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Pahrak Model ZX

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Blog Entries posted by Pahrak Model ZX

  1. Pahrak Model ZX
    Goddess of Evolution is a Queen story set about a year after Divine Clash. The latter story mentions the Queen of Fire paying a visit to the Queen of War, so I decided to expand upon that encounter. The goal was to make War’s motivations clearer, but I think Fire sort of stole the show?
     
    This was going to be my third piece for Fiction Writing but that class wasn’t working out and I’m not going back. I wanted to go ahead and get it posted now. I'm going to try to focus on things like Shooting Star Sonia and Divine Strength in the near future, and hopefully something will come of that.
  2. Pahrak Model ZX
    I’ve logged roughly 72 hours on this game, beaten the eight main stories, found all twelve jobs, explored every dungeon, and cleared all sidequests with the exception of two that have unusually tough bosses and one that is the Absolutely Final Test of True Power and Strategy. So I can say with confidence: Octopath Traveler isn’t exactly what I thought it would be, but I’d still say it’s a very good game. (Vague spoilers ahead.)
     
    Leading into this game, what I was expecting was that as the game went on, the eight characters would gradually come together over the course of the story, joining forces as their goals naturally aligned and eventually it would all culminate in one final battle. This sounded like a very interesting narrative, so I got pretty set on wanting to see it. But, that’s not the kind of game that Octopath is. While you can (and are encouraged to) gather together all eight travelers to form your battle party, each chapter of a given character’s story plays out as if the other seven are absent, with the exception of a few optional banter scenes depending on who is in your active party of four. At first, I was a bit disappointed—while some of the banter scenes do reveal bits of information or show enjoyable interactions between the characters, it still didn’t feel like enough, and the gameplay story segregation really puzzled me. Why have everyone traveling and fighting together if the cutscenes portray these events all happening in parallel?
     
    But, having read many comments from the creators of the game, and now having much more experience with the full product, those feelings have shifted. The creators wanted to give the player complete and total freedom to watch these stories play out in any order they chose. So, you can go and do all eight Chapter 1s in any order you feel like, then do a couple of the Chapter 2s, maybe try out a Chapter 3, or heck, just try to clear one character’s story using only that character. Prioritizing player freedom is a design choice that I can respect, and I can easily see why that precluded letting the characters’ affect each other’s stories. What if I do Cyrus’s Chapter 2 with Primrose there, how does she affect that story? What if I replaced her with Olberic, what would be different? What if they’re both there? How would those changes affect Cyrus’s Chapter 3, and if I decide to go off and have everyone help Tressa do her Chapter 2 in between, what changes will that bring to each of these different Cyrus Chapter 3s? The many, many different possible ways you could go through these stories would necessitate writing hundreds of potential scenarios for every possible sequence of events the player selected, only getting more and more complicated as things progress. Thinking about it that way, it’s an easy decision to tell eight specific stories broken into a few acts that can be strung together in any order. And honestly, once I really got into the game, I cared less and less about the divide between the gameplay and the story.
     
    The point is, Octopath Traveler is less about telling one grand story, and more about telling several individual stories within the same connected world. There could perhaps be more obvious points of connection between the tales, but there are quite a few subtle ones that make the continent of Orsterra feel rather alive. This is illustrated especially well with how NPCs and sidequests are handled: though there are a few faces you can’t interact with at all (mostly in large cities), any NPC you can talk to can also be interacted with through the characters’ various Path Actions. Every one of them has a bit of backstory you can learn using Cyrus or Alphyn, most have a couple items that Tressa can buy or Therion can steal, and many have battle data so that you can challenge them to a duel with Olberic or H’aanit, or bring them along to aid you if you have Ophilia or Primrose. The backstories especially help flesh out these otherwise generic entities, since some of them refer to other characters’ and their backstories, allowing you to slowly piece together a general idea of how a certain family or town functions as a whole if you want to invest the time. NPCs have more personality and leave more of an impression than we’ve typically come to expect from them in a game like this. And when one of them gives you a sidequest, it always feels somehow meaningful, especially if you’ve taken a look at their backstory or sparred with them and have developed some history with this person. More than that, they’re not always very specific on how to solve them—you’re usually just presented a problem, and then you need to figure out how you might go about fixing it. Virtually every sidequest involves some sort of Path Action, but since two characters can achieve the same end using their similar Actions, you have some freedom in how to accomplish the solution when you discover it, and even better, some sidequests have multiple possible resolutions depending on what Path Action you use! For example: in Sunshade, you speak to a dancer who is ready to quit, but wants to put on one last show. The most straight-forward way to go about it is to find another, more accomplished dancer in town, buy/steal her favorite dress, and deliver it to the quest-giver so she can give one last memorable performance and call it quits. But! In the same town is a sickly girl who mentions how much she loved seeing the quest-giver perform. If you use Primrose or Ophilia’s Path Action to lead the quest-giver to her, a touching scene plays out where the quest-giver realizes her performances do still have an impact on people, and she uses this chance to inspire the girl to follow her dreams and not give up just because she’s having a difficult time right now, before going on to continue her career. I only discovered the first solution after reading about it online, but I adamantly believe it an unacceptable method because the second one is such a better resolution, and dang it, this game has made me legitimately care about NPCs who don’t even have actual names and wanting to see their stories play out in the best possible way. How often does that happen?
     
    Speaking of Path Actions, they’re…good. The thing is, you can use them on NPCs whenever you want, and this is great, but there are also some instances in every character’s story where you need to use their Path Action to progress. Unfortunately, the story-relevant uses almost always just feel like busy-work. Oh, you need to get this person to stop bothering that other person? Use Provoke on them, then we’ll continue the scene. Oh, you need to access this chapter’s dungeon? This NPC will get you in, but you need to do three fetch quests, one at a time, Stealing items with a 100% success rate and running back and forth all over town. Oh, that merchant will only trade this treasure map for a legendary shield rumored to be in town? Run over and Purchase it from this other merchant just to run back and make the swap. Starting to see what I mean? And yet, when there are chapters that don’t require you to use your Path Action at all, it still manages to seem like a missed opportunity. Mostly because there are a few shining instances where your Path Actions do carry actual weight, and I love how they’re done. Cyrus’s investigations come close (falling short because they’re more about reading comprehension than actual deduction), but I can think of only three really great examples off the top of my head: one instance where Therion can steal any of four items to advance his story, but the one closest to where you are has an abysmal success rate while the ones a bit of a walk away are decent and the one way back in town has 100%; when Olberic finally finds the person from his past he’s looking for, you’re sent straight into a Challenge sequence rather than a standard boss battle; and in Ophilia’s ending, you are tasked with Guiding someone to a specific place. (Therion’s final chapter tries to replicate the first instance in his final chapter, but both options had 100% success so I’m not counting it. And you could probably argue that the one in Ophilia’s ending is quite easy, but I still loved that the game let me take that character where they needed to go rather than doing it in a cutscene—Ophilia, and by extension the player, was asked to take an active part in the very last action of this particular story.) Should any sort of sequel or successor come about, I really hope the developers are able to find a way to make the Path Actions a more engaging element of the stories.
     
    The endings, similarly, are a bit of a mixed bag. I don’t think I’d call any of them bad, some are just more satisfying than others. Tressa’s in particular has both really good elements and really bad elements, and I think it might be my least favorite of the bunch. Ophilia’s is probably my favorite simply because it has the best presentation of all eight: in addition to having one of the best uses of Path Actions mentioned earlier, there are several instances throughout her final boss where she steps forward and the two of them have fully-voiced dialogue, arguing their points of view and what they hope to accomplish from their victory as we’re all fighting for our lives, and it really pulls you into the moment and underscores the weight this confrontation has. Therion’s final boss also has dialogue like this, but it isn’t voiced for some reason, plus I was hoping it would let me actually Steal the treasure I went in search of and was disappointed when it didn’t. Primrose’s is…interesting. It left me feeling a bit uncertain, but I think this was done intentionally to put us closer to what Prim herself is feeling. Anyway, I’m not going to go through ‘em all, this is already way too long.
     
