The best character in Toy Story 3

I'm kidding, there's obvious picks for better characters in Toy Story 3, but at the same time, Totoro's still my favourite. I wish Studio Ghibli gave Pixar the rights to use him in Toy Story 4 and 5, but they didn't, so he'll never show up in this franchise again (unlike the Peas-in-a-Pod and Chuckles, who have a possibility of showing up again because they're original characters) and that makes me sad. Please, prove me wrong, Pixar.

u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 9 days ago

Observation I made when watching the Toy Story 5 coming to Digital Trailer that I failed to pick up on when seeing it in cinemas

When all the toys that they don't want to write into the movies anymore (please write them into 6, Pixar) are placed in the box of little to no screentime, the Aliens are just not in there whatsoever. I understand why they wouldn't be there for the shots of the toys talking because they sadly wouldn't add anything to the scene, but not even being seen packed away is both sad because they forgot the characters that literally saved everyone the last time they were relevant and also funny because I'm now imagining the Aliens in Bonnie's room wondering where their parents and friends went during the second half of the story.

Oh well, at least the Aliens are still treated better than the Peas-in-a-Pod (forgotten again despite their comeback in Forky Asks A Question and a Pixar Popcorn short), Chuckles (disappears from the franchise entirely following the retirement and passing of his VA, Bud Luckey, when they either could've just had him be silent in 4 and 5, gave him a new VA, or had him voiced by his flashback VA, Bob Peterson), and the best character from 3 despite not even being an original character or doing much in the film, Totoro (banished from the franchise because Studio Ghibli doesn't want to give the rights to Pixar).

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 9 days ago
▲ 5 r/5YL+1 crossposts

MS Paint Custom Ben 10 designs: Ghostfreak

Art was done by me, inspired by the works of the crew behind the Ben 10 Franchise and 5 Years Later. No Generative AI was used when making this.

Before this begins, I reccommend you check out the posts for the other 9 aliens in the Original 10:

Alright, it's time to end the first chapter of my MS Paint Custom Ben 10 Designs journey with the last of the original 10, and a fan favourite to many, Ghostfreak. Do I even need to explain why the alien that casually left the Omnitrix and became a member of Ben's rogues gallery is so popular? Of course not, seeing as how he's so iconic that spoiler tagging that plot point would only be beneficial to people unaware of the franchise as a whole (and considering how spoiler-heavy our favourite ghost with the most freak is, it'd be a shocker if you watched Ghostfreaked Out completely blind). Now then, onto his designs themselves, here are the notes for them:

  • For the custom designs, I decided to have Ghostfreak's tail and claws be exposed on his regular design to make him look more monstrous, though I would cover them up for the canon designs that don't have exposed claws.
  • For OV Inner form Ghostfreak (which never existed in the show), I used Zs'Skayr's colour scheme from that show for him. Both Flashback Ghostfreak designs have the purple eye from OV Zs'Skayr because I don't think the Ghostfreak that's not as in control as in the present day of Omniverse. Originally, Inner Ghostfreak was gonna have a green body, but I scrapped it because I felt like the green eye was symbolic of Ben finally being in control of the alien.
  • 5YL Ghostfreak's designs were recoloured for the Ben 10K Ghostfreak design, and Inner Ghostfreak (>!again, never existed in 5YL!<) uses >!Zs'Skayr's colour scheme from And Beyond!<.
  • Ultimate Ghostfreak is a simplified version of O.R.Ash's "Bolter Geist" design.
  • I didn't have any ideas for how an Omni-Enhanced Ghostfreak would function, so just know that whenever an Omni-Enhanced Alien has just a helmet and claws (maybe Omni-Enhanced Four Arms' Shoulder Pads), that's me giving up with a design.
  • Omni-Kix and Omni-Naut Ghostfreak were also basically me giving up with the designs, but in the traditional Omni-Kix/Omni-Naut way (they're in a mech suit). That being said, Ghostfreak can exit the armor at any time due to his intangibility, at the cost of reverting to regular Ghostfreak should the armor be destroyed.
  • Again, like with Reboot Stinkfly (and arguably Ripjaws), I matched Ghostfreak's Eye and inner form colour (purple) with their closest equivalent for each alternate Ben (Green - Purple, Blue - Pink, Red - Green, etc.).
  • Benzarro-Ghostfreak and Mad Ben-Ghostfreak only have one design, being a recolour of OV Ghostfreak with his outer skin ripped off to expose his face (and Mad Ben obviously having spikes).
  • You probably already know the changes made to the torsos of the two Female Ghostfreaks (Gwen and Reboot Frightwig), so I won't bring this up again unless a future alien specifically doesn't have a different body across both genders.
  • Reboot Frightwig-Ghostfreak's tentacles are replaced with her human self's hair, and again ditches the colour theming of the other original 10 to use her colour palette (though not stylised to match her jumpsuit like some of the other aliens).
  • Lastly, time for how each Zs'Skayr would be in each universe (The custom universe is a Reboot continuation idea I've had for a while, and the other universes would be a Reboot Omniverse):
    • The main Zs'Skayr in my custom universe would not be connected to Ghostfreak's DNA, with Ghostfreak essentially acting as a prison for Zs'Skayr. If Zs'Skayr were ever to break free, Ghostfreak would remain separate from him and stay in the Omnitrix.
    • Albedo-Ghostfreak can get possessed by Zs'Skayr if he's alive/active.
    • Ultimate Ghostfreak is the only version of him that resists Zs'Skayr's possession due to both Ectonurites having different DNA.
    • Dimension 23 Zs'Skayr would be similar to The Riddler from The Batman (2022).
    • Bad Zs'Skayr would be a kind and noble leader for the Ectonurites, and let his DNA be used for the Omnitrix instead of getting trapped in the device.
    • Nega Zs'Skayr would be apathetic, and would also be an impactless nobody on his planet.
    • Benzarro-Zs'Skayr is similar to Classic Zs'Skayr, aside from not being trapped in the Omnitrix.
    • Mad Zs'Skayr would be an ally of Mad Ben, helping keep his slave labour in line by possessing any that step out of line in exchange for ruling Earth.
    • Lastly, Gwen and Reboot Frightwig-Zs'Skayr would be female, be similar to Classic Zs'Skayr, and both recieve new abilities from their source (Gwen-Zs'Skayr would master magic and gain an Anodite form, and Frightwig-Zs'Skayr would have Frightwig's hair replace her tentacles).

