When new content was announced for Pokémon Sword and Shield on January 10th in Pokémon Direct fans were delighted at the new content to come. When it comes to new content and Pokémon, Nintendo tends to release a whole new game slightly different from the originals. This time Nintendo will expand the already existing Sword and Shield with online content via expansion passes.
The content has two different parts with different release dates. The expansion pass is available for both Sword and Shield with slight differences. The expansion pass pre-order cost is $30 and only works for the game it was bought on. If fans want to get the content for both versions the cost doubles to $60.
Without knowing the length of additional content, it is difficult to tell if the original cost is fair for one game and worthy of buying it a second time. If the differences between versions are slight, would getting the second pass be worth the price?
As both parts of the new content come out at different dates, time will tell if the content will appeal to fans enough to purchase the expansion. It may be a good idea to buy one expansion on the preferred version and find out if it is worthy of $60 total.
It never really hit me on the impact of different areas of entertainment had until December 21st, 2015. A video called ‘Sans Battle-Stronger Than You (Undertale Animation Parody) was uploaded by alfa995 onto Youtube. Alfa995 took inspiration from other youtubers content and put them together to make and animate a video.
The video and all the components were inspired a song from Steven Universe called ‘Stronger Than You’ and combined with a game called Undertale that had just been released a few months earlier. From that video stemmed more and more inspired songs and art. Responses from the characters involved in the song and into characters from different universes.
Made by Alfa996-Click picture for video
My favorite thing about the creativity that comes from people’ favorite tv show or game are the stories that come from them. Fanfiction is writing that is based on another type of fiction that is written by the fans. Being able to read other people’s stories and knowing that they are fans like you makes you realize you can write one as well if you want.
The art and animations can be amazing. Going back to Undertale again there is an animated story called Glitchtale on youtube written and animated by Camila Cuevas. The first episode has over 13 million views as of Feb. 2020. While the animation isn’t all that impressive, Camila’s animating gets better with every episode. Her writing also takes off in season 2 of Glitchtale with heartbreaking moments and clever use of game mechanics and programs.
Made by Camila Cuevas– Click picture for Ep 1 of Se 1 of Glitchtale
Take a look on Tumblr or DeviantArt for pictures or comics of series you like, look on Archives of Our Own for fanfiction or youtube for animations or music. If you look enough, you might find a place to explore your own creativity. Have fun with with.
With the release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses I was somewhat disappointed about the lack of same sex relationships available for the main character. The Female Byleth (main character) has five female characters to choose from; Edelgard, Dorothea, Mercedes, Rhea and Sothis. The Male Byleth has Linhardt, Alois, Gilbert, Jertiza and the newly added Yuri. Only five of them are students, and three of them are girls.
My biggest complain about the list above is that two of the characters are MARRIED and not actually a romantic attachment. Alois talks about his wife from time to time and Gilbert is not only married but Annette, one of the Blue Lions, is his daughter. These would have been better off being a A+ rank as an option rather than using S-Rank.
Sothis is not only a goddess but she’s a part of Byleth. And she’s only around for the first part of the game, while it is a bit sad to see her go, by the time you choose who you want to S-Rank the option is just a pleasant surprise. While she counts in the list I have to wonder if the writers decided to use her to cheat the number of same-sex relationships for the game.
Linhardt, Alois and Gilbert (left to right)
Here’s another issue I take with this. Both of the romantic males that are available for Male Byleth have a few feminine traits. They both have longer hair, thin. Linhardt looks almost dainty and gets woozy at the sight of blood, kinda like the stereotypical female long ago. And Yuri is a gender neutral name, who has purple hair and wears eyeliner. The character designers kept the male players in mind rather the female players.
What’s also annoying is that there is a male character that would make a good option for male Byleth. The Golden Deer Leader, Claude Von Riegan. He’s a flirt, comes to rely on Byleth forming trusting relationship, and in a cutscene he invites Byleth to dance no matter the gender. If the Black Eagle Leader, Edelgard is available as a same-sex marriage than it would be nice to have a male leader be bisexual as well.
S-Rank with Jeritza Portrait with MByleth
As earlier stated, the Archbishop, Rhea, is available as a romantic option for FByleth. But considering the circumstances that surrounds her relationship with Byleth, I almost find it just plain weird and bizarre. In the side story Cindered Shadows, Byleth’s mother Sitri, saw the Archbishop as her mother. Learning what you do about Rhea and Byleth in Verdant Wind, is far more complicated than just. She is a complicated character and I find it hard to decide if I like her or hate her.
