oh how long have I missed you. (I wanna be where the people are) (Those cardboard boxes seem nice and comfy) (Maybe my piers will help me out) (Oh boy, this doesn't sound good) (Well, there was this girl who walked into a bar...) (Is that man wearing purple? At least he's part of the pony-tailed cult) (Why do I care about this again?) (He's gonna die now, isn't he?) (I am Jenner Dark!) (Eh, it's not so bad. You just have to do chores and listen to nagging each day...but freedom is nice) (He's not wrong) (She's not wrong either) Matthew kind of looks like a fabulous Bruno...give it time and you'll see it. (Something...something....slave labor) (He better have an armed weapon ready) (Using the power of rock and roll) (If she's a Yandere, that guy is a goner) (The only way to make this scene better is if that worker had a bag of popcorn) (It isn't actually a bad deal, but not a very good one) (Gelica shielded Kenneth's eyes from such a gruesome scene) (They seem friendly to me) (Oh good one of the three roadblocks in this chapter are gone...wait there are 5 roadblocks. Forgot about the locked door and counter lady) (Probably only has one room) Man, I'm remembering Luigi's Mansion now. That was such a fun and short game worth playing. (Wouldn't there be workers trying to deconstruct it as well?) (Gelica has a fear of ghost types...they are immune to her) (This definitely doesn't look the way I remember it) For any Rejuv player, is this an identical mansion to the third gym badge segment or any previous versions or something new? (Maybe there's a bowling alley in there somewhere) (President Miss Aevium Kenneth Jones, ghost buster is on the case) (I wonder if there are fish in that pond) And that's about it for this episode. Right now I just don't have much to talk about as it just meets my expectations on many aspects like dialogue, exploration, and transitions. When looking back at it, it's not as good as I initially thought, but standstills really don't show the dynamics of these scene. Now from a Pokemon or even Rejuv standpoint this stuff really stands out and might be really good. But I tend to think of things from an RPG standpoint which makes this...well this is to be expected. It's really hard to pull anything from this or go into a lot of detail. I played a little Hyperdimension Re;Birth 1 and I could make a bloody essay about the good and the bad about that game. This you just have an interesting place to walk around which feels like a hub world, the idea of individualization and a likable protagonist, and a bit of over the top humor. It's like going to a restaurant and ordering a glass of water. You get what you want, but it's just that. I can only talk about the glass of water for so long before it sounds like something else. The other issue is that I'm just used to seeing everything like this and it's just second nature. You don't talk about how water tastes because water doesn't taste like anything. You can't really talk about the color since there is no color. Maybe I'll go more into this with the next episode. Also somebody save me. Black Heart keeps crushing my hopes and dreams.

I technically have the scripts and could make the easy edit if they really wanted to use that instead but no, Pokemon Reborn stuck to their guns on that front. I believe the only remaining existing issue is that exp is still split in half even when a Pokemon has reached the cap. While I am on hiatus (for a very long time likely), I don't mind doing simple or minor things if people really want them. I'm not going to be watching so someone would have to ping me or something.

The only people who have been here that long who would even come close to that many warning points did things intentionally to deserve them. Also, people just don't get banned for racking up 10 points like you said, but it's a push to decide or not. I mean a ban really only happens once every 2 years or something to a user. Most users aren't even around that long so...I don't see the reason to even show paranoia. Most of the mods take loose interpretations of the rules and you really only get warning points if you choose to ignore the mods. If you speak Spanish randomly on the server a mod isn't going to find you and automatically give you a warning point but if you don't stop it after being asked...you probably will. Also if you say something sexual or make a joke about a period you probably won't get a warning point but if you direct it at a specific person or post a pic of porn...you probably will. Though I probably shouldn't be talking about how to bend the rules in a topic about following them. Listening to the auth and respecting other users will pretty much make sure you reach. As for the second thing, I absolutely agree. We should also exclude people who call others or things "cancer" or "retarded" while we're at it. Maybe you could excuse it once for a person just being careless but there's a fine line between accident and not trying to avoid it. The Daganronpa thing probably would only get a warning since that's a very popular game and an easy mistake but the pic...how? Most pics are loaded on either the site or discord so they'd know what they're linking ahead of time. And yes, I'm very aware of the image hosting sites that allow nsfw content even though it's not their focus. And if you really can't control yourself in a community, I do question how you'd function in the real world since these rules are basically bare bone requirements for most jobs. I'd also say if you can't show some control then you should be banned. But a single case won't get you banned or in a frying pan right away as things happen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Personally, I'm all for the change as I've said some of the systems have been way too lenient. The rules and systems have been implemented purely with the aim for the majority to find enjoyment around here over punishing people for the sake of punishing. A stricter warning points system also means people will be willing to learn a bit faster on what they can't do and start behaving more. And for those worried, you have to really try to get banned around here and you'll know well in advanced if you're on your way there. Other than that, nothing has changed at all.

