#!!!! when they said keeping the classic 2d animation style i FELT that

[leapingtitan]

The Final Season - Episode 1 Thoughts

I've watched the first episode around 3 times on my own and over a dozen times from anime-only live reactions on YouTube. Those are always something to have a field day with every season, and are part of the whole enjoyment post-watching the episode on your own.

Obviously I'm only reviewing this based on the first episode, so it's way too early to judge The Final Season as a whole. However, I will say that my strategy to keep my expectations low definitely worked. I was very hyped, don't get me wrong, but after Season 3 Part 2, I realized that production and scheduling has never been this show's strong suite and things behind the scenes were always chaotic. And it was my mistake to realize it this late and have unrealistically high expectations of the manga's adaptation.

But enough about that. I'm just gonna say it right now. I absolutely loved this episode and was completely blown away by it. It was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish and boy, the staff wasn't kidding when they said the first episode was like a movie. It definitely felt like that, and it went by in a flash. Now, on to the individual points.

Story/Adaptation

Flawless. Everything was executed perfectly and went beyond my expectations. The thing that stood out to me the most was how many things were changed from the PV in terms of scene construction, camera angles, and overall storyboards. There was only one shot that we reused from the PV, namely the one with Zeke and Reiner inside the airship where they're referred to as the spear and shield. Everything else was redone, which was a huge surprise. Wit was always very faithful to the original manga panels with how they used them as a big reference for most of their cuts, but this one changes them up a lot. Personally, I am 100% fine with it and as someone who has read these chapters in the manga dozens of times over the past few years, seeing them like this was a pleasant and very welcome surprise.

The anime-only additions here are notable and also quite welcome. Falco's line in the beginning in particular stood out the most in the long-run, but the addition of the Eldians' terror being shown as well as the scene before the ED was very welcome. I would like to assume that this was Isayama's doing as whenever the anime usually adds/changes up things, it's his request to do so. He sort of considers the anime to be the "definitive" version of the story that he, for one reason or another, couldn't do in the manga himself when that particular chapter came out. Season 3 Part 1 (The Uprising Arc) is a prime example for this. Once again, I'm very content with what was done here and I trust MAPPA will do the story justice.

A small but very neat thing is the fact that we got to keep the title cards and the info eyecatches mid-episode. Really added to the whole sense of consistency.

Animation

When the initial trailer came out, many people were concerned about Shigeki Asakawa (Director of Photography)'s odd and excessive usage of blur filters on top of the scenes and were wondering if they would remain in the final product, given her track record with other shows like The God of Highschool. Luckily, that is not the case here as the scenes look very clean and the minimal blur on top adds a bit to the muddy/gritty atmosphere of what's going on. Personally, I don't mind it at all and I barely notice it anyway. MAPPA's biggest strength to me is the usage of effects like blood and explosions. You feel the impact of everything and with such an action-packed episode, it made everything so much better.

The usage of 3D CGI for the Titan Shifters has been the biggest controversy surrounding this first episode. When I first watched it, it didn't bother me at all. Personally I care more about a model fitting in the action sequence rather than how it looks for the most part. Right now I would say I'm neutral. It's not the greatest CG ever conceived in anime but it definitely does not look out of place and is pretty decent. For the Jaw Titan, I couldn't tell what was CG and what wasn't for the most part. For the other Titans it's more obvious, but it's not too jarring. Obviously, if it was up to me and the production committee/NHK didn't push their scheduling shenanigans onto MAPPA, I would have gotten every Titan in 2D, but you can't have everything. If they choose to focus on more important scenes later on and cut corners in this first episode as a result, that's understandable. I can live with it. And again, even then, it's not that bad in my eyes.

Now, the character designs are just absolutely stellar. In multiple interviews, it’s been stated that they wanted to stay true to Kyoji Asano’s designs at Wit while also being consistent with Isayama’s style in the manga. And boy did they absolutely nail it. It’s exactly what as they said. Tomohiro Kishi could not have done a better job with the characters we’ve seen so far and I am beyond impressed with his work. I look forward to seeing the rest of the characters in this arc.

Sound

I've been following Kohta Yamamoto's works for a few years now, ever since he started working with Sawano (and being mentored by him to an extent) in early 2017. Although he's been involved with AoT before, particularly with the character songs in Season 2, whenever those two would collaborate on a project it would usually be because Sawano is too busy to compose a full soundtrack. So what usually happens is, Sawano does one track and variations of it (think ShingekiNoKyojin, ThanksAT and T-KT), and nothing else. Meanwhile, Yamamoto handles the rest of the music for the show. On top of that, Yamamoto's style as a composer is different from Sawano's as he comes from a rock/guitarist background as opposed to Sawano, who is a pianist and is classically trained. My biggest concern for The Final Season was that we would get a similar case as with the other shows where Sawano doesn't put in too much effort, while Yamamoto essentially becomes the main composer. Although it looks like this is in fact the case after this first episode, let me explain why I don't think it's a bad thing.

After the premiere of the first episode, both Sawano and Yamamoto tweeted that it was in fact Yamamoto who is handling the majority of the Marley Arc's music. And after this first episode, I have to say I'm impressed. His initial track that he made for the PV was a bit off-putting to me because it sounded like every epic blockbuster Hollywood trailer background track ever, but after the way it was used in this episode alongside a few other tracks, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. It fits what's going on, and overall delivers a fresh sound to the show that is very appropriate given the massive change in narrative. Back during S3 Part 1, Sawano stated in an interview that he was already burned out and had trouble coming up with new music for AoT given how many tracks he had already composed for it. Given how few new melodies were in S3 Part 2;s music, I think this should be clear. Especially now that we're going into yet another season. To summarize, I think Yamamoto's work here is a result of three conditions that just happened to line up perfectly. The change in narrative, which the new composer style reflects. Sawano being busy. And Sawano being burned out with AoT. Now personally I still believe we're going to get at least one new original Sawano track with variations of it for the big climax moments this arc, and he may compose more music for the 2nd half of this 16-episode season, since that's technically a new arc. But we'll see. As a whole though, I'm satisfied with what I've heard from Kohta Yamamoto in this first episode.

The last point to make in regards to the sound is Masafumi Mima who, apart from Sawano, the voice cast, and some freelancers, is the only one from the previous seasons' staff members to return here. And once again, his work here is absolutely phenomenal. The mixing and usage of sound effects in this episode was stellar and truly felt like I was watching a war movie. It enhanced the action tenfold and I could not want it any better. Music usage is something that goes through the director (Yuichiro Hayashi), but ultimately the sound director is the one who implements the track (instrument layering/stem editing) and does the mixing. The usage of Kohta Yamamoto's music here was very well done, and although the track from the PV repeated quite a bit, it didn't get repetitive at all. Also, the sound director remaining consistent here means we got to keep things like the titan transformation sound effects, which may be a small thing but was very welcome and added to the whole consistency.

Opening/Ending

I'm gonna wait until Shinsei Kamattechan releases the full version of the opening in a single or album to fully judge the song, but boy do I love this opening. Although I'm not sure if the TV-size version is my favorite AoT opening yet, I have to say that it's without a doubt the most fitting OP this show has had until this point. It perfectly showcases the themes of war that this arc focuses on and has this lowkey disturbing eerie vibe with the dissonant chords and mixing of the vocals that feels just as "mysterious" and "tense" as the show itself. I love it so much, honestly. Now, Isayama was a fan of Shinsei Kamattechan prior to them doing the S2 ED, and was the one who got them on-board to do it. Although that song isn't really my thing it's also a perfect fit, which leads me to believe that Isayama himself most likely chose the band again, namely to do this OP. And it's fantastic. I love the song. The visuals also have a very distinct style with all the colors and white backgrounds and I love how it's more metaphorical and symbolic (I guess "abstract" as well?) rather than flat-out just spoiling everything like the last arc's OP did.

The ED by Yuko Ando is fantastic. The first time I listened to the full song on its own I couldn't stop getting chills. Love the production aspects of the song and it's just really nice altogether. The visuals are quite interesting especially towards the end and I also like them a lot. Not much else to say about the ED. It's amazing. Go listen to it.

Conclusion

As a whole, I kept my expectations extremely low prior to the premiere despite my hype. As a result of that, not only were they exceeded, I was absolutely blown away by this first episode in pretty much every way. It may still be too early to judge, but from what has been shown here so far, I am absolutely looking forward to see MAPPA adapt the rest of this amazing story, or about as far as they can get with 16 episodes.

[sidetable-drawer]

Saw the preview for the Rugrats reboot....overall, I’m really “meh” toward it.

I love the original series; it might have been THE first cartoon I watched and really loved. That being said, when the reboot was first announced I wasn’t too excited...the original ran for over 100 episodes and started going downhill around 2001 (and the spinoffs weren’t that great- All Grown Up was pretty good in the first season, but went downhill in S2 when it lost the feel the original had. The less about Pre-School Daze the better, and those weird Tales from the Crib DTV movies felt like soulless cash grabs). I like that the new version is getting back as much of the original cast as possible, and from what we’ve seen so far the writing seems on the same level as the “classic” era (the original 1991-1994 run). From the looks of it, Susie’s also going to have a bigger role than she did in the original, and I’m really happy about that because she’s one of my favorite characters. My main issue is the animation- the CGI looks really...off. It’s not as bad looking as I thought it would be, but it has that “PS2 cutscene” look Kamp Koral has, the animation looks a little too stiff, and the way the characters’ hair is rendered looks awkward. I don’t think the style for Rugrats was ever really suited for CGI; why not just keep it 2D?

I will say this- it looks better than Kamp Koral. But otherwise I’m just “eh...” overall to it. I’m good with the original Rugrats. I’m sure the reboot’s target audience will enjoy this one, too. Unless later preview clips win me over, I’m probably gonna sit this one out. I don’t think it’s terrible, but there’s not much winning me over, either. It’s for today’s kids.

