Lurker > KCF0107

It's almost the 4th quarter and the Knicks and Grizzlies have yet to put up 55 points in their respective games.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Wasn't their other finalist Mike Vrabel? Looks like they need to start from scratch.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Yeah, I did put in Delta for Triangle I think immediately after the decision where you had to name Zero. In Pop Off, putting in Delta resulted in Eric saying he didn't know who that was, and in Suspicion, I got a message saying that person isn't here.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

28. Beat a game with the supernatural as a central theme
Enigmatis 3: The Curse of Karkhala

It's nice to start off the year with mostly sub-5 hour games
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala for PC
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I should probably do my ballot too just to get it out of the way
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

bumpsy daisy
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

bump
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I went back and put Delta for the Pop Off and Suspicion decisions. I can't say it was worth the effort.

With that, I think that this concludes my playthrough topic unless people have more comments, questions, or (insane) reasons why they liked Diana/did not like Delta.

My conscious decision to not really focus on the bigger really bit me on the ass when it came to my analysis despite making some good observations at times. The only things I can recall getting correct well before they were revealed were Sean being inorganic and Diana/Sigma being Phi's parents.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Nanis23 posted...

I think KCF totally doesn't know the fan reaction of Delta in particular

Guilty, but I honestly didn't expect to be in the minority.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I still need to put in Delta for Pop Off and Suspicion unless there's more applicable decisions that I should enter his name in.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Eerieka posted...

One sentence has me grinning pretty hard.

Not that I know if you are still reading this, but is it because I said that I would be shocked if Mira was Zero or Zero's accomplice?
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Raka_Putra posted...

Out of curiosity, can you rank the cast (not per character) of 999, VLR, and ZTD as a whole after the character/team rankings?

3. ZTD
2. VLR
1. 999

I think that what hurts ZTD more than VLR and 999 in this department is that there were the same three trios until basically the very end. In 999 and VLR, you got to see all sorts of combinations of characters working together. Sometimes, it didn't work, but for the most part it did, and you could appreciate their failures to a degree. There were so many trios that I would have loved to see in ZTD that I think could have heightened how I viewed the characters individually and collectively. Carlos/Phi/Eric and Akane/Mira/Sigma were my two dream trios, but I just really wanted to see Sigma/Phi, Mira/Eric, and Junpei/Akane split up a bunch. In 999 and VLR, I purposely separated Junpei/Akane and Sigma/Phi to makes things interesting, and get fresh perspectives for my enjoyment and also for my Zerometer. ZTD didn't offer that until it was too late.

VLR is a top-heavy cast and while Quark was a glorified R-6 example with Clover and Alice just kind of there, all of the characters' interactions with each other were better than I should have expected as I look back. I'm sure that when I replay VLR as part of the Nonary Games collection, I will appreciate it even more.

999 though is the cream of the crop in relation to the trilogy. Even working with the fewest characters of substance (8), I really liked six of them with Santa and Akane not too shabby. The chemistry between the characters was a lot more interesting too because there was no forced cooperation. The Ambidex Game and Decision Game were team-based and each set of three were directly in charge of their fates. In 999 (I think it was called the Nonary Game), your value to everyone was the number you had on your watch. That is why people didn't reveal much and operated with misdirection and deception with sometimes deadly consequences. It was so fascinating experiencing how most of the characters went from being closed to open books by the game's end. The fact that you didn't get to see Santa and Akane unfold were among the biggest reasons why they landed last.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Team Rankings

This is basically a ranking of the collective fragments and group chemistry. Based on my character rankings, it should be obvious who's #1, but I'm throwing a curve ball.

3. Q Team
2. D Team
1. C Team

There were some really great moments from Q team, including the comedic duo of Eric and Sean from Pop Off and the standoff from Triangle. However, this team suffered from poor chemistry most of the time. I get how Mira is a sociopath and Eric just fucking weird, but the writers couldn't make their relationship even remotely believable? Being unable to establish that all game caused a lot of crucial moments to land with a thud and for me to be quickly dismissive whenever Eric lost his composure when Mira was gone. Sean admirably tried his best to give this team some respect, but it was ultimately an exercise in futility. While I know this would mess with the game's (and I guess Delta's by extension) agenda, I would have liked to see Q and D team have their teams mixed up. Phi and Eric being on the same thing needed to happen. What a glorious trainwreck that would have been. It's too bad that we instead got a combination that was lesser than the sum of its parts on the Q team front.

I give D team a lot of (deserved) shit for I forget what that particular fragment was called as well as the bad ending to Outbreak. They also had the worst trio of characters when looked at individually. In spite of all that, they managed to have some of the best puzzles, decisions, and moments. I've already ranked the puzzle rooms, and without giving much thought, I think that D team has the highest average ranking. Even some of their weaker ones (Incinerator, Manufacturing) had some decisions that made you really think before you acted. Even if it is kind of idiotic looking back, the unexpectedly dark turn of events that occurred during Suppression after not pressing the button still stands out with me as a great callback to 999. It's lows being so low though destroyed any chance of it competing for the top spot.

