Social NintenZone Social 5 - Thanks, Everyone

[praline]

The only movie of the series I liked was Force Awakens.

 

[Schnee117]

What I found most interesting about Last Jedi is how professional film critics loved it, while Star Wars fans had mixed feelings on it. The critical score for Last Jedi on Rotten Tomatoes right now is 91/100, which is REALLY good for a movie. But if you look off to the right, at the general audience score, the general audience score is sitting at a very average, mediocre rating of 51/100. I'm still trying to figure out what all fans hated about it, but hopefully I figure it out soon. My tentative theory right now is that fans went in with expectations, but due to certain twists in the story and with how it didn't go according to what fans expected, fans gave it much worse ratings because it wasn't what they predicted nor necessarily wanted. IDK, I still thought the story telling and characterization was well-done and a step up from FA.

Part of it is not doing what people expected (despite the trailers having Luke say it's not going to go the way people think) and another part is the 4chan side of things using bots (how else do Star Wars reviews show up on Shape of Water's page?) because how dare a science fantasy film have leads who aren't straight white males and villains that are literally Neo-Nazis.

Of course there are people who simply just didn't enjoy it which is alright but sadly they're not as loud as the other crowds I mentioned.

 

[Chrono.]

Not really into Star Wars much or at all. I watched TFA just for kicks and TLJ because I liked the former (a lot) enough to watch the latter.

But I watched AotC some time last year and it made me realize why people hate the prequels so much.

My dad has the original trilogy on DVD so I'll watch those... Someday.

 

[Deleted member]

What are your predictions on One Punch Man Season 2? I need to watch the entirety of Season 1 to get more of an insight ( even though I know a lot about it ). You all have a good day in this thread.

 

[praline]

What are your predictions on One Punch Man Season 2? I need to watch the entirety of Season 1 to get more of an insight ( even though I know a lot about it ). You all have a good day in this thread.

Can I give predictions if I know what’s going to happen?

 

[Deleted member]

PSA: Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood are back on Netflix and both are complete(last time I saw it, FMAB had only up to Ep54).
You all know what to do with this information.

While PM is arguably more boring/slower

Let's post this quote without context literally anywhere else in this site and see how it goes :^)

 

[A Distant Demon]

Let's post this quote without context literally anywhere else in this site and see how it goes :^)

Yeah Paper Mario definitely had some pacing problems

PMTTYD on the other hand

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

So I did the new years banner and did the free pull and guess what


First pull, got takumi. Im so damn lucky now I dont understand

 

[mario123007]

Gods I hate Tora. I hope

Spoiler

I get a replacement for Vandham quickly.

Spoiler

You will after chapter 4

I hope I can rewatch cutscenes. My parents kept bothering me and I accidentally skipped one.

Save the game.
Close and reboot Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
At the title screen, click Theater mode.

They said that Mythra has a lot of exposed skin... but are they blind? She’s more covered up than Pyra. Pyra’s back, legs and half her *** are uncovered. Mythra has some cleavage and her legs uncovered.

Again... If you want to be a bit serious... I don't really care about whether Pyra or Mythra has a lot of exposed skin... They do, not gonna deny, but I am not so focused on their cloths when playing the game.

Except... When I do Blade combos in certain places the camera sometimes glitch up... Well seems to want to show me Pyra's ***... Yikes...

Also, Mythra and Pyra are fine, when compared to Newt....and Zenobia

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Someone explain this terrible thing Jake and Logan Paul did in the Suicide Forest.

 

[praline]

Spoiler

You will after chapter 4

Save the game.
Close and reboot Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
At the title screen, click Theater mode.

Again... If you want to be a bit serious... I don't really care about whether Pyra or Mythra has a lot of exposed skin... They do, not gonna deny, but I am not so focused on their cloths when playing the game.

Except... When I do Blade combos in certain places the camera sometimes glitch up... Well seems to want to show me Pyra's ***... Yikes...

Also, Mythra and Pyra are fine, when compared to Newt....and Zenobia

No they in the game said that about Mythra. The boys were sleeping in the in. From the first titan and Rex woke up to Mythra being inches from his face, and then went crazy throwing ****. She called Rexa pervert to which Gramps said she had a lot of exposed skin.

 

[Schnee117]

Someone explain this terrible thing Jake and Logan Paul did in the Suicide Forest.

Logan uploaded a vlog of him and his friends in Suicide Forest which included them finding and laughing at a man who had recently committed suicide.

Said video was monetized on top of the sheer lack of respect and human decency.

Now he's getting all the flak he deserves, even from PewDie "Just a heated gaming moment" Pie

 

[Hat N' Clogs]

Someone explain this terrible thing Jake and Logan Paul did in the Suicide Forest.

I'll give a summary, as best as I can. I'm still gathering info so bear with me:

Spoiler

Logan Paul made a video vlog in which he finds a dead body hanging in a Japanese forest. During different points of the video, Logan acts disrespectful and sorta lackadaisical in general, not to mention that he still uploaded the video even after finding said dead body. It's just unethical and wrong. He took down the vlog after much backlash.

It's unnerving, for real.

 

[Delzethin]

So I did the new years banner and did the free pull and guess what


First pull, got takumi. Im so damn lucky now I dont understand

Man, I'm gunning for Azura and my free pull was a Bartre.

And then I proceeded to not get a single green stone for four straight sets.

The game knows when you're color sniping, I swear.

Least I got a random Jaffar out of it...a -Atk Jaffar...

 

[Ivander]

Man, I'm gunning for Azura and my free pull was a Bartre.

