Commander

I'm not saying this was intentional but sometimes devs to stretch what the actual play time is to make it at least look more impressive than it really is. I know Xenosaga's first game gave a little statement that it was like a 40 hour experience when people normally beat it in 10-20 hours. So I decided to give this demo a little try just to see what it is and if it's any good. So for a fan-game that they've been working on for I think it's 6 years (basically Reborn's lifespan) I can honestly say it's both an impressive and unimpressive piece of work at the same time due to that. I just want to throw that elephant in the room as massive world RPGs like Xenoblade take around 4 years to create with a team and we all know that mumbo jumbo. I mean if it takes them another two years for another release...that'd make it 8 years working on a single game. Maybe they have the system right or close. I'm not really following it that much. It's just a strange thing and I'm worried it'll be their own demise. I'll probably no longer be party of Pokemon community by then so I probably won't even know what happens to it by then. I guess I'm saying don't expect releases very soon since they clearly have high standards for themselves. So let's talk about the big things first: Graphics: I gurantee every single Poke tuber is going to play this game and are going to say it's one of the best purely due to the graphics. And so many people are going to rave about and I guess that's fair as the graphics in the game are way beyond anything any other fan-game has presented. I do see I think it's gen IV trainer sprites but it's a fan-game and that's to be expected. If you've known me for a long time, you know very few games wow me with their graphics. I'm not going to say much on the art style since I haven't gotten far but it's more or less just Gen IV styled mapping except the graphics are 4 times better than that was. The animated sprites in the overworld are absolutely solid though. They did a solid job there as any animation looked crisp and the sliding screens kind of was surreal. Though on the overworld, I didn't notice a single jarring tile which also says something. Though that does come to like my only real big complaint. So the battle screen looks pretty good and you'll probably notice how the fronts of many sprites are custom made but...I'm not sure if they've done the backsprites are any of those Pokemon. It's kind of apparent and sticks out. Not really my complaint as from the few wild battle Pokemon...the animations are kind of a letdown. For a series all about the flashy battles, it's probably a good idea to spend more time on that over anything else. It just brought back memories of Raptor Ex and the lacking of them. I mean it's kind of jarring going from a game that is visually fluent into a battle where foresight and growl sound like a tackle. Don't really take too much hate from what I'm saying as I'm just not a fan of the art style, which caters to the majority who'd love this art style over something like Reborn's. Dialogue: Honestly, this is the only reason I'd even argue picking up and trying this game early despite it being in the early stages. It's honestly pretty well written. I can't really say it's all that memorable, but it's not bad and definitely interesting enough to read...but I'm still confused on the player's mom and dad relationship since I was kind of light reading it. I think they are divorced or something but the game had a strange way of going around on it. Like your mom is chill on the subject. It's the intro to a story so it's not going to be too interesting so I'm not going to judge it on that. The thing I absolutely love about this game is all the small details. Every single clickable thing in the first town has unique dialogue. The TVs, the sinks, and even the trash cans. I was honestly more interested in that over whatever the NPCs were saying. Nobody is talking about all those little pieces of dialogue as they are such good screencaps to get people interested in like this one: Slowness/Lag: So I hear a lot of people complaining about how slow it is. I kind of agree the walk speed is a little slow but the player's running shoes help remediate that. It's really not that slow of a game but since everyone is on about turbo mode and the space bar, it probably does. I will warn you that this game does take more processing power than Reborn as my CPU spikes up to 50% compared to Reborn hitting 30% with on average. If you have an old computer, it might run really, really slow. The first town had some small jolts of lag but honestly it's really not that bad. It'd probably run awful on my old computer. It's a minor issue. There's also the slow moving quest captions for each quest. I'm sure they'll edit it in future releases to move faster if they can. That or they could just edit it so the player could move around when that animation is going on. They'll probably do something about it. Sound/Music: I uhhh...kind of forgot all the tracks. They are good custom tracks, but my mind is drawing a blank. I do like how the music changes when it cycles to night and I remember the really cool effect of hearing owl noises which really added to the feeling. It's really charming and it fits. Errors: So far I have not experienced a crash or game breaking error. I'd say the current release is rather stable in the first area but they make notes to save often...though I don't know if they have a quicksave or autosave function implemented...which probably would've been a good idea. Of course, I'm not trying to break the game. Other miscellaneous details: -While the game supports controllers, it doesn't support dualshock 4 controllers so you'd need a program to convert it (I believe Dualshock 3 controllers can work) -For my controller, it seems to flip out a little bit in the quest menu and I believe the start menu as well. Could just be Dualshock 4 though -You can do the two beginning main quests in any order, but I don't believe it changes the dialogue for either from the looks of it -I'm starting to think one of those devs played Trails in the Sky due to the similar feel of the Quest Book to the Bracer Book (that's not a bad thing) -Only one pop culture reference so far kind of surprised me as I though there'd be more I'm not going to play any further since this game is merely a small demo and I like to wait for a game to at least reach past its halfway point before trying. I will say though it has a lot of charm and it could turn out to be something really impressive. I could definitely see why I lot of people would love the game and want to follow it though. I'm just in the meh train...which his ADHD kicked in when running around the first town.

Honestly I feel like people forget these are fan games which are made by people who are more or less inexperienced and probably doing it for fun...until it drains them. There is a reason why I tend to avoid playing them nowadays especially in an Era where older games are cheaper than ever. The game isn't that bad and very playable despite the glitches. The plot isn't any worse than it already was which this is the guy who made Zeta so no idea what you'd expect. I think it's forgettable and not bad like its predecessor which was so bad it was good. Or we could go back to old Reborn or even Raptor Ex. I haven't played it so I won't judge it. I just feel that people's standards have been set too high due to Reborn and probably need to back off. This is a bloody free game. Also I vote for a Budew run where you have to lead with a Budew in battle until it faints.

I'm only going to say this for the sake of Jan and for a lot of people who had to watch this but it was removed as it catered to people's obsession with gambling as this has a similar effect to a gacha game in which is messes with peoples heads. People would spend hours resetting just to get one of those mons to the point it was just unhealthy and very concerning. It was never about the mons being broken and just how the average person was handling it. It was not a healthy systems for those who did aim for this, but for those who didn't, they weren't affected at all by this change. I get people are upset a feature was taken away, but it's such a small feature that it doesn't really impact the experience of the game. It brings out a bad stimulus that it's one of those things that I really don't want to see again. People would spend 3 or 4 hours on something rather than actually enjoy the gaming experience that Jan put a lot of hard work into just for some silly Pokemon they'll get later.

