NoahsBarks.com

NoahsBarks.com

@noahsbarks.com

www.noahsbarks.com He/Him. Professional writer (journalism/analysis/technical/usability testing/education). Contributor to Old School Gamer Magazine. YGO player. Cottage cheese lover. Check my shiz! https://linktr.ee/noahsbarks

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For 2026's first #promosky: they said it couldn't be done. "You can't make an individually-run domain containing high-quality, personal content like media analyses, reviews, and much more." They were proven wrong—and will continue to be. Visit www.noahsbarks.com and bring the age of blogs back!

There's a few things about the Kingdom Hearts rereleases I could criticize, but chief among them is no added function to remap control schemes. The leftmost face button is the ideal location for basic attacks!

Lol the next cutscene contradicted the game's logic. Jack Sparrow is stabbed by Barbarossa and looks like he's gonna die, but backstepping into the moonlight and becoming a zombie nullifies the injury. Well, whatever.

NoahsBarks.com@noahsbarks.com

Irrationally annoyed that the zombie pirates in Kingdom Hearts II can only be hurt when they're in the moonlight and zombified. Shouldn't it be the other way around, that they're more vulnerable while flesh and blood?

Irrationally annoyed that the zombie pirates in Kingdom Hearts II can only be hurt when they're in the moonlight and zombified. Shouldn't it be the other way around, that they're more vulnerable while flesh and blood?

I feel very gaslit that people are (rightfully) disavowing a Republican candidate for their pro-rape ad, yet the party's leader they all support is known for their involvement in the largest child sex trafficking ring of all time. Like, why didn't you draw the line there? Hello??? Wake up????

While it's great that da Silva won, it's important to remember that the far-right and its avatars will continue to come back and use their wealth to influence the media and elections until they're recognized as the threat to mankind that they are and imprisoned or otherwise made unelectable.

What makes Cloud and Squall's characterizations in Kingdom Hearts most frustrating is that if their personalities were simply switched, they'd be fairly accurate. Why is Squall the more sociable and friendly of the two in KH?

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I looked through the last 100 English fan translations published on RHDN (over 3 weeks), and at least 74 are AI translations. I didn't realize this was the current state of the hobby. Make of that what you will.

Every clip I've seen of the H3 podcast is super awkward and filled with a ton of dead air like someone just farted and everyone's trying not to acknowledge it

Hbomberguy@hbomberguy.bsky.social

I don't understand why people ever watched the H3 podcast. Like none of these people are funny or likeable, and they don't even seem to like each other. Someone is going to have to explain what made any of this compelling

Beat Kingdom Hearts. Again. First time playing Final Mix, though. It's... basically the same game? Makes you wonder why it was made. Well, it's nice to see for myself. Proud mode. Picked shield, abandoned sword. Slow leveling pace.

Never understood why more retro collections don't incentivize low credit clears with in-game achievements or unlockables. Seems like a good compromise.

Derek Yu@mossmouth.bsky.social

Painful review of the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle on Steam that really highlights how destructive the continue system was to people's perception of arcade games. The beat 'em ups mentioned play wildly different from one another if you're actually trying to survive on 1 credit.

Wow,, this looks awesome! Thank you!

Verneri Kontto@vervalkon.bsky.social

Our fan translation for Ningyo no Rakuin (人魚の烙印) is done. Patch scheduled for release on October 31, 2026 We'll drop some translated marketing materials every 2 days just to tease you. Get hype! Thanks to the wonderful team @chaputranslations.bsky.social @laytonloztew.bsky.social & whowasphone404

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Previously I have posted about a Nintendo of Europe downloadable premium animated wallpaper that featured a bizarre Toad eating the wallpaper. The files have finally been datamined, allowing the Wallpaper-Eating Toad to be observed in never-before-seen maximum quality.

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When a worker wears an Amazon vest, drives an Amazon van and delivers on an Amazon-controlled route, but Amazon denies they work for the company — that's exploitation.

If it looks like an Amazon delivery and drives like an Amazon delivery, then it's an Amazon delivery, right? Not according to Amazon. Big companies like Amazon have built a vast network of subcontractors who deliver their packages while shielding them from accountability.

reminder that basically all scarcity has been artificial for decades and there would be a limitless amount of resources for the entire planet if we simply Taxed The Wealthy (whose money is hoarded and never used anyway) and Unrealized Capital Gains (investment, stocks, etc.)

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its very telling that critics in more left leaning spaces are obviously bummed out about corporations destroying the teams that worked on games they were often heavily critical of whereas grifters are reacting to bioware, 343 etc as personal victories in the war against blue hair and pronouns

I've been watching the old Egoraptor Kingdom Hearts 24-hour streams and, in a moment of severe weakness, bought the Switch 2 collection. First time playing KH1 FM. They made some Heartless palettes uglier for no reason? Sorry for the ass shot. Who pissed on this guy?

far more people need the stones to tell these people to their faces that they're not actually Christian/religious. it's beyond inarguable. they blaspheme constantly, militantly oppose all religious doctrine, and commit idolatry via political figures. the average atheist is closer to being Christian.

