Spoilers etc.
Theme: Mentioning expanding knowledge? Meh. Using it as a mechanic for XBC2 and the additional wolf catalogue? Sure, I think that's working.
Story: Sweetie, you took too much from XBC2 that it left out your own voice outside of like the unagi notes. I kept saying during every fight "we don't need this". We don't need the XBC2 play by play hit by hit mechanics explanations. I think having briefer fights with a larger focus on the emotional why of the fight w/o the mechanics could have carried across what you wanted, let you get to where you wanted in the plot instead of what felt like filler moments, and still let you explore what you wanted to explore narratively.
As it was, I wanted to skip every fight. They felt very long with the minimal control I had over them. The only lets plays I watch are like randomizers, and that's sparingly. This doesn't even have any additional meta commentary, it's people playing XBC2 but I can't play it myself.
I think you were too enthused with your idea that you forgot you didn't have to go so literal in the adaptation. It was cute to have them present, and I enjoyed your notes in the encyclopedia, because those felt closer to your own voice rather than you echoing the beats of XBC2. The bunny was what, Morag-esque?
It was nice that you wanted to give all the characters voices (and I definitely giggled at the Futurama French dead language gag), but that also brought the narrative to a screeching halt as they all had something to interject all the time, or alternatively were just functioning not unlike the game as things to move the plot along (field skills, etc etc.).
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Story asides: If each wolf has a bit of amicus in them, could it be said that the more amicus in them, the closer to six stars? Because that would ring true for Lobo, to be a much as an anti 'my wolf' as he could be while still existing in the conversation :p
And huh, no cooper allowed. Smh. What fame will do to someone /s
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Presentation: Mazels on doing all that art. You put a lot of your heart into this, and I liked the animations you did, even if they were probably lagging things up.
I get the pixellation was to like, make the presence of all the blades less noisy, but like... that was still visually noisy and confusing as to why they were pixelated and clear in the wolf encyclopedia. I would have preferred it be closer to XBC2 in that regard, where only one per person is out, even though you wanted to give them all affection with some screen time. That works more in XBC2 because that game is a JRPG and has moments for spotlight spread out overtime, as opposed to like 1/1000th of the time of a work where you're cramming screentime together constnatly.
Also, the basketball looked like a rotating cock :sob:.
The font had one big issue, which was the "s" looked like "e" so many times i'd do a quick double take as they were too close at any size. Ooofoie.
Creativity: As someone that liked Heinlein's "Number of the Beast" more than he probably should, I appreciated the extended my wolf universe, but in another facet it felt very like XBC2 fanfiction except mirroring the beats with new chars. I think it could have been more of your voice if you strayed away from sticking so closely to the combat.
Overall thoughts: I like your motive of a sort of tribute to "My Wolves", and appreciate the love you put for everyone who you contacted, but you got too lost in the sauce of your parody? appreciation? for XBC2 that it pulled away from a story only Unagi could tell.