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Brad Ellis is back on the menu! Next Thursday, April 4th, Brandon and Brad will sit down to go through a month's worth of wonderful submissions from our creative community. It's always such a lovely blend of anticipated updates and unexpected surprises, along with a handful of fun conversation starters. So if you have anything you'd like them to chat about, now's the time. As we begin year 4 of Easy Allies, thank you for making these episodes such a highlight each month.


SHOWCASE GUIDELINES


No submissions will be accepted past April 4th at 12:00 AM PT.

While you retain all rights to your content, by submitting here you’re giving Easy Allies the right to show the content in our monthly Community Showcase live stream.

You may submit a comment, an image, or an audio/video file. If you’re submitting anything other than a comment, please host the file elsewhere and link it on Patreon. You can make a tweet or Instagram post with your image, or link the audio/video from a YouTube account, etc.

If you’re posting a video, photograph, or drawing, keep your comment limited to a description of the work. If you’re posting a lot of images, we will only show a maximum of 9, of our choosing unless you specify otherwise.

Comments have been known to disappear from Patreon posts, unfortunately. Double check that your post remained active before the day of the Showcase. Leaving a comment helps to keep it from vanishing. If you’re submitting text, save a copy locally in case you have to re-post.

Any text to be read should be 500 words or less. Any video should be 3 minutes or less. If the entry is longer, we will edit it down to a manageable length. We reserve the right to remove any content we find offensive.

Only one entry per month. Unless you specify what you’d like us to focus on, we’ll always use the last post from each Patron.

You may comment on any submissions, but keep original posts focused toward the Showcase so no submission is overlooked.

Comments

Anonymous

Music Showcase: (Please read this bit aloud.) These are snippets from 4 of my favorite songs that I’ve made for Unusuals. I recommend wearing headphones so you can hear the bass.) <a href="https://youtu.be/qINVFEDKjeY" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/qINVFEDKjeY</a> (I do commentary via captions in the video so I’m not sure if this belongs in the music section or the video section.)

BeardedScotsman86

Hey Brandon and Brad, At the start of the month, I felt like some comfort gaming. Kicking back with a game I have played through before. I picked up the Assassin's Creed Ezio Collection and have played through Assassin's Creed 2. It has been a long time since I played an Assassin's Creed game. My last one was Black Flag at the launch of the PS4. I forgot how much fun climbing around was, well except when the controls ignore your inputs, as happens in the older Assassin's Creed games. It was a nice quick platinum trophy that only took a week of playing to obtain. I then moved on to playing through Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered since it was free on PS plus. I have had so much fun playing through the campaign again. Veteran difficulty is not too difficult, so this one was another easy platinum for me that took me 2 days of playing to get. Next up, I finally started the Final Fantasy XV Episode Gladiolus DLC. This is such a fun DLC. He has a parry ability that you need to master in order to get all the trophies. After doing 1 run through the DLC, I unlocked the Score Attack mode. For this you need to get 1 million points for a trophy. If you don't parry most enemies, then you will end up with a very low score. So you have to take your time in fights, time it right and get the points. It is split into multiple sections, each with a 10 or 15 minute timer. So you can't take too long on a fight either. So you have to find the balance. Overall it takes around 30 minutes to get through. I got just over 827 thousand on my first run and then just over 1 million 100 thousand points on my second attempt to get the trophy. Around the middle of the month, I decided it was finally time to get back to the souls series. My first souls game was Dark Souls 2 on PS4 and I loved it. It was a good introduction as I could keep working on enemies in the same area, reload at the fire and repeat until they stopped spawning. Allowing practice and I had visible progress. After getting the platinum in that, I moved on to Bloodborne and worked through for the platinum. Now is the time I have chosen to get Dark Souls Remastered and work through it. In life news, we have just put a deposit down on a Poodle Puppy. So we are very excited awaiting the 22nd of April when we can pick her up. We have been tidying up the house and puppy proofing as much as possible. Love and respect, BeardedScotsman86

Megan Linart

Hia Brad and Jones So this month I had some trouble what I was going to write so i’m just going to talk about a series of films i've been watching recently pretty randomly as i was scrolling through Hulu I came across the Twilight Saga. So as of now i’ve watched Twilight &amp; New Moon &amp; and I want to give a review for each of the movies for the next 4 months. I went into them with an open mind came out pretty surprised, let me first say these are not good films and the books they are based off of are even worse but I still came out enjoying what I watched to be honest i’m not even sure why. So we will start with the first film Twilight. Immediately when i started the first film i was actually surprised on how small budget it felt it almost had an indie type feeling to it. The movie has this endearing quality to it, the romance is so weird in a way, Edward has this stiff intensity that borders creepy at times and Bella is such bland character its not a natural mix. That being said I actually like Robert Pattinson in this movie he has this pretty subtle and somber way he says his lines he really does feel like a stoic vampire and he is quite attractive. Kristen Stewart does such a odd things in this film and I truly believe the weird things she does must be deliberate, i’ve seen her in other movies and she never does this she does awkward pauses, weird speech inflections and overall is super awkward I honestly can’t tell if its good acting or not I think it leans more towards not great in the spectrum. The story is pretty forgettable the first half basically is them meeting and falling in love and the last half is this kind of shoehorned conflict they had to throw in there so the books and film have a reason to exist, it isn't amazing but it serves the purpose. One thing I will not be ashamed to say I love is the Baseball scene it was awesome and actually pretty creative. The chemistry between bella and edward I actually liked some moments were just really spot on like when he saves Bella from the van or their first kiss. But there are some outright stupid moments to like the whole sparkling vampire thing is so lame or the whole last encounter is extremely anticlimactic and dumb. But Overall I really liked what i watched, its not good movie but I was really entertained and it really did have quite a bit of personality in the film making, the director really had a vision and it was so interesting watching this film before it became the huge phenomenon it was in the later ones. Thats all next month I will be reviewing New Moon so be excited for that one i've got a lot to say about it. Take care gents.

Anonymous

Hey Brandon and Brad!! I've been taking a bit of a break from drawing recently, as I've found myself feeling pretty burnt out. However, the other day I got the urge to draw Brad's elf boy Necator! I loved Nac so much, and he seems to always be the character I fall back on to get back into the drawing groove. Here's the drawing I did of him! (P.S. It's a bit of a in progress thing, the first is the sketch, then the basic colours/shade I usually do, and then the final edits I put on!) <a href="https://twitter.com/flexhealer/status/1109748240453234688" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/flexhealer/status/1109748240453234688</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/flexhealer/status/1111475138384429056" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/flexhealer/status/1111475138384429056</a>

Anonymous

Can we get a shout out to VLC

Robert I.

Just in case.

Anonymous

Note to Jones, not for the show. You may remember the video linked below. I sent it to you about a year ago, not sure if this was showcase material. Given that it's the anniversary I'd like to share it with the community, but I'm still not sure if there could be any repercussions for you guys if you air it; but I'm hoping you do know if it is something you can do or not. If you decide to air it, please read the short text below; and maybe push it all the way to the end of the show, in case twitch is OK with it but youtube does complain, you can cut it or something. If you think it is not worth the risk; please read the lengthy comment below the video. Text for video: Hello B&amp;B! When a guy from work tipped me off about the Star Wars Crawl generator, there was only one topic in mind epic enough worth of the treatment. It's highly outdated, given that we are in the 3rd anniversary of Easy Allies, but hey, I hope you and the community enjoy it. <a href="https://youtu.be/sI4xQ-NmAFE" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sI4xQ-NmAFE</a> Text without video. Hello Brad &amp; Jones! It's the anniversary month, and I still can't think of a better way to celebrate than share another part of my history with you guys. I can describe my GT fandom in a few phases. The first was when I was actually not a fan of the site, it was only the place where AVGN posted his new videos. After I was done with AVGN &amp; the Screwattack Top 10's &amp; Video game Vaults I started to check the rest of the stuff being posted, and when I came across the -still in production- final fantasy retro, my fandom started. I watched every review &amp; retro you guys produced religiously; and it was my main drive to the site for the longest time. Later came Pop Fiction, another well produced show, and then another change. Annoyed gamer &amp; trailer academy were a couple of interesting shows with something different; there was a host talking about his opinions on things on the industry; and just when I was at peak hype for that type of show... enter Kyle Bosman. Damn, this guy is good. Seriously, his show was the main drive for me to open a twitter account, and while I was at it, I started following the rest of you guys. After the Final Bosman, came Mandatory Update, Huber Hype &amp; GT Time and another shift happened, while I was a fan of the shows, I realized I was more a fan of the people making them. That is why when the Viacom to Defy move happened it felt so bad to see the site shattered, it was not only a web site, I could see the people doing it lose their jobs; and then watching how defy slowly but surely kept making the staff smaller, it was hard to watch. Then the inevitable happened, GT got the axe and depression took over hard, not for the content, but for the people making it. It really felt like loosing a close set of friends. Luckily the absence did not last too long. A little over a month later EZA was created and I couldn't be happier. I'm glad to be a part of this community from the beginning. And after all of that all I can say is: Happy Anniversary allies, let this be the third of many more. Love &amp; Respect, César.