I was more referring to both the screencaps and how I've just gone on and on for literally the same thing so many times. It's more like I'm going to try to keep variety up but no promises that it'll be super varied. This is a long run and if I just only bashed the game people would grow bored and tired and I'd probably grow tired as well. The fact that people kept up with this segment is still amazing as we've been here a long time. We're actually a lot close than you may think. This last segment really isn't that long as you'd expect. Funny how this segment recieved some very drastic changes yet it still receives the same remarks as it did before. The entire maps were completely redone and maybe even a month was spent on this. That's possible since the built in Intense Mode script increases levels by I believe 20% or something but it also could have been changed to raise her levels up entirely in the new version. This is still version 9 and not version 10. Had to google Dues Ex Machina to make sure I had it right and...she's not exactly one. The best way to describe that term is when something completely out of nowhere shows up to solve an unsolvable problem. It's basically something ludicrous more or less. Crescent definitely could be considered one but not piano girl. And because a lot of people drink underage means it's okay to do it too, right? That doesn't really excuse the use of it and especially at an excessive level. And yes, sometimes you have to have them and I've had them before. That was mostly dancing around furry jokes other than the fact this character really shouldn't exist. GG has a role she play in Reborn that cannot be replaced at all and was a real life league leader. I've mentioned character cutting before and I've done it. I did actually bring back a cut character in one plotline due to finding quite a bit more relevance for her. This is stuff you have to look at before even beginning to notice patterns of "this character really isn't adding much to the plot...I should probably consider axing them to give other characters more screentime and development." This is sadly something you learn from experience and time and not something you can just go back and change. As for the whole people replacing Pokemon, this is a complicated issue for what seems like a simple problem. Why Pokemon are never the focus of the main plot or rarely mentioned has to do with so many factors. The first is that the character is a silent protagonist. The character who'd get the most into their Pokemon or maybe even have their own personal favorite is the protagonist which is why it's apparent in WLL. The second is time and budget constraints. Putting Pokemon involved in scenes requires animations usually which need to be created. The bigger thing is that everyone is trying to make these big casts which need time and thought to develop properly. The biggest issue is actually giving them personalities without having them able to speak. You won't find that many RPGs who actually do this (Fairy Fencer F is one of the few off the top of my head but...this is Compile Heart which...ho boy that's a long discussion on how I feel about them), but it's not as easy as you may think. I've explained this here why I dislike silent protags and you can apply much of that to here as how to make these characters properly. Though that is a bit of irony in that people so willingly shove a silent protag in, but never bother involving Pokemon more. ._. This is one of those situations where it's not literally told but heavily implied that it could have been her for the main computer. Braxien would have seen the mother cut the boxes though as she was with the admins who she was distracting for the time being. In other words, she would have noticed that. There is one character who I haven't mentioned for various reasons who does fit the bill of damaging the cables. I did this whole part like months ago. I've said before I work on very large chunks of the game before posting up on the run. I'm actually for Madelis being very easy but giving an explanation why to implement it better into the story. I'd probably be more upset if Madelis is hard because there's easily going to be like 100 more "hard" battles in the future. Also, I'm probably sticking with Normal mode even though I did the strawpoll thing. I seriously don't get how people think going on Intense mode would suddenly shift the run and make it better than it is. All it will do is make me less likely to want to work on it. While I don't put too much effort into it like editing and fixing grammar errors, it doesn't mean I don't put hours into each chapter. All it'd do is make me more grouchy having to think of more advanced strategies and put more effort into team designing. I'd still only have 5 or 6 pic battles and just give a brief of what I did. I quit this game because I just kept hitting walls and got tired of it. Do you guys really want that to happen? I get it why people like the mode and why it's a really good thing, but it's just going to bring more bad than good for me. Seriously, there are plenty of people who will do runs of intense and show off their strats. Props to them for showing off their skills. It's a lot of fun especially when that's all you have to focus on. I play this game like once every other month roughly (except this one which has been a long time). And as much as I bash on the story, it's far more interesting than talking about battles or battling in general. Even Blacksteeple, which I think this last post will kind of surprise everyone. I also prefer this level of difficulty because it lets me mess around and have a little fun with team designing. If I did Intense, Albedo, Gaius, and Loewe would be permabenched and I'd rely even more on SEC and Walter than I already do. I'm not triggered by people trying to push me to "play better" in a sense and comment on the higher difficulty, but there's a lot of reasons why I don't. I also know in 6 more months I'll have to go through this song and dance again but that time...I'll probably just start ignoring it. Like when I do those poll things it's mostly on a whim, them my head usually snaps back to reality realizing why I didn't do it in the first place. The Intense change probably isn't going to happen even with a million explanations. I've got a pile of RPGs which I get a lot more enjoyment out of their harder difficulties like Legend of Heroes. I'll at least look at the battles and comment on their teams if you want to meet in the middle. (I'm not talking about just you here either in that regards, Dem) That was just kind of me thinking about the Player's perspective and why they'd go charging up there. Funny how the story contradicts itself in that.....this whole next part is M-girl's fault. I can't believe I didn't realize that until now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take a moment to enjoy this as it'll actually come into relevance later: Chapter 36: Praise the Lord! (And...we're off to a bad start already) So one thing I'll comment on is that I know why her hair is down, but I just don't care for it like that. The ponytail was a little more unique but meh, what do I know. (Finally, I don't have to cut out dialogue because it's taking way too long) Let's just say I skipped 3 lines of dialogue for about 15 times. That's 45 lines of dialogue that could have been outright removed. I know I emphasize this a lot, but this segment is about twice as long as most. Like there's twice as much dialogue than Maria's segment or even Keta's. Padding discussion is probably better saved for another day as padding isn't a bad thing and something you shouldn't do but yeah...let's just keep going for a little bit. (I think 19.99 will be sufficient. That's enough money for me to find a decent game to play) (And the crowd rejoices knowing this is all almost over) (It looks a little old) So I liked the sprites here when I first looked at it and it looked really cool, but those banners look way too blurry now that I see the standstill images. I get what was trying to be done here and I'll give them props for trying, but I think it was a miss here. (They have names. That one's Bruce, another is Lloyd, the bottom right is Star, and the last one is Banter. He's my fave.) (I don't feel anything. Must be the holy water) (Gee Aelita, thanks for the not so obvious insight) (Look at all this wasted potential) And cue the boss of this chapter: (Just push him off the bloody edge. He's an old man. It's not like he can fight back) (Those symbols...I must say that line now) (KINGDOM HEARTS! Fulfill me with the power of darkness) (...It's the the dreaded 5 letter name syndrome) Neved literally wanted to drag the player up here to trap them. He could have at least acted like he knew they'd come. Like seriously, no reason for him to act surprised. (I have one too: can I have that chair? I want to be comfy when people go on monologues) (My question is more important) (Seriously, just push him off already) (I thought I was playing this in the day...but I guess it was actually night looking at the background) (..........That's a stupid reason) (Why does everybody hate Keta? What'd he do, gouge your eye out or something?) (That's kind of pathetic. I'm not kidding that you'd spend your life making another's miserable) (You realize he moved on from the afterlife. He can't see any of what's happening...can I really just push you?) (AMEN! The one time I agree with Aelita and what she's saying) (Actually decent dialogue in a place I hate from a character I hate. Who are you and what did you do to Rejuv?) (For Aevium! [pushes him off the cliff]) (Finally, it's battle time. Guess this is the epic finale we've been waiting for) (This man...he's wearing a hair net) The sprite looks great...except for the splotches on the hair. That coat though looks cool. (And here you can see Albedo is a little underleveled) (...And it doesn't end up going so well) (YOU HAD ONE JOB AELITA! ONE F*CKING JOB!) Good to know Aelita still is an idiot using payback on Weavile. I don't remember what else happened but yeah...that happened. (And this is why Walter is overleveled) Walter used rock slide and these were the results. Walter kind of is my best Pokemon sadly. (He's an awesome killing machine) Walter was then taken down by Gastrodon, but he did do some heavy damage to most of Neved's team. Then we have the true champ take care of the rest. (Nothing can take this blademaster down) I'm pretty sure Loewe knocked that Froslass out with Razor Shell, but I can't remember if Walter did any damage or not to it. (He didn't even feel a scratch) (Because you brought Ice types against a fighting type trainer with a partner who uses a rock type) Yeah...Neved was never designed to be tough and while he could be designed better, I'm fine with it for this fight. He doesn't seem like the type of person to go out training so his Pokemon being a little rusty, especially against a 2 v 1 should be a cakewalk. This fight and the Madelis fight are honestly completely fine and exactly how I'd want them to be designed. We need some incompetence in the story and every battle being hard is boring. I've said that many times. This is also a lockout chapter so battles should only be made so difficult due to possible limited options the player could have. Not a big deal but I could see why it'd feel like a letdown. I just wish something came about from this but we won't be fighting any of these guys anytime soon so we'll have to wait and see. (What a sore loser. He makes Ren look like a good sport) (I'm pretty sure I could've honestly destroyed him by myself) (....Who are you and what have you done with Aelita?) That's actually decent dialogue as honestly, Team Xen is more or less pawns for something. Disposable pawns from the sound of it seeing as Madame X murders them all. (You called him human...that's more than most people have in this game) (So we literally just went up here just to have a Pokemon battle...I'm not sure if my pride or Neved's was shattered here.) (And it was a trap all along...who would have ever guessed by the million signs) (This is like someone bringing a knife to a gun fight...I really should carry one of those in this region. It'd solve so many problems) (And he activated his trap card: turrets of obvious doom) (....This is the saddest thing I've seen in my life) He considers two kids such a big threat that he'd spend thousands of dollars installing two very inconveniently located turrets with the off chance that two people would be dumb enough to charge in here without reinforcements and not see them and actually get close enough to activate them and have a backup power supply just to make sure they work. This is actually dumber than having a trap door under someone's feet. And there was no point for even doing this at all. (Did I mention the protags would have to be dumb enough to send their Pokemon back into their Poke Balls...and for it not to effect Neved's) (PUSH HIM OFF THE GODDAMN EDGE ALREADY!) (You are literally 2 feet away from your own death. Aelita was trained in a village that has martial arts and all your Pokemon are fainted. And if you tried zapping Aelita, you'd die with her. I'd say your the idiot here) (...And you'd be within range) This is seriously a very stupid scene the more you look into it. It's supposed to be threatening but it's just mostly a "Really?" moment because these turrets I don't believe were designed to kill people but to merely zap them. And Neved is an old dude so if someone moved and grabbed onto him, he'd probably die form the shock absorbtion while a younger person could survive and walk it off depending on the I believe it's wattage. I know Amps is what effects what you can survive but that's a deeper discussion than we need to talk about. This scene was also added in just because when all it does is make an eye roll at the most. Because... (How would you even pronounce that? Is it like Veee or Yavee?) (Please tell me it's a girl with a brain. I can't stand any of these idiots anymore) (...Well I guess a dragon empress is an improvement) I'm not going to lie. Madame X's entrance has always been a really cool scene. She just drops in with a Yveltal giving off an impression you really don't want to mess with her. That intimidation really pulls off well and she's kind of been hyped up. This scene was foreshadowed a little bit too much for my tastes and I would've preferred that detail of Madame X arriving today be hidden until this exact moment because it'd be a simple "Oh shit" moment. Maybe have M-girl comment that Neved was hiding something from her which would be Madame X was arriving, but keep it subtle. This is a big moment and a big potential to leave a very good mark on the game. Actually, it needs to leave a big impact. (It was at this moment...he knew...he was screwed) (Madame X used Savage Blow...) (It was super effective) (I'd be kind of pissed too if my underlings showed this much incompetence) (I probably would've used higher diction here but whatevs. It works) (I guess even tyrants can show mercy) (I think the word you're looking for is damned. Forsaken is another good choice) I'm just picking on Jan's diction a little bit. Not really finding anything wrong here but it could use slight improvement. Not like drastic like many scenes before this. (When your name makes a line sound cooler than it already was. I'm in charge of this operation 'round these parts) (That...isn't as epic) "And you: the kin whose father who'd forgotten his duty. It must bring great shame being the daughter of someone who brought shame both on his people and mine." That's not exactly what I'd go with, but you get the idea. ("If only you were even a fraction of him. Perhaps I could have found some use in you.") (Keta's the only character we can make fun of...mostly because he's the only character in this game with...character) (See? It's actually almost there to be really good. Just tinker a few lines and you'd have something cool) (What was our mission again? I'd forgotten) ("How curious. And what exactly is it that drives you to be so reckless?") (I must have missed some dialogue let me just go back to that scene for a minute...) Nope, that's literally the dialogue that follows. I'd probably go "What could two polar opposites share?" or something like that. It's kind of a whatever. ("Silence. I see. Perhaps it is better that way. This conviction of yours...it seems to have shattered countless of my men. [Pulls out her sword] So long have I thirst for a battle worthy of my time. Let us see if it lives up to my expectations") ("If it does not, then everything you've grown to love shall shatter before you eyes. And you and your maker shall become one.") ("Enough talk. Now show me what you can do.") This isn't a theme for the battle but...it's a good listen to give an idea for an explanation I'm gonna give after the battle. If Loewe could've fought here and win, you bet your ass I would've done it. (1 Pokemon...this is going to be easy) (Whelp...we all know how this is going to end) (...YOU'VE GOT THIS ALBEDO I BELIEVE IN YOU!) Afterward that pic, Albedo got on shot by Heat Wave after missing twice in a row. It was actually a hilarious laugh because he managed to knock a chip of damage on Yveltal which surprised me. He wasn't going to be able to KO it though but that would have been absolutely amazing. But now, I shall reveal my secret weapon: (Behold our almighty savior has come to rescue us) (Now repent for your sins, demon queen) (And thus the lord banished the devil himself back to hell) (And Madame X never underestimated a low level Pokemon ever again) (And Jesus recieved a divine power boost) (And gained 4 levels, but our lord needs no levels as he is the most powerful thing in all of Aevium) (And the Arceus above cried out "Dat ass") And I know what you thinking: "Commander, did you really spend 3 hours finding and breeding a Phanpy just to do this?" Yes, random nonexistent viewer, yes I did. I mostly did this just to show off what happens when you win as it adds a little bit of dialogue but...for those of you new to the run will be saying it's impossible to do this. That's actually true as I found out later on that version 10 gave Madame X's Yveltal 1 single move that OHKOs every Pokemon and heals up her Pokemon any damage you may have caused her. And it's a priority move to boot. It actually makes me sick just saying that. There's a difference between making a player feel weak and making a player feel cheated. Using a OHKO move is simply cheating the player. I don't think I've ever met a player who actually get excited when a boss OHKOs the party with a special move. Yes it happens in RPGs, but the amount of time THAT occurs is so little it doesn't actually matter. I think I've played one RPG in the past year that did that. The Yveltal in this version (version 9) was actually very close to what I'd like from an impossible battle. I probably would have recommended making a fake one with its attack lowered in its base stats but adjust its bulk if needed to make it an absolute tank monster. It'd still hit hard, but not to the point most players would feel compelled that cheesing is the only way to win. You do not solve cheesing by removing cheesing methods as doing that only enforcers and pushes people to just rely even more on cheese. This change is only going to make an issue Jan's been playing with (aka axing mons) and it just keeps coming back again and again. I hate to bring up Hardcore, but I've put in some very, very strong mons and many options players wouldn't normally have. Heck, I even gave people Shadow Ball, a very good move, which should have "broken" the game. There's so many things I put in to break the game...yet I don't have this problem. It proved a very, very good point when game designing. Do not punish players or try constraining them to play a certain way. I'm actually the kind of designer who says having Gyarados before the first gym isn't a bad thing. It's very understandable why it was axed but it was an option and people could opt not to use it and many did. I felt it should be axed actually due to the fact people no longer helped others and merely said "use Gyarados" which is a problem. Devs need to stop going this route and fans need to stop pushing devs to design a certain way. Creative freedom and promoting that freedom is very important for game design. That brings us up to one of my favorite impossible bosses: the second general Lawrence fight in Trails of the Sky. This guy is tough and on higher difficulties, it can sometimes grind down to bad luck as to why you lose. Lawrence has a high, but not super high HP amount, very bulky, and a boatload of skills including on healing arte. You're not helpless though as you yourself have a bunch of tools and the ability to mix and match to find artes to help take him down and stay alive during this onslaught of damage. Most of his attacks do 1/3rd to about half a character's health so you have time to recover when needed but not much time. When you win though, it feels rewarding. Those are the kinds of battles people talk about and remember. I also love this untold rule about party losing "if you're going to force a party to lose, do it at the very beginning or early on." Beyond that it's going to bring irritation and frustration and the bad kind which can push people away from the game. (....What a cheapskate for a boss) (You didn't even do anything in that battle) ("It seems you've been training well to be able to