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Pahrak Model ZX

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  1. Pahrak Model ZX
    I don’t think I ever said anything about the early demo, but it was something I picked up as soon as I got my Switch. I had already watched someone play through it as one of the available characters, but even if I hadn’t, I probably would’ve gone for this right away—a free demo of a JRPG with gorgeous pixel art from a big name like Square? Yeah, doubt I’d miss that. Anyway, I don’t think that original demo is available now that the new one has gone live, but it really grabbed my attention. Not just because it had an interesting, engaging battle system, but because after completing your chosen character’s story, not only can you keep playing, not only can you recruit the other character to start getting a feel for how they work together, but there’s also a hidden dungeon you can only access after “beating” the demo. A free demo with a post-game dungeon. That impressed me.
     
    Anyway, I’ve also picked up the new Prologue demo: on the plus side you can choose from any of the eight characters, the game has some nice improvements since its original showing, and the save data will transfer to the full game once you get it! On the down side, there’s only one save file, and once its time reaches 3 hours you won’t be able to play any more. You can just keep doing New Games with the other characters and just not save (or rely on the separate autosave file), but still, I feel like that time limit is a bit unfortunate. (I mean, if you wanted to do the full 3 hours with all 8 characters, that’s still 24 hours of gameplay, but…anyway.) Now that I’ve checked everyone out, here are my thoughts.
     
    -Ophilia: Seeing as she’s a Cleric, and even has an action for bringing NPCs along with her to aid her in battle, I wasn’t expecting Ophilia to dish out much damage, but she really surprised me. Granted her first dungeon is catered specifically to her, but I was shocked by how much damage her light magic does. And on the healing side of things, she starts out with an AoE heal, and can immediately learn an AoE revival skill if you so choose, so, yeah, she’s pretty good on that front. She’s an endearingly sweet character, though I could see someone saying she’s about what you’d expect for a Cleric—a matter of opinion, I guess. But either way, she gets top marks for starting off as one very good healer. Also her starting town is the most gorgeous place in the game thus far.
    -Cyrus: After trying everyone out, this is the character I’m starting with. He’s smart, he’s likeable, he’s got just a dash of arrogance, and he firmly believes that knowledge is meant to be shared and that keeping it to oneself is a terrible crime. In short, just an all-around delight. Really, the main reason I want him in the party is because he’s very practical: he begins with AoE fire and ice magic and can immediately learn thunder, and can also learn multi-hit AoE spells of those same elements (very useful for the way the battle system works). More than that, upon entering battle he will automatically uncover one weakness of every enemy on the field, which really sets you up for success without the risk of trial-and-error you usually go through, plus his ability to scrutinize NPCs turns up all sorts of useful bonuses. Definitely recommend giving him a try.
    -Tressa: Going into this, I didn’t have much of an interest in Tressa. I’ve developed an appreciation for her now, but honestly, she’s not really in the running for “favorite” status, and since her goal is so vague I’m not really sure what to expect. Her field action lets her buy items from NPCs, sometimes giving you access to better things than you can find in the shop, and that can be handy. She’s the only character who learns wind magic, and can collect money from enemies in battle—not to mention occasionally finding money on the ground as you travel. (For some reason I find that a little funny, maybe because it’s phrased as being “left behind by some unfortunate soul”.) What’s really nice is that she gets a skill that restores her HP and SP at no cost other than using your turn, so she’s very efficient. She left a positive impression…if not necessarily the strongest one.
    -Olberic: One of the characters available in the original demo, Olberic is an all-around solid choice by virtue of being a knight. Knights are always good in a JRPG. Plus he starts with two weapon types and possesses a physical AoE skill, and his unique field action allows him to challenge NPCs to a duel, allowing you to gain EXP, money, and items at a much faster rate if you’re thorough. One could argue he’s a bit vanilla, but it’s worth trying him out.
    -Primrose: The other character from the original demo. Her story is incredibly dark, not sure I can really go into it here, but if you want a JRPG with serious and mature themes in its narrative she’s the woman you want to go to. She’s the only character who learns shadow magic, and she also learns a variety of buff skills, but the real focus is on using her field action to charm an NPC into following you, and them summoning them in battle as a temporary extra party member. A very neat character, looking forward to seeing where her story goes.
    -Alfyn: Okay, so…Alfyn’s the character of this bunch that just doesn’t really excite me. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with him, and he has a noble goal and all, but…I dunno, he just doesn’t seem as interesting for some reason. Of course, the one time I used his Concoct skill it did nothing, so that certainly didn’t help matters. And he has only a single-target ice spell, and a single-target heal spell, which doesn’t compete well with Cyrus and Ophilia respectively. (He and Cyrus also have more or less the same field action.) He learned a nice support skill that restores a little SP with every attack made, and a status-healing move that also makes you immune to status for a short time, but…eh. Currently my least favorite of the eight.
    -Therion: An edgy thief, yes…but he pulls it off very well. He’s far more entertaining than obnoxious. Stealing NPCs blind is ridiculously fun, and gets you a lot of nice stuff (supplemented by the loot in special treasure chests only Therion can open), making it very easy to prepare yourself for the enemies in this chapter. Plus, he learns powerful double-hit skills that restore his HP or SP by a certain amount of the damage done, making him a very efficient character after only a few upgrades. Quite a tempting choice actually.
    -H’aanit: Kind of a mixed bag. She’s a neat character, to be sure, but it’s difficult to take her seriously when her and her people use Old English to the point that it isn’t even funny. She’s basically a revamp of the classic Beastmaster job from Final Fantasy: she can catch monsters and then release them in later battles to unleash attacks on enemies, but she can store several monsters this way and they each have multiple uses before disappearing. (She also has a snow leopard named Linde who is always with her, so you’re never totally without an animal friend to call on.) Since these monsters all have different attacks that hit a variety of attributes, H’aanit is the most versatile character when it comes to targeting weaknesses—assuming you’re catching plenty of monsters and seeing what they can all do, that is. And the game does encourage you to do this by giving her a field action similar to Olberic, where she can challenge NPCs, but can only use the animals she has with her, none of her other skills. H’aanit is truly a devastating hunter and seemed a little OP at first…but the thing is, she does her best work fighting single foes. You can’t aim any of her animal friends, hampering the versatility they offer, and the only skills she learns that can potentially hit multiple targets are random as well. I like H’aanit, and definitely enjoyed her opening story, but as I gathered party members with her and faced more and more groups of enemies, I found myself using her unique abilities far less. Hopefully this is just down to my inexperience with the Beastmaster job, but I can’t help but wonder.
     
