Lurker > Anagram

Mega Mana posted...

Had to do a slight double-take because that came immediately after saying Auberjonois was probably second best actor after Stewart, and then seeing Picard under Kirk and Spock.

Haha, didn't realize that.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

5. Spock
Loginating.

Surprise! I bet you thought Worf was #5. Worf has a big advantage over Spock, though: for this list, Im counting all appearances. The character who suffers most from this is Spock, since he has the great misfortune to be on Discovery, where he informs us that, in fact, he likes science. Its not clear from his actions or his status as a scientist that he likes science, so Spock looks directly at the camera, winks to the audience, and says LOGICAL. No, he doesnt, but if he did, would that surprise you? In all seriousness, Spock is tainted by Discovery in the same way Darth Vader is tainted by the prequel trilogy. To be sure, OT Darth Vader is still great, but if you factor in the now-canon stuff from the prequels, hes way dumber. Although the prequels are at least fun because theyre so horrible.

Spock is basically the perfect science-fiction character. Hes got this weird but completely reasonable philosophy about logic, hes Torn Between Two Worlds, hes got the only actually good actor in TOS, and hes got a personality that makes him easy to insert into any scenario as either an asset or a detriment. I will go out and call him the single best-designed sci-fi character of all time. If Spock has a weakness as a character, its that Nimoy has a bit more dignity than Shatner and that Spock is easier than Kirk to shoehorn into places that he doesnt belong, so Kirk mercifully avoided Discovery and the Abramsverse. God, can you imagine if like 24 year-old Kirk showed up in Discovery as a lieutenant or whatever and served Michael Burnham coffee? By the way, Microsoft Word recognizes Abramsverse as a word, but not Worf.

Like really, Spock is such a good character, I almost cant put it into words. Being cold and analytical but also gripping by constant roiling emotions is the perfect setup. Spock and Kirk are the two ingredients that make TOS work (sorry, McCoy), and I would probably say that Spock is the more important ingredient. Whenever theres a wacky space scenario, it falls to Spock to either figure out the solution or figure out a solution and present it completely heartlessly. Sometimes he even does this off-screen, and its still believable! Remember the time they go to the Mirror Universe, Kirk goes back to the main universe at the end, and Spock is like lol yeah I figured out what was going on in five seconds with zero information and its completely believable? This whole writeup could just be Spock moments like that. Remember when he got mind controlled by space fungus and Kirk had to insult him into getting angry to defeat it? Remember when he invited McCoy to his super-secret Vulcan ceremony? Remember when his brain got stolen by space hookers okay well not that one.

So someone on Discoverys writing staff watched The Cage. I know this because when Spock shows up on Dis

Actually lets stop there for the moment. Well come back to that later. Can I just say that the idea of Spock having a secret adopted human sister he never mentioned before is the stupidest thing ever? Like really, shut up. Im not even going to explain why thats the dumbest thing. And dont bring up the fifth movie where he has a secret brother, all I have to say to that is Discovery should not be mining The Final Frontier for ideas, unless its going to steal the giant glowing Sean Connery head shooting lasers out of its eyes.

Anyway, someone on Discoverys writing staff watched The Cage and noticed how Spock smiles one time in the episode because the idea of Vulcans being logical hadnt been hammered out yet. Yes, he said. I can use this. So Discovery Spock is super emotional. He smiles, he gets angry, he basically acts like a human. You might think this will lead to actually wait a second, wouldnt this just make Sarek hate him more? Wouldnt this be a huge embarrassment to the entire family? Anyway, you might think this will lead to Spock learning to be logical and not emotional in the future, and thats why hes the Spock we know in TOS, right? But his arc in the show ends with Michael Burnham telling him to be friends with humans and find the people furthest from you, so why does he give up emotions? Like you made a point of that! God I hate Discovery.

