Okay so this isn't video game based but seeing as RWBY is a Rooster Teeth project let's talk about the latest trailer.

This one give us our first look at for until having definate info I'll just call "W" if I'm to reference the characters by a name.

Costume design is good for the genre it is in and if you notice there is a bit of red on the collar area. I theorize looking at the other trailer that it is most likely that the characters will incorporate a little bit of anothers color in their designs. It brings a bit of connection to the cast.

The fight scene this time is a one on one instead of the one against many approach of the last trailer to keep it fresh. I'd say what the new girls fighting style makes me think of is the Trickster style from the Devil May Cry franchise mixed with a bit of black mage skills. Over all I like it and this characters weapon being a rapier that seems to have some sort of "spell" modes feels unique.

The sound design is good but I found the music to be weaker than the previous trailer. Not bad in a way that distracts from the overall product but it isn't something I'd listen to on its own.

Over all, though I might not be able to catch it in Texas when it premires I can't wait to see the finished project up on the internet and wish best of luck to the team at Rooster Teeth

Digimon starting back in the 1990's as a more boys marketed virtual pet the franchise exploded with many video games, anime seasons, and movies being released.... well until competition with another 'mon franchise seeming to keep things from getting localized..



Which sucks because there are games and I want to love them. Also the habit of stuff not getting brought over creates walking plot holes.



But we are not talking about Ryo right now because if they were I'd be reduced to incoherent rage.

Anyways the point is with rumblings Digimon might becoming back to the west I decided to dedicate my time to providing a bunch of articles on one of my childhood obsessions.

I spread it out into a year because a love of Digimon doesn't pay those college class fees.

Anyways the first subject on the table shall be....



An playthrough of Digimon World Dawn!

Now I've got to get to work on that and figuring Ryo out so hope you enjoy what is coming and get nostalgic with a bit of 90's musical flavor...

This is a lucky time for me because a rare occurence has happened were something I was going to talk about anyways just happens to be in vogue you could say.

Now before we go into the meat of the blog know that I'm talking about how women are normally represented when it comes to sex, sexuality, or what we men are told women have to be in terms of sex. Well less sex and more fucking. In fact this blog will use the word fucking alot.

To simply put there is a concept of being both the virgin and the whore that comes up when we talk about female character design. A combination of the trends known as infantilization were one makes something appear to a younger ideal and sexualization which hopefully is obvious.

In fact let's disect this with looking at one characters design that I think is a shining beacon to this concept.



Yes Rikku from the Final Fantasy series.

Now before you get up in arms I'm taking this as the character design from X-2 specificly was made only to appeal to the white/asain hetero males, the only demographic that seems to matter in games, desire for fucking. Don't give me any bullshit on characterization or anything that outfit was made to make a demographic go "Oh I wanna fuck that bitch" and then buy the game because they are horny and stupid. Also no it doesn't matter she is 15 because that just helps in the infantilization effect. Now we need to split our observations between the head and the body for that is were the two messages are sent.



Now what does this short skirt, no shirt, bikini top, thong wearing body say? Well it is the message that she can fuck, has fucked, done alot of fucking, fucks good, and will fuck again. It is an in your face message of being availible for you the demographics sexual desire. The body is the piece of meat and the developer is the local butcher.



Next there is the face. First there is the detail of her being a blond and as such adhearing to a westernized standard of beauty in what I call "The Sailor Moon Effect". This is mostly that all characters apparently have to look like attractive "white" women even if they are said to be of a different race.

Now what the face does is add another message to the bodies fuck message. It says that all the other stuff is true but that I'm so innocent and submissive that you could have a 2 inch cock and no stamina and still get me off. Basically that the sex is all for you and she doesn't need to feel any pleasure from it like a very lifelike sex pillow.

For you see men of the demographic, which I 80% apply too, can feel very insecure about their sexual ability so the face makes them not be scared off by the photoshop perfect bod. For more evidence of this effect just look at the majority of females in Dead or Alive.



See what I mean. The bodies of photoshop perfect 20 year olds with the faces of 14 year olds. Of course there is going to be an example that breaks every rule....



