What a November! We got ourselves a new president (despite a few people crying about the results and outcome.) World of Warcraft Shadowlands is live (and i’m enjoying this while working on the story that was suppose to be due last week.) However, we got a new round two into Covid-19. Ya Boy’s not too happy about the outcome. More than just things getting backhanded (Ya Boy was suppose to be finished with an NCCT quiz for his class but due to Covid, it’s been delayed until further notice.)
For those who are curious, my state of California has rolled back to the Purple tier (widespread) when we were in the red tier (substantial). We were hoping to get to the Orange tier (moderate) but that went to hell in a handbasket. Thus because of this, alot of stuff is now shutdown and thus we need to hunker down again (though ya boy is lucky his gym is open in this pandemic). Though why have we shut down? With everything going on so well? Lemmie tell you why this stuff happened…
It’s because people out there, defiant in what doctors told them and advised but instead listened to the GOP administration and their lies in order. Because of that, my State has a massive outbreak and things aren’t going to be like this normally. I mean, It’s not just me that’s going on but the workers that have been suffering too in this. Some can’t afford to survive another round of quarantine and our hospitals have been stretched to capacity. Not really good when everyone is stretched.
What makes this also hard is that Thanksgiving is coming and most people are either hunkering down or taking their chances and traveling. I wouldn’t advise that due to how this crap got out of hand to begin with (people traveling and spreading it unknowingly) and that some states (like California) have a maximum of two weeks quarantine right after you travel or when you arrive. Not really good to even leave after all, and maybe give a call on Valentine’s Day.
For now, Ya boy here is probably going to have a safe Thanksgiving at home and giving his grandmother a call. For those out there, best keep safe and not risk getting yourself sick in this.
No mumbles or reviews this week, but I got some plans of stories to be written, with a new story that takes place in my sci-fi universe.
Oh and while I was doing some work I suddenly noticed that it’s been a whole year since I created The Bird’s Nest (wow…it lasted this year, huh?). So what are we going to do? Well, I thought it would be fair to pull some basis of questions you want to ask me (So long as they’re tasteful and not trolling.) related to the stuff here on the Bird’s Nest. So if you got any questions submit your questions here and we’ll answer it on Thursday.
Note: the following game may contain spoilers to the game’s story so if you don’t want to be spoiled, avoid this review.
Gacha games…you either love them, or you hate them. They expect you to pay a ton of things and a lot use some original IPs such as Geshin Impact, Raid: Shadow Legends, or AFK Arena. Others use established IPs Such as Fire Emblem, Pokemon, and such. One such is a game that pops up that I’ve discovered. That game is called Digimon ReArise, a Digimon themed Gacha game with its own charm to this type of gaming. The game was released on May 15th, 2018, in Japan, then launched in the west on October 7th, 2019. The game is celebrating its 1st anniversary) and made by Bandai-Namco. Does this game stand up pretty well, or is it another one of the many games in the sea of gacha games? Here’s my review of Digimon ReArise
Story+Gameplay
Digimon ReArise takes place in “Japan’s Far future,” where the internet has become paramount. You play as a random person who finds themselves with a Digimon in their smartphone. The Digimon, named Pursuimon, later aids you by digivolving into Hessimon when you are under attack by digital creatures called Spirals. After this information, your adventure throughout the game begins with you as a Tamer alongside Hessimon as you find new friends and solve the Spirals’ mystery and their connection to the digital world.
The gameplay of ReArise is pretty straightforward as your objective is to defeat the enemies in front of you with your Digimon. Usually, your Digimon has two attacks: A Main attack and a Sub Attack. Usually, the Digimon’s primary attack is tied to one of their signature moves (some have some unique abilities like boosting or status enhancement). Sub Attacks are offensive supports that either boost, debuff, heal your allies (and removing status conditions), or inflicting status conditions on enemies. If you think Hessimon is doing this all by himself? No worries, you can create a party of up to five other Digimon to aid you in these quests. You can acquire Digimon through two means: Finding digieggs and hatching them; or obtaining them from the gacha mechanic. Usually, your first new Digimon will help you throughout the game. Still, sooner or later, you’ll be fighting stronger Digimon, and to do that, you’d need to make your Digimon stronger.
By upgrading your Digimon’s level, feeding your Digimon, and awakening your Digimon’s strength, you can make them stronger and “Digivolve” them to the next level. Most Digimon, depending on the acquisition, start out in the Rookie Stage (Egg hatched Digimon are in their In Training 1 then have to be grown to their next stage.) The stages (In order) In Training I, In Training II, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega. Most Digimon will go as far as Ultimate, and some do have a Mega form (and a smaller handful have access to their most potent form like Burst Mode or an alternate mode.)
