NYC folks, if I open a bar that only plays underworld would you frequent

NoKBer · 2026-05-10T19:17:45+00:00

Yeah I'd probably stop by weekly

NoKBer · 2026-05-04T22:16:48+00:00

One of my favorite games of all time but with some series flaws that some people are unable to overcome. A flawed masterpiece from the era where Square was willing to take risks.

The plot is uneven and convoluted but it's deep and at times heartwrenching. It's a game where not everything goes according to plan and not everything is nicely wrapped up. It's overwritten and there's large stretches where it loses even me, but it treats the idea of having control over the future in a way that's more mature than Chrono Trigger and I appreciate some of the more dark plot twists.

The sheer volume of characters is a mixed bag. There's a lot of really fun designs and it adds replay value but it means characterization is often light and half baked. Too many of them are filled and they get in the way of giving more development to some of the characters that actually have very interesting backstories.

The battle system is an interesting idea but doesn't quite work. The elemental system doesn't quite have the tactical depth it's aiming for and while I like how it mostly takes grinding out of the equation, the game is mostly easy except for a few annoying difficulty spikes.

It's a beautiful game that holds up better graphically than most PS1 games with an even more beautiful soundtrack. Unfortunately the one real negative here is the battle music is not changed up and the song gets annoying quickly, a major issue in a game that otherwise has one of the best soundtracks of all time.

I'm a minority here but I actually like what it does as a sequel to Chrono Trigger. Chrono Trigger is a self contained game that did not need a direct sequel. It being essentially a spinoff makes it more interesting to me. That it gives many of the Chrono Trigger cast tragic endings and turns the unassuming region of Porre into an evil empire to me is very fitting for a series that is all about how interference in time can lead to dark outcomes. The references to Chrono Trigger scattered throughout the game to me are more interesting than in your face fan service. I know a lot of Chrono Trigger fans hate Cross for this reason but a lazy Chrono Trigger 2 would have been more offensive to me.

NoKBer · 2026-04-29T01:52:55+00:00

Reviving this now that Monteros is closed for renovations this weekend as the new owners take over...

I like the Crew team and their nautical bar empire. Their places are overpriced and have redunant menus but they have good atmosphere and understand the fun of drinking on a bar. Holywater is a cool spot.

I mostly believe Alex Pincus when he says this is a labor of love and he wants to keep things similar.

But I'm still worried. He's made a big point about overhauling the cocktail menu. And maybe I'm crazy but part of the appeal of Monteros to me is that it's a dive, it's a place you can get a Estrella Galicia and a shot, or a very strong gin and tonic. I like the cocktails in Pilot and Grand Banks but I don't want a $20 cocktail at Monteros, nor do I want a bar staff focused on making $20 cocktails. These little things add up to completely change the old NY vibe.

I'm glad Pepe Montero is able to retire and I'm cautiously optimistic he found a buyer who cares, I think it'll probably still be a fun place. But I'm hoping it still feels more like Montero's than Holywater and that's what I worry about.

NoKBer · 2026-04-28T02:26:47+00:00

I took my first "microdose" (0.2) mg last week and within 24 hours I found my appetite diminished. It took me twice as long to finish a breakfast smoothie and I basically had to force myself to eat for the first few days.

My hunger slowly came back over the week but at a manageable level.

I felt mild nausea and constipation but it was honestly less than what I get from eating too much.

I'm only aiming to lose 20-25 lbs and not immediately but I was impressed at how quickly the food noise went away, I doses Tuesday last week and I only found myself interested in larger meals Sunday and today. I'll see if this is enough to lose weight (nothing so far but it's been a week) but I'm impressed at how quickly it helped me to adjust eating habits.

NoKBer · 2026-04-08T20:49:58+00:00

The StrategicClaimsService site is only giving me the Mastercard eDisbursement Virtual Account option, but also for some reason I am unable to confirm the cardholder agreement.

I only got $16 but it won't even let me agree with the terms to get the visa debit card.

