u/JazzlikeSherbet1104

I want to give a shout out and a recommendation to the person who, for my money, makes the best Final Fantasy walkthroughs online, at least for games VI-X.

bover_87 is a GameFAQs user who makes incredibly easy to follow guides for Final Fantasy games on the platform. HTML, easy to read, telling you about all the side quests, and even giving you information needed for a "Perfect Game" if you're into that sort of thing.

Final Fantasy isn't a series that really NEEDS walkthroughs, unless you're replaying and trying to 100 percent the game. These walkthroughs know that, and thus help you get things like ultimate weapons, or secret summons as early and conveniently as possible. It's actually kind of astounding that these walkthroughs are completely free, so if you need an FF walkthrough from VI to X check these out.

I know this is an odd post, but I wanted to shout this guy out because he's made my life easier whenever I replay some of my favorite FF games. Check him out if you need a walkthrough.

I remember at the time this not being very well received (well, I say that but I actually bought this game a few years after it came out.) I remember it looking a bit bizarre to me at the time, especially since I had just come off of VII and VIII.

I think I heard somewhere that the art director for this game wanted the character designs to look like an upscaled version of the sprites you saw in the Super Nintendo games? (Don't quote me on that one, I could be wrong). Eventually I did come around to it, and I'm kind of glad the Bravely Default does something similar with its character designs... Kind of. It honestly feels like the Bravely Default series exists halfway between IX and XII.

That's my opinion, I'd love to hear yours.

So right now I'm doing a full watch through. Hartnell to Gatwa. And I have just finished Season 10 of the Classic Series, The Green Death. And it has highlighted a... Frustration I have with the revived series.

Jo Grant had, quite some time ago, begun to find travel in the TARDIS somewhat grueling. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with the Doctor but it had begun to be a bit much. Once the Doctor got his wings back after the Time Lords forgave him, Jo was faced with in order, Omega (yeah I'll count the Three Doctors in this list), Giraffe...epillar... diles (or whatever the fuck those things were in Carnival of Monsters), really stupid people (just... ALL of Frontier in Space), the Master (not that she wasn't used to HIM at this point) and the Daleks. She was tired, and it was starting to show. She just wanted to go home.

When she got home, she met a man, an Environmental scientist dealing with a chemical company, they fell deeply in love, and it was there that she decided to stay behind when he proposed. The last scene of the episode shows the celebration of the engagement... But the Doctor stands off to the side... Not really fitting in. The Doctor leaves the party early, a sad look on his face. It's obvious he's going to miss Jo... Despite the fact that he originally didn't want anything to do with her. Jo looks back one last time... But then looks forward. To her new life.

See that? That was poignant, bittersweet, sensible, built up nicely, and made me feel all sorts of emotions. And the hell of it is: THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM DIDN'T NEED TO EAT ITS OWN ASS JUST TO GET A COMPANION THE FUCK OFF THE TARDIS.

I am sorry, but that got so... Fucking... Tedious. For the first NINE SEASONS the only companions to ever just leave the TARDIS without something ridiculous happening to them were Mickey and Martha. Mickey was a decent exit, but Martha leaving because the Doctor was JUST... TOO... HUNKYYYYYY made me roll my eyes until triple sevens came up and coins came out of my mouth.

As for the others, Rose is... Fine. A good enough exit, and it worked for the time. Donna was JUST plain stupid. Not budging on that one. Amy and Rory's exit was KIND OF saved by Karen Gillian acting her ass off, but it still boiled down to "The Doctor can't go back and get her BECAUSE REASONS," and Arthur Darvill didn't even get a freaking sendoff he was just zooped out of the fucking plot. Clara was when I lost ALL patience with the companion exits. She could have easily just died in Face the Raven and it would have fit the arc of her getting more and more reckless and getting bailed out at the last second. Bill's exit at least had the benefit of being kind of CREEPY thanks to the Mondas Cybermen, but by that point I was just so NUMB to Companions leaving in tragedy that I couldn't appreciate it at all.

