Just recently completed Splatoon Raiders (barring unlocking all the info on the Salmonids and getting all the different weapons, but I'll do that some time in the future), and has anyone else noticed that the Salmonids seem to have some kind of fixation with the stars and possibly even space travel?
I kind of want to know more. Is there more to these crazy fish beyond their lack of a fear of death and preference for their remains to be eaten?
I keep seeing people raising concerns over a BD Second remaster not happening because of the removal of stuff like the Bravely Second mechanic.
That said, I like to think that Square isn't totally dead set on burying Second. The BD1 remaster still acknowledges the sin beasts and those freakish Ba'al monsters (they somehow look more horrific in the remaster).
Then, maybe I'm just grasping at straws. I hope we get a Second remaster.
Second is one of my favorite RPGs ever, and I have neither a working 3DS (nor the money for one) or my copy of the original Second.
Apparently the bouncing bombs subweapon is really effective against the Congealed, especially during the parts where all the mutants are out. Those combined with the Battery Buster allowed me to actually first-try the Congealed.
The bastard has wrecked my shit in literally every other playthrough.
I opted to get the Lords of Shadow games on my Steam Deck, since I never got to play LoS 1's DLC or experience the other two games. I just finished 2 (pending the Alucard DLC), and while I get some of the grievances with it (those stealth sections felt unnecessary, at least for the later 2/3s of the game), it isn't terrible.
I know we won't see any new games of this style, but I would have liked to see the path it would have taken if the plan was for it to be a full standalone branch of the Castlevania series.
Lords of Shadow 1 is still plenty solid after all these years (played it on XBOX 360 originally) and I'm sure there are those who agree.
It was neat to see Mirror of Fate attempt to go for a Metroidvania feel, though it was rather on the clunky side.
Of course, maybe I'm the odd one out.
After playing through Mina the Hollower, I got inspiration from the game to build a giant flying orrery of my own. Probably doesn't look as cool as MtH's though.
Decided to take a brief sabbatical from my modless run and try the game's butt mode (the Victorian Text mod). Yeah, a few seconds in and I can tell Yacht Club completely outdid Shovel Knight's butt mode with what they did with Mina's.
For those wondering why the game is upside down, I turned on the Maximum Barf mod to see what it would do.
I'll let you guys be the judge of it.
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Edit: Much to my mild annoyance, all of what I wrote could be considered spoilers. How, I don't entirely know. >!Both Nox's Bayou and Septemburg have been cleared, and I've started making my way through the Dreadworm. Still dreading stuff like Coltrane Peak and!< >!Radiant Manor!< >!though, but I have officially crossed the point where the game broke me in my first playthrough (constantly getting my shit wrecked by the bone mimic in the Sandfalls), so can't complain so far.!<
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Now a few tips, some of which will still feel like "no duh" moments to experienced players.
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• >!If you've gotten the Pit Preserver, keep it equipped for Septemburg onward, especially if most of the damage you took on a previous playthrough came from pits.!<
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• >!Try to find the Orrery mirrors in each area on your first visit. It will save you the hassle of searching for them later and will lead into my next tip.!<
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• >!The Astral Orrery's mirror hall can be used as a fast travel hub (or at least a quick way back to Ossex). Really handy for if you're deep in a level and have a crap-ton of bones on you (and aren't close to your next level-up). Just be careful of the knight at the center.!<
-Why I never made use of this in my previous runs is beyond me.
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• >!Get the Burrowing Codex from the ring minigame in the Sandfalls. It combined with with the steady soles will make water hazards a non-issue, which means you'll have very few troubles when going back to Nox's Bayou if you plan to grab everything. Use the Iron Lung to make the minigame less of a nuisance.!<
It's rather early to give an update, but I just cleared Queensbury Crypt (I refuse to attempt the deprived path until I have four sparks).
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I also figure I can try to offer a bit of help to those who are either still struggling or have outright told the game to go screw itself.
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• Try to stockpile your bones. Don't immediately dump them into stat upgrades. Either convert them to Bonestone or refuse the level up outright. This way you'll have some funds to get upgrades from the supplier.
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• Try to do anything you can in Ossex before you head toward one of the major areas (most likely Queensbury Crypt). Gather bones, sniff out secrets, etc.
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• On the note of doing things in Ossex first, if you've managed to avoid losing any bones you've gathered thus far, go to the indoor area of the Bowery and talk to the fleshy guy. Make sure to have 1,000 bones on you (not in Bonestone). After he swipes them from you, berate him until you get them back. Go back to the bowery and talk to him again. Give him the 1,000 bones and he'll give you the Bell of Grace. This can either catch a spark you've dropped or your bones (half or all). This will mitigate any early-game bone loss.
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• If you still have bones to spare, use them at the supplier. Get a health rose or two and an extra trinket pouch.
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• Get the Steady Soles as soon as you can. These will be a tremendous help in Nox's Bayou and Coltrane Peak.
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• Apparently when fighting the bone mimics (big golem-looking guys that will try to strangle Mina whenever she's within reach), you can jump over their grab attacks.
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• If you're fighting a boss/miniboss that has less spark holders than you do, dequip the Bell of Grace to free up a trinket slot.
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I know some of this is likely a "no duh" to those more experienced with the game, but give me a break. I'm trying to help people's experiences be a little less headache-inducing.
If there are any Dungeons & Dragons players/DMs in this subreddit, I'd like to ask for your help. Please help me turn this guy into a D&D monster. He'd be perfect as the end boss for a Halloween-themed one-shot (holiday themed D&D sessions are not uncommon with my group).
I have a couple of ideas down, namely him being able to summon pumpkin minions, strength being his best stat, maybe a few vine attacks, but I'm struggling otherwise. I did consider posting this in a D&D subreddit, but the odds of most people in that subreddit having no idea who the Carving Man is seemed too high.
I know we're still a handful of months off from Halloween, but one-shots do take me a bit of time to write.
Also, Septemburg should have absolutely been called Octoburg (I'd have also settled for Autumnburg). A pumpkin-themed boss just screams Halloween more than Fall in general.
In Ossex, there's a trinket you can get presumably early on that keeps you from losing plasma when you get hit and lets you move while healing.
You get it by bringing a vase of flowers to the guy with the long nose, then bringing him over to the bridge and having him give the flowers to the red lady at the other side.
If it works like how I'm imagining, then it may alleviate some early-game headaches, possibly even later headaches as well.
I only just picked it up because I'm currently doing some item cleanup before I head for the Orrery. In the future, I may attempt a modless playthrough with that trinket.
So one of the mods in the game is Victorian Text. Out of curiosity, I switched it on. Then I noticed something was off when the ending area for the crypt was called "Solemn Butt". I didn't think much of it at the moment, but less than a minute later it hit me when Mina signs her letter with the name "Butt". Victorian Text is just the butt mode from Shovel Knight. It definitely explained why the Duke was saying butt so many times.