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Character #24: Laphicet “When I came with you, that was my own choice. You gave me the freedom to choose.”     First Appearance: Tales of Berseria (Aug. 18th, 2016) Bio: Originally a Malak attached to Teresa of the Abbey, Velvet and her crew kidnap him and bring him along with them after an assault on a local port town. Although the Abbey kept his personality suppressed, traveling with the group allows him freedom, the reemergence of his emotions, and even a new name: Laphicet. --- I’m not usually the one to really like child characters all that much, but there was something about Laphicet that stuck out to me the further I went into Berseria. Rarely did they ever treat his initial emotionless state as a joke, so it felt really painful to see him obey orders that weren’t meant to be followed or react harshly to pain. It’s not something that a lot of media tends to explore, and I could find myself relating to his state somewhat given how much I kept to myself growing up. It also makes his journey of self-discovery much more rewarding and fulfilling when he starts to rediscover his emotions and learn about what it means to be alive. And the whole group helps to teach him how to be his own man (well, most of the group; Magilou jokes around with him more often than not, and Bienfu is just Bienfu), and it’s honestly such a joy to watch him learn about the world through traveling with Velvet’s group. That point about him becoming his own man leads to a rather interesting scene about midway into the game. He was given his name by Velvet, since he reminded her a lot of her deceased brother of the same name, and had been thinking of him as a surrogate brother in place of her actual brother. This eventually leads to an altercation between them when they’re out on a mission, since Laphicet is trying to be his own person but can’t do that when Velvet is still associating him with her dead brother. It was a pretty surprising scene in what was supposed to be a fairly light-hearted scenario, but it works out pretty well in the end, and it’s a sign of how far along Laphicet has come since his first appearance. But what I love most about Laphicet is that he never loses sight of his optimism or kind-hearted nature. He goes through a lot together with the party, seeing some pretty horrible stuff as a result, but there’s still something inside him that believes in the good of humanity. Like... there’s just something special about his earnest, wide-eyed appreciation for the world around him, and his desire to know more and help as many people as he can. His side-quest is absolutely great, too, challenging his desire to improve his friend’s life while putting his optimism at stake, and it ends on such a touching note, too. I honestly feel like he could be rated much higher than it is, because for all the wonderful elements surrounding Berseria, Laphicet embodies a lot of its heart and soul. Question: Do you have any favorite child characters in media? Alf's 23rd Favorite Character Teaser: Is the "drummer" ==== Game #24: The Wonderful 101 ”The alien invasion of Earth will be met by a group of fearless warriors that number just 100 souls. One hundred wonderful defenders of our world. Their names are forever masked. Their tombs are forever unknown. They are...”  Released: Aug. 23rd, 2013 Synopsis: GEATHJERK, a fearsome alien terrorist organization, has invaded the Earth once more, instigating a third war against its inhabitants. To combat the threat, the CENTINELS Planetary Secret Service calls in the Wonderful Ones, a group of one hundred superheroes who unite into different massive forms to drive back the alien invaders. Chosen Music: Tables Turn --- Wonderful 101 is definitely a game that’ll color your perception of it depending on how well you can acclimate to its control scheme. Creating your Unite Morph forms to do battle with enemies is done either by drawing out the shapes on the Wii U GamePad touch screen, or by using the right stick for a less intrusive method. It’s hard to stop what you’re doing in the middle of combat to draw shapes on the GamePad, so using the right stick is what I generally prefer even when making the precise shape can still be a bit of an issue. I wouldn’t blame anyone if a lot of this sounds like a turn-off, since this ends up complicating what appears to be a simple-looking action game. But to those that do want to put in the time to learn all the systems and mechanics, this game becomes immensely rewarding and tons of fun – the hallmark of any good PlatinumGames title. But before I even get to combat, I wanna take a brief moment to just gush over this game’s setting and aesthetic. Anyone who’s played Viewtiful Joe knows that Kamiya has an undying love of superheroes and tokusatsu (Kamen Rider, Super Sentai), and this is one of the best and most genuine tributes to the genre that I’ve seen in my game-playing career. You’ve got all the character archetypes you’ve come to expect from the genre (the leader guy, the rebel, the chick, the rival, etc.), and you’ve got scores upon scores of bad guys and monsters to beat down. The story manages to take some pretty surprising twists and turns too, and some of the characters are more fleshed out that people give the game credit for (Wonder Red and Wonder Blue are the biggest stars and also my favorite dudes). It’s all backed up by some great set pieces and an awesomely heroic soundtrack that helps amp up the excitement of being these incredible heroes (big shout-outs to the main theme for being cheesy as hell but still awesome). And like I said about combat, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but once you’ve got it down, it’s extremely addicting. You’ll be busting loose all sorts of different combos with the Unite Morph of your choosing while organizing the rest of your squad into their own Unite Morphs to help out. Purchasing moves from the Wonder Mart opens up your options even more, and soon enough you’ll be at the point where dodging an attack activates Hero Time (think Witch Time from Bayonetta), then you can follow up with a huge attack string and eliminate the opposition before they can even touch you. You’ll also be treated to a lot of different shooter sections, vehicle sections, and sections where you pilot a robot to crush enemies with your fists (and for anyone wondering, there are TWO boss fights in this game that are just a tribute to Punch-Out!!). It’s one of Platinum’s most gratifying games in their catalog, and I highly encourage anyone with a Wii U to try it out. Question: Do you like any games that have some unorthodox control schemes? Alf's 23rd Favorite Game Teaser: A really great follow-up to a really bad game
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May 24, 2017 02:51
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Love the character`s! Best regards!
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May 24, 2017 11:10
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Character #23: Beatrice Santello “My entire life feels like running after something that keeps moving away into the distance while I stay in the same place.”     First Appearance: Night in the Woods (Feb. 21st, 2017) Bio: The store-runner for the Ol’ Pickaxe in Possum Springs, Bea single-handedly began running the store after her mother passed away. She comes off as gloomy and sarcastic while also lamenting the situation she’s in, though hanging around her friends usually seems to help her cope. --- To say that Bea’s been given the short end of the stick in life would be a severe understatement. She wears everything she’s gone through on her sleeve, all the way up to her gloomy mood and her generally uninterested attitude, but somehow still manages to get through the day most of the time. If you were to ask her about that, she’d most likely say she has no choice, given that her dad is incapable of working after her mom died and she’s the only one left to run the store. And like, that’s how it is for a lot of people in situations similar to Bea’s; there’s no easy fix or a way to get out of the whole situation, so they feel trapped in their circumstances no matter what they do. It was honestly kind of an eye-opener to see a character like this in a video game, and I feel that some people I know could relate very strongly with Bea. But what’s really painful about Bea’s situation is that she has dreams of her own that she desperately yearns for. Unlike Mae who ended up dropping out of college, Bea’s wildest fantasy has always been to leave Possum Springs and go to a university, to the point where she has to dream about going to college just to live out her fantasy. But because of her current responsibilities, she has no chance of dropping everything and ditching her ailing dad to do what she actually wants to do. She most likely doesn’t even have the money for it either, since the bills from her mom dying were so huge that she and her dad lost the house they lived in and have to settle for a crappy apartment. It sinks my heart every time I view some of her biggest scenes in the game, and it’s such a harrowing and real situation that anyone in the world could fall into. Even at her lowest point, however, it’s really admirable to me that Bea still manages to keep going. Though it may not look like she cares about the other band mates, the fact that she still hangs around them is enough for me to believe that she values their company (especially Angus’). Even when Mae ends up getting on her nerves the most, seeing them rekindle their friendship by the end of the game is a wonderful thing to see. And most people seem to agree that they’re among the most compatible people of the main group in the whole game, which I can kinda see even when I think Mae gets along much better with Gregg. But all in all, for how much poo poo Bea goes through and for how much she wants to just throw in the towel, the fact that she still tries is something I admire a lot about her. Question: Have you ever been burdened with seemingly inescapable situations? Alf's 22nd Favorite Character Teaser: Lives off a diet of instant ramen ==== Game #23: Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening ”Maybe somewhere out there even a devil may cry when he loses a loved one. Don't you think?”  Released: Feb. 17th, 2005 Synopsis: Before the establishment of the Devil May Cry office, Dante receives an invitation from his brother Vergil disguised as an attack, while a huge tower erupts from the ground and looms over the city. Sensing his brother’s presence on the tower and interpreting it as a challenge, Dante enters the tower to defeat the demons inside and face off against Vergil. Chosen Music: Devils Never Cry --- This one might actually come as a surprise to some people, especially because of how stiff it is compared to how nicely everything flows in a PlatinumGames action title, but... I actually really, really like Devil May Cry 3. Most of the exploration stuff is something I can either take or leave, but I do love how the combat works in the game. Devil May Cry 1 did a lot to shake up how to approach combat, but I always felt like there wasn’t enough you could do to make getting a high rank feel satisfying. With DMC3 though, you’ll need to learn how to switch your weapons on the fly and pull off different moves if you want to make the Stylish meter go up and keep it from getting stale. It’s a tall order at first, but once you get a nice rhythm going, it becomes a joy to head into battle and get high marks with your stylish-rear end moves. DMC3 also has my favorite ever example of a rival battle in a video game to date. In most old Capcom action games and most PlatinumGames titles, one of the biggest obstacles that most players will face is a rival character that is essentially “you, but better.” (Think of people like Jeanne from Bayonetta or Prince Vorkken from Wonderful 101) These characters most often serve as a means to test the player on their abilities, and they’ll usually be fought 3-4 times throughout the course of the game, which each encounter building on itself until you get to the final showdown with them. In DMC3, this rival character manifests itself as Vergil, and while most rival characters have little to do with the main character themselves, I adore how Vergil being both the rival character and Dante’s brother adds a ton of weight to each fight. Not only does this make complete sense from a story perspective, but also the satisfaction you get from beating him is unlike anything you get from beating any other rival character. It’s fuckin’ awesome. And yeah, outside of that, I also happen to love a lot of DMC3’s aesthetics and how it handles the story. You’ll get plenty of great boss battles that are set to these heavy metal tracks with screaming and death growl lyrics in the back. Most of the cutscenes in the game have excellent choreography and sound editing as well, among the best of the PS2 era for its time. It sure as hell ain’t winning any awards for the writing or story, but it’s all so cool and witty that I can’t help but get hype for whatever’s about to go down. I’m sure eventually it’ll get sidetracked by whatever comes my way next (still have yet to play Nier: Automata), but I’ve got a huge appreciation for how DMC3 chooses to be itself and have loads of fun in the process. Question: Do you ever love a game just for its aesthetics? Alf's 22nd Favorite Game Teaser: Features questions about the game itself
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May 26, 2017 00:13
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Character #22: Dick Gumshoe “That's Detective Gumshoe to you, pal!”     First Appearance: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Oct. 12th, 2001) Bio: A comically inept police detective working with the homicide division, Gumshoe struggles to make any headway into a given case while his salary shrinks day after day. But while his work is often questionable, his heart is ultimately in the right place, as he never gives up on a case until he manages to see it through to the end. --- As much as I love the newer Ace Attorney games, one of my biggest complaints about them definitely has to be the lack of Gumshoe. It’s easy to write him off as just some schlub when you first meet him, but like... that’s exactly what he is. He’s some third-rate detective that constantly gets involved with cases that are out of his league just to give the higher-ups an excuse to not have to deal with him for a while. And the poo poo that gets thrust upon him whenever he messes up reaches insane levels of unreal. You need to read this list to understand just how bad Gumshoe gets it; over the course of the original three Ace Attorney games, he:
That kind of environment would make anyone throw in the towel, but Gumshoe wholeheartedly takes it all in stride. He’s one of my absolute favorite Ace Attorney characters because he never gives up even in the face of a lay-off, and he does whatever he can either through his own skills and techniques or by JUST TRYING HARDER. Sure he’s a bumbling fool, but he puts so much effort and heart into his work that it’s hard not to love him and feel bad for him all at once. And it makes it all the more gratifying when all of his hard work ends up paying off every now and then, and ends up leading to a case being solved at last. I earnestly love the guy, and I continually pray every day that Gumshoe will eventually make his grand return in a new Ace Attorney game. I wouldn’t want anything less for my pal. Question: What kind of characters are the ones that you can't help but root for? Alf's 21st Favorite Character Teaser: Has a level taking place in their stomach ==== Game #22: Paper Mario ”Thinner Mario, Bigger Adventure!”  Released: Aug. 11, 2000 Synopsis: In his latest plot, Bowser steals the Star Rod from Star Haven and uses its power to defeat Mario, while he keeps Peach’s Castle floating above the clouds. In order to stop Bowser and restore order, Mario must team up with several new allies and rescue the imprisoned Star Spirits, giving him the power necessary to save Peach and the world! Chosen Music: Siege on Bowser's Castle --- I used to not respect Paper Mario as much as I do now. I can recognize it as being one of the few RPGs that I managed to get into that weren’t Pokemon as a kid (again, growing up in a Christian home meant I never grew up with stuff like Final Fantasy), but I was much more attached to Thousand-Year Door in my later years. Even upon replay, I couldn’t help but be turned off by the lack of gameplay improvements that its successor brought with it, though I could still manage to acknowledge it as a pretty fantastic RPG in its own right. But it wasn’t until much later, when Mario RPGs started getting duller and I began to notice more of Thousand-Year Door’s flaws, that I started to realize how special Paper Mario really was. And while I still miss the improvements that Thousand-Year Door brought to its gameplay, now I can say with certainty that I honestly adore Paper Mario. I think part of what makes Paper Mario work so well is how much it expanded upon the Mario universe. While Super Mario RPG introduced loads of different and new environments, species, and characters, Paper Mario instead chose to expand upon the things that were already introduced in older Mario titles. For probably the first time in the series (barring SMRPG’s Monstro Town), we got to see enemies Goombas and Koopas have communities and lives of their own, and we even started seeing all the different kinds of Toads inhabiting the Mushroom Kingdom. And using the species of Mario enemies as a base, we were also introduced to lots of lovable characters that made a perfect fit in the world of Mario. I just earnestly love how creative and interesting Paper Mario can be with its setting and characters, which makes me even more upset that current Mario RPGs severely lack this kind of world building. But aside from that, I also really appreciate how streamlined this game is. There aren’t a lot of areas that give you a lot of trouble (Chapter 2’s desert annoyed me as a kid but it’s fine now, but Chapter 6 is kinda painful), and most of them have unique and fun environments to explore. I also enjoy a lot of the game’s boss battles (except for like, Kent C. Koopa) and how they make you consider different approaches to take them down. The story is also surprisingly heartfelt and well thought-out (the intro alone is masterful), and even as early as the first in the series, they knew how to make hilarious and great writing. Honestly, I’d be more than okay if the next Paper Mario was just an HD remake of this game, because this game is so creative and imaginative that I’d always love to go back to it. Question: What are some games that you only came around to appreciating much later? Alf's 21st Favorite Game Teaser: The reason I joined Something Awful Alfalfa The Roach fucked around with this message at 23:38 on May 27, 2017 |
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May 27, 2017 23:08
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Character #21: Hades “Sorry to keep YOU waiting! But now that I’m here, let’s get this party started!”     First Appearance: Kid Icarus: Uprising (March 22nd, 2012) Bio: The true leader of the Underworld, Hades is as twisted and evil as they come, having no qualms with disrupting the balance of life to obtain power. Callous to the destruction left in his wake, he enjoys taunting and belittling those around him, though despite his jeers, he knows not to underestimate his opponents. --- There were a lot of elements that made me really, really like (and still really, really like to this day) Kid Icarus: Uprising, one of which being the characters. I’ve already talked about how much Viridi works as a great character and an appropriate interpretation of Mother Nature, but there are loads of other great characters worth mentioning in Uprising as well. You’ve got Palutena providing you with plenty of banter and a great person for Pit to play off of, and you’ve got Dark Pit poking fun at the “anti-hero” archetype just by existing. And every other chapter provides more characters with their own personality and brand of humor to make each chapter a joy to listen to. But out of all of the supporting characters you meet along the way, my pick for the best one definitely has to go to the real villain of the game, Hades. From the moment he tore away the fake staff roll after I defeated Medusa, I knew I was in for a treat. Hades makes just about any chapter you’re playing highly enjoyable with his smarmy attitude, his penchant for joking around and taunting, and a heaping helping of absolutely hilarious moments. One of my absolute favorite moments is the conversation he has about using the Wish Seed in Chapter 10 to “revive a young girl’s dead parents” which he murdered in an “unfortunate chariot driving accident.” It’s a loving riot of a conversation and it establishes how much Hades can keep a joke going and still make it absurdly funny. There are a lot of great and entertaining villains on this list that I have yet to introduce as well, but Hades was the first time in a long time that I truly felt engaged with a villainous character. His comedy moments are some of the biggest highlights of the game, but he’s also capable of being legitimately sinister and threatening, as any good villain should. He even takes the time to prattle on about some of his own philosophy at one point (the whole “reincarnating souls being different people” argument is great), and his boss fight is among the best Nintendo has ever put out. I doubt he’ll play a major role in another Kid Icarus game after the events of Uprising (assuming we ever get a new Kid Icarus game), but I’d still love to see more of him all the same. He’s seriously one of the best new villains Nintendo’s made in a long time and it’d be a shame to let him disappear after one game. Question: Who are some of your favorite one-off villains? Alf's 20th Favorite Character Teaser: Ate a massive sandwich ==== Game #21: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc "It's an all-you-can-kill, kill-or-be-killed, killing-killing-killing-all-around world!"  Released: Nov. 25th, 2010 Synopsis: 15 promising students of Hope’s Peak Academy become trapped within the school on their very first day, by a strange creature calling himself Monokuma. They are promised freedom at a terrible price: take part in the Killing School Life game, and murder a classmate without ever being discovered! Chosen Music: New World Order --- I first discovered this game back in 2012 when a friend of mine was doing their own Top 50 thread and they had mentioned Fukawa as one of their favorite characters. That was the start of how I discovered Danganronpa through orenronen’s Something Awful LP, and I didn’t know what to expect as I cautiously started to read it. Once the first murder happened, however, I was hooked, and from that summer onward I feverishly kept pace with the LP to see how it would all unravel. Eventually, after many paywalls stymied my attempts to read the LP for free, I finally registered an account on Something Awful in order to read the finale. It’s been a long and rough road for me as a Danganronpa fan ever since then, but honestly, I still really enjoyed the time I spent reading the first Danganronpa game. The biggest strength of Danganronpa to me ultimately lies in how it handles its characters and its interactions. The actual mysteries usually aren’t anything special, but the motivations behind the mysteries and how and why they played out the way they did caught my attention greatly. Every culprit has a believable, tragic, or even cruel reason for doing what they did, and those kinds of reasons help to give the characters a lot of depth. And the nature of the killing game that these high school students are forced to compete in means you never know what will happen; someone you’ve been rooting for will be killed, or will be the killer and found guilty. It helps keep the tension high and the stakes ever real, and outside of the main character (and a couple other exceptions) you never know who will be next on the chopping block. And while I’ve never had the chance to actually play the game for myself, a lot of the systems involved are great. You have the Class Trials, which are fun and frantic with lots of different gameplay features all geared to help you quickly solve a case. You have these Free Time event opportunities to increase your bonds with your classmates and gain different abilities to use in the Class Trial (think something like Persona 5’s Confidants system). In the later versions there’s even an entire mode where no one gets killed and you can enjoy a normal school life with your fellow classmates. It still remains to be seen if I will ever get the chance to actually play Danganronpa for myself, but for all that it’s done for me, and for all the memories it’s allowed me to make, I’m proud to call it one of the best games I’ve never played. Question: What are your thoughts on visual novels? Can they be considered video games? Alf's 20th Favorite Game Teaser: Changed a prominent character's voice into what it is today
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May 30, 2017 00:33
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Character #20: Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik "Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears and listen to me very carefully! My name is Dr. Eggman - the world's greatest scientist, and soon to be the world's greatest ruler. Now witness the beginning of the greatest empire of all time!"     First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (June 23rd, 1991) Bio: An evil genius with an IQ of 300, Dr. Eggman wishes to conquer the world in the hopes of realizing his dream utopia. Though his plans are always foiled by Sonic, he has come up with many different mechanical creations over the years, including a powerful robotic replica of the Blue Blur. --- Before I realized how great one of my other favorite childhood villains was, Eggman was one of the coolest baddies around. A lot of this love for him came from Deem Bristow’s incredible performance as him in the Dreamcast era, in games like Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes. With just about every time he spoke, he stole the show with his over-the-top line delivery and his endless laundry list of amazing quotes (“No way! I can’t BELIEVE THIS!”, “ALL SYSTEMS, FULL POWER!, and the intro to Egg Fleet are among my favorites). Bristow could also nail Eggman’s sinister tone to a T and make him legitimately threatening once he reached the end of his rope. Back then, I couldn’t think of a more perfect voice for Eggman, and it makes me all the more sad to know that he passed away all too soon. Then Mike Pollock took over after he was brought on board with the rest of the Sonic X cast, and... I’m not gonna lie, it took me a long time to warm up to him. The period of Sonic games from 2005-2010 was me basically trying as much as I could to accept Mike Pollock as Eggman while also discovering the absolutely hilarious cartoon Robotnik voiced by Long John Baldry (who also passed away all too soon, and in the same year as Bristow no less). It wasn’t until Colors came around and gave Eggman tons of hysterical intercom announcements that I began to wholeheartedly accept Pollock’s interpretation of the character. I think we’re really fortunate to have a guy like Pollock who earnestly loves voicing Eggman and understands how to balance his goofy nature, overblown theatrics, and hidden villainy to an absurd degree. And when you look at how Eggman’s been portrayed over the many years since his introduction, I really feel like there’s not a bad version of him out there. I love the moments where he’s goofy and comical, since it helps give some levity to counteract some of the schemes he can come up with. I love every single moment where he’s giving an elaborate speech and laying out his master plan, stroking his giant mustache like any great villain who’s full of himself should. Hell, I even like him when he gets dangerously serious, since more often than not it leads to some of the coolest moments and boss fights in the Sonic series. He’s one of the most entertaining and awesome video game villains in the business, and regardless of how good a Sonic game may be, I can always count on Eggman to be one of the most enjoyable parts. Also, if you don’t think the Sonic 2006 version of Eggman is cool, let me show you how loving wrong you are. (volume warning) Question: Do you ever associate a character with a particular actor or actress? Alf's 19th Favorite Character Teaser: Helped inspire a labor strike ==== Game #20: Yoshi’s Story ”The page turned, and the Yoshis grew happier.”  Released: Dec. 21st, 1997 Synopsis: When Baby Bowser steals the Super Happy Tree for himself, the denizens of Yoshi’s Island fall into a severe state of depression. To restore the happiness of the island, six newborn Yoshis must follow the fruit left behind by the Super Happy Tree and take it back from Baby Bowser! Chosen Music: Yoshi's Tale --- Yoshi’s Story was always the game I played as a kid to offset the fact that I never actually owned a copy of Yoshi’s Island. Although I still yearned for the day when I could finally get Yoshi’s Island for myself, I still managed to have an enjoyable time with Yoshi’s Story whenever I popped it in. Levels weren’t cleared by normal means, relying instead on eating exactly 30 fruit, but I felt this allowed the game to be really open about how you tackle each stage. There’s no time limit, you’re free to explore levels at your own pace to find secrets, and a majority of the levels are really nice to traverse and look at. It’s kinda hard not to feel relaxed whenever I play it, unless I’m playing a really hard level (gently caress you, Jungle Puddle and Shy Guy’s Ship) or when I’m starting to run low on Yoshis. I also happen to really like Yoshi’s Story for how it ended up becoming one of the earliest score attack games I ever played along with Star Fox 64. This comes into play the most during the main Story Mode, where access to more levels in a given world depends on the number of Hearts you find in a level. But as a kid I used to think it was based on score, so I would spend a lot of time on certain levels trying to do things like get all the Hearts or go an entire level eating just one fruit (I was so proud of myself for being able to consistently clear Surprise!! eating only melons). I’m not sure how well the main Story Mode has aged nowadays, but back then it was a real good way to encourage me to explore every nook and cranny just to see what I could unlock next. And then whenever I cleared a level in the Story Mode, I could always go back to Trial Mode and play through it without worrying about what would happen after clearing it. Then in 2015, when I started thinking about games more seriously, my thoughts traced back to Yoshi’s Story and how it incorporated themes of happiness into every aspect of the game. This led me to think that Yoshi’s Story may have in fact been among my Top Ten of video games (before I realized nowadays how foolish that sounded). But despite never quite reaching that height, I do earnestly love Yoshi’s Story; it’s one of the games I associate the most with my childhood, and I enjoyed nearly every memory I had with it. Every time I think of it, I remember those days of discovering the secret Black and White Yoshis, getting tricked by cheat magazines into believing there was a secret Purple Yoshi, all the weird and crazy bosses, and humming along to that beautiful staff roll tune (which is the best staff roll music ever and I will fight anyone who says otherwise). And even though Yoshi’s Island will always be the better game by comparison, I still hold Yoshi’s Story in high regard for enriching my childhood and making it just a little happier. Question: What's a game you wouldn't normally like but you have a huge nostalgic connection to? Alf's 19th Favorite Game Teaser: A genius game Alfalfa The Roach fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Jun 1, 2017 |
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Jun 1, 2017 00:10
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Alfalfa The Roach posted:Alf's 20th Favorite Game Teaser: Changed a prominent character's voice into what it is today I was expecting RE5 based on this.
