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Thanks, TH. I've been putting a lot of work into this journal lately, and I've been enjoying it a lot. Hopefully that passion comes across through my posts, but I've been really loving this journal lately.

Key

If you're unaware or unsure of what I'm talking about, watch this trailer before you continue reading:



Now then, if you are like me and you grew up with collecting notes and puzzle pieces in Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie, well...honestly I expect you to be as excited as I am about Yookah Laylee. Apparently, a small group of ex-Rare employees decided to take their expertise to Kickstarter, and with the money they brought in, Yookah Laylee stopped being a dream, and became a reality.

On April 11th of this year, those of us that have been waiting for a true "Banjo Kazooie" reboot will be more than ready to take on this new spiritual successor. Let's get this out of the way right now: Nuts & Bolts ****ing sucks, and cannot ever be considered a Banjo Kazooie game by anybody's standards. Yookah Laylee is going to be what that game should have been, and more.

I can't wait to jump into this game when it's available. Luckily, they're releasing it for PC and many other consoles, so I'll probably be playing on PC. Makes things easier.

Anyway, be excited!

Akai

Spiritual successor to Conker?

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''To be honest, in my opinion, of course without offending anyone who thinks differently from my point of view,
but also by looking into this matter from a different perspective and by considering each and every one's valid opinion,
I do believe that I forgot what I was going to say.''


S p o t i f y

Key

No. Banjo Kazooie.

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Throughout the world of Hyrule, we've seen Nintendo take some interesting design choices when releasing their games. Of course, what comes along with these design choices is the differing faces of Link himself. Some of these I absolutely love...and some, eh not so much. So...let's talk about the various different ways we've seen Link.



So first and foremost, we'll talk about a Link design that I think could have really worked in the more recent rendition of Link:



As much as people **** on this game, I personally thought Twilight Princess deserves more praise than it gets. It's certainly not the best Zelda game ever made, and the story is a bit "cliche", but the dark world and Majora's Mask-esque themes worked really well in the story. Link's design is easily one of the best they've done though. He looks very crisp and mixed with the wolf design, it works really well for this game. It's unfortunate that we never really saw this design again as it really fits the dark setting very very well.



Next up we have the design for Wind Waker. A lot of people **** on Wind Waker for being too cartoonish and child friendly, but that's one of the many reasons why it was my number one Zelda game for a long time. The added benefit was of course the cute rendition of toon Link. It worked really well in this setting because everything else was so colorful and fun, and adding on a Link that gives into the absurdity as opposed to making him different made him a very memorable character. I don't know how else they could use this particular rendition of Link, but if they ever do, I hope it's for a Wink Waker II of sorts. That'd be awesome.



Skyward Sword is nowhere near one of my favorite Zelda games. The way the world worked and the controls were both just lacking. That mixed with the overall design of the game just left a bad taste in my mouth. But, the one thing that I find to be completely unforgettable is the silliness in Link's character design. Don't get me wrong, they fixed this particular style in Breath of the Wild, but Skyward Sword didn't work with it. I honestly wish they would have gone a Twilight Princess route for this one. Skyward Sword has a lot of faults, and this design is just one reason as to why.



Last and most certainly not least, we have the design for Link in Breath of the Wild. Now, here's the thing. I know this is very reminiscent of Skyward Sword Link, however this one is far more polished and less silly. No weird facial expressions, and it actually feels smooth, and non clunky. Sure, I know people would have loved a more dark theme throughout Breath of the Wild, but the art style they went with worked really well, and it was a smart move from Nintendo to continue with this one.

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Flinthook

Everybody at this forum knows that I'm a humongous fan of the Binding of Isaac games and roguelike games in general. Well, Flinthook just took my breath upon my first time playing it. I've been seeing this game being played by several Youtubers that I follow, and for 15$, I couldn't ask for anything better.

Flinthook is what you would get if you took Rogue Legacy, Binding of Isaac, and sometimes...Super Meat Boy, and meshed it altogether. There is randomization for the missions and stuff that you do, but the game also works in a linear fashion where the difficulty gets tougher the further along you get. It also goes by a 3 to 4 (and maybe more) level by level design with the boss at the end. They call them bounties, and they are the "big bosses" in the game. From what I've seen so far, the boss designs are amazing and really well done. Not too difficult but nothing you can just walk past.

Now, something I wasn't super expecting upon my first playthrough was both how tight the controls are, and how difficult the game is. The enemies in the game are designed to have a set pattern as opposed to just trying to kill you. So think like a Mega Man style game. The thing is, the powers you have at your arsenal can make for some cool kills, or perhaps your own demise. You're given a hookshot of sorts that you can use to...well attach to hooks and platform. It's done so well that it legitimately becomes part of the platforming. I really hope other developers are listening, because this is a really neat concept. You have other powers like freezing time, and bombs, much like Binding of Isaac. The game also runs on an xp system, and it's done really well with additional perks you can unlock by getting booster packs as you level up. Really adds to the randomization and roguelike style that the game does so well.

