Monte_Kristo's recent activity
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Comment on Former Square Enix exec on why Final Fantasy sales don’t meet expectations and chances of recouping insane AAA budgets in ~games
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Comment on Former Square Enix exec on why Final Fantasy sales don’t meet expectations and chances of recouping insane AAA budgets in ~games
Monte_Kristo (edited )Link ParentBoth FF7 Remake and FF16 were nominated for best narrative at the Game Awards. Games also have a very broad spectrum of ways to incorporate story. Both Journey and Baldur's Gate 3 have celebrated...Both FF7 Remake and FF16 were nominated for best narrative at the Game Awards. Games also have a very broad spectrum of ways to incorporate story. Both Journey and Baldur's Gate 3 have celebrated stories that are on opposite ends of the spectrum in both length and word count. Storytelling is really not the root cause here.
I think there is merit to the idea that there is very little reason for someone to get invested in Final Fantasy. I'm not someone invested in the franchise, I've only played FF7R. The only thing I feel like I can expect to get out of any FF game is that I'll be getting some sort of fantasy adventure story. The old ones are turned based, the new ones are not. The aesthetics change pretty wildly between releases as well. A new FF game does not promise more of that good shit that you are already in to, because they come with a new story and possibly new gameplay. You're left with the assumption that you'll get a B+ experience that may come with chocobos.
I'd say they are games that probably do work fine through word of mouth, but the past couple are running through the obstacle of being locked to the PS5. For me that means I get to play the new ones after they are like a year old, but still full price. I think the comment in the Twitter thread about how single player experiences are fighting with with live service games rings true. I'm not married to online multiplayer, but any 60+ hour rpg is still gonna have to fight both my friends and my backlog to get my attention.
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Comment on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Story trailer in ~games
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI'm expecting him to be like a 2/3's of the plot type character, like a Pokémon box art legendary. Core plot revolves around him, but isn't the end game content.I'm expecting him to be like a 2/3's of the plot type character, like a Pokémon box art legendary. Core plot revolves around him, but isn't the end game content.
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Comment on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Story trailer in ~games
Monte_Kristo Link ParentBasically it seems like Messmer , the new big bad, was a consort of Marika but was betrayed and then imprisoned in some way before all of the events that caused the plot of the game. He led a...Basically it seems like Messmer , the new big bad, was a consort of Marika but was betrayed and then imprisoned in some way before all of the events that caused the plot of the game. He led a genocide to overthrow the old regime and led to the forming of the golden order. He also draws his power from some other entity than the Erdtree. Miquella has abandoned his godhood to either stop or help Messmer, but we don't know which yet. The NPCs shown at the end are Miquella's disciples who are looking for him.
In layman's terms, the final boss's ex-husband just got out of jail and he's coming for your ass.
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Comment on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Story trailer in ~games
Monte_Kristo LinkTrailer Transcript Miquella the Kind spoke of the beginning. The seduction. And the betrayal. An affair from which Gold arose. And so too was Shadow born. What followed was a war unseen. One that...Trailer Transcript
Miquella the Kind spoke of the beginning. The seduction. And the betrayal. An affair from which Gold arose. And so too was Shadow born. What followed was a war unseen. One that could never be put to song. A purge without Grace or honour. The tyranny of Messmer's flame. And so Kindly Miquella would abandon everything. His golden flesh, his blinding strength. Even his fate. But we are not deterred. We choose to follow. Will you walk with us?
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Story trailer
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Monte_Kristo LinkI just finished reading Fujiyama-san wa Shishunki by Ojiro Makoto. This was my second work by this author, the first being Neko no Otera no Chion-san, and I think I enjoy it more. It's a very...I just finished reading Fujiyama-san wa Shishunki by Ojiro Makoto. This was my second work by this author, the first being Neko no Otera no Chion-san, and I think I enjoy it more. It's a very sweet teenage romance series. I think much of the strength of the series comes from excellent "character acting". A lot of the romance doesn't come from words, but from subtle body language. By the first two chapters the two main characters have started dating, but the rest of the series explores what that concept actually means to them. What they are comfortable with both doing and saying. If you want to get really excited about two kids holding hands, this is certainly a story for you.
I've now also started reading Insomniacs After School by the same author. This one actually has an anime, which I did not know about. It seems like I'm reading her works in the opposite direction of popularity. Only a couple of chapters in, but I'm into it.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI'm firmly on team avoiding ads, but I do think that either extreme is actually a superior option to the middle ground. Basically people don't want to watch ads because they gain nothing out of...I'm firmly on team avoiding ads, but I do think that either extreme is actually a superior option to the middle ground.
