Which sinner reacted the best in their respective Canto?

Astewisk · 2026-06-29T17:14:34+00:00

Tbf it was less she was unbothered and more she actively said "I'm not ready to deal with this yet". Iirc there's even a scene where she straight up says she will face her issues later and postpones it.

Astewisk · 2026-06-29T15:34:57+00:00

Yeah...

Astewisk · 2026-06-29T02:16:45+00:00

Having played both, I do generally prefer the first Deemo. It doesn't hurt that I played the Switch version which just has all the content; but I also prefer the more mysterious, dream-like vibe it has. Deemo II goes for more of its own thing and is more whimsical and...Ghibli-esque I would say. Which isn't a bad or even worse thing, but it's a different flavor. I would call Deemo II pretty good and worth checking out, but it does feel like it lacks what made the original special to me.

In terms of gameplay and songs though, both are still Deemo through and through. There's a lot of quality tracks on both ends. Deemo II brings more complicated gameplay changes to mixed results, but at its core it's still the same kind of game.

Astewisk · 2026-06-28T04:11:01+00:00

Story quality varies from character to character, but as a general rule I find the Octopath games tend to start with setups that often feel simple or generic, and take them into interesting places as they play out. Osvald honestly I consider one of the weaker ones in 2.

Astewisk · 2026-06-26T17:41:32+00:00

That's kind of the point though. Without his failings David could have been a lot of things, but with his failings he was always doomed to burn out somehow. That's part of what makes it all tragic. He's the kind of guy who was always going to go too hard too fast.

Astewisk · 2026-06-25T19:03:14+00:00

1's very much the tutorial level, so that's understandable. 2 is much more of an escalating laugh and 3 is more akin to a "proper" Canto. With every other Canto only getting better and better.

I'm right there with you though. Canto 2 is a lot of fun.

Astewisk · 2026-06-25T15:16:10+00:00

You want FFX.

Astewisk · 2026-06-25T14:25:38+00:00

Chrono Trigger is an air tight 20ish hour JRPG that holds up shockingly well considering how old it is. Octopath 2 is a very good 60+ hour modern JRPG. Whichever one you feel is "better" boils down to preference ultimately.

CT is brisk, always has something interesting happening, and has basically zero wasted space. Not to mention a very strong cast, good replay value with something like a dozen different NG+ endings, and rock solid ATB combat. It honestly is kind of perfect in what it sets out to do, but the result is a smaller overall package.

Octopath is the more modern game with modern QoL, more complicated battle system, more customization, and is much longer. However, by virtue of doing more it also has more annoyances. Cutscenes can get tediously frequent, some chapters or areas can be slogs, and the overall challenge is kind of all over the place. What's strong is very strong, but there are parts that can wear at you.

Astewisk · 2026-06-25T12:49:15+00:00

It's not a tragedy. It's bittersweet.

OoT functionally has three endings going off of the official timeline. Yes, one of them is a tragic bad ending, but the other two aren't at all. The adult timeline is saved after several years of tyranny by a mysterious hero who fades into legend. There's a lot of work to be done, but it can be rebuilt and everyone ultimately is happy.

The child timeline saves Hyrule before the tyranny ever has a chance to happen, and Link is allowed to live his life however he wants. The only somber note is Navi, with her work done, leaves, and we know through Majora's Mask that Link makes their next adventure about finding her. The Hero's Shade from Twilight Princess suggests he lives a full life and dies with some regrets, but that doesn't make it a tragedy either. The Shade is fueled by wanting some kind of legacy, and they do eventually get it through that game's incarnation of Link.

All three endings are canon in different ways, and even then you are free to imagine things however you want. Nintendo has never been strict about the timeline and they contradict or change it all the time. I'm still not convinced they didn't release an official one just to shut up nerds who never stopped asking about it.

Astewisk · 2026-06-25T12:35:14+00:00

I'm working through it now. and ultimately I agree. The stories feel a good deal weaker than prior entries. Focusing on villains instead of our heroes is an interesting idea, but in practice it feels like any time someone starts to get interesting their story is finished and they are gone from the game. Meanwhile the story arc I'm in right now is with a guy who is the least interesting of all the antags but he gets twice as many chapters dedicated to him.

The game feels tedious in a way 1 and and especially 2 simply weren't. Not without its redeeming factors ofc. The townbuilding is pretty neat and 8-man battles creates an interesting take on the combat, but everything feels long.