    Now, there is technically a point where the stories come together in the post-game. Remember that absolutely final test thing I mentioned earlier? (Bigger spoilers in this paragraph.) After clearing all eight stories and a few specific sidequests, you unlock a true final dungeon, and though I’m definitely not ready to take a stab at it myself I did go ahead and watch someone else conquer it to see what information it held. I won’t go in-depth here, but basically you fight a series of boss rematches Mega Man style, and after each one you get a little snippet of thoughts from an important character in this world. Through these, you find out that the conflicts or inciting incidents of all eight stories were the results of a certain person’s previous attempt to achieve their own evil goal, and after this you face off with them as they make a new attempt. This is…interesting. (The one relating to H’aanit’s story is horrifying, even though I kind of saw it coming.) I mean, it definitely helps the world feel connected, and the scenes finally show all eight travelers at once (which is really satisfying to see), even asking you to split them into two parties for the final encounter so that they can all contribute, and I definitely like that. But, I dunno, maybe it just hasn’t fully sunk in yet. None of the travelers speak in this dungeon so there’s still no truly “canon” interactions between them, just the banter scenes and what you get in gameplay. I think I need more time to piece together the overall narrative of Orsterra and judge how it works.
     
    The creators set out to make Octopath Traveler a unique and personal experience for each player, giving them vast amounts of freedom to explore and interact and learn however they please. I think this is illustrated best by the credits, which only play after you beat the final chapter of whichever character you chose to start the game as and who will be in your party permanently (until beating their final chapter). As the names go by, you see in the background a sort of highlight reel of your adventures, showing brief snippets of every single chapter of story you’ve completed in the exact order that you completed them. It even shows very short clips of each and every boss, showing exactly what you did to finish them off. (Two funny instances in mine: one where I defeated the boss but his summon unit was still on the field, so the clip showed me killing the summon; and one where the boss died to poison damage, so the clip shows us all just standing there when the boss suddenly pops into smoke.) I had no idea the game was gathering these clips as I went along, until it surprised me with this scrapbook of memories at the conclusion of my chosen character’s journey, and it was enough to make me wish I had saved that particular boss for last so that I could’ve relived the memories of finishing off the other six bosses I’d yet to face. It was like the game telling me it cherished the time we spent together, that my experience was a unique one that deserved to be documented and remembered. I forged my own path and the game was validating the decisions I’d made. Such a simple, easy little trick, but boy did it leave a heck of an impression.
     
    Octopath Traveler is not a perfect game, not that such a thing exists. But I think the creators achieved their goal of creating a fun, free, and very personal experience for whoever chooses to pick it up. If you’ve got a Nintendo Switch and are looking to lose yourself in your travels for a few dozen hours, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of Octopath.
  3. Pahrak Model ZX
    Now that Hotel of Okoto is over and I've submitted my entry to The Legend Continues, this seems like a good time.
     
    So, I’m sort of in the process of trying to obtain a new job and a new apartment, ideally by about August. This is all very up in the air right now, and I feel like I shouldn’t start on any more major commitments until I get this sorted out—if I have to take time to move and get new Internet service, it could potentially throw a wrench into whatever I’m in the middle of.
     
    Basically, I’m not planning to host any games or start any big stories until August-ish. The biggest potential exception is a story of five short chapters I’ve been trying to do for a while but am currently stuck on. If I manage to finish that I’ll probably toss it up in OTC, but I don’t know how likely that is. And I mean, if I come up with a short story or two there’s no reason to hold off on that, but the chances of that happening are really pretty low, probably.
     
    I’ll still be around, of course. Blog posts will be made, I might play some games…huh, I don’t really do anything else, do I? I’m not planning to drop off entirely. And I’ll still be working on stuff in the meantime: I’m hoping to complete work on the Wall of History game I mentioned and get a headstart on Shooting Star Sonia 3 so that I can kick them both off as soon as I’m settled. We’ll…see if that works out…
     
    Anyway, I’ll probably make another post if there’s an update on this situation. Until then, returning to generic blog activity.
  4. Pahrak Model ZX
    Well, I gave it a shot. Well, more than one shot, I may have gone through an entire magazine… (Magazine works in this metaphor, right? I’m outside my specialty here and oh nevermind.)
     
    The fact is, I don’t believe I can repair Bioni-Lords in its current state, no matter how much work I put into it. It’s unfair to say I’m still struggling along and make you all think I’m going to get somewhere when it’s extremely doubtful that I will. So, I’m making the official announcement.
     
    As of right now, Bioni-Lords is cancelled.
     
    Again, though: I’m sentimental. So here’s how we’re gonna do this!
    --I typed up some blog posts summarizing my plans for the remainder of Book 3 as well as Books 4 and 5. I’ll be posting these in the very near future (probably next couple days).
    --If anyone has questions, ask away! Some of them may be answered by the aforementioned summary posts, but I’m sure I missed some stuff, and if you don’t want to wait you can go ahead and ask now. Once it seems like everyone has asked all their questions, I’ll probably try to gather all of them into a Q&A post for easy reference.
    --As for the websites…well, I’m not entirely sure right now. I’ll get back to you on that.
    --Perhaps most importantly: I’m not giving up on the concept. Though I do feel Bioni-Lords has no future, I still very much want to do something with the idea. If anyone remembers Story of the Violet Rose and Story of the Honored Soul, I’m considering revisiting those and using them as the next iteration of this idea. Going further, I’m working on a possibility that is even more different—still in the very rough stages, but once I get some info I’ll share it with you. So don’t think of it so much as Bioni-Lords dying, more like changing into a new form like Pokémon evolution or Time-Lord regeneration or something.
     
    I’d like to thank all of you who have read and contributed to Bioni-Lords over the years—your support has been a wonderful blessing from day one. It’s been a fun ride, and I want to leave while it’s still fun so I can keep more hope for its future iteration(s). I hope to be able to impress you all with something even better!
     
    --Pahrak/Zadakh/The Man of Many Pseudonyms
  5. Pahrak Model ZX
    Now that the English dub of Dragon Ball Super is getting into the Tournament of Power arc I can’t help but feel it’s only a matter of time before people renew their complaints about new characters Caulifla and Kale. These two are new Saiyans introduced to serve as opponents in said tournament, and are the first female Super Saiyans shown in the series main canon. (Prior there were a handful of games that offered female Saiyan player avatars who could achieve the form, but that’s it.) They quickly became somewhat divisive additions, and of course, many of those who despise them go around calling them Mary Sues. This is something that annoys me.
     
    Dragon Ball has never and will never be a literary masterpiece—there’s plenty of bad writing and I won’t try to tell you otherwise. And though I like these characters, I can see (and in some cases maybe even agree with) some of the issues people have with them. Criticism is healthy. But calling a character a Mary Sue isn’t criticism, it’s just dismissive, and always inconsistent. What one person considers a Mary Sue is different from what the next person considers a Mary Sue, and more than that, the same person can point out a “Mary Sue trait” in one character and totally ignore its presence in another. People rattling off reasons why Caulifla’s a Sue don’t seem to realize she actually has a lot in common with the main character, Goku, and saying that Kale is only ever written poorly when she has one of the most realistic character arcs in the franchise (unlike her predecessor Broly, who is now infamous for his stupidly petty motivations) just isn’t true. But okay, if we’re going to use reasons x, y, and z to define a character as a Mary Sue, do you know what Dragon Ball character fits the ever-changing mold surprisingly well?
     
    Future Trunks.
     
