Joe's Monologues - 11/26/23

We are nearing the end of November and approaching December and I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving, just eating that wonderful turkey, getting lethargic and exercising to combat that. It is time for today's episode of Joe's Monologues and this one is gonna be interesting. Let's dive right in.

The Story in SMITE Pro League Season X So Far:

During the course of the SPL Road to Worlds Playoffs, the four teams have been determined and they are the Ferrymen, Leviathans, Warriors and Dragons. These four teams earned their spot at Worlds and we'll see them in Texas. But their seeding has not yet been determined, so in order to determine the seeding, they must finish their matches.

One of the exciting things is that on Game 2 of the match between the Oni Warriors and the Jade Dragons, the only matchup we see often because of Christmas colors, the Dragons were on the verge of getting themselves on the board and momentum was on their side too. But a clutch moment has happened as the Warriors managed to make a comeback after a series of objective steals. It was a clutch moment the Oni Warriors would create and I was flabbergasted to experience that. And for the umpteenth time, the Warriors have beat the Dragons 3-0, courtesy of Pegon, who was right about 3-0'ing the Dragons. And their theme song is fire, by the way and you'll hear it at Worlds because they have qualified.

Moving on to the another interesting moment for that final match of Playoffs, the match between the Styx Ferrymen and the Atlantis Leviathans. Game 4 almost lasted an hour. They were playing tennis in that longest game almost lasted an hour. But the Leviathans managed to finally clutch it out to take us to Game 5. The torture becomes enjoyable and I was shocked about that.

In the end, the seeding has been determined. The Styx Ferrymen are at 1st seed, Atlantis Leviathans are at 2nd seed, Oni Warriors are at 3rd seed and Jade Dragons are at 4th seed for Worlds. They are no doubt going to Arlington, Texas where the Esports Arena is at.

But the road will not stop here because this is part one of the Road to SWC Playoffs so part two will be the SMITE Circuit Playoffs.

Worlds is around the corner and I can't wait until I see who is crowned Season X World Champions. I got the popcorn prepared for the big show, but it's gonna be for Grand Finals. It is like one of the moments I experienced when watching EVO, like when they are crowned champions, smoke and confetti shoot out.

The previous SMITE World Championship felt like WWE because each of the qualified teams have theme songs since it took place at the Esports Arena in Arlington. Even the Camelot Kings theme song sounds so epic and the Tartarus Titans theme song felt like Guilty Gear with its rock cadence. I have a feeling that the upcoming SWC is gonna feel like WWE by playing theme songs for qualified teams and preparing better titantrons for them.

One of the moments that I'll miss the most is when they had SMITE and Paladins esports divided into their sides. It was a best moment back in the day. And now, where it stands, it is no longer the case because Paladins esports has been discontinued back in 2021 due to its shift to its communal and independent structure and approach to cause the stream team and AoC to cease operations. I loved the Paladins Stream Team and its esports, but since they are now sunset, it's for the better, so all eyes on the SMITE Stream Team and esports going forward.

Getting a High-End Computer:

Of course, you know that I'll be getting a high-end computer so that my Steam games can run smoothly. I postponed going full blast on Steam for the same reason. A high-end computer is something I wanted to get and now that I'm almost there, it is happening soon. I'll be looking forward to playing my Steam games on it. But first and foremost, I got to do a stream test to see if my streaming quality is excellent. It should be because a high-end computer has better specs than low-end computers. I am looking for the one that has a good amount of hertz.

Remembering My Time at Capcom-Unity:

I haven't talked about Capcom-Unity for a long time here, but now, here we are. When I first signed up for Capcom-Unity, I came across a user who made wish lists for more vs. Capcom games. I was looking at them. While I was there, I found traces came from a banned user who was discussing MvC3. It became a good riddance because they were annoying and wanting a mode that nobody wants.

I even made friends with those on the general thread where we can talk about whatever we want. I miss the good old days.

And now, here we are. The forums and the user system were sunset and Capcom-Unity becomes a news and updates-only website. It's a new platform that doesn't support the user system. I was able to make a final blog post there before the maintenance started. I will never see the vs. Capcom game blogs ever again since the shift to a new platform doesn't support users and forums. No, we have not been banned from that site because the site made changes to become news and updates only.

