When I decided to host the mega again a bit ago, I had no idea what to make it about (of course). So it fell between two topics: a post on the importance of sleep, or a post on just how much I love Fire Emblem: The Sacred Echoes. Well, I felt like the importance of sleep was well-known, and could always wait for the next time I host a mega. I wanted to make sure I hit the Sacred Echoes iron while it's hot, because I've almost finished my play through at this point, and it might genuinely be one of the best games I have ever played.

Sacred Echoes feels so polished, considering it's a fan-made romhack of Sacred Stones, with the goal of bringing the 3DS game, Shadows of Valentia (SoV), to the GBA. Everything about the game aesthetically is very well-done, from the portraits, to the battle sprites, and literally anything else that could be thought of about a game. This includes new character writing, which helps the game in areas where Shadows of Valentia was a little, well, off. That's what I want to go over first, and although I've made a post before, I had only played a little bit of the game. Being at the end, I've noticed more things, and grown to appreciate this game even more than I already did.

Let's start off with the relevant (and interesting) bits: Sacred Echoes actually does a really good job at representing a variety of backgrounds, while also being diverse in a way that doesn't feel like it's simply to have a token character. This game doesn't suffer from the cracker curse, for example. Although most of the characters are white, there is more than one person of color (!congratulations) . In terms of LGBTQ+ representation, it's even better. There are many gay/lesbian characters, whose sexuality actually plays a role in the plot and how they interact with others. There's also an aroace character, Lukas, who goes through a whole arc of self-discovery in his support conversations (support Python). It's good stuff, and not things I would normally expect from a Fire Emblem game. I hesitate to bring up the (possibly) only trans character in the game, Jesse. HOLD ON, NO HESITATION AT ALL! I just decided to do more research, and I wasn't just projecting. He is 100% trans, and it's in supports, and it's relevant to his plot and backstory, so it's just like the rest of them, thank goodness, I was worried he was a token. So yeah, support Clive and Jesse. Good stuff, and good luck getting to the end of the game so they can actually meet, one fights for Alm and the other for Celica...

This is Jesse !

Here's some dialogue between Clive and Jesse, in the context of a will:

Clive: Only the following will be yours - your mother's wardrobe, her jewelry box, and all corresponding contents.

Jesse: Urgh. Even from halfway in the grave he's trying to tell me what to wear. So yeah, he's still the same tyrant he always was. Hasn't changed a bit.

In terms of character background, it's more diverse than one would think, and it addresses the issue of feudal class. Not all of the characters are nobles, and one of the main characters is a commoner from a random village. The plot regularly deals with the fact that nobles and commoners do not get along. However, it does not try to redeem most nobles. If they aren't proving themselves with their actions, they're probably shitty. Even if they are supposedly "one of the good ones", there's usually some underlying prejudice that comes out when you might not expect it. I love it so much, and I am extremely impressed that the plot doesn't try to redeem nobility as a whole, but rather allows the noble characters within the cast to have character development that feels less like justification and more like re-education.

Pictured is the class traitor Lukas absolutely destroying Fernand !

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For other details about the story, I'll link my original post. I don't want to drag this on too long, and I mention most of the improvements there. It also includes where to find the patch for the game, and how to play the game for yourself. If you enjoy SRPGs, or are new to the genre, I recommend this game. It has an easy mode for the newbies, and hard mode for those of us who hate ourselves (/s), and a normal mode for everything in-between !niko-happy

The Echoes cast is amazing, and I love how they interact with each other and the world. Each character stands out, and they feel unique in their relationships with the other characters. Even characters that suffer in SoV, like Faye and the Masked Knight (has a name but it's spoilers), benefit from the Sacred Echoes writing, making them actually enjoyable characters. The villains of the game are also great. I don't want to go too deep, because I don't want to spoil too much, but they aren't just pure evil, and for that I applaud the SoV writers. Berkut is probably the highlight of the game, being the heir to the throne of the empire. I am once again asking you to play the game, because IT IS SO GREAT, and I would not have expected these good of villains to pair with Alm and Celica, as well as their armies.

Pictured is the Masked Knight being a gay little guy. The other guy (Saber) is threatening his life... !

Everything about the game design is also amazing. It's GBA Fire Emblem, so the animations are peak and the pixel art is stellar. The maps are improved from the original SoV maps, and they are definetly much better, and much less repetitive. Classes in the game are fun in how they work, each character being able to promote 2-3 times. Mages also work really uniquely and well in this game, with spells costing HP to cast. They learn spells as they level up, rather than by purchasing tomes, which makes for (in my opinion), better gameplay. Sacred Echoes also adds the GBA weapon and magic triangles!

All in all, Sacred Echoes is a great game, and even if you never ending up playing it, you now know of its existence. It stands out as a great romhack, as well as a great Fire Emblem game, AND it has the gay. Can it really get better than that?

If you want my original (and more in-depth) analysis, check out my original post. It's mostly about what Sacred Echoes improves upon the original Shadows of Valentia.

