u/AntonRX178

In hindsight, Macross 7 was such a ballsy endeavor because of what kind of show it aims to be. Even with D7's vastly improved animation now kinda matching Plus' quality, it's still got the same structure and direction style as 7 for better and worse.

I'm gonna start off with the awful first. Mylene. Keep in mind, I watched the Disney Plus version of it that kept out the subplot of her getting manipulated. But yeah she was a non-entity here which is such a shame. She's such a fun character. I mean Mirage LOST her Love Triangle before the Delta movies began and even she had an arc and great character moments in Zettai Live. Maybe it could have been improved by giving her some scenes contemplating why she needs Basara and maybe learning to let him go because he's a dude who literally just does what he wants.

But yeah I still think Basara is a fascinating protagonist. He's incredibly unique in the sense that the concept of the "Hero's Journey" is completely alien to him. He is still Macross' most pure musician in the sense that everything he does is for the sake of his music. He has love for people and wants them to be safe but again, the biggest reason he wants them to be safe is so that they can continue listening to his songs.

Another thing I enjoy about Dynamite 7 and Macross in general is how it embraces the fantastical and mystic elements of Sci-Fi. Gundam is my favorite franchise but not every Sci-fi show has to be about humans blowing eachother up with advanced and futuristic technology. I like how it takes time to go on a different planet of Non-Earth Humanoids and learning about their mythos, I love how the climax is about singing to whales, etc.

Again, Macross 7 and its entries are far from the most perfect Anime out there, but I'll always have a spot in my heart for it.

I understand that much like how "Anime" is short for "Japanese Animation" in English conversation, I also understand that saying you watch "subs" abbreviates saying "Japanese audio with English subtitles" which is a total mouthful.

However, it just irks me when people start to misuse that word. One of the more common examples is when some people say "I prefer listening to the subs over the dubs." Like homie, do you listen to words on a screen? And a more recent example that inspired this post was another post in one of the Anime subreddits that asked the question "Who is your favorite Sub actor?" At first I was like "I don't know any voice actor who would even disclose that information to us" but then I realized that OP forgot what language Japanese Anime are recorded in and thought that "Sub" was the language they're speaking in.

Though I will say, a lot of my appreciation for it has to do with Hindsight. I didn't hear great things about Shin and Sara, but I genuinely liked both of them. I was expecting Shin to he like his Gundam SEED Destiny counterpart with a stick constantly up his ass, but no, he's mostly a normal guy, albeit with a lot of trauma. I appreciate that he's just a good dude with nothing THAT special about him. Sara I can understand if people found her annoying but as an adult, she's had a point too, with a distressingly understandable trauma angle to her as well. And while she is also stern, it's just as satisfying to see cracks to her tougher exterior start to form in the same way Misa's did. despite some questionable scenes, Sheryl's Grandma is also a wonderfully fun character too.

For the action, although I understand the dislike toward CG Mechs, this franchise is difficult for me to hate in that regard. Hell, before some studios (even Satelite themselves) used it as a crutch, it felt like an actual artistic choice this time in the same way Autotune and vocoding can be for T-Pain and Perfume. In 2003 it felt deliberate that they wanted to make some scenes and shots feel straight out of an Ace Combat game and I struggle to find that to be not awesome. But yeah whether it's DYRL, Plus, or even Delta, Macross action scenes always kicked ass and Zero is not exception.

Speaking of the others, watching something like Delta with it's proto culture ruins helped me appreciate this more as well and vice versa. The lore is genuinely interesting to me as well as the more mystical aspects of this universe. Recently, Macross got kicked from my #2 Favorite series of all time to #3 but Zero, even though it isn't my favorite, contributed to why it was even at the #2 spot for so long and how strong of a #3 it is.

I have never felt so much satisfaction making squares and octagons disappear one by one before. If I knew laser guns have been part of Ace Combat for decades I'd have picked this series up sooner. I heard this series was Anime AF in spite of the more grounded artstyle but I didn't think it'd be THIS sci-fi.

Didn't expect a filter level here despite the fact that this series has a reputation of being difficult but even after spending two separate nights trying to beat it on normal, there was still a sense of satisfaction after having beaten it. Like I understand the game a little bit better now. Nine times out of 10 I'd prefer a more straightforward control style like a Star Fox or something but much like Armored Core, the satisfaction kinda came from finally getting used to the controls enough as well as its mechanics to play more effectively.

For background, I actually started with Air Combat on PS1 and then got AC3 a bit later. Had my fun just flying around as a 5-7 year old but as I got older, the gameplay loop of trying for missile lock didn't seem appealing anymore. I have been more into games where you just unload with rapid fire onto enemies or fire large single blasts in a straight line. Think Ratchet and Clank, the other AC in Armored Core, and most recently Star Fox. Hell, my love for the recently released Star Fox was kinda the catalyst for my purchasing decision.