And then I proceeded to not get a single green stone for four straight sets.

The game knows when you're color sniping, I swear.

This was me during the Nohrian Summer and Performing Arts. It was not giving me any Blues during the Summer Banner, than when the Performance Banner came, it proceeded to give me all the Blues it withheld from me and refused to give me Greens.

Halloween, Christmas and both Legendary Banners were nicer to me. So far for New Years, I haven't gotten either Azura or Camilla, but I have gotten Takumi. And a nice one too.

 

[praline]

Logan uploaded a vlog of him and his friends in Suicide Forest which included them finding and laughing at a man who had recently committed suicide.

Said video was monetized on top of the sheer lack of respect and human decency.

Now he's getting all the flak he deserves, even from PewDie "Just a heated gaming moment" Pie

Pewdiepie joining in is like the main villain of the last arc joining the heroes to fight a greater threat.

 

[Chrono.]

Got a good amount far into Chapter 8.

Spoiler

Of course Yggdrasil was just an elevator because how did I not see that one coming you can literally see it right there all along and I did not notice

Also decided to do some sidequests, mainly those Blade ones.

Spoiler

I got Poppi QTpi as well and while I'm not a huge fan of her design I do like how she's this game's callback to KOS-MOS/T-elos... Well one of them anyway.

I thought it was funny how her sidequest was all about growing up but despite already having an older form she's always in her Alpha mode./SPOILER]

 

[redfeatherraven]

Time to weeb out in my special way but in a way people here can join in

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Go Go.

I'm just Go Go.

Logan uploaded a vlog of him and his friends in Suicide Forest which included them finding and laughing at a man who had recently committed suicide.

Said video was monetized on top of the sheer lack of respect and human decency.

Now he's getting all the flak he deserves, even from PewDie "Just a heated gaming moment" Pie

Goddamn, dude.

**** those guys.

 

[Chrono.]

Disregard this.

 

[redfeatherraven]

Disregard this.

Aight.

Your disregard request has been regarded.

 

[mario123007]

Hopefully I can get 3 more Overdrive protocols. So I can transfer 2 of Rex’s blades and one of Nia’s axe blades to someone else.

You can buy expansion pass to get more.
Or try to farm more...

No they in the game said that about Mythra. The boys were sleeping in the in. From the first titan and Rex woke up to Mythra being inches from his face, and then went crazy throwing ****. She called Rexa pervert to which Gramps said she had a lot of exposed skin.

I obviously know that... I did mention this a very while ago lol. Arzuda just spoke the truth!
Oh by the way.. You should know that is a bit of a spoiler for some people.... Put it in a spoiler tag...
And still... The Blade that exposed the most skin, has to be Newt...

 

[Aurane]

Good news. I will have an opinion on two games soon. CoD WWII and BotW. It'll first be CoD, then BotW at the end of the month.

 

[Aetheri]

So, I finally started playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2...Steamworld Dig is on hold for now, I can get back to it at any time regardless so there's no rush...

Impressions so far...

Spoiler

First thing I want to get off my chest....HOLY FRIKKING TUTORIALS!! I mean yeah I get it, this is Xenoblade which means I'm likely in it for the long haul and once I'm far enough along I'll be done with the whole "tutorial" segment but ffs stop interrupting every two minutes! Some things these pop-ups are telling me are just plain pointless "Hey! See that glowing thing that likely already caught your attention? Well you can activate it to do/get things!" Well jeez it's not like I wasn't going to investigate it and figure that out for myself anyways...I mean I know XCX told the player almost nothing about anything early on in the game, but omfg this game needs to chill...

"Oh and one more thing...." oh really? Now what do you want to tell me game? "I can tell you more about it another time"


OK, With that out of the way...It's definitely more like XC1 than XCX, seeing as within a few hours I've already gone through more story than the entirety of XCX (lul)...But I'm very disappointed that the trailers basically ruined the entire first part since I already knew what was going to happen...Rex gets killed, Pyra revives hims, Jin and Malos are bad guys, blah blah blah...stuff that could've been more interesting to see in the game had it not already been revealed...this is why I almost never watch movie trailers anymore...which as a result starts making me less interested in watching movies...

The combat system is very interesting so far, introducing Blades into the mix makes the combat A LOT more dynamic, and adding in their elemental aspects into the mix (as well as the ability to switch Blades mid battle) really builds into a more in-depth and complex battle system...I already liked the 'xenoblade battle system' as it was a very unique take on real-time rpg combat and so far this is turning out to be an even more unique system...we'll see later on how things will unfold once I start learning more of the ins and outs of the combat as well as get more experience fighting tougher enemies and bosses and such...

Also Nia is turning out to be one of my favourite characters so far...it's still early so that could change...

And an FYI in case some are curious I'm just after the point I where I learn to summon new Blades from Core Crystals and am about to rescue Nia...

 

[mario123007]

I'll give a summary, as best as I can. I'm still gathering info so bear with me:

Spoiler

Logan Paul made a video vlog in which he finds a dead body hanging in a Japanese forest. During different points of the video, Logan acts disrespectful and sorta lackadaisical in general, not to mention that he still uploaded the video even after finding said dead body. It's just unethical and wrong. He took down the vlog after much backlash.

It's unnerving, for real.

Urgh, I mean it's those stupid Paul brothers... it's only a matter of time where they do cross the line.
Hell, they already did back in 2017...

So, I finally started playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2...Steamworld Dig is on hold for now, I can get back to it at any time regardless so there's no rush...

Impressions so far...

