@Tyranexx Sounds like we agree pretty wholeheartedly on Platinum!
And as much as the weather here confuses me, I prefer it to that kind of cold. However if you want to trade this summer? People are telling me it's normal to hit 120+ here.
@Eel oh cool! That's a pretty rare shiny in PoGo too! Happy for ya!
Nintendo Switch FC: 4867-2891-2493
Switch username: Em
Discord: Heavyarms55#1475
Pokemon Go FC: 3838 2595 7596
PSN: Heavyarms55zx
@Anti-Matter Eh... what? I never asked about your games, so I have no idea whatsoever why you addressed that comment to me, but whatever, I guess...
@Tyranexx I think you've basically got the gist of what the Silmarillion is like. As is almost normal nowadays in fantasy novels, there's always the who's who appendix at the end, with family trees, houses, countries, history and so on mentioned, so expect that, but as is to be expected in Tolkien style, WAY more extensive/expanded. So, better be wide awake and taking notes, because you could easily get lost in the forest of names and events...
As for Tolkien's son: I once read an interview with him, in which he explained that he had discussed several stories with his father back in the day, so he does (according to his own statements/belief) have a general idea of what and how his father would have wanted some of the stories to develop or end. And apparently, that got him interested into writing more Middle Earth stories, and the rest, as they say, is history...
And yes, there's a Tolkien movie. Admittedly, it kind of flew under the radar, in part possibly due to the fact that it got released alongside more popular/mainstream movies (Detective Pikachu being one of them, by the way), and it also bombed pretty hard, but I still want to see it regardless and I hope that trailer piqued your interest as well.
P.S.
Earlier I mentioned that WW2 also influenced Tolkien's original trilogy, but that should have been the first War, not the second.
P.P.S.
I'll also be looking forward to YOUR verdict concerning Princess Mononoke. Watch the English language version first. You'll thank me later...
@ogo79 Ah, ogo. Never change, man. Never change. That definitely brought a smile to my COVID-tired face again...
@TheJGG Why would you disappoint? It's your opinion, and if that's what you got from the movie, then that is perfectly fine.
As with other Ghibli movies, there's even more layers to be found, though. Some very subtle, and some overflowing/overlapping with others. A theme in the movie, or rather: a returning theme in the movie is how nature just IS, and flows, well... naturally, for lack of a better word, and being human in human society is hard, and it's hard work to sustain this artificial environment that man has created, whereas being one with nature doesn't create as much antagonism, so the subtle question there is why did we ever want to go away to exclude ourselves from the natural circle of life?
We may still be natural beings in the organic/biological sense of the word, but we are NOT a part of that chain anymore. And if you browse through human history, you could also find comparisons with for example the early pioneer days in America, and the senseless slaughter of the bison, for financial gain and/or one's ten minutes of fame.
And other than that, always some inner demon and struggle. I couldn't even label that as something specifically Ghibli or Japanese, seeing as I know plenty Western film makers who also love that premise.
The first time I saw the movie was actually in the cinema, as a double feature with another anime movie, which came first, but this one impressed me SO much that to this day, I'm still trying to remember what that other movie was again, because I just can't seem to recall. I also loved and at the same time was kind of creeped out by the little white tree spirits and their revolving, time-bomb ticking heads...
Now, if you don't mind, I'm just gonna throw another must-see your way: Ninja Scroll (the movie, not the subsequent series). Seriously, go watch that some day soon. It's something entirely different, and is more like watching an 80's ninja-flavored action movie, but it is MASSIVELY entertaining. No hidden Ghibli layers, just solid action scenes and wonderfully exhilarating fight scenes. If that even remotely piques your interest, then you're in for an absolute treat. Oh, and watch the English language version. It's pretty darn good.
@MarioLover92Captain Toad still holds up, you say? I've skipped all ports after the Wii U so far - I don't double-dip often unless I feel it's worth my while - but who knows? I might pick it up again at some point just for the exclusive content.
@Heavyarms55 I also may be mildly biased towards Platinum since it was the first game where I found a legit shiny at full odds without it being a freebie like the shiny/Red Gyarados in G/S/C. It was a Gastly in the Old Chateau, one of my favorite areas of the game. I still regret evolving it, though....It becomes progressively less shiny with each stage.
