Well_known_bear's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
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Comment on What's something that's more challenging for you than it is for others? in ~talk
Well_known_bear Link ParentI wonder if this is because the reflex is to first visualise a clock. In ye olden days, these directions were also known as widdershins and deosil. Maybe they'd be as intuitive as right and left...I wonder if this is because the reflex is to first visualise a clock.
In ye olden days, these directions were also known as widdershins and deosil. Maybe they'd be as intuitive as right and left if we still used those words!
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Comment on Hitoner | Chapter 11 in ~anime
Well_known_bear Link ParentYou can do spoiler tags on Tildes. Check out 'expandable sections' here.You can do spoiler tags on Tildes. Check out 'expandable sections' here.
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Comment on What is your Mandela effect moment? in ~movies
Well_known_bear Link ParentPossibly thinking of the death of his investing partner and Berkshire vice-chairman Charlie Munger who died in 2023.Possibly thinking of the death of his investing partner and Berkshire vice-chairman Charlie Munger who died in 2023.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Well_known_bear (edited )LinkFields of Mistria Stardew Valley-like (Harvest Moon-like?) farming sim. Jumped in following the 1.0 launch last week and have found myself coming back more than I expected. I guess we're firmly in...Stardew Valley-like (Harvest Moon-like?) farming sim. Jumped in following the 1.0 launch last week and have found myself coming back more than I expected.
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I guess we're firmly in the 80s anime aesthetic revival at this point. Can't complain!
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The gameplay hews pretty close to its inspirations. All the usual tools are here and function the same way, as are the usual farming, fishing, crafting, mining and socialisation systems. However, there are also a whole raft of QOL additions like being able to craft from any chest, being able to use shops when the shopkeeper is away and no deadlines for any of the quests, so it feels noticeably more chill than Stardew Valley.
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Money has been easy to come by so far, and most of the upgrades and progression come from crafting and completing quests anyway, so it doesn't feel like there's much incentive to be a hard nosed efficiency-maxing capitalist.
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The characters are fine and each has a ton of dialogue and quests, but I'm not seeing much in the way of character development or depth, and the dark edge to the writing that Stardew Valley sometimes had is very much absent. I've heard people say it's closer in tone to Animal Crossing, which pretty much hits the mark.
Will likely play this one on and off between narrative games.
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Comment on Has anyone been watching 'False Memory'? How is it so far? in ~anime
Well_known_bear LinkI wasn't aware of this series, but the animation looks quite good! I'm convinced that on a technical level, the Chinese studios are already at a point where they are competitive with Japanese...I wasn't aware of this series, but the animation looks quite good!
I'm convinced that on a technical level, the Chinese studios are already at a point where they are competitive with Japanese studios. The Japanese studios still have an edge in that they are entrenched with an audience that grew up watching shows with ingrained Japanese sensibilities / culture, but I can see younger audiences today forming an equally strong attachment to Chinese and Korean content.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Well_known_bear LinkPicked up S2 of Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi. Very upbeat for a show about a boy lord whose entire family is slaughtered by a usurper's uprising. Lovely animation from Cloverworks. No gradations or post...Picked up S2 of Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi. Very upbeat for a show about a boy lord whose entire family is slaughtered by a usurper's uprising.
Lovely animation from Cloverworks. No gradations or post processing in sight. It often feels like watching impossibly clean cel animation.
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Comment on What are your favourite anime and/or manga? in ~anime
Well_known_bear Link ParentOther than Girls Last Tour, there is also Usuzumi no Hate for all your 'wandering around post-apocalypse megastructures' needs. Nothing is quite like BLAME! though.Other than Girls Last Tour, there is also Usuzumi no Hate for all your 'wandering around post-apocalypse megastructures' needs.
Nothing is quite like BLAME! though.
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Comment on What are your favourite anime and/or manga? in ~anime
Well_known_bear Link ParentSome recommendations: Shounen no Abyss (the author's earlier work Himegoto is also interesting but there are a lot of sex scenes) Aono-kun ni sawaritai kara shinitai Ressentiment Saishuuheiki...Some recommendations:
- Shounen no Abyss (the author's earlier work Himegoto is also interesting but there are a lot of sex scenes)
- Aono-kun ni sawaritai kara shinitai
- Ressentiment
- Saishuuheiki Kanojo
- Natsume Arata no kekkon
I thought the initial school arc of Aku no Hana was excellent but it really fell off a cliff after that.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Well_known_bear LinkDragon Quest III Remake Finished I-II Remake and moved on to this one. You can really tell that they made this one first because although it's in the same engine, it feels rougher in a lot of...Dragon Quest III Remake
Finished I-II Remake and moved on to this one. You can really tell that they made this one first because although it's in the same engine, it feels rougher in a lot of ways:
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Performance is noticeably worse. There's no shader compilation at startup and the UE traversal stutter happens all over the place.
