Chip Chat: The Abject Desire of Salted Egg Chips

Chip Chat: The Abject Desire of Salted Egg Chips

Welcome to Chip Chat, a column where Maddi eats as many novelty chip* flavors as humanly possible, then justifies it by reviewing the chips and pairing them with a game she thinks they’re particularly suited for, like a garbage sommelier who specializes in junk food instead of wine. (more…)

Why I Hate Crisis Core: Part II, Jenova Boogaloo

Why I Hate Crisis Core: Part II, Jenova Boogaloo

Here we are again, thanks for coming to the reunion! Now that I’ve outlined the different cast members of this play, how do they perform? Well, not great!

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Why I Hate Crisis Core: Part I

Why I Hate Crisis Core: Part I

Never have I ever been more livid at finishing a game than Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core on the PSP. Staring at the credits in order to assign blame for this travesty, my head was a storm of feelings that I couldn’t fully put into words. Now, with some time away and no longer being a teenager, I want to go over the game’s narrative that so fully filled me with rage. Thankfully, wonderful folks down over on the internet have the full cutscenes of both the original and the remaster. I’m not here for debate. I’m here as an old school FFVII fan with a chip on their shoulder, so let’s mosey.

The following contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. The game contains instances of war, suicide, and body horror. (more…)

Pokémon Stadium Without Transfers Is Worthless

Pokémon Stadium Without Transfers Is Worthless

If Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are an example of too much corporate meddling to make Pokémon games as good as we know they can be, then Pokémon Stadium‘s re-release for Nintendo Switch Online shows the absence of oversight to stop an incomplete release. (more…)

Mystic Messenger Trash: Behaving Badly in V’s Route

Mystic Messenger Trash: Behaving Badly in V’s Route

Welcome back to Mystic Messenger Trash, where I chronicle playing Mystic Messenger. The following contains spoilers for V’s good and normal routes in the game, passing mentions of the bad endings, and general in-game lore that you learn outside of Another Story. There are also some spoilers for Rika Behind Story.

Another Story, which encompasses both V’s and Ray/Saeran’s routes, takes place six months after Rika’s “death” (unlike the routes in Casual Story and Deep Story, which take place two years after). Another Story is basically an alternative universe of Mystic Messenger, where the player-character shows up earlier than in the Casual and Deep Stories. For the sake of length, I’m going to assume a baseline level of MM knowledge. (more…)

Coffee Talk Brews Up Coziness with a Splash of Discomfort

Coffee Talk Brews Up Coziness with a Splash of Discomfort

Content note: this piece discusses racism and police brutality.

Now that I’ve started commuting to the office, most of my mornings are rigidly structured. I wake up at 6:00 a.m. and get up by 6:20, at which point I make my pourover. Depending on how motivated and quick I’m feeling on a given morning, this takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. I frequently joke that it takes me longer to make coffee than it does for me to put on my makeup and get dressed, which causes my husband to grimace and apologize. Over the last year or so, he has made brewing a good cup of coffee into a hobby, a hobby that I have since inherited. (more…)