    A criticism I have is that there’s no interaction between the characters. They’ve said there will be at least some in the full game, but right now, you just run to the other characters’ starting areas, meet up with them, and then watch their cutscenes play out without anything changing. Really feels like a missed opportunity, but I guess this is to motivate you to buy the full game.
     
    Also I was bummed we couldn’t mess around with the jobs in the demo. They’ve already shown that in addition to a character’s main job, they can equip another character’s job as a secondary job, plus now we know that characters earn support skills they can equip no matter what jobs they have equipped, and you know I love me some job-mixing! Can’t believe I have to wait a whole month to make Cyrus a Scholar/Dancer…
     
    But anyway, I’m really looking forward to Octopath Traveler even if there are a few things I’m hoping are done better in the full package. If you have a Switch and this game sounds like it’d be up your alley, I’d highly recommend downloading the demo and giving it a shot!
  2. Pahrak Model ZX
    (Yeah, that title is definitely gonna grab attention, heheheheh…)
     
    A new update for Right of Law is up, but before I get to that: in the time since the last update, this story was actually featured on the home page! This really floored me—it’s a huge honor to know that someone on the staff read this story I’ve been working so hard on and thought it was worth letting other people know about it! I’ll continue doing my best to make this story a good read, and hopefully I won’t drag my feet about it since this is looking so, so much longer than I was originally planning…
     
    Which brings us to Section VII! The drones finally reach Bitil’s outpost, and the battle to defend it begins! I wanted to do this all in one chapter, but it’s already decently-sized and there’s a good amount more I want to do, and combining that with how long it’s been since Section VI went live, I think I’m going to go ahead and post what I have right now. With any luck, this means Section VIII is not far away!
  4. Pahrak Model ZX
    I actually managed to do it! Right of Law Section VI is up now!
     
    Krika visits Ga-Koro and finds his people in good health, but that might not be the case for long. Things are getting a bit tense at Bitil's outpost as well, though things aren't all serious, with the introduction of some new Rahkshi I think everyone will appreciate.
     
    I also updated SSS3 today, so I met my goal of getting both updated by the end of this week. Going forward...who knows. But since both stories are heading into major battles, I'll do my best to keep the wait from going too long.
  5. Pahrak Model ZX
    I don’t do this often, this is weird, anyway.
     
    I got a new job! A bit nervous about some of the specifics, but I’m excited, and really hoping that it’ll work out. I’ve had my…current? Former? Job for just about 5 years, which is a good number in my book and I have had more than enough of it, though I will miss several of my coworkers. I’m going for an orientation on Tuesday, and I should officially start the last week of May.
     
    The thing is, I’m moving from part time to full time, and I’m not 100% sure what my new schedule is going to look like so I can’t say for sure how this will affect any projects I’m working on or thinking about. By “projects” I mainly mean stories of course, I haven’t done a game since, what…September? Yikes. Anyway my point in all this is, if anyone’s keeping up with my stories and it looks like I’m slowing way down, this is probably the reason why. I’m hoping to update Right of Law and SSS3 both at some point in the next two weeks, beyond that I just don’t know.
     
    But I’m not going to go on hiatus or cancel anything, and everyone knows I’ve always had trouble getting things out in a timely manner, so it’s entirely possible that nothing will really change. On the off-chance something does, I wanted to give you all a heads-up. Later.
  6. Pahrak Model ZX
    A month ago I said I wanted to use this blog more, but I've been almost exclusively doing Right of Law adverts since then. Huh. At least it means I'm making good progress on Right of Law!
     
    Section V is out now! Despite her companions' warnings, Antroz heads back to Xia and meets with Angonce, and the negotiations don't exactly go the way either hoped they would. Things won't be able to return to normal after this...
  7. 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!
  8. Pahrak Model ZX
    I made some solid progress on another project, so I finally sat down and edited Right of Law Section III!
     
    This chapter is entirely made up of Krika trying to defend Nynrah from the army sent after Zaekura. Admittedly I don't have as much experience writing this sort of battle, but I think the result turned out well, and I'll of course strive to improve in either event. Makuta and Rahkshi give you so many options to play around with, though I do have to keep reminding myself that I can't use Shattering or Disintegration. No slip-ups in this part, at least!
     
