Let's face it people. NEStalgia may be the most popular original game on BYOND right now, but it doesn't even get half as many players as any of the top five Anime games. The only conclusion that I can come to is that those Anime games must be doing things a heck of a lot better than we are right now. Therefore, NEStalgia must adapt.

First off I'm getting rid of most of the HUDs. Why? Because screw HUDs, that's why. Check out the before and after:

BEFORE


AFTER

Oooohhh yeahhhh. Now we're talking. Bet you've never seen a BYOND Status panel like that before.

---

Also, a lot of players have been complaining that a simple button press allows you to interact with NPCs. So that's gotta go. Now to talk to NPCs in NEStalgia you just right click on them and select a verb from the list:


Bonus feature: You can even "Vote Mute" NPCs now!!!

---

What's more is that NEStalgia's item shops were way too confusing. I mean come on people, it's only been 18 years since Windows 3.1, and we don't need to reinvent the wheel here. BYOND Anime style shops are the right way to go:

BEFORE


AFTER

---

Now let's talk about mapping. I know that I put a lot of effort into making detailed maps that "make sense" and "look good", but that's just not what people want. So for the next version of NEStalgia I'm just going to start cranking out 200x200 maps and filling them with empty space. Bigger is better right?

BEFORE


AFTER

---

NEW FEATURE: Now the game will let you know when you're at the edge of a map by letting you bump up against a huge black void. Score!

---

Graphics are also really lacking in NEStalgia. Seeing as BYOND Anime games mix and match graphics with different styles all the time, that must be the best way to go. So allow me to introduce you to NEStalgia's new towns:


It's 100% better when the resolution and perspective don't even come close to matching!

---

Last but not least, the battle system. I'll apologize upfront to BYOND Anime for basically stealing this idea, but imitation is the best form of flattery. Instead of having to battle monsters and complete quests to gain levels in NEStalgia, now you can hit a simple verb to meditate or do push-ups. So much more fun!!!


The push-up animation is super awesome!

---

That's not to say that we're not keeping the battle system. We're just going to fill it out with some better opponents.


Combat isn't boring anymore!

---

Some other features that we'll be implementing:

• We're going to completely stop worrying about compressing our graphics. It's a psychological trick - people think that your game is a lot bigger and better when it's a 50 MB download!
• We're getting rid of the story, and we're going to have someone who is a Master of atrocious grammar and poor spelling rewrite it for us. Everyone knows that BYOND Anime games have the best storylines!
• Screw balanced stats and maximum level limits. You can now level up infinitely in NEStalgia, because that means that the game is more advanced!
• Since we'll be using some copyrighted material now, we're not going to officially sell subscriptions. Instead we'll just ask for donations on the side in return for perks in game, because that's not the same thing.
• Lots of additional emo hairstyles to choose from!
• Lots of PWipes! Why bother taking the time to update savefiles?

NEStalgia is about to become such a better game. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the top BYOND Anime developers for setting a great example and teaching me how to be a better designer!!!


**************

EDIT!!! BYOND's best looking action game (regrettably not an Anime) is following suit!!! Let's start the revolution!