All of my blog posts were also deleted on the shift and I can agree because the older ones are no longer reverent to me. Even the vs. game blog posts that I don't want to talk about. But Capcom-Unity, it is now a news and updates-centric site to not support the user system and forums.

Days of PlayStation Past:

I am officially doing some throwback streams where I stream my PlayStation oldies I played back in the day. Sony adds more PlayStation classics every month and November's additions are interesting. The first Grandia for the PS1 and PaRappa the Rapper 2 for the PS2 were added. This is an interesting development that I can agree, even though they are not on my wish list. I have created a gamelist of classic games I played back in the day titled "PlayStation Oldies". I have five of them and they are all first-party, but that is not nearly enough, so I need more of them and third-party games will also be involved. I plan to purchase them so that I can play them 24/7 without a PS Plus Premium membership.

Have you heard of Checkered Past on Adult Swim? The throwback stream is officially called Days of PlayStation Past. The name indicates a series of streaming PlayStation games from back in the day originally released on the PS1, PS2 and PSP and it doesn't have to be just first-party. It can also be both first-party and third-party. PS3, however, will not be part of the throwback stream due to the PS3 games being only available to stream.

SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level:

Progress on the fan project is coming along nicely. The UI has been updated and four more characters have been added. There is an interesting development to this. Ikemen GO now supports 3D stages and it's an improvement over 2D stages. The devs have done a great job putting a lot of effort. Justin Wong is even interested in a fan game as I am. He has a video up on YouTube.

Of course, we would experience something that Marvel vs. Capcom offered. I even heard the 1tth and 12th characters are in the works. I wonder who they are. We'll see who they are soon. If you enjoyed Smash and Project X Zone, SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level is the way.

Them's Fightin' Herds:

The balance patch for Them's Fightin' Herds dropped a couple days ago and it adds a new mechanic, Armor Break. Certain moves can break through their armor and it's similar to Mortal Kombat 11's Armor Break mechanic. It's a good addition to it. Also, Nidra is still slated to release early next year and she's not the only one because the fourth and final Season 1 Pass character has been revealed in their 8th development update to be Baihe, Tianhuo's dragon sister that is a zoner. In addition, both Nidra and Baihe will drop on the same day.

And they stated on what this means for the future of an animal fighting game. After the Season 1 Pass is complete, they made a difficult decision to cease active development on TFH. This unfortunately means no new content, like the Season 2 Pass will be implemented, including Story Mode. It has been an important mode they have been working on. Chapter 2 starring Velvet is under production, but because they are ceasing development once the Season 1 Pass is completed, Story Mode will remain unfinished forever. Hearing that has disappointed me and the other players and it is no different than Smash Ultimate and other fighting games that are not getting new content.

I am sorry that Story Mode is gonna remain unfinished forever since they are ceasing development on the game after completing the Season 1 Pass despite them being a part of Modus. They shouldn't be ceasing development when Story Mode is unfinished. I am glad the active development of Skullgirls is continuing for years to come. It is not ceasing development anytime soon. Especially when I wanted crossplay, the Season 2 Pass and CPU vs. CPU battles to be implemented. It's something that SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level would embrace.

Super Mario RPG:

And finally, I'm gonna talk about the remake of an SNES release called Super Mario RPG. It is the very first RPG set in the Mario universe. It's the same game, but it got a remake on the Switch. The game was good. The story has insanely cinematic cutscenes and the combat possibilities are endless. For some reason, it feels like Honkai: Star Rail, but with Mario in terms of how RPGs go, but I was able to beat Super Mario RPG. I can see how Square Enix teamed up with Nintendo to remake the SNES classic.

It is the first RPG in the Mario universe, yes, but you know what I want in the second one? Have all five characters in a party and have elements inspired by Blue Dragon -- remember that RPG game I played on the Xbox 360? And Honkai: Star Rail, with each of the characters' Ultimate Attack and their own FP.

And this wraps up today's episode of Joe's Monologues and wow, there was a lot I had to talk about. This format is better, so I'm gonna use this format for the rest of the episodes going forward.