Say what you want about Chibnall and RTD2. I can say plenty, and likely will, but at the VERY LEAST Companions in that era were, for the most part, allowed to just leave the TARDIS because they and the Doctor had grown apart.

I feel like a companion works best when they get on the TARDIS searching for something (even if they don't know they are), and leaving when they've FOUND it. I feel like if that's the status quo, then when something tragic DOES happen to a companion, it hits harder. Such is the case with certain companions in the classic series that I won't spoil here.

But that's just my thoughts, I'd love to hear yours.

So I'm playing Berseria for the first time in like... A decade and uh... This... How do I ask this.

Are the Vibes for these two a VERY SPECIFIC KIND OF RANCID?! Like, it can't just be me right, this is... This is SUPER WEIRD. Like every cutscene these two spend together I'm just sitting there going "You're siblings, you're siblings, you're siblings, you're siblings, YOU ARE SIBLINGS, WHY IS THIS SO FUCKING WEIRD."

This was intentional right?! I'm supposed to be kind of creeped out?!

So God willing Doctor Who's hiatus isn't too long, I feel like they should do something to appeal to fans of the Classic Series specifically. Or maybe not that, just a bit of familiarity after way too many years of uncertainty. So I'm going to make a case that K9 should rejoin the TARDIS on a semi-permanent basis.

First and most importantly, the little guy is Marketable. Always has been. One of the most adorable robots in science fiction and easily one of the most merchandisable aspects of Doctor Who.

Secondly, he's cheap. While K9 was actually something of a technical marvel back in the 70's, I'm willing to bet that there are a few people who can build this prop in their garage these days. Probably a better one considering you could easily avoid the technical issues that caused problems when he first came on set. K9 was originally Radio controlled, which caused havoc with the set equipment. Occasionally the prop would completely lose its shit and careen into sets, props, and Tom Baker. Hell, Baker actually initially loathed working with the thing because it was always going wrong. These technical issues these days are a non issue. There's basically no reason not to control this thing with a simple Bluetooth setup. If I can control a computer program as complicated as a PlayStation game with a wireless controller, then it shouldn't be difficult to control what is essentially a set of wheels and some basic head movement.

Okay. So those are the reasons why it might be good for the studio. Let's go over how it would be good for the audience.

K9 is a highly advanced computer, and a far more interesting one than the Doctor checking his Sonic, or a screen on the TARDIS. Every so often the Doctor needs to run something through a computer, those scenes become more interesting when the computer is something with a face, a name, and a character to get invested in. I find the technobabble more enjoyable when it's coming from a cute little robot dog.

Secondly, it's a GOOD nostalgia bomb. I was 6 years old when I first watched the Fourth Doctor's run, so I was at just the right age to absolutely fall in love with K9. He's a symbol of Classic Doctor Who without a lot of baggage that doesn't require a lot of retconning, and is pretty hard to make confusing (though not impossible). Bringing K9 back on a full time basis wouldn't feel like pandering, at least not to me, it would feel like paying respects to both the shows routes, and the late, great Elisabeth Sladen.

Thirdly, it's a companion that can last through multiple Regenerations who isn't in awe of the Doctor. I feel like we can all agree that one of the bigger flaws with the revived series is the deification of the Doctor. This is going to seem strange, but I feel since 2005 the show has been... Perhaps a little too impressed with him? No that's the wrong word. I don't know how to explain it, but I don't go in for the whole "Oncoming storm, lonely God" thing. It just... Never sat right with me. K9 was always a SNARKY little pup, and one that would, on occasion, humble the Doctor. Not in such a way that it became annoying, but to occasionally remind us that The Doctor is still kind of a goofball, which I feel the revived series forgets in places it really shouldn't. I feel K9 would help with that. I hope that made sense.

But hey, those are just my thoughts, I'd love to hear yours.