I guess the saying that if it has boobs, somebody will want to...errr...intercourse with it. Given to the fact that nobody who should listen to me does, I'll just keep this brief: you can't expect something forced into a game by fan demands to be good. It'd probably ruin the entire game experience rather than actually give a feeling of satisfaction. That's just my 2 cents on the matter. Carry on with your fantasies there but... If that's the conclusion you jump to, you have much to learn still. Let me just make romance relations basic 101 lowdown. First, your options...and if any of you throw a lbq...whatever the acronym joke in there I will cut you down. 1. Guy likes girl, girl likes guy 2. Guy likes girl, girl doesn't like guy 3. Guy doesn't like girl, girl likes guy 4. Guy doesn't like girl, girl doesn't like guy The first three are quite common in media, but the human mind always jumps to the conclusion romance is only the first option. Though the important thing here is that there's always a BUT explaining the situation. Something like "Guy likes girl, girl likes guy" BUT guy has girlfriend. So why is this relevant? Ever hear the term "hots for the teacher" before? Anyways, this is just a basic outline of something that can go deeper, but it's elementary knowledge that feeling aren't always mutual and we see it in Reborn with Amaria and Titania. And now we get to go all the way back to the ever so lovable cardboard cutout we call a protagonist. You're implying a silent protagonist can even portray feelings of romance, let alone emotions at all. Yeah, yeah Persona did it but it's not really that strong or well executed even. Basically how Reborn's cast goes is that they are all in one big circle, but are divided up into smaller circles with some characters linked to multiple. The protag is in the smack dab middle but there's a giant hole surrounding him in which he doesn't really have links with anybody. The rivals are the only ones who are kind of close, but that's early on which later most people just kind of treat you like a dependable guy but nothing more than that. Look at Fern and Victoria post Agate.

Forum Name: Commander Showdown Name: RBRN Commander Discord Name: Commander #0629 Availability: Mon, Tues, Wed afternoons (EST) Favorite Types: Rock, Psychic, Grass Least Favorite Types: Dragon, Azery

I'm going to have to side with Azery on this one since they are playing it blind. While it may be possible so many things can just curbstomp them into a game over including Solaris chomp. Not really gonna watch it but I'm not gonna damper the excitement of others with my opinions.

When you factor everything in, we still have quite a handful of Pokemon left to go that aren't available yet other than out of chance or through a choice. I don't think the Bagon line will be available yet, but other than that, I think the remainder Pokemon will be legally obtainable in some means or another.

<< >> Not sure which thread to post this in but I suppose the newest one is the better one to choose from. Anyways, I was doing a livestream so here are my thoughts starting with the long essay of rants: My computer really doesn't want me to listen to the soundtrack of the game. Rant over. Where do I even start? I guess I should say that I know have gone 2 hours into the game and am finally getting pretty close to the first gym badge. So basically I'll talk about my thoughts on getting to the first town. The best way to describe it is that my nostalgia vibes are kicking in and I'm loving it. So one thing that this game does that I really like is the fact that the story doesn't overstay its welcome. You get a Pokemon and you're off on the start of your journey. There's more to it than that, but it feels so cut down compared to the dragged out starts of most of the recent fan-games. Most intros are 10 minutes while Clockwork's is basically like 2. Once I got on route 1, I experienced something I haven't felt in a long while: I was playing a Pokemon game. The little changes done to the game go a very long way. Pokemon that were bad may actually be good and some are still meh. These little changes make this feel like a new but still familiar experience. I picked up a few oldies I knew about and I got a pleasant surprise on the grind post livestream: Butterfree learned Burn Powder right away. There's nothing drastic but the little changes make you go "wow, that's so cool it's this now or learns this move" when you find one with small changes. The game itself looks great and there's no lag. I'm not sure if there are that many custom graphics or not, but it all looks like it fits. It looks like a Pokemon game. I'm actually flustered a bit with the music issue because the music selection is really good. Animations are also fine as while they aren't a boatload there's enough to tide you over in battle. I'm not going to get into story because...I haven't seen much of it. If something annoys you a little bit, it doesn't overstay your welcome...unlike certain character in certain games...so it's not that much of an annoyance then. Most of the time spent playing the game was mostly just me wondering around like an idiot and loving it. One of my favorite things to do in a game is just wander around a bit. I also like seeing my options in the grass and just going on a while. I have a team of 5 picked out right now, but that's likely to change as I find more options. As for faults or complaints, I really don't have any that I didn't mention previously. I remember some people complaining about the forest, but I personally found it rather easy to navigate. The heal was a welcome as well since my Pokemon were damaged a bit. I could see why Route 2 could receive some complaints since trainers are strong, but you get 3 potions, 3 super potions, and 2 oran berries which is more than plenty to get through. Just come back to the route after reaching the town. The strong trainers push to make you use your resources wisely which I feel is a good mechanic. The level curve is a little on the high side as well, but it doesn't bother me (in fact, I really liked it since I had to use...le gasp...strategy) and led to some hilarious moments like me getting owned by a Hopip and then almost KO'd by a Skitty. Fun fact: If you get KO'd, your Mom will give you 2 Super Potions. I also disagree with the inclusion of a breeder for grinding. I personally prefer grinding on wild mons and I didn't see anything where you really needed to grind. I chose to grind since I was using a really big party for this point in time. As long as the wild Pokemon remain decent levels, I much prefer using that as the option. Honestly, this might end up being my favorite Fan-game. It pretty much filled a thirst I've been wanting for a while. Is it the best fan-game ever? Oh heck no. I generally prefer gems over popular games any day. I think I am going to keep doing a livestream of it every Tuesday during the 10am-2pm EST if anyone wants to watch. Though it's probably going to have to be silent in order to stop the sound distortion fun times. The only thing I ask is to not tell me what's coming ahead or I need to do something. By doing that, you are taking that experience away from me and that can actually ruin someone's game experience. If that becomes a common occurrence, I'll just then give only blog updates like these.