[fuse2dx]

November ‘20

Cross Code

Cross Code is a game that is trying so very, very hard. The story is based around your character being an avatar within an MMORPG, and its this kind of game-within-a-game setup that is used as a cheeky way to skirt the fourth wall and have its characters make snide remarks at certain design decisions, while also going full steam ahead with them regardless of the fact. Don’t think we didn’t notice, dev team! It plays out as a 2D top-down action RPG, but clearly has aspirations that extend far beyond this framework. Each of its environments is thoroughly layered with subtle verticality, with parkour-esque platforming having you constantly working backwards from your intended destination, and requiring meticulous attention to detail in order to find where it is you’re able to begin your elaborate series of jumps from. There’s a huge array of materials to gather and channel through traders and to craft into gear, and the combat they benefit is both precise and complex, requiring plenty of on-the-fly thinking as well as tight execution. As well as these set-piece battles, the game’s dungeons are full of puzzles that though smart in construction, are tough enough in isolation, and frankly brutal in their relentless frequency. One particularly ill-advised chapter has a series of three such dungeons in quick succession, and perfectly illustrates that just because you can, does not mean that you should. 

On a more positive note, one thing the game does have in spades is charm. The sprite work is admirable; even though characters are a touch on the tiny side to be too effective on their own, their portraits and dialogue provide a solid emotive connection to them and the story that builds up around them. In all, it is a game that can be a lot of fun, and plenty rewarding - but the entire thing is overly long and far too regularly punishing. It’s tapped into a number of 16-bit action-RPG ideas well, but has perhaps unintentionally also managed to become the most masochistic presentation of these ideas to date.

Crimzon Clover: World Explosion

A game I’ve technically owned for years now, however the lack of a Windows PC has held me back from playing it - with this debut on the Switch finally granting me the opportunity though to get hands on. Although I’d gleaned plenty from watching super players decimate it before now, even my feeble credit feeding through the game’s five stages has given me plenty of additional appreciation for just how good it is. 

It looks brilliant, with chunky, detailed enemies animated beautifully as they move about the screen. The music pounds along to an energetic beat, and the game keeps a solid pace all while plenty of bullets swarm around you in creative and considered patterns. Turning the tides with Break Mode is an incredibly satisfying way to take control of hairier moments, and while I can’t speak for every intricacy of its scoring system, I know that it’s developed by a team that demonstrably understands the value of these. What I can more reliably add to that discussion is that you’re unlikely to find yourself reliant on any one hook to find your fun though; even the most pedestrian appreciator of the genre should find plenty to enjoy. Thoroughly deserving of its regular appearance alongside the biggest names in the genre.

Holovista

There’s often a reasonable amount of scepticism that comes from some folks when you talk of gaming on a mobile phone. Flipping the conversation though, and instead to talk of one of my favourite advantages of the format, it’s great that a developer can lean on the familiarity and the personal connection that you have to the device you’re playing on. As a device that lives by your side 24/7 and increasingly encroaches further into every aspect of your being, Holovista leverages this connection amazingly, spinning its story in a series of interfaces that mimic how your phone acts when you use it yourself. Taking pictures and interacting with people in particular are key interfaces, and that are done in a way that neatly puts you right into the shoes of their character. 

It begins with said character taking an interview for a new job that is hoped to herald a new tide of good fortune, and promptly introduces the circle of friends that are there to help with this and that celebrate alongside. As you learn more about the job, things slowly begin to get a bit weird, and then take a turn that is something akin to Black Mirror meets nightmarish introspection. Though not overtly unpleasant, there are some memorably unsettling moments along the way. Sensibly, it does have content warnings that offer some sound advice for those it might not sit so well with, but self-care does end up being a central takeaway from the game as a whole as well as for its cast. On the back of circumstances we’ll generically chalk up to this year’s being what it is, this ended up feeling like a lovely little palate cleanser -  a considered refresh, thoroughly original, and a very worthy afternoon’s entertainment. 

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

One thing that’s always been great about Link’s Awakening came as a result of the technical limitations imposed by the Gameboy - that the Zelda format needed all the fat trimmed, while the mixture of puzzles and action were to be distilled down into their most potent and compact form. Even with the (entirely optional) extras they’ve slipped in with this remake, this still shines through in its design now, where it couldn’t be any further removed from the risks of overly long, dragged out pacing. A small overworld it may be, but it’s full of variety, secrets, and memorable moments. Dungeons are similarly economical with its good ideas - giving you new tools, laying out smart ways to break you into their use, and then letting you get on with things. 

While the remastered music is also utterly charming, the real upsell here is the total visual do-over; its tilt-shifted cartoon aesthetic pushing each and every scene to look like a shiny, hyper-cute diorama. For all of the different visual styles that the series has dabbled with in the past, this one definitely feels like the right match for the light-hearted whimsy that comes through from the story and the characters. That’s not to say that it’s flawless either - the blurring at the screen’s edges can be overly intense at times, and the overall presentation does cause the performance to stutter and feel a little sluggish at times. I point at these things only given the bar is raised so - something unavoidable when you already know a game is a stone-cold classic from the off. 

Astro’s Playroom

Coming pre-installed on your shiny new (and hopefully not scalped) Playstation 5 console, Playroom begins as a humble introduction to the capabilities of the Dual Sense controller. Touch control, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and the like are introduced and may well generate some cooing and low-key positivity, however this enthusiasm is elevated by a mighty factor when the game truly begins and everything is put so deftly into practice.

It’s not a complex or particularly challenging title as far as 3D platformers go, with frequent checkpoints and no life counter in sight. Any mould-breaking to be done comes instead from the diversity in how you control various sideshows, with the entire kitchen sink’s worth of interface options being showcased as you climb into a monkey suit, blast off a rocket ship, bounce around as a pinball, and so on. All of these demonstrate ingenuity that could’ve easily gone awry, yet are quickly understood, and grounded in a level of both tactile and in-game feedback that maintains a natural feeling. The game’s worlds serve as virtual tours through colourful, fantasy depictions of hardware components that demonstrates an excellent level of both pride and playfulness, with fellow bots littering both the through-fare and the unbeaten paths, dressed up and enacting smart homage to generations of games and their characters, all while Playstation-themed collectables are doled out in tandem alongside smart, well-natured puns. It arguably borders on propaganda at times, such is the intense positivity. That said, the more extensive your tenure is with Sony’s platforms, the more likely it’ll dull your better judgement to this, instead letting slip a grin at what is essentially the grandest love letter to all things Playstation, and the warmest, most celebratory pack-in for a new console Sony could have ever hoped for. 

The showcasing of new features and hardware aside, it’s also a subtle and unofficial coronation of Astrobot as Sony’s newest (and best) mascot. There’s been plenty of candidates in the past who’ve half-heartedly assumed to own the position, but it’s the silent, cheerful charm which makes Astro that much more of an endearing figurehead. G'wan the little guy.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

For someone that loves Suda51 and adored No More Heroes, my reaction to No More Heroes 2 on its original release was comparatively tepid. With a third game due next year, this re-release felt like the right time to revisit it and see it through, and although I found some things to enjoy, I certainly found plenty to remind me why I had bounced off it previously.

Roaming about in Santa Destroy between missions is gone, instead replaced with a short check list of destinations. While not a fan of the change myself, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing - though it does give a misleading impression of tightened focus that is very quickly lost as it lays out a spread of half-baked, and frankly clumsy mini-games. As well as being your prime source for money and upgrades, these do a lot to artificially increase the length of the game, and put simply, they’re just not fun enough to warrant this level of prominence. Even the main story has frequent moments where it veers away from the core 3D hack and slash gameplay, and again, these do more harm than good to the game’s flow.

The fighting underpinning it all has undoubtably been done better since by any number of titles, and though imperfect, it is still serviceable and enjoyable for the most part. Boss battles definitely hold the lion’s share of the game’s highlights, but there’s a few that also stick out with some poorly executed designs that tars its lasting impression. Shades do remain of the ridiculous, irreverent charm of the first game, although they are certainly more infrequent, and a more modern lens also brings into question just how sincerely we should take the sending up of Travis, when cast upon a backdrop of frequent fanservice. Not the best sequel then, but let’s hope 3 gets things back on track.  

[uzuuzuking]

so this started out as just a general post about why i like cinderella adaptations, but slowly spiraled into a ranking/review of all the cinderella adaptations i’ve seen in my short, young life. so strap in for possibly the longest post i’ve ever made on this blog. (look, i never know how much i have to say about something until i really get going lmao)

idk why i like cinderella adaptations/remakes/spinoffs so much? most of them are garbage (especially the ones within the last 10 years don’t @ me) but fuck it i like this brand of garbage. it’s fun to watch these movies and rework the bad plotlines and dialogue in my head as i go along.

i guess i like the source material and some of the aspects of all the different adaptations, but honestly i just like re-imagining them because there’s only so much cringey script-written-for-teens-but-clearly-written-by-40-year-old-adults-who-have-no-idea-how-teens-or-even-people-for-that-matter-actually-talk-and-interact i can take in one excruciating sitting.

anyway here’s my personal ranking of all the cinderella adaptations i’ve seen that no one asked for. (not including stage productions because i haven’t seen any and have no opinion of them. also not including into the woods because that’s not just cinderella, but a spectacular amalgamation of fairytale mishap and shenanigan.) and reviews because apparently i had more to say than i originally thought when i first started constructing this list:

cinderella (1997) - the absolute best cinderella adaptation of all time, hands down, this is non-negotiable. this movie has it all: an excellent and diverse cast, gorgeous costume design, beautiful sets, some of the most dazzling dance numbers i ever witnessed when i first watched it at the wee age of 4, and a positive, progressive message that was accurate for its time yet also so ahead of its time. i cannot praise this version of cinderella enough, it is my all time favorite and one of my top 3 feel-good movies. if you watched it today, the effects might not be as magical compared to what we have now, but keep in mind it was released in 1997. anyway, the cast is truly amazing and so effortlessly inclusive (and honestly the fact that the prince was asian with a black mother and white father and they literally never addressed it was such a power move). i could go on about this movie forever (i’ll probably make a whole post dedicated to it in the future) and what it meant to me and many others as young, impressionable poc. in conclusion, this movie set an exceedingly high standard for me and destroyed the chances of any other cinderella adaptation even hoping to live up to that. i love it! so! much!