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There's very little added story or characterisation. All of your party members are generated characters, so there's also no party chat. You're given the goal of following your missing father's footsteps and defeating the demon lord, but the demon lord and his followers don't actually appear in the early game at all, so there's no feeling of any narrative being developed as you progress. You're just visiting places and solving their local problems as you go.
Despite a slow start, it's pretty enjoyable once the world opens up and I'll stick with it.
Staffer Retro
Sequel to the mystery / puzzle game Staffer Case. I've completed 2 of the 5 cases so far.
It's a nice follow up.
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This entry is set in idyllic Sicily instead of the oppressive authoritarian London of the first game. The protagonist is no longer a cop but a kid caught up in unfortunate circumstances. Instead of every case being a gruesome whodunnit, they just start off as odd mysteries. It's a noticeably lighter tone in general, although I can see a build up to something bigger.
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Gameplay-wise, it's pretty similar to the first game. The menu is cleaned up a little in that you now get clear choices to deduce, speak and move, but the same problems are still here. Sometimes you'll know the answer but the game will only accept one specific combination of clues where another seems to get at the same point. Other times, the translation feels weirdly stiff or is outright different from the Japanese voiced line. A lot of the text is also tiny and calls for the use of the magnifying lens tool.
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Based on the steam page, I had thought that the story branched depending on how you solve the cases, but it's the same system as in the first game. The main story is linear, but each case has an easier but wrong solution and a 'dark side' solution with the correct (but inevitably darker) reasoning. This is a lot better signposted than in the first game and it's much more obvious where they branch.
This game also put me onto aglio e olio pasta which I can confirm is both easy to make and delicious.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Well_known_bear (edited )Link ParentI'm a fellow Kagurabachi enjoyer. This will likely be Weekly Jump's next poster series given most of their popular serials (barring One Piece and the frequently truant HxH) seem to have ended. The...I'm a fellow Kagurabachi enjoyer.
This will likely be Weekly Jump's next poster series given most of their popular serials (barring One Piece and the frequently truant HxH) seem to have ended.
The anime trailer looks fantastic and captures the flashy action (the core strength of the series in my view) really well.
I'd been meaning to post about Hunter X Hunter vol 39. I've never come so close to dropping this series - it's become a parody of itself with all the giant walls of text and people monologuing in cabins - but it really picks up in the second half by going back to what makes this series good - rules, systems and games. Hope this keeps up!
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Comment on Games at the press of a button: The Rip-O-Bot (1989) in ~games
Well_known_bear LinkGreat article. Miyamoto is the only game creator I can think of who approaches how prolific Tezuka was.Great article.
Miyamoto is the only game creator I can think of who approaches how prolific Tezuka was.
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Comment on What are your favourite anime and/or manga? in ~anime
Well_known_bear LinkProbably forgetting a few, but ones that come to mind: Anime Mawaru Penguindrum Shirobako / Girlish Number / Eizouken ni te wo dasu na! (the 'anime production trilogy') Yuru Camp / MONO: Weekend...Probably forgetting a few, but ones that come to mind:
Anime
- Mawaru Penguindrum
- Shirobako / Girlish Number / Eizouken ni te wo dasu na! (the 'anime production trilogy')
- Yuru Camp / MONO: Weekend animation
- Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei
- Teekyuu
- Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san
- Psycho-Pass
- Joshiraku
- Ano hi mita Hana no namae wo bokutachi wa mada shiranai
- Working!
- Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji
- Bokura no
- Code Geass
- Mushishi
- Hachimitsu to Clover
- Aria
- FLCL
- Read or Die (OAV)
- RahXephon
- Fruits Basket (the first adaptation)
- Jungle wa itsumo hare nochi guu
- Azumanga Daiou
- Love Hina (TV)
- Tenkuu no Escaflowne
- Slayers (S1-2)
Manga
- Sora ga haiiro dakara
- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
- Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei
- Kuutei Dragons
- Soredemo Machi wa mawatteiru
- Dungeon Meshi
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Well_known_bear LinkI feel like the chaps at Kyoto Animation responsible for this cut this week had something on their minds.I feel like the chaps at Kyoto Animation responsible for this cut this week had something on their minds.
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Comment on From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans in ~society
Well_known_bear LinkThis is a minor point, but I take issue with the usage of 'millionaire' in the title when the actual question in the survey is "Have a household income over $1 million" (much rarer). Would have...This is a minor point, but I take issue with the usage of 'millionaire' in the title when the actual question in the survey is "Have a household income over $1 million" (much rarer).
Would have been interested to know the results specifically for net worth of $1m.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Well_known_bear LinkBeen dabbling in a couple of Super Famicom games. The great thing about the NES and SNES is that their libraries are so vast that every year, I come across stuff that I've just plain never heard...Been dabbling in a couple of Super Famicom games. The great thing about the NES and SNES is that their libraries are so vast that every year, I come across stuff that I've just plain never heard of before.