    Easily one of the most popular characters in the franchise, yes, but let’s review:
    -Showed up literally out of nowhere after the Frieza Saga
    -Immediately and effortlessly transforms into a Super Saiyan, mere chapters after the form had been introduced, and that was after immense build-up, thinking there could only be one (and that it was main character Goku), and seeing Goku go through a lot of anguish to achieve it
    -Kills Frieza, the biggest, baddest villain in the series at that point, who main character Goku took forever to beat, by either one-shotting him (in the manga) or toying with him in a curb-stomp battle (in the anime)
    -Then proceeds to effortlessly kill Frieza’s father, who was stated to be somewhere near Frieza’s level
    -Gets to spar with main character Goku for a bit
    -Reveals he is the son of Vegeta, another exceptionally popular character, and Bulma, a long-time staple who at this point has little interaction with and no visible interest in Vegeta
    -He came from the future, because only time travel makes that parentage work
    -In the future he was trained by the son of main character Goku
    -Said future is basically an apocalyptic wasteland
    -Later on he gets a unique transformation that makes him exceptionally more powerful (even if it does turn out to be functionally useless)
    -Gets temporarily killed in the final battle with Cell to spark very sudden character development in popular character Vegeta, and then is immediately revived
    -Gets an entire episode at the end of the Cell Saga dedicated to going back to the future and effortlessly defeating his timeline’s incarnation of the saga’s three major villains
    -Also he carries a sword he rarely uses in a series that typically doesn’t use weapons (swords are cool)
     
    Now if you were reading a fanfic and saw a character like that, what would you think? And that’s all just in Z: Trunks is made a main character in GT and Future Trunks is brought back in Super solely because of this character’s popularity, and that’s not even scratching the surface of how central he is to dedicated fanservice games like Xenoverse and Heroes. He’s so popular he can be shoehorned into anything and people rarely complain. He ticks so many boxes common on Mary Sue trait lists, and…nobody notices? How weird is that?
     
    And just to be a complete hypocrite: I also like Future Trunks. It’s almost like even a character with tons of “Mary Sue traits” can still be entertaining depending on how they’re handled, and that calling a character a Mary Sue means nothing other than “I don’t like this character and choose to blame the writer and insult anyone who thinks differently.” Imagine that.
     
    I still can’t really figure out why people are perfectly fine with Future Trunks but have such huge problems with Caulifla and Kale. Huh, though now that I think about, out of those three Trunks is the only one that’s a guy…nah, that couldn’t possibly be it, right?
  6. Pahrak Model ZX
    It is with great pleasure that I announce a new epic, Out of Bounds!
     
    This story takes place roughly 200 years after the Reformation of Spherus Magna. When Turaga Nokama becomes frustrated with the limitations of Noble Kanohi, Vhisola goes looking for a way to work around the strict mechanics of the masks of power. Her best bet comes in a job offer from Nuhrii, and so she and Ehrye set out for the Northern Frost, where rumor has it they’ll find a lab with lost technology that just might be what she needs.
     
    (This story is technically connected to one I wrote a few years ago, A Mind in Darkness, but there aren’t any explicit references to it—I made sure to write this story so that you could read one without needing to read them both. It’s more a spiritual successor than a straightforward sequel. Though, hey, if you enjoy Bounds, you might like Mind as well!)
     
    I rather like how this one turned out. As I went I felt like I was finding more ways to make the story thematically cohesive, which is one of the many things I struggle with, so that’s promising. I’ve tried a few times to write a new Vhisola story but it never quite materialized until now. Of course, it started out involving all the Great Disk Matoran going on a heist of some kind, but I didn’t want to balance so many characters and ended up narrowing the scope. Tehutti almost made the cut, so I’m hoping to find something for him to do soon. I’ll keep you posted.
     
    Speaking of posting, expect new chapters on Tuesday and Thursday, next week and the week after. There are five parts in total with a final word count of about 20k, so it won’t take too long to get through it all, but I wanted to space it out at least a little for dramatic effect. I hope you enjoy!
  7. Pahrak Model ZX
    Strike of the Hour is now live!
     

     
    Barring any last-minute decisions, this is my last Okoto 579 story for the 15 adaptation. In addition to introducing Karios’s character into the mix, I tried to take a look at Ekimu as well, plus give one or two nods towards 16. As for the first story of the 16 adaptation…well, don’t be surprised if you get some news on that soon!
  8. Pahrak Model ZX
    In Our Bones, The Final Break, is live!
     
    (And it is now more apparent than ever how far off from canon this story is.)
     
    Every Skull Villain is here for at least a little while, though the two “timeless spirits” are more like cameos; it shows a culmination of the Skull Grinder’s efforts to achieve immortality, as well as a clash of the differing opinions that have been brewing amongst the Generals. Because this is a prequel, and also because of the name I chose for Skull Grinder, you can probably guess how this ends up. But, speaking of the ending, it brings in something that may seem a little strange right now, but I will explain more in future Okoto 579 stories; I hope the mystery intrigues you! After that we jump to the present, and I admit that section might seem a little choppy if you didn’t read the final scene of Mask Makers, so I apologize in advance.
     
    With Bones complete, there’s still one more story I want to write for my adaptation of 2015. With this next story I hope to briefly summarize the Masters’ journey, and then tie Mask Makers and Bones together with a battle inspired by a certain summer set. I don’t know what 2016 will give me to adapt (I am brainstorming off those probably false rumors though), but I have a good, open place to lead this next story, and some ideas for an overall myth arc that can be adjusted as needed.
     
    Please look forward to The Failure’s Claim, coming to BZPower in late 2015!
  9. Pahrak Model ZX
    This has been a very productive writing week for me, so here's Right of Law Section IV!
     
    Antroz and Zaekura make it away from Nynrah, but the only person they can turn to for help is a particularly annoying Makuta and his sizable Rahkshi army. It's not a very enticing prospect, and before long, it begins to look even worse...
     
    If I can keep up my recent pace, it shouldn't be long until Section V is up, and I get the feeling that one's going to be quite an event!
  10. Pahrak Model ZX
    Unchained gave us a lot of boost Medals this month, so my Guilted Goofy now has maxed out strength and defense and minimized cost!
     
    The only way this can get stronger is if I can get a better Guilt percentage (Low Tier, so best possible is 25%). I might give that a try, but that's random so who knows.
     
    I've reduced cost on enough Medals that I could put a third 6 star medal on both Treasure Trove and Lady Luck, but...I don't know. I'm not sure if any of the Medals I have right now are necessarily Medals I'm going to want to keep for a long time (with the exception of Kairi, but being a buff Medal I've been told it might be wiser to leave that at 5 star). Meh, maybe I'll hold out and hope for some nice Reversed Medals on my next pull. (Still don't have even a single one! D: )
  11. Pahrak Model ZX
    Someone has provided English subtitles for the entirety of the 0.2 section of 2.8, so I watched that. Master Aqua is even more my hero than she was five minutes ago, we don’t deserve her, she’s got to be one of the most awe-inspiring protagonists in video game history.
     
    Something else that really caught my attention, assuming the subs are at least approximately accurate there are some interesting lore implications brought up.
     
     
     
  12. Pahrak Model ZX
    You remember Bionicle Heroes? That was fun. I mean, it’s kind of a terrible game, sure, but it was still fun to explore Voya Nui and blow it up and stuff.
     
    After I beat the game I put it down for a while, until a few years later I picked it up again in a quest for 100% completion. I emptied out the shop, upgraded all the Toa, and combed through every zone, smashing tons of enemies and collecting every canister I could find. It was magnificent…until I couldn’t figure out how to get the last Golden Canister in the second jungle level. I triggered the black constraction with Vezon, but I couldn’t figure out what it unlocked. I looked at the 99% on my file, sighed, and moved on.
     