scratch my Pokemon like that") ("It seems I've underestimated what the youth can accomplish. It pleases me that there are pests still worth stomping out." ("You shall now have the greatest honor of falling before my own hand.") (And this line would be deleted because I dunno why you'd need to put it here) (...I don't think Jesus could take on 5 more of those things so...letsago) (Running is usually the most successful tactic for survival. Can you blame us?) So the funny thing about this scene is that you see certain people (cough*Azery*cough) rave about how edgy and over the top Madame X is. I honestly don't think she's really that bad and you'd probably wind up finding a character like that sooner or later in a manga, anime, jrpg, rpg, or a racing game. Only thing is that I kind of wish her berating others would be toned down a little bit since every single Xen admin does that. Now as for her being stronger than her Pokemon I was at first agree that it's too far, but the deeper I look into it, the more I like the concept. Sure the sword is a bit over the top, but damn does it give a nice effect and it may tie into that story of the knight we heard before. I think Madame X merely being her own character and not being a hidden identity of some other character would have made her very interesting to build and flesh out as she could potentially be a grey type villain with very justified reasons for acting the way she does. I get why people don't like Madame X being designed to be stronger than her Pokemon though. Pokemon is designed based around the bond between Pokemon and trainers and that one needs the other to work. Humans are weak but smart, while Pokemon are loyal but strong. An antagonist in an RPG being super strong and overwhelming the villain isn't new and usually to be expected. They're the big bad so they should be strong. It's a cliche most games use. It's also a line most people aren't willing to cross. "What if a human became as strong as a Pokemon? What means would they go to do that?" It's a high risk subject to dance around, but an interesting one. I don't think it's a problem and that certain people are overreacting to it. I'll let it pan out before giving a final verdict on Madame X other than the dialogue probably should receive some polish as it is a big jarring and a little too into the over the top cliche villain. Very redeemable though. (This dragon empress helmet may be screwed on a little too tight) (Oh god, she's turning into her second form) (...If I say I'll go out with you, would that cause you to not want to kill me?) (I'm going to take that as a no. Fine. Be alone forever. What do I care?) She then fired her laser at us...which instead of killing us, knocked us off the top of the castle for some reason. It's anime don't try to comprehend it. (How many floors does this castle even have?) (Hey ladies it seems I'm falling for....oh it's people I don't care about) (Jesus, please save us from are graves. I mean, do you really want me up there in heaven with you?) (Holy crap! It worked. Remind me to start attending church more) (Do not question our savior's work) (By waiting for our prayers to be answered) (Or maybe I'm actually Superman. I mean I can time travel so it's not that far fetched) (Or I could have inherited the real Setzer's magic and just casted float. So many possible explanations) (Maybe the aliens came to abduct us but their abductor broke midway through) (Or it was Nim. Okay, that may actually be a Deus Ex Machina moment) I know most people believe the mother cut the wires for the boxes, but Nim could have actually done it. She's able to teleport in and out of places with ease so she could have gotten in there without anyone like Braxien seeing. (She's you, but smarter, cooler, and better looking...and weirder, but we love her because of that) (At this point, I'd be your anything if it meant getting away from all these people. I like need you so much right now. So, so much.) (You can keep Aelita up there if you really want to) (I know. And it looks like we're going to get off this island and all be happy and jolly and...) (You see that girl behind me, this is all her fault. All I did was follow the plotted script and forced myself to spend 3 months in this godforsaken place) (It was all worth it to see you again though. You're my official favorite now. All it took was reading repetitive dialogue and the longest dialogue segment in the entire game to cement it) (In-game me, you better listen to her. This is literally the only girl in the game I don't hate right now...that is at or close to legal age) (I just got 40 bucks from Madame X. I think we can arrange for a bucket of Kanto Fried Combusken) (...........Marry me.) (Way to kill the mood, Saki) (Well there was this one wall that...) (I am definitely not okay after all of this. I may need therapy) (Your replacement. I'll just take Nim, Adam, and I guess Saki and leave you all to deal with the reinforcements who come our way) (A'Nim to that) (Are we really going to bring the entire group in the smack dab middle of two turrets? That seems both smart and logical) (My heart is still racing and it kind of hurts. Did I mention I'm afraid of heights? Let's promise to never do that again) (Because everyone totally hasn't been standing here talking and wasting time...this really is like an anime) (...Doesn't that just make the boat an easy target? Oh well it was our only viable option) (And so we can finally put this chapter to a cl...) (Of course it's not over. What now? Are we going to fight another legendary?) (She just...jumped off a building and perform a down thrust? Must be one of Link's descendants) (Meh. That's normal for platformers. Nothing to see here folks...oh shit she's right behind us now) (I think I prefer calling her Empress Ma Damex) (Maybe she got bored of me taking to long and said screw it and came early) (But sky diving does?) (...So I'm a foolish fool whose foolish actions fooled but the unfoolable fool who's foolproof) (This divine lightning shall pierce the skies) (Why not hearts?) ([Teleports behind you] "Nothing personal, kid") (...Whelp, at least I didn't die) (Holy shi...I didn't remember it being this morbid) Ignoring the fact the illogical fallacy of raising a body on a blade here... (Are you crying...am I crying? Who are you again? Seriously, who the heck are you?) And then she just flings her. Gonna go into this in a minute. (Haven't you ever heard of a noble sacrifice to redeem a forgettable character?) (Seriously, does every villain have to berate everything?) (I would run away but I'm pretty sure there's nowhere to run) (Because robots in movies always learn this thing before their final moments...for some reason) (And here's the denial. Maybe she feels bad for killing one of her "toys" I suppose) (There we go with the berating again. Maybe if you were a little nicer people would actually like you) (Well this is one case Yancy Drew solve. The mysterious death of the missing Nancy Doll) We're just going to stop for a moment and take a minute to digest this. So Madame X jumping off the roof isn't as extreme as you may think or out of this world. She is wearing a suit of armor and has unnatural powers so it could do something to her limbs to take the impact or not receive and impact at all. In fantasy terms, it's very possible and workable. The bigger thing is the death. I'm not very emotionally attached to Yancy as we barely even got to know her. I get why a lot of people would be sad. I do think the death was surprisingly well executed for what it was and it would be a perfect way to end this arc with Madame X letting us walk away with out lives. It is a far greater punishment knowing the player failed to do the one thing they wanted most here and live with that guilt over death. It would've helped build up the rivalry and the antagonist and having a goal of revenge. It's a very good dynamic. The only thing that could have been done better is to make Yancy an actual character and give actual attachment over artificial ones. I was going to go over the death topic, but I think I'll just finish writing that COGA on it making a full topic instead of just a small one here. And while I have my gripes and even gripes with the Yveltal change in V10, everything in this chapter is actually pretty good and would have actually redeemed the arc leaving it on a high note. There's such a good dynamic and a bunch of chemistry going on and actually a lot of potential that could have come from this. Like if we ended here, I would have given the Blacksteeple Prison an okay rating. As much flack as I give it, it's redeemable and most people can just glance the dialogue and not get lost. It has problems, but redeemable with solid moments. This arc gets a lot of flack and hate, but I just wanted to clear the air that there are some gem moments in this which could have added to a good story, but...we're not done with the scene. (Oh god it's the slu...I mean M-girl. How have you been? Totally couldn't have come at a better time) (I'm pretty sure everybody does. I mean that is your name. Unless you want to go by Empress Ma Damex. Just suggesting. And can my reward be my spared life?) (Quick while she isn't look, let's get on the ship and get the hell out of here.) (I really should have grabbed that chair when I had the chance. I would've had a comfy landing and a seat for explanation time) (Seriously, why are we still standing here?) (If that's messing, I don't want to see her when she's serious...must be 80% more berating and edgy then) (Are we going to learn out they're sisters...) (I'm starting to think Yancy is the luck one here. Even death is better than this) (And to no one's surprise it's Commander's favorite character who's still alive...for some reason) (Seriously, can we please just get off this island before the mad tyrant kills someone else?) (Nobody except Team Xen thought you were dead. Though you have poor taste in ketchup stains. I personally go with the store brand kind since it's runnier) (Well clearly plot happened to Melia during that time) (I don't think a single player actually thought you were dead. Can we please go now? I'll even take Aelita and Valerie if it means we can speed this up) (...Sadly, I have to agree and I'm not happy about it) (And things are about to get stupider in 3...2...) (1...) (Oh joy destiny and chosens. Those are everyone's favorite tropes) (If someone has an armed weapon on them, feel free to shoot either of these two) (Yeah, just like that) (And suddenly Madame X changed colors...apparently lightning does that to people) (I would answer that, but I don't think my blood could take it) (You're berating someone who just arrived on the scene 30 minutes ago and expect them to know everything...you know what...it's Melia. Melia can do no wrong) (You are talking to the wrong person. Madame X literally just met you 5 minutes ago. You are literally only telling her to get a better regime for her team which in return would make them stro...I'm just gonna shut up. Melia is smart and makes smart decisions) (I'd like to join Team Xen now so long as it means I can shut this girl up) (...Must resist urges to...) (Well at least she didn't win by the power of love and friendship) I'm just going to make a slight comment in that I have designed characters who had to use their brains to overcome their obstacles and sometimes luck does play in their favor but it's pretty cool seeing them actually pull it off. Their knowledge and skills don't randomly come out of thin air either. I can see the attempts here to try and convey that but...we'll address that at the end here. (Oh finally, we're done. Now I can...) (....Congratulations, Aelita. You're now not on my burn into the ground list for learning what shutting up means. That ECT did wonders to you. Or maybe your ponytail was constricting your brain) (You could at least face and acknowledge him...or Madame X could say "what the hell are you doing? Grab Melia while we have the chance") (Add this to the unnecessary dialogue box que) I really should have done a count here. Oh well. It's way too late for that now. (I know I joked they had a thing for each other but...please don't go supporting that crack theory) (This is like one of those awkward break up moments...it just makes things...awkward) (It seems like you somewhat respect him so at least face and acknowledge him. Meanwhile, the rest of us are invisible) (And thus Darth Neved was born) He's even got that creepy red eye. He's perfect for the role. Seriously, why is Madelis the only Xen I can't think of a good nickname for? (Even Madame X became invisible. We all may as well not even be here. Why did Yancy die...I mean Nancy die again?) (I'd like to take you up on that offer. Please? No. Okay, I guess I'll go now) (And now we're actually done with this bloody arc) If I said any scene was the worst part of the game, that was a lie. This is the worst scene in the game...so far and I pray it does not get any worse. So how should I break this down? Let's just start with the elephant in the room: the turrets. The turrets I know replaced Melia's power to suddenly stop Madame X in her tracks, but it's still ridiculous. It's an asspull and a kind of random asspull that some random character can do something that no other character is able to. Why didn't the guards or Neved use them to stop all the prisoners? Why didn't Natowl or Madelis act and try to stop this because they really didn't want this outcome to happen. Yet, they just kind of did. Then Madame X is suddenly stopped in her tracks. A dangerous terrorist is stopped and is in prime position to be killed. Why doesn't anyone try to kill her? I get the moral of not killing but this might be their only chance and nobody questions or challenges Melia's decision. These are just logic flaws and these aren't even the biggest issue. So we had this conflict of the player and Madame X building up. Yancy was a piece of that buildup. Well that was a complete waste because it all went out the window completely. Notice how not a single character even says a damn word other than Melia who acts way out of character from anything we've seen. She act cocky and honestly like an asshole. She's just freely mocking this leader while everyone else here was tortured and imprisoned. We all were hurt and suffering from this but that doesn't matter. Madame X also does a 180 and acts like a damsel in distress. She acted high and mighty and believed in power but suddenly she's just being kind of like a whiny little girl. This villain who is meant to be super scary now just feels like a joke. I honestly don't know how to redeem this scene or even this arc purely due to this last segment. And for the defense I'm overexaggerating, I may overexaggerated many things in this arc and I will admit being too harsh, but this I will stand firm on. This arc was a great player character building arc and probably a very good pinnacle moment for them. It's just gone now. Melia just whisked away all our achievements and strength because "she's smarter and better than us." This actually was one of my favorite scenes up until Melia showed up and I loved it more when making the captions. It's a good scene with lots of potential. And look and see how not a single character even spoke. Nobody even talks about the player when Melia shows up who was hit the hardest with the events. I want to digest this more but I know I'm just going to get angrier and angrier and just repeat so let's just end this off on a better note... (I need to be kept as far away as possible from Melia right now) (This is a safe space. Nothing bad can happen to me. Nor can anyone bad approach me) (Adam, you're the bro of all bros here. I'd fist bump you if I could) (Adam, can I have a hug. I need a hug from you) (Adam really is the tough reliable guy. This is why you're one of my favorites...only Nim tops you...for now) (This bromance moment is so lovely) (And that's the way it should be) (Thanks. I really do appreciate it.) (Melia....Melia is perfect. We must like Melia. We must praise Melia for all she's done. She saved us after all. She's so smart. She's so clever. Almost as clever as my fists around her neck) (Why did we give her a room? She deserves to sleep on the deck) (Oh joy we get to be in a room with 3 of my favorite characters. What a wonderful time that'll be) (Honestly, I don't really care to hear it right now) So this actually is another surprisingly good scene explaining more about the silent protag. Losing their mother was absolutely devastating to them and we can even see it as they didn't even feel like talking to anyone. You know what's worse: the player had to leave their dead body and couldn't even give them a proper burial. That doesn't sound like that big of a deal but it really is. Imagine not being able to say your proper good-byes to someone you love. You know why you had to do it, but it just doesn't feel good and almost like a disrespect so that toll is added to the pain the player is feeling. It's a rare and good emotional moment from the player which we never get to see like ever in these styles of games. I also really liked Adam's development in this scene. He wasn't on the scene as he was presumably helping passengers aboard and on the ship itself. It actually explains why he was the first to come to the player and the one to do it. He had a guilty conscious and felt helpless in this situation. Perhaps he shared something similar or maybe he's just a nice guy. It's really nice how he says that he'll always be there for the player just to make sure they know they have someone. This is the stuff I look for in characters and I want more of it. As I said, it takes two characters talking to really develop both of them. This is such a good example in the game. And now to examine the Poke Ball. (I guess while we're here I'll read the Poke Ball) (Well I guess that's a way to start a letter. I suppose it is nice to say hi) (At least some people actually care about me) (Pretty sure she was thinking about something there. Spoiler alert: it was me) (That she's not my real mother and really just a clone to watch over me but grew attached to the point she thought of me as her own son just as Jenipper thought of Melia like his own daughter) (Oh...so she was emo and suicidal. Well that's...nice to know...I guess) (I mean she almost did make it so...uhh...something tells me I'm missing something here) (I hope she is as good of a gift giver in death as she was in life) (That's a terrible gift. Guess we got another mon going in the box) (Is this supposed to be some symbolism that she was a terrible mother?) (Well she put her hand on a blade for me...too soon?) (And now we have a new box mon) (I don't think I could find a better suited name for this male Mawile even if I wanted to) For those who don't understand, play FFV. It'll make more sense after playing that. Way more sense. And it'll give you something to do until the next part is uploaded...probably not for a long while. This isn't a hiatus but more of a situation where I have to get other stuff done like chapter 1 of WLL. That'll come up after I fix all the images on this run as well. As for Mawile though, I don't think I'm going to use it. I don't mind adding it to my team but I'm not too keen on it since it'd more or less be an Intimidate spam mon. This is also the last screencap since I last stopped so now I'll have to figure out whether I'll continue the next segment in V9 or V10 but it'll probably be V9 as a precaution. Oh yeah about that Donphan, that was seriously just a gag since I didn't have anything who could even deal with Yveltal so I thought it'd be funny to destroy it with one Pokemon for a good laugh. I don't think he'll be returning but who knows. It's not like I need to grind him up for him to be useful. The last thing is that I actually planned to use that song at the beginning to explain why I didn't like Madame X...but I actually really ended up liking reexamining the scene. So that song is a mashup of two completely different songs which manage to flow very well. I feel like Rejuv is trying to do two different things and they really did not clash well in this chapter. We have a serious side which was dull and way too into explanations and then we have the humor side which honestly felt way too forced. I'm just going to say if this gets retackled to just "don't worry too much about explaining stuff and simply let the story be serious when it needs to be serious and let loose the humor when things are less tense." Rejuv can work well with both styles, but there just needs to be a better balance imo. Maybe it changes later, but we'll find out then. And while we wait for my uploads, I know I've mentioned a lot of game to try, but I never really gave games similar to Rejuv to try. I've made brief mention of Hyperdimension Neptunia and I don't not recommend that series unless you know what you're getting into because that's all pretty much humor and fanservice and some really nerdy game references. There is one interesting game they made that's kind of a black sheep in a sense. Fairy Fencer F Dark Advent Force is a game made by the creators that is a little more serious and less fanservice (there still is some) which still keeps that humor flair. The gameplay is only okay which I liked the system but it's not the greatest and dungeons can get repetitive. It's one of those to look into and not an auto you should play. I'll see if I can think of any others in the next part....which won't be for a while.