    Next Section will introduce a new Makuta with a very unique skill. I hope to have it for you soon!
  9. Pahrak Model ZX
    I’ve just posted Section II of Right of Law! Check it out!
     
    I planned this part to be longer and include a battle at Nynrah, but the draft ended up being 7000 words and that felt like a bit long for one chapter. So, I cut it in two, and now it shouldn’t be much of a wait until Section III is ready to go!
     
    But don’t think that this cut makes Section II any less exciting! We start with Krika elaborating on Zaekura’s nature hinted at with the last line of Section I, and it leads to Antroz finally taking a stand against the Great Beings, if not an entirely committed one. There’s also an explanation of who that mysterious Toa of Earth is—they’re a bit more important than you may have first thought. All this building up to an inevitable confrontation next time which will have lasting repercussions for everyone…
  10. Pahrak Model ZX
    I feel like I need to use this blog more than I have recently, so here are various story ideas I have right now.
     
    -Should probably first take a moment to remind myself which ones I’ve actually started. Right of Law is the only Bionicle story I’m working on right now, and I’ve got big plans for it—I got way more into thinking about the Melding Universe than I ever thought I would and I don’t want any of that going to waste. Section II is coming along rather nicely, I think.
     
    -Other than that, I’m working on Shooting Star Sonia 3…which I’m still rather behind on. Got to get back in the groove there. Probably shouldn’t have posted the first seven chapters at once like that.
     
    -And, other than that, I am working on a Mega Man ZX fanfic, but I haven’t posted it here since I think one spot in my Recent Works block dedicated to OTC should probably be enough. (If that interests anyone you can find Mega Man ZX Termination over on FanFiction.)
     
    -So, what have I thought of but not actually started? Well, there’s, uh…ahah, oh yeah. Olkir. That, uh, that sure was set to be a thing. That never happened. Gosh I hope I do something with that someday. I want to focus all my Bionicle effort on Right of Law at the moment, though.
     
    -There’s also a G2 idea I had, Ends of the Earth, where Earth Okotans Onepu and Tehutti get caught up in a storm and end up on the island of Onan, which has some curious similarities to their home while still being very different. Fascinating as it is, the dedicated Onepu is eager to return home, but Tehutti, being a fugitive, is looking for ways to not do that. I like the idea, just not sure when I’ll get around to it.
     
    -I had a couple other vague possibilities for Mega Man stories, like a third entry in the data timeline, or a completely new timeline, or Maverick Hunter X Hunter which is exactly what it sounds like for the sole reason that the name just works too darn well to let it go to waste. I hope someone writes that.
     
    -I would really like to do something The World Ends With You related. I still love that game to bits, I missed the 10 year anniversary of the Japanese release last year, I’d like to catch the anniversary of the American release this year, and especially with Final Remix coming out…I want to do something. But I’m not too sure on the what. I was kicking around the possibility of a short reflective thing, probably titled “The World Still Hasn’t Ended”, but…it’d probably be short or get repetitive, and wouldn’t really be all that interesting. I thought of seeing where the characters might be after the game, but actually, I’m not sure I can do that as well as I would like to. Hmmmm. Maybe I should just wait until after I play Final Remix.
     
    -I’d also like to do something with Final Fantasy V. Also having a tough time figuring out where these characters would end up, though there’s the possibility of a new group of warriors facing a new threat. I also kind of like the idea of a series of oneshots featuring past heroes, the ones whose memories/souls/whatever enter the crystals and become the Jobs, but there are so many it would run the risk of getting really stale really fast. And, uh…for some reason or another…it did cross my mind to explore an FFV high school AU. Yes, stupid idea, but come on! Those dorks would fit into a series like that perfectly! Class rep Lenna, drama club member Bartz, delinquent Faris, Galuf as the teacher and his granddaughter Krile being the transfer student, it could be great! Or not. I don’t know, I just thought it was fun to think about.
     
    -I considered doing a Pokémon story, set in a new region. I still really like the idea of Alola’s four guardians, so I thought of doing a system kind of like that: trainers travel to four areas within the region, pass a test to enter the guardian’s temple, and then battle the guardian as a bigger trial. I thought that upon winning, the trainer would select one of their Pokémon to receive power from the guardian, enabling them to use the power of Mega Ascension (tentative). This allows the Pokémon to transform into a state where their abilities are augmented and they also possess the abilities of the guardian. Since I don’t want to design too many Pokémon, though, I was thinking there would only be a handful of new ones and a bunch from other generations…and maybe some regional variants, because I dig those.
     
    -One idea I had was a story about a randomized Pokémon Platinum game, with some plot changes for fun. Its name…Pokémon Insinnohty. Because that’s how I roll. I randomized a few Pokémon already just to see what I’d have to work with, and some of this is looking pretty interesting, like Turtwig becoming a Dragon/Psychic Seedot with Ice Body, and Togekiss becoming a Ghost/Flying Gallade with Zen Mode. It’s a definite possibility.
     
    -One other Pokémon idea…I feel like concept of Team Rainbow Rocket still has some unused potential, so it might be worth it to do my own take on that. Have the bosses all actually be working together, rather than just showing up in the same place for a few minutes—each could rule over their own ideal world while collaborating with the others to take over more worlds or trade resources or fight Ultra Beasts. And certainly other characters would be involved. Lillie and Gladion were quick picks, but I also realized this could be a great opportunity to write about Silver, which I’m kind of surprised I haven’t done before now. The only idea I had for a title so far was “Over the Rainbow”, but if I actually do this I might try to think of something else.
     
