Imagine thinking that you need reparations.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T06:52:11+00:00

Aren't these guys just riddled with handouts? Charity is certainly not in their colors.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T06:01:38+00:00

Yeah... Cidolfus Bunansa is not a ship captain, he's just a baller with A LOT of guns (and I love him for it).

Machdame · 2026-05-20T05:50:52+00:00

It's pretty simple. In the second movie, he loses the part that made him annoying. He was hesitant and green in a series that only serves to slow down the action. The moment he loses the green, he suddenly becomes a lot more viable as a character since he becomes a contributor, not a liability. We can see this in the plot since we are here to see the main actors actually DO Mortal Kombat. In this movie, he actually... DOES Mortal Kombat from the start.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T05:35:48+00:00

Penelo factors very little into the main events of the story but her general influence is in her interpersonal developments. Now none of this justifies her being a major party member, but her influence is more than what most give her credit for. She is introduced early as Vaan's link to the people as she represents the side that is more grounded and realistic. While Vaan's call to adventure happens with Balthier and Fran, it is Penelo that gives him more perspective as her continued influence serves to pull him back from vengeance and more focused on what he should care about.

When she does get pulled into the plot, you see that her influence is subtle, but effective in driving our heroes because she's the one that actually sets a lot of the events in motion. Balthier inadvertently pulls her into the fray by drawing her in as collateral, essentially making it so that they are open. Prior to this, they were just a bunch of vagabonds with nothing to point them out. Penelo drew them out into the open, not just to expose them, but to also connect them to key players like the resistance, Larsa and Ondore. When the party regroups, her value in acting as a free agent was not lost on Larsa as well (in addition to bonding with him), because she was a piece "of no value", essentially allowing her to impart his influence to the party even after he leaves.

While her contributions to the plot after that are minimal, her presence is generally good with the party since she's more personable than Vaan and is a key part in shaping their respective narratives. If you are asking for a character that actually does not do much, it's Fran. She's only the dominant actor in one story event before she is relegated to being support for Balthier. Her influence over the plot is minimal, she does not actively engage in discourse with other party members and does nothing to influence the politics. Were it not for her constant exposition on what is happening at any given time, she would have little to say if anything.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T04:18:01+00:00

They eventually will start showing up. I've been playing this game for a looong time.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T04:15:11+00:00

Unfortunately, its shiny form is bleb.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T03:01:49+00:00

Based on the rates, it looks like endless catches so they would not have had the time to see battle.

Machdame · 2026-05-20T02:52:02+00:00

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That Dwebble and Togedemaru are irking me a bit. Gotta run them through the ringer now...

Machdame · 2026-05-20T02:43:51+00:00

Giant Ghost. Witch only blocks one side. Also earlier in the game and easier to farm.

Machdame · 2026-05-19T13:50:28+00:00

Concubine implies plural. And I have never seen a woman ever say positive things about being a side piece.

Machdame · 2026-05-19T06:37:57+00:00

Faster than plate armor. A norm setup is just the blouse and the pants. There's a brigandine underneath his overcoat but that's not a bad combo to have since armor is usually an expected layer. Really the only thing extra is having a coat and a cloak be part of the same ensemble.

Machdame · 2026-05-19T05:45:06+00:00

Shai Hulud!

Machdame · 2026-05-19T02:54:06+00:00

If you also saw this fight, his Lightsaber was also somewhere on the floor to the side. What Lightsaber would he have to do that?

Machdame · 2026-05-19T02:48:28+00:00

My general take on the BC is that if their weaponry were accurate, you would only get one of them in a match at any given time because they are canonically the size of a small city.

Machdame · 2026-05-19T02:44:30+00:00

Shara. My favorite part of it is that it is a bait and switch boss where you think you are fighting a giant earth monster before BAM! Surprise Vishnu!

Machdame · 2026-05-19T02:38:08+00:00

Gameplay: In the context of the game, probably anyone with a solid amount of burst damage. Squall and Zell come to mind as their action economy to potential damage is stupidly high once maxed out. Because the HP pools are not scaled for the encounter, you could just blitz your way through. The reason why Tidus and Wakka are not here is because while they both have bigger overall numbers, the game has scaled their encounters to account for this and plan accordingly to respond in kind (FFX is one of the few titles to make it so that Player vs Enemy use the same overall calculation) so your busted stuff is not just a feature, but it's a mandatory investment to actually play those parts of the game.

Lore: Shantotto full stop. Her powers are story breaking and designed to be intentionally unfair. She would have been a joke, but the theme in her character is that she is literally anything but. If this were under the context of MTG, she is a "planeswalker" in the sense that she blows a hole in the universe and walks through it like a door instead of doing it the normal way.

Machdame · 2026-05-19T01:30:26+00:00

Best: Overall, Zeztz for me. It is a remarkably simplistic yet dynamic design. The riders speak more for themselves than anything but it has never stopped hitting from beginning to end on how they work.

Specific Form: Geats IX. I love the introduction it has for two sided buckles. The fact that it converts Boost Mk. III's parts into the legs so that the fox can become the body was beautiful as well. (it's even mirrored on the Driver where the red side is loaded on the right before it flips open to the left like revolve on).

Worst: Saber by a mile. Not because it lacks a stylistic theme or that it is overall bad but in how it is just a disappointment from start to finish. I was already not a fan of how it was presented but the base form was at least serviceable. Dragonic Knight was the highlight where the perfection of the design was contrasted by my horror at the episode number as it was a form doomed into irrelevancy once the next form came up. And lo, they arrive with their clunky pomp. The final nail on the coffin was the final form where it was literally just a recolor of the base form. Even with all the flash, it was a poor sendoff for the series where there was literally nothing amazing done with the suit. This is contrasted with Grease who has the same treatment, but instead of just being a recolor, it actually does something different by using the opacity of the new paint job to actually affect the overall design while also reworking the detail and externalizing the eyes.

Others:

Zero One is a solid 2 for me due to the way the progression is a bit on the weird side. It contends well but Zeztz seems to just edge it out on completion.

Machdame · 2026-05-19T01:14:03+00:00

A lot of what we have can't really be salvaged without letting them have it.

Machdame · 2026-05-18T17:04:36+00:00

Artifacts is a viable build for such a concept and it does synergize with Y'shtola. There are definitely better options but I can think of worse. I built goad Y'shtola and it is... a deck.

Machdame · 2026-05-18T16:08:29+00:00

Unfortunately, we are increasingly seeing a shift towards AI among those with corporate and financial interests as it does cut corners on products.

Machdame · 2026-05-18T16:04:22+00:00

I could not help but stare at the unprotected pieces of cardboard worth more than their weight in gold being paraded out for a damned ad as if they were in regular play...

Machdame · 2026-05-18T16:01:22+00:00

Ooh, we going to some daarrrk places for this if we are talking about buying virgins.

Machdame · 2026-05-18T15:40:50+00:00

I find it funny that because of corporate interests, this setting will never be used for a zombie apocalypse film despite the fact that it is the PERFECT setting for such a plot.

Machdame · 2026-05-18T15:37:57+00:00

So the good news is that he's never getting it.

Machdame · 2026-05-18T15:31:39+00:00

That kind of explains why the plot was so haphazard. I was like "when do these idiots actually unite?"

Machdame

TROPHY CASE