And thus, all of the Original 10 are done. I will be going on a break from this series for a while (I don't know how long, sadly), but it's been fun getting to draw all of these aliens (especially Upgrade). I can't wait to return with the additional OS Aliens, but until then, thanks for taking the time to look at these designs, and hopefully I can share my ideas of a custom Ben 10 Reboot continuation.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 9 days ago
▲ 3 r/5YL+1 crossposts

MS Paint Custom Ben 10 designs: MY BOY UPGRADE!!!

Art was done by me, inspired by the works of the crew behind the Ben 10 Franchise and 5 Years Later. No Generative AI was used when making this.

it's finally time...

So I'm sure anyone following my Ben 10 posts since I began my franchise retrospective in April knows that my favourite Ben 10 alien of all time is Upgrade, the Galvanic Mechamorph from Galvan B who can shapeshift and merge with technology to, well, "upgrade" it. Hell, I even did an appreciation thread for Upgrade's reboot counterpart (as seen here: Reboot Upgrade appreciation post : r/Ben10), one of only 2 Reboot characters I did an appreciation thread for (the other being Reboot Frightwig, as seen here: Reboot Frightwig appreciation post : r/Ben10), so, of course, I wanted to do as much justice as possible for our liquid boy, and I think I did him justice. Here's notes on all of his designs:

  • UA Upgrade is probably the best redesign of the OS Aliens that were exclusive to the intro because he actually looks different (even if he's blatantly just Baz-L with an Omnitrix symbol. Despite this, I didn't make the lines accurate to the show design so I could remove the Omnitrix symbol from him and place it on his head for OV Upgrade. Ben 10K Classic Upgrade also reused the UA design. Ben 10K Reboot Upgrade also adds the lines to his design.
  • OV Flashback Upgrade's white shade was taken off of Flashback Ben's stock render due to the fact that his only appearance in the show was in purple lighting.
  • Dynamite Upgrade's limbs would be redesigned to match their appearance in his currently available artwork, but I would replace his lightning patterns to match the other Upgrades. Of course, his design may change when he finally shows up (either in Issue 6 or you can't make me say it, though if he shows up in Issue 5, I'd be pretty happy to see him).
  • 5YL Upgrade is flat out a new drawing, same with Benzarro-Upgrade, who was inspired by the late Derrick J. Wyatt's design for him (a redeco of Malware's original appearance from before he was altered by the Helix and the Tachyon Cannon), because I couldn't wrangle either Upgrade into them. Benzarro-Upgrade is also the only Multiversal Upgrade to have 1 design, in contrast to the 2 designs the others have. I may also do this for Benzarro-Wildvine by using his Dynamite design for him, but we'll have to wait and see.
  • As per usual, Ultimate Classic Upgrade is based on O.R.Ash's "Machine God" design whilst just like Stinkfly, Ultimate Reboot Upgrade is just Classic Upgrade with an Ultimatrix symbol.
  • Omni-Enhanced Upgrade takes cues from VampireRichard69's design for him, only now having Shoulder pads that look similar to Four Arms' that function as mines whenever Upgrade merges with technology.
  • Omni-Kix and Omni-Naut Upgrade are just texture swaps of the same body, as he is merely controlling it due to being gelatinous. Said armor is inspired by the Classic Continuity Bio-Suit.
  • Unlike with Stinkfly, I didn't find colours to match Reboot Upgrade's colour scheme (e.g. Yellow for Albedo or Pink for 23), instead keeping the colours consistent because I like how they look.
  • Mad Ben-Upgrade and Reboot Frightwig-Upgrade don't have aspects of their other alien designs (the spikes and rough outfit on the former, the hair on the latter), again due to Upgrade's abilities. For Mad Ben's design, I added claws coloured like his spikes onto the classic design, and recoloured the reboot design's claws to match. For Reboot Frightwig's design, I would make her torso yellow instead of orange to implement that colour onto her body without removing the black or the orange that's also there.
  • Lastly, I did the usual "change the torso to look more feminine" thing for Gwen and Reboot Frightwig, though it was to match the OV Gwen-Upgrade design Derrick J. Wyatt made, as otherwise, I would've kept their body the same.