Michael is like I cant tell you guys what I did to Spock as a child, its unforgivable, dont make me talk about it, and then when we see it, she pushed him and said a bad word. Can you imagine being a thirty-five year-old man and hating your sister because she pushed you when she was twelve? It just makes Spock the stupidest person of all time. Like, if I was rating only Discovery Spock, hed be so low on this list. Hed be Ash Tyler-tier. Actually, thinking about it, Spock has the most actors, right? Nimoy, Quinto, Discovery guy, child Spock from 09, child Spock from TAS, child and teenage Spock from SfS Am I missing one? I cant even say the Discovery guy is a bad actor, its just the fault of bad writing.

God, I didnt want this writeup to be just anti-Discovery stuff, so lets talk about Spocks and Kirks relationship. Its pretty much epitomized with Wrath of Khan. Kirk is like lol I never lose at the beginning, Spock says nothing, and then at the end, when Kirk has failed and everyone is going to die, Spock sacrifices himself and is like lol if my goal was to save the ship, then I didnt lose either. Brilliant. Perfect writing. In a movie about an old man whose chest was so ripped that audiences thought he was wearing a fake chest until he said no, my chest actually does look like that, the most memorable thing is still Spock dying. Until Lorca, it was the only good Star Trek death, and Lorcas is only good because its so silly.

I also just want to say that Spock is how you write a scientist character. If you want to see how to most efficiently write every character, watch The Undiscovered Country. Every character has a moment that shows off his or her skill, and Spock has the best stuff, where hes just relentlessly puzzling through the mystery until he figures it out. Like you dont have a scientist just spout technobabble and build a whatever device, you have figure things out in a way the audience can follow, then take reasonable actions based on what he figured out.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Does this win the new record for "too late to the partyness?"

https://www.polygon.com/tv/2020/2/10/21132010/neopets-tv-animated-series-cartoon-show

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Just realized that Odo going down kills DS9 unless you count Worf. Don't know if we do.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

scarletspeed7 posted...

Pretty safe top 5

I actually almost put the Doctor in the top 5, but I ultimately knocked him down below Odo and #5.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Top Five in casting order:
Kirk
Spock
Picard
Data
Worf

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

MetalmindStats posted...

The same thing I get out of, say, scarlet's wrestling-related rankings. It would certainly be more fun following along if I was a Star Trek fan, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting for me nonetheless.

Fair enough, then, but I've been writing with the assumption that people have watched everything, so I imagine there are confusing details.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

6. Odo
Rrgh.

I think Odo wins the award for most Torn Between Two Worlds character. Its obviously between him, Seven, Spock, and Worf, but with Odo its the entire character, whereas the others all have other stuff going on. Odo also wins the dubious double title of Character Who Uses CGI the Most Often and Character Whose CGI is Most Babylon 5-Tier, but we wont talk about that.

So, Odo. I think the writers had no idea what they were going to do with him when the show started, because I know the decision to make the Founders Changelings happened after like season 2 or 3, and thats why that Vorta chick treats him so disrespectfully in that one episode. Can you imagine another path his character could have taken? Like what if the Founders were just robots or something, and Odo was just part of a random species no one knew about? The show would be a completely different beast.

I guess I should say right off the bat that the entire premise of this character makes no sense. Im fine with a species that hates humanoids and hides itself to avoid them, and Im fine with a species that sends 100 of its babies to explore the galaxy, but you cant be both. But fine, lets move on.

Odo is a really interesting character when it comes to the idea of compromise, I think. The Changelings are completely uncompromising dicks who cant really be reasoned with to a meaningful extent, who engineer their subjects to be ideologically incapable of opposing them, and who are just convinced of their beliefs. Odos sort of the opposite of that, which is what makes him compelling. Hes like I really want to be part of my people and just be normal and whatever, but like, theyre evil douchebags, so I cant, and it forces me to think about the world in a way that I dont want to have to. Man, isnt that a cool idea? Characters who have ethical conflicts that dont involve laser explosions? I guess the Dominion War actually does involve laser explosions, but whatever. The point is, Odo and Worf are the most argh what do I do characters in Star Trek, except with Worf, his code of honor makes him always certain of what he needs to do, whereas with Odo, hes a little more malleable (DO HO HO). Hell work with Quark and maybe overlook a few bad things if it results in some good things, which is really neat.

