iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I never realized they replaced shulk’s voice actor in this scene of de

Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

But looking back on those scenes, there’s not much of a relationship being built here. It’s mostly just Vandham talking at Rex - purely instructional

Vandham: “Hmmm… Rex, you’re a salvager, ain’t ya?”

Rex: “Yeah.”

V: “You musta fished out your share of military supplies, right? You fine with that?”

R: “Nah, I don’t wanna get involved with it.”

V: “It’s all the same. Compasses, valves for ether stoves… Armies need all of these things. That bread you’re eating? It’s made from ruska flour. Supplied by the Ardainian government. This world’s full of war. Don’t matter if you’re a soldier or not. As long as you’re alive… you’re in the war, some way or another. Don’t you think?

R: “Um, I…”

V: “Life can be cruel. Crueler than you know. That’s why I set up this little band, so I could protect the people I care about. Rex. You’re the Driver of the Aegis. The whole world’s gonna try and scalp you, you realize that? How ya gonna live, when you got everyone gunning for ya? It’d be easy to run. All you’d need to do is ditch that girl.”

Vandham: “My crew at the village, we think we’re fighting for justice. But, a just fight? I’m tellin’ you now, there’s no such thing. What people call justice? It’s just an excuse to fight. War is war. The more you stand up for yourself, the more people wanna fight you. Before you know it, you’re in a war. Listen. All I’m saying is, we got our fight, and he[Akhos]’s got his.”

Rex: “But what he’s doing is-“

V: “Yeah, it’s bad. But war ain’t about right and wrong. Power. That’s all it is. And power can take many different forms. It depends on the heart of its wielder. If we don’t use our power, just ‘cos we’re scared of it, we’re done for. As for who’s right and who’s wrong… No one knows for sure. So, all we can do, is protect what’s important.”

R: “I think I understand.”

V: “We all got our own war, kid.”

R: “My… war?”

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Very late to the party, but I had a lot of fun making these!

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

And here’s her affinity chart!

Riley Affinity Chart

To Elma: Looks up to her
From Elma: Feels safe around her

To Lin: Wishes she wasn't so hard on herself
From Lin: Bonds over love of sci-fi

To Irina: Has a crush on her
From Irina: Respects/admires her

To Gwin: Like a little brother
From Gwin: She's so cool!

To Doug: Skell buddies
From Doug: She's chill

To Lao: Appreciates his melancholy vibe
From Lao: We can be sad together

To L: Please help me get to know Mira!
From L: Tell me about the natural wonders of earth!

To/from Nagi: Mutual respect

To Frye: This guy needs to slow down...
From Frye: Loosen up, will ya?

To/from Phog: Unexpected kindred spirit

To Al: So dramatic...
From L: Not sure she has the heart

To Alexa: Top-tier yapper /pos
From Alexa: Skell buddies!

To Hope: Let me be your rock
From Hope: I can relax around her

To Murderess: Can't believe she's a curator...
From Murderess: Chill out already

To HB: At least he's earnest..
From HB: At least she's competent...

To Yelv: He's rude, but I'm oddly drawn to him
From Yelv: Let's keep it going, pard!

To Boze: The woooooorst
From Boze: A great student

To Mia: Why are you like this...
From Mia: She always has my back

To Celica: I must protect her
From Celica: She's so sweet!

To/from Neilnail: Best friends

To/from Liesel: Mutual respect

To Ga Jiarg: Wants to help him relax
From Ga Jiarg: Honorable warrior

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Been in a xenoblade mood lately so I wanted to share a bit about my cross, Riley! #WhiteWhaleCrewList #XBX_Cross

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Though I will say I think they could’ve done more with this idea. Most of my issues with this game’s story are due to it getting somewhat weaker in its later stages (see alt text for spoiler talk)

While I really enjoyed Melinoe’s self-esteem issues early on, they become less impactful as the game goes on. This is mainly because Melinoe is mostly concerned about how she is not strong enough, in the literal sense. Melinoe doesn’t have a lot of faults; she’s confident, capable, and strong-willed.

And while I do think this makes her pretty cool, I also think it means she doesn’t have a whole lot to learn; I don’t think she develops all that much. Probably her most significant “issue” in the story was not being willing to grant Chronos any mercy.