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Jun 1, 2017 03:01
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Character #19: Manny Calavera “You know, sweetheart, if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: nobody knows what's gonna happen at the end of the line, so you might as well enjoy the trip.”     First Appearance: Grim Fandango (Oct. 30, 1998) Bio: A travel agent working to repay his debt to the powers-that-be in the afterlife, Manny longs to have a decent client just so he can keep his job and eventually move on to the Ninth Underworld. But when he steals a seemingly perfect client from a co-worker, he inadvertently sends her on a harrowing four-year long journey to the Ninth Underworld instead of skipping the journey altogether, prompting Manny to find her and set things right. --- If Grim Fandango weren’t mired with a horrible amount of adventure game logic, it would’ve shown up on this list at some point. While I was able to figure at least some of it out on my own, I had a guide on-hand practically every time I turned it on just so I could make it through in one piece (and for the sake of this thread). I am really glad I managed to finish it, however, because underneath all the bullshit, there’s a really creative game with a fantastic setting, clever dialogue, and a great story. And it should be noted that all of the voice acting in Grim Fandango is absolutely marvelous and helps to bolster an already incredible cast. But while I do like a lot of the characters in Grim Fandango (Glottis and Meche are great, and Domino is a really good antagonist), I’ve only got one character showing up on my list, and that would be the protagonist, Manny. What makes Manny brilliant right off the bat is that he starts out as just a simple office worker trying to repay his debt in life, but routinely comes up with nothing to show for all his hard work. He’s got that very dry sense of humor you’d expect from a guy who only does menial labor (and since being a Reaper is generally a thankless task), but his ability to come up with quips on the fly is great. He’s not even above pulling several pranks to try and get a better deal, and throughout the whole game he never really loses his sarcastic wit. Now all of that is already intensely relatable and makes him work wonders as an everyman, but it’s his desire to take responsibility for his actions that makes him really shine. Most of what he goes through to save Meche ends up being more of a means to an end than anything, but it’s really admirable how he intends to see a job through to the end and make sure it goes smoothly. Then during Year 4, near the end of the game when he’s at the terminus for the Number Nine train, there’s a really incredible piece of dialogue that he says when he’s near the tunnel. He remarks on how he could just go down that tunnel and enter the Ninth Underworld and forget about everything else, but he chooses not to for the sake of everyone else relying on him. That says so much about how Manny subtly develops throughout the game; at the start he’s deeply pessimistic about his future and hardly cares about anyone that doesn’t help pay off his debt. But by the end, after meeting all these different people and realizing the stakes with his rear end in a top hat co-worker Domino and mob boss Hector LeMans, you start to see his earnest and caring nature break through. It’s probably not enough to make him the best person in the world, but it’s a wonderful bit of development that shows that, beneath the layers of sarcasm and frequent pettiness, he does honestly care about the people closest to him. Question: What does a character arc need to do in order to be successful? Alf's 18th Favorite Character Teaser: The villain of the story ==== Game #19: Mega Man X ”How long will he keep on fighting? How long will his pain last? Maybe only the X-Buster on his hand knows for sure.....”  Released: Dec. 17, 1993 Synopsis: In the year 21XX, the world is thrown into turmoil when Sigma, a former hunter of renegade replicate androids called Mavericks, turns Maverick himself and declares war on the world. It is up to X, the base for all current Reploids, and Zero, an expert Maverick Hunter, to put a stop to Sigma and the rest of their former teammates. Chosen Music: Spark Mandrill --- Unlike Metroid, which I only have some nostalgia for, I’ve got nothing but love for the Mega Man and Mega Man X series. Both of them are incredibly formulaic with most of their games, but most of the time it’s so drat fun to gain new abilities from enemies and using them to sniff out the weaknesses of other enemies every time. Some of my favorite Mega Man games go a step beyond and introduce mechanics that do a great job complimenting the formula (which is one reason why Mega Man 6 is actually my favorite Classic game outside of blatant nostalgia). I’ve even dipped my toes into some of the other spin-offs as well, albeit with more mixed results (Battle Network is great, but I loving hated Mega Man Zero). If I had to pick just one Mega Man game out of them all to call my favorite, though, I would definitely give that honor to the original Mega Man X. Like, everything about Mega Man X just feels so TIGHT. The level design is rock solid and doesn’t make things cheap by putting spikes everywhere (while I also love X2, it had that problem a lot from time to time), and almost all the levels are a blast to play through (except Launch Octopus). There’s a real sense of accomplishment for finding part upgrades, and almost every one of them have their own practical uses for gameplay (helmet upgrade is kinda meh honestly). The amount of upgrades and collectible items alone almost makes it feel Metroidvania-esque, and it opens up each level in tons of unique and fun ways. I also really love how clearing certain levels affects other levels in the area, like when Flame Mammoth’s factory freezes over after you beat Chill Penguin’s stage. It’s a seriously awesome touch that makes the world feel just a little more alive. Also worth mentioning is how Mega Man X takes the opportunity to explore a thematically darker world than the Classic Mega Man games. In contrast to the Classic series where everything is more cartoonish, here the world is more serious, and the game itself isn’t afraid to explore themes of doubt and self-sacrifice. There’s like this really somber tone at the end of the game, where X, who lost his comrade and best friend Zero, is just staring out over the horizon, wondering how long he’ll have to keep on fighting wars like this. It’s a surprisingly heavy tone for the Mega Man series to take, and it makes me kinda sad that only a few games in the X series manage to reach that same level of depth (though X4 comes close). I wouldn’t be opposed to Mega Man X ever coming back if Capcom decides to bring back Mega Man in general, but my only hope would be that it can match all the things that the original X game does so right. Question: Do you generally prefer a more dark or mature tone in most video games? Alf's 18th Favorite Game Teaser: Takes place in Alaska
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Jun 2, 2017 22:37
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if you like the darker tone in x, you should give the zero games a look. i think they nail a similar feeling while also managing to give zero a complete arc as a character, with zero 4 being pretty much a definitive ending for everything starting with x1 in a way that actually lends some cool impact to how much lighter the games taking place after it (zx, legends) are.
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Jun 2, 2017 22:46
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The Colonel posted:if you like the darker tone in x, you should give the zero games a look. i think they nail a similar feeling while also managing to give zero a complete arc as a character, with zero 4 being pretty much a definitive ending for everything starting with x1 in a way that actually lends some cool impact to how much lighter the games taking place after it (zx, legends) are.
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Jun 2, 2017 22:51
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poo poo gently caress i hosed up
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Jun 2, 2017 22:52
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I pretty much gave up on the Zero series when I realized Zero 2 was no different from Zero 1 (both were unfun platformers with impossible criteria for getting good rankings made worse by having the Cyber-Elves mechanic detract from overall ranking), but maybe I can muster up the willpower to get back into it to reach Zero 4
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Jun 2, 2017 23:26
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i think if you ever pick zero back up, just don't bother with ranks because the ex moves honestly kind of suck and are actually less fun to use than basic z-saber attacks
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Jun 2, 2017 23:29
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Character #18: Velvet Crowe ”I don’t care what the world thinks of me. What matters is my vengeance against Artorius. That’s all.”     First Appearance: Tales of Berseria (Aug. 18th, 2016) Bio: Once an ordinary village girl, her life was destroyed when his younger brother was killed, while she was turned into a daemon and imprisoned for 3 years. After managing to break out, Velvet, now a bitter and wrathful shell of her former self, begins a quest of revenge against the man who betrayed her and killed her brother. --- Velvet isn’t the kind of person you’d normally think of when you hear the phrase “JRPG protagonist.” While most protagonists of that ilk tend to have some form of awareness about what may happen to the world around them from their actions, Velvet tosses that kind of thinking out the window for most of the game. Her methodology goes so far against the perfect order of the Abbey that she willingly makes herself the villain in order to kill their leader. Her sights are so laser-focused on taking down Artorius that she’s willing to terrorize villages, commit wanton acts of arson, or use people as a means to an end just to get herself closer to her goal. On a surface level she comes off as cold and indifferent a lot of the time, most likely due to spending so long in prison and embracing the daemon she’s become. Which is why I really like those moments where Velvet tries to interact with the party as best as she can. It’s easy to forget that she was once such a simple and caring girl before her life went to poo poo, which most people that label her a heartless monster don’t even realize. Yet underneath that image of her being the “lord of calamity” or whatever, she still has some part of the kinder, more selfless person she used to be buried within herself, and that shines through so much once she learns to let more people in and not push them away. This is most obvious with Laphicet (who she tends to get a little possessive over just because he reminds her of her dead brother), but she does her best for most of the other party members and other secondary characters too. Even when it looks like she couldn’t care any less, over time she grows to appreciate her crew, and by the end it’s obvious she cares for them a lot. Major Spoilers for Tales of Berseria The really amazing thing about Velvet, though, is how much she manages to hold onto her conviction by the end of the game. She goes through a lot of hell in such a short amount of time - reliving her hometown getting destroyed and accidentally murdering Oscar and Teresa to name a few - but the revelation that the god Artorius uses in his plans is her deceased brother drives her mad for a little bit. After Laphicet snaps her out of it, Velvet takes all that she’s learned about how everything she did was for not and she still decides to take her revenge on Innominat and Artorius for ruining her life. Like, there aren’t a lot of JRPG protagonists that just decide to throw the entire world into turmoil, but Velvet does it anyway all to carry out her personal revenge. It’s absolutely great and becomes one of the few times where killing a JRPG final boss god is given the proper weight it deserves. MASSIVE Endgame Spoilers for Tales of Berseria And then, as one last demonstration of how much she truly cares for the people closest to her, she makes the decision to seal herself and Innominat away after killing Artorius. See, somewhere down the road, Velvet realized that herself, Laphicet, and all the other Therions like Velvet are all intrinsically connected to Innominat, and killing him would be the same as killing them and herself. So she willing seals herself away with Innominat just so that Laphicet and the others can have a chance at life. It’s an extremely bittersweet ending, but it truly shows how selfless Velvet really is, and it’s honestly enough to make her one of my favorite JRPG protagonists. Question: Who are some of your favorite anti-heroes? Alf's 17th Favorite Character Teaser: A main character suffering from mental illness ==== Game #18: Metal Gear Solid ”You mustn’t allow yourself to be chained to fate... to be ruled by your genes. Humans can choose the type of life they want to live.”  Released: Sep. 3rd, 1998 Synopsis: Renegade special forces unit FOXHOUND has seized control of Shadow Moses Island, with their leader Liquid Snake threatening the safety of the US if their demands are not met. To stop the threat, Solid Snake is brought out of retirement and sent to the island with a simple objective: stop FOXHOUND and destroy their nuclear weapon, Metal Gear! Chosen Music: The Best is Yet to Come --- I was really excited when I got my PS3 back in 2014, because it meant that I could access a world of games that my friends had already played and finally get the chance to see why people loved them so much. The most obvious series on the list was Persona, but I had also gone ahead and bought the Metal Gear Legacy Collection as well. Back then I was still pretty excited for Metal Gear Solid 5 to come out even though I had never played an MGS game before, so I figured now was as good a time as any to get into it. I booted up the first game, struggled my way through with its archaic control scheme, and on one night I stayed up for longer than necessary to beat the final boss in time for a friend’s birthday. And looking back on it now, even though my desire to beat Phantom Pain has all but evaporated at this point, I can safely say it was all worth it for MGS1 alone. I know some people will be quick to prop up the Twin Snakes remaster over the original for at least making it playable, but I’ve always had an issue with the remaster’s voice acting. It’s remarkable that David Hayter went through all the trouble to get the original voice cast back and everything, but something about the newly recorded lines just feels... so flat and lifeless. Like the acting in the original honestly isn’t great either, but there’s a campy charm to it and you can feel the actors getting into their role so much more. It helps keep them and us invested in the story when the actors sound like they actually give a poo poo rather than just doling out a dry and sterile line reading. And honestly, even if the gameplay hasn’t aged too well... I still really like MGS1. It’s stunning how real sneaking around the enemy base feels for a game made before the turn of the century; things like distracting guards with noise or guards finding your footprints seem like no-brainers, but MGS1 uses them to incredible effect. Some of the set pieces can be annoying due to how much MGS1 has aged (the staircase sequence is a nightmare), but there’s still some genuine satisfaction to beating them once you finally break through them. And I also love just about every boss fight in the game and how they make use of just about all of your options, even the ones you’d never think about using before. Probably the thing I love the most about MGS1 though is the story. Later MGS games would go on to cover a broader range of themes and most of those work out great, but MGS1 really nails the self-contained espionage tale. There’s lots of intrigue and mystery over what Liquid’s goals are and why Solid Snake was sent to the island to begin with, and they all pay off pretty fantastically by the time the game is over. I also happen to like the theme of not letting your genes define you, and I love just about all the development Snake goes through during the game. As far as gameplay goes I’m not sure if it holds up all that much, but as a story and a general entertainment product, I’d definitely say it deserves all the praise it got when it came out nearly two decades ago. Question: Have you ever consumed a piece of media to try and get closer to anyone? Alf's 17th Favorite Game Teaser: Let's kill the savior Alfalfa The Roach fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Jun 4, 2017 |
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Jun 4, 2017 20:55
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velvet is badass and i'm glad for her being the 7th most popular tales character in japan now mgs1 is a bit clunky but it's a lot better if you hook up a dualshock. for some reason, while it doesn't support full analog, it does support the full range of movement offered by a stick The Colonel fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jun 5, 2017 |
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Jun 5, 2017 00:46
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I never knew the voice acting between the OG MGS and Twin Snakes was different, largely because I never played the original MGS, but that's a shame to hear it was a downgrade. I still adore Twin Snakes though, maybe one day I'll see past the clunk and give the original a go. Also the amount of Berseria characters on this list is really pushing me to play that game. I know I'll like it, I just played Vesperia last and I feel like if I go on to Berseria I'll never go back and play Xillia or Zestria. So behind on games.
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Jun 5, 2017 01:01
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Cipher Pol 9 posted:I never knew the voice acting between the OG MGS and Twin Snakes was different, largely because I never played the original MGS, but that's a shame to hear it was a downgrade. That's a hotly debated topic.
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Jun 5, 2017 01:04
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good, don't play zestiria, it's awful. play berseria and watch the anime adaptation of zestiria if you want more, the game is an unfun slog with no payoff and the anime does a billion more things with the cast than the game does i played berseria before finishing xillia and i didn't have any issues, they're pretty different and xillia has fun combat in its own ways and the issues dragging it down are only noticeable when you're almost done with it anyway.
