Commander

I guess I'll just do it from what I've played which is kind of mixed up between 3 different versions so I'm going to go based on everything I've played currently cause there were a lot of changes since the version I played. But this is up to Narcissa in Version 9 and the rest is kind of based on Version 6 up until Angie. Overall: The Good: -Great visuals and enjoyable mapping (minus a few janky tiles which are very easy to miss) -A very unique and entertaining side quest systems -Some pretty cool and fun unique moves both for opponents and even for the player -Pretty solid early game Pokemon availability -Some very enjoyable humor (even if certain parts aren't to my taste) The Bad: -Characters are overall weak and lack depth -Plot is very predictable at times -Levels randomly spike -Certain leaders and certain bosses are unbalanced making lop-sided difficulty where some fights are absolutely brutal -Player often feels like they are pulled along to move the game forward Story: Best: Narcissa's Play - This was newly added since I originally played which helps make a really bad arc better. I really liked everything about this section and the scenes were a bit interesting over the old "Y'all need to stop" meeting. Worst: This is really hard to point out as there are many bad points in the game but many of them have other factors so trying to pick out the overall one is gonna take me a minute.... Shadow Mewtwo - When dissecting this section, you slowly realize that this section has a lot of bad things about it. Madelis gives a very long explanation that is completely irrelevant soon after. Mewtwo is kind of an overused Pokemon. Aelita fails to do anything with the icing on the cake being Crescent showing up just to solve all the problems again. Keta's death is also very, very anti-climatic. This also brings the huge loss of the snag machine inconvenience to the point it no longer really is even useful. Oh don't get me wrong in that being the worst of the worse, but having to do a bloody part on that section was more brutal than fighting a bewear in a steel mono. Characters: Best: Ren - The rewrites did a lot for him in the early sections as he's not so much being written as a character you absolutely despise and actually is a bit more reasonable. If he was actually traveling with the player, I think people would really grow more fond of him rather then the whole having him travel down a road similar to Fern. Sharon - She's part of the comic duo but honestly, I have to put her up here as she's one of the few characters who actually feel a bit more lively. She actually has a personality which is entertaining and she's not a typical grunt type. She's also an adorable ginger therefore she must be here. Mosley - The rewrites actually really benefited her a lot. She's a bit more involved in the Goldenwood areas and her dialect adds a bit to her charm. She's a little girl with a Pangoro that chucks people. What's not to love? Worst: Melia - The issue with Melia is that she is a Mary Sue, but maybe she'll have a desconstruction of a Mary Sue in the later parts of the game. She's just way too perfect and way too smart with powers that go beyond being a special snowflake. Hell, she has the power to do anything with that Togepi. I also know she has magical powers as well after being in Blacksteeple (pretty sure that's what it was but oh well memory). The plot is also heavily centralized around her. I'm not against Dual-tagonists but I prefer to play as both rather than just watch one hog the spot light. Aelita - Aelita is basically Victoria if Victoria was an air-head. Her character is way too focused on charging ahead without thinking and making judgements without even listening to what someone else says. I understand naive characters, but she's a bit too extreme to the point I don't really care for her. Venam - At base, I'm fine with Venam as a character, but bloody hell is there a lot of issues I have with her. Her character contradicts herself many times from being a carefree rebel to acting like a sage to being reasonable in a scene where rashness suited her. None of this is ever explained. It gets worse when after all these consequences she's faced had 0 impact on her. Yes, there's a lot to her character but it's just poorly written that it just off-puts me. Madelis - Madelis is basically a cliche first big bad villain. You know that guy who wrecks the village in every RPG but actually works for a bigger big bad, that's who Madelis is. Very little personality when introduced other than her being somewhat cruel. It's sad because she's probably the Xen admin who had the most potential of being a fantastic and interesting character. The Goldenwood villagers - I'm sorry but I have to label them collectively because they are terrorists or at least way too extreme. I get the villagers hate outsiders trope, but this is just way too far especially with the whole murdering a little girl scene. They beat people up, murder, and destroy buildings simply because one woman burned a landmark down killing 5 or so people a long time ago. Maps: Best: Route 1 or which route is before Amethyst Cave - This route is fairly simple but Nim is the reason it is a lot of fun as it turns a straight line path into a chaotic chase for your money. Probably one of my favorites that never gets old. Worst: I can't think of any in particular. I know people praise the mapping of Rejuv and while I think it does a lot of cool things, there's just nothing that sticks out in my head. This has to do with the disconnection that most people who play this mostly stick with Pokemon, while Pokemon is something I really don't play all that often (Rejuv is the only other fan-game I've played recently outside of Reborn). It's done well for what it is, but nothing wowing. There's also gripes I have like the encounter rate in Amethyst Cave (which you feel when backtracking), the elevators of Gearen, Sheridan's layout in general (pretty but a pain to traverse), but nothing I'd really put down as a worst. Does the outside of the HC count because that is ugly? Side-quests: Best: Taking back a school from terrorists...wait wrong game. I'm gonna say the original battle me trainer in Gearen since that one really felt like a climax boss for finishing up the quests. Sure it is just a battle, but that battle was really hard if you tried it ASAP and her team was really good with a Hawlucha, Eevee, Vivillion, etc. As for the current selection, I'm going to say the hidden library sidequest since I don't know about the Terajuma revamp stuff. The Hidden Library gave you a kind of nice item that let you read the fancy language statues which was a neat reward. Worst: The Love Letter - Yeah, yeah it's a super easy quest but it's such a letdown when compared to all the other ones. The big surprise is that he's gay and you don't really even get a memorable reward or story out of it (you don't even see the two date iirc) so it's just so forgettable. Just a run around the town which you need to do to even get Litleo.

So let me explain in that Water Pulse has 60 BP and has a 20% chance to confuse the opponent. The thing about Confusion is that it gives an opportunity to give a free hit which is a tactic I've used before when dealing with very, very tanky units. The thing about speed reduction is that it allows for a mon to hit before the opponent many times (which is why Rock Tomb is a pretty good move) so it also serves as a free hit in many instances. In other words, they serve the same role, but speed reduction is much better than relying on confusion hax.

Ummm...if you really think I'm lashing out on you know, I really haven't. If you really want me to dish it out, I gladly will starting with the fact you felt the need to make warning like this since it displays that you are unable to respond properly without making it seem like a personal attack. Also, I didn't ping you because I'm afraid. Sometimes people get a little busy or are just done so maybe this could be bothering you or getting in your way. Pings imo should be for things that require to be looked at or are in a thread the user normally would not be in. I probably could read and respond to the rest but it really is just circling around. There is one other thing I wanted to address. This statement is what made this argument storm just rise. When you told me this, guess what I did? I actually looked at not only the compatibility list of Pokemon, but I also looked at the moves metadata. The PBS files are free to access to anyone and I figured out the description was a typo simply due to my knowledge of essentials in which it has a 20% chance to reduce the speed stat. That was something I did and figured out that there was a little error in the description which is likely an oversight. And I am calling out on you because I did something you should've done in the first place before calling a move bad. In fact if any of you guys used it, you would've figured the speed reduction out (it is a better Water Pulse). I did my research, you didn't. And now we're back to the whole debating again. The more I actually look into these moves, the more I see how overlooked some of them are. I do wish Douse's speed reduction had a 50% chance but it's still a pretty good move (almost Scald good) due to it not hurting your partner Pokemon. It was an oversight which likely will be corrected or tried to be corrected. I think the moral of the this topic is that there was a lot of ignorance and assumptions which made for poor arguments. At this point the argument is kind of over as it has been proven all the custom TMs have uses even if they are a bit gimmicky. Due to them having a use it is justified to not change them at all.