I like the idea of a species that feels an innate need for order in all things, where one member is like no way jose, my particular manifestation of order demands justice, so I dont really care much for laws. Remember Garrus? Same ****, except you can add a racism angle.

I like how the Changelings are so orderly and dedicated to their superiority that theyre repeatedly willing to compromise everything just for Odos sake. Like they wont call off the war, but theyll make incredibly stupid decisions to win him over or avoid putting him at risk. Like really, youd think the first thing theyd do is kidnap Odo, replace him with another Changeling, and just screw everything up. At least with Sisko you can say well maybe Sisko has really good security, hes an obvious target, but they have like a million opportunities with Odo. Thats great! Its such good implied characterization to their species.

Id also say that Odo is probably the most separate of the cast? Aside from Kira and Quark, there arent a lot of really good character interactions between Odo and someone else. Sure, he occasionally complains to Sisko about something, or asks Chief OBrien about the whatever-o-tron, but about the only thing I can think of like that outside of Kira and Quark is when he butts heads with Worf super early on. Its weird, too, because Odos story is still really woven into the rest of the show.

I think part of what makes Odo work is that hes played by one of the few real actors in Star Trek. Like can you imagine a Tom Paris-tier actor trying to play this ultra-guarded guy feeling half a dozen conflicting emotions at the same time? It would be worst. I think Rene Auberjonois is probably the best actor in Star Trek after Patrick Stewart.

Anyway, Odo. Pretty cool guy.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

MetalmindStats posted...

I've been following this topic even though I've never watched a Star Trek episode in my life.

I can't help but wonder who the other three rankers were supposed to be.

Man, what are you getting out of the topic if you've never even seen a Star Trek episode?

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

7. The Doctor
Please state the nature of the screenwriting emergency Terrible characters, hm? Let me fix that right up.

The Doctor is the only thing holding Voyager together. There, I said. Seven is great and all, but shes a little too weird. The Doctor has the perfect mix of eclectic traits, undeserved ego, and competent acting to make Voyager watchable. The first two seasons in particular, man, he is the only thing that makes some of it bearable.

Someone on Voyagers writing staff must have said: You know how Data is Spock in reverse? What if we did Data in reverse? And instead of making Spock, they got the Doctor. Data is designed to be an emotionless android who will find his own path, and decides that he wants to become human. Hes unfailingly polite and always does the moral thing. The Doctor is a slightly malfunctioning program designed to do one thing, but develops a personality mostly by accident, realizes hes the glue holding the ship together, and lets it go to his head. Hes rude and only mostly does the right thing. Data has the support of his entire ship; the Doctor has to prove to everyone that hes a living being, too. Its such a clever turnaround that it makes me wonder how intentional it is, because boy oh boy is the rest of the show not clever at all.

Theres a good rule of thumb to determine if a Voyager episode is good or not: does it star the Doctor, Seven, or both? Then its a good one. Does it not? Then its probably bad. And even the non-Doctor episodes are still made better by his appearances. Every human character was instructed to act stilted, Tuvok is a Vulcan, and the other aliens are just bad characters, which leaves the Doctor and Seven to pull all of the weight, and they do. Its kind of amazing.

I mean, yes, it also helps that the Doctor gets almost all of the good ideas for episodes. Hologram recreation of Doctor Mengele can help you save a friend, but are you willing to use his knowledge? Your daydreams of commanding the ship are intercepted by an alien who thinks you actually lead the ship, so can you bluff him by actually leading the ship? You were sent to an experimental super starship in the Federation being attacked by Romulans, can you figure out the controls on the fly? Your mild singing skills impress a race of aliens who dont know about music, so they invite you to be their greatest star, but then just program another hologram thats better than you, so you have to go back to Voyager and admit you were stupid. All of the weird sci-fi ideas were channeled into the Doctor, and thank God for that. Id rather have one interesting character and four boring ones that five slightly less boring ones.