Before I say anything there's nothing going on in the sub-forum right...yep we're good. So if you're gonna do my job, at least try to do it right. And so we begin: First, you can't really expect everyone to be crazy like me and watch a 30 minute video and digest and even understand it. While I'll admit it is relevant, it focused on the character aspect of things (which is a trait you see in novelists and sometimes journalists), but you're talking about the definition of a word. We're not talking the proper definition but more of the cultural definition and it has to do with millennials. This is one of my favorite videos to show my views on the subject: Since I know millenials like to exaggerate stuff and use words to sound smart...making an odd culture, I'll have to refer my only reference to the younger gen Urban Dictionary. So going by my definition from my resource, it usually is used as a term for calling out something that viewers view as a character being too try hard to be cool. Basically, it is a term used for when people dislike a character who fits the "cool" or "bad ass" character mold. It just means that the character doesn't really fit the tastes and they dislike them. I know it's been used to describe unanimated objects and themes and stuff to the point breaking it down would take a while but it's still just an exaggerate way to show dislike. I am going to use this definition when explaining my thoughts. Realism =/= dark and gritty. That is...how should I put it...false? I don't really follow your logic here. While dark and mature themes don't directly link to realism, the two go hand and hand and often share relations to one another. I think the best idea is a wolf wearing sheep's skin. Imagine a city where no crime exists. Sounds like an ideal place to live. It's actually a place ruled by fear and tyranny. Imagine not willing to pay a bill which you were overcharged being a life sentence. Darkness isn't just a color scheme. The term "dark" is often used for comparison to other media and works. So I can't deny what you're saying, but I can't exactly say you're right either. Edgy =/= Realism. So using the rule that Realism can be the above that'd mean Edgy =/= Dark and Gritty. Often times, this can be a true statement so we have a problem. How can a derogatory word represent realistic elements? Yes, that was a trick question. Not every characteristic of a character should be likable. In fact it has turned characters people sometimes really hate into their favorite. That's about the likableness of a character which realism is just one slice of it. It's a hard to explain idea that edgy characters can be realistic but we aren't arguing if we like them or not which is what the word you used and the meaning differs from what idea you are trying to represent. I gotta refute this again simply because it can be either though. The only substance behind these claims aren't even your own so I don't really even know what you're trying to argue or state here. Words alone are meaningless things. It's the substance behind them that truly give them a meaning. Now, let's be on our merry way...hold on a minute... Let's make a great comparison of how artificial difficulty works by having a comparison of two entirely different genres to prove one does it better. What? Artificial difficulty often is around factors outside of battles itself and can mean a lot of things such as no saving unless you're not in a dungeon, random enemies with OHKO moves forcing players to lose progress, and using methods to for players to play certain ways. I generally prefer using the word inconveniences since it's so much easier to understand than the fancy term. Final Fantasy 3 is a good example to refer to but there are plenty. Reborn does have a couple situations where this could be argued but that's a debate for another day. I would describe Dark Souls as edgy as to me the term closely resembles the style of Gothic literature which I'd consider Dark Souls styled deeply in that manner. So clearly I am wrong and you're right. Wait, I thought this was a talk on diffi...why am I bothering? The only thing the two games have in common is that I'd never want to live in either place. Shameless advertisement is shameless. Totally haven't done that with a certain run...nope! Never. So basically from the nonexistent comparison to the games and fan-games you did, you came up with a conclusion that the official games are aimed for a casual audience not dwelling into depth while the other is aimed at young adults and teens to better fit the long time fans of the series mostly built out of passion. Congratulations, you discovered why fan-fiction was created in the first place. Personally, I think it is the opposite problem. I think Gamefreak should be more open to experimentation instead of trying to play it safe like they have been rather recently. They are using their resources wisely, but have taken fewer and fewer risks after Gen V focusing more on a visual stance which actually a lot of people have kind of been demanding since Pokemon was getting outdated. I mean Pokemon Let's Go kind of made me said "Finally something different and at least somewhat interesting." 2019 is probably going to be the year we see the decline in fan-games. It's going to be the fans that drive this reaction. No other community has been blessed with the fan creations like the Pokemon community and if fans forget that, they'll set their expectations too high. We have a lot more tools to work with and much more people with the knowledge and skill to accomplish more things but the games fans want to have are both current gen and long which take years to make. If these "improvements" are made we could be adding an additional 2 years onto projects. I'm not saying it's the worst fandom, but I'd argue it's one of the most demanding. Go back to 2016 and find all the comments kind of demanding Ame to include Gen VII when the games haven't even come out yet. We have to add on top the outdated tech fan-game creators have to use and it isn't getting any younger. I'm already experiencing issues on my new computer likely relating to that. It could be fine for another 20 years, but it's hard to speculate what'll happen in the future. So instead of arguing that fan-games need to improve upon what's already implemented, I think we need to go the opposite way an explore new possibilities. There's many elements that barely have been touched or merely scratched the surface. Just to give you and understanding of what I'm talking about: have you ever considered designing a fan-game with only a single map. If you say that it's impossible, then you are thinking about it wrong. What would you have to do to make that map work?