    But recently, I was perusing some videos of the game on YouTube, and the truth was discovered! This particular player was replaying the levels as well, and this was one of the few canisters they hadn’t gotten and they too had difficulty finding the path, so I feel much better about the whole thing. Anyway, I dug out my PS2 on Christmas and finally captured that final Canister! (Sidenote: I am way too accustomed to HD, I could barely see a thing.) It was the absolute last thing I needed, so 100% achieved, right?
     
    …No, the 100% achievement wasn’t given to me. So, I replayed the Vezon battle! The results screen initially showed the achievement as unlocked, then produced a locked icon that it then threw onto the board where that particular achievement was. Wow.
     
    So I’m not really sure what happened, I guess I’ve encountered a glitch or something, but I know in my heart that, after nine years, I’ve finally 100% completed this game, even if the game itself refuses to admit it.
  13. Pahrak Model ZX
    (Because I figured "Why wait?" Anywho, I hope to develop this scene a bit more by the time it works its way into the story. First things first, some reminders:
    -Dragon-Lord Aile is a little short, has long tan hair, tan eyes, wears a black t-shirt, khakis, a dragon scale jacket, and a bracelet (specifics still being brainstormed)
    -Thunder-Lord Zempyst has extremely light blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, yellow eyes, wears silver pants, a pale yellow belt, a silver button-down long sleeved shirt, scratched up silver bracers on her arms, and lightning bolt earrings
    -"Tsundere" is a Japanese term used for a pattern of behavoir where a character switches between "tsuntsun"--being mean towards a specific individual--and "deredere"--being kind and caring towards that individual. May cut it out of the final version, but it seemed to appropriate I had to at least use it here.
     
    Now then, the preview begins:)
     
    Zempyst strode across the arena, saying, “You’ve got that look again. What are you telling her?”
     
    “It’s a secret,” Aile playfully replied. “I’ll tell you if you come closer.”
     
    “I’m not falling for that one again,” Zempyst stated. “You’re just going to latch on once I get close.”
     
    Aile sighed, “And there’s the downside of you knowing me so well. Why are you afraid of loving me?”
     
    Zempyst was started to get visibly flustered. “I just don’t like having the life squeezed out of me by those vice-like arms of yours!”
     
    “Come on, I know you’re not that fragile.”
     
    “I’m not fragile at all!”
     
    “Then prove it!”
     
    Aile lunged at Zempyst and locked her arms around the Thunder-Lord. Xyla took a few steps back as Zempyst attempted in vain to wriggle her way to freedom.
     
    “H-Hey! I didn’t agree to this!”
     
    “Well if I waited for you to stop being so tsundere, I’d never get to hug you!”
     
    “Stop calling me tsundere! It starts rumors!”
     
    “You know I don’t care what other people think.”
     
    Zempyst gave a desperate look to Xyla. “Are you just going to stand there or help me?!”
     
    Hesitantly, Xyla answered, “I, uh…I don’t think I understand this relationship enough to get involved.”
     
    “You’re kidding!!” Zempyst exclaimed. “Ugh…”
     
    “You know how to make me stop, Sparky,” Aile said.
     
    “Fine,” Zempyst growled.
     
    Aile loosened her grip just enough for Zempyst to slip her arms free. The Thunder-Lord half-heartedly returned the embrace, and a few moments later Aile released her.
     
    “You really need to cut that out,” Zempyst muttered. “And wipe that stupid grin off your face!”
     
    “I have no intention of doing either,” Aile adamantly responded.
     
    As Zempyst stormed off, Xyla gave Aile a puzzled look. “I don’t get it,” she asked. “Why do you hang out with Zempyst all the time if she’s so irritable?”
     
    Aile smiled. “You mean besides her good looks, dependability, compassion, sense of humor, intelligence, perseverance, responsibility, and ability to not let her emotions mess with her judgment?”
     
    From the other side of the arena, Aile and Xyla could hear Zempyst yelling angrily and one of her Apprentices. Quickly, Aile added, “Well, her judgment on major issues.”
     
    Xyla had yet to see Zempyst display any of these qualities, but she thought it best not to say so. “Yeah, besides all that.”
     
    “Let me tell you a story,” Aile began. “Once upon a time, a group of fourteen awesome kids were gathered up and named the Original Element-Lords. The Dragon-Lord quickly proved herself to be the most awesome, but, unfortunately, all that power went to her head and she became totally unbearable to be around. For whatever reason, the Thunder-Lord was more irritated by the Dragon-Lord’s attitude than the others were, and the two of them formed a hostile rivalry. Islands shook when they battled, and they battled a lot, even though it never really solved anything. After a while, the Element-Lords decided they needed to pick a leader, something that the Dragon-Lord was sure she’d be great for. When the Rahaga-Lord was chosen to lead, the Dragon-Lord was furious and challenged him to a battle.”
     
    Aile took on a more solemn air at this point.
    “In her blind fury, the Dragon-Lord lost control of her power…and she nearly killed the Rahaga-Lord. Really, it’s a miracle he survived, but he did, and he was even willing to forgive and forget. But the Dragon-Lord was ashamed of what she had done, and became horrified of her own power. She fell into a deep, dark depression the likes of which none of the other Element-Lords had ever seen. Some of them tried to help her, but there was nothing they could do, and she came dangerously close to the point of no return. But when all hope seemed lost, the Thunder-Lord—the last person the Dragon-Lord expected to see—came to visit. The Dragon-Lord was so surprised that she actually listened when the Thunder-Lord told her the things she needed to hear. The Thunder-Lord practically dove into the darkness and pulled the Dragon-Lord back out…she stayed with her, forced her to move on, and helped her forgive herself. All this from someone the Dragon-Lord thought hated her…”
     
    Aile inhaled sharply, smiled, and turned to Xyla.
     
    “So, the Dragon-Lord got her fight back, with a much more bearable if somewhat zany new personality to boot, and she and the Thunder-Lord became best friends with just a little remaining hint of rivalry. And, you know…they lived happily ever after and whatnot. And I do mean ‘ever after’, what with the eternal youth thing. Does that answer your question?”
     
    Stunned, Xyla stammered, “Uh…I…”
     
    Zempyst was sending her Apprentice away now. She put her hands on her hips, sighed, and looked back at Aile.
     
    Waving, Aile whispered, “I know she’s rough around the edges, but she cares a lot more than she lets on. If she weren’t here, then I wouldn’t be either.”
     
    Zempyst shook her head and left the Battlefield. Xyla turned to Aile again, saying, “So…you just ignore it when she’s difficult?”
     
    Aile shrugged and replied, “When you care about someone, you won’t let them push you away no matter how hard they try. Especially when you know that, deep down, they care about you too.”
     
    Xyla suddenly found herself thinking about Genakex. She shook her head, saying, “Uh, I see.”
     
    A sly smile crossed Aile’s face. “So, is Genakex on to your tsundere act yet?”
     
    “What?!” Xyla asked. “I-I-I’m not tsundere!!”
     
    “Xyla, I know tsundere when I see it. After spending so much time with Sparky, I can practically smell it. So how about we cut to the chase and you just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”
     
    A few other words crossed Xyla’s mind first. After setting them aside, she mumbled, “…Yeah. I think he is.”
     
    “Then he’s not gonna give up. He may not be as enthusiastic about it as I am, but the persistence will definitely be there. And, as someone who has spent decades being on the ‘tsuntsun’ end of tsundere, I’d like to encourage you to try and shift towards the ‘deredere’ side. No…no not encourage—beg is probably better. Being targeted by all that tsuntsun is no fun…”
     
    Xyla looked away, grumbling, “Sure, I’ll consider that.”
     
    “That’s all I ask,” Aile said. “Anyway, I’m hungry. I’ll see you later.”
     