Octavion, I'm not going to ping you for this but I'm just gonna speak out on why you should be careful when addressing stuff. Right now, you are speaking on a more personal problems level and kind of are acting like this is a major problem with the game and in a sense demand that it be changed. Yeah, yeah one of you might be calling me a hypocrite here due to my whole tone that piss people off, but I want you to take a minute and just think what exactly is the major issue here. So this custom moves and TM thing has been around for at least 3 years (Rejuv is either 3 or 4 years old but I never paid that much attention to it) and people like me have nagged about fake moves before in the past and it is a reason I don't really care for Rejuv. If these moves were such a problem, wouldn't you have thought they'd be fixed by now because many people were nagging about them for quite a long time. So why hasn't it been changed? Probably because the moves are doing what they are intended to do. There's always going to be parts of a game people hate, but for every one of those groups, there's also people who really like a concept. You can't just outright get up and change something just because a few people hate it because then you have a brand new group of people who hate how you made changes. You want to know a concept that a lot of Pokemon fans, if not the majority, hate. It's field effects. Personally, I'm actually on the neutral side as while I think the idea is cool, I personally think quite a few fan-games could work better without them. So should Ame drop the idea of field effects? Oh hell no! I think at this point it's time for Rejuv to more or less stay the same (maybe certain text edits in areas that were skipped...*cough* Xen Shadow Lab *cough*) since I don't see very much improvement trying to change stuff at this point. I'd probably focus your attention more on what doesn't exist since it's easier to change. I'm not very knowledgable of Rejuv's late game areas so I can't help in that department. Feedback and criticism isn't made to fix stuff, but to help someone improve future endeavors (such as future episodes). I just wanted to say that because I kind of got the impression, and I pray I am completely wrong, that you pretty much want to insert or even to a degree of forcing your ideas into Rejuv. I'm just saying something because I don't think people realize how stressful being a developer is. And then we get back to douse. I can see why people might really not like that move (honestly Valerie's TM should be considered Surf due to it being such a good move) we do need to dissect it entirely to see how BAD a move it really is. I don't know its BP, PP, nor its compatibility with Pokemon. Imagine if a Pokemon like Budew learned it. That'd be a freaking insanely good move for Roserade. I doubt Budew learns it but it's just to give you an idea that maybe you aren't looking at the move right.

