DasAntihero

The 6th gen fella

  • He/Him

23 | Buh bye, Cohost! You were good!


iiotenki
@iiotenki

the main takeaway i've gotten from my twitter check-ins the last couple of days is that i extremely need to play rad: robotic alchemic drive for the ps2 as soon as humanly possible and i very specifically need to play it in english


iiotenki
@iiotenki

i have put a couple hours into this game now and can confirm that the english dub is indeed a religious experience that i should've had about a decade and a half ago when i first started to plumb the depths of the ps2 library

i have so many thoughts about how this probably came to be from both a translation and recording perspective, but above all else i'm just grateful it exists in the state that it does and shall remain for all time

(it's also a genuinely super cool game for sickos in its own right and i'm probably gonna finally go order a copy of remote control dandy for the ps1 as soon as i post this)


iiotenki
@iiotenki

I don't want a single video game on God's green Earth telling me their consequences supposedly matter ever again unless those consequences are "you can optionally make your coworkers homeless by destroying their apartment building while fighting off an alien invasion with an unwieldy remote-controlled mech."


iiotenki
@iiotenki

Bi best friend Nanao (pronounced in this dub as "Nuh-now"): I found a great new job at a local, family-owned green grocer. The owners say I'm like the daughter they never had! But a Kroger opened down the street and the way things are headed, they're gonna put my place out of business. Oh well, gonna make hay while the sun's still shining for a little longer, at least. Bye!

Protagonist and harbinger of 30 billion yen worth of damage wherever she goes: Hmm... I have a giant robot. I care about my girlfriend's well-being. I live in a capitalist society. I could... use the robot... to fix society... and make my girlfriend happy and prosperous. 🤔🤔🤔


iiotenki
@iiotenki

It is extremely important to emphasize that uniquely for this level, instead of the usual starting location, the game spawns your mech RIGHT next to the big, bad multinational supermarket, where the Alien Robot of the Day appears to be attacking. Then, after you get a few punches in, the enemy mech is scripted to teleport away from you to go attack a different part of the level.

You will most likely not have enough time to wreck the supermarket at the start of the level as a consequence of regular combat.

If you do as the game has trained you up until now, which is to say, save the local landmarks to make bonus cash, you're expected to follow after the enemy immediately so it can't wreak havoc elsewhere.

But the supermarket is right there at that point. It's either now or never in terms of dispensing justice because otherwise most likely, the fighting won't take you back to this point.

For a game that has been been playing up its super robot and tokusatsu inspirations straight and narrow up until this point, it is a deeply unhinged shift in tone that you don't have to pursue, but are highly encouraged to, and that's one of many reasons is a 10/10 6/10 game. :eggbug-devious:


iiotenki
@iiotenki

i have beaten rad and while i will probably have more to say in a separate post, right now, i just wanted everyone to know that my anti-capitalist spree was totally recognized in the ending and rarely have i felt that my decisions during gameplay have been more vindicated by a game

thank you, sandlot

thank you, video games


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in reply to @iiotenki's post:

I finally ended up having the bakery get destroyed during that mission, but in the long run I think it'll be for her own good if it means she gets some proper sustenance at a place with more than those two things on offer. (Oh, and salt for flavor. Can't forget that!!!)

i had no idea this game actually reacted to the destruction you wrought i need to play this now. makes me think about how in Kamen Rider there is often a cafe or restaurant that is used by the characters as a gathering place to talk or move the story forward. just imagining the main character blowing it the fuck up and it's gone and will never come back. the owners are inconsolable and move away to be with family outside the city.

One of my favorite games of all time.
I’ve played a few giant robot games since, but none come quite as close to the sheer joy of mastering this game with the advanced controls. Being able to line up your special attacks like Vavel’s Assault Knuckle from an oblique angle many miles away, simply by eyeing it, is a feeling like no other.
You’d think a game about the action getting constantly obscured by the environment would be annoying, but no, it’s an integral part of the fun and drama of combat. And the camera work when you control the Meganites is top-notch.

And the VA performances are very strange and very charming. I will stan Mika Banhara and her VA’s full-hearted performance until the day I die.

I’m glad you’re liking it, it’s a game that desperately needs a re-release or successor someday. I feel like it could find an audience on Steam or PSN or something.

in reply to @iiotenki's post:

It's super neat! It kinda wears out its welcome by the very end and I ended up cheesing some of the last bosses in some pretty blatant ways. But it's very peak 2002 Japanese PS2 game in the best ways both aesthetically and just, like, the commitment to an idea that's maybe ever so slightly too big for its britches, ahaha. I'm really glad I finally gave it a shot and definitely recommend it! If you've ever played any Earth Defense Force games, you definitely see certain kernels that would go on and be used and expanded in this series, especially the PS2 entries. And the English dub is truly something that must be seen to be believed, I love it and I'm not just being ironic when I say that, ahaha. :eggbug-relieved:

in reply to @iiotenki's post: