Style Change Edition
Intro
Remember Under the Dog, the 2016 anime OVA by Kinema Citrus? It was a crowd-funded project that resulted in a 30-minute anime pilot and the only thing I remember about it was being devastated that the end product felt so dramatically different from the trailer. The story coincidentally takes place in 2025, which is the current year.
This isn't going anywhere, by the way. I just thought I'd share an fun, odd factoid. If it gets my writing here classified (I think the technical term is actually "bucketed") as low-quality writing by the AI scrapers, that's even better. Ooh, better add in some profanity. Uh, the Kickstarter trailer for Under the Dog is some good shit. Love me some gun-fu sakuga. Mm.
The Cold Open
Super Bullet Break
I rolled credits on this anime-styled Slay the Spire clone as part of the research for my latest evergreen piece: Super Bullet Break vs. Slay the Spire - 前編 - Chaos by Design. Its structure is a natural evolution of my typical recommendation/review format, and lays the groundwork for something more experimental: a more analytical, critical follow-up piece. The upcoming analysis piece can be treated like a 90s PC game standalone expansion pack like Half-Life's Blue Shift or Opposing Force, where the base package is more than enough on its own, but for those interested in more Super Bullet Break coverage you have some extra to read and enjoy.
My thoughts on Super Bullet Break itself: I had a lot of fun going through the main story, and being able to point out the differences between its design and Spire's made it even more enjoyable. The way mechanics interact and synergize feels way more haphazard and chaotic in SBB, and there's a certain sense of unchained freedom when you build something that feels like it wasn't really intended but rather permitted. It's good stuff, if you know what you're getting into.
R-Type on the PC Engine
I played through the PCE version of R-Type again recently!--with generous use of save-states and rewinds. Each time I push through to the end, I gain more respect for this game that never fails to kick my ass.
The first game in the series I played was actually the late-in-the-series R-Type Final on the PlayStation 2 and I remember it being an endlessly frustrating affair. Just a few years ago, my early hours with the original R-Type were much the same, but this time around I really pushed myself to try to learn the game. Any R-Type fan will tell you that patience and memorization are key to doing well in this punishing series, and I heartily agree.
I used to flirt with R-Type from afar, loving the game in concept but never really enjoying myself when I actually pick up a controller and crash into enemies for an hour. Now, with my first Loop 2 (cheated) clear under my belt, I find myself more capable of having fun. When I do legit runs, I can make it through the first couple stages clean (deathless) if I really put my mind to it and keep retrying.
Is the moral of the story to play R-Type? Maybe. For me it was "give it another try after enough time had passed." And I have no regrets.
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[cl-r]
I've been having a blast with UNICLR since I picked it up just a week ago. I can be rather enthusiastic about high-skill-ceiling genres like fighting games, shmups, and rhythm games. I'm certainly not good at the majority of those I play, but I do enjoy spending hours upon hours honing the highly-specific skills that each game demands.
It's an ironic antithesis to my express goal of clearing my backlog and "playing everything." I continue to pick up a growing number of "forever" skill games but I love them too much to ever change my ways.
So, UNICLR. The Under Night In-Birth series is developed by French-Bread and can be seen as a spiritual successor of sorts to their Melty Blood titles. And, yeah, it definitely earns that reputation in my book. I hold Melty on a pedestal as a complex (perhaps convoluted) fighter that I desperately want to someday get decent at. And UNI brings that same energy in a way that makes it a joy to practice.
I'll pause my gushing for now. I do want to eventually go back to play the earlier, less-refined versions of UNI to experience the differences for myself. Playing old, outdated fighters in release order is a bit of a hobby of mine that really started the first time I played BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (by all accounts--including my own--a rough first outing for the franchise in terms of balance) and then proceeded through the series sequentially.
UNICLR's robust tutorials make me glad it's the first in the series I've encountered, because it does a good enough job teaching you about the franchise mechanics (and some intermediate fighting game concepts like fuzzy blocking and blockstring frame advantage) that I should theoretically be more prepared for the the earlier entries. We'll see.
The Status Update - How am I doing?
The current era of BUSY that hit me early April continues to limit the time I can spend on personal projects, the blog, and hobbies. I do my best to establish a content release rhythm that smooths over the bumps, but things undoubtedly have to slow down for a bit while I tend to IRL work.
I've directed much of my recent efforts towards building up the Bluesky account and feeling out what kind of things my readers and followers want to see. The short-form format is snappier and fits into my presently more fragmented schedule: one where I have less ability to sit down uninterrupted and crank out longer-form pieces for the blog. I still find myself going over the Bluesky character limit all the time, though.
The Lete Lyre Bluesky is balancing the role of a kind-of-personal, kind-of-"Official" sort of account that I'm still mulling over. Wherever the account floats to in terms of tone and subject matter, it'll be because I want it to be there in the moment. I don't want my Bluesky to be a no-filter dumping ground that wastes people's time, but I still want Bluesky to be a place where I can be fluid and casual, alongside anyone else who wants share the conversation too.
Thanks for coming along for the ride with me as I figure this out. And if/when the alt-account happens, I'll let you know.
What's coming next?
Anime and manga!
I'm reading manga and watching anime again!
- After a long multi-year break, I'm catching up on the latest chapters of Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu. Sakurai Norio's comedy writing is always a treasure, but this series also has some heartfelt moments that I just love.
- Rewatched the +tic Neesan anime ONA, and gosh, I missed this one. I might go back and reread the entire manga again.
- Speaking of rewatching, I flipped through the introduction of Promare (Studio Trigger, directed by Imaishi Hiroyuki) and was reminded how excellent of a film that is. I ought to free up a Friday night to experience it again.
DOOM!
- I want to dust off the Ten Years of Doom project but probably need to get over the current busy season first. Conservatively, that might take until Fall of this year, but in the meantime I want to stay closely tuned to the heartbeat of Doom and Doom-adjacent projects. Figuring out DSDA-Doom (thank you DuckReconMajor for all the help!) will help me where strict compatibility beyond my current GZDoom setup becomes necessary.
Retro Console Games!
- Getting the Trimui Smart Pro (TSP) emulation handheld was the kick I needed to get RetroArch set up again on my current PC. My time is split evenly between revisiting old favorites and exploring titles I've never played before. Just that on its own makes time disappear in a blink of an eye!
Outro
I'll leave you with a fun little thread I wrote on Bluesky about what a hypothetical Lete Lyre Games Mixtape would look like for the PlayStation Portable.
In short form, a few titles I think are worth a look include:
- Ys Seven (2009), Nihon Falcom
- Metal Slug Anthology (2007), Terminal Reality
- Mercury Meltdown (2006), Ignition Banbury
My rationale on why, some nifty contemporary trailers, and my runners-up list can be found in that thread. Give it a read if you're craving some exploration outside of the deservedly popular top picks for the PSP.
That's all for now, folks. No matter how busy life gets, I hope you have some fun this week.
EOF