Hope you enjoyed my little nerd-out session, and have a good week everyone! !niko-dance

DOWNLOAD SACRED ECHOES: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/o9v75blehaid1re2i8qou/ALhV8LN1A59jdFIP6HYRH3c?rlkey=d7fl1m8qh9gl7ztmnim33euu1&e=1&dl=0

PATCH TO AN EXISTING SACRED STONES ROM: https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/

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Remember yesterday, when I posted about the We Are The Foundation EP? This is similar to what could have happened had Monuments continued with the style. 2 vocalists, vintage djent, Monuments and TesseracT in one, raw but good production, bass (kind of)? It's all here.

It took me a bit to find this. I don't believe it's on Spotify or any other streaming service, and unless someone recommends the album, it's not very discoverable. So you could say that the words were indeed hidden. Anyway, this album is really great, and extremely unique. Now, I say this every time, the artists I listen to are all different, but this album is different different. It's aggressive and simultaneously atmospheric and melodic. This can probably be attributed to the John Browne (Monuments) and Acle Kahney (TesseracT) combo, and they write really well together. Of course, Neema Askari and Joe Garrett also write really well, with their parts playing off of each other, similarly to Neema and Greg in the Monuments EP. Although I think that Neema and Greg are definitely better in this regard, Joe does provide a different feel on vocals with his deeper screams that contrast more with Neema's iconic whatever he does.

So what happened to Fellsilent? They died. TesseracT was beginning to get popular, and Acle probably liked working on his own project rather than working on Fellsilent, so he left the band. Following him, the drummer and Joe left as well, leaving just John and Neema. That was pretty much it. John already had Monuments, so he began working on the project he had established, and Neema hopped on (only to be kicked off). Just like that, Fellsilent was done, and while it would have been really interesting to see where they had gone, The Hidden Words is a great album, and we now have TesseracT and Monuments (well, Monuments might be done now) to carry Fellsilent's legacy.

Oh wait, you might want singles. Immerse is really good, as is Double Negative and Age of Deception. Now go listen to the album!

I'm back pretty early, aren't I? I believe I've posted this EP before, but this time I'll give the lore drop and analysis.

Greg Pope and Neema Askari were a set of vocalists on Monuments that joined after Fellsilent (pre Monuments + TesseracT) fell apart. Neema was on Fellsilent, but Greg was new. This is mostly irrelevant though, as when Monuments released this EP and opened a live show for Periphery with this lineup, it was clear just how well their voices worked together, and how well their (albeit unique) vocals fit over the music. Getting into rumor and/or I'm not sure territory here, but they were both under the belief that Monuments was over, so they "left" the band. Clearly the band wasn't actually done, and they picked up another vocalist (Matt Rose). This led to a song being cut (Memoirs) which they actually tried releasing, but Neema and/or Greg threatened legal action due to the iconic chorus. So, we got Gnosis, with completely re-worked vocals, and Greg and Neema were nowhere to be found.

So where does that leave this EP? Well, it was only released on myspace, so the compression and mixing is kind of raw garbage. Not even good raw, if it wasn't this good I would not be listening to it. But it IS that good. It's catchy, the vocal style is unique and executed well, the riffs are Gnosis riffs so they're good. What's bittersweet about this EP is, this is what Gnosis could have been. This music with Gnosis mixing would have been an amazing debut album, rivaling The Amanuensis. Instead, most people prefer the instrumental version of the album, and rank it lower, if not the lowest, out of all of the Monuments albums.

Before I leave yet again (no I'm not listing singles it's only three songs), I want to discuss lyrical themes. They sound left-wing and political, something that did happen on Gnosis (a bit more vaguely), but just completely died after that.

Let's first look at Admit Defeat:

It's time to open the curtains

Think of our time tonight as uncertain

Anything, everything can happen

Just open your minds to a new plan for mankind

We got a new vision for the future

A new formula to suture

If you live your life by fake laws and lies

There'll never be a future

Why the fuck do we fall to our knees

For the corporations?

Refuse the system because the system will re-use you

We are the foundation

Tear it down

If you do one thing, just think of consequence

Of your life

The answer's inside and now we'll stand together

There's nothing different about me

(Everyone in this life is linked by forces unseen)

And your whatever you see is skin deep

There's nothing to gather

(Fatal lies, just so you feel secure inside)

Just take a look around and you'll get the picture

If we do nothing we can be sure of one thing

We'll refrain; fall into shade

Question your life

Why are we here believing nothing else?

Rise from the system

Into a visions free, free your mind and soul

We got this far just believe we can let go

Why the fuck do we fall to our knees?

Why are we here believing nothing else

Rise from the system into a vision free from this ignorance

We got this far, just believe we can let go

Now let's start digging deeper; uncover what we know

Falling from madness, we'll break through as one

I can tell you this great deception must have an ending

We can make it stop

Everybody's gonna reach out from distress at take some action

We'll restore the features that each of us choose to reap from

We say monuments are the future

Remember your way, just in case our light fades away

Remember your way, just in case our light fades away

Why the fuck do we fall to our knees

For the corporations?

