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  1. . : tale_wind
    ♪ Even if the forum's dead ♫
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 8, 2024 in forum: The Spam Zone
  2. . : tale_wind


    Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
    , the 7.0 expansion, will release this summer.

    Some of the promised content includes:
    • New jobs, Viper (melee DPS) and Pictomancer (magic DPS), as well as the limited job Beastmaster
    • Female hrothgar as a playable race
    • The level cap increased to 100
    • New locations like Tuliyollal, Heritage Found, and Solution Nine, to the west of Eorzea
    • The Arcadion, an original 8-player raid series
    • Echoes of Vana'diel, a 24-player raid series in collaboration with Final Fantasy XI
    • Futures Rewritten (Ultimate), a new Ultimate raid based on the Eden raid series from Shadowbringers
    • Cosmic Exploration, a new lifestyle mode
    • A new Field Operations mode, similar to Eureka and Bozja
    • Two dye channels for equipment
    • A major graphics update (and a free phial of Fantasia for all players, in case they're unhappy with how their characters' appearances have changed with the graphics update)
    Additionally, Endwalker Patch 6.55 will release on January 16. The open beta test for the forthcoming Xbox release of Final Fantasy XIV will begin in late February. A collaboration event with Final Fantasy XVI will release in early April.

    Also worth mentioning: back in October, the game's free trial expanded to include the second expansion Stormblood, allowing players to go all the way up to level 70 with no play time limit, so if you want to give the game a try, now's the right time!
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 6, 2024 in forum: Gaming
  3. . : tale_wind
    Howdy!

    We're nearly a week into 2024 now, so let's talk about the video games you loved in 2023! What were your favorites on a particular system, what were the best soundtracks, best multiplayer...and so on and so forth!

    We don't have to just talk about the ones that debuted in 2023, though; what are some older ones you played for the first time in 2023?

    -

    It slid in right at the end of the year, but as far as 2023 games go, I've been loving Palia on my Switch! Back when they had free NSO trials, I tried fellow farm sims Stardew Valley and Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, but neither of them grabbed me like Palia has. I'm not far in the game (it's been out less than a month, and it's been the holidays lol) but everything has been so satisfying. (Except fishing. I can't figure out the fishing.) The world is charming and cozy, the characters are fun and varied, and I really like the mystery at the heart of it. Hodari I WILL make you fall in love with me.

    Another 2023 debut favorite has been Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, and really, it's no surprise. I put so many hours into Curtain Call on the 3DS, and I'm ready to plug even more into this one! It took some adjusting to get used to the button controls after years of playing with the touch screen, but it's simple and natural and intuitive! (I know we're on a Kingdom Hearts forum, but the controls are indisputably better than Melody of Memory's, if you're wondering about the comparison.) If you like Final Fantasy and you like Final Fantasy music, playing this is a no-brainer. But if you need further convincing, the free demo has thirty songs to try!

    2023 honorable mentions: Fire Emblem Engage, Pokémon TCG Live

    As for older games I first started in 2023...

    I bought Hades after the 2022 Game Awards when they announced the sequel, and it went half-off digitally. I'd been holding off and planning to get a physical copy, but it was time, and half-off is hard to beat. Also hard to beat: Megaera! I turned on God Mode and we're still trucking away! I knew everyone loved this game, and I suspected I would at least like it, but WOW the gameplay loop so much more addicting than I was expecting! The music, of course, slaps, and while I was unsure of some of the voice work at first blush, it's proven to be just as excellent. And it's funny! It's a funny game! You don't think that looking from the outside, but it is! Favorite weapons so far: bow > spear > shield > sword.

    I'll be real—I mostly started Dragon Age: Inquisition for Iron Bull. I feel perfectly reasonable and justified in that. And in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't yet played much more than the first couple hours of my first sit-down with it. But the world is immediately so interesting! My only previous Dragon Age experience is, like, maybe an hour of Origins? Which was fine, but didn't hook me like Inquisition. You wouldn't think so from my playtime, but I'm fascinated to see where this plot and these characters go. (Also I'm so mad that my round-faced elf is stuck with a tiny twig body and I can't make him Bigger.) (Oh yeah he's also an archer rogue. Groundbreaking I know lol)

    Pre-2023 honorable mentions: Splatoon 3, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, Arcade Spirits
    Thread by: . : tale_wind, Jan 6, 2024, 1 replies, in forum: Gaming
  4. . : tale_wind
  5. . : tale_wind
    Post

    "Drama"

    How...