@DemICE I know you don't know too many RPGs, but let's be honest here: Bowser has some pretty competent henchmen in Paper Mario are actually pretty powerful and fun battles. If I ever try that harder Paper Mario hack they'd be some fun challenges. Also Hammer Bros are like one of the most infamous enemies. @Psychic Bean Sheep Ohhhh we're halfway there, Whoaaa living on a prayer @YinYang9705 You're welcome. I haven't actually played SPEE but I've heard good things about it. And it's FF style which I actually really enjoy that style. And as a side note, I'm still working on restoring all the pics. I passed Venam already and reached the end of Amethyst Cave if you're wondering how far that is. It may not sound like a lot but that's roughly the 1/3rd point. Note 2: I feel so bad given the whole I accidentally posted this early thing that happened earlier so for the false alarm pings and I'll fix this whole quotes response later. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 35: The Prison's Endgame Begins (There is so many things wrong with this I don't even know where to begin) (Well when you look like Doc Brown, you do that to people) (I'm not a kid, I'm an adult) (...I honestly completely forgot about you given it's been like a year and a half) (I died...well a lot of people started think that when I...) I really need to stop with the long delay jokes. There's multiple reasons behind them and people know it. It'll get there some day. I will try to bring it back to once a week or close to it when I'm not busy. (It did. I've been trapped here for months ranting and whining like little baby) (Well, that makes one of us) (Yeah, I've been meaning to ask: how in the world did you get a couch back here? Then again, you managed to push a piano.) (So you decided to spend your life back here with limited food and water supplies expecting to live long...and nobody questioned the fact you went missing) (...Is there some kind of disease if that your name is longer than 4 letters, you're a complete idiot?) I want you to think long and hard about that statement then get back to me on your findings. (........I honestly have no idea why I'm down here nor why I'm even continuing this at this point) (I love how the PC managed to explain that in a matter of seconds. This is the same guy who takes months just to leave a truck. Though those magazines are strong) (Okay, why the heck would I explain the whole thing? Hell, I don't even remember the whole thing.) I remember it something being about the machine was sabotaged and set to explode. That is probably one of those unexplained things that nobody is probably ever going to answer. And even if it does, it'll be so irrelevant that everyone forgot about it. Like maybe Madame X intended to everyone on the island to die to collect their energy because she really doesn't care. (Though we have a bigger problem of everyone being trapped in their jail cell) (.......So you'll distract the enemy while I make an escape like a normal NPC going to the greater good, right?) (...yet she has enough food and water...) (....................................................................................I'm pretty sure this run has made my IQ drop into the negatives) So she's hiding, but opens up a hole out into the open and nobody at all noticed. I know people dig and all, but that hole is big enough somebody could see right through it and be suspicious. Though these are the most incompetent guards I've ever seen so it is rather believable. I normally wouldn't challenge something like this, but this entirely plot rides on plot conveniences which is a game design sin. It's like taking a player's achievement and completely invalidating it. It's like winning a race but the car you're in was controlled by someone else. It just doesn't feel right or good. A lot of this section was completely redone and the maps were entirely remade, and much of the dialogue was changed and even added so there's honestly not much defense that can be done for this. I could have given 5 different approaches to this segment and it would have turned out better. Actually, remind me to right 5 different approaches after the next chapter. (Can I go back to WLL now? There's issues with that side story as well but at least they're fun issues to talk about) (Well Jiggly is far from her/his prime but put them in a Melee and they'll dominate everyone) (The next screencap is the exact semblance of my mood right now) (The wall with the black void at the end represents everything this run has become) I'm about to lose half my 3 viewers right now, but I honestly think Piano Girl is a terrible design for a character. She's nothing more than basically Anthony from Fire Emblem Fates. For those who don't play Fire Emblem, he's this random NPC who just shows up in this very dangerous land who acts like they're there to help you but turn out to be an evil monster 3 chapters later. He became pretty much a meme and a gag which people make fun of and was never taken seriously. Basically, I don't even get why she exists or why she even is relevant anymore. If she made a cameo appearance I'd be fine, but she's been elevated beyond a random NPC which is my biggest issue. One-off characters should just be that. Now I won't turn a blind eye in knowing that Piano Girl is a popular character and probably one of the most popular characters from Rejuvenation. She became so popular that her canon name is Piano Girl and is treated among other characters when viewing or comparing them. It's to the point I don't even know if it's a joke or completely serious. If it's not a joke, please for the love of god, set yourself some higher standards. As a writer and someone who has experience in both written and game plots, there is no greater insult than for a random NPC to be someone's favorite character. I get liking joke or one-off characters as sometimes their gags or things they do can be amazing or absolutely hilarious. It's okay to like those or even praise them. I have an issue when someone says that's better than actual characters in something. These characters are 1-D, sometimes 2D, but do not have a personality and serve a role only as progress. That sends a message that the characters of the story are really THAT poorly written which leads to a badly executed plot which leads to either a very boring or so bad it's good kind of plot. There's a scene in Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory that really sums the idea up. Basically there's an NPC who pops up three times and the protags have a conversation about him secretly being kind of important and throwing subtle punches here and there. (If you really want to find it, look for I WILL GO TO LOEWE in a run and you'll be pretty close...I couldn't find a video on it...nevermind I found it:) Ahhh Hyperdimension Neptunia series you're 70% bad and 30% absolute gold. Anyways, they tend to have jokes around random NPCs which some of them can be kind of hilarious such as the good ole everyone looks like a black silhouette joke. Point is that characters like these are usually designed to be gags and pretty much disappear shortly. They aren't meant to be taken seriously either. Now you may be thinking I'm blowing this out of the water since "she was on the boat so she may as well be in this as well." We will be able to correct this soon but spoiler warning: she is the only one of all these generic NPCs we witnessed to make it back on the boat and she has even more scenes later on as she sticks with the boat. She even has this whole sister thing going on with some backstory mumbo jumbo. This is generic named NPC and you're telling me there's time spent on this in a very character bloated plot and not trying to use that time to make certain characters actually likable. Do you really think we want to meet that Lastation's family and have a full scene dedicated to them? Well that's actually a bad question since that is a meta breaking game...but...damn I need to think of better examples. I'm just not going to list something as it might end up being considered "an improvement on the plot." I can see why people might like her because we have had boring characters and she's an odd ball character to be interesting and lighten the mood a bit. But for the love of god please let this be like an inside joke that she's a really good character and make me look like and ignorant buffoon (if I haven't already) because that would just be sad. Sad that a generic NPC is one of the best things Rejuv has to offer. There's not even a good way to spin it. Now let's just skip to the epic chase and action scene... (Seriously, how have I not been found given the giant hole in the wall?) (I learned from Master Drax how to hide in plain sight) (The fact that I can't mine that mineable rock also ticks me off) (Somebody's on there bathroom break) (Why isn't someone on lookout? It's like they're trying to let me get through) (Now that's just plain rude) (Just your regular old statue here good sir) (I think he bought it) (Where the hell do these cops even think I'm going? Seriously) (It's like they're cloud watching or something. It wouldn't surprise me considering they do anything but they're jobs) (And we're done) ......Is it sad that I took all those pics with the intention of only using two but this is probably the most fun I had in the run in months. And also to address the "But Commander, why do you not cut this segment really short if you hate it so much?" If I skipped over it like most people, not only would I be properly misrepresenting it, but the problem would never be addressed or fixed. We now have an I think it's 7 chapters log of dialogue and sections people can refer to and show why Blacksteeple is bad or not well liked. The gameplay isn't that bad but reviewing the dialogue here is like pulling teeth. And I did cut out LARGE sections of this part. I'd probably guess a good 100 or so pics, but probably should have done more. I must control my rants BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING THIS PLACE DONE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I know my stopping point here and I don't care if it takes 100 or 400 pics but we will get there and then save the best for the next chapter. (Nah, that saga bored me...I really need to find better references) (Only if y-you want to b-baka) (Why are you even here right now? Couldn't a Team Xen Admin spot and grab you?) (Why are you even here again? Actually, why do you even exist?) Seriously, I don't get the point of Braxien's existence. Well there is one possible...but that's a rabbit hole even I wouldn't jump down into. Actually, you pretty much could cut Valerie and Braxien out and the plot would more or less be the exact same. Of course that's on character balance which actually is something that's really hard to do without out a character being forgotten or feel forced. That's why I say the main cast of heroes shouldn't be bigger than 8. 4 is a really solid number to work with, but I'd say 5-6 is the most optimal. Rejuv so far has Ren, "Melia", Venam, Aelita, the player, Saki, Valerie, Braxien, Adam, Nim, and Crescent. That's 11 characters already and we're going to be stockpiling a lot more on there and go back to revisit old ones and then focus on a this deeper plot...you get the idea. This might be a little hard to wrap you head around but let's look at Lord of the Rings. Those books are super long but let's look at the first one. These books start out focusing on 5 characters which a sixth one is added rather quickly before Gandalf disappears a little bit. The group then grows to about 12 when they are building a team to go and destroy the ring but the group gets split up by the end and two different storylines go on. Rejuvenation is expecting to do this well in a fraction of what that book is and in a different medium. Think about the first Lord of the Rings being told within 100 pages. That's possible to do but you wouldn't really enjoy it all that much in the long run as so many things would be rushed and incomprehensible even. Hell, do you even know all that much about any of these characters here? WLL doesn't count for Aelita. (Hopefully it's faster than one of my explanations or we'll be here for a while) (...wait there's letters on it...that's convenient I guess) (Shouldn't we cut those off as well as...) (I'm pretty sure the turrets should take priority) (Lazy engineers ftw) (Why are we getting this explained? How should one expect a 10 year old boy to comprehend such advanced knowledge) I know I joke about the PC being a 10 year old boy, but I know they are 16. Sometimes people take me too literally like I don't know something obvious. No, I seriously get responses like this believing that I believe the player is 10. I do that since canonically every Pokemon protag is 10 years old...though certain Gens (cough*V*cough) have questionable designs for a 10 year old. It's just funnier to say that instead of using teenager. But still, I really don't know how Jan expects kids to really even care about that. I actually have to tell greenhorn Sci-fi writers to not get too technical with the explanations since they worry about the logic or being challenged on their logic. Like I kid you not one person gave the exact height and weight of a few of their characters in the novel they were working on. "Details are for imagery and visuals, not for explanations." That also makes me explain my philosophy of "2+2=5". That is a true statement that I said. You guys all know 2+2=4 and automatically think that because that's the way you are designed to think. You are applying logic here. That's an issue when getting creative. "If you add two things together, you often get more value than they are worth" which is how 2+2 can equal 5. People like to see a literal cut and dry right and wrong which mostly ends up being either "I'm right and I shouldn't change or you're right and I should change" when it's more about the learning. If you learn to apply comments I've said to what you're doing and making use out of them, you generally are improving. It also means you're listening which the average person is incapable of doing (Oh joy maybe we'll meet a new interesting character) Just a heads up, this is not explained at all leaving us with two possible options...which I'll probably forget about. The one interesting thing in this segment and they just skip over it like it's unimportant. Like somebody is sabotaging the island and possibly trying to kill everyone and it never gets talked about ever again from my knowledge. (It seems Dio may have come to my...oh wait Dio's dead) (I think that kind of is important) Basically either somebody teleported in here or stopped time completely. Those are the only two scenarios where this could have happened from the poor explanation. Braxien never gave us any details besides this on the topic and nobody really ever talks about it later. This does kind of bother me. It's one thing to hold off on character arcs to build them off (which is a dangerous technique) but holding off on random things never to explain them is a different subject. People care about it now because it's interesting now, but they'll completely forget about it later. If this comes back later, I'll probably go like "Huh, that's really weird. Why are they explaining this?" It's scary because I called a lot of things happening in this playthrough even in the early parts. Oi this merely adds to the mess we're working with. (And finally we get to do something "cool" and by that I mean hot...which doesn't that contradict why Brax...nevermind) (Can I please just murder like half the people here and make a team of Adam, Ren, and Mossley) You know, that's be a hilarious FF team though I'd probably use FF3 as a basis to make that team. I'd be a Red Mage, Adam would probably be a Knight, Mossley a thief, and Ren would be a Dark Knight. I know Red Mages are kind of bad but they are pretty useful as early game units. It suits me as sadly I can do a lot of things but I don't specialize in too much which is a blessing and a curse. I wish the class was better because it also is one of my favorites. Oh well. I'm also not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing I keep deviating from talking about the game either. But seriously if you haven't played an FF game at least go play FFV. It's my second favorite FF and why I even got into the series. Which ironically I only think FFVI is an okay game. Good story and characters, but I don't care for it much out of that. (Oh...I forgot about this) I had to literally ask about this because it is very confusing as I was told to "cut the pipes to a monitor" and something about stairs. It's confusing because those pipes look nothing like something you are supposed to interact with. Visual cues are more important than verbal ones as sometimes people like me misread dialogue and then they spend 20 minutes trying to figure out what they are supposed to do. Thank you discord people for explaining it though. I don't even know what it said because I didn't bother screencapping it. Even while playing it I was a little "let's just get this over with" and went into critic mode even then. (How is something we disabled still working?) Wait...I think there was something about a backup generator...which only works for turrets...do I even have to try to make this plot segment look bad anymore? (Well maybe I can finally feed Loewe...crap I didn't feed Loewe. He's gonna be pissed when he comes out of his ball) (I'm surprised it took them this long to figure out they were being sabotaged...oh right longer than 4 letters) Well on that topic while I dislike Saki, I wouldn't say she's a dumb character and more like a teenage brat than anything. I think I'm onto something here with this name length and intelligence though. Wait my name is 10 letters long. What does that make me?...Or we could go by how I'm MC which fits the rule. Haha! I'm brilliant. (Sorry, but I'm not doing table dances right now. I'm on my break...just give it time and you'll get it) (Destruction is my middle name. It's Commander Destructo Berantaronloli or Comm B. for short) (Hello mom...or is it daughter...this