My favorite holiday is New Year’s Eve. It is the one time of the year when everyone is looking forward to the future together and wanting to make the following year the best one possible. It is about noisemakers and resolutions, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Auld Lang Syne, dancing and music, and spending time with people who matter.

These past 12 months have been an incredibly trying time in my life between my health issues and work and my sport activities. I’m definitely in a different place mentally than I was when I started the year out, and I have fallen a bit more in love with FINAL FANTASY XIV Online during that time period too.

For this coming year, I’ve also been trying to figure out what I want to do as a resolution – and I think it will be threefold. First, I will set a goal to lose 30-40 pounds this year as I focus on my health (boring, I know!). I’ve already been working on doing more cardio, moderating my diet, and making better life choices. I am still worried about my heart, and continuing to take proper care of myself – and even stepping it up – will go a long way towards that.

Second, I will continue to write Cooking Eorzea as much as possible. I love my (mostly!) weekly cooking column, and I want to keep writing it.

And as for my final resolution: I want to see Hikaru Utada’s SCIENCE FICTION tour in 2024. A lot of you may be saying “that name sounds familiar, but how do I know that person?” Hikaru Utada (pronouns: she/her, they/them) wrote and sang the title themes for multiple KINGDOM HEARTS games that started with Hikari/Simple and Clean in 2002 and most recently with Chikai/Don’t Think Twice for KINGDOM HEARTS III. She has been releasing music since 1999, and she has not toured since 2018.  I love her music, not just because of KINGDOM HEARTS, and I have not been abroad since I went to Rome in 2019. It will be a good chance to see a bit more of the world and to see an amazing artist perform live – if I can get tickets.

That means that I am setting reasonable, obtainable resolutions (taking care of myself and writing Cooking Eorzea) and a slightly unreasonable resolution (going to see Hikaru Utada perform) for 2024. All of these resolutions will be goals that I hope to achieve with Love, Eorzean Style.

If you’ve missed an installment of Cooking Eorzea, you can check out all the prior recipes here.

Recipe of the Week

The 43rd Cooking Eorzea recipe is a ‘Medium’ difficulty recipe from the Norvrandt region, and it is a two-day recipe to make! This proved to be a bit of a problem, because I had to find the same approximate time over two days to make the dish. I ended up having to get up around 5 AM to make the pizza dough one day and then at the same time the next to finish making the pizza. I had also never made pizza from scratch before, and so it was an interesting dish to make!

Anywhere, here is what the whole pizza pie is supposed to look like:

Image courtesy of Insight Editions.

And here is what a pizza slice looks like in the hands of a professional chef!

Image courtesy of Insight Editions.

Featured Ingredient of the Week

Photo by author.

This week’s featured ingredient of the week is basil! It ordinarily would be something like San Morzano tomatoes, but I immediately was drawn to the basil plant because…well…it is the first plant that I am going to try to take care of since I had a fire in my apartment. Ordinarily, I use fresh basil leaves by themselves, but I didn’t have an option for this week. As this column goes to publish, I will have the basil plant sitting in indirect sunlight and I am already planning on potting it properly to hopefully grow out!

My Cooking Attempt

Pizza doesn’t come ready-made! Instead, I had to gather together all of the ingredients needed to make it, first:

Photo by author.

The (very early) morning before I made the final dish, I put the bread flour, active dry yeast, sugar, salt, ginger powder, and onion powder together in a bowl.

Photo by author.

I then added the water and the olive oil together in a bowl and whisked them together.

Photos by author.

I then added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Photo by author.

Once that was done, I placed the bowl into the stand mixer, and turned it on.

Photo by author.

However, the pizza dough wouldn’t come together despite me waiting several minutes, and I realized that it was probably because I forgot to mix all the dry ingredients together before I started. So, I ended up having to throw the batch out and I started it all over again. This time, I blended the dry ingredients together.

Photo by author.

I started the stand mixer at low, and this time, it started to turn into a dough ball! I then started the mixer to knead the dough up for another five minutes.

Photos by author.

While the dough was kneading, I scattered all-purpose flour across my silicone mat.

Photo by author.

I shaped the raw dough from the bowl into a proper ball shape.

Photo by author.

I then sprayed nonstick spray into a large bowl, put the dough ball inside, covered it with wrap, and then put it into the refrigerator for 24 hours to rise.

Photos by author.

A bit before the dough was ready, I started on the sauce. First, I minced up the fresh garlic.

Photo by author.

I added olive oil and butter together into a saucepan, and I let them melt together. Once that was done, I added in the minced garlic, and I let the garlic brown for a few minutes.

Photos by author.

This is how the garlic looked when it was done.

Photo by author.

I added in the whole San Marzano tomatoes, and I mixed it together with the garlic, butter, and olive oil.

Photos by author.

Once it was well-blended, I added in the oregano, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and sugar.

Photo by author.

I then changed the temperature, blended the seasonings in, and I let the pizza sauce cook for about 45 minutes. Every so often, I would stir and I would lightly mash the whole San Marzano tomatoes into the pizza sauce.

Photo by author.

As the pizza sauce was cooking on the stovetop, I laid out a fresh scattering of all-purpose flour on my silicone mat and I preheated the oven to 475 for the pizza itself.

Photos by author.

At this point, it was time to remove the pizza dough from the fridge. The 24 hours that passed had really been kind to my pizza dough, as it had definitely grown in size! First, I punched it down and then I stretched it out across the mat.

Photos by author.

I then divided it up into three pizza dough balls, covered them in a kitchen towel, and let it all rest for a half-hour.

Photos by author.

While the dough was rising again, I oiled up my new cast-iron skillet.

Photo by author.

I then generously scattered onion powder and garlic powder along the inside of the cast-iron skillet.

Photos by author.

A half-hour after I covered the dough, I uncovered it, selected a single dough ball and then punched it down.

Photos by author.

I then tried to stretch out the dough ball to be larger than the skillet size, but I ended up having to steal dough from one of the other dough balls in order to have enough.

Photo by author.

At this point, my pizza sauce was ready, and I added in some salt and pepper to taste! I then set it aside and then added the pizza dough into the previously prepared cast-iron skillet.

Photos by author.

I then scooped out the pizza sauce and then laid it out over the pizza dough.

Photo by author.

Once the pizza sauce was spread out, I added the fresh mozzarella on top and then I brushed the crust with olive oil.

Photo by author.

At that point, I baked the bottom crust on the stovetop for about five minutes.

Photo by author.

I then baked the pizza in the oven for about 12 minutes.

Photo by author.

Once the timer was up, I pulled the pizza out and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top of it. I then put it back into the oven to bake for another three minutes.

Photos by author.

While the pizza was baking for a second time, I plucked fresh leaves off of the basil plant. Once the pizza was done, I added it to the pizza.

Photos by author.

And here is the final dish for this week’s Cooking Eorzea column! The red and gold confetti came from June’s FINAL FANTASY XVI Pre-Launch Celebration and August’s FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2023-2024 events.

Photo by author.

And here is a single slice from a side angle!

Photo by author.

So, it turns out that I burned the bottom of the pizza in the skillet, and it had blackened. Other than that, it was absolutely fantastic! The pizza sauce was incredibly flavorful, and the cheese pulled apart as I ate it. I ended up eating everything but the bottom burned crust, and I loved the slight fresh pop that the basil leave added. The dough was fully cooked through too, and it was definitely a fluffy and fully done crust. The pizza was simply delicious, and it was incredibly filling.

Afterword

If I was to make this pizza dish a second time, I would definitely not burn the pizza bottom if I could. Otherwise, I would have probably let the dough sit in the refrigerator for awhile longer before I used it. Otherwise, this dish turned out extremely well and I was quite happy with how it turned out!

The final thank you’s for this year’s Cooking Eorzea column! I want to first thank Victoria Rosenthal for writing The Ultimate FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook. I also want to thank the staff over at Insight Editions for giving me permission to use the photos from their book to show how these recipes are actually supposed to look, and responding to my continual photo requests throughout the year. Furthermore, I owe Brandon Rose a special thanks for creating the logo for this series on short notice and for his photoediting work. You should check him and his works out over on X.

Finally, I want to thank both Hiromichi Tanaka and Naoki Yoshida for producing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in 1.0 and in A Realm Reborn. Eorzea was shaped by both of them, and my life is so much better off because of it.

Coming in 2024

When Cooking Eorzea returns at the start of 2024, I will be making Pork Kakuni from the Higashi region.

I am pretty excited to be working with pork belly, and the dish looks simply fantastic to make and eat. So please look forward to it!

What toppings do you like to put on your pizza?

What are your New Year Resolutions?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post Cooking Eorzea Week 42: Pizza appeared first on oprainfall.

Super Mario Bros. 3

This week, I didn’t get to play too much, but I did complete World 3 and some of 4. I should have mentioned last week; I’m playing through this by completing every stage without the use of warping or P Wings. My hopes with this playthrough are to appreciate every stage’s design, secrets, and challenge, and to gain a renewed awe for a game that provided so much fun in my childhood.

Before the ability to save, I usually skipped World 3 to get to later ones faster, but when I did play it, I thought using this boat was the coolest thing

I continue to be pretty terrible at it, though. My rusted skills don’t seem to be improving, most likely due to my inability to commit serious time to the game. Or I’m just getting older. Nonetheless, I’m enjoying all of the pleasant reminders of why I loved this game so much. That nostalgia factor is just one reason why I also love retro gaming in general.

I can still appreciate the different worlds and the creativity that went into their designs

A slight tangent now, earlier this week I was casually looking at my collection of Game Boy games and something came over me. I was remembering when I had gotten several of the games I was looking at and realized that I would never get to experience the feeling of purchasing or receiving a new Game Boy cartridge ever again. Yes I know, this isn’t quite a unique feeling, as systems have come and gone, but the Game Boy’s lifespan was quite long and was a large part of my young gaming life. It was a moment of…sadness? Loss? Longing, I think is the best way to describe it, though I did feel hints of those other feelings, too. It was strange, knowing I would never again get to look forward to the release of a new, physical Game Boy game. Nor opening the box, popping open the plastic case, or, as I often did, read the instruction booklet.

Just another indication that I’m getting older and time goes on. – Drew D.

This week in gaming I split my time between a couple of interesting titles. The first was YS 1 & 2 Chronicles. I’d never played a version of this despite playing other entries in the series, so I thought I’d give it a go. The bump mechanic is a little strange at first but it does work well overall. The game isn’t overly difficult, though there was one boss battle that gave me fits for a few minutes til I figured out exactly how to handle him. I’m just about to wrap-up the first game here, and I look forward to getting back to this later in the week.

