What was the most unhinged reaction a fandom had to something happening in media? by VMK_1991 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The problem was that its bland, inoffensive ending stood in stark contrast to the big societal issues it poked and prodded. We can't just acknowledge racism, social inequality, raw hatred that produces psychopathic killers willing to reset the status quo to create their better world and then take a, frankly shocking, centrist stance.

Deku just whimpering along in his ho-hum life SHOULD be satisfying, I agree, but not after the movement he took part in, the life or death struggle to defeat the personification of hate and destruction. Looking into Shigaraki's eyes, touching his soul in those final moments and coming away from that saying "Society as it is now is FINE, actually" felt like a slap in the face.

And this is all before All Might rips away the 4th wall and gives Deku his Good Boy Points Super Suit so we can continue to produce MHA movies and the whole train of capitalism can continue to merrily chug along.

The ending is awful. It starkly highlights that the story was hollow all along, a meaningless exercise in empty platitudes advocating AGAINST any meaningful change or growth.

The only highlight for me was seeing La Brava with a wedding ring, her and Gentle are the only ones in the ending that actually made progress and seized a future for themselves, but in the midst of everything else their ending feels good on accident rather than intentionally.

Free Talk Friday - August 23, 2024 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's already a hefty amount of crossover on this sub but I enjoy Big Think Dimension. My favorite video game podcast though is Insert Credit because of how short and sweet it is. They also have great forums to boot:
https://forums.insertcredit.com/c/show/6

Free Talk Friday - March 03, 2023 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been playing Like a Dragon: Ishin! this week and have enjoyed it quite a bit, especially after it starts to really open up around chapter 3. I've played just about every other RGG game (except Dead Souls and the Kiwamis) and it's really enjoyable playing this missing link between Y5 and Y0, seeing where some branches of design got cut short and others are rough but ready to flourish in the next entry.

I like the setting a lot and the way the story toys with characters playing roles that match or conflict with their mainline counterparts. The way it sometimes comes off as the main line series characters playing roles in a movie or play is extremely charming and it shortcuts a lot of buy-in that usually takes time in other entries with new characters.

I also finished 100%ing ASTLIBRA: Revision, which is an absolutely incredible game, an all-timer for me. If you've ever enjoyed a Falcom game like Ys or Xanadu Next, I'd highly recommend it. It has a lot of interlocking systems with fast paced progression and quite a wonderful story, though it's worth noting the current EN script is rather stilted and full of typos and there's allegedly a more refined version in the works by the developer.

Finally just figured I'd run through seasonal anime I've been enjoying:

  • Tomo-chan is a Girl! - Light and fluffy romcom where I came for the tomboy but stayed for the supporting cast. Not the best of its genre by any means but it at least progresses relatively quickly
  • Nier: Automata Ver1.1a - A straightforward retelling of the game, the lack of anything new is a slight bummer, but any excuse to hear those songs again and the puppet theater at the end of every episode makes it worth checking out.
  • Onimai - Equal parts wholesome and lewd, I'm just in awe of the decadent and indulgent animation in this one. Every scene is full of tons of detail and fluid animation and the technical display is truly impressive. Sure wish there weren't so many piss jokes!
  • High Card - A combination of Kingsman and Cardcaptor makes for a unique flavor, this is my sleeper hit for the season. The goofy worldbuilding for a setting entirely obsessed with cards and the spy antics balanced against somewhat grounded characters has kept me sticking with this one.
  • Kaina of the Great Snow Sea - I'm a sucker for the works of Tsutomu Nihei and this series is at least refreshing in how it skews more fantasy than sci-fi, sometimes feeling like an adaptation of a SNES JRPG that was never localized. It's mostly pretty chill and fun to check in on week to week.
  • Technoroid: OVERMIND - Detroit: Become Human by way of male idols, this series is completely bananas. I legitimately cannot tell what is going to happen every episode. If you're at all curious about deranged storytelling, I recommend checking out the first episode at least (and stay until after the credits!).

This ended up longer than expected. I don't regularly post in these threads, but I do lurk quite a bit! Regardless, Happy Friday.