Basically people don't want to watch ads because they gain nothing out of them. It's wasted time that you are forced to suffer through. But I feel like a really invasive targeting of ads probably loops back around into being helpful. If every ad you saw was good (either very informative or entertaining), was something you wanted to hear about, and either saved you money or helped directly fund something you enjoyed, it would be much better than having to watch commercials. I don't think the state of ads is really there to support that ideal system, nor do I think companies should be able to be that intrusive of your privacy, but I am willing to accept the idea that some ads may be helpful sometimes.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Monte_Kristo (edited )LinkI played Hades 2 after telling myself that I wasn't going to play Hades 2 until it left early access. I adore it. There is so many small things that felt like upgrades to the first one. I'm...I played Hades 2 after telling myself that I wasn't going to play Hades 2 until it left early access. I adore it. There is so many small things that felt like upgrades to the first one. I'm positive it will stand up to the first one once we all get the full experience.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Monte_Kristo Link ParentNaruto for sure. It wasn't the first anime I watched, but it was the first time I went out of my way to watch foreign language media, and it was also one of the things that got me into reading manga.Naruto for sure. It wasn't the first anime I watched, but it was the first time I went out of my way to watch foreign language media, and it was also one of the things that got me into reading manga.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Monte_Kristo LinkI just finished rereading Keyman - The Hand of Judgement. It was just as fun as I remember it being. It's a noir detective story about finding out who murdered the city's local superhero. The plot...I just finished rereading Keyman - The Hand of Judgement. It was just as fun as I remember it being. It's a noir detective story about finding out who murdered the city's local superhero. The plot pretty quickly goes off the rails, and the whole thing really just manages to stick together by rule of cool. It's not a good murder mystery, but it is a fun action series where the main character is a T-Rex wearing a trench coat.
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Comment on The Wednesday Pull - May 8, 2024 in ~comics
Monte_Kristo Link ParentPersonally I would be fine with just combining a weekly comic thread with the already existing weekly manga thread. They are literally the same thing, though I understand how the methods for...Personally I would be fine with just combining a weekly comic thread with the already existing weekly manga thread. They are literally the same thing, though I understand how the methods for consuming them usually leads to there being two separate subcultures discussing them.
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Comment on Kendrick Lamar - Meet the Grahams (2024) in ~music
Monte_Kristo LinkA third Kendrick track has entered the ring this week. Not Like USA third Kendrick track has entered the ring this week. Not Like US
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Comment on I made a mistake, I started using Reddit again in ~talk
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI agree with this. I still use reddit for specific subs because there is not a legitimate alternative forum on other sites (usually Tildes does not have a deep enough userbase for niche topics),...I agree with this. I still use reddit for specific subs because there is not a legitimate alternative forum on other sites (usually Tildes does not have a deep enough userbase for niche topics), and there is quite a few small subs that I frequent that have very good mods. I'm sympathetic to having a bad experience with bad mods, but this is more like getting into a car accident. It shouldn't happen, but it does because someone was less than ideal in that place and time.
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Comment on EVO Japan fighting game news roundup in ~games
Monte_Kristo (edited )Link ParentI'm not really a Tekken head. I prefer staying on the 2D plane so I don't have the best answers to this but I'll chip in what I've heard and experienced. The online matchmaking seems to have taken...I'm not really a Tekken head. I prefer staying on the 2D plane so I don't have the best answers to this but I'll chip in what I've heard and experienced.
The online matchmaking seems to have taken a hit with one of the most recent patches. I've seen people posting about how they've queued up for rank to only get matched up against the same player over and over again even in busy hours. This was not my experience at launch, so this may be a problem that gets a quick fix. The netcode itself seemed fine, I never had problems with any of my matches. The lobby system itself was a big pain point for me, as navigating the UI was unintuitive and the spectating crashed frequently. Attempting to hop on and play your buddies was a sometimes frustrating experience, but once you finally got in a match it was good.
As for gameplay, it seems fine. It's more offensively oriented compared to older titles because of the HEAT system, but Tekken was already a mashy game. Getting gimmicked by your opponent pulling out obscure shit from their hundred move movelist is just part of the game for any Tekken title. Tekken being fun to mash in has actually seemed to help it gain new fans rather than hurt it over the years.