The other game I’ve been into, Custom Mech Wars from D3 Publisher. I decided to take this one on for review cause I love mechs and EDF, so I figured this would be a mix of the two. It sorta is, but I think the mission structure could be a bit a better. I do love the almost infinite amount of ways you can customize your mechs, and the gameplay is pretty decent so far. I’ll hopefully have a full review of this one next week. -Steve

River City Rival Showdown

It’s not a secret that I have a huge soft spot for Kunio and Kunio-related games, so when the River City Rival Showdown remaster was announced for the Switch, naturally, I was interested and I picked up a copy. I loved the original version on the 3DS and I am happy to report that the game still plays well on the Switch. This game is just a real vibe with a very simple yet addicting gameplay loop. You have three days to explore town, complete quests and level up your character by beating up other gang members and delinquents. The sprites look more crisp than on the 3DS and the relatively lowpoly look works for the game giving it a rather distinct style compared to other modern beat em ups. What I forgot was just how much lore and worldbuilding is buried in this game. Just about every NPC has something to say and a lot of it further fleshes out the characters and the setting they’re in. It can be a lot to take in especially on a first playthrough, as you are trying to keep track of who is who. Still, the game lends itself quite nicely to replays as you likely won’t find or experience every event in one playthrough. There are even multiple endings based on your decisions throughout your journey. It’s a rather unique title overall and I was happy to revisit it. I’ll probably stream this one of these days. – Justin

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve added to one of these. Honestly, I’m somewhat back in one of my gaming slumps, or at least I had been most of these last few weeks, but I’ve been playing little bits here and there. A week or two ago, I was playing various Tetris games I have on Switch simply to pass a little time when I wasn’t sure what else I felt like. And of course I’ve still been keeping up with mahjong on my phone. I actually just got a great achievement the other day in Riichi City. I got their The Path to God achievement after coming in 1st and/or 2nd place for ten 4-player matches in a row. I was one win away from the next ranked room after that, but I had two losses and now I’m not quite there yet. In addition to this, most recently I’ve been trying to get back into Atelier Ryza 2. I’ve been playing Ryza 2 on and off for the last few years. I’m not sure why I can’t seem to ever finish it, but I’m enjoying playing it again. However, I’ve realized that all of my current character sidequests, which show up in the main story tab, are quite a bit further ahead than the actual main story. A couple of these sidequests require me to craft certain things through alchemy which require materials I’m not even far enough in the story to gather yet. Ultimately, I’m not super sucked into anything right now, but I’ve been cutting back enough on games during this latest slump, I should be playing a little bit more now. I’ve enjoyed getting back into Ryza 2 again. – Jenae

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Dec 10 – 16 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

Dark Gathering

I got a little behind so I had to catch myself up with the series. The last few episodes really began to tell us more about the new antagonists and along with them becoming known to Yayoi and the others. If you like back stories of the spirits, the graduate and the spirit at the water gate were just as dark as should be expected by this point. The battle was pretty intense and the abilities of the graduate were interesting. I did like that they showed that even though captured by Yayoi, the graduates are still very dangerous and not easy to control. I was happy seeing the castle ghost make an appearance again. While the show usually focuses on Keitaro, the newest episode instead follows Yayoi instead and without Eiko too. I kind of liked that it follows her going to school and seeing her classmates, who not surprisingly think she’s kind of odd. Things are not going to be calm though, as we get introduced to a girl at her school who has been plotting something with one of the spirits at the school. The back story on that one is dark of course too. I did like the situation with this one since it reminded me a bit of Corpse Party. I hope that we do see more of Yayoi and her classmates in the future, depending on how many make it. – Walter

— You can watch Dark Gathering on HIDIVE.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Dec 10 – 16 appeared first on oprainfall.

Super Mario Bros. 3

It’s been ages since I last played any of the NES Super Mario titles, as I’d sooner reach for Kirby’s Adventure when feeling the urge for a retro romp, yet I’ve had the want to revisit SMB 3 for some time now. I honestly can’t remember the last time I played it, but it was definitely on my NES rather than any kind of eShop offering, as they weren’t yet available, so, yeah, it’s been a long time.

As soon as that classic music started playing, I was hit right in the nostalgia

And as I expected, I’m pretty terrible at it. While I do remember the layouts of several of the stages in World 1, that’s about all I remember. Sure, I can also tell you where the pink note blocks are, as well as the two warp whistles, but I’ve forgotten what you have to do in stage 4 to get the white mushroom house. Nor do I remember the requirements to get the N Cards to appear (though one did show up). I can also vaguely remember that you can get a white coin boat to appear in World 1, but also that the requirements are pretty ridiculous.

Oh, how normal it was back then to just have flying ships, raccoon leaves, and magic wands like they were everyday occurrences…

Maybe I’ll look at a walkthrough or something over on gamefaqs at a later time. For now, I’ll slowly make my way through this with rusted skills and gratitude for a save ability in these newer renditions, all the while remembering the fun I had from what feels like a lifetime ago. – Drew D.

I spent most of this week finishing up Yohane the Parhelion: -BLAZE in the DEEPBLUE-. I’ll have a full review coming shortly, but I played enough of it to 100% the map if that says anything about how I felt about it.

After that I decided to go back to past and check out Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. I own this in the collection they put on the PlayStation a few years ago, but I wanted to see how the PC-Engine release was since I was never able to play this as kid. I did own Cosmic Fantasy 2 though, which is still one of my favorite games of all time. Anyways, when I started this out I forgot just how hard OG Castlevania was; I died quite a few times until I got used to attack ranges and how the enemies moved.

I played through the first four stages so far, and I was told I could unlock Maria as a playable character and she was very overpowered. I had to see this for myself, and I can confirm she is very much that. A better ranged attack, better sub weapons, double jump and she can even heal herself. I’m pretty hooked on this and I’ll probably play the PlayStation 4 collection after this to see what changes were made. – Steve

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Dec 3 – 9 appeared first on oprainfall.

Two-and-a-half years is a very long time. Whether it be for a relationship, a job, or even live support for an MMORPG, it is a major milestone that should create feelings of real accomplishment in anyone who achieves it. This month, Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS (PSO2 NGS) turns two-and-a-half, and the team behind the game is releasing some seriously new content that is designed to lure back old players and initiate new ones into Planet Halpha in PSO2 NGS.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to conduct a SECOND (yes, SECOND!) email interview with Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis’ series producer, Yuya Kimura, where we talked about his career at SEGA, the upcoming Super Genesis Festival, and more.

You can check out the latest on Phantasy Star Online 2 at the official website, on Twitter, on Twitch, on Facebook, on Instagram, on YouTube, and on Discord.

Operation Rainfall: Could you please introduce yourself?

Yuya Kimura: My name is Yuya Kimura, and I’m the series producer of Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS (NGS) at SEGA.

OR: You’ve been at SEGA for 21 years, per our last interview in June 2023. Can you tell us one or two of your favorite personal memories worked at such a historic video game company?

YK: I’ve had a pretty unique career over my 21 years here, focused entirely on the development of the Phantasy Star series.

Although there are people who have worked for the same game company for more than 20 years, it is rare in the industry for a creator to work continuously on the same series of titles over all that time. Being involved with the series for so long has given me a lot of happy memories. For example, I’ve heard several stories of people who met and got married because of the series, and I sometimes meet parents with children who play the series as a family. There have also been cases where new SEGA employees played a title I was involved in when they were young—and it was that title that inspired them to become a game developer, and now they’ve actually joined SEGA and are involved in the same title. That’s really a priceless joy that I couldn’t have experienced without having worked for SEGA for so long.

Yuya Kimura is the series producer for Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS ver.2 (Image courtesy of SEGA).

OR: Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS ver.2’s December 2023 update is focused on new and returning players for the game’s two-and-a-half year anniversary. Why did you decide to focus this major year-end update about making the storyline more accessible to those types of gamers?

YK: In June 2023, the game was upgraded to Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS ver. 2 and new elements such as Creative Space and Portable Holograms were implemented that attracted new players and brought back returning players. However, the battle content for core users released from August onwards had a high barrier to play. In addition, many people who played the content felt that the rewards were not commensurate with the difficulty level or playtime. For those reasons, some people gave up playing midway through.

In response, we made adjustments in October and November, including easing the Join Conditions to make them easier to meet, rebalancing rewards, and implementing a boost campaign. As a result, we believe that the game is stabilizing, still slowly but at a better clip than before. In addition, in December, we will be making NGS easier to play than ever before by further easing requirements and revamping rewards. We hope this will bring back inactive players and entice new users to try NGS.

The latest update for PSO2 NGS ver.2 really has a focus on making the game more accessible to players. (Image owned by SEGA).

OR: What kind of changes does The 2½ Year Anniversary Campaign: Super Genesis Festival have to make it so players can experience the storyline more easily?

YK: First, I would like to say that NGS has become really easy to play as of Dec 6, 2023, on a permanent basis, unrelated to the ongoing Super Genesis Festival campaign. To make it easier to catch up with the top players, there’s a permanent +300% boost to EXP Earned in Combat Sectors up to a certain level. Also, just by leveling up, you’ll get pre-enhanced equipment appropriate for your level. Until you reach the highest level, you’ll have no real problems with your equipment. Plus, in NGS, you can set up a Sub-Class in addition to your Main Class. Previously only 50% of the EXP you earned with your Main Class was applied to your Sub-Class, but now that’s been bumped up to 90%.

The latest chapter of the story is Chapter 6. We’ve eased back on the overall difficulty of progressing through the story—as a reward for completing Chapter 5, for example, you get a huge amount of the in-game currency, N-Meseta, as well as tons of avatar items. This lets you quickly push ahead with your adventures while enjoying fashion and other aspects of the game.

Regarding fashion, the period during which you can edit your body shape and other elements of your character’s appearance at the Salon for free after creating a new character has been extended to 72 hours of log in time, a significant increase from the previous 5-hour total. We also have a convenient feature where 15 days of Material Storage is automatically granted after finishing the tutorial.

During the Super Genesis Festival campaign period, we’re running a Use the Salon to your heart’s content! Campaign, and distributing a free Color-Change Pass (x15), Material Storage Use (15 Days) (x1), and more, making it even easier to jump in and play. It’s really the perfect time for new players and ARKS who have been away to come and play NGS.

OR: Also, what new content can veteran players expect in The 2½ Year Anniversary Campaign: Super Genesis Festival?

YK: First of all, overall, there will be more opportunities to obtain the 10-star Flugelgard weapon series. These will be added to some quests that did not previously drop them and drop rates will increase in quests where they already drop.

In early December, the popular Standing Quest: Leciel Exploration will be expanded with new elements and upgraded rewards. Then in mid-December, Dark Falz Aegis, previously only available as an Urgent Quest or Trigger Quest, will make its debut as a Standing Quest in an enhanced, powered-up version.

All of these are challenging, but since a 10-star weapon is included in the drop rewards, we encourage you to give them a try.

“Being involved with the series for so long has given me a lot of happy memories.”

OR: During this timed event from December 6, 2023 through January 24, 2024, there are rewards players can earn. Can you tell us a bit more about what kind of rewards gamers can expect when they participate in it?

YK: In addition to what I just mentioned about the Super Genesis Festival Campaign, from Dec 6-19, 2023 we will be running a Super Treasure Scratch campaign, where twice the usual amount of Treasure Scratch tickets can be earned in Daily Tasks and Treasure Scratch tickets will be added as drops in all Urgent Quests. Plus, during this period, you’ll be able to complete Urgent Quests twice.

In addition, starting on Dec 20, 2023, a new feature called the Reward Box will be added where, by completing the target Daily Tasks, you’ll be able to earn lots of popular past Weapon Camo and avatar items. It works like a Scratch Ticket, but in box format—that means items are never duplicated after being obtained, and, if you take the time, you can be sure to get all of the items.

There will be more campaigns and other ways to get your hands on a variety of rewards from Dec 27, 2023. Details will be announced in the NGS Headline broadcast on Dec 26, 2023.

The just-added 10-star Flugelgard weapon series in PSO2 NGS ver.2. (Image owned by SEGA).

OR: One of the biggest surprises for me in this announcement is that there will be an increase in drops for the 10★ Flugelgard series that was released as part of the November 15, 2023, patch. What kind of increase are we talking about? Do you mean that it will be spread across more events, or are drop percentage rates increasing? If we are talking percentage drop rate, can you give us an idea of how significant of an increase it is?

YK: The upward revision of the drop rate is permanent from Dec 6, 2023 and is not limited to the event period.

Regarding the increase in the drop rate, we’ve made it even higher than the Drop Rate +100% boost campaign that we had in November for a variety of content.

OR: Along those lines: How do you determine what the drop-rate percentage for items should be when you’re releasing new content?

