17 copies of Wii Fit

If I can't be yours

really enjoyed the chaos vs order conflict proposed by Higgs and APAS in DS2. A lot of the other plot beats and themes felt recycled from the first game (which isn't to say they weren't effective), but the APAS plot and how it ends up being an overcorrection to Higgs' nihilism was really gripping.

A lot of what goes on in the world of Death Stranding is morally dubious, and Kojima is careful to never comment too objectively on it (the chiral network, Lucy's infidelity, the sacrificial BB's, etc). There's a careful balance to reconnecting the world after the Stranding, and APAS shows us how getting tunnel-vision regarding progress and safety can strip us of the humanity that makes life even worth living. The sequence when the President lays out his plans for the Chilralverse to Sam actually made me feel sick because of the parallels to the normalization of socializing entirely online and just how isolating that can feel.

Plus the way it informs the mid-series 9 "and I save people" revelation both reminding The Doctor of his core values but also letting some of Ten's arrogance seep in, with similar consequences

Very very good. Kind of just makes me more bitter about the existence of the reality war lmao rtd the man that you are

For several years I was always kind of confused by the ending of Xenosaga 3. I understood what was literally happening (at least as much as the next guy) but in a series so steeped in symbolism and metaphor I could never really grasp what the conclusion of the trilogy was trying to say, and why it had to be so damn sad.

Over the past couple months it finally hit me that the finale and ending sequence is this absurd, beautiful depiction of Shion's unhealthy coping mechanism through KOS-MOS becoming a genuine source of love decoupled from Kevin and the trauma of the past, then saying goodbye because, finally, Shion doesn't need her anymore. She has a support system through the party that she didn't have before, a group that will stand by her into the future which is immediately put to the test when she has to summon the strength to let her brother go, which she does.

It's heart wrenching and visceral because that's what the entire story has really been about: Shion learning to conquer her trauma in a healthy way and face the future in a brutal, unforgiving world.