Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@ThanosReXXX I have to check the order. I have problems with orders lately. Tomorrow I will issue a refund from Amazon.uk as my order is more than a month late.

I finally received a shipping confirmation for my first LRG purchase. Return of the Obra Dinn should be speeding to my mailbox before too long. Looking forward to playing it!

@Heavyarms55 I always cross my fingers for Rare Candy or stones! I'll take both kinds of the latter, but it seems like I'm always hurting for Sinnoh Stones.

Thanks for the raid invite earlier btw, but I unfortunately had to miss out.

@MarioLover92 I had access to Super Mario All-Stars back in the day and really enjoyed it! It was my first memory of playing The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2/USA, and Super Mario Bros. 3. So much so that it was a jarring experience to play the originals years later lol. At least I experienced the original Super Mario Bros. as nature originally intended!

I've heard of Drill Dozer, though it isn't a game I've played. I might pick that one up as well before the eShop inevitably shuts down. Hopefully that's some time away yet!

@TheJGG Death Stranding definitely sounds like a wonderful experience on many levels! I don't know much about the game admittedly, but some seem to like it while others don't. It's possible it was one of those games where the hype raised the expectations of some too much. That's why I much prefer Nintendo's usual method of not announcing something years in advance. Not that they have a clean track record on that front, but it's not common.

@ThanosReXXX Ah. Same sign, or one of those signs that gets along well with mine? The Zodiac isn't something I really pay attention to or put any store by, but it is fun to learn one's sign as a conversation point. XD

@Tyranexx Believe me, some games have been dismal in keeping expectations realistic. As we found out in January 2019 with the restarting of Metroid Prime 4, no news is usually good news with Nintendo and their associates. No Man’s Sky was a game that set unrealistic expectations and ended up over promising. You could argue that that game has redeemed itself, because of the tireless community support, patches, and new updates Hello Games provided for free. Even three to four years after it came out they were still giving out free content updates, and even offered a free PS5 upgrade.

That’s how you redeem a game. Just ask Cyberpunk 2077. That game promised so much and it was an almost different game at launch. I saw a Crowbcat video on it and it summarises things perfectly. You know you’ve messed up when your in-game physics engine is worse than GTA IV and Saint’s Row, which were both released fifteen years ago. That comparison made me laugh, it was that bad. They also overhyped the game in marketing by making Keanu Reeves the poster child, which already felt like a desperate move.

And then there was the pre-release skepticism, with CDPR refusing to give out review codes until after the game had launched, probably to try and keep sales to a high. I hadn’t even been following Cyberpunk before it came out (only time I’ve heard of it was when they delayed it for the fifth time) and that really broke any hype the game could have registered on me. Not that I was interested in buying it, it wasn’t even my kind of game to begin with.

I’ve watched a few of Death Stranding’s trailers and having done by my approximation half of the game I’ve been able to recognise everything cinematic wise. The trailers were about seven to nine minutes each, which meant they couldn’t have been faking it.

It had actually been the reviews that influenced my decision the least when it came to buying it. I knew it was a polarising game but something told me it would connect with me, and it did.

@ThanosReXXX One of the most fun games on 3DS was the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for me. It felt like it was made just for 3DS, and the graphics looked so good compared to the original. I had too much fun beating the game, and it moved me to tears, something that doesn’t happen much when interacting with media.

The Fault in Our Stars made me cry too. Frozen II as well did, some of the songs were magical.

@Tyranexx Well, I have mentioned it a couple of times over the years, so some blonde hasn't been paying attention, now has she?

All kidding aside I do agree with you that your everyday tabloid/newspaper horoscopes are BS, and I also don't put much stock in them but professional astrology is another thing altogether. I'd almost say that it is rather arrogant to think that we, in relation to the planet, and in following the universe, infinitely small beings/sacks of bones, water and flesh, are not in any way influenced by the magnetic field of the Earth, or the movement of the Earth and the surrounding planets. If a moon can pull ENTIRE seas back and forth, that immediately sounds highly unlikely. And just think about what light and temperature does to us: currently, there's a LOT of people around the world suffering from what is commonly known as "winter depression".

So yeah, in that regard, I do think some points about star signs are valid, because the character traits are all too often hitting the mark in the more predominant areas, if you get what I'm trying to say. Just a simple test: would you describe yourself as somewhat of a fiery, passionate person in most things that you do? You've already shared that you're kind of introverted, especially when it comes to mingling with people, but that doesn't discount being passionate, so the two traits can definitely exist in one person.

Then there's also stubborn, somewhat impulsive, adventurous, emotional, tough and to some extent, impatient. Those are actually some specific traits of your sign. They'll not count for EVERY ram, obviously, and some traits will overflow in others, but it's usually the combination of the traits that ticks the boxes. And in my experience, it's obviously more in line with real life than those "today you're going to meet someone who will be very important for the next step in your career" kind of prediction blurbs...