YK: The number of drops and number of equipment for the newest weapons are checked daily, and if the actual numbers of drops and equipment are lower than the number of drops and equipment that the development staff had expected before the release, the number is revised upward, as is happening in this case.

OR: At the start of November, a new anti-cheat tool by Wellbia was implemented into Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS ver.2. Can you talk a bit about your efforts to combat cheating in Phantasy Star Online 2 NEW GENESIS ver.2, and how does SEGA and your team handles people who are caught cheating in the game?

YK: Since the game launched, we have always devoted a lot of time and money to anti-cheat measures. However, while I do apologize, I am unable to give you any specifics about our countermeasures, because that information may aid rogue users in creating new cheat methods. If you are found to be cheating or otherwise violating our Terms of Service, we will ban your account for either a certain amount of time or permanently, depending on the severity of the offense.

OR: When we last talked in June 2023, Creative Space was going to be released as part of Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis ver.2. What has player feedback been like since it was released, and do you have any plans to enhance it as part of the future roadmap?

YK: We have received a great deal of positive feedback since we first announced our plans to implement Creative Space, and we feel that we have exceeded our own expectations with the very positive response we have received. We’ve also had lots of requests for things to be added, and [we] are working to respond to these as soon as possible.

Creative Space is recently added content that lets you shape everything from the terrain to the music playing in your own unique slice of the game. (Image owned by SEGA).

OR: As we wrap up this interview, do you have any last words for people looking forward to The 2½ Year Anniversary Campaign: Super Genesis Festival?

YK: I would like to thank all the ARKS out there for playing NGS.

To express our gratitude, for the first time ever for the PSO2 series, we are currently holding a half-anniversary celebration called the Super Genesis Festival. As I mentioned earlier as well, we are running extensive, fabulous campaigns over the year-end and New Year’s holidays. These campaigns will offer tons of advantages not only to current players, but also to new players and those returning after a break, so we hope everyone will take this opportunity to play NGS.

I want to thank Yuya Kimura for participating in a second interview with us here at oprainfall about PSO2 NGS!

Are you excited about the Super Genesis Festival? What kind of fashion do you hope to wear in the game?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post INTERVIEW: Yuya Kimura Talks about PSO2 NGS’s Super Genesis Festival appeared first on oprainfall.

This week’s Cooking Eorzea column was the hardest column yet, and I seriously struggled with making it. It wasn’t the cooking skill, it wasn’t the timing in my life. To put it simply, I couldn’t find Mahi-Mahi with the skin on to use as an ingredient. The fact that I was able to make this dish at all was one of the biggest surprises of this year for me, and it took several unexpected turns to bring it to the finish line.

I reached out to every grocery store and every fish market that I could get ahold off within roughly a 40-minute drive of myself, and I simply could not source it. It was incredibly frustrating to talk to managers and employees who told me that they could not special order it with the skin on, and that they could not give me any advice on where I could find some Mahi-Mahi fillets with the skin on as none of them were carrying it at that time.

This dragged on for weeks, and it was the most frustrating experience I have had so far with writing Cooking Eorzea. I ended up emailing Ms. Rosenthal and Insight Editions, and I apologized to them both for how long my column was taking to write. Ms. Rosenthal responded and told me that this was not Mahi season, and that it would be easier to find from May through September.

I won’t lie, it started to break me. As November started to stretch on, I was thinking about skipping this recipe and coming back to it. With Thanksgiving approaching and me going back to see family in my home state, I reached out to one of the handful of fish markets in my hometown to ask.

And surprisingly, somehow…the first place I called said that they could get Mahi-Mahi with the skin on for me.

With that set up, I needed a place to cook since I was going to be on the opposite side of the country from my kitchen. I asked a pair of dear friends of mine if I could cook them dinner. This would be the first time I’ve cooked a Cooking Eorzea dish for someone since the Bouillabaisse recipe in July 2022, if you’re curious. My friends said ‘yes’, and I ended up borrowing their kitchen, their kitchenware, and a handful of ingredients to make the Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi with.

I had forgotten that I love cooking for others with Love, Eorzean Style. Cooking for friends, having dinner and conversation with them, and just seeing people that I haven’t seen in months was a special memory to have. If I hadn’t had such a hard time finding Mahi-Mahi, I wouldn’t have cooked for them. I really want to cook for other people more often here on out, if I can.

And hopefully, some of the upcoming recipes will let me do just that.

If you’ve missed an installment of Cooking Eorzea, you can check out all the prior recipes here.

Recipe of the Week

The most difficult recipe to make so far, the 42nd recipe in The Official FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook is for Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi. That is a bit ironic, since it is an ‘Easy’ rated La Noscean dish, and it truly was the easiest dish to actually make after the Nutrient-Rich Porridge that I made back in Week 5.

Anyway, here is what Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi looks like in the hands of a true chef:

Image courtesy of Insight Editions.

Featured Ingredient of the Week

Photo by author.

Like there could be any other possible featured ingredient for this week’s Cooking Eorzea.

Mahi-Mahi is a ray-finned fish that lives worldwide in temperate, tropical, and sub-tropical waters. They have a single, long, dorsal fin and they can live for up to five years. They are a carnivorous fish and they can swim up to 50 knots at a time. They are also, per Ms. Rosenthal, easier to find from May through September in seafood markets!

I thought obtaining birch syrup and lotus root was difficult, but Mahi-Mahi proved to be more difficult than both of them combined. I knew after a couple of weeks of searching for this fish that I would have to make it my Ingredient of the Week once I was able to finally make this dish!

My Cooking Attempt

It was really strange cooking at someone else’s home, even if they are a pair of close friends of mine. I ended up using their salt, pepper, and pre-minced garlic. Also, because I was so far away from my own kitchen, I ended up having to use their pans, utensils, and stove top to make this week’s Cooking Eorzea dish. I also couldn’t bear to bring the Endwalker Hydaelyn/Zodiark shakers with me on multiple plane flights, so I had to leave them out of this week’s column.

Photo by author.

First, I zested the lemon. It was super weird using a zester that wasn’t my own, and I kept having to shake the zest loose from the metal device in order to get as much as possible out of it.

Photo by author.

I then sliced up half of the lemon and set those slices aside for later.

Photo by author.

I then ground out pepper, salt, and used the zested lemon to coat the four Mahi-Mahi fillets.

Photo by author.

I turned on my friends’ stovetop, and I added some olive oil to their pan, and I started to swirl it around. The pan heated up fairly quickly, to my surprise!

Photo by author.

Once the pan and the olive oil was properly heated, I added in two of the Mahi-Mahi fillets, skin down. I let them sizzle for about four minutes, and then I flipped them over and let them cook for another four minutes.

Photos by author.

After taking the temperature to make sure they were cooked properly, I set those two Mahi-Mahi fillets aside and repeated the process with the other two Mahi-Mahi fillets.

Photos by author.

Once I pulled out the last Mahi-Mahi fillets once they were also at the proper temperature, I added in the butter, and I let it melt down.

Photo by author.

Once the butter was melted down, I added in the minced garlic, and I let it cook for a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, it started to burn during that time. It turns out that I misgauged the temperature of the pan. After the garlic somewhat burned, I added in the all-purpose flour.

Photos by author.

I blended it all together, and it definitely was a burned mess.

Photo by author.

I then added the vegetable broth and the sake…

Photos by author.

…And then the lemon juice before I blended it all together.

Photos by author.

Finally, I added on the lemon slices, and I allowed them to all heat up.

Photo by author.

I then ladled the ‘sauce’ and the lemon slices onto the Mahi-Mahi fillets. I ended up having to smear the sauce onto the fillets, as it was just so gummy and solid.

Photo by author.

And here is the final Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi dish for this week’s Cooking Eorzea!

Photo by author.

Despite burning the garlic, I was shocked at how amazing this dish tasted. The Mahi-Mahi skin was perfectly crispy, and the fish was cooked through and hot. The citrus from the lemon juice and the spark from the sake really complimented the fish well, and I just fell in love with how light and delicious this whole dish was. My friends loved it too, and they actually made fresh mashed potatoes with the rest of the butter that I didn’t use as a side dish.

I ended up using a mixture of FINAL FANTASY XI Online and FINAL FANTASY XIV Online coasters for this week’s dish, simply because I have been drawn more and more back into Vana’diel lately and I am trying to figure out if there is some way I can belong to both that realm and Eorzea at the same time again.

Afterword

The biggest issue with cooking in someone else’s kitchen is that you don’t know the little ‘quirks’ that it has. I didn’t know how quickly my friends’ pans or stove heat up, and so I ended up burning the sauce. Thankfully, it didn’t impact the flavor, but it still looked fairly ugly in the end. I would absolutely make this dish again, but I would be more cautious with the temperature I set things at when I am cooking in someone else’s home.

So, ‘thank you’ time!. I want to thank Victoria Rosenthal for writing The Ultimate FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook and for jumping in to advise me that I was looking for an out-of-season fish. I also want to thank the staff over at Insight Editions for giving me permission to use the photos from their book to show how these recipes should look, and for being patient with how long this week’s column took to write. Furthermore, I owe Brandon Rose a special thanks for creating the logo for this series on short notice. You should check him and his art out over on X. I also owe my friends a real, serious, thank you for letting me use their kitchen and their equipment to make this week’s Cooking Eorzea dish. Without their love and support, I would not have been able to make this week’s dish.

Finally, I want to thank both Hiromichi Tanaka and Naoki Yoshida for producing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in both iterations of the game. I still love this series, even if I struggle with winning the Fall Guys content in the Golden Saucer.

In Two~ish Weeks

Next up: Pizza!

I have never made pizza dough before, and so this will be a real adventure for me. I have had plenty of experience making dough from the breads section of the cookbook, and so I am really hopeful that it will serve me well with this upcoming recipe attempt!

Have you ever struggled to obtain a cooking ingredient before? What was it?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post Cooking Eorzea Week 41: Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi appeared first on oprainfall.

After finishing up Gears of Dragoon I decided to move on to VenusBlood GAIA. I loved the previous two releases, so I had pretty high expectations going into this one and so far I’m pretty pleased. The story here follows Archduke Theofrad who has discovered a new energy source to help bring back his dying world. The Holy Dragon Empire Granleyd doesn’t like this and has declared war on him and the Sorcerous City of Energeia. Theofrad is willing to take on the empire and the rest of the world if it means he can save them from certain doom!

While I am loving the story and characters, there has been a huge change in the gameplay here as well. In the previous games you would move squads and formations around on a map taking nodes on it. VenusBlood GAIA changes this up to be more of a tower defense type of game that is turn based. You will have to defeat would-be invaders in the labyrinth under the city. This is done by placing units and traps to slow their progress and planning out how to deal with surface units as well.

I’m still pretty early on in the game, and I’m doing the Law Route first, so we’ll see if my feeling change on this by the end of both routes. – Steve

So I’m back to Star Ocean: The Second Story R now that I’ve wrapped up Like a Dragon Gaiden. I finally advanced the story to the second continent despite only levelling up to around 45 or so, but I was eager to get to the Laceur tournament sequence and recruiting Precis in Linga. Booting up this game seriously feels like coming home. It’s comfy and familiar and everything I remember from the PS1 days, but with really welcome quality of life changes that my 20-plus year older self appreciates immensely. I just don’t have the time to grind in the Lasgus Mountains like I did when I was 17. The Bodyguard skill has been a godsend, and is honestly one of the best features in SO2R that I think other RPGs with world maps should adopt. It’s the only game other than Earthbound I’ve seen that lets you immediately win fights without entering battle and I cannot fathom how this has never become standard fare after all these years. I’m also head over heels in love with the fact I can see my relationship status with my team now, so I don’t have to wait until the end of the game to know what character ending I’m actually going to get. Right now I’m on an Ashton/Rena trajectory, but knowing I can course correct at any time because I can see where my relationships all stand is spectacular. There is something to be said for the original PS1 version’s opaque systems, but again, I just don’t have the time I used to to have for needless fiddling and bullshit. I’ll still likely end up using love potions near the end just to see other character endings but knowing where I’m at is wonderful.