And that was Upgrade. Now then, I only have 1 more member of the Original 10 to do before taking a break from this series, and you all (hopefully) know who it's gonna be. Until then, thank you for viewing all of these posts. The support truly means a lot.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 11 days ago

Since no one has posted this yet, we have confirmation that for the Phantom Thieves pack, Yukiko is gonna have Panther's outfit

Even though it hasn't been shown, I'm gonna assume for the time being that she'll have Mitsuru's outfit for the SEES pack.

u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 13 days ago

Skylanders Game Reviews: Trap Team

(you know the usual, this review wasn't created by AI because the very notion of me using it belongs in Cloudcracker Prison. Now then, onto the review):

And so, I'm back again earlier than usual, though I won't be this early for the remaining 2 games (for a reason). Last time, I covered SWAP Force, which was a decent follow-up to SSA and Giants, even with a few downgrades from those games. Now it's time for Trap Team, the return of Toys for Bob to the franchise. Will this fix the issues I had with the last game (like BS 100% completion and an awful Portal Master rank system), or will there be more issues than last time?

Story: Trap Team has you track down members of the Doom Raiders, a new team of villains who specialise in different aspects of terror and chaos (The Gulper's greed, Dreamcatcher's ability to bring nightmares to life, Wolfgang's deadly music, etc), before their leader, the Golden Queen, uses a device to rule over all of Skylands. After the last game replaced the staple NPCs of the series, Cali finally returns to prominence (with a higher pitched voice because her VA isn't voicing Prime Arcee anymore thanks to that show ending), alongside the Mabu (like Blobbers or the generals from Spyro's Adventure). Tessa also returns, but Sharpfin is sadly gone. We get 2 new NPCs here, Buzz and Mags, who are welcome additions to the cast, and all of the Doom Raiders have their charm (helped by having Chompy Mage from Giants return). The backstory of the Trap Team is that they were the Skylanders who previously captured the Doom Raiders, and they were sent to Earth when Kaos blew up the prison (Cloudcracker Prison) to free them (also causing some elements to resurface as ill talk about below). It's a solid backstory, and I'm happy they aren't pretending like they were sent to Earth long before humans created NFC chips.

Playable Characters: Onto the Skylanders themselves. There are 36 brand new Skylanders in this entry, 4 for each element (with the exception of those elements I mentioned above, which only have 2 each), and half of which are the titular "Trap Team". The Trap Team are the start of the worst trend in the later Toys for Bob developed games, where they're much stronger than the prior Skylanders, with their powers getting stronger during the game's 46 Boss Fights. On top of that, they get 2 collectibles exclusively for them: Traptanium shards that either reveal collectibles, creates bridges to otherwise inaccessible areas or reveals new areas, and Traptanium gates, which I'll get to later. The Giants regain their boulder ability, but it doesn't matter because it's barely useful. In addition, we get 21 other figures: the Series 2 and 3 figures return, alongside the in-game and chase variants (but there's even less of them this time), but they're now joined by the Series 4 figure and Minis. The Series 4 gimmick is just the same as the prior Reposes, but only one of the 5 reposes is a Series 4 (Gill Grunt), with the other planned Series 4 figures being scrapped during development. For the Reposes, Shroomboom finally gets a Series 2, alongside Fryno (both Frynos in this game are the only time Toys for Bob did a figure of a Vicarious Visions character). As for the minis, they're just the original Skylanders, but small. Half of them were actually Sidekicks, magic items that follow you around 14 years before Fortnite did it, in prior entries, whilst the other half of them are all new. Lastly, there are 2 new elements, Light and Dark, which are solid additions to the element roster and have some great elements.

For the new characters themselves, I like them a lot more, especially since the non-gimmick characters are more forgettable, which makes them more interesting to me. Enigma is my favourite Skylander from this game, due to his design just being awesome, but several other characters (Snap Shot, Wildfire, High Five, Thunderbolt, Gearshift, Wallop, Short Cut, Knight Light, and Blackout, as an example for each element) are also great.

Oh right, I forgot to mention the traps. Everytime you beat a boss, you can place a trap of the corresponding element on the portal and play as that boss, and since most of them are regular enemies, you finally get to be a Chompy. You even get to play as all of the Doom Raiders after beating their bosses, and they're fun (especially since they get 3 attacks rather than 2 like the regular bosses). Their biggest difference from the regular playable characters is that they can't be upgraded (hence only 2 attacks for regular bosses and 3 for Doom Raiders) and lack a health bar, instead having a timer for how long you can use them. Kaos is the best of the villains simply because you can refill his timer, and he does so much damage that he outclasses everyone else, hence why he's the main game's final boss and gets his own element in the final game, the Kaos Element.