1996 JRPG from golden age Square. I came across a guy on a Japanese forum who really rated this and being someone who generally loves old Square JRPGs, I had to check it out.
Man, it's not for me. There's some good stuff here like a pretty original setting involving Indian mythology and the whole story taking place in the days leading up to the end of the world as part of a cycle of destruction and rebirth, but the moment to moment gameplay isn't really enjoyable from a modern day perspective.
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The encounter rate is high, fights play out slowly and there's no twist to the standard turn based combat to give it some sauce.
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There are some large maps, but there's rarely anything interesting to find. The castle at the very start of the game is emblematic of this - it's huge but empty other than a few places blocked off by NPCs. It's the same with the island you start out on - you can walk to other villages, but there's no real reason to. You can't afford any better gear there and there are no side quests.
For a game that came out 2 years after FF6, it's not nearly as engaging.
Marvellous: mou hitotsu no Takarajima
Despite this being:
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a first party Nintendo title;
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inspired by Zelda: A Link to the Past; and
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directed by Aonuma Eiji who went on to lead the Zelda team,
I'd never heard of this game until last week. LTTP is easily my favourite Zelda, so I had high expectations going in.
It's... okay. Fun to try for the novelty, but I can understand why it didn't get pushed to a worldwide release.
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The game focuses on a group of 3 (presumably American) kids camping on an island that turns out to have buried pirate treasure. Each of the kids can be controlled separately and has their own items that they can use. It's kind of like if you had 3 Links but they each only had 1/3rd of his tools.
You can move around as a party or leave the others behind and go solo, which is sometimes necessary to position the kids to solve puzzles. This mechanic is quite neat and reminded me of The Lost Vikings, although it is a bit unpolished in that sometimes the kids you aren't controlling will just decide to stop following you and you have to whistle to get their attention.
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From what I've seen so far, there's no combat in this game, but the puzzles can be fairly involved and some require pen and paper notetaking. Many involve investigating things more closely by going into an adventure game style first person view where you can click on things directly (although there's no mouse, so moving the cursor feels kind of bad), but there are also a fair number of action and environment-based puzzles once you start unlocking more of the items and skills.
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Visually, it looks very nice. The Zelda inspiration is definitely visible in the big colourful sprite work and some of the assets like the stakes may well have been lifted directly from it. The tone is also very lighthearted and makes me wonder if the devs took inspiration from stuff like The Goonies.
For anyone who wants to check it out in English, there's also a fan translation available.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Well_known_bear Link ParentGreat recommendations. I hadn't heard of any of these but feel like we probably have similar tastes in Japanese indie games. It's wonderful that devs in Japan have finally come to the party on...Great recommendations. I hadn't heard of any of these but feel like we probably have similar tastes in Japanese indie games.
It's wonderful that devs in Japan have finally come to the party on Steam in the last decade. Once upon a time, the only way to access games like this would have been to show up at doujin events and buy them on home burned CDs.
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Comment on Mobile Suit Gundam RG XARX-ZERO | Teaser PV in ~anime
Well_known_bear Link ParentThey have. There's been a mix of UC and UC-like traditional Gundam (some of which has been really good!) and more G Gundam-like experimental series. Some of the ones I've enjoyed: Gundam Build...They have. There's been a mix of UC and UC-like traditional Gundam (some of which has been really good!) and more G Gundam-like experimental series.
Some of the ones I've enjoyed:
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Gundam Build Fighters / Divers - About kids in the 'real world' who build Gundam models and use them to fight in VR competitively. Tons of references to the various different series.
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Gundam Thunderbolt - Gritty alternative history UC series with mech battles over jazz.
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Gundam: The Origin - Prequel to the original UC series about Char. Does a great job of filling in the stuff which you kind of have to infer when watching the original series.
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Iron-blood Orphans - Gritty drama about a band of Martian gangsters, done by Okada Mari and Nagai Tatsuyuki who made Ano Hana.
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Witch from Mercury - Utena in space with mobile suits.
I'm not sold on this specific trailer, but I don't want to give the impression that Gundam in the last couple of decades hasn't been worth watching. There's a ton of great stuff!
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Comment on Mobile Suit Gundam RG XARX-ZERO | Teaser PV in ~anime
Well_known_bear Link ParentYeah, that's it. Maybe it'll make more sense once it airs.Yeah, that's it. Maybe it'll make more sense once it airs.
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Comment on Ebenezer | Official trailer in ~movies
Well_known_bear LinkAre people secretly rooting for Scrooge? I would have thought that went against the point of the novel, but then there's Duck Tales, this movie, the Ebenezer Scrooge Metroidvania...Are people secretly rooting for Scrooge? I would have thought that went against the point of the novel, but then there's Duck Tales, this movie, the Ebenezer Scrooge Metroidvania...
Lately, I've been craving pulpy horror manga with old school art and episodic structure.
I'm talking:
Let me know if you've got any recommendations!