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Hard to say in the modern sense especially I think. Like if it's just business/marketing politics that get into play here. "We better leave this a bit open ended, or connect this and that so we can possibly do more later" if that makes sense lol. But yeah like most of FromSoftware's games even across Dark Souls, are never explicitly linked like a direct continuing single storyline. Even Takahashi of Xeno fame seemed like he got burned out on Xenosaga's commercial failure and nowadays says that stories shouldn't explain everything away. Leave some stuff vague for people to dig into. Yet I think someone like him still likes how intricately everything may come together in the end, since it still feels like all the Xeno games are in the same universe at least lol. Even Gundam UC is all over the place like we've seen. Another thing here is how this stuff probably isn't planned in advance, or you never know if some IP is going to become a mega icon and needs more content. Outside of the Leijiverse like you're saying, I think the Metal Gear Solid franchise is a rare anomaly where Kojima tied together a game series across 30 some years. You still gotta hit those up I think. But yeah, that was a blessing (or curse to Kojima in ways, every game was supposed to be his "last" MGS lol), but yeah all thanks to being helmed by one man, there's some large somewhat coherent vision that strings it all together. But then you get to Phantom Pain, the 5th game, when he started getting obsessed with open world games and even more Hollywood stuff. It was like he too decided that "telling" too much was an issue. You ever get through these and you'll see how insane it is that MGS4 is SO story/cutscene dense, literally hours worth. But MGS5 has barely anything in comparison to that, despite being 2-3x longer as a game. It's just all gameplay, almost no story. So I'm sad Kojima's gone that direction lately. I did think Death Stranding had a great story though. You might enjoy watching that one. But again, now we're getting a Death Stranding 2. Was this always the plan? No idea lol...

That's both a hilarious and awesome breakdown. This person must have had the spreadsheets and charts filled out lmao. I think I'd agree with those interpretations of those Link's and their power levels.

Back to the timeline shenanigans though, this reminds me but doesn't even OoT split into two are something with the time skip there? lmao. I know Young Link returns to venture on with Majora's Mask. Or maybe it was more like, Adult Link and all of that dark timeline ceases to exist once he defeated Ganon and restored the balance in the trifroce or something. I dunno, I'm just spitballing blind here on random stuff I've heard over the years lol. Zelda II is a crazy one too. I think it starts off with Zelda dead or in a coma.

You finish ToTK yet? I need to talk about some of that stuff, which is fresher on my mind. lol

Fun new discovery if you want some radio noise in the background: https://www.youtube.com/@TokuSHOUTsu

Got some Godzilla in there for you. ReBoot looks like maybe it holds up better than Beast Wars actually, hmmm lol. Those old Ultraman, Sentai, Kamen Rider shows all have such awesome music.

Nah I haven't really given the timeline a good look in a long while, for reasons we've mentioned here now with how little Nintendo cares or tries to cobble up anything official. But yeah I do remember the whole LTTP Dark World thing throws a wrench into how you think things might connect haha. I can't recall any specific details either but I'm pretty sure some stuff got retconned along the way too as new games came out and the timeline changed up lmao. I think LA and LTTP is supposed to be the same Link, but yeah I don't know and I'm not losing sleep over it. lol

Oh wow, I wonder if I tried this trick with the Fierce Deity Mask or used Gameshark at some point haha. I forgot it was only a limited used thing. It boggles my mind how people figured this crap out back then. Same with some OoT speedrun tech, I've watched some of that stuff. They do weird menu things like this trick with bottles and suddenly have key items in their inventory, lmao.

I'm on book 14 of 19 in my current Star Wars saga by the way. Crazy! It's been such a blast, there was really only one book so far that was kind of filler. But I'm able to burn through the short 300 page ones in a week or two at this rate pretty casually. It's cool that a lot of authors were involved in this story arc. So the varied writing keeps it fresh. For better and worse sometimes haha, but yeah. Think I'm like 30 books in overall. I should estimate how many pages I've read sometime.

Clearly the DS isn't a priority to you. *laughs* I scooped up all the Shin Megami Tensei games and some other JRPG's on there, but once I'm done with that I'm putting mine away and will be happy to be done with handhelds haha. Never been my primary platforms. Give me that big screen and a controller!