As for the theme, it looks like a mix of pirate and gothic, with really beautifully orchestrated music to fit the style of the gameplay.

Overall, this is a game I've been waiting for, without even realizing it. It's got the same exact charm that the Binding of Isaac has, but it's also got its own originality that really makes this a great package to behold. And for 15 bucks, you can't go wrong.

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20XX

I have to admit, this game did not seem like something I would like when it came out. I saw a few videos on it, and it looked really neat, but I just never bought it. It's on sale right now on Steam, and seeing as I love deals and have never played this, I figured I'd give it a shot. My impression? It's pretty ****ing good.

The developers basically took everything that people loved about the classic side scrolling Megaman games, and brought it back to life. 20XX takes the form of you as a Megaman-esque character, but there's a twist. It's a roguelike. So you basically play on a run to run basis with each level you play being different than the last one you played. It's very good with the randomization and various powers you can get that are character specific. Really gives the game some variety.

However, what I wasn't expecting at all is how tight the controls are, how unforgivably good the platforming is. Reminds me of Super Meat Boy big time. And the game is difficult. I'm always surprised with these kind of early access / indie games when they end up being so well made that they are definitely difficult. I said the same about Flinthook last time I think.

Definitely if you're a fan of Megaman and want to see the series being revived in the form of new characters? 20XX is the place to go.

The Batlord

lolwtf

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Trollheart

It's Mindfulness. Mind. Ful. Ness. Are you really surprised?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

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Middle Earth: Shadow of War

It probably took me longer than it should have to get into this game, but man, I'm sure happy I did. Let's talk about Lord of the Rings as a whole for a second before we get into this. The common theme with Lord of the Rings games seems to be the quality. I could probably go on record of saying that it's very minimal the amount of times I've played a Lord of the Rings game and had it disappoint me. And yeah, that's including the original Xbox games and even The Third Age. There's something about witnessing the lore of Lord of the Rings in a video game. However, if you want the quintessential Lord of the Rings game, the Middle Earth series is certainly one to behold.

Before Middle Earth: Shadow of War was even out, we were still given the blessing of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, which for its time is certainly one of the best games in the series. You've got the Arkham style combat that works extraordinarily well in this game setting as well as the new-coming Nemesis system amongst you and the orc captains and such. However while I was playing through Shadow of Mordor for the first time a few years back, the game started to wear a little thin, only because there wasn't a whole lot of access to launching yourself from building to building to truly make you feel like a badass. Even with the few faults that I did find the game, I still managed to put a bit of time into it because it became a tad repetitive.

Now, we're in the age of Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and let's be honest...it improves on everything that Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor tried to do and still did well. You've got new abilities, new ways to jump from building to building, and this time, instead of being in a sort of desolate flat area for the most part, you're instead put into some enormous cities that not only allows you to jump around like a badass, but top that with the new double jump ability, you can pretty much scale and jump across any platform you find yourself on. I do have to say that even the combat and the simple running around and jumping feels much more polished than it's predecessor. Though that's not entirely surprising. I would also like to go on record as to saying that this is probably the definitive Middle Earth game as well as being personally my favorite Lord of the Rings game I've ever played.

Everything from the combat to the world building and even to the story is top quality gaming at its best. Evidently, the story is told between The Return of The King and the Hobbit trilogy. So yes, if you're expecting to see characters and plots from the movies, you'll be one happy camper. So far I've already seen multiple connections to the movies, which on its own makes the game worth playing.

Unfortunately the only thing that could potentially catch people off guard is the graphics. By no means do I think the game looks bad, hell I think the game looks amazing. Especially on a nice PC. However, I can certainly understand peoples gripes about the graphics as they do look slightly dated. However I'm not one to gripe too much at graphics, especially when everything else in the game makes up for it.

You can expect not only stealth missions as you go along, but just throwing yourself into combat with 10 or even 15 other enemies while trying to fight 2 or 3 captains at a time is the most fun I've had with a combat based system in a long time. I'd even go as far as saying that i do think it improves on what Arkham Asylum was trying to do, even though I do think Arkham Asylum adds a little more variety. But, that's basically comparing two completely different games, and I feel like both games are great on their own merits.

So yeah, Shadow of War is every bit as amazing as you've probably heard. I'd definitely recommend not even listening to the negative reviews about the game, because that's originally kept me away from it. Instead, let your own experience do the talking. I also highly recommend playing with a controller and keyboard and mouse doesn't allow for as much freedom in your combat. Plus, a controller just feels more natural for this kind of game.

With 10 hours put into this game already and being barely into the main storyline due to getting sidetracked time and time and time again, I'd say this game gets my full recommendation.

Now I totally know what you're thinking: "Ki, what if I don't really like LOTR that much". Well, honestly, I'd say still give this game a shot. If you're a fan of what Assassin's Creed did with their scale and the freedom to jump and hang from whatever you want, you'll certainly find something to love with Shadow of War. Countless times I've caught myself saying "nah there's no way I can climb that". Of course, I had to try. 9 times out of 10 i'm proven wrong.

Get it.