So here's the thing about the male stuff. The typical gamer in the developers market's eyes is primarily male. The thing about males is that they tend to skew towards well action and visuals over character complexity and lore. Rejuv is designed a wee bit too much towards this so I think people are quick to judge that the purpose of it would be to marry your favorite character, but that's far, far from that idea when I said it could work and I'd welcome it. I just want you to take a moment and forget everything you know about Pokemon and stereotypes while I explain this (I actually went back to Tales of Symphonia and was just amazed at some of the stuff it did). Romance is based around levels of affection going from stage to stage. The closer you get to someone, the more you tend to trust them. This is a useful tool as people are layered characters. The first layer tends to be either one about things they are willing to share with most people or people that they kind of know. The second layer is information they only share with good friends and people they trust. The amount of layers depend on the person but there is one layer that only someone is only willing to share with very close people such as someone who is potentially a lover. You don't hide things from people you love (otherwise that's not true love). There's another possible layer of things you would never share with anyone but that one tends to be hit or miss. I learned this from Sociology \o/. So the thing about Rejuvenation that differs from many fan-games is that you spend long periods of time with certain characters like Venam, Aelita, Melia, and I guess Saki. Sadly, the cast surrounding this pretty much only females (if Ren was more involved and less passive I'd include him but you don't get a lot of time around him) so sadly this would mostly apply to the gals. We could dive more into male options, but that's not the point I'm making. This is a system you would spend time with the characters getting to know them better. Spending time or investing into certain characters really should reward you and it'd kind of be cool to be rewarded with a character who seemed tropey or generic at first to have depth and character. Zelos from Tales of Symphonia is a perfect example and no....you can't have him and Lloyd fall in love with each other (hilarious enough Zelos even makes a joke about it in the sequel). It doesn't have to be written as the girl falling in love with the guy scenario but taking that frame is very useful if your characters feel dull. I said keep the romance moments to the scene or two since the focus should be on character development. Do I think it would be a good idea for Jan to create or work on a system like that? Probably not if my long series of rants are about how weak the story (mostly characters are), but I am not against it because it could actually really help the game with one of its weakest areas. It would also require adding many more little events with more dialogue choices to influence it. It's a lot of effort but planning would be the biggest part since well...characters have layers. I'm also not a ding-dong trying to convince you of anything since most people who pick up a Pokemon game don't care about the story. This just gave me a good opportunity to go more into depth about the concept (still far from a full on discussion). It's also an easy to learn, hard to master concept which is why so many people like yourself hate it or just outright deny wanting anyone to attempt it. And also I wouldn't try throwing the term fan-fiction around especially in a negative sense because by supporting this game you are supporting fan-fiction as fan-games are a part of the same group, just a different medium hence the term fan-game to label it. And just a tad bit of advice which is gonna come off as hypocritical but it is better to focus on trying to find enjoyment in new things or even things you generally don't like than to see something as entirely bad. That's how I can play games that are really bad or have major faults and even enjoy them. It also helps with work when you're having a bad day or have to work a really bad job. I'm pretty critical in this Rejuvenation Run as well I'm fully analyzing it after I played through it. I'm not super focused on this stuff when I'm first playing but I do screen cap things I think would be good to look back on. If I keep this up, the responses will be longer than the actual chapter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 23: The rest of these segments don't have shades as I didn't think about that during the time I need to get more creative titles...just like my captions (I would have died laughing if one of those signs said Squidward) (With that vending machine, you could kind of live here tbh) (It's not really an ordinance) (Would the fact you guys are willing to murder children suffice?) (Yes, doing bad things is bad and you shouldn't do bad things as it's bad) Seriously, why hasn't the hung thing popped up at all. It's not even like it doesn't have a good time to be brought up because it really has had a lot of good times and a good reason to push for change. (They burned a building down. That happens like...all the time on Cinnabar Island) (I wonder if there's a bench around because I think I might need it) (That's what happens when you get older) (That's one way to say you're lonely) (So you're a ghost trainer and like opera does that make you the...no...I'll save that joke for later) (Fun fact: people watch opera in different languages than their native one quite often) (Uhhh....kind of?) (I'm not going to question it) (Well that's the fastest we've gotten to a gym battle yet) (And now Aelita is causing us issues...again) (What? Aelita is evolving...) ([Plays evolution music]) (Congratulations! Your Aelita evolved into a nagging granny!) (Yep, I'm almost positive the elder is throwing a party in Sheridon after getting rid of her) (This is one of the few times I wish the protag could speak...don't I say that a lot?) (You'd think people would've been bothering her more with these issues than just Aelita) (And we could've avoided the earful if Aelita knew how to shut up) (I...the irony here is that she's the daughter of a sensei and should know better) (I...guess that's a suitable response, but a leader can't just instantly make a place change) (Why didn't this part come first?) (Or this one) Kind of think this could've been slightly touched up a bit because I think she should explain that she doesn't hold power over people to control them. (Aren't they already doing that...this storyline just gets more nonsensical by the minute) Okay the problem here is that the events that caused all of this happened a while back iirc and I think it's like years ago and not the point of Goldenwood forest. If it happened then, I could see people rioting a bit, but it does bother me that this is kind of being viewed that the citizens of goldenwood are like wild animals who take action before thinking. Animals. I could see them playing the blame game and being more aggressive but a riot is a tad extreme. Then again, everything so far is very over the top for simple building being lit on fire. (I seriously think this section needs to tone it down) (Last time I tried protecting someone, he died while you passed out on the floor) (You got destroyed in seconds by a Mewtwo...that's definitely accountability) (Oh thank the heavens we're not listening to Aelita. She's highly skilled in passing out) (Yay, gym badge time!) (Oh god it's the man who's wearing the funky beret) I now have pictured Geara as an edgy french guy saying stuff like "Bonjour, motherfuckers" Maybe if I ever do another run through I'll livestream it reading the lines in the voices I did for this run. (Yep...my idea really does connect it all together) (Hey, that's my line) (Ze woman needs to shutteth ze mouth) (Haunzer, make sure ze can speak no more!) ('Ey Narcy is a great nickname for her. Thanks, Aelita) (THAT'S NOT HOW THE MOVE WORKS!) ([Inhales a deep breath] You are ze Commander, no? Ze came into our home and ruined everything! Everything! How ze appeared I do not know but ze boss iz pissed!) (I'm going to get sick of doing this very soon) (Zey call me Geara; one of ze finest executives of Zen...Zen...ze knows what I speak of) Somewhere a french man is face palming very hard while another is moving me to the top of their kill list. (Wii don't appreciate zor little performance in ze mountain therefore I want to watch you DIE!) And now my entire viewership is probably wondering why they ever took me serious in the first place and are even watching this run for (Ze the place is no more than little ashes no thanks to zoo) (And did ze really think ze could just walk away like little girl all happy and jolly? No! Little girl should burn with mountain) Am I writing a Russian or Frenchmen? Maybe he's both :X (Pretty sure Geara would be choking me if he saw what I was doing) (But I can't bring little