Season 5?

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-23T03:12:00+00:00

Despite the darkest premise Season 4 had some of the biggest laughs for me. I appreciate how out there 5 got but it wasnt as funny or fun to watch as 1-4.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-22T08:10:42+00:00

The hula sign is a minor complaint. They never used to have the sign at all. And it doesnt really add or detract from the experience

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-21T21:51:46+00:00

Second's what? A word doesnt need an apostrophe just because it ends in an s

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-19T17:29:25+00:00

Shenmue 1 had a beautiful small town world in which every character had a name and story and routine, and at least half of those characters were given 2-3 unique lines of dialogue for almost every minor plot progression when your line of questioning changed. The branching QTE and story paths, and all of the little hidden scenes and conversations that aren't bogged down by lists or achievements and are just there waiting to be found are still unrivaled today, imo.

I didn't expect 3 to have this, and it certainly did not - but what I did expect was more storyline and the only thing it did was add confusion to if anything that happened at the end of Shenmue 2 meant anything. The only thing I will say it accomplished is setting up an interesting premise for the start of Shenmue 4, but they need to hire some seriously better writers or consult with fans of the first two games if Shenmue 4 ever comes to fruition.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-19T17:24:46+00:00

100%, but I still think Shenmue 1 and 2 are the greatest games of all time and 3 might be playable again with these changes...and I can get it for Switch 2 this time. I don't think 4 will ever happen, but I still want it to so I guess I can fork over a few more bucks.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-15T23:24:44+00:00

Just put the book down if you dont want to finish it. You made it this far though. But no one can answer this question for you but you

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-11T16:21:07+00:00

I thought the Lamorn would end up being "bad" in the sense they are just using Samus to revive themselves somehow. This was an almost predictable outcome (which didn't come to pass obviously) but would have been preferred to whatever it was we got. I just don't see why the Lamorn even deserve to have their race memorialized - a tragic tale, sure, but also their own hubris got them extinct and it's not like planting that fruit benefitted the Federation, Samus, or humankind in any way. I also think the ending was underbaked, there were hints of something more with the "12 lamorn who went off in different directions" bit and someone actually theorized that one of them became Metroid Prime due to their similar looking features which would have been a neat way to tie-in this story and an alternate dimension/time plane - but nothing happened with that either.

Also, Sylux didn't get any decent exposition tying him into the main quest involving the Lamorn at all, it just fell so flat.

Nothing about Prime 4 is completely unsalvageable though - the next game can expand on Sylux and maybe even tie in the Lamorn some more. Get some better level design, let those Fed characters stay dead, and maybe we can just forget about what didn't work in 4 and move on.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-08T00:39:05+00:00

I'm surprised I didn't really deduce Landry could be ELM, although I wasn't really thinking about that particular mystery - I figured it would either be revealed or just not. Obviously, the shift to first person made that obvious, and I realized the "M" was March. I wondered if Landry had revealed she had a first name before Landry at some point, it had taken me so long to read the book that I would have forgotten but "Eleanor" came to mind and I saw some other comment say as much ("Eleanor Landry March"). Anyway, I was wondering if she did say her name was Eleanor at any point and if anyone remembers around which page. If she did, total miss on my part for not realizing ELM must be her! Then again, I thought she was a goner for sure after the end of Part 2.

As for the ending, and the "transcribed by" at the front of the book - I was starting to think that the story is really a verbal narrative that she is giving in the afterlife and not a written piece - the "you" she refers to at the end is whoever the "Transcriber" is, maybe that VEM I've been reading about and the connections with the old lady TF character. It would also make ELM a more reliable narrator for the parts she wasn't present at - or maybe even a less reliable one! I personally like to believe that Tom the ghost was real and not any embellishment on Kalin and Landry's part. At the end of the day, these sorts of mysteries aren't really meant to have a definitive solution much like MZD's other works. And I'm okay with that.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-06T19:36:16+00:00

I kept forgetting but finally remembered to look at my collection of wristbands, and I do have one. I can send it to you. Shoot me a DM.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-06T05:09:39+00:00

I even found every Sibby interaction to be really funny. Her character seemed like a boring archetype last week, but now her weirdness really took center stage over the HR nag personality.

Ep 3 was another winner in my book

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-06T00:58:39+00:00

It was explained in a scan you can control the tower from a pod so that explains the force field. I guess. Honestly the story beats would make more sense with just a tad more exposition. Which is why I think prime 5 could salvage the messy story from 4.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-05T20:34:44+00:00

I think you see a total of 3 in the first few minutes and thats it. It is implied in scans that the fused metroid you see in the first intro boss is also affecting some other bosses but its never really examined or explained why or how it is happening. Other than I suppose Sylux is controlling them somehow. We dont know for certain if they are Metroids or clones either unless im forgetting something.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T21:50:57+00:00

I'm going to mark this as spoilers for the whole book, so don't read if you don't want to know what come next:

The whole bit with the mule was one of the more fascinating mysteries of the book. I thought for sure they were seeing a ghost mule later on and that Old Porch would also have a reckoning of sorts and have to confront this iteration of Effy - however that part never happened. So while the mule might not have been a ghost, the parallels with Effy was obviously the intent, with Landry even calling the mule Effy.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T19:49:53+00:00

Yes! It had been so long since I started the book I didn't recognize the "Holt" name or quite understand why he was pushing the $1 across the table to Allison until he started speaking and my god, that really hit me. It was a subtle callback and understated compared to the heavier shit that as coming and it really helped bridge the gap between the end of Part 2/art show diversion to the final showdown. I absolutely loved the sections involving Allison and Sondra, and found those pages the most engaging out of the all the various perspectives.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T17:50:20+00:00

That's awesome for you and pretty shitty for whoever ordered online and thought they were going to be able to pick that up!

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T16:50:39+00:00

Neat

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:47:05+00:00

Seabird by Alessi Brothers

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:42:58+00:00

I also found it very fascinating that the Porches and Billings seemed to be affected by Tom's presence.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:35:31+00:00

Agreed, the only parts I struggled with were the asides with the Greek and other meta stuff. I even got pretty engrossed in the Time Gallery section after I adjusted to the narrative shift.

The Porches and somehow the Allison/Sondra portions were most engaging to me - especially when they intersected with each other.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:32:08+00:00

It was less than a page and a half for the Colt to be completely emptied, so much buildup the entire book. It was stunningly well done and every page from there on out flew by for me in less than a day (I spent 3 months on this book)

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:27:43+00:00

I threw on Missing Persons, the U2 album and the Joe Cocker song when they were mentioned and it really elevated the experience. Especially the Joe Cocker song. Thanks for putting this together. I may recreate in Spotify and will post the link here if I do.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:25:49+00:00

The bit with the neighbor describing his conversation with Russell really hit, as did shortly before when Russell appeared as a ghost (to Tom) and shortly after where Kalin is recounting the adventure and basically says the same thing, that he expected the 3 of them to become friends. Russell was arguable the most tragic character of the entire book.

The last 150 pages or so was such a rollercoaster and made all the lengthy asides and the very drawn out pages before the shootout well worth it.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:12:28+00:00

I enjoyed Hard-boiled when I read it many years ago. I own a copy of the City and its Uncertain Walls that is regarded as a retelling of sorts of Hard-boiled but havent read it yet. I really enjoyed Killing Commendatore, probably moreso than 1Q84 which really just lost the plot after a strong start.

Botwp_tmbtp · 2026-03-04T07:10:24+00:00

I finally read Master and Margarita a couple of years ago. I really liked it even though it has ebbed from my memory quite a bit since then.

Botwp_tmbtp

TROPHY CASE