C team has the best chemistry and far more attention-grabbing moments that you can excuse the fact that I put two of their escape rooms in my Bottom 3. While Q team's experiences were really just a long fleshing out of "unessential" characters and D team's experiences where to inadequately sell me on the romance of Diana/Sigma romance and its related drivel, C team's experiences were a nice marriage of character and plot-building exercises. I see that three writers are credited for this game, and I wonder if each one dealt with a single team after the overarching plot was finished. If so, that would explain why C team is head and shoulders above the rest.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

1. Delta

The ending of 999 felt like a cop-out, and the ending VLR was a giant dud. I didn't hear people say many positive things for the ending to this game, so I figured going in that I was going to hate it. How untrue that ended up being.

While I do not approve of killing Gab for no apparent reason or the kidnapped children-experiment thing (I'm unsure if he was actually involved, but he likely approved of it since it was necessary for his plans here), Delta turned out to be the true hero giving a bunch of seemingly, irrevocably broken people (and Carlos) a call to action to get over themselves and take this second chance they have been given to help save humanity. The guy is a well-intentioned, self-aware asshole. That's not an easy type to pull off, and here I am loving him. He might be my favorite character in the trilogy.

I also feel bad that he was thoroughly rejected by his blood family that he saw have a huge family hug not long before. The closest thing he ever got to any affection from them post-transportation as an infant was a dropkick from Phi.

The way I gushed about him at the end of the playthrough probably makes it no surprise that he ended up at the top of my list, but I also assume that he's near or at the top of most lists. It helps that he's part of an underwhelming cast of characters, but he is a high-quality character in his own right.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

2. Carlos

He doesn't have the most zealous personality, but he's so likable. He does on occasion tread that Mary Sue line as he doesn't have many moments of weakness or showing his faults. Because he's rarely the smartest person in the room and Akane and Junpei are just as involved, if not more, in the planning process, and he doesn't have many strengths, I don't think he was ever in danger of crossing the line.

Back to him being likable though, I always rooted for him in every situation. Akane thinks Carlos killed Junpei? The bitch has to go. Sigma tells Carlos to put down his axe? Who the fuck do you think you are you? Eric is losing his shit and about to shoot Carlos? Give Eric the ol' axe-in-the-face. Akane bashes in Carlos' head? She should be absorbing bullets for Carlos! I realize that I'm using all the violent examples, but still, I wanted every single character to die at multiple points in the game except for Carlos (and Sean probably). That has to count for a lot even for a character who I probably would have liked more if his voice actor did a better job.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Chicago a long-suffering city? They won 10 championships from 1991-2015!
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

You neglected to mention that they missed the playoffs at 11-5 in the 08-09 season with Matt Cassel and went 4-0 (or was it 3-1?) during Brady's suspension last year with a rookie and a third-year pro who had barely seen the field.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Jeff Bridges obviously
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I assume that

real = team
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I saw your deleted post about the difficulty of the bosses/late-game, and it's been so long since I played that game (three years maybe) that I honestly can't remember a single boss or segment.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

39. Finish a game in one day
Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams

I was technically five minutes in, so I simply created a new file just to legitimately place it under this category.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams for PC
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

We did have a 7th rounder still with his original club to begin S9 (or was it S8?), but Emerald either elected to release or not re-sign CB Kelly Jennings who is now gone forever.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Here are the list of players by round who are still with the team that drafted them in our first NFL Draft (S2)

1st
LE Mathias Kiwanuka (Patriots)
LT D'Brick Ferguson (Wildcats)
FS Pat Watkins (Hawks)
WR Derek Hagan (Panthers)
SS Darnell Bing (Seahawks)
RE Eric Henderson (Pumpkins)
ROLB A.J. Hawk (Raiders)
QB Brad Smith (Bengals)
LE Loren Howard (Giants)
DT Orien Harris (Rams)
CB Antwan Allen (Chiefs)
LG Max Jean-Gilles (Dolphins)

2nd
LT Marcus McNeil (Jaguars)
HB Laurence Maroney (Wildcats)
DT Gerald Anderson (Lightning)
LG Aaron Lips (Raiders)
FB Brian Leonard (Broncos)
WR Martin Nance (Giants)
DT LeKevin Smith (Lions)

3rd
C Mike Degory (Titans)
SS Keon Jackson (Patriots)
LG Kelvin Chaisson (Lightning)
FB Jason Davis (Raiders)
TE Marcedes Lewis (Browns)
TE Tim Day (Jets)
LT Zach Strief (Packers)
C Greg Eslinger (Lions)
SS Eric Weddle (Rams)
QB Kevin Kolb (Buccaneers)

4th
P Tom Malone (Dolphins)
P Kyle Basler (Lightning)
RG Chris Pino (Cowboys)
TE Dominique Byrd (Colts)
P Ryan Plackemeier (Ravens)
FB Rashon Powers-Neal (Bengals)
FB Quadtrine Hill (Packers)
MLB Anthony Schlegel (Broncos)
SS Greg Threat (Lions)
HB Dontrell Moore (Rams)

5th
C Ryan Cook (Jaguars)
ROLB Spencer Toone (Wildcats)