    -And there is that original idea I’m still working on…though mainly just in the form of brainstorming. I posted a story in OTC to test out some concepts a while ago (Glimpse of Horizons), but the idea has morphed considerably since then, and I might actually try to turn it into a novel. (I’m also thinking “Valkyrie Errant” as the new title.) We’ll see where this goes, but I really, really want it to go somewhere. Maybe I'll post something about that sometime soon.
  11. Pahrak Model ZX
    I’ve been rewatching Cowboy Bebop, and man, I forgot a lot of the details about this show. Also I think a lot of it went over Pahrak Va’s head. Not to say none of it goes over my head now, but…point is, I think I’m developing a deeper appreciation for this series.
     
    One thing that hit me way harder than I expected was Faye’s tape. I mean, I remembered that that happened, but my recollection was fuzzy, and it kind of stunned me this time around. Maybe because it’s been ten years since I first saw this series, so I couldn’t help but think about how much I may have changed over that decade. Maybe because this time I wondered if young Faye’s cheer of “don’t lose me” is supposed to double as a desperate, futile cry to not be forgotten. Maybe just because I only now realize how well it punctuates just what Faye has lost, and now I’m empathizing way more with a character I haven’t really paid much mind before now.
     
    I should rewatch things more.
  12. Pahrak Model ZX
    You may remember The Gargoyle Knight, a Fanfic Exchange story I wrote starring the Makuta Antroz of the Melding Universe? Well, I came to really like it and brainstormed way too many ideas to cram into one short story, so I’ve decided to attempt a full epic set in the Melding Universe.
     
    Right of Law will see Makuta Antroz face a severe moral dilemma, where she must either repeat her past mistakes or risk the safety of all of Spherus Magna. Section I is merely an introduction to this tale, but by the end I think you’ll see how the stakes can be just so high. I can’t guarantee any sort of schedule for this story, but I do have a lot of passion for it, and I’m going to do my best to harness that and stay committed to it.
     
    I also plan to keep some handy information in the first post of the review topic—since there are so many differences between this timeline and the main one, not to mention this is my own personal take on this AU, I want to compile as much relevant data as I can in one convenient place to hopefully make it more approachable for readers. I’ll also be elaborating on certain things at the end of each chapter, to better flesh out minor points without sidetracking the story proper.
     
    I know many fans didn’t care for the alternate universes that found their way into the story, but I do hope you’ll give this story a shot. I still think there are things from the later days of the story that have a lot of potential worth exploring, and while this story certainly won’t get into all of them, there are a few key points that I’m very eager to try my hand at. Aren’t you curious?
  13. Pahrak Model ZX
    I’ve been spending my time watching miscellaneous YouTube videos instead of actually doing work (Red Joker? What’s that?), and after seeing someone talk about how they’d construct a Pokémon gym I ended up thinking about it myself and sort of like what I came up with, plus this blog needs some kind of content, so what the heck.
     
    What I ended up going with was a Steel type gym. The leader would be studying legends tied to the Pokémon Aegislash, which is associated with kings and is said to be the result of a spirit inhabiting a sword. The gym would be divided by three gates, each with a different shield on the lock, three different bladed weapons on a rack against the wall, and two trainers to fight. Beat the trainers and they each tell you a different piece of a story about an ancient king, talking about feats they accomplished to clue you in on exactly what type of sword they were known for using. (Examining the different weapons on the rack tells you the type of weapon and what it’s specialized for.) So they could talk about a king who won a battle by breaking the enemy’s shield, and you know to pick up a heavier weapon, or hear about a lot of duels and pick up a sword meant for that. Then you place the sword in the shield, revealing them to be parts of an Aegislash variation if you’re correct, and the door opens to let you through! The leader’s team then consists of Bastiodon (since it’s got a shield for a face), Alolan Sandslash (it’s got a lot of sharp edges, plus it’s a Pokémon with a special variation like these Aegislash), and Aegislash (duh). Didn’t think of any details for a badge or TM, though I guess Swords Dance would be fitting?
     
    I just really like the idea of regional variants and thought it’d be neat to apply something similar to Aegislash, since it’s one of my favorite Pokémon. This setup also provides incentive to fight the trainers but allows you to bypass doing so if you already know what to do or figure it out more quickly, though I guess there should be a penalty for making a failed attempt? Maybe that forces you to fight one of the trainers? I was also thinking maybe this could be part of a whole league where each gym focuses on the lore/variations of a specific Pokémon, but maybe that’s a bit much…
  14. Pahrak Model ZX
    I watched the first anime and read the manga, but I never actually sat down to watch Brotherhood until now. Disorganized thoughts on the subject:
     
