Promoted from our Community Blogs
So March has come and gone and, to be honest, it was a very sexy March.It was the kind of month that, for an RPG gamer like me, at least, starts to lose the will to resist buying a current-gen console. With Persona 5, Illusory Revelations, (SMTxFE) andXenoblade Chronicles Xon the horizon andBloodbornesitting pretty next toFinal Fantasy Type-0 HD, I’m starting to have a hard time saying “no” now. KnowingThe Witcher IIIandMetal Gear Solid Vloom in the distance as well, along withZelda Wii U, just makes it all the more compelling.
Then you have 3DS still kicking ass and taking names.MoreEtrian Odysseythis year, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Majora’s Mask, Etrian Mystery Dungeon, Devil Survivor 2 Break Record, and we were just teased again withFire Emblem If. Nintendo is giving a lot of love toFire Emblemthis gen and I, for one, will not complain about that. The attention is long overdue. As much as I likeAdvance Wars, it lacks that sense of high stakes thatFire Emblemhas and I’d takeFEoverAWany day for that reason alone. You screw up, people die inFE; you screw up inAWand, oh well, you can just buy a new unit.
WithBloodborne‘sarrival we see, once again, those people that have to be THOSE people about a From Software game, from the “git gud”crowd to the“It’s not for everyone”folksand the“OMG artificial difficulty”ones as well.
I’m from the“It’s not for everyone“faction, minus the sneering elitism. I find the games From Software designs — particularly those of theSoulsseries and nowBloodborne— produce reactions that are only going to be familiar to those who grew up without the internet (or still do) in our games, mostly back to the 8-bit and 16-bit era where the only ways to disseminate information about those games was through friends or magazines, through aggregating findings over a school lunchroom table and sharing maps or notes scribbled on graph paper. This was part of how we made our way through games likeMetroidorThe Legend of Zelda.
That and you always had that friend who lied to you about some of the secrets hidden in the game. Still, getting information this way was the only wayyou’d even find out that you could electrocute Dragon using the grapple beam inSuper Metroidin 1994, outside of a magazine.
Through a very specific design — which includes chopping up the story and spreading it all over the world for you to find, shutting off voice chat, and leaving hints or lies for others to find — From Software recreates this very ’80s to early ’90s console gaming experiencewithin the worlds ofDark SoulsandBloodborne. I’m isolated from gathering information as I would in other games, forced to talk to other people out of these games and possibly trade notes. Granted, this can be done online now, but even so it’s kind of exciting and a world apart from other big games. People get to have part of the ’80s and ’90s experience again and this time it’s not just all about retro graphics.
Not everyone is going to understand that if they grew up having internet all the time and feel naked without it — but for those of us that grew up without access or are still outout in the boonies where 56k is still the best it gets, this does bring back memories of those times and it plays its own role behind the hype you see for the game. That’s where my “not for everyone” thing comes from.
I’m also totally trying to bait you into doingthe new Band of Bloggers themefor April, by the way. It’s about From Software games!
Let’s recap March!
–Pixielated
Promoted Blogs
*Magnetic love in the digital domainby Stephen Turner**Comments of the Week: Better check the clock…by Dreamweaver**How historically accurate is Skyrim? Part 5by RedHeadPeakHow games saved my classroomby TheGwailo**Radio Dtoid LIVE from PAX East 2015 is happening!by NanashiThe Dtoid community’s best blogs of February 2015by CblogRecapsDoom 4 and the 10 unholy commandmentsby El DangoTop 10(ish) Cool Video Game Ladiesby VoltechComments of the Week: Alive once again!by DreamweaverPain, perversion, and choice in Lisa: The painful RPGby wizardofradicalWorld War II Snipers – Videogames vs Historyby RedHeadPeakDo not spend your tax refund at GameStopby Speilerdad***109 Dtoiders drawn by Roberto Plankton (NSFW)by Roberto Plankton
*Originally published in February**Originally published in January***We’re counting the FP post about Roberto’s Dtoider drawings as a promoted blog, thoughhis actual blogwas not “promoted” due to formatting issues.
