theblackdragon

@PrincessEevee9: You're crossing the line now. Please stop.

@PrincessEevee9: Lighten up! Let people love what they love :3

@PrincessEevee9: come on now, it takes all kinds of people to make the world go 'round. I enjoy Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph both, and Senario just made a bad pun was all. I hate to continue the awful pun, but... let it go :3

@noctowl: no, she can't, but the father doesn't require a hospital trip nine months after his donation to the process, and even so, should a man be passed over for a job he's highly skilled for just because he may wind up impregnating a woman and taking time off his job under whatever FMLA-esque law a given country may have in place? does this reasoning not sound just as ridiculous when turned the other way around?

in terms of the article at hand, i guess we won't really know how much impact the split-gender team had on this entry as opposed to a less evenly balanced team, really, since we didn't get to see what the less balanced team would have come out with in its place. that said, i did have fun with AC:NL while i was playing it, so my kudos to everyone involved, male and female alike.

@gatorboi352: Yes, we're sure.

@Aviator: I didn't bother mentioning NoAU for exactly that reason — it's too busy playing with its invisible friends in the corner to matter in terms of this discussion :3
_{you know i love you though, right?}

@lz: you don't get it — my entire comment was about exactly that problem. it's not important that i'm from the South other than to color me with stereotypes, for good or ill. it's not important that my neighbor is gay, it's not important that my hairdresser is of an ethnic minority, and it's not important that the person who showed @Damo a different point of view be a Long-Term Experience Female Gamer™. The important thing is that his eyes have been opened, my hair is fabulous, and my neighbor is a nice guy.

and also, that grits are amazing :3

^ thanks for proving my point :3

y'know what, I've actually been thinking about this article for a while today, @Damo, and something's been bothering me — why is it important that we know that "a woman, for what it's worth" pointed this out to you? And why is it important that we know "she's a seasoned player herself"? If you're going to do a soapbox article like this, for pete's sake, man, own it. Don't give yourself an easy out, like you have a Long-Term Experience Female Gamer™ hidden in a closet someplace that you can roll out on occasion so people who disagree will shake their heads knowingly as they think 'oh a woman put him up to it'.

It's like saying 'why thank you for the compliment, a (insert ethnic minority here) lady did my hair'. Why is it important that we know she's of a particular ethnic minority? What impact does that have on the quality of my hairstyle that could possibly not be the product of a stereotype? Or introducing my neighbor to someone as 'a really sweet man, he's gay'. Of what importance is his sexual orientation to a casual acquaintance — or me, for that matter? What purpose does it serve other than to paint the person involved with a big fat brushstroke and then put all of those who share their gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation under the same microscope?

@R-L-A-George: That reply was directed toward that one user in particular to address their prior comment. You're right, it hasn't really been that bad in here, all things considered. :3

@Super_Gravy: I'm not sure what you're asking, but my gender aside, making assumptions or generalizations about the demographic of people who find this sort of game personally distasteful (or not, as the case may be) would serve no purpose here. I'm afraid I don't have the data to properly answer your question.

@KarateKid1234: I'm pretty sure we're not using brains as computer displays, so I'm not sure where you came up with the idea that our brains create pixels. That said, the article was created to foster discussion, which has happened quite spectacularly. If flames are what you're interested in starting, we ask that you keep them to yourself. Thanks!

"And should sites like Nintendo Life be speaking out against it?"

People? Sure, go for it. Websites, not so much. While I do happen to side with NL occasionally, I don't like the idea of potentially being wrangled into a political battle without my knowledge or consent just because I happen to have a shield here, nor do I like the idea of other members of staff being forced into the same sort of situation. I'd much rather people come to their senses on their own about things like this.

@unrandomsam: Of course it won't be published first in Europe, not with people too busy pointing fingers at the US to actually point at the people sitting on the sidelines and watching the show — NoE. The only controlling entity with regard to which games hit Nintendo systems in the EU, besides NoJ, is NoE. NoA has no say on your turf.

@unrandomsam: It's easy for NA to get things before EU because we only have to have it translated into maybe two or three different languages depending on the game involved. However, remember Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower — three recent, glaring examples of things EU got first that NA took its sweet time with. There have been other games which EU got months before we did here in NA. In no way is it set in stone that NA has to get something before EU does.

@unrandomsam: NoE doesn't answer to NoA. NoE and NoA both answer to NoJ, and that's it. What Japan says, goes — they have the ultimate veto power.

If it was just NoA who wasn't approving the game, EU and JP would already have it. Until they do, quit blaming it on the US, guys. You're jumping the gun in a race to point fingers.