In the real world, I also got to visit a neat arcade! It’s called Robot City and is a comfy little store-plus-arcade setup in Binghamton, N.Y. with an assortment of pinball machines and classic arcade titles. It’s also the only place I’ve ever seen a Baby Pac-Man exist. I’ve never seen one in person, let alone played one, so having the chance to was neat. The game itself was mediocre (and I’m crap at Pac-Man to begin with), but the novelty of it was worthwhile and a nice surprise. My son thought it was the coolest thing. It’s nice being able to visit hole-in-the-wall arcades still, and this place had a very nice vibe. The store was well-kept with a decent stock of games from Atari up through PS5, while the arcade was dimly lit and a little crowded, so it gave off a really comfy atmosphere. If you’re ever in the Southern Tier region, it’s worth checking out. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Nov 19 – 25 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off!

I finally got around to finishing the Netflix Scott Pilgrim anime and as a longtime fan of the series, it was great! Science Saru really knocked it out of the park capturing the comic’s look and translating that into gorgeous fight scenes and set pieces. The show is absolutely a love letter to this story, told in a way that I found incredibly refreshing. I would say that if you’re unfamiliar with the Scott Pilgrim comics or movie, you can absolutely jump in here and still get the full story, but I think it benefits from having previous knowledge of the canon. That being said, the animation on display here is some of the best, with a blend of styles and techniques that I expect from a cutting-edge studio like Science Saru. The fight scenes especially have some fantastic choreography and staging, and the way the team uses lighting to establish mood is beautiful. If I have one complaint it’s the forced focus effect they use, since it can sometimes be a bit nauseating how quickly a scene goes in and out of focus. As an experimental technique, though, I have to give Science Saru props. At any rate, this show was a ton of fun and I’m itching to give it a rewatch. I highly recommend it for old fans and even new ones, with the caveat that you should definitely at least watch the movie to get the full perspective on these characters and story. – Leah

— You can watch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off! on Netflix.

Anime of the Past:

Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island

This was one movie that I’ve been wanting to watch but didn’t have a chance to see until just now. The movie is set during the One Year War in the original series, and is a remake of an episode that became somewhat infamous. I have never seen the original, but having seen some screens of it, you can tell it was one of the times in the series that quality really dropped. With that being said, this movie is definitely for those who are fans of the original series. It does not really take any time to explain anything and more or less goes off that you already know about the characters and story, which is something that I kind of like. The animation for this looks great and does give the feel of the original, with the battles being quite good. The character of Doan was pretty interesting with the life he lives when we meet him and the conflict he has with his past unit. While I liked it, it is kind of weird to me that they turned a 20-something minute episode into a movie; especially one that of doesn’t really have any real connection to the main plot. That being said, I did think it was a pretty decent movie. – Walter

— You can watch Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island on Crunchyroll.

Manga and LNs:

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun

Since having caught up with the Japanese raws/ fan-translation, I’ve been doing a better job of keeping up with Iruma-kun. Things have certainly been happening, however most events, I feel, would have been difficult to talk about or go into detail here on our Week in Anime recaps. That is until this past week’s chapter, in which we get an Amelie focused chapter. Every so often, we get a chapter starring Iruma’s primary love interest from his harem/ not harem. These are always a fun read, as we get to see the normally straight-laced student council present show a wider range of emotions, especially when she has her moments with Iruma.

This chapter is a bit different from the other Amelie centered chapters, though, as this one actually stars her father, Henri, as he sneaks into the school and follows his daughter throughout her day. While doing so, he also reflects on Iruma’s achievements, wondering how in the Netherworld this seemingly innocuous boy, possibly a human as Henri suspects, has captured the attention of so many influential individuals. Having played a hand in many of the major events that have recently occurred in the Netherworld, the chapter ends on a cliffhanger, where Henri corners Iruma and Amelie and asks him…how Iruma feels about his daughter. Yup, that’s not awkward at all. – Drew D.

The Demon King’s Daughter is too Kind

This is a series I had come across over the summer and was hooked from the first chapter. The Demon King’s Daughter is too Kind is pure charm; a story that follows the demon king’s cute daughter, Dou, who is nothing like a demon at all. Dou seems to have the power to melt even the hardest of stone hearts, charming everyone she meets with her adorableness, as well as her genuine kindness to everyone she meets. There is never a dull moment with Dou, as she gets herself and her caretaker, Jahy, into perilous situations, only to delightfully use her altruism and lovable nature to comedically remedy any conflicts.

Lighthearted and uplifting, this is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for big doses of good nature and adorable humor. – Drew D.

The official English translation of Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun is provided by Kodansha US
Japanese volumes of The Demon King’s Daughter is too Kind available on amazon.co.jp, fan- translation can be found on Mangadex

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Nov 19 – 25 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:
Dark Gathering

Having secured a home to keep their graduates and a new target, the gang decided to go pick up a graduate in hiding. This one was placed by Yayoi in a haunted love hotel, which is fitting for what we learn about this new graduate. One thing I have liked about the series is the set up of the haunted places and of the spirits themselves. I will say as bad as what happened at the hotel, I think it’s still not as terrible as what was shown to have happened at the house Yayoi and Eiko went to before this. Not surprisingly, Keitaro was the target, but I did like that he did most of the confrontation by himself. I am excited to see this new graduate in action, and liked its dialogue/threats with Keitaro. While I don’t think it really was a surprise when you have a series about the supernatural, the discussion at the end of the episode I think will bring some interesting stuff in the future. – Walter

— You can watch Dark Gathering on HIDIVE.

Goblin Slayer

I had to get caught up with this one after watching the season premiere. While I’m not up to date I’ve read quite a few of the light novels so I kind of knew of some of the moments to see this season. One thing that I do like about this part of the story is that other characters get their time in, and we see Goblin Slayer interacting more with others. Little things such as some of the previous seen rookies returning and getting some time was nice. One of my favorite scenes was seeing Goblin Slayer out with some other adventurers for a boy’s night. For this season, while I understand the point of the character, I will say the wizard boy is probably the character I like the least in the series. Even with the reveal of his backstory, I still couldn’t care less about him. That being said, the storyline in the elves, territory was one I was interested in seeing this season. While I am not surprised by it they did remember to include the swimsuit scene. As someone with deep interest in Fortean topics, I was also excited to see “the one who stops the river flow.” That and also the fact they ended an episode on Goblin Slayer’s question about elephants. I am liking the new themes, but I am usually a fan of Mili songs so I guess that’s not a surprise. I am interested to see how they finish off the season. – Walter

— You can watch Goblin Slayer on Crunchyroll.

Manga and LNs:

Ume and Momo’s Everyday Life

It’s been a while since the last one, so I was pleased to see a new chapter of Ume and Momo translated and made available this week. Chapter 19 sees Momo catching a cold and Ume being the loving big sister that she is. This one is pure charm, as we see Ume making sure Ume is properly eating and getting plenty of rest, though we do see a moment of hesitation when Ume is checking the prices of cold medicines. We hear you Ume, everything is more expensive everywhere… – Drew D.

That pain is real…

Hitomi-chan Is Shy with Strangers

The last several chapters of Hitomi-chan have been quite the ride, pretty much since our heroine and Usami became an official couple. Firstly, I’m impressed that this didn’t take three-hundred chapters to get to this point and, secondly, the progression has been believable and immersive. One effect, however, is that the events and stories have been less about shyness and more about awkward situations. Perhaps now that Hitomi has grown into a more outgoing individual, and in a relationship with the person who has been with her along her journey, we’ll be seeing less of her shyness. And instead, we’ll have more in the ways of the two being put in ridiculous situations. A change, yes, though I have a feeling this shift in themes will work out just fine.

And despite having shared an onsen and, more recently, a bathtub together, the new couple finally had their actual big moment. No, nothing dirty, as this manga is appreciably all ages (sort of). Cliché summer festival, yukata, fireworks and all. – Drew D.

My Dog Becomes a Human (or, Ponta Becomes a Human)

Then there’s this nonsense again. The most recent chapter follows an afghan hound named Hibari with a dual-personality owner. A demon manager at work, she’s a swooner and completely at her dog’s mercy, as Hibari is fully self-absorbed and doesn’t like to interact with anyone. Though, even a dog like this needs attentions once in a while.

Maybe it’s because he look like Alucard from Symphony of the Night that I cared this time around…

Yep, I’ll probably read the next one or two, but whether I’ll waste my words discussing it here is another question entirely… – Drew D.

Ume and Momo fan-translation can be found on Mangadex
The official English publication of Hitomi-chan is Shy with Strangers licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment. Fan-translations can be found on Mangadex.
My Dog Becomes a Human fan-translation can be found on Mangadex

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Nov 12 – 18 appeared first on oprainfall.

This past week I’ve mostly been playing Fashion Dreamer and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Fashion Dreamer I don’t want to talk about yet because I’m going to be writing a review on that in the future. What I do wanna talk a bit about, is Like a Dragon Gaiden. Back when the next three, upcoming at the time, Yakuza / Like a Dragon games were announced, I think Gaiden was the one I was most looking forward to. Yakuza 7 I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest of the series, so at the time I wasn’t super excited about Infinite Wealth and for whatever reason, Ishin just wasn’t as exciting to me as Gaiden.

Now that the game is out, I’m having a lot of fun playing Gaiden. It is a little disappointing realizing it’s somewhat of a short in between game, it’s not a full sized Yakuza. But honestly, it doesn’t seem too much smaller than some prior mainline entries in the series, seeing as there have been a few shorter titles. Anyway, currently I believe I’m nearing the end of Chapter 2. I’ve been running around Sotenbori doing some side stuff for Akame and I just finished up my first trip to the Castle. I’m about to unlock the Coliseum as an extra thing to do on the side. I only visited for the story before and wasn’t able to do any more than that. It’s been extremely enjoyable having a brand new, more traditional Yakuza game to play again. Now I am looking forward to Infinite Wealth however, since it seems significantly larger than Yakuza 7 was and looks a lot more exciting than I previously thought it would be, especially because it has important returning characters. I like that they made the RPG battles a little more interactive as well and added in some of that old style. I absolutely adore RPGs, but strangely enough, I prefer the classic gameplay style when it comes to Yakuza.

One last thing I should mention about Like a Dragon Gaiden, is that I’m playing on a regular old slim PS4. I’m not reviewing this one but thought maybe you’d all like to know how it runs on PS4. Thus far, I haven’t run into any major issues playing recent Like a Dragon games on my system. There was one late game story event/situation in Ishin that sounded rough on my PS4, but other than that, I haven’t been having any issues. Occasionally when I walk up to and activate the next story scene in Gaiden, it will freeze for a few seconds and take a bit to get going, but that’s about it. Honestly, I don’t even know if that’s a slow PS4 performance thing and not just normal game functioning. For the most part I’ve had no issues. I’m excited to eventually try out the Infinite Wealth trial later on. – Jenae

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Nov 5 – 11 appeared first on oprainfall.

Manga and LNs:

My Dog Becomes a Human (or, Ponta Becomes a Human)

Earlier this week, I made the grave mistake of reading the fan-translated chapters of My Dog Becomes a Human. Lured by striking details and a limited, yet intense color palette, I soon found myself reading what I can only describe as an aesthetically baited ongoing car crash. You know, when you see a car wreck, you can’t help but look, either drawn by the wreck itself or by the flashing lights of police, fire, and ambulance vehicles. Imagine that, but for every chapter, wanting to see the new wreck, how bad it is, and how many flashing lights showed up and what new circumstances arose this time.

