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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

@katewillaert.bsky.social

13K followers 1.3K following 3.6K posts

(WILL-ert) | Investigating forgotten gaming history | Creator of the greatest Metroid video on Youtube | Asexual, autistic, artistic, 🏳️‍⚧️(she/her) | Linktree: https://katewillaert.com/link-tree

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · Oct 19

Writers: repost a random piece your proud of.

On top of the collab with Kevin Bunch mentioned below, another piece I'm very proud of is this exploration of Metroid's likely-but-unconfirmed influences beyond the Alien films.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGwW...

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 10h

It's never not weird to me that people voluntarily elect to make their hair behave the way mine does.

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Reposted by 🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

Error 52 @error52.bsky.social · 12h

Also for a fun non-game example the English translation of Don Quixote that's on Project Gutenberg is from the 1800s and starts with a translator's note talking about the original English translation

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 14h

Do I even want to know who this person is?

🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

You could say This One Takes The Cake.

🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

If you ever have the opportunity to explain to a Boomer the history of some media from before their time that influenced the media of their youth, it feels exactly like doing the same with Gen Z or Gen a, but makes you feel like an immortal walking the Earth.

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

For anyone unfamiliar, the Rushing Beat series was remixed (rather than localized) into games like Peace Keepers on the SNES. I have a particular fondness for that game, and keep waiting for retro fans to realize how amazing the games were and do a proper translation.

Reposted by 🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

Jason Dyer @jdyer.bsky.social · 2d

Question for anyone who has a copy of Suspended:

Does anyone else have this particular document in their box? It is in mine, but I don't see it on any of the "documentation" sites

Letter from "Contra Central" including details about how to REPLACE wires, and also how there is a bad cable left behind by the predecessor who tried to kill everyone

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

Not sure how I feel about this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLRo...

Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers - Official Demo Trailer | IGN Live 2025

YouTube video by IGN

www.youtube.com

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

So my controversial take is that I prefer the distinction in film, b/c if I'm not sure whether I want to see a movie, I don't want the movie spoiled. But if I just watched it and want to read a deeper analysis, I *want* those spoilers discussed. So I have no use for writing that tries to be both.

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

I think it comes down to the difference between review and criticism. IMO a review is written for a casual audience who is interested in that genre, to help them decide whether to play it. Criticism is written for a discerning audience who want to contemplate what the game does for the medium.

🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

Is that real? Where do you find those deals?

🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

That's not at all how I read the quote, but maybe that's just because I'm seeing it out of context.

When I was younger I used to think my opinion was the objectively correct one, anything I liked was good anything I didn't was bad. This read to me like someone who similarly grew out of that phase.

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Reposted by 🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

the 1st rule of Wife Club @cpi.pinball.horse · 2d

I just signed up for this with my Ottawa Library Card. More info for #ottawa peeps here: collections.biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/resources...
Link says only 8 movies per month, but Kanopy currently says 12, either way its all free and more than enough for me. Some rare gems here too.
#filmsky

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 2d

Respectively, it has nothing to do with a lack of conviction. It's being able to analyze and put into words why one had a positive or negative reaction, whether it was about craft or simply how it resonated with ones own experiences or brain type. That's what makes for the most thoughtful criticism.

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Reposted by 🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

Sam Derboo @samderboo.com · 2d

Back with more #TracingTheInfluence uploads! This week I'll focus on adding more things people have shown me in the months since I've relaunched it. I'm not so strong on comic book references myself, so this discovery comes courtesy of @rustyshackles.bsky.social samderboo.com/tracing.php?...

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Reposted by 🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

Jeremy Parish, imperial aerosol kid @jparish.bsky.social · 3d

If you do only one nice thing today, please let it be helping Rebecca meet her cancer treatment fund goal

Rebecca Heineman @burgerbecky.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve started a GoFundMe to help with my cancer battle gofund.me/6850175a3

Donate to Help Rebecca Ann Heineman Fight Aggressive Cancer, organized by Rebecca Heineman

I’m Rebecca Ann Heineman. The very first video game champion, creat… Rebecca Heineman needs your support for Help Rebecca Ann Heineman Fight Aggressive Cancer

gofund.me

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 3d

“Nein we’re not.”

How is this the first time I’ve seen this clip?

Alex Jaffe “Alex Jaffe” Alex Jaffe @alexjaffe.bsky.social · 4d

Peacemaker Season 2 (2025)

Venture Bros - Wait...You Guys Are Nazis

YouTube video by Ravenousmetal

youtu.be

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Reposted by 🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært

Jeremy Parish, imperial aerosol kid @jparish.bsky.social · 4d

Still one of my career highlights tbh

Carmine @carminemac.bsky.social · 4d

The Mario Galaxy (re)launch reminded me of this classic @jparish.bsky.social musical bit.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MTk...

Jeremy Parish sings Mario Galaxy-song (from the old 1upShow)

YouTube video by Duke Togo

www.youtube.com

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 4d

You’ll never guess the trivia question.

youtu.be/Y0-vX2re58o

Classics Of Game 189

YouTube video by ClassicsOfGame

youtu.be

🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 4d

They did what…?

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 5d

Don’t make me record this just to prove how funny the surprise chorus would be!

🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 5d

Okay, now you have me curious.

*looks*

Huh, yeah.

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 5d

*spooky minor key strings*
Here we are hanging onto strains of greed
And blues
Break the chain and we break down, but
It's not real
If you don't feel it

Unspoken expectations
Ideals you use to play with
They've finally taken shape!
For what's...

[chorus in spoiler image]

Good enough!
For you is
Good Enough!
For me, it’s
Good Enough!
Good enough for me!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 5d

Here's a question for the Venn Diagram of my followers who video but also comic.

Matthew Murray 🦇 @midnitelibrary.bsky.social · 5d

Okay, so this made me wonder. What's the first appearance of a video game in a comic?

@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social

Mike Sterling, Comics Guy @mikester.bsky.social · 5d

So here's a short sequence of panels where Moose and Archie are playing Pong on a home video game console in 1979.

www.progressiveruin.com/2025/10/03/a...

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🏳️‍⚧️ "Critical Kate” Willært @katewillaert.bsky.social · 5d

In an obscure game he did uncredited. *whistles*