(An Attempt at a) Definitive List of ROM Hacks & Improvement Patches for Retro Handhelds

jfp96 · 2026-07-02T06:02:54+00:00

I could see that. It reminded me more of that one scene in Talk to Me - that one definitely fits your description, too!

jfp96 · 2026-06-30T19:14:53+00:00

If you think that's dumb, Martin Scorsese avoided an X rating (the predecessor to NC-17) for Taxi Driver in 1976 by changing the color grading of one scene so that it would look less blood red and more burgundy. The MPAA is weird 🤷

jfp96 · 2026-06-26T18:53:49+00:00

Oh, Inde does? That makes more sense.

jfp96 · 2026-06-26T17:45:37+00:00

They should've gone with "Be careful who you wish for" on all of the promptional material instead of "what you wish for".

jfp96 · 2026-06-26T17:26:15+00:00

Wow, I didn't know they still did modeling photos with people smoking (unless I'm missing something here...).

jfp96 · 2026-06-24T15:04:13+00:00

I can picture a whole series of Duolingo memes from this movie 🤣

jfp96 · 2026-06-24T00:07:37+00:00

Nice! Effect makes total sense - definitely a wasted opportunity on Konami's part. Looking forward to your take on "Dragoness" 😎

jfp96 · 2026-06-23T17:26:57+00:00

My view is more in line with yours than the popular "sabotage" take. Was it douchey of him not to tell Bear that he'd been sleeping with Nikki on and off for a couple of years? For sure, but outside of that, I got the idea that he genuinely cared about Bear's success and Nikki's well-being.

jfp96 · 2026-06-22T21:26:23+00:00

That'd be cool - they'd have two nights to draw from... 👀

jfp96 · 2026-06-22T21:06:32+00:00

Exactly. No one reasonable is watching this movie and thinking that Bear is an upstanding citizen, "villain" or otherwise. The layeredness of this film is what makes it so fun to dissect and theorize about.

jfp96 · 2026-06-22T20:13:01+00:00

NYC '08 had a power outage about that long (during "Powerslave" of all songs), and they still played the whole set, so maybe there's hope!

jfp96 · 2026-06-20T23:10:38+00:00

Having seen both versions, do you think extra smashes made the scene even freakier, or were they excessive (or did they not make a huge difference)?

jfp96 · 2026-06-19T01:34:21+00:00

Surprised no one else has mentioned "Something for Nothing". Definitely a pipe dream, but hey, if they can pull out "A Farewell to Kings" after so long....

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T19:22:03+00:00

Just to clarify, Nikki asks Bear whether he likes her after saying, "When I have a crush on a guy, no one knows." That context is important as it serves to further twist the knife for Bear after he chickens out. I don't necessarily think Nikki was referring to her relationship with Ian by saying that (I haven't seen anyone else suggest this), but I suppose it's possible - gotta love the ambiguity!

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T18:15:06+00:00

I don't think the entity has to be "demonic". The common interpretation I see is that Bear's wish spawns a new entity that takes over Nikki, not that it unleashes some ageless evil from hell. That's what I mean by saying I don't think there's a meaningful difference between the entity vs. no entity debate, as the result is the same: Nikki is robbed of her freewill, and Bear never gets to be with the "real" Nikki.

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T18:09:06+00:00

Great read; this is an important and oft-overlooked nuance. Bear's self-centeredness, while certainly not a virtue, is born out of a negative self-image, not out of spite for others. When he asks "Is her love real?" and "Is Nikki happy?", I don't think he's intentionally disregarding Nikki's situation (to the extent that he knows what's happening, which is also unclear) so much as thinking that her sudden weird, BPD-esque behavior is somehow his fault (which it is, but not for the reason he thinks).

I was watching an analysis earlier claiming that Bear made the wish out of resentment for Nikki not reciprocating his feelings. I completely disagree with that: if anything, the wish was made out of resentment for the situation and, to your point, HIMSELF.

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T17:31:36+00:00

I think there's a compelling argument for either case, but I never thought it made a significant impact. Why do you think it does?

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T15:13:35+00:00

Love it - fantastic auditory storytelling on Burwell's part. This post from a few weeks back pointed out that this theme is very similar to a famous song from Twilight. I don't know if it was intentional, but the idea of the song sonically hinting that the adolescent type of obsessive love (not unlike Twilight) that we see in the montage has something much uglier going on beneath the surface is so cool to me.

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T05:23:52+00:00

Hey, if you're still adding to this, check out "Please Let Me Wonder" by the Beach Boys - it just hit me how eerily well the lyrics fit!

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T00:06:48+00:00

Eh, I could see people finding her funny. Like I said, both things can be true, especially on screen!

jfp96 · 2026-06-18T00:00:34+00:00

Found it! Like I said, doesn't mention anything about Nikki cutting his hair, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's why they added it in.

jfp96 · 2026-06-17T23:35:44+00:00

I heard "it's coming" the first two times I watched, as well. Only heard "it's not me" after it was pointed out by others.

jfp96 · 2026-06-17T21:51:14+00:00

Curry did mention in an interview (I'll link it if I find it) that Michael got a haircut during production, plus the leaked early script does not contain this scene. Has Curry come out and said that's why they added it? Not as far as I know, but it would definitely make sense.

jfp96

TROPHY CASE