Okay. So before we begin having this discussion let me just say I am well aware that Doctor Who continuity has always played a bit fast and loose. I get that. Continuity between episodes is somewhat in question on occasion, and bringing the extended universe material into this makes things MORE confusing. I'm not asking how much the SHOW considers canon, I want to know how much of Big Finish's Doctor Who Audio Adventures YOU consider to be canon.

Speaking for myself, I don't see why most of them shouldn't be?

The Audio stories kind of go out of their way to not ruffle any feathers when it comes to Continuity, and what they do add is fun. Hell, if we're talking objective quality here, the Big Finish stuff might actually be more consistent than the show itself. Nothing has been brought up in the Big Finish audios that really... Breaks Canon for me, if that makes sense?

And I feel like some at this point just... Have to be considered, because the show has gone out of its way to make sure they didn't decanonize them, like Spare Parts, or the entirety of the Eighth Doctor's run.

What do you guys think?

Go somewhere else for your hot takes, because you ain't gonna find them HERE. I love this story.

The premise is simple. The Doctor lands on Mondas in order to witness the Genesis of the Cybermen. Except... Not really.

Imagine my surprise when it's revealed pretty early on that the Cybermen had, in essence, already been created and are doing specific tasks for Mondas society. This story is compared to Genesis of the Daleks a lot, as it is the origin story of a classic enemy, however there is one major difference between this story and Genesis.

See, Genesis was a major event. A climax to an action packed war. The Daleks were born to a massive explosion, and a central villain at the center. Even though it came at the end of a 1000 year war, it still felt like it was happening all at once. And that's not a criticism. That's how things work sometimes. A jolt to jumpstart the rest of history.

In Spare Parts the crisis is a very slow burn. Just a matter of things getting worse, and worse, and worse, and worse until the rubber FINALLY meets the road, and the Cybermen appear as we know them.

Oh, and another thing! While I'm all for adapting side stories like Audio Stories and comics into the main show. You can NEVER adapt this story. Maybe into an animation. Not because it does something that can't be done live action, not because visuals can't capture the story, but because the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa are the PERFECT cast for this backdrop. This is taking place between Time Flight and the Ark of Infinity. IYKYK.

But yeah. This was great. The only negative I have is that I can't find art of the Mondas central committee. Any artist reading this, PLEASE DRAW THIS. It sounds metal as FUCK.

FREE MOBILE SPOTIFY DOESN'T SUCK ANYMORE!!

They got rid of that IDIOTIC shuffle only restriction so I can FINALLY listen to a bunch of Big Finish audios without worrying about a monthly fee!!

This is not an endorsement of Spotify. This should have been a thing from the BEGINNING. I think they also got rid of that stupid six skips an hour bullshit. But I'm not planning on doing much skipping!

Imma do Spare Parts first, but I'd like other suggestions, and if you're a Doctor Who fan, PLEASE check out these audio stories! They're fantastic!

So some context for NuWho fans who haven't seen the classic series before we begin.

Romana was the Doctor's... Technically SECOND Time Lord companion, if we assume Susan is a Time Lord (which is actually questionable), but Romana was the first Time Lord Companion after the Time Lords were established in canon. Played first by actress Mary Tamm, Romana was sent by the Time Lords to accompany the Fourth Doctor in his search for the Key to Time.

During that search, The Doctor met up with Princess Astra of Atrios. Played by Lallah Ward.

After the search was over, Romana regenerated. But here's the thing...

Romana's Regeneration is EASILY the weirdest on screen Regeneration in the show's history. Weirder than the Master as a puddle of goo, weirder than the timeless child, weirder than the Bigeneration.

First let's talk about the cause.

On screen, at least, there ISN'T one.

Romana walks out of the back of the TARDIS now played by the incredible, and completely adorable, Lallah Ward. Basically saying she thought the Princess looked very good in this body and she wanted to try it out herself. And yeah, this confirms something we've thought for a while...