Luckily, even if you hit a brick wall, the game implements ways of farming parts efficiently. Such examples are Dimensional Rifts (a place to gather ingredients such as Bits, workout chips, and food.), Clash Battles pit your team against powerful Digimon to gain Digicores for digivolution; and the Underworld, where you go into a gauntlet of how far you can go and earn rewards. Through my playthrough of the game, I’ve managed to acquire a few Digimon, some like VenomMyotismon and MegaKabuterimon, being my favorites. In contrast, others were good but not much of a favorite in my eyes. The final thing I like is the PvP system known as the Battle Park. Though you don’t fight a live player, you do fight other player’s teams. What makes it fun is that the PvP system has a story involving how you and Hessimon are progressing through the ranks of the Battle Park (also, the rewards there are pretty good
Digidestined: Great parts of the game
One such great thing I like about ReArise is the various things you can do in the game that ensures you don’t get bored with just the story mode. While you do the story and learn of the lore and the series (not knocking on it, but I do like some of them), you can do other side things to gather more resources. Which makes it feel like an RPG and not like some city thing of “click x to gain this resource.” Another thing I really like about the series is that you can have access to any Digimon! Not just the protagonist ones but antagonist ones too (VenomMyotismon, Beelzemon, Lucemon.) So you’re not limited to just the good guy Digimon. The other play modes are fun (though I haven’t unlocked the aspect of Underworld, so I can’t comment on that) Though the rest like Clash Raids, Dimensional rifts, and Battle Park do provide some variable fun that doesn’t feel tacked on for no reason whatsoever. The game also has exciting events and banners that let you get unique Digimon (such as one that is themed from the 2020 reboot of Digimon Adventures).
Digi-dud: What the game lacks
Though the game is fun and decent, the game does fall into the trappings of using gacha mechanics to get the Digimon you want. Which can be a pain in the butt to do and leads to plenty of trouble if you’re adamant about doing it (or a big spender.) It doesn’t help that some Digimon forms can only be acquired through this (a bit rare outside the shop.) Another problem with the game is that though I could play with at least several Digimon (good or bad), not all the Digimon are in there. Some Digimon like Submarimon isn’t in the game. I do like some of the missing Digimon in there, like Mummymon or some of the Legendary Warriors. Finally, I’m not fond of that only a handful of Digimon seems to have mega forms. A pity as some Digimon just goes as far as ultimate (if there’s a way of making those that only go up to ultimate unlock their mega form, I’d be happy.) This makes it pretty tough and rare.
Digi-tips
I forgot to mention that in the game, every Digimon has up to five personalities: Brave, Calm, Deft, Devoted, and Tenacious. Brave and Calm are more offensive based (brave=physical while calm=magical). Deft personalities focus on mixed styles with conditions designed to mess with the enemy, Devoted are more healers, and Tenacity is tankers intended to focus on defensive means. It’s essential (especially in raid battles) that you have forces to build up specific personalities to deal with specific enemies. Having healers can help keep your party alive while having some supporters provide protection/buffs/inflict status. Also, some Digimon has passive abilities that help out others of their type. Also, I mentioned items called Plugins. Those items are equipped for your Digimon. Some are very specific (such as some that are designed to boost specific Digimon.) Do not forget that you can also upgrade them as they can improve your Digimon.
Conclusion
Though Digimon ReArise behaves like any run of the mill gacha game out there, it’s one that at least is fun on its own and doesn’t fall for any trappings that some of the worse ones have. It’s also something good to play if you’re a fan of the Digimon franchise. It’s nice to build a Digimon dream team and have some fun. If you like this game, now is the best time as some significant events are going on, such as the Halloween event and some other events. You can even get some strong Digimon during these events ( I was able to snag a WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon during the 1st year anniversary celebration)
Note: All mumbles are based on my own opinions, so do not take these too personal if they rub you the wrong way.
Good Tuesday, everyone It’s ya boy Choujin.
2020’s already setting itself to being a shitshow, and the biggest thing folks are talking about is voting. Now, ya boy here embraces the the entire notion of a democratic election by doing our civic duty by voting. Though from what’s been going on with the pandemic and the idea of mail-in voting sounding viable for safety reasons. However, a lot of people are spreading crap that somehow makes certain voting means invalid or some feeling their votes are invalid. Though this is just a bunch of crap that makes my blood boil in this situation. In an election period, the last thing you need is confusion and delay that can delude the outcome of an election.