It also helps that the Doctors grating, egotistical personality makes him easy to play off of any other character. Character X says something, the Doctor takes it as a compliment to his amazing skills, Character X has to tolerate the Doctor acting all self-satisfied, unless its Janeway, who just tells him to shut up. Even boring Voyager characters can still make that work.

Now that I think about it, there isnt a single bad bald character in Star Trek. Picard, Sisko, and the Doctor. We can count Kirk, too, but I dont think William Shatner will appreciate that.

And with that, I've finished all the Voyager characters.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

It's still weird to me how MGS4 and MGSV just made no attempt at fun codec conversations outside of the hamburgers thing in V.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Persona series
Ace Attorney series
CrossCode
Others I guess

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I've considered playing the chibi ios version of FFXV, but I didn't think it's worth it since it's not the real experience.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

8. Seven of Nine
The Borg have assimilated the technology from over three-thousand species, but it took until humans for us to learn the art of catsuits.

Theres an insane conspiracy theory out there that Jeri Ryan, the actress for Seven of Nine, is indirectly responsible for the election of Donald Trump in 2016. I thought I should let everyone know that.

Little girl turned into a monster, gets turned back into a human as an adult, has to relearn how to be a human. Done. Thats a billion times more compelling than a million Harry Kims or Beverly Crushers. You know how many zeroes that is? 1000000000000000. Thats how much more interesting her concept is than Harry Kim.

Seven is possibly the strangest thing in any sci-fi series. By the writers own admission, she was added to be sexy And yet she ended up as one of the two things on the show that actually worked. I suppose the Torn Between Two Worlds concept just works so damn well that its impossible to screw up, but either way, Seven is by far the most compelling character on Voyager. The show should have just been about her, and in a way, it is. Once she joins the show, everyone except Janeway and the Doctor gets edged out, and thank God for that. Characters like Seven and the Doctor make me wonder if Voyagers staff had some actual talent, or if it was all just a happy accident.

It really cannot be emphasized enough: this character was designed to another Deanna Troi, but ended up being another Spock. The fact that shes in a shiny catsuit has nothing to do with how good she is as a character, which is fascinating.

Thats not to say that shes without problems, of course. Anything on Voyager is tainted by its general Voyagerness, but Seven handles it the best in the show assuming you can forgive things like If Seven invented a cure for death, why does anyone die in the show after that? And when I said Seven becomes the new Spock, I meant that in more ways than you probably expect. Spock constantly pulled new powers out of his ass because they hadnt nailed down what Vulcans could do in TOS, and Seven does the same with Borg powers. Her nanomachines can do absolutely anything, which means shes the strongest, fastest, smartest, and toughest person on the show but it still works because of all of her emotional problems stemming from not knowing how to be a normal person. Like, I really like the idea of this woman with kind of stilted, formal speech just not understanding how normal people behave and being alienated both by her own inhibitions and her leftover proclivities as a Borg. And the only good use of the Borg Queen ever is with Seven, where she can be like Come back to us, Sevennnn, and Seven can be tempted and stuff.

I mean, hell, even her I still have Borg implants on thing is a not-very-subtle reminder of her Torn Between Two Worlds status. I wonder if the writers knew that or if they just thought durr looks cool. Seven also benefits from being joined at the hip to the only other good Voyager character: the Doctor. It was a good decision to make the AI who has some experience becoming human the one to help Seven along in her journey.

Overall, Seven perfectly encapsulates Voyager at its best: incredibly stupid and silly, but with some understanding of what science-fiction is underneath it all.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

J Jonah Jameson

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Krypto the Wonderdog

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

New piece of FF7R art
https://i.imgur.com/TzXbK81.jpg

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

MichelBollinger posted...

Data miners already at work.

Most importantly is the file that very specifically calls out P3 Heroine!

Do we know if the P3 hero and P4 hero show up?

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Hela (MCU version)

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Dio (FF7)

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Stilt-Man

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

jimmy olsen

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Batzarro

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

9. Benjamin Sisko
Im the second most famous bald captain in Starfleet.

Every so often, you get a Sisko is the best captain person. Theyre rare, but theyre around. Sorry, guys. Siskos wonderful, but hes no Kirk or Picard.