That said, it's their platform and their rules. It doesn't bother me that they've said 'no', i'm completely uninterested in playing this game, but if you're aching to play it, It's not like you can't already do so via other means. It's not been barred from release entirely, it's just not on a Nintendo console. Show them what they're missing by making the purchase on other platforms and having your fun that way if it means that much to you.

@GamerFromJump: haha, Seven Days — i haven't thought about that show in a long time! :3

as for the game at hand... what a shame. guess it's more Bravely Default for me, and then that Weapon Shop game :3

Sigh. I hope they've turned off the comments on those YT videos, at least.

While I don't really think splitting gamers into separate groups along gender lines is a good thing in the long run, I do like that they're actively acknowledging little girls and attempting to reach out to them personally instead of just hoping they'll go along with whatever they're showing off to the menfolk at the time. It works for the target audience (remember, boys are still icky around that age). Yeah, just going along with the boys worked for us who grew up way back when, but I know if there had been an option for little girls and gaming when i was that young, shoot, i'd'a been all over that in a heartbeat. Bring 'em in young and they're more likely to stay with you later on.

Hey guys, I'm asking now that the insults (and occasional profanity) end. Keep your comments focused on the article at hand, and not on each other. Further name-calling and nastiness will wind up with temp-bans for those choosing to participate. This is your warning: Play nice.

oh my god waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant.

seriously. want this game so hard. combat based off Xenoblade's setup is music to my ears, I love love loved how combat worked in that game. took forever for me to get the hang of it, but once you've got it down, it's incredible.

My hope for Gaijin's next game? That they're willing to patch it if it turns out to have bugs. Very unimpressed with the way Saga was brushed under the rug and ignored.

@JubilifeRival: there's a demo of BD out on the 3DS eShop if you'd like to give it a try :3

so... anyone still defending the decision to region-lock?

RF4 is seriously an amazing game. I've been playing it ever since it came out, and actually I was just recommending it to someone in EU/AUS the other day since I didn't know it wasn't even out in that region yet. I certainly hope someone else picks it up for an EU release!

@GunstarHero234: i don't care how true you think your comment was, the insults and profanity need to end. Please stop, I won't ask again.

@ColdingLight: We put the links back to Metacritic in the sidebar column for every review we do for a reason — Metacritic apparently has links available for three other reviews for Spin Six (that's the game you were curious about, yes?). IGN apparently gave it an 80, ONM and Eurogamer each a 7. Doesn't seem like a bad choice at all, really :3

@NorthLightSuplx: You seem to have missed comments #64 and #66. Please give them a read-through :3

@Number_6: we work quite hard to not allow NL to go that route, thank you. :3

@Moshugan: See, that sounds like a game worth playing if they were to do it right. Perhaps you should pitch them your ideas :3

@flightsaber: I never knew that about Chinese gaming. How long do the tombstones have to stay visible on the screen? Do they disappear after a while? It sounds like it could be a funny addition to some games, really :3

@antonvaltaz: again, I read that as not only being stuck in the past regarding the systems on which their games work for, but also their entire gaming library (which looks like it's — and probably has — come straight from the late 80's/early 90's). you could also read it as the games themselves, which do focus on featuring events that occurred long, long ago (i'm not sure if they have any games that specifically focus on future events or possibly the apocalypse off top of my head). :3

@antonvaltaz, @GeminiSaint (whoops, sorry Yorumi!): please take a look at their game offerings. What part of any of that is modern? Their entire 'current' game library looks like it came straight out of the late 80's and early 90's. They're not even trying to come up with anything new. I suppose it's not that they really have to, unfortunately they have a fairly captive audience since there's so little competition in terms of Christianity-based video gaming, but you'd think that with a company that's been around for so long they would have at least picked up some talent along the way and made the effort to do something to genuinely appeal to Christian children who enjoy modern video games. Wisdom Tree is stuck in the past, at least from what I can see.

As for the line about Jesus' resurrection, I'm in the same camp as Yorumi to be honest. I genuinely doubt it was meant with any sort of hostility or spitefulness; i thought it was a pretty standard sort of joke when talking about a game which no one who had ever played it back in the day thought would see a genuine SNES re-release (or at least I certainly thought I'd never see the day, haha!). It really has been resurrected (by Piko) and is emerging from its grave (absolute obscurity, aside from an occasional YouTube 'review' or the AVGN video).

hey guys, we're not here to argue religion, and trolling is an unwise decision. just a heads-up.

as for the article itself, for those of you who took offense — sorry, but are we really reading the same one? I'm seeing jokes leveled at Wisdom Tree (and now Piko, I guess), the former for having put out crap games (and apparently maintained them for long-outdated OSes) in the first place and the latter now regarding a re-release that's surely more a joke than anything else. I'm not seeing jokes made at the expense of Christianity in particular...?