Let's just say, it didn't take long at all to be fully immersed. I still suck at it but keeping an enemy in my sights for a missile lock is much more exhilarating than I gave it credit for and that's also followed by flying through and over clouds onto the next target. Flying has always been special in games and I'm also happy to rediscover a series that basically helped pioneer this for gaming. Can't wait to play more.

Picked this up for cheap some 7 years ago on a whim and thought there was no better time to sink my teeth into it... But I dropped it super early on and let it collect dust in my library.

It wasn't until the announcement of Laufey which looks slick as hell and more my speed that I decided to give 2018 a go AND i have mixed feelings but I probably love it for the reasons many others do.

For starters, the story is wonderfully told. Like it's just a single shot of a journey between a man, his son, and eventually a disembodied head trying to bury a woman who means the WORLD to two of them, the woman who is about to have her own game soon. The relationship between Kratos and Atreus starts out painfully rocky but not broken. Kinda a masculine version of Lilo and Nani from the GOOD version of Lilo and Stitch. Seeing them go through their paces is both heartbreaking but leads into satisfying many times and I find myself invested... at least while I have fun.

I'm willing to admit skill issue here but I do NOT like how this game tries to be an RPG. Like it is definitely inspired by Last of Us' progression but because it's a fantasy game with fantastical weapons it felt the need to have levels and stuff. It gets weirdly deflating when I'm fighting the same enemy mid game as I was in the early game but they can take more hits because now they're suddenly in a higher level. I was also ready to forgive this game until the Dark Elf gank fight. Blindness is rarely cool in 3D action games. That ALMOST made me drop the game.

Thankfully though, I'm still very much interested. I've seen footage of Ragnarok and it does indeed look more fun especially on the character front. I also admit that although I have problems with the gameplay, I still appreciate its ambition.

Again, I'm happy to plead Skill issue with my issues regarding the gameplay but no matter the circumstances, it's always neat to be able to experience what a lot of people adore and share even a fraction of that love with others.

Although I am thankful we have games like Hi-Fi Rush and Dead as Disco where we fight to the beat, as well as Rhythm-based platforming like seen in Rayman Legends and some Mario games, the concept of playing a Rhythm game on an action
setpiece is still woefully rare. Yeah Persona 4 Dancing has a story but they built the story AROUND it as opposed to the Rhythm game being played along with it.

It's not objectively the best rhythm game but this is one where I actively had to feel the music to succeed which is why I performed MUCH better on the final three stages than I did with Sanbone Trio. I could not hit those mariachi style rhythms without just absolutely memorizing the track to the best of my ability

But one thing I ADORE about this game is how early 00s Japan it is. It's like playing Tony Hawk 1 and how "EXTREME" American pop culture used to be.

This game may be short but I will continue revisiting this often.

I'm so happy to be able to finally play this game after watching Cr1tikal/Penguinz0 play it, albiet in a rough state and I was like "holy shit this is what my idea of Guitar Hero looks like!"

Annd it's kicking my ass. I'm at Born to be Bone rn and I'm struggling but I also feel myself getting better. One thing's for sure, this isn't the type of game I can just beat in an hour.

It's been a long time since I played these games but the story and these characters are constantly fresh to me. When I was a kid, it was so surprising to see a game with this artstyle and even some Looney Tunes inspirations take itself genuinely seriously at times. I especially love how they don't mess around with the wording much. Even if you engulf an enemy in a tornado via Silent Obliteration in a mission where you're NOT supposed to kill anyone, the "job failed" description makes it crystal clear that you're playing as criminals who aren't afraid to bloody their hands.

But... I also remember this game kinda overstaying its welcome when I first played this as a kid. Objectively it's not a long game, but this was one of the stepping stones of modern open world mission design. There are missions I downright groan at such as barrel missions and trailing missions.

Good thing everyone else still controls like a dream. But these days I prefer to play as Bentley, mainly because combat with him is both interesting and fast. It's so satisfying doing a quickdraw with the Sleep dart and killing enemies with the bomb.

Now the story, it's rewarding see the trio and Carmelita grow. Bentley went from wanting to leave Carmelita for dead in the first game to rescuing and collaborating with her, Murray goes from cowardly to pretty cocky after his newfound strength and then slowly learns humility, and it's also great to see Sly reaffirm what kind of thief he is or is trying to be. Like there's a nuance to him. Wants to be a Master thief yet is willing to help Carmelita win her job back even if part of it is out of love. I also like how even though Carmelita should be nominated for "biggest perpetrator of police brutality," She's actually rather kind to the others. I love how she caught Murray not with too much force but baited him with snacks.

Obviously there's more to talk about but needless to say, It's still a wonderful game even if the "game" part of it can dip in a few areas.