Dtoid9thanniversary:9 Dtoiders
Cold William and the Nifty Nine +1by Cold William9 Dtoiders I’d Like To F**kby Mike MartinDtoid’s Ninth Anniversary: Scield’s List of Nineby ScieldSolar Pony Django’s Top 9 Dtoiders – The Random Musicalby Solar Pony DjangoOccam Thoughts: 9by OccamsDtoid’s 9th: My 109 French Girlsby Roberto Plankton
Forums:HammerShark,Shinobi13,Brightside,Pk fire,Isay Isay,JackShadow
Monthly Musings:Hello Hyrule! Majora’s March
Majora march: Rediscovering Termina – Just as good as beforeby Agent9Hello Hyrule: Taking the Wind (Waker) Out of Zelda’s Sailsby GoofierBruteBloggers Wanted: Majora’s March – how I learned to love Majora’s MaskbyNoir TrilbyMajora March: Lend Me Your Earsby Preposterous WhiteyMAJORA MARCH: The Most Disturbing Man in the Moonby N0signalLink as a Girl (Thoughts and some Fanfiction)by Rico the PenguinOoh, what’s over there?! #2: She sells sea shells by the cell-shaded sea byShadeOfLight
Recap Team Favorites
Alphadeusprovidessexy musicfor robotic ears and drops some seriouspoetryas well. Meanwhile,Bardleyshares somestrange literary classicsfrom his days as a librarian andBrionic429talks about the troubles ofsequels.
Cannibal Stevenblobs the blobabout videogame consumerism. Buy more! Consume! Blob! Interestingly,Carloganpines for the days when heplayed and savoredeach game he got. I think The Blob got him, though.
Charlietimewas a busy guy this month. He told us about the time he gotDigital Devil Saga, has a really bad day salvaged by becoming a dildo-bat-swingingpresident of the United Statesthanks to an upstanding community member. He also sticksFinal Fantasy XVin a box to testquantum physics. This is because people can’t decide if the Square Enix they knew isalive or dead.
Chistcontinues to suffer by watchingterrible moviesstarring Justin Bieber whileCokie The Clowngives us importantlife lessonsfromMonster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
Ben Davishas ajukeboxthat emits rainbows.TheDustinThomasshares hisflea market findsand his Top 5PS2 games.EmuisharecelebratesThe Legend of Dragoon,EdgeLstarts theBundling Idiotseries and EdgyDudeshows what happens whenSaint Seiyaand consoles collide.
TheGwailodrops a fascinating read about theBartle Testand talks about how he applied it to his teaching.I’m an Explorer/Socializer!
Gray Timestalks about howLuigikinda ruined his childhood.Handymore or less declares 8th gen gaming7th Gen 2.0 Remastered.It’s About To Get Gay In Heredestroys Termina, denouncesanti-vaxxing monsters, and talks abouta DtoidNARBB.
Johnmasterlee talks aboutXcar, King Sigy gets linear and our earthboundMeanderbot feels heroic.
Mr. Andy Dixonacknowledgescommunity volunteers.D’awww.
Mistic has an infectious love of racing games. Nanashishares hisPAX East adventures.Nihil interviews Mike MartinandScieldabout their jobs andOoktarshares what’s been going on inhis life.
Pixielatedhonors the generosity of Republicans who want togive away gaming conventionsto other US States. Rico The Penguinponders ifspoilersmatter or not. Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s dad, Aerith dies, Samus Aran is a woman, J.R. got shot, and the cake is a lie.
Panzadolphinwas painted up like one of thoseFrench girlsbyRoberto Plankton, whodrew 109 of us. Embrace theeldritch horrors we have become.
Retrofractionalso gives us apersonal update.The Scholarly Gamer updates his friendlyDtoid gaming master listand got anew job. He was alsotired of being sick of being tired. Meanwhile,SevenIrreverentfigured out why hedoesn’t finish games.
ShadeOfLight just didalotofthings. Contests, Xenoblade Chronicles, trying to steal Ben’s jukebox, and that Nintendoid thing.SeymourDuncan17showed us hiscave, some Persona 5 fan art, and the games that will define 2015 for him. StriderHoang shares his favorite ninjas and thoughts on Fapcast, anime, and waifus.
Stupid Name Guy discusses Hideo Kojima’s seemingly inevitable departure from Konami, its implications on the industry, and then slips in a Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne reference. SpielerDadfearsevil rabbitsand explains why retailerstoss outperfectly good stuff.
Titannelwrites anintroductionand talks about the Nokia N-Gage.UsurpMyProseprefers thelife of a monster hunterto that of a Pokémon trainer.Brittany Vincentchills with Kid Cudi’s “Immortal” and Voltechwasn’t really feeling itwhenDragon Age: Inquisitionlacked the fun party chatterXenoblade Chronicleshad in spades.Let’s not lose our ‘eads, though!
Wizardofradicalhas a brother in prison. Throughwriting to each otherabout games, they’re able to look past their differences and bond again. Wizardis also a part-timecyberpunk bartender at VA-11 HALL-A, All-Father be praised.
Zer0toninrecaps his2014 gaming experience,Zalnototally has a legit leak from a friend that works at Nintendoand that is all the topsauce from March!
– The Cblog Recap Team
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