Spoiler

First thing I want to get off my chest....HOLY FRIKKING TUTORIALS!! I mean yeah I get it, this is Xenoblade which means I'm likely in it for the long haul and once I'm far enough along I'll be done with the whole "tutorial" segment but ffs stop interrupting every two minutes! Some things these pop-ups are telling me are just plain pointless "Hey! See that glowing thing that likely already caught your attention? Well you can activate it to do/get things!" Well jeez it's not like I wasn't going to investigate it and figure that out for myself anyways...I mean I know XCX told the player almost nothing about anything early on in the game, but omfg this game needs to chill...

"Oh and one more thing...." oh really? Now what do you want to tell me game? "I can tell you more about it another time"


OK, With that out of the way...It's definitely more like XC1 than XCX, seeing as within a few hours I've already gone through more story than the entirety of XCX (lul)...But I'm very disappointed that the trailers basically ruined the entire first part since I already knew what was going to happen...Rex gets killed, Pyra revives hims, Jin and Malos are bad guys, blah blah blah...stuff that could've been more interesting to see in the game had it not already been revealed...this is why I almost never watch movie trailers anymore...which as a result starts making me less interested in watching movies...

The combat system is very interesting so far, introducing Blades into the mix makes the combat A LOT more dynamic, and adding in their elemental aspects into the mix (as well as the ability to switch Blades mid battle) really builds into a more in-depth and complex battle system...I already liked the 'xenoblade battle system' as it was a very unique take on real-time rpg combat and so far this is turning out to be an even more unique system...we'll see later on how things will unfold once I start learning more of the ins and outs of the combat as well as get more experience fighting tougher enemies and bosses and such...

Also Nia is turning out to be one of my favourite characters so far...it's still early so that could change...

And an FYI in case some are curious I'm just after the point I where I learn to summon new Blades from Core Crystals and am about to rescue Nia...

That's nice, as you might know... I am one of the few users here who is a Xenoblade enthusiast... however, I have only complete XC story and not XCX, so I can't say anything much about or compare XCX to XC2.

To be frank, I think XC2 is better to compare than XCX since Takahashi has already said XC2 is more story driven like XC, but XC2 has way more things to do and it is built on the same engine as XCX. I have already made my brief XC and XC2 comparison.

With that out of the way, here are my rebutt... I mean... response to your first impressions lol...

Spoiler

I don't really dislike the tutorials because how they message you are weird... but the fact that unlike XC where you have a full tutorial info for you that you can check it out later is way better imo. XC2 I have to screenshot every important tutorials...

And like I said, I have only compare XC to XC2...here they are:

I think I would do a brief comparison between Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and the first Xenoblade Chronicles. Comparing all three Xenoblade games though will be pretty complicated so that will be posted in a later date.
For a disclaimer, I will not decide which game is the best Xenoblade game since it's kind of like you are telling me to choose between my mother and my girlfriend/ or Callie and Marie/ or Pearl and Marina.... (These are just analogy btw...)

- GRAPHICS/ARTSTYLE - XC2 WINS
It's pretty obvious that XC2 owns the first game heavily when it comes to graphics, but this alone can't justify it since the two games are on different gen consoles. Therefore I would combine about graphics and artstyle, XC2 is more anime whereas XC is more realistic and even more epic to a certain extent, when it comes to this part I have hear plenty of people either intrigued on XC2 anime style while some were disappoint and even stated "This doesn't look like a Xenoblade game", and then you have more negative like "The style looks worse and worse" "XC or X looks way better". Here I say when it comes to whether anime style is good or bad is completely subjective, but as for how the character portrays or how the cutscenes go, XC2 just heavily owns on this one.

- STORY/ WORLD BUILDING (spoiler free) - UNDETERMINED on story, XC2 wins on world building
Both games are heavily story driven, that said since this part I am only around chapter 5, I can only say XC2 story so far is decent but still only a slight weak than XC. That said, I can't set a judment for story yet until I complete the game.
As for world building alone, XC2 is definitely more interesting and had lots of potential, not saying that XC was bad, but simply start out as the world begin as two titans fighting each other and then stopped doesn't sound too amusing...

- CHARACTERS/ VOICE ACTING - XC WINS
Story driven game also needs interesting cast, this one was pretty difficult to compare tbh, Rex and Shulk are both great main protagonist, that said Shulk definitely has way better VA whenever Shulk rages. Rex's VA completely falls flat whenever he rages... but I have to say Rex has more interesting personality than Shulk. Other cast though...Nia, Tora, Pyra, other rare Blades were good too... but compare to Dunban, Riki, Melia, and Sharla... XC2 support cast kind of lacks depth just by a small margin, this may due to the fact that I haven't finish XC2 story, but XC2 support characters first impressions weren't as good as the first... but I am sure to say, XC2 and XC2 have no "bad" characters (Even though Zeke is almost at that... but I think he may have some potential after chapter 5)

- MUSIC - TIE
Even though XC2 and XC music were both composed by the same composers... XC2 was led my Mitsuda, and XC2 pretty much followed the original's music formula such as ACE compose the battle themes etc. I do have to say XC2 have some tracks that somewhat feels like they were a bit mimicking the previous XC tracks but they were awesome nevertheless. Gaur Plains theme and Gormott overworld theme are both awesome, but battle theme XC2 is better than XC... yet no unique monster theme in XC2 are better than XC's "You Will Know Our Names"

- BATTLE SYSTEM - XC WINS
Both battle systems have fair and share of pros and cons, XC's was more easy pace but was also a bit dull to a certain extent. XC2 had more things going on but more slower and more complex. Sure when it comes to chain attack I have to say XC2 did better than XC's, but when it comes to arts and healings... XC is more manageable, I kind of dislike how heal potions drop in unreachable places... even though I aware there are healing arts that don't require getting potions. Also XC has vision...which is a feature that I really wish XC2 would have... but oh well...

