nostr:npub1eqvpc24aku7srxq2edatvkqmvrmdsmw6szgjwkyz8c429darv4xqjxln2h nostr:npub1khqzruecm8vyerkcledtcz3p0a08tmzmthgtp8044xuzdgw3lvsqtd6n2t Men need to have their position dramatically improved, and women needs to have their privileges curtailed, for me to even be willing to entertain dialogue with tradcucks at this point. No, that's not my opening bid, that's what needed for me to even entertain the notion of "manning up" as those faggots view it.

nostr:npub166nq477rqxxurwdmzyhzuj7w065xk40py5lc56dnq9zzqm3ynrpq42vnht The first few dozen or so are actually the hardest ones, once it really speeds up you either get into the right rhythm and clear it, or you don't.

There is one moon I consider way worse, but you can Cheat that one very easily.

nostr:npub1lhhynl54hhajx9fw0rvvv964672mgd90zm9266xnzg05j9p20gfqu5adds

nostr:npub1lhhynl54hhajx9fw0rvvv964672mgd90zm9266xnzg05j9p20gfqu5adds nostr:npub144sl9dh7x8vqjj9pwywedcnmzkxxw8kznxa4r0sf720pkepcew7saj8kjg ....what is it with you and naturally gravitating towards low-res images?

We don't have to live like this..

nostr:npub1nwk3pu4dtggv3y8ajp44c4kxsne46a6p5cs7qqmrthtle2d3hw9sfs2t9d Exploration is very fun, the core customization mechanic is quite brilliant, and there are lots of good and well-thought out sidequests. Combat is shallow, but pretty flashy and stylish, so still decently fun is smaller doses.

nostr:npub1gufcacu6k8lt7ycv5fhyd54q0v3x0z9p34z8jefdg07wgskcn23slw3lkv Huh. Maybe the anime can integrate at least some of that.

nostr:npub1gufcacu6k8lt7ycv5fhyd54q0v3x0z9p34z8jefdg07wgskcn23slw3lkv Fair enough - I never played the first game, but I have played plenty of Platinum action games, so those are naturally my frame of reference, even if it might be the wrong one in this case.

nostr:npub1kuqxfq9c57y282zaxdn6gf29q2w4qsjhjlc6xfu6qn560j5lwtfs3fwx2x Netflix is for Jews, Niggers and Trannies/Pedos

I’ve said before that 2B’s ass by itself easily earns Nier: Automata a +1 on my Based Morality Scale, and I stand by that. That booty is a true work of art, and damn, if it isn’t refreshing as hell to come across a game that actively Embraces the fanservice, and provides you with plenty of ways to fully admire 2B’s bare buttcheeks (God bless self-destruct mode!).

The game does also have various more questionable elements that simultaneously earn it a -1 though – mentions of lesbianism (though when you’re dealing with a community of non-fertile androids that are overwhelmingly female, is Yuri *actually* a bad thing?), that vague sense of non-judgmental moral relativism that I alluded to in the opening paragraph, a section of the game that can be considered anti-religion – all of these are quite easy to defend on their own, but I think the combined weight of them still justify a -1, which keep in mind, isn’t really that big of a deal, let alone a dealbreaker. For a story-heavy game from 2017, I’d say you’re getting off pretty easy (and 2B’s ass is also quite easy to get off to, heh heh :loli_heh:).

While definitely flawed, Nier: Automata is widely beloved for good reasons – and with the Switch port being very competent, I’d be all for 2B being added to the next Smash Bros, especially if her addition could make Sakurai give up on appeasing the gay age rating cucks altogether, so we can also enjoy uncensored Pyra and Mythra in Smash, along with Bad Girl Mai Shiranui as background eye candy.

Oh, and by the way, I did the Save Data Sacrifice at the end. I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t *actually* expect all my save data to really be Shoah’d, but it was an outcome I was okay with on the off chance that it happened, since I was kinda planning on replaying the game anyway (and indeed I did, not too many months later), and the help I had gotten from other playes had been invaluable during end credits shootout. Just wanted to get that Good Deed on the record :smug6:

Of course, Nier Automata does have plenty of other strengths as well, both as a game and in terms of storytelling. As a game, it gives you an unforgettable, post apocalyptic world that’s very fun and rewarding to explore. A once-hyper modern city, now ruined and overrun with plant life, might not be a location unique to Automata, but it does boast perhaps the most iconic video game depiction of such a place – so much so that when Kirby and the Forgotten Land embraced just that kind of setting, it was Nier: Automata parodies people were making.