As one could guess, My Dog Becomes a Human is about how all of the dogs in a city have somehow become humans, yet act exactly the same as they did. Owners must now contend with their newly humanized pets, with all of their unique eccentricities. Also, all of the dogs are depicted as incredibly handsome, beautiful, or cute, blatantly drawing humor from the terribly uncomfortable tones of physical attraction between actual human owners and their once dogs.

Most chapters focus on the everyday lives of a husky, Ponta, and his schoolgirl owner. As a husky, Ponta’s personality is like a switch; cool and calm one moment, a complete goofball nutcase the next. And his owner suffers Ponta’s emotional whims, all the while trying to rein him in without getting a swoon-induced bloody nose.

Funny? Yes. Entertaining? Sure. Uncomfortable? Undoubtedly, as female owners swoon for their male dogs/not dogs, but totally still dogs. And yet, then there are chapters like chapter 11, which explores the loss of a loved one and how caring for an adopted canine can bring much needed companionship and love in an otherwise bleak and bitter existence.

So yeah, I’ll keep making the mistake of reading for now, looking forward to the next wreck. – Drew D.

Fan-translations can be found on Mangadex

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Nov 5 – 11 appeared first on oprainfall.

I’ve been up to a few things this week, but most of it has been Star Ocean: The Second Story R, which has been everything I could have wanted in a remake of this classic title for modern consoles. I have made no secret that SO2 is my favorite Star Ocean game, and one of my favorite RPGs of all time, so I have been waiting for this game for years. I played the demo last month in anticipation, and all of my thoughts from that time continue into the full release, but there’s definitely much more to discuss.

I mentioned briefly in that previous Week in Gaming write-up that you can use Assault Actions to call forth protagonists from the other Star Ocean games if you find their corresponding gem. Right now, I only have Laeticia, as you are given her early on in Krosse Cave as part of the story, but the heroes aren’t the only ones you can use as Assaults. All characters not currently in your active party can be assigned to one of four spots, which gives you a lot of customizability to enhance or balance your personal playstyle. For instance, Laeticia performs a point blank physical AOE. For the SO2 characters, you can choose which Assault action they perform, and those actions can be what makes or breaks a battle. You can have Rena as an AA and have her come in and heal the entire party. Or maybe you want to hold back Celine and use her AA to cast Southern Cross. Each Assault Action is on a 60 second timer, so you never have to wait too long to use them, but they aren’t an action you can necessarily use as a crutch, either, since battles move quickly.

Battles aren’t the only things that move quickly in SO2R. One of the new features in this remake is the ability to fast travel to places you’ve visited in the past, circumventing the often tedious backtracking the Star Ocean games are known to have. You can also see which towns have active Private Actions available, removing the guessing game of where and when some of these missable moments between characters occur. As a veteran Star Ocean player, this is one of the most welcome QoL changes Gemdrops added to the remake. The original Star Ocean 2 often had inscrutable requirements for character recruitment, sometimes requiring multiple previous PAs and chance encounters in out of the way locations, and with 11 characters to choose from, the constant backtracking to find their PAs – arguably the series’ most important feature – would often grind the story to a standstill. That guesswork is mostly gone now, which for me is a welcome change. SO2 is designed to be played twice, and the original game was already time-intensive because of backtracking, so SO2R feels like it hits that sweet spot where it respects my time while also keeping to the spirit of the original by maintaining where and when all these PAs occur. On top of fast travel, the lack of random battles and speed-up function for dialogue help shave down time, and getting the skill Bodyguard has been a godsend for passive leveling. None of these changes have detracted from the appeal of this game, and even with the streamlining, it still feels like I’m playing the game I’ve loved so dearly for over 20 years.

At any rate, I’m about 10 hours into the game and still haven’t left the first continent because I’m having so much fun running around leveling up, exploring regions I remember fondly from the original to see their new glowups, and recruiting characters/seeing their PAs. I’ve just recruited my boy Ashton and am working on his subquest, then I’ll probably move the story forward to Laceur, but in the meantime I’m just enjoying this delightfully updated game. Really wish Square Enix would send me my Collector’s Edition at some point so I can enjoy that aspect of the remake, too.

When I’m able to pull myself away from SO2R, I’ve been keeping up with FFXIV, which just released its crossover with Fall Guys. I have to say, I’m impressed with how well the devs were able to translate that experience into an MMO – including rage-inducing lag and frustration. I’m only half joking, but there are definitely some issues with timing. That being said, it’s also been a lot of fun, and the event is surprisingly cute and addictive. I doubt I’ll ever reach the 100 wins, but I’m having fun banging my head against this. I think the best thing the XIV devs decided to do was to keep this a limited time event so folks don’t burn out on it and there’s always a healthy playerbase to make each race an exciting time. – Leah

I spent most of this week playing Gears of Dragoon. I’m getting close to the end with about 60 hours in this. I finally hit the story branch and decided to go the machine route, cause Ashley is amazing and clearly the best girl here! Also, the other route requires more crystals to see all the events so it’s best to start with this one. The dungeon crawling is very basic, but fun. The game really shines in its story and character writing, which I will go into more in my full review.

Outside of that I spent some time with Blue Archive. It’s been a while since I had time to play, but with all the anniversary events coming up and the current ones running I thought I’d jump in. I mean I had to get the free maid Yuzu, she’s too cute. Hopefully the Gatcha Gods will be on my side and I can roll Maid Alice before this event ends. – Steve

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Oct 29 – Nov 4 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

I’m in Love with the Villainess

The set up is something that’s definitely been seen a lot. Poorly treated worker awakens in another world, in this case their favorite otome game. She takes the role of Rei, the game’s protagonist, and from here is where things begin to differ from the game. Rei isn’t interested in the three princes who are the love interests, but Claire who’s the antagonist as you can guess from the title. Claire is the stereotypical prideful talented noble who looks down on commoners and bullies Rei. However, Rei is obsessed with Claire and actually welcomes and enjoys the abuse. From her previous life, Rei has played the game numerous times and knows everything about the game world and of course Claire. I do like how a good chunk of the first episodes are Claire’s attempts to bully Rei and Rei finding the best way to get closer to her while avoiding the princes. While it seems pretty basic on the surface, I think it works and you can see some development like Claire starting to thaw a bit towards Rei. I wasn’t sure how much I would get into this one but, I’m enjoying it. – Walter

— You can watch I’m in Love with the Villainess on Crunchyroll.

Spy x Family

Finally, plot! And it’s Yor-centric, too! I love Spy x Family‘s little episodic moments, but having the story advance even a little is also a plus, and this is a two-fer where we actually get to see Yor’s work and her side of this family arrangement. We spend so little time with her it’s criminal. Anyway, she’s on bodyguard duty to spirit the widow of a gangster out of the country, so we’re already on some shaky moral grounds, seeing as Yor’s whole schtick is she kills “evil” people and a mafia boss’ wife would usually slot neatly into that category. She meets up with Yuri on her way home after being assigned her job, and has an epiphany that since her little brother is all grown up and living his own life, she has no real reason to continue being an assassin. While this makes sense in character, I have to say it fell really flat for me as a viewer because we’ve seen so little of Yor’s feelings about not only her assassin life, but how it interferes with and impacts her fake family life, too. With Loid we see him struggling to juggle being a spy and doing his work while also being a “normal” dad, but Yor has been somewhat sidelined here. Other than the butt episode, we’ve seen no real conflict between her job and her cover, so her suddenly wanting to hang up her assassination ways just didn’t hit that hard. That being said, I think it makes sense for her to want to stop since she’s such a good and kindhearted woman that killing others WOULD weigh heavily on her conscience. I’m curious to see what’s going to happen in the second half of this episode now that the bad guys are aware Yor’s client is onboard. I just hope it doesn’t end up being a Loid saves the day ending. – Leah

– You can watch Spy x Family on Crunchyroll.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Oct 29 – Nov 4 appeared first on oprainfall.

After yet again ending up back in somewhat of a slump and not really sure what I felt like playing, I went ahead and finally started Octopath Traveler II. I’ve been sitting on a Switch copy for a a number of months now and figured it might be a good game to enjoy during fall. Although, it’s basically already back to winter now where I’m at. I just remember that the first Octopath Traveler had some really great atmosphere and it seemed like it could be a fun fall RPG to play. I ended up initially picking Throné because I was kind of looking for somewhat of a Primrose equivalent, personality/backstory wise. However, after collecting a few different characters now, I think I’m finding myself more partial to Ochette. She’s just really cute and I like her character so far. I haven’t gotten very far yet though. I’ve got an initial party of four and I did one part of Throné’s second chapter. I’ve only spent about ten hours so far on Octopath Traveler II. – Jenae

I am not above peer pressure, so this week I checked out Suika Game, and honestly, it’s a fun, chill game to play a couple rounds right before bed. I’m a fan of simple puzzle games and this one scratches that sorting itch I also sometimes get (and why I enjoyed Unpacking so much). There’s just such a charming quality to Suika Game, from the catchy music to bright colors and adorable faces on the fruit. The premise is simple enough: Pair like fruits together to make a larger fruit. Cherries become strawberries, strawberries become grapes, etc etc. You have to contend with the physics engine and fruit rolling all over and bouncing around. If any fruit goes above the edge of the container, it’s game over. If you’re looking for a chill puzzle game, you can’t go wrong here.

On the less chill side, our long jaunt through Resident Evil has come to a close with the completion of the Resident Evil 4 Remake Separate Ways DLC. After having just finished RE8, going back to the more cheeky world of RE4 was both jarring and welcome. I love Ada so much. She’s witty and full of quips, and honestly her voice acting doesn’t bother me that much. She’s meant to be disaffected and nonchalant, and while it’s not perfect I get what they were going for. I also love the way that Ada’s route reflects her personality, with an outright dismissal of the game’s lore as Ada does not give a single solitary shit about any of it. Separate Ways uses a fun mix of areas from the base game, and it was nice to revisit some of them from different perspectives. Also it was great to see Leon again without his awful foot face from RE6. With this though, it’s the end of our playthrough of the Resident Evil series, so now I need to find a new series to move on to. It’s been a ton of fun, though! – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Oct 22 – 28 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

In this week’s episode we get to see Frieren, Fern, and Stark all have pretty badass moments. Frieren easily dispatches her would-be demon assassin while Fern and Stark go on a mission to take out the other two demons. In past episodes we saw snippets of how strong Frieren is, and this episode was no exception. She annihilated Draht, it really wasn’t fair at all. You can really see why she was a part of the party that slayed the demon king. Fern and Stark impressed me this episode with their willingness to fight powerful enemies without Frieren, and without Frieren there to back them up. I know Stark was absolutely terrified with the thought of fighting the demons, especially Lugner, but he still went through with it. Just for that, and with how he was able to fight, he deserves a lot of respect. Fern absolutely killed it when it was her time to shine, clearly all the training she had with Frieren paid off. Overall this was another great episode, and I appreciate how this episode, and the previous one, have taken on a more serious tone than some of the past ones. Not that I have a problem with the chill vibe of the other episodes, but I do like it when things get shaken up a bit. I’m really looking forward to the next episode since I think we’ll finally get to see Frieren really let loose in battle against Aura. We’ve small tastes previously, but now we’ll really get the full course of her strength. I also want to see how Fern and Stark do against the demon duo in their next encounter. This anime continues to impress and I next episode can’t come soon enough. – Patrick

Seeing Frieren flex her magic muscles is indeed a nice change of pace, and I agree with Patrick on Fern and Stark’s shining moment taking on Lugner and his associate. I really like how this show lets its characters feel fear and trepidation, because it makes their actions have more weight when they finally step up. Stark being both strong but also struggling with self-doubt in his own abilities goes a long way to why I like him so much. Strong characters who face no real obstacles just aren’t that interesting. On the other hand, Frieren is incredibly strong, but it’s not something she cares about being, either. She’ll use her strength when necessary, but she’s just as likely to try and run away instead, and I find her charming and fascinating for it. Anyone who could be in the party of adventurers who could take down the Demon Lord would need to be strong, but for her that’s not really an important thing to be. Her curiosity about the world and magic itself is just so much more intriguing than getting into fights. That being said, as cool as it is to see Frieren and the others flex their strength, my favorite moments of the show so far are still those quiet moments when she’s faced with the past and considers her lost companions. There’s something so meaningful in her looking at the frozen features of Himmel cast in bronze, because for her he was so animated, but no one else will ever see him that way. The way this show focuses on time and memory is really what makes it so memorable to me. – Leah

— You can watch Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End on Crunchyroll.