ever after: a cinderella story (1998) - tbh i never saw this until i was in college but i immediately fell in love. i love the flow of the story as a whole - i never felt like anything was missing. i love the costumes and i especially love how danielle and henry’s relationship progressed throughout the film. slow-burn comes to mind when i watch their interactions and we all love a sweet, sweet slow-burn. it’s romance babes! it’s Dramatic in a few scenes and all i can say is that it really works because drew barrymore’s performance is exceptional, fantastic, engaging, more adjectives to describe how enthralled by her i was. above all, her character is compassionate - she uses her voice to speak in support for those who are suppressed by the flawed government systems and law enforcers, and influences the prince to use his status and power to better his people who lack the privileges of the nobility. she’s such a strong female lead (emotionally and physically - she literally fireman carries her love interest, who is taller than her and definitely exceeds her own bodyweight) and truly the mvp of this adaptation. watch it. watch it for Her.

enchanted (2007) - amy adams and idina menzel - ‘nuff said. okay but for real this one is so unique with its transition from classic d*sney 2D animation style to the real three-dimensional world and i adore it to the ends of the earth. the music? slaps! the story? slaps! the development of the main character? slaps!! she’s so princess-y and d*sney cartoon-y and struggles in the real world, but she adapts at a good pace and i love that she learns to be realistic while also keeping hope and love close to her heart. also her mother figure / daughter figure bond with morgan is so so precious. the only constructive criticism i have for this movie is the fact that we were robbed of idina menzel singing!!! did they know all along she was destined to play the frozen queen years in the future and decided against her singing in this one?? is that it? ridiculous. it’s been over a decade and i’m still seething over this. other than that this movie is *chef’s kiss*

ella enchanted (2004) - anne hathaway’s back must still be hurting from carrying this film. (no shade to the other cast members, they’re good, but anne is a queen and i forever love her.) this is another childhood favorite of mine. the story itself is a refreshing take - hats off to gail carson levine for the source material! i’ve talked about the differences between the movie and book before in the midst of my reread of the book a few months ago, but i don’t remember how much i focused on the movie. it’s so different from the book that it might as well be its own thing. on its own, the movie is pretty decent! again, mostly because of anne. it’s funny, it’s sad (especially that scene towards the beginning between ella and areida, i’m in stupid tears every time), and it gets weird but it’s a fun time. the chemistry between char and ella is so zesty i can feel it through the screen, i swoon over both of them. tbh i probably wouldn’t like this movie so much if not for the fact that anne hathaway is truly talented and i spend most of my time watching it just looking at her. 

cinderella 3: a twist in time (2007) - i genuinely enjoyed and appreciated how the characters were written in this one. they all had clear motives and became much more dynamic through their lines and actions (drizella is arguably the most static character here but she still amuses me so it’s fine i guess). cinderella has more agency since the stakes are higher. prince charming actually has a gotdamn personality and has some of the funniest scenes and dialogue. good for him. i was kind of sad that anastasia’s story with the sweet baker boy was thanos snapped by the stepmother, but she and baker boy get a cute credits illustration together so it’s still canon! maybe i’m more biased on this one because i grew up rewatching it A Lot, but i definitely prefer it to the first and second movies.

cinderella (2000) - this one is kind of weird but i like it? the film has a really interesting vibe that i’m still trying to figure out how to describe even after seeing it like 5 times. wikipedia refers to the aesthetic style as “the glamour of the 1950s” which just might be as close as we can get. it follows the general guidelines of the cinderella plot, but the main differences were: zezolla (cinderella) was already helping with the chores before her father remarried, claudette (stepmother) was actively trying to murder zezolla’s father during their marriage, the stepsisters were much more violent and crass (they hunted zezolla’s beloved farm animals for sport and talked about getting “a man in [their] bed”), zezolla’s father was manipulated by everything claudette did and said and treated his own daughter poorly as a result, and prince valiant is honestly kind of a douchebag but seems willing to improve himself after meeting zezolla (basically his vibes are iffy but he’s willing to learn). this whole movie is pretty niche and i have yet to interact with someone who’s also seen it. and the only reason i’ve seen it so many times is because i just like listening to how the dialogue is delivered. (except for prince valiant’s random song at the ball, i kind of hated that and i skip through it every time lol).

a cinderella story (2004) - the classic hilary duff version. very cliche early 2000s high school romance, but it works for the cinderella narrative. not particularly diverse. a classic nonetheless. in my mind this is the pinnacle of the “modern cinderella movie” type. this is one of the most iconic movies for us zillennials and i’d like to think it’s known well enough for me to not go into a lot of detail about it. basically it was fresh and new for its time, had plenty of memorable scenes, and did i mention hilary duff? the film kind of plays into the “not like other girls” trope - as do a couple of the movies i listed above - but i’m just going to acknowledge that the early 2000s were Wack and simply move on. all in all, i like this movie for the nostalgia, iconic scenes, and hilary duff. also jennifer coolidge is pretty funny as the stepmother.

another cinderella story (2008) - again, an early 2000s classic, but this time with selena gomez. i liked the dancing in this one. i like selena’s quiet, somewhat timid characterization of her character, mary. and jane lynch in the stepmother role is perfection. she’s so fun to watch and is always hilarious. the story is nothing remarkable, but it’s okay and i liked it as a kid. after the hilary duff version, this one still managed to feel fresh because, though it was similar in its modern era approach, it focused more on the performing arts and dance. “cinderella” is an aspiring dancer, rather than the 2004 aspiring scholar. the “prince” is a famous popstar, not a football player. the stepmother is an outdated popstar desperate to stay Hip and Relevant with the kids, not a cranky botox lady. honestly i just love watching this one for the dancing, mary’s genuine and innocent love for the “prince”, and literally everything that comes out of jane lynch’s mouth. that woman is a dialogue gold mine.

a cinderella story: once upon a song (2011) - lucy hale is good. missi pyle is good. they play their roles and lines that they’re given fairly well. over all, it’s entertaining. lucy, of course, has them Pipes and i do like the songs in this movie. the only major downside for me was the “token best friend of color” trope. lucy’s best friend is an asian girl who’s good at sports and is there for one liners and support. the prince charming character’s best friend is a black guy who he only knew for probably a month at the most. he can beatbox, sing, and dj. basically he’s also just there as support. they really don’t do much for the plot but they’re there for diversity and whatnot. this movie is.. fine.

cinderella (1950) - the only reason this ranks so low for me is because i watched it a lot as a child when it was on vhs and it always felt like a fever dream to me. i was just really young and didn’t feel invested in any of the characters. it is a classic, though, and i would watch it again and be able to enjoy it.

cinderella 2: dreams come true (2002) - i liked cinderella’s and anastasia’s stories from this one. jaq’s was meh. it was fine.

dj cinderella or cinderella pop (2019) - netflix knows i like cinderella adaptations so, naturally, they shoved this into my recommended and, naturally, i watched it. twice. which is more than i can say for the following review... so this movie is brazillian and is pretty much the cut & mold of modern cinderella movies. but she wants to be a dj. she stars out living a perfect life as a wealthy girl with a loving family, but turns out her dad is cheating on her mom with his secretary. that’s when she “stops believing in love”. which is actually valid bc if i saw one of my parental figures cheating on the other, i honestly wouldn’t know what to believe in anymore. anyway, cíntia dorella (yes. that’s her full name.) and her mom move into her aunt’s place. a year or so passes. stepmother/secretary/cheating lady is throwing an extravagant birthday party for her daughters and hires freddy prince, a popular musician who cíntia doesn’t really like. meanwhile, cíntia gets a dj gig she’s excited for until she finds out she’s the opener for freddy prince at her stepsisters’ party. she ends up disguising herself as “dj cinderella” and freddy is super into her. it’s pretty generic from there but i was entertained enough to watch it twice. take from that what you will.

cinderella (2015) - ok so we been knew that d*sney’s live action remakes ain’t shit, and this one is no exception. d*sney within the last few years has been like 99% aesthetics and marketing. this movie was visually stunning, especially with the settings and costumes. those were the only 2 things i truly liked. everything else was forgettable. in its defense, i did read a post about the “have courage and be kind” message which is something wonderful to hold onto, especially for anyone in an abusive situation like ella. that’s valid and i respect that. i still lowkey hate this movie tho. i started getting a headache about 4 reviews ago, but remembering how much praise this movie got has reignited my fighting spirit. honestly if you like it, that’s good, you like what you like and that’s that. but this is my review and i hated how proper ella’s posture was (she’s been doing physical labor hunched on the floor for years now, how does she not slump around in exhaustion at the end of the day??), i hated how perfectly curated the whole thing was (again, that’s mostly because of d*sney and their aesthetics), and i hated how hollow everything felt. i can’t perfectly describe it, but i never felt emotionally invested in any of the characters. something about their performance was lacking and yet again i blame d*sney. i actually really like lily james, but something about the way she was directed left me devoid of emotional attachment to ella. i remember nothing about ella’s step family or the prince. that’s how much of an impact this adaptation had on me. also i just remembered the fairy godmother as i type this. i ADORE helena bonham carter, but this movie does a horrible disservice to her. if she liked working on this movie, then i’m happy for her, but even she wasn’t strong enough to sell this to me. i saw this movie in theaters and came out of it lamenting my waste of money that i could have spent on something i would have actually enjoyed. but the thing that enraged me the most, the thing i despised, i detested, the thing i seethed over and rant about to this day was the ONE (1) token black character. i don’t even know if he had a name but he was captain of the guard or some shit. if i remember correctly (but probably not tbh this movie was so forgettable), he was the one who heard ella singing and was the whole reason the prince was able to have her try on the glass slipper. this man, who had zero character development, zero relevance to the plot, an insignificant amount of screen time, is suddenly the reason the main character is able to finally connect with her love interest. um. What. i hate how the writers treated him and i will forever be filled with every last grain of salt over this. anyway he’s my favorite character and everyone else is just eh. to conclude this ungodly long review, i don’t like this movie. i tried to watch it again once but got so bored i quit 10 minutes in. do yourself a favor and watch cinderella (1997) instead. (the only reason this movie is ranked above the remaining 5 is the production quality. but i guess that’s unfair bc d*sney has the big bucks. and maybe i wouldn’t be so harsh if i weren’t sleep deprived and grumpy from a sugar-induced headache, but these feelings still come from my Chest so idk.)