IMO I don't know if it is worth full price, but I feel like the single player experience is pretty solid, and you'll probably have fun if you've got a friend or two to mash with. It's probably worth it in the 20-30 dollar range
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Comment on EVO Japan fighting game news roundup in ~games
Monte_Kristo LinkI would be remiss to use the tournament's name and not also talk about the event itself. Brackets here and VODs here Winners Street Fighter 6 was won by MenaRD with Blanka/Luke Tekken 8 was won by...I would be remiss to use the tournament's name and not also talk about the event itself. Brackets here and VODs here
Winners
Street Fighter 6 was won by MenaRD with Blanka/Luke
Tekken 8 was won by Chikurin with Lili
Guilty Gear Strive was won by TempestNYC with Leo Whitefang
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising was won by Rookies with Seox
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike was won by Sho using Yun (against an army of other Yun players)
The King of Fighters XV was won by E T using Geese, Isla, Heidern, and Clark
Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes was won by Kyo using GordeauI'm not fully caught up with all of the footage because of my work schedule and time zone differences. I think I found the KoF and Grandblue finals to be the most entertaining. They seemed to find the right balance between community storylines and competitive sets.
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EVO Japan fighting game news roundup
This past weekend was EVO Japan, one of the largest fighting game tournaments in the world. On top of all of the high level competitive play, there was a slew of new information for both upcoming...
This past weekend was EVO Japan, one of the largest fighting game tournaments in the world. On top of all of the high level competitive play, there was a slew of new information for both upcoming and existing games. I figured it would be easier to compile this all to one place instead clogging up the whole ~games group.
Game DLC
Street Fighter 6 - Akuma Gameplay Trailer
Tekken 8 - SEASON 1 Trailer
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- Season Pass 3 Playable Character #4 [Slayer] Trailer
Idol Showdown Next Fes: Overview TrailerGranblue didn't have a gameplay trailer, but they did release some info about their upcoming dlc character Beatrix. News article and screenshots here.
New Game Info
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolve | Marco Rodrigues
2XKO At EVO Japan 2024
Iron Saga VS - Getter Robot PV
Hunter X Hunter Nen Impact PV1There is probably more, but this is the main chunk of into.
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Comment on Hades II - Technical test sign ups now available in ~games
Monte_Kristo LinkI'm pretty pumped for this, while also having zero intentions of participating in this. I'm just glad a we are making progress towards a full release.I'm pretty pumped for this, while also having zero intentions of participating in this. I'm just glad a we are making progress towards a full release.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Monte_Kristo LinkI just recently beat Unicorn Overlord. I loved it, and even started up a second playthrough. The way you can program squads is incredibly satisfying to me. I think my only complaint is that it...I just recently beat Unicorn Overlord. I loved it, and even started up a second playthrough. The way you can program squads is incredibly satisfying to me. I think my only complaint is that it isn't harder. I think the default difficulties are fine, but the advanced difficulties could be really ramped up.
I also just started up Dragon's Dogma 2. I'm not far into it, maybe about 8 hours or so. I have two friends who both really swore by the first one, so I own Dark Arisen, but it did not hold my attention at all. 2 absolutely has me more invested. So far my only complaint is that the pawns are just kinda janky. The way they talk, their pathfinding, and the way they somehow always end up in front of talking npc's are all whack. They seem fine in combat though, and the overall combat has been fun, so I think I'm willing to overlook those flaws.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Monte_Kristo Link ParentI played Radiant Historia a long time ago, and I remember going from enjoying the combat to loving it once you get the character Aht in your party. I never played the remaster because I didn't...I played Radiant Historia a long time ago, and I remember going from enjoying the combat to loving it once you get the character Aht in your party.
I never played the remaster because I didn't like the changes to the fairly distinct art style of the original, so I'm also bummed to hear that the voice acting is bad too.
As a new player, I really enjoyed FF7 Remake. I was very easily charmed by the cast, and I found the combat system very fun. The thing they are going for, where it is mostly the same, but is still very clearly its own thing, makes it interesting for me. I can still fully understand people being mad that it's getting broken up into a trilogy though. I don't I'll ever get over The Hobbit being made into three movies, so I feel like I have some empathy for people being miffed that their favorite game ever got "remade" into something dramatically different. I also feel like it may just be in vogue to be anti Square Enix right now. They have pretty clearly fumbled the bag on multiple fronts for the past few years. It's very easy to paint them as incompetent and out of touch, in a similar vein to the way people treated mid 2010's Nintendo and Capcom.