    -The pacing felt a little weird at first. I thought maybe it was just that I’d gotten used to slower series like Steins;Gate and Attack on Titan, but later on it felt like the pacing slowed down to something more manageable, so maybe they were just trying to breeze through everything that was already in the first anime? And a little bit of the new stuff?
    -Also the first three episodes all have a scene where Ed’s auto-mail gets revealed and someone does the whole “Metal limbs? Armor? I see, you did it! So that’s why you’re THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!” thing. I got a little annoyed by the third time.
    -It’s very odd to me that they skipped over Youswell (or however it’s spelled) since Yoki came back later and was semi-important. He just showed up. I guess if they needed space it makes some sense that that’s what they’d cut, but this series has a filler first episode and a clip episode, so…?
    -Definitely a nitpick, but I was disappointed with Slicer’s defeat. I remember in the first series that he was laughing hysterically over the irony of the situation, and I think an episode ended on that, and I felt like it carried some weight. Here he just casually “haha that’s weird” and then gets axed. Then again it’s been years since I saw the first series so maybe nostalgia blinders are on.
    -Funny thing that happened: I was watching this with my dad, and when we got to the episode where Hughes dies and it started out with Winry thanking him, my dad said, “What a nice guy!” Meanwhile I just sat there thinking, “Is it this episode? It seems like it’s going to be this episode.” It was that episode.
    -I forgot that Sheska just kind of…drops off the face of the Earth after they’re done with her. I wonder what happened with her?
    -When they did the flashback to Ed and Al’s time on the island, wasn’t that guy in the mask supposed to be there? It might’ve just been in the first anime, but I’m pretty sure I remember him being in the manga.
    -Somehow Young Pahrak (Pahrak Va) didn’t catch the symbolism in Greed’s death, and it kind of bothers me now.
    -Ling is a treasure.
    -As if I needed more proof that Lan Fan is Best Girl, in the English dub she shares a voice actor with Christina. Amazing.
    -The first time Hohenheim shows up, when Ed’s in Risembool…he acts way different than he does in the rest of the series. That was weird.
    -Why is Envy’s true form CGI? I can’t tell if it bothers me because it’s obnoxious or because I’m being obnoxious.
    -Anyway, Major Armstrong is the best. Also General Armstrong is the best. Ah to heck with it, the entire Armstrong family is the best. (“Being the best has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations!”)
    -Things get really good around Briggs.
    -Another nitpick, after Al’s “hair” gets destroyed in the fight with Buccaneer, it stays that way for the rest of the series, but I’m pretty sure he fixed it in the manga. Weird.
    -It’s a little terrible of me, but the scene where Envy threatens Yoki and everyone says they don’t care if he dies is one of my absolute favorite scenes.
    -So when Envy tricks May into heading back to Central, but then we cut a few months ahead…what was she doing that whole time? I know it can’t have taken her that long just to make the trip. Did Envy tell her the only way she could get a Philosopher’s Stone was to attack on that specific day?
    -Thinking about it, I’m now convinced that the main/only reason the point about Al’s soul being rejected exists is to facilitate his capture in the later part of the series. It’s handled well, though: foreshadowed early-ish, starts to become a problem at a point where it’s only mildly inconvenient before really messing things up, and Pride-controlled Al is freaking terrifying.
    -It’s a little weird how out of the seven Homunculi, Lust is the only one who doesn’t come back for the final arc. I mean, I do get that it would’ve been harder to justify bringing her back, it just feels weird that we’re only missing one.
    -Burn, Envy.
    -I still don’t like the whole bit with Mustang being forced to use human transmutation. It doesn’t make sense to me. Granted, it weakened Pride (somehow) and that does justify why they didn’t do that before, but it still comes out of nowhere and only serves to quickly wrap up the villains’ plan. It feels like Arakawa wrote herself into a corner, not wanting to bring in a new character this late but not being able to justify anyone around using human transmutation because they already know it won’t work. Plus, in the end Marcoh heals Mustang’s eyes so it’s like the whole thing never happened to him in the first place. (And that’s after Hohenheim saying he couldn’t fully restore Izumi’s organs. Not sure how those two points fit together.)
    -Father’s plot is to become the Avatar (and our heroes have to deal with it).
    -The giant Father sitting up from the Earth still looks some silly rock album cover, but ultimately I do like the way they execute the scene of him dragging Truth down to join with him.
    -I’m still kicking myself for never realizing that it makes perfect sense to return Al’s soul to get Ed’s arm back. It was right there the whole time. I never realized. I love it.
    -I can’t believe that Al’s real body was the friends they made along the way.
    -Hmmmmmmm, Selim. That’s an exceptionally risky loose end to leave dangling at the end of the story. I really feel like I need to know what happens with this, but I guess I never will. Hmmmmm.
    -But otherwise, great ending, no question FMA is overall very well-written. It deserves the distinction it’s given.
    -PS the blooper reel is gold
    -I just found out there are OVAs and I might need to track those down
  15. Pahrak Model ZX
    -So…”Final Remix”. Two things about that worry me a bit. For one, “final”. Sort of makes it seem like Square might be officially saying this is it. Or, hey, maybe this is the last remix because next they’re going to do an actual sequel! Aha…ha…er, anyway. Secondly, that’s disturbingly close to the Final Mix tagged onto Kingdom Hearts remakes. That just…makes me nervous.
     
    -Looks to be using Solo Remix’s battle system, and I can confirm that’s gonna be solid. What’s interesting is this mention of using the Joy Cons. I mean, I guess you’d need that for when the system is docked, but it’ll be very interesting to see how that transition goes. A part of me is a bit sad that the combat system is getting less and less unique with each iteration, but since that has been a barrier to entry for some people that might actually be a good thing in the end. But really, how does a touch-focused system get moved to more traditional button controls? I’m eager to see.
     