Compared to the other captains, Id say Sisko is more defined by his past and stuff thats piled up in him over time. I never, ever got the impression that Picard and Janeway were really weighed down by decisions theyd made over time, by the wacky space shenanigans they had to deal with, or by their pasts. Kirk only feels that way in the movies. Only Archer also has a past that really affects his actions, and even his only comes into play when Vulcans are around. Sisko, though? Dudes got a dead wife, a son, and a stalled career, and all of that is just in the first episode. Even the trivial nonsense about him is eventually important, like his love for baseball. With Sisko, everything feels significant, and thats a big deal. No single-episode love interests for him.

God, can you imagine a Voyager where Janeway actually feels guilty about people dying under her command and is like What have I doooooonnnnneeee? Sisko gets that, and he also gets like a slow descent into doing things he could have never imagined, like framing the Dominion to get the Romulans to join a war.

This works the other way around, by the way. Theres an episode where Sisko gets so upset at Eddington for outstaging him that he bluffs and says Im going to release poison gas onto a Maquis planet if you dont turn yourself in, except its not a bluff. Its impossible to imagine any other captain getting so offended that he or she would resort to that. I guess when you have Jesus job security, though, you can do whatever you want and the Federation just has to accept it.

Sisko is also a little more casual and friendly with his high-ranking officers than the other non-Archer captains. People talk about how early Sisko and Picard are very similar, but I dont really see it. The dude smiled in a way that would be completely out of character for Picard.

Is the most unbelievable thing in DS9 that the Changelings never even tried to replace Sisko? Like, really, he has to be the most obvious target in the entire Alpha Quadrant. Its never even brought up as a possibility. Bashir, Kira, and OBrien get Changelings, but not Sisko.

I like the idea of just kind of a normal captain accidentally becomes Jesus and has to deal with it. Theres a lot of good stuff where Sisko is clearly uncomfortable with the idea and does his best not to abuse his power over the Bajorans. I also like the idea of him slowly warming to the Prophets and finally accepting his role. Sisko is the only chosen one narrative really possible in Star Trek, and it works in a way that no wait I told myself Id stop talking about Discovery.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Hal Jordan

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Jabba the Hutt

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

the guy whose hand Obi-Wan cuts off

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Soon well get a Persona 5 RTS and racing game. Anything except P5 itself.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Bart Simpson

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

10. Elim Garak
Im not mildly sort of unimplying the inference that you might not have failed to realize the not-unspy-like qualities dubiously possessed by a certain tailor.

Garak is the poster child for just ignore whos in the credits when determining main characters, along with like half of Buffy the Vampire Slayers cast. This guy is more important than basically every character other than Sisko, Odo, and Kira, and hes in way more episodes than like Jake, and yet, always just a guest star.

I wonder if Cardassia would be the same if the show was made today. Cardassia is basically just a fascist planet, right? Like, fascism was a non-factor in the 1990s, but the show still managed to talk about it. I was going to make a comparison to how DIS handles modern politics, but Im honestly just tired of complaining about it, so I wont.

I like the idea of an exiled spy whos still loyal to his vision of Cardassia, even if it means working against the current regime and literally every other Cardassian in the galaxy. I like the idea of a guy who lets it be known that hes a former spy and then just plays with everyone, partly out of actual usefulness and partly just because why the hell not? I like the idea of cozying up to Bashir out of convenience and then genuinely getting to like the guy. I like the idea of Im willing to do whatever it takes, but Im not going to do more than that because Im not like a horrible monster, guys. I like the idea of him being a killer, but being completely affable. I like the idea of getting mildly offended by a James Bond holodeck program. I like how hes one of the two multi-episode characters Worf ever beats in a fight. Im not going to fact-check that, by the way.

I can see Garak being really bad if played by a lesser actor, but Andrew Robinson really brings it. Not much else to say, the guy really brings a charismatic smarminess to the role. Id say hes one of the characters who most benefits from having an A+ actor.