The Doctor SUCKS at Regenerating.

Most Time Lords can actually control their appearance in a certain vector, and post regeneration, they aren't as loopy. Regeneration is not a skill the Doctor has honed.

But it gets weirder. The Doctor says she can't go around stealing other people's bodies (hypocrisy thy name is Time Lord), and demands Romana CHANGE it.

Whereupon she goes back and changes into SEVERAL different bodies before landing BACK on Lallah Ward. Including a ridiculous Green Skinned alien from a Rocketman serial, a nine foot tall Amazon, and... Well I have no words for the other one other than HOLY SHIT.

Okay, so I've been thinking about this for a while.

I think it's safe to say Romana didn't burn through FIVE regenerations in order to land on this. I think what's happening here is the same thing that happened in the Christmas Invasion, where the Doctor regrew his hand because he was still in the first few hours of his regeneration cycle. I feel like if a Time Lord is actually GOOD at the whole Regeneration thing, you can just kinda be a chameleon for a bit.

As for the cause, well... Big Finish tried to explain that it was all the work of some kinda... Time witch?! Like Romana had a psychic battle with some OTHER hyper powerful Time Lord Villainess that looked a lot like Mary Tamm?! Anyone who's heard this, fill me in, please.

But anyway. I think if you take the Christmas Invasion into account, it doesn't cause TOO many problems, but I would love to hear what you guys think. Be it theories or explanations from other parts of the franchise.

Like... This is not an aspect that gets talked about a lot, but the logo is a big part of the show's aesthetic. And it changing always represents a significant change in attitude and tone. Why else do you think that RTD2 used the Blue Diamond logo? That was the logo associated with Doctor Who's most successful period on television. It wasn't a coincidence.

So what is your preferred Logo from the show's history? Which one did you not like as much.

For me... Good God, I love the Neon Sign.

This was the Logo used for the tail end of Tom Baker, all the way through Colin Baker. It's also the logo that was on a BUNCH of my dad's old Doctor Who stuff. Including the Official Doctor Who Cookbook, which was an actual thing that existed and included a recipe actually called "Davros's Ribs of Revenge."

I want an LED of this logo to put up on my wall.

The one I like the least is probably Sylvester McCoy's logo. Hilariously dated.

What about you guys?

Let's just take a moment to appreciate the unquestioned, undisputed GOD OF ALL BROS.

Like I don't see this character getting talked about a lot but he's just a really fun presence to have in the series. Just this chill dude who's just sticking around Adol because they're bros. It's at the point where I start to wonder if Dogi actually loves adventuring like Adol does or if he's just unbothered by everything. I also love that he was a playable party member EXACTLY ONCE, and never again. Just... Had his taste of combat, then dipped.

I'm playing Oath in Felghana, and something occured to me about Adol Cristin.

Adol is a lot like any other JRPG protagonist. Young kid with a Sword, and a lot of determination, fighting against the evils of dark gods, or ancient relics, or evil wizards, or Androids made to resemble himself that take their mission of defending the world from a hell dimension way too seriously and go full Ultron (that was a weird entry, but a fun one). But unlike a lot of his peers. People like The Warriors of Light from Final Fantasy, or the Line of Erdrick from Dragon Quest, or Crono from Chrono Trigger, he's not chosen, nor is he motivated by wanting to protect his friends, or some kind of revenge...

Adol goes through JRPG plotlines... Because it's FUN.

Adol looks at Ultimecia's final form in FF8 and goes; "HELL yeah, dude! I KNEW coming here was gonna be worth it!"

So I have to ask... Is Adol a little unhinged? Like is his personality just a slightly less attractive Great Gonzo from the Muppets?

If you've never seen Network you need to.

An utterly fantastic film, a film that's writing is peak, a film that's messages just gets more relevant by the second and easily one of my favorite movies of all time.

It is also really goddamn depressing.

