Lurker > Kamekguy

I find it kind of an absolutely perfect popcorn flick. I do feel the movie peaks with Spidey being Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man until the relationship with him and Vulture is fully developed, but what I love about the movie is its small scale and the intimacy of the cast. What's done isn't exceptional, but how it's performed, the little things Holland does to flesh out the character, the interactions he has - it all feels organic. That's what I love about and take away from this movie, and it overshadows the "going through the motions" stuff for me because it's fun. Like it's not a clever Spider-Man movie, but damn I love Spider-Man in this more than any other movie what has Spider-Man.

Makes me want a movie with Kingpin and Spidey taking on local crime all the more. Guys on the city level work wonders for Spidey.
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Psyduck
Hitmonlee
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You're talking a contest where Crash Bandicoot has legitimate strength and people's brackets are burned when DK chokes despite DK64 being released mid-contest.

That's dangerous.
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Playing Jak II, I have never wanted an ability more than "everyone can only move by riding skateboards or hoverboards, and everyone gets a skateboard".

Because goddamn does that both make me want Jak in mercs and simultaneously save Jak II from being entirely umremarkable outside of its technical feats for the PS2.
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Post Mesmeric usually sticks to shorter-form videos, but I really enjoyed his critique on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. He's also started to go through all the Platinum Games titles, though only his vid on MadWorld is out right now.



And also there's THIS video which... well I'll let the length speak for it



(also i do game analysis if i can self-plug. Short-form level analysis but um... second link in the sig?)
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First off, I totally agree with you in that ability manipulation is an impressively strong aspect, one that M4 cultivated incredibly well with revealing releases five weeks in advance so strategy could be formulated with specific combinations. Love that, don't want to take away from it. My main focus with 3v3's as a suggestion is that it makes fight topics both more inviting and potentially more interesting, as well as heightening the importance of Pure Support abilities and likely increasing their releases, as they were immensely valuable but highly limited tools during this past game.

A.) I find abilities that affect a match naturally more interesting than those that affect a mercenary or behind-the-scenes parameters. I'd rather, for instance, see a team built around "an ability that makes it ten times gravity" rather than "ten times gravity on a random post-rosters enemy". I feel that ability synergy with mercenaries, rather than other abilities, is the best creative process. Knuckles is a great example of this, with Eddv using him super effectively and fun in draft merx. Contrast this to his team in mercs, which was "I never want to fight this team it has like fifty counters that all stack". While that's great from a meta-composition standpoint and I fucking love Lloyd, it's not so much daunting to face it as it is discouraging.

B.) I don't feel as if it would affect mental health either way, aside from having less to deal with and think about and thus it's less of a burden to bare. From a starting standpoint, you're still gonna get Solo Shoto teams who don't know what they're doing and can't recover anyway, you're gonna get teams like mine where I had a bunch of junk and tried to make it work and didn't, you're gonna have teams like yours who had an initially flawed idea and rebounded gracefully with a developing web, and you're gonna have teams like GANNON's who are fun as Hell and just happen to combo into each other and work out really well and also Agahnim is there he's a cool guy. If I have a potential mid roster of Quiet/Mewtwo/Luca Blight/Jensen/Jaina against a potential of Exdeath/The Prince/Aigis/Ike/Alice, both teams still have a significant amount to deal with even only being able to roster three. The difference is, it's thoughts of "if Prince is rostered, would Mewtwo be able to mind read and learn of time powers to guide Quiet's hand? Well that would need a larger terrain, so I would have to win terrain bid. Perhaps if I flash bang Prince and put it on a smaller terrain, it'll work out better". Aigis and Exdeath still provide defensive options, Luca has to decide if it's worth it to go after the Exdeath KO with a 2/5 chance of success, Quiet's presence could probably solo anyone not named Aigis and even then that's possible. The fight isn't solved pre-topic, and I know that's not your preference and that absolute victory should be a thing, but any man with two hands has a fighting chance and all that bullshit. It's FAR more stressful to think you have something won and then see that it's not... and that happens time and time again.