a cinderella story: a christmas wish (2019) - i think we all secretly enjoy christmas-themed movies and this has got to be someone’s guilty pleasure. i was mildly entertained (but again with the cringey dialogue written by people clearly not in high school...) and i do like laura marano. but they autotuned her to hell and back - which i loathed - because the woman can actually sing and she has a lovely voice. she got to sing candidly one (1) time and i relished the experience. my ears thank her beautiful, un-autotuned voice. other than that it was.. fine. i didn’t hate it but i didn’t like it either. laura marano deserves better than this. (can’t say the same for the other actors tho because their roles were unmemorable.) also laura marano was super cute in her elf costume!

not cinderella’s type (2018) - i legit forgot about this one until after i compiled the entire list lol. i saw it on youtube and it was decent as far as i remember. it’s another modern day cinderella. i think the “prince” runs over “cinderella’s” cat or something?? i’m pretty sure it was her mom’s cat so now she has nothing left to remember her mom by. prince boy feels awful and tries to befriend her or do something to make it up to her, but she just doesn’t really like him. i think her aunt and uncle are emotionally abusive to her and prince boy does his best to be there for her without making things worse. if i remember correctly, i liked that aspect of the movie because it’s hard to be there for a victim of any kind of abuse if trying to help them could potentially hurt them more, especially minors still under the care of abusive guardians. anyway i think cinderella girl’s best friend is in love with her or something but she ends up not being into him and slowly gets together with prince boy. she eventually moves out of her guardians’ house and into the spare house at prince boy’s home (he’s rich or something). i need to rewatch this movie tbh i could be wrong about everything here lol.

rags (2012) - not amazing, definitely not memorable because i have nothing to say about its plot or writing, but it has keke palmer which is its one redeeming quality. also it’s the only one on this list where the male protagonist is the cinderella. so that’s solid i guess.

a cinderella story: if the shoe fits (2016) - this was a movie. it happened. i vaguely remember how ridiculous it was and sometimes i felt secondhand embarrassment. i don’t remember what about specifically, but i remember the emotion. sofia carson is a talented singer. i think she’s a decent actor but this script was Bad.

elle: a modern cinderella tale (2010) - i only watched this one because i was bored out of my damn mind and saw it on youtube. i felt bad for all the actors because this script was terrible. i don’t recommend this unless you’re about to sit down with your squad and make fun of it.

apparently descendants is on the “cinderella adaptations and references” list on imdb but i refuse to put it on my list because it’s not a cinderella-specific adaptation and i don’t like the descendants franchise. now, if we’re going to discuss a quality series about the children of fairytale characters, that would hands down be ever after high. but that’s a different topic for a different day.

thus concludes the ranking no one asked for but i felt compelled to make. thank you and goodnight

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff's Best of 2019

WARNING: Just wanted to say cheers to you for making it through another year. I send you best wishes for next year to be fruitful. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy. (Best of 2017) (Best of 2018)

Dedicated to Russi Taylor, John Witherspoon, Rip Torn, Tartar Sauce, Caroll Spinney, Peter Matthews, and the many of KyoAni lost in the arson incident. You all did wonderful; rest in peace.

Welp, I figured the last year of this decade would be the most chaotic one by far, then again everything peak after 2012. As for now, I am counting down the best cartoons/animations/comics I’ve seen and loved this year in no particular order other than #1. Same rules apply: No sneak previews of future projects, no repeats, and this time anything goes.

Runner Ups: Superman Smashes the Klan, Marvel’s Aero, Infinity Train, Enter the Florpus, Amphibia, Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Helluva Boss, Meta Runner, Lego Movie 2, Forky Asks a Question

Anyways, Badda boom bang whiz, let’s do this shizz...

10. Super Mario Bros GT

Nostalgia can be quite a mystery, especially one that can come out of nowhere. Super Mario Bros Z kicked so much ass as a kid that now, it still frustrates me to this that it got a cease & desist from Nintendo, even the reboot from the same person couldn’t last long. But the gods have offered a slight miracle in the form of this new spiritual successor that has heart and soul put into every pixelated frame. There is much to celebrate with Youtube animation, where many say it’s dying due to the algorithm and all of the site’s corporate bullshit, but it’s stuff like this which helps me understand why we should celebrate. Against all odds, channels like Smasher Block willfully put their works out their for the people and continues to because on top of getting a little dough, it’s what they want to do.

9. DC SUPER HERO GIRLS (2019)

Awwwwww yeah, this is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power done right. Diverse female squad, each given a quality screen time to truly shine (Beecher especially) on their which makes the episodes where they’re all together feel earned and joyous to watch. Certainly reminds me of Friendship is Magic, which is coincidental since they were created by the same woman. I’d like to think this and MLP G4 were the answers to Faust’s cancelled project Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls where multiple personalities collide to one extraordinary superhero team of girls capable great feats that are lifted from their insecurities or drawbacks. And on top of this being a fun series to kick back to all around, it’s a comforting, somewhat aspiring thought to consider.

8. JOKER

I am somebody that rarely goes to the theaters to watch a film; you have to hook my tight just for me to even think of buying a ticket, no less plan to. But honestly, Joker was worth the hype, the ticket, and the fact that it wasn’t the incel uprising that buttfuck normies tried to make it out as. It’s lower on the list because in thought, there definitely could’ve been some tweaks to the dialogue and a couple scenes that I felt didn’t work in the long run. But really, this movie to me worked because of the escalation that leads to a cathartic climax and ending that left me in actual tears. I don’t give a shit if it “doesn’t fit”, having Frank Sinatra sing the film's credits put me in shambles. Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal as Arthur, and this movie felt authentic in its many details. This is definitely up there with my favorite comic book films of all time. Good thing, too, Spider-Man was taking up most of that shelf.

7. TUCA & BERTIE

This series being what I can’t help but say is a spin-off to Bojack Horseman, a show I respect, was enough to pull me into watching it. But it being like Bojack where it’s tight-roping between a bouncy comedy and a grounded drama was what kept me around for more. It is a damn shame this was cancelled after one season (while 13 Reasons Why gets FOUR seasons like what the fuck), because while this did feel enough like a complete series, I was certainly interested for more because I really enjoyed it all. I have my issue with a couple choices in the show, but I am sure this series would’ve addressed them later down the line. I can see why some women would find this personally endearing, it felt like the personal stories of actual people, and it deserved better. Either way, I enjoyed this series and I recommend it just as much as Bojack.

6. PRIMAL

Genndy Tartakovsky is that kind of cartoon creator where you feel he’ll go beyond if you give him the right amount of space. He’s not a perfectionist like John “Dirty Diddler” Kricfalusi, but with things like Hotel Transylvania and Samurai Jack, he certainly has proven to have the range in animation where you know how he plays. Primal showcasing his noted skill in dialogue-less storytelling and dynamic action scenes, able to convey everything clear with its ruthless yet careful protagonist and his dinosaur friend, all on top of the most luscious backgrounds. This is a series that definitely feels like Genndy’s taken what he’s used from his previous works and putting it together for a brutal yet passionate look at the prehistoric life. He truly brought us an adult series to enjoy and to look forward to more in the coming year.

5. SPINEL

Bet you didn’t expect a character to be on this list, eh? Spinel is the best thing to come out of Steven Universe in general; makes me wish she was in a better movie. The crew certainly did their darndest to make her not only an enjoyable and connectable character through and through, but a very versatile character that the fandom could take in any which way. Call it corny, but Spinel perfectly represents SU as a whole: a lovable goof that can certainly mean business but deep down is deserved of a hug because of what she’s gone through. Wish she had a more satisfying resolution in her respective debut, but really it’s the balance between those three elements mentioned that makes Spinel almost eternally wonderful.

4. MOB PSYCHO 100 II

As someone that doesn’t like reading, I’m a firm believer that the best animations or visual medias elevate the writing to a memorable degree; the visuals hook to the point where you want to think about what you saw and how it was conveyed. Mob Psycho 100, for two seasons now, does this in spades where Studio Bones throw them bones in animating one of the most dynamic animes of the modern era, providing the writing and characters a proper chance to flex its muscles. The characters are especially what makes this and MP100 as a whole work so well, the story being about a boy learning to be more sociable as well as emotionally stronger all while helping others understand maturity and empathy. For more on this, I recommend Hiding in Public’s video(s) on Mob. But with the animation, Bones was able to provide a sense of impact and immersion to the moments that matter, not making it an overstimulating mess, and putting some respect on ONE’s webcomic art style. 

3. KLAUS

Hands down, this is a great Christmas movie. Take away the animation and you have a charming, wanna say ground and authentic, story about the makings of Santa Claus. With memorable and likable characters, a nice escalation in terms of the plot, and moments that are/can be so satisfying, they can bring you to tears. A couple overdone tropes in the road that doesn’t make this the most perfected story, but those sincerely minor compared to everything else that makes this story the best. Now. Add in the animation, and you have a gold, nay a platinum animated story of the year where the visuals definitely enhance the story to a degree where they’re undoubtedly inseparable. The visuals alone is enough to check this movie out and it’s eye-opening when you learn of how it’s all done. Klaus is a film that did it’s job and then some, and I hope this will be well remembered as a classic holiday film for it deserves that status.

