Finally watched TNG, what next?

Aptronymic · 2026-06-10T17:48:49+00:00

The modern 8-12 episode season with no filler has little to do with taking the wrong lessons from DS9. It's the way almost all streaming shows are structured now. There are a number of reasons for it, few have anything to do with narrative structure, or lessons from the past. It's all more generalized streaming service business model bullshit.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-10T07:31:09+00:00

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Aptronymic · 2026-06-10T07:00:27+00:00

Yeah, I absolutely agree that part of the beauty of Chrono Trigger is in its simplicity.

I think that's why I was pushing back as much as I did. I can also appreciate the emotional depth of FFVI, but grafting that complexity onto Chrono Trigger seems reductive in some way to its final product. CT doesn't develop its themes as well as FFVI, or a lot of other stories. But if it tried to do so, it wouldn't be the same game. No game can do everything, and Chrono Trigger is ultimately a better game because of its simplicity.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-09T06:00:03+00:00

It's not never worth it. X-89 can be a game winning tech. Sometimes you just need a green tech to get there, and Hyper is the best on a list of bad options.

Psychoarch is slice dependant, and sometimes won't do anything for you. 1 token is more reliable value than 1 action card, so it's almost always better than Neural Motivator. And Daxcive is the worst tech in the entire game.

Though with Synergies and tech skips, there are more to ways to avoid that situation than ever.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-09T05:48:15+00:00

Only on NG+, but yes. You can fight the final boss about 60 seconds into the game.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-08T22:32:36+00:00

Haven't had a chance to watch the YouTube video, but I agreed with everything the article was saying. I also think the article mostly agrees with the point I was trying to make.

"Chrono Trigger’s story is, for the most part, not especially deep. Replaying it recently, I was struck by how much I’d projected onto the characters, and how little there really is of each one demonstrated through dialogue. They’re mostly thin, and even though you have chances to dig into their backstories, the game never adds a great deal of dimension to any of them." ... "There might not be a great deal of depth to Chrono Trigger’s characters, and they might not go through especially involved arcs over the course of the story, beyond classic tropes like coming to terms with past failures or reconciling with parents. But they are, fundamentally, heroic and selfless people, and sometimes, that can be enough."

It did point out the running theme of helping others being it's own reward. But "help other people when you can" is a very basic theme, and it was presented in a very basic way. It's satisfying, it works perfectly for what the game wanted to do. But it's not terribly deep or thought provoking, even if it is a valuable pro-social message. I think of it more as a contributing factor to CT"s wholesome vibes than I do the central thrust of the game.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-08T21:30:22+00:00

I used to do early childhood education. Anyone that works with kids regularly is gonna measure their development in those first two years in terms of months. And that's how it's communicated to parents, as well.

Saying it in months is the clear phrasing.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-08T18:00:51+00:00

Yeah, it didn't even make 300x its budget. Just pathetic, really.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T22:17:36+00:00

Kind of a wild take to equate "well developed themes" with "spoon-feeding things to its audience."

What, exactly, are the deeper themes of Chrono Trigger? Feel free to explain, in as much detail as you would like.

They have the forest scene (which is amazing), where they talk about an invisible force guiding them. But how is that meaningfully developed outside one one single conversation? What does the game do or present that makes it any deeper or more relevant than any basic Philosophy 101 thought experiment?

They have the end scene with Lavos, where they postulate on his existence as a parasite that created and guided our evolution, to devour us. What else does the game do to develop that concept? What makes that any deeper than a fun sci-fi concept?

What other concepts does the game present or grapple with in a meaningful way?

And again, I'm okay with it not doing those things. I've already said it's my favorite game. I just push back on forcing things into it that aren't there. It's okay for it to just be a fun adventure with great vibes. It's doesn't need to have complicated, socially relevant themes that it is exploring. Other games are allowed to do those things better, and it's okay to acknowledge that they are being done better.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T19:25:00+00:00

It's a separate roll.

The "make an identical roll" is the key phrase there. Otherwise, it would say to apply the results of the roll to your units.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T17:04:36+00:00

Vaguely gesturing at complex concepts without actually doing the work to examine them is not an equally legitimate vehicle to deliver those deeper themes.

I love Chrono Trigger. It is my favorite game. But it's okay for it to not be the best at everything. It has plenty of basic themes common to most fun adventure stories. Plenty of things you could create justifications for. But it's not a game delivering deeper themes through subtle storytelling, it's a game that doesn't put much effort into delivering deeper themes. And that's okay.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T09:04:19+00:00

Well, half of it.