6th
MLB Aaron Harris (Seahawks)
LOLB DeMeco Ryans (Packers)
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I dropped that game early on. I just couldn't get into it.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Victimless crime
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I'm confused, are we calling Diana normal? There's only one organic character who isn't a broken mess, and that certainly isn't Diana.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I don't understand how people find Diana appealing
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

This is a very refreshing final, but my vote goes to Baby Driver
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I'm guessing that since players send reservations to enter game servers, the first non-PC player to get a reservation in dictates cross-play possibilities.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I thought about that when I was typing that up, but I just came to the conclusion that Junpei decided too much time had simply passed that he didn't experience the kind of feelings he expected when finally reuniting with Akane.. I will defer to your judgment though.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I would play Rocket League if you had it for a different system...
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Bump
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Even the spin-off Pokemon games have a single save file?
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

should probably bump this at least one more time
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

3. Akane

I really liked Akane in this game. We finally got to see a fascinating glimpse at psychopath Akane and her twisted sense of logic and worldview. I loved and hated her when she went ballistic and bashed Carlos' head in with the extinguisher and when she accused Carlos of killing Junpei. I gave her flak for her for the way she acted in pretty much every fragment that she was in, but that's because it elicited that kind of reaction from me and shouldn't be confused with thinking less of her because of her numerous character flaws. I like my characters deeply flawed. I prefer flawed characters that I can easily connect the dots for, but it seemed like I was in the minority in trying to decipher the meaning of Akane's many actions and words.

That being said, and this has bothered me since the big reveal in 999, is that nobody calls her out on her shit. Not in 999, not in VLR, and not really in ZTD either. It depends on if Carlos called Akane acting cutesy creepy because of SHIFTing and knowing that didn't reflect her true self or if the way she projected was just eerie. I don't necessarily hold that against her, but I do think it ever so slightly affects how I view her. Regardless, I'm glad that this was the final version of Akane we got to witness.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

4. Eric

Eric is really a bad character, and his background is one of the most ham-fisted things in the trilogy, so he didn't really earn much sympathy from me about his past. I kind of liked him in spite of all that.

For starters, he was the most intentionally and unintentionally hilarious character in the game bar none. I would have loved to see Sean and him pair up for more escape rooms, because Pop Off was golden in the humor department. In other escape rooms, he still had his fair share of lovable, exuberant dumbass moments, but Eric with the hammer, making up excuses not to do the sliding block puzzles, and the line about trusting only himself and the shotgun made me laugh so hard. This was a really dour game, but Eric was the overwhelming source of moments containing much-needed levity, so he gets points just for that.

Not that I expect anybody to remember this, but for anybody who read my Danganronpa THH playthrough topic back in 2015, I ranked Byakuya high despite calling him a bad character because in the end, he was the character I could connect with the most as he was pretty much the only voice of reason after a certain point. Eric, though slightly different, strikes the same chord with me. We would all totally be Eric if we were in that situation. While everyone was SHIFTing and totally believed everyone else's claims of SHIFTing and what they discovered, Eric was the only one to basically say, "What the fuck are you all talking about? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you all can move your consciousness to another timeline basically on command? You are are all insane and insane people should be shot in the face."

Through the constant stream of bewildered Eric faces and exasperated sentences coming out of his mouth, I was self-aware that I would be exactly like him in many of the situations that didn't directly involve Mira. I made a joke earlier regarding Eric being bad at math and upset that I was probably Eric now due to also having difficulties with a math problem. Foolmo then said that the true message of the game is we are all Eric. I cannot disagree with that assessment.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

5. Junpei

The writers tried way too hard with him. He had the most hit-or-miss humor out of all the characters and persistent too-cool-for-school attitude got on my nerves immediately . However, he was one of the best characters in the second half of the game, which might be hard to understand since this is from my perspective, and his plan for getting the necessary X-Passes was one of the greatest segments of the game. His demeanor and mannerisms when he kept his guard down seemed a lot more natural and relatable.

If he didn't stumble out of the gate like he did, he could have competed for the #2 spot.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I have a 1-game overlap
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Bump
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

This is going to be a long three weeks, but the good news is that we already have five ballots submitted!
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Dunkirk
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Bump
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Meant to edit, not delete, but I wanted to say that I looked at Quinn, and he should have probably been a candidate for Comeback. Every season, I look at hundreds of players to come up with five for Comeback and Breakout, and every season I find a more deserving player that I left outside the final five after the nominees have been set.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

theawesomestevr posted...

Looking like there may be a few players on the ballot I'll have to vote for despite it going directly against my voting principles!

I was wondering if you were going to stick to your guns and pick Perry or Atkins for Def took instead of your own player, but I'm guessing this is code for voting for your own players.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

We played but ended about 40 minutes ago
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

I did not factor Meachem for comeback as his lack of stats last season were directly tied to the type of offense that the Packers ran
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

It's too late to edit!
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg

Just so you don't forget Cody

KCF0107 posted...

- You get one nomination automatically each month

so you still have one left over
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
http://i.imgur.com/VfpY7tg.jpg