    Aile left the Battlefield next. Xyla, left to herself now, sighed, “Why are so many of the Original Element-Lord insane?”
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    Man, fourteen whole years on BZPower. As is now tradition, a look back at what I did in the most recent of these years:
     
    -I almost forgot about Slizer Mafia: The Final Refrain. Uh, I think it was alright? Maybe? Not sure it was my best run as a Mafia host, but at least it finally gave real closure to Slizer Mafia’s story.
     
    -While it, ah, hasn’t actually gotten off the ground yet, I did do a bit of work on the concept of the world of Olkir. The Principles of Flame and The Twins of Justice are, eh…okay. Olkir Tournament was fun. Kinda wish I had gone on to actually do a full story set in this world, but unfortunately it’s warming a shelf right now as I focus on other projects. Hopefully someday I’ll get back to it.
     
    -I also wrote Out of Bounds, posting all five parts back during last October. I’d been wanting to do another Vhisola-centric story for quite some time, and I’m actually quite pleased with the results! It could definitely use improvements of course, but I’m kind of proud of how deep I was able to dig into Vhisola, a one-off character we haven’t seen since around when I joined this site. I never expected her to become one of my favorite characters, but here we are.
     
    -Finally truly got started on Shooting Star Sonia 3: Red Joker, which is already longer than the first story in the series and still has quite a ways to go. Honestly it feels a bit daunting to think of how much work remains, but y’know, it also feels like I’m really getting a good handle on this story, how to pace it, how to handle the characters, and that it’s coming together better than the first two did. Like it’s a more complete story somehow? I dunno, it’s a good feeling, I’m going to keep at it.
     
    -I participated in the Fanfic Exchange and wrote The Gargoyle Knight, which led to me starting Right of Law, my biggest Bionicle undertaking thus far and the first time since the FFFC that one of my stories has been featured on the home page! I had way more fun than I expected just thinking about what could happen in the Melding Universe, and it’s been great fleshing many of those ideas out! It’s taken a while to really get into the thick of things, but hopefully the wait has been worth it—big things are on the way, and I’ll continue to strive to make this story as entertaining as I possibly can!
     
    So I guess it’s mostly been a select few rather large projects. I’m okay with that. Rounding out 2018 and heading into 2019, I will of course be continuing Red Joker and Right of Law, but other than that I don’t really have any plans. I’m already putting a lot of work into those stories, as well one or two off-site projects (if I can motivate myself I could actually maybe write something original), and with the way Right of Law is, I’m kind of focusing any and all Bionicle-related thoughts I have into it in the hopes of working out all the details and polish I need to really make it shine. But who knows, I always have liked indulging in random ideas that pop up with little warning. Those such stories from this past year have mostly been absent from BZP since many haven’t been Bionicle-related, but…who knows, if I come up with something I really like I might see how it fares in OTC. Stay tuned!
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    (I just figured I'd make one of these each day this week. You'll see why in a minute! If you've played TWEWY, feel free to drop by to reminisce, and if you haven't played it, please stay tuned to find out why should look into this obscure gem of gaming.)
     
    1. As you might expect, a lot of TWEWY fans would love a sequel—it’s a great game and we’d like more. But at the same time, the reason we haven’t been louder about it over the past 4-5 years is because TWEWY is capable of standing on its own as a fantastic game. Most fans will be content wheather we get a sequel or not—some fans are even against the idea of a sequel. TWEWY has a capacity for independence that we don’t see a whole lot in modern gaming.
     
    2. The art in the game is just beautiful. The areas, the characters, the enemies, the graffitti—everything in TWEWY is a visual treat…except for the guns…
     
    3. Like many Square Enix games, TWEWY’s music is a major characteristic. The songs all have a wonderful sound to them, and you can enjoy them even if you’re not a fan of the genre. There are a fair number of rap songs in the game, and though I am far from a rap fan, listening to these songs every once in a while in no way detracts from the experience because they’re so well-done. Plus, in-game you can “buy” soundtrack CDs and listen to the songs at any time from the main menu, and any song obtained this way can be set as background music for the menu.
     
    4. If there was ever a game that justified owning a Nintendo DS, it would be TWEWY. This game takes full advantage of the system and pushes its capabilities to its absolute limits—you use the touch screen for literally everything, both screens are essential to play, some attacks require you to use the microphone, there are wireless functions, and defeating one enemy actually requires you to close the system (with precise timing) to defeat it. How many games think to utilize the fact that the system can close?
     
    5. The official name for TWEWY’s battle system is “the Stride Cross Battle System,” and boy does it shine. You control one character on the touch screen entirely through touch control, and at the same time, you control a second character on the top screen through button input. Sound tough? You bet it is—I still haven’t mastered it! But controlling two characters on two screens at once, difficult as it is, is something you can only do on the DS, and if you find it too tough, you can always set the top-screen character to computer control.
     
    6. The best way to gain permanent stat boosts actually isn’t through levelling up—it’s through consuming food items. When you feed a character, a number of blocks on their “bytes” grid will fill up, and with every battle you fight, a block will disappear. Once the food has been completely “digested,” your stats will permanently increase and you can eat a new food item. There is a restriction—your character can only consume a total of 24 “bytes” per day—but in the post-game you can obtain a special ability that removes this restriction, allowing you to gluttonously increase your stats at ferocious rates.
     
    7. Rather than equipping your characters with armor and weapons, you equip them with clothing items called “Threads.” Threads will increase your characters stats and/or grant them new abilities, and play into the brand management system (discussed later). You can equip up to 4 threads, so long as you don’t have two or more of the same variety (you can only wear one hat) and your character’s “Bravery” rating is high enough. Some of the threads are way out there—the Samurai Sword, the Samurai Armor, the Mr. Mew suit—and yes, crossdressing is allowed.
     
    8. Each store in the game has one specific shop keeper, and as you buy more items from them, you begin to develop a friendship. Raising friendship with shopkeepers will make new items available for purchase and also incline them to reveal the secret abilities of your Threads, making this system invaluable for making the most of your equipment.
     
    9. Decided to try Hard mode, but found yourself in a bit over your head? No problem! You can adjust the difficulty from the main menu at any time over the course of them game! You will need to get through one or two chapters on Normal before Easy is made available, but that’s nothing a little power-levelling can’t fix. Later on you unlock Hard mode and, in the post-game, you can even obtain Ultimate for a real challenge. This option keeps the experience just plain fun for everyone, wheather they want to be tested or just want to slide through on Easy.
     
    10. With a battle system this fun, power-levelling your characters feels more like a privilege than a chore, but some of you may be afraid that this will cause you to quickly outlevel your enemies. Don’t worry—on the main menu right next to the difficulty setting, you’ll find the level slider, which allows you to reduce your level as low as you want. Not only does this handicap make the game more interesting, lowering your level also increases your drop rate, making it easier to earn rare pins by defeating enemies. There are other methods of raising your drop rate, but they’re much more difficult to use effectively, so a level handicap is the best way to catch a rare pin. Like you needed another reason to power-level.
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    11. In most cases, slang is nothing but flat-out silly. However, with the notable exception of Beat (whose overuse of slang is part of his character), TWEWY keeps the sland to a manageable level—it helps keep the game feeling different, but doesn’t overdo it. A prime example: your miscellaneous items are referred to as “swag”—and not the obnoxious definition.
     
    12. The game does only have one save file, but multiple people can still play it. Once you beat the game, you unlock the Chapters Menu, which will allow you to instantly jump to the beginning of any chapter in the game! This makes replaying the game a lot easier, since you don’t have to start over from scratch—think of it like the ultimate New Game+. I’ve played it about five times now. The Chapters Menu also allows you to access the bonus chapter, which we’ll get to shortly, and explains how to get the Secret Reports, which we’ll address in a few days time.
     