Anonymous

Easy Ally: Bradley Ellis <a href="https://youtu.be/d6HZQDeHQbU" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/d6HZQDeHQbU</a>

Anonymous

Hooold

Anonymous

Greetings Jones and Brad!! I don’t have much artwork for you guys this month mainly because my wrists started aching again. One of the setbacks of being an artist who also plays video games. So, instead, I thought I’d show off one of the biggest things I have when it comes to developing my webcomic. My notebook. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LEpplNra1IMjwebS98zyoTjI40yqTmmk/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LEpplNra1IMjwebS98zyoTjI40yqTmmk/view?usp=sharing</a> I got this from my dad on my birthday last year and suffice to say, I’ve been busy writing like crazy in it. As of now, I have written all the way up to chapter 6 with no end in sight. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z-ZeBtihuidHLc60yvV9q_zM52uLE5EX/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z-ZeBtihuidHLc60yvV9q_zM52uLE5EX/view?usp=sharing</a> Now, I’m not gonna show off some of the pages due to spoilers, but I can show you guys a couple of sketches from this book. More specifically, some floor plans of some of the main settings. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15DJRgk8deyJ0QyyGipmTZzNP9_etTsdf/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/15DJRgk8deyJ0QyyGipmTZzNP9_etTsdf/view?usp=sharing</a> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1us8gllAyZX876XYVefkmNYdIPiBbqVty/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1us8gllAyZX876XYVefkmNYdIPiBbqVty/view?usp=sharing</a> The floor plans are especially helpful when visualizing the narrative so I know where to place which character and where all the set pieces are when I do eventually draw out the comic. Since I’m gonna run short on pages soon, I thought I would go ahead and buy another notebook for the foreseeable future. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iGCQmMzUUWGXaKVpkdDX7XYBTfrXDHlu/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iGCQmMzUUWGXaKVpkdDX7XYBTfrXDHlu/view?usp=sharing</a> Now that that’s out of the way, Kingdom Hearts 3, Brad. I know it’s been 3 months and I have A LOT of thoughts, but don’t worry, Chat, I won’t get into heavy spoilers. Just in case though, for those that don’t want to hear, mute your streams now and Jones, wave your hand until the end of the paragraph. One of the things I absolutely love about this game are the nods. As a Disney fan, I caught so many references and Easter Eggs that it made me all giddy on the inside. Like finding the Muses on the walls of Olympus, the Pizza Planet truck sitting outside the toy store in Toy Box, but I think my favorite has to be in Twilight Town when Sora, Donald, and Goofy are in that theater area and they’re watching a black and white cartoon of Mickey and Sora’s adventures. Then by the end Donald says “too bad it’s not in color.” That is most likely a reference to Donald’s first cartoon, “The Wise Little Hen” (1934), which was in color. What was your favorite Easter Egg, Brad and what do you hope to see with the upcoming DLC? Much love and respect, Zephyr Moon

Anonymous

Hello Brad &amp; Jones My question was touched on a little from Jones on a "Cup Of Jones" on why you don't have a show that you host , but I wanted to hear it from the Bradster himself. I know you do alot for EZA already and a show is not easy. So my question is why don't you want to host ur own show? L &amp; R MGS Junkie

Anonymous

I was able to get an early start on art this month, instead of waiting until the AM the night before the stream to throw stuff together. From more DND characters, to the tshirt for this year's local juggling festival based on Steven Universe, to the obligatory fan art. This showcase has got it all! As always, I'm keen to get ideas for future Allies fanart. There is a criminal underrepresentation of Jones art, and I want to do my part to fill that void. L&amp;R ---------- <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvIpyBEA5EY/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BvIpyBEA5EY/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvOLRIUAWMo/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/BvOLRIUAWMo/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0rTrxAFNI/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0rTrxAFNI/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0roQ7g08U/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0roQ7g08U/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0sD92AhEo/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0sD92AhEo/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0shK7g2FR/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0shK7g2FR/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0sqzIg47v/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0sqzIg47v/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0s2iRggMc/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0s2iRggMc/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0tK8pA0P5/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0tK8pA0P5/</a>

Anonymous

Hey Jones and Brad, Since my racing game was a bust (economically, we learned a ton!), for April me and a friend have ramped up production on another game we've had cooking in the background for 2 years. A complete dimension shift from the last game, this one is a simpler single player raid simulation game! In Project Random Raiders you create your own guild and recruit characters to send on raids in fictional MMO game World of Guild Quest! This is the ultimate meta game where the focus is not on the game in the game but on the fictional people that you've recruited to your guild. You have to manage their relationships, energy, motivation and their in-game characters loot and forge an unstoppable raid machine that will be the first to beat all the raids on the server! Filled with random events and the characters own motivations and decisions you'll have to learn to adapt to succeed. If an NPC guild beats you to the #1 spot you can continue to see where you place or start another playthrough and optimise your tactics and play against your previous guild. It is a pretty short game and we want to encourage several playthroughs and builds. Anyway here's a couple of EZA exclusive WIP screenshots for this yet unnannounced game, project Random Raiders! WIP Screenshot links: <a href="http://solidcore.se/share/rr/screen1.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://solidcore.se/share/rr/screen1.png</a> <a href="http://solidcore.se/share/rr/screen2.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://solidcore.se/share/rr/screen2.png</a>

Anonymous

Hey Allies, I am once again super unprepared for community showcase this month. I currently have Sekiro downloading its patch and I am so amped to get into this game almost entirely blind. Other than that this month has been skinny on games as I have been reading a lot of comics notably X-Men Red by Tom Taylor which is an absolute masterpiece and exactly what I needed after the Christchurch tragedy, definitely worth a read as it is a remarkable story of striving for peace. On the games side I bought and finished Turok on switch which was a blast and got me itching for some N64 goodness. My wife has a second baby on the way in July so we have had to clear out our spare room for the new nursery. In so doing I set up the 64 that was languishing under the bed and started playing through Banjo Kazooie for the umpteenth time. God what a glorious game. My son (3) came home while I was playing and wanted to have a go. Luckily I was a collector of 64 games for a while so I had 'Tigger's hunny hunt' which I booted up for him and he absolutely loved. The next day I booted Banjo up again but doom and dismay, the battery had final drawn its last breath, all empty save files. Looked online and they were said to have a lifespan of 10 years, so 20 was a good spin. Now to put my soldering skills to the test and breathe life back into my favourite game of all time. Be warned allies your 100% files and completed 1st gen pokedexes will be leaving us soon. Love and Respect.

Anonymous

"because we don't know when we will die, we get to think life as an inexhaustible well. yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. how many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? perhaps four or five times more. perhaps not even that. how many more times will you watch the full moon rise? perhaps twenty. and yet it will all seem limitless." -Paul Bowles: The Sheltering Sky That's the inscription on Brandon Lee's tombstone: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/y6o2wxop" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/y6o2wxop</a> Springtime in Seattle: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/y3y9fykx" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/y3y9fykx</a> This one is for Brad, here's Kylo Ren, out there taking names and crackin nuts: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yyyfesk2" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/yyyfesk2</a> During the 3yr anniversary week, I had the pleasure of escorting Canadians to In N Out for the first time. So here's a Double Double, Animal Style: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/y2gpl3nn" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/y2gpl3nn</a> That'll do me for this month. Cheers!

Anonymous

Hi Jones &amp; Brad! I got a chance to try out a bunch of games at PAX East this past weekend, and since I am not as skilled at review writing as you guys, I decided to give out some awards instead. - the “Yeah, That Sure Is More of That Thing I Love” Award: tie between Dragon Quest Builders 2 &amp; Divinity: Fallen Heroes - the “Almost Makes Up for Portal Not Being On VR Yet” Award: Demagnete - the “Oh Boy, I Have a Crush Already” Award: Boyfriend Dungeon - the “I Am Not Coordinated Enough for This, but Damn It Looks Cool” Award: Sayonara Wild Hearts - the “May Singlehandedly Sell Me on VR” Award: Beat Saber - the “Unexpected Linguistic Puzzles” Award: Heaven’s Vault - the “Yikes This Sure Controls Like a VR Game” Award: Falcon Age - the “Ori Sequel? What Ori Sequel?” Award: Evergate - the “Clunky but So Much Silly Fun” Award: Space Channel 5 VR - the “Wow I Don’t Want to Play This, But I Can’t Wait for Jones to Stream It” Award: Dreams and of course, - the Unofficial Honorary Easy Update Best Carpet Award: Discord Hope next year is the year you make it out here to share your own impressions, but it was great to see everyone at the anniversary event the week before!