    -So…that trailer shows Minamimoto being brought back by Coco. This could just be an altered version of the scene where he revives in the third week, or this could be something entirely new, meaning Minamitmoto is being revived again for the new content. That…could go either way. I love Minamimoto and what he brought to the game—there’s a reason he’s so popular amongst fans. But the thing is, he is incredibly popular amongst fans. There exists a chance he’s going to shoehorned in as fanservice. (That’s the way Kingdom Hearts is headed, after all.) That would be less than ideal. Oh, maybe I’m just worrying over nothing. This could be so zetta cool!
     
    -You know who I hope they do more with? I mean, basically everyone, but favorite underdog: Higashizawa. Er, undergoat? Ram? What is Ovis Cantus exactly? Anyway, out of the three Game Masters, Higashizawa feels the least…well, important. And that’s not really the case: his actions in week 1 spur on the character development of Neku and Shiki, which is one of the best things in the game and has a huge impact on the entire rest of the game. But Higashizawa just isn’t as memorable as Minamimoto and Konishi. For starters, he was only around for one week! The other two had a lot more opportunity, and were more involved in the overall plot of the game and thus had another advantage. I just feel like Higashizawa’s the odd man out of the TWEWY family and think it’d be nice if they did something to change that.
     
    -Hype-chan! Who is she? What’s her story? Wait, is she going to be playable?! As a partner, or in some other new capacity, or…what? We’ve been left hanging for six years, I just want to know!
     
    -New story. Explain. Need more information. If there’s more TWEWY story I need to know it. So, it’s an epilogue? Is it just a short thing, or are we really getting the “NEW SEVEN DAYS” we were teased with before? Are these the seven days between Kitaniji’s defeat and the final scene of the original game? Or does it take place after that? Does it have to do with that Noise Symbol Hanekoma is concerned about in Another Day? Does Another Day have any relevance to this somehow? And what’s going on with Hanekoma now? I need to know. Wait, are there going to be new Secret Reports too?!
     
    -They need to revamp Mingle PP. I have never been able to get a single point of it. The Switch is an online system, so they must at least be considering using that in the new Mingle system. Heck, they could just remove the Mingle system altogether, I’d be okay with that. Point is, Pins that can only be grown via Mingle PP have always been way too difficult to get and that really, really needs to change. Then again, Solo Remix had a great chance too and didn’t even try…
     
    -Any chance we’ll be getting new Pins? I don’t think they added any into Solo Remix, but it’s always a possibility. It’d also be neat if they gave us new ways to activate Psychs unique to the Switch. Not completely sure what those would be, though…
     
    -Come to think of it, new Noise? Is that a possibility? I mean if there’s going to be a new epilogue then it’d make sense for there to be at least some new enemies, and/or a new boss, right?
     
    -How about Neku’s friend who was alluded to in Another Day? Info on them would be a great new addition. Wait a minute, is Hype-chan that friend?!
     
    -And I’m sure there are going to be some new tracks, even if only remixes of previous songs. They’ll still probably be great.
     
    -Plus, you know...hopefully this'll get more people interested in TWEWY! It's a wonderful game. It deserves more credit.
  16. Pahrak Model ZX
    When I heard about this year’s exchange, I jumped on it right away. This was a great way to stimulate activity in the Library Forum and I’m excited to peruse all the results over the next week or so!
     
    As for my match-up, I was tasked with writing a story for Nick Silverpen, whose suggestions included checking in on alternate universes and taking a closer look at some of the Makuta. Using those it was a quick jump to Melding Universe Makuta, and in a universe where the Makuta are supposed to be good, who better to examine than the supposedly-honorable Makuta Antroz?
     
    The Gargoyle Knight runs about 5500 words and gives us a look at the Melding Universe’s Xia, alludes a bit to how I think the Great Being-run society would function, and features Makuta Antroz reacting to the knowledge of alternate universes as well as dealing with a high-profile criminal. I quite like how it turned out, so I might be doing something else with these ideas in the future, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
     
    Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day to Nick Silverpen, and the rest of you as well! Let’s do this again next year!
  17. Pahrak Model ZX
    “Technic Fighting Series” is long-winded and bland but this isn’t really Coliseum or Tournament and it’s definitely not Warzone so I didn’t know how else to get the point across, ANYWAY.
     
    I’m thinking of taking another crack at this series with Technic Survival, not in any way influenced by the current Dragon Ball arc I don’t know where you’re getting that, but I’m very hesitant. Mainly because the idea here is team vs team, and to do that I’ll need a decent number of players, which I’m not sure I can draw in. Heck, because of that, my thought process was that we’d have a sign-up period, then I’d decide on the size and number of teams and have people pick slots as a secondary sign-up phase, which feels complicated but kind of necessary. Obviously the teams would be different constraction themes; each team would have a select few characters, and players would select who they want to manage. So for a G1 team, we’d probably have characters like Tahu, Kopaka, and Gali as fighters to work with.
     
    The team aspect is that each team shares a pool of items and currency, and at the start of each round they need to get together and determine what they’re going to buy, and which fighters will be using which of their items that round. (Team PMs will be provided of course.) Maybe they could also give suggestions to each other on how to proceed in battle? But the downside comes in why this is called “Survival”: when a team accumulates enough losses amongst them (I’m thinking twice their number of fighters, so if a team of three hits 6 losses), that entire team is eliminated from the game. We keep going until only one team remains.
     