Yeah. But there's been a few of those "Bernstein Beers" moments over the years by now. So I have to double check myself with some old myths from childhood. Lol

That does ring a bell, TP or one of them had a way to teleport you back to where you were in a dungeon or something.

I think I liked rocking the hammer against Shadow Link. I think you could mash it pretty fast and he'd like get stuck into the ground or keep falling haha. It's cool that was in OoT again and not even the main boss of the Water Temple. I finally beat Zelda II on the WiiU with its save state system. Game is freaking brutal! But yeah that's where Shadow Link originates.

Oh I don't mind using anything well earned that might be overpowered haha. I just think it's a pain in the ass to get. Same with the Fierce Deity Mask in MM too I believe? Or some Rainbow Sword? No idea, going on 20 years since I played that one haha. But yeah...

"game boy fat" haha. Did you ever play Oracle of Ages and Seasons? I really liked those too. I didn't love Minish Cap but it's one I want to replay someday and give another look. The DS games... you're better off pretending they don't exist with me lol. Phantom Hourglass has the dishonor of being the one Zelda I willingly quit and didn't finish. So I didn't bother with Spirit Tracks. Thankfully the main 3D ones have still been great to me though. Kind of a shame SS gets so much slack. I know it's flawed, but it has amazing dungeons and does some other stuff really well. I got the Switch remaster for a replay someday. Maybe I'll enjoy it more than BoTW/ToTK lol.

Hah! Glad I questioned it then. I would be skeptical of a Nintendo game getting released with such a critical game ending issue like that. But yeah, I absolutely remember the fable legends of people claiming they could get stuck there. "Post longshot save/quit" in that breakdown rings a bell for sure. A subtle little time block thing a moment later from that, but if people save/quit thinking they can just hop back into the dungeon and then explore new areas with the longshot, they're wrong haha. Wouldn't think to have to backtrack all the way to the longshot room. So it's still maybe a design slip up on Nintendo's end, but yeah. Must have been like other infamous pre-internet school playground talk and so many kids bought into the myth. I bet some people just got so twisted up and lost in the Water Temple, they quit the game and maybe convinced themselves this was why. Funny to imagine maybe some out there believed this thing so hard, they restarted the entire game thinking they had to go into the Water temple fresh again lmao.

So yeah, good thing we had the rule to never stop a dungeon midway in. Lol

I never knew that about Shadow Link in OoT haha. So it only has the equipment you enter the room with? Funny trick.

Big Goron Sword... now that's something I loathe whenever I replay the game. I think I usually don't bother with it now haha. Such a hassle to get that thing. I want to say running into the mailman in the overworld was always kind of random too. Think there was like some final step with him in that area. This is my biggest pet peeve with Majora's Mask, it had a lot more fetch quests. I like Zelda best when I'm just exploring and going through dungeons. So I'll always have a soft spot for some of the older eras. Link's Awakening, Link to the Past, Ocarina... pure bliss.

Could you seriously soft lock yourself in the Water Temple? I thought it wasn't completely game ending but yeah, I know they tweaked some of the item locations for it in various ports, then change it up even more in the 3DS version.

Did you ever play the rare Master Quest thing on the GC? It was fascinating how it kind of swapped the difficulty of some dungeons. I want to say the desert temple (Spirit?) was a lot harder in this version and you had to go back and forth between Kid/Adult Link more. And then Ganon's tower was way tougher. The Water temple seemed easier though haha. Honestly in the long run there was nothing special about this version. It was a one and done for me. I thought it sounded way cooler on paper, or would have had some of the beta Zelda 64DD cut content and stuff in there. Remember how the magazines had so many pictures of stuff not even in the game? The bigger Kakariko village look and all. This game was delayed forever, I've been trained since OoT to never worry about Zelda release dates. lmao

Too busy for gaming again I'm guessing? I'm burning through the older Ys games now. Ys IV on the Turbografx CD has one of the best OST's I've heard in the year so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a7zC_Dq5SI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDcE9gnAv0g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HNEPXbNEK4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ0U9C6lxas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZqHkPu6fD4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9doW0S1VzVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWYZDs0ARqg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QRx_ZBoSrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLvOEXoAiuc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGvSf8s1OWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnq4RSmZtI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rry287yKMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmB7g7YWj4s

lmao sorry for the wall. Listen at your leisure. I bet you'll feel a sense of nostalgia too without even knowing anything else about the game. Early mid 90's CD music is such a vibe.