@Hyperstar96: i don't think it's so much about religion as it is about the Wisdom Tree games being crap, lol. i grew up with friends who had an NES and were only allowed to play Bible Adventures, holy crap was that trio of games awful. thankfully my parents didn't go that route (but TMNT, which us kids had begged them for, was about as ridiculously punishing, i guess... D: )

@mamp: maybe they saw how well Attack of the Friday Monsters did or something — you wanna talk about games that might be 'too Japanese' for western audiences, that one took the cake. :3

anyway, i had been sad to see this one not come westward before, but now i'm looking forward to this. day-one purchase, guys, just bring it over :3

@BlatantlyHeroic: actually, i think i had to re-do that battle about four or five times because I went in ridiculously overprepared and wound up killing the damn thing. Thank goodness the game just kicks you out of the battle and lets you try again as if nothing happened... sheesh! Zygarde was a much harder catch for me to be honest, though I managed to get it without KOing it so idk if the game will let you retry that battle if you screw up... D:

@TwilightV: Same here. When they put out a product worthy of my support, maybe I'll consider it, but this? Give me a break.

@unrandomsam: The question was rhetorical — that portion of the discussion had gone way too far afield and needed to end. Thank you for trying to be helpful, though. :3

How in the ever-loving hell did this conversation get twisted into a life-or-death argument about Indonesian farmers and piracy? The article clearly states that this hack will only allow legit cartridges to be played. If we're done devouring one another, I'd like to not see that sort of thing happen again, guys, or temp-bans will be handed down. I'm seeing some familiar players in that mess up there, and you may all consider yourselves warned.

I'm serious, it ends here. If you see your comment gone, do not re-post it. That argument is over, move on. Don't like it? Feel free to get in touch.

As to the article at hand, I kinda hope Nintendo just opens it up and allows all legit cartridges to be played on all systems, that'd put a wrench in flashcart peddlers' new selling point and make life much easier for the rest of us all. I know they won't, but i guess i can still hope :/

@DarkKirby: i was under the impression from this article from a while back that the version of BD we'd be getting was the updated 'for the sequel', it'd have the more active-time battle mechanics as opposed to the turn-based ones i'd been hoping for...? if i'm wrong, please let me know — i avoided the review because i generally avoid reviews of games i know i'm going to purchase anyway, i don't like to be spoiled for anything

as long as the game itself and its mechanics aren't altered any further. I'm already disappointed we're getting different battle mechanics than the original JP release.

@TheRealThanos: We do generally try to leave love-notes when edits are made, a little 'please watch the profanity — (moderator who made the edit)' at the end of such comments helps people to put two and two together. That way, anyone reading it before you get the chance to fix it yourself knows you used a profanity and that it has been edited out by one of us, thus the silliness. :3

I do get what you're trying to say, and I know that while talking to Ant a while back one of us had thrown out an idea about a system that would have an alert for the user in question flash onto the screen if they had used a profanity in a posted comment, but the problem is that automatic systems aren't perfect and a lot of false positives are triggered — we don't want to scare people off from posting about having watched Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve last night, for example :3 E-mails are also not a reliable option — you have no idea how many warnings I've sent out in the past for exactly this sort of thing that went absolutely unheeded. That's why we do any required edits manually, and why the system is the way it is right now. We do appreciate the feedback, though! Maybe in the future we'll be able to do it another way, I know I'm all about stuff that makes less work for me in the long run :3

@TheRealThanos: actually, we don't have an automatic system that edits things, it's just your friendly local moderation team. When someone posts a profanity here, we're sent a report telling us to check put the problem and any edits are made manually. If you don't like seeing your profanities edited into abject silliness, we humbly suggest you obey the Rules and stop using them here. Problem solved! :3

And if you're talking more about other users instead of yourself, the silliness is kinda the point — they're free to re-edit it into a different, not-profane word if they choose, and hopefully they'll remember the lesson next time. The silliness stands out. I don't personally like trying to re-word someone's comment to make it make sense afterward, because what happens when we guess wrong? It's an even worse situation to be accused of deliberately altering comments to express an opinion not the author's, that's why either i delete text or modify it into abject silliness so that the author's original intent is still clear, but never do i go out of my way to re-word things for the OP.