Okay

@zelazko Boy, you ask a lot of questions. Well I'm bored so, let's see what I can answer. First off, there already is a legendary Pokemon: Phione so we have that already checked off. I can't always see rhyme and reason for what Ame decides to do but that sounds a little bit too extreme and too much work. I know people really want a certain Pokemon and I've seen a few dozen (Ame probably has seen hundreds...maybe even a thousand...but who keeps count) and you just gotta be patient. Maybe you'll find a new Pokemon you'll end up loving more than a legend during the wait. A) There is a redemption league which is a spiritual successor to the Reborn League, B) There's no doubles online C) What is a triple battle? D) You'd need trainers to learn and use similar strats to those leagues as well as imitate the personas as well. The chances of Reborn League ever being similar to the way it was is so slim it's not even worth dreaming about. Yeah, yeah I built stuff in the past modding wise to serve as a substitute but history is history. Oh I forgot E) Most of the past people likely aren't even around anymore or in jail...or dead So you want to add a more efficient grinding method when there is an okay grind method in order to address the grind problem that Reborn has because you have to grind on certain trainers in order to progress. Am I the only one who sees the bigger problem here? And probably not because that's a lot of time to do something...that really just change the game at all. Well while we're asking stuff from Ame Petition to add a wild level 99 Bidoof outside the Grand Hall. Gotta have dem buff HM slaves.

Finally someone got it. Third picture probably is still Aelita as well since the other option has all shinies. Not really sure what the 4th one is about.

Hello? Is this the news media? I'd like to report a theft of my time. Thank you and good day, sir! First, I have no idea who the heck this mono person is. Are they a well known Youtuber or Fan-game Dev or even an actual game dev maker? I also assume that's short for something. That's sometimes far more significant than what is actually said. Secondly, what the heck is he contradicting? I'm like not comprehending what you're saying as he's saying just mere facts that have been around for years. And anyone who has seen like a few of my posts knows I talk about art style...a lot. I guess I'll explain it one more time. If you are more into profits over experience, graphics should be more important. A casual gamer will often buy a game with better graphics over one with a better art style purely because it looks better. It gives off a better first impression which sometimes games and companies need to do just to even get by. These fan-game and hack communities aren't exactly helping them with their profits either, but it's a minor problem compared to the flood of shoveware rising more and more. If the graphics weren't as good as they are, Phoenix Rising would have been completely forgotten instead of the talk of the week. It has a terrible lasting appeal as what looks good at that time can completely look awful in modern time such as FFVI and Legend of Dragoon. Heck even FFX definitely has shown its age and that game was one of the best looking at the time. I could go deeper, but that's the big gist and importance of graphics. Now art style is very different as it focuses more on the artistic aspect of the graphics. I think the best way to understand it is to compare Legend of Zelda Wind Waker to Twilight Princess as the two used very different art styles. Twilight Princess was revered as the better looking game at the time. Now with time Wind Waker pretty much took the spot as the cartoon design had a longer lasting appeal. It's a completely different style of graphics and it worked in the long run. When someone uses a unique art style, it means that it's a graphical presentation different from the norm. Reborn's Reborn City gives off a dark dystopia type city that's falling to pieces and invests you on a terrible type place to live. It uses its own unique spin on the RSE Pokemon graphics which gives a familiar but different visual experience at the same time. So a good art style gives better immersion, right? If that's true then Phoenix Rising is more immersive than Reborn. Stop trying to answer a complicated question with a simple solution. Immersion is based on three factors: engagement, involvement, and thoughts. Engagement is things you see in a game that make you want to play it or continue which can be both visual and auditory. Involvement is when a player is playing the game or interacting through it in the means the designer wishes or wants. The most important is the last one. Thoughts are what you take from the game. So you have this game with amazing graphics, a solid gameplay which heavily involves the players thinking through their actions, but let's say the story is very predictable and generic. Now why would a player not feel very immersed? (In a tiny squeaky voice pretending to be a nonexistant fan) "But Commander, you've said story is the least important aspect of a game?" I have indeed, intelligent little child. I have indeed. You don't need a good story to make an enjoyable game, but we are talking about immersion. A game with a good story makes you think about it more and wonder about things. But can you make an immersive game without story? Yes you can. Take Xenoblade X. The games exploration aspect makes you feel like you're in this amazing new world which you want to explore...and cry tears of joy when you get your giant robot. Don't you think this could also be applied to graphics/art style. Yes it can. Don't you guys love it when there's no simple answer. And so you don't think I wasted all your time, go play Sunset Over Imdahl. It's a free and beautiful looking RPGmaker game with hand drawn maps. Commander out yo!

