PixlBit

STAGE SELECT:

I will not spend one red cent/yen/rupee/euro/peso/virtual Dave & Buster's coupon or whatever form of in-game currency on anything except HP, MP, and items the game tells me I *have* to buy in order to advance. If there's a way to get any of those things that takes five hours, my real life sanity and joy, and the chance at a fulfilling life yet costs no money, that's what I'm doing ... unless there's a substory dedicated to my character buying their likeness as a billion-yen gold statue, in which case buying that IS the game now. 

Speaking of substories, I have to complete every single one as it becomes available but I will 100% quit a game, even if I'm digging the main story, when too many substories are avilable at once. This goes triple if there are side quests I have to complete to stay properly leveled that have very little story and lots of repetitive bullshit. 

This is similar to my penchant for taking way too much time trying to find every special/secret item in a game on the first playthrough, then immediately giving up and possibly quitting the game the second I miss one I can't easily go back and grab. 

Likewise, if a "puzzle" in the main game consists of finding something on a map without clear directions or hints, I fucking hate that "puzzle," and we find ourselves in game quittin' territory once again if it takes more than ten minutes to find whatever it is. 

TL;DR version: I am a completionist who will fold at the first sign something will be too difficult to complete ... unless it saves me video game money. 

VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH:

Look, you put the title Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance next to anything else, I'm gonna root for Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance. Put Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance next to my only child? I'm hoping Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance gets a W. Does my cat who's become a friend and family member pass away or does Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance get to win a contest? I'm riding with Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance all the way to the Thunder Dome underneath the Slamarama! Will I have to live cold, alone, and hungry on the streets for the rest of my life if Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance gets to say it won the day? 

... Turns out, I'm a selfish narcissist and now that I've thought about consequences for ME, I'll go ahead and vote Neverwinter Nights. 

First off, that's definitely a Julian thing, the pronunciation of Iceland. Having said that, his fellow Texan (me) approves of Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, as well as Aqua. That second bit is cause I'm also Julian's fellow Austinite ... moving on. 

STAGE SELECT:

I love to hate Kuze in Yakuza 0 so much it sorta turns into love again, but there's definitely a "WHEN IS THIS GUY GONNA QUIT/DIE" element there. 

To some level, I love to hate the unaccepting parents in Walking sims like "Gone Home," but that's not necessarily hate either. More disappointment. 

Finally, once Life is Strange: Before the Storm is over, I kinda (unfairly) hate Max. The "love" part of it comes from that being justice for all the hate Chloe got in the first game (from me too, not gonna lie). Man, context is a hell of a drug. 

I definitely rhyme Castlevania with Transylvania in my head, so I completely missed the rhyme scheme last time. 

BlueSky does sound better than Twitter but I'm fairly certain I'll have to make a professional X account for this PhD program and I'm gonna be annoyed about it. 

Video Game Cage Match: 

Code Vein and Astral Chain both have really cool art styles from what I'm seeing online but Astral Chain looks slightly cooler. Point: Astral Chain. 

Hope my vote is not in vain. 

Be cool if one of them had a level with rain. 

Hope these cheesy rhymes are not causing you pain.

Julian still hasn't messages me about hanging out. Come on, mang. Dang. 

I still need to finish Chicory. There were definitely some puzzles that got to be a bit too much though.

I don't know if the X series is gonna be much better if you're not a fan of platformers ...

The DLC was also a couple odd cliffhangers and even when I put it on easy, it was WAY too much of a pain to get there. Like each DLC only lasts about an hour or two, tops (if you just want to complete the story) but they ratchet up the difficulty in PAINFULLY clunky ways.

I definitely have not used Pixlbit's messaging system in a good long while. lol

Also, Julian, I uh ... definitely did not mean to send that message about being down for a pinball meetup to all of Pixlbit but at least nothing embarassing is IN the message. 

Anyway, yeah I'm down to drive to you or whatever, no worries. lol 

Just gonna repost my Stage Select and Video Game Cage Match here:

STAGE SELECT: Being in a Rya Ga Gotoku studios game; still incredibly hit or miss but damn, they know how to make them when they do it right. I'll say compelling storylines and world-building are most important and I'd include teaching me a mechanic or showing me a place on a map I wouldn't have thought about as part of world-building. Ultimately though, the MAIN thing that will make me actually want to complete a substory is that it tells a compelling ... substory. 

VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Castlevania but I wonder how I'd feel if I'd played Mickey Mania more recently. I remember the towards-the-screen segment blowing my young mind when I rented it for SNES and in general the art design and graphics in that game were simply amazing and I think still hold up. 

But I haven't PLAYED Mickey Mania recently and Castlevania NES is still fun to play and began a series I've had tons of enjoyment with. While I think the farthest I've ever made it in the original Castlevania game is probably stage 3 or 4, I've enjoyed replaying those levels via emulation (we never really rented this one for NES, so I remember Double Dribble and Anticipation being more played in the house) for several years now and have played tons of Castlevania games since. Gotta go with the classic.

STAGE SELECT: Being in a Rya Ga Gotoku studios game; still incredibly hit or miss but damn, they know how to make them when they do it right. I'll say compelling storylines and world-building are most important and I'd include teaching me a mechanic or showing me a place on a map I wouldn't have thought about as part of world-building. Ultimately though, the MAIN thing that will make me actually want to complete a substory is that it tells a compelling ... substory. 

VIDEO GAME CAGE MATCH: Castlevania but I wonder how I'd feel if I'd played Mickey Mania more recently. I remember the towards-the-screen segment blowing my young mind when I rented it for SNES and in general the art design and graphics in that game were simply amazing and I think still hold up. 

But I haven't PLAYED Mickey Mania recently and Castlevania NES is still fun to play and began a series I've had tons of enjoyment with. While I think the farthest I've ever made it in the original Castlevania game is probably stage 3 or 4, I've enjoyed replaying those levels via emulation (we never really rented this one for NES, so I remember Double Dribble and Anticipation being more played in the house) for several years now and have played tons of Castlevania games since. Gotta go with the classic.

(For anyone confused how someone born in 1990 had access to NES/SNES, I have an older brother who's six years older). 

P.S.

Julian, I can drive to wherever as long as you tell me. I'm down for pinball. Before August 21 would be ideal, as that is when UT classes start but I'm sure I'll get some weekends where I'm not TOO bogged down with Ph.D. and TA work to go somewhere.