HELLO there, dear bros! How are you all doing? Welcome to another Monday Post! Also known as Akabur’s Weekly Gazette, where I discuss super niche things that probably only I care about, while also giving you a small update on the current state of the game I’m working on. Let’s do this thing!
SHOP/GALLERY. This week’s item is a super old drawing of mine based on official art from one of my all-time favorite games: BULLY. I love this game so much, man... But I completely missed it back in the day and only played it in short bursts ever since, during various phases of my hectic life. I never actually beat it. This year (hopefully), I want to give it a proper (super slow) playthrough from start to finish. I also plan to buy the original PS2 disc with the map, and maybe even the official guide, so I can browse through it leisurely while recalling my days at Bullworth Academy. Anyway, I’m getting off track here. The new shop item is my old Bully illustration. Moving on.
NEGATIVE/BORING STUFF FIRST. Over the last week, my news feed was flooded with some gross tongue-licking game and another equally gross game called Mixed Tape, along with a ton of comments—of varying levels of funniness—shitting on both games. The way the algorithm works, I don’t even know if this is actually big gaming news or not, or whether the majority of people really hate these games, or if it’s just Twitter showing me those kinds of comments and posts because of my preferences. To be honest, I don’t really care either way, since I’m happily living in the past. Oh, and apparently the Black Flag remaster updated the female NPCs to more modern standards. That gave me a chuckle XD
SNOWPEAK NO MORE. So yeah, Snowbreak is back. If you didn’t know, the game went offline for 2 months with zero official explanation. And now it’s back—all censored. Visuals, story, everything got butchered. Needless to say, I lost all interest in the game. The old uncensor method (basically baked into the game by the devs themselves) doesn’t work anymore. On the bright side, judging by how ridiculous some of the new censored outfits look, it feels like they still plan to roll the censorship back eventually. That’s just my assumption, though. The worst part is that there’s still been zero communication. No explanation, no list of what got changed or removed—just silence.
ANOTHER THING that sucks is that this whole situation is yet another reminder of how aggressively the “modern world” goes after anything that makes a guy happy. Oh, and I keep seeing comments about the evil CCP and how the devs should just release the game only in English regions, which is always funny to me because we all know things are even worse in most non-Asian countries when it comes to this stuff. Oh well, farewell my sweet waifus... o7
PALATE CLEANSER. Here is a piece of news that even I don’t care all that much about, but I was surprised to find out just now while trying to dig up some Japanese Luminous Arc 3 GIFs: apparently, you can’t access Yahoo.jp from outside of Japan. On one hand, I hate how fragmented the internet is becoming between countries. On the other hand, Japan has suffered way too much from foreign culture invading it lately, so personally I support any kind of restrictions they put up—even minor ones like this. -_-
MORE RANDOM STUFF. I got a message from a fan on Discord, but after closer inspection I noticed that he sent it 2 years ago, and I never replied to it (because I completely missed it). I only got a notification because somebody hacked his account and sent me some MrBeast crypto scam message. Since he obviously lost access to his account, I can’t reply to him anymore. The chances that he will see this post are very slim, but I just wanted to vent a little. I really regret missing the original message and not replying on time. Thank you for your kind words, cherished bro o7
MORE GAMING NEWS. The new StarFox looks exactly like what I’d expect a modern game based on a very cartoony IP to look like—basically another Unreal Engine slop with zero soul. That’s exactly why I have no interest in any Jak and Daxter remakes or sequels: the technology to create games like that have been long lost. That being said, I still can’t tell whether people actually hate the new StarFox designs or if it’s just what the algorithm is feeding me. Either way, I’m sure the game will sell extremely well, so none of this really matters. Personally, I’ve already profited from this in the form of many funny memes people made after the original trailer reveal XD
MrLAZARE strikes again. He created (without me even asking) a few really nice promo art pieces for Reporter Trainer. I spent a portion of last week working on Tiffany’s facial expressions, so this AI “slop” illustrates that. Honestly, I think it looks absolutely amazing. ^_^ The high-resolution picture is in the attachment if you need it. This post’s cover art can be found there as well.