The subscribe button decided to leave for his now job with a Gator. Anyways, I'm not like super out of the know on what goes on in V10 as it's nearly impossible without someone mentioning or spoiling it such as the gym leader who I think was the old leader of Sheridan. I'd have to live under a rock to not see it. As for the Lucario thing, I already made a joke about Kenneth being Keta so I already do kind of know and it's implied. Not really a spoiler but I actually think Jan didn't set the gender on Lucario which is fun. By now you've probably played and beaten both V10 and this. Well at least Blacksteeple is out of the way. Thanks for the compliment and I hope you're excited to see our native bird friend hatch soon. ....Hmmm....well I'm sure he's enjoying himself nonetheless ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So before I begin with this chapter I've decided I'm going to let this be an interlude between chapters. While I'm not at Valerie, I really need this so we're doing it early, but Chapter 2 won't come out until Post Crawli....or when I lose my mind and need to work on this to feel better. Now back to Adventure! Episode 2: Fresh off the Boat (Gelica, we're gonna need more socks) So after two months, the captain was tired of Kenneth's shenanigans and finally gave him the boot. So now our lazy protag needs to accomplish something. (Can't say the same for myself though) (Hopefully they have a department store) What? The man needs his socks. (Oh hey somebody who'll actually be super important and help us out) (I just hope he doesn't kick us out of the city otherwise we're screwed) (Why am I talking aloud? I sound like that weirdo guy with silver locks) (Gelica, don't give me that look. All strangers are friends) (I don't remember Gelica being...you like him, don't you? I won't say anything if you won't) (Is smoking illegal? If it is, I'm gonna have to report you because you're on fire) Oh god! Is Kenneth's Lucario going to bring all the boys to the yard? (I'm gonna call you Smokes. Thanks, Smokes) (Under construction? Yes, yes it is) (Gotta help the orphaned children in need) (...even though they'd all probably be adults by now) (Smokes ain't wanting to put up with this) (Kenneth is a natural born leader) (So it's like EA's practices) (Well when you're a desperate college student, an end result like this isn't surprising) (I see the rocks, but where's the rolls) (And then Kenneth realized his life as a special snowflake was over) (I mean a big city brings in traffic which brings in revenue so...I guess it is helping in a way) (Shady business practices to get people into slave labor...I love this place already) (I'm sure he's a really nice and understandable man) (Gelica, you better not screw this up) (Well it can't be any worse than prison) (Maybe it wasn't a good idea to read those magazines for two months. I don't really feel all that good. At least the grunts help alleviate the pain) I'm trying. My humor is as flat as team Xen right now. (Oh god. Please no more magazines) (Wait, when did I win Miss Aveium?) (Good. Now how do I turn it off? What do you mean I can't?) (Smokes, I'd ask why I need this but something tells me I really don't want to) (Except it's not really lemonade...it's apple juice) (As my grandad always said, "Don't look a gif horse in the mouth") (Smokes is embarrassed...aww) (Where do they even get that many Itemfinders?) (...I can with my fists of Nick fury) (Who knew being beautiful came with benefits?) (It's not like they anything better to do) (Personally, I just play a bit of FEH) I'm not actually sure if people actually do this anymore but sometimes I've seen workers play with cards. Card games are a pretty good past time if you're bored and your breaks aren't very long. If I was good at shuffling cards I'd probably play more of them. (I like keeping both of mine in thank you very much) (Ah to be young again. Stupid and ignorant of the world. Good times!) Wait...what do you mean nothings changed since then for me? (Deagan the Vegan who's sometimes called Meangan) (I GOTTA BELIEVE!) (Now after me: Luca! Caro! Luca! Caro! Punch! And Kick!) (Says the guy who's job is just to stand there and do nothing) (And have no regrets) (It's called a job. We do more than asked for half the value) (The Plutie is strong in this one) (...Good job. Now you won't get paid. So smart. Much wow!) (How do you even lose your...nevermind it was a spongebob episode) (This guy must really like his job) (My thoughts exactly) So something I don't believe I mentioned is that in clipscenes the frame actually shrinks a little bit to focus in on it more. It's honestly a nice touch and I like it. I think a lot of games do it as the camera moves or twirls around. I think it was skipped over but it's so minor and this is a fan-game I'm not going to complain. Now cue the battle montage....oh forgot something So I really like how Kenneth responds to stuff. Sure it's nothing significant but it's better than nothing. It's one of those nice touches that it makes seeing his responses to "important" npcs seem interesting. If you like that stuff, you'd love Legend of Heroes Trails in the Skies as that series has characters interact in all kinds of ways. XSeed did a fantastic job localizing it. It's just really hard to get into the first game since it's so easy and very basic gameplay compared to the others. (And this guy is going to be named Dick) (Gotta leave the Dick alone) (Stay back! I have a shiny Lucario and I'm not afraid to use it!) So these battles surely can't be that ba... (I spoke too soon) I'm still not a fan of the UI change but it remind me of something. I can't even think of what game the action screen it reminds me of. (I think this is a different trainer) (Bazinga baby!) (Did you think I was a hacker or something with cheated level 1 mons?) You can't actually get a level 1 Lucario legally...other than common candies (And now for an actual rant) I don't actually like that this thing is here. It doesn't really even need to be here technically. I actually would prefer if it didn't as then it'd make you think about using your resources and skills a little bit more wisely as while the workers aren't that strong, they do make you think about what you are doing. I think they are just right and we are just strong enough to easily overpower them. But this is here meaning I'm going to be cheap and not use my Lemonades. Old school RPG tip though: many early games are actually pretty tricky especially with one character so sometimes it's a good idea to keep healing in the first house since it's usually free to grind your main guy's level up. That's kind of what I did here. (And here's Greyson. Even if you have a different name, you're still Greyson in my eyes) (I still prefer the word poison over that) (Gotta pull a fast one here) (That was anticlimatic for a very threatening mon) (Because violence is always the answer) So what are your thoughts on these battles, Gelica: (That's what I thought) Well at least this game has been pretty tame. No weird anime crap or... (I may have spoken too soon) (So you're sleeping while standing up. Also, it took you this long to realize that. That's wow...just...wow) (Not sure if those are sideburns or a beard) (Watch out! We got ourselves a badass here) (I think I'm witnessing a drug deal...I should probably leave before the pull out the guns) (Oh phew...I thought I was gonna need to pull out an overused joke/meme here.) (Well the man does have all the power. That's half the reason I'm still on this piece of land even) (I can't disagree with him there) (I really should be videotaping this. Something tells me it'd come in handy in the future) (What's so good about this?) (SHIT! They noticed. We need to run like now, Gelica) (Kids these days with their memes and edgy sayings. Back in my day...) (Do you see me carrying a trumpet? Don't place me in with those obnoxious filth) This is one of those jokes that will go over any non band geek's head. So basically trumpets in a band usually are the ones with an ego and usually like to blast or overpower everyone else. I could go into more band stereotypes but that's for another day and another time. (At least he's not from Pallet Town) (I'm a genwunner and proud of it) (Too bad the woman is always right) (So I googled what Chasity meant as it sounded familiar which I was thinking of chastity which...definitely is not what I thought it stood for) (Oh boy it's a teenage band. We definitely are in the 90s now) (Yeah, and I'm gonna be president.) (I wonder if this is how Twisted Sisters was founded) (Missing an apostrophe at the end there, Jan) (I'm Avieum's most beautiful man, the pony-tailed youth and future president, Kenneth Krump) My goal by the end of this run is to make a paragraph long title for him. (Oh Kenneth, how little you know about suffering. Oh how little you know) (That burn was so good it burned me out of a caption) (For some reason, I think she likes me...though she has a boyfriend which means stay away...though Gelica could...) (At least I have a promising future. And I prefer the title outdoorsman thank you very much) (...You're alright. Though promise you'll never talk me again and we be cool) (Glad we're on the same page) (And right here you witness a protagonist using intelligence. Consider yourself lucky, mate, as you rarely see such a magnificent display) (Good luck on your career, Jenniper Lopez) So this scene is a lot more entertaining to watch as it's very animated. Dialogue isn't amazing but it really works well here. It's just weird unless you watch the scene itself which is for a good laugh which is what this scene is about. Remember how I said that this side story does a lot of things I complained about in the normal game? If this was the normal game, Jenner and Chasity would give an explanation of who they are and why they are here and then talk about their dreams in the future and then explain who Jimmy is and then Jimmy's brother. It's short. Sweet. and moves on before it drags on. (10/10 mapping right there but...IGN would give it a 7.8/10 for too much water) (More roadblocks featuring Roderick Rollers) (Poking a Scyther would be the last thing I ever do...isn't that slave labor?) (I dunno. This place already looks to be way too big) (I swear it's like Kenneth is doing my job...quit it) (Oh hell no. Building one city is hell enough. Two? Hope he has an army...and a lot of sandwiches ready) (And the East shall be rebuilt twice...for reasons nobody understands why) (Kenneth is easily amused it seems. I'm totally not...HOLY SMOKES there's a guy washing windows behind me! I must watch and study his motions) (This is why I don't have a camera) (Hey there. I'm a psychic and I see you and me enjoying a nice chat at the cafe tomorrow) (Ouch! Not even worthy enough to receive a rejection. I should've listened to my grandpa more) (Now you answer me) (Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. What's with the dirty look, Gelica?) (I'm kind of hungry maybe I should go...okay, Gelica! We'll go find a job first) (Gelica, you have my permission to beat him up if he doesn't move in the next 10 seconds) (I demand compensation for being tricked into this labor union) (Every time I hear that last name, a chill runs down my spine for some reason) (Wait I thought he was in charge. So the man above him is. Or is it below. I'm confused but if they give me a job I don't think it matters) I think Mr. Blakeory is the Project manager and is in charge of anything that goes on in here. This manager is the manager who is in charge of his branch in a company or something. That wouldn't be surprising given that projects aren't usually run or maintained by the head honcho and someone below is usually more involved. But it'd basically be almost the same as talking to Blakeory in terms of power over the project. (Hah! I told you we should've went to the cafe. We would've saved time) (I wonder if they have free wi-fi. Gotta see what my peeps are doing back home) (I wonder what that shop over there...Ouch! Okay, we'll get going. Why are you so mean, Gelica?) (Why would I need luck when I'm overqualified for the job?) And we're done...I mostly wanted to show this off to show you all the little details in the place as it really isn't a boring place to explore. I don't really even have any complaints or anything rant worthy here. It'll probably come to a surprise but I'm not actually normally like I am in Rejuv when playing games at all. So instead I do want to go into at least a few of the events that came about. I mean Totalbiscuit's Death, Xenogene's "Hiatus", Pokemon Let's Go, and Phoenix Rising's release all happened so close together. That's so much interesting news and discussion stuff and we're not even at E3. I'll start with Xenogene as it's the most relevant. It's both a surprise and not a surprise as Zumi was trying to do so many things which can actually really drain you. I'm not even sure how she did it. Game making is like having a second job and it will feel like it at points. It's not my place to say whether or not it's truly dead but I've had projects sit for 5-6 years before picking them back up and working on them though I never really stopped, but I stopped the time consuming processes. Just the only little thing I'll say to Zumi and anyone else who read that: it's only a waste if you tell yourself it's a waste. A lot of good things came out of Xenogene as half the fun is the journey to a release and not the game itself. I didn't play or stick around Reborn due to the Reborn game. That gets into the other bad but obvious news. I can't work on Redux like I used to. I don't mean like my willpower (which is still low) but something that I really kind of never mentioned but should have. My eyes have been slightly damage due to working on it in terrible light conditions along with working on a boatload of schoolwork. Please don't panic or anything because I can still see perfectly fine since I want from eagle eyes to normal vision give or take a few little problems. My eyes are still adapting to the change so I'd rather not push it until then. There's a lot of reasons that could cause this, but I know the mod was the most stressful on them. This is something that also started back in like November. Also fan-game making does not make you go upright blind before paranoia starts happening there as well. It happened. I'll probably focus more on other smaller projects like run until I figure out a better system...though it's not really a loss because it's not like I use my eyes anyways. Now let's talk about those other games. I actually think Pokemon Let's Go looks to be very promising and kind of awesome. I actually see it ending up being really good because it still keeps the soul of a Pokemon game and what people really like about the games. Red, Yellow, and Blue are terrible games by today's standards yet it created a very popular series people love. I think people are too quick to judge...though I hope they make it at least worth that hefty price tag. If it's like 39.99, I'd probably buy it. #TeamPikachu4ever Now we all know I don't play a lot of fangames, but I have at least try to play a little bit of a few. This is the only series I'm going to do a written run because it's way too much work to do a run like this for multiple games. I might try to play a fan-game here and there imbetween segments but we'll just have to wait and see. There's only 3 games that perked my interest though and Phoenix Rising really wasn't one of them. No offense to the devs, but it's not really what I'm looking for in a game.