girl to mountain because it is too much work. So instead, ze two here shall speak NO MORE!) I'm currently questioning why the hell I even started doing this French thing. But ze shall finish ze scene before ze gives up. Also, I'm not drunk but now I wish I was. (And it shall be YOU who zey blame for ze girls. Ho! Hohohoho!) Also the only thing I know about stereotypical french I learned from Unforgotten Realms. (Oh thank god, somebody's coming) (Oh ze horror! I would take care of these dogs, but ze boss told me "Don't be seen" so zi will activate zi ninja skills. [Randomly puts up one of those fake trees the ninjas use in RSE]) (I...I thought your revenge was killing girls...wait, before you go I need to ask: are you gay?) (Zo no! Zi forgot to return my balls) I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a DM from Azery cringing really hard about me ruining his favorite character in this game. This might actually top the whole SEC thing as worst chapter I've ever made in the run so far. (Wait! This isn't what it looks like...okay it's exactly what it looks like) (I'm not...they kicked me out of the asylum for a reason) (You guys...wait who's Sariah? I didn't know these NPCs had a name) (I just realized my overworld sprite has no mouth...or nose...no wonder why they're so quiet) (But they aren't dead...nevermind touching people gives you the death penalty here...and stealing too) (Ze lady of luck haz favored me well) (Does this happy me? NO!) Please tell me this is almost over. (Why don't you just hang me on that noose right there? It'll be faster) (I wonder if they realize I have a dog who can control rocks...and entomb them) (Ze chick is obsess with ze nutz of her mind) (Wait za minute, ze said ze was headed to the tower of wisps) (Zho no! Ze stupid haz contained me. Zi forgeth my mission at ze tower of wisps) I'm starting to get the hang of this...which is probably a bad thing. I swear I'm not drunk. (Haz ze time of begonning caused ze memory to fuzzies?) Now I'm just making stuff up (Vi wonder if ze prize of greatness is still in the tower of wisps) (If zoe, Zi shall be jolly for great power I gain for ze hurt I seek thy enemies) This is starting to become fun. Someone please stop me before it's too late. And...crap a whole section got corrupted so you get Commander's abridged version of it after I find it... Not dead yet girl: Yo shithead, I'm dumb enough to speak out now and tell you I heard everything even though you clearly are more than capable of killing me here and right now. But plot armor protects me and is going to let me stop and ruin all your plans. And that's it? Bummer you know what how about one more for good time's sake... Frencera: Ha! Ze little girl thinks ze can put a stop to zwe, but little does zee little girl know I want her to zave ze Commander so Zwi zall be za one to kill zem! This is why I don't write accents on my characters. I'm only going to go a little bit further because I fear the French, Russians, and possibly Germans may be trying to track me down as we speak. But I'm probably not going to do that for Geara in any other chapter because I'd probably run out of things to say (can't say it'll scare away the viewers when there aren't any :P). But let's talk about Geara for a moment. He's basically all edge and nothing else. And since edge is an overused word, I'd best describe him as a character just made to look cool and try to be a badass but in reality is just an over the top emo kid with a lot of daddy issues. I mean he's more interesting to watch than Madelis but he's not an interesting character to dissect or change because there's not much to him unlike Madelis who had a lot of potential. Now back to what I'm doing.... (And that's the story of how I lost my virginity) That lines up a bit too well... (Not sure if flirting with me or trying to intimidate me) (We all know how this is going to end) Man, this is giving me flashbacks to Mother 3. That moment was just so sad. (...Is that guy's name Guy or is he just a guy? I'll just call him Jag to be safe) (I'm not crying!) (I'm picturing Mosley now as an 8-year-old honcho in charge of a local gang) (Did...he really fall asleep that fast?) (Instead of a gun though, Mosley uses a giant bear...I'm starting to really think she is a gangster) (Oh hey it's Chuck. Hi Chuck!) (I'd like to see Chuck chuck Jag...I should've named him Chuck, but he did already chuck Chuck) (Yay! I get out of jail free now!) (At least she has manners...for a thief) If this was a Final Fantasy RPG, Mosley would be a thief, Aelita would be a monk, Venam would be a Blue Mage, Zetta would be a Summoner, Melia would be a Black Mage, Ren would be a Dark Knight, I'd probably be a Paladin, and Geara would be a Necromancer. It'd be fun labeling jobs for all the characters in this game. Narcy is a dancer btw. >>>Funny how my story changes later in another chapter (Petition to change its name to Chuck) (Something tells me you shouldn't leave that bear alone with that man...they might lock eyes) (Oh crap, I forgot you didn't introduce yourself yet. I guess I spoiled that one) ([Flips hair] Don't kid yourself. Everyone loves the Commander) (So you were spying on me. Why did...oh yeah they're trying to kill you too) (A half-decent person. That's okay because I totally didn't do that at the beginning) (I guess he would be into dead people) (Well dead people can be important) (This is probably the first and only time I'll ever hear that saying. Are you country....a cowgirl gangster. I like it! "You dawg, this hood ain't big enough for the both of us) (Or we could just wait for Ms. Leader of this town to wake up like normal people) (They ain't dead...somehow) (But it's night though) (Who taught you your manners? I want to meet them and...possibly marry them if they're divorced) (Go back to the woods where you belong, Sariah) (Tonight there's a 20% chance of it pouring heretics) (The cowgirl gangster strikes again) (Why didn't she do this when she was cornered?) Yeah, yeah, I also know the Pangoro chased Sariah, but it sounds cooler for Chuck to chuck (Oh Chuck can gladly feast on anyone in this town) (And stealing wouldn't. Huh? You learn something new everyday) (That kind of sounds like Ren's sister...spoilers) (I would guess it was Madame X, but I doubt it'd be her. I don't actually know if this character will even pop up) (Okay maybe we'll meet this character) (Wow this NPC is really nice) (This NPC not so nice) So now after all this time we actually get to see.... (A Shadow Pokemon we can't capture) I'm really not a fan of this whole Shadow Pokemon thing because just how irrelevant it really is. I use one Shadow Pokemon on my team and only two in total so far. Some are good, but they are just kind of meh or hard to utilize. As for Mossely, I actually originally thought she was a guy about the player's age and actually really liked the whole idea of a teenage rebel on the run. Kind of a bummer she's just a little girl but she's a tad better than the average character in this game. I like her because she has interesting dialogue and is different, but there's nothing that really wows me. Probably all I gotta say as this ended up being a very weird episode and next time we'll deal with this: (Whatever happened to the shrine...also how did these door even open since there's no power here?)

I'd go with the third personally. I don't know why I like it so much but I do.

So how many of you actually know about the TM shop in HC? Overall, it didn't affect the gameplay all that much so having these moves helps weaker Pokemon out but not overshadowing the strong ones (learnset is how you base how good a Pokemon is in these kinds of games sadly). I'm pretty sure Ame was trying to figure out where to put certain TMs in the game (and not give out good TMs too early) which has backfired hard imo. Nobody really uses TMs outside the few good ones and for niche strats like Charge Beam. We're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about fake moves. It's not unheard of in RPGs that bosses have skills an abilities that the player can never use or obtain. I'm a bit more against it in Pokemon since the original design was that it was an even playing field. It's also kind of just thrown in for Rejuv especially a certain one with an asspull move (cough *Melia* cough). Not going to judge it all that much and I'm not against them being unobtainable. Now for the fake moves the player gets. They're pretty meh and usually are based on regular moves with a different typing slapped on them like poison sweep. If it was a bit more creative or unique I'd be more for it but the moves are just not worth even worth considering to use. I'd honestly be okay with leaders not giving TMs out at all. A little jarring but not that bad. It all grinds down to enjoyment though and if the battles are fun. The moves don't change that much since only one or two Pokemon even know them. I don't like them, but I don't think it's so bad you need to change or remove it.