age stuff is confusing. Can I call you Yancy Drew instead?) "Madelis! Always lost in your toys. What did I say about watching your back?" I wonder how many of these references go way over people's heads. I should really make a list of them when the run is over with. (I'm going to call her Natowl because a normal person's head wouldn't be turning like that) I can't think of anything clever for Madelis right now as the best I got is Matterless. (She wanted to take care of the situation herself because she's a strong, independent wo...) Whatever happened to the father in this game. Like that'd be a detail I'd really like to know. (This dialogue is so bad it's funny looking at it) It's not grammatically incorrect but it's just weird...especially from a genius level villain who is supposed to be presented as an intell...oh right forgot nobody had personality. It's funny how while I dislike Saki and Aelita, I can at least poke fun on their personality. All of these characters have none so...it's just a sad, sad thing. Though I guess Braxien is a tsundere like...this is a bloody line I'm dancing on that I don't like dancing on. I don't mind talking about things, but I don't like provoking certain ones. People who know what I'm talking about I feel bad and those who are ignorant stay ignorant. (80% of the dialogue in this place was about not being able to use our Pokemon. You know how much I LOVE those pics) (At this point I might suffer less playing the original PS3 Hyperdimension Neptunia game) For those who don't know, that's one of the worst games I've ever played and beaten. This dialogue has a horrible transition. It's like somebody is talking about eating a burger and the friend says they'll drive them to subway. Like there's a way to connect that, but it's just not there or implemented right. I know I've talked about dialogue many times before so moving on... (Cliche villain line is cliche) I actually looked back at most of the antagonist I designed and was actually surprised on how few I had who would give the "disown the hero" speech thinking they were pathetic. I mean one even admires his bravery despite completely outclassing him and being able to destroy the guy within seconds. Let's just say that guy's arrogance lead to his own demise. I don't mind one villain doing that in a game but every single villain here does that. Gearan, Madelis, Nastashia, and Neved, but I guess Zetta kind of is the exception though he's not that far off. It's also a very disliked villain trope as well which people usually refer to as the mawhahaha villain. It all goes back into the cycle I talked about many times. The things I've said before don't disappear or are one time things and if they get ignored, we end up with situations like this. Now let's continue on to this...supposed to be climatic scene: (If I would represent this run with anything it'd be this pic right here) (...I didn't do anything. You just flat out beat yourself up. And I'd blame Cres Scent Machina for all that) (Congratulations, you're the first person to say "Shut up and do your job" in this game) (...........These people are complete idiots) I mean really, the more or less leader of this group is putting their effort on the harmless threat while the one who actually poses a threat gets the chump admin to fight. Why do I even get worked up about this anymore. Please let this arc end soon as I'm running out of materials. (...I feel sorry for every future screencap run who gets to this place.) (Just like getting PO'd at this arc) (A fairy vs fire type user. We all know how this is going to end) Seriously, why the hell didn't this Mom basically rescue everyone on the island. She easily could have taken down all 3 of the admins here as well as the...oh the Poke Ball plot armor. This is kind of an issue with using Pokemon as an element of the plot as all characters have to rely on a concept similar to summoning. They basically have creatures all do their bidding which for one or two characters is fine, but it makes for a world where people can't fend for themselves which is an issue that comes with the territory. Nobody can really feel powerful as it's not them fighting. It's something I want to cover now when explain they you know what scene. (I can't ever read Natowl's emotions so it's hard to see if she's serious or sarcastic) (....................................................................................................................Give me a second) I get that this was one of the earliest parts of the game but...is that really an excuse for character inconsistencies like this. There's no explanation why she's happy about the player's "mom" switching sides and disobeying her orders. I get explanations on stuff I probably understand or don't need to understand at that level but when it comes to characters it sometimes just gets too vague or just monotone. Also yesh I didn't realize how jarring the tilesets were in the two top corners of the pic. Now I remember why I took a break from this. (It's the battle of the century: Gothic Sailor Mars vs Setzer the second) (This is sweet irony given she used this to try and stop me and I'm using it to try and stop her) (LOEWE! It's been too long. The swordmaster makes a triumphant return after so long) (Yeah, yeah, I healed SEC with a potion. Sue me.) (The reason I haven't explained stuff is because I don't remember what I did because I didn't try) (Pretty sure Walter haxed his way to victory here) (Behold the only Pokemon here who really even gave me a true challenge) (Too bad it stinks) (That was an embarrassment even for something designed to be an easy fight) (WHAT IS THIS GOD YOU SPEAK OF! THERE IS ONLY ARCEUS!) I cannot unsee the Natowl thing now. Like I'm not even intimidated by her even. Now if she went "Who? Who?" she'd probably end up my favorite character. That's kind of sad actually. (And now she's berating her comrade like a cliche villain despite getting her ass whooped) (And every FE player gives a middle finger when someone says that to them after they get hit by a 1% crit) (Madelis is more of a rival than Aelita will ever be) (Wait, I though Nastasia was the boss? I'M SO CONFUSED!) (Who are you again? Oh right, Yancy Drew. Guess that makes this case closed) (I'm still stuck playing this game T_T) (When an animal has more character than the entire cast...) (...I swear to god if this turns into a love story, I'm jumping into the water and hope it kills me) (These aren't my friends. I barely even know them. If talking to people automatically made you friends in real life, I'd have a lot of them by now) (...Crap, I forgot to ask Natowl for some her stash to help get through this.) (Yay! Violence!) (Brax, your character is entirely worthless and is completely invalidated by Saki...even though I'd rather have you over Saki...which says something) And then more filler dialogue about how they should get going. We are almost there and at least we don't have to deal with more annoying cut... (GOD DAMMIT I SPOKE TOO SOON!) Skipping pointless dialogue nobody wants to read (Yes, get going already. Nobody wants to see this) (To Nowhere Land) ...I just remembered an old show called Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. I gotta google that Pig's name because I may use that for a nickname in the future...maybe. That or Pigpen. I think his name was Wilbert. Or was that Charlotte's Web. Never actually seen or read Charlotte's Web. I know he had a letter which I think was a Q but that wasn't his name and meant something else. Hi, I'm weird. Nim is my spirit animal. (And this really doesn't even get bloody explained either why she does that) (I would have loved if like a guard came in and heard this and then reported to Neved that M-girl is a traitor) (.........why are they hidden again?) Seriously, why are they hidden and piano girl wasn't? Like what was the point of that because kind of figured that out when Xen took prisoners. (Jump into the water and swim as far away as possible) (Oh fuck no. I'm getting out here as fast as possible. Hell, I'd be willing to leave you all behind why I take that tiny cruise ship myself. I guess Adam can come if he really wants to...and I guess Braxien as well because they at least have a brain. Everyone else is dead to me.) (So they are telling me I'm walking into a trap but forcing me to go into a trap. Great game design 101) (I'm pretty sure I could handle this all better alone than deal with Ms. Faint at every attempt to help me) (Keta tried that too. Looked what happened to him. Revenge is always a good idea, folks.) (And she randomly trusts this girl. Why would you trust her. Hell, I'd probably murder her here and now) Seriously, don't trust the person who acts like they are good but are working for the bad guy. In real life, they are just setting you up to get killed and rarely are on your side. (I really don't know what people are smoking right now, but I want nothing to do with it) I don't really get the red mist effect but whatevs. Not like it's going to be explained anyways. (When people reunite to show their true power...that usually means somebody is gonna die. Usually, it's the strongest person who completely overshadows them) (Whelp, looks like I'm the goner) So something I've been avoiding to talk about is how all the guards are citizens from Akuwa Town. They all use water type Pokemon which is what the town specializes in. It's kind of a heartbreaking thing to Valerie as the people she was supposed to help take care of ultimately betrayed her for the sake of their own personal gains. Maybe they were forced and pressured to do so. We don't know as it's never explained or explored so they more or less are just walking corpses thanks to that. Like there's a great moral conflict that could be going on with Valerie, but the game opts to just be generic and limit characterization. Like there's so many good plot lines that could have made this one of the best areas, but the arc is too focused on trying to feel for characters with little characterizations and too focused on being humorous or lore dumping. Like seriously, imagine if the plot had these characters who were forced to do this job they didn't enjoy but since they work for the villains, they have to be left behind and slaughtered just to make sure you all escape safely. That's some pretty morbid stuff as you left good people to be killed. And you probably wouldn't be able to save everyone which leaves Valerie failing her duty as a gym leader and something that could always be brought up or even connect really well to the next part on the concept of the importance of one life. But no, we have a story that focuses purely on the black and white in which the colors are very apparent. So yeah, I don't really have any emotional attachment to any of these characters or even the cops. And now back to plot...which everyone is probably sick of at this point. Like, I know it should be my job to make this entertaining and enjoyable but there's only so much that can be done. Nobody wants to read a run full of ranting and complaining after all. (...I take back every positive thing I said about Saki recently) I've never had Saki by the way. I think it has something to do with herbal teas...and someone probably face palmed from that comment. I'm legit trying to remember what Saki is. I mean sure I could Google it, but that ruins the fun of me trying to remember stuff. (I'd probably be asking what the heck is wrong with that chick?) (....I immediately regret continuing this over WLL) (If she was animated, this scene would probably be amazing) I do want to say something about Saki. I don't think she's a bad character in terms of personality and flare, but she's a character I honestly just can't stand. This is where we gear more towards the anime side of Rejuv which sometimes it just goes too far in my opinion. It's like the Hyperdimension series which basically is built on humor, fanservice, and satire with a very silly atmosphere decided to ever be series...oh wait there was that...I need to lie down for a moment...and a gallon of ice cream. Well ignoring my childhood traumas, it leaves a jarring feeling. I probably have said this before but the premise of two contrasting styles of humor and seriousness are very hard to work with unless you know how to time them well. This is not a good time to be silly. The situation is supposed to be tense and building up to an epic escape where you feel relieved. You want to avoid driving that motion away from the scene as much as possible. (You'd think I'd be so into this...but I'm not) (Can we just take the boat and leave everyone?) (I swear I've ohh Caeser Augustus. ) (He used his manly stache. Nothing can withstand a manly stache) (Oh look, Aelita actually doing something useful. That's a first. Wait, how did she get out of her cell?) (Couldn't we all just fly to a nearby Pokemon Center? That seems like a more viable...oh plot...forgot about that) (Remember how Shofu said this arc was all about plot convenience. He wasn't kidding) (^_^ Totally didn't skip dialogue to save time) (Every time I see turrets it makes me think about torrents. We be pirates, yo!) I...well that's amazing in that I am missing more pics of dialogue. I am very professional. You know what time it is: Valerie: The cameras aren't working on the turrets we disabled so we can't see what's going on because shutting off all the power was a good idea. Anyways, Aelita is being held hostage by Neved which is totally true because we heard the guards talking about it. Totally not a trap or lie. Mom: Didn't Augustus just say... Valerie: TOTALLY. LEGIT. INFO. (Well looks like we have to save an idiot who should probably already be dead) (That seems like way too much work for one life when we have probably 100 or so people's lives who depend on us) (Oh. I figured she'd say that first and to not...go to the...) Yeah...I really though she name dropped Aelita earlier than that. Oh well. I like my version better. (I'm pretty sure we should just leave and not deal with him. He's a high ranked terrorist whose Pokemon could possibly slaughter any one of ours if we aren't careful. He also has a froslass to freeze us all to death. Nah, it's totally a good idea to go guns ablazing) (I swear...you report a rumor to put yourself into even more danger instead of...I don't know...focus on yourself) (Can we please just go and call it a day? No. Sigh...time to get back to work then) (Why didn't she go up there while I stay down here and protect the boat? I mean she's the strongest one here by a landslide) (You don't even know who the heck she is. She's probably fine...or dead. Probably dead. No need to search for her) (Yep...that's the sign I'm going to die) (That just confirms I'm going to freaking die. Caeser, start that boat up right now. I'm leaving while I still have a life....then again Saki would murder me if I didn't go. Sigh...I have no choice in this, do I?) Then basically nothing happens until after you get past Neved's room and M-girl appears: (I think that was the name of a book I had to read in middle school. I'm trying to remember what it was about) (...As much as I want to make a lewd joke, I'm really not in the mood) (Oh hello not very suspicious looking shiny Pokemon. Must've been pretty hard finding one of those) (And that one was a fake) So I honestly don't remember what happened here. I know Gaius fainted but I think SEC finished the Zoroark off. This is a pointless battle though. Like why is this battle even here? There's no reason for it to be here and it spoils and already obvious spoiler I keep being satirical about. There's a bigger reason but we'll wait until we get there but I'm sure most people know exactly what I'm talking about. It's just a pointless easy battle. (And Walter still remains the MVP taking this thing down with ease) (Thanks for the compliment edgy blonde haired girl with a bunch of shiny Pokemon who I've clearly never met before) (Where the heck did you get the roughly $22 from even?) Well if you want to know how much a trainer gives you roughly in American dollars, just divide the amount by 100. I'm sure a lot of you figured that out but it's just a cool way to compare prices and see how they are priced in games like Animal crossing with its Bells system. (Madelis lost to me...oh shit I forgot to talk about her) I had one goal for this chapter and I almost completely forgot about it. There is one really specific thing that was really interesting and it completely went over my head. So the Madelis fight is really easy and that's not something that I'd change. Remember how I made that rewrite about how Madelis was kind of in love with Keta. That would tie in well here as she could be not as focused in this battle still being bothered about the one guy she liked being dead. Think of it as regret and a cloudy mind. Not much time has also passed since that time either so it makes sense she'd still be thinking about that moment a lot. Easy fights are not a bad thing and can even tie in really well with a story. If I were to design it, I'd actually make her Pokemon in the 60s, but adjust the Pokemon's stats to be about in the 40s solidifying the idea. If I could, I'd probably actually do that to HC Solaris's Pokemon on Pyrous Mountain, but also have the Pokemon all not at full health giving the impression he's already battled a little bit (maybe even a poisoned mon due to Cain). Some of you are probably saying that it's impossible but...it actually is quite possible to do and not as difficult as you think. This is the 2+2=5 mindset at work where most people merely think about designing the game bounded to only Gamefreak's design and not going further or a different route with it. Told you the things I say just don't merely go away. (M-girl, the secret member of nugget bridge brigade) (Bye edgy girl nobody likes) (Oh boy I can't wait to stand outside of the cold for a month. I hope I freeze to death before then) And we're here boys and girls. The next chapter will be the finale of Blacksteeple. Albedo. Gaius. Walter. Loewe. SEC. Can these 5 heroes overcome the trials that await them? And for those who are wondering what happened to Joker:

Most People who see this: Yes Huk: An actual thorough and proper answer Me: How has EA not gone out of business? I'm not trying to berate you or anything, but if you really don't like what a company is doing, the best thing you can do is ignore them. If you give them attention, you are prolonging their life and even able to get away with this. EA is gonna do this because people let them. The moment their money becomes tight is when they'll actually put effort and give people what they want.

That list was honestly me just being silly to give people a laugh. I tend to exaggerate stuff when I'm not being super serious. Anyways, projecting yourself onto a character and the simplicity of the plot go hand-and-hand. DQ IX is a good example of how to do it pretty well as while it's making you go a certain path, you have a lot of control and customization over your team and party. This made for some hilarious moments like Josdolf, the priest, earning his nickname for defeating a boss after the worst case scenario happened. Immersion happens from a player's experiences with a character with a void they can use their imagination to fill. Now we could be dancing for hours on the topic of whether or not the MC in Reborn is good or not. I harp on Rejuv a lot due to this, but I do not think Reborn is an exception either. I just think the silent protag aspect is really taken away due to not only the character bloat, but because of how the plot is presented as well. Very, very few scenes consist of just the protag and possibly one other character often leaving the protag as nothing more than a third wheel. You have some exceptions like Fern who people talk about A LOT for that reason. That doesn't mean I think Reborn's plot is bad, but I just don't think it has a very good silent protag aspect. Actually, I'd say it's about average, but nothing to rave about. Now to address that elephant in the room: Corrin from FE Fates (the real reason I'm making this post) I'm just gonna answer the question first: would a silent protagonist talking and a talking protagonist becoming silent change the character? It's not a straightforward answer, but a character's personality would not change, but the likableness of the character could. I'm going to give an example of where a talking protag becoming silent would become a good thing. Chris from FE12 is one of the most hated custom avatar characters due to the sheer pandering they give to Marth. Them not talking would only alter the plot a little bit (making them play like Mark from FE7) but the overall story wouldn't change only possibly making for a jarring moment here and there. Though that'd make Marth the only protagonist again so...I'm not sure if that counts. Now I get to talk about Corrin, which is actually more or less Conquest Corrin. And for those wondering, people would still absolutely despise Corrin even if they were a silent protag because they were pissed at their actions and not their personality or character. I'm not going to lie in that I don't see how Corrin acted making them a horrible character. In fact, I think they had potential to being one of the more interesting Fire Emblem lords and maybe even the best. They did something only one other FE Lord really has made: a terrible decision. Ironically, that character is also really hated. Corrin made some really bad decisions, but they either had 0 consequences or recieved praise for them. The game also contradicts itself a lot which left players just pure frustrated at the story. I don't think simply making Corrin not talk would automatically solve all those problems...but more like shove the blame on someone else instead. And believe me, there are were protagonist than Corrin...much worse. I don't say these things to make people necessarily change their mind, but mostly as a "think about it." Some person could easily come in here and say that silent protags are a great thing and bring valid reasons and be right as well. But this is about the best character in Reborn being the MC, which honestly isn't true. While I'd definitely say my faves are Shelly and Julia, I'd have to give that medal to Titania because she has one of the best and most unique battles, is an interesting character, and has some pretty interesting character development and we aren't even done with her yet.