@CrossImpact So I guess the first thing to straight up say is that people are inserting their opinions in to a subject in which they don't really know how to answer. I prefer playing fan-games over the core series myself, but they definitely aren't better. Now I have to pretty much "shit talk" fan-games to explain it which I didn't want to. Let me just first clear up the story which is a very subjective term as you don't compare Stephen King to Shakespear or JK Rowling to R. L. Stein. I mean you can, but that's kind of silly. The main gamer market does not care about the story. They care most about connectivity and online gaming. If you look at the top best selling single player games vs the top selling online gaming games (or whatever the proper term is called) there's quite a large gap. I know it's at least a couple million. A lot of changes for Post Gen V were done purely due to this as it cuts back resources where it doesn't matter and puts them into what they believe does. I absolutely hate the decisions made. Hate them. But it does overall improve Pokemon as a whole to the ideas that they are aiming for. They focus more on a visual experience and they really deliver on that front as it's a beautiful and enjoyable experience which ties into the story. The story is more keen on showing off the visuals and what they can do over depth. Pokemon never focused on depth and simplicity works so well for them. Depth in a Pokemon game probably would not go over too well, but we have seen small cues that they are trying stuff such as Lusamine's husband clipscene in the USUM postgame. And characters actually have storylines. What about fan-games? I think people like to forget that Full Moon and Zeta exists and there's only a small handful of true fan-games. Welcome to the world of fanfiction where there is really bad stuff and sometimes it's so bad it's good. I haven't played LotA so I won't judge it, but even Reborn doesn't really stand much ground in modern day Pokemon in terms of story. Ultimately, it's still using a system where people are usually just standing and speaking lines. Reborn goes WAY BEYOND what is expected from a fan-game and does show more character and a deeper plot, but the reception of the game has all kinds of variations. Titania, Lin, Terra, the difficulty, unfair game mechanics, bloated cast, plot points that aren't touched again for over half the game, and the list goes on. Do I even have to go into Rejuv other than mentioning Melia Sue? I don't want to dive too deeply and I absolutely enjoyed Reborn, but I could trash that game's storyline as it's very messy especially in the latter half. I'll just end it in saying complexity =/= superiority. Remember that we're talking about this: From a company that makes millions of dollars for each release Vs this: I'm not arguing which games are more enjoyable, but having the rationality of knowing who does it better. If Game Freak was aiming and designing towards a heavy single player focus for teens and young adults, they'd blow anything fan-games presented out of the water. That's not who they are aiming for though. It's just a casual designed series with a lot more emphasis on the metagame compared to the older days. How about we change the idea around? What if Game Freak presented something that looked exactly like Reborn? Would you be willing to spend $50 on it? Is a game that looks like that worth $50 to you? How many of you guys have either SM or USUM? If you look at it as a price of value, of course fan-games are going to be superior since there is no price to them. That's not what the discussion is. We're saying that fan-games are so good that they are worth more value than the official games so you'd be willing to spend $50 or maybe even $60 on them. If that sound ridiculous to you, you've proven my point. You'd be out of your mind if you think Fan-games are better than the core series.