C.) See above, really. Chains still exist, you just have less of an open board to manage. If you want to overstock for abilities, that's fine, but then you're losing the coin advantage toward terrain, which would be significantly more important in a 3v3 environment

Everything's gonna have pros and cons. I just propose 3v3 because, as a voter, I would prefer to vote in and spectate that kind of match rather than the meta war behind it. I LIKE that meta war, but it's the prevailing focus from a game that is, at its heart, "my team of fictional characters can beat up YOUR team of fictional characters"
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I feel it just changes the kind of merc that solo's. It goes from "who has the strongest nuke" to "who has the fastest draw that can kill". Makes a character like, say, Snake or Ocelot actually mean something as opposed to the dynamic of "you have a tank, you have a nuker, maybe you have Dante or Raiden, and everything else kind of supports that". Speaking as someone who fielded three mages all with Ultima equivalents, overlap is generally unilaterally ignored unless it's Bravely Default bullshit.

Just throwing together, for example, Cloud, Proto Man, and Yuna Vs Nier, Potemkin, and Snake, I feel that's a much more interesting dynamic than doing Cloud/Proto/Yuna/Knuckles/Bub Vs Nier/Potemkin (in a bubble)/Snake/Aerith/Wario. Sure, you CAN have arguments on Aerith heal stalling Potemkin, you can have arguments of Nier stalling as support, but with that many people on the field, people are gonna default to the ones they know, ignore more complex and nuanced strategy unless it's the only one being argued, and basically see this as a match of "can Team Snake hold out until Potemkin is free, and then what does Potemkin do past that?"

Compare to the initial set-up, and Team Cloud has a healer, but nowhere for her to hide behind. Team Nier has Snake, but Proto Man is significantly more durable. Characters compensate for weaknesses whilst both teams seem perfectly fine to field. Replace, say, Yuna and Cloud with Raiden (MGS), and suddenly Raiden's the world's biggest ability target AND doesn't have a team large enough to do the typical "try to get the bigger terrain and stall" strategy since a large amount of SoB's have a 15 second to 2 minute delay period on them. People HAVE to figure out who is Nier and what does he do, because he's not being lost in the shuffle with everyone else and amounting to "I guess he does one attack, what's his biggest one? Oh that one's slow". The format supports so many 1v1 specialist characters as well, which a majority of non-RPG non-MOBA guys are since usually cutscene hype occurs in 1v1 environments.

I don't think it's a clean answer, but I do think that argument topics in the first few weeks are far more palatable than those coming later, and I do think the numbers game is a big reason of why.
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This is why I suggested a fatigue system in tandem, to avoid oversaturation. Either that or a scaled-down econ game to make overall growth much slower. A cap to the number of mercenaries per tier would solve the same issue.

Additionally, 3v3's stunts paydowns greatly by pointing an even bigger target onto paid-down mercs, since the 2v3 dynamic is infinitely more debilitating than the potential recovery of the 4v5. We can go back to the M4's original intent of having far more SoB abilities than Pre-Battles before they got power creeped into irrelevance.

It's just that the 5v5 system does not work when you go to topic. 3v3 is inherently more understandable and easy to map out. Thinking from a purely "is this fun to argue" point, being probably the one guy who likes arguing the most out of everything in mercs.
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New Limited-Use Results Results

(Results, Uses: 0) The Twelve Days Of Rusev - Once this ability has been obtained, Rusev will count the amount of times the Rusev Day terrain has been used, the amount of cold fish given, the number of tanks Rusev has ridden by his own ability, the amount of ability-used Accolades he has performed, the number of Bulplexes and Machka Kicks that he has performed through his ability, and the amount of times it has been Rusev Day. What Rusev gains access to depends on the number he comes up with. Happy Rusev Day. This upgrade may be taken multiple times. Rusev may choose an option from lower on the list if he would like. Rusev's counter will reset every time he takes this ability.

0 - 12: Rusev will gain the key to the city. A terrain that he has fought on using Rusev Day will automatically be permanently added as a terrain option for him in its Rusev Day form.

0 - 12: Rusev may choose to be considered any upkeep he would like for ability interaction, so long as it is 5 points or less and it is Rusev Day.

13 - 24: Every Machka Kick Rusev delivers using 'Rusev Putria' will have a 12% chance of instantly KO'ing its target. Every Bulplex Rusev delivers using 'Rusev Putria' will have a 33% chance of stunning the opponent for the first 12 seconds of battle, dizzying them. However, the ability will go on recharge for two Rusev Days if either of these effects occur. This is a permanent upgrade.