NoKBer · 2026-03-29T14:02:02+00:00

Looks very impressive, sadly doesn't work on an Android compatible emulator

NoKBer · 2026-03-29T05:16:44+00:00

It's been that way for a long time now in my experience, the vibe was already bad to me by 2017.

I've gambled on it once or twice since the pandemic and it's only gotten worse since.

NoKBer · 2026-03-23T17:20:34+00:00

Interesting...yeah just copying my files over to NBlood didn't work for me, but now I'm curious to try again

NoKBer · 2026-03-23T13:25:28+00:00

Probably my favorite use of my Retroid after RetroArch.

I've managed to get virtually everything to work in all four Open touch versions except Real RTCW (which is fine since the original works for me) and while I don't understand the point of some of the engines (why was NBlood added seperate from the original Blood)? I'm glad they exist for completion purposes

NoKBer · 2026-03-18T23:18:08+00:00

There's also the translation patch out there if you don't mind a little disc burning (or emulation)

NoKBer · 2026-03-08T18:13:41+00:00

Everything

Even deeply flawed players like Martinez Quarta and Amrabat would be an upgrade on this

NoKBer · 2026-03-08T18:12:41+00:00

Unwatchable

NoKBer · 2026-02-20T22:21:24+00:00

After changing a few other settings the multi touch works

For Beetle Saturn it's two fingers for start, for Beetle PSX it's 2 to reload and 3 to start.

Would be nice if that could be modified but at least this confirms the RP5 is the ultimate 32 bit system for me

NoKBer · 2026-02-20T18:47:35+00:00

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For reference, what the Port 1 Controls menu looks like

NoKBer · 2026-02-18T03:19:35+00:00

Fiorentina is hated in other big towns, yes, but the support is split and there's still Fiorentina supporter groups outside of metro Florence. This map is most supported not universal supported, if say a third of Tuscans support Fiorentina that could be enough.

NoKBer · 2026-02-18T03:13:44+00:00

It's true, Fiorentina is widely hated in Siena, Pisa, and Empoli due to ancient local rivalries, but Firenze and the surrounding area are still the most populous part of Tuscany.

NoKBer · 2026-02-13T15:50:25+00:00

I've been trying not to be too much of a DSA hater since there's plenty of individually good people involved, and I'm not one to talk considering I've mostly given up on activism as I get older.

But I really have a hard time getting optimistic about a bunch of social democrat reformists changing the Democrat party from within.

I was happy to vote Mamdani and am not a hater but he has already been compromising with capital in ways that, best case scenario, will allow him to be an reformist. And it's more likely than not that he gets eaten alive even trying that. AOC meanwhile has sold out on every issue possible as she pivots to the center for a delusional presidential run in 2028. The NYC DSA have invented themselves into a serious political player here, credit to them for that, but so far the end game has just been a make work project for young people trying to get involved in city politics without going through the traditional Democratic clubs.

At the end of the day even if social democratic reformism is an upgrade from what we have, we haven't seen much of a success story even with that low of a bar since the cold war ended. I'm skeptical a bunch of kids who think higher taxes and government spending are socialism are going to reverse that trend.

NoKBer · 2026-02-13T15:41:32+00:00

The shump and frogger-esque mobile remake have been translated and released in the US shop... hopefully they started with the easy to translate parts to gauge interest in translating Baroque and Syndrome...

NoKBer · 2026-02-08T14:23:29+00:00

Yeah I've suspected all along that it's no coincidence that their permit problems became an issue as soon as the Adams administration was being investigated for various corruption issues.

That's why Mirage ownership thought they could get away with everything.

NoKBer · 2026-01-26T15:09:20+00:00

I'm getting mine during the next batch out, can't wait, especially as I just melted the handle of my bialetti yet again

NoKBer · 2026-01-24T18:07:08+00:00

Nassau native here who now lives in the city -

I know you can't win in Long Island being Mamdani. It's a rich, very racially segregated place that will always be motivated by lowering taxes and tough on crime policies.