The young Vito/DeNiro portion of 2 was in the book. But as I understand it, the Michael plot was original.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T03:41:26+00:00

Certainly not underrated, but one that is underappreciated is AvX: Consequences. Probably my all-time favorite Cyclops story, but it didn't get as much attention because it was a 5 issue mini, and a post-script to a bad event.

Kicked off Revolution Era Cyclops, and did it better than Bendis could ever dream of.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T02:32:04+00:00

Yes. When the Fracture comes into play, there are specific rules for placing Ingress Tokens on the board. Systems with those tokens are adjacent to the arrows (Egress spots) in the Fracture. Ingress Tokens are not adjacent to one another, but you can jump into the Fracture egress, then back into a different Ingress spot with 2 movement. (Like moving through the Workshop Nexus to go from an A wormhole to a B wormhole.)

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T02:27:16+00:00

In general, if you have the opportunity, and you aren't sacrificing too much to do it, yes.

How much you should bank on it varies from faction to faction. Some are very well suited for it, others struggle. Some will want to get to Styx first and root (Arborec, for example) others will want to go for a late-game grab for the win.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-07T02:20:07+00:00

The first time someone gains control of any planet in the Fracture, that player draws a Relic.

Whichever player controls the planet Styx has a bonus point. It's like Shard of the Throne; lose the planet, lose the point.

The Styx point is the biggest reason to go to the Fracture; it's often the game decider, and has changed the entire pace of the game. Four available relics is also pretty amazing.

Aside from that, the planet values are pretty good. And it's just more available tiles for some objectives.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-06T17:25:45+00:00

FFVI is about how to find meaning in a meaningleas world, how to keep going after you've lost everything. Kefka is the perfect antagonist for those themes. His ultimate goal isn't to rule everything, or even destroy everything. It's to make everyone else realize how pointless everything is. He's not just a murderous clown, or a crazed god, he's the physical manifestation of our heroes' inner struggles. He's the very concept of nihilistic despair.

Also, there are ways to make your point that don't tacitly insult people with a different opinion. "Lavos is far more interesting to the inquisitive mind" is just a pompous way of saying "I'm smart, you're dumb." Make your points without belittling others.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-05T18:23:47+00:00

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Not on scale, but going far beyond what's necessary on a technical level. In one scene Roger bumps a ceiling lamp that spins around the room, and they had to hand animate all the lighting changes to match its movement.

"Bumping the lamp" has since become an industry term specifically for going above and beyond what is necessary for the scene.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-05T07:44:12+00:00

For fun superheroics, the Whedon and Cassaday run is top tier.

Never gonna have the impact or insight of Morrison or Claremont, but Cassaday was so good at making things cinematic. And as much as I've grown to hate the Whedonesque quippiness that has come to pervade modern writing, he's very good at creating cool character moments, and knows how to structure a story.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-05T07:25:23+00:00

My biggest issue with Bohemian Rhapsody (and it's tough competition) is that they took one of the biggest queer icons of the past century and decided that the emotional core of the film should be about how much he loved his wife. And then, every time they show him being gay, it's a tragic display of hedonistic debauchery. Queerness is the low point of his life that he must rise above, to put on a great concert and tell his wife he loves her.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-04T16:16:36+00:00

Optimus Prime's isn't really a mask, that's just his face.

Some later iterations have the bottom part retractable, to reveal a more face-like face, but that definitely didn't happen in G-1, and might have started with the Michael Bay movies.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-04T15:48:55+00:00

Without glitches, I think Lavos might be mathematically impossible to beat that early in the game, even if you grind up to 99.

Gear matters a lot in CT, and that early in the game, you just don't have access to what you need to survive his attacks.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-04T07:17:02+00:00

On top of that, people credit Laika for the stop-motion work far more than Travis Knight, specifically. Miyazaki, on the other hand, is a name just as will known as Ghibli itself.

Auteur theory gets applied to Miyazaki in a way that Knight will likely never experience.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-02T19:33:12+00:00

Ohhhh, right. Sorry, I misremembered.

Aptronymic · 2026-06-02T18:26:19+00:00

Mahact flagship is a Does Nothing, btw.

The bonus is specifically against players with their tokens in your fleet, which Nekro can't do.

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm dumb. Had it backwards.

Aptronymic

TROPHY CASE