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Jun 5, 2017 01:05
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Character #17: Mae Borowski “If it only means something because I want it to then it doesn’t really mean anything, right?”     First Appearance: Night in the Woods (Feb. 21st, 2017) Bio: Fresh out of dropping out of college, Mae is usually easygoing but lacks social awareness and suffers from heavy bouts of anger and depression. After a horrific incident that happened years ago, her doctor prescribed her a journal that she uses to keep herself grounded in reality. --- Mae Borowski is a character that a lot of socially awkward people, myself included, can see a bit of themselves in. Her lack of social skills can make her seem like an insensitive jerk, like when she randomly snaps at people or when she’s bringing up personal information at inappropriate times. Her internalized frustration and depression seems to predispose her into habits like vandalism and theft, which she doesn’t give much thought to until it comes back to bite her rear end later. She’ll get along just fine with her parents one moment, then avoid discussing job searching with them or even start arguing with her mom over dropping out of college. At least part of all this has to do with her inability to get her act together, which only serves to strain her relationships with others. Spoilers for Night in the Woods (though it really only spoils The Incident and explains Mae's condition) The other part of this has to do with her struggles with disassociation and how much it’s tampered with her life, which she only talks about near the end of the game. Her inability to see something as anything but featureless shapes becomes a major source of stress for her, to the point where it caused a major incident after she beat someone’s head in at a softball game. Her condition only got worse when she went to college, where she only saw anything around her as dead shapes and responded by leading such an extremely destructive lifestyle just to escape until she finally mustered the courage to leave. And you start to see little hints of this during the early parts of the game, like the journal she keeps to write or draw stuff down in, or the first nightmare sequence. In all honesty, watching her struggle through most of the game made me understand mental illness a little more, and while I myself don’t have severe disassociation, I can understand what she goes through and how her issues just gently caress her up a lot. And yeah, a lot of the dialogue choices you’re given throughout the game make her seem like a huge jerk at times, but it’s also a really authentic way to present Mae as a character. It’s a really good way of demonstrating how much she sucks at social interaction when neither of the options she has are particularly good, especially when it just leads her to fight with some people. It’s not that she’s a particularly bad apple (all questionable acts of vandalism and other crimes aside); she just never learned how to deal with her own issues and it reflects on her character as a result. And that’s not even getting into the nightmares and ghost hunting she goes through throughout most of the game, which doesn’t help her case and just makes her seem more crazy. But even discounting all of her involvement in the final act aside (which is all incredible and easily one of the biggest highlights of the game), I really like those moments where she at least tries to talk to people. Getting along with Gregg is a no-brainer since those two are incredibly like-minded, but her one scene with Angus and the scenes where she hangs out with her mom and Bea are really touching. There’s a sensitive soul underneath the myriad of issues she’s dealing with, and hanging out with the people around her helps her to let that shine through a little more. And there are undoubtedly moments where she gives terrible advice that makes a situation worse or when she just becomes dead weight for a little bit, but her giving an honest effort matters a lot in the end. Question: Has a piece of media ever presented mental illness in a way that felt authentic to you? Alf's 16th Favorite Character Teaser: The greatest soldier to ever live ==== Game #17: Tales of Berseria ”Birds fly because they want to fly, and for no other reason!”  Released: Aug. 18th, 2016 Synopsis: In the distant past, the land was ravaged by a plague known as Daemonblight, a terrible disease that causes the infected to transform into daemons. Though the world looks to the Shepherd Artorius to put an end to this blight, one woman festering with rage will stop at nothing to enact vengeance upon him. Chosen Music: Velvet’s Theme (Full Version) --- Tales of Berseria was not the game I was expecting to play from January to February of this year. The only reason I even got it was to have something to fill the gap after Atlus USA decided to delay Persona 5 one last time, to the month this whole thing was scheduled to begin no less. That, and I happened to notice quite a few people on Something Awful were singing nothing but praise for it, so I decided to get it just to see what all the fuss about. After beating it and then moving on to play and recently finish Persona 5... I actually ended up enjoying my time with Berseria more. Like yeah, Persona 5 is good and all (there are a lot of things about it that annoy me though), but if I had to pick between the two, I would definitely call Berseria a much better game overall. To start with, I feel like Berseria has probably the strongest main cast out of any JRPG I’ve ever played. All of them have clearly thought-out goals and motivations, and I don’t think any one of them is a bad character at all (except maybe Bienfu but I don’t really count him and also I still kinda like him). The skits they have also do a lot to expand upon their personalities and interests, and it’s honestly a treat just to watch them have conversations with each other like real people. At one point, they even acknowledge the fact that they might never see eye-to-eye since each member of the group is so different, which I always found extremely interesting. It’s easy to just go along with how most rag-tag groups end up being super close with each other, but an open acknowledgement of how Berseria’s group might not get along all that much is a shockingly realistic thing to say, which says a lot about how good Berseria’s writing quality is. Exploring around the world can be a bit tiring (doesn’t help that Berseria has one of the most generic soundtracks I’ve ever heard), but combat is an absolute blast. My only other Tales experience has been Tales of Vesperia, and aside from some initial grievances, it was a pretty alright introduction to the series’ Linear Motion Battle System. Berseria’s take on it is another beast entirely; each Arte is mapped to a different face button, and you have a Soul Gauge that keeps you from mashing buttons and making your attacks easy to counter. It’s tricky at first, but once you get a handle on it and you learn how to gain more Souls by parrying enemy attacks and poo poo, it becomes absolutely awesome. A lot of the main cast is fun to play as too, but I mainly went with Velvet throughout the whole game; her Break Soul is just extraordinarily fun to use every single time. And overall, as a story, Berseria does an excellent job with its characters and themes. The game itself serves as a prequel to Zestiria (which is made really apparent by the end), but thankfully that game can be safely ignored for the most part. Not that I’ve ever played Zestiria for myself, but I’ve heard a lot about how, on top of cruddy combat, that game’s plot is unfinished as hell and the writing for its characters is uncomfortably stiff and bad. Which just makes me more glad that Berseria exists; it’s a tightly focused game that doesn’t try to do too much at once, and doesn’t once deviate from the end goal of killing “the savior of the world.” I’m still pretty inexperienced with the Tales games at large, but I would absolutely recommend Berseria to anyone who wants to get into the series. Question: Is there a game that you weren't originally intending to play, but absolutely loved it when you did play it? Alf's 16th Favorite Game Teaser: Features a rolling ball level
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Jun 6, 2017 22:42
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zestiria is a lousy game, but the anime is pretty good and gives a happier ending to eizen that still fits the darker tone, so if you're curious to see what happens after berseria i'd absolutely recommend giving it a watch
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Jun 6, 2017 23:10
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Character #16: Big Boss “If the times demand it, we'll be revolutionaries, criminals, terrorists. And yes, we may all be headed straight to hell. But what better place for us than this? It is our only home. Our heaven and our hell. This is Outer Heaven.”     First Appearance: Metal Gear (July 13, 1987) Bio: A former member of the CIA special forces unit FOX, Big Boss abandoned his country after an international incident forced him to kill his mentor. In the years that followed, he established a soldier’s paradise called Outer Heaven, and his DNA was used in the Les Enfants Terribles project to create three distinct super soldiers. --- To speak of the man known as Big Boss is to speak of a legend with an untold amount of interpretations. Some consider him a hero who valiantly fought against an oppressive society, while others label him a terrorist who is blind to the destruction caused by his actions. At his heart, however, Big Boss is a soldier who’s gone through so much - too much for one soldier to bear alone - and the result of all this shapes him for years to come. It’s made him hesitant to let anyone close to him, and makes him chase after an ideology for all the wrong reasons, but it makes him one of the strongest characters not just in Metal Gear, but also in video game history. MGS3 starts off by showing a glimpse of Big Boss in a simpler time back when he was known as Naked Snake. He took his job as a CIA operative and a servant of America seriously, but in stark contrast to Solid Snake, he’s much more willing to express himself and what he’s thinking at this point in his life. He’s chummy with a lot of his teammates, he cracks jokes every now and then, and he generally comes off as smooth and charming. And you even get fun little tidbits about him like how he’s scared of Dracula, or that he doesn’t give a poo poo about any of the James Bond movies. It’s fun just to BE Naked Snake and watch him interact with a majority of the cast while he does as best as he can to complete his mission. Major Metal Gear Solid 3 Spoilers Then his mentor, The Boss, betrays him and nearly leaves him to die, and dear god does his worldview just shatter. One of the people he thought was closest to him and who taught him everything he knows suddenly decides to defect from the US, and then later Naked Snake is forced to kill her to prevent a nuclear war from breaking out. The sting of her betrayal haunts Naked Snake throughout the whole game, and it really interferes with most of his attempts to get close to Eva because he’s so afraid of getting betrayed again. Then once he completes the mission, gets the gently caress out of dodge, and he STILL ends up getting betrayed by Eva... that just ruins him. It’s not until later that he learns why he had to kill The Boss, but that entire segment where he gets christened as Big Boss and ignores the handshake as he walks out speaks so many volumes. Major Metal Gear Solid 4 Spoilers and Minor Metal Gear Solid 5 Spoilers After all that, Big Boss decides to follow in his mentor’s footsteps, and this is the point where the cracks in his character really start to form. His desire to follow The Boss’ ideals leads to an altercation between him and Zero, who vies for total control as leader of The Patriots, and turns into full-on rebellion after he learns about the Les Enfants Terribles project. He establishes his own faction, has it obliterated by Zero, creates another faction, and eventually turns it into the military nation Outer Heaven, a lawless land free from the influence of The Patriots. His desire for revenge against his enemies drives him further away from The Boss’ ideology, and results in a conflict spanning generations, and it isn’t until Solid Snake manages to destroy the Patriots once and for all that Big Boss is able to realize what he’s done. Then you have the ending to MGS4, which caps off Big Boss’ arc so perfectly. Throughout that whole segment where he stops Snake from offing himself and explaining the whole story, you can really feel the weight of all his actions on his shoulders and how he FINALLY realizes what The Boss wanted all along. Even after all the atrocities he’s committed and how long he’s kept this pointless war going, it’s touching to see him reconcile with his son and encourage him, along with finally settling things with Zero before he passes on. And it’s all the more poignant when he stares at The Boss’ grave and asks her, “this is good... isn’t it?” Question: If you had to choose between the ideology of The Patriots or the ideology of Outer Heaven, which would you see yourself gravitate towards more? Alf's 15th Favorite Character Teaser: The very first character you meet ==== Game #16: Super Mario Galaxy "Welcome, welcome new galaxy!"  Released: Nov. 1st, 2007 Synopsis: While celebrating the centennial Star Festival, the Mushroom Kingdom comes under attack by Bowser, who kidnaps Peach and whisks her away into the deepest reaches of outer space! Determined to go after him, Mario allies himself with Rosalina, protector of the cosmos, and must collect the Power Stars that power the Comet Observatory to restore its functionality and chase down Bowser! Chosen Music: Staff Roll ---  Game #16: Super Mario Galaxy 2 ”Hey... guess what, Mario! Breathe a sigh of relief, because it'll be your last! Know why?! Because this is finally the end! THE END OF YOU!”  Released: May 23rd, 2010 Synopsis: While once again celebrating the centennial Star Festival, Bowser kidnaps Peach and enacts a new plan to rule the galaxy with Peach at his side. To go after him, Mario teams up with Lubba, a crafty Luma mechanic who grants him control over Starship Mario, which Mario uses to give chase! Chosen Music: Staff Roll --- YOU THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SUPER MARIO GALAXY I WAS GONNA TALK ABOUT, BUT GET READY FOR SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 TOO, MOTHERFUCKERS Why do I have both Galaxy and Galaxy 2 occupying the same spot? Well, no matter how hard I try to take each game on their own merits, the fact of the matter is that I can’t bear to rate one game over the other. Both of them on the surface are very similar games, with each of them having incredibly well designed levels, a variety of imaginative and fun power-ups, breathtaking music, and disappointing final boss battles. But the difference between them lies in how one of these games excels over the other in a certain area, and how one of them just happens to have a huge nostalgic connection for me. It’s taken a long, long time with a lot of thinking to get to this point, but now, at this juncture in time, I feel comfortable with presenting how I rate each of these games in the same manner. Let’s start with Galaxy 1 first, a game that I was thirsting to play even when I didn’t have a Wii, and then I beat the main game within a day after renting it. Galaxy 1 most clearly represents a point where the Mario team really wanted to do something different with the franchise, and you can’t get much different by putting the next game in outer space. There’s a real sense of grandeur in the scope and presentation, which all reflects itself brilliantly on the environments and the sweeping orchestral soundtrack. The narrative is so simple yet it’s given so much weight and elegance, and I really love what they do with Rosalina both in the main story and in the storybook segments. For all the complaints I do have about it (don’t like the imbalance of stars between worlds, playing through the game again as Luigi is a worthless reward for getting all 120 stars), it’s a masterful game that’s rightfully owned its status as a classic. Then with Galaxy 2, I actually owned this game and loved the poo poo out of it, and I even tried to convince myself that it was my favorite game of all time (boy that fell through quickly). Like, the lack of story is regrettable, but I love how it improves upon the gameplay in just about every way. And not just like introducing Yoshi and couple new power-ups (although I love the poo poo out of all of that), I mean like cutting out a majority of filler (pull stars, while neat, got annoying fast), balancing the stars between worlds so that every world has 2-3 stars at most (seriously, that’s incredibly smart), simplifying travel between worlds, and giving us tons of great post-game content. Like, World S is great by itself, but then you get the Green Star quest and it’s this incredible challenge of using your wits and know-how to track down every single one. And the Grandmaster Galaxy you get upon getting 240 stars is seriously one of the best finales to a video game in a long time (until 3D World’s Champion Road). So, yeah, try as I might to pick one over the other, both Galaxy games have their own merits that make it hard to effectively rank them separately. Galaxy 1 absolutely nails the atmosphere of space and interstellar adventure, and its narrative only serves to capitalize on that. Galaxy 2, meanwhile, takes the original’s gameplay and turbo-charges it to insane degrees, giving us a game that’s just fun to replay over and over again. Call it cheating if you must, but I feel comfortable having these two in the same spot, and I wouldn’t dare give up one over the other for the world. Question: What's your all-time favorite Mario game? Alf's 15th Favorite Game Teaser: You've got a way to fall...
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Jun 8, 2017 23:07
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I've been playing the Ace Attorney trilogy and am on the third game now. Gumshoe isn't in the subsequent games?! At all?? I'm furious!!!!
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Jun 9, 2017 13:02
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Wendell posted:I've been playing the Ace Attorney trilogy and am on the third game now. Gumshoe isn't in the subsequent games?! At all?? I'm furious!!!! He's in both Investigations spinoff games, at least.