Number of times people give me advice on stuff I pioneered It's like everyone thinks I'm a n00b or something but thanks...I guess? I know most of the early game changes such as Keta's first fight being doubles and his second fight based around his WLL team and the radio tower area got really revamped adding an additional area to explore. While I understand people really want to be helpful, I've been a gamer for a long enough time I prefer just learning and failing myself. What's the point of playing a difficult game if you don't struggle a little bit. Even though I probably know most tricks in the book at this point. I've explained that the lore could merely be exaggerations of some truth...which is what a legend is such as King Arthur. I think it was a mere poor choice of words which wasn't recieved well. That's all you hear certain people who dislike Madame X say. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I guess this is more or less an update time as you can probably guess the run is completely fix bar a single pic I'd have to remake. So while I doubt this will even happen again, I'm going to make a backup in the docs so that I'll just link that to the older chapters instead. This is the first time something like that happened to them in the past 8 years. I know a lot of people would dread the though of having to go back and fix everything, but that's what editing is and if you can't enjoy your own work, how do you expect others to? I had a blast going back and even added in some post comments. I did fix some errors, but I'm positive I missed quite a number though I'm not going to go back and fix them. I did notice a couple of patterns though which I didn't really care for making me want to change a couple things: The first change is that I'm going to do some better editing of the chapters. Now the chapters will be posted without edits for the sake of me not losing all that work. I'll just do the edits in the morning or afternoon since I'm dead tired by the end of it. The other change is that I'm going to try and reduce the number of "whining" captions. I'm not going to get rid of ones where I'm sarcastic or the chair joke, but try to avoid ones like "this is getting ridiculous." Coming up with 1,000s of these aren't always easy for certain pics so I can't promise anything but to try. The next major issue is the battles. If any of you mention Intense mode, I will have Loewe cut you in half. So the issue with battles is my inability to really accurately capture screenshots sometimes missing stuff and the distance between the fight and when I reach it in the run becomes so long that I forget what happened sometimes. Story and side stuff is still the main focus, but would you guys rather me just record boss fights and give post commentary on the videos? That's something I'm willing to try since that's kind of the weakest area in the run so far. The last thing I want to talk about are the "rants" as most people refer to them as. Do you know how people read a newspaper and sometimes skip to the comics and read something else? I really think that can be applied here as some people watch this run for certain things. Sometimes it's the hit-or-miss humor, but other people are more interested in my thoughts. I could also see how people think I dislike the things I'm ranting about but many of them are "it's not bad, but could use some work" many times. I'm not changing my ways and if you really don't like my tone, feel free to just read the captions or "humor." I'll admit I sometimes do that for certain LPers. I do think I should take this run a little bit more serious than I have been (I'm still winging it like a man who hasn't eaten in 3 days at a KFC). We don't have very many sources of entertainment in both the forums and Youtube. Most of the talk is about battles and the difficulty. Of course you got a thread here and there complaining about the axed jackpot feature whatever, but your choices are limited. While I won't change much, I should at least try to make the weaker aspects more bearable. Also, holy smokes a lot of things happened this week. At least I'll know I'll have plenty of stuff to talk about after a certain protag is finished with the world's longest magazine "activity."