    13. Although it’s not my cup of tea, TWEWY does have a special mini-game that can be played wirelessly with friends. Tin Pin plays a glorious 8-bit track as you slide your pins across a tabletop, trying to knock your foes’ pins off the edge. Pins also have “whammies”—special attacks like swinging a giant hammer, turning into a meteor, and even pushing a pin that’s about to fall back onto the table. You do need to play it a handful of times during the story, but it’s not like the game requires you to be a master to reach the final boss—most of these events don’t even require you to win!
     
    14. That bonus chapter I mentioned earlier is called “Another Day,” and it’s set in an alternate universe where Tin Pin rules the land like children’s card games in a certain anime series. No, I’m not kidding. Even if you don’t like Tin Pin and can’t complete the “story” of Another Day (which does require Tin Pin proficiency), it’s still worth checking into because it’s just plain hilarious. Not to mention there are a few secrets hidden away in this parallel world…
     
    15. One of the secrets in Another Day is the Final Time Attack, an 11-round string of rematches against bosses you fought during the story. It’s one of the game’s final challenges, and, when done on Hard Mode, your time is added to your save file so you can remember how awesome you are. Clearing it also earns you a very special Thread and a small collection of pins.
     
    16. Pins. Glorious pins. The pins Neku uses to fight enemies come in a wide variety, but they’re all worth hunting down! The pin designs are neat, all the different attacks are fun and flashy, and there are so many different ways to activate them! Pins are a huge part of what makes the combat so fun, so be sure to find and master every last one! (Or just find one set that works really well, haha.)
     
    17. Lots of video games let you use your enemies’ powers in different ways, and TWEWY is one of them. Every Noise in the game, even the bosses, have a corresponding Pin with an attack related to the Noise it represents. Naturally, they’re hard to get, but they’re pretty powerful—the final boss’s pin, when mastered, has the highest base damage of any pin in the game!
     
    18. Your playable characters aren’t the only ones getting EXP—your pins level up too! When a pin’s level goes up, it becomes stronger and can be used longer or more often. Give it enough levels and it may even evolve into an entirely new pin! But, just wearing them into battle won’t be enough for certain pins—they may need a different type of Pin Points (PP) to evolve.
     
    19. We’ve all been there: playing video games late into the night because we just can’t put them down. TWEWY is highly addictive, but they also give you incentive to put down the DS and get some sleep. When you turn the game back on, the Pins you have equipped will gain “Shutdown PP” based on how long the system was off—the longer the better, all the way up to one week! (Of course, you can just adjust the DS clock to instantly get a week’s worth of PP, but that’s part of the fun!) This game is pretty hardcore, so giving you a reason to be a little more casual is probably healthy.
     
    20. The last type of PP is Access PP, obtained through using a little thing called Mingle Mode. Basically, you activate Wireless Communication and see who else is doing the same. It doesn’t even need to be someone playing TWEWY—anyone whose DS is using wireless will earn you a boost of Access PP, and apparently there’s even a chance to encounter some kind of mysterious entity…who knows what it could be? If you do encounter another TWEWY player, though, you get extra PP and can make friends with them. Friends are nice because their Threads and Pins are put into a special shop in Mingle Mode, where you can buy them at discount price, making it easier to obtain some of the rarest (and/or most expensive) itmes in the game.
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    21. Every Thread and Pin is assigned one of 13 brands (or left unbranded), which seems like nothing more than an organizational thing, right? Wrong! Each area has its own brand chart detailing which brands are popular and which brands are not. If you have a Pin from one of the three most popular brands, they get a power boost, but if they're way down at rank 13, they get power reductions. Still, the brands aren't set in stone--wearing Threads and Pins from a specific brand and fighting battles in an area will cause that brand to climb the charts, making battles easier and easier as you continue to clear the area. Having this extra level of control over the flow of combat is very rewarding, especially when you can use it to your advantage against some particularly tough enemies.
     
    22. There's a reason why there are 13 brands, and no, it's not Kingdom Hearts related. 12 of those brands have names referencing the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and the thirteenth one is a reference to the cat, which those familiar with Japanese media may know is included in a number of zodiac-related legends. It's a minor point, but I think it makes the brands feel a little more special...and it definitely helps you to keep track of them.
     
    23. Being a Square-Enix game, TWEWY naturally has a bit of nonsense, but what's special about it is that it contrasts the nonsense against reality. The game is set in the city of Shibuya, which is actually a real place--one of the three major districts of Tokyo. Of course, American-players like myself may not be able to fully appreciate Shibuya, but we can understand that it's a very chaotic city where you may expect something strange like the Reaper's Game. At the same time, though, there's a very good in-game reason as to why this Shibuya is so different from the real one...
     
    24. The story in TWEWY is a bit dark at times, but it's truly a masterpiece. It's full of numerous plot twists that toss you around a bit, making you fall in love with Shibuya and the real characters that populate it, culminating in...well, I don't want to spoil it. Really, I don't know how much I can talk about the story without giving things away, so I guess I need to be vague for now. Just trust me: it won't make complete sense until you collect the Secret Reports, but you're definitely in for a treat!
     
    25. All the characters in TWEWY stand out, and even the nameless NPCs walking the streets get a little bit of character. When scanning for enemy encounters, you'll see some thought bubbles above the heads of the background characters, and tapping them will bring up a few sentences telling you what they're thinking. They range from relatable to funny to just plain wierd, and this little touch makes the unimportant masses of pixels floating around feel alive. These thought fragments are also used in a creepy way to establish a plot point near the end of the game...
     
    26. At this point I want to start bringing up specific characters, and I just have to begin with the Game Master of Week 2, the Reaper prodigy, the psychopathic mathematician known as Sho Minamimoto. Yes, psychopathic mathematician. The defining variable in what makes this matrix so interesting is his habit of spouting math jokes at 186,000 m/h. Established: unless you're a zetta genius, you won't get a 100% on reading these equations, but even a yoctogram can derive enough enjoyment from them to calculate 1/0! Interested yet, radians? QED. Class dismissed!
     
    27. Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu shows up out of nowhere on Week 2 (not counting his Day 1 cameo), but he very quickly takes center stage. Joshua is responsible for more than his fair share of surprises, and love him or hate him, you feel you just have to keep watching him to try and figure him out. Approach with caution: Joshua will take you on an emotional roller coaster that may ultimately leave you with mixed and/or very intense feelings.
     
    28. A mysterious mentor is always a must, and TWEWY was sure to inclue one. Sanae Hanekoma, usually called "Mr. H," runs a cafe on the edge of Shibuya and isn't a part of the Reaper's Game...or is he? He knows an awful lot about the Game and supplies the main characters with some strange but incredibly useful items. You'll never guess who he really is, but then again, with a guy this friendly, how bad can he be?
     
    29. The very first character you'll be controlling on the top screen is Shiki Misaki, who seems like a pretty normal teenage girl. She's friendly and fashionable, and a great seamstress--just don't let her catch you with a loose button. But there's way more to her than meets the eye--once you figure out her entry fee for participating in the Reaper's Game, your view of her will probably do a complete 180.
     
    30. It's not cheating for me to make Mr. Mew a seperate reason, right? If you don't know, Mr. Mew is a stuffed cat that Shiki made when she was young, and she carries it with her all over Shibuya. Did I mention that Shiki fights by animating Mr. Mew and having him lunge and claw at all her enemies? There are few things quite like seeing a plush cat jumping around a city street to slash shinigami with energy claws, and it's not something you easily forget!
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    31. Beat, whose real name is too complicated for me to write out, is the kind of person I would hate if I met him on the street. He's a tough guy punk with a skateboard and a bad attitude, and he's not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. Over the course of the game, though, we begin to uncover more of Beat's character and backstory, and by the end you begin to admire him for his determination. Being able to take a character so far from their first impression isn't easy, but Beat is a fantastic example.
     