So sorry to double post but somebody actually DM'd me something very interesting regarding a kickstarter game that is called Super Mario RPG 2 which was taken down. Now this response is very interesting: Now I'm not sure what's going on regarding AM2R and Pokemon Prism but I actually am allowed to go into something interesting that has happened a long, long time ago. There are these things called Bootleg Pokemon games which were sold at unofficial vendors I know one of them was called Chaos Black. I don't know what Prism's plans were but donations kind of are a fancy way to basically pay for an illegal game. It's what I call a pelican effect. If you feed one, then another 20 will pop up. If they don't address it, they problem will only get worse so some people doing something for the right reasons need to get taken down. What's really, really important is that Nintendo is actually listening to us fans. AM2R was not a waste of time as it is the reason the 3DS version of the game was made. I was pretty sure this was the reason and this pretty much confirmed it. Nintendo did not need to do this at all, but I'm really glad they actually properly responded to someone and it's an interesting read.

Did you miss the whole comment where I said Melia was a Mary Sue? It's also not a simple fix like having the protag talk. It's kind of so much trouble Jan would be better off starting from scratch to include a well done one.

Another misinterpretation of shock value is that it serves to have your audience been more engaged in a works. Shock value is a tool that actually is meant to throw the audience off or even change their mindsets. It's like killing the main character in a story when everything is all fine and dandy or maybe even a certain magical girl show. The important thing is to build off of it now that you have the audience's attention as well now they are curious where you'll go next. I hate to bash Jan on this (and I know that the fandom did not help with my judgement) but I really feel that Jan's 3 years of experience making this game hasn't really shown story wise. The other fields it has greatly improved but story just is not the level I expect. As for rewriting the section, it's a tad bit tricky but I have to have boundaries and things I can't changes since this was already pre-made. What I can't change is the whole noose and Mosley about to be hung and killed. I also can't change the villagers' attitude towards "outsiders". This leads to a very nonsensical situation which is very hard to work with. Like for this to happen, everyone in the village would have to be psychopath levels just because one person burned down the tower (that's like treating all Middle Easterners in the U.S. like complete shit due to 9/11. Hell, that is more logical due to the attacks on Paris not that long ago). Sorry to get into the deeper parts of the mature themes here, but I'd understand that attitude if themes like murder, rape, or child abduction happened across the village. Child trafficking is a real thing and it's not something people just get over when they lose their child. Terrorism is a very, very bad thing and does have effects on people but it's usually not enough to snap a community in half. People are stronger than you may think. The thing about terrorism especially in this situation is that it was one single person which it's happened across the many years of this world on many people including John F Kennedy, Julius Ceaser, etc. People are self conscious enough that a person or small group doesn't represent an entire nation or ethnicity of people. Not the best example, but take Shulk from Xenoblade. After the events in Colony 9, he didn't leave the village with the goal of eradicating all Mechon, his goal was to find and seek revenge on a specific Mechon, Metal Face. Of course he planned to fend of the Mechon since well...they kind of eat Homs. I wanted to clear this up before I explain what I would change because if you haven't figured it out...it could just blow your mind. That'll come at the end though. As for the Mosley scene, what I would do is have the kids about to hang them with the same dialogue. What I'd do instead of the kids fighting the player who was trying to stop them is to have Ren's mom walk up and call them out saying it's ridiculous that they'd go so far to kill a little girl for stealing bread. She tells them to let the girl go right then and there before telling their parents what exactly they did. One of the kids would say back that they wouldn't care because it's right to punish outsiders. Ren's mom says that they'd need to explain to the authorities how they aren't murderers. The kids then reluctantly let Mosley go who runs off thanking the player and Ren's mom. The kids also run off before taunting the lady that she's a good for nothing softy like her son and one day she'll pay. Ren's mom then introduces herself to the player realizing that the player knows Ren. She then says that it isn't safe to wander around outside and takes you to her house where she explains a bit of what happened and how it finally drove Ren to run away. The player informs her of what's going on and she's a bit relieved he hasn't changed a bit. She also talks about how Ren's sister ran off for some odd reason and wonders if you've seen her as well which the player answers no. She's a bit bummed by that, but changes the subject suggesting that the player meets with the Gym Leader, Narcissa to get their badge and get out of here ASAP. As for Mosley, I'd have a conversation afterwards in which she mentions the player didn't need to worry because the kids were simply playing a stunt to try and be cool and edgy and they weren't really going to kill her (except they were). She still thanks the player anyways for trying to save her. I'd also at the end of this section actually have one of the kids have a conversation saying how it was just a stunt...but they might have actually done it if she kept resisting...making her reflect how she's just as bad as the lady who burned the radio tower down. Whew, that was a long explanation but the point here isn't changing the story, but changing the drives and motives of characters. There's one more change I'd do but we'll wait until we get to that point before I explain it as it'll tie everything up in a beautiful knot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 22 I don't know about you... So an ongoing issue that will happen is that images get corrupted while uploading and since I do 200 at a time...it gets iffy. So I gotta piece together what happened here (I may or may not have forgotten most of the dialogue tbh) (I'm starting to think these guys are Puritans) I had a lot of stuff regarding the residents being awful to people but we've seen more than enough of that already I think I'll pass. Now we get to Narcissa...which happens for some odd reason. I don't remember any direction hinting toward her tbh. (...Why am I being treated like a...no Commander. No racism. Be a good boy) We're skipping the more mumbo jumbo about Goldenwood privileges because boring stuff (So people would accept me into this society if I beat someone up...I guess that makes sense in a town like this) Oh wait I remember what this is. It's about allowing passage into Aukuwa...or whatever it's called. Only residents or wielders of the gym badge can cross...which must be horrible for business and restocking supplies. (I'm Steven Stone the 2nd. I live and die for rocks like yours) [She says no but...] (Yeah, I met them. They're nice people.) (...DID YOU NOT SEE THE LITTLE GIRL ABOUT TO BE HANGED! I THINK IT'S JUSTIFIED!) (Huh, someone actually taking authority...by making me do it) (That place sounds kind of creepy tbh) (I try to not think about the dead) Okay this is kind of a meh conversation. Meh conversations are needed to fill in spots where not much is supposed to happen. Usually it shouldn't be in the main story as well you are supposed to pay attention. The other thing I want to talk about is actually asking someone to please shrink the bloody text because it is so freaking annoying having to wait for a single word or two to pop up all the time to the point I now skip them. I have skipped 100s of images due to this problem and generally just assume what the NPCs say in these. This isn't anybody's fault, but could someone please invest in editing the text and how it's presented...please. I also know the autoskip thing has been screwing with it lately as well which reminds me... I don't talk about speedup and autoskip much since they have their ups and downs. I think they're needed and a staple in video games due to the concept gameplay > story (I actually argue the other way around if the quality of story reaches a certain point), but these nifty features really do help skip rewatching scenes or catch back up to where you were at since there will be a boss that kicks your ass hard in a video game (like Kingdom Hearts with the whole Riku fight). It's also good to help with lag testing interesting enough. Random fact but to help with lower end computers, I unplug my laptop from the charger which is set to energy save mode...which is how I know if an area is really bad or not. Anyways, Pokemon. (Oh great, it's the third to last person I want to see right now. If you're wondering about the other two, it's Melia and Crescent) (You remind of Barry how you just charge ahead without thinking) (I still wonder how do people travel to Gearen City) (IT WAS THE LADY WASN'T IT. I'LL KILL YOU!) [Insert pic of Commander and Aelita walking to the Nurse] Oh another mini rant that I want to talk about. Romance. It's and easy to learn, hard to master concept. There's this whole craze about dating and getting your favorite girl that's a trend for many, many games and I've seen the whole topics about letting the player date one of them. Fire Emblem Awakening is one of the core games I can point to that have caused a rise in demand, but it's been there since like Gen III consoles and probably further back. Point is that I don't think it should be slapped onto every video game just so that the producers can make an extra 100k (If you want that you'd go Graphics > Gameplay > Story as priorities...yes, I've been around long enough I know what does and doesn't work in the money making world). I would not be against a little romance in Rejuv based on the girls, but pretty much it'd be kept to a scene or two and not be a central focus or selling point. Something like Tales of Symphonia (man, I am using that game a lot recently). It wouldn't be marriage or anything leading but something subtle. If you want me to go into that more, I definitely could. (These guys make Trump look like a humble guy) (They're probably bored and have nothing to do...since they drive everyone away) (I will take all 3 of you down right here and right now if you don't shut up) (It's a shelter from extremists...and somebody forgot to spray the ghost repellent. I blame Mike over there.) (Nurse Joy did nothing wrong) (Oh come on! That was the perfect moment for a burn. She's a purple, physics defying haired girl who's an airhead. Bubble brain is my fave.) (I'm single and alone. I'd rather have your problem right about now. AELITA YOU DON'T COUNT!) [One anticlimatic battle later] (But...I was just getting started) And thus they made a tactical retreat (like little babies) (I think freaks is a better word. They have grey hair and are under the age of probably 18) (You know, how on earth did Aelita decide to only take initiative now when this has been going on for a while. Think of all the children you could've saved) Seriously surprised the hanging thing hasn't come up...it's almost like it was never supposed to happen (I volunteer Mike. He seems like a good guy.) (How can it get worse than murdering people?) (...Why is everyone burdening their problems onto me?) (........I think the reason this is like this is because the Narcissa outside her gym didn't exist before) (Thanks for explaining how to find a one way path) And thus we go find the gym leader... (Or not...) (What is up with these people and threesomes?) Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I really like how the inside of the Pokemon Center looks here and wish more PCs had custom designs. Don't know how the whole trees stuff works but I ain't judging. (.........I'm 3 feet away from a girl trained in the martial arts on top of two witnesses right next to me with one being a vendor I bought a lot of items from and likely doubled his income for the month and the other is a traveling breeder. I also have in my hand a powerful swordmaster and a mime who can create barriers. I also have a poisonous flaming lizard, a kung-fu giant panda, a dog made of rocks, and a giant rat who probably has a lot of diseases from living in Gearen. This battle is well into my favor) (*crackling noises* This isn't my first rodeo without Pokemon. Let this be known as the day Commander died trying to teach kids a lesson) (Sadly, that's not my Pangoro) (I think his name is Chuck) (Man, guys around here have it tough) (I came in at the wrong time) (Oh Goldenwood, I wondered what condition it was in) (Well...that's depressing) (I like orbs. They give me new people to use...and a bald man holding a potion) (Wait...that man has hair longer than me. I wonder how long it took him to grow that out) (Shit, I've been detected. Abort the mission. Abort the abort!) (Then why is the door unlock? And why wasn't there a sock on the door?) (I uhh...kind of already knew all of that...except the alien problem.) (How would he...not questioning it...) (It's a giant hole in the wall. How could you miss it?) (Today really is National burden all your problems on Commander Day) (If I see a glowing flasher thing, I'm out yo!) (So I'm a MiB member? I've had weirder jobs so it's cool.) (Name's Commander. I'm a big CHA. That stands for Certified Hobo Affiliate) (I'm actually from Orre. Though I spend a lot of time in Tarnelia) (...Did Team Xen blow it up...again?) (I uhhh....picked the first one) (How do you know there's a threat in Goldenwood Forest?) (I don't know, you tell me) (Yay! I get to fight aliens from other planets now) (I get you. People ask me if I'm blind all the time) (I wish I could see through my Pokemon. I also wish I knew what they were thinking. On second thought, that might not be such a good idea given one's named Joker) (Couldn't you just...take one of those two along with you?) (It's a giant ball on top of a lake. It's kind of hard to miss even for a blind man) (...I may have already defeated it once) (I guess Goldenwood will have to wait. I mean if Aelita dies...I still win!) (I guess we can do that) (This will be a cakewalk!) (THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A CAKEWALK!) I kind of forget what happened in this fight but I was getting my butt kicked hard. I think Walter defeated Araquanid after Ratigan weakened it with Super Fang (Thankfully I had Loewe with me) I don't really remember the fight but it took me by surprise out of nowhere seeing those two Pokemon. It was a fun fight nonetheless but a little overwhelming if you weren't expecting it at all. (Oh I did have a pic of Loewe finishing it off) (I already know where it is....it's not hard to find) (It's a giant Gyarados. The only two people who could tame it are Terra and Saphira) (I assume you're referring to the people who are trying to murder me) And now we get into an epic rematch against the D... (That was anti-climatic) Pretty much what you see here is what happened (How'd you get your hair in a ponytail like that?) (There's werewolves around...I think it'll take longer than you think) (Probably for the best considering where it leads to) (....I want your shades. Give them to me and we have a deal...) (Gotcha. I can't wait to use these babies later!) (It's cool. All I wanted were the shades) (Rangers...does that mean C is actually the Green Ranger?) (See you around Cra...I mean mysterious agent C) And that's a good stopping point. Not a lot to talk about here other than it's a lot of meh stuff. Only really bad thing was honestly how over the top the citizens are to the point you could mistake them for the mob. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this run and somehow I'm surprised I haven't run out of things to put under screen caps yet.

