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Final Update: Let's Talk About... El Shaddai Alternate titles: "Bishonen Bible Fight" El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a 3D action game with plenty of platforming sections. It was created in 2011 by UTV Ignition Entertainment's Japanese development studio called "Ignition Tokyo". It was meant to be the first in a serious of religion-inspired games, but that plan never went through. The game is loosely on the Dead Sea Scrolls (in particular the Book of Enoch). The game follows Enoch, a man so good God let him join Heaven early. After spending a pretty long time in Heaven, he's tasked with going back to Earth and stopping the Watchers, a group of angels who were meant to watch over humanity, but ended up going rogue and corrupting humanity. God and Heaven want to flood Earth and start over, but Enoch offers to hunt down the Watchers and fix everything. What can I expect from this LP? This will be a post-commentary LP. I'll be commenting the game together with Geisha-Deconstruct. The playthrough will be a 100% normal run, which means it'll include all the collectible lore available in the game. We're aiming at around 20 minutes per episode and at least one episode per week (two episodes this week, though). How long is this game? There are 11 chapters in the game, not counting the prologue chapter which is labelled as "Chapter 0". The entire game can be beat in around 7 hours, if you're good enough. So this has a bunch of Christian references? Will you be covering that? Kind of! We'll be commenting on a few things during the playthrough. We considered doing supplement episodes dealing with references in each episode, but after some discussion figured it might be too patronizing. Instead, we'll do a special episode once the LP is done and talk about everything more in-depth. How are you playing this? The game is being played on a PS3 and recorded at 720p/60FPS.  SPOILER POLICYPlot: only if it's tagged and only if it's something that's been in the LP. References/backstory: that's fine without tags, as long as it doesn't bleed over into plot spoilers. Episode list: YouTube Playlist El Shaddai - Part 01 El Shaddai - Part 02 El Shaddai - Part 03 El Shaddai - Part 04 El Shaddai - Part 05 El Shaddai - Part 06 El Shaddai - Part 07 El Shaddai - Part 08 El Shaddai - Part 09 El Shaddai - Part 10 El Shaddai - Part 11 El Shaddai - Part 12 El Shaddai - Part 13 El Shaddai - Part 14 El Shaddai - Part 15 El Shaddai - Part 16 El Shaddai - Part 17 El Shaddai - Part 18 El Shaddai - FINALE El Shaddai - BONUS Let's Talk About... El Shaddai RealSovietBear fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Oct 24, 2015 |
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Jun 30, 2015 17:21
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ART by tlarn
RealSovietBear fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Jul 4, 2015 |
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Jun 30, 2015 17:21
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I rented this game once, but never got much past the second full boss. What I did see was wonderfully trippy. I'm gonna be watching this one.
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Jun 30, 2015 17:27
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This was not a good game. It was also beautifully weird (and weirdly beautiful) and had a ton of thought put into its creation. Good candidate for an LP.
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Jun 30, 2015 17:53
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The game has some fundamental problems with its gameplay, but it only comes really apparent mid-way through the entire thing. The actual combat isn't as planned out as the story and visual design, sadly.
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Jul 1, 2015 08:02
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Is this based on the Books of Enoch since that's the main character's name? 'Cause I have those, and wonder if it'll make the game seem better or dumber if I start reading it now.
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Jul 1, 2015 10:03
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Drachir D Nalem posted:Is this based on the Books of Enoch since that's the main character's name? 'Cause I have those, and wonder if it'll make the game seem better or dumber if I start reading it now. It will help you understand the references in the game and make more sense of the plot, but it's not essential. The game takes its liberties with the story, but I wouldn't say it's anything worse than what Western media does with its interpretation of Eastern religions.
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Jul 1, 2015 10:51
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Is Enoch supposed to be Jesus or something?
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Jul 2, 2015 01:55
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I remember this game from another LP. Its quite the oddity. I remember being disappointed for as pretty as many of the backgrounds are, the level design is almost always just floating platforms over a void which betrays the interesting vistas. The soundtrack is nice though, I guess.
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Jul 2, 2015 02:17
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I don't know why but I just loved this game. It was really beautiful but it wasn't really... Great gameplay wise.
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Jul 2, 2015 04:38
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DOOP posted:Is Enoch supposed to be Jesus or something? Enoch is Noah's ancestor.
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Jul 2, 2015 08:17
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Part 02 is up! 300 years later, Enoch manages to make progress in his quest.