This movie is marketed as a black comedy, but it's probably one of the least funny comedies I've ever seen. It just fuckin hollows you out emotionally. There is ONE person in the whole movie who isn't morally bankrupt or mentally ill, and he gets the hell out of the movie before the credits roll. That's his "Happy Ending."

So could someone please explain to me why this is the movie I watch when I want to feel BETTER?!

AND IT WORKS?!

Like this is not a cheery movie. Not even a little bit. But for some reason, whenever I watch it, I feel better, and more together.

Is there any movie that's like that for you? One that isn't exactly happy, but it somehow always makes you feel better.

So I looked it up and, yes. This is the actual Co-founder of the Rolling Stone, and this happens on occasion.

Punisher has had a full crossover with Eminem at one point, celebrities are saved, even politicians occasionally make appearances in comic books. And I have to ask, what is the general consensus on stuff like this happening?

I personally find it... Okay. When it's just a celebrity being saved by a Superhero, I don't bat an eye. It's Superheroes, that's Standard stuff. But when it's a guy like Jann Wenner, whose name you'd only know if you into that particular scene, I get a little put off. When it's a real world politician, it ranges from cringey, to hilarious.

What do you guys thing.

Daredevil and Black Widow as a couple, huh?

Yeah these seem like two people who would date for like two years, fight constantly, stay together well past the point where all their friends think they should be broken up, break up on a MASSIVE SCREAMING ARGUMENT, and yet somehow come out of that relationship weirdly close friends.

Does that make sense? Like these two SHOULDN'T date, but I absolutely believe that they WOULD for a while.

Anyway. She'll have second billing on this comic for a while. It's been a thing for a bit now, as I've been reading, and honestly they make a fun team. It's cool to see someone keeping secrets from MATT for once. It's odd. It's almost like Natasha is acting as a sort of prototype Elektra. But I guess we'll see if I'm right about that come Miller's run.

Reading through Daredevil has been an interesting experience for me. It's fun.

THE MAN-BULL.

Look at this... It's like Daredevil vs. the Gruffalo.

Daredevil has some of the coolest villains in the history of Marvel Comics, and it's kind of shocking how few of them show up in the early comics!

I'm coming up on issue 80. Let's look at some of the villains we've dealt with so far. As many as I can remember.

The Owl, a naked ripoff of Oswald Cobblepot, who apparently stuck around because he's in the freaking Netflix show.

Speaking of the Defenderverse we have the Purple Man, who is... One of my favorite Marvel Villains ever, no notes.

Then there's Gladiator, who's FINE if a little generic.

Then there was the Masked Marauder, who ISN'T fine, and INSANELY Generic.

There's the hilariously named "Mr. Fear." Who is basically just Scarecrow wearing a premier Dr. Destiny skin.

We tried to make Ox a thing from the freaking enforcers.

Cobra and Mr. Hyde have been wandering around, and they're... Certainly a pairing.

Then there's the Jester, which... No.

And I almost forgot this guy! How could I leave out Daredevil's GREATEST NEMESIS...

Stilt-Man.

There was one comic where Daredevil switched bodies with Doctor Doom, but aside from that? I count maybe two and a half decent villains out of that list from eighty issues of comics.

And now I'm staring down a hairy horned man in a speedo.

And please don't take this to mean I'm not having fun, this is WHY I read old comics, it's just kind of mind blowing to me that Daredevil didn't get a lot of his classic Rogues Gallery until a couple of decades in.

The Joker was in the first issue of Batman's self-titled, same with Catwoman. Doctor Octopus showed up in Spider Man's third ever appearance. Doctor Doom menaced the Fantastic Four in their fifth issue. Magneto and the X-Men debuted in the SAME COMIC.

It's amazing that I'm almost a decade in, and besides maybe the Owl, who BARELY counts, can I find anyone I'd call a staple villain for Daredevil. Even Kilgrave is more of an overall Marvel Universe villain, than a Daredevil villain.