See if you take a character with a more normal for their age appropriate face like Bayonetta the message will change. The character looks way more in control of their sexuality and as I see it adds to the previous body message two factors. These being she contorls who she fucks and you better be able to meet her standard of fucking. No there is still a sex appeal to be sold of course but it isn't the "safe" method of the past.

So what is the point?

Well that female character design of women in games is still pretty much sending a shit message towards girls. A message that while not overt does say you have to be the submissive gender in terms of your sexuality. Of course I'm not saying all game makers intend that it is partial a fault of just growing with that as the norm.

So what do we do? Now I'm not going to say ban all hot characters or anything for that is crazy and impossible to 100% achieve. Still I think a call to action can be made.

A call saying let women be represented as beings in control of their body. Beings that aren't defined by their bodies. That neither the virgin or the whore exist... only people do.

Okay so after what seemed like a long wait the Sonic Fan Film is finally up to be watched on Youtube and I want to give my thoughts on it. To save time and work I'm going to split it into a simple list of things I like and things I didn't like.

Pro's

- The Robotnik actor they had for this did a brilliant job. Combining an actually ability to be menacing but at the same time ham it up for our enjoyment.

- Jaleel White is doing a good job being Sonic again even if it sound like he wasn't given much to do besides a few catch phrases.

- The use of the Gamma design for most of Robotnik's robots was a good idea being able to work against the live action setting but at the same time have a memorable and unique apperance.

- The cameos they used didn't over stay their welcome and weren't shoved into our faces too badly.

- They actually hired some extras. This is an improvement over the Megaman fan film were robotic destruction was cut with people just walking down the street and not giving a fuck. Extra's gives more believabilty that things are actually happening.

Con's

- Don't really get what is with the really pronounced quils in Sonic's head spike things. It is almost I guess a attempt at more realism in design but with the cartoon like nature of Sonic they could have kept it to just having them be these stay soild things.

- There is hardly any Sonic. Honestly most of the film spends it's time focusing on Robotnik, G.U.N forces we don't give a damn about, and basically anything else but our hero. I even mentioned it above that while it seems good voice work is being done I could just not have enough actually dialogue to base my assumption off of.

- The movie isn't a movie. Seriously it is 20 minutes long and even then it seems like there are scenes in the middle we are missing. I know the creators say this was just a spec film to show what a Sonic movie could look like but why not just make the movie? The thing is this just comes off like some over long trailer and all the dangling plot threads, unexplained motivations, and lack of any thing to be called an ending makes you feel a bit dissapointed for having watched it. Okay I also understand cost of the CG but still I'm sure there would be people willing to give some money for it.

Verdict

It was an okay attempt, still like the Megaman film better, and I'm willing to wait and see what might be coming next from these guys.

Well it is that time of year and to get in the mood I always like to sit back and enjoy some good old tunes of the season. Of course at the same time I've been able to find the music that both increase my love of Christmas and gaming.

So I present to you my Top 3 Video Game Christmas Songs!

Why top 3? Becaus I spent way to many hours on a Christmas special for my other blog and didn't want to find two more songs to fill it out.

Number 3: O Meta Knight



I think I like this one due to the sheer random nature of it. It also has some good slapstick and the lines almost hit the level of non sequiturs provide much of the humour. Also what is with that clock around 2:11 in the video? Don't know why I brought it up guess it just bugs me.

Simple funny and standing at number 3 it is a very violent Christmas time.

Number 2: Pokemon by Siema



This one actually has a bit of a story behind it. You see I didnt' find this one on my own and was actually introduced to it by my father on his Twisted Chrimas Album. Also go look up the album itself for some non video game based songs.

Still I have to say this is the perfect song making me think about what my parents must have gone through at times just to get me the right gift for Christmas. It also a bit nostalgic for I did grow up in the intial Pokemon explosion and I can tell we kids were certainly clamoring for anything pokemon related.

A exploration of parenthood and what they will do for Christmas and their kids it hits number two.

Number 1: Brawl in the Family a Simple Request and others





Now if you haven't read the webcomic this came from called Brawl in the Family I request for you to go look it up now. It is enjoyable, well drawn, and has some great songs. In fact I decided to share the other four Christmas songs with you just because I liked them so much. Those being

Your a Mean King



Jolly, Happy Jerk



Ice World



and finally Carol of the Waa



So why did I consider A Simple Request better than these others? I guess I would say it is purely the vocal work. I don't know why but I like the singing voice given to Ganondorf alot and it even gave lines to four other Zelda villians that all had a voice matching what you would expect them to have.