Anonymous

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TB1rZT4jXw" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TB1rZT4jXw</a> Music is "Hand in Hand" by Yoko Shimomura, from the <i>Kingdom Hearts II</i> OST.

Anonymous

Hey Brandon and Brad, Twitch has finally resumed its Pokémon marathon, albeit with a godawful new schedule. 40-50 episodes of an entire season in a single day. You kidding me with this crap? I ain’t got time for that. So, let’s just say my overall thoughts on the Sinnoh region and future regions will be partially incomplete because there will be episodes I will have missed based on the new schedule. With that out of the way, I have a few things to say about the Diamond/Pearl seasons. 1. Poke-departures: It’s a new region, which means we’ll have to say goodbye to a few Pokémon. I will say the Pokémon I’ll miss the most is James’s Cacnea. I always get a kick out of Cacnea trying to hug James (because who doesn’t want to see a human get hugged by a living small round cactus). And what a shame that Cacnea is off the team early into the 2nd Sinnoh season cause the only Pokémon James has left to show him affection by inflicting pain on him is Carnivine, who has a godawful design. Dustox: In what world did Jessie’s Dustox deserve a “Bye Bye Butterfree” type episode? Her Dustox sucked and was completely useless. You think just because she used Dustox to win her 1st Pokémon contest in Sinnoh, that means it was useful for once? Congrats Jessie, your Dustox helped you beat one of Dawn’s rivals, Kenny, who is a jobber. Take a hike, Dustox. Ambipom: Another monkey Pokémon falls victim to a Pokémon filler sport. At least he lasted longer than Ash’s Primeape. Enjoy Pokémon Ping Pong until something else catches your attention. Gliscor: Gliscor decided to pull a Charizard. Train to become stronger and assist Ash in a league match. I have yet to watch Ash’s Sinnoh matches but I must commend Gliscor for coming by to aid Ash in his next failed attempt to be a League Champion. Sidenote: The marathon has moved to the Unova region and was surprised to learn that Wobbuffet and the rest of Team Rocket’s Pokémon (sans Meowth) were benched so the jobber trio could be viewed as competent for once. I just want to give Wobbuffet a shout-out and a “Wobba” salute &gt;w&lt;7. I eagerly await its return in the Kalos region. 2. MVPs (Most Valuable Pokémon): I want to give props to three Pokémon from the main group of Ash, Brock and Dawn. 1) Croagunk: Honestly, if all Croagunk did was poison jab Brock where the sun doesn’t shine every time he fell for a random female character, it would still be on this list. But I’m a big fan of Croagunk’s natural facial expression that just screams “Whatever you say or do, I’m still uninterested”. And I loved its first encounter with Team Galactic’s Toxicroak. Best. Staredown. Ever. 2) Piplup: Or as it’s called in France “Tiplouf”. Talk about a 180. My 1st exposure to Piplup were in the movies where I found him to a bit annoying and unfunny. But on the show, he’s hilarious and charming. He becomes funnier when’s the butt of a joke. I will never get tired of him desperately trying to avoid Gible’s pitiful Draco Meteor move and still getting blasted by it. Dawn made the right choice for her starter Pokémon. 3) Chimchar: What a tremendous arc for Chimchar. From being one of Paul’s Pokémon, only to go through harsh training and is ultimately abandoned; then is taken in by Ash who not only treats him with proper respect and care but is willing to be engulfed in Chimchar’s flames while it’s in immense rage while using Blaze to calm it down. That takes guts Ash, so props to you. When I get to the Ash vs Paul match in the Sinnoh League, I really hope Infernape, Chimchar’s final evolved form, is the one that knocks out Paul’s last Pokémon. I have a lot more to say about the Sinnoh seasons: Dawn, rivals (especially Paul), Team Galactic and some other stuff. I’ll save all that for next month. Thanks for listening, Karl

Anonymous

Hello Jones and Brad. I don't usually have anything special to submit to the showcase but this month I found my old camera and decided to bring it along during a shoreside walk in my home town of Visby, Sweden. I've written some brief descriptions below the 9 pictures. My favorite is the last one. It may be kind of bland but the lore of it is pretty interesting. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/QzP2i0i" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/QzP2i0i</a>

Anonymous

Reservation for upcoming comments

Anonymous

Humble brag: Last year Xbox was doing some "Quests" where you were tasked to play for 30 minutes in 3 different games or unlock some achievements. If you completed the quest you would get entered to win a 24-karat gold plated Project Scorpio Edition Xbox One X valued at $1500 USD. Well...I won! <a href="https://i.imgur.com/Z23fZL1.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://i.imgur.com/Z23fZL1.jpg</a> <a href="https://i.imgur.com/en0AKCe.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://i.imgur.com/en0AKCe.jpg</a> <a href="https://i.imgur.com/26gW0Jn.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://i.imgur.com/26gW0Jn.jpg</a> <a href="https://i.imgur.com/iOovUhB.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://i.imgur.com/iOovUhB.jpg</a> I also took a humble photo of my Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Collector's Edition with it since they arrived around the same time. <a href="https://i.imgur.com/tp0I0Cs.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://i.imgur.com/tp0I0Cs.jpg</a>

Anonymous

Hello, Allies! No art this time. I've recently got into the Souls series and FINALLY played Dark Souls 3. So today I bring you a short clip of a boss battle that I'm very proud of. Not much else to say, the video is pretty straight forward. Enjoy! Love &amp; Respect Ray <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjjjU8yhVgY" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjjjU8yhVgY</a>

Brandon K Gann

Nothing is as fun as playing video games, but what comes very close is looking ahead, getting hyped for the next exciting thing. While there is a plethora of upcoming games, the following ten stand out as having that little bit extra to warrant the attention they get. These are the Easy Allies’ Forums’ Top 10 Most Desired 2019 Games. Before we begin, games not having anything official stating a 2019 release are ineligible and the number of times a game is desired is how the list is ordered. 10. Super Mario Maker 2 – When the Switch started getting Wii U ports, many called for the first to also make the jump, but courtesy of the most recent direct, this sequel appears to add a lot of new and refine the experience. 9. Astral Chain – This surprise has caught several of the forums’ members’ attention, skyrocketing this Platinum project into the Top 10 of a list just under 50 games. With an August release, we’ll see if it’ll live up to the hype soon. 8. Dreams – Up until 2019, Dreams has felt like a dream for years, but now people have played it and with early access promised to come soon, the ‘everything creator’ could explode once more people get their hands on it. 7. Fire Emblem: Three Houses – The third different game here to get a focus from the most recent main Direct, a core Fire Emblem has been missing for a while, so this appears to bring a lot of series staples, while introducing quality of life improvements. 6. CTR: Nitro-Fueled – The only game on this list I have any interest in, this project was immediately thought by many as inevitable since the release of the N’Sane Trilogy. And from what I’ve seen, it’ll be another successful remaster. 5. Rage 2 – Of all the games on the list, Rage 2 is here because more people are curious about the game than being very excited for it. Still, coverage has been positive, so I’m curious if id and Avalanche will have an improved sequel. 4. Shenmue III – After finally getting a new trailer, the third surprise from Sony’s 2015 E3 is finally on the way. Hopefully, it’ll be everything those who are hyped for it want it to be, especially it’s champion Mr. Huber. 3. Control – With the recent GameInformer cover story, we now know much more about Remedy’s newest project, but there are still mysteries to uncover and I know many are with Mr. Hinck in the excitement of this mindbender. 2. Judgment – Regardless of the recent controversy surrounding the Japanese actor, it hasn’t dampened the excitement for the Yakuza team’s next project. While the June release was called into question, it’ll still be a Day One buy for many. 1. The Outer Worlds – Since its reveal at the Game Awards, excitement is at a fever-pitch for Obsidian’s new IP. A single player space western with narrative decisions carrying consequence, the Fallout influence is clear, and powerful.

Anonymous

Hey Jones and Brad. This one is the very first product review I ever did. Cheers. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOoszr8Ersw" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOoszr8Ersw</a>

Anonymous

One can say that a testament of how good and fun your videos are, that I watched the link and couldn't wait a week to watch it in the showcase. Also, very creative way to reveal the names. Fun puzzle figuring out which ally will go with which letter.