Honestly, to a point I'd take dry, low-humidity heat compared to how it gets here in the dog days of summer. Temp-wise it doesn't get as high, but when you factor in humidity....Walking out of the air conditioning is like hitting a wall of air that almost smothers you on impact. Though the worst place I've been by far in terms of sheer heat is New Orleans in late July.
@ThanosReXXX Tolkien does indeed get VERY descriptive, doesn't he? That's usually a positive in my eyes, though as a result The Fellowship of the Ring dragged on quite a bit early on after Bilbo left the Shire. Things picked up quite a bit once Frodo and co. finally left as well. I was invested enough that I powered through that part, but I can see how it could lose some of its audience there.
I might have to track down some of those interviews with Tolkien's son; I'm sure there are plenty of interesting nuggets to learn from those words.
The Tolkien movie bombed? That one also flew under my radar, likely very much due to the other movie you mentioned. Detective Pikachu was fairly decent for a video game movie, though it took the base plot points of the game and kind of ran off with everything lol.
On the WW1/2 discrepancy: I admit that confused me a bit. I knew the elder Tolkien was involved in WW1 but didn't know about any WW2 involvement and wondered about that. Thanks for clearing that up!
On Princess Mononoke: I intend to watch the English language versions of most of those movies first. I realize some things are lost in translation when scripts for movies, anime, etc. are localized, but it's very difficult for me to properly enjoy subbed animation; I've tried watching subbed anime a couple times and got quite far with a couple series (Digimon Xros Wars/Fusion is the most recent, though somewhat old, example), but I often have to pause and rewatch some parts. For some reason, I'm so intent on reading what's going on that I often miss some of the action, or else it's the opposite problem....It's very irksome.
@Tyranexx Yeah, shiny Gengar is such a bland and barely noticeable shiny for sure. On the other hand both Mega Gengar and G-Max Gengar look stinking awesome! So there's that! My first full odds shiny was Tentacool in Emerald version. Still have it and it's stupid as hell nickname "SHINY" in all caps, because gen 3. XD
Speaking of Emerald, last week I slammed through it again, as part of my "build a team of 6 Pokemon with a butt load of old ribbons" project. I honestly forgot just how tough that game is. Tate and Liza, the double battle gym is really hard! In no small part because in gen 3, if one Pokemon was knocked out, the next Pokemon would be sent out mid turn. So you could be forced to send something in to be immediately punched in the face. And the level jumps are tough too! You think you're possibly a little over leveled, running through the regular trainers, then, surprise, the gym leader is like 4-5 levels higher than you and it's just like "nope, not over leveled at all!" In the fight against Wallace at the end, I was at a disgusting 14 level disadvantage! But I managed to pull it off with calm mind Gardevoir and a few potions. lol
@ThanosReXXX To say the least I loved Princess Mononoke, so I'm glad we were able to discuss it in the critical manner we did. Next movie I watched can hopefully inspire similar thoughts! And as for @Tyranexx please watch it, be it in English or Japanese. I've seen the cast for the English dub and it looks pretty dang good.
Today I watched Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name), and holy heck. Oh. My. God. I'm finding it really hard to describe how absolutely breathtaking this movie was. But I'll try. First, the animation is beauty incarnate. It's a really modern film that has more CGI incorporated than a traditional Ghibli film. The opening sequence is just stunning. The purple streaks of the comet pop out so well that despite the negative connotations of the comet I can't help but stare. The greenery and even the metropolitan areas have had so much love put in. And the golden-hour shots are so good that I'm running out of superlatives to describe it.
The characters are really fleshed out. Taki doesn't strike me as the same-y by-the-books student archetype that seems to be a norm. Mitsuha has a lot of backstory that complements her character. And the English voice acting is just... really... really good. Michael Sinterniklaas, who I remember from Xenoblade Chronicles X (Gwin), and FE: 3H: CS (Aelfric), who did a really good job of capturing all the right emotions. I haven't heard anything from Stephanie Sheh... until now! And she kills it. I can't say if she was perfect for the role because I have yet to hear any of her previous or future work. Cassandra Lee Morris is, well, Cassandra Lee Morris. She's everywhere and she's good at everything! I didn't catch much of Ray Chase, but Kyle Hebert does awesome, surprisingly good at playing adolescent characters.
The story is really moving. It was initially a little bit confusing but after thinking about it for a bit I realise it's far less convoluted than Tenet, which is already a good start. I admit I had to look up some finer details once I finished the movie but the script did a lot of the explaining. At times I was close to tearing up and I really wanted to give the movie that satisfaction. And the music... WOW. It's so good. SO... GOOD. Dream Lantern is awesome but my favourite song is Sparkle. I heard it when one of my old classmates played it for a Music performance, but having the context makes it a hundred times better.