    32. Rhyme is a welcome voice of reason among a hot-headed cast, but due to story events I don't want to spoil, her character doesn't get fleshed out quite as much as I would've liked. Still, these same events ends up turning Rhyme into a major driving force for the remainder of the game, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't like her.
     
    33. No list of characters would be complete without mentioning the main character, one Neku Sakuraba. He's antisocial, so he always wears a giant set of headphones to keep the rest of the world out (leading to his nickname "Phones"), but to survive the Reaper's Game he needs to learn to trust people, else he's going to get erased. Neku is a modern teenager who's easy to relate to, and his steady growth throughout the game has inspired a lot of players to change their own viewpoints. A main character needs to be someone you can connect to, and as long as you're willing to care, I think anyone can connect to Neku, making him effective in his role.
     
    34. Next on the menu is the Game Master of Week 1, Yodai Higashizawa. He may not get as much screentime as a lot of other characters, but this dish is not to be missed--his constant food jokes make him deliciously hilarious. As an added spice, his voice actor is someone you anime fans will probably recognize, but the secret ingredient is how he very casually serves up one bombshell of a plot point. I won't spoil your dinner by typing it out, but it's definitely one of the highlights of the meal.
     
    35. Koki Kariya and Uzuki Yashiro are two mid-ranking Reapers who continue to harass the main characters all throughout the game, sort of like Team Rocket. Watching them, you have to wonder how their friendship works: they seem to be complete opposites! Kariya, despite his experience, is lazy and undriven, while newer employee Uzuki is determined to outshine her peers and earn a promotion as soon as possible. They have a fantastic yin-yang thing, though you may not notice while they're annoying you. Still, near the end of the game we find out that they do have hearts, and you just might begin to respect them.
     
    36. Since I've mentioned the other two Game Masters, I have to also mention the only one who doesn't joke around. And let me tell you, she does not joke around. Mitsuki Konishi is cold, calculating, and utterly heartless--probably the character you're most likely going to love to hate. She mainly stays backstage in Weeks 1 and 2, and even during Week 3 she spends a decent amount of time off-screen, which helps to make her seem distant and uninterested. Still, you end up with plenty of reason to despise her by the time you finally get to fight her, but don't expect it to be easy. The battle against Konishi is one of the more complex battles in the game, divided up into multiple stages that each have a trick to them. Defeating her a challenge, but the pins you get for doing it are definitely worth it!
     
    37. Giving out orders to the rest of the Reapers is the Game's Conductor, Megumi Kitaniji, also known as "Shades." Besides his trademark sunglasses, he's always seen wearing a set of headphones suspiciously similar to Neku's, but no one ever points this out--even when Neku and Kitaniji meet. Since he collects the entry fees and reveals the results of each game, he quickly becomes a target for players to hate, something that actually only gets worse the first time you fight him. I won't tell you why, but I will tell you that a certain aspect of that fight really takes you by surprise. Of course, being the perceived "master bad guy," you need to fight him more than once, so you should be able to vent all of your frustration...just in time to find out his true intentions.
     
    38. While he's almost entirely irrelevant to the plot, I have to make mention Eiji Oji, the Prince of Ennui, and his blog, which apparently everyone in Shibuya reads to find out what's most fabulous in the city. I hesitate to go into detail, not for spoiler reasons, but because, while the blog is not obscene in any way, it is phrased in a way that the unaware will think that it's obscene. Then again, that's exactly what makes it great!
     
    39. During battle, executing combos with the top screen character obtains you Fusion Stars, and when enough are collected, you can unleash a spectacular Fusion attack where both characters combine their powers. These attacks are great because they not only damage every enemy, but they also heal you, not to mention that most of the attacks are epic, hilarious, or epicly hilarious. Of note are Shiki's Level 3 Fusion, where Mr. Mew turns into Godzilla and shoots lazers from his eyes, and Joshua's Level 3 Fusion, which literally drops the moon onto the battlefield. Believe it or not, Kariya and Uzuki even use a Fusion attack when you fight them together!
     
    40. Walls blocking you from certain areas are a common occurence, but most can be lowered by talking to a nearby Reaper and completing whatever task he assigns you. Some of those Reapers give you a short quiz. Ahem..."Like a bolt from the blue, it's time for the Reaper Review!!" If you're not paying attention to your surroundings, you may not be able to pass, but the Reaper won't tell you which question you got wrong, so it takes a few tries. Still, these Reapers have a habit of referencing internet memes, so it's all worth it. "But! Though you may forget the Review, rest assured, it remembers you."
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    41. This may not appeal to everyone, but those of us who have played Final Fantasy will catch a few references throughout TWEWY. The material pins (Orichalcum, Adamantite, etc) are named after Final Fantasy items, there are a number of pins named after summons (Tin Pin Bahamut, Tin Pin Shiva, etc) that you get from encounters with characters who just happen to share names with Square employees, and then there's Minamimoto's "Lv. i Flare" (though that takes too long to explain). Think of these as a bonus for Square Enix fans--a sign that they really do love us.
     
    42. The enemies in the game, Noise, are collections of negative energy driven purely by instinct, attacking Game players and possessing humans. They take the form of various animals with specific parts of their body replaced with tribal tattoos, giving them a familiar yet strange feel with intricate designs. Noise are named after various genres of music--J Popguin, Carcinoska, Grunge Wolf--so those who are really into music get an extra bit of enjoyment from browsing the names of these creatures. The Noise are more than interesting enough to make you want to hunt down each and every one to fill out your Noise Report, and you won't be able to rest until you've seen every last one.
     
    43. There are several rare Noise that serve as optional bosses, specially-colored symbols that appear in fixed locations on fixed days. The first of these is the Progfox, and it's a fascinating creature. This fox has the ability to transform into a variety of other Noise, several unique forms with their own special attacks, and even a duplicate of Neku wearing a fox mask! As the battle goes on, Progfox begins to grow more tattoo tails, growing stronger with each one. When he grows his ninth tail, he executes an unavoidable cinematic attack where he transforms into a giant armored dragon and uses Final Fantasy's infamous Mega Flare attack. Progfox may not be among the strongest Noise in the game, but he is hands-down one of the most interesting for his variety of attacks.
     
    44. During Week 2, a new type of Noise is introduced: Taboo Noise, dark variations of the already fearsome creatures who have greater strength and far greater defense. While scanning for Noise symbols to fight, most will just float around until you touch them, but Taboo Noise symbols will home in on you and force you to fight them in grueling battles you are unable to escape from. The worst thing about Taboo Noise is that your attacks will barely scratch them unless you are holding the "light puck" that flies back and forth between the two playable characters, prolonging the time it takes to erase them and giving them more chances to erase you. And that's not even considering that there are several Taboo Noise bosses...
     
    45. As you might expect, the final boss, Draco Cantus, is a sight to behold: a six-headed hydra who attacks continuously with devastating abilities from every direction. This fearsome foe is beautifully designed, and just looking at him is enough to tell you that this really is the final battle. The circumstances of this creature's creation are unique, making the battle itself equally different from the norm in a way that might make you nervous at first--don't worry, though, those characters you think can't help you will prove to be not-so-helpless after all. And, as everyone knows, a boss like this has to go out with a bang, but I can't detail it here because it's something you just have to see.
     
    46. Square Enix has a thing for "friendly enemies"--the Magic Pots in Final Fantasy, the White Mushrooms in Kingdom Hearts, and the Pig Noise in TWEWY. In fixed locations you will encounter oddly-colored Noise symbols that will send you into "battle" with one of these quirky foes, who (with the exception of the Pig Butoh) won't launch a single attack. Instead, Pig Noise will immediately head for the far edge of the screen, and if they reach it, they will escape the battle and leave you looking foolish. It might not sound too difficult, but most Pig Noise have special twists--illusory duplicates, invisibility, appearing in a group that needs to be erased in a specific order...things like that. Of special note are the Pig Carol, who can only be damaged by one specific Pin that changes each time you encounter them, and one little piggy who can only be erased by closing the DS system at just the right time. Still, hunting them down is more than worth it--they all drop special Pin rewards, and erasing them all is necessary for collecting the Secret Reports. They don't respawn, though, so once you turn them all into sausage, you won't ever get to encounter the Pig Noise ever again...
     