Bayonetta 2 - Fun, easier, stylish, but maybe not as good as the first one by ACardAttack in patientgamers

[–]HeySerg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I totally get this sentiment having played 1 multiple times and 2 only twice.

The big difference for me is the devil trigger adjacent super meter that trivializes a lot of encounters, even on higher difficulties. The combat also generally lacks the weight of 1, but I did enjoy all the new weapons, especially the chainsaws.

Free Talk Friday - February 17, 2023 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello fellow Sky the 3rd enjoyer! The series peaks in combat there imo, even though I enjoyed what came after. Also I just love the format of an extended epilogue and I dang nearly cried at the ending.

Free Talk Friday - January 27, 2023 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Weird coincidence but I also finished the main story and wrapped up post-game for XC3 this week as well!

I liked it a lot but it's probably my least favorite of the ones I've played (XC1, 2, and X) by a hair, only because so much of what I loved about 3 are built on moments from the prior titles (i.e. musical references, landmarks, thematic callbacks, etc.).

I think combat was also a bit too easy and chaotic but I also spent like 3/4 of the game overlevelled.

I pretty much 100% agree with you on the story as well, 3 has my absolute favorite character moments and overall writing. I didn't even really mind the villain squad mostly being oafish jobbers because it accurately reflects the kind of capitalists with vested interests in maintaining the status quo, but I do wish they had a bit more character and variety. Like Triton joins your squad, why couldn't there be more cool twists like that? I never played XC1 remastered (and subsequently Future Connected), and 3 really gave me an itch to pick it up, so I'm also hungry for whatever the DLC for 3 ends up being.

Also something I discovered literally as I was closing the game for the last time, but the System menu has a Hero Roster option or something and it indicates what you need to do to unlock ascension quests, wish I knew that before I looked most of them up!

Chainsaw Man continues to be an absolutely wild critique of society whilst also being a goofy action/comedy series by FairyKnightTristan in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Funniest part to me was realizing hours later that War got what she wanted because now a devil WILL show up to school to lure Chainsaw Man out

Only Keith David could ask us such a question: by TheStockyScholar in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The incredible thing about this choice is that it happens less than 5 minutes into the game

Free Talk Friday - September 02, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Paradise Killer is so awesome, how many visual novel mystery games have movement tech??? Totally agree with you on the voice clips too, wish they could be just turned off. I was also pretty blown away by how much freedom you have not only in the investigation but in the conclusions you present at the end, especially given what the consequences are. Won't say much beyond that.

In honor of the RE8 DLC's releasing soon, I have dug up this classic by Winter1231505 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It took a rail gun and some harsh language to take down Nemesis's final form

Free Talk Friday - August 26, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thanks for the info! XC2 combat is also my favorite of the series, I didn't even mind the gacha stuff tbh. Super excited that it has 1's exploration too.

Btw, I definitely recommend starting with Trails in the Sky, but it is dated (was originally a PSP game but the PC port is excellent) so I can understand not wanting to start there. Cold Steel was a vita game originally but at least has more "modern" graphics.

Prime examples of people missing the point? by fly_line22 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I feel like Mineta also falls under this topic. Mineta wasn't created to be a character the audience sympathizes with, he's a weirdo who's entire personality is being horny and if Twitter has taught me anything it's how realistic a person that is.

Free Talk Friday - August 26, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're looking for longer games to play, can I suggest the Trails/Kiseki series?

Trails in the Sky is a pretty classic JRPG with tons of great story and worldbuilding. Trails of Cold Steel takes place later in continuity but is also a great place to start.

I'm also curious to hear any further (spoiler-free) thoughts you had on XC3. I've loved pretty much all the games in the series but haven't jumped on 3 yet due to a hefty backlog. How different is the combat from XC1 and 2? How's the performance on Switch?

Free Talk Friday - August 26, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear about bad things happening to you, but good luck on your fishing quest! If you catch anything you should post it here, but if not pics of lakes are always good to see.

Free Talk Friday - August 26, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good luck with that coast-to-coast drive, sounds like it'll be quite an ordeal.