It takes Zagreus convincing her to let him try getting through to Chronos before they go for the more violent route. But while I do like Zagreus having a significant role in this story, getting Chronos to attempt redemption feels like mostly Zagreus’ doing, not Melinoe’s. Yes, Melinoe needs to defeat Chronos in battle several times to enable Zagreus, but I wish Zagreus’ willingness to put mercy first had resulted in a more significant character moment for Melinoe

I also feel like the need for the game to remain a roguelike after the events of the story is to the detriment of Melinoe’s character. In H1, some of Zagreus’ most interesting moments are after the main story, with how his relationship with Hades changes.

But in H2, Melinoe never really gets a chance to look beyond her task at what her life will be. There are some good moments between her and Hecate, and between her and Chronos. But because Melinoe has been so locked in on her task for her entire life, I wish the game had explored more of what she decides to do when that task is finally complete

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Game #9 - Hades 2 The last game I played this year was also probably my favorite. When I first started Hades 2, I was worried it’d be “just” more Hades, but those fears quickly vanished

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Game #8 - Silksong What a difficult legacy for a game to live up to. Not just a sequel to what’s considered among the best of its genre, but also needing to deliver on a uniquely strange hype cycle. And yet, Team Cherry knocked it out of the park once again

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Game #7 - Mario Kart World I’m a huge MK fan, and this is the most fun I’ve had with a mario kart game since Wii. The most important thing about a MK game is how the driving feels, and while I doubt the series will ever get back to the highs of Wii’s handling, World is

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Also just look at this portrait of smug Lea, she’s the best

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Game #6 - Crosscode I’ve heard such great things about this game, and I’m glad I finally decided to give it a shot. Excellent top-down 2D adventure, with really fun combat, movement, puzzles, and dungeons

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Game #5 - Xenoblade X DE Even months later, I still can’t believe this game is real. A remaster of one of my all-time favorite games that I never thought would actually happen. And boy did they deliver

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Games #2-4 - Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy Even though it’s completely out of my wheelhouse, I’ve been wanting to try this series for a while based purely on vibes. And man oh man am I glad I finally decided to check it out. These games rock

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Game #1 - Portal A classic that my friends have been trying to get me to play for a while. imo it’s definitely worthy of its acclaim! Tight level design and satisfying mechanical progression. Doesn’t overstay its welcome either

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

MY CROPS ARE FLOURISHING MY DEPRESSION IS CURED AND THE SUN IS SHINING

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

pumpkin cheesecake brownies are a family favorite, highly recommend!

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Hades 2 and Silksong in the same month?

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Another 5 years of three houses discourse?

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

new FE protagonist: “I only want to fight so I can save my father’s life”

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Takeaways for X specifically

I think my main frustrations with chapter 13 come from how it serves as a follow-up for the original 12 chapters. As I mentioned before, the broad strokes for this chapter make a lot of sense and feel like natural areas of focus. But certain things leave somewhat of a bitter taste in my mouth.

The main one being that we’re moving on from Mira. While the ending of the original chapter 12 was an unsatisfying ending, it left a tantalizing hook for a sequel. And the mystery being tied to “something about this planet”. Well, as it turns out, the persistence of the humans’ consciousnesses had nothing to do with Mira itself…definitely an odd writing choice considering the setup.

To me, one of the most exciting prospects about a potential X sequel was the opportunity to dive into Mira’s secrets. What else is on this planet? More continents to explore? Another civilization of humans? What about the origins of L and the nopon? What’s the meaning behind the appearance of the Telethia? Why did all the alien races end up on Mira specifically? How was this planet created, and why does it have protections like a space-time barrier?

Whether the writers decide to move on from these questions is TBD - the ending of chapter 13 doesn’t necessarily mean these questions will never be answered, but at least to me they seem to have been put aside. And this is such a shame - not only is there plenty of material here for a sequel, but also, the ending of ch13 retroactively makes the buildup of these questions less meaningful (at least to me), now that it’s unlikely they’ll lead to any answers

I think what really throws me off about ch13 though, is that the idea of the X cast having to abandon Mira is a genuinely interesting plot point. After all the effort they undertook to be able to make Mira their new home, the humans would naturally form attachments to that world. The sidequests leading up to the exodus demonstrated how people react in different ways to such dire circumstances. I would’ve loved to see more nuanced perspectives from the main cast as well.

But the placement of this type of story in X’s overall plot is pretty jarring. I mean, as far as the story’s concerned, we just defeated the ganglion 5 minutes ago. In fact, from an IRL perspective, it’s tough to be able to finally return to Mira only to be told we’re now leaving it…within the same game.