- MAP - XC WINS
The map on XC was good, but XC2 did some things bad, unlike the first you were unable to know which place you haven't reach... and so far every time you press the map button you will still be in the main map screen rather than showing where you exactly are in.

- SIDEQUEST - XC2 WINS
Quests in XC were a lot... most were short and some were complicated... XC2 quests are easier to navigate and more manageable but also more lengthier as well. That being said, I say the Blade quests in XC2 made the quests more encouraging to complete.

- ITEMS - XC2 WINS
I know that items in XC2 are mostly from the XC, but now items now have rarity and will tell where did you get it.

- MENUS - XC WINS
Let's face it, XC menus were more snappier and more well designed for an MMO JRPG. You can still roam around even when clicking on the menus in XC, in XC2 however I sometimes felt annoyed when I go to the menu, it looked great but the minor lag when going to menu just kind of made it a hassle.

- CONTROLS - XC2 WINS
The controls overall on XC2 felt really good, XC on the New 3DS was ok but there were times the control can get a bit jammy at times.

- ADDITIONAL GAMEPLAY FEATURES - XC2 WINS
I just like how XC2 has the Blades, and especially the rare Blades. Despite lack of armor customization, having rare Blade some what makes up for it (I still regard lacking armor customization a huge flaw though). XC's armor customization and gem crafting were nice, but XC2 just had more things to offer such as salvaging (Which can easily give you lots of cash), and voice included Heart to Hearts.

My conclusion...
Every Xenoblade titles have their own style and are all recommended. I have said that I won't decide which Xenoblade game is the best, but I do say if you just want to get on why Xenoblade was regarded as one of the best JRPG of the last gen, go for the first XC. If you want something new, more features but also still want that story driven JRPG, or just simply like the anime style, go for XC2. If you are more of that gameplay focus and don't care much about story, go for XCX, even though I have already watch the ending I still want to play this game.

This is from someone who played XC2 for over 155 hours... ouch...

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

Logan

Sorry, I dont follow drama so idk who that is. Who is Logan?

 

[Kirby Dragons]

Again... If you want to be a bit serious... I don't really care about whether Pyra or Mythra has a lot of exposed skin... They do, not gonna deny, but I am not so focused on their cloths when playing the game.

Except... When I do Blade combos in certain places the camera sometimes glitch up... Well seems to want to show me Pyra's ***... Yikes...

Also, Mythra and Pyra are fine, when compared to Newt....and Zenobia

The best part of Mythra is her hair, anyways.

 

[Arcanir]

The problem I've been hearing with Kris is that they are apparently even more Marysue-ish compared to Robin and even Micaiah and are treated as pretty much the "Everything" by Marth despite only being a mere soldier. Heck, their Epilogue is apparently Marth wanting to make sure their name goes down in history, but they don't want it and say that Marth should be the focus.

It seems strange that Kris is heavily looked down upon compared to Robin who technically also has player worship, but some people seem to be more nicer to Robin due to:
-Robin and Chrom feeling alot more like BFFs helping each other through their tough times compared to Kris and Marth where they feel it's Marth practically worshipping Kris.
-Chrom being able to pull his own weight around without Robin have to do everything for him.
-Robin having more personality compared to Kris, according to some people.
-More of my opinion rather than something I see, but likely the fact that as said before, Robin is the successor to Mark and him being a "Tactician" makes some people nostalgic and some people hopeful for a playable Mark in the future.

All in all, I guess it will heavily depend on how IS writes Mark. I think the main problem with FE's Avatars tends to be the movement toward player worship, especially with Corrin and Kris for those who do understand JP and played New Mystery whereas with Robin, some people say it's toned down or straightforward enough that it's not very noticeable.
But at the same time, it also depends on how Mark is written. After all, Berkut doesn't serve much purpose besides to be one-upped by Alm, yet alot of people like him due to having a great voice actor and good writing. So as I said before, unless IS takes the story seriously enough, Mark's character and backstory is definitely going to be either hit or miss.

Having played New Mystery, I definitely would argue Kris is more Mary-Sueish then those two (though I have comments to say about Micaiah, but that's a different discussion). However, I'd say it's mostly because the way they're written does come off more as a character improperly inserted into a pre-existing story rather then just being a perfect being that can do no wrong. Without going into detail, there are quite a few times where it feels like the game is trying to make Kris seem special rather then him actually being special since he overtakes scenes from other characters in the original (one example being Jagen calling out Lang) or getting relationships where they're held in high regard despite other characters deserving the title more (such as being Marth's 'better half' despite Caeda and Merric existing). They just don't belong in Mystery's plot and it shows, and it's not hard to see why it rubs people the wrong way, especially if they liked the original plot in the first place and felt it got degraded by their presence.

As for Mark, thankfully they wouldn't have some of these issues as they exists in Blazing Blade's plot and thus could be inserted more easily, but as you said before it's still easy to screw a character like him up since if you lean too strongly on the player worship then you risk overcentralizing the plot and characters around them anyway. So if they do expand on Mark's role, they have to find a balance that doesn't overtake what Lyn, Eliwood, Hector or other major secondary characters do in the story. Don't have them do things like arranging a meeting with Hellene over Pent and Louise, keep them close to the roles that they held previously and they'll work fine.