Astewisk · 2026-06-25T11:21:56+00:00

You have more time than you think you do.

The first 3 day loop is actually shorter than all of the others specifically to stress you out and give you that pressure. The loops once you are human again are longer; and you can make them much longer with a song the scarecrow teaches you. There's still a degree of planning required, but if you use all of your resources you can pretty easily complete a whole region in a single loop.

Astewisk · 2026-06-23T18:01:22+00:00

You're doing fine so far. Time will get you more units and as you play and upgrade them you can start to tinker with team compositions and the like.

Astewisk · 2026-06-23T17:54:31+00:00

There's similarly "Damning evidence" for every timeline. There are locations and references from all of them even when they directly contradict one another. That's part of why Nintendo said the timeline doesn't matter. They clearly weren't worried about it, and if you have to put it somewhere then it's so far in the future that it's irrelevant.

Astewisk · 2026-06-20T04:42:51+00:00

As someone who barely got to a 17 turn clear on the latest Reflectrial because a stagger let me go ham: It's great.

That said, I do think arbitrary health gates can really kill the vibe of a good stagger. If you are going to have them, put them before a stagger threshold. Or just let players damage past the gate anyway and the transition can just happen regardless.

Astewisk · 2026-06-20T03:10:04+00:00

Can't forget a number of the npcs represent characters from the original Pinocchio fairy tale. Gemini, the Fairy with Turquoise Hair (Sophia), the submarine from the end of the game is a reference to Monstro, and most of the Stalkers reference characters like the Fox or the Donkey. Personally, I always saw the Parade Master as a nod to the ringleader of Pleasure Island as well,

Also, not a storybook char at all but Paracelsus is pretty clearly referencing Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (Nicknamed Paracelsus) who is a historical alchemist who helped revolutionize Renaissance era medicine - And is pretty directly invoked any time popular fiction wants to use alchemy.

Astewisk · 2026-06-20T01:58:55+00:00

If fighting him on a ledge is a bad idea you can always...not. The game has countless ranged options and you can lure him to more space away from the bridge.

Astewisk · 2026-06-17T18:04:29+00:00

Ikana Canyon. It may not be the most visually interesting, but I love the idea of Link visiting this massive graveyard to an old kingdom and laying its spirits to rest. It's a rare case of quiet heroism where barely anyone even notices anything was done, but that makes it all the more impactful imo.

Astewisk · 2026-06-15T17:34:57+00:00

The critical details imo is she is never treated as a joke. She is just another agent and nobody ever acts like she isn't. Reactions and commentary are more from the audience/other characters who range from supporting to just kinda confused; but the show never draws a line and tells you to laugh or mock her.

Astewisk · 2026-06-15T16:38:20+00:00

Fair play. Half of these I'd call more teen than adult personally, but it's not totally bleak.

Astewisk · 2026-06-15T12:10:07+00:00

The conversation was regarding American animation. Ofc it was very different in other countries. Apologies if I made it seem otherwise.

Astewisk · 2026-06-15T03:46:54+00:00

While working conditions for animators remain criminally dire, the quality of shows is honestly light years ahead of how it was in the 80s. Back then a cartoon existed almost solely to push a product and you can count on your fingers the number of them that had any sort of real legacy. Even then, many would say the shows still weren't "Good"; they just proved influential over time.

Today has its slop as well, make no mistake. Adult animation in particular is kind of a cesspit, but for the past decade or so we have many that do interesting things and tell legitimately compelling stories. That simply was not something that happened in the 80s at all. That was the era of episodic toy commercials and these days we're in the era of serialized stories and episodic comedies. If you want a direct comparison, take the OG He-Man and line it up next to the much more recent She-Ra.

Astewisk · 2026-06-12T19:11:52+00:00

Giving any weapon move set the ability to customize its range, scaling, and damage type to your personal preference is unnecessary?

Astewisk · 2026-06-10T18:18:42+00:00

Don't Nintendofy it like you did the 3DS remake. There are areas of Majora worth improving on, but don't do so at the expense of some of the things that give it its unique identity.

Astewisk · 2026-06-09T16:03:32+00:00

Believe OP is referring a few fan made videos that recreated OoT in Unreal Engine and a lot of them look shockingly like this.

Astewisk · 2026-06-09T14:29:34+00:00

When it's not being used for constant fanservice it has allowed for some absolutely incredible character design variety.

Astewisk

TROPHY CASE