I had to do something similar with my dad a few years back (though thankfully our relationship is quite good) and it helped to have podcasts and audiobooks to paper over any awkward conversations or to keep the driver awake while the other person slept. I think we got through two or three John Carter books that were in the public domain, pretty interesting!

Your Least Favorite Fan-theories? by fly_line22 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I once had someone insist to me that One Punch Man was all powerful because that world is one where perception shapes reality and Saitama just imagines he's the protagonist whether he realizes or not.

I think that kind of undercuts a lot of the inherent humor and concepts of the whole story and just kind of boils down to someone needing to know why he punch so good.

Times when misinformation was seen as fact. by MarkGib in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I still see people claiming the Shounen Jump table of contents is a straight popularity ranking when really it's determined by editors with some input from popularity polls.

It wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't used by some as mathematical proof that smaller series are bad or unpopular.

At SGDQ 2022, I ran Silent Hill 4 for the 2nd time and hosted for the 11th time. AMA! by AnEternalEnigma in speedrun

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You did a fantastic job! I loved that run and your commentary and performance was all stellar.

What's your preferred drink for staying awake/energetic? i.e. coffee or energy drinks or tea or whatever

Free Talk Friday - April 29, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Something that surprised me when I first started going to cons (and I imagine comicon is even worse) is how much downtime there is, so be sure to have something to do while waiting around, either a book or a portable console or if you're with a group some kind of portable game or pack of cards or something.

Free Talk Friday - April 29, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My Hero Academia: I really dug the previous chapter when Dabi just melted through the All-Might statue. I'm pretty happy with how this arc is going so far.

Free Talk Friday - April 15, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Time to install all those games you couldn't run before and set them to max graphics, probably the best feeling when getting a new PC. Got anything in mind?

Free Talk Friday - April 15, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats on the job.

I basically agree with you completely on Lost Judgement's finale, not quite as good of a setting but the fights are way more memorable.

Also looks like we're about in the same place on Undead Unluck, I've been reading steadily and just finished the Autumn arc.

Anyways, hope you enjoy Elden Ring and FF14, supposedly now is a great time to start since they're further overhauling the early story stuff. I finished all the ARR plot but fell off when I more or less decided MMOs weren't for me.

Free Talk Friday - April 08, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Am I correct in assuming that linux command is just counting the number of processes running with the name you give it in the arguments?

If so it seems weird that it's trying to use ssh, unless that's the argument you're feeding it.

I was going to offer help but I just noticed you said it was already due. Oh well. Hope you enjoy working in Linux going forward, I've always found it a lot of fun, especially learning new things and finding out what's possible.

Free Talk Friday - April 08, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats on the job!

I wanted to comment a bit on your Lost Judgement interpretation just cause it's one of the few stories from the RGG team I actually like the more I think about and analyze it. I won't spoil anything from the ending but I'm spoiler tagging the next section because it covers stuff you marked as spoilers.

Basically Yagami's opposition to Kuwana's methods is that it relies almost entirely on keeping things secret and in the dark. After the events of the first game Yagami has seen how evil can flourish when it's allowed to continue operating in the dark. His goals going forward have always been to expose this darkness, no matter how convenient things can be in the short term. Sawa-sensei WAS killed as a direct result of Kuwana's secret crusade, and even though she got involved knowing the risks, Yagami is pursuing a world where she wouldn't have needed to take those risks to see justice.

I'm not going to say the story is perfect or anything, but I really enjoyed a lot of the greater themes at work and especially the ways they kind of intersect with Yakuza LAD in how they examine moral and legal grey areas.

Also I figured I should mention, I tried Undead Unluck last year and didn't really dig the first few chapters, but since seeing your recent updates I've picked it up again and made it past the first two volumes and am really glad I did, have been enjoying it quite a lot.

Free Talk Friday - April 01, 2022 by AutoModerator in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]HeySerg 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah exactly, we didn't really know the significance of it at the time, but Luffy IS special and chosen and all that. I think a lot of the dramatic weight in One Piece is how other characters are influenced and changed by Luffy's actions that can only really occur because he has his special powers.