2. BEASTARS

I’ll be fair, I’m mostly referring to the manga and not the anime but since the anime premiered this fall, it counts. Because be it the anime or the series overall, Beastars has such well intricate world building all while offering a little something for everyone (violence, romance, slice of life). The story is well paced and even when we aren’t focusing on the main characters momentarily, Itagaki is surprisingly able to make every supporting/side character we come across memorable in their own way; like I said before, the city is much a character in this story. Oh yeah, and the mangaka is the daughter of Keisuke “Grappler Baki” Itagaki, that in itself is a treasuring bit of trivia for this. Everything about Beastars is enticing and Studio Orange certainly helped in giving this series more of a following.

1. GREEN EGGS & HAM

Well, well, well. Guess Netflix is three for three in terms of bringing its best foot forward among its few steps back each year. The best term to describe this series is surprising. Surprising that this is a Dr. Seuss story that got expanded a 13 episode series, that has fleshed out characters, fun hijinks, an easy story, lovely emotional, more quieter moments... on top of being 2D hand drawn animated. I mean, what else is there to say? Green Eggs and Ham is to Dr. Seuss what Seven was for Final Fantasy, what Friendship is Magic was for MLP, what watermelon was before a nice menthol cigarette. This definitely took the top spot because to me, it was able to bring many good elements from the previous entries and knot it all together into a well kept bow that I never knew I wanted until now. I’m genuinely glad this show got to exist the way it is and I am hoping, praying, that the second season keeps that momentum up.

That leads us to the actual number one which is

1. STEVEN UNIVERSE FUT-

Total Dramarama is now the two time World Heavyweight Champion, babey. Will 2020 give us a quality contender? Will the streak last another year?

Stay tuned, and always seek out the Good Stuff.

[lovetheangelshadow]

N'Pressions: Netflix' Carmen Sandiego

I will admit my past experiences with the Carmen Sandiego franchise is a mix of both enjoyment and frustration. My first encounter with the series was that my grandpa had the original black and white game installed on his Mac II and half the time me and my brother were guessing and constantly losing because who knew you needed the accompanying Almanac to go with it. Also I was like six and my brother four and we didn’t even know what an Almanac was. We did sporadically watch the game show; both the geography and history ones, when our mother let us watch TV and well as the cartoon that came up on the Fox. To memory the only other game we ever owned was the USA specific one that we played to heck out of.

 I was not even aware that there was a reboot in the making until I had gotten an email from Netflix about some shows I might like. I glanced at the trailer on YouTube and admittedly was not exactly enthusiastic about the premise. From what it appeared to be, we were following Carmen specifically and that, while she was still a thief, she stole from other thieves. Sly Cooper. They were essentially premiering a Sly Cooper type show. Why didn’t Sly get his own show?! Okay so the Ratchet and Clank movie tanked, but you have a bit more wiggle room with a show guys! Heck technically there is 2D animation in the Sly series, it would not look out of place. Well despite my disappointment, I decided to give this a fair shake.

The theme song is meh. Honestly it just doesn’t stick with me like the previous three version. And yes, as corny as it was, I still like the Where in Time theme. I get what they’re trying to do though; invoking a jazzy tone like in the James Bond series, Pink Panther, or Catch me if you Can-it just feels very generic to me. Which is an honest shame because the animation for the opener is beautiful. The black and white cut out backgrounds with the trademark red coat gliding through and the title character eluding capture is just a treat. Again it works really well with the mood and tone of the show; a spy-action chase theme traversing the world. Like I said it does feel like they’re trying to invoke that classic thief/spy films. It’s just the theme doesn’t stick with me.

And as for the reboot itself, the show decides to elaborate and remake Carmen Sandiego’s origin. Now I don’t know if people were clamoring for this, but I never really came across any howling dissent like with She-Ra or Powerpuff Girls when this news came out. Most of the reactions I’ve seen were either excitement or hesitation. And let’s face it, any time there is a reboot there is reasonable grounds for reluctance. Now with Carmen there is a bit more of a leeway here. After all, at least to my memory, a set personality or origin for her. You knew she was a thief that wanted you to know it was her, someone who enjoyed the chase, and was very crafty and intelligent. Also mysterious.

So the new concept is that Carmen, or Black Sheep as her former name, was an orphan found by one of the V.I.L.E faculty members, Ms. Blunt and raised on V.I.LE Headquarters island where she had a series of various tutors who taught her geography, history, and world culture. She also learned a few other things by osmosis from other members of the organization and was also a bit of a prankster and precocious. Eventually she is allowed to train in the next school year where only 40 thieves graduate per year (clever pun). And it’s here where we meet some of the her schoolmates who will eventually her antagonists for the season. And if I may put in aside her, this show does this SO much better than She-Ra. The show actually does take the time to make them more or less fleshed out characters so you know the kinds of threats they will eventually be later on in the show. With She-Ra they’re more like set pieces then anything else (save for Catra, but whatever). Anyway the school is run by five faculty members each with their own personality and gimmick to their methods of crime. And watching these guys is very enjoyable. The best comparison I can think of is the Kingdom Hearts series where if you compare the organization of Disney Villains and Origination XIII in terms of interaction and entertainment. The former classmates are more like Organization XIII. Sure they have their own gimmicks and personas, but they don’t stand out as much and their interaction with Carmen is more professional and serious. The only exception may be Tigress-but she’s more of a rival. Also I am convinced two of those guys are gay and it actually feels natural because it’s not their most outstanding feature. With the Faculty, it is a lot more personal. Plus their egos often clash with one another and they’ve got no qualms taunting or flaunting others’ failures and their own successes. There is someone of a sixth member, who is the bookkeeper for V.I.L.E. Fun fact, she is voiced by the original Carmen and the reboot Carmen steals her soon to be trademark hat and coat from her. That is one of the cleverest pass the torches EVER.

Anyway, Carmen is flunked from the course and is forced to take it over. However she stows away on the place heading for heist where she learns the true face of V.I.L.E. She doesn’t have a problem with theft, it’s the fact that the organization is willing to kill to get what it wants. There are other atrocities but I won’t spoil them here. So finding this out, she escapes the island with stolen data with the help of a hacker named Player and vows to destroy V.I.L.E by stealing thigs before they do and or steal back from them.

For the rest of the series, it plays itself out a straightforward heist and chase show. At the same time either Carmen or Player will drop factoids about each place they visit either to each other or to Carmen’s two assistants: Zack and Ivy. They are also perused by Interpol agents Chase Devineaux and Julia Argent. Chase is a by the book officer who is persistent in pursuit and isn’t too interested in history and cultural facts. I would not call him stupid but rather he’s focused on the hunt and will do what he has to in order to keep up the chase. Also he has some of the best comedic lines in the show. Julia is more the bookworm and slow burning patient partner. ACME is also part of the chase as well as a shadow organization dedicated to tracking down and stopping VILE. When I first heard the two agents mention Chief I was super excited to see the return of the Chief and…shrugs. And nothing against Dawnn Lewis but she doesn’t strike me with authority the same way Lynne Thigpen did. Also I am kinda sad that they went the more generic men in black look. Sure the old red and yellow coats were cheesy, but they’ve stuck in my mind more than anything. Plus with VILE’s color schemes being mostly green, black, and grey it would have made for the perfect contrast.

The show goes more for of a cutout style along the vein of shows like 6teen and Chaotix season 1 (yeah remember that show?) with coloring resembling more of a painterly style. Basically similar to the style of the opening but a bit more simplified. For the most part I don’t mind it too much; but it tends to be not always as flexible when it comes to the action sequences. This is more noticeable with it comes to sequences that involve impacts, but they’re too brief to really notice unless you’re actively looking for them. Same thing goes for other things like follow through and squash and stretch. But for a first season especially with this kind of animation, I will give them credit that more the most part its consistent and nine times out of then it doesn’t feel stiff and awkward. If I have a minor nitpick it’s more the character designs themselves. I feel like a lot of these designs I’ve seen in other shows and none of them really stand out to me. Sure the old VILE agent designs from the show and games were kooky and sometimes questionable in design choices, but they still felt a bit more individual.

And now on to Carmen herself. Honestly, she’s fine. Sure they changed her to more of a grey hero but they didn’t toss off what made people like her. She’s fast on her feet, able to use what the situation gives her, and she is a skilled thief even when pitted against members of her own class. The only ones who really give her great trouble that she has yet to really outmatch are when she’s going against facility members head on. Which makes sense as they are more experienced than her. Hell, she almost gets hugged to death in one episode. Admittedly the humor in the show is 50/50. I laughed at a few jokes, but most were minor shrugs. At least there was not anything that made me cringe or face palm.

I honestly enjoyed myself and I felt the show was in the spirit of the original series. While focusing on Carmen and making her a Robin Hood-esque character was an odd choice they didn’t forget what the core of the series was. Globetrotting heists, geographical education, and just good old straight forward action. Also thank you so much for just focusing on being good educational entertainment. For actually being something that a broad spectrum can genuinely enjoy and not feel talked down to or pandered. I am very excited for the next season. So good job guys. I’m Noctina Noir and I’m one Nox of a Nobody.

[theultimateegghead-blog]

50 Follower special!                       Part 2

Welcome back! Shall we continue? Today we shall cover number 40 – 31 on my favorite game list. Here we go!