There was a time period between... I wanna say 1968-1973...

Where the Silver Age was just... BEGGING TO DIE.

This was the case about across basically all of comics, and it's an interesting, if awkward, transition period. The Bronze Age is starting to kick in, and we were starting to get more serious topics. Investigation of brutal murders, relationship drama, tackling more serious social issues with a degree of maturity... But every so often, the comic will have a Silver Age... I have no better word than spasm and we follow up an Issue where we dealt with Karen's Hollywood career, and the Stuntmaster's redemption...

To Daredevil having to fight a boxing match for someone's eyesight while menaced by a dude named Kragg.

I'm not OBJECTING to this, you understand, I love the Silver Age, but it is something I noticed.

I just...

...

Okay. We got any Gravity Falls fans in the sub? Do you remember Dippy Fresh from Weirdmageddon Part II?

This. ALL OF THIS.

This panel sets me off, and I need to explain why.

Here is the plot LEADING UP to this panel.

So Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock both want to date Karen Page. That has been the driving emotional throughline throughout the last years worth of comics, much to my irritation. Long story short, Netflix series this is NOT, and Karen Page, at least in the silver age, is one of the blandest most uninteresting love interests I have ever seen in a comic book.

Now, for Complicated reasons a few issues ago, Spider-Man burst in through the window of the law offices of Nelson and Murdock, and accused Foggy Nelson of being the Man Without Fear right in front of Karen and Matt.

Now, Karen is something of a Daredevil stan, so Foggy decides that the best course of action is to play into the accusations. Acting as suspicious as possible, and dodging the question of whether or not he's Daredevil whenever he is directly asked.

This leads Foggy to do something Metal-In-The-Microwave Stupid, as he goes to get a Daredevil costume that Karen can accidentally find his costume and he can "Confess." The shopkeeper then decides to up the ante a bit. Wouldn't it be more impressive if he showed up as Daredevil to take down a supervillain, and save Karen in the meanwhile. The fight, of course, is to be a complete work. The bad guy will take a dive, Foggy will be the hero of the day.

Since you possess the common sense God gave the common gadfly, you can guess that this does not go well, as the Costume shop owner is actually Daredevil staple villain/supporting character The Gladiator (if you've watched the Netflix show, he's the guy who makes the PROPER Daredevil outfit).

Gladiator has no intention of throwing the fight, and knocks Foggy out cold (probably aggravating the concussion he had a few issues back, but fuck it, CTE isn't a thing in comic books), and starts to go after Karen only to be stopped by the REAL Daredevil.

He's arrested, but he's smug. Because he tells the press that it was all a set-up... FOGGY NELSON IS DAREDEVIL.

Daredevil shows up at Foggy's apartment (in full costume), shows him the article, and respectfully asks what the fuck he THOUGHT was gonna happen. And Foggy resolves to end the charade.

Meanwhile, the Masked Marauder (that would be the dude in the purple), has kidnapped Gladiator and informed him that he will now be his second in command. Gladiator responds to this action by... Beating the unholy piss out of Masked Marauder. While in the meantime, Marauder's goons go to kill Foggy. Daredevil makes the save while Foggy is in the room, while one of the goons makes it back to the hideout...

Leading. To this. Panel.

And the reason I gave that whole spiel is because I need you to internalize how out of hand this got, and how LONG it's been going on, so you can appreciate how much I've been screaming myself hoarse at this comic book.

Because REALLY Masked Marauder?! REALLY?! You noticed that Foggy Nelson was a good sixty pounds overweight and SIX INCHES SHORTER THAN DAREDEVIL?!

Gee, if only Spider-Man, Karen Page, The Gladiator, your minions or ANYONE IN THE NYC ASSOCIATED PRESS had had that little piece of information, it feels like a lot of bullshit could have been avoided!

TL;DR: Of course Foggy isn't fucking Daredevil! I thought he was the blind one!!

God I love old comic books.