Really though you could almost consider this a top eight for I do love the other four as well.

So for alot of laugh, great vocals, and an additive complusion to go Waa the Brawl in the Family songs get the top slot.

I origionally posted this as a comment but I decided I'd repost it here with a bit more thoughts added. Also this is going to be just one long ramble so buckle up.

I don't know how to feel on this one. I didn't like XIII and though I tried to like XIII-2 the ending really prevented anything in it that seemed improved from being worth it. I guess part of it was the combat. To me the combat system in the two XIII games I've played felt like there should have been more control. Like when they started to develop XIII it was more action based mabye like a Kingdom Hearts game but someone altered it to make it more like the turn based combat of yester year because if not the first over 20 hours of that game would have just been the worlds longest beat em up. It mostly shows in how it feels like I should have been able to dodge area of effect attacks when my party would either be separated to avoid the pain or not at seemingly random. Now of course this game seems like it is having an altered battle system so maybe these issues will be addressed. Also I don't like how we are getting less and less main characters. From a whole group in XIII, two people plus Mog in XIII-2, and now just Lightning. Also it is called the final journey of Lightning when really it is just the second for she wasn't the star of XIII-2 despite what it seems the marketing claimed. Also the monologue really makes me worried there is going to be some poorly done relgious theme exploration in this game.

Also yeah I really don't like Lightning either. Less in a genuine dislike but more that she just doesn't really create any kind of blip on my rader. She is like a very bland peanut butter sandwhich. Sure you can eat it but it won't be memorable. So honestly it just seems to scream that she is the creator's pet with how much we see of her. Plus I don't really like the costume. I mean the sword shield combo and kind of a knight motif might work but it seems like two designs that someone poorly smashed together in my mind. Also what is with the glasses at around 1:14? I mean I'm a guy who likes his stylized sunglasses being a Gurren Lagann fan and all but they just don't work with that costume. Actually come to think of it the "you should know who I am" thing sounds almost like a dull suprise version of "Who the hell do you think I am". In fact alot of Lightning's dialogue sounds almost like her voice actor isn't even fully awake when reading the lines. That or just really bored. Good characters and narrative can save a game with average to below average gameplay. Yet with who we got the game is going to have to play like a mad wizards dream because I lack hope, speaking of I did some more looking around and it seems we have Hope as part of the supporting cast which doesn't make me feel better at all, that it will have much help from the narrative or characters to prop it up.

The city that the game itself will take place in just looks bland as all hell and not really memorable. Actually freaked my self out when first looking at it for it reminded me of the hub world from Sonic 06 and that is something I don't need to be reminded of. Mind you a story set in a more centralized location wouldn't be something I'd mind to much if we had interesting characters to explore instead but we really don't. It also seems like we suddenly ended up in a completely unrelated world to the last two games. Hopefully there will be more exploration and locations in the game.

Also we still have the same villian right? I mean last I checked the bad guy won at the end of the last game. So do we finally get to pound is unorigional, stupid, and annoying face in?

There is also supposedly upwards of 20 costumes for Lightning to have. From what I can tell these either incorperate a form of job system but they could bejust cosmetic. Hope they don't really try to explain it in story though for they tried that with the dress spheres in X-2 and that was just awful. I mean why does the summoner come back as a sphere creating a shiny dress? Still I wrote an awful X-2 review once and that isn't what we are here for.

Mind you when it comes to other JRPGs I still adimitingly like the Kingdom Hearts series and Dream Drop Distance was a good game (actually am I the only one reminded of the random gravity power Lightning had in the very begining of XIII when using the flowmotion combat?) and Xenoblade is fun with the utilization of the UK voice cast providing a unique experience to cutscenes. Nier for me was a case of the game is okay but I'd constantly think about the what the fuckery that was its prequel Drakenguard when and then I'd have to step back. Still at the same time a game were in your main character was a single father struggling to provide for his little girl gave a much more relatable and unique JRPG main character.

I know that was probably a really long read but I've just had a lot of thoughts going through my head after watching that trailer. Still I might update this or make another post when I know more information on the game.