The PC Engine Castlevania has a pretty infamous OST too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GXNDugXvqE

You mean if Microsoft is leaving. Which is definitely looking possible. Yeah it's a serious double edged sword. They did this to themselves and I won't miss them if they just turn into a publisher like Sega. But Sony being the only big player in the higher end console space won't be a great thing for the business. People think Valve should take another shot at it or the Deck 2 will be even more powerful. I dunno. Consoles are in a weird spot and will continue to be in the next few years, strange times...

Yeah the Stone Temple. I'm pretty sure I was like tight for time even just collecting the heart piece from beating the boss. I had to warp out of there asap after I finished the dungeon haha. Man, N64 era Zelda music was so damn good and dark. The Forest Temple sticks with me forever, and the uncensored Fire Temple theme with the chants. They had to take that out in the later ports. I always had a rule, when I started a Zelda dungeon, I wasn't stopping until it was finished. Somehow that's worked for me in my 30 some years of Zelda haha. Cause yeah, I know saving and quitting out of them, it's tricky to navigate through them again and get to where you were. MM was a weird case that forced your hand though. I know as a kid both the Forest and Water Temples were like an all day grueling event for me to get through them lmao. Great memories though.

I guess you wouldn't quite know this, but based off their DLC track record... this could be the best content in all of ER heh. I think the DLC in Dark Souls 2, 3, and Bloodborne, are all incredible stuff and some of the best areas in the game. DS1 one I can leave or take, but I don't blame them much since it was the first. The content is still aplenty too, but it's just the new environments weren't that interesting and felt like some old areas recycled a little. They got way better at it after that though.

I'm just kind of shaking in my boots... if they try to make a boss harder than Malenia. lmao...

I think what gives me a little hope here is how I've seen a few Netflix KDrama's and they never have any of the Western agenda in them. So they still operate independently from what we see over here. Hopefully that keeps Shift Up isolated from the crap. Buuuuut we already saw Sony meddling with it. Speaking of Sony...
https://www.gematsu.com/2024/05/princess-maker-2-regeneration-for-ps5-ps4-delayed-to-august-8-due-to-content-changes

I am just more and more glad to be done with them. Still mind boggling that Nintendo censors less in 2024. This doesn't sound like anything new though. The double standard again. VN's seem like they're treated like shit on PS. But I can't fault the devs for needing all the money they can get for niche genres like that. It's just so stupid, I'm sure we'll see full on nudity in GTA6 and probably more sex scenes nobody wanted to see in the next Naughty Dog games. Ridiculous...

Comparing Zelda to the Leijiverse seems perfect actually. Sometimes it connects, some characters crossover, but not always... don't over think it! lol

Yeah, I feel like I enjoyed most of Majora's Mask outside of the time limit crap. Remember how you had to basically "restart" the loop to save too? It had way less dungeons than OoT too but they were way tougher. I remember the 4th one that flipped upside down... I still think that's gotta be one of the most complex, impressive dungeons in all of 3D Zelda. I barely beat that one within the time limit. Always had to do that song to slow down the time too. Supposedly the 3DS version tweaks some of this stuff, makes it easier to save, etc, so I'm hoping it'll be a better experience. 3DS OoT was pretty cool too. But I can still rock the OG for that game.

I hope the Switch gets the TP remaster too, it was really good on WiiU. But if they port that I think I'll never have another reason to bust out my WiiU, lmao. Well I'm hoping Xenoblade X gets another port too or a remake. They could retcon most of that game and I'd be fine with it. They should have just made Elma the main character, not some mute MC. Very strange for a Xeno.

You may hate what I'm saying or laugh, but what you're suggesting is you want Zelda to be like Dark Souls? haha. That's what I've been saying forever too. They aren't open world, but big games and non-linear in spots. In ways they've surpassed Zelda for me at this point and feel like Zelda for adults. You'd probably even agree that Elden Ring is a more ideal format to follow too. It's massive and open world for the most part, but still far more intricately designed and broken up than the true sandbox style like BoTW, ToTK, Bethesda games, etc. I've played a lot of games and have yet to see anything else that did it like Elden Ring... wish it was the more common template. Doesn't have to be that huge either, someone could probably make a more scaled down version of the style they went for.