The game has lots of sidequests, many of them genuinely good, with compelling storylines that illuminate aspects of the main plot (including some heavy foreshadowing about 2B’s true nature) or otherwise contribute to strong world building. Particular songs playing after you’ve completed particular sidequests make them feel like miniature adventures in their own rights, complete with end credits themes, making them further stand out.

I also love the chip system in this game – given how your heroes are androids, you can upgrade your combat capabilities and otherwise gain a whole host of useful abilities through the use of plug-in chips, but each chip takes up a certain amount of limited total space, and you will endeavor to make use of as many useful chips as possible, each taking up as little space as possible. Basically, you want to go from powerful chips with Western Game Dev compression to powerful chips with Nintendo-quality compression. This happens not just by collecting superior new chips as sidequest rewards or finding them through exploration, enemies can drop good chips too, or even weak chips that will prove useful as long as they take up little space, since you can actually fuse multiple weak chips to produce much stronger chips that only take up slightly more space. It’s actually extremely satisfying to go from, say, a +3 ranged attack-boosting chip that takes up 13 slots to one that only takes up 7 slots, it just frees up so much space, which opens all sorts of new possibilities. It also makes exploration and even regular enemy encounters that much more rewarding.

Somewhat shockingly for a game developed by Platinum tho, combat is otherwise one of the game’s weakest points. Sure, it’s flashy and decently fun, with a handful of different weapon types on offer, but overall the combat comes across as really shallow, with very limited combos (really, button mashing attacks, Pod abuse and properly timed dodges is all you need) and different weapons of the same class generally feeling very samey. Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101 or Astral Chain, it is most certainly not. Worse still are the flying sections, which usually overstay their welcome and end up feeling really monotonous, with you just gunning down wave after wave after wave of generic enemies before one or two events of actual interest eventually occur.

Repetitive gameplay is a bit of an issue with Nier: Automata, seeing how you’re basically forced to play the first half the game *twice*, first as 2B and then as 9S. Since 2B and 9S are paired up for the vast majority of the game’s first half, this means you’ll be retreading a whole lot of familiar ground. Sure, there are some new scenes from the perspective of 9S, some other new scenes further exploring various villains and supporting characters, some new sidequests that take advantage of 9S’s hacking abilities, and eventually the adventures of 2B and 9S do somewhat diverge – but you’re still ultimately being forced to play through the same game twice.

And yet…I actually think it works. Maybe not from a strict gameplay perspective, but definitely from a storytelling perspective. Because the second half (which is actually presented as a straight up SEQUEL, and more than lives up to it) is not only full of absolute kino, but it’s perfectly set up by the way the first half is handled. At least for me, going over previous events with a somewhat fresh pair of eyes gave me a far greater sense of familiarity with the setting and the characters, a much greater feeling of understanding what was going on…and so when the “sequel” pulls out the rug from under you, it feels that much more shocking and impactful. The first couple of hours especially, beginning with the long-awaited operation to take back earth from the machines, and ending with a mind-blowing bridge scene are Peak Fiction, not only because of the content, but the way it as set up. BTW, kudos to the fanbase for NOT spoiling the defining twist, because I sure as hell didn’t see it coming, partly because I would have taken for granted that if an event like that actually happened, it would be something EVERYONE openly talked about.

Later on too, the hits keep coming, and there are so many great moments, big and small – from the delightful banter between Pod 042 and A2 (A for Ass, because she *is* effectively 2B’s rival after all) and the backstory of redheaded twins Devola and Popola to the heartbreaking depiction of 9S’s descent into madness and a seemingly innocent stretch of sidequest filler suddenly turning into an incredibly tragic horror show. Despite some necessary comic relief, it’s emotionally draining stuff, but also incredibly compelling and memorable. The first half is quite good, but it’s the second half where Nier: Automata truly lives up to the hype.

With the Nier: Automata anime still on-going, I thought I might as well finally share my 2 cents about the game itself.

Nier: Automata does seem like something of a Love it or Hate it game, most people falling in the former category, but people in the latter category being quite loud and forceful too. While I definitely did enjoy the game a ton, one Automata takedown on Gab of all places has kinda stuck with me, with its contention that “in Yoko Taro’s world, there is no good and evil, only crying children”. When the game at one point portrays a mass-murdering, mountain-sized machine monster as, no joke, a sad, lonely child crying out for his mommy, I was definitely reminded of that description.