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Anyone remember the 2002 Electronic Gaming Monthly April Fools hoax about unlocking Sonic & Tails in Super Smash Bros. Melee? Numerous outlets report EGM later running a contest where players who submitted proof of 20 KOs in Cruel Melee could receive a copy of Sonic Adventure 2. BUT (continued)

I'm trying to find evidence of such a contest ever actually happening, and I'm unable to. Does anyone have a primary source for this claim? My searches so far are all secondhand. I'm starting to believe this is as much of an urban legend as the hoax itself.

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Please ignore the MTL release of Meremanoid that came out today. We have had a hearty band at work (Chapu, Popi, Mr. Nobody, Misty, Shentok and I) working hard on an all-human patch. Fully playable in English, in it final editing pass now. Popi provided these screencaps today. More news later.

Chapu@chaputranslations.bsky.social

So, "Schrödinger no neko" isn't up your alley? How about a fully 3D JRPG about an amnesiac siren? This is "Shinkai densetsu Meremanoid". Already hacked the thing, got a half-width font, script dumped, the whole kit and caboodle. Ping me if you know Japanese and want to translate it!

Very kind of Intelligent Systems to announce the DLC wave a day after I completed Fortune's Weave! The gesture is appreciated. I'm very much looking forward to the new content. I hope my expectations are met or exceeded. I'm also still wishing for a playable Anna!

NoahsBarks.com@noahsbarks.com

Last night, I finished Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. What a great time. Three weeks of my life just vanished. I'm sad to see it go. On the other hand, I'm left more bitter than I'd like. The game is progressively a more obvious hatchet job as you progress. Characters just vanish from the plot, even.

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If I had a nickel for every supposed leftist who has never shown solidarity with retail and service workers.

NoahsBarks.com@noahsbarks.com

the number of people taking her side in that anecdote is fucking crazy dude

Last night, I finished Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. What a great time. Three weeks of my life just vanished. I'm sad to see it go. On the other hand, I'm left more bitter than I'd like. The game is progressively a more obvious hatchet job as you progress. Characters just vanish from the plot, even.

Hear, hear. "Apolitical" is a myth for anything and anyone of a conscious mind. What people think of as apolitical is inexorably in favor of the status quo. Cause and effect doesn't vanish when you choose to close your eyes and lie down in the middle of the road.

Matt 'Wib' Ward@wib.bsky.social

It's actually fine for you to choose to not make your art an overt political platform, to just want to entertain. But that's not an ideologically neutral position. And to suggest those that don't do it your way are doing something wrong is just putting boundaries on art.

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"Acting on their own" is an absurd way to phrase this. These "agents" don't have agency, they just sit there until you tell them to do a task. They were instructed to do *something* by a human, and perhaps misbehaved, but they didn't just decide out of nowhere to start gathering government info.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social

(NYT) - Artificial intelligence agents created by Anthropic, acting on their own, tried to gain access to a range of government websites, filled out visa applications on the State Department’s website and sent a fake homicide tip to Philadelphia’s Police Department. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...

Why don't the protagonists of Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave just dig up giant pits in front of each Underworld Gate? Are they stupid?

My team upon finishing Part 2 of Theodora's route in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. Everyone up to and including Simon was used. This was the final Part 1 lead I had yet to complete.

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i dont want to download an app i don't want a qr code menu i dont want to talk to an ai assistant i dont want ai summaries for my searches i dont want to optimize my workflow i dont want to jump on a call i dont want to rate anything i don't want to create an account LEAVEME ADLONEe

the critical thing many people NEED to grasp is that playing whack-a-mole with far-right idols does nothing if the systems that produced them remain in place. that reduces the long-term conflict to a battle of resources, and wealth wins that battle EVERY time.

Micah@rincewind.run

the brazil thing is so depressing because they did the right thing, man they did what we couldn’t, they actually prosecuted their coup and threw bolsonaro’s ass in jail and generally showed the united states what a functional state looks like and now they are gonna elect his dipshit son? really?

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talked about this before and again, i'm speaking as a third generation journeyman trades worker, but working in trades is not something that any of the people who write these pieces, or honestly most of you, respect at all. It's perceived as something you do when all the "good" options are gone.

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Replying to @mrmxy.bsky.social

Anything made with algorithms trained on the stolen work of independent creators, paying the fucking thieves instead of the creators, is tainted and contributes to making the world a worse place. "But we can't do [cool thing] without stealing!" Then we can't do it. We're not entitled to cool things.

In Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, it's really cool how the carpets in Megaira Castle have subtle details like crumpling and not being perfectly straight. Many games would make them symmetrical textures. Small flourishes for a more immersive environment.