Gameplay: Trap Team plays more like the first two games, but keeps the ability to jump from SWAP Force. The Trap Team, as I said, get a power boost during bosses and can break Traptanium crystals. Elemental Gates are much worse because you can only use the Trap Masters to open them. This results in the regular Skylanders being irrelevant, which sucks. Villains also have either cutscenes or full-on missions that allow them to permanently (which is annoying) alter their deco and increase their timer, and the missions we have are fun but can be annoying. Skystones is back, but now has the Skystones whittle down the health of the opponent or their cards, and it's fine. The Lock puzzles are back, now being faster and not spinning the puzzle when you move the imp. The Arena challenges return to how they were in Giants, but the PVP battle mode was removed, and it will never return. Instead, we have a Tower Defense mode, Kaos' Doom Challenge, and it's a basic tower defense game, so moving on. The legendary treasure collectibles are now longer similar to the Luck-O-Tron Wheels, now being decorations for the hub world, the Skylanders Academy™, and they're pretty solid, but the Story Scrolls have been changed from Skylanders lore to "le funne captain flynn jokes", and if you're crazy enough to want to listen to them again, you can't do that because they forgot. The last change I want to mention is the Portal Master Ranks, which are much better than before because you only have to play the Tower Defense mode, the main story, and the arena challenges, with nothing else required to complete it. I love the Portal Master Ranks in this game, and it's never gonna be as bad as SWAP Force ever again.

Levels: This game has 22 levels, much more than Giants and SWAP Force, but less than SSA. The objectives system is back to normal, thankfully, but the speedruns are part of a brand new fourth star unlocked after beating/trapping Kaos, the difficult dares (they're not). The levels have been shortened, which I'm thankful for as it means this game is less of a slog than SWAP Force. The Adventure Pack levels from SSA are once again not playable here (alongside the two from SWAP Force) due to the gameplay changes, but we have new ones instead which are fun, even if it's annoying that they have exclusive villains, including the Chompy. Thankfully, the bosses are no longer their own levels, but we have more than ever to accommodate the trap gimmick, and most of them are glorified enemy encounters. The ones that aren't are for the Doom Raiders, and I really like how they get less or more difficult depending on the difficulty you play, meaning your fight can either be an easy challenge or a Cuphead boss. Unfortunately, now it's time to talk about...

The Bugs: Glitches are an unavoidable part of games, but don't happen frequently, so when you get a Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 or a FNAF Security Breach, you know the game was rushed to release. Trap Team isn't as bad as those examples... but that isn't saying much when you can access elemental gates without using a Trap Master or when you can speedrun levels by abusing exploits the programmers didn't think about, like the infamous SWAP Force Double Jump glitch. It's not all good, either, as Time Town has a progression-based soft lock (the area where you get on the clock elevator before the Cross Crow boss and the end of the level doesn't have a kill box, so you can't knock enemies into that pit unless you want to restart the level) and a conpletion-based soft lock (hit the Cross Crow too early (as in, before his Cutscene triggers), and he will turn into a regular enemy instead of beginning the boss. Even worse, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discussing this game's bugs, unlike the other entries on the series, which don't have this many.

Conclusion: Overall, Skylanders: Trap Team is an okay successor. It's bugs are annoying, and the price of entry is atrocious, but the game improves on aspects that were lacking in SWAP Force. Next time I'll be covering Skylanders: SuperChargers, which has probably got the best story in the franchise, but also the weakest gameplay.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 13 days ago

Fanmade GOB Redesigns in MS Paint: VII, 0, and Anti-Devil

Flumbo (0 and Anti-Devil, plus a version of a Hellish Flumbo 1)

The Givanium Citizens (VII), the Givanium Abominaton, and Brushista

Truffletoot (0 only since his present day self hasn't shown up), Ramamba, and the Infant Givanium Citizens

The Givanium Citizens (Anti-Devil)

The Givanium Elder and \"Nabnaleena\"

Clawrenzo (Wall Art, Regular, and Reclamation Team)

Varzah (Wall Art, Monster, Reclamation Team (Collar and No Collar))

Miss Mimicker (Regular and Reclamation Team) and Oony Balloony

Truffletoot (with the correct shoe colour)

It's finally time for me to do my final batch of Garten of Banban redesigns, this time focusing on the chapters that didn't release in 2023:

  • Flumbo is (as to be expected) a repaint of Banban. Replacing the party hats are Glasses inspired by his Eyelashes. His Beard also looks less messy. Juvenile Flumbo's beard is only just starting to grow. Lastly, Buff Hellish Flumbo's beard is more fully formed.
  • Most of the Givanium characters and Ramamba are just translated into my artstyle (And Ramamba's body now looks like an actual snake), no notes there.
  • Brushista's only notable differences are longer arms and no hands and toes.
  • Truffletoot has a proper mouth and smaller eyes, but otherwise remains unchanged.
  • The Givanium Elder's Head is now visibly drooping on both sides (and his stomach now has stretch marks).
  • Clawrenzo and Varzah have custom wall art design, with Clawrenzo having reverse-coloured eyes and Varzah having a cuter face. As for their monster designs, Reclamation Team Clawrenzo's white-texured arm is now a bandage (I don't know if that was intended or not, btw), and Varzah has 3 variants (1 regular one, and 2 based on his Reclamation Team design (one with a shock collar and one without), adding the Banban plush to his back and coating him in Givanium).
  • Miss Mimicker's eyes are supposed to be speakers to explain her ability to mimick others' voices. For her Reclamation Team design, I put the collar over her mouth to explain why she wouldn't say anything that isn't mimicked from other characters.
  • Lastly, Oony Balloony's shirt has became a full suit because what the f*** was the base design. As for his limbs and his neck, I'd add lines to look like they were twisted around to keep in air.
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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 15 days ago

Fanmade GOB Redesigns in MS Paint: II-VI

Sheriff Toadster (Normal and Enraged) and Slow Seline (0 and II-)