    I should probably get to the combat system, since it’s been completely revamped from previous entries in the series. Like in Coliseum, we’ve got stats, though I’m thinking the manager will get to decide the spread, and the stats in question have changed. Now it’s down to just Muscle (for physical attacks), Spirit (for elemental attacks), and Stamina (essentially health). When a match begins, players will take turns executing maneuvers—let’s say Player 1 starts with a Muscle-based maneuver, like “Tahu will swing his sword”. I’ll compare Tahu and his foe’s Muscle stats and RNG a number, decide how damage is dealt, and then Player 2 gets their turn. Maybe “Kopaka fires a blast of ice,” which means I’ll compare Spirit stats and RNG a number. As for how that RNG is going to work…
     
    Let’s start at the baseline, or how the RNG would work if both fighters had an equal stat. I’ll RNG a number 1 through 5, with these results: 1 (attacker loses 3 stamina), 2 (attacker loses 1 stamina), 3 (both lose 1 stamina), 4 (target loses 1 stamina), 5 (target loses 3 stamina). Having a difference naturally modifies these values—for example, let’s say Tahu has 12 Muscle and Kopaka only has 10. There’s a difference of 2 in Tahu’s favor, so if he attacks using Muscle, I’ll RNG a number 1 through 7, with these results: 1 (attacker loses 3 stamina), 2 (attacker loses 1 stamina), 3 (both lose 1 stamina), 4 (target loses 1 stamina), 5 (target loses 2 stamina), 6 (target loses 2 stamina), 7 (target loses 3 stamina). The point advantage adds chances for middling damage. Naturally, if Tahu’s Muscle was lower, he’d gain chances that his attack would backfire and cause middling damage to him.
     
    The goal of a fight is to reduce your opponent’s Stamina to 0 using these maneuvers. I’d also like to have players lose 1 stamina for every post they make, to add a sort of time limit to these battles. In addition, after I post the results of a maneuver, the other player will have 24 hours to respond—if they do not, their opponent gets a free shot (2 damage) and it becomes their turn again.
     
    When a battle is over, the winner receives Widgets equal to [10 X s], where “s” is the number of Stamina points they lost over the course of the battle. (You won’t get much for an easy win, but a narrow victory will grant a huge payoff.) Widgets can be spent on items which grant their users stat buffs and passive effects. The loser gets 3 stat points to be allocated as their manager sees fit. While this does allow the loser to get a permanent increase, remember that items can be passed amongst a team, so they have an extra degree of versatility.
     
    Other ideas I could implement to spice this up:
    -I’d like to give each fighter a unique passive ability, but I don’t know how many I’ll have to come up with so I can’t be sure if this is feasible. Maybe a specific ability for each theme?
    -Different choices for maneuvers, like Feint or Defend (which would probably have an additional benefit of nullifying the stamina drain for that post). These along with standard attacks would probably have a rock-paper-scissors relationship.
    -And of course items are a whole thing. Some of the stronger ones will need to have drawbacks, so I’ll need to balance those.
    -I suppose I should consider bringing back trainers, but this might interfere with the balance of giving winners Widgets and losers stat points.
    -I should probably also try to think of further perks for team play. Maybe…team mates can make posts during your turn shouting encouragement, and that activates an RNG with a chance of giving a one-turn increase to the stat you’re using?
     
    Hm. Again, to properly have a team vs team game, I’m going to need players, and I’m not convinced this will attract numbers comparable to Mafia and Realms. Of course, the more players, the longer each round, and the more work I’m going to have to do…a co-host could help, but there’s potential for confusion there, plus one fewer interested member to serve as a player. And my gosh, what if after the signup period I try to figure out the team size to make them all equal and find out we have a prime number of players?!
  18. Pahrak Model ZX

    Ultra Sunrise

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    I've gotten a few hours into Ultra Sun. There have been some ups and downs, but progress is being made, and I'm eager to see what else awaits. I was able to get the special Rockruff and evolve it into Dusk Lycanroc (by messing with the 3DS clock, that works in case you want to know), started with Litten to round out my Living Dex, and I managed to catch a Pichu and eventually evolve it into a Pikachu. (You can get Soothe Bell fairly early on, that was a nice surprise.)
     
    Also, Route 1 has Munchlax now. And sometimes they have Leftovers. I caught a Munchlax with Leftovers only five hours into the game. Rad.
     
    Hm, what else? The Photo Club is fun, I'll probably be spending some time there, and the Roto Loto has proved quite useful already. Most of the changes I'm noticing right now are fairly minor, but I imagine that'll snowball as I go forward. Also, Mantine Surf is pretty darn fun. While you were required to do it, you were not required to be good at it, which was an immense relief.
     
    Next thing I need to do is take on Lana's trial, which I'm...a bit nervous about. Pikachu's going to need to pretty much solo it and the only electric move he knows is Thunder Shock. Hopefully it won't take too long, I need that fishing rod to catch a Wishiwashi for my team.
     