    DARE YOU!!!!
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Dec 29, 2023 in forum: The Spam Zone
  6. . : tale_wind
    Post

    Man

    [​IMG]
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Aug 19, 2023 in forum: The Spam Zone
  7. . : tale_wind
  8. . : tale_wind
    Hardly a surprise for a Kingdom Hearts mobile game to get delayed from its announced release, lol. LOVE the new artwork, though! What a mood it sets! It's not at all what I was expecting for Missing-Link, and I'm even more intrigued at what it's got in store for us!

    Here's hoping the JP and global versions of the game are unified this time around. I'm not holding my breath, given the JP-exclusive beta and that I don't think Square has a single live service mobile game with unified servers (except maybe VII The First Soldier?), but it'd sure be nice.
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Dec 19, 2022 in forum: Kingdom Hearts News & Updates
  9. . : tale_wind
    Post

    -_(O_o)_-

    (☞゚ヮ゚)☞
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Sep 23, 2022 in forum: The Spam Zone
  10. . : tale_wind
    Tweaked what I had from this half of the story and finally tossed it up on Archive of Our Own! Part two coming...at some point!
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Aug 25, 2022 in forum: Written Works
  11. . : tale_wind
    Had the idea for this after the KHIV reveal trailer a couple months ago, and finally managed to finish it over the weekend! \o/

    You can also read it on AO3 here!

    -

    Sora's tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to wriggle the wooden block free from the tower with just his thumb and forefinger.

    "Careful," Strelitzia warned, watching just as intently.

    "I aaalmost got it," Sora said. The top half of the tower twisted with the block's movement, and they both drew in sharp breaths, Sora freezing in place. After a moment, he carefully resumed his work, and eventually—though it turned the tower just a bit more—the block slid free.

    "What!" Strelitzia shrieked, jumping to her feet as Sora smugly placed his prize atop the tower.

    "Your turn now!"

    She eyed the tower wearily. Where it hadn't proven too sturdy to budge on earlier turns, it was row upon row of single blocks in a spindly stack, and the whole thing looked ready to tumble down at the most feather-light touch. She sank back onto the couch with a groan. "How am I supposed to win now?"

    Sora grinned at her. "Aw, c'mon, you'll never know unless you try! If you don't see anything right away, try thinking outside the box!"

    Outside the box... Her gaze kept coming back to the tower's fragile midsection. It would be impossible to swipe one of those single blocks—which meant that if she was going to follow his advice and do something unexpected, that was the place to try it. As she studied the structure, a memory bubbled up: once, she'd been in the Moogle's shop in Daybreak Town when he was showing off some fancy dinnerware. She wasn't sure what practical application the demonstration had in hindsight, but at one point he whipped the tablecloth from the fully set table, to the amazement of the assembled crowd, without disturbing the dishes. Maybe, if she was fast enough...

    Strelitzia closed her thumb and forefinger around a block. Sora leaned in. She took a deep breath...and yanked.

    The upper half of the tower dropped with a CLUNK , two blocks in the same direction now stacked on top of each other, and wobbled. Then it fell still.

    Strelitzia let out an involuntary "Oh!" Then, she repeated again, higher-pitched, "Oh!"

    Sora whooped and jumped to his feet, pulling Strelitzia with him. "You did it!" he crowed.

    "I did! I did it! I really—"

    They bumped the table.

    Their heads swiveled back down.

    The tower swayed.

    And then it toppled, blocks scattering with a crash.

    "Noooooo!"



    Even in the dark of night, Quadratum continued to bustle outside the apartment. Cars continued up and down the highway, people ambled and chatted across the sidewalks and crosswalks, city lights glittered as far as the eye could see.

    Inside the apartment, though, it was only a quiet hum in the background as Strelitzia and Sora sprawled across the floor. "I really almost had it," Strelitzia sighed.

    "Not almost," Sora said. "You did have it!" His smile turned sheepish. "If it wasn't for me getting all excited, we could've had a more fair end to the game."

    Strelitzia turned her head to look at him. "If it wasn't for you," she said, "I would've just given up, and never tried at all! So...thank you, Sora." She giggled. "Pulling that off without it all falling down felt pretty incredible."

    "Aw, well, what are friends for?"

    Friends...

    Tears suddenly pricked at her eyes, a strange weight settling in her heart. Unfortunately, Sora noticed when she looked back up at the ceiling and rubbed her face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

    "Nothing," she replied, but the waver in her voice wasn't exactly subtle. "...Well. Sorry, it's just—" She swallowed and cleared her throat. "I've...never really had a friend before."

    When Sora finally responded, it was only with a small "Never?"