Nabnab (Wall Art and 0) and Nabnaleena (Wall Art)

Nabnab (II-VI and Hellish) and Nabnaleena (Regular and Nautified)

Zolphius (Wall Art and Regular)

Mr. Kabob Man

Tamataki & Chamataki (Regular and Nautified) and Queen Bouncelia

Bittergiggle (0, IV-VII Without Teeth, IV-VII With Teeth, Nautified (VI), and Nautified (VII)) and the Experimental Jesters

Kittysaurus (Wall Art, 0, IV- Regular, and Nautified), Syringeon, Choo Choo Charles, Nauty One, Sir Dadadoo, The Infant Givanium Citizens, and The Nanny (&gt;!I have not done her design in 1's Weird Route yet, as she's currently just a head!&lt;)

And so, I'm back with redesigns for the cast of Garten of Banban II-VI, which is probably the last time these guys will have creative liberties taken with their designs.

  • Sherrif Toadster remains unchanged aside from a more expressive mouth and a pair of shoes. As for Enraged Toadster, I decided to do the bloodshot eyes effect, but with Givanium instead.
  • Slow Seline has incredibly small pupils to imply her sanity... isn't in the best state by the time she shows up in II, whilst Juvenile Seline is too small for her shell.
  • Nabnab and Nabnaleena have designs for the wall art meant to look lesss frightening than their monster designs. By contrast, Nabnab and Nabnaleena's eyes are reversed in their colour scheme to help make them look scarier. Lastly, Juvenile Nabnab lacks his party hat.
  • Zolphius' wall art design is meant to resemble a worm, whilst I made his monster design look less silly (or more silly, take your pick).
  • Mr. Kabob Man, Tamataki & Chamataki, Syringeon, Choo Choo Charles, and the Naughty Ones are just their designs from the game in my artstyle.
  • Queen Bouncelia has a cape.
  • Most of the Bittergiggle designs (except for Juvenile) lack his sock puppet, whilst I would give him mismatched shoes for all of his designs (plus the Experimental Jesters with feet). I also did a design for Bittergiggle with teeth to allow him to be more expressive.
  • Kittysaurus' face on her wall art is inspired by the scratch cat, and served as the basis for her Monster form's Juvenile body, whilst I made her current monstrous form more monstrous than that art without coming off as purchased assets.
  • Sir Dadadoo's face is more expressive, and he now has a suit and gloves.
  • The Givanium Infants have bits of givanium coating them.
  • Lastly, the Nanny has much more colour breakup >!(I haven't done her design from 1's weird route because it just looks so cool)!<.

Just VII, 0, and Anti-Devil left before I've finished showing off all of my redesigns.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 17 days ago

Fanmade GOB Redesigns in MS Paint: 1

Banban (0)

Banban (II-VI)

Banban (Anti-Devil)

Banbaleena (0, II-VI & VII-Anti-Devil, and Nautified)

The 8 Captain Fiddles' and Stinger Flynn (III-VII and Anti-Devil)

Jumbo Josh (Regular and Sceptered) & his siblings

Lastly, Opila Bird, Tarta Bird (Both Regular & Nautified), the Baby Birds, and Mutated Little Beak

Hello, everyone. I have been down the Garten of Banban cycle (going from "this game sucks" to "it's mid at worst and good at best, and that's okay") since it got popular, and it's always fun when a new game releases (though I never really paid attention to the Fanverse stuff, as cool as most of it is). I do think the character designs are good (as silly as they can be) and wanted to do a "higher budget" redesign for the cast. Heres' every one of my redesigns for the mascots introduced in the first game (>!Not counting The Nanny as she wasn't added until an update last month!< but counting Tarta Bird and the Baby Birds):

  • With Banban, I wanted him to resemble a Rabbit instead of a Devil in his base form, with him getting a nose with straps to simulate whiskers, and he was given shoes and gloves to better suit him being a mascot. His new clothing (plus the party hats from his original design) would hide his claws and horns (plus hooves and a different nose) that appear in his hellish form, which was also made skinnier (though the version of it in Anti-Devil, inspired by Beast Bendy from Bendy & the Ink Machine, is still muscular). Hellish Juvenile Banban isn't as coated in Givanium as his character model was during 0.
  • Whilst Banbaleena also has the gloves, shoes, and nose, her ears don't have the devil horns Banban has, instead keeping her signature bow. She now wears a tie to represent her donor's status as a teacher.
  • The Captain Fiddles' were given shoes and sharper arms, but are otherwise unchanged.
  • Stinger Flynn also remains unchanged in either of his designs, aside from translating him into my artstyle.
  • Jumbo Josh and his siblings are probably my favourite designs that I've done, with them getting a slightly altered face and feet to help convey that they're supposed to be gorillas. As for Sceptered Josh, his left eye uses the yellow from the scepter's colour palette to distinguish both sides of his face.
  • Lastly, I added eyelashes to the Pink birds to make it clear that they're supposed to be female (at least, I think, but I could be wrong for the baby birds), plus redesigning the top feathers of Opila and Tarta to show what gender they are (the Baby Birds, plus Mutated Little Beak, don't have these feather designs due to being baby birds).