(Sees COGA Activity is down before looking at this and quietly places Romance at the top of the list) I'm not going to go into the full on explanation this time because it's a long, long explanation and really hard to explain without people's heads slightly spinning around and offending a few people. The short version of this is that adding a romance, especially for Melia, is a very, very bad idea. Melia shows many characteristics of the typical Mary Sue to the point it is safe to classify her as one. So the thing about Mary Sues is that they tend to have a romance with a very important character...usually for little to no reason...and our protag has 0 character. If you can't put it together, it's not something that will end well writing wise as neither character has much room to develop. Anything beyond that is just merely fan-service with the only point is to deliver content to please a small group of fans which a good game developer focuses more on their vision over pleasing people.

I know it's gotten a tad bit off topic, but if some issues keep popping up, it's not a bad idea to make a quick reference or tips thread.

Pinging someone more than once might make them even less inclined to respond. Could be numerous things causing the error but basically it randomized the forms. One you send it into a battle it should revert back to normal. I've played with the concept before. Switching might even cause it to revert.

Personally I think FFV is the best gateway game into the FF series. I know a lot of people like VI, IV hasn't aged all that well (it's decent), but my personal favorite is IX. VII and VIII definitely should not be your first FF games in this day and age. They have not aged well.

Commander's Opinionated Gaming Articles Picture Perfect I already know what you are thinking, but I'm never going to cover anything regarding graphics as not because it's not important as it is one that is mostly skill and practice based over concept based. What we're here to talk about today is the framework of a game which the best way to describe it is a kid going into college. They need to pick a degree for what they want to do for the rest of their life. Once you go through this stage, you can't really go back, but you can modify it after feedback. While it sounds scary, it's scarier to skip this phase and rush ahead to the fun phase of building it and seeing it all come to life or...sometimes people spend too long in this stage and never even make a single segment of the game. Hopefully by the end of this article everybody will see the importance of the planning stage of making a game (or any project really). So if you remember in a previous article, I talked about getting the first idea for a game. I tend to collect a number of thoughts and ideas before I begin weaving them all together. I don't actually recommend this type of writing style because it requires a keen eye to connect and flesh out all of the ideas so they flow smoothly instead of feeling jagged. I do think it's good to have a couple so that you can set major events in the plot. I'm a firm believer you should start with the plot when designing something or else you will likely end up starting your idea something like this: A fan-game with: -18 badge system -field effects -all available wild mons to catch If you do that, now you write a story around the inclusion of all that. You've forced yourself to try and make an interesting plot with an overused system that everyone else is using and people expect a certain level of difficulty with the inclusion of a gimmick found in a difficult Pokemon fan-game. This is one thing I don't think a lot of the newer fan-game developers just understand. If you take and use somebody else's resources, your players will hold you and match you to that original developer's standards and quality which you will never surpass since you didn't create it. I remember in one fan-game project the head developer of the project said my writing was "probably as good as Reborn's" which I responded with "I'm not trying to write a story like Reborn's, I'm writing one in an attempt to try and be better than it." The scary part is that now I can think back on it, it actually might have been able to had the right people and the right group worked together. You can include those elements I listed, but please for the bloody hell don't set another game as your inspiration or benchmark when planning. You're constricting yourself and your creativity which is the worst possible thing you can do to yourself. If someone asked me to put a fan-game up for the golden standard, I'd have to decline as I haven't seen one hit all the right notes yet. Pokemon Reborn is the closest only hitting about half the benchmarks. That's okay though as only three video games I've played actually hit all the benchmarks: Xenoblade Chronicles, Chrono Trigger, and Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask. If you do your homework, you can probably guess why I picked those three even if two aren't in my top 10 favorite video games. The higher end developers already know exactly what I'm talking about and why being the best isn't necessarily a good or bad thing. So now we go back to story once more. You don't think about anything except drafting up a world. It could be a world full of offbeat people fighting in a tournament (like the one article), it could be a tale that takes place in the future with humanity blissfully in a cage they call home, or it could even be a twisted place where crime rules and the fight against each other for survival. I could name the worlds I've built up over time and talk a long time about them. One of my favorites was a vendor's point of view during a revolution and how he conducted a business siding with the "empire" of the region. The best way to build a world is to sort out your thoughts and spotting key things like doing this: -There was a tournament and our protag takes place in them -Are they considered good or bad? Probably good -There was a man in a dress. Is this a social norm? Definitely not -Is our protag a good person? Likely yes So we know that in our world tournaments are a good thing and it seems like a pretty normal world with the occasional offbeat person. Or is it? -There's a man wearing a dress. Is there anything unique about him? -He was originally a female. Is this the original body? No. -Was magic used to make this occur? Likely yes. So there is magic in this world. When looking at Jenkins' design, I pictured it was her Grandmother her placed her under a curse of a life immortal likely for making fun and not believing in magic. So I would need to decide is how these events took place. Maybe it was through the use of a Pokemon or maybe a special charm. That part of the story wouldn't matter until later. Since this is Pokemon heavy, I'd always revert back to humans as much as possible. Do you see how removing all that noise when first storming up ideas really helps. Likely I'd play with the concept of a soul with Jenkins as personally I believe it's a concept not only misunderstood but overlooked at how fascinating it could be. I'd write that into my to research segment and try to get a better understanding before digging further. Normally, I'd look into the beginning of the story, but I feel it's more or less going to be simply a kid growing up and leaving his hometown on his own decision ending with the townsfolk throwing a victory party now that the protag is out of their hair. Nothing too major as it's mostly tutorial and world building. I did make the decision to make the protag a talking protagonist (I've done a mix of both). When you have enough of these ideas is when you start making the big decisions. The first thing I always recommend jumping into is the difficulty. This is easily the hardest thing to decide on. I love how people go like "OMG! Reborn is so difficult and so brutal I wanna quit so badly." Honestly, I think Reborn would be considered about the average difficulty of RPGs slightly skewing towards the easier side. The best way I can describe difficulty is the amount of leeway you give players. Pokemon doesn't really care all that much about difficulty as it caters to being easy to pick up and easy to get into which is the whole big mess when it comes to difficulty. My own personal difficulty taste is a little bit harder than hardcore, but I care more about easier training and grinding. It really grinds down to who you're targeting how difficult you make a game but I'd say strive for being easier than Reborn since the bulk of the Pokemon fan-base aren't RPG strategists. The next step to determine would be the mechanics. The dumb answer would be all mons and mechanics up until Gen VII. Technically that is enough to create a game...but that doesn't really help you. Field effects could be placed into here, but that's something to put off into the side. What exactly are you adding to make the game feel fresh over the flood of fan-games/hacks that have happened over the course. Maybe you have a judgement system which pushes your morals to light/dark boosting certain types and hindering others. Maybe the protag travels between the real world and distortion world to effect both and change/traverse them. For the idea above tournaments are going to be a big thing so altering how battles work for each one would make for a challenge (such as one where only fighting type Pokemon are allowed for the second one...even though our protag hasn't crossed a single one yet). The possibilities are endless, but there is one system I want to talk about. There's this trend that's rose up called the reputation system. You see when one fan-game does something, every other fan-game creator feels like they also have to do the same thing as it's apparently a great idea. The concept of a reputation system is an awful idea at least in the way it's presented now. It's the one decision I really don't think was the wisest move for Reborn. So let's actually look at what games rely on reputation systems: visual novels. That's a whole different genre that focuses on story and only story. There is a misconception that this is to make sure you only fall in love with your waifu at the end of the story...which is absolute BS (though some games use it for that). A reputation system simply is a system that is supposed to change how characters view and react around you generally based on choices. You probably don't see the problem....yet but I shall explain. Let's take a character in a scene. Normally they go through one path A to B. With a Rep system, they would go from A to B, but they could go through that path in three different moods (happy, neutral, angry) depending on what you said or have said to them in the past. Let's say they have 20 different scenes meaning a possible 60 lines need to be made for that character (40 more than normal). Now let's say there are 20 characters which would roughly add an additional 800 lines you'd have to add to make this system work. Now if I don't write this, somebody is going to ask, "Wouldn't their emotion be based on a decision you made at that exact moment?" And yes, you are correct. Making a choice then and there could affect their mood. Heck a couple bad choices could easily lead to their death (maybe two or three) instead of a "this amount of points means they hate you." Choices matter is a concept introduced even as early as Chrono Trigger (probably way before) in which you cannot just freely do something and not have consequences. Does reputation have benefits? Absolutely, but in small instances and not a main focus. Take Tales of Symphonia's traveling companion. You build rep throughout the whole game and while their is a canon scene, it can be altered and you could have another character take her place. It's not this heavy mechanic that defines the party nor really affects the overall story. I could name others, but that one truly is one of the best examples and a pretty good gem. Even story branches is debatable in a story at times as sometimes a story is meant to only be lived once (I'm the kind of writer who writes scenes to be viewed twice to see the connections). Sorry to dilute into this, but I wanted to clear this up as too many people think you have to have all of this to make a good game which I'm here to say no, no you don't. Now that you have all your mechanics set, it's time to start writing the plotline, right? Nope. This is where people are really divided how to make a video game plot as a book plot or play are both very different. A book and play both have something in common: they move in a straight line. The best way to describe a video game plot is like a Goosebumps story. You make choices in that book and eventually you end up with a certain ending, but rarely do you read from page 1 then page after page until the end. Something you need to take into consideration when making a video game plot is that certain aspects of it are not fixed. People like running around and talking to NPCs or even seeing all the places than can go before pushing the plot. Others just want to get the game done and over with ASAP. Now how in the world can you please both these people? The answer is in the question. Everything I've been talking about all lead up to one single point: building the world. People are going to tell you to think up the history and important plot points then create characters to fill the roles while others will tell you to build the character and let them write the story for you. I've used both these techniques and they are quite helpful when polishing the game and details, but they won't get you very far. These work great when things are small or a very short game, but most of you dream for some massive or expansive games (with bloody 18 badges). I believe the first step is painting the background. When I personally start building a world, I don't actually start with how the world is shaped, but create cities based on it. I usually start with a small village (not necessarily the first town) and figure out the climate which is usually a warm area which I imagine with a nice breeze. This leaves the villagers to be carefree and really respectful of one another. Of course old man Harvey is giving everyone a hard time in his rocker. You can't blame him as he lost the ability to do what he loves. You now it's daytime as a group of children run down the street playing tag. This innocent town with so, so innocent people have no idea what happens to the outside world. Many of them simply mine iron and ore and sell them for a good price to a nearby army. How little they know they are the reason countless lives are suffering and the world slowly spiraling out of control. How could they? They are just sweet innocent villagers. If a spark flew out of your eye, you know exactly what just happened. Notice how the storyline kind of just wrote itself there. Materials are involved so perhaps our protagonist would try stopping it by making the villagers aware. Maybe they are aware and don't really care. That's something a video game can show where a book cannot. You experience these events and it gives more realism if these people show emotions and feelings toward a particular issue. Characters can react to this and show emotion back...causing them to drive or take action. Doesn't that have a nice flow to it? Wait where's the main character when describing that? Why isn't a gym leader mentioned doing something? What's the evil team and why do they use that village of all places? Never once did I really talk about the main plot of the game when describing the village. Hinted, but never directly told. This could just be a simple side plot and not part of the main evil team (there's rarely ever one big bad controlling all like in Reborn). Never once did I mention gyms in my idea which is true since people train with others to get stronger and test themselves in tournaments, not by an official. A gym leader would actually feel more like a burden adding than a good addition. I also did not mention the main protag because well, the world doesn't revolve around him and the place had a history well before he stepped into the place so why does it matter? His role is to keep time moving forward and to bring forth the action, not create their history (that's the developer's job). I did fail to mention the one use of gym leaders. There is an important role they do serve as an element in the game. A lot of RPGs you do a "beat up bosses to show you've gotten stronger and smarter" but the thing about Pokemon is that it's a friendly sport. Gym Leaders do show player progression over their allies. Amaria in Pokemon Reborn may have felt overwhelmingly strong when you first meet her, but by the end of the current episode a player probably feels more confident they have a chance of surpassing her in strength. There's many different ways of writing this including a student-teacher relationship. So don't fret if you feel the need to include a gym based system in a game. I'm just redefining how a game is constructed in my point of view. Thus begins the long cycle of building and seeing the connections from place to place. I wish in reality it was merely a loop of town -> characters -> plotline, but rarely is it a straightforward process especially when plotlines get more and more complex. This is just to get an idea of how to start your planning. As a little bit of advice, I do recommend building your game once you get the first segment fleshed out (ie one badge) so that you are more aware of your resources and limitations at hand. Don't try to brainstorm an idea you know you're not capable of building even with a solid team. Once you get those ideas you can finish planning out the rest of your game. Generally, I recommend a planning stage of one to three months since revisions and flow checks are needed to make sure the story works. And trust me, you aren't getting the story just right the first go around. That does also count towards other sections of the game such as battles and graphics. If you guys really, really want me to build a full scale plotline out of the Jenkins and other concepts from the once upon a time COGA, I guess I could at least build a full scale chapter, but that does take a bit of time and thinking to flesh out all the needed resources. I guess it would serve as a good example of what my drafts look like, but that'd be for a bonus COGA and not an actual focused article. Also, don't feel bad if you're not a big fan of this article since it's not my favorite but one I need to talk about.