ANOTHER RANDOM WEIRD THOUGHT that crossed my mind recently: am I some kind of lucky mutant who manages to enjoy video games just fine even in my 40s, while the rest of the world is suffering? Every now and then, YouTube recommends me these weird videos with the same theme: “I used to enjoy video games when I was younger, but not anymore.” Some videos of that nature are about strange roundabout techniques to trick your mind into enjoying games again, while others offer nothing but pseudophilosophical rambling. I’m not sure why YouTube keeps recommending them to me, considering I almost never watch stuff like that. Maybe you receive these videos after watching too many retro game reviews, PS2 trailers, and GBA games recommendations, like I do?
AM I BRAGGING? I guess. But at the same time, I’m counting my blessings. I’m thankful because I’ve never experienced this “video game fatigue.” I did completely lose interest in movies over the years, but I still get an immense amount of joy from playing video games. If anything, even more so than when I was a child, when I was just playing whatever was available. Just thinking about booting up SSX3 or Jak X later today fills me with anticipation. And don’t even get me started on my precious Japanese RPGs with romance elements. ^_^
THE CRAZY RUMBLING CONTINUES. But, hey, this isn’t a video essay or anything; it’s just plain text that you only need to read if you find it interesting ^_^ So let me indulge myself by sharing another weird thought I had a few days ago while listening to the 1st Harry Potter audiobook for the dozenth time. (I sometimes put stuff like that on while working if I need to turn off my brain.) Anyway, listening to that book made me realize why I often prefer original games, books, and movies to remakes. My interest in the original comes from the realization that it’s a perfect time capsule of when it was created. The technology, the society, the world, everything gets encapsulated in a book, game, or movie when it’s made. It’s almost a way to revisit the past. For example, when Harry explores London with Hagrid for the first time, he walks by bookstores, cafés, and burger joints. If this book were released now, he’d be walking by kebab stands and barbershops or something. There were also no cellphones, and Mr. Dursley reads newspapers, and so on. If the book were written today and set in contemporary times, many things in it would be different. The same goes for older games. The way sex, humor, and violence were treated in games 20 or even 10 years ago was completely different from how it is now. No remake could ever measure up to the original time capsule.
LATEST PSP ACQUISITION. I am not turning into one of those crazy collector guys, I promise. Valkyrie Chronicle is another Japanese game set in a military academy, and you know I have a soft spot for that setting. I have been eyeing this one for a very long time. A lot of stuff on Japanese eBay is very cheap. You have to pay for shipping, but it’s still worth it, and the items I get are always in pristine condition. Also, as is always the case with old games, even the regular edition comes packed with additional goodies. This one has a manual themed after the journal the main character carries around in the game. So cool T_T
SPEAKING OF THE GAME MANUAL. Not only is it in full color, but it also has quite a few pages and a lot of information. It’s almost like a small game guide. And it still manages to keep the feel of the journal from the game world, featuring silly things like funny doodles on some of the pages and even a class photograph. Man, this shit gives me so much joy T_T
SPEAKING OF THE GAMES. My main story-driven game continues to be Luminous Arc 3. The latest big news from the main story is that a freaking secret nightclub opened up in the Academy’s basement (under the baths) where the students can hang out in secret. It even has a waitress in a bunny suit. Why would a military academy need a questionable establishment like that? Because!!! (I love this game so much XD).
ABOUT LA3 AGAIN. The game stats screen says that, despite having spent 22 hours on it, I’m only about 13% into the main story. That should give you an idea of how much I enjoy this game. I take my time to explore every corner of the academy, talk to everyone, and soak in the setting as much as I can. Also, this is one of the very few games where I actually enjoy the fighting, so I’m way overleveled now ^_^
AND THAT’S ABOUT IT for this week’s Monday post. Here’s the status of work related things right now: I’m done coloring Tiffany’s and Kimmy’s sprites, and I’ve also finished all of Tiffany’s facial expressions. The plan for this week is to work on two additional costumes for both girls (one for each) and all of Kimmy’s facial expressions. If you want to hear a bit more detail about this, check this week’s EXTRA!! post. And I’ll see you all next Monday. Laterz.
-Aka-
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