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Pretenders of the Earth
The key to understanding No More Heroes 3 is in its enemies.
Boss battles have become the hallmark of part-time killer & full-time otaku Travis Touchdown’s journeys through the assassin ranks, but the henchmonsters standing in his way give context to his newest struggle. Two-headed lizardmen fight alongside robots, ax-wielding giants, and…a guy named after the giant robot from the Japanese Spider-Man series?
What Travis’ interstellar foes share is a similar design ethos: tokusatsu. This Japanese term for ‘special effects film’ gathers any live-action production fitting that criteria beneath its umbrella. Be they practical, CGI, domestic, or foreign: Power Rangers and Godzilla are shelved alongside Star Wars and superhero movies in the tokusatsu section.
Most of the English-speaking world sees things that ‘look like Power Rangers’ as cringeworthy. A fantasy story should have the decency to hide any seams, zippers, or blemishes to better allow audiences to suspend their disbelief. Magnify that demand for modern gaming, each pressured to provide cutting-edge escapism to validate their prices.
Looking For Trouble
If you want that escapism from No More Heroes 3, though? You’re going to have to work for it.
The series has been this way from the start, and admits as much by returning to the open-world design of the first game. While still somewhat sparse, Travis’ hometown of Santa Destroy and the surrounding locales gradually populate with multiple points of interest.
Commuting between these points on a Kaneda-from-Akira style motorcycle (complete with iconic powerslide action) is almost as fun as the destinations themselves. Minigames, side-stories and collectible hunting break up the combat encounters, which are the most well-honed aspect of the game.
Travis’ beam katana arsenal has been pared down to accommodate a host of new moves. In addition to the standard repertoire of slashes and suplexes, what are essentially vector graphic versions of Force powers augment his attacks. Even a Kamen Rider form is on offer, which is The Most Tokusatsu Thing Possible.
Destroy City Limits
All this flash can’t hide the flaws of this game, unfortunately. Visual issues like pop-in textures and framerate drops continually rear their heads above the skyline. Gameplay interferences like save data loss are especially grievous…and yet No More Heroes 3 is inarguably the most polished of the infamous director / producer Suda 51’s canon to date.
This is a series that has constantly played with its own boundaries, from addressing the player directly to calling out the artifice of games themselves. Its mashup of styles and sensibilities purposely clash, create their own patchwork seams. The game makes no attempt to hide its flaws, but focusing on them prevents players from seeing the big picture.
Arguably, not everyone is on board for the feeling of fighting one’s way through what feels like a tie-in game for a cancelled Adult Swim original show that never existed. Those who are will find a tokusatsu tapestry awaiting. There may be better games this year, but you certainly won’t play anything else like No More Heroes 3.
8.9 out of 10 Beam Katana Dismemberments
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The post No More Heroes 3 Shatters The Fourth Wall appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Pretenders of the Earth
The key to understanding No More Heroes 3 is in its enemies.
Boss battles have become the hallmark of part-time killer & full-time otaku Travis Touchdown’s journeys through the assassin ranks, but the henchmonsters standing in his way give context to his newest struggle. Two-headed lizardmen fight alongside robots, ax-wielding giants, and…a guy named after the giant robot from the Japanese Spider-Man series?
What Travis’ interstellar foes share is a similar design ethos: tokusatsu. This Japanese term for ‘special effects film’ gathers any live-action production fitting that criteria beneath its umbrella. Be they practical, CGI, domestic, or foreign: Power Rangers and Godzilla are shelved alongside Star Wars and superhero movies in the tokusatsu section.
Most of the English-speaking world sees things that ‘look like Power Rangers’ as cringeworthy. A fantasy story should have the decency to hide any seams, zippers, or blemishes to better allow audiences to suspend their disbelief. Magnify that demand for modern gaming, each pressured to provide cutting-edge escapism to validate their prices.
Looking For Trouble
If you want that escapism from No More Heroes 3, though? You’re going to have to work for it.
The series has been this way from the start, and admits as much by returning to the open-world design of the first game. While still somewhat sparse, Travis’ hometown of Santa Destroy and the surrounding locales gradually populate with multiple points of interest.
Commuting between these points on a Kaneda-from-Akira style motorcycle (complete with iconic powerslide action) is almost as fun as the destinations themselves. Minigames, side-stories and collectible hunting break up the combat encounters, which are the most well-honed aspect of the game.
Travis’ beam katana arsenal has been pared down to accommodate a host of new moves. In addition to the standard repertoire of slashes and suplexes, what are essentially vector graphic versions of Force powers augment his attacks. Even a Kamen Rider form is on offer, which is The Most Tokusatsu Thing Possible.
Destroy City Limits
All this flash can’t hide the flaws of this game, unfortunately. Visual issues like pop-in textures and framerate drops continually rear their heads above the skyline. Gameplay interferences like save data loss are especially grievous…and yet No More Heroes 3 is inarguably the most polished of the infamous director / producer Suda 51’s canon to date.
This is a series that has constantly played with its own boundaries, from addressing the player directly to calling out the artifice of games themselves. Its mashup of styles and sensibilities purposely clash, create their own patchwork seams. The game makes no attempt to hide its flaws, but focusing on them prevents players from seeing the big picture.
Arguably, not everyone is on board for the feeling of fighting one’s way through what feels like a tie-in game for a cancelled Adult Swim original show that never existed. Those who are will find a tokusatsu tapestry awaiting. There may be better games this year, but you certainly won’t play anything else like No More Heroes 3.