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Jun 9, 2017 13:03
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Lurdiak posted:He's in both Investigations spinoff games, at least. In those ones you get to actually play as Edgeworth has he makes constant threats regarding Gumshoe's ability to afford food.
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Jun 9, 2017 18:29
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op are you one of those people who joined for the dengan ronpa lp because this thread reads like you signed up for the dengan ronpa lp
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Jun 9, 2017 18:42
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Robo Reagan posted:op are you one of those people who joined for the dengan ronpa lp because this thread reads like you signed up for the dengan ronpa lp
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Jun 9, 2017 19:03
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Wendell posted:I've been playing the Ace Attorney trilogy and am on the third game now. Gumshoe isn't in the subsequent games?! At all?? I'm furious!!!! Yeah he has a very small role in Apollo Justice and is a main character in the Investigations spinoffs. Also, my favourite Mario game is Galaxy 2 and it might be my favourite platformer as well. Hell, i'd almost call it a perfect platformer. I love that game.
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Jun 9, 2017 22:50
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Robo Reagan posted:op are you one of those people who joined for the dengan ronpa lp because this thread reads like you signed up for the dengan ronpa lp I literally said in my Danganronpa write-up "I joined Something Awful to read the Danganronpa LP," but yes
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Jun 10, 2017 03:41
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Character #15: Flowey “Howdy! It’s me, Flowey. Flowey the flower!”     First Appearance: Undertale (Sep. 15th, 2015) Bio: At first glance, Flowey seems like a chipper talking flower eager to make friends with those who stumble into the Underground. But despite looking harmless, underneath that smile is a cruel and sadistic soul, one who wouldn’t hesitate to kill an unassuming soul at any given opportunity. --- It is my belief that Flowey is a tragic character. This is not immediately obvious to a first-time player when you’re introduced to him and he greets you by trying to kill you. He’s very quick to put up a friendly façade and then yank it away when he starts taunting and making fun of you over all of your actions. The entirety of the Ruins is absolutely great for Flowey; no matter what you do, he’ll always be ready to tear you down, whether it’s mocking your “no killing” policy, pointing out how the people you killed had lives of their own, or even calling you out when you spared Toriel after killing her once. It’s an amazing end to the Ruins that makes it feel like Flowey’s always one step ahead of you, and it’s a shame that he mostly drops off in relevance after you leave. Neutral Ending Spoilers But then Omega Flowey happens, which is a complete clusterfuck of a boss that takes control of your entire game and weighs you down with a constant barrage of attacks. It’s an incredible finale made all the better when you manage to withstand the onslaught and get all the necessary pieces to finally beat him (though I never died once on the whole encounter). And then, once he’s left in his weakened state and he’s goading you to kill him, you can just see him start to fall apart when you repeatedly spare him. Most of that has to do with information given to us from the Genocide route, but it’s really heartbreaking to see him just... not understand why you’re giving him so much mercy. Genocide Spoilers and MAJOR True Pacifist Spoilers I’d imagine most people wouldn’t go down the Genocide route just based on principle (myself included), but it actually does a lot to flesh out Flowey, who turns out to be Asriel after Alphys transfers his soul into a flower. You find out that, when he was reincarnated from his original body, he discovered that he has absolutely no feelings inside of him for his own parents. Later recognizing his ability to SAVE and then feeling jaded when he finds out he’s in a video game is really great too, but... I find myself relating to his lack of emotion more often than not. At any one point in time, I might not know if what I feel about anything is how I really truly feel about them, and I often struggle with trying to determine my true feelings most of the time. The rest of the Genocide route just ends horribly for Flowey, but I’m glad it was able to expand upon him more in his Flowey state before his untimely demise by your hands. And then you get to the True Ending final fight, which is absolutely amazing and displays all the wonderful power of love and friendship and stuff, and... I just feel really bad for Asriel. Not only did his best friend turn out to be a complete piece of poo poo, but he ends up getting roped into his insane plan and dies, only to come back as a flower that can barely feel emotions at all. That kind of loneliness drove him to the brink of insanity, and the entirety of the True Pacifist final boss fight reflects this, even when it was all for the sake of being with someone who was nothing but a jerk. Even while Asriel is alright with spending the rest of his life as a flower to atone for what he’s done, it’s tragic how he ends up as the only one who isn’t free, and it serves as a bittersweet, but effective, cap-off to his arc. Question: Which characters do you find really interesting on a meta-narrative level? Alf's 14th Favorite Character Teaser: Has a shirt with a heart on it ==== Game #15: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ”Loyalty to your country, or loyalty to me? Your country, or your old mentor? The mission, or your beliefs? Your duty to your unit, or your personal feelings? You don't know the truth yet. But sooner or later you'll have to choose.”  Released: Nov. 17th, 2004 Synopsis: During the Cold War in 1964, what was supposed to be a simple search-and-rescue operation turns sour when a sudden betrayal causes an international incident. Now, with the US and Russia on the brink of war, CIA operative Naked Snake must sneak into Russia to track down his former mentor and put a stop to a renegade faction’s plans for nuclear war! Chosen Music: Snake Eater --- I adore MGS1 even when a lot of it feels clunky nowadays, but Metal Gear Solid 3 is one of the most smartly designed games ever made. Even in a world where Metal Gear Solid V exists and lets you do almost whatever you want, MGS3 still feels and plays incredibly to this day, and it’s almost entirely because of how focused and nuanced it is. There’s a stunning amount of detail and care put into every weapon, every item, every enemy, and every location, and the game engine allows for any number of different interactions to play out. If you get good enough, you can even pull off crazy poo poo like this. The amount of possibilities and ways you can plow through MGS3 are just endless, and it’s shocking to think that this is more advanced than all the modern open-world games that came out after it. The variety in which you can tackle each encounter is incredible in its own right, but another aspect that plays into what makes MGS3 is its realism. A lot of people might think that stopping every so often to eat some food or take care of injuries is breaking the flow of gameplay, but to me that stuff adds SO MUCH to an already carefully thought-out game. It sells the idea of you surviving out in the jungle trying to accomplish your mission far better than anything else the game could think to do. Well, except for the entire fight sequence against The End that’s one of the best sniper fights in anything and can be accomplished in different ways (even just waiting 7 real life days will do it). It’s pretty hard for any other survival scenario to top that. And probably the biggest reason why MGS3 made it over MGS1 for me is how perfectly the story and its characters are handled. There is not a single wasted scene in the entire game; everything fulfills some sort of purpose, even the fun little easter eggs that you happen to stumble upon. They make it a point to show how much Big Boss struggles throughout the course of Operation Snake Eater, but he steadily learns how to both deal with The Boss and open up to Eva a little more. And every scene he has with Ocelot is just great in how he manages to pass himself off as this really cool guy that Ocelot will totally follow for the rest of his life. There’s just so much care put into every detail of the story, from the first time it starts all the way to the final interaction with The Boss. So why isn’t it higher on my list, you might be asking? Well, I’m not entirely sure myself, because as far as I know MGS3 is so well made that it absolutely deserves to be higher. Maybe if I had played it earlier or if I paid more attention to it or something, I would be able to better appreciate what it was going for and how masterfully it handles every aspect of gameplay and story. Or maybe I’m just long overdue for a replay even though it’s only been like two years since I beat it and I haven’t really bothered to touch it since then. But any excuse to revisit MGS3, a game that still stands the test of time against all the new stuff coming out lately, is fine by me. Question: Are there games that you found amazing, but you have nothing more than a surface level appreciation for them for whatever reason? Alf's 14th Favorite Game Teaser: The reason why I fell in love with PlatinumGames
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Jun 10, 2017 22:36
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Nice to see you sticking it out with this silly thread. Shine on you weirdo. 
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Jun 11, 2017 18:52
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I don't know why it exists but it's a nice thread.
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Jun 11, 2017 18:57
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Shy posted:I don't know why it exists but it's a nice thread. Liking things is good. More people should try it.
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Jun 11, 2017 18:59
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Thanks for the words of encouragement! I should be done with this dumb thread in about a month, and I'm highly looking forward to having this all be finished by then
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Jun 11, 2017 19:34
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Character #14: Phoenix Wright “You know my strategy... speak first, think later!”     First Appearance: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Oct. 12, 2001) Bio: At the start of his law career, Phoenix Wright is quickly thrust into the spotlight when his mentor Mia Fey is murdered in cold blood. He goes through many trials in his career, even spending several years disbarred from the legal world after a controversial case, but nowadays he owns and operates the Wright Anything Agency and is considered to be one of the best lawyers in the business. --- Phoenix Wright was someone I didn’t think I would absolutely love at first. When I played the first Ace Attorney game a few years ago, I did like him fine enough as a newbie with some hidden sass and a clever wit about him, though it was very obvious he was still learning the ropes. Then, once the second case gets under way, I saw him take things more seriously, especially with Maya Fey’s life on the line, and I realized how capable he was of sticking his neck out for his client. And by the end of 1-4 and also Rise From the Ashes, Nick goes on to just go to incredible lengths to prove his client not guilty, intentionally or otherwise, and it’s like “this guy has to be the luckiest, dumbest, but also most determined lawyer in the whole legal system.” And that’s really who Nick is at his center: he puts all his faith in his client, and whether or not he actually succeeds, he’ll be damned if he doesn’t pull out all the stops to uncover the truth of each case. Case 4 Spoilers for Justice For All But then the final case of Justice for All happens, and holy poo poo does my respect for him just skyrocket to the moon. For perhaps the first time in his career, Phoenix has a legitimately guilty client in Matt Engarde, who is a complete piece of poo poo and is absolutely guilty of the crime he’s been accused of doing. But Matt knows not to just leave it at that, and is manipulating Nick to get him a good verdict by taking Maya hostage and threatening her life along with his hired assassin Shelly. It’s such an excellent challenge of Nick’s character not just for the stakes, but also in how it puts all his faith in his clients into question. It makes the final turnabout even more incredible after he gets all the help he needs from his friends and is able to pull off THE MIRACLE and absolutely destroy Matt. Just, god, everything about that climax is beautiful. Case 5 Spoilers for Trials & Tribulations Then for AA3, Nick is mostly in the back while the rest of the endgame is dedicated to tying up all the loose ends with the Fey conspiracy and everything. But I do really like his relationship with Godot, and how the build-up to the final case has him learning more about the case that started the game’s overarching plot, and by proxy learning a little more about his old mentor. That said, I love how AA3 clearly shows how far Nick has come along since the first game, especially in 3-3 when he comes up with an incredible plan on the fly to convince the court of Furio Tigre’s guilt. And to his credit, he’s an absolute joy in endgame, proving how much he cares about Maya’s safety by RUNNING ACROSS A BURNING BRIDGE, and giving one of his best performances in court to date outside of 2-4 and Rise From the Ashes. The last few moments alone, with him and Mia’s ghost pointing at Godot and then the two of them drinking coffee together, is a perfect send-off to the original trilogy. Nowadays in games like AA5 and AA6, Nick doesn’t really get a whole lot of moments to shine, which makes it kind of off-putting when Apollo and Athena are getting pushed a lot but he still gets top billing in the west. Overall though, I’m okay with him being a mentor to his co-workers, since it’s a nice reminder of how far he’s come when he was learning under Mia. Most of the cases where he’s the main attorney range from great (6-3) to okay (Spirit of Justice’s DLC case), but I love everything about him in Dual Destinies’ DLC case. Not only is the case itself hilarious and amazing, but it shows all the best qualities of Nick’s character, especially near the end when he exposes the real truth of how it all happened. The lengths he’ll go to uncover the truth might get pretty out there, but he just wouldn’t be who he is otherwise. Question: How far would you go for the sake of a close friend? Alf's 13th Favorite Character Teaser: A fun-loving bear ==== Game #14: Bayonetta ”As long as there's music, I'll keep on dancing.”  Released: Oct. 29th, 2009 Synopsis: 500 years ago, the followers of light, the Lumen Sages, and the followers of darkness, the Umbra Witches, disappeared along with their unique treasures, the Eyes of the World. Now, in modern times, Bayonetta awakens with no memory of her past and begins a search for the Right Eye, which she believes to be the key to recovering her memories. Chosen Music: Let’s Dance, Boys --- My connection with PlatinumGames began back at the start of 2013, when I picked up Anarchy Reigns for the 360 after seeing Super Best Friends hype the poo poo out of it. I had no one to play it with, but it still turned out to be a great game with a killer soundtrack, and I was like “man, those guys were right, this game is awesome.” Then, several months later, I grabbed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, my first Metal Gear game and a proper Platinum title. It also had an awesome soundtrack, but the smooth gameplay and amazing boss battles really sold me on it, and once I beat that I was like “you know what? I’d be A-OK with buying anything that Platinum makes, they make some good-rear end games.” Then I played Bayonetta.     Holy poo poo. To say that I was blown away by the scope and scale of Bayonetta is a severe understatement. I had never even played a game like it until today, but the pure adrenaline rush, the way it oozes style and flair, and the sheer insanity made it instantly endearing and entertaining right from the intro. You might think it stops building up how huge and batshit crazy it can get, but here’s the thing: it never does. It keeps escalating off of every encounter and every gigantic boss battle, with Bayonetta pulling out new, absurdly huge monsters to brutally execute the poo poo out of each of the bosses, and each fight with Jeanne getting more intense and awesome. And then the final boss battle’s climax is one of the most fantastic and satisfying ends to a final boss in any of Platinum’s games (either that or Wonderful 101’s final boss ending) or in video games period. The escalation of the story and bosses is one thing, but actually playing Bayonetta was another reason that made me fall in love with it. A big reason why Bayonetta’s combat works so well is because of Witch Time, which rewards patiently waiting for a dodge by slowing down the world around you and letting you get extra hits in. It is so satisfying to learn the tells for an enemy’s moves, then dodging at just the right time and pounding on them endlessly with all your different weapons and combos. And while it doesn’t really have the Stylish system that Devil May Cry has, it still rewards experimentation by way of using different moves and keeping your combo going with techniques like Dodge Offsetting. Sometimes it might get a little unfairly hard (Gracious & Glorious are the absolute worst), but when you completely throttle a dude and end up with that Pure Platinum medal, it’s hard not to feel immensely satisfied. I’m really glad that Bayonetta was able to get a sequel on the Wii U, and even though it doesn’t appear on this list, I still have to give a lot of credit to Bayo 2. The color palette is a lot nicer, there aren’t any bullshit instant death traps, equipping weapons to your feet opens up tons of new possibilities, and Umbran Climax is such a brilliant and natural extension to Wicked Weaves. But my main point of contention with Bayo 2 is in its final boss battle, which, while it’s still awesome, it doesn’t leave me with a lot of satisfaction like Bayo 1’s climax did. It’s not really a huge knock against Bayo 2 or anything; it’s just that Bayo 1 did so much to pull me in and keep all my hype going all the way to the end of the staff roll that it’s hard for any other Platinum title to compare. It’s by far my favorite game with the PlatinumGames branding, one of my all-time favorite action games, and a perfect model for any action game to aspire to. Question: What games helped you get into an entire genre? Alf's 13th Favorite Game Teaser: A game with pirates Alfalfa The Roach fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Jun 14, 2017 |
