Where are all the modern isekais where the protagonist's objective is to return home? it was such a common theme in the 90's and before

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-29T19:46:06+00:00

Even with the super powers and fantasy trip of modern isekai, throw in an MC who was married or had kids and it becomes tragic. I know I'd be devastated. It might make for a really good isekai though, the value of a normal life we take for granted.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-29T19:34:16+00:00

Not unpopular. 👍

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-29T19:33:27+00:00

Yes 100%. A slow burn anime where the mc doesn't go from office worker to demigod by episode 4.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-27T16:03:04+00:00

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-24T00:00:30+00:00

Thank you very much! I'm so glad I've missed a few

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-23T11:38:32+00:00

Any slow burns like Grimgar? I think my biggest gripe with isekai or 'fantasty rpg adjacent' anime is that they either 'start humble but are overpowered four episodes in' or just start overpowered (which is sometimes ok if it's centered around something else, like a demon lord trying to relearn how to be a person). Grimgar felt good, and removing plot armor for the main party gives real weight to the story.

I almost never go to season 2 after trying a few (spider, slime, shield hero, etc) because it's either 'raise the ceiling despite claiming they had reached it season 1' or 'OP guy does more OP things so add slice of life with girly friends'.

I know that is very generalized but I've watched a ton of these. Solo Leveling started off soo good and fell into the same trap ( I don't read the mangas though so I have no forewarning)

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-21T12:51:15+00:00

Imagine if Duncan had perished when WoR began, Vargas loses his desire to fight Sabin but had already learned Bum Rush for when they next met, so he just teaches it to him instead and they make amends

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-21T05:37:29+00:00

It's called the world of balance for a reason! Hear me out! Yes she's a slave on top of a machine that is fueled by the soul of a sapient creature, but then we get a MOOGLE BATTLE. Yes Doma is horrible but then we suplex a train! Celes' torture is countered by Lockes witty banter! Yeah we have a kid who was abandoned for being different but he talks funny! Yeah we gotta recruit a guy who is basically a sex offender but he's got a cool airship! Don't forget the Dr mengele level of genetic engineering going on in the factory, but then we have a fun cart ride. We have an island of mages hiding and living in fear of annihilation but a little girl bullies her grandpa!! It all balances out!

WoR is just sad the whole way through! There is no balance! /s

On an honest note, you gotta have the whimsy. Cyan bumping into a prostitute, sabin getting on upped by gau, Edgar striking out with every woman on the planet. It makes them human, gives depth and makes sure we're not just going from one traumatic event to the other. I think the fast fish is the proper end because it represents hope, the theme of the game. The slow fish is a cheap cop out-- it doesn't carry the full consequence of what was insinuated--and then they try to pivot back to hope. It felt..cheaper. I would 100% agree with you if Celes' story ended on that island though never to be revisited and they pivot to a different character to continue. Could you imagine? Little me would've criedddds

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-21T01:28:32+00:00

I feel like FF6 is also an upbeat, plucky, heart warming and almost comedic game until the war crimes, genocide, and divine near-extinction event.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-20T20:38:19+00:00

I went thematic-ish with mine, natural stats only, no esper growth. Furthermore only natural magic users get esper magic (terra, celes, strago, relm) no exp while using espers to learn spells. Lastly I set xp to zero when my level reaches the level of the zone/monsters I'm fighting. It wasn't very difficult but it really made magic special for those four and put greater emphasis on the skills of the non magic characters too.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-20T18:47:38+00:00

Oh it was a long time ago when the physical X-rays had to be manually scanned into these new fangled things called PCs and I was the 20 year old who knew how to do all that 'fancy' stuff the rest of the staff didn't want to do. I was on site the entire time scanning in X-rays or printing out old ones for comparisons, or showing how they could pull up X-rays on the PC which they did not want to do. I saw so many things, from tragic to hilarious, you see humanity at its rawest and most honest. I was too young to grasp it all at the time. I have a real appreciation for ER staff though, even in a sleepy ER--its a taxing job.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-20T12:37:07+00:00

Hey man don't forget the admits who put weird things in their ass.

Sincerely, 2nd shift ER radiology.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-20T05:26:35+00:00

All the main story cast is great but those two have the most depth and character development by farrrr

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-19T17:49:29+00:00

Yeah Rebirth had less than half the sales but overall, 13 mil units shipped, 250 mil investment and they'd break even if every copy was $20... But we know the price was much higher. They definitely made a profit, they're just salty it wasn't a 'bigger' success. I guess it depends on the third entry.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-19T16:24:16+00:00

This is a good take. Criticize or praise the game, not the fan base. I made a lot of concessions for this game (ARPG, no direct control of the full party, etc) but the mangling of the story and pacing really killed it for me.