 

[powerprotoman]

Man, I'm gunning for Azura and my free pull was a Bartre.

And then I proceeded to not get a single green stone for four straight sets.

The game knows when you're color sniping, I swear.

Least I got a random Jaffar out of it...a -Atk Jaffar...

meanwhile all i wanted was camilla(because camilla emblem) and i got her first pull (the game ruined me in the legendary banner tho, wound up giving me spring chrom, a dupe spring lucina, and innes instead of gun....yes i did get two of thoes when there were no greens)

 

[Erureido]

Just finished watching the last episode of Fate/Apocrypha.

*Sigh* Honestly, looking back, the show ended up being pretty meh.

My thoughts on the anime (long post incoming)

Spoiler: Overall thoughts on the show; SPOILERS abound

The whole "seven servants vs seven servants" concept sounded cool at first, but as the show progressed, it became clear there were lots of problems that it brought along. With 15 servants and 7+1 masters, you have way too large of a main cast to properly characterize. Most of the characters just ended up being so average that I didn't feel any attachment toward them. In fact, some of them were just forgettable, while others were not very well fleshed out.

In the former case, Caster of Black Avicebron and his master were examples of that. Both didn't have very much screentime, and what made matters worse is that Caster of Black was based on a character that people won't be familiar with from the get-go compared to someone like Joan of Arc or Medusa, and the the show didn't really delve into his backstory enough to give us an idea where he came from with his actions or simply a way to be more attached to him. Avicebron's master is a character whose name I completely forgot; all I remember of him is that the majority of his dialogue was simply "Sensei, you're so cool!" everytime he was on screen, and then he ends up getting backstabbed by his servant when he is used as the vessel for Avicebron's massive golem Noble Phantasm about halfway into the show, so there ended up being little reason to care for those two. Spartacus was another good example too. They try to give Spartacus some backstory on who he is, but it's still not enough to give us a full idea on who he is. It didn't help that he barely had any character either.

In the latter case, Semiramis was a good example. She gets way more screentime than Avicebron and his master, so we do get a better identity about her character, but even then, we never get any backstory about her. Like Avicebron, she's another servant whose name is not that recognizable, so it's important for the series to show us who exactly she is and where she's coming from. Unfortunately, we don't get. Even then, I honestly felt like her character was meh. There wasn't much to her that I really enjoyed. The only scene I liked of her was in her final moments with Shirou, but it still wasn't enough for me to care about the character.

There are some characters who are fleshed out enough to get an idea where they are coming from with they are doing, but I still did not care for them. Atalanta, Jack the scantily-dressed loli Ripper, Jack's Master (what was her name again? Yeah, another forgettable character for me), and Frankenstein were all examples of that. I didn't find any reason to really care for them, especially Jack the Ripper and her master considering that we are only told about how they became master and servant and not shown how it all unfolded.

Astolfo, a.k.a. "best boy/best trap" was another character who was really meh to me. He was an optimistic and swell guy, but he too kinda fell flat for me to really care about. His personality was meh to me, and we never really learned much about why he wants the Holy Grail or his past beyond "he's one of the Twelve Knights of Charlemagne." He ends up being the winning servant by the end of the show, and while I thought, "Good for him," a good part of him really wished someone else like Mordred or Achilles, characters that I genuinely liked, won the war instead. In the ending, we also see Astolfo riding away on his Hippogriffith as they travel around the world, and my main thought while watching that was "Isn't the whole world going to freak out about some guy riding on a creature no one has ever seen before? Aren't people going to freak out and try to capture that animal for themselves?"

The show also has its fair share of characters who I did not like at all. Gordes and Astolfo's first master particularly come to mind. Gordes is unbearable to watch in the first half of the show because of his cruel treatment toward Siegfried, and while he does improve in the second half, there still wasn't much to him to really sympathize with him. Astolfo's first master (another character whose name I completely forgot) is another detestable characters, only MUCH worse. Her whole character is being nothing but a sadistic freak who is flat-out vindictive with zero explanation as to where her personality comes from. Unlike Gordes, she doesn't improve at all and instead gets worse as the show progresses.

Then there's Darnic. I liked him when the show began: he has a cool design, and he seemed like a sophisticated and intriguing character with the way he led the Yggdmillenia group, but halfway into the show, any likability I had toward him was thrown into the trash when he forced Vlad to use his main Noble Phantasm (a.k.a. turning into the Dracula monster from legends) against his will. The sophisticated figurehead that made Darnic a charming individual is thrown to the side as we see Darnic laughing like a madman and screaming with joy as he makes Vlad do the one thing that he originally told his master not to give the command to do, and it didn't help there was never an explanation for where Darnic's insanity comes from. Thus, Darnic ended up being unforgivable scum in my eyes.

And then we have this guy:

Kirito, I think you have competition for blandest MC, because dear lord Sieg is bland beyond belief. I felt zero attachment to this character throughout the entire show. Nothing about Sieg makes him relatable or compelling, and he even gets some random power-ups during the show that felt... odd. Honestly, I think he felt the perfect example of a character shoe-horned into a story just for the sake of a show needing an MC. In terms of MCs, I personally think Mordred and Shishigou would've been way better MCs for Fate/Apocrypha. More on that later.

Ruler and Shiro were the two characters that I think were alright, both being decently fleshed out with some nice personality and intrigue going for them, but they are still characters that I can't say I truly liked. Ruler also has the additional issue with the romance in Sieg. Their romance felt so forced; how it came into the show felt so odd that I often found myself questioning, "What exactly does Ruler find lovable about this blank-slate-of-a-charater Sieg?" Honestly, I think Fate/Grand Order did Jeanne's character better.