Joe's Monologues - 11/15/23

We are approaching the end of 2023 and headed towards 2024. It's time for the next iteration of Joe's Monologues, so marvel in as I monologue what's happening.

Did you like the previous Skullgirls X BBTAG updates? What makes it special is that I added Minette, Feng, Venus and Christmas to my projects because they are eligible for their BBTAG palettes to be legal during my online casual I postponed planning, along with going full blast also on Steam when Marie comes out until I get a new high-end laptop. I hope you like them because they are coming along real nicely to become even more of a masterpiece. I am just one character away from hitting the 20th character on my projects.

But that's not the only thing I am monologing. I want to talk about a platform-based fighting game I enjoyed playing, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. It is a sequel and a huge improvement that kills every problem Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 1 created.

There are several problems in All-Star Brawl 1. At the launch of the first installment, voice acting couldn't be implemented, which was the worst problem that was actually solved by implementing voice acting on a later patch. The Ready to Fight! sign you see in Smash Bros. games blocked most of the character portraits, making it harder to see where the player tokens are when it comes to changing the CPUs' characters. The gameplay feels dull and it's not completely in tandem with Smash standards. It's because it lacks shielding and uses a rock-paper-scissors mechanic that became a huge pain. Even my rule settings are not saving. That's how it got a 7 in IGN. It ended up with 25 characters after all three DLC characters were released in the first Season Pass and a second one didn't get greenlit.

But in All-Star Brawl 2, it is not the case because it launched with better voice acting, gameplay is greatly refined, the rock-paper-scissors mechanic is retired in favor of shields, my rule settings are saved and the Slime mechanic is an interesting touch. The Slime meter uses three bars and draws inspiration from Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Guilty Gear with bursts, cancels, EX special moves and cinematic Ultimate Attacks. They are so insane. Even April O'Neal's is really anime because it's a Spirit Bomb Ultimate Attack and I had to fall in love with her, like when Mightykeef fell in love with March 7th in that anticipated Honkai: Star Rail skit I desired. Also, check out TMNT: Mutant Mayhem. You're gonna enjoy it.

It started out with 25 characters at launch, but more characters are on their way and they are slated to release throughout 2024. There is a first patch being developed and it has a lot of changes based on their feedback, including adding the announcer voice lines during gameplay, which I don't understand. You know what change I want? If they make the CPU use their Slime meter more often in higher difficulties. Sadly, the characters from the first game didn't make it and got cut, including the Shredder, the iconic villain of the TMNT franchise seen at the end of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem to create a cliffhanger. But Rocksteady is in the Season Pass along with Mr. Krabs, Zuko and Iroh.

I got to hand it to Fair Play Labs for knocking Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 out of the park by solving every single problem the first one created. I also heard that it is nominated for best fighting game at this year's upcoming Game Awards. I know it may not be Game of the Year, but we'll see which game earns the Game of the Year title. I plan to get it also on the Switch so that I can play it on the go on longer car trips like I did with Team Sonic Racing. And if I can be able to get the gist of what's going on, it's the lore.

And now, with that out of the way, it's time to talk about what has been many days since the sunset of something called the Paladins Stream Team. It was created back in 2016 and it refreshes the list of Stream Team members every year. And now, where it stands, the Paladins Stream Team has been officially been sunset on that day Halloween starts after seven years. This is due to the fact that Paladins is shifting to a more communal and independent approach to benefit making Paladins the best game it can be. I am sad that it had to be defunct along with AoC and the Switch port, but it's for the better. There is a next update in the works and it's unclear that Update Shows will still be aired or not on Paladins' Twitch channel. We'll see.

But the SMITE Stream Team is still ongoing and it's highly likely to still be supported for many years to come along with the Switch port and the Olympians, so all eyes on that. The SMITE World Championship is approaching. The regular phase is finished with the Gilded Gladiators' part in finally getting a win. However, that is not enough to get them to the Playoffs because only the top three teams on each division can earn their spot at the SWC Playoffs. This means that Gladiators, along with the Eldritch Hounds, will not be able to make it. Well, they are rookies, so it makes sense for them to be trash.

Well, it looks like I have reached the end of this episode of Joe's Monologues. There is nothing left to talk about at this moment.