    (Also, Pokemon Bank will apparently be getting patched to work with USUM in late November. Trading with Sun and Moon works fine, though.)
  19. Pahrak Model ZX

    It's Happening

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    OH MY GOSH
     
    I wasn't sure what to make of the rumors of Kale and Caulifla fusing but it is happening and it's Potara Fusion and now I'm just so dang excited for next week holy Kanohi
  20. Pahrak Model ZX

    Gold Team Rules

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    (In which this morphs more and more into a straight-up Pokemon blog maybe I should find a new hobby for some variety)
     
    I’ve still been playing VC Gold, though it’s been sort of an on-and-off thing. There have been a few places where I’ve realized I needed to buckle down and grind, and that’s…not the most fun you can have with a Pokémon game, so it was rarely a speedy event. But I managed to get past the League on my first attempt, and getting through Kanto after that was rather brief. Then came Mt Silver, which actually has high enough levels that I can get decent EXP, so grinding hasn’t been too bad. I also realized you can rematch Silver on Mondays and Wednesdays, and discovered the Trainer House in Viridian City, so those have helped me train. Other than that I’ve been slowly expanding my Unown collection—I’ve decided I want to get another complete set here, since it’s their original appearance…sorta. The best way I’ve found is using the Level Ball made from Red Apricorns, so I’ve been trying to check in every day to bring one of those to Kurt if nothing else.
     
    Of course, there was still the ultimate goal of any Johto game: fighting Red. His levels aren’t quite as bad here as they are in HGSS, but still…73-81 is terrifying, especially when the second strongest trainer, Blue, doesn’t even hit level 60. I wasn’t sure how much I would need to grind, but after a while I decided that when my team reached level 60 across the board, I’d give it a shot.
     
    Turns out, that did it. It was nerve-wracking, but my team was able to pull off a victory against Red himself. Wow. And everyone got to be in the battle for at least a little, too, which I was concerned about, and I rather like that it was my starter that took out his starter (even tanking a crit Thunder in the process). So, a round of applause for my team!
     
    -Blaze V, the Typhlosion
    -Will, the Crobat
    -Mettaur, the Forretress
    -Lurerre, the Lanturn
    -Tau, the Xatu
    -Gori, the Primeape
     
    I still have a few more Unown to catch, and even once I’ve done that and Pokémon Transporter gets updated to send these Pokémon to Gen VII…I might hold off a bit. Being back in Gold has been wonderful, and now that I’ve proven just how awesome my partners are, I kind of want to enjoy where we stand a while longer.
  21. 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!
  22. Pahrak Model ZX
    Holy wow. So we’ve got two new trailers for USUM, one that’s really dramatic and awesome (and in Japanese), and
    that’s highly informative (in English). 
    Ha…where do I start?
     
    -It looks like Necrozma’s goal is to steal light from the world. There’s a new area you can travel to where apparently it did just that, and it seems to be the gist of what’s going on in the dramatic trailer. Would also explain why it wants to absorb Solgaleo and Lunala.
    -So, where is this lightless world, you ask? In Ultra Space. We get footage of the player riding Solgaleo and Lunala through a dimensional tunnel and into portals, ending up in places like the lightless city (which really gives me The World That Never Was vibes, I dig it) and a variety of habitats where the Ultra Beasts appear. I’m 90% sure this means that the post-game for USUM is all about charting Ultra Space and catching the Ultra Beasts there rather than them appearing across Alola one at a time. Which is awesome.
    -The city is inhabited by a group calling themselves the Ultra Recon Squad. Two different members appear in each version, and since they don’t seem to do much to stop you from entering their city, I’m led to believe we’re on good terms with them, but we do have to fight them at some point it looks like. Who knows.
    -So, the new Ultra Beasts! Burst is Fire Ghost and has a new move called Mind Blown, where it chucks its head at the enemy and it explodes, dealing some recoil. Okay. Assembly is Rock/Steel. There’s also a brand new Ultra Beast known as Adhesive, seen in possession of the Ultra Recon Squad. The design looks a bit different from the others, but I rather like it. It’s a Poison type.
     
    This all looks very promising. I mean, I was already pretty excited for these, and now we’re getting into some real good stuff. I better get a head start on anything I want to get accomplish this year because once I get these games I might not resurface for a while…
  24. Pahrak Model ZX

    One Last Prelude

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    I got an itch to start up a new game, and after discarding a bunch of half-ideas, I realized this could actually be a great chance to get more people interested in Olkir.
     
    Hence, Olkir Tournament! Not a very creative name, I know. You’ll use the mechanics detailed in the topic to create your own weapon and ability, and then I’ll start randomly matching you up with other players to fight. You have to PM me a strategy each round, similar to the old Technic Coliseum, and see if you can outwit your opponent. Whoever accumulates a certain number of wins is named the champion!
     
    Come play if you want! These are the same mechanics I’m planning to use in the eventual epic, subject some minor alterations of course, so this would be a great chance to see what you’ll be in for if you were considering guest starring. Sort of an open beta for guest stars, if you will. I plan to open the actual submissions for the epic around the time this game finishes, so please look forward to that!
  25. Pahrak Model ZX

    Last Trial

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    To further expand upon the world of Olkir, I’ve posted The Twins of Justice in short stories!
     
    It’s about the same length as the last one, and centers around an idea that…might not make an appearance in the final story, but I think it’s a neat concept with potential so I wanted to do at least one small thing with it. It also shows two elemental weapons in action: the Sun Gun I’ve mentioned a few times before, and a Jungle weapon named the Viridian Bow, which is actually something that’s been sitting in the back of my mind for years now. (The one here doesn’t do everything I had planned, though, so expect to see this again.) There’s also brief mention of the special abilities the people of Olkir can develop, but more detailed information on that is going to have to wait.
     
    You know, I think I’m just about ready to ask for guest stars. If you’re interested, keep an eye out!
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