In terms of characters I liked, the only masters that I genuinely enjoyed were Fiore, Caules, and Shishigou. Fiore and Caules get the most screen-time and fleshing out of all the Black Faction members. They also had some likable personalities. Of the three, Shishigou is definitely my favorite. Very badass with a cool personality, a nice backstory, an awesome fighter, and awesome chemistry with his servant Mordred.

The servants I liked were Siegfried, Vlad, Shakespeare, Karna, Chiron, Achilles, and Mordred. Siegfried and Vlad were both cool characters with nice personalities and some nice explanations as to who they are and their motivations, in addition to being awesome fighters with some badass designs, but they have the misfortune of being killed off early into the show in the most pitiful circumstances. However, Siegfried manages to continue fighting through Sieg transforming into him when necessary. Vlad on the other hand? If only he didn't fall into the hands of the scummy Darnic for a master...

Shakespeare was quite entertaining overtime he showed up on screen with his literature-like talk. I wish he got more screentime and we saw more of his abilities. That Noble Phantasm that inflicts psychological trauma is quite interesting.

I liked Karna because of his badass design and his cool and calm collected personality. I found it quite admirable he was able to keep quite the poker face throughout all of the battles he was in, and I feel like his final moments when defeated by Sieg humanized him. The soldier attitude that Karna sticks to also makes him quite the remarkable dude. Chiron reminded me of Lukas from Fire Emblem Echoes: a calm dude who gives good wisdom and perspective on things in addition to being a strong fighter. He also develops a nice and cute chemistry with his master Fiore.

Achilles though...

I don't see a lot of people talk about Achilles very much when it comes to Fate/Apocrypha servants, so it seems like I'm one of the few that likes him. Yes, I will admit; What a cool and underrated guy Achilles is! Definitely one of my servants in the show (to the point I REALLY want him to be playable in Fate/Grand Order). I really liked his carefree yet stubborn attitude, and he has some golden lines too. He reminded me of Shiro of Fire Emblem Fates as well (they both even have similar hairstyles), so that's also a plus. All of his fights were hype to watch.

I will admit that Karna, Chiron, and Achilles could've been fleshed out more. It would've been nice if the show explained who Karna is by showing some of his backstory and the Indian legend he comes from. Chiron and Achilles are decently fleshed out in that we learn the two share a past together (Chiron being Achilles's teacher back when the latter was growing up), but it would've been nice to show the other aspects to their pasts to give us a better understanding of their characters.

My pick for best character in the show is this chick:

Saber of Red, a.k.a. Mordred from the King Arthur legends.

Yep, in the Type-Moon universe, Mordred gets gender-bent just like Arthur, and just like her father, she too is an awesome character (and a voracious eater as well). Whereas Altria is calm and reserved, Mordred is a spunky girl who can be brash and stubborn. She is also not afraid to speak her mind on things. Spunky characters usually tend to appeal to me quite a bit, so it was easy for me to be attached to Mordred rather quickly. I also liked how the show delves into her backstory. She's quite the tragic figure when it comes to the circumstances, going from someone who initially adored her father to someone who despised her.

I also absolutely loved the relationship Mordred develops with Shishigou. The two develop a really good bond over the course of the show, and the more they interacted, the more Mordred grew on me. In fact, I'd say they are the Waver and Iskander duo of the show. That is, they make the best and most compelling duo in the show similar to how Waver and Iskander were the most memorable in terms of the master-servant relationship they established. What I especially liked about Mordred and Shishigou is that they both essentially got something they longed for: Shishigou got a daughter-like figure he could spend time with, and Mordred got the father-figure that she longed for. By the end of the war, they both died happy feeling satisfied with the bond they established. Honestly, it's a shame that they didn't get as much screentime as the main characters. The characterization and relationship of Shishigou and Mordred was so good that I really wished they were the main characters instead of Sieg and Ruler.

In all, while I still prefer Altria more than her daughter, I like Mordred a lot, and I can now say she is definitely my favorite character in Fate/Apocrypha.

As for the story, it was average. It initially begins with the whole "Red Faction vs Black Faction," but then it eventually transitions into "Shiro's team vs Jeanne's team" after Shiro Kotomine's identity is revealed. I feel like the pacing felt flat for a bit halfway into the show, but then it went back to normal afterward. The second half does have some issues regarding scene transitions though. Like, immediately after Mordred and Shishigou crash into Semiramis on her fortress at the end of one episode, the next episode immediately starts with Karna and Siegfried about to begin their fight with Caules randomly standing with zero explanation how he suddenly ended up there when in the last episode, he was scene in the same plane with his sister.

We also never got to see Shiro getting damaged by the Blasted Tree, as the episode of Shiro and Sieg's battle ends just as Sieg is about to activate the Noble Phantasm while the episode after immediately starts from the aftermath where Shiro lies outside of the fortress injured and Sieg has already managed to enter the Greater Grail. Speaking of the Blasted Tree, that was just way too random that Sieg suddenly got Frankenstein's abilities. Apparently, it was stated in the Light Novel that the tree has a small trance of giving birth to a new Frankenstein, and because Sieg was affected by the lightning jolt from it, he thus became the new Frankenstein. The anime never really explained that properly.

The music was rather dull. Some tracks sounded nice, but other tracks sounded rather generic, and it didn't help that they were getting played way too often. I'd say the soundtrack was nowhere as memorable as Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night UBW and Heaven's Feel are.