    47. As mentioned earlier, Another Day has some secrets hidden in it, one of which is Pork City. Pork City is a tower in the corner of Shibuya that is visited briefly at the end of Week 2, but can only be fully explored in Another Day. Each floor is tied to a specific brand, and you can only use Pins of that brand (or unbranded pins) in battle. You will be required to fight several normal Noise battles culminating in an encounter with Pig Noise before clearing the way to the next floor, and erasing the Pigs here is the only way to get them in your Noise Report. Clear all 13 floors and you're done, right? Not quite...
     
    48. On the roof of Pork City, you'll run into a little Noise by the name of Panthera Cantus. Who's Panthera Cantus? Oh, nobody, just the single most powerful boss in the entire game. Thankfully, any brand of Pin can be used on the roof, but even with a perfected set of Pins you're going to need to pray, pray, and pray if you want to beat this guy. If you're easily frustrated, you may want to avoid this Noise, but at the same time...beating him gets you a great Thread, he may drop one of the best Pins in the game, you need to win to complete your Noise Report, and destroying him (possibly on Hard) is necessary for getting the last Secret Report. If you do decide to give this a try, then I wish you the best of luck.
     
    49. When you beat the game, things don't really make a whole lot of sense. However, when you go to the newly-unlocked Chapters menu, each day will have a list of 3-4 tasks for you to complete, some of which are straight-forward, some of which are riddles. But if you're able to complete all the tasks for the day, you unlock the corresponding Secret Report, which gives a wealth of new information to help you understand the game in-depth. With 7 days X 3 weeks + Another Day adding up to 22 Secret Reports, you may think collecting them all will take a long time, but it goes more quickly than you think until you have to defeat Panthera Cantus. If you can get them all, the game makes a lot more sense, plus it unlocks a bonus scene after the credits. The Secret Reports are definitely worth the trouble, but there's no shame in finding them online--especially the one you need to beat Panthera Cantus to get.
     
    50. Well, we've reached the end of the list, and it only seems fit to save the best for last. The World Ends With You isn't just a great game, but it also has a great message that is almost impossible to not pick up. There are a few different ways to phrase it, but I'm just going to quote Mr. H on this one: "The world ends with you. If you want to enjoy life, expand your world. You gotta push your horizons out as far as they'll go."
  20. Pahrak Model ZX
    The Volcanion event begins today! I officially have a complete Living Dex!
     
    I mean I know it won't be that way for long with Sun and Moon around the corner, and this really isn't a big thing in the larger scheme of things, but I've never been able to say that before and it's kind of a cool feeling. A complete Living Dex! For the longest time I thought that would be impossible for me, but the Gen VI games make it much easier and the 20th anniversary events filled in the Mythicals, it just all came together so well!
     
    And I am still really jazzed about Sun and Moon. Nearly everything they've shown looks great, they've got so much promise, and it will be fun to search for new Pokemon to catch again. It's a little eh to think I might not have the Moon exclusives for a while, but that's way at the back of my mind. I'm thrilled to have a Living Dex! I'm thrilled we're getting new games! I'm just...really excited right now!
  21. Pahrak Model ZX
    Finally got around to transferring my Gen VI Living Dex and everything I had in VC Red up to Gen VII. Getting everything organized sure took a while, which I guess is why I’ve been putting it off so long.
     
    I already captured everything I could in Gen VII to keep the Living Dex as complete as possible, though there are still a couple gaps. While I have Rockruff and Steenee registered, I apparently neglected to get extras for the box, so I’ll need to breed those. Obviously I don’t have Marshadow yet, but the only glaring absence is the Litten family. I could restart either Sun or Moon, but since Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are coming out later this year I feel like it makes sense just to wait until I buy one of those and start with Litten when I do. Marshadow will probably be distributed between now and then as well, so I should be back on top by the end of the year.
     
    For the time being, I’m sitting at 798 Pokemon registered and I’m cool with that. Between all those, my Unown collection, all the Alola Forms, and everyone else I’ve got lying around, my Moon PC is bursting…and I’ve still got five boxes floating around in Pokemon Bank. Maybe I didn’t understand quite what I was getting into when I decided to finally catch ‘em all…
  22. Pahrak Model ZX
    It still feels like Gen VII just stared, but we’re already getting the last Pokémon in the current National Dex order!
     
    Stop by GameStop between now and the 23rd to get a code to download Marshadow, the very first Fighting/Ghost type! It’ll also come with Marshadium Z, letting Marshadow use its unique Z Move, Soul-Stealing Seven Star Strike. How cool does that sound?
     
    Just about a month until Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon! With the reveal of new Ultra Beasts, I can’t help but wonder if more Mythicals are programmed in as well, meaning we could get another few years of Gen VII. I hope we do, I can’t afford a new console.
  23. Pahrak Model ZX
    When I went to Japanese class today, I discovered that one of my classmates had made some (delicious) curry bread to share with us, which led to another classmate deciding that we should all take turns bringing in Japanese dishes for the remainder of the semester. I have about a month to figure out what to bring.
     
    To be clear, my Cooking skill is currently set to level 0 with maybe 10 EXP invested in it.
     
    I think this should be enough time, though, and I really do want to learn how to make stuff. This should be a good motivator. Now I just need to figure out what it is I am going to attempt...I think it should be on the simpler side, since I'm new to this, and hopefully not too expensive. My teacher gave us a website with a lot of Japanese recipes, and I ended up looking through the bento box recipes because I thought those might be easy-ish.
     
    Well, to be more specific, I looked at the charaben, which are boxes where the food is arranged to resemble characters. There were like five different Pikachu boxes and they all look fantastic.
     
    ...But, I mean, that's probably a little too complicated, I should start with something easier.
     
    ...But, that Eevee box looks really cute, and I could put a different food in each box corresponding to a different evolution method...
     
    Of course I'm really getting ahead of myself considering I still don't know where to even buy seaweed.
     
    Ah, if only I could have one of those "Character X learns to cook!" episodes, even if lots of things go wrong I would end up with something great in the end, and senpai would finally notice me...
     
    OH NO THE IDEA OF BOHROK ONIGIRI JUST CAME TO ME NO WHY
  24. Pahrak Model ZX
    It took longer than I was hoping, but now I have a rough draft for the first chapter of Divine Strength! If you'd like to check it out, here's the link.
     
    This shows a regular day for the Queen of Light--not the one from the Prologue, but her successor. This is the Queen of Light we'll be following for the main story. I wanted to get a feel for how she runs her queendom, Bivor, and try to refine her personality in general.
     
    We also get a partial glimpse at the Queen of the Sea through telepathy. The telepathic waves are Queen-exclusive, with their Crowns acting as both transmitter and receiver; Light and Sea exchange them much more frequently than is normal due to their close friendship, so their usage should not be considered as a standard. (There's only one exchange in Chapter 1, but Chapter 2 begins with multiple back and forth waves.)
     
    Don't worry, the plot moves forward a bit too. Light's objective at this point is to take a look at Sea's investigation of some strange occurrences, which leads her to discover a very good reason to get involved further. But you'll have to read it to get a better idea.
     
    I won't be posting up each and every chapter as I go, but this early in the game I will be posting a lot. As for Chapter 2, all I have as of now is the aforementioned wave exchange, which I will probably post on its own sometime soon; once I write the rest of the chapter, I may post it too, or I may just hold onto it. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
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