The first and most annoying thing that boils my blood is that certain political figures and individuals are pushing a narrative that the entire vote by mail is somehow fraudulent and designed to rig the system. Though some have already explained that the method is safe enough and won’t risk being tampered. In fact, they’re known to be the safest thing out there. This narrative is being pushed by these individuals and figures because they fear the outcome may not being in their favor. It can be annoying as hell and poisons the well. Why push lies like this?
But that’s not just the major issue, you got people and others pushing things to get people to not vote. Such as doomers claiming that a conservative court will give a certain president the election. Others will throw their vote away for some petty reason or simply not vote at all. This mess is the real reason why 2016 happened and was a big fat mess to begin with. Folks don’t understand that their voice matters in this situation and by taking it for granted and being overconfident will lead to folks being this way. If it says that one person is ahead than the other, don’t take their word for it until you cast your ballot. Lastly, if you’re upset because you have two people who are corrupt or some other crap, remember that sometimes it’s best to compromise and go with “the lesser of two evils”. Another addendum is that some folks are turning toward the idea of using “security” to protect ballots. The problem is that by law, coming armed (and voter intimidation) is a felony regardless of your nature or noble intention. Leave that stuff to the professionals please, and not the wanna be posers.
make sure you know your rights when it comes to voting and be reassured that you and your ballots will be safe. Whether it be by intimidation, sabotage or anything else. Your vote matters.
Today’s friday and thus we got ourselves another fan-work created. Yes, it’s another Warcraft fan-work, but something that got me pondering to set up for a probable story. With Shadowlands on the horizon, I got musing on the idea of soul-powered machines from WoW called Vigilants. Thus I got writing on this little “File” called “Project Zanuka” (yes for those who play another game, I went with that name)
So with that, get yourself comfortable, get your favorite snack and be ready to read this latest work.
Chala Nightshadow’s Project Zanuka
Introduction With N’Zoth defeated, many would assume that the threat of the Black Empire is gone. The problem that comes up is the result of corruption. An Old God’s remains can cause somehow adverse side effects (as proven with the Sha). Several engineers pondered on the possibility of using mechanical creatures for dealing with Old God level threats to solve this problem. This is something I’ve been reading up and studying by providing a “second chance” to aid in the protection of Azeroth. Thus the proposal for a new project: Project Zanuka. The request is to put the “soul” of a being inside a machine as the Old God’s corruption has no effect on mechanical or artificial creatures.
Origin of Project Zanuka The origin came from the notes of a Pandaren engineer named Zanuka Sparkeye. Who studied Mogu Spiritbinders and theorized the possibility of transferring one’s soul into a new body (animal or otherwise). Sadly, due to a few failed experiments, he was shunned by his brethren. Though looking at this research, it’s not that off. Besides Mogu Spiritbinders, other Azeroth and Draenor groups have used means to bind souls to an object. It’s a known fact that Warlocks have done this before through soulstones, allowing them to cheat death. The Cult of the Damned and the Scourge’s Liches will use a phylactery to ensure their body remains. The Drust of Kul Tiras was also known for soul binding animals and humans into their wicker creations. Even the Alliance’s very own Draenei have used the departed souls to power their own Vigilants. From observations of these examples, the idea of a machine can be powered by the soul of a machine.
Proposal The objective of Project Zanuka is to create machines powered by a soul that serves as a weapon against Old God/Void level threats that plague all of Azeroth. Though the void’s effects prove damaging to living creatures (or reanimated), it has no effect on mechanical beasts. However, though mechanical units are viable, anything organic material (pilot or other) will be affected by the void. A.I., though useful as it is, isn’t at the capacity to work well. The Soul powers the machine, having it operate the machine fully without corruption’s harmful effects. The best thing is the body can be modified to fit the situation needed.
Problem that arises The primary issue when it comes to this is the ethical aspect of this project. How would one acquire a soul without breaking taboos such as either killing the intended target, shackling the soul with soul binders, or desecrating hallowed grounds to obtain a soul? The next problem that shows up is how to ensure the soul doesn’t end up causing problems like berserking or rebelling if it becomes aware. The Drust enchantment creates an unethical basis for stripping the soul down to its individuality for the body to not reject. That too can become something of a pain in the ass should the soul realize it’s in a mechanical body as it can rebel and go berserk. Further research into this will require studying the Draenei Vigilants to better understand how they work.
A solution to the Ethical outcome Harvesting a soul may be considered unethical due to bad examples throughout history; the best option for dealing with this situation is to harvest souls of those already departed. There are lost souls and scourge wraiths that could be harvested and used as the core battery. Careful consideration must be made to avoid harvesting or violating any armistice treaties with the Horde should this route go through it.