But even with the questionable relationships and missed opportunities with characters it is a step in the right direction. In Fire Emblem Awakening there were only male and female relationships romantic and platonic. Fire Emblem Fates only had to two options for same sex relationships one for each sex of the avatar. So between Fates and Three Houses having such an increase in options is amazing. Now if only Nintendo can decrease the number of feminine males.
Trying new games outside of my preferred series is always fun. Never really knowing what I’m about to get into until I turn it on. I mean I like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Pokemon, but every now and then I want to try something new. So, I got a game I saw a trailer to once and bought it on a whim. That game was Astral Chain, developed by PlatinumGaming.
With the human species on the brink of extinction and the earth dead, the last of the human race lives in an artificial city called ‘The Ark’. Earth is being invaded by a dimension called the Astral Plain. Doorways to the Astral Plain are called ‘gates’ which leaves Red Matter in its wake that infects humans. While infected with red matter, humans start a process called red shifting. If left untreated humans will turn into Aberrations, which attacks everything insight.
But earth has one more enemy from the Astral Plane. Chimeras, monsters that are invisible to the human eye. Stronger than aberrations, they come through gates and spread red matter, and capture humans and bring them into the Astral Plane. However, Chimeras are kept as a secret from the public and it is up to the Neuron Task Force, a special police force, to combat the Chimeras and anything regarding the Astral Plane.
Legions are special weapons, Chimeras that have been captured and turned into weapons that work with humans. A chain connects the legion and its’ human partner that forms a mental link. However, only certain individuals are able to synchronize properly with legions.
The playable character is a twin, [EnterName] Howard, who is customizable. They, and their fraternal twin, Akira, are rookie police officers who join Neuron. Now I won’t spoil the whole story as it’s pretty interesting so let’s get into gameplay.
It’s a fast-paced fighting game that at first glance doesn’t have much in the way of strategy. But there’s more than just spamming the attack and dodge button. As you’re fighting you control the legion. You can move it to an enemy and it’ll attack it automatically. And the chain that connects the legion to the player is used for several things. From wrapping it around enemies to being pulled toward a flying enemy. There are also multiple types of legions that join you over time. From an offensive type to defensive, up close and personal or ranged, there is a legion for different scenarios in a fight.
The game is separated into different sections called Files (or missions). They are parts of the story that you can go back to after completing them. At the start of each file (with a few exceptions) you start at Neuron with a few things to do. But the player is stuck in the building until you leave for the mission. My biggest complaint is that you can’t explore the Ark as you please. The only time you leave Neuron is during a File and you only go to the places where the mission takes place.
So what do the legions do when it comes to exploration? Are they of any use? Well the answer to that is yes AND no. Legions can track down chimeras that need to be found. Scattered around the Ark is red matter and Legions are able to clean it up with no issue. The game keeps track of how much red matter is cleaned up in each file. The very first legion the player gets, the Sword Legion, is able to blue shift (or cure) red shifting individuals who are on their way becoming aberrations. Later on players get the Beast Legion, which is able to locate and dig up piles that can have items in them. It can also be ridden to get around faster. So legions are useful for exploring the areas but only if you go out of your way to explore.
The game has a TON of achievements to obtain and with every achievement there is a type of reward. If players don’t go after achievements the ability to customize legions colors’ or further customize the character is limited. If you are a fan of completing large games to 100% then this game will prove a challenge to do just that.
That’s about all I have to say about Astral Chain without giving away spoilers about the story. It’s different, but a good kind of different. A game with an interesting story and unique gimmick. If you want something different then give it a try.
Video games are fun to write about with the right topic. I could go on about Ōkami and about the story and the character development of Issun. Or Skyrim and my favorite mods to use.
Basically this blog is about whatever I can come up with about different games. From my thoughts of a game trailer, a review of a game or maybe I just want to talk about any sort of topic I can think of to express. Or perhaps someone suggests a topic.
I prefer Role-Playing Games, action games and those with deep stories. And if I geek out about detail it really stands out to me if even small details are paid attention to. For me, graphics aren’t everything, I do take them into account but it’s not the end of the world if the graphics aren’t amazing.
Well that’s about it, I hope my future posts are fun, interesting or informative. Who knows, maybe you’ll think of a game in a different light.
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