Anonymous

Here's to save my post. Not sure if the new Patreon look doesn't eat posts

Anonymous

One Piece: World Seeker is a game that tried to do a lot. It did some things well, and others... not so much. World Seeker takes a while to get going. There are baffling early game decisions that were made. From prohibiting buttons to perform actions until the tutorial for it activates to locking traversing mechanics behind a skill tree. The game does an excellent job deterring those not willing to put up with it. As time went on, and skills were unlocked, I found myself really enjoying my time. Once I found my rhythym with flinging from place to place, I was able to get across the map with ease. The combat... could be better. The biggest flaw is not being able to cancel moves to block or dodge. There are some enemies that will push you to use different mechanics and alter between Luffy's speed and strength stances. For reference, I played on Hard difficulty because anything lower seemed too easy. While the gameplay certainly had its faults, the story, fortunately, feels like it was something straight out of the series. Fleshed out original characters, geopolitics, and Luffy doing what he does is always a great combination. An issue though is that the game puts a lot of focus on Jeanne, a character created for the game, to where she is practically involved in every mission. You could be in the middle of a mission where she mentions she is going to one part of the island, go to the opposite part mid-mission and talk to someone for a side mission, and she'll magically be there. It would have been nice for them to focus on different islanders as well. I do like how developed Jeanne's character is though. There is a mission where the burden she carries gets too much and you have to find her. I knew exactly where to go. It is also always nice when the antagonist has an actual motivation. The music in the game deserves a big shoutout. While it is done by the same composer of the One Piece anime, Kohei Tanaka, all the music for the game is original. The different scores for each of the towns tells a story and how that area is thriving. The city has more of a bombastic industrial score, while the score that plays while in a small town is a bit more whimsical. I wish there were basic things, like an encyclopedia tab for those not familiar with One Piece. I can see people being lost and asking questions. Who is this character? What is their role? What is their connection? What is "Haki"? In the end though, World Seeker serves as a stepping stone for what the developers could accomplish. It isn't all that bad. I do hope that they build off of and evolve it. Early on, I heard comparisons to Spider-Man. I just don't see it though. I didn't get any game breaking bugs during my playthrough with World Seeker.

Anonymous

Gonna comment to prevent deletion... Cause I guess that is still a thing?

Anonymous

Hello, and good day I am had a rather light month as far as video games go. I played a good bit of smash, and Tetris 99. Yet, after the disappointment that was Jump Force, I decided to not take a risk on the One Piece game. Personally, I can't wait till summer when Mario Maker 2, and Three Houses are released. Plus I plan to get started on FF7 on switch soon. It has been 20 years or so since I last beat it. I hope that it holds up, and I figure it will.

Anonymous

Hey Brad and Jones, my goal this month was to create my final Overwatch hero breakdown for Pharah, but Sony Vegas suddenly stopped seeing my files, so instead of redoing tons of work, instead I created a quick and simple montage of my gameplay as Pharah. I hope Brad can enjoy it as a former Pharah player, Jones can understand at least half of it, and the community can stomach one last entry in the series. The music is a remix of Xenogears music by OCRemix, and all their music is free so I imagine this music won't affect the stream. <a href="https://youtu.be/hG3wWVkLozQ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/hG3wWVkLozQ</a>

Anonymous

Ahoy Mr. Jones, Mr. Ellis &amp; my fellow allies. Today I present a tune which often goes underappreciated given the overall quality of the entire soundtrack; Lifestream from Final Fantasy VII. Please enjoy, Matt <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOivIB7eR8E" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOivIB7eR8E</a>

Anonymous

VLC is not the hero we deserve, but it's the hero we need right now.

Anonymous

Hello Allies! I have another intense Pop'n Music song for you today. And it's safe in terms of copyright, so no need to worry about getting muted. I plan to do another update video in the future. But for now I hope it's fun to see my progress through these performance videos. <a href="https://youtu.be/BunntPI_Vrg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/BunntPI_Vrg</a>

Anonymous

Hello Brad &amp; Jones! All of the Love. All of the Respect. This month, the Shenmue EZA Dub continues. Getting right down to business, Mr. Bradley Ellis. If you’d be so kind as to read the following lines in whatever way you see fit. You have TWO roles… First and foremost you have been cast as training mate and potential best friend to Ryo Hazuki, Fuku-san. FUKU-SAN: BFF AFTER BEING THROWN THROUGH A DOOR -“Ahhhhh…OOF. BADLY INJURED -‘Ryo-San…’ NOT INJURED -“Ryo-san, is everything OK?” -“Oh that man…uhhh?” -“Lan Di demanded the mirror…and then they threw me out of the dojo.” -“I don’t know. They came out of nowhere.” -“Ryo-san, why? Whatcha’ gonna do?” -“Ryo-san, where are you going? You’re not going after them? -“Please don’t.” -“Look what they did to Hazuki-Sensei.” -“What is it Ryo-san?” -“I’m sorry I didn’t see it.” You’re second role is that of a woman who isn’t from the area where Ryo lives… Women Thats Not From Around Here Women who’s is accosted by Ryo but is not from around here. -“Oh, i’m sorry” -“I’m not familiar with this area around here.” The magic in the air. Palpable. Thanks for playing along Mr. Ellis. Until next month. L&amp;R Your Friend &amp; Ally Dan Allen Detroit, MI SIDE NOTE FOR JONES (Don’t Have to Read Aloud) You and Amanda had discussed her possibly popping up on a showcase. So i’ve decided to start sending her lines each month just incase she shows up. I’ve also considered sending it into Cup of Jones now that you’re accepting on deck Amnda based questions. But it’s not really a question, and this should work just fine. If she doesn’t pop up by september I figure that would just mean you get to play Nozomi, love interest to Ryo. Either way here it is just incase she pops up. TROOP as Nozomi Female Who Cares About Ryo. Seemingly as More than Just A friend. -“Ryo.” -“Have things settled down for you any?” -“If theres anything I can do, be sure to let me know.” -“A Black Car?” -“You know, a car like that splashed mud on me when it went past.” -“Yeah.” -“…Yeah. Why are you asking about that car?” L&amp;R

Anonymous

Hey Allies. I'm playing Operencia. I had no expectations of really enjoying it due to the trailer showing a lot of turn-based attacking, back and forth style combat. Swing, miss, hit, deflected, etc. As a much older gamer I grew tired of this way back in the NES days (attack slime...missed...slime attacks...missed). The trailer fails to show the joy. I'm so glad I gave this game a chance. It is amazing. The first thing I noticed was movement. If I say "tile based movement" I'm sure you think of jarring 90-degree turns and the screen updating after each step, but that's not the case. This is something different. It takes about 30 minutes to adapt to the movement and then it is smooth and effortless, feeling like a modern first-person action game but without diagonal movement. Each level is a group of grid based maps and they feel like old school D&amp;D maps. While the game itself feels like a D&amp;D adventure plucked out of the mind of an expert DM. Each level is a location. It can take hours to explore each map fully, solve puzzles, fight enemies, and search for all the hidden secrets. I'm happy to mention, no random encounters and no grinding. Eventually you have the ability to travel back to previous levels using new abilities to reach originally blocked off locations. The differences in each of these levels is purposeful, with each new area having a specific style and lore told through either short journal entries, through companion banter or stories told at camp. Speaking of the companions, they are all voiced. There is so much camaraderie between everyone. It is hard to explain, but after so many years of animated cut-scenes before, during, and after battles it's just wonderful how much it feels like everyone is really there with you and not just an actor doing a scene between fights. Even if the companion is just travelling with you and not a part of the fighting team you never forget they are there with you. Every character is a part of the story. Also, companions not on the fighting team are leveling up along the way. This game pulled me away from my first play through of Sekiro, and from running the hardest difficulty of DMC 5. Operencia is definitely the biggest surprise of the year for me so far. I played this game as part of my GamePass subscription, but I decided to purchase the game to support the developers and I know I want to keep this game around as part of my growing digital collection. Operencia is developed by Zen Studios, the pinball wizards. They have crafted an amazingly good, old-timey RPG, based on Central European Folktales. I'm 30 hours into the game and haven't had this much fun in a long time. As the game says a few times, "I'm not traveling with you, you are traveling with me." Love and respect. Ron

Anonymous

One ponders the existence of other 3 dimensional animals, and whether any of them are also, in some way - super?