I loved doing these designs, and I can't wait to show off my redesigns for characters from future chapters.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 18 days ago
▲ 2 r/Ben10

MS Paint Custom Ben 10 designs: Ripjaws

Art was done by me, inspired by the works of the crew behind the Ben 10 Franchise and 5 Years Later. No Generative AI was used when making this.

Wow, i admittedly wasn't expecting to complete this so soon, especially since I love the following two aliens more when it comes to ranking the OG 10 from Classic, but here is Ripjaws. Ripjaws is really cool, but also very underutilized. Here's my notes for each design (plus my thoughts on them if possible):

  • I despise Ultimate Alien Ripjaws because he just lacks major design elements he had, but I based his lower half on his UA Intro design, as his only appearance in the show exclusively had his legless form.
  • OV Flashback Ripjaws never appeared in the show, but did appear in the intro. Fish Fingers, the Ben 23 Piscciss Volann, had the gloves from the Present Ripjaws design due to being a slightly altered version of the latter design, whilst Flashback Ripjaws doesn't have the gloves.
  • Reboot Ripjaws wasn't one of the Ben variants' aliens in the series, instead being the alternate Gwen 10's only seen alien. I gave this design the same proportions as the other Male Ripjaws designs and re-added the Omnitrix symbol to where it was planned to be on her design before they forgot (and people say Alien X-Tinction is the best thing to come out of the reboot instead of something that the team had to rush to release on time).
  • 5YL-Ripjaws was reused for Ben 10,000 and Mad Ben's designs.
  • Ultimate Ripjaws is inspired by O.R.Ash's "RGB" design, but with major creative liberties done to his design to make him easier to draw and fit with the canon Ultimates.
  • The other gimmick Ripjaws designs... are the laziest things, with both Omni-Enhanced and Omni-Kix Ripjaws focusing on his jaws like the gimmick Cannonbolt designs in canon focusing on his shell, but I don't mind being lazy because some of the gimmick designs don't try to give them new powers (okay, Omni-Enhanced and Omni-Kix Ripjaws have a new power, but its' just the atomic breath that Omni-Kix Humungousaur has).
  • Lastly, Gwen-Ripjaws and Reboot Frightwig-Ripjaws have the usual traits for the female aliens (slimmer waist, more covered up bodies), plus Reboot Frightwig's hair being implemented onto her design (which I won't do with the next alien due to his powerset).

Only two aliens left before I finish the Original 10 and go on my break from this series (Upgrade and Ghostfreak), and they're aliens I've wanted to get to for a while.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 18 days ago

Skylanders Game Reviews: SWAP Force

(Again, this review was not generated by AI. I wouldn't be caught at the bottom of Mount Cloudbreak using it. That being said, I did write this review using the skeleton of the Giants one. Anywho, onto the review)

Yet again, I'm back at the end of the month. Last time, I covered Giants, which was a solid follow-up to Spyro's Adventure, even with less levels than that game. Now it's time for SWAP Force, where several staples of the series are shaken up due to the switch in developers (Vicarious Visions will develop the remaining odd-numbered entries whilst Toys for Bob will develop the remaining even-numbered entries) to allow for the series to release yearly. Will this be a great experience regardless, or will there be too many issues with the changes that have been done to recommend this game?

Story: SWAP Force has you travel through the Cloudbreak Islands to stop Kaos from Evilising the Elementals and spreading darkness throughout the Skylands. This is one of two entries in the series where the staple NPCs of the series are replaced (except for Flynn because he's peak), and the new NPCs are... divisive at best. The only NPCs I liked were the ones that became series staples: Tessa (who I admittedly had a crush on as a kid) and Sharpfin (because who could hate Sharpfin), plus most of the new villains Cluck (because he ran McDonald's the level in Superchargers), the Sheep Mage (an imposter among us) Baron Von Shellshock (because his level was great), Mesmerelda (because her boss was awesome), and Kaossandra (because Kaos' Mom. Also, rest in peace to the VA of her Academy Counterpart, Catherine O'Hara). The backstory of the SWAP Force, being guardians of the Cloudbreak Islands that ended up being sent to earth after getting caught in the eruption of Mount Cloudbreak whilst fending off Kaossandra's Fire Vipers, is an okay backstory, and sets up a great brick joke by having the Eruption's events cause the SWAP Force to gain their gimmick ability.

Playable Characters: Onto the Skylanders themselves. There are 33 brand new Skylanders in this entry, 4 for each element, and half of which are the titular "SWAP Force". True to their name, the SWAP Force can swap their upper and lower halves to allow for different playstyles, and their lower halves have the ability to access special zones in the level that I'll discuss later. The Giants lost all of their gimmicks, but now have special chests to open that don't count towards the completion star. In addition, we get 24 other figures: the Series 2 and Lightcore figures return, alongside the in-game and chase variants that are a series staple at this point, but they're now joined by Series 3 figures. The Series 3 gimmick gives their Skylanders a new Wow Pow (better represented by their figures, though this also applies to the Series 2 figures), but at the cost of not being able to purchase their prior Wow Pow. One notable thing about the Reposes is just how random the roster was (Series 3 got 10 of the 16 reposes, Camo got a Series 2 figure instead of Shroomboom, and Wham Shell, Warnado, and Flashwing returned with Lightcore figures. For the new characters themselves, it's fine but really divisive, especially since the non-gimmick characters are less useful than before, but several of them became fan favourites, like Wash Buckler, Blast Zone, Magna Charge, Roller Brawl, and Fryno. Magna Charge is my favourite Skylander from this game, and is my go to for speedrunning.

