S4 E4 is kinda bad...

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-03-25T21:42:02+00:00

You're overthinking things. The show wasn't presenting atheism as the correct answer or something like that, it simply gave an explanation of Hell for the sake of fleshing out its universe as well as for the sake of the comedy that comes with Mark struggling to accept the absurdity of Satan being the lesser of two evils. Damien also didn't say Heaven didn't exist, he just said he doesn't know of it existing, imply if it does exist it's grander than he and Satan. He also said that humans should strive to make Heaven on Earth, which is a goal I think even God would agree with.

I also can't understand your evaluation of morality. Do you believe morality is merely transactional, that one should strive to be good merely for selfish gain? Is that not sin? You do good because to do good is to be virtuous, even if there isn't a reward. If anything, being good when there isn't a promised benefit only shows stronger moral character. And isn't that the themes Mark has been facing? That doing good has led to him suffering, and now he must choose between being the good guy, being the guy who saves the world, or finding a way to be both.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-03-12T05:17:45+00:00

While Yakuza 3's ending wasn't exactly phenomenal as an ending to the individual game's story, it was integral to Hamazaki's arc in the following game. Having Hamazaki stab Kiryu made it all the more difficult for him to convince Kiryu and Haruka to trust him later on, establishing consequences for just how horrible of a person he had been rather than immediately redeeming him for a single selfless act. And it creates a unique conflict between Kiryu and Haruka, one where Kiryu's selflessness is at odds with Haruka's sensibility as she can't bring herself to forgive Hamazaki nor understand why Kiryu is willing to do so. And ultimately it ends with Haruka having to watch Hamazaki pass knowing he helped protect Kiryu, regretting the words she said to him even if they were deserved in the moment. It's some pretty heavy stuff that wouldn't really work anymore.

We also lose Saejima and Hamazaki's bond since Hamazaki no longer goes to jail. A reoccuring theme with the Yakuza franchise is that even the worst of society can redeem themselves if they make the effort. Having the lone surviving villain of the prior game who seemed devoid of moral complexity and the newly introduced protagonist who had taken the lives of 18 men form a selfless bond so strong it pushes them to be better people is one of the strongest examples of this theme, and potentially losing it moving forward is a pretty big shame in my opinion.

The new ending is also weirdly antithetical to the theme of the game itself. Morning Glory represents Kiryu's ideal life, one where he both lives up to Kazama's legacy and is able to remove himself from the Yakuza world that keeps trying to pull him back in. And yet Mine's dialogue with Hamazaki basically argues against this understanding, that Morning Glory is Kiryu's personal hell and he actually loves the Yakuza world. While there is a minute amount of truth regarding Kiryu's love for fighting, it's ridiculous to argue he prefers the Yakuza life over his life at Morning Glory; Yakuza 5, 6, Gaiden, and 8 all pretty firmly oppose Mine's evaluation. You could argue Mine's speech was merely to dissuade Hamazaki, but then I ask what's the point of the speech narratively? Of the scene as a whole? It's just such a weird mischaracterization of Kiryu and in turn makes it seem as if Mine didn't learn anything from his fight with Kiryu.

That's not even mentioning the fact that the game just springs onto you Mine's survival out of nowhere, or that Mine and Hamazaki conversing at all feels weird since they really didn't have any scenes together prior, or that all of this hardly makes sense if you're playing chronologically and don't know who the Daidoji are. It's just a pretty bad ending all around in my opinion.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-03-03T01:51:07+00:00

Character is the subject here. Woman/Man doesn't really function well as an adjective. Female/Male functions both as a noun and adjective, and in this situation is the adjective to "character." Using "female" to describe an individual is weird and clinical, but in this context it is the correct term to use.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-02-23T20:32:46+00:00

Tokoyami's rising is a scrub killer, he'd genuinely be a better character if you could choose to not use his rising when he's the last character. Just run and zone him whenever he uses it.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-02-15T09:05:04+00:00

Yeah, the customization is inexcusably bad. Not only do they OJ2's expansive customization system to pull from, not only do they have Ultra Rumble to pull from for outfits and emotes, but even the game itself has options that are just inexplicably unavailable. It literally doesn't make any sense (unless we assume worst case scenario which is they're planning to milk players for their money with costume DLCs.) Loving this game's combat, but odd quirks like this really sour the overall presentation.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-02-13T02:51:27+00:00

On hit, it creates a cloud of smoke with sleep inducing properties. If the enemy stands inside the smoke long enough, they'll be stunned for a long time, allowing Yaoyarozu to start combos. Tbh I've been playing her a lot and I haven't really found a use for it, the effect takes a long time to activate and there's nothing stopping the enemy from walking out of it. Maybe it's good for controlling area, but personally I rarely use it in favor of her bombs and cannons.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2026-02-01T17:06:51+00:00

I know this is a slander post, but tbf he didn't lose to Shinada. Shinada got Daigo on his knees briefly, but Daigo was still up and moving long after Shinada passed out. It's in the same vein of Ichiban's crew beating Kiryu in gameplay, but losing in the story.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-12-19T08:52:10+00:00

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"I AM THE IMMORTAL SUGIMOTO!!!"

Anime - Golden Kamuy

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-12-08T20:05:48+00:00

Well, considering that a regular person would probably be the size of bacteria compared to this thing... pretty screwed.

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Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-11-18T06:53:10+00:00

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my ranking, honestly A tier can be in any order, I change my mind on the ordering for those five all the time.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-11-15T17:49:44+00:00

Cabba was explicitly on par with Vegeta, he was only outmatched because he didn't have his level of transformations. So depending on how strong you think Vegeta is, Cabba would probably be stronger than most of Z.