Anonymous

Hi Jones and Brad! This month I've been playing an extraordinary amount of d&amp;d, and I've been playing in a pirate campaign! My friend plays my character's dad and after a character death, I ended up writing this for my group. Thanks for reading, L&amp;R! &lt;3 Spencer (this entire comment, intro and story combined, are under word count, just letting you know!) <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fc97NjyuNvZCWacd4Pye_9w26ZhuWyB7TBVPd84v6Cg/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fc97NjyuNvZCWacd4Pye_9w26ZhuWyB7TBVPd84v6Cg/edit?usp=sharing</a>

Anonymous

Hello Brandon and Brad! I am back again finally using my time in the spotlight (showcase) to show some art I’ve made recently. I hope you’re both well. Thanks as always for all you do and for fostering such a great community! L&amp;R <a href="https://twitter.com/teeketch/status/1112898706154639360?s=21" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/teeketch/status/1112898706154639360?s=21</a>

Anonymous

I think patreon ate my comment, sorry if this is a repost Hey Allies, In late 2017, Brad mentioned one of his gaming habits is to have a running list of all the games he's completed. At the time, I had just purchased an SNES Mini, so I decided to track which SNES games I beat and doodle a little picture that represented my experience with the game. I was immediately hooked, and decided to expand this project out by tracking every single game that I hit end credits for in 2018. All told, I beat 64 games last year, but what I gained doing this project was a new appreciation for how I experience this medium. The notebook I drew in became a collage of characters, weapons, and creatures. Representing my time with Monster Hunter World by drawing a Switch Axe or recreating Little Mac's pose after he gets punched in the face was a nice way to condense countless hours of playing these games to a single image. As a side benefit, my drawing had improved significantly over the course of the last few months, a skill I had always wanted to make time for. I developed a technique that made sense to me, using a mixture of pencil and ink (black and sometimes blue) to create dynamic expressions and fine detail where appropriate. As the months progressed, I took more chances to recreate sprites from games to match my style, allowing me to have more fun with how the characters were interacting on the page (making them larger, overlap with each other, play with shading) None of this is to say that I’m “good” at drawing. An obvious drawback to how I conducted this project is that I never knew what new picture I would need to cram in on the page, making the selection of images kind of random. I’m also terrible at drawing females and the round features of Nintendo characters. Since I used the same sheets of paper, I had only one shot to draw something (Werehogs to whomever can find the drawing I did inebriated). But in the end, I did get a lot better, and because I tracked the dates of when I beat these games, you can see a gradual progression in skill. I feel motivated to finally draw the comic book I wrote a story for when I was in college, and I have to thank the Allies (especially Brad!) on inadvertently pushing me this way. I’m sharing the page I did for the SNES classic, all five pages of my 2018 project, and my favorite drawing I did this year (for 2019, I’m doing full page drawings for each game I beat) Love &amp; Respect, Alen Kanlic Pics 1-4 <a href="https://twitter.com/alenkanlic/status/1111480560046755841" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/alenkanlic/status/1111480560046755841</a> Pics 5-7 <a href="https://twitter.com/alenkanlic/status/1111480874648907776" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/alenkanlic/status/1111480874648907776</a>

Anonymous

Aloha Jones and Brad, This month, I wanted to share my favorite moment from my GOTY of 2018, written in a narrative. Enjoy! I was relaxing beneath a lone tree on a cliff in New Hanover, enjoying a nice bit of whiskey and canned peaches. As I took in the sights, the sounds of a woman struggling caught my ear, my head turning to find it. Two lawmen, berating a woman in a prisonerʻs cage. I tactfully scanned the surrounding area for any possible witnesses to the crime I was about to commit; there were none. I took a deep breath and jumped into action, mounting my horse, and with a quick burst of speed we quickly caught up to the men. I masked my face with a bandana as I loaded my Schofield, Jemma bringing me along their right flank. The lawmen noted my presence with hate-filled remarks. Whether they thought I could or couldnʻt hear them wouldnʻt make a difference in a second. Before he could blink, I aimed my pistol toward the head of the driver. With a loud CRACK and the smell of gunpowder in the air, the driver no longer had a mouth to insult me with. His friend riding shotgun lived up to his name and drew his weapon, though just a moment too late. The shots of my pistol and the screams of the prisoner in the back spooked the horses drawing the cage. As they started to bolt, the bodies of the two men fell to the side. I gripped the reins tight and motioned to Jemma to pick up the pace. She responded well, despite the chaos. Jemma was right at home in the action. As we drew closer I stood on her back and jumped - a rough landing, but nothing too bad. Quickly, I calmed the horses and brought the carriage to a stop. Once we came to a stand still, I let go of the reins and started to walk towards the horses. I drew my knife and cut their shackles, catching my breath. The woman was still panicking in her cage. “Sir! Sir! Please youʻve got to let me out,” she begged. I said nothing. Her pleading became louder, more rabid and desperate. I still remained silent, as I walked toward the rear of the carriage and mounted Jemma again. “Youʻre really going to leave me here, you bastard?!” she screamed. I looked toward her with an inquisitive eye - she seemed beaten, violently. Seems I chose right. I unsheathed my Cattleman revolver in her direction. She froze, her once strong voice becoming silent, save for a quivering breath. With a small spark, the lock sprang off of the cage and the door swung open. Without a word, I rode off into the sunset. I heard a voice call out from behind me. Another day, another thank you under my belt. Maybe next time, I wouldnʻt have to take a life to get one. Hope you enjoyed!

Anonymous

Hey Jones and Brad Both my heavy hitters this month come from anticipatory hype for newer installments by their respective companies. First up: NetherRealm Studios and Mortal Kombat 11. While I'm mentioning 11, I think it's worth saying they've done a swell job at marketing this game. From the reveal trailer nonchalantly interrupting the Game Awards, to the actual reveal event itself, smaller character trailers dropping regularly (Noob Saibot's is worth a watch for an especially brutal fatality), and a well polished, fun natured end to the State of Play episode. Anyways, I really enjoyed 9 last gen, but for whatever reason, I passed on X at the time. Going through the XL edition has been a treat. The fighting itself is pretty tight, and the fatalities and brutalities are as graphic as ever. What took me a little by surprise though, was the story is done just as well as some of these other elements. It's got well choreographed moments outside of gameplay, compelling characters old and new, high stakes, and explores character motivation and relationships using flashbacks for context when necessary. It even stole a page out of a Marvel movie with a mid credit twist and tease for the future. April 23rd...GET OVER HERE! The second company and new iteration is FromSoftware and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Why I don't see myself playing Sekiro in the immediate future, communal ally-Sekiro-hype, a little boredom, and seeing a tweet from Ian saying he had purchased another copy, were enough for me to go into my library and finally hit download on Bloodborne. Being born near (but adopted from) Transylvania, I've always had a soft spot for vampires and Gothic horror in general, so the dark Gothic environments have been like a warm blanket. I've also fancied a slightly more offensive mindset in previous Souls titles, so the combat also fits like a glove. That's not saying I've had an easier time though. There have still been plenty of moments of losing a large amount of blood echoes from a tough challenge, then losing them forever when a minor beast takes me by surprise on the way back. It took me a little bit to get used to, but Kirk Hammer hype. I mean, come on now, it literally called my name! Finally finished off the first Kingdom Hearts. Love how it went full anime at the end. Also dabbled in the Modern Warfare Remaster since it was a March PS Plus game. 11 and a half years later, and it still holds my favorite Call of Duty campaign. Shout-out to All Ghillied Up and the first few moments of the next mission for one of the best sneak and sniper missions around. That'll do for this month. Good games are a comin (and I'm really glad I can keep saying that accurately) ‘til next time!

Anonymous

Hello! I made some portraits of some of my favorite female game characters for International Women's Day and thought I would share. I am sure you can guess who each of them are, though the upper middle character might be the most difficult one. Hope you enjoy! <a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/k4a6Ld" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.artstation.com/artwork/k4a6Ld</a>

Anonymous

Hello Brad and Jones. Greetings from El Salvador. First of all I want to congratulate you for the third anniversary of EZA, it has been an amazing ride so far and I hope many more anniversaries come so we can all celebrate together as a big and happy community. Another thing I want to mention is that Mysterious Monsters is such a great idea and the first episode did not disappoint. Having Huber as a host is the right decision, since he is the Hype master, he will host the show like no one ever can. Cannot wait for the next episode. Now, let’s talk about games. March was an incredible month for new releases, Devil May Cry 5, The Division 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are now out. All of those games can be a Game of the Year candidate and we just finished the first quarter of the year, I cannot imagine what other games could be as good as those this year. Devil May Cry 5 was super fun from beginning to end, trying to get the S ranks at the end of the missions was super addictive and the combat system is the best the series ever had. I played this game on my Xbox One X and with the RE Engine the game looks stunning. The Division 2 is my type of game, if I can shoot things and loot comes out of them then sign me up. For me this is the first looter shooter that I can remember that has launched without making people mad due to game issues or errors, so you got to give props to Ubisoft for listing people and actually taking their feedback into consideration. I haven’t had the opportunity to advance in Sekiro to much, I’ve played about 5 hours so I can only talk about early impressions, but so far I gotta say I’m more than impressed. I’ve never been good with the Souls games, and the only one I was able to finish was Bloodborne so when I heard Sekiro had a different rhythm to the combat I was all in. Dying in Sekiro is frustrating but also rewarding because you always know why you failed, it doesn’t feel cheap, it's difficult but achievable and above else in Sekiro you have a lot more movement than any of the Souls games. I will continue with my playthrough of Sekiro and hopefully I will be able to finish it, and so far it seems like I will. Well I think that is everything from me this month. Thank you again for such an amazing community and I wish you nothing but the best to all. Amor y Respeto. Miguel.