One overlooked and even missed detail with HC is that Corey's team actually changes depending on if you rescue all the police or not. I had to put my brain together to actually figure this out, but during the suicide scene, it'll actually swap depending on which Corey you fought showing the correct team. There's actually a little fact about Alternate Battles in that all leaders actually are allowed to hold 10 Pokemon at a time but can only use 6 in battle. It's a bit of a reference to how leaders had more than one team when facing them in the league. In fact most of the alternate battles are based on either the actual league members strats or previous versions of Reborn (which they were called Nostalgia bosses). Julia and Florinia are a little bit different as I based them off their Maison teams due to the whole 3 grass and 3 electric gym leaders. Julia's team I may revert to a mono, but Florinia is keeping her Steelix as at this point it has become a staple to her. As for the Politoed Guy, that's probably one of the most infamous moments of E15 in HC. So many people set the field on fire for Shelly in the original build complaining in the original build and due to her being so reluctant to use Rain Dance (people even said "why don't you only teach it Rain Dance?") I set her field to perma rain causing her to go from easiest leader into a bloody murderer. Her fights have been slightly nerfed, but I kept the perma-rain feature in case anyone ever wants to take on that challenge. Shelly's also one of those leaders you could debate whether reg or alt Shelly is stronger.

@Filthy Casual Just patiently wait a minute while it loads stuff and it'll work. As for the old map file fixes for the beta, no I'm not re-upload ing them. I actually should take that one down but getting one strike isn't the end of the world with mediafire. I made a statement and if you can't wait a month then figure out a way around it which is pretty easy. I hate to be a hard ass but I don't want my upload accounts locked.

I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes with the discussion here, but you guys aren't writing the plot or shouldn't be writing the plot at least. One of the biggest things that irritates me in a game project is if I'd be the lead writer and people would be debating or trying to write the plot behind my back. Fun fact: when I left the writing team for one project, I did say I'd look back to make sure the game project was still on the right track but...it was such a big mess I rejoined the group to fix it. Point is to not deviate too far into this mess that you forget the original vision or you'd have an "absolute train wreck." (Probably guess what the idea was about). There's a lot of information missing such as the whole biography of the Prince (his father does not define him, but is does define how people view him). I'd also need a brief on the world and history to get an idea how people would feel and act on political issues. Yes, this game needs a focus on politics so I would need a briefing on that stuff as well and who all holds government positions and how they act and feel regarding issues. These aren't my creations so I can't make any assumptions to the writing as well...I didn't create it. Also add to the fact I've only seen about 5% of what I'd need to really judge the game. If you want to make a plot surrounded by grey, you really need to take everything you know about writing and throw it out the window. You need to write the main storyline in a way that you get an opportunity to really understand and are forced to help both sides in ways that are both good and bad. You can't spend time writing one side as the superior good then switch perspectives to make the other side the superior good as it doesn't work like that. That way players have an opportunity to have a deep understanding of both sides to realize somebody is going to get screwed and it should be Team Royal. Sorry, but if both sides are right, then it is the side in order that should be preserved for the sake of the people. I'm not a fan of story branched paths because it means missing out on content. My firm belief is that it should split the story once (twice at the most) then converge before the ending. Those still require planning based on factors such as the duration, alteration of events, and the purpose of the split. Reborn's are kind of mostly a normal version and an extended version with its branches so I don't really count them as much. For a game like this, it kind of sounds like a "shot heard around the world" situation where one action would basically change how the entire story played out. That's not something I'm even capable of handling as it requires a keen eye and basically mastery of your own world unless it's a small game such as Fire Emblem where events can and should be planned out for character deaths.

Corey already has two battles so if I did an Alternate battle for him, I would technically need to make 4 battles. I did a poll to see if I should just allow players to swap which fight to pick and well you can probably guess it was a big no. Kiki also doesn't have one for the time being.