Im gonna say it: screw Star Trek Picard, give me Star Trek Garak, where its just about old man Garak dealing with extremely boring political issues on Cardassia as he tries to rebuild it as its new fascist dictator, but there are like democracy movements he cant squash because it would be bad for Federation relations.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Tag

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I don't know if I'd call him the best, but top five for sure.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I'm glad the trailer has no AC/CC stufff, also.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

LeonhartFour posted...

I do wonder how they're going to handle Yuffie's recruitment since there's no set time and place when you have to get her.

Make her and Wutai mandatory and expanded.

MartinFF7 posted...

Why go through the effort of making a playable character who only joins in, what would conceivably be, the final dungeon?

Maybe I'm wrong but I always just figured it'd be that way (am bracing for real post-game content like someone mentioned earlier or, even worse, ReDLC XIII). Which is also why I assume a theoretical "part 2" lasts long enough to give Cait Sith plenty of opportunity & ends before Vincent & Cid join.

True enough.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Woah woah woah, Red XIII isn't playable in the first game? That's shocking.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Yeah, adding more to Shinra HQ makes sense.

I also noticed the characters' attacks seem a bit more personalized (Tifa looks like she does the 'many weak attacks' thing), which leaves me wondering what each character's gimmick will be.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

LeonhartFour posted...

Nah, I'm not surprised by that at all. You have Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith nearly the whole time, so you don't really need Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie to provide extra padding.

A 40 hour JRPG with four playable characters, at least until the extreme end, is rare. Makes me wonder if anything is added post-Shinra HQ so you can use Red XIII more.

I guess this does have the added benefit of giving the player more time to get used to Aeris, so both of the players who don't know about the spoiler can be more surprised.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

HashtagSEP posted...

I'm pretty sure it has already been confirmed that they don't via datamine

That actually surprises me.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I'm thinking Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie will join as temp party members since Red XIII joins so late, so I'm wondering what kind of abilities they could even have.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

NFUN posted...

Y'know, if you're curious, I've got a contact named Gaila who would be happy to sell you a demonstration

I deserved that.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

11. Quark
Rule of Acquisition #203: Keep posting writeups even if you dont get responses.

I was going to make a joke writeup about the 1970s show Quark and about how awful it is, but Im probably the only person on B8 who even knows it exists, so I guess I have to do this the right way. A lot of people dislike Quark because his episodes are usually pointless and his supporting cast is not the best, but I disagree, hes pretty great.

Quark is the first attempt by Star Trek to have a character whos not in the Federation and judges Roddenberrys image of the perfect version of humanity by alien virtues. I guess thats actually the Klingon lady in Star Trek VI, but whatever.

So Quarks got a pretty standard character arc: greedy guy learns to be less greedy when people need his help. I like how Quark himself reflects on this and basically predicts it himself in one episode, when he laments to Garak that the Federation is insidious and slowly makes you like it by interacting with you. This was of course expanded upon and made much better by the Discovery character TKuvma.

You know what other science-fiction character Quark is closest to? Londo Mollari from B5. Both are nobodies on unimportant stations far away from anything that matters, then something happens that makes the station important, and suddenly theyre among the most important people in the galaxy. This parallel is heightened by the episode where Quark cheats at poker using his tentacle penises.

Can I just say that I love the Rules of Acquisition? Theyre one of my favorite ideas in all of science-fiction. The idea of an alien bible that just consists of Ayn Randian advice is one of the most brilliant ideas in Star Trek. The greatest Quark moment of all time to me is the episode where he uses it to out-logic a Vulcan and force her to help him.

One of the cleverer aspects of Quark as a character is that hes such a greedy, scheming bastard by human standards, barely tolerable, and yet by Ferengi standards hes so charitable and kind that they eventually have to blacklist his bar. Quarks got his relationship with Odo and the others where hes given a lot of latitude because they know he wont go too far. Theres that one episode where he unknowingly helps smuggle in some guys who are going to kill Jadzia to steal the Dax symbiont, Kira flips out at him, and Quark realizes that oh wait, actually Kira is right, this is basically my fault, and does some mildly heroic things.