Anonymous

Hi Brad and Brandon, This month I do not have an interesting story to share and there is no game that I want to shoutout. So instead, I want to briefly discuss something that I realized recently while playing Galaxy of Heroes. Over the last one and a half years, SWGoH released a plethora of “Knight of the old Republic” characters. At the time of writing, there are 12 characters (+ one ship) that fit into the KotoR timeline. On top of that, two of these characters have gotten the “Hero’s Journey” treatment, i.e., they can only be unlocked in a very rare event that has specific “unlocking requirements”. So far, only two other characters (Commander Luke Skywalker and Jedi Training Rey) are locked behind a Hero’s Journey. This all seems curious to me since KotoR is – despite its popularity - only an offshoot franchise for Star wars. So I was wondering “why is this the case?”. Is it due to the fact that EA is running out of core-Star-Wars characters that it can put in GoH? In that case: why is there still no Jedi Luke, General Hux or Mon Mothma? Can it be the case that EA simply makes use of characters that it already “developed” since they own Bioware? Are they teasing a remaster of the KotoR games? It would be interesting to get your take on this. L&amp;R Thim

Anonymous

Hey Brad and Jones, Let's talk about the three worst months of my entire life as I approach turning 30 in May. Back in January, I fell into a deep depression because I finally came to recognize a major part of my life for the past 16 years was in fact an addiction that had become ritual rolled into my OCD and depression. It was a sobering experience when I realized it, and I fell into an even deeper depression due to feeling ashamed and guilt over not realizing what had been happening in my life all these years. The next two months were full of all the worst emotions and for the first time feeling like self harm was a viable option out as I struggled with the lingering urges of addiction. Then Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice came out. I'd always been a fan of From Software, and am frequently stumping on the Community Showcase for games like Shadow Tower and Echo Night. (Which btw, I saw somebody sent you that. So cool!) But Sekiro is something else. It made me forget all about my troubles when I was playing it as I was too focused on trying to survive in brutal 16th century Japan against some of the toughest bosses I'd ever faced. And this time, I was alone. I couldn't rely on anybody else's strength to overcome adversaries as I had in the Souls games. I was doing all right until I came upon Genichiro Ashina. He kicked my ass over and over and over again. I started to slowly get better though while I adjusted my play style to be far more aggressive than I had been up to that point. When I beat him, it was the greatest feeling. It gave me a renewed sense of strength. After all, I just beat the hardest boss I'd ever faced in a FromSoft game. If I can do that, I can do anything. Since then, I've been feeling better, focused on healing and forgiving myself. The anxiety and depression are definitely still there, but I've had no real addictive thoughts since then. There are definitely going to be bad days going forward. Hell, I had one on Monday, but it's infinitely more manageable than it used to be. I'm in a happier place, and I'm getting better every day. So I just want to say to the community - Sekiro or any other video game isn't going to magically make the pain go away. But, you're stronger than you think you are. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask, but you should always give yourself more credit. You got this. If I can crawl my way out of 16 years of addiction (and beat Genichiro), you can do anything! L&amp;R, Zach

Anonymous

Hi Brad and Jones, Hope you all are well? Boy, Do I have a treat for you all this month. It’s been a while but I thought I’d finally give you another Star Citizen update. Especially as we now FINALLY have gotten the massive 3.5 patch launched into the ‘verse. Firstly and one of the big things are that we can now create female characters. This is something the community has been screaming about for a long time and the developers kept saying that it would be here “soon”. With this we also received the whole new character customisation tool. Previously we would have to pick from a handful premade faces for our characters, but now we have the so called “DNA-system” in place. You select features and strokes that you then morph together into a final character, pretty sweet. The ‘verse keeps growing and with 3.5 we also got the awesome planet ArcCorp, which feels like something straight out of Star Wars. It is a massive city planet covered in buildings and plazas to explore and go shopping in for new gear and weapons, as well as a couple of new ships. With ArcCorp we also got two new moons to go on adventures on. Me and a couple of friends decided to go out exploring the new moons, first we flew to the moon Lyra, when we stumbled upon a lonesome building in an odd place. We landed and went inside, only to discover it being a massive drug lab! As we try to play as lawful players and stay away from crime and piracy, we quickly packed together and flew away, we don’t want the police, or worse, bounty hunters to chaise us down. We went for a quick tour to Wala, the second moon, but it was mainly ice and rocks. After our quantum jump though, we realised that we had left one of our own, stranded on the planet (awkward). He decided to take a cool screenshot whilst waiting for us to come back and rescue him, which I wanted to share as well. Lastly, and maybe the biggest of it all, is the introduction of the new flight model. Ships now feel and handles differently in atmosphere flight compared to space flight. Heavier ships takes longer time to lift off planets with heavy gravity and risking overheating the thrusters. It’s a bit of an argue within the community, some love the new model, some hate it, but one thing is for sure, you can now do some pretty sweet maneuvering. Thought I’d show you a GIF, as a video would be a bit cheating to the community guidelines, maybe this is too. Sorry. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Star Citizen 3.5 and I can’t wait to see how the game develops during 2019. Lots of love and Respect. Lotias <a href="https://imgur.com/a/eQ9PPa3" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/eQ9PPa3</a>

Anonymous

Hey Brad, and hello Brandon. Here we are in April, the month in which I'll be celebrating my 24th birthday. Feels weird, in a way, time really does move differently as you age, doesn't it? Not that I'm concerned about ageing but it is interesting to think about. Anyway, before discussing the games I've been playing: Did any of my fellow allies get Splatoon 2 following the free demo week in late March? If so, welcome to the world of squids and kids! (and also octopuses) If you're looking for tips, tricks or someone to play with, don't hesitate to hit me up on @small-leviathan on twitter! I'm not always available to play, but I'm always down for giving some advice. So with that out of the way, I wanna start by talking about a game that I played a couple of months ago now but never talked about: Sunset Overdrive. This game has issues but holy moly if this game does not have THE BEST open-world movement I've ever experienced, the only thing that comes close is probably Dying Light. I had so much fun grinding, bouncing and wall-running around Sunset City that I got OFFENDED by my character quipping in about how convenient fast travel is during certain sidequests. In fact, this game (and Dying Light) cemented to me the fact that fast travel systems are generally a crutch to cover up boring world design. As for games I was ACTUALLY playing last month, Baba Is You is one of them. This game is so goshdarn smart, in fact, it's probably smarter than me. That's okay, though. Even though I get stuck constantly, it's okay, because this game just oozes charm and intrigue at every turn with its funny scenarios and adorable aesthetic. Baba Is Love. But the real heavy-hitter this month, the one I think most of us were looking forward to, is of course Sekiro. I had some doubts about Sekiro initially, primarily in regards to the removal of the RPG elements and the lack of character customization, but I think Sekiro justifies their removal with its on-point combat and surprisingly focused narrative. I might just have a case of new-game-infatuation, but I do feel like this is the best any Souls combat has ever been, with some of the most tense and dramatic encounters the overarching Souls series has ever seen. Also, I do really just love this kind of low fantasy story set in a Japanese setting, I think it works in a way it hadn't if it was another western fantasy story. My favourite bosses (this is just boss name spoilers, so tune out for a couple of seconds if that's an issue for you) were the Corrupted Monk and the Guardian Ape. And, well, that's all from me for March, but be sure to come back for the April showcase, where I, having just recently celebrated my birthday, will be a bit self-indulgent and share some spicy takes. Love and Respect, Small Leviathan

Anonymous

Safety comment, also, I just realized I wrote @Small-Leviathan when it's supposed to be @Small_leviathan. Please fix that in post, because I'm too scared of patreon eating my comment to edit it myself

Anonymous

(video link included) Hey there Allies, Brandon and Mr Bradley Ellis! This last month I've been going through a rough patch of life with a good deal of anxiety and general stress from work. Now that that is over though, thanks in part for EZA and the content you all produce for helping keep me feeling uplifted and a part of something positive, I will finally be able to continue writing more content for the podcast I produce. In the meantime, I have been going through my backlog, and just finished Ocarina of Time for the first time now that I have an N64. And with the Sekiro hype going full throttle, I picked Nioh back up to try and give that style of game another fair shot. I've never quite gotten Souls to click with me despite getting pretty far in every entry plus Bloodborne. Something I've come to peace with recently though, is that sometimes a game just isn't for you. Sometimes it's Souls and sometimes it's Majora's Mask (as I learned). It's okay to put something down for something you'll enjoy, regardless of the zeitgeist behind it. It's important to try and find something that gives you some joy and makes your heart smile, rather than giving you anxiety and frustration. But always try new things when you can, because you never know what will click. I've included a video from a previous entry that Patreon deleted going over other recent games I played as of February. Hope everyone has a happy April. Love and respect from Brian from Happy Gaming. <a href="https://youtu.be/5ANMMIfFuWs" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/5ANMMIfFuWs</a>

Anonymous

Hold the Line.... do-d-d-do-doo love isn't always on time.