@cyrus_zuo: i kid you not, i've got a brand new copy of ALBW on the table in front of me and i still haven't even unwrapped it from the plastic thanks to RF4. it truly is an amazing game, i'm absolutely loving it :3

i wish Dr. Luigi were on 3DS

that said, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo were saving SMB3 to ring in the new year with :3

@wombatkidd, @eza (i'm only including you because of wombatkidd's recent reply, sorry to bring it up again but I didn't want you to waste your time on a reply): Rape is rape is rape. It is one of the worst things one human being can possibly do to another, a gross violation of self that not only may do physical harm but deals horrific mental trauma to the victim. Wounds heal, scars fade, but those memories of being helpless and afraid, the fear of having such a thing happen again — that will last the rest of a person's life, man or woman. In no way is the rape of a woman a worse act than the rape of a man. Both are awful, despicable acts that should be absolutely abhorred by good and decent people everywhere, and the perpetrators thereof should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, no matter their gender.

Now, I've already asked for this portion of the discussion to end, as it has gone too far afield from the article at hand. Any further mention of rape will be edited or deleted. Thanks in advance for your understanding, but we ask that you move on from that point in terms of this discussion.

Hey guys, I'm going to ask that we stick a little closet to the article at hand — we do understand that the topic of rape is in a way relevant to the gender equality tangent, but that portion of the discussion is getting a bit far afield and tensions are already running high. Thanks in advance, everyone!

@Yorumi: You're putting a lot of words into my mouth. I think your own issues are showing.

@bobbypaycheque: Why does Lara have to be female? Surely the exploration and story would work just as well with an adventurous male in the role?

You're all worked up over 'could's, 'possibly's, 'what-if's. Let her actually make a mistake before calling for her head. I've said before that this is Inafune's baby, and he wouldn't let an underling destroy his 'original vision', not now that he's free of Capcom.

@Senario: If what you got from all of my comments so far is that I would prefer to have only female characters in protagonist roles, you are woefully mistaken. I am asking for consideration of the other side(s) of the coin by developers when they are in the process of making a game, that stereotypical roles and character designs be reconsidered. I ask that we be given the option to be male or female as a protagonist. If that makes me a 'Social Justice Warrior' or whatever label people are tossing around this time over, so be it.

I've said my peace and I have no regrets. Have fun continuing to get yourselves worked up over a non-issue, guys; I'll be there along with the rest of you when MNo9 finally hits, for good or ill. :3

@bobbypaycheque: What changes has she made? Please, show us what she has changed about this game as opposed to its 'original vision'.

@bobbypaycheque: Why? It's already a work of fiction, many things are already explained away by magic. If in the case the user chose to have a female Shulk but leave the rest of the characters alone, why could magic not be used to fulfill the DNA stuff necessary for the story?

@JusticeColde: Why? Why could the story not be altered slightly to accommodate the change? Why can the puzzle not be modified into a greater work of art? In terms of video games as art, there is no 'correct', only 'different'. It may not be the original artist's vision, but there is no right or wrong here, only a lack of available options.

The next time someone in this thread tells me 'you just can't', I'm going to ask 'why', and that's all. Open yourselves to possibilities, explore your creativity, and question anything that someone insists is set in stone. Imagination is a wonderful thing, don't lock yourselves into anything.

@Yorumi: I do not think or feel the same way as you about this issue. I think there would be ways around that point, yes I have played Xenoblade but no, I don't think the story is set in stone. It happens. Sorry to disappoint.

@Bass_X0: If you're talking to me, I do. Same for books, in case you were wondering about those too :3

@Yorumi: I think you're getting hung up on the idea that the relationships between people must be heterosexual, and I know it's a whole another can of worms I'd really not like to get into here, but I don't mind them in video games at all. Melia, Fiora, Shulk, make them all female or male together for all i care, switch them up however you like. I still think the game would be wonderful, but having the option would be the absolute icing on the cake.

I'm sorry, but unlike you I don't think a handful of female roles make up for all the amazing roles that have over the years been locked into male characters, nor do I think it's fair for the few strong female roles to have been locked into that gender either. Had Samus been a dude in a Speedo and Terra been a boy, would the games themselves have suffered? I don't think so, and I feel we as players would have been richer for having had the choice. That boat has sailed, though. It's up to devs today to consider their audience (a portion of which is absolutely asking for equal options for gender choice) and make their decisions.

As i've already told Hugo, all we as players can do is make ourselves heard. Devs will still make the games they're going to make, and people will buy them no matter what. The world will continue spinning.

By the way (and i'm not quite sure why you keep bringing it up), you're wasting your breath if you think that your preference for female player characters in any way will help me agree with you, so I suggest we agree to disagree.