One more month for Shadow of the Erdtree. Woooooooo! I'm a little concerned how to go into the DLC. I think I've joked how doing it with my platinum NG+++ characters in past Souls games made the DLC's so freaking hard. I think both my characters might be in NG+ at least, but I'm not sure. It'll be fascinating to see how they balance the difficulty for returning profiles not on a fresh save. I'll replay Elden Ring in full someday but for now, I just want to jump straight into the DLC. Not do another 100 hours to get to it. lol

Now we're in the painful era of waiting for Project Witches or whatever their next big AAA game is. Probably years off. The wait for Stellar Blade was long haha. Think it was even announced for the PS4 initially. But it's great that it was worth it and they plan to keep updates rolling for a bit. But yeah you're right, took a bit to get all the 2B cosplays. Can't wait... gotta see how creative they get with the skin suit. lol

Ah yeah that rings a bell. I just think of you with more physically built females like this haha. I remember us talking about Jade Cargill. She left AEW for WWE right now. AEW is 5 years old now, so some talent are jumping back and forth like the old days.

Big fan of these two lately as well:
https://twitter.com/MariahMayx
https://twitter.com/MariahMayx/status/1794822662600241486 - this outfit phew
https://twitter.com/Skyebyee
https://twitter.com/Liv4SkyeBlue

I think Nintendo was pressured by the fans to cobble up some kind of official timeline. From what I've heard years ago over Zelda, Japan doesn't really care about connecting the dots as much as the West. So it wasn't a big deal to them. On the other hand Metroid has a very tight and coherent timeline. To me since so many Zelda games go over the same tropes, I see it like the different interpretations of the Bible or flood stories. Each game about the Trifoce, Zelda, and Ganon, is like same tale maybe told through different ancient cultures and text. lol

Skyward Sword is one of my favorites story and OST wise. I really like that Zelda redesign too, was finally something different. Now going from that game to BoTW is... wow. It's like going from a fun novel, to a single page document of "story", lmao. BoTW really did nothing for me in that department. But I loved the game for the most part. If anything it kind of made me think of the Souls games. Walking around in some of the battered ruins of old villages, it was like I could "feel" the history of older generations being torn up by war or ravaged by demons/Ganon. A vibe that FromSoftware surely loves to depict. For my tastes, ToTK's story was vastly better and there's some touching moments in there that go pretty deep. And the final boss acts were pure bliss, I think it was the most epic final stretch to me in Zelda since Ocarina, tall praise. It's weird how it is a sequel to BoTW but again in Zelda fashion, feels like it wants to be so isolated that it's not the most seamless over arching story. Some people complained about that and I can't blame them. But for me it was just like, a redux take #2 on what BoTW was doing and way better. I'm glad they course corrected that. But I still think the classic 3D Zelda games have better stories still. Not to mention the way ToTK's tear drop memory cutscenes unfold completely out of order depending on the location. They should have made it so you go to any X spot for them but it plays the story in order. If this makes sense. You might go from cutscene #2 to cutscene #13 depending on where you go.

The sky and underworld was pretty cool. The underworld felt like Metroid Prime in a cool way. I loved all the crazy build mechanics. I did way more shrines in ToTK. Heck I think even alongside the story, the gameplay mechanics kind of make BoTW redundant to me now. The way you can teleport through the floor is a game changer too. You fully explore a cave and now you want to leave? Just use the ability to shoot up through the ceiling back into the overworld, it's insane lol. BoTW would feel a bit more tedious and long winded going back to it now. But I do want to get it on the Switch someday, I played that one on the Wii U actually.

I'll always love the mainline Zelda games and they'll sell consoles for me. But yeah like we're said about open world and huge ass games, I'm already longing for the classic 3D Zelda style to comeback and will miss that. The dungeons were an improvement in ToTK, but it's still not the same. I put 70 hours into BoTW and like 120 something in ToTK I believe. Prior to these Skyward Sword was the really long one by far at like 40-50 hours.

I've been meaning to replay Majora's Mask on 3DS sometime, see that version is. Only beat it once. Wind Waker is my least favorite, but I don't hate the art style nowadays. I think it's rather cool. It's just too easy and the dungeons are weak for me haha. I don't replay the 3D Zelda's much, but I've probably beaten OoT like 10 times now and always rebuy it whenever it's ported lol. I hold TP and SS in high regard after OoT I'd say. Amazing stuff.