25 - 36: If The Accolade is used on Rusev Day, it may instantly KO any mercenary of Rusev's upkeep or lower and negate all abilities used by that target.

37 - 49: Rusev may make his abilities other than declaring it to be Rusev Day unable to be negated. Even if Rusev is KO'd, if he declared the ability beforehand, it will still happen.

50+: Rusev may deliver a Machka Kick to every mercenary in the game that is not on his team. This has a 12% chance of KO'ing them, making them unable to be purchased during the next Peacetime by teams other than Rusev's if they are not part of any team. Rusev may choose an upgrade lower on the list in addition to this one if this option is chosen.

Terrain

Rusev Day - Rusev may choose any rostered opponent's terrain as if they were his own. The terrain will be exactly the same, except the Bulgarian flag will be hung everywhere. This terrain can only be chosen on Rusev Day. This choice will be made within six hours of the terrain bid being finalized, or it will be randomized.
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Happy Rusev Day, everyone.

Rusev (WWE series)
Upkeep: 1/week
Heel Male Human

Rusev is as he appears in every game that contains Rusev.

(Start of Battle) The Accolade - Once every three days, Rusev may begin the match by holding a pre-selected opponent in The Accolade. Rusev will begin at the opponent's starting position, holding them in the move. If it is Rusev Day, this hold cannot be broken by anyone other than Rusev's target, including assists; Rusev will be completely invincible to harm until the hold is broken.

UPGRADES

New Peacetime

(Peacetime) Happy Rusev Day - Every day, during Peacetime, Rusev may declare that it is Rusev Day. It will be Rusev Day. Happy Rusev Day. This ability is negated if Rusev is KO'd or injured.

New Pre-Battle

(Pre-Battle) Rusev Putria - During Rusev Day, Rusev may deliver as many Bulplexes to opponents before the match as there have been Rusev Days where Rusev has not used this ability. The Bulplexes deal incurable damage and will have been considered to have taken place when the opponent has the least armor on possible. Rusev may choose which enemies he gives Bulplexes to and how many individual Bulplexes out of his stock they may receive. He may also, optionally, give them Machka Kicks instead.

New Start of Battle

(Start of Battle) Rusev Machka - Once every four Rusev Days, Rusev may begin the match on top of a T-90 Russian Tank, complete with driver inside. If this is used in mid tier, Rusev will refuse to use the guns on the tank himself or allow his driver to use them, as he prefers to Machka himself. If this is used in low tier, all guns on the tank will be purely decorative.

New Trigger

(Trigger) Handsome Rusev - If a female mercenary in Rusev's match is hit by an ability on Rusev Day, Rusev will give them a cold fish to make them feel better. No matter what happens, they will be kind to Rusev and gain a Russian accent, considering him a hero beyond all other ability affects. How this affects their performance is up to voter interpretation. They also get to keep the fish. This ability can trigger multiple times.

(Cont'd)
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I feel like 3v3 is an absolutely fine dynamic where every member of a team contributes, and it actually allows the numbers game to mean something. Also lets you get a trifecta of "melee dude, ranged dude, magic dude", but with, for instance, the melee guy being a speedster while the opponent's is a tank, necessitating a buff-based mage as opposed to a DPS mage, as opposed to the current format which is "what is the strongest attack? What does the opponent have to counter that? Is there a super bullshit strategy or broken ability that changes this? That person wins".

Of course that does limit potential team building aspects, which would make a stamina aspect desirable to encourage team variation, potentially lessened if the merc is hit by abilities (i.e. if they're hit by a pre-battle they don't get fatigued, if they're hit by an SoB fatigue counts as usual). Though this would need to be introduced likely around Week 20 or so in order to create a solid high-mid-low dynamic for each team to build upon.

