It's doubly weird because Red, the manga trainer his design is based on, was a complete baller. It's been ages since I read any, but I definitely remember his venture into the Safari Zone starting out like a horror story and ending with him having caught damn near every pokemon in there. The dude got results.

Re: Ovelia. That's a good stab at making it work, but it still seems narratively weird to me. If she's the eldest heir and living in a monastery won't prepare her to take the throne, why would they send her to live in a monastery? And again, she doesn't seem to really want the throne or begrudge baby Orinas, so it…

I ended up setting aside my recent LP on the Steam group right at the end of Chapter 2 (where you are now), including a little rant on the story. Copy-pasta below:

After years of being a super-competitive kid, switching from "loser hands off" to "winner hands off" in college was a little weird at first, but it's definitely the best for big group play. Even stuff like Smash Bros, where it's possible for people to team up against a common foe, you don't want to run the risk of…

You mean the end of Chapter 3 (Riovanes Castle), right? The only thing that comes to mind as tricky in the Chapter 4 finale is Balk 2, which is difficult but manageable.

Wrapped up Retro City Rampage last night, with a resounding "blerg." It's a generally decent game that's jam packed with references, most of which just serve to remind you of things you enjoy much more than Retro City Rampage.

Mine was Red, and I was an early adopter to the point where I didn't even realize it had become such a fad for a while. One kid on the school bus was super into it, so I picked up a copy. A few weeks later, I was getting challenged to battles in the cafeteria by kids I only vaguely knew. It was incredibly weird,…

Good lord, yes. The only version I played was Red, and I remember trying to give one of the more modern games a shot (might have been Fire Red, actually) and just being crippled with pre-game analysis as far as EVs and Natures go. And sure, it doesn't really matter, but it ended up being the Diablo 2 experience for me…

I'm from the Midwest. Perhaps you have a show about corn or trucks for me?

Seriously, who runs a waste pipeline through a recreational zone?

Halt evildoers, or I will eat garbage and molt!

Oh my god, can you imagine the terrible flailing at social commentary that would be involved in a Ubisoft game where you blend in among the homeless? What a glorious tire fire that would be!

I'm not sure there's been a better development in gaming over the years than the concept of ragdolling. Funny. Every. Time.

XCOM has also got a new board game coming out, and Civilization has a decent one too!

D&D has some that are dignity-destroying for the target (and thus hilarious to be on the sending side of) in addition to their mechanical strength. Tasha's Hideous Laughter and Otto's Irresistible Dance are the clear winners on that front.

Opening the Steam Overlay often causes games to pause. Inquisition forces you to be on Origin, right? Maybe try opening that overlay? (Assuming it exists? I don't know if I've used Origin.)

Hooray, Stak!

Holy butts, DMing for nine? You've got your work cut out for you. Good luck!

Also, notice that the weapons in front are disconnected from the rest of the ship. Your goal in Phase 1 should be to kill the guys manning them, whether via targeted shots or teleporter. That'll give you more breathing room for the entire fight, since they won't be able to fix any weapons you disable. The missile bay…

The entire implementation of Karma is so wonky. To say nothing of the fact that one of the first things in the game you're prompted to decide on is whether to nuke Megaton or not, which immediately throws you to either far end of the Karma scale. Even if the game did a good job with the gray area in the middle (and it…