40 - Salt and Sanctuary

Metroidvania is an awesome genre, and Dark Souls is an awesome game. Take these two styles and smash them together with a lovecraft vibe and you get Salt and Sanctuary. This 2D Metroidvania style game is essentially 2D Dark Souls, its stylized, has awesome levels and some amazing but difficult boss fights. With customizable characters, different play styles, covenants and all sorts of goodies, this is a game I can sink plenty of hours into.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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39 - Jak II

At the time I played it, Jak II was the most mature and gritty game I have ever played. This action-packed open world third person shooter is a classic for the PlayStation 2. You play as Jak, a gun totting, somewhat foul-mouthed rebel and try to topple a tyrant while fending off an alien threat. As a kid, I felt like I was watching a rated R movie without my mom, the sensation of seeing something more mature, something you would have been grounded for. Plot twist, I did get grounded for a week…Yeah, my step dad was not the nicest person in general. Regardless, this game was fun and challenging, and I have beaten it over 4 times.

Will I review this game? – Already written but not yet published.

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38 - Sly Cooper

Sly Cooper is a stylish title that was another one of my first outings on the Ps2. This stealth oriented adventure game is colorful, vibrant and kinda challenging. You play as Sly, a Racoon thief who is trying to recollect a lost family treasure and avenge his father’s death. It has some glaring issues here and there sure but that does not change the fact that I love this game. I have beaten it multiple times and platinumed it on my play station 3. If you own a Ps2 or a Ps3, do yourself a favor and get this game, it isn’t expensive. It has aged relatively well and its safe for most ages.

Will I review this game? – I already have, its score was 7.8/10

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37 - Final Fantasy I

The original Final Fantasy was a revolutionary title that brought forth the RPG genre to the west and single handedly saved square enix from bankruptcy. You want to know what it is called Final Fantasy despite there being so many? Because the first one was going to be the last one, their final game. This turn based RPG might be basic by normal days standards but was revolutionary in the years long past. With various remakes of this classic title it is easily accessible. If you play it, play the most recent anniversary editions. Unless you truly want the original experience.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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36 - Mega Man 2

Probably my favorite video game from the 80s. Mega Man 2 takes everything Mega Man 1 did and does it better. I consider Mega Man 2 to be the best Mega Man game, albeit with some competition. Mega Man 2 was my first Mega Man game and I loved it. It was tough, had great music and is very fun to replay. And of course, it is home to my favorite robot master, Metal Man.

Will I review this game? – Already written but not yet published. ---------------------------------------

35 - Resident Evil 4

My first horror game and what a creepy game it was. This third person shooter takes place in the creepy woods of Spain. You play as series veteran Leon S. Kennedy on his adventure to save the president Daughter from an evil cult. Said cult is enhanced and violent by a parasite and Leon is plunged into a battle for survival. This game was somewhat difficult, and enemies can be very brutal, like the chainsaw totting Dr. Salvador or the claw wielding blind Garrador. What keeps this game lower on the list is actually the president’s daughter herself, she can be rather annoying.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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34 - Ratchet and Clank Going Commando

Ratchet and Clank Going Commando is another great Ps2 game. This action-packed game is a title I have sunk many hours into. There is a myriad of weapons to use and worlds to explore. There are plenty of secrets to find and challenges to overcome. You play as the small but strong alien named Ratchet and you try to stop an evil corporation from unleashing a deadly creature upon the galaxy. This was one of the games I came close to completing 100% when I was a child. This was a fun game and another game I would recommend. It is also my favorite Ratchet and Clank game.

Will I review this game? - Yes

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33 - Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is a video game adaptation of the first half of the anime and manga series Naruto Shippuden. This retelling is a 3D fighting game with various play styles and character types. The game has a huge emphasis on amazing boss fights. The game has great music as well and I have played through it many times. Naruto and Dragonball are among some of my favorite Japanese animations and I truly loved this game. It may not be for everyone, but its good for me.

Will I review this game? – Maybe.

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32 – Starbound

Starbound is a 2D crafting game that encompasses an entire universe. It cashes in on the craze of crafting games that Minecraft brought forth but its in its own merit a great game. It starts slow and kind of tough, but it gets better as time goes on. With various races to play as and weapons to use, and literally thousands of worlds to visit, this game can keep you occupied for hours on end.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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31 - Kirby 64 the crystal shards

Kirby 64 is a great N64 game starring everyone’s favorite puffball Kirby. This game introduces the ability to combine various powers to create new abilities for Kirby. With various pretty levels and a fair and challenging scavenger hunt to get all the crystal shards.  This game was simple and fun to play, its cute and all, but it is also home to one of the most disturbing bosses in the Kirby franchise, a being who literally bleeds from the eye, good luck sleeping tonight folks.

Will I review this game? – Yes

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Sorry for the late post. Today was not a good day but I do not want you guys to be neglected during this special for my 50+ followers. A special thanks to my beloved friend Tiphanie, who is always there for me regardless of what is going on. Thank you Tiph, you’re the best.

[righthererightzao]

Zaoka Reviews: Rayman

Platform: PSX Release Date: September 1995 Developed By: UbiSoft Published By:  UbiSoft Screenshot Source: https://raymanpc.com/wiki/en/Main_Page

Hey folks, I thought I’d try something a bit new with my blog, alongside my usual content of screenshots, RP write-ups and Asks, and so I’m starting a little review series on the side where I’ll be looking at games both old and new (or in between in the case of the recent remakes that have been coming out!). Figured I’d start with one of my favourites! It’s safe to say that Rayman on the Sony Playstation holds a very special place in my heart, it’s one of the first games I owned on the console next to Crash Bandicoot, and it’s one of the few games next to Final Fantasy IX, Aliens Versus Predator 2 and Alien: Isolation (We’ll get to those soon) that I could happily play each year and not get bored of it. Mind you, it is hard to be bored of something when over time you find yourself being slowly consumed by a fury that knows no bound threatening to rend the controller you hold in your very hands in two when it reaches critical mass! We’ll save that for later though!

 When we start of the game we’re given an animated cut-scene in which we are greeted by one of the side characters known as “The Magician” who fills us in on the backstory. We’re told how everything is hunky dory in the world of Rayman thanks to something known as The Great Protoon which keeps everything in balance. Alas this peace is not to last as the main villain of the game, Mr Dark up and steels the Protoon causing a bunch of small folks called the Electoons to scatter across the corners of the world where they are kidnapped by Mr Dark’s minions, and more distressingly, we’re never told what became of the Neutoon. Declaring the need for a hero, we’re then introduced to the titular character as he lazes on a hammock and giving us a casual thumb up!

With our mission clear we can start the game and find ourselves being drawn in by the visuals of the game. The levels are beautifully designed, with each stage baring all kinds of neat little details, such as the dancing flowers and the little mushrooms that pile on top of each other (only to fall down shortly after) in the forest of dreams. Not only that, there is the music, which I think is one of the best parts of the game itself. The music is unforgettable, with a wide range of tones from upbeat and adventurous tunes in the earlier stages which slowly becomes more sombre as you near the end of your adventure, and then there’s the track used in the “Chase” segments of certain levels that used to cause a younger me to panic as soon as I heard the crash of the gong that heralded the impending that was slowly drawing nearer. Then we get to the final stage, the candy chateau, ready for our final showdown with Mr. Dark, and clown music happens.

Moving onto the game play, Rayman is a 2D side scrolling platformer where you traverse a wide variety of levels rescuing tiny little critters called Electoons from captivity while combating a host of freakish enemies under the employ of Mr. Dark, the games main antagonist. When you start off you only have the ability to walk at a brisk pace, jump, climb and make silly faces to scare away these lanky green safari hunter looking dudes. As you progress through the game you are given new abilities by Betilla the Fairy, ranging from a punching attack to launch your enemies into orbit or clear obstacles, to a sprint ability.

As well as rescuing Electoons, you find 1up trophies that grant an extra life and these little blue sparkling gems called ‘Tings’ which each play a musical tune when you pick them up, making it all the more satisfying to pick them up in rapid succession in order to play out their own little melody. Not only that, but collecting 100 tings grants you an extra life, and if you have a certain amount of tings when going through a level you can pay the Magician to take you to a bonus level where you can earn an extra life upon completion.

Alongside various types of enemies, the levels also contain a boat load of hazards to avoid, many of which can result in instant death in the form of rivers (both good old fashioned H20 and in Picture city, Ink), bottomless pits and spike traps. Not only that but walking over certain parts of a level can trigger a “surprise” often signalled by a small twinkling sound. These surprises can be beneficial as a 1up trophy or an Electoon cage. Most of the time it’s a bunch of dudes about to ruin your day.

Raymans movements are also a bit on the slow side, and jumping can be a little bit floaty, with some instances requiring some precision jumping from the player when it comes to how fast some of the platforms can move over the aforementioned instant death traps. Not only that, but is Rayman is hurt by anything he yelps and is pushed back a space which can make any platform over an instant death pit a soul crushing experience when you accidentally clip an enemy, or an environmental hazard only for Rayman to go plummeting to his death. This experience isn’t helped by the track that plays upon any death, which can only be described as the loosing horn from hell and they would have achieved a similar effect by recording Michel Ancel screaming“Y’DONE MESSED UP SON”.

With that I move onto the next point and this tends to be the largest criticism of the game, the difficulty curve, ye gods, the difficulty curve. The difficulty curve can only be summed up thus; The first zone in the game ‘The Dream Forest’ moves at relatively decent pace, with the difficulty increasing steadily but always in a fair way as the game tests the skills you’ve picked up so far, leading you to the first boss of the game, Moskito. Once beaten, you get the ability to swing and also grab faraway objects like 1up trophies from a distance and that allows you to replay the previous levels to get any of the missing Electoons, completing the zone with each level bearing a giant purple smiley face. You feel good! You’re making progress, you’re going to move onto a whole new zone now! Then Band Land happens, and the difficulty curve decides it want’s to explore neighbouring star systems and takes you along for the ride. 