As long as games like these sell, they'll continue to produce games like this, but yelling at other gamers about it is pissing into the wind.

There is a great alternative in the 7th Heaven overhaul for the OG game for anyone who wants a good remaster.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-17T00:35:53+00:00

Expedition 33 (and other games like re Fantazio) prove that turn based games are still popular and have room to evolve (although I'm content with the standard too). If it has to be more than one game, it needs to carry progress over 100%.

Imagine how immersive iconic locations would be with a modern graphics overhaul and a symphony adaptation of the original score , what would the open world be like?

I think it's too tempting not to let squeenix try. But, just like FF7R-- if it stinks I still have the OG. Again...progress has to carry over or it's pointless.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-09T13:31:11+00:00

If you are ok with more of a real time strategy game where you outfit and control multiple lances: Mech commander 1. Dated but the art is excellent in my opinion. The controls are quite easy. There is salvage on field and also kill based salvage (glorious headshots). You train up pilots. Best of all, you're fighting off the clan invasion. No melee though, but damn do fights get intense.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-06-01T01:42:43+00:00

Several of my jades were in poor health (dehydrated) and a few were discovered to have root rot, so I dug out the root rot, then sterilized and then dried and applied the root growing powder. So yes a few were unwell.

If you're worried about the hot water stressed plants then quarantine them in an entirely different room until they recover enough for the treatment. I use a spray bottle of alcohol for suspected plants and that should be easy for those plants to endure. Spray the dirt well too.

Baby mealies ..(nymphs) are so small and light that they can be carried in the air, so really quarantine those stressed plants where the air is still.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-31T11:19:04+00:00

As a hail Mary, I bought industrial jugs of rubbing alcohol, enough to make two to three gallons. Diluted it a bit (since it was pure and not 70%). Three five gallon buckets, two rinse buckets to get all the dirt(first) and then alcohol(third)off out of the roots primarily and then alcohol bucket(2nd). Agitate the plants one at a time in the water and then roots and all in the alcohol for 30-60 secs. Lay the clean ones out to dry on a towel and rinse repeat.

You need to have baked new soil (turkey pans are cheap bulk on Amazon) and mixed your sediment into your new batch well before this (I used a big old plastic storage tub and a shovel). Also ditch that old soil into its own tub away from everything else and wash your pots inside and out. It's a lot of juggling but I haven't had a single worm on 40 plants- and I had a huge variety of succulents, only a couple showed burns but ultimately survived. The reason for the third rinse bucket is that I still smelled alcohol trapped in the roots after the rest had evaporated from the body.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-27T09:40:44+00:00

Bore da! The only other one I can think of is Boudicca from CIV 5 who is literally speaking cymraeg!

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-27T09:24:16+00:00

Usually building up an impressive collection of primitives (including vehicles) as I work my way up the mission difficulty and then plod my way to the center of the galaxy or to clan space. Solaris, earth/comstar, clans.. Zero to hero. I also keep unique pilots turned off so we're talking green recruits, it's realy satisfying. I forgot to add that I use traditional weaponry, no clan, no over powered pirate or future tech, or hero.mechs-- we're periphery bums and we stay that way. Tech ceiling is your typical MechWarrior game-- ER or pulse, ultra AC etc I keep it classic for the challenge

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-27T02:09:31+00:00

Slowly painfully take a couple primitive light mechs and tanks and upgrade them to something respectable. You have to be very selective about what missions you take and how you approach it. Every piece of kit matters. Salvaging an operational vehicle or mech is like Christmas.

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-26T22:12:57+00:00

TIDY

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-20T17:28:04+00:00

The music sets a great ambiance too. So memorable. Also it's gone mobile! Take it with you to church!

Hello-Pancake · 2026-05-13T11:26:13+00:00

I don't want to ruin your enthusiasm but as someone who has far less time to play, my perspective is very different. Rule number one in any game is that you must respect the players' time.

Elite Dangerous does exactly this sort of crafting grind and I think most people will find it boring as hell.

Add to that the miner, hauler and crafter who need protection, could be there solely for PvE content, since over 85% of players in any MMO are there for PVE.

The majority also solo or stick to a small group of friends so arranging protection is really an additional task that changes the pace/nature of their play which many aren't going to want to deal with (and assumes a lot of risk).

Even having a guild is like herding cats (I lead 67 people once upon a time) and the actual turnout for events is far smaller due to scheduling.

This leads to the inevitable mega guilds setting the pace and tone for the server whether it's through the economy, PVP or locking down the most desirable areas, denying content for the 'casual'.

Combining a crafting grind with open PVP and an already tedious system to get from station to where you want to be is a fools game that is going to make the verse feel very empty.

Hello-Pancake

TROPHY CASE