But I'll stop there, otherwise you'll think that I'm some astrology nut, but it's just that on an objective level, I'm always curious about it and interested in how it does match up in real life, but definitely WITHOUT blindly believing all of it. And especially the Asians have invested thousands of years into researching all that kind of stuff, so there's bound to be some truth in it, right?

Anyway, I'm a Taurus, according to the Western zodiac, and was born in the Year of the Dog according to Asian astrology. So, yeah. I'm a bull dog, basically. Does match up REALLY well with real life me: tenacious, tough, loyal, unafraid and highly social.

@TheJGG Yeah, Ocarina of Time does look better on the 3DS, but that is also because they've redrawn all the character models, and made them look less blocky than on the original. Combine that with the whole 3D window view thingy, and you instantly get a more immersive, superior experience. And I also like how it makes estimating distances for jumps and so on more clear, even though the camera is still a pain in the behind sometimes, so they definitely didn't fix that.

The aforementioned improvements are also true for Star Fox 3D, by the way. Although in space, no one will hear you scream, and there isn't a whole lot of estimating jumps going on...

As for getting emotional/feeling sad about games or movies: there isn't a single game out there that made me that invested that I felt a lump in my throat, let alone a tear well up in my eye. And in movies, it has to be real movies, with real actors, not animation. That just doesn't work on me at all, because I'm too logical of a person to get emotional about fictional characters that aren't even real persons.

Fictional does work on me when it's real actors, and the delivery is key, as is all that comes before, the build up to that specific scene, so to speak. To give you one perfect example, I can still feel a lump in my throat every time I watch the scene in Lord of the Rings, when near the end of the final chapter, Viggo Mortensen as the then finally crowned king prevents his Hobbit companions from kneeling before him and then says:
"My friends, you bow to no one."

That whole scene oozes emotion and grandeur, and THAT gets me. Stuff like that. Big, sweeping sagas, with pivotal, moving endings. Even just typing that already gives me visions of the scene and the accompanying emotion. But as mentioned, it's also the way it's delivered, and Viggo Mortensen does so in a masterful way. It'll be seared into my brain for the rest of my days.

The last animated movie that made me cry was probably Bambi, when I saw it in the cinema, decades ago, when I was still a little, lovable Titan, and not the confident, crushingly candid, and dominant Mad Titan that
I am nowadays...

EDIT:

Yup, just as I suspected, even just watching that specific clip affects me. Of course also because now that I've seen the trilogy about ten times, I can literally recite all that comes before, but still. Powerful scene, great acting and superb camera work and sweeping musical score all combining to succeed in bringing a Mad Titan to his virtual knees...

@ThanosReXXX Funnily I can't blame nostalgia for reducing this elite gamer to tears, because I only played the game two years ago. I didn't even like Frozen when it came out. So these were... acquired memories. Not many games are able to do it, though if the story's executed well I think Death Stranding could be the next one (though maybe not because I can't cry tears of confusion), or maybe KH3.

I completely understand your argument though, and with The Fault in Our Stars I even agree. In case you haven't seen it, the movie (and book it was based on) is centred on two lovestruck teenagers who are both suffering from chronic cancers. Hazel from thyroid cancer , and Augustus from bone cancer. The book is told from the first person, and is witty, sardonic and heartbreaking.

You're right as always, oh Mad Titan overlord that you are! That scene is just awe-inspiring. Bold, sweeping sagas seems to also hint at Star Wars but that franchise ended on such a pathetically awful note that it's diluted the meaning of the word.

Speaking of Disney... I bought Kingdom Hearts III! It has so many worlds from movies I love, so I can't wait to get stuck in. The music so far is bombastic and screams grandeur. I'm super excited to see what it does. Though I have to question why a rhythm game is a canonical sequel to this one.

@TheJGG Wasn't that a love movie about terrible disease? If that is the one It is made to make people cry. I tend to avoid such movies as they are too depressing. I have watched couple of those and regretted it at the end like "Sweet November" and "A Star Was Born".

Why people like such movies is beyond me.

But about Frozen 2 I LOVED the song where Elsa sing in Ahtohallan. (don't really know the name!). It is like more intense version of Let it go.

@TheJGG Yeah, I know the movie alright. It's not my kind of thing. Too mushy, and very predisposed in its purpose, as @Zuljaras so correctly stated. I don't like tear jerkers. The emotion is actually that much more powerful/potent, if it comes unexpected, or as in the case of my example, after a long and rich build up.

Now, a prime example of unexpected twists and turns, and truly heart breaking is the movie "Love & Other Drugs" with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. Go give that a watch, if you haven't done so already, then come back with your new-found understanding of what moves and/or impresses me...