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Jun 12, 2017 22:50
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Character #13: Monokuma “Let’s give it everything we’ve got! IT’S PUNISHMENT TIME!”     First Appearance: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Nov. 25th, 2010) Bio: A strange-looking bear with unusual abilities, Monokuma wants nothing more than to drown as many people in despair as possible. To achieve this, he traps the students of Hope’s Peak Academy, young people meant to represent humanity’s future, and forces them to murder each other in gruesome killing games. --- It’s hard to really get a character like Monokuma right, and I honestly never thought he’d be one of my favorites in a series rich in great characters. He has that perfect combination of “cutesy and lovable,” “loving hilarious,” and “legitimately threatening” that I never thought I’d see in a mascot character. He gets such a joy out of terrorizing high schoolers, and pulling off the biggest and craziest show possible when executing the guilty party that it’s hard not to get sucked into his rhythm. And in Danganronpa 2, he only gets better with even crazier gags and having Monomi to bounce off of for some of his scenes. He’s just an absolute joy to watch in every scene he’s in, and I’m more than happy to have him as the face of Danganronpa. Major Danganronpa and Danganronpa 2 Spoilers Of course, the actual reason for why I love Monokuma is for the person who masquerades as him, Junko Enoshima. And lemme tell you, if Monokuma was weird already, then his real identity is somehow even more insane. She’ll switch between like 5-6 different personalities within the span of a single conversation, and her mood swings so wildly it’s hard to predict what she’ll do or say next. Her obsession with the concept of despair has sent her so far off the deep end that you wouldn’t think she’d be capable of all the destruction she’s caused, but she can get downright sinister when she’s crafting a major plan and always loves to be one step ahead of the other students. She just has SO MUCH FUN spreading misery wherever she goes, and it’s incredible how she consistently manages to top herself with every appearance (AI Junko is technically separate from real Junko, but I still count it as Junko). That in itself would be enough to love her, but one of my favorite parts about her is how they characterize her relationship with the concept of despair. Ever since she was born, Junko’s life was filled with nothing but despair, with barely anyone to help her or her sister Mukuro. And eventually, after going so long and being so deeply entrenched in misery and pain, she became unable to feel any other emotion other than despair, even when she became a successful model. She then began to think that feeling despair was the only emotion she was ever capable of, and this led to her wanting to spread despair to everyone around her so they could feel what she feels every day. And this, in turn, leads to how Junko lived an extremely harmful lifestyle. Her craving for despair led her to go out of her way to cause herself as much pain and misery as possible in order to bring despair upon herself. She decided long ago that nothing she could do would change anything, so she instead took the path that only caused her to hurt more, because being hurt is the only time she’s ever felt anything at all. It’s scary to think of how real this is, but it adds so many layers to Junko that I had never even thought about until I had it all pointed out to me one time. I’m not sure if I’d want to see more of Junko in future games, especially when the entire Hope’s Peak storyline used her as much as it could without her getting stale. But for a character that brings a lot of laughs and a surprisingly heavy amount of baggage, Junko is an incredibly hard antagonist to beat. Question: Was there ever a point in your life where you lived in a self-destructive manner? Alf's 12th Favorite Character Teaser: A clone ==== Game #13: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest ”I've kidnapped that lumbering fool Donkey Kong and you will never see him again! Har-har-har-har-har!”  Released: Nov. 20th, 1995 Synopsis: The dastardly Kaptain K. Rool has kidnapped Donkey Kong and issued an ultimatum: Donkey Kong’s life for all of the bananas in his horde. Donkey Kong’s wannabe nephew Diddy Kong, together with his girlfriend Dixie Kong, must travel to the foreboding Crocodile Isle to rescue DK and defeat K. Rool once again. Chosen Music: In a Snow-Bound Land --- I didn’t grow up with the Donkey Kong Country series for a majority of my childhood, only managing to get into it around the time the GBA ports were coming out. I never did get the GBA port for the first Country game (though I did manage to get and beat the first game off the Wii eShop around 2009), but I had a fateful encounter with a guy on the bus that had DKC2 for the GBA during my middle school years. My earliest memories with the game had always been playing demos of it at hotels, so seeing it on a portable system was really cool to me at the time. I would ask that guy to borrow his copy to play during the commute home from school like any time I saw him, and then eventually, near the end of the school year, he ended up giving me the game for free. I had no idea that he would ever decide to do that for me, but it was an awesome feeling at the time, and helped to kick start my relationship with the DKC series. A while after I had gotten Country 2 for the GBA, I ended up getting Donkey Kong Country 3 for the GBA while on a trip to Florida back when it had first came out. It was a fun time for sure and had some really nice environments and ideas, but I didn’t like how a lot of the level gimmicks would slow down the flow of gameplay (with the odd exception like Lightning Lookout). Then Retro Studios would take the helm of the franchise after a long period of silence, giving us both Returns for the Wii (and later 3DS) and Tropical Freeze for the Wii U. Both of those games are amazing games that do so much to capture the brutally difficult but insanely fun spirit of the DKC games, and any one would be worthy of being declared the best Country game. But out of all the games that I’ve played (save for like the Land series, dunno if those even count), my favorite Donkey Kong Country game will always be the one that got me into the series, Diddy’s Kong Quest. The outstanding level design, creative bosses, and killer score are great in their own right, but the reason why I love Donkey Kong Country 2 is for its atmosphere. This game just goes in hard on setting itself apart from the first game, making it more clear than ever how ruthless and dangerous Crocodile Isle is. There are tons of environments, ranging from volcanoes to mines to spooky forests to sunken ships, that emphasize just how unwelcome you are and how eager the Kremlings are to just ruin your poo poo. But along the way, there are those glimmers of hope (basically any area where Jib Jig or In a Snow-Bound Land plays) that encourage you to keep going, for the sake of Donkey Kong and keeping everyone else safe from Kaptain K. Rool’s wrath. It’s stunning how much the context of an adventure can be changed with how much attention is paid to the overall atmosphere. As for which version to get, I honestly wouldn’t recommend the GBA version to anyone who has a Wii U or New 3DS. It’s serviceable for what it is despite the GBA not having the best sound chip or graphics capability in the world, but there are little things about what’s been added that irritate me. Some of them are fun little bonuses, like the photographs, time trials, and the Expresso Races, but others are either lame (that stupid bug-catching mini-game), annoying (Funky Flights’ new mini-game), or have no reason being there (Kerosene). Even though I mostly grew up with the GBA port, I still love Donkey Kong Country 2 for introducing me to how a platformer could innovate upon itself with enough attention to detail to compliment great worlds and gameplay. Question: How much do you appreciate atmosphere in video games? Alf's 12th Favorite Game Teaser: Before a lizard and a bat...
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Jun 14, 2017 22:08
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Character #12: Solid Snake “I’m no hero. Never was. Never will be.”     First Appearance: Metal Gear (July 13, 1987) Bio: A highly skilled super-soldier specializing in espionage, Snake keeps his emotions under wraps during missions due to his long life on the battlefield. He has difficulty opening up to most people, but towards those that he trusts, he is incredibly loyal and willing to put his life on the line for them. --- Listen, I love Big Boss as much as the next guy and he’s given us some of the most awesome, powerful, and introspective moments in the Metal Gear series. But the reason why I like Solid Snake more is for how he grows as a person, and how he comes to depend on the people around him. He’s definitely not like this around the beginning of Metal Gear Solid; he’ll do the task given to him but nothing more, keeping small talk to a minimum save for a few certain people. His long life on the battlefield and his less than pleasant past has made him wary of developing relationships with people, and most of the time in conversation he comes off as cynical and jaded, even to people like Mei Ling (though he’ll still flirt with women on occasion). He’s long since given up on the idea of living a happy life because he’s one of the best guys in the business and everybody’s gonna need him to carry out an operation at some point. It doesn’t help that he’s also a loner by nature and he prefers not to talk about himself or get involved with other people. While he passes himself off as a charismatic badass who can pull out good one-liners, it’s hard not to feel sad for the lonely soul underneath. Spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 1 Then, during the course of MGS1, he meets Meryl, who really helps to bring out Snake’s humanity. In any other situation, he’d snipe her in a second if it was for the mission, but as he starts to spend time with her a little more... he feels a connection between them. Even when Snake tries his damndest to hide his emotions (especially after the Mantis fight), you can really see how he begins to have a real bond with Meryl, and by the time Meryl gets shot, you really see how he cares for her. Telling Campbell “I’m saving her for my sake, not because you ordered me to” is a really nice touch to his character, and it shows how he starts to widen his circle of trust. I just absolutely love his entire arc where he goes from cold and uncaring to legitimately giving a drat about his comrades, even the ones that try to hide stuff from him like Campbell and Naomi. Spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 2 Snake doesn’t get quite as much development in MGS2, but that’s just because he spends most of the game being straight up awesome. The Tanker mission is excellent and makes great use of his character all the way up to his confrontation with Revolver “I LIVE ON THROUGH THIS ARM” Ocelot before he covers his skin by FAKING HIS OWN DEATH. Then when you’re playing as Raiden, you’re graced with Sna- I mean, Iroquois Pliskin showing you up at every opportunity and showing how much of a badass he is. Then at the end he gives this cheesy but inspiring speech about how “you’re you, and you’ve got your own life to live.” He’s untouchable throughout most of the game and it’s great seeing him do anything at any point in time. Spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 4 But MGS4 is where I learned to really love Snake, and his whole arc through the course of the game is a beautiful send-off to his character. He’s gotten so old and frail, about to die and not feeling he had a very good life at all, but... he absolutely won’t quit. He’s so determined to accomplish his mission and kill Liquid Ocelot, pushing himself onwards, getting his FUCKIN’ FACE BURNED and struggling through that entire microwave hallway, just to ensure that he gets the fuckin’ job done for the sake of everyone depending on him. And that whole moment he has with Big Boss after he foils his attempted suicide and reminds him of all his accomplishments is just beautiful, in how Snake finally learns to accept himself for who he is and finally gets to live the life he’s always wanted. After years of doing the impossible, saving the world, and living a hard life in general, Snake more than earns his well deserved rest. Question: Have you ever had difficulty opening up to people? Alf's 11th Favorite Character Teaser: Claims to not like cabbage ==== Game #12: Banjo-Kazooie ”There he is, the fun begins, my tricks and traps will see who wins!”  Released: June 29th, 1998 Synopsis: The evil witch Gruntilda is beset by a fit of jealousy after the young bear Tooty is declared the fairest in the land by her magic pot. When Grunty kidnaps Tooty, her older brother Banjo and his bird friend Kazooie must traverse through the witch’s dangerous and unpredictable lair in order to save her. Chosen Music: Spiral Mountain --- There were at least two games that I grew up with on the Nintendo 64 that really emphasized exploring these huge, open sandboxes to see what you could find. One of them was Super Mario 64, a game that put Mario in 3D for the first time and ended up revolutionizing the 3D platformer genre. Now, I really like Super Mario 64 and I’ve played the hell out of it in my younger years, but as time has gone on my love for it has started to wane. I appreciate all the different actions you can do as Mario, and the game allows for a lot of experimentation and exploration, but... I dunno, a lot of the levels feel barren and lifeless to me nowadays. Which is why I will forever be grateful for the existence of Banjo-Kazooie, the other N64 exploration game that always seemed to give me exactly the right amount of stuff I needed. I guess as good a place as any to start to really emphasize what I mean is with the worlds in the game. There are only around 9 of them, a little less than what Super Mario 64 had, but god almost each world is just so full of life. There are so many points of interest to see, each of them with their own unique challenges and puzzles, and there’s probably not a dull moment when you’re just exploring each area to your heart’s content. You’ve got all kinds of weird goons that manage to fit each setting, and you’ve got a boatload of colorful and crazy characters populating each world that are all fun in their own way. And speaking of characters, Banjo and Kazooie themselves are great protagonists, with Banjo just casually accepting the crazy poo poo around him and Kazooie chiming in with a snarky joke or a fitting name to call anyone. Then you have the game’s musical score, which I love to absolute pieces to this day. This was probably my first exposure to Grant Kirkhope’s music as a kid, and even today the tunes he managed to whip up for Banjo-Kazooie still hold up extremely well. Every single track really immerses you in the world you’re in, from the suspicious and foreboding Gruntilda’s Lair, to the whimsical Treasure Trove Cove, to the busy and loud Rusty Bucket Bay. And one of my favorite parts about the music is how each track can transition to an entirely different style depending on where you’re at in the level. It’s absolutely genius and more games that have the opportunity to pull that off should do it without hesitation. Like, I might not have been able to experience the joy of going through the game with another person (or if I did I don’t remember it), but I utterly adore Banjo-Kazooie all the same. It’s a game that still feels really good to play and come back to every time, and it’s so creative and imaginative in just about every aspect. If I had any complaints about the game, it’s mostly owed to the N64 version resetting your Music Note score every time you die, which can get frustrating in later levels (especially Click Clock Wood). But even so, this is one of the absolute best 3D platformers out there, and everyone with an N64 or an Xbox One to play Rare Replay on owe it to themselves to play through it at least once. Question: What needs to be done in order to make exploring a world feel good? Alf's 11th Favorite Game Teaser: A sequel that ended up being a completely different game Alfalfa The Roach fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Jun 18, 2017 |