RealSovietBear fucked around with this message at 14:24 on Jul 7, 2015 |
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Jul 3, 2015 08:11
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RealSovietBear posted:Enoch is Noah's ancestor. Specifically Methuselah's Father and Noah's Grandfather.
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Jul 3, 2015 13:58
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This is one of those games I was interested in trying but never got around to it, and I kinda forgot about it after a while, so this'll be interesting! Also, once I saw Lucifel and Enoch, this is all I was thinking about.
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Jul 3, 2015 15:51
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Isn't Enoch the name of another important biblical character? I'm not that sure but it does sound familiar. I was always interested in this game but never got a chance to play it, so I'm looking forward to this.
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Jul 4, 2015 04:34
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That is amazing and now I'll never be able to view that scene without thinking about Zoolander. McGwee posted:Isn't Enoch the name of another important biblical character? I'm not that sure but it does sound familiar. Cain's son was also named Enoch.
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Jul 4, 2015 10:17
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El Shaddai - Part 03 is up. It looks like everyone has a problem with us trying to enter the Evil Ominous Eyeball Tower.
RealSovietBear fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Jul 7, 2015 |
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Jul 6, 2015 14:05
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McGwee posted:Isn't Enoch the name of another important biblical character? I'm not that sure but it does sound familiar. Enouch is important to a lot of apocrypha for the fact that his appearance is basically a description of how long he lived, then 'And Enoch walked with God, and was no more, because God took him.' Tradition then holds he was one of the few people not to actually die, but to be assumed up into Heaven alive. This leads to an apocryphal book (the Book of the Watchers/The Book of the Parables of Enoch) about Enoch being brought into Heaven and told about the Watchers, the rebellious angels who lay with the daughters of man and produced the giants mentioned during the beginning of Noah's story (which lead God to flood the earth). This game is basically a stylized retelling of the Book of the Watchers and is surprisingly well thought out if I remember right. Like, Japanese takes on Western religion (much like Western takes on Eastern religions) are usually heavy on appropriating cool symbolism but not too heavy on the meaning/accuracy to the myths. And then they make a game about an obscure apocrypha (well, it's canon to some sects of Ethiopian Christianity) written by guys worried the world was fundamentally disordered during the 2nd Temple Period and while there's a ton of artistic license, it's pretty clear they actually know the base story and are adapting it to their plot.
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Jul 6, 2015 14:16
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I agree, that mosaic was lovely. I almost wish I had a poster of it.
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Jul 6, 2015 22:47
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Night10194 posted:This game is basically a stylized retelling of the Book of the Watchers and is surprisingly well thought out if I remember right. Like, Japanese takes on Western religion (much like Western takes on Eastern religions) are usually heavy on appropriating cool symbolism but not too heavy on the meaning/accuracy to the myths. And then they make a game about an obscure apocrypha (well, it's canon to some sects of Ethiopian Christianity) written by guys worried the world was fundamentally disordered during the 2nd Temple Period and while there's a ton of artistic license, it's pretty clear they actually know the base story and are adapting it to their plot. That was my impression as well. Despite some of the really weird moments later in the game, it's obvious the developers did their homework. McGwee posted:I agree, that mosaic was lovely. I almost wish I had a poster of it. It's easily one of my top five scenes in the game. My favorite one is actually in the next video so that's something to look forward to. A quick tip and question regarding spoilers I'm naming each video as its respective part in the let's play to avoid spoiling the plot. However, a bunch of other YT videos are not as considerate so you'll see recommendations to the right with some pretty major spoilers. Just try and ignore that whole area of the page. Or would people rather I embed the videos directly in the thread instead of doing a hyperlink list?
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Jul 6, 2015 23:10
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You can just link to them using that polsy thing, just do it like so and you get all of the video and none of the spoilers.
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Jul 7, 2015 14:02
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That's perfect, thanks! Edited the links in the thread.
RealSovietBear fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Jul 7, 2015 |
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Jul 7, 2015 14:22
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You guys are super quiet; I have to turn my volume all the way up to hear you properly. Any chance of adjusting the audio balances?
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Jul 7, 2015 20:17
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RealSovietBear posted:That was my impression as well. Despite some of the really weird moments later in the game, it's obvious the developers did their homework. I got no beef at all with artistic license when it's clear it's coming from a place of building on the mythology they're working with, which is the impression I get here. It's just baffling to me that among the thousands of 'secret catholic blood cult vampire hunter X' animes and stuff, something based on such an obscure part of biblical apocrypha gives the impression of actually knowing anything about what it's based on.