Gameplay: SWAP Force, like I said, changes the formula of the franchise in some solid ways. In terms of differences from last time, you can now jump, which allows the levels to implement platforming, and serves as a welcome addition to the franchise. The lower half of the SWAP Force Skylanders can access Minigames related to their abilities, and they're fun but can get frustrating, especially when trying to get the stars in their replay mode versions. Elemental Gates now have a new variant, where if in multiplayer or when using a SWAP Force Skylander with both elements, you can access dual elemental gates. They're pretty solid as, even though you'd obviously use the SWAP Force Skylanders for them, you can still access them with prior Skylanders (this will be the last game where they are not a massive downgrade compared to the gimmick figures). Skystones is absent, and the Lock puzzles have been replaced with challenges where you have to get two cubes I can't remember the names of (I think they're called Shock and Bolt, but correct me if I'm wrong) together, with additional gold being rewarded to you if you collect lightning bolts of each one's colour beforehand. The Arena challenges have been overhauled significantly, and the battle arenas for both modes. The legendary treasure collectibles are now similar to the Luck-O-Tron wheels, but also aren't parts of the Dread Yacht like last time. The last change I want to mention is the Portal Master Ranks, which increase with each star you get, not just from the main game, but from time attack (the replacement for the speedrun mode), score attack (time attack but high score-related instead), SWAP Zone replays, Arena Challenges, AND just collecting the Skylanders themselves (including ones from prior games). I hate the Portal Master Ranks in this game, but it'll thankfully be improved on in future entries.

Levels: This game has 14 levels, much less than prior games. The objectives system has been slightly overhauled, with the collectibles now being different items for each area (such as being able to find Winged Sapphires in Elemental Gates) and the Best time objective no longer being connected to the stars and instead being a side mode. The levels have also been increased in size, which is really cool, but also means levels take forever to get through when not collecting everything in the map. The Adventure Pack levels from SSA are not playable here due to the gameplay changes, but we have new ones instead. Lastly for the levels, it's time to mention the bosses. 5 of them qualify as levels, and have their own objective stars... which I hate. To whoever thought a no damage star was acceptable, I just wanna talk to you (seriously, why not just have it be an Achievement for the PS3/PS4 and XBOX 360/XBOX ONE versions).

Conclusion: Overall, Skylanders: SWAP Force is a decent successor. It definitely is a downgrade in certain areas, but the upgrades it has are fantastic, and make this game worth playing today. Next time I'll be covering Skylanders: Trap Team, where the games get even more divisive.

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 21 days ago
▲ 723 r/CustomTransformers+1 crossposts

Liege Maximo, The First Pretender (lore in desc.)

Liege Maximo — The First Pretender

Among the Thirteen, Liege Maximo was never the largest.
Prima burned with pure light. Megatronus towered like a living forge. Onyx Prime walked as a god of the wilds. Nexus Prime shifted and multiplied. Nova Prime radiated unyielding authority. When they stood together, the difference in scale was obvious. Liege Maximo noted it without comment. He did not rage. He did not plead. He simply filed the fact away and began to solve it.

He was colder than the others from the start precise, distant, always measuring. Where others spoke of destiny and unity, Maximo spoke of advantage, leverage, and outcomes. The insecurity he felt beside the larger warriors never showed on his face. It became data. Data he used.
From that quiet calculation he created the first true Pretender transformation.

It was not a separate suit he climbed into. It was a form he could become. When the situation demanded raw presence intimidation, a sudden surge of power, the need to dominate a room or a battlefield Liege Maximo would shift.

The lean, bat-winged frame would expand, armor plates thickening, horns curling outward, tendrils coiling across a heavier chest and limbs. In moments he stood as the towering green giant crowned with horns and a single sharp spike. The transformation granted him greater strength, greater mass, and a presence that pressed against every optic that looked upon him.

He used it sparingly and without apology. A negotiation that needed weight. A threat that required spectacle. A moment when subtlety would fail and force was more efficient. The larger form was a tool nothing more.

The other Primes always saw through it.
They had known him too long. No matter how tall the horns rose or how heavily the armor settled, they still recognized the same cold intellect behind the red optics. They saw the same calculating mind that had never needed size to begin with. The transformation impressed lesser beings. It never fooled the Thirteen. To them it remained what it truly was: the first Pretender, a mask of scale forged from the one vulnerability Maximo would never openly admit.

He did not care that they saw through it.
The form still served its purpose. When raw power or intimidation was required, he took it. When the moment passed, he returned to his true size leaner, sharper, and just as dangerous. The other Primes may always know who stood before them, but that knowledge never stopped the larger shape from casting a longer shadow when Maximo decided the situation called for it.

He remained the first pretender he only one among the Thirteen who had turned his own measured insecurity into a weapon he could transform into at will.

u/BKnight73 and u/marameadow were my inspiration

u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 22 days ago
▲ 5 r/5YL+1 crossposts

MS Paint Custom Ben 10 designs: Stinkfly

Art was done by me, inspired by the works of the crew behind the Ben 10 Franchise and 5 Years Later. No Generative AI was used when making this.

