Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Ricky Bieniek

@riccaby.bsky.social

150 followers 150 following 1K posts

36/Him Cartoonist and pixel artist. Loves FFVII, Ace Attorney and Miriel (Fire Emblem).

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · May 30

I originally designed Meta & Nilla in 2004! That means 2024 marks 20 years of these two dorks! I dunno the exact date I created either of them, but Meta was designed first, probably two or three months before Nilla was. I gotta try to draw 'em a bunch before the year ends!

collage of 35 images of Meta & Nilla, spanning from 2004 to the present day, featuring both pixel art and drawings. Some are sketches, but most are in full color and many are drawn on green and orange backgrounds.

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 11h

absolutely awful. still probably better than Wrestling

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 1d

Meta & Nilla both have their black tights on this year for a very royal Halloween, as The Princess of Cannock and the Princess-Protector of Hallownest!

Drawing of Meta & Nilla in their Halloween costumes. Nilla is dressed as the Princess of Cannock from Dragon Quest II; she's standing on one foot, smiling and winking, and holding up two fingers in a "peace" sign, or "V" for "Victory". Meta is dressed as Hornet from Hollow Knight and Hollow Knight: Silksong. He's standing in a neutral pose with the needle weapon at the ready.

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 2d

I don't think Pokémon's coming. maybe Colosseum and Gale of Darkness in like 4 years

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 2d

Bubsy made it to NSO before Goemon or Diddy Kong Racing and I'm fine about it

Reposted by Ricky Bieniek

Fami @famimatsu.bsky.social · 3d

Ready for Halloween 🎃🍭

#art #originalcharacter #ocsky #chibi #sheisexcitedfortrickortreaters

Kazuko dressed in a cute witch type outfit. The skirt, shoes, and ribbons are a dark purple, while the rest is a balance of black and white. She is also holding a silly little star wand and a pumpkin bucket full of treats.

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 2d

what a weird thing they did. there's something vaguely ominous about a short film called "close to you" that reveals over the course of two days that this cute baby taking their first steps is actually surrounded by hundreds of tiny invisible creatures trying to steal their things

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 2d

definitely, I’m just saying they can do stuff like that and add little nods and cameos to put them in (almost) any order they want. I could totally be wrong

Also Torneko & Ragnar were in the original DQVIII, I realize I worded that ambiguously, sorry. Stella & Erdrick’s Sword were added for 3DS

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I’ll be the first to admit it’s a shaky theory but I could see them adding stuff to each of them to kind of tie them together and make more sense of it

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I’m gonna quickly get out of my depth talking about the Dragon Quest timeline when I’ve only played three of them, but I know they all have references to each other that don’t make sense. Cloudsgate Citadel has been in III since the GBC, and VIII 3DS has Erdrick’s Sword, Stella and Torneko & Ragnar

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I never tweeted it and now I've already seen someone on Youtube beat me to it, but I had this theory that Dragon Quest VII is being remade now because after XI they're remaking all the games in chronological order. my guess is VIII, IX, VI, IV, V, but I imagine something will be somewhere unexpected

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I'll fully cop to the fact that Even If It Kills Me, the first album of theirs I bought, is still probably my favorite

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I won't have a fully-formed opinion until I've listened to it a few more times but on first listen I think I'd put it above I Am the Movie, Commit this to Memory and Panic Stations.

That stretch of Even if it Kills Me, My Dinosaur Life and Go is a tough mountain to climb though.

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I'm in the middle of listening to it right now because I only learned it existed twenty minutes ago.

It's real good!

Anyway, enjoy your vacation, man.

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

If you're gonna come here and doomscroll while you're on vacation, I'm gonna take this opportunity to redirect you and ask if you knew Motion City Soundtrack put out a new album two and a half weeks ago?! Because that's the kind of information that keeps me going and maybe it would be useful to you

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 3d

I would love to have those DS ports preserved just so I don’t have to pay $100 for them (or play them on mobile)

And they do still look great!