Dark Gathering

I took a break for a few weeks and caught myself up. I will say that since the introduction of the graduates and the search for the most dangerous spirits things have escalated, I did like that tunnel spirit Eiko ended up having more of a role. She ends up being the target and interacts with spirits instead of Keitaro at the start. The spirit this time was pretty malevolent and was pretty gruesome, especially its methods. The battles with the ghosts previously have been interesting, but the battles have become really something else since the graduates were added to the mix. The concept of the second graduate introduced is interesting and seeing it face off against the evil spirit taking it down was satisfying. I like that Eiko seems to be getting more time in with the spirits, and I’m glad they haven’t forgotten to add in the moments where she is also unsettling. I hope to see more of her dynamic with Yayoi and am interested to see how they’re next encounter with spirits will go. – Walter

— You can watch Dark Gathering on HIDIVE.

The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess

I decided to give this show a chance since I haven’t heard too much about it. It follows Komari, the titular shut-in vampire who’s from a noble family who has not left home in about three years. Her life is turned upside down when she suddenly gets a maid named Villhaze and is put into a position of power. It’s a comedy, and to be honest I wouldn’t say it’s anything too out of what you would expect, but it does throw in some interesting stuff. It’s set in a world where wars have become almost a type of entertainment as magic can heal almost any wound and revive the dead. Komari doesn’t like blood and is pretty weak, which in vampire society is pretty bad since they value strength. From here Komari has to feign strength in front of her troops with the help of Vill, who is extremely loyal to her, though at the start Komari doesn’t understand why.

While the interactions between the two and the troops under Komari’s control are more on the humorous side, they also add in more of a serious element. This comes in the form of a terrorist group along with a member who has it out for Komari. While it does kind of hit the beats of things I’ve seen before, it does add in points of interests. The battle in the most recent episode was good and shows Komari can act on her own, not to mention reveals some secrets. I do like Komari and Vill and the setting interests me so I think I’ll keep up with it. – Walter

— You can watch The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess on HIDIVE.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Oct 22 – 28 appeared first on oprainfall.

Ever since I was described as a “brave little spark” during the concert at FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2023-2024, I’ve been playing with those words from Flow in my head and how I can live up to them. I know it’s just lyrics from a song inside of an expansion pack of a video game, but they just stood out so clearly in my mind.

Brave. Little. Spark.

I ultimately decided that, for me, it means that I should be trying to push harder to achieve my dreams and try daunting things. I want to write more about FINAL FANTASY because I have a real love for this series and how much it shaped me – especially FINAL FANTASY XI Online. I ended up publishing on Tuesday a lengthy piece about what enemies from FFXI that I want to see in the ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL raid series. I started going back to kendo for the first time since I had to get my wisdom teeth out, and even though I was clearly out of shape, I still tried to hold my own. I am taking a microtrip in the near future to see a genre of music that I’ve never experienced before, and I am trying out realistic sports simulator video games for the first time ever, just so I can write about them. I’m even starting a new book at the moment!

Cooking Eorzea, in a lot of ways, is me trying to achieve my journalistic dreams while also trying hard, new things. I am making a different dish each week, sometimes from crazy ingredients (sorry Victoria if you’re reading this!), and I push through until the end no matter how it looks like it will turn out. I do it all with Love, Eorzean Style, sure, but it still is daunting at times.

I want to live up to those three words and do my best to embody them, because I genuinely want to be a ‘brave little spark.’

If you’ve missed an installment of Cooking Eorzea, you can check out all the prior recipes here.

Recipe of the Week

The 41st recipe in The Official FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook, Mole Loaf hails from the Thanalan Region with a ‘Medium’ cooking difficulty level. I will be honest: the recipe itself seems fairly simple, and I don’t think that I can screw it up too badly as long as I am paying attention to what I am doing. And unlike last time, there is not much chance that I will risk smoking myself out of my apartment!

Anyway, here is what Mole Loaf looks like when a real, professional chef makes it:

Image courtesy of Insight Editions.

Featured Ingredient of the Week

Photo by author.

This week’s Cooking Eorzea featured ingredient of the week is…ground lamb! From my research, ground lamb is made from lamb meat from the neck and shank, and with trimmings from other parts of the animal. I was surprised at how lamb has a lot of protein in it, and it has a lot of Iron, Zinc, Vitamin B12, and more. Overall, ground lamb is a fairly good alternative to ground beef, and it is something new that I have yet to eat or work with. As a result, this was an easy pick for Ingredient of the Week!

My Cooking Attempt

In the ingredients for this week’s Cooking Eorzea, sake makes a return!

Photo by author.

First, I chopped up the onion and minced the garlic.

Photos by author.

I then added a teaspoon of olive oil to a heated pan and started to brown the onions.

Photos by author.

As I let the onions brown while occasionally stirring them, I broke open both 12 oz. packages of lamb meat and I measured a full pound. I was SO excited that I measured out the exact 4 oz. I needed on the FIRST TRY!

Photos by author.

By this point, the onions were browned, and I moved them into a separate bowl to cool down.

Photo by author.

I added the ground lamb, salt, pepper, and panko to the onions before setting it all aside temporarily.

Photo by author.

I got out another small bowl, cracked an egg, and added soy sauce, fish sauce, ketchup, and tonkatsu to it. I then whisked it around before realizing there was a small bit of eggshell that somehow snuck in that I had to fish out.

Photos by author.

Once the eggshell was fished out and the wet ingredients were blended together, I added it to the other bowl.

Photo by author.

I then blended it all together by hand. It was really sticky and wet, but it held together surprisingly well. I ended up not having to add in anymore panko to the bowl.

Photo by author.

I molded the blended ingredients together into five almost equally-sized patties.

Photo by author.

I added a tablespoon of oil to a larger pan, heated it up, and then added the five patties to the pan. I let them cook for about four minutes to brown on one side.

Photos by author.

Once they were browned on the bottom, I flipped them over and let the other side brown for another three or so minutes.

Photo by author.

I then added in some water, covered it with a lid, and let the patties finish cooking through while the water evaporated.

Photos by author.

When the water finished evaporating, I waited a bit longer and then I pulled the lamb patties out once they seemed fully cooked.

Photo by author.

With the pan still hot, I added in ketchup, tonkatsu sauce, sake, and water together to make the topping sauce.

Photos by author.

I then blended it all together, along with the lamb patty juices, in the pan until the sauce started to thicken up when I drew my spatula through it.

Photo by author.

Finally, I poured the sauce into a small bowl and then ladled it onto the patties.

Photo by author.

And here is the end result of this week’s Cooking Eorzea dish!

Photo by author.

This was an interesting dish to eat. The recipe said to ladle the topping sauce on generously, which is what I did. There was definitely some oil and fat leftover from the lamb patties that got blended in, as you can see in the final dish picture above. The whole dish tasted mostly like tonkatsu and ketchup from the topping sauce, to be completely honest, as it really overpowered the lamb patties. I ended up not coating one of the lamb patties with the sauce and just ate it as it was to see how the lamb patties tasted. They were surprisingly mild, even with the onions and the garlic and whatnot added in. The lamb patties were delicious on their own, but the sauce just overpowered that flavor so much.

Afterword

I think that if I made this dish again, aside from making sure that I got every bit of eggshell out before I blended wet ingredients together, I would just not work with the topping sauce. It was seriously that strong. The patties were delicious though, and they would make an excellent burger instead. Thankfully, the entire dish was fairly easy to make!

So…Thank yous time! First up? Victoria Rosenthal for writing The Ultimate FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook. Second, I want to thank the staff at Insight Editions for giving me permission to use the photos from the cookbook to show how these recipes look in the hands of a professional. Furthermore, I owe Brandon Rose a special thanks for creating the logo for this series on short notice. You should check him and his works out over on Twitter.

Finally, I want to thank both Hiromichi Tanaka and Naoki Yoshida for producing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in both 1.0 and in 2.0 and above. It’s hard to not love their work, honestly.

Next Week

Next week on Cooking Eorzea, I will be making Pan-Fried Mahi-Mahi from the La Noscea region! That’s right: a fish dish AND I won’t have to deep fry it. I am stupidly excited about it, to be honest!

What does being a brave little spark mean to you?

What do you think of ground lamb?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post Cooking Eorzea Week 40: Mole Loaf appeared first on oprainfall.

While watching Naoki Yoshida (“Yoshi-P”) present the Keynote at FINAL FANTASY XIV FANFEST 2023 London, my favorite part of it all was the announced raid series for the upcoming Dawntrail expansion titled ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL. Drawing upon FINAL FANTASY XI Online, this upcoming alliance raid series instantly caught my attention and my heart, as I played and raided in FINAL FANTASY XI Online for almost two decades now. In fact, I wrote a lengthy essay about my love for FINAL FANTASY XI Online as part of my ongoing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online cooking series titled Cooking Eorzea.

I made the Royal Eggs dish for Cooking Eorzea, and I celebrated the 20th anniversary of FINAL FANTASY XI Online with the coasters of your adventuring partners across the various expansions. (Photo by author).

As a result, I immediately started writing up a list of 11 enemies from FINAL FANTASY XI Online that need to be part of the ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL raid series in FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail. This list is comprised of a mixture of storyline fights and endgame fights that only the very best raid groups could successfully take on.

I sincerely hope that SQUARE ENIX takes this alliance series seriously and implements fights that are at least a faithful homage to their original FFXI forms. All that said, I cannot wait to dive into these new raids when Dawntrail launches in Summer 2024.

Warning: There WILL BE story spoilers for FINAL FANTASY XI Online in this list. You have been warned.

So, without further ado…

1) Shadow Lord

(FINAL FANTASY XI Online)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia).

No list of potential FINAL FANTASY XI Online-inspired raid bosses could possibly start with anyone other than the main antagonist of the base FINAL FANTASY XI Online game through Mission 5-2, as the Shadow Lord truly is what kicks off the sequence of events that impacts multiple future expansions with the Crystal War that concludes 20 years before the start of this MMORPG.

Deep within the Throne Room inside of Castle Zvahl in Xarcabard, Shadow Lord will constantly switch between either magic or physical attack immunity during the fight in his first form and then constantly cast Implosion, a major AoE magic damage attack non-stop until he is beaten down in his second form. While this seems incredibly simple, the sheer amount of damage that Shadow Lord can do at the original level cap of 50 made this an incredibly hard battle to win.

With Shadow Lord as the capstone to the opening chapters of FINAL FANTASY XI Online before you set out all over the world to fight more enemies, see more places, and save the world too many times to count, this fight is a no-brainer to be included in ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL. This fight’s inclusion would also mean that Warriors of Light will have to have a mixture of physical attackers and magic attackers in order to win and be able to drive down Shadow Lord’s HP before he can kill them first.