I don't get how the MC is the best character when most of the complaints are centered around factors due to the MC not being able to talk. Titania mercifully killing: nobody is there to challenge her. Victoria: the player has no interaction with her and therefore shortens what little development she has to even less. The whole orphanage arc: you may as well not even be there. I get the idea but when it comes to customizeable MCs, I rarely see a good one done right. Link from the Zelda series is an entirely different subject. The schematic design for LoZ series is exploration and puzzle solving so whether or not Link talked wouldn't make much of a difference. While I would point out how WW Link is one of the most expressive, I know most people refer to OoT Link when making comparisons. The plot is very simple and the characters aren't too involved in it merely serving as guides usually making you still feel in control of what's happening. Link's sound effects are tools of immersion as when he falls or gets hit he makes certain noises, but that game's environments are what make the experience so immersive. I mean I personally felt a dread of terror when climbing up Death Mountain with a bunch of falling rocks all around me...running and ducking for my life. You really do not want to challenge me on silent protags because I've written A LOT here and there on my thoughts usually only scratching the mere surface of my full opinions. There's a very good reason most of the modern RPGs have stepped away from the silent protagonist due to the sheer number of drawbacks and issues that arise. But if you really want me to list all the great things the MC did here's what we have:

So you removed something from the game that has a plot that relies and functions on a lot of nonsense because it felt like nonsense. I'm not really going to say what way is right or wrong...because I have zero idea what it is about, but it brought back memories of Link's Awakening. I think it'd be kind of funny if you stole an item from a shopkeeper and your name is then changed to Thief for the rest of the game until you go back and pay for it or something. Like an Easter Egg and not a storyline plot.