Refuse the system because the system will re-use you

We are the foundation

Like, this is explicitly anti-capitalist. When I heard this I went nuts. Gnosis was vague, but this was much better, especially lines like "Refuse the system because the system will re-use you" and even just "We Are The Foundation".

Next, Memoirs. This song is sad, I've cried.

We can't control our lives

We can just take things one day at a time

Don't look back at our mistakes,

We don't learn from our mistakes

I dare you to open your eyes,

You'll realize it's not the first time

We're here to change, educate not to compete but to put things straight

And we're advancing at a rapid rate

And we refuse to be brainwashed,

By a world that's shaped.

We've wasted time, restrictions on our minds,

And what have we got to show for it?

Mislead from nature,

Tainted with pictures and shaded by our fears

Break through this blind obstruction

Built on lies,

Enslaved in the cycle,

Tainted with pictures and shaded by our fears

Surpass the souls we lost

I'm sick of you

You're not living your livid and you're being used

You're not willing to make a valid point of view

You're the reason that we're here,

Weak people like you are holding us back from this breakthrough

And if the reason we're here is to perpetuate and build

What we haven't got yet and what we, hope to fulfill

Then money is irrelevant, a removed on our path to realisation

Here's something to build and use,

A life once told in religious views if what we're fighting for is money,

Then we're better off with nothing

What the fuck are we gonna do? Regain our goal

We can begin to patch the worlds abrasions after all this

We're better off with nothing

I dare you to open your eyes

The world is decaying its loosing its shape,

We're all on a mission with a brand new vision

Mislead from nature,

Tainted with pictures and shaded by our fears

Break through this blind obstruction

Built on lies,

Enslaved in the cycle,

Tainted with pictures and shaded by our fears

Surpass the souls we lost

This one is sadder to me, because it hits close to home. I thought I knew it all, thought I knew what actually had to be done to help people. Then I learned how the world really works, how things are done intentionally with the knowledge that people are hurt and exploited. Even if we manage to fix a world that's actively decaying, what of the souls lost along the way? What of the souls who we lose every day to the system, the cycle? When will enough people see past the brainwashing, the propaganda, and realize these things, that money is irrelevant, that their worldview is likely built on lies?

Something else lost with Greg and Neema was songwriting. The themes were good, the lyrics themselves were good, just everything about this EP and this band had so much potential, not just to be a good band, but to spread a message. That didn't happen, though. So I'll sit here, still listening to this EP, thinking of what could have been, while appreciating what happened. Gnosis is still a great album, as are The Amanuensis, In Stasis, and Phronesis (except for lyrics on Phronesis, they're really bad). Enjoy this EP, it's quite the gem, even if the mixing is mid.

When I first found this album, it was an instrumental version, and for a month or two I thought that was the only version of the album. As nice as instrumentals are, I am a vocals person at heart, so I didn't listen to it. After burning myself out on The Amanuensis and In Stasis for the first time, I found it again and decided to give it a shot. Then I heard vocals, and I was confused. Turns out it did have vocals, and I just happened to get the wrong version !makima-huh. So what makes Gnosis stand out, and why do I enjoy it?

Well, I'm glad you were totally asking that question. This album is raw, especially compared to other Djent albums from the time. Yes, P1 and One were both more raw than P2 and Altered State, but Gnosis is another level of raw in it's production and style as a whole. The guitar tone is something that really stands out, and yes I say this like half of the time, but listen to it and you'll see what I mean. It sounds like a machine, and it definitely works for this album. Also, AUDIBLE BASS OH MY GOSH!!! Obligatory "bring back bass". The vocals are also really interesting and uniquely raw. Monuments has always had a vocalist issue, which meant that they have music with like 5 different vocalists out there. This album was done by Matt Rose, and while some people don't like his vocals, I think they really work on this album. The raw mechanic guitar tone combined with his harsh screams is something you have to hear to really understand what I'm describing.

So, what's the issue with this album*? I'll leave that for the day 5.5 post on the "We Are The Foundation" EP, becuase there's a bit of Monuments lore that needs to be gone over. Long story short is that the album was supposed to be done in a different style with different vocalists who were maneuvered/deceived out of Monuments. Either way, this album is still really good, and definitely stands on its own. If you need singles, listen to Admit Defeat, removed, and Regenerate. As always though, if you have the time listen through the whole album. It has quite a unique sound, one that never got returned to, and likely never will.

Alright, I'm feeling quite tired today, so you all are getting the rapid-fire round this time.

What I like: Vocals are great, up like an angel, down like a wounded ox. Guitars are great, as is usually the case with Periphery. It djents, its great, it has its super harsh moments on songs like The Price is Wrong and will have you emotional by the time you've finished Lune.

What could be improved: Where's the bass? I heard that bass play-through of Prayer Position and the bass line was so good, why can I barely hear it in the mix. I'm not asking every band to sound like TesseracT, but at least take notes in terms of mixing an album. Other than the lack of bass, this album has amazing mixing.