2) Kam’lanaut

(Rise of the Zilart)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia.)

Kam’lanaut is the Archduke of the Grand Duchy of Jeuno, and Eald’narche is his ‘younger’ (though technically older story wise!) brother. Both of them are members of the Zilart race who plot to open the Gate of the Gods and bring about the destruction of Vana’diel throughout a fair bit of the early FINAL FANTASY XI Online storyline – and they will use Kam’lanaut’s position as the head of the most powerful city-state in Vana’diel to make it happen.

This fight is a lot of fun and it requires adventurers to pay attention to what is happening at all times. Kam’lanaut’s signature fight skill is that he casts an elemental en-spell onto his weapon that will cause him to do particular elemental damage to the alliance…while also being healed by magic cast upon him of that same magic. For instance, if he has fire en-spell cast upon his weapon, then fire spells cast upon him will actually heal him. He also has an attack, Great Wheel, that will reset hate and does AoE damage.

This, plus the fact that he can cast dispel, silence, and slow enmasse makes him a worthy and challenging fight that Warriors of Lights cannot just mindlessly defeat and move on into the next room.

3) Domina Shantotto and Shantotto 

(A Shantotto Ascension – The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born)

(Above: Photo from FFXIclopedia; Below: Photo from PlayOnline).

Four words: Hilariously written, non-stop rhyming.

In one of the three digital-only add-on mini content expansions, the ultimate fight of A Shantotto Ascension – The Legend Torn, Her Empire Reborn is to prevent the Shantottofication curse from being cast across Vana’diel where everyone will be turned into Shantotto, and so you end up fighting two versions of Shantotto in this fight at the same time. (Just go with it, trust me.)

Domina Shantotto is equipped with a scythe that can use an AoE attack called Salvation Scythe that inflicts various status ailments and a lot of damage. When she isn’t swinging her scythe around, she is capable of casting every spell in the game. Unfortunately, you don’t have just Domina Shantotto to deal with. You also have regular Shantotto too. She utilizes a staff, uses a variety of black magic, and she will cast Meteor below 10%. She also has a powerful AoE attack called Divine Malison that inflicts a variety of status effects on players.

And if THAT wasn’t enough to deal with, both of them will enter a ‘rage’ mode when either of their HP drops to various percentages. During this time, their defense is massively boosted, their HP auto-regens, and they will use level 3 skillchains with each other to seriously damage adventurers and cause status effects.

If it isn’t obvious, double Shantotto is double trouble, and this fight to save Vana’diel is not a fight that you can just sleep on, but instead requires careful planning and attacking in order to survive and would make a great fight for FINAL FANTASY XIV Online to include.

4) Gessho

(Treasures of Aht Urghan)

(Photo from BG Wiki.)

Gessho is a beastman tribe member who has been excommunicated from the Yagudo theocracy after being branded a heretic, and he turns out to be one of your strongest allies throughout the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion. He is incredibly well-written, and he gave a real humanity to the Yagudo that has not been present in the story up until that point.

In Mission 35: Legacy of the Lost, you end up fighting Gessho while he is a fully equipped ninja. He uses Ninjutsu spells, including Utsusemi that allows him to take zero damage from attacks, ranged weapon skills, and summon clones of himself to the field to attack alongside him. And if that isn’t enough, him and his clones can all use Mijin Gakure – the Ninja one-hour ability that causes significant non-elemental magic-based damage to everyone around them. And unlike the one-hour ability being used by adventurers using the Ninja class, it will not K.O. Gessho or his clones.

In other words, Gessho is a ninja that can explode repeatedly while also not taking any damage and would be a significant challenge for any Warrior of Light to overcome in battle.

5) Lilith Ascendant

(Wings of the Goddess)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia).

Lilith Ascendant is the enemy born from when Lilisette is absorbed by Lady Lilith- who is also Lilisette, but from another timeline where the Crystal War never ended, the Shadow Lord was never defeated, and she where she forged a pact with Odin- at the end of Wings of the Goddess. I promise, it does make sense in the storyline.

This ultimate fight of the Wings of the Goddess expansion is primarily about causing status effects in players. For example: her Dark Burst ability resets job ability timers, her Dark Sun ability causes AoE Death, Dark Freeze does conical ice magic damage and terrorizes, and Dark Quake causes earth magic damage, amnesia, and bind. The most terrifying attack of all though is her Dark Moon skill: that causes AoE light damage and will place adventurers in a weakened state – like if they had just been raised.

If that wasn’t enough, Elemental Gyves will also spawn in the battlefield whenever Lilith Ascendant does a special attack. These are different elemental, non-moving targets that can be killed or despawned that create status effects in players and will also cause a state decrease. For example, the Water Elemental Gyve will cause drown and will give anyone within the range of effect Magic Defense Down.

This turns any fight into one where one where not only player positioning is vital to staying alive but requires healers to be on top of their skill sets in order to remove debuffs and status effects as quickly as possible while the tanks and melee are in a weakened state. Lilith Ascendant also looks like a classic FINAL FANTASY ultimate enemy, and fights like one too. This enemy – especially with the fairly unique focus upon status effects – would make a great raid enemy in FINAL FANTASY XIV Online.

6) Pandemonium Warden

(Treasures of Aht Urghan)

(Photo from FINAL FANTASY Wiki.)

This was an end-game raid from the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion, and arguably one of the hardest raids in all of FINAL FANTASY XI Online. A Tier V Zeni Notorious Monster, it is spawned deep in Aydeewa Subterrane after trading a Pandemonium Key to a ??? spawn spot.

Pandemonium Warden has 11 total forms that it changes into one after another, and all 11 must be defeated in order to win the fight. Each form has a massive AoE attack and moves reminiscent of the original enemy- including a unique skill for each form. With each form spawn of Pandemonium Warden, eight Pandemonium Lamps also appear. They must be dealt with separately away from the main tanking group as they also have a powerful AoE attack, and they must be killed quickly as they will be nearly impossible to pull off of the main Pandemonium Warden tank after a few minutes thanks to shared hate.

When you reach Pandemonium Warden’ s final form as a Dvergr, then you still have to deal with Astral Flow every 25% that will wipe out everyone within a large area if you don’t move out of range quickly enough. Each use of Astral Flow also will respawn all of the Pandemonium Lamps that were already killed, meaning that they have to be quickly dealt with all over again. You also cannot go too far away from the fight, as Pandemonium Warden also has drawn in, and it will pull everyone into the center of the battle arena together.

This is a small overview of a chaotic, difficult, and crazily fun fight that is absolutely unlike anything else you will experience in Vana’diel. It is also a perfect fit for a FINAL FANTASY XIV Online raid, and one that will give any raid group a challenge as it will force different alliances to handle different aspects of the fight all at the same time.

7) Nidhogg

(Rise of the Zilart)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia.)

For many years, Nidhogg had a chance to spawn within a 30-second window every half hour for three hours every 21 hours after it was last killed as the HQ chance spawn of Fafnir. The spawn chance of Nidhogg also went up for every day that Fafnir spawned instead of Nidhogg. If it sounds confusing, then just imagine being up at 3:20 AM, bleary-eyed, and desperately hoping that the Nidhogg would spawn after 10 days of only Fafnir.

This fight takes place deep within Dragon Aery inside of The Boyahda Tree. Positioning in this fight is fairly unique, as all players have to stand on either of his front feet in order to avoid the frontal AoE Dragon Breath ability that does a lot of damage. Among Nidhogg’s abilities are the ability to single target terror, dispel a single buff with Horrid Roar, and to cause both blindness and AoE damage with Hurricane Wing.

There are two things that makes this fight worthy of a FINAL FANTASY XI Online-inspired raid. First, adventurers could not use AoE attacks while fighting Nidhogg. Dragon’s Aery is a very small area, and there are 11 Darters (dragonfly enemies) that spawn around him that are both higher level than the then-level cap of 75, and that will aggro if they are attacked first. Oh, and they will also all link up together to attack if one is attacked. This means that instead of just fighting one Dragon, you now are dealing with potentially 11 other highly-leveled add-ons at the same time. Needless to say, it can be EXTREMELY chaotic, and this would force Warriors of Light to be unable to spam their regular move rotation.

Second, there is Spike Flail. If you attack Nidhogg from behind, he will use his tail to cause massive AoE damage that will kill everyone in the area. Wipes to Spike Flail were not common, but they would absolutely change the game when they happened, as you can see below during one such fight that I was a part of.

For context in the below pictures: SA stands for ‘Sneak Attack”, which is a Thief job specialty move that generates hate, and it is used behind the enemy for the critical hit damage. Usually, you pair it with Trick Attack to transfer enemy to correct player (aka ‘SATA’). When it doesn’t go off perfectly, you wind up with enmity being given to the Thief…who was behind Nidhogg in the below screen caps. Finally, all of these players below are equipped with the best gear possible in FINAL FANTASY XI Online at the time:

(Photos by author).

Causing Warriors of Light to care a lot about positioning, worrying about add on mobs, and not being able to use their default rotation makes this a fight that would be a real stand out in ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL, and Nidhogg would be a better gameplay shakeup than almost anything else in FINAL FANTASY XI Online.

8) Schah

(Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia.)

Located in Reisenjima, Schah is the hardest Notorious Monster introduced in the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel expansion and most likely the hardest fight in the entire MMORPG. Also: if you want an Aeonic Weapon, you will have to eventually fight it.

Whereas Pandemonium Warden focuses on managing eleven different forms and the battle mechanics for each form with the adds somewhat secondary, Schah is the opposite. Schah spawns fourteen additional enemies that have to be all killed before you can do any damage to the main enemy: seven Bhata (Pawns), two Ashva (Knights), two Gaja (Bishops), two Ratha (Castle/Rooks), and one Mantri (Queen). These adds start spawning 30 seconds after the fight starts and will keep spawning 48 seconds after each rank dies, with the Mantri first appearing three minutes into the fight. Also: if a Bhata is not killed within two minutes after spawning, then it will turn into a Mantri. These adds all have various abilities, cast high level magic, and will do incredible damage if not properly managed. And on top of all that: Mantri will use Enthrall to AoE charm everyone.

As I said at the start: until those additional enemies are dealt with, adventurers cannot damage Schah. Schah is no pushover over, as it can also use every spell that the different adds can use, can use Royal Decree (which is AoE damage and resets all ability timers), and can use Banneret Charge. Banneret Charge is an AoE attack that resets both hate and affected players’ HP to 1. And if that wasn’t all enough, Schah also has heavy resistance to attacks and to all magic but Dark.

It is a very hard fight that is very, very fun and it would require a high level of coordination among Warriors of Light to conquer.

9) Garazu-Horeizu

(The Voracious Resurgence)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia.)

In the latest expansion for FINAL FANTASY XI Online, Garazu-Horeizu is the ultimate villain who is determined to resurrect Chaos. Like Shadow Lord, Garazu-Noreizu is more notable for his role within the expansion’s storyline than anything else, but that doesn’t mean that he is a pushover.

These skills include casting Tier 2 Ancient Magic, Comet, Meteor, and spamming Silencega instantly over and over again. And if that wasn’t enough, he can use Tartarus Tocsin, which is an AoE damage and sleep skill. Additionally, he can also absorb some of the player’s stats and cast dispel…And it is all AoE. When his HP starts to drop, he will summon multiple cloned allies of YOUR allies, the Destiny Destroyers, to help him. This quickly devolves into, like the Shadow Lord, a damage race to kill Garazu-Horeizu before he and his allies can kill you.

