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So, there's been some significant news for R-Type during my absence.

The last homage stage pass (which I haven't gotten yet, but still plan to) is, unfortunately, the last homage stage pass. However, the R-Type Final 3 update is still coming, and is due either later this month or in January.

They also announced R-Type Final 3 Evolved exclusively for PS5. It will include all of the content from the current R-Type Final 2/3, with enhancements, plus seven entirely new stages, a VR mode, and some kind of online community based on the old Irem space in PlayStation Home. They explained that they wanted to do things that were not technically possible on the other platforms. (I'm guessing it was the Switch, specifically, that was holding things back.) They also emphasized that the other platforms would still continue to be updated with new content.

The R-Type Tactics remakes are now officially titled "R-Type Tactics I·II Cosmos," and it's planned to be out in Summer 2023. Confirmed platforms are Switch, PS4, PS5, XBox Series X/S and PC. They also held a Kickstarter campaign, not for the remakes, themselves, but for additional, original content. (Kazuma Kujo said that some players were dissatisfied with the ending of Tactics II, so they basically wanted to add a full sequel campaign to address this.)

Since I was offline, I completely missed it, but the Kickstarter raised about five-and-a-half times its goal, so yeah, new content incoming. It will include 24 new missions, and new units not available in the previous games. The new content will be available as post-launch DLC.

They say that being online too much is bad for your mental health, but being stuck without an internet connection for over six weeks isn't all it's cracked up to be. I just felt disconnected and out of touch.

But I did do a lot of gaming.

At least I was able to download to second wave of DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 before going offline. It wasn't very long, and I'm not sure exactly why Ino needed to be paid DLC, but it had a lot of fun references to Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

I also went looking for all the unique monsters, and I found all but four. One of the missing ones is a super boss. Once I got back online, I checked to see where it was, and honestly, I'm shocked I haven't stumbled upon it considering how many times I've been through that area.

Also, I spent time in the challenge mode.

And speaking of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I actually went back to that for a while, also. XC2 has such an insane amount of content that I still managed to find things to do that I had never done before. XC2's combat is overly convoluted and kind of a mess, but in a good way. Overall, I still prefer XC2 to XC3.

One fun thing I did in both games was turn on the auto battle option. It's interesting, because it made me feel like I was in more of a "coaching" role. I was more focused on planning and preparation, and then I would just watch my team execute the play. The best part is that you can toggle auto battle on and off at will during gameplay, so if I didn't like what I saw the AI doing, I could jump in, take care of things, and then hand it back. Unfortunately, XC3 doesn't let you use auto battle against bosses, unique monsters, or in the challenge mode, but it still made grinding a lot less tedious.

Believe it or not, I also went back to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I finished off the Ballad of the Champions DLC for a second time.

And finally, I spent a lot of time on Stardew Valley. I've really gotten into it, now. There's actually a lot more content in the game than there initially appears. It also has a lot more mature themes than I was expecting. The residents of Stardew Valley have some pretty dark stuff going on under the surface.

Maybe it's because there's such an emphasis on him in the trailer, but it's hard not to think that Bowser won't be the highlight of the movie. It's a little weird to hear him talking when he first opens his mouth, but the voice fits him well enough that I want to hear more of him. Also, Jack Black is doing an actual voice, and not just his normal speaking voice. (Same with Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.)

Chris Pratt... is fine. I don't think it sounds quite like his normal speaking voice, so he is doing something. It's not Charles Martinet's high-pitched voice, nor the gruff sound of Bob Hoskins or Lou Albano. If anything, it's closer to Peter Cullen from the original Donkey Kong cartoon in the early '80s. More of a "regular" voice, but I do hear some weight behind it.

I wonder if the criticism stems more from the baggage Chris Pratt brings with him rather than the performance, itself.

OK, I wasn't expecting a Direct to be devoted to this, even if it's only a few minutes long.

So, Nicki Gee, who did the English covers of "Reincarnation" and "She is..." that I posted above, has done another cover of "Reincarnation," but this time it's the full song.



It has different instrumentation, so it doesn't quite sound the same.

For another nail in the coffin of the 3DS and Wii U, the image sharing service will be discontinued for both platforms on October 25.







Although I remember enabling it, I'm not sure I ever used this feature on the Wii U, to be honest.

Wave 2 of the DLC is coming October 13. It includes the new Hero character, Ino, plus new costumes, and the first part of the Challenge Battle mode.

Trailer:



So, Ino is kind of a strange design. I'm wondering what's special about her that warranted making her paid DLC as opposed to just including her in the main game.

I've seen speculation that she might be related to Poppi from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Her class name is "Noponic Champion," implying that she may have been made by a Nopon (like Poppi), and she has some kind of customization feature called Inoswap, which sounds similar to Poppiswap in XC2.

It's also likely she's just an overpowered character, like the DLC Blades in XC2.

Aside from the extra costume the characters get from the Noponic Champion class, there also (*sigh*) swimsuits.

I didn't doubt that there would be swimsuit costumes, and I'm not offended by them at all, but (and I'm in the minority on this) I just find them so boring and cliché. I usually never use swimsuit costumes because they look so silly unless the characters are in a watery area, and I'm too lazy to go through the hassle of putting the swimsuits on all my characters just for that. It seems like there could be much more clever costumes to put into the game.

OK, rant over.

Moving on, I'm looking forward to trying out the challenge battle mode... and doing very poorly at it.

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OK, now, it's been a couple of weeks since I posted my initial impressions, and I've had time to let the game sit with me more, so I thought I would revisit a few of my points.

I mentioned I thought the music didn't live up to the standard of previous games. Maybe I was being a little harsh on it, as I think it's been growing on me. I still think it lacks a bit of a "Xenoblade feel," and I never had one of those moments where it took my breath away. It seems more like a traditional orchestral score that could've been in a Star Wars movie, but it works for what it is.

Some of the music, however, seems reminiscent of '90s-era Squaresoft, like Chrono Trigger. It's interesting because Chrono Trigger was the first game Yasunori Mitsuda composed the soundtrack for. If Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is his final game soundtrack, then I wonder if he was deliberately calling back to his early work as a way of bringing things full circle.

I mentioned that the end of chapter 5 (and also the beginning of chapter 6) had developed an infamous reputation for being rather... intense. I definitely won't spoil it, but I've seen it several times now because I've been fascinated by watching other people's reactions to it. No matter how many times I've seen it, it still stirs emotions in me.

But what occurred to me was how incredibly well crafted the whole sequence is, especially considering how lengthy it is. If even one element of it was a bit off or awkward, it would be distracting and lessen the impact of the whole thing. But everything works. The writing, the voice acting, the animation, the music -- it all works. Quite impressive.

Finally, I want to bring up the ending again. No spoilers.

My general feelings haven't changed much. I've seen a lot of explanations of the ending from different people, and a lot of them contradict each other, or ignore certain details, or include a significant amount of personal conjecture. However, a YouTuber named Luxin, who is known for his in-depth analyses of Xenoblade lore, came out with his own video explaining the ending of the game. It's 46 minutes long. (I won't link to it because, obviously, it's nothing but spoilers.)

He mostly sticks to facts, citing things specifically mentioned or seen within the game, itself. While he still indulges a bit of headcanon (which he admits), he does a good job arguing that the ending is better than most people realize. It's the best explanation I've seen yet, and it makes me feel a little better about it.

However, I think the fact that it took a 46-minute fan video to explain the ending reinforces my feelings that it doesn't make things very clear, and doesn't go far enough to provide satisfying closure.