Anyway, I dont want to make this writeup last forever, so Ill end it by asking what a Ferengi weapon would be like. I know they have those stupid laser whips in a TNG episode, but I mean for real. Would they just buy really efficient, boring guns, or what?

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I wonder where episode 2 will end. The temple?

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I'm hoping they don't add CC characters to Cloud's flashbacks.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I saw some screen shots. The colors look really washed out and the aesthetics are lacking in the same personality. The SC remaster was way better-looking.

The funniest thing Ive seen about this is the scene where Arthas kills Malganis being totally botched.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I love how the new Mega Man games knew to keep the bad box art, though I guess they gave that up for 11.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

- Great Tier -
Great Tier characters are completely necessary for their shows. The shows are built around their presence, and if removed, it would be a completely different experience.

12. Leonard McCoy
Dammit, Jim, hes dead, not alive!

Poor, poor McCoy. Any non-Trekkie knows Kirk and Spock, but how many know McCoy? Probably some. If I asked my sister what she knows about Star Trek, she might say Hes dead, Jim, but shed have no idea who said it.

As the third member of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy trio, McCoy serves a very specific purpose: hes there to always be wrong. In that sense, hes like Worf, whose job is to recommend something Picard can dismiss. When Kirk has to make a decision, Spock says Do the heartless, logical thing, and McCoy says Do the right thing, Kirk obeys McCoy zero percent of the time. He rarely obeys Spock, to be fair, and instead finds a third answer, but the point is that McCoy is supposed to represent the emotional perspective. If you want to bust out your fancy college degree, you could even argue that he represents the id.

It was a genius move to make McCoy an old-fashioned country doctor type in a setting where everyone lives in a sterile spaceship encountering wacky science nonsense. Everyone else either has a thinned-sketched backstory or is Spock, whose race is couched in a lot of weird mysticism. Having a guy whos just a guy was brilliant, especially because it enables him to always argue with Spock.

In fact, McCoy is almost a satellite character to Kirk and Spock, though not quite. He has enough going on as a character on his own to avoid that, but like, I cant think of a lot of McCoy interacts with someone else moments. Remember when Uhura got her mind wiped? Heres what Memory-Alpha says: This assault required Dr. McCoy to use advanced medical and educational techniques to restore her memories. Im like ****, man, Uhura had no memories, and all he did was tell Nurse Chapel to read some books off of a computer until she was normal again, and it worked. Say what you want about your fancy 24th century medicine, but McCoy apparently knows how to handle every situation.

One McCoy moment I really like is when Khan wakes up on a surgery table (they dont know who he is yet), puts a scalpel to his neck, and McCoy is just completely unimpressed and tells him a better way to kill someone. Crusher and Bashir wouldve **** themselves in that situation.

Anyway, everyone wants me to talk about Kirk/Spock/McCoy, so I guess I will. Its the best-written Star Trek friendship, and we all know it. McCoy is constantly racist in a way he would not be if they made the show today, but Spock is so much smarter than him and always gets the last word in, so it still feels like theyre on equal terms. The show desperately needed a guy who just wants to do the right thing, but doesnt have Spocks weird philosophy and science skills or Kirks cleverness, charisma, and punching everything skills, and thats what McCoy brings.

Too bad about Mirror McCoy, though. Mirror Spock gets a ton of attention, Mirror Sulu and Chekov get a little, Mirror Kirk gets enough that we can tell hes just insane, and the rest get nothing. Its bad when youre relegated to the Uhura Pile.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Baldurs Gate II

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

M0NSTER_ posted...

it's a timed exclusive.

Awesome, thanks. Hopefully it comes out on PC or switch.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

Forgot it's PS4 only, damn. This and P5R are the only PS4 games I'm interested in.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005

I'm very impressed and surprised by this trailer. I still wonder if Red XIII will join in the last hour of Midgar, or be made to join earlier, and what the final boss of Midgar will be, since it can't just be a random tank again.

---

Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005