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Jul 7, 2015 20:20
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Dr. Buttass posted:You guys are super quiet; I have to turn my volume all the way up to hear you properly. Any chance of adjusting the audio balances? Part 4 (which is up on Thursday) should have better volume levels. I made a mistake when editing the first three episodes because my headphones are loud and more recording than editing oriented. If Part 4 still has the issue, I'll send future episodes to a few people before I upload them in order to double check. Sorry for the inconvenience.
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Jul 7, 2015 22:03
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El Shaddai - Part 04 is up. We find the third and final weapon and put it to good use.
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Jul 9, 2015 11:05
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Should let those dudes make artsy games like this about the entire bible, might make it an actually fun experience to learn about then. I'd be down to see Jesus roundhouse kick a devil to resist its temptations.
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Jul 9, 2015 17:07
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Drachir D Nalem posted:Should let those dudes make artsy games like this about the entire bible, might make it an actually fun experience to learn about then. I'd be down to see Jesus roundhouse kick a devil to resist its temptations. They planned to make more religiously-themed games like El Shaddai, but that plan fell through after Disney acquired the company (from what I gather at least). The El Shaddai IP returned to the original creator recently, so maybe we'll see more of it one day.
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Jul 10, 2015 09:35
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This is a bizarre, incredible thing. 
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Jul 10, 2015 10:27
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RealSovietBear posted:They planned to make more religiously-themed games like El Shaddai, but that plan fell through after Disney acquired the company (from what I gather at least). The El Shaddai IP returned to the original creator recently, so maybe we'll see more of it one day. Isn't the IP technically The Bible? 
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Jul 12, 2015 05:47
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I've seen weirder fanfiction. Dante's Inferno is fanfiction of the Bible, after all. And the game was fanfiction of fanfiction. 
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Jul 12, 2015 09:30
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Was the girl at the beginning of the video riding the blob monster thing?
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Jul 12, 2015 19:56
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Danann posted:Was the girl at the beginning of the video riding the blob monster thing? Yup! And we see more of her in the latest episode: El Shaddai - Part 05. We also have our first "proper" boss fight.
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Jul 13, 2015 08:21
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While problematic gameplay-wise, it is nonetheless the best Bible game ever made. I suspect that for the best experience, you're supposed to play while on drugs, so that you notice the repetitive combat less and the psychedelic chillout visuals and sound more.
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Jul 13, 2015 19:01
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Mazed posted:I suspect that for the best experience, you're supposed to play while on drugs, so that you notice the repetitive combat less and the psychedelic chillout visuals and sound more. That would be a waste because some stuff later on goes so off the rails, you have to be lucid when it's happening.
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Jul 14, 2015 08:56
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New update: El Shaddai - Part 06 This is where the game starts going off the rails.
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Jul 16, 2015 11:34
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The video seems to have some weird desync and skipping. Am I the only one experiencing this? Edit: Yeah, it's gone now. Nevermind. 
placid saviour fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jul 16, 2015 |
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Jul 16, 2015 16:58
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My god, these Nephilim are too much. 
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Jul 16, 2015 17:56
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placid saviour posted:The video seems to have some weird desync and skipping. Am I the only one experiencing this? Some browsers do this from time to time. I suggest refreshing/restarting your browser if it happens again. I try to check all episodes before/after they're uploaded, but something might always slip through. tlarn posted:My god, these Nephilim are too much. They are adorable and this chapter is pretty much just cute overload.
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Jul 17, 2015 08:39
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RealSovietBear posted:They are adorable and this chapter is pretty much just cute overload. Just remember, Nephilim inevitably kill their mothers when they are "born" via the Alien Chestburster Method. I'm dissapointed that Nephilim weren't more of an enemy type. Tradition holds that there are multiple different types of Nephilim, and they tended to resemble the Greek Titans. Like, some are made of rock and stand two miles tall, and are in the process of literally dismantling the planet by method of ripping it apart and throwing bits into the sky (Gibborim). Then there's the smaller, weaker variety that some stories say had mind control powers (Rephaim/Zamzummim, who are "only around 50 feet tall" on average). Then there's the Emim. There's not a lot of stories about them, except that their name means "Terrifying Ones", so there's that.
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Jul 17, 2015 14:35
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