What do you all think of this album? It took a bit to grow on me, but I grew to like most of the songs on it. While always liking Lune and The Price is Wrong, the rest of the album got better and better to me the more I listened to it. Especially the Habitual Line-Stepper to Flatline to Absolomb, the whole second half of the album is probably my favorite.

Wow, okay. I didn't know I had a cult until a few months ago, and they actually make really good music. W Cult! I remember making a post about a track on this album, but I think it's time for the whole thing, don't you think?

Where to start. I found this album when I was looking for prog metal albums with female vocalists for the sake of voice training purposes, and what I found was quite the gem. I had never listened to "post-metal" or Cult of Luna before, Mariner was quite the departure from my djent. I really enjoyed it on the first listen through though, and it's now one of my favorite albums. Julie's vocals are great, I was not expecting what she would do on this album but it really makes this album. I actually don't know the band members for this band, but whoever does the deeper screams is also really good, and the two of them sound really well with each other. The instrumentals are also great, and in a way they create a feeling of immersion with patterns and powerful riffs. The riffs will often take their time, letting you take the whole thing in before its gone, and I love that about this album. Everything just works well together! Also, there's no singles today, I guess you could listen to Chevron or Cygnus but this album is best experienced in its entirety.

That's going to be all for today's rec. Let me know if you enjoy/enjoyed this album or not, and feel free to give me some recs as well. I'll be back tomorrow !soviet-playful

Hi everyone, I'm back with another album (of course). This one was recommended to me a few days ago by @vovchik_ilich@hexbear.net, and I've really been enjoying it!

If I had to describe how this album felt the first time I listened to it, I would say nostalgia. It really tickles my nu metal and 2000s alternative rock senses, in a good way. The guitar tone is really good, I've always been a fan of these kinds of tones. In addition to guitars, the vocals sound amazing. Not only do they get angelic (I love angelic vocals), but the vocalist does a lot of different things with their voice both pre-production and post-production. It's also proggy, of course, and that's what really makes this album for me. Yeah, nu metal and alternative rock could both be good, but add prog and it ascends.

This album has its heavy/harsh moments, its calm and melodic moments, and its proggy moments. I really enjoyed it, and hopefully you will too. For individual tracks on this album, check out Themata (this album in a nutshell), Cote (for 2000s nostalgia), Sewn and Silent (clean melodies), and Scarabs (for heavy proggy guitar goodness).

That's going to be all, hope you enjoy, and thanks again for the rec vovchik_ilich!

P.S. If you don't end up liking this album, just listen to "Omitted For Clarity" on loop !izutsumi-idea

I think I'm going to recommend an album each day as I begin to upload music to TankieTube. Considering I've never made a post on One, I thought it would be best to post this on day one of this posting spree.

One has to be one of my favorite albums. It takes a sort-of ambient tone, which then is interjected with harsh guitars and vocals. The guitars do Djent, and the riffs are pretty satisfying. One thing that was hinted at in One was bass. It's the most quiet bass in any TesseracT album, and yet it can still be heard, something that was more common at the time (Monument's Gnosis, for example). However, while most bands decided to lower the volume of the bass, and flatten the tone, TesseracT leaned into it, with a rich and audible bass in all of their future albums.

Dan Tompkins is amazing on this album. His voice can go from a angelic, but sad-sounding cleans to the harsh pitched screams of an inner conflict. I once saw someone come up with a comparison between Dan Tompkins and Ashe O'Hara (Altered State) that really sums it up well. While the way Ashe sings demonstrates that same melancholy emotion followed by understanding, Dan takes that and focuses more on the moments of struggle. For this in action listen to both Ashe and Dan's versions of Perfection (Dan's is on this album). He's very flexible and versatile on this album, and although he's a bit low in the mix sometimes, it's not so jarring that it's felt for the whole album. The only bad thing about this album for Dan as an individual, was that he wrecked his voice. He was never quite able to pull of the same kind of vocal performance until War of Being, meaning that the harsh vocals that felt pretty iconic were used sparingly in both Polaris and Sonder (Ashe didn't scream, so Altered State has none). This is not a jab at any of these albums, and I feel like the harsh vocals they did use in songs like Messenger (Polaris) and King (Sonder) worked really well.

I don't seem to be talking about one a lot in this rec, and it's because it feels like such a unique album. If you've heard TesseracT at all, many of the sounds they built upon in future work started with this album. This album stands on its own though, and it's still probably my second favorite TesseracT album. Concealing Fate (All 6 parts) is amazing, and tracks like Lament, Nascent, and Eden are just as amazing (I've just listed most of the album).

So, before I go, let me provide some single songs you might enjoy. The best part about One is that, like Altered State, you can pick anything. Love harsh vocals? Nascent and Sunrise. Beautiful cleans? Deception and Perfection. A bit of everything? Lament or Eden. Like all of these? JUST LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM AT THIS POINT! That's all from me, if you read this I appreciate it, and enjoy the album.

A tip for streaming from TankieTube: The website can actually be connected to through Newpipe's PeerTube option, so you can play the album in the background like you would on a streaming service!