And so I'm back. I won't even announce when I'm back because every time I do so, 2 weeks pass by. Anyways, we're finally on the last of the 3 aliens introduced in Washington B.C., Stinkfly. It's gonna be a really short one this time because I had so much creator's block during this, which isn't helped by the fact that Stinkfly has 2 designs with different colours each, but here's the notes:

  • Dynamite Stinkfly is one of my favourite Dynamite designs from what I've seen so far, and I can't wait to see him in the comics.
  • 5YL Stinkfly had to rearrange his mouth in order to add the stripes on his face, and a slightly altered tail, sharper wings, and eye stalks with their size increased were added to match the Adult Lepidopterran design (admittedly a design I hate when compared to regular Stinkfly). Ben 10K Classic Stinkfly uses this design but alters it to resemble the OS design.
  • Ultimate Classic Stinkfly is based on O.R.Ash's "Stink Bomb" design, whilst Ultimate Reboot Stinkfly is just Classic Stinkfly with an Ultimatrix Symbol on his head.
  • Omni-Enhanced Classic Stinkfly is based on his Reboot Counterpart, and their designs were reused for Omni-Kix Stinkfly, Omni-Naut Stinkfly, and Mad Ben-Stinkfly.
  • Ben 10K Reboot Stinkfly just increases the amount of stripes whilst reversing the wing pattern on his back.
  • The colour schemes of the Reboot Stinkfly designs (except for Reboot Frightwig) follow a similar pattern to the main designs' colours (for example, if Albedo-Classic Stinkfly goes from Green to Red, Albedo-Reboot Stinkfly goes from Blue to Orange).
  • Last thing of note, the female Reboot Stinkfly designs are inspired by Gwen-Stinkfly from the finale of the Reboot's second season, Innervasion, but now have curled antennas resembling horns.

Now that Stinkfly's done, only 3 of the original 10 are left, and I'll probably take a massive break from these when I'm done. Next up (whenever I find the time) will be Ripjaws, and I can't wait to do him (plus the other 2 afterwards).

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 23 days ago

The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny Lyrics (but only includes characters that are in Fortnite)

[Verse 1]
Old Godzilla was hopping around
----- city like a big playground
When suddenly Batman burst from the shade
And hit Godzilla with a bat grenade
Godzilla got pissed and began to attack
But didn't expect to be blocked by Shaq
Who proceeded to open up a can of Shaq-Fu
When ----- ------ came out of the blue
And he started beating up Shaquille O'Neal
Then they both got flattened by the Batmobile
But before it could make it back to the Batcave
------- ------- popped out of his grave
And took an AK-47 out from under his hat
And blew Batman away with a rat-a-tat-tat
But he ran out of bullets and he ran away
Because Optimus Prime came to save the day

[Chorus]
This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny
Good guys, bad guys and explosions, as far as the eye can see
And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be
This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny

[Verse 2]
Godzilla took a bite out of Optimus Prime
Like ------ ------- took a bite out of crime
And then Shaq came back covered in a tire track
But ------ ---- jumped out and landed on his back
And Batman was injured and trying to get steady
When ------- ------- came back with a machete
But suddenly something caught his leg and he tripped
Indiana Jones took him out with his whip
Then he saw Godzilla sneaking up from behind
And he reached for his gun which he just couldn't find
'Cause Batman stole it and he shot and he missed
And ------ ---- deflected it with his fist
Then he jumped in the air and he did a somersault
While ------- ------- tried to pole vault
Onto Optimus Prime but they collided in the air
Then they both got hit by a ---- ---- stare

 

[Chorus]
This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny
Good guys, bad guys and explosions, as far as the eye can see
And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be
This is the ultimate showdown

[Bridge]
Angels sang out an immaculate chorus
Down from the heavens descended ----- ------
Who delivered a kick which could shatter bones
Into the crotch of Indiana Jones
Who fell over on the ground, writhing in pain
As Batman changed back into ----- -----
But ----- saw through his clever disguise
And he crushed Batman's head in between his thighs

[Verse 3]
Then ------- --- ---- and ------- --- -----
And ----- ------ --- --- ---- -----'- ----- ------
And ------ ---------, and --- ---- ------
And ------ ------, and ----- --- -----
Robocop, The Terminator, ------- ----, and Darth Vader
------, Superman, ----- ------ Power Ranger
---- -. ------- and -------- -----
-----, The Rock, --- ---, and ---- -----
All came out of nowhere lightning fast
And they kicked ----- ------ in his cowboy ass
It was the --------- battle that the world ever saw
With civilians looking on in total awe
The fight raged on for a century
Many lives were claimed but eventually
The champion stood, the rest saw their better
--. ------ in a ------stained sweater

[Chorus]
This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny
Good guys, bad guys and explosions, as far as the eye can see
And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be
This is the ultimate showdown (This is the ultimate showdown)
This is the ultimate showdown (This is the ultimate showdown)
This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny

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u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 1 month ago

Sprite trading: I need a Grim Sprite

Pretty much what it says on the tin: I need a Grim Sprite to complete my collection, and like with the Zero Point Sprite I was generously given for a burnt peanut sprite, I'm happy to trade whatever sprite possible to get one, including a Zero Point Sprite.

u/Y0ND3REDDIT — 1 month ago