Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Joe's Monologues - 1/9/24

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the next episode of Joe's Monologues, the second of the series in the new year. I have a couple of things I want to mention, so let's get started.

The Holidays are Over:

2023 has come to an end and the holiday break is over. This means everything can resume as normal, including the developers. 2024 is set to be another blockbuster year with a lot of exciting things. Work can resume operations as normal.

SMITE World Championship Season X:

That's right. The SMITE World Championship is three days away and it is set to be a blockbuster Worlds yet. I got the popcorn prepared for the big show. You all know that the Styx Ferrymen, Atlantis Leviathans, Oni Warriors and Jade Dragons have qualified for Worlds. The four remaining teams have all set for Worlds. We got the Highland Ravens, Solar Scarabs, Hex Mambo and Camelot Kings qualified. This one is gonna be a blast soon, so get ready to strap yourselves in. We can't wait to find out who is crowned Season X World Champions. I can see upcoming Maggie and the Ferocious Beast and WWE stories coming.

Nature is Healing in Crash Team Rumble:

You guessed it. Nature is healing in Crash Team Rumble as Elora the Faun made her way onto the roster last week during her Early Access. I used the "Nature is Healing" quip and I find it satisfying because Elora is capable of healing and is one with nature with her leaf dress. It's the fact that embracing the forest by the park at my old stomping grounds where I used to live made me think of her. And since I am going to my brother's wedding, it's something I can do again. But the only thing standing between me and going to my old state is the fear of flying in a plane I must conquer.

After I unlocked her by collecting the first three leaves, I showcased all of her abilities and she's freaking savage as she can shoot tornadoes with her kicks. Originally, I said that Elora is gonna be Booster since she can heal herself and allies within range, but apparently, she is actually a Blocker despite her health being C-tier. It's because charging her tornado kicks knockbacks enemies, which classified her a Blocker.

When I showcased her abilities, I played a few Party Mode rounds with Elora as part of her showcase. That being said, I plan to play a couple of Competitive rounds with her as the next phase of her showcase while I am on the verge of unlocking Heroes and Powers. But there is a new Power in the works set to enter Early Access. I can unlock it forever, by collecting Dragon Essence. Never underestimate the titular purple dragon and the most savage faun of nature to kick butt in Crash Team Rumble. There are a couple days of Elora Early Access left, so be sure to collect Avalarian Leaves in Competitive or Party Mode to unlock her forever, as well as exclusive rewards before the next one that introduces the new Power, Portal Bank. If you don't, you'll have to wait until January 23rd for her full release, but a paid membership is required to play since this is a paid game only on consoles at the moment.

I pulled a Mightykeef when I tried Elora for the first time. You know how it is since I am a huge fan of his videos. Especially the Honkai: Star Rail skit I desired. This is how I feel when trying Elora out for the first time. She shoots small tornadoes with her kicks. Judging from her abilities, it's no coincidence that she is half Rashid from Street Fighter 5 and half Cetrion from Mortal Kombat 11.

I feel like that if Bianca makes her way to Crash Team Rumble during her Early Access, I can collect spellbook pages to unlock her. I don't think it's possible, but I want her to make her debut and she would be freaking dope like Elora is. Well, Elora and Bianca are S-tier girls like Sally Acorn and Bunnie Rabbot from Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), which is a Cinderella story to tell in front of the audience as it is getting a third season after over 30 years since the original show was cancelled after two seasons on ABC by Team Sea3on.

Skullgirls Championship Series 2024:

Back in 2021, the Skullgirls Championship Series was announced and the previous one was online only because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that relegated us to playing fighting games online with rollback netcode. After three years, the SGCS is returning and it is gonna be bigger than before as they migrated to a new equipment to be both online and offline, like Capcom Pro-Tour and other fighting game circuits. More info about that is coming this month and it's gonna kick off with Frosty Faustings and end at Combo Breaker where the Skullgirls World Championship will take place at. Only the eight players will qualify and one champion can take home the Skull Heart. It is similar to other circuits this year per se, but it's shorter than others because the Skullgirls community is small.

I have a feeling that Marie will not be released before Frosty, but on the upside, 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass are available on all four platforms. I hope we get word about her soon, as well as the general balance changes for the whole cast because I can't be left in the dark without any info again. Are we gonna see a special announcement after Top 8 at Frosty like back in 2021 when they given us an Annie trailer for 2nd Encore? If so, are they gonna give us the general balance patch trailer or whatever? Who knows?

In the previous season, SonicFox became champion rocking out the Annie, who received an upgrade to her Star Power, which should be now called Star Overdrive in Marie's Early Access patch because she can now use all of her moves during her Star Power like we're playing BlazBlue, but with Annie. It makes sense that Annie is assigned to a BlazBlue theme dubbed Justice Sword and making her an Izayoi palette would be the cherry on top. Are we gonna see another Cinderella or a WWE story in Skullgirls Championship Series 2024?

Conclusion:

This year is gonna be big. With the SMITE World Championship and the return of the Skullgirls Championship Series coming on the same month, the excitement surges. Expect a WWE story to be told.

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