    "I mean—I had my brother," Strelitzia said quickly. "And—and I was friendly with the other members of my Union! And I don't mean to discount my brother, because I really love him, and he really loved me, but other than him...I wasn't really close to anyone." For a moment, the plain white ceiling above her turned purple in her mind's eye, and then opened up into a brilliant misty sunrise, full of blues and pinks and golds. "There was...this one person, though." Her heart fluttered in her chest as she recalled their face. "I really wanted to be their friend..."

    "What happened?"

    Strelitzia smiled through the water trailing from her eyes. "I got sent here. Right when I'd finally worked up the courage to talk to them."

    Sora's hand found hers, threading their fingers together. "I'm sorry," he said. She closed her eyes.

    They listened to the distant traffic for a little while. When a clock in the apartment chirped a jaunty tune to mark the hour, Strelitzia wiped her face again. "...It's getting late," she said with a sniffle. "We should probably get to bed."

    She started to pick herself up to stand, but Sora squeezed her hand, and she paused. He sat up with her, and she was surprised by the intensity in his blue eyes. "When we get outta here," he said, "I'm gonna introduce you to all my friends." He beamed. "I think they'll really like you! And I'll help you find your brother, too! We all will!"

    Out of here? she thought incredulously. But all the same, something in the weight in her heart shifted, and she couldn't help smiling back. She couldn't help the next words out of her mouth, either: "...Could you...tell me about them?"

    Sora's smile grew brighter.
    Thread by: . : tale_wind, Jun 13, 2022, 0 replies, in forum: Written Works
  12. . : tale_wind
  13. . : tale_wind
    The final update for mobile game Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road has been delayed from its previously-announced winter 2021/2022 release. No new release window has been announced.

    This upcoming update is slated to make Dark Road offline-only, as well as conclude the game's plot in one last go. Specifically, the announcement cites a significant addition to the game's scenario as the delay's primary cause. The game remains unplayable in the interim.

    Dark Road's Japanese Twitter account released a few new screenshots from this final update to tide fans over. KH13's Ryuji has translated those screenshots, as seen below:

    [​IMG]
    Thread by: . : tale_wind, Feb 28, 2022, 0 replies, in forum: Kingdom Hearts News & Updates
  14. . : tale_wind
    Looks like the National Dex is still out; it's got the same disclaimer about Home compatibility that SwSh had. Hardly surprising; the dev statements on the subject during SwSh's release cycle were pretty clear that that's the direction going forward. We're going into this generation with even more individual Pokémon species than SwSh had to contend with, after all.
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Feb 27, 2022 in forum: Gaming
  15. . : tale_wind


    Right on schedule, The Pokémon Company announced the ninth generation of the core series today, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.

    The games, set in a region that seems to resemble Spain, will be fully open-world, with wild Pokémon wandering the overworld as in other recent Switch entries. You'll be able to pick from Grass-type Sprigatito, Fire-type Fuecoco, and Water-type Quaxly for your starter.

    View attachment 50812

    The games are scheduled to launch in late 2022. You can check out the official site here.

    I honestly didn't expect Gen IX to launch this year; I figured we'd get Legends: Arceus DLC for our yearly release, like how 2020 gave us the Sword & Shield expansion pass. But then again, it's also been the standard three years since the last generation now, so I guess that's on me lol. The game looks promising so far, though; looking forward to seeing more, not looking forward to Even More of the Same Discourse recycled from SwSh's release cycle.

    Anyway, I'm gonna start with Fuecoco. What about you?
    Thread by: . : tale_wind, Feb 27, 2022, 5 replies, in forum: Gaming
  16. . : tale_wind
    Out, damned spot...!
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 20, 2022 in forum: The Spam Zone
  17. . : tale_wind
    I spent so long hoping that the series would come to the Switch...but these cloud versions just aren't acceptable. Not just out of the principle that cloud-based gaming is inherently bad for ownership and preservation and all that, but because the cloud systems for these games in particular just don't seem to be optimized well. Playing 0.2 in the demo for 2.8, I was experiencing frame stuttering during cutscenes--and not even the new original ones to 0.2, but the PSP-era flashbacks!

    So for me, I guess I'll just wait for the PC versions to go on sale.
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 20, 2022 in forum: Kingdom Hearts News & Updates
  18. . : tale_wind
    wuh-oh! trouble in paradise!!
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 10, 2022 in forum: The Spam Zone
  19. . : tale_wind
    Looking forward to absolutely wowing the internet by setting a new KH2 speedrunning record!

    Granted, it'll be a record for the slowest speedrun, but hey, that's still a record!
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 7, 2022 in forum: The Spam Zone
  20. . : tale_wind
    bada bing, bada boom
    Post by: . : tale_wind, Jan 6, 2022 in forum: The Spam Zone