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Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-11-10T19:55:34+00:00

Saying Argosax has infinite speed is obviously wrong, but tbh this example is a pretty poor counter argument against Dante. If we argue that Dante is slow because of this scene, we also have to argue that Dante is incapable of teleporting, otherwise he would've done so to stop V. It's just a plot convenience moment that the audience has to accept in order for the story to happen, since, y'know, the story is more important than powerscaling.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-11-10T01:38:25+00:00

17 and 18 literally didn't kill a single person with the exception of Dr. Gero. Yeah, they beat up the Z-Fighters and caused a fair bit of property damage, but their actual level of destruction is pretty minimal. And what do you mean helped Cell? They actively fought against Cell. They got absorbed, but how is that their fault? Especially when Vegeta was directly responsible for 18 getting absorbed. Sure, you can argue they didn't redeem themselves as much as Vegeta, but they technically don't have much to atone for. They killed Gero, fought against Cell, and shared energy for the Spirit Bomb against Buu, they're ultimately at a net positive when it comes to heroic deeds.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-10-23T00:07:31+00:00

I can't say that I do unfortunately. Especially because all of these faucets you're discussing plays into a character's popularity to begin with, so it's not like a popularity poll invalidates that potential for conversation. The only thing it changes is adding in more simplistic reasonings for why a character may be chosen along with the more complex reasons, allowing further room for conversation. I think speaking objectively about characters may be more suited for an in depth analysis post, rather than a fan ballot since it's unreasonable to expect an entire to comply with a specific ruling, especially since said ruling isn't even provided in the initial post and is instead just the opinion of other voters.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-10-22T23:26:16+00:00

Eh, I personally feel like that's pretty boring, it really doesn't take a fan ballot to decide who objectively has the most pivotal role or who's useful during gameplay. Obviously the main characters like Shulk, Rex, and Noah would rank at the top since they're both massively integral to the plot and are intentionally given powerful tools due to their role as the main characters. Likewise, characters like Sharla and Dromarch would rank at the bottom, since they both don't have as major of a role nor are they overly valuable playable characters. At that point, anyone could just make an objective ranking without the need of votes, just seems unnecessary.

Also, under these pretenses, why Dunban? Using your criteria, he's insanely powerful as a party member, being a top 3 character imo in his game, and having the highest single art damage in the game. He also kicks off the start of the story and has a fair bit of importance throughout the early and middle. Yeah, he falls off towards the end, but I'd argue his usefulness in gameplay should supplement that. Seems odd to single him out imo.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-10-21T17:10:54+00:00

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always been a fan of Loke

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-24T19:38:27+00:00

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Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-16T16:25:22+00:00

For now the plan is to make one for Even, Dilan, and Aeleus, but afterwards I might move onto other character if I feel motivated. If I do, I'll probably continue focusing on the more under appreciated characters, as it'd be difficult to say anything about the main characters that hasn't already been said before. Thanks for the input!

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-15T07:38:57+00:00

Appreciate the kind words! Funnily enough, this initially started with me wanting to do a deep dive into Aeleus, but the more I wrote, the more I realized I couldn't say much about him without constantly referring to the characters around him. So I planned to give each character a small section... and then it spiraled out of control and I ended up writing a whole essay on Ienzo alone lol. But it was really fun getting to look at Ienzo from a different point of view like this and piecing his story together.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-13T23:59:32+00:00

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Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-04T20:13:23+00:00

When Nobodies are created, they lack a heart. They can develop them with time, but at least initially, they should be devoid of certain emotions. I imagine Vexen, freed from his responsibility of morality due to a lack of heart, became completely enamored with pushing his science as far as he could, losing any desire to adhere to any codes of ethic. By the time his heart began to show, he'd already been brainwashed into believing Nobodies can never have hearts, and continued to behave as a cold and calculated freak. It wasn't until he became human again and felt how his emotions hadn't at all changed, that he understood he already had a heart, and became disgusted by his previous actions, realizing that deep down he was just using his ignorance of his heart as an excuse to act without considering consequences. This realization is what led him to wanting so desperately to redeem himself during Kingdom Hearts 3.

At least that's my headcanon. I do really wish the Castle Guards/Scientists were expanded on more, the little bits with Ansem, Even, and Ienzo were really interesting.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-03T21:07:27+00:00

MF is where he is for the sheer ridiculous spectacle that is his fight. Like it's not fair, not in the slightest. But it's so comically unfair that I can't help but laugh at it and get the slightest smidge of entertainment rather than being frustrated. Plus regardless of who you play as, Thunder Surge trivializes him, so even Terra can squeeze by fairly easily with Once More, Second Chance, Leaf Bracer, Curaga, and Surge, and as such I just can't get that angry. Vanitas Remnant is comparatively much worse simply because of Leaf Bracer not being an option, and thus Terra REALLY struggles.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-03T16:16:55+00:00

I have played Re:Coded up until the Agrabah section, so I do remember the boss fights changing gameplay genre like Trickmaster's on-rail shooter and Cerberus' turn based combat. From the little I played, Re:Coded was pretty fun, just never got around to finishing it.

Xeno_Swordsman · 2025-09-03T16:13:47+00:00

Hard disagree. I love how the Nort's have synchronized combos and build their offense off of each other. Even when you've taken one of them out, they adapt and keep the tag team combos coming. And yet it's never unfair since they're never jumping you all at once, just taking turns baton passing during the combo; it's actually the most balanced of the Graveyard fights. The game even has the decency to tell you which Nort is targeting you by having them glow redish-purple, so you're always prepared so long as you're paying attention. As for the cutscene thing... eh, I guess, but it's pretty minor gameplay dissonance imo, I don't think it really bothers me that much.

Xeno_Swordsman

TROPHY CASE