I ultimately chose Garazu-Horeizu over the final boss, Chaos, because I did not want all the raid fights to be ‘gods’ or ‘god equivalents’, but to be characters who also had a major role in FINAL FANTASY XI Online. While this would undoubtedly be a mid-run ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL raid boss, I know that there would be a place for him in the content.

10) Promathia

(Chains of Promathia)

(Photo from FFXIclopedia.)

Promathia is the God of Twilight and the namesake of the Chains of Promathia expansion. There is a lot to be said about Promathia, what the chains that bind him are, and what it means for the Vana’diel of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I am being purposefully vague here, since Chains of Promathia is probably my favorite FINAL FANTASY storyline of all time (narrowly beating out Lighting Returns: FINAL FANTASY XIII) with a plot that just drops mind-stunning revelation after revelation upon you as you play through it and you just need to experience it for yourself.

In this fight, you are partnered with Prishe and Selh’teus (two major expansion story NPCs) alongside your own party of adventurers. There are two stages of the fight. In the first stage, Promathia has different AoE and cone attacks that inflict dispel, plague, curse, and various amounts of damage. He can also cast the magic attack Comet. What really sets this stage apart is that he has five different ‘Chains’ attacks, and each one only affects one of the five playable Vana’diel races (but is negated by a story item collected previously in The Garden of Ru’Hmet).

The second stage has Promathia hitting incredibly hard, and he now also uses AoE abilities such as Mute and Amnesia, and he will cast Meteor once a minute. If that was not enough, he will also switch between magic and physical attack damage invincibility.

This is a hard, and difficult fight in a battle arena that is my absolute favorite in all of FINAL FANTASY XI Online. It is truly an epic battle, with incredible stakes, and there is nothing like fighting alongside Prishe and Selh’teus. In addition, due to ‘plot reasons’, the Chains attacks would have to land on the various inhabitants of Eorzea- unless, of course, SQUARE ENIX includes a way to negate them as well in the raid dungeons. Promathia is simply an amazing, iconic fight, and both the God of Twilight and his battle arena would be perfect for ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL.

11) Maat

(FINAL FANTASY XI Online)

(Photo from BG Wiki.)

Like there could be anyone else in this final, 11th, slot from FINAL FANTASY XI Online for the ECHOES FROM VANA’DIEL raid series in FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail expansion.

When you first hit level 50, and every five levels after that point, you have to seek out Maat to increase your level cap inside Ru’Lude Gardens in the Grand Duchy of Jeuno. While he appears to be just an old man, Maat is a master of all 15 jobs that were created before the Chains of Promathia expansion was released. In order to break your ‘limits’ (level cap) and unlock the then-final level increase from 70 to 75, you had to test your might against Maat himself as you both fight each other on the same job.

And he WILL test you. He is incredibly powerful, incredibly strong, and any player who played FINAL FANTASY XI Online knows just how hard taking him on can be. He is an obstacle that everyone faced who wanted to get to the level cap, and he takes no mercy on anyone. You can have all the best buffs, eat the best food, and wear the best gear…And still easily lose against him.

While this fight is undoubtedly the one that would require the most change, I would personally love Maat to shift between all of the FINAL FANTASY XI Online jobs to fight Warriors of Light with and make an alliance prove their worth in a raid by besting him in battle. It would be a true fight of strength and a way to test FINAL FANTASY XI Online jobs against FINAL FANTASY XIV Online jobs in a way that would make sense in-universe.

Conclusion

And there you have it! Eleven enemies that would be perfect for any Warrior of Light to test their might and mettle against.

I will admit that I had a very hard time narrowing down my list to just 11, and I ended up regrettingly leaving out Hades from the Seekers of Adoulin expansion and the Ark Angels from Rise of Zilart expansion- they would have been my 12th and 13th choices if I could have permitted myself to have two.

Regardless, I know that SQUARE ENIX and the team behind FINAL FANTASY XIV Online will do a wonderful job implementing and honoring the history and story of FINAL FANTASY XI Online in ECHOES OF VANA’DIEL and I just cannot wait to explore it all!

Who did I miss and who have you fought during your own adventures in Vana’diel?

Let us know in the comments below!

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We did it! We finished Resident Evil 8 and its DLC! What a crazy, incredible ride this series playthrough has been, and what a way to end it (kind of, we still have Separate Ways to play through). Ethan Winters has officially tied with Leon Kennedy as my favorite RE boy. He’s the best dad and I love him. As I noted in my previous write-up, I enjoyed how RE8 delivered varying horror experiences through the four lords’ levels without really losing the core identity of “this is a man on a mission to save his daughter.” When RE6 tried to be a bunch of horror experiences, it did so in a haphazard, disjointed fashion, but with Ethan he had to trudge through all of them, weaving back and forth along familiar paths as he unlocked more and more of the village’s secrets, and it made for a more compelling game. I do feel like the end suffered a little from the excess craziness of the RE5 and RE6 era, despite how much I loved the bombastic nature of it all. It felt thematically relevant for Ethan to overcome all the fear and horror and just Big Damn Hero his way to save his daughter. The final boss was also one of the most beautiful in the series, and left a massive impression despite her relatively small screen time. The ties back to Spencer and Umbrella were tenuous at best, but I felt they fit the lore better than some of the ham-fisted attempts previous games had made.

Then it was on to the DLC, and what a fun, bite-sized bit of horror that was! A revisit of some of the main game’s best moments, Shadows of Rose played dual duty as a creepy exploration of the village and an introduction – and conclusion – to several characters from RE8. The enemies felt far more reminiscent of RE7‘s shambling molded, and I liked how the familiar areas were transformed to create a sense of unease and disorientation. It’s also the reason Ethan became tied for my No. 1 spot. Excellent character writing. Rose is just like me. I really, really enjoyed my time with RE8, and I’d rank it third in my list of Resident Evil titles, with RE2(Remake) and RE4 Remake taking first and second spots, respectively. RE8 captured all the camp and fun of RE4 in a novel, bonkers way that I honestly didn’t think could work and yet had me on the edge of my seat completely suspending my disbelief. I’m excited to see what Capcom has in store for RE9.

On the exact opposite spectrum of gaming, we got Super Mario Bros Wonder and playing it in local co-op is the absolute best kind of chaos. The game pops with color and has some truly inspired level designs. The Wonder Flower gimmick is quirky but doesn’t overstay its welcome, and the fact it’s different with every stage keeps it from getting stale. My son has been playing it non-stop since we got it, and for me that’s high praise as to how well the game was made. I haven’t actually played it solo yet, but I’m looking forward to sitting down and messing with the various badges and secrets the game has to offer. This is a must-grab if you enjoy playful platforming and chaotic multiplayer action. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

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Currently Airing:

The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch

I read a few chapters of the manga around when it started and while I didn’t follow it, I did remember it. It follows the life of a witch named Alyssa who finds a baby in the woods and adopts her. The child, who she names Viola, grows up and contrasts with her mother, who has a small stature and childish looks. It also does not take almost any time to see that she is also extremely attached and protective of Alyssa. I would say one of the strengths of the show are the side characters. They help add more to Alyssa and Viola’s dynamic, which I feel could get old without them. My favorite is probably Viola’s familiar, who might appear to be just a throwaway character at the start but ends up getting quite a lot of scenes later on. While I like it, I can see how some people might not be a fan of the comedy. The opening and ending themes aren’t bad either, and I like how they add the next episode preview into the end theme. If you just want a comedy to relax to then this might work for you. – Walter

— You can watch The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch on Crunchyroll.

Manga and LNs:

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

Well, it happened, the last chapter of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi has been released, marking the end of an era. For over a decade, Souichirou Yamamoto has entertained his fans with this lighthearted story of middle-school life through the eyes of Takagi-san, the teasing master, and Nishikata, who never ended up winning any of his contests against her. Though, he definitely received something pretty darn great in the end. The teasing and contests were a clever and fun way to depict the two’s lives and slowly evolving relationship throughout the series, and I’m glad we have the current spin-off that continues their story. I’m also looking forward to the new spin-off starring their daughter, Chi, coming soon.

As I said the last time I wrote one of these Week in segments, I’ll be missing this immensely. Yet, I’m glad to have experienced it and will re-read it someday. I look forward to that day, following the charming, fun-filled days of these two once more. Sort of like the saying, I’m certainly sad that it has ended, happy for it to have happened at all. – Drew D.

Ume and Momo’s Everyday Life

Since last time, chapter 18 has been made available via fan-translation, of which I’m always grateful for. This chapter sees Ume and Momo getting their clothes and minds ready for summer. I also learned the term Koromogae, which is the seasonal changing of clothes. While I knew about the practice, I never knew the specific term, so that was fun. Those of us in the northern hemisphere, though, may have pulled out warmer clothing recently.

Along with warmer weather comes visions of beaches, festivals, and, in now classic Momo fashion, visions of all the foods she wants to eat throughout.

Ever lighthearted, this splash of summer is much appreciated, as it’s been more often cool and cloudy nowadays in my part of the world. How’s the weather where all of you are? – Drew D.

Still no plans for an official translated publication of Ume and Momo yet. The fan-translations can be found on Mangadex.
Official English publication of Teasing Master Takagi-san licensed by Yen Press. And again, not yet published chapters and spin-offs can be found on Mangadex.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

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I started this week in gaming by finishing up some of the post game in Disgaea 7. I still got a bit to go, it’s not too grindy, but I’ve just got a lot on my plate trying to finish up the other couple of games I’m reviewing.

One of those being Gears of Dragoon: Fragments of a New Era from our friends at JAST. This is another great Ninetail game as best I can tell. I love the characters and story. This is one of the best written games I’ve played in quite a while. The dungeon crawling isn’t the deepest, but it’s a lot of fun seeing all the different enemy types and skill effects. I don’t think you’re going to need to fully utilize all of the systems in the game, but I’m having a lot of fun so far. – Steve

It’s been a while, but I’m back with an update on our Resident Evil Village playthrough! Since the last time I wrote, my sister and I have made it through two more areas and are heading into the fourth. She played through Donna’s house of horrors and holy shit that was terrifying! Donna’s house felt like a return to the Baker household turned up to 11, with an incredibly oppressive atmosphere once we reached the basement. I loved the puzzle solving here and the ramp up of tension with every step. I was expecting something to show up, but can categorically say I did not expect that. Absolutely amazing and I’m glad I wasn’t the one playing. Watching my sister lose her shit while trying to hide and get out of the basement was A++ entertainment. After defeating Donna, I took over and played through Moreau’s area, and I just have to say I love the way each of the lords incorporate different horror tropes. It reminds me of RE6‘s attempt at “horror for everyone” but done competently. Whereas Donna’s section was claustrophobic and disempowering, Moreau’s let me keep my weapon but gave me a beast I couldn’t defeat while traversing its domain. I loved Moreau’s design, and while his arena wasn’t the most inspired, the tension was palpable. It was a different sort of atmosphere than the doll house, and made sure RE8 didn’t begin to feel samey as we tackled each lord.

We’ve moved on to Heisenberg’s region and my sister is once again the one in control. I like how the lead up to this area feels very Big Damn Hero akin to RE5. We are admittedly overgeared and overstocked, which made facing the hordes of lycan less tense than intended, but that didn’t make the sequence any less fun or exciting. And once we got to the actual factory, the narrow hallways and industrial design ramped the tension back up, despite our firepower. I really like the enemies here, and I think the grimey machinery and crimson lighting really sell how claustrophobic this place is. The location designs throughout all of RE8 have been fantastic, but this one is definitely the highlight so far. I’m excited to see where the story is going once we get to the end of Heisenberg’s area and to finally find out what exactly Mother Miranda has been up to in this secluded European village. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

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