With the introduction of slippery slopes and the “surprise” ambushes the game suddenly turns into an obstacle course of outlandish proportions, and can feel unfair at times as it begins to feel more like going through trial and error than anything else, and as both health and the number of continues are limited, this can make each subsequent death all the more frustrating. On top of that the Electoons become increasingly harder to find and every missed Electoon cage means you have to replay the stage til you get all of them otherwise you won’t be able to complete the game, as the final level is gated off until you get every single Electoon Cage. I actually have vivid memories of playing this as a kid and there was one Electoon cage that I just could not find and it almost drove me to tears, and then... I found the cage!... Completely by accident! only to die on my last life and my very last continue. To say I was upset was an understatement, as at the time we couldn’t afford a memory card and had to save my progress through writing down passwords on a diary, said passwords only registering 100% completion on any given level.. so if you miss an Electoon on one level, as soon as you continue via password you have to get every. Single. Electoon cage in that level all over again.

Despite all that, though I never felt like the game was impossible, with each failure I just pushed myself to do better, I wanted to see what new places it would take me to, go up against the new challenges they presented to me, and ultimately it all paid off. I finally got through to the Candy Chateau, and while the fight with Mr. Dark wasn’t what I’d hoped it was for all the effort I had to go through, seeing the end credits with the little “Where are they now” style pictures going by made it worth it. To this day I still think Rayman on the PSX is a great game, despite it’s flaws. Even with Raymans ponderous movement speed, there’s an oddly satisfying flow to the game, and it was really cool seeing how Michel Ancel would then go on to build upon and improved how each level flowed in Rayman: Origins and Rayman: Legends.

I had lost my copy of the game a while ago, but thankfully the game is up on the PS Store under PSOne-Classics going for £3.99 and can be played on the PSP and the PS Vita!

Thanks for reading folks! Hope this will be helpful in some way and folks enjoy it! Is this something you think I should continue doing? Are there any games you’d like me take a look at in future, or maybe share your own thoughts on the game itself, please let me know! Til next time, have fun n’ take care!

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2017 Anime Overview: Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul and The Reflection

My classic anime overview posts are making a comeback! I watched 7 different anime in the Summer 2017, so we’ve got a lot to talk about- so much so that I’ll do a couple anime each post rather than just doing one giant post.

I fully believe in saving the best for last, so we’ll rank and review these anime in order from worst to best. Which means we’ll be starting with the anime I found the weakest out of what I watched this season. Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul and The Reflection. Are both of them bad anime? Or are they just not quite as a good as the other fare? Let’s dive in and find out!

Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul

Yep, this was easily the worst anime I watched this season. Not animation-wise, the art was very nice (though not quite as good as its prequel). But story-wise? WOW. It’s been a while since I’ve seen an anime- or a story period- end that badly.

And unlike a lot of people, I didn’t really come into this anime expecting much. Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, the first season, was a beautifully animated but incredibly shallow adventure romp with a messy ending that managed to be both cliche and nonsensical in how it fridged the main female character. It was fun for the most part, but also eyerollingly trope-y and sloppy storytelling wise, with fairly 2D characters. I came into this season expecting much the same. And for the first half-ish of the anime that was what I got. It certainly wasn’t well written, it was sexist, it was cliched, but it worked okay for what it was, which was a silly swords and sorcery story where you could just turn your brain off and enjoy the eye candy. 

There wasn’t much to the characters, but they were pleasant and likable enough. Nina, the lead of the story, was just kinda dragged along by the plot and didn’t have much going on (her main conflict is that when she gets turned on by a dude she turns into a dragon yes i’m serious), but her gung-ho attitude made her fun to watch. There was also an wacky all-lady prison break midway through the show that was kinda awesome.

 (I should note though, one of the characters is a very fantastical take on Jeanne D’Arc. And she’s portrayed  as someone who sucks at fighting if she doesn’t have the gods on her side because women are weak or whatever I guess! She finds some fulfillment only when a god pulls a Virgin Mary on her and forcibly impregnates her with an angel son. After this, her whole character revolves around her son. I had a lot of problems with that for obvious reasons).

But then. OH BUT THEN. I thought the first season’s denouement and end was messy, but I HADN’T SEEN NOTHIN’. Not only was this ending horrendous, it managed to damage all the characters involved (except for the zombie girl, Rita, who is too cool to be ruined by anything) and even basically damage the first season. If I cared enough to go back and watch that season, this ending would make it a sour experience, basically, just from how thoroughly the plot and characters from that season were mangled by this follow-up. Nothing redeemable was left in its wake.

Basically the whole story was overtaken by one of the most poorly conceived love interests I’ve ever seen. Nina’s beloved, Charioce, was a super sexy dude who had a few tiny flaws, like how he’d, y’know, massacred an entire race and also slaughtered, enslaved and tortured yet ANOTHER race (even putting them in gladiator style death matches for entertainment) and unjustly imprisoned a literal saint of a woman and told her he was only keeping her alive so he could murder her small child in front of her. 

But you see guys, he danced with Nina a couple times and is super hot and his mom’s dead which is sad so it’s okay that he did a little genocide, tried to kill all Nina’s friends (one of whom was ten) and threw her in jail. I’m serious. That was the shows logic. Turns out the reason for all this was it was some plan to unseal the dragon a character had been sacrificed to seal for the next hundred years in Genesis. (So he effectively rendered her death totally meaningless). He unsealed it just so he could kill it for good . The only explanation we get for his double dose of genocide was that ONE of the races has a superweapon he needed to kill a dragon. Yep, no explanation given as to why he needed to do kill all those beings or enslave them or put them in death matches or personally torment a woman who did nothing to him, but the show sure treated it like it explained everything and meant we were totally supposed to forgive AND feel sorry for this sexy, sexy tyrant.

(In the end, the genocide and slavery ends up being a footnote: everyone loves Charioce because he killed a dragon, the demons are being payed low wages instead of being enslaved so everything’s fine now, no justice for those who were slaughtered, no consequences for the oppressors, no reparations made, no word on whether the death camps and many other atrocities even stopped happening, nothing.)

Nina being in love with him damaged her irreparably as a character too, even though she was perfectly okay before that- it was just so infuriating that she could set aside all the people he killed and the fact he’d tormented her friends because he was a smexy dancer. I get what they were going for-a kind of starcrossed Disney ~love isn’t rational~ type thing. And “love isn’t rational” is just the laziest writing copout ever, I’m so sick of it. 

You can sell a romance where one party has done horrible things and the other one loves them anyway if you have the writing skill. But in order to sell that romance as understandable, you need to make the audience like that character too. The character needs to be actually endearing and interesting in some way.That way when so-and-so is tormented about how she loves him despite the things he’s done, the audience is tormented for the same reason. But there was no reason for Nina to be hopelessly in love with Charioce. Dude had the personality of a wet paper towel- I don’t think he emoted once the entire anime, even when he was on the verge of death. He didn’t offer her any invaluable support or guidance to Nina either. Yet she at one point said she’d choose the ENTIRE WORLD over him if it came down to it. A guy she danced with like twice! 

The worst thing about the Nina/Charioce romance is how a bunch of characters were literally sacrificed for it. One of the main characters of the show got himself killed shielding Charioce from those he had wronged, despite the fact Charioce had done absolutely nothing to warrant such devotion and said character didn’t even have a meaningful relationship with him. It was a comically anticlimatic death too, it was out of nowhere, the other characters barely emoted about it with even his supposed best friend basically shrugging it off. 

The other person sacrificed solely to add drama to Nina and Charioce’s lurve was Nina’s ten year old friend, who was unceremoniously shanked from behind  after being a major character for most of the season. It was so cruel and pointless, I felt sure a magic resurrection was coming for the kid, but nope- he was killed off solely to cause some drama between the good guys and Charioce because the genocide apparently wasn’t enough to make our heroes mad at him. Nina does finally get mad at him, but only for ten minutes, then she and almost everyone else instantly forgave him upon learning he didn’t TECHNICALLY directly kill this one kid.

 Even though he HAD been trying to kill the kid ALL SEASON and the bounty he put on this kids head was still pretty much the direct cause of his death. But nah,he didn’t like, specifically tell the killer “hey go murder this small child” , he just heavily implied anyone who did it would get a reward from him, so it’s all fine. Even the kid’s grieving mother and father figure eventually forgave Charioce about this for no apparent reason. 

Speaking of pointlessness, the cherry on top of the shit sundae was that the dragon all these characters were sacrificed to kill? The one whose death was supposedly the payoff worth all this genocide and melodrama? It was revealed in the last minute of the story that Charioce DIDN’T EVEN MANAGE TO KILL IT. Rendering the entire mess of a narrative COMPLETELY MOOT.

Seriously, if you want to see how overfocusing on badly written heterosexual romances can destroy an entire narrative, this series is a prime example. If you want to see an example or writers thinking a male character can be forgiven for any atrocity and win the female lead’s heart as long as he’s stoic and sexy and manly about it, this series will show you. This show demonstrates the worst pitfalls of romance narratives- writers seem to think as long as it’s an attractive man and woman getting together, they don’t have to bother with characterization or logic to sell their connection.

it’s a real shame- poor Nina could have been a compelling lead. There was stuff there that could have been developed into something cool had the writers cared at all- she could turn into a dragon, it was mentioned she was looked down on for not being fully dragon, she came from a rural village and was fairly innocent and didn’t know much about the world, her father died tragically- but rather than explore any of that, it was decided because she was a woman, her entire arc should be about her swooning and crying over Bishie McKillsaLot, never mind anything else.

Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul could have been a shallow but entertaining show like its predecessor. In the end though, the only thing entertaining about it by the end was how hard it crashed and burned. 

The Reflection

The Reflection isn’t quite as bad as it’s reputation in the anime community right now suggests. Which is not to say it’s a good show. It’s not good. But it’s definitely far from the worst anime I’ve see and has a few interesting aspects.

This show is a collaboration between an anime studio and Stan Lee, (who I guess really likes being involved in anime- he’s done this before with Heroman) and it follows a group of superheroes. The basic premise is that three years ago, a strange light and smoke hit people around the world. Some were killed, some gained superpowers. Those who gained powers were called ‘The Reflected”. The world hates and fears them, in true Marvel style. Now a villain named Wraith is kidnapping people for mysterious reasons. 