Altered State 2, on TankieTube too!

original post

It's about time I did a definitive post recommendation about this album. A while back I recommended the first two "movements" of this album, "Of Matter" and "Of Mind", though I have since deleted the account and it's posts, so here's the album. This time, it's the whole thing. Every "movement" (I don't know what else to call them), every song, all here. You may have seen me go on about this in the old posts, or in the trans mega, but this album is absolutely a must-listen for anyone. There's something in this album most people can enjoy, and many people enjoy everything about it. I truly believe it is a musical masterpiece in terms of songwriting, mixing, and atmosphere. The bass is present, the lead vocals and the harmonies are well-crafted and angelic, the riffs are catchy and attention-grabbing while also lending themselves to, and creating, the atmosphere. Even the saxophone on "Calabi-Yau" is great, and feels like a natural continuation of the movement it closes out, while being pretty amazing in it's own right. Listen to this album through, or pick a movement. Of Matter is a great opening and is probably still my favorite out of the four. Of Mind is also great, Nocturne and Exile are amazing tracks, and they will both appeal to different types of listeners. Of Reality is definitely listened to best following Of Mind (all movements benefit from album order, but Of Reality especially), though if you just want to hear the saxophone this may be the route for you. Of Energy is a great closing track, and you can really feel that it's the end, especially with Embers being the kind of closing track that it is. Really, Of Energy should be treated as one track, and it stands well on it's own to listen to as a single. HOWEVER, you really should just listen to the album through. If it's not your cup of tea, whatever, at least you tried, and you felt a taste of what Luna of Hexbear's favorite album is. You now know me just that little bit better. Obviously if you enjoyed it you got that out of it, right?

Yeah, so my review still holds up, this album is still probably one of my favorites, its great to get back into, and I still think it is a masterpiece. Is there anything more to be said that I didn't say? I love this album, and now it's in a location where people can listen to it, in its entirety, without worrying about YouTube BS or streaming service tracking or anything else. If you didn't see the original post, or don't remember what was said, give it a read! Its especially good if you're on the fence about listening to this album.

Reading it again, I was in a different place at the time. I had just started my transition, and this album was on repeat for me. It played when I buzzed my legs for the first time (no, I didn't shave at first) and I still sing the songs, or hear them in my head, whenever I shave anything. I used the shaving as an example, but this album really is linked to the gender euphoria I felt when I first did those things, and if there was any album that would be my "transition album", this would have to be it.

I'll probably always be a bit sad that Ashe O'Hara left TesseracT, and the band never really returned to an album like Altered State. I do think it was overall not a bad thing, because I've really grown to appreciate Polaris, Sonder, and War of Being, but none of them will ever be as special to me as Altered State still is. I can really appreciate Dan Tompkins though, after really getting into Polaris and War of Being I can hear just how amazing his vocals are as well, and I've grown to love his newer stuff too (I used to only like One).

That's all from me this time, and no, I do not think there will be a third Altered State post. Maybe I'll do an in-depth post on Polaris or One at some point.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I'm eating my words from a bit ago, again. I said that I could not really get into albums like Periphery's P5 and TesseracT's War of Being. I was once again wrong, at least about one of them. Sorry P5, you'll have to wait until another time, where I may or may not like you. Anyway, War of Being post before an Altered State post, what's wrong with me?

Well, I already did an Altered State post, although I might do another when I upload it to TankieTube, because it is just that good and absolutely deserves two posts. But we're not here to talk about Altered State. I left War of Being playing, and I made sure to sit through Echoes, which eventually did grow on me, but it was holding me back. The Grey, Legion, and War of Being are all amazing songs, and the rest of the album definitely holds itself up pretty well too. While it does flow well, I do feel like this is more of an album made of "heavy hitters" rather than the one really amazing album flow that Altered State has. Stop comparing it to Altered State!

Going into this, I thought the production was pretty flat, and that's because it might be, but it also might not be? I'm kind of struggling to hear it, but there are moments that definitely could have been mixed better, and there are moments that live up to TesseracT generally having good mixing. You have to realize, bad TesseracT mixing is like Monuments mixing on a good day, so it's not the end of the world. There are so many places where the bass rips and is just so present, I love that this band does this with their bass instead of just making it low in the mix or pretty much just muting it (I'm still salty about AJFA, even though I don't listen to Metallica too much anymore). I also need to talk about the vocals, because Danithan Tompkins went over 9000 with this album. He's always been a great vocalist, but this album marked a bit of a style shift and a return to One's harshness. One sounded great, but I believe it may have not been good for his voice. He manages to bring that energy and more to War of Being, hopefully in a healthy way this time. Now to talk about riffs.