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Jun 17, 2017 02:20
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Major Persona 4 Spoilers Character #11: Tohru Adachi ”Those who actually succeed in life... they just happen to be born with a magic ticket called ‘talent.’”     First Appearance: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (July 10th, 2008) Bio: On the surface, Adachi appears to be an amateurish police detective working under his superior Dojima in Inaba. Yet underneath his bumbling persona lurks a vile, sociopathic murderer, who views the crimes he’s committed as little more than a twisted game of his. --- Adachi is, in a word, terrifying. He’s a man who’s grown so cold-hearted and cynical about mankind that it seems impossible that anyone could like him. He takes any opportunity he can get to make the lives of those around him miserable, either through minor annoyances or straight up murdering anyone he gets annoyed with. He uses the power given to him and abuses it to the utmost extreme, doing whatever it takes to keep his little “game” interesting. He passes himself off as a nice guy on the outside while hiding his own loathsome, hideous personality on the inside, openly mocking those who believed in the fake version of himself. He claims to have no need for inter-personal relationships, and also states he only joined the police academy so he could legally carry around a gun (while also grimly reminding us, “You’d be surprised how many are like that”). While you, the player, have been working to build relationships and improve the lives of those around you, he’s already started on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Ask him anything about friendship and bonds, and he’ll just laugh in your face about what a dumbass you are. Try to start a conversation with him about why he has no need for others, and he’ll tell you that people are only ever nice because they have to be. He’s the player’s polar opposite in every way: a selfish, nihilistic man-child who wants as little to do with others as possible. ...And yet, when you consider how he got to that point, it’s hard for me not to relate to him. It is so, so easy to fall into the trap of internally hating other people for working hard to get where they’re at while you’re left to your own screw-ups, just as he did working with the police. Getting transferred to Inaba just ends up souring him on other people even more and leads him to push everyone but the Dojimas away (he’d only ever say it was because they worked together to boot). All the frustration and inner turmoil ends up festering inside him until he gets his Persona, at which point he finally decides to do something about his own miserable life. While the games never really want you to sympathize with him or excuse any of the terrible acts he’s committed, it’s easy to see how he got to that point and understand why he did the things he did. It’s only after you finally beat him that he decides to “follow the rules” of society, and its here that Ultimax sheds even more light on him. He’s still kind of an rear end in a top hat that has fun going around taunting motherfuckers, but he’s more than willing to take the blame for all the murders he’s done, especially when the events of Ultimax threaten to open up his case again and take away the only thing he has to his name. That’s something I really like about him; he’s not repentant for what he did, but he takes agency in it all the same, and absolutely hates the thought of someone trying to take away the proof that he existed at all. And even when he still claims that dealing with other people is exhausting and a waste of time, that pained smile he gives in his ending while talking to Dojima, who still considers him part of the family even after all the heinous poo poo he’s done, says so much. Question: Do you care at all for characters that reflect the cynical side of society? Alf's 10th Favorite Character Teaser: The perfect villain ==== Game #11: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island ”This is a story about baby Mario and Yoshi.”  Released: Aug. 5th, 1995 Synopsis: A stork carries the newly born Mario and Luigi to their parents only to be attacked by Kamek, causing it to lose the children it was in charge of. While Luigi ends up in captivity, Mario lands on an island inhabited by the Yoshi clan, who escort Mario through the island in order to save his brother. Chosen Music: Story Music Box --- You do not understand the absolute obsession I had with Yoshi’s Island as a kid. When I first saw that game in all of its imaginative, hand-drawn wonder, my mind would not let go of it and I knew I had to play that game as soon as I could. Any time I saw it in a rental store I would try and go for it immediately, which happened to be very few times but I think I may have managed to beat it when I was renting it one time. And when I didn’t have the game, I would fantasize about it constantly, writing about it in my elementary school journals like non-stop. It got to the point where I was so obsessed with Yoshi’s Island that my teachers had to coerce me into writing about something else by giving me candy, which ended up working in the long run. Then, years later during the GBA era, I happened to see that Yoshi’s Island was being ported as Super Mario Advance 3, and just like that, my obsession had started all over again. But this time, I actually managed to get my hands on it, and it was still just as good as I remembered it to be (even with the GBA’s lower sound quality and everything leading to Yoshi getting his Story voice). At some point, however, one of my longtime friends was moving to another state (this was back when I was still living in Alaska and had church friends), and I wanted to give him a parting gift of some sort. I ended up giving him my copy of Yoshi’s Island GBA, but through one reason or another I somehow managed to acquire another copy of the same game for the same system. To this day I can’t seem to recall where I even managed to get another copy, but as far as I’m concerned, it must be fate that brought me back together with this game. As for the actual game itself, it still remains as one of my absolute favorite platformers for the Super Nintendo. The level design is excellent, the visuals are drawn to perfection, and there’s a surprisingly long list of stuff to collect and manage, including making sure your health is as high as it can go to give yourself the full 100 score at the end. There is so much care put into how Yoshi controls, what his options are, and how he can utilize them against his enemies, and most if not all bosses take advantage of this as much as possible. There’s even a lot of surprising and fun ways to change Yoshi himself, either by transforming him into one of five different vehicles, or even letting him take a backseat while Super Baby Mario flies through a level! It’s stunning how much variety and challenge is packed into each level, and it’s a joy coming back to it all every time. My nostalgic connection with Yoshi’s Island runs so deep that I wish the rest of the Yoshi series could match up. I’ll gladly go out on a limb and say that Yoshi’s Story is better than most people give it credit for, but it’s truly abhorrent games like Yoshi’s Island DS or Yoshi’s New Island that leaves a sour taste in my mouth for the series as a whole. If Woolly World is anything to go by, we could start to see things change for the better, but I wouldn’t be so sure unless we start getting a steady string of great hits (and I’m hoping the new Switch game follows in Woolly World’s footsteps and becomes a trendsetter). No matter what happens to the series, though, it’ll never replace how much I’ve loved Yoshi’s Island since I first laid eyes on it, and I hope it continues to inspire me for years to come. Question: Are there any games or pieces of media you were absolutely obsessed over as a kid? Alf's 10th Favorite Game Teaser: A purr-fect game
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Jun 18, 2017 23:38
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Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. We've reach the last stretch of this thread, and now we're down to the Top 10. Thanks to everyone who's been with me thus far, and I can't tell you how excited I am to be showing you the games and characters that matter the most to me. And I'll be kicking these last few rankings off with... Character #10: Bowser "Gra har har har! What's a finale without a Bowser appearance? A cruddy finale, that's what!"      First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (Sep. 13th, 1985) Bio: The King of the Koopas and a fearsome tyrant, Bowser will stop at nothing to kidnap Princess Peach and rule over the Mushroom Kingdom. Whether he’s attempting to conquer the world, or ruin everyone’s day at parties, or just being his brutish and blustering self, he always ensures that his presence is known. --- A lot of things tend to spring to people’s minds whenever they think of an antagonist that they can call a perfect villain. Some people tend to think of villains that are iconic, like Darth Vader or Dracula, whose villainous deeds permeate throughout the ages and end up being the go-to example for a great, menacing villain. Some prefer villains with an element of tragedy to them, or something that explains why they do what they do and what events led them down the dark path that they chose. And some people just happen to like villains that throw their weight around, have a larger-than-life ego, and prop themselves up as a supreme force of awesome wherever they go. When I think about all those elements (except for the tragedy bit, that doesn’t really go well with what I’m about to say), I say that there can be no other villains in video games that are nearly as perfect as Bowser. For one thing, Bowser just gets what it means to be a bad guy. In most of the mainline games, he always makes himself as big and cool as possible, and it’s always great to see how he approaches his plans in each game. He can give himself a really cool car and a giant-rear end amusement park to prop up how great he is, or he can cut the bullshit, grab Peach, and make a mess of things right away. He can be as much of a threat as the game demands it, which covers the whole yard from “hey Junior go throw that goopy poo poo all over Delfino while I chillax in this sweet hot tub” to “I WILL CREATE A NEW GALAXY FROM WHICH I WILL RULE OVER THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE WITH PEACH BY MY SIDE.” But no matter how simple or grand his plans are, he always finds a way to make the stakes high and deliver an awesome finale at the end. Then you have Bowser as he appears in the Mario RPGs, and on his best days, he’s an absolute riot. Sure, some games still manage to have him be a legitimate threat (and sometimes it works really well like Dream Team and Paper Mario 1), but Bowser in the RPGs is at his best when he goes for comedy. Most of the RPGs do a tremendous job of playing up his brutish and dimwitted side for comic effect, and he always tends to have some of the best gags in any of the earlier Mario RPGs. Of course, this also tends to make him seem a little too stupid at times (Bowser’s Inside Story is guilty of this), but I’d rather have that than something like Sticker Star not letting him speak at all (another reason why that game sucks). Whatever the case may be, Bowser has always been one of my childhood icons of villainy and badassery. Any time I got to see him I knew I would be in for a good time whether to see him stomp around like he owns the place or provide some unexpected but hilarious comedy relief. I always loved it whenever I got the chance to play as him too; going around punching dudes in Bowser’s Inside Story, stomping and breathing fire in Thousand Year-Door and Super Paper Mario, and being a big badass bruiser in Smash Bros. has always been such a treat. He just embodies most of everything that I thought was super cool and awesome as a kid, and he’s so variable that he can fit into almost any mold he’s cast in. For that reason alone, and for all the badass poo poo he did and continues to do to inspire me, he will always be my example of a perfect villain. Question: What kind of villains do you prefer? Alf's 9th Favorite Game Teaser: A humerus fellow ==== Game #10: Super Mario 3D World ”Super Mario 3D World! Meow!”  Released: Nov. 21st, 2013 Synopsis: The discovery and subsequent fixing of a strange glass pipe leads Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad into the Sprixie Kingdom to save the Sprixie Princesses from the clutches of Bowser. Play alone or with friends as four unique characters, and enjoy new power-ups like the Super Bell and the Double Cherry! Chosen Music: Switch Scramble Circus --- I can recall everything about my first moments with Super Mario 3D World like it was yesterday. I was at home from my old university for the weekend during which time I had managed to get a copy of this game, and I started it up not long after I had made a particularly depressing RP post. Now, I had no idea what to expect from this game that wasn’t already in trailers, but I remember just having a blast as soon as I began playing. It wasn’t often that a Mario game would suck me in by the first world, but I remember just giggling with joy as I made my way through the first couple levels and getting a handle on Cat Mario. Eventually, I made it to the first circus level of the game, which changed the music as I solved puzzles and the music would gradually built up to the end of the level, where it finished with aplomb as I grabbed that flagpole and heard the cheers of the crowd. It was at that moment that I realized how utterly magical this game was. 3D Land had already done a great job of translating the 2D games to a 3D environment, but I could tell that it was missing a lot of the heart that usually makes me love most Mario games. With 3D World, however, everything about it feels so creative and imaginative, from the way it handles the level design to the way it implements the musical score. It constantly challenges your expectations by tossing in levels like a Japanese-style temple, an auto-scrolling bullet train, and even an entire homage to the Mario Kart series, and it constantly encourages and rewards creativity with old power-ups and newer ones like the Super Bell. I haven’t gotten a chance to fool around with multiplayer too much outside of a couple times with my brother (and one time with my mom, which was really nice), but I honestly love the idea a lot. Multiplayer has been one of the few really cool ideas to come out of the New Super Mario Bros. console games, but seeing it in a legitimately good Mario game is incredible, and the possibilities for having a good time/screwing everyone over open up even more. But I also wanna talk about one of my absolute favorite parts about 3D World, which is the final boss battle with Bowser. It’s essentially a large chase sequence up a tower in a manner similar to games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario 3D Land, but it actually starts with Bowser using the power of the Super Bell to transform himself into a cat version of himself. Not only is this hilarious, but it’s also one of the very few times Bowser’s ever used a power-up against you, and it instantly makes the fight far more intense and interesting when you have to fight against a power-up you’ve been using for the whole game. Then in the second half, he ups the ante by using the Double Cherry to make clones of himself, and soon enough you’re dodging Meowser clones at every turn, and all the while the music keeps building up more and more and accentuates the tension as you make your way to the top to finish him off for good. It is absolutely amazing and my favorite final boss in a Mario game, probably my favorite in video games period. I really had to work in order to give myself 100% completion on this game (which involves clearing every stage with every character to get their Miiverse stamps), but I honestly did not mind going through the game 5 times on one file. If anything, it just hammered home how unique this game is, from how differently each character plays from one another to how much care is put into its level design. It’s an honest to goodness homage to everything that makes Mario so beloved, and it’s something I wouldn’t hesitate to play with a friend at any opportunity. It remains to be seen if this will still be as high up my list as it is with Super Mario Odyssey on the way, especially when Odyssey is going so far as to top every single Mario game that’s come before it in terms of creativity and imagination. But as of now, I’m happy to say that Super Mario 3D World has earned every right to be my favorite mainline Mario title. Question: Has a game ever made you happy just by playing it? Alf's 9th Favorite Game Teaser: You get to hang out with a fox