And there are definitely some very questionable story moments, like how hardened, cynical battle android 2B (B for Butt, since hers is the best in the business) has a minor crisis of conscience about killing unexpectedly human-like machine enemies, while her normally naïve, curious and open-minded partner 9S (S for Shota) repeatedly dismisses her concerns, basically going “fuck those machines, lol, no way they’re capable of thinking!” Given what we know, and also what we later learn about 9S’s personality, it seems odd that he would so uncritically toe the YoRHa party line like this, and also (given what we learn about HER) that 2B would encourage him to develop potentially dangerous, subversive thoughts (2B at other points will scold 9S for mere shows of emotion). It really would make way more sense if the roles were reversed – which they actually are, a bit later in the story, with 9S voicing concerns about their supposedly soulless machine enemy being a bit too sentient for his liking, and 2B quickly dismissing said concerns – and THEN a bit later, a similar scene happens AGAIN, this time with the roles reverting back to how it was in the first scene.

It’s especially clumsy because we all know where the writers are going with this – the machines turning out to be Not So Different from our android heroes, and the whole ongoing war between android and machines, on behalf of their human and alien creators respectively, being questioned. It’s obvious that many of the machines we encounter aren’t just mindless pieces of junk programmed to wipe out humanity, and making our heroes slow on the uptake just ends up being annoying and feeling forced rather than carefully setting the stage for organic character growth.

Later on, the game also raises heavy, existential questions without ever really attempting to deliver answers, or even giving the questions proper examination. And a late-game villain ends up at the end being depicted as shockingly chill – shocking because up ‘til that very point, it had showed an extremely disturbing appetite for gratuitous cruelty and sadism. Not to mention that the ending itself is just a bit too neat and tidy considering everything that went down before. And the game also has various minor moments that can be considered just a bit too artsy, maybe even pretentious.

And yet…I find that none of that really matters all that much. Not in a game capable of delivering scenes of incredible beauty and wonder, like your first visit to the Amusement Park, or Emil’s secret flower field. Not when the game can disturb and delight you alike with a location like the Copied City, or instill a subtle, yet profound sense of dread and doom with a song like The Tower. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Nier: Automata’s soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, though you probably already knew that. So many achingly beautiful, hauntingly emotional songs that are bound to leave a powerful impression. Not *quite* my favorite video game soundtrack of all time (Xenoblade 2 still holds that title), but definitely a top 10 contender. And when a game has such wonderful music, I’m willing to make a lot of allowances.

nostr:npub19vrvr7jq4dulmjt7mg6cl6ar88rxf4pl32delfkldzdr27jq9r3qkj782a Yo, we got another fucking weirdo on our hands who doesn't like rape? :loli_disdain:

nostr:npub1uxxachjtzsjgklesfz408w98nrqldsjzmzdduaa0mykpjv65g09qmq2arq You know I have to do it to you.

nostr:npub18k6zlzcfgdgj989uv0h7xg9mxk55fszwjsyttexfvlj4h2ase9vq549kqm nostr:npub1v4l3xdvjfz47m78aht2jzw73xnh7lz287shgdthmmz824xa839lsh0lhuk So....that's why he decided to give me attention? :smug6:

nostr:npub1e8vknlqfajjexgag4v3sjjy8yeuluyrwd35s47fdyejwqs99z4wsyvs7yy nostr:npub1gufcacu6k8lt7ycv5fhyd54q0v3x0z9p34z8jefdg07wgskcn23slw3lkv Share your total playtime with the class again :smug13:

nostr:npub18mej2ggedps8qaj5a2zzw9km4vfux4z68n6lmxrul8aj43gzm4yq0nxtr3 Destroy Occupy Wall Street with SJW politics was the trial run.

nostr:npub1ylnt04l839akz98ln5rpp9r5h5ue553xp7flf0harxwfrr3lxm6qzg3jq3 Ardainian's recent posts contained nothing but Truth, so are you a faggot, a tranny or a Jew?

nostr:npub1jj5ffqvev09736qg30cpyhchkn9n5x2hjrtdqjuds7f3q2mkd8wsen3am4 nostr:npub1gufcacu6k8lt7ycv5fhyd54q0v3x0z9p34z8jefdg07wgskcn23slw3lkv Hell yeah!

nostr:npub1gufcacu6k8lt7ycv5fhyd54q0v3x0z9p34z8jefdg07wgskcn23slw3lkv Damn, nostr:npub1e8vknlqfajjexgag4v3sjjy8yeuluyrwd35s47fdyejwqs99z4wsyvs7yy really getting called out in that second image 🔥

nostr:npub1gn33588lseme6g6z7ygtk83slnr2lraec4qreva8j838a69qfjhs4uv05t Bro, what the fuck are you doing blocking Rapebot, do you want people to think you're anti-rape or something???