War of Being feels like its own thing, but I can hear bits and pieces of other albums at times. Sometimes, I hear One. Others Altered State. Others, I can hear Altered State 2 (Polaris). I even hear a bit of Sonder. Its nice to see that they didn't just mush the sounds together though, you can hear it for a moment if you catch it, and then its back to being War of Being. Some of these riffs though, and the guitar tone, almost remind me of a modern djentified and progiffied version of Trivium's Shogun. The Grey has a riff like this, and so does War of Being. If you've listened to Trivium's Shogun, you'll know what I mean when you hear it. In fact, IF YOU WANT SPECIFIC SONGS TO LISTEN TO, PLAY THE GREY and WAR OF BEING. Now that the people in the back have heard me, I wanted to say that I absolutely love the riffs, and I want more of this.

i went off, but i do want this

I want a full album of this. I want Shogun taken to the highest level with vocals done by both Ashe and Danithan, hell, let Ashe write and Danithan sing. I really enjoyed Shogun, and it made for a really good metalcore/thrash metal album with some proggy elements. If anybody could make a Shogun-like album, incorporating that lovely guitar tone with their own amazing bass tone, I would be a happy girl. I would probably pay for a CD in fact, because it would probably be one of my favorite albums of all time.

Anyway, I've gone on long enough. Enjoy War of Being, and don't worry, I'll post Altered State tomorrow.

I was talking about music the other week in the trans mega, and how I couldn't really get into the newer TesseracT stuff. So that was a lie...

If you want specific songs, I have four words for you: Tourniquet and Seven Names

(although if you're looking for higher-energy, do Dystopia and Messenger)

I've really been enjoying Spiritbox lately, so I thought I would share alert you all to this EP's presence.

Additionally, I have ended my friendship with HexReplyBot. TankieTube is my new friend, thanks TankieTanuki!

I'm starting to work on creating my own Fire Emblem game as of recently, and I thought it would be a great idea to ask you all what kind of character you would like to see.

For those who don't know already, Fire Emblem is a fantasy setting. I should definetly be able to add humans and dragons (manaketes) to the game, though anything beyond that isn't guarenteed.

If you have any ideas, please put them in the comments. A submission (sounds way too formal but idk what other word to use) should have a name, species (human or dragon/manakete), a gender (or specify agender), race, and a class. If you want to, get creative with the classes, as long as I understand what you mean, I should be able to get them to work within established FE classes. If you want to get really creative, come up with a physical description, and/or even a personality!

I'll turn on upvotes temporarily once post traction slows down, and whichever character has the most upvotes will be added. This means that, even if you don't want to design a character, you can support your fellow hexbears who created characters that you like. If there's a lot of submissions, I can pick the top few and do a recount, and then add the winner of the recount. If I have the space in the ROM, I could possibly even add multiple characters.

If you end up submitting, thank you, and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with. !aubrey-happy

I forgot to add, if you are interested in any established details about the game/story, feel free to ask. I would honestly love to talk about it!

Imagine you're pretty much at the end of a pretty tough game. The war is almost won, and for it to end you have one obstacle left in your way. A giant fortress in the north, buried in snow. Waves upon waves of enemies. And boss enemy that has the potential to wipe the floor with your team. Then listen to this. The Shadows of Valentia composers really cooked with the soundtrack, in fact, the soundtrack is so good that I might post a few of the songs here, they're honestly good to listen to when playing other games. I turned off music in FE: Blazing Blade just so I could listen to these songs. I've already heard the battle themes in that game, and I'll probably turn it back on when it's an important battle with a potentially unique song, but DAMN. While Sacred Echoes mastered the gameplay aspect, as well as improving upon the writing and the battle animations, the original Shadows of Valentia has the aesthetics of the amazing art and soundtrack. Honestly may upload a couple of the Three Houses songs, becuase many of the people who worked on Shadows of Valentia's soundtrack also worked on Three Houses!

One of my favorite Fire Emblem games has to be Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Shadows of Valentia is a remake of the second game in the series, Fire Emblem: Gaiden, and though I have not played the original game and probably never will, Shadows of Valentia itself was developed really well and could have probably stood as it’s own release in the series, which it essentially ended up doing. So when I heard that someone re-made Shadows of Valentia for the Game Boy Advance, it really piqued my interest. Fire Emblem: Sacred Echoes is a demake of Shadows of Valentia, but it’s not just a GBA port. Rather, Sacred Echoes improves upon the original remake, improving many aspects and adding many of it’s own additions that make it a great experience, one that is better than Shadows of Valentia itself. Feel free to skip parts you don’t care/know about, I just want to go over a few of the changes.

If you do not know anything about Fire Emblem or Shadows of Valentia, you may not get some of what is being said. In that case, the TL;DR is to try the game, it's really fun and it's approachable from almost any level of skill and experience. I left instructions on how to play at the bottom of the post.

Characters and Story (minor spoilers):

The story remains the same as far as I have played*, but what has changed is some of the characters. Support conversations have been added to fill gaps that existed in SoV (Genny no longer has only one support chain), and dialogue has been improved in many of the supports, and even in the story for some. Faye, for example, is not changed as a character. She still likes Alm, and is caring of him. The difference is, she is no longer psychotically obsessed. She cares for other people now too, in a non-romantic way. It makes her a more reasonable and likable character, without changing her too much. This change helps to balance out Alm’s companions as well. With the added dialogue, it makes it seem like Gray and Tobin aren’t the only ones actually existing.