IT HAS BEEN 3.000 weeks since I've done another chapter in this hellhole of a run. So let's begin with responses: @Zargerth Can't really say much about Gen VII since I've barely seen and used any of those mons. It wouldn't be a terrible idea to give suggestions to the guys now working on Rejuvenation battles (which probably means I don't need to do a hardcore version...yay?) @Sceptilespy Kind of spoiler heavy so I only skimmed it, but uhhh...it's an element in most games to relive subjects from characters and party members later usually with a lead that they'll be involved later (such as an antagonist having relations to a party member). Third gym segment was kind of a wasted opportunity, but it's hard to judge without the full story. Previously on Commander's Confusing Rants across the nation: (I have taken a fence...get it?) Chapter 21 One of these days I'll screw up the chapter number (I am already dreading this section already) If anybody sees me talk about Rejuv, they'd see me say that this is the weakest part of the game. Just saying that right now. (Yep...that's still there) Let's see what the girl says on the matter (Yes. I think that hair looks great on...) (Oh goodie I like compliments) (There's something else I'd like to say to you: at least my lines are original. Seriously, pretty sure an NPC outside says the same thing or very similar) (Well the door was unlocked) (Lady, why are you touching my pants like that?) (That...why? How? What just happened?) (What are you doing standing on the couch?) (Yes, yes they have) (One more comment about my momma and I'll be whooping your ass so hard you'll go crying back to yours) (A friendly NPC, finally?) (...) (I guess my eyes would go bad too if I had to look at that in the mirror daily) (Wow, an NPC who isn't an over the top a-hole) (You act like that's a bad thing. Don't you want their money?) (That...or they thought this was a place to get laid) (Wait...we get radio here? Why didn't anybody tell me?) (Suddenly, I'm thinking about Bad End Night...please tell me I'm not reliving it) (Well, at least you didn't tell me to kill myself...like every other NPC) (I...you guys are an idiot for not building a way to get around this city to the next one) (No, it's because you are the only way of reaching the town North of here) (Sigh...guess the beauty makeover will have to wait little guy) That reminds me I need to check and see if I can actually obtain that Snubbull (It's probably the gay guy in Gearen. I'm calling it now) I honestly wish we could have met the boy who she did this to. I'm not going to show anymore NPC dialogue since we already have a pretty good idea what this whole place is like. A big issue I have with this section is that it just tries to rely on quick jabs to irritate you to make you hate the NPCs. I'm actaully going to bring up Cold Steel as there's a little town called Bareahard which has a conflict between the rich and poor. The nobles treat commoners like complete filth with one basically eating what was supposed to be a gem from a foreigner's wedding ring due to the myth it could cure all diseases. Another sent you on a quest believing that commoners were only worthy of grabbing and fulfilling runt jobs such as a fetch quest since it was too far below them to do themselves. The two classes REALLY did not like each other, but they didn't give death threats to build up tension at all. Something you need to think about is what your playerbase is like especially in a game where the player is supposed to be physically you. They don't have thoughts as they are your own thoughts. Even if it wasn't your intention, having an NPC say go die basically is saying for that person to go die because they don't like you. That could be reflected as a person playing a game to go die. Obviously no sane man would literally think that or even try it, but it does really bother me a game has such emphasis on it for a section. Especially with the emphasis these people actually mean it. Rejuv tries to be too serious which I seriously think is this game's downfall. I game doesn't need to be super serious to be enjoyable. In fact, I think it would be hilarious if the NPCs couldn't say "Die" or "Go kill yourself" due to a non-agression act and come up with more witty ways to get a message off like "I hope you lose your next battle and the guy mugs your money." Or a classic of "Welcome to Goldenwood! Grab your shitty badge and get the hell out! Have a nice day!" (Wow...Ren became besties with Venam and Melia in less than a year...that's really sad. Those two must have terrible friends) (We'll get more to that later) (Probably because you gave her a terrible name that sounds like the female variant of Ren. I just imagined Ren with boobs...I'd tap that) (Wow, Ren has a tragic backstory. Almost makes you feel bad for him...not) (The first citizen who gives a damn what happens to people in this town) (Suddenly I'm having flashbacks about an old lady from Hoenn) (Yes, and I'm proud of it!) Oh yeah, I did do some of the Zubat quest, but I stopped halfway as I didn't have flash. All I have is Joker KOing a Kingdra. Joker the Mr. Mime is awesome and y'all should use Mr. Mime. (Oh god why is this still here) (How the heck did that rope not fall off?) (<<....>> Stealing is bad...and I totally don't do it all the time...people just leave free stuff on the ground is all) (Are you going to switch her job class?) (I...I'm just not going to say anything) (Kid's about to die and that's all they can say) (Yes. The moment you add weight to that rope it will just slide off. I don't know how it hasn't already given it's placed on a downward slope) (I may not have manners, but I at least know how to properly kill somebody...not that I have...or anything) (Except trees can't move so I must stand here) (I am a tree. Pay me no mind) (This is why you don't mess with whitey) (No, I am a tree) (TWIST IT!) (I am a tree. Pay me no mind) Now I really wish I replaced my sprite with a tree here. (Bye mysterious little girl who I'll probably never see again) (If I could do whatever I wanted, I wouldn't be clothed right now, but alas I must learn to flash with clothes to get a bat) (Yet you somehow are allowed to) I think I'm going to stop here for a very, very short episode and the fact I probably won't get to work on this for a little while. Anyways, I think something people tend to forget about is that videogames do have an impact on people who play them. That's why it really bothers me that the fact that hanging someone which is a serious big thing...especially hanging a child is thrown around so freely like it's nothing. There's literally no reason it should go as far as hanging as beating the living hell out of the kid would've been just as bad. It's probably for shock value which is all that it does honestly. What really bothers me with this actually has to do with the concept of bullying. It's a real thing and happens in every school. I was bullied in school but it was more verbally than physically. I didn't let it get to me much and I think the worst it got at our school were doileys or whatever you call sticking somebody's head into a toilet. Nobody around me actually hanged themselves but...wouldn't surprise me if something like this happened somewhere. I'm not against someone being hanged to death in a video game nor am I against the inclusion of a noose in a game. One of the biggest reasons I put Rejuvenation down the first time was due to the fact that the hanging of a little girl was treated like nothing. There are 12 and 13 year olds who probably played or are playing Rejuvenation. It's never talked about again nor did anyone actually act against it. So yeah, I definitely think this was one of the "Too far" moments in Rejuv.

I don't care if that is a joke or serious. This is both rude and disrespectful and I will not tolerate seeing it a second time so consider this a warning. Fan-game developers have talked about C&D notices before (Reborn even had an April fools joke about it) and you are not one who is allowed to say whether or not someone is allowed to speak on the subject. It just kind of saddens me that people who write these articles whenever a game gets canceled points out that either side is the bad guys and Nintendo is not this big monster that people like you are treating it as. Now with that out of the way let's get into the bigger responses: @Alistair I think it's become a bigger problem now as Nintendo's activity in C&D hasn't dropped or increased really, but the fact that there's no middle ground anymore ever since Gen V came around. We've had this technology to make fan-games at this level for about I want to say 10 years yet Nintendo turned their head until rather recently to take them down and even then it's only been 3 games (1 being a hack) so far. Personally, I think it has to do more with licensing for third parties to make games over anything regarding the main-game series. The fan-games and their content level started to increase massively after the drought of spin-offs happened. The Stadium Series is now dead (Colosseum is part of this), the Mystery Dungeon series is now dead, the Ranger series is now dead, and I think the pinball series has been dead for a long time. With fans wanting to fill that void, they wanted to fill it with something hence the massive surge in popularity with the Uranium situation. That's an almost 1 million people pool market Nintendo doesn't want to take a chance losing which a game like Uranium could affect them spending more for spin-offs. That's the big focus of the C&Ds. Kind of hard to ask a third party to develop something when people could say "Why should I go try that game when there's a super popular one just as creative not charging anything?" which the third party could lose money. I disagree with the creative content control though. In fact, I actually think parts of Nintendo endorse it seeing the creation of not only Mario Maker, but the whole art academy due to the sheer number of drawings on Miiverse. Seriously, looking at those pictures is in my top 10 things to do on a Wii U. Anyways, I've only seen one game developer actually top Game Freak/The Pokemon Company in terms of making a game. It's the creators of Pokemon Stadium. Pokemon XD comes in a close second though because dang they did so much. Pokemon Stadium was a game that included all Pokemon where you could run through various kinds of challenges but the biggest highlight were the minigames which you could hop on and fight against friends in. I've seen a couple fan-game makers get pretty high up there, but then you have to take graphics, story/animations, and gameplay into account to realize there's still a large gap. There's also fan-art and fan-fiction which are two other worlds which Nintendo hasn't touched or even tried to control (they did take ad revenue from Youtubers though which I do think was awful of them but they at least loosened up a bit). I honestly think there actions are based on the 800,000 people. Times that by 20 bucks and that's 1.6 million dollars in revenue. That amount of revenue makes or breaks smaller companies. There are people who pay X amount of dollars (let's just say $100,000 plus a fixed percent of the revenue) to even make a Pokemon spin-off. I really think that's what this is all about and not about shutting down fan creativity. It's money that drives decisions though fans tend to exaggerate the actions and create hoaxes (which is what they want people to do because it creates a buzz giving them more attention and more people are aware about Pokemon Sun and Moon). It's really hard to determine the true drive and intentions of when they act, but I really wish there was a middle ground we fans could work with. But alas, I don't think that's likely going to happen. --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't take this personal but individual fan input and suggestions is not that good. These people usually have no experience in the field so an input could be to be frank, quite worthless as what they found unejoyable could be a really good idea or was there for a reason. The player's voice is important as if fan's aren't enjoying something than it is a big problem or issue. Generally the feedback developers get is people in a field and experience but the tradeoff is that they could be slightly out of touch with the current market as well they aren't the core age of the targeted audience.