Conclusion If this theory works, it should allow a revolutionary way of dealing a fatal blow to the Void Gods. Should any old god resurface on Azeroth or anywhere else, that threat will be managed. Though I fear that the machine could be deadly in the wrong hands, I am confident that this won’t lead to war as the only one with that knowledge is with me.
Hello, it’s ya boy Choujin here. With Monster Hunter Rise‘s announcement for the Nintendo Switch, a lot of people are anticipating this new version since Monster Hunter World. Throughout my gameplay of the series, starting in 2009 with Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii. It began my love of this franchise. Each monster in the series serves a unique fight, but some do memorable boss fights or even challenges. In this article, I’ll make a list of the top 10 monster hunter monsters.
To summarize the rules, all monsters will be counted in the series, however:1. I’ll only consider monsters canon to the series (So collab monsters like the Behemoth and Leshen won’t matter, sadly) 2. Deviant and Monster subspecies will be mentioned in the series under one monster (they are usually the same save for just new types or moves.) 3. These are monsters based on my experience, so if you see a beast, not on the list, don’t take it personally.
With that, let’s dive into the monsters.
10. Seltas Queen/Seltas
Starting off with number 10 on our list is the tag team duo, The Seltas, and the Seltas Queen. It’s rare in Monster Hunter to show monsters working together in fighting the hunter. Still, in Monster Hunter 4/4 Ultimate, you deal with the insectoid Seltas Queen and her male counterpart. What makes the monster imposing is that they actually work together when they do team-up. The male serves as her needed wings and extra attacker. In contrast, she serves as the sizeable mobile platform with tail pincers and can shoot a high water blast. If you think killing her mate will stop her? Nope, she’ll call another one (in some cases, she’ll use her mate like a kamikaze projectile or even kills her mate to eat him for food.)Her desert counterpart is not only imposing but will dig up a new Desert Seltas from the ground to reuse quickly. Sadly she’s bottom on the list due to the factor that you’d see this dynamic duo work in Monster Hunter World with the Lunastra and Teostra.
9. Quropeco
Calling into number nine is the monster mimic, the Quropeco. When hunters first meet this goofy looking bird wyvern, they think it’s just a monster that’ll smash you with fire knuckles or spit mucus. What makes the Quropeco worthy of this list is its unique ability to mimic monster calls to call for backup. Meaning you could find yourself fighting another monster that might come out to stop you in its tracks. In more serious difficulties, it and the Crimson Quropeco will call in more dangerous monsters like the dreaded Deviljho. Don’t you just hate it when someone QQ’s for help when they can’t handle the heat? However, This is more annoying than dangerous. But we need to continue with our hunt.
8. Dodogama
Waddling into the number eight spot is Monster Hunter’s resident fat boi, the Dodogama. The adorable blue butterball of Monster Hunter World’s volcano region. This sweet fat boy is cute with those tiny eyes. However, don’t let his looks fool you as he can be a tough and fastball of thick. He’s also bold enough to pick fights with other monsters (even if it means he gets beaten up.) This guy’s the adorable kind, and you don’t want to hurt, but just head pat the sucker to death.
7.Rathian and Rathalos
Flying in at number seven is none other than the original wyvern duo: Rathian and Rathalos. Ever since the first games, these two have always been in every monster hunter game. For those unaware, the Rathian and Rathalos are part of the same family, as the Rathian is female, and the Rathalos are male. Every Monster Hunter game has these critters and their colored subspecies. It’s Monster Hunter Generations that introduces us to the Deviants: The Dreadqueen Rathian and Dreadking Rathalos. No matter the form, these duos are the staple of all monsters in the series.
6. Lagiacrus
My first introduction to the flagship monsters of the series was the Lagiacrus. This first aquatic monster ushered into the series. It’s a gigantic monster that generates electricity, and you fight on both land and under the water as well. Plus, it’s the first monster in the series to have the story focus on itself. Thus, it can be a valid reason why future flagship monsters have a backstory to their game’s main story. In 3 Ultimate, the Lagiacrus got two subspecies flavors: The landlocked Ivory Lagiacrus that is extremely dangerous on land and the colossal Abyssal Lagiacrus. So massive that you have to fight it in a large underwater arena just to beat it. Lagia proves to be an interesting flagship staple into the series.
5. The Fated Four
What’s better than one flagship monster? Two? Three? How about four flagship monsters. The “Fated Four” is Monster Hunter Generation’s flagship monsters. You have the thunder dragon bug Astalos, the frosty and gigantic Gammoth, the elegant and bubbly Mizutsune, and the swordtail Glavenus. Each monster is unique and represents each generation of the monster hunter series, starting from Generation 1 up to Generation 4. Their presence shows that it’s never wrong to have four flag monsters in one game. The critters do get subspecies updates for Generations Ultimate to make things interesting, so the fated four now have unique variants.
