JTO is Typing

@raineyday@mstdn.games Commentary in the Chicago Sun-Times last month on Nortwestern University: "... the Northwestern bargain endangers academic freedom and institutional autonomy, subjecting the university to ongoing federal control. ... Further, Northwestern insists the agreement makes no new policy regarding transgender community members. In fact, it bars gender-affirming care for minors and borrows its definition of 'sex' from an executive order that erases the existence of intersex, transgender and nonbinary persons. It appears to require the university maintain 'all-female' sports, locker rooms and shower facilities." https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/12/15/northwestern-caved-rotten-deal-donald-trump-administration-serena-mayeri-amanda-shanor

@LadyMarth01 Also check out the #OCReMix @darkesword did with Echoes' main theme and Submerged Temple (which itself was based on Super Metroid red soil Brinstar) mixed in, "Torvus Clockwork." https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkfKfWMD3xE

@AltheaValara@mstdn.games @Knightky@mstdn.games If you can't wait for Shadowbringers to be added but would like a female viera or male hrothgar character later, there's an in-game item called a fantasia which lets you change character race; there's a quest during A Realm Reborn which gives a free one. There are also more minor character appearance changes allowed at through the Aesthetician. https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Fantasia https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Aesthetician

@Knightky@mstdn.games I haven't done the free trial, but here's the article on it from a wiki I frequently reference when watching @AltheaValara@mstdn.games play. Getting two expansions for free is also quite a lot of story. https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIV#Free_Trial

@GaymerGeek@mstdn.games Enjoying Twilight Princess over here. Regarding the PC ports, now there are 2, but they're early in development. https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/04/it-turns-out-zelda-twilight-princess-is-getting-not-one-but-two-native-pc-ports However, Majora's Mask on PSP hit 1.1. https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/04/n64-classic-zelda-majoras-mask-gets-unofficial-port-for-the-ps-vita

@scribblemacher@mstdn.games @outofprintarchive@retro.pizza Yikes that reviewer was the wrong person for the job. 35%? The Pokémon similarities really end at "boy goes on adventure with magical companion" and multiplayer with a link cable (just as accurate to call it a Tetris clone for the latter). Calling it turn-based is just wrong, since it was a strategy RPG with a card deck. Enemies took some time between attacks, but that happens in Mega Man platformers, too, it just happened on a grid in this one.

@scribblemacher@mstdn.games @GaymerGeek@mstdn.games I probably recommended this before, but I highly recommend the Redux patches for Zelda II, particularly the optional patch to make the level-up menu appear on your input rather than only the moment you pass an experience point threshold. https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5440/

@oldthink34@mstdn.games Rebirth does trim some things out that were in the original for purposes of the flow of the story, later. So, if you do play the original, you'll have a bit more to go through to "catch up," even though Rebirth also expands things so much with all the side quests you can do along the way outside of towns.

@joel@fosstodon.org @GaymerGeek@mstdn.games Just a heads-up if you play the Steam version, the one released in 2013 has been de-listed and it has been replaced with a new one, which has some good and bad differences. DeathUnitesUs made a video about them last week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chlVGTEJ9Hw To summarize, it was a rough launch on Steam and the version on GOG still has slowdown during FMV cutscenes. It should be close enough to the PS4 release for casual play, but speedruns are impacted and you might notice some changes if you played it before. Since that video was published, 7th Heaven mod manager and FFNx have "canary" builds which are updated to keep compatibility, but these are untested.

@scribblemacher Dealer also gets a chance to find extra gold after a battle and gets to use a number of the weapons which attack enemy groups (whips) or all enemies (boomerangs and the class-exclusive abacus weapons). Appraising is alright. The class is also used for a later quest, but it can be a newly created Dealer (which will leave the party for a time). There's also a Dealer in the 4th game, who was the main character they started the Mystery Dungeon spin-off series with. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torneko%27s_Great_Adventure

@GamingWolf @mforester I haven't tried that one, but there's a Zelda 1 and Metroid 1 combination randomizer, too. From what I have tried of it so far, you spend far less time in Metroid (unless you really, really know LoZ well, I guess). https://z1m1.info/

@mforester There are some limits on the button mapping in Super Metroid. Angle up and down have to be on the shoulder buttons, unless you use something like the VARIA Randomizer to patch the controls. As for A Link to the Past, it's interesting that Desert Palace introduces the concept of splitting a dungeon up with two separate entrances, and the second requires its treasure to access, but that design only gets used once more in that game. Ocarina of Time is the only other game in the series I recall them doing that.

Well, this turned out to be a timely choice.

@sunie @scribblemacher I also wanted to point those out, as well as Project '06. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_P-06 There has also recently been a start at remaking the Java cellphone game Castlevania: Order of Shadows, but for Game Boy Color. But, that's more unknown than infamous. https://elvies.itch.io/castlevania-order-of-shadows-gbc

@scribblemacher Licensing would be a barrier to some efforts. For example, there was movie-tie in to Ang Lee's Hulk which wouldn't just have Incredible Hulk characters licensed to it but also had Mountain Dew and Slim Jim advertisements. My opinion of the game was that the cel shading looked pretty good and combat as Hulk was fine, just the enemy variety was too low. What really dragged the game down to me were the short music loops or lack of music, which made the stealth segments with Bruce Banner that much more dull (although, playing a lullaby when sneaking past some sleeping dogs was a nice touch).

@scribblemacher You can have the Dealer rejoin your party, as I recall, but you've got to go through the whole quest. From the one time I played it on the DS, I liked that chapter. I didn't finish the game, but I stopped during the chapter with the dancer sisters.

@timberwraith@mastodon.social @gnoll110@ruby.social Just before the relevant part, I like this bit on college electives. "MM: Yes, it was my first time in the West. I finished secondary school in ‘62. It was the year of independence. The US government gave an independence gift to the Ugandan government, which included 23 fellowships to universities. BS: Do you know how many applied? MM: 800, something like that. BS: Wow, you were really a good student! MM: I came here to be an electrical engineer. BS: Is that right? MM: Yes, I was a science student. In the British system, in the eighth grade, they separate you into different streams. If your marks are high, you go to the science stream. If they are high enough, you go to physics and chemistry, rather than biology. That’s where I was. I came to do Electrical Engineering, and this being America, I had to do electives. I had to do all kinds of things but science. I ended up doing all kinds of courses – music, art, Roman catacombs, philosophy, history…so I changed."

@GamingWolf@mstdn.games Tuoting.

@GamingWolf@mstdn.games Did they seriously not sample "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" for the Fire Temple?

@GaymerGeek@mstdn.games Of the games I have played, Twilight Princess has some of the most unique and disturbing and beautiful character designs and I think everyone should experience them as they're implemented and lit in the game. But, if it doesn't win, here's a History of Hyrule album including some things which weren't put in, like Sheik. https://www.flickr.com/photos/historyofhyrule/albums/72157629221421213/ Also, Darbus with Telma's cat Louise is not a pairing I expected to want. https://www.flickr.com/photos/historyofhyrule/6900423759/in/album-72157629221421213

@nik@mstdn.games The card game has had some Pikachu in a cap cards, so who knows? https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ash%27s_Pikachu_(SM_Promo_108)