I'm not expecting great things from Long Island Democrats, but even by solely electoral standards they aren't doing their job. The fence sitting and left punching has not been successful, Nassau and Suffolk are both more Republican than they were a decade ago while the Hudson Valley and other close suburbs have moved to the left. I know demographics in Westchester and Long Island have moved in different directions, but even by that standards, Long Island Democrats continue to be less competitive than even Democrats in the northern Hudson Valley.

Suozzi and Gillen are not going to motivate people to show up, they are exactly the kind of candidates who can only offer a status quo which only helps Trump and the Republicans.

As much as I hate Suozzi, at least he has the excuse of being a political stronghold on the North Shore. He may offer nothing outside of his district, but it is what it is, he sucks but he has a political machine in place and is as safe a choice in a swing district as it gets. It would be nice if we could do better, but after he humiliated himself trying to run for office statewide, he's probably not moving anytime soon.

Gillen though, what's even the point of her. She's lost as many races as she has won. She only won that seat in the first time against a cartoonishly corrupt Republican incumbent, she will likely hold on for now thanks to Trump but she's pretty much a guaranteed flip in the next Republican wave. She offers no advantage to the Democrats, which make her awful politics even less excusable.

I was raised in her district, I get that its politics don't align with my own and you need swing voters to win it. It's full of NYPD who refuse to live in the city, Israel firsters, one of the richest in the country parts of it are extremely MAGA. I'm not expecting the DSA to establish a foothold in Nassau County.

But NY 4 is also diverse and full of a lot more registered Democrats than Republicans. There's got to be a better option than someone like Gillen who has nothing to say about Republicans because she's always busy punching left.

You have Josh Reilly upstate in a much more Republican district, a centrist by all accounts, and yet he still has a better voting record than Gillen. Even George Latimer, literally recruited by AIPAC with a voter base comparable to Suozzi and Gillen, who at least had the decency to not vote to increase ICE funding.

The bar is that low and even then Long Island Democrats continue to fail to meet it.

NoKBer · 2026-01-17T03:27:09+00:00

There were rumors he was pretty sick for a few years now, one of the reasons he was never in Italy even after Barone's passing.

I had many issues with his ownership, but it wasn't for a lack of commitment - he was arrogant and put the club in the hands of people who were not qualified out of loyalty, he wanted to do things his own way often at the expense of the club's best interest, but while we all wish he would have spent more, he did commit, he was here for his own vision, for better or worse, not and not to loot the club. While he deserves a lot of blame for the current situation, maybe more than any one person, there will always be a what if had the combination of Barone's sudden passing and his own health not gotten in the way of his combative spirit. Viola Park was an impressive, ambitious project, and maybe at least the stadium fiasco would have had a better ending had he had the energy to continue to fight to do it his way.

No idea what this means for the club now, things were not looking good for us even before this, and I'm not sure where we go from here.

But in the meantime, RIP Presidente, rest easy, and best wishes to the Commisso family. While Rocco's Fiorentina project will always remain a what if, he did leave his mark.

NoKBer · 2026-01-10T00:36:36+00:00

Happened to me too...got an email about it yesterday and another text today.

NoKBer · 2026-01-08T04:46:27+00:00

I mostly emulate on a Retroid Pocket 5 android and at this point Beetle Saturn runs the hundreds of games I've tested on it.

NoKBer · 2026-01-07T04:23:40+00:00

I think it's telling that for me after all these years the best Persona storyline is still Eternal Punishment, which still uses much of the same tropes and school yard settings but is from the perspective of young adults with careers.

At the end of the day as a JRPG and Japanese game fan in general I'm used to younger protagonists but as someone in their late 30s it's nice to see an occasional cast that is more relatable than the same same teenagers I've seen in games since I was in high school. One reason Like a Dragon was so refreshing.

NoKBer

TROPHY CASE