Additionally, many characters have also had sexuality and/or gender changes. This does not change their core character or their actions in the story, but it does change how they interact with other characters. Jesse is now transmasc for example, and it adds another layer of context to his story. Fernand is gay, and rather than liking Mathilda, he likes Clive. This is better because gay, and he has more interactions with Clive. Also adds a dynamic of being back-stabbed while also being heartbroken. There’s a few others I don’t remember off the top of my head, but you’ll know if you check out the game.

Characters also have more depth to them. One example, when Leon talks with Valbar, the small talk is still there, but issues of trauma can come up, and are not simply avoided, especially when characters are as close as these two are.

• Cutscenes and flashbacks are integrated into the story, rather than being collectibles that can be found and viewed with the timewheel menu. Doesn’t change the story, but I do think this is a better way of doing things.

Game Design (no spoilers):

The game makes many changes in it’s design, most of which I think improve the quality of the game. Obviously it is a GBA game, and I really like the aesthetic of the GBA FE games. Most of the animations are new and fresh compared to the 3 official games, and the interface is clean and minimal without being cluttered. Clutter wasn’t much of an issue with SoV, but it did have 3D graphics for combat, and while some people prefer that over the 2D combat, I actually prefer it 2D. I think it allows for more flexibility with animations, making them clean, flashy, and entertaining.

The soundtrack is also ported over completely with GBA versions of the SoV soundtrack. This is great, and I think the devs did a great job with it. This is where an issue comes in, though there isn’t much to do about it. Tracks like “The Scions’ Dance in Purgatory” and “Lord of a Dead Empire” do not shine as much as they do in SoV. It’s hardware limitations, and it is not felt with most of the soundtrack, but these two specifically have vocals and an orchestra. It’s two battles, so not that much is lost, I just wanted to mention this as these are great tracks you should totally just listen to if you get the chance.

There are many changes unrelated to the fact that it’s a GBA game. The weapon triangle is added, for example, though it doesn’t apply to the basic weapons. Each character still starts off with an unbreakable basic weapon, but weapons like iron and silver will break now after their durability runs out. This was not present in SoV, though the game accounts for the fact that weapons will break. I actually don’t mind this change, as it adds another aspect of resource management to the game, without punishing the player too much as to leave a unit unarmed.

Map design is also improved by a lot compared to SoV. SoV had an issue where many of the maps were ported from Gaiden without improvements. Gaiden was released in 1992. Many of these maps may have been interesting then, or been forced due to hardware limitations on the NES, but they got boring and repetitive in SoV. Many maps were fields/swamps with some trees/bushes and a bridge. This is not the case in Sacred Echoes. Maps have gotten an overhaul, and while they still resemble the ones seen in SoV, there are more buildings, obstacles, walls, locked doors, treasure chests, etc. Overall, the maps are more interesting, and can make the game more challenging, but also rewarding and fun. In a way, it also allows for more strategy, as players can arrange units around walls and obstacles rather than move them in a block towards the enemy’s block. This wasn’t always the case in SoV, but it was easy to tell when it was, so the fact that this is gone is great. Maps also now have houses and villages to visit, giving the player more objectives.

In terms of win conditions for these maps, SoV only had ones involving killing the boss and routing all enemies (and killing the boss might have been one level). Sacred Echoes adds more objectives, like seize, defend, and survive, while also adding more boss kill objectives. This means a player doesn’t necessarily have to wait for that one unit out of the way to either approach or force the player to move all of their units toward it. It also makes gameplay more interesting, as the objective isn’t the same every time.

Sacred Echoes still features the world map, and players can control where the character moves. The level count is more streamlined, especially in the first two parts of the game, which were a little bloated in SoV in my opinion. Players no longer have to do filler levels with no story. There are some levels that are repeatable, which are not only useful in grinding XP but for classing up units. While SoV had 3D dungeons, Sacred Echoes turns them into ordinary combat levels. On these levels, class-up statues and stat fountains are objects that can be interacted with during combat. This simplifies the experience, and while the dungeon exploration was somewhat interesting in SoV, it is understandable how it could not be ported to the GBA, especially considering Sacred Echoes is only a romhack built on the Sacred Stones engine. I also don’t think I really miss the dungeons, as while they were interesting, the Sacred Echoes experience just feels cleaner to me. One thing I think the devs should have done with the world map is removing the respawning enemies on the map. While it is not as bad on Sacred Echoes due to how levels work, it is still just annoying to have to fight an enemy that respawns every time I move if I need to go back and do something. You don’t really have to move back in Sacred Echoes**, but it was something that seemed pretty pointless to me in SoV, and it would have made the experience cleaner if they had just been removed.

** This is as far as I have played in Sacred Echoes. When I had reached the point I currently am in Sacred Echoes, I hit a point where I had to do the same battle many times due to map navigation.