Anonymous

Hey Brandon and Brad. Hope you guys and the rest are free of the EZrot that hit everyone there (Clearly Brad didn't get sick until he finished reviewing Sekiro). Speaking of Sekiro, let people have easy mode if they want it. The more people play it the better right? I don't care much about it but Souls games always had that (summoning NPCs or real players) so I can't see why Sekiro can't have it. Unless you just want to brag about beating it like some elitist. Played Devil May Cry V and had a blast (It has multiple difficulity tiers). Sure the default difficulity was too easy but 1st playthrough felt like a practice run since you were still learning everything and on 2nd run you turn all tutorials off and it's a smooth sailing. The combat is so good and I didn't mind there not being that much variations on scenery but it was at least being consistent with it. And on Human difficulity even you Brandon can beat it (don't take it as a bad way). I know it's been a rough a week or two for you Brandon but cheer up, E3 is only 2 months (and few days) away. Also Endgame is this month. The pay off. HYPE! art for this month: <a href="https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1113465257102598149" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/tearjuengi/status/1113465257102598149</a> Love and Respect TearjuEngi

Anonymous

Greetings jones and brad. First up Brad sekiro in hall of greats when? I just understand certain elements stoped it from being a 10 but those boss fight samurai duels are a 10. While it would be spoilers. I believe showing just showing some footage . Of a duel with a certain saint that is blocking me from finishing the game would make a bold statement of what I believe make sekiro more intense and yet intimate than other from games. Second a shouwdown too vapyre now on Xbox game pass it’s a game with problems mainly crappy combat but the story is great and well worth your time. Third Another flawed but still good game. the technomacer is the Xbox games with gold game of the month. Think mass effect /dragon age / Sith lightning . The game has some insane plot points in a earlyer part of the game I saw coming thought I had it all figured out and then bam hit me from the other side. Love and respect all allies

Anonymous

Hello, Brandley! Allow me to start by saying thank you to Brad for his kind words about the Birdcough's Circus music I submitted a couple months back! Then, congratulations are in order for your entry into your fourth year of Easy Allies! I love you all, and loved Mysterious Monsters, both the regular episode and live. Huber is a natural! The game is fun ! That intro and theme tune are amazing! This time, I'm submitting something born out of my anticipation of the Link's Awakening remake. Judging by the trailer, Ryo Nagamatsu is back at the music. I love his work very very much, if you're not familiar, he's done A Link Between Worlds, Triforce Heroes, Nintendo Land, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play, and has been part of the music teams to varying degrees for New Super Mario Bros Wii, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2 and a few others. He notably puts himself into the music, often recording his own voice, like for the choral 'FacingYuga at Hyrule Castle' theme from A Link Between Worlds (that man has a range!), or himself playing the recorder, like in Mario Kart Wii's Mushroom Gorge or the Milk Bar Musicians in A Link Between Worlds. And you can definitely hear that recorder in the Link's Awakening trailer. Remember that questionable end to the Nintendo E3 2015 Digital Event where Nintendo asked us to celebrate Mario by posting videos? If you looked through the submissions, there was a video from Nagamatsu of him doing a Mario Medley using the recorder and his voice! Anyway, I want his job. In the meantime, for some reason, I thought I'd take one of my favourite themes of his, the Lorule Dungeon Theme (which by the way is masterfully transformed almost beyond recognition to fit every Lorule Dungeon in A Link Between Worlds, have fun listening to them if you hadn't noticed it's always the same theme), and remake it to sound like a boss theme of the kind that Grant Kirkhope, another legend, wrote for Banjo-Kazooie or DK64. I loved smashing those two styles together, and I hope you enjoy, and sorry for gushing about Ryo Nagamatsu so much! Love &amp; Respect! Kévin Gillet Link to the music: <a href="https://youtu.be/RTabcb6u3zs" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/RTabcb6u3zs</a>

Anonymous

Hi Brandon and Brad (as long as he's over the EZA Blight) Firstly congratulations on 3 years! Mysterious Monsters is a treat and I'm glad you are able to do new shows/ideas and that you don't feel burdened by having to do retros. But retros are always welcome! This month I thought I'd share a work in progress. A CG version of a beloved, blue, classic video game icon... no not that one: 1/ still working on hair and eyes, wonder if its obvious who it is without his helmet: <a href="https://imgur.com/68nCVlC" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/68nCVlC</a> 2/ because I think the helmet really brings it together: <a href="https://imgur.com/TovVsnS" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/TovVsnS</a> Very early stages but feedback is welcome, though I think Brad might be more of an X guy. Also just playing through Ratchet and Clank for the first time at the moment, is it sacrilege to say I could see a Mega Man game in that style? Love &amp; Respect Dave Cleland

Anonymous

Hola Brad and Brandon! It feels good submitting for the first time. Feels like unlocking a sweet achievement in a game. Huge thanks to Brad for his words of wisdom regarding “play what you want to play” and the idea of not feeling guilty about dropping a game if you’re just not feeling it. Like Huber, I felt I always had to push through, but I’ve dropped a few games recently that just weren’t vibing and its liberating. Listening to the recent Frame Trap brought back feelings I had put aside, but it seems social media is just blowing up with thoughts, and HOTTAKES and man it stings. I recall playing Dark Souls many years ago based on a recommendation. This was when my 13 y/o was still a baby and I wanted to witness the hype. I’ll never forget rummaging around the cemetery near the beginning, hitting “pause” because the baby woke up, and coming back to seeing myself dead. I told myself “I’M SURE I PAUSED IT!” but then found that there is no real pause, and on top of that, I had lost the souls I had collected. Not knowing this, my friend got an earful the next day for sure. Gaming time is precious. Due to job requirements, my wife and I work opposite shifts to homeschool our children and still have careers. That means for about 16 hours of my day, I’m either dealing with kids, work, or driving. Gaming is my nightly escape from the world. Regardless of the difficulty, I can enjoy or respect games and what they offer. I get the whole “some games aren’t for everyone” argument, but for me it’s so damn hard to say no to a game like Bloodborne, Nioh, or Sekiro. I look at them and want every morsel. These games require time ….and that’s where I fall short. Time is my biggest enemy and that’s what’s holding me back. I normally give up some sleep to enjoy my one true escape. Would I want the creator to change his original intent? Never. But it’s hard for me to imagine that adding options to a game as a side thing would hurt it. I would think it only opens the door for those that probably would have purchased it, just to experience the world. I can promise that if the games felt a little more accessible, I’d drop full price for them…easy. This year I decided to play Dark Souls on the Switch. In the interest of time, I looked up a video walkthrough and dropped all other video games. Pride kept me from this before, but the youtuber couldn’t fight my battles, so it felt good. I probably won’t touch the others since it consumed too much time, but it’s gratifying to see what all the hype was about. On top of playing WHAT you want to play, play HOW you want to play as well! L&amp;R Juan Rolón Jr.