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Jun 20, 2017 19:00
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Character #9: Sans ”Take care of yourself, kid. ‘Cause someone really cares about you.”      First Appearance: Undertale (Sep. 15th, 2015) Bio: Lazy and unmotivated to an absurd degree, Sans spends his time making bad puns and sleeping on the job, much to the annoyance of his brother Papyrus. Despite this, he is unusually observant and knows when to get serious at the right opportunity. --- Writing about Sans is too much effort, so let’s call him good and move on. Question: What is your favorite Sans moment? Alf's 8th Favorite Character Teaser: Is not Sans ...yeah, alright, let’s actually talk about Sans. Sans is a bit of an odd character when you first meet him. He seems to know more than he lets on, but he’s also content with just sitting around doing nothing but making really bad puns. Every time you see him throughout the game he’s just lazing around at his post, not doing anything guard-related and being generally chill 24/7. He’ll just call you over at times and be like “hey check out this neat telescope” or sell you hot dogs until you run out of inventory space and decides to put the extras on your head. His comedic timing is impeccable when he’s not actively going for bone humor (or even when he is going for bone humor), and he’s generally a nice enough guy once you get to know him. And to those that don’t try to get to know him, he’ll show a brief glimpse of a more serious side, which comes into play near the end of the Neutral or Genocide route. Major Neutral and Genocide Spoilers That he’s secretly the final arbiter of the player’s decisions throughout the game before they meet Asgore is a cool twist, and I appreciate all the dialogue options Sans has at his disposal depending on your LV and EXP. Of course, where he really shines in this role is during his boss battle in the Genocide route, which ends up being the hardest boss in the game bar none. He’ll spend the entire fight being an unfair piece of poo poo, throwing out all these attacks in rapid-fire sequence, or altering the screen and having bones causing you damage on the menu when it’s your turn, or when you spare him and you immediately GET DUNKED ON WITHOUT WARNING. It’s an absolutely brilliant fight because it perfectly reflects how unfair YOU’VE been to everyone throughout the entire Genocide route, and Sans is here doing his part to pay it all back in full force. The only thing more brilliant than the fight itself is how it ends, which, while not as hilarious as Sans killing you when you spare him, is still an incredibly clever gambit that still manages to gently caress with you after spending so long trying to beat him. But what really got to me about Sans is how he’s trapped in his own circumstances. Though it’s barely referred to in-game, it is heavily implied that Sans knows of the ability to SAVE, how a SAVE can be loaded or reset, and how it affects the timeline as a result. But Sans himself does not have the ability to SAVE, nor does he retain his memories when a SAVE is loaded; all he can do is notice any odd behavior like when the player looks bored of their speech at the end, or how disgruntled the player looks after dying multiple times in Sans’ boss fight. Not having the ability to know when or how the world will be reset back to the way it was makes Sans extremely depressed as a result, which contributes to how lazy and unmotivated he is in his every day life. He even sees the idea of making it to the Surface unappealing, since it can all be reset at any point and they’d just end up back in the Underground like nothing ever happened. All that makes him really, really fascinating on a meta-level, but... it’s also really heartbreaking and relatable. Sans spends so much of his time not doing anything because he KNOWS that nothing will matter in the end, and he’s figured it’s better to do nothing than try as hard as he can to make things right only to have it all reset. I myself have only recently come to terms with some anxiety and depression-related issues, and while I don’t have, like, crippling depression, a lot of it feels shockingly similar to what Sans experiences. The pain of not feeling like you have control over anything is one of the worst feelings in the world, and I’ve only now been learning how to deal with those issues to try and better myself. I dunno how far I’ll get with it since depression never makes anything easy, but if nothing else, I appreciate Sans for helping me to realize and better accept that part of myself. Question: Have you ever felt like you weren't in control of anything in your life? Alf's 8th Favorite Character Teaser: Has an insatiable appetite ==== Game #9: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 ”We're all trapped in a maze of relationships, Life goes on with or without you I swim in the sea of the unconscious, I search for your heart, pursuing my true self...”  Released: July 10th, 2008 Synopsis: A young high school student resides with his uncle in Inaba for a year, attending Yasogami High School while his parents are abroad. But when a series of strange murders begin to plague the town, he must band together with his new friends to find the culprit, while also solving the mystery behind the Midnight Channel, which appears to be the key to solving the case. Chosen Music: I'll Face Myself (Another Version) --- Persona 4 is definitely a game that would have benefited me way more if I had played it earlier in my life. It’s got some of the strongest theming I’ve ever seen in a JRPG, and in its best moments it nails its theming absolutely perfectly. It’s got an incredible main cast, and the theme of “reaching out to discover the truth about yourself” fleshes them out in lots of unique and highly creative ways. There are some very subtle but much needed improvements to the gameplay from Persona 3, some of which include having direct control over party members and dungeons that aren’t just exploring Tartarus forever. And despite the numerous quality-of-life improvements, it still manages to be an incredibly balanced game that knows how to deliver a satisfying challenge for the player to overcome. As one of the PS2’s swan songs, this game stands head and shoulder above everything coming out alongside it and every PS2 game that came out before it, and it’s the very definition of a JRPG masterpiece. So why isn’t it higher up on my list, you may be wondering? Well, aside from the simple fact that there are other games on this list that have had a greater impact on me, the fact that it’s difficult to get a good ending without a guide hurts this game quite a bit for me. Like, I know that’s all part of the theme of “being true to yourself” and “searching for the truth” and what not, but it can get frustrating when the path for getting the best ending is something you can easily miss right before you finish the game. And even though the hospital scene is important and everything, I really hate most of everything that goes on in that scene. Between half the cast acting irrational, and Yosuke in particular being a petty little bitch, and how you basically have to yell at your friends to get the good ending, it’s just... it’s a fuckin’ mess all around. But I will say that my annoyance with avoiding the bad ending in this game doesn’t outweigh how much I respect Persona 4’s overall theming. We all have sides to ourselves that no one wants to see; sides of us that represent an uglier view of the world that we want to keep repressed as much as possible. Persona 4 handles this in an incredible way by forcing our main characters to confront this ugly side of themselves, and though they may angrily deny that this side of them exists at all, they eventually come to accept their Shadow selves as a part of them, and they grow stronger as a person as a result. Watching these characters confront their true selves and learn how to deal with that side of themselves is a beautiful thing to behold, and they always end up as some of the biggest highlights to their characters (save for some of their S.Links). If there were anything else I had to say about Persona 4, it’s that I really appreciate how much it emphasizes searching for the truth. Even if it ends up leading to one of the worst scenes in the game in my opinion, it’s nevertheless a hugely important life lesson to consider, since the truth you think you know may not always be what you believe it to be. I know that I’ve been more mindful of making sure something is truthful ever since I beat Persona 4, and no matter how awful that truth may be, I’ve learned that denying it will only make things worse in the long run. So for all that it’s taught me, and for how much of a well-written, strongly themed, and flat out fun game it is, I really do love Persona 4. It’s a game that calls into question how honest you are with yourself, your friends, and the world around you, and that’s helped me to appreciate the game more than anything. Question: Is there a game or piece of media that you really like but contains anything that you really don't like? 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Character #8: Yoshi “Yoshi!”      First Appearance: Super Mario World (Nov. 21st, 1990) Bio: A cheerful dinosaur that loves to eat, Yoshi lives with the rest of his brethren in peace on Yoshi’s Island. He once helped a baby Mario reach his parents safely, and to this day remains one of Mario’s most reliable allies, using his abilities to flutter jump and toss eggs to help him on his adventures. --- If there were ever a character that perfectly replicated my childhood as a whole, it would have to be Yoshi. A lot of that appreciation was mostly confined to Yoshi’s games and the mainline Mario games that Yoshi was in, however, since in most of the sports and party games my older brother would snatch up Yoshi right away. I would usually gravitate towards other characters to compensate for this (usually Toad or Bowser in Mario Kart, or my flavor-of-the-month pick in Mario Party games that introduced new characters). But I earnestly loved having Yoshi appear in any mainline Mario game, and doing things like eating enemies and using different-colored shells to gain special abilities was always a treat. Playing as Yoshi in his own games was even more fun, since he could toss eggs, flutter jump, and ground pound to his heart’s content. Learning about Yoshi as a species was another matter entirely for me as a kid. I was already somewhat familiar with the different species of Pokemon growing up, but learning how Yoshis came in different colors, and how each color preferred different colors of fruit, was seriously cool to me. It helped to give the species some variance and memorizing which Yoshis preferred what fruit in Yoshi’s Story was a lot of fun for me. Then, I would go on to learn about some of the more unique Yoshis that have been seen throughout the Mario RPGs, like Boshi from Super Mario RPG, or the Mini-Yoshi from Thousand Year Door, that I thought were super awesome. I even went on to make a Yoshi OC as one of my very first OCs for roleplaying (and while I enjoyed RPing as him, I’m content with leaving him as a distant memory). And if you were to ask me which Yoshi voice I prefer more, between pre-Yoshi’s Story and post-Yoshi’s Story, I’d definitely go with post. I do like the novelty of Yoshi’s pre-Story voice being a little more animalistic and how they managed to get a lot of mileage out of it through Mario Kart 64 and the N64 Mario Party games. But when I think of Yoshi’s post-Story voice, I remember his cries of joy, his strained grunts indicating he’s trying his very best, and the cheerful chorus the Yoshis sing when they beat a level or during the end credits of Yoshi’s Story. His post-Story voice (and the newly recorded lines for Galaxy 2 and beyond) covers such a wide range of emotions, and it’s so adorable to listen to every time. It’s a voice that just makes me feel happy whenever I listen to it. I honestly owe Yoshi a lot for showing up in my life when he did. As a character, he’s always been a reliable source of comfort and fun, with a big appetite to spare and an even bigger heart to carry. As a species, Yoshi made me think about biology in different ways before anything else and opened up a lot of my interest in the natural world. And as a childhood hero, he helped spark my imagination countless times over and brought a smile to my face every time I saw him. It took me a long-rear end time to come to realize and appreciate this fact, but knowing that Yoshi has always been there means a lot to me. Question: Who's a character from your childhood that you appreciate to this day? Alf's 7th Favorite Character Teaser: Almost never seen without his shoes ==== Game #8: Undertale ”Despite everything, it’s still you.”  Released: Sep. 15th, 2015 Synopsis: Long ago, a great and terrible war between monsters and humans ended when the humans sealed the monsters away deep within the Underground at the base of Mount Ebott. Years later, a curious lad stumbles into the Underground, where the fate of the realm and its inhabitants lies within the actions he takes. Chosen Music: Undertale --- I remember seeing Undertale for the first time when it launched as a Kickstarter project way back on June 25th, 2013 (my 20th birthday!). It was a simple-looking game with a simple but really unique premise: an RPG where you could get through the entire game without killing anyone and making friends with the monsters you meet. Although I was interested in the idea, I had my doubts that a concept like that could go very far, so I held off on backing it and decided to wait and see if anything came out of it. And then when the game finally came out... it fuckin’ exploded all over the internet (some of my own friends were giving it really high praise, even), so naturally I decided to give it a shot. And the reason why I’m telling you all is this is because I sincerely wish I had backed the original Kickstarter pitch when I had the chance, because Undertale delivers on all its promises in every single way. Undertale absolutely understands how to keep a player engaged through every encounter, especially on a Pacifist run. The combat takes every cue from Mario RPGs and bullet hell shooters it can get, making every battle endlessly creative and able to keep you on your toes. You’ll be introduced to new mechanics to slowly but surely amp up each fight, and they’re all so distinct from each other that it’s never all that difficult to keep track of everything. Some fights will even require an unorthodox strategy to unlock the ability to spare them, but that’s just another way for the game to squeeze every last drop of ingenuity and creativity out of each encounter as it can. By sparing everyone you meet and making friends with them, you really start to see where Undertale shines. The main cast and all the enemies are so crazy and wildly different from one another, each of them needing different requirements in order to spare them. Interacting with each of them reveals just how flexible and great the writing is, and it has every capacity to be completely hysterical as it can to be genuinely touching. It gets you to earnestly care about the characters in a much shorter time than most RPGs, and I’d say that’s probably one of the biggest strengths that it has. And on the other hand, when you go down the Genocide path... everything changes. Killing a monster permanently erases them from the world, and soon enough, once you kill everyone in a given area, there won’t be anyone left but you. This causes the mood of the game to change significantly; the music slows down to a crawl, characters start to avoid you, and the people who may have thought you were a friend now see you as a demented murderer. In stark contrast to the Pacifist route, the Genocide route is generally a slow, joyless crawl with few moments of levity, and the end result has a lasting impact on all future playthroughs. This is what really puts Undertale above most or every other RPG out there; it handles the weight of your choices so significantly that I hardly think any other game can match. It calls into question everything you think you know about RPGs, and how often they require you to kill monsters for experience and leveling, to deliver a really striking and powerful message. It encourages you to be the best kind of person you can, and it never once sugarcoats the consequences of killing another being (hell, even killing just one important person in a Neutral run has its own set of repercussions). And to those who take the message of the game to heart, they’re rewarded with an earnest and heartwarming story with great writing and even greater characters. Undertale just does so much right, and it’s both a huge inspiration for me and an amazing game that anyone who loves RPGs should play at least once in their lives. Question: Has there ever been a piece of media you've experienced that's helped you become a better person? Alf's 7th Favorite Game Teaser: The game that got me to appreciate RPGs
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Jun 25, 2017 04:39
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