This is just a small bit of what Fire Emblem: Sacred Echoes has to offer. If you haven’t played it, I would extremely encourage checking it out, even if you have never played a Fire Emblem game before (though FE: Three Houses might be a better if you are completely new to grid-based combat). Even to players of Shadows of Valentia, I suggest you check it out. I played through Shadows of Valentia, and I am really enjoying Sacred Echoes. Well, that’s all I’ve got for today! Thought I would share a game that I have really been enjoying, a game based on a game that I really enjoyed, and a game that is playable on most hardware.

In order to play the game, you must obtain a copy of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and download the Sacred Echoes patch. You must then use this to patch Sacred Echoes to Sacred Stones. Plug the file into an emulator like MGBA, and you will be all good to go.

Reddit thread links to Instagram post which goes into detail. Monuments is probably one of my favorite bands. I slowly shift into new music as time goes on, but they have always been in my listening rotation. I feel like every single one of their albums are really good, even their newest one, and it's going to be sad to see them probably leave the scene forever. They had lost a lot of band members, and it was pretty much down to one original/core member. This member had to step away from the project (and it's definitely a good decision health-wise), and with the foundation of the band gone, they really had no choice. I know that the vocalist is already touring with other projects, and will probably end up leaving the band since he has so much on his plate already. Going into hiatus also means they likely won't be looking for new members, so it's probably over for them. I was excited to see what they had in store for their next album, and they are probably one of the only Djent/Prog/Core bands whose newer albums really interested me. Honestly if this were TesseracT or Periphery I don't know if I would feel as bad as I do about this, I just can't get into their newer albums. Idk I just wanted to vent and let possible fans know about what's going on with the band, and why the album they were writing will likely never release.

!sadness-abysmal

SALUTE

I have barely watched Breaking Bad

!07 !flag-trans-pride !07

As a reminder, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It's for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well. ----------

Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.

!

Let's have another good week everyone !lets-fucking-go !trans-ferret

It's about time I did a definitive post recommendation about this album. A while back I recommended the first two "movements" of this album, "Of Matter" and "Of Mind", though I have since deleted the account and it's posts, so here's the album. This time, it's the whole thing. Every "movement" (I don't know what else to call them), every song, all here. You may have seen me go on about this in the old posts, or in the trans mega, but this album is absolutely a must-listen for anyone. There's something in this album most people can enjoy, and many people enjoy everything about it. I truly believe it is a musical masterpiece in terms of songwriting, mixing, and atmosphere. The bass is present, the lead vocals and the harmonies are well-crafted and angelic, the riffs are catchy and attention-grabbing while also lending themselves to, and creating, the atmosphere. Even the saxophone on "Calabi-Yau" is great, and feels like a natural continuation of the movement it closes out, while being pretty amazing in it's own right. Listen to this album through, or pick a movement. Of Matter is a great opening and is probably still my favorite out of the four. Of Mind is also great, Nocturne and Exile are amazing tracks, and they will both appeal to different types of listeners. Of Reality is definitely listened to best following Of Mind (all movements benefit from album order, but Of Reality especially), though if you just want to hear the saxophone this may be the route for you. Of Energy is a great closing track, and you can really feel that it's the end, especially with Embers being the kind of closing track that it is. Really, Of Energy should be treated as one track, and it stands well on it's own to listen to as a single. HOWEVER, you really should just listen to the album through. If it's not your cup of tea, whatever, at least you tried, and you felt a taste of what Luna of Hexbear's favorite album is. You now know me just that little bit better. Obviously if you enjoyed it you got that out of it, right? If you want a nice album to follow up, though with a harsher and more raw feel, check out One by the same band. Vocals are very different (different vocalist), and it will definitely have a different feel, but I love this album as well, and you may too!

As per usual, here's the band credits:

• Vocals: Ashe O'Hara
• Guitars: Acle Kahney (lead), James Monteith (rhythm)
• Bass: Amos Williams
• Drums: Jay Postones

I don't even know what Genre to put this under, though it probably falls under the Prog umbrella (based). Found this while I was trying to expand my music listening beyond just Djent and Progcore (that's what I'm gonna call it). Not the kind of thing I thought I would like, but the riffs are just amazing. Rather than being fast and complex, they take their time and really make you feel the weight. In combination with great (and extremely unique) vocals, this album (Mariner) is definitely going to be on my music rotation. If I could find music similar to this, I would be a happy girl !aubrey-happy. It just hits different, in a good way, and it feels great to enjoy a (somewhat) different genre of music.

Listen for the riff at 4:20 it's EXACTLY what I'm describing above.

I see you! Don't forget to use those privacy front-end links !madeline-stare

(There's literally so many people on this project, here's the band wikipedia page, album (Mariner) was released in 2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Luna)

I was just going to share "Fractured", but you know what, this whole EP is only 20 minutes and is just !chefs-kiss. I already said why I loved it on the Delimiter single post, and I explained some things in the 7/8-7/14 trans mega if anyone wants to see a more elaborate explanation. For now, just enjoy the tunes, they're really good!

I shouldn't have to remind you to use the privacy front-ends by now, right?