So. I finally got around to watching the Lodoss OVA bd, after not having seen the original for about four years. It was my third watch through so I knew what to expect, except with a different set of eyes this time.
Despite all of its problems - low budget, plot holes, flat dialogue, strange narrative jumps that you're expected to accept, other typical OVA issues - it was heartwarming and a little unsettling to have reconnected with a small but important part of my younger years. The last two episodes drag out but they still make me feel uncomfortable, and that plus the cheesy weepy intro song made me a little melancholy for the next day. Kind of embarrassing, really :x
It is a decent attempt at pulling together a -lot- of material for those who haven't seen it (you're on this board and you haven't watched Lodoss?), so I guess I can't be too harsh on it. Or maybe I can? Anyway.
My biggest complaint, aside from the lacking dialogue and glaring budget holes, is how passive and kind of useless Deedo can be. I am re-reading Deedlit's Tale and the Grey Witch arc again and while the latter may be very simplistic, it reveals some of her past that should really have been in the OVA to flesh out her character (plus a certain corny phrase about moving forward and finding radiance that would still have fit in the OVA). She is also spunkier and more assertive in the manga, which I appreciate.
I can't say I'm too well-versed on the Tales series, but how does /pe/ feel about colored ear tips?
Character is Muzet from Tales of Xillia, by the way. The only one I've ever invested time in was Phantasia (with a translation patch).
Retro /pe/ gaming time, take 2: Arkista's Ring for the NES (1990)
It's like Zelda 1 if you stripped away all of the world exploration and left in one giant dungeon. Which sounds terrible, but it's actually kind of fun in practice. Several speedrunners have been routing it lately and it's going to be at AGDQ this summer, too.
There are a bunch of items available to solve the game and 32 stages to traverse, with 4 loops total. So there are technically 128 levels. Each loop is harder than the last Despite being a "rare" game, it's pretty cheap; I got a copy for $16 with manual.