The critics definitely got that movie all wrong, because if you blindly believe the ratings, this is a below average movie that you should probably avoid. I couldn't disagree more, though. But perhaps that's also in part because it's a movie about a sales rep, and seeing as I've got the same job, albeit in a completely different industry, it might appeal to me a little bit more than the average Joe. (edit: and I might just perhaps be a bit too fond of miss Hathaway... )

P.S.

Fun fact about that bench alongside the canal in Amsterdam from "The Fault in Our Stars": originally, there was never really a bench there. It was placed there deliberately, for the sole purpose of having a great movie moment in a picturesque place. After the movie was shot, the bench was initially removed, but ultimately, the Amsterdam council actually decided to put it back again to not disappoint the thousands of hapless tourists who came to see it and take their selfie on it...

Just goes to show you how fake all these kinds of things are. It's all about the money and reeling in the tourists...

I was wondering if anyone else here ever played Osu! It's a free rhythm game that you can download from your web browser, and there are a ton of custom songs that you can play. I've been downloading a ton of anime music I like to play and I'm slowly getting better. The hardest song I've completed so far is the hard version of Excuse My Rudeness, But Could You Please RIP by Mori Calliope. I highly suggest it! Especially since it's free!

@Anti-Matter Do you mind me asking what country you live in? I've been wondering.

@ThanosReXXX Last time I cried when watching something was probably Clannad or Toradora. Normally the romantic kinda stuff hits me in the feels. The Lord Of The Rings movies are some of the best ever made. I have the extended versions of each of them and they are all astounding films!

@TheJGG I got KH3 recently too. But, I still have the Story So Far that I want to finish beforehand. Probably won't finish it all (heck I can hardly get through the first game so far) but I'm hoping I can get close at least.

@Blooper987 I do like the odd romantic movie, or rom com, and I can definitely get some "feels" about them, but as mentioned before, only in live action movies. Animation simply doesn't really move me that way. I can still REALLY like these movies, to the point of watching them several times, such as the simply brilliant Studio Ghibli movie Princess Mononoke, but I don't shed a single tear over them.

Any news on a follow up on that job interview of yours, by the way?

@ThanosReXXX Nope still nothing back. I sent an email thanking her for the interview but she hasn't replied back yet. Hopefully I'll get a response soon.

@Blooper987 Ah, that's too bad. Well, if it's going to take longer than a week counting from today, then you can definitely cross them off of your list. A shame, really. I've experienced this myself all too often last year, when I was also still searching for a job, and most jobs I applied for never even sent a reply in the first place. It's all too common, these days. The saying used to be "no news is good news", but I don't know if that still holds up in today's society.

@Blooper987
I live in Indonesia. 🇮🇩
Surabaya 🦈🐊 is my hometown, it's a capital city of East Java.

Btw, you said Osu?
I tell you something better.
What if Taiko no Tatsujin with DDR song ?

Or DDR (Stepmania) with PPAP song ?

@Anti-Matter Ok that PPAP thing was amazing! Love that song!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYz_5n-uDuChHtLo7My1HnQ/videos
I'm really into Hololive and recently I found out Indonesia had their own branch of members. That's a link to Kureiji Ollie from Hololive IN. She's really funny and speaks English, Indonesian, and Japanese. I would highly suggest checking one of her videos out.

Here's her debut stream

@ThanosReXXX Completely understand! I’ll make sure to keep an eye on that movie when I have a chance to watch a film. With movie reviews I tend to look at the Tomatometer, and only read reviews of the movie after I’ve seen it, so that my opinion isn’t wholly shaped by how critics think. With the Mulan remake for example, the critics tend to share my thinking.

Funny you mention the park bench, because as I was looking up the movie to make sure my info was as correct as possible, I found out that small tidbit. Can’t disagree at all on the nature of the bench.

Another movie I’ve seen with Jake Gyllenhaal is Everest, a dramatised account of the 1996 tragedies. I read Into Thin Air in middle school and the book’s stuck with me all this time. It’s such a fascinating account of everything that happened, especially because the author, Jon Krakauer, was there to see most of what was going on. Movie’s based on another book but it conveys every emotion possible, the glory of submitting, the hardships and the exhaustion, the despair, the desperation, and the morose feeling when the survivors trudge back to camp.

I also just finished rewatching Tenet, a movie that confused the heck outta me the first time. It made much more sense, especially some of the earlier scenes when the Protagonist fights some mysterious masked foes. I thought I had lost my brain but the movie felt convoluted at times.