Again, interesting stuff, but imo this storyline would’ve worked so much better if it was given time to breathe. Imagine after chapter 12, the cast is given space to exist in (relative) peacetime. Imagine we get to explore more of Mira, potentially finding and helping another civilization of humans. In what ways would our beloved cast grow more attached to Mira, when they’re not constantly fighting? And instead, have more time to savor its beauty? We could hear more about Elma, L, Tatsu, Celica, and Neilnail. We could have time to dig into this those questions left at the end of ch12 without the pressure exerted by a new big bad. Like how do people react to Lao being gone? And what about his legitimate concerns with Project Exodus? Do we need to take action against the provisional government, now that the matter of the lifehold is settled? We could explore the mysteries of Mira, and dig more into interpersonal conflict from the fallout of ch12. But unfortunately no, for whatever reason, we need to move on immediately

My guess is the ending of chapter 13 was originally the plan for the ending of X, but also that there were supposed to be more chapters between 12 and the events of DE’s 13. So then rather than expand the missing chapters into a sequel, they decided to fit what they could into chapter 13 and move on to events that connect X to the wider series. If this were the case, it’d explain why ch13 has some good scenes, but ultimately feels rushed.

If Monolith doesn’t have the bandwidth or interest to continue the story of Mira, I can respect that. I just really felt with this definitive edition that we finally had the chance to conclude this story. While the ending we got does provide some important closure, and poses some interesting questions for the X cast going forward, I can’t help but feel like a significant part of X was abandoned. I guess I’ll wait and see what they do with the X cast in the future. For now it’s a bittersweet feeling

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Implications for the series

Before talking about X on its own, I want to talk about how this chapter fits into the wider context of Xenoblade. I think the most likely outcome is that the blue light we saw at the end of Future Redeemed is the White Whale 2, and the next Xenoblade game will involve the casts of various games coming together (in some way) on this new planet.

Another possibility, and probably my preferred option, is that the White Whale 2 arrives at a different planet from what we see in FR, but within the same universe. I think this could leave room for a sequel to X before fully integrating it into the numbered series in a future game.

In terms of how to integrate X, I think the dematerialization events + White Whale 2 were a perfectly fine way to do it. It doesn’t feel shoehorned in like a lot of people were worried about. I kind of like X being its own thing, but from a game development perspective, the possibility for having one larger integrated series might be best for the future, rather than having multiple very similar series in parallel. I also think that, if this is their way of connecting X, then this is probably the last “definitive edition” that needed to happen

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Just unlocked the character from A Challenger Approaches

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Taking my time with Xenoblade XDE but this game remains stunning

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Anyone who wants to play some xenoblade x online, feel free to add me! Might be playing kinda sporadically, but would love to tackle some online missions

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

I still can’t believe this game is real 😭

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Flipping through the xenoblade x artbook again, it’s really a shame we’re not likely to see Tanaka in another xeno project. I love his style, especially how he drew Irina and Lao here w/messier hair that didn’t really translate to the in-game models. We definitely missed out on some personality

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

need the high-quality render so I can make a lebron-wade edit with luxaar and the great one

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

idk why but forward-facing luxaar is so funny to me

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Game #6 - Balatro The last game in this little series is an incredibly well-designed deck-building roguelike. I picked this game up on a whim and it ended up being some of the most fun I’ve had with a game all year

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Game #5 - Echoes of Wisdom Pretty fun game with a unique approach to puzzle solving. I think the echoes mechanic is a really cool idea with a lot of room for creative solutions

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Game #4 - Monster Hunter Rise This was my first experience with monster hunter, and I had an absolute blast. It’s a series I’ve wanted to try for a while, but for whatever reason didn’t get around to it till now

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Game #3 - Tunic Pretty good 2D action-adventure game. The primary mechanic of information being revealed through an in-game manual that uses a language you have to learn how to decipher is pretty neat. It adds a unique layer to the puzzles/exploration

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Game #2 - Xenogears Man, I really don’t know how to feel about this one. As a huge fan of xenoblade, I was pretty excited to experience the series’ roots and to see how monolith’s vision has evolved

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Oak 🍂 @oak-leaf.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Game #1 - Hyper Light Drifter A really solid 2D action game with really tight movement and combat. Excellent boss design and strong artstyle. Not much of a narrative to speak of but not every game needs one

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