So I may have missed one of my dailies but oh well I did two one day so it evened out. I got past all the tedious ones so it can't get any worse.... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF................ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 34: Madame X is a Slow Ass Flier So yeah...postimage is having some laggy glitchy thing due to the transfer or something so I basically have to hit the refresh button a few times to load an image up. I'll wrap up and post the images left on the server first before seeing about converting to imgur. Now what exactly was I doing? (Oh right murdering people for their stuff) Sorry for the little uploads but school keeps me busy and I still have stuff needed to get done but I decided to take a break before getting back to it. If this post is uploaded past Sunday, that means I got it done and am on Summer break...for a month. (I'm pretty sure he's suffering from brain damage at this point) (Can I please kill him now? I'm pretty sure nobody wants to sit through this) (I...suddenly remembered why I don't like this segment) Y'know, sometimes it's good to take a long break before getting back into something as it clears your head. Tales of Graces F was a good example as a lot of the early game is annoying and has a lot of very boring parts...or annoying character traits that can make you dislike the game. I picked the game up in the second to last dungeon in the main game and actually really enjoyed the plot for what it is. This...not so much. I don't actually mind waiting a long time to finish a game because I don't have the time like I used to for a one run and done type deal since RPGs take forever. I have a lot of patience and can wait years to finish something. Hell, I waited 10 years to finally manage to be able to play Tales of Vesperia due to...a lot of limitations and issues like not having an Xbox and the game not being playable through emulators. So don't ever worry about me canceling this run...just expect long intervals inbetween though. (The guy who thinks aliens are among us thinks we're the dumb ones. I...really don't care to relive this) I thought this character was stupid when playing the game and I think he's the same now. (I'm having second thoughts about coming back here) (Seriously we're having a 20 minute conversation around a random NPC trying to hype it up or something...well that didn't take long) Here's a new game: take a shot every time I go on a rant. (...Yes, let's discuss...I have said this so many times do I even need to mention it?) (Seriously, I could have solved this conversation with one string of dialogue) Valerie: Now, \PN! Attack him while he's caught off-guard. (I LOVE BLACKSTEEPLE SO MUCH!) Man, I wish a Tempest Trial was going on since this would be a fantastic time to do one while I work on this. (He didn't know of this spot yet...he uses one of the wild inhabitants) (Take a guess at what happens here...oh yeah Gauis is back) (...First interesting piece of dialogue in the past 5 chapters) (Oh I have many plan for you. I have a lot of frustration and pain built up and you're the dummy who gets to see it all) (I'll go get the shovel) And the only interesting thing here gets [Redacted] (Where have you been the last two chapters? I'm beyond crazy. I'm super crazy god super crazy) (Adam: The only one here whose brain isn't fried) (I thought we were done with the boring talk stuff...my mind must have blocked this) The dialogue of this badge segment is double the normal length. Keta's hit 1k and we're past 1k already here and we're about 70% of the way through which might be a little too high. I was going to save this for later, but the issue isn't the plotline, but the fact that the character is a silent protag. I don't know why people jump to silent protags like they're great tools because the design was created due to budget constraints in the older days when stories were shorter and not as heavy. Heavy plots and silent protags just don't mix. A main character needs defined traits and characteristics to work in them. I know people will use Persona against me but...I could counteract with a lot of things. The PS3 version of Legend of Heroes Cold Steel actually displays why silent protags can hamper or ruin things (there's no silent protag but something jarring does occur in the game and it's very apparent). Sorry to vent, but I keep seeing people slap silent protags in these fan-games when the ones that stand out and are highly regarded didn't. Super Pokemon Eevee and Legends of the Arena come to mind. I'll probably continue this discussion later. (Oh yeah...we're trying to escape. I had forgotten about that from all the unproductive talking) (We murdered a guy. Once you play Fire Emblem enough, that moral goes out the window...unless it's Fates...) (On the bright side, this does help make good recaps for my long intervals between episodes) (I wish it was a treasure hunt. It'd be more interesting than this) Seriously, we could have done this entire scene in one caption. Player attacks cop. Adam and Commander dispose of evidence. Adam makes a snarky comment, and then we continue. There's a reason why "[Name] explained the situation" captions exist. It's to skip information we already know. And for those who don't want to reread the broken run here's a rundown of what happened in Blacksteeple: 1. Commander and Aelita got captured 2. Aelita is being tortured and used as a piece against Commander but not really and turns into pointless filler 3. Saki breaks an antenna and Commander gets in trouble but not really 4. Commander gets shown a secret place he can use Pokemon 5. Random Girl who somehow survived an impossible situation becomes Neved's right hand man without any suspicion 6. Our Mom is alive and works for the enemy...or maybe. Also all of team Xen is here except the ones we like and care about 7. Saki makes a dish thingy or something that we can use to cut the power...which we can't do any other simpler way due to science reasons Not even going to get into the dish thing and the nonsense around that but...you can see why I'd say it's pretty boring. Nothing is that significant and the filler piles on. You could literally cut half the plot here and get the same result. (Tempted to stop here and go back to WLL...which makes me think of WWII which makes me think of Persona 2...I'm weird okay) (I still don't understand how that works, but okay) So little bit of a controversy but for a laser to function the way we need it, it'd need heat which would cause smoke from using it leading to the same problem we had with Braxien. Unless we go with Derog's Lightsaber thing but...you know what this is more complexity and effort than the game deserves. I'm sure we could've also used Adam's rock type pokemon to solve the problem. (Why not right now? Seriously...delaying is always a bad thing) (See, what did I tell you? We could've fixed this problem by now if we did...isn't the computer overheating which will cause an explosion or something? This game confuses me sometimes) (Honestly, there's nothing more punishing than spending half the run in this place) (I know the answer:) (Giving a dangerous weapon to a wild animal: what could possibly go wrong) (But I don't wanna...) (She could probably hide underwater. They'd never check there) (Oh yeah I forgot to show this detail. Gotta love how it got cut off) (I still think those beds look weird) (I TOLD YOU IT WAS A TRAP BUT NOOOO! Nobody listens to the silent protag) (Does than mean we're actually going to start building something tomorrow) Skipping the dialogue about the whining (Probably won't come for another year or so at this pace) Skipping more pointless dialogue that nobody cares about (If I were the average Pokemon player, I'd be lost for skipping all the dialogue not knowing what to do. Fortunately, I play RPGs enough to know this is the point where I use a pickaxe to hammer down the strange looking wall finally since strange things are always the solution) (I know that he shall never forgive me, but murdering this wall is my only means of escape. Perhaps it's a sign that Wall Senpai and I...were never meant to be. *Sniff* I'll never forget you, Roger) (No, no I didn't. And I should leave you all to die if I weren't horribly outmatched and need numbers to even the odds because you're all terrible people. Good day! I say, "Good day, sir!") (Oh joy more mystery girl cutscenes. Everyone's favorite) (Even Neved forgot the plot at this point) (A doctor tried that. You could say it burned him later...yeah, yeah no more horrible Reborn references) If someone asked me if I'd rather work on another chapter of Blacksteeple or livestream Bratz: Rock Angelz with live commentary...I'd probably pick the Bratz game...not that I enjoyed it or anything...I only know of that game because my younger sister got stuck all the time and I had to help her...totally so that she'd get done faster and I could get on the Gamecube to play a different manly game like Super Mario Sunshine. (Plot convenience?) (It's probably due to limitations of the engine and lack of knowledge from the developer so he designed it so that players kept their Pokemon and data without tampering it or the possible ragequits and frustration from the idea of losing all their progress and friends that are their Pokemon) (He's saying it doesn't matter what happens. Everyone's screwed) (We...totally aren't planning that or anything) (Are we some kind of training group to turn these incompetent cops into something competent or a threat) (...Can we talk about something more interesting?) (Pretty sure that's called Quintessence) (New and original plot. 10/10 super creative) I have seen this plotline used so much it isn't funny. Bad guys collecting all the energy or a bunch of it to become almighty and then use it to try and rule or destroy the world. I mean I don't mind if the villain collects tools or artifacts since generally those scenarios the villain its usually a side goal of a villain and not their main purpose. But so many villains try collecting a power source and it always ends the same it gets tiring. (I swear people need to learn to shut their mouths otherwise it'll get them killed) (...Wait, you're getting married. How long was I gone?) (At this point, sign me up if it means getting me the heck out of here and dealing with all these people. I'd take Madelis over these idiots any day) (Why would you want M-girl when you can have me?) (...Are you sure this isn't a marriage proposal? It sounds like one) (Yes, he trapped everyone in a cell making it not look suspicious at all) (Because people totally aren't able to make weapons used for murdering or nothing) (...He knows...I'm starting to wonder if he even knew about that free spot in the back) (.............) (.........Neved is an idiot) The freaking guard told us your exact plan and people were suspicious already. Why am I even ranting at this point. You know it's bad. I know it's bad. And we both know we both want this segment to end quickly because we're bored to hell and I have to repeat myself on the issues and the dialogue is so uninteresting. At least with Bratz Rock Angelz I can change my outfit, hair, and character whenever I want to be in style no matter the style. Not that I would know or anything. (He'd probably get demoted if that happened.) Skipping the dialogue talking about Madame X doing her job and reaping people tomorrow. Trust me, I'm doing you guys a favor with these skips because I have to read them, but you don't. (Poor Tom is going to die alone) (.......................So that implies Me...M-Girl is going to be killed as well) (So let me finish this and see if I can figure out how this connects) (Okay...fun time) So remember that thing Indy did before, I think that's kind of the method that Madame X is going to do or something. Basically drain them of their life and keep their soul. I can't really say for certain due to how vague, dull, and filler this segment is but that's a pretty good baseline to get an idea what's about to happen. (...Wait if Neved wanted to marry M-girl...would that mean he has...nope, we are not going cross that line in the LP. Nope!) (Neved, you are trusting somebody who you haven't even seen their face and not expecting it to bite you in the back) (You mean she's actually able to do a job a normal person would be able to) (That's bull. You just sat up here bossing people around while eating potato chips) (If Neved wasn't an old man, I'd make the joke "he's got that hots for you" but that'd be creepy on so many levels so we'll say "he's tired of looking at ugly ass...men") (M-girl, I have no idea how you haven't been killed. I would've killed you by now because of how terrible you are at covering your ass) (When a nutty man tells you things, you don't question it. That's how people get killed) If M-girl had half a brain, she'd know not to crawl too far up the tree given Neved is a terrorist put one way or another. While he is more friendly and compassionate compared to the others, he still will put himself first in a situation or well his goal first before anyone else and a questionable girl acting odd and out of line definitely would set some alarms off. She's prying info off of him yet he thinks nothing of it. She's acting way too rational right now when bombs were dropped on her. That seems suspicious to me. It's as if she knows more than she gives on. (It's official: Adam is the smartest person in Aevium) (Cue the forced backstory to actually explain a character) (Sigh...where's a bench when you need it?) (Considering your an old man, that must have been a long time ago) (You make no sense Old man, but okay if it makes this progress faster) (Oh good I get to talk about something fun) So today I learned the difference between a villain and an antagonist. An antagonist is someone who opposes the protagonist, which we already knew. A villain is someone who is evil or does evil deeds otherwise known as based on their traits. Now Neved is one of those characters who is blinded by his own faith and despite being somewhat good, he threw his morals out the window...which honestly makes him pretty much a hollow shell. I know a lot of people would compare him to Solaris which he does look similar even, but there's actually a noticeable difference. Solaris has this bigger picture goal which he believes the ends justify the means as the creation of a new world means everything done in this one is gone. It doesn't matter what he has to do in order to accomplish this though there's a lot hidden below the surface of this to analyze. Neved is very different. Like most of the Xen admins, he kind of comes off as a joke. He doesn't feel powerful or even that much of a threat. He's not very intelligent either making some very poor choices and doesn't really show much caring either. He only does stuff for his daughter. Now let's say he's actually Indy, then that'd make him a whole lot more interesting but the plot doesn't really tie that connection well or at all. Him being Indy would explain and tie in how the organization was founded since their outfit matches Indy's, but Indy would have to be a broken man to be where Indy is. Neved is not a broken man, but an empty shell. Madelis could have pulled this off better. Heck, a monkey could fill this role in the story better. I mean family bonds are nice when writing a character (in fact plenty of times I have characters act differently towards certain characters because of status and relations) but it doesn't define them or make them a character. I don't think Neved is terrible, but just boring and not a fun one to analyze. I dislike Aelita, but she's at least interesting to analyze and talk about over dull. (Repeating stuff makes people remember. Repeating stuff makes people remember) (Because he has nothing else going for his...I'm sorry this is a dry segment and it's hard to screen capture. Ranting makes me tolerate it) (Oh god we're not even into the backstory yet) (T_T No more. I can take no more) Oh one other thing. Another issue that I don't think the writing team (or person) didn't really account for at the time is that character development is best used by building two characters at once in the dialogue. M-Girl pretty much only is there to make Neved talk and serves no other purpose. We learn nothing about her or even hear anything other than to carry a conversation on. I guess I can draw up a little example to show why it's important and works: Person 1: And now I sit here with fate and death dancing around me. If I act and show my face, they will all die knowing I betrayed them. If I hide and do nothing, they'll still be killed off one by one. What choice do I have but to be a spectator to my group's own slaughter. I suggest you flee from this place now before your next. Person 2: When I heard of your name, I respected you and thought of you as a great man. Now, I realize your nothing more than a mere coward. I'm not going to run, at least not like you. If there's people who need rescued, it's my job to rescue them. That's what I plan to do. Person 1: Are you asking to die? It sounds like it to me. There's no way a mere child like you could stand up to whatever crafty man is pulling the strings behind this. What could you even possibly do? Person 2: It's true I'm a mere child who barely even knows how to hold a weapon, but there's one thing I have that you don't: a chance. Maybe I'm a dumb kid who's marching to his death, but at least this dumb kid can say he tried. And honestly...I don't even think I could live with myself if I let all my friends die for me. Person 1: Tell me, what's your name? Person 2: Why do you ask? Person 1: You're someone worth remembering, even after you're gone. That's just a brief version as when it comes to book writing there's way more things you need to do to fully flesh out a scene. That's an entirely different topic and way off the rails so we'll stop there. There's a reason I dislike silent protags and it's due to one-sided conversations. When you write stuff, you need to limit them as much as possible even when a certain character is the focus. The reason to do so is for two reasons: contrast and tone changes. Contrast allows for disagreements or shifts in subjects going from everything's fine to arguments. Maybe the protagonist did a stupid mistake and a friend of his calls him out in which we find out what looked like a dumb move was the best possible course of action informing both the friend and the player. Tone changes are also important as it adds variety from humor to sad moments. It adds dynamic. Oh god, this is turning into a COGA. Point is that this could have made the segment great or even exciting but it just doesn't try going anywhere. Now let's continue this slow tread to inevitable death. (Guard: It turns out that the three days we've been here is actually 3 months. We've hit some kind of time vortex or something) (Hooray word glitches blocking out my name) (It took him this long to realize that. One of your guards is obsessed with aliens for bloody sake) (Wait...those can track people?) This just makes things even more contradictory as you'll find out. How the heck weren't they able to stop a small 10-year-old boy. Then again, most regions have that problem. (Another plot point that doesn't get explained but I'll probably have to explain) (To you mean "get out" as in leave or "get out" as in you're surprised) (Thank the heavens. I'm getting tired of these M and Neved segments) (I'm pretty sure she'll beat the living hell out of whoever opens that cage...at least I'd expect a fight trainer and the daughter of the guy who man handled Mewtwo for a few seconds to be able to accomplish) (...So they don't want to kill me....yet Geara tried to kill me) I'm confused. Am I supposed to be killed or not be killed? Why am I relevant again? (...Change that to year) (Le gasp...big bomb about to happen) (Ze bomb of ze spoilz of zurprizes haz dropped) (Man, I wish these textboxes were bigger) (Let me guess: Madame X is actually in the basement watching football) (DUN! DUN! DUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!) And that's a good stopping point...since I still have schoolwork to do. Anyways for those new to the run, I'll be making updates to the last chapter I fixed the images for in the title so you can always check there. I was supposed to talk about something else, but I forgot OH! RIGHT! I know this game is part of the fanfiction genre so in a sense I am being too harsh on it. Now the funny thing about fanfiction is that it can get laughably bad which is very entertaining to read...which Rejuv does do that at points. I could break down why people like and love the story when I don't as well, but we're all in this together while I get to the end. So if some of you people like the story and are starting to hate it because of my bashing, take my words with a grain of salt and remember what you liked about it. Just because a story has a lot of faults or the general consensus is that it's terrible doesn't mean you have to dislike it and can love it. Also, we actually got a battle in. It's been like 5 chapters, right? I stopped counting. Also, I love the Internet as I can't believe I have a pic to sum up everything newbies missed in the recent chapters: Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to playing the sequel Bratz Forever...I mean get back to my homework.

So this is just a fun little game to see where your reflexes go. The rules are super simple. Just name a video game for every letter going with what first comes to your mind. For example Code: Geass would be used for C, but don't do that because it's an anime. It's just a fun thing to compare what you do against others. If you can't think of one for a letter, feel free to skip it or place what the game is often referred to if you want. Here's a template so you don't have to make one: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z And my results (I'd prefer if everyone did there's in a spoiler like this):

I've used imgur before and I really didn't care for it. Maybe if organization was a little easier or I spent time with it I'd be more invested, but those arguments aren't very valid reason for me to switch. I've used Post Images for 6 years now and this is the first time something like this happened. Funny enough, I'd actually be done fixing this if I could edit the coding on the images, but...Reborn changed a lot of functions. Post images lets me navigate and upload 1k images at a time easily and it's pretty well organized. I'm going to keep using postimage, but if this happens again, I might convert the run into google docs since that'd be easier to work with as it'd remove three steps of the process. I'm not saying imgur is bad and I know its ups and downs, but we all have preferences. Also because I don't believe I have some of the early images in this run it'd be a hassle to transfer. So fixes are going to be pretty slow up until chapter 3 where I can swap out images instead of having to find them to swap them. Or was it chapter 4. You guys get the idea. And as a fair warning: any image uploader is susceptible to this so always have backups. Also replacing all those images is really not that bad to me since it's but a small amount of time compared to modding HC.

So I finally get back to this and turns out that Blacksteeple isn't going to be the death of me... Sorry I've been dead for a while and slow on the response but I shall explain what happened: Postimage, the image hosting site I use,...went down. All of the images were backed up on the other server so I will be able to recover them, but that will require me to replace every single image. Normally, I would simply just use Reborn's image uploader...except reborn doesn't have that so...yeah...that's caused some problems. Anyways, I'll be working on fixing that this weekend which will probably take me a few days to fix...send help...

(Sees post and adds "Victoria Character Analysis" to his list of topics to do)

Will I ever get mentioned in one of these? T_T Anyways, I guess that means your leaving by greeting people. I'm confused to say hello, good-bye, or post confused gifs.