I might reread and respond to some other people afterwards, but here's my unfiltered opinion: Short Version: You'd have to be kind of out of your mind to think fan-games are BETTER than the main core series. Here's the long answer: So let's just start off where fan-games are better than the main games. Many fan games use the Gen III styled graphics which are games that came out almost 18 years ago. You could say 15 or something for Fire Red. People have been improving on a system that came out 15 years ago and implementing more and more. Even at this point in time, B2W2 still dominates over any of the fan games created. They brought ideas and concepts like challenge mode and some really fun side content to explore. But we can't compare a system which used an older system since obviously it should be superior, but we have to look at modern times. Pokemon is a game designed for children and male gamers in mind. They are focused mostly on profits as most companies should, but the creators are passionate towards innovation. While the brand name sells a few million, it's the flashiness and graphics as well as the ease of into the game on top of a huge community that people keep coming back into the games. Every gen makes the games look more and more pleasing to the eye and more recently they games are more designed on the hype and metagame. More features are added for online play since the games are designed to have people communicate with one another. With the evolution of technology, people have been able to communicate about Pokemon so much easier than before and the series just keeps adding more to that idea. People like Bibs I saw nailed the description so I won't dwell too long, but I do want to talk about story. We have two entirely different arguments going on but Pokemon actually does a better job at presenting story than you might think. Look at USUM going an extra mile to flesh out characters like Lusamine even further. There's better dynamic and characters are just so memorable compared to Gen I. Sure it's a simple generic plot about becoming the best, but we have a good time getting there and it delivers it pretty well since it does feel like an adventure. There are linearity issues, but most Pokemon games and even fan-games have that issue. Do fan-games have some things they do better than the current Pokemon games? Probably, but it's so tiny that you can't say a fan is ultimately better than a team of professional developers. They are still making huge profits from the series and it hasn't really gone down much which each gen despite the huge crankout of games (like CoD or Guitar Hero). That there should really speak loud. But why on earth would people even question this fact? Fan-games don't design their games like GF does only really using Pokemon as a base gameplay mechanic. Sure some keep it pretty close to the original experience or even some hacks that are just remakes, but let's focus on the popular Fan-games such as Reborn. Many of these games designed full-on rpg experiences that last for 20, 40, or even 60 hours and bring about new and fresh things. Difficulty is also even higher. So many of these games get a lot of love and praise and even PR gets a lot of praise for its graphics compared to most fan-games. Why do people like "inferior" games? It's because they suit the people's tastes more. I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't exactly gotten all that excited about Gen VI and VII to the point I really can't get into or enjoy them. There could be a load of reasons like a change in tastes. It might just be a good idea to back away from Pokemon and begin adventuring to find games that better suit your taste. Even a few hundred fans is just pennies in the eyes of Pokemon. I'm not saying to not continue or support fan-games though (or even the main series if you still like it). If you like something from them, keep playing and supporting them. Let's just say Reborn has like 200k people who play the game (probably a heavy exaggeration). 200k is a huge game changer for smaller companies and can even push for more games in a certain series to get another sequel or more localization. You'd be surprised how many "inferior" games may end up being the best experiences you've ever had.

Just when you think a guy can't be kicked down any further than he is, there's a way. First your role as the main protagonist, then your team, and now your favorite girl.

I'm going to be that one person since as you'll deal with haters and people complaining all the time. There's going to be people who will berate a game over simple things. I'm absolutely fine with people saying that Redux is really disappointing because it takes like 4 months just to get a very tiny amount of work done and I wholeheartedly agree with them as I'd be disappointed too. Fans also really hyped this game up so it just added fuel to the fire. Anyways, my ideals and their design ideals are like polar opposites so what they value and what I value are two entirely different things to the point I know this was not a game designed for me. They are spending more time on things I really don't think they should even have considered focusing time on (like controller compatibility) over things they should (like testing and reducing lag and battle animations). My value of time is different from there's...and you can kind of see why I'd think the way I do feel it's a bit underwhelming.