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve grown to really love the HD-2D art style, I think it is really gorgeous

But you know what video game art style goes really hard actually is sprites in low-poly 3D environments like the Dragon Quest and Pokémon games on DS, or Final Fantasy Tactics or Breath of Fire. Or Xenogears or Grandia

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 4d

"Aizawa can't erase quirks while he's blinking because while he's blinking he's looking at himself and erasing his own quirk"

a man in a white shirt is sitting at a table with his hands folded and smiling .

Alt: scene from Friends of Joey sitting in a chair, smiling, when his eyes suddenly go wide and he opens his mouth in realization.

media.tenor.com

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 4d

Rolled credits at just under 39 hours, so, okay, I guess there’s not much to that 2nd overworld.

Amazing game! Actually my first time finishing a Dragon Quest (even though I played and loved VIII and IX)

Looking forward to 1+2!

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 4d

“All right, everyone, you can either be the right color or the right letter, but not both”

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 6d

I'm having a grand old time with DQ3 so far, but uh, I'm currently at 31 hours and just set foot in the, uh. second overworld. so I think I might be. in trouble here.

Screenshot from "How Long to Beat" showing that Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is rated 32 hours for Main Story, 44 Hours for Main + Extra, and 61.5 hours for Completionist.

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 6d

Just to be clear, Mario Kart Arcade GP is not part of bad game month, right?

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 7d

In this dream I had to call my dad to explain that while out driving with friends a fleet of helicopters and airships blew up a building right next to us so we had to pull over to a Greek restaurant that had a bomb shelter and I didn’t know when I’d be home 🙃

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · 7d

Every time I have to pull out my cell phone in a dream, for some reason it’s always my old Razr flip phone. And I’m always like “Ah, shit, why did I grab this one?!”

Reposted by Ricky Bieniek

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · Oct 1

thread of Meta & Nilla's previous Halloween costumes, starting from 2014-2015

Meta and Nilla walking down a street at night, holding hands. They pass a haunted house, black cat, and jack-o-lantern. Meta is dressed as female Wii Fit Trainer and holding a sack full of candy, and Nilla is dressed as male Villager holding a bug net full of candy. Both characters were revealed for Super Smash Bros. in 2014.

Black-and-white drawing of Meta and Nilla dressed as Marty and Jennifer from Back to the Future. Meta raises his sunglasses up to his forehead, and he and Nilla smile at each other.

Sketch of Meta & Nilla wearing tacky "sexy" halloween costume versions of their normal outfits. Nilla is wearing her normal belts as suspenders, booty shorts, fishnet stockings and high heeled sneakers. Meta is wearing tiny sunglasses, arm stockings, and a skirt over jeggings.

Blac-and-white drawing of Meta and Nilla dressed as Undyne and Alphys from Undertale. Both are wearing their casual "date" clothes, Meta in Undyne's leather jacket and scarf and Nilla in Alphys's polkadot dress. Nilla is hunched over with her arms in a "T-Rex" pose, mimicking Alphys's posture. Meta has a wide, toothy grin similar to Undyne's.

Reposted by Ricky Bieniek

Ricky Bieniek @riccaby.bsky.social · Oct 1

2016-2019

Meta, Nilla and Janice dressed as Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, and Athena Cykes, respectively. Nilla has her hands on her hips and is winking. Janice looks at the other two with admiration.

Meta and Nilla dressed as Spring Man from ARMS and Android 21 from Dragon Ball Fighters. Meta holds one arm up, flexing his muscles, while Nilla adjusts her glasses and smiles at him.

Meta and Nilla dressed as Mega Man and Bowsette. Meta holds up his Mega Buster and Nilla holds up both hands, displaying her "claws." Her mouth is open wide, baring false fangs.

Meta and Nilla dressed as Terry Bogard and Dorothea Arnault. Meta pinches the brim of his baseball cap in his fingertips, tilting it up and out of his face. Nilla pinches the brim of her hat, as well, but tilts it down and over her face as she winks at the camera.