The animation was also average. Some of the fights weren't well-animated and were hard to follow: Karna and Siegfried's first battle especially comes to mind, and so does Mordred and Sieg vs Avicebron's Noble Phantasm to some extent. Other fights were decently animated with some nice action, namely the later fights like Achilles vs Chiron's 2nd Battle and Mordred vs Semiramis.

There was a point in the later episodes switched to a more crudely-drawn animation for the fight scenes: Atalanta vs Jeanne, Atalanta vs Achilles, Shiro vs Sieg, and Karna vs Siegf are the ones that come to mind. Initially, I did not like the animation-style of those fights because they felt out of place compared to the other fights we saw in the past episodes, but I warmed up to them after rewatching them (but not completely, as I will admit Web-Gen animations aren't really my kind of thing). Admittedly, I'm still not a total fan of the Karna vs Sieg fight though. I felt like that fight was WAY too flashy to the point my eyes actually hurt the first time I watched it. The way how they animated the power of Achilles's shield also bugged to me. The way how it was presented looked way too confusing with the green and the random shots of ancient Greece. What does that Noble Phantasm actually do? Does it just warp a massive beam attack into an Ancient Greece-like world? That's what I got out of watching that scene.

If I had to pick a favorite fight, mine would go to Chiron vs Achilles's second battle. I really liked the animation in that fight, as you clearly see the full force of every physical attack the two characters dealt onto each other. The fact the two characters engage in a one-on-one brawl was also quite a surprising twist for a show that usually emphasizes on the use of historical, magically OP weapons. What really makes it interesting to watch is that it was a final "Teacher vs Student"-like battle, with the physical fighting being a culmination of what was taught and learned in this dynamic.

Overall Verdict (TL;DR)

Fate/Apocrypha is a meh show:

-Characters are a mixed bag with an uninteresting MC
-Story is average with some highlights as well as some big issues
-Soundtrack was pretty dull
-Animation was a mixed bag

I wouldn't say it's a flat-out bad anime. It's just really mediocre at best.

If you're a Fate fan, you can definitely give Fate/Apocrypha a watch, but if you do so, I recommend keeping your expectations low. Fate/Zero, ufotable's Fate/Stay Night UBW, and the first Heaven's Feel movie are definitely superior compared to Fate/Apocrypha.

Hopefully, Fate/Extra: Last Encore will turn out better.

 

[mario123007]

The best part of Mythra is her hair, anyways.

Female characters with long blond hair is a very cliche designs not just in anime but also in games. Not saying it's a bad thing and it is obvious, for me long girls blond hair are gorgeous, but not always my cup of tea.

 

[Ivander]

Having played New Mystery, I definitely would argue Kris is more Mary-Sueish then those two (though I have comments to say about Micaiah, but that's a different discussion). However, I'd say it's mostly because the way they're written does come off more as a character improperly inserted into a pre-existing story rather then just being a perfect being that can do no wrong. Without going into detail, there are quite a few times where it feels like the game is trying to make Kris seem special rather then him actually being special since he overtakes scenes from other characters in the original (one example being Jagen calling out Lang) or getting relationships where they're held in high regard despite other characters deserving the title more (such as being Marth's 'better half' despite Caeda and Merric existing). They just don't belong in Mystery's plot and it shows, and it's not hard to see why it rubs people the wrong way, especially if they liked the original plot in the first place and felt it got degraded by their presence.

As for Mark, thankfully they wouldn't have some of these issues as they exists in Blazing Blade's plot and thus could be inserted more easily, but as you said before it's still easy to screw a character like him up since if you lean too strongly on the player worship then you risk overcentralizing the plot and characters around them anyway. So if they do expand on Mark's role, they have to find a balance that doesn't overtake what Lyn, Eliwood, Hector or other major secondary characters do in the story. Don't have them do things like arranging a meeting with Hellene over Pent and Louise, keep them close to the roles that they held previously and they'll work fine.

Ah, so Kris is really alot more like an OC of a fanfiction who takes over some of the awesome moments that other characters did, is made more important than other characters and whatnot. I wonder how their reception would've been had Kris appeared in Shadow Dragon DS like they were planned at one point.

And yes, Mark is easier to put in as they were already in the game. But they still need to find a good balance that doesn't overshadow Eliwood, Hector and Lyn. Although when it comes to when they should be important, Mark should be important when it comes to Lyn's story.
For Eliwood and Hector's stories, Mark doesn't really play that big a role or inspiration, so their stories are ones that Mark shouldn't try to overshadow or attempt to play a big role. But when it comes to Lyn's story, Mark should be important. I mean, they are practically the reason for Lyn's story and play a important role in helping Lyn get back to Caelin & meeting Eliwood & Hector. That's not adding that Lyn considers Mark very important to her.
While Mark definitely shouldn't overshadow Kent & Sain, they should have a big deal of importance for Lyn's story, while Eliwood & Hector's stories are the ones that Mark should not be play a big focus with and attempt to overshadow. I mean, they can still be decently involved that it warrants being able to name Eliwood & Hector's children(as they did in the original), but definitely not to the point of overshadowing them and some of the other characters.