4. Gore Magala/Shagaru Magala
With Covid-19 plaguing us, we have the Monster Hunter equivalent of a plague spreader. The dreaded Gore Magala is a monster with the unique “Frenzy” status that can affect hunters and turns monsters into ravenous killing machines. The creature can spread it by dropping clouds of it, spitting it, and becoming nightmarish with those antennae-like horns. What’s impressive is that the Gore Magala is a baby monster, and it molts into a more devastating monster called the Shagaru Magala, the real source of the frenzy virus as well. A mutated version is known as the Chaos Gore Magala, a Gore Magala disrupted in molting into a Shagaru. This nightmarish monster is one I really enjoy in the series.
3. Kulve Taroth
What do you get when you dress up an elder dragon in gold armor? That would be the Kulve Taroth, a monster draped in gold and one of the first post-game monsters in Monster Hunter World. Unlike most monster fights, the battle with Kulve Taroth is a four-phased fight that may take several runs to beat her (that’s right, Kulve is a girl dragon.) However, you’re not here to slay the dragon (and NO! not remotely what I meant!) You’re objective is to bust off her horns after shredding her golden armor off. However, as stated, you have to take several chances to “gather intel” to make her armor easier to bust. Though fear not, when Kulve Taroth happens, everybody will be doing it to help out (and the rewards are worth it.) It’s a pretty good community event mission, and that’s for sure.
2. Nergigante
Poking into number two is Monster Hunter World‘s flagship monster, the Nergigante. Nergigante is a unique monster with a backstory and origin. In the New World, this creature is essentially an Elder Dragon that hunts other Elder Dragons. Its spiky body, sharp wings, and ferocious attitude make it a threat to many elder dragons it runs into. The spikes are also continually growing, meaning busting them will just weaken him. When they become black, they’re really bouncy, and it’ll allow the Nergigante to smash into the ground and fling them as projectiles. The expansion Iceborne gave the Nergigante a new subspecies called the Ruiner Nergigante that gets stronger the more it takes damage to make things more interesting. In short, the latest flagship monster from World proves to be a monster that folks will be talking about.
1. Jhen Mohran
In my first taste of monster hunter, it was a tough choice to go with as I was split between some monsters to get the top list of any monsters. The one monster I found, so fun was Jhen Mohran, the sand whale monster of Monster Hunter Tri/3 Ultimate. What made this fun was the fundamental basis of the fight. You’re fighting aboard a “Dragonship,” which is armed with cannons, harpoons, and an impaling spike and a gong. Fighting it from the side with all the arsenals as you move onto the second phase, where you and your cohorts now fight him on solid ground as he slowly crawls over toward your ship. The fight not only has the usual trappings to avoid (not dying three times or running out of time) but also protecting your dragonship from destruction. So you’re not just fighting aboard the ship while it’s sailing but while it’s docked. Throughout the fight, you can climb on the monster and destroy some parts of its body on its back. Just the sheer size gives it a Shadows of the Colossus vibe when you’re slamming your weapon into it.
And with that, that completes my Top 10 monster hunter monsters list. What are your favorite monsters, and tell me what you liked about them?
References
Monster Hunter belongs to Capcom
Though the videos belong to Capcom, all youtube clip credits go to their rightful uploaders
With the release of 9.0 pre-patch for Shadowlands, no mumbles for today. However, I do have plans for a media review and a fan fic this week prepared so it won’t affect me. With that, you have a good Tuesday
Sorry about not producing anything this week. Due to major finishing of some college work, no Media Review or Fan-Fics this week. However, the good news is that I’m working on some projects for the next due date. For those who were expecting some work, sorry if I failed to deliver for this week.
No mumbles today and sorry for the no communications on any media review. With how it’s going, I’ll be looking for something to mumble that’s not obvious or going to be a repeat. However, I got a story and a Media review for this week.
Today’s work created is none other than something tied to the Federation Letter series. The written work of fiction here is a a file describing the Jev’Rotta’s dreaded form of infantry: the Reavers.
For those curious, the Jev’Rotta are described as humanoid insects that existed far before races existed In short, they would be considered forerunners by sci-fi standards. The Reavers are the Jev’Rotta’s army of revived zombies through nanomachines that serve as their first waves against planets and threats. For now..let’s get this story started, so get yourself a drink or something to eat..and enjoy this document file