@Blooper987 I played it for about forty minutes, reaching the Hercules (1997) area. The cutscenes and graphics look super clean, and it runs super well. Combat's pretty slick, so hopefully it's not too hard. "Dearly Beloved" sounds beautiful and I don't know where it's been all my life. Though I have zero experience with Kingdom Hearts games I'm no stranger to overcomplicated lore. A peer of mine did warn me that the Kingdom Hearts lore was super convoluted but I've seen Tenet, darn it, so there's absolutely no way I'll ever let that happen! I do hope to get The Story So Far if I enjoy III, so I'll keep you posted.

Hopefully you'll find some good job opportunities in the future too, it's no doubt tough finding work during a pandemic. If this first chance doesn't work out I wish you all the best!

@Zuljaras I also watched "500 Days of Summer" which was incredibly uplifting and depressing at the same time. I'm... a fan of depressing movies! I do recognise that's not everyone's forte though.

And as for the Frozen II songs, there are a few I like but not the crowd-pleasers. "Some Things Never Change" was a nice recap of the first film. "Into the Unknown" was okay, that high note was clearly composed to be imitated. I find it stupid how common sense literally takes a backseat in such a silly way. Elsa says in the song "I've had my adventure, I don't need something new," but she still causes the spirits to riot, so she's clearly lying! "Lost in the Woods" was awesome, need I go on? It's a power ballad. "The Next Right Thing" was depressing... but... in a good way? And "Show Yourself" was one of my favourites. It has so much power and feels more representative of Elsa than Let it Go or Into the Unknown could ever hope to be.

I'm a fan of precision and numbers, and I somehow managed to make the 50,000th post. Well done all, and here's to the next 50,000!

@TheJGG Ah, Tenet, that one is still definitely on my "to watch" list, but seeing as the cinemas are currently closed over here, I guess I'll have to wait, because I think that watching it on a small TV screen wouldn't do it justice. I can definitely understand the confusion about the plot, in that respect, it kind of reminds me of Inception, a movie I had to watch at least twice to see all the things I missed the first time. I actually also own that movie on Blu-ray.

On a side note: if I perhaps gave that impression, then don't think that I don't like movies based on books. In fact, the one I just recommended to you is also based on a book. It's just that I don't like that specific type of movie, where you already know that it's going to be sad or tear-inducing. Well, perhaps I should exclude art house movies, seeing as it's mostly the Hollywood movies meant for a larger audience that have this slightly over the top, deliberate/intentional purpose. It's just too directed in my opinion, for lack of a better word.

P.S.

Better not watch the Tomato meter in regards to "Love & Other Drugs", seeing as it's stuck at 49%...

@ThanosReXXX I did an English assignment for Inception, we watched half of the movie in December. I watched it once, in my own time, and almost completely got it, then watched it a second time and noticed a ton of new stuff that otherwise would have escaped me. It applies to Tenet too but at least with Inception the idea... felt coherent and fully-formed, I suppose. The cast was also much more dynamic, they all played off each other, and didn't feel like some soulless meat puppets, which they kinda do in Tenet. In that movie the main weakness is the characterisation.

But honestly, you'll feel like the smartest person on Earth if you're able to piece together everything without looking it up much. Same thing with the idea of dream stealing in Inception. I watched it with my family a few years back and sometimes I'd have to have some concepts explained to me by pausing the movie for a bit. A few months ago I showed a friend this film over Zoom, and I was now in that position of explaining stuff. It's a nice change of pace and it shows you get the movie.

Sometimes the critics disagree with me. One example is "Pixels" which is the ultimate fan fiction to 1980s arcade addicts. Adam Sandler's okay in it, and the visual effects are really good, but any special effects with humans in it, sucks. Like during the final battle where the three heroes (including Kevin James, who plays the US President who was formerly an arcader) play a game of real life Donkey Kong where they have to climb up the stage. That movie got under 20% on the Tomatometre but it's a nice guilty pleasure.

The Emoji Movie, which was produced by Sony two years later, is a dumpster fire. It's a complete pile of garbage that is so pathetic and meaningless I still have no clue whatsoever, as to why and how I was convinced to sit down and watch this whole movie in its entirety. I feel like an idiot.

But hey, we've both seen Inception. Mensa, where are you at?

@TheJGG Currently in a semi-hibernation like slumber, awaiting a better, more contact heavy society to re-emerge again, so I can finally fulfill my evil destiny...

And you did NOT just mention Pixels. That movie was bad, and an EXACT example of what I alluded to in my previous comment when mentioning how Hollywood "sometimes" takes things too far.

In this particular case, they took a simply brilliant internet/YouTube short, which was meant to serve as a tribute to classic gaming icons, and then they ran all the way out of the stadium and out of the city with it, spreading the (in all honesty already very minute) story out WAY too thin, to be able to stretch it into a full feature film.

And I'm not even among the "I f***ing hate Adam Sandler" crowd. I actually like most of his movies, albeit not all of them equally...