8.9 out of 10 Beam Katana Dismemberments
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!
The post No More Heroes 3 Shatters The Fourth Wall appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
You are finally here. You’ve done the research and found the most welcoming travel location for Black folks, with the perfect Black wellness practitioner. You are ready to get your self-care on. Now more than ever, Black women in search of self-improvement and community are booking wellness retreats to de-stress. But as the saying goes, “All skin folk ain’t kinfolk.” Group dynamics, diverse personalities, and the unpredictable nature of travel can create drama, trigger trauma, and ruin what was intended to be a time for nurturing and self-care. As part of your travel prep, here are five tools to keep you safe and present if the wellness vacation you planned unexpectedly goes sideways.
Tool #1: Breathe
Before impulsively responding to the person or people on the retreat who are working your last nerve, take three deep breaths. Mindful breathing cools down the heat of emotion, allowing our higher wisdom to kick in and help us make mindful choices. The University of Michigan Health: Michigan Medicine website states, “Breathing sends a message to the brain to slow down and relax.” Interacting from a relaxed state of mind places us in a position of personal power and enables us to let go of our expectations and think about the possible negative consequences of our reaction before speaking.
Tool #2: Take time to yourself
Therapist Dr. Mahogany Hall, DSW, LCSW, advises, “Unexpected emotions may surface and require personal space. In the event that this happens, it is important to honor your emotional and physical needs. It is okay to remove yourself from a group setting. You could be doing both yourself and other group members a disservice by remaining in the group space when you are unable to be fully present. Instead, sometimes you have to simply do you.”
Tool #3: Go for a walk
The simple act of walking helps us think. Find a pair of comfortable shoes, put one foot in front of the other, breathe in some fresh air, and clear your perspective. Many retreat spaces purposely do not have screens or Wi-Fi. Being with the same group of people in the same spaces for long periods of time can be challenging. Taking a walk can clear your head and create an opportunity for new experiences. Moving the body keeps the mind in the present moment, and if you choose to take a challenging hike, you will need all your mental and physical capabilities to stay present in order to complete the hike. It’s always nice to walk with someone you’re connecting with, but if you decide to head out on your own, be sure to first let the retreat leader know where you are going and ask the staff about any precautions you should take in the area.
Tool #4: Have an honest conversation with the retreat leader
Speak up mindfully. As a paying customer, you have the right to respectfully advocate for yourself in all situations. Organizing wellness retreats is really hard work, and most wellness professionals love to step up to the challenge. You trusted the retreat facilitator to take you on this journey, so respect them enough to tell them the truth if you have a negative experience. Being candid about your experience will not only make you feel better but also enable the wellness facilitator to work with you. For example, they may creatively organize group activities in a way that doesn’t create drama so that you can be mindfully separated from any person who might be triggering you. Make your wellness facilitator an ally.
Tool #5: Listen to your intuition and, if necessary, leave the retreat
Listen to your intuition. If you’ve done everything you can and the situation still isn’t right, you can leave. Is it easy to just depart? Yes and no. You’ve invested time and money for a wellness vacation, and Western culture and capitalism tell us that we must stay, tough it out, and get our money’s worth. But you don’t have to tough it out; you are allowed to say no and take care of yourself. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you don’t fit in with the group. If the retreat is a space where you are not able to reasonably be your full self, you can find a hotel to stay in, call an Uber, and enjoy your time on your own. You can always contact the retreat leader once the retreat is over to give them feedback about your negative experience, and you can always ask for and discuss the terms for a partial refund.
Black people are not a monolith. When some of us get together in the same room, it can be like oil and water. But participating in a wellness retreat can be the spark for life-changing personal development. Remember, the ultimate self-care practice is being able to advocate for ourselves mindfully in all situations.
In a game that consists of blocks, is it possible to build a circle? The answer is yes, according to YouTuber Mysticat. And not only is it possible to build a Minecraft circle, but it’s also possible to do so in a vanilla game. In this case, vanilla means completely unmodded.
Mysticat walks us through the process in a tutorial we first saw on Kotaku:
Since Minecraft functions on a grid system, nearly everything has an angle. In fact, there are basically no naturally occurring curves in the game. So it takes great creativity to achieve a circle. Mysticat offers two options in their tutorial. First, they turn to the minecart. Minecarts can be easily rotated, an advantage when trying to make a circle. Next, Mysticat does some stacking of blocks, rails, and minecarts and manages to get them to spin such that their center forms a circle. But this circle only exists in that specific set-up. So instead, Mysticat turns to armor stands.
Mysticat
To get a perfect circle, Mysticat creates a repeating command block that’s always active. They also add a chain command block as well. Together these codes tell the armor stands how to spawn into a perfect circle. Mysticat then adds a layer of sand to the armor stands to create a sand circle. With one more button press, the armor stands all turn in the same direction making the Minecraft circle smooth.
Mysticat
Then, after making the armor stands invisible, players can build with the sand circle. Please note, there are still several additional fixes that Mysticat shares to make the circle a flawless addition to a build.
As a further challenge, Mysticat sets out to build a 3D Minecraft circle, a Minecraft sphere.
The sphere itself is built out of minecarts. And it also comes out pretty well, though it relies on more code than the circle.
There you have it! The impossible Minecraft circles do exist! What fans of the game do next is up to them.
The post Can You Build an Impossible MINECRAFT Circle? appeared first on Nerdist.