Meanwhile, i was ROFL for watching this cringey scene from Aladdin 2019. It was perfectly hilarious. 🤣🤣🤣
And, oh...
I found very cool Epic Trance song from Beatmania IIDX 14 GOLD / 17 SIRIUS.
And if you think Trance songs are trash / disposeable songs, you are wrong.
This is the reason why did i love Konami Rhythm games.
This is from same artist too, Sota Fujimori but this is heavy metal song.
@Tyranexx On Tolkien's "descriptiveness": I'd blame it on him being an A level university grade professor in linguistics and history. It also made him invent the various languages in the books, as well as being able to make the elaborate yet still cohesive historic back story, so I personally never minded. It also paints a VERY vivid picture of the what's whats and the who's who's, which is also not really a bad thing in my personal opinion.
Some people like to use their own imagination when reading a book, filling in the blanks concerning how characters might look, sound and behave, but what Tolkien did, or rather: achieved, and which is also the very reason why he is also called the father of modern fantasy and also the main inspiration for the world's leading AD&D games and books, is that he successfully manages to take you on a journey through HIS brain and fantasy world instead, so you're a visitor in his realm, and there can be no mistakes on how environments and people look, how they sound and so on. It's basically a fantasy novel writing master class of the highest order.
In my life I've read hundreds of fantasy novels and although some come relatively close in skill where narrative and description of cast and events are concerned, no other books or authors surpass that characteristic feat. (queue Gandalf quote "You SHALL not PASS!!!")
As for the "which World War was it" kerfuffle: I have no idea how I made that mistake, but luckily, the trailer I posted set me straight. It also perfectly illustrates what he saw and how he (re)imagined that to shape all the evils in his trilogy. Those trench wars really did a number on people's minds, for sure.
I think that because of him being so highly intellectual, he probably stood a far better chance of channeling that into something else, and processing all the horrors, although I have no doubt that whoever was or is in whatever kind of war, will never come out of it unscathed.
Oh, and as for interviews with and stories about Tolkien's legacy and unfinished stories published by his son, here you go, ma'am:
As for Princess Mononoke: don't feel bad about having to go for the dubbed version, because it is a multiple-award winning movie that has a stellar cast, with Billy Bob Thornton and Gillian Anderson, to name but a few, and a solid supporting cast of renowned English and American voice actors, so you're in for an entertaining ride. I also once read that they either adapted or re-did the lip sync animation to more closely match the English language version, even though the Japanese version came out first, but I have been unable to find any existing info on that online, so I may have read it in an anime magazine, back in the day.
@TheJGG Well... that is indeed VERY elaborate and at length. I'd almost think you'd taken a leaf out of Tolkien's book, descriptive as your summaries are.
All kidding aside, I haven't yet seen that movie, and perhaps to one's disappointment, I will not be seeing it any time soon. Over the last decade I've downloaded SO much anime series and movies, that much like with my gaming hobby, I've got a back log to last me a life time, and then some.
Combined with me realistically probably only having two or three solid decades left to spend on this little mud ball called Earth, that makes for a rather busy schedule in between real life and holding a full time job. I simply don't know how some people manage it sometimes. When I get home from the office, I already feel kinda tired, but I have to make myself dinner, then I finish around 7pm, slump down in my couch or I do some quick replies on here, and then for the rest of the not too long evening, I watch some of my favorite shows or series, and then it's hit the shower and to bed.
Get up at 7am, rinse and repeat...
So, that only leaves me with the weekend, which is also sometimes not entirely mine, because every other week, it's my turn to take care of my dad, spending some time with him and cooking for him, so all in all, not much free time left to do anything, and often times, I really need the weekend to catch some extra sleep, or just relax and do absolutely nothing.
I guess that comes with getting older. I'm still interested in games, and I enjoy playing them, but sometimes I just don't have the energy, and the same goes for all these movies and series. I already have more than enough to watch on the set top box and on Netflix...
But, having said that, I have already watched tons of anime ever since it first became popular in the West, which is since the 90's of the last century (yep, I know), so I have MORE than enough cool stuff to share and discuss with you, whenever you want or need, or are looking for some solid recommendations.