I'm also up for events being a kind of literary core. It's already a time investment, so why not have "okay we're warring and sometimes these TRUE VILLAINS emerge and we gotta beat 'em up". Like the Robot Master event leads to some fun shit if you imagine Wily reacting in shock to half of his teams getting womp'd. From that point I feel as if some role-play elements could be added as well, i.e. "Big Boss fultoned one of your mercs before the match, negotiate terms with him". I think this is more practical than demanding lore every week (unless you're Drak and are just a machine). Just personalizing it more, I feel, would help drum up the support and enjoyment. And THEN it's the fight to the death tournament arc at the end, maybe some power of friendship final boss based on everyone the winner's beaten for... "I dunno I'll buy you A Hat In Time on Steam" or something.

also naoto should have better abilities, be angrier, and have access to a time machine
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The Cat In The Hat Comes Back
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Been binging the nuzlocke as I write up some scripts, so this was quite the pleasant surprise! I do admittedly find it hard to follow this game in specific just due to the nature of how small the screens have to be, but I felt you guys did a good job mentioning when someone was doing something and hypothesizing strategy for roller coaster building, really made you seem knowledgable about the game and helped me along as a viewer. Interested to see where you take it and good work on the success! Hoping you guys take off a little more from this.
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One that always stood out to me was Gruntilda's Lair being Teddy Bear Picnic. And the legitimate controversy that was the Metal Gear Solid main theme sounding so close to a Russian anthem that it was changed after MGS3

And of course there's always Town Mission 4 from Sonic 2006 ripping off Flash Man.
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Well I mean this is like Pokemon.

Except instead of Zapdos you catch Satan.
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Taggin'. Will be interesting to see your reactions. Persona tends to be easier to pick up and play than a lot of other JRPG's post-intro, even after a break from the game. Just a matter of getting through effin' Kamoshida's tutorial and all.
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Game Center CX
Samurai Jack
Hajime no Ippo
Breaking Bad
Monday Night RAW (out of habit more than quality)
Futurama (original run)
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Nathan For You
Cutthroat Kitchen
Donkey Kong Country
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Hey, actually made a video on the subject. Not to self promote but just it'll save me going over it in like fourteen paragraphs and is easier to click through.



In my experience and to tl;dr it, anything that lets them play at their own pace is generally the best. Feeling rushed in a game will make you feel overwhelmed, so being able to take it at your own pace is usually better, and teaches them how to learn more easily. From there, it's also down to their tastes in aesthetics, setting, etc. For instance, if you're going for choice-based narratives, Life is Strange is better than, say, your average Telltale product or Until Dawn just because it doesn't have timed events with permanent consequence - you have all the time you want to make decisions.
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I will admit Ann's confidant sucks.

But I also firmly believe that most of the confidants suck with a few shining examples (Kawakami, Sojiro, Yusuke) standing out amongst a sea of ADHD on what the actual conflict is supposed to be.

Also she's got the hottest DAN outfit I mean for real, pulls of non-punk fishnets, sold.
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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Ann is super plain and by far the least interesting imo

Surface level, sure.

But there's actual resonance and wit and funny in there that isn't just "oh it's Mitsuru but less sheltered and more aggressive", "oh she's a social disaster", "oh she's the moe one", "oh she's the hot overworked teacher with a legit good story". Ann felt like the only one that evolved past the trappings of her archetype for me, which put her on par with the P4 waifus as opposed to "damn you hot but you 2D as fuck".
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Ann

It is such a breath of fresh air to have a female that's actually attractive and can be the butt of jokes. She has an excellent arc, ranging from "forced to be shallow" to "legitimately vengeful" to letting her hair down. Everything that happens around her kinda helps to drag her down - Ryuji toward her's rough chemistry, the whole "tell a girl to pose nude just after she survived sexual abuse" thing is rough - but she pulls it off and with a great deal more grace and comedy than, say, Chie kicking Yosuke in the balls a lot. Ann gets legitimately the best comedy spot in the game in Dungeon 7 as well, and her wanting to grow up to be Doronjo is absolutely adorable.

Only weakness is, honestly, first girl syndrome and that the game goes HEY LOOK AT THESE OTHER OPTIONS. Kinda shuffles her into the background unfairly when she remains the most consistently enjoyable option. Makoto fades with reflection, Ann becomes better with it.

And mind charge Fire Amp Fire Boost Agidyne is super fun.
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Nier

Worthy final.
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You're in a position of politics within a group, which is never all that fun. I feel like the easiest way is "I wanna focus on channel growth, so if you edit it yourself (with the dating sim specifically, not genital jousting) I'd be glad to host it, here's my template". Just make it a situation of resources, but to seem like you're still generally willing if it's an additional thing as opposed to taking up the slot of something else.

Generally, most people will back down at the idea of work. And if not, hey, you have additional content that you may only have light editing, and can focus your own efforts in channel direction where you want.
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