Anonymous

greeting jones and maybe brad i hope you having a good spring and 3rd year. i been playing a few games like dmc 5 which was okay and sekiro which i trying to like but might not be for me. i have been having a blast to play ff7 on switch, even if the audio bug from the other versions is still here and square needs to fix it FIX IT SQUARE. i also complete blaster master neo 2 which was great, had a blast taking down mutents in my tank across the galaxy.started yoshi crafted world 10/10 joy vibes. hope you guys have a great apr and we are weeks away from endgame and got final season, say spoiler safe and watch out for spoilers. -cdjgamer

Anonymous

Hi Brandon and Brad (assuming no last minute changes do to the Easy Achoo going around), Long time follower, first time submitter to the community showcase. I am actually submitting some recent art drawn by my girlfriend First up, here’s a cute Grookey <a href="https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/0d85bb76939461.5c78645c4089f.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/0d85bb76939461.5c78645c4089f.jpg</a> Next is an entry from her Nintendo-centric webcomic called Canvas Crossing that she started this year. <a href="https://canvascrossing.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/canvascrossing6web.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://canvascrossing.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/canvascrossing6web.png</a> (For those not in on the joke, google “Pokemon Gun”) Last up is a model sheet she created for an original comic she is working on called Corpus Shift. After experimenting the whole first chapter, she finally found the style she was looking for, so that first chapter may become more of a “pilot”. She decided to start doing model sheets to help her maintain a consistent style going forward. <a href="https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/44516177915375.5c95506ef21f6.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/44516177915375.5c95506ef21f6.jpg</a> All link’s for the various places to follow her can be found in the overview section of her Patreon at GTCCreations. L&amp;R, Justin

Anonymous

Hello Allies, I was a little negative in my last post so I thought something more positive would be better this time. I played through and really enjoyed Sekiro though that's more due to the combat than the story. In truth I kind of consider it an appetizer to the main course I hope Ghost of Tsushima will be but only time will tell. Blaster Master Zero 2 is terrific and cheap to boot, I highly recommend it. Also I'm excited by the announcement of Cadence of Hyrule as Crypt of the Necrodancer is a fantastic game that didn't &amp; still doesn't get as much praise as it should. It leaves me to wonder though if Cadence of Hyrule will be toned done to have a more Nintendo style difficulty or if it will retain the brutal difficulty the original game had. It makes Sekiro seem not so bad. And finally your monthly reminder to everyone to read One Piece. Sure it's long but that's a strengh not a weakness.

Anonymous

My worry is being able to play this without getting muted, but I love it!

Anonymous

Short Letter: 583 words, couldn't find anything to cut: Hi Allies, I recently listened to the Hotake on difficulty modes for Sekiro from Frame Trap episode 78, and would like to offer a different perspective on video game difficulty with a focus on accessibility. Specifically, I would like to present an argument for scalable difficulty in games as a means of inclusiveness and creative expression. For brevity, I will use scalable difficulty to describe games that support easy, medium, and hard (or harder) difficulty settings and will focus on Dark Souls as an arbitrary example of a game without scalable difficulty. Would Dark Souls be a lesser game if the player took twice or four times as many hits to die?Is the only way to convey a hollow and desolate world through brutal difficulty? I admit it does add a dimension to the experience, but for me the main allure of Dark Souls was its tone, characters, lore, and presentation. I have a friend who will never experience the world of Lordran as a traditional player. He grew up on old school RPGs and turn-based tactical games. His lack of experience with 3D action games places him would place him at a significant disadvantage in an already punishing game. Many of us forget that we’ve developed the skills to navigate 3D games over time. It takes practice to develop the mental model to map a controller to a character on screen. Moreover, just understanding “video gameyness” is a skill of its own. Having a more forgiving difficulty setting would allow him to experience the world and its design more intimately than watching a stream, and it would also act as a full-playthrough pseudo-tutorial for the genre and series. These skills are transferable and could lead to deeper enjoyment of future games. For those that find Dark Souls’ main allure to be its difficulty, having the options for scalable difficulty would retain the current experience, and the satisfaction of mastering the mechanics of the game would remain. If the only thing that is separating a person from progressing and enjoying Dark Souls is its difficulty, then that will be one less person to recognize the craftsmanship and to share their thoughts on the experience with. There are many excellent games with scalable difficulty such as Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions (extreme mode), Bayonetta (Infinite Climax), and Vanquish (God Hard mode) which require meticulous control and precise execution at their highest difficulty settings. These games can be enjoyed by players of all skill, and the degree of mastery is up for the player to decide. In this situation nothing is lost except for the normalization of the difficulty across all players. Normalization of difficulty makes any conversation about completion an implicit membership test. Discussions about whether the game is “for someone” or not becomes a measure of their skill, patience, and/or competence. Sharing the success of completion becomes a club which divides those who might otherwise love the game under more favorable circumstances (and in my opinion there is a lot to love). I hope I’ve presented a worthwhile perspective on how games without scalable difficulty unnecessarily restrict access to ideas presented in games and why this design philosophy is inherently exclusive in nature. I would also like to add that I’m only arguing for points which I can speak for from personal experience, there are many other gamers who would benefit from scalable difficulties due to handicaps or a lack of familiarity with video games. -Shout_out_to_Yoko_Taro

Anonymous

Hey Brandon and Brad, Sekiro. Sekiro is real good. Since I first played Dark Souls a couple years ago I have been completely enthralled with this series, having completed every game at least 3 times. I even bought a Playstation 4 primarily to play Bloodborne. As much as I love these games, it was time to move on. Dark souls 3 was in many ways the pinnacle of the souls formula. Bosses had never been as intense and spectacular, but at the same time many environments were boring and derivative and much of the difficulty from standard enemies came from them being in mobs or having ridiculous attacks that can track you a full 360 degrees and are part of 10 attack combos. When it became clear that Sekiro was going to be different, I was a little unsure. While I didn’t question FromSoftware’s ability to make a great game, I was unsure of my own enjoyment. That was not an issue at all, once a couple hours had passed and I started to understand the flow, I was having a blast. Sekiro has a very interesting dichotomy to it, it is very different from previous souls game but also not that different at all. The biggest change is the freedom of movement. Being able to swing and jump around between branches and rooftops give you so many more opportunities to navigate and maneuver and find the perfect places to attack from. Another big change is the shinobi prosthetic, an artificial arm that can fit a variety of gadgets. What makes this a big change is not really the tools and gadgets the prosthetic fits, because many of the items it can utilize have analogues in previous games but that these gadgets are now critical to your success rather than occasionally useful novelties. So the gameplay has some new tricks and an emphasis on stealth whenever possible and relentless aggression when stealth failed but what about the bosses? The bosses are, well, just okay. One of my biggest problems with many of the bosses are that they don’t require much thought or strategy to beat, most of the time it’s just stay close and parry. While there are some standout bosses here that have some great scenarios or mechanics, these are a bit too few and too far between. Even the final boss, or what I assume is the final boss, lacks the absolute spectacle and frantic brutality of past endgame bosses like Gherman, Orphan of Kos or Gael. This was probably the only thing about the game I’m truly disappointed with, as bosses are my favorite part of these games. However aside from that one shortcoming, Sekiro is still an incredible game I will almost certainly come back to multiple times.

Anonymous

Hey Jones and Brad! When last we left off, I brought up how my next game would be determined with a roll of the dice. This is how that can backfire. On these rolls, I’m not committing to a full playthrough, only to give it at least an hour. I’ve found that when I do that, I will either be feeling the game, or I will suddenly know what I’d rather be playing. So when I rolled, the winning game ended up being a PS Plus game from a few months ago, Portal Knights. When I downloaded it, I was under the impression it would be kinda like Zelda or 3D Dot Game Heroes. This quickly went out the window when I realized, no, this is more like Minecraft. And that’s when the regret set in. Crafting is something that just makes my eyes glaze over. The most I can take and still enjoy is the system in Horizon. This was too much, all at once, in an incredibly unappealing package. So I followed my heart, uninstalled, and booted up one of the greats, Symphony of the Night. Castlevania is a series that I absolutely adore, despite being very bad at it. But as of now, I have managed to get through the first three bosses in SOTN, making more progress than I ever have before. But I’m not rushing this game. I just hop in when the mood strikes, get a bit further, and then move on. From there, I finally got a chance to play a game I had been wanting to get to for a few years, What Remains of Edith Finch? I am so in love with this game. The level of detail in each of those rooms was incredible. You could retitle it “Take a Knee: The Game” based on how much time I spent staring at all the things scattered through the Finch home. I wish there were more games like this out there. After Edith took my heart, I carved out the time to get the Platinum for Life is Strange and put in about 40 hours of Monster Hunter World, which I’ve enjoyed far more than I expected. I’ll be going back to it when I have more time to devote. Finally, we arrive at the game I just finished as I’m writing this. In honor of its upcoming 10th anniversary, I decided it was time to finally return to Arkham Asylum. It has been a long time since I went through it last, and I was surprised how much I had forgot about it. So many moments I thought were coming, were actually from sequels. While I think it definitely holds up, there are many major improvements that come in City, especially when it comes to traversal and gadget use. I’m not in love with Conroy’s performance in Asylum either (cue HOTTAKE). Next month brings one of my most anticipated titles, the Phoenix Wright Trilogy. L&amp;R, Kyle “GOTYlocks” Lee

VGJunky

<a href="https://youtu.be/soae2w1gL3E" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/soae2w1gL3E</a> My post got deleted so here's the link to the song at the end