I don't like posting threads if I can avoid it but we've been trying to get nominations for songs for this. Snow/ice levels are an obvious choice for quality video game music so I hope more people participate in this.
@Tyranexx Yeah, I haven't double-dipped on all the Wii U rereleases. So I'm not doing it for every game. The ones that I got, they were either on sale or had exclusive stuff (like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's double items and infinitely better battle mode). And all of them were games I really liked on Wii U. And in the case of Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Zelda: BotW, I skipped them on the Wii U entirely and just got them for the Switch. With all that said, I'm happy these games got a second chance on the Switch, because as we already know, the Wii U was a massive flop.
By the way, my SM3DW order's making progress! It should get here by Friday. I still plan on chatting about Bowser's Fury once I finish it.
"Give yourself the gift of being joyfully you."
Playing: Disney Dreamlight Valley
Ask if you want to be Switch friends with me, but I'd like to know you first. Thanks! ❤️
@Heavyarms55 Shiny Mega Gengar is a major improvement over normal Shiny Gengar! Can't say I've seen shiny G-Max Gengar yet, but good things come to those who wait, right? The first wild shiny I ever encountered was in one of the G/S/C games; I don't remember which one. It was a Rattata on the very first route. I didn't know about shinies at the time and ran from the battle because I thought the game was glitching out! Part of me regrets that, though it WAS just a Rattata....As for derpy names, I was helping my little brother play through some of the early areas of Sapphire back in the day, and we stumbled across a shiny Taillow! We thankfully caught it, but for some odd reason my brother liked naming everything LOVELY[insert first letter of Pokemon name here]. He traded it to me several years later after he lost interest in the series. So now my reserves have a shiny Swellow named LOVELYT. XD
Ouch. As much as I enjoy double battles, I'd completely forgotten that the Gen 3 games forced your replacement Pokemon out mid-turn. I'd forgotten about the level jumps between the trainers and gym leaders, too. I'd argue the games were more difficult back in the day! XD I have no issue with them trying to make the games more accessible, but I wish the trade-off was that they'd offer multiple difficulty settings you could pick from that would alter the Pokemon levels and the AI of trainers you battle against.
@TheJGG Believe me, Princess Mononoke is on the watch list! Most dubs don't bother me as long as they're done well. I have GOT to watch more Ghibli films....
@ThanosReXXX To clarify: I have no issue with how descriptive and detailed Tolkien is. I did indeed put that up to him being a linguistics and history expert; that point was driven home when I read through the appendix on the languages of Middle-Earth; the Quenya pronunciations were especially helpful. It's clear that he's put much, MUCH thought into (as you put it) his world and wants to convey it as completely as possible. I am and have always been a word nerd and bookworm, though not as much as when I was a child; adulting aside, something with my adult brain makes it harder for me to concentrate on longer passages after certain lengths of time. I don't know if it's due to the mental changes associated with maturity, or if it's because I had to adjust to "reading to absorb" and not so much for entertainment when in college. Or it's due in part to all these flashing gadgets....
Besides a written foreword which alluded to Tolkien's WW1 experiences, I believe I've read elsewhere that it definitely influenced the darker aspects of the novels. War is, quite bluntly, hell on earth. Similar to Mordor when one thinks about it. War is something I've thankfully never had to experience firsthand, but I have seen what PTSD from serving can do to an individual.
Thanks for the links on Tolkien's legacy! You've saved me a bit of clicking lol. I unfortunately don't have much time tonight to read through most of them, but I've saved those links for perusal during the coming days.
You've reassured me on my choice to watch the English dub of Princess Mononoke. I should clarify that I don't dislike watching animation subbed, only that it's harder for me to enjoy and often isn't my preferred modus operandi unless there 1. Is no dub or 2. the dubbed voices grate on me so much that I'm better off watching the show or movie as nature intended.
@MarioLover92 I haven't double-dipped on any Wii U releases yet as I haven't found the added extras worth my while. Though SM3DW is an excellent game even without Bowser's Fury, so I likely will get it down the line...with a slight discount. Like you, I just skipped BotW on the Wii U and bought it on the Switch. Same with The Wonderful 101: Remastered and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. As for TMS #FE, I actually bought the Wii U version shortly before the Switch launch for about $20 and thought the price was a worthy trade-off in exchange for missing a bit of extra content in an already long game. Still haven't played it though.
I don't mind that many of the Wii U's games are making the Switch; many of these games definitely deserve a second chance. Plus, all these ports I don't want or need are helping me catch up a little....