 

[mario123007]

This is the pic that I have stumbled upon recently and found it hilarious...
It's from Pixiv: https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=66560913

From left to right:
A2 -Nier Automata
Ichiro Inuyashiki - Inuyashiki
Kanna Kamui - Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon
Serval - Kemono Friends
Elf Yamada - Eromanga Sensei
Sakie Satou - Demi-chan wa kataritai
Astolfo - Fate/Apocrypha
Hideri - Blend S
Satanichia - Gabriel Dropout
Gunpuku no Himegimi - ReCreators
Futaba Sakura - Persona 5
Sae Chabashira - Classroom of Elite
Yumeko - Kakegurui
Tanya Degurechaff - Youjo Senki
Sucy Manbavaran - Little Witch Academia
Djeeta - Granblue Fantasy The Animation
Leviathan - Sin Nanatsu no Taizai
Rumia Tingel - Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Kinki Kyouten

 

[allison]

My opinion on The Last Jedi is I can no longer be aroused unless I'm watching the scene where Luke drinks the alien milk

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

The Last Jedi is a ****ing achievement in cinematic storytelling incredibly satisfying action, amazing set pieces, and dazzling cinematography (The Throne Room Scene is probably my all time favorite movie moment now). It also answers questions The Force Awakens brought up in the best possible way. Answering them but in the process making you ask more questions.

Spoiler: some spoilers from here on

'Who is Snoke?' became 'Does it matter?' 'Who are Rey's parents?' became 'How is Rey so in tune with the force?' 'Why is Luke here?' became 'Why is Luke distraught?' 'Why is Kylo evil?' became 'Is Kylo truly evil?'

The Last Jedi nailed everything it set out to do with the sole exception of the casino scenes but then again that whole sequence plays into the overlying theme of the whole movie. Failure.

It's a shame some people aren't happy with it because it is definitely a very special movie. And it's not because it's a bad movie that people don't like it. It's because they set their expectations a certain way that wasn't fit for the movie. No, Rey isn't the daughter of Obi-wan, or Qui-gon, or Like. Sorry. Yeah, Snoke may or may not be Darth Plagueis. Doesn't matter now. Honestly, people, you don't have to be spoon fed answers. It would have really taken me out of the experience of Snoke had said 'It was I, Snoke, Darth Plagueis, Master of Darth Sidious, The Emperor, Palpatine, who bridged your minds' but maybe that's just me.

 

[Mythra]

Well ****, I need to buy some Arby's now.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[mario123007]

Well ****, I need to buy some Arby's now.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

I went to Arby's last December when I was still in USA, it wasn't too far from my university.
I like their Chicken burger, but not a big fan of their onion rings.
And I really like how you can fill up your drink again... By buying the large cup.
You can't do that in my country's fast food restaurant. We have McDonald's, KFC, and Mos Burger those are the more popular ones ...

 

[powerprotoman]

I went to Arby's last December when I was still in USA, it wasn't too far from my university.
I like their Chicken burger, but not a big fan of their onion rings.
And I really like how you can fill up your drink again... By buying the large cup.
You can't do that in my country's fast food restaurant. We have McDonald's, KFC, and Mos Burger those are the more popular ones ...

wait you dont get free refills outside of the us?

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Logan uploaded a vlog of him and his friends in Suicide Forest which included them finding and laughing at a man who had recently committed suicide.

Said video was monetized on top of the sheer lack of respect and human decency.

Now he's getting all the flak he deserves, even from PewDie "Just a heated gaming moment" Pie

For extra context, the video was trending with over 6.5 million views before getting demonetized when lots of people get demonetized before even uploading their videos. And he apologized for the poorly done video. Well, if you can call "I made a mistake, it wasn't for the views but for suicide prevention! I do this every day" without sending links to suicide prevention sites, without mentioning the victim, without apologizing to the family of the victim and implying something done this deliberately could be considered a mistake as an apology anyway.
EDIT: When the video had about 6.3 million views, the like dislike ratio was 460k likes and 33k likes. Society has failed

 

[CyberHyperPhoenix]

Guys, I think the game is trying to tell me something :eyes:

 

[Deleted member]

The Last Jedi is a ****ing achievement in cinematic storytelling incredibly satisfying action, amazing set pieces, and dazzling cinematography (The Throne Room Scene is probably my all time favorite movie moment now). It also answers questions The Force Awakens brought up in the best possible way. Answering them but in the process making you ask more questions.

Spoiler: some spoilers from here on

'Who is Snoke?' became 'Does it matter?' 'Who are Rey's parents?' became 'How is Rey so in tune with the force?' 'Why is Luke here?' became 'Why is Luke distraught?' 'Why is Kylo evil?' became 'Is Kylo truly evil?'

The Last Jedi nailed everything it set out to do with the sole exception of the casino scenes but then again that whole sequence plays into the overlying theme of the whole movie. Failure.

It's a shame some people aren't happy with it because it is definitely a very special movie. And it's not because it's a bad movie that people don't like it. It's because they set their expectations a certain way that wasn't fit for the movie. No, Rey isn't the daughter of Obi-wan, or Qui-gon, or Like. Sorry. Yeah, Snoke may or may not be Darth Plagueis. Doesn't matter now. Honestly, people, you don't have to be spoon fed answers. It would have really taken me out of the experience of Snoke had said 'It was I, Snoke, Darth Plagueis, Master of Darth Sidious, The Emperor, Palpatine, who bridged your minds' but maybe that's just me.

I think the error I've made with SW VIII is to have rewatched SW VII before, and thus I expected many answers and culminations for what has been established in TFA. And as a result, I found the movie to be not good or bad, but really average.
By watching the critics it gets however, I think I should rewatch it when it'll get a DVD release.

However there're still things that bug me about TLJ:

Spoiler

Captain Phasma joining Boba Fett in the league of wasted villains with potential and the romance between Finn and Rose coming out of nowhere. Heck, even the romance between Owen and Claire in Jurassic World has been less shoddy.