I might be even more excited for future Xeno games over Zelda for now though. The next Zelda better have a new overworld at least. It somehow doesn't feel like deja vu because of the changes and new abilities, but yeah. I want them to really pull the rug out on the rules again for the next one if they're sticking with this open world format. It still needs some tweaks and better execution in some spots (dungeons!!!) But Xenoblade on the other hand has just been a nonstop incline. I guess if I'm ranking games, XB3 and XB2 are probably the best exclusives for me on the Switch. Also loved Metroid Dread and that one did some cool stuff story wise. But probably only for long time fans like myself.

That makes sense to me. Cut out some of the gore/blood "assets" that might hit performance and stuff. It's weird how things like bullets and decals can be taxing sometimes. Now that said, this is a pretty unusual case. They should note in the menus or something that Performance mode does that. Weird stuff haha.

Game is still selling like hot cakes. Not sure I'm seeing as many cosplays yet though. Hmmmm... guess it took awhile to see all the 2B's out there.

Were you ever into wrestling? lol...

Hopefully a fun vacation? heh

I did see they put some stuff back in. That's cool. Weird they're different colors though? Maybe trying to avoid more drama? lol. They toned down the gore too? That's one thing I never fret over too much myself... but yeah in a matter of principle, any censorship sucks.

Heard on a podcast this morning from a reliable source, that Shift Up 100% owns Stellar Blade. So a sequel can happen to their own accord with any publisher/platform. And maybe porting the current one. Very interesting. I'll just again speculate maybe some Korean business laws coming into play there? Like outside corporations can't buy up anything there, but I have no idea heh. Cool stuff, looks like they added a nice slew of free stuff with this latest update too.

A good thing I'd say haha. Love the overlap there.

That sucks the petition is slowing down. Even worse is that I guess Grummz and his family got doxxed. These people are sheer evil. Hope he can get some legal redemption against them.

Hate to think you're right though, it sounds like Stellar Blade wouldn't have been possible without Sony's bill, so I'm guessing they own the majority of the IP at the least. It feels like a 2nd party game since they don't own Shift Up or anything, but yeah. Makes me think if a PC port is in the works, it'll be under Sony's umbrella there too. They're getting more aggressive about shoving PSN on there. Which I already have so I don't care too much but I do think it's BS like they pulled with Helldivers 2 to say that it was optional at first, then make it required. Needs to be set in stone on release date.

I guess there's a cool chance that Shift Up learned a lot here and their next multiplatform IP they're talking about could be even better. I would selfishly want more of this style though haha, sci-fi with babes kicking ass, this mix of genres, etc. I wonder how they'll differentiate between these two titles now. I don't know where you go after 2B and skin suit Eve though. Without going full H. lol, maybe something like RE4 Chinese red dress Ada Wong could be a new character template...

Winter is the one rocking the Sailor Moon look. She even does a pose at the end haha. You ever see your Korean BBQ joint playing aespa, give them an extra tip courtesy of me. lol

Can you believe this a promo teaser for their upcoming next track?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kwdU60Xqh8

It's like David Lynch directed this.

One of my other favorite groups is dropping a new song soon too. This promo pic is so cool... Nier?
https://twitter.com/EVERGLOW_STAFF/status/1792933510015074477

Lol, I won't bug you too much over this. I tease some friends on a gaming forum too about it. But yeah you can maybe see how there's more to latch onto here than just a cool new song or something.

I don't trust furies a damn bit either. I don't respect it or anything. That's... when you gotta see a doctor STAT. lmao

Yeah, I actually had no idea Saber J was somewhat sci-fi ish in a Tenchi, Outlaw Star, Bebop, etc kind of way. Low tech mixed in with high tech, one of the enemy bases looks straight up like that Tyrell Corp pyramid structure in Blade Runner lol. I guess I kind of blindly watch some of these 90's shows. I see them get compared to Slayers, I see Megumi is in the cast, etc I kind of just assume comedy/adventure haha. You still got good memories of Vandread? I haven't seen that thing in like 20 years.

Good point about the petition. Wasn't it nearly 100k? That's pretty crazy. Their silence on the issue kind of has me thinking Sony's got their thumb on them about it.