Side note: I still read "Bowser's Fury" as "Bowser's Furry" some of the time....Darn internet messing with my reading comprehension....
@Tyranexx Yeah, the extra stuff aren't exactly that large in comparison to the main games. So I can't blame you (and others) for just sticking with the Wii U versions. Oh yeah that reminds me, I did get TMS with my Best Buy coupon, so that was nice! Didn't get too far in it yet though, lol.
I do recall hearing that the extra content in TMS #FE Encore isn't too substantial, so that was good you got it for Wii U for a cheaper price. I only got the game for Switch because I haven't been playing my Wii U too often these days.
"Give yourself the gift of being joyfully you."
Playing: Disney Dreamlight Valley
Ask if you want to be Switch friends with me, but I'd like to know you first. Thanks! ❤️
the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)
@Snatcher
LOL
I don't even care with Smash Bros.
It just irritated me to see Smash Bros keep being overexploited while ARMS was like being neglected again after 1 last Online event. 😒
@Tyranexx
Did you play Starfox Zero Wii U ?
I have reached 3rd stage and the last 2 stages was really hard and stressful as i have never played Starfox games before, i have zero knowledges about Starfox games, i couldn't really differ which are my targets and how did i avoid their attacks. It was completely different than playing Xevious or Twinbee or the shooting part from Ratchet & Clank games. 😫
@MarioLover92 My strategy with small (in terms of file size) games like Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, is to pre-order it the day before it comes out, so I can preload it and play it the next day. I did it with Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Ordering them digitally is easy because of how small the games are, so archiving them doesn't have to happen much.
@ThanosReXXX That I can absolutely understand. Shame you won't be able to see Your Name for the foreseeable future. I first noticed it in Guinness World Records, when I saw that it had taken the highest-grossing anime film record from Spirited Away... of course Your Name in turn had its record taken by Demon Slayer, so the cycle continues. I found myself humming (and or whistling) Sparkle, because of how powerful it was when it played. It treated your emotions as a punching bag, in all the good ways. One day I'll want to have my memories wiped, so I can experience everything I have again, and this'll be one of the things I revisit.
After watching Your Name, I went and showed it to my entire family. Both my parents didn't see the end, but my sister did, and she absolutely loved it. It WAS in English so that helped a great deal. After that I went and looked at a small trailer for Princess Mononoke's English dub, and it almost breathes new life into the movie. I never imagined San would have such a deep voice, but hey, I never expected Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, or Clare Danes to be a part of this dub, so I'm in.
I have a long weekend starting today, so I'm ready to kick back and do what I've been doing for the last eleven months; play videogames, or watch a movie, or write, punctuated by some really quality food, and some epic music. The weekends have less meaning when one is operating from their house, but I can still appreciate them. In that it's good the Netherlands is back to a state good enough for people to work.
Today we celebrate our small dinner party with my Mom, my siblings and my sister's husband in my house as tradition before Chinese New Year. Unlike last year, since Covid19 pandemic, we cannot celebrate our dinner party with our relatives so this year is suck but i understand the situation was not right to have a big party with a lot of peoples.
And we cannot visit our Grandma's house this year as my Grandma from my Mom's side has passed away several months ago and in Chinese tradition we cannot visit the relative houses if their family member has passed away currently before 1 year.
We can visit them again after next 2 years.
@Tyranexx I want more difficulty in modern Pokemon to be sure, but not the way it worked in Emerald. The two things that made that game harder were the out of no where level jumps that make gym leaders and E4 members feel out of place, and, swagger/confuse ray spam making half the game based on coin flips.
I'd like to see active level scaling. Where opposing trainers were leveled around you, with boss trainers a bit higher. And more trainers with 3-5 Pokemon, rather than 1-3 which is the average for most regular NPCs.
Another thing I really enjoyed about revisiting Emerald and Colosseum is the prevalence of double battles. I think the latter's 100% doubles can get old, but Emerald, (even though you can avoid many or do them as singles most of the time if you want) has a very healthy mixture of single and double battles.
Although instead of having it be two random NPCs ganging up on the player, I would just have there be some who prefer doubles and some who prefer singles. I would only use the gang up mechanic for the villainous teams.
Nintendo Switch FC: 4867-2891-2493
Switch username: Em
Discord: Heavyarms55#1475
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PSN: Heavyarms55zx
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