Crossovers are difficult things to do. Even if two companies manage to come together to tell a joint story, the results can often be bland, underwhelming, and needlessly antagonistic. But there is a 100% official crossover that I hold as the gold goddamn standard - the proof it can be done!
Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney!
First thing’s first - this was a good match to begin with. Slamming together two entirely disparate things, like - i dunno just a random and entirely hypothetical example - Archie Comics and the goddamn Punisher is, put kindly, going to be an uphill battle. But these are both Nintendo-published game series with distinct characters, pleasant visual styles, and a focus on solving puzzles to untangle mysteries. It was a beautiful pairing.
Even still, crossovers take work to do right. That work was very obviously undertaken here, with the dedication to a middle ground. On a minor level, small tweaks were made to both art styles so they would mesh together more cleanly. More importantly, while both characters demonstrate their skills, neither is on their home turf. In creating an environment unfamiliar to both Phoenix and Layton, the narrative gives equal weight to both. This extends to the visual design as well, providing a backdrop that makes them both look distinct without seeming incongruous. Perfectly balanced.
Something I think works especially well is the fusion of gameplay. The real meat of an Ace Attorney game is of course the courtroom segments; some fans find the investigation halves to be a bit tedious. Similarly, Professor Layton games are fairly light on gameplay, consisting of little more than wandering around solving puzzles. Personally, I found that wholesale replacing Phoenix’s investigation gameplay with Layton’s was surprisingly effective for its simplicity, adding a refreshing pace and novelty to both. That, it was great to see Layton applying his mild-mannered but irrefutable logic to a tense courtroom setting.
Speaking of, what really makes this (and any) crossover work are the characters. There’s contrasts to be drawn between an unflappable British gentleman™ and a long-suffering big city lawyer, sure. But despite the needlessly antagonist title (getting that energy out of the way early??), this is a supremely chill meetup. Layton and Phoenix are both dependable Lawful Good types who just want to expose the truth and defend the innocent. The mutual respect is almost immediate. They even swap sidekicks! Maya follows Layton around for a bit while Luke gives Phoenix a hand. It’s a really fun four-person dynamic with almost no bickering or friction. That’s super wholesome to see.
And of course, the plot is… well, frankly, the plot is fucking absurd.
But the plots in both of these franchises are already absurd! So that’s actually full marks. If it wasn’t absurd it wouldn’t be accurate.
tl;dr This is the best crossover I’ve ever experienced in my life and I might’ve just talked myself into replaying it
January 2019 Vs January 2020
A new place to display my collection is a must, they're looking a bit cramped. 🌸💮
Kat: Personally, I blame you.
Emiliana: How can it possibly my fault?
Kat: Because otherwise it would be my fault. And that can't be right.
after hanging out for a few hours, she had to go because her three kids were home from school ♥
This is one of those posts I hope never ever dies
i read the article on netflix that was like “we lost 2.6 billion dollars last year because of people sharing their password :’(((”
so lets see. netflix apparently has 139,260,000 accounts, with each and every one of those accounts paying anywhere from $13 to $16 a month, which means each account is generating about $156 to $192 every year, which all adds up to, unless i messed up my math, $21,724,560,000 generated every year. Twenty one billion dollars, at least.
so fuck you and fuck your crocodile tears lmao. you’re never going to make any of your bad decisions this seem justified.
You know what I’m still annoyed with this because no, Netflix, you did not lose a single fucking penny. You did not lose money from people sharing their accounts, they did not physically take the money from you. Your profits did not go down, they just didn’t rise as much as you wanted them to, and you consider that a catastrophic loss of billions of dollars. Fuck off.
read math in your media carefully and always ask yourself
In this case, the headline should have read “Netflix potentially could have made an extra 11% profit if accounts used on all shared devices payed individually”
gummycore
americatress
would you guys like to see the greatest beanie baby poem ever written
For the record, this is runner:
Not at all what I thought it would be.
Exactly what I thought it would be.
Do Not call me a liar on my own post again!
It is a real poem! And it is magnificent.