The Reflection is a messy show, which is apparent just from the animation. The colors are very flat and the lines are very thick, which seems to be an attempt to capture the classic comic book feel. But the thing is, old comics chose to have a bright color palette, or at least a highly contrasting one, for good reason. if you do that kind of style with a dark color palette, it ends up looking very muddy. Unfortunately, that’s what The Reflection chose to do. This was especially egregious in the last episode, where having the darkly colored characters against a dark sky made it very hard to tell what was happening.  On top of that, the animation was very limited in general.

There’s also a lot a standard superhero stories here that are not given a fresh spin- we have the angsty product of a lab experiment, the shallow, show-offhero who learns superheroing is SRS BUSINESS after his loved ones are killed due to his negligence and most disappointingly, a main villain whose only motivation is that he wants to plunge the world into a vague, generic sort of darkness.

Some stuff is just straight up not explained, which made the finale confusing- we see a flashback that is supposed to make us forgive a character for his actions, but it’s so incoherent and quick it reveals nothing. Nor is the villain really explored in a way that makes sense (save for an extremely on the nose message about “darkness”, which was repeated so often in the episode I got sick of hearing it), his actions are unclear and the whole thing is just generally clunky. It seems like they chose not to explain a lot of stuff (and end on a cliffhanger) in hopes of getting a sequel, but you can leave mysteries and openings for a possible season 2 without being opaque and hard to follow. In fact, a final episode like The Reflection’s is way more likely to turn fans off than leave them wanting more.

However, The Reflection does have a few interesting ideas and good moments. One of the main heroes, Lisa, has a wheelchair that transforms into a giant robot, which is rad as hell and should be included in every superhero narrative from now on. Her personality is also endearing- she’s a determined, fiery, geeky girl who loves comics. Her whole storyline where her father is all protective of her due to her disability and she tells him doesn’t consider her condition tragic and proves she’s actually the one who can protect him is fairly heavy handed , but it’s a very positive narrative, and I’m especially glad to see it in an anime after being burned HARD by the ableism in Yuki Yuna is a Hero. She’s sadly sidelined after her introductory episode (it’s especially strange that her comic book fandom never comes up again), but still remains a good character.

There’s also a character who was blind, except he can see the silhouettes of people who have superpowers and thus pick out when when people are superpowered that way- that’s another good concept and I liked that his wife was the physically strong and imposing one of their partnership, though she didn’t get as much characterization as I’d like (in fact, she pretty much had none outside her relationship with her husband). The episodes revolving around Lisa and this pair were definitely the strongest of the series.

The lead of the story, Eleanor, also had a lot of potential. She had the heart of a hero, but she was desperate for validation and because of that desperation she ended up having an identity crisis where she developed an alternate personality. If her psychology had been explored more, that could have been a really interesting concept- but it wasn’t really explored at all beyond generic “this personality is the darkness within me” so it ended up being more on-the-nose and boring than anything. Still, I appreciated Eleanor’s scrappiness and in the hands of a more competent show, she could have been really great. 

The other characters were duds though, unfortunately- the villains were generic and kinda just there. The hero X-On drove a lot of the plot, yet we learned pretty much nothing about him and he had no personality other than being kind of a dick. The magical girl squad was a fun touch and I loved seeing them kick ass and save the day, but they didn’t have distinct personalities from each other or much thematic significance to the story.

Basically, there’s nothing offensive or repellent about The Reflection. I have to give it points for trying something different stylistically from the usual anime fare. It’s a show that could have been good if it had been executed a little better and given more room to breathe. However, it wasn’t, so it ended up being a very clunky, forgettable anime.

[scrumptiousgardenerbarbarian]

Batman: Arkham Asylum - The Game That Changed My Life

Before I played Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum back in 2009, I might have said “yeah, Batman’s pretty cool I guess.”

Now, 11 years later, I literally have a tattoo sleeve dedicated to the characters from this very game. It would be safe to say I've become quite the Bat-fan and it all started with Arkham Asylum.

As I played the game, I started to become fascinated with Batman’s unique and complex rouge’s gallery. I was familiar with Batman’s more obvious villains such as such as Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler etc. But I also started to learn more about villains I wasn’t so familiar with, such as Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Bane and others.

Diving into these character’s backstories led me to becoming more and more interested in the Batman mythology which then led to an interest in other comic book characters and so the obsession grew. Now I’m the biggest geek I know and may not even be in this class right now if I hadn’t decided to give that game a go.

So what was it that made Arkham Asylum so revolutionary that it transformed me into the Batman obsessed geek I am today? 

Let’s take a look at how Rocksteady developed such a life changing game...

CONCEPT

The concept of the game was to take Batman and give him the worst nightmare of his life in a dark and gritty environment and give it a level of intensity that other games were lacking. 

Having the game take place in Arkham Asylum meant that Rocksteady could pretty much use any Batman villain they wanted in the game as they have all been there at one point or other during Batman’s 80 year history. 

STORY

While he is delivering The Joker to Arkham Asylum, Batman finds himself caught up in the middle of a massive prison riot. An elaborate setup orchestrated by The Joker to kick off specifically when he is being returned to Arkham and will see Batman face off against an army of criminals, psychopaths and supervillains.

Although The Joker is in control, things don’t always go his way. Being in charge of a team of supervillains can be challenging even for The Joker. They all have their own agendas after all, but they do have one thing in common, they all want to kill The Bat!

ARTSTYLE

The artists tried to push a lot of Gothic elements and Victorian Era architecture for the asylum design which helps add a creepy and sinister tone to the environment. The team dived into the comic book history and really done their research to deliver an art style fans would be happy with whilst still putting their own spin on it.

The asylum is located on Arkham Island, just off the coast of Gotham which you can see twinkling in the backdrop across the water. During the game you will explore different parts of the asylum including the cells, the penitentiary, the sewers, the catacombs and the gardens, which give the game the balance it needs.

ANIMATION

Rocksteady have their own motion capture studio, where they brought in gymnasts and suited them up to capture some of the more difficult moves such as Harley Quinn’s dynamic flips, jumps and cartwheels and Joker’s wacky, almost dance like mannerisms. Some of the more exaggerated villains such as Croc and Bane benefited from hand animation to capture more stylized poses.

For animated cutscenes, the team tried to create comic book frames and compositions and spent a good 6 months solely on the cinematics. Working in layers from basic visuals to sound effects until eventually all their hard work from the beginning came together to give us the beautiful cutscenes we see in the game.

DESIGNING CHARACTERS

It would take the character artists up to around 6-8 weeks to design some of the bigger, more prominent characters starting from a 2D concept image and evolving the character as they are created in 3D.

When designing Batman, they team took inspiration from numerous comic book artists including Bob Kane, Neal Adams and Frank Miller and combined them to give their own interpretation. They also spent a lot of time perfecting Batman’s cape, treating it almost as if it were another character. 

This attention to detail is no doubt what made Rocksteady’s versions of these characters fan favourites including myself.

GAMEPLAY

The game has several modes of play including field/exploration mode where you can pretty much roam an open world limited to Arkham Island of course. Detective mode where Batman can prove his worth as The World’s Greatest Detective to solve mysteries and crime scenes within the game. Battle mode where Batman can be facing up to 10 thugs at once armed with bats, pipes, tasers and even machine guns. 

When dealing with multiple armed thugs with machine guns, Batman can go into Invisible Predator mode, where he can observe his enemies from the rafters, grappling from gargoyle to gargoyle and silently striking from above, leaving them hanging upside down and helpless. The developers wanted to push the fear factor in these situations. The more thugs he takes out, the more the fear level rises as Batman toys with them, picking them off one by one.

Of course, Batman has an arsenal of weapons and gadgets that are used in various situations throughout the game such as the Batclaw for reaching high places and escaping danger, explosive gel for breaking down weak walls and setting traps and Batarangs for every situation including remote control and sonic Batarangs. 

Players will test the skills they have learned throughout the game when they face off against one of Batman’s Rogues in a boss fight. Each boss fight employs mechanics and a setting specific to that particular character and tells a story through dialog of the history they share with Batman.

MUSIC & SOUND

The sound designers really wanted to not think about what had come before and create something iconic to the game. They worked closely with musicians from the US to develop the music score which takes from contemporary classical orchestral music which really suits the atmosphere of the asylum.

The sound technicians worked hard to make sure all the sounds in the game were believable. It was very important to them to ensure the sounds of gadgets and weapons, character movements and even the sound of buzzing lights felt real to keep the right tone throughout the game.

There aim was to put every player in the shoes of Batman and make it all feel as real as possible.

VOICES OF LEGENDS

One of the key elements that I believe made this game so great was the voice acting. Rocksteady brought in Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin for the voices of Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn. All of whom voiced their respective characters from Batman: The Animated Series.

Bringing in those legendary voices really made a massive difference to the dynamic of these characters and the game as a whole and played a huge part in why I loved these characters so much personally. 

Hell, with different voice actors I may never have gotten the damn tattoo. 

I guess we’ll never know.

References:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/35140/Batman_Arkham_Asylum_Game_of_the_Year_Edition/?l=brazilian

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/rank-the-villains-of-batman-arkham-asylum-2053596/

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/392305817517880184/

https://www.giantbomb.com/batman-arkham-asylum/3030-23245/forums/recently-played-arkham-asylum-and-the-joker-506713/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zku335KyDc

https://arkhamcity.fandom.com/wiki/The_Riddler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlBW4a57aAE

https://medium.com/@Xander51/the-essential-games-batman-arkham-asylum-2009-2ad5dc05f3f

https://arkhamcity.fandom.com/wiki/Predator_Mode

https://www.denofgeek.com/comics/batman-arkham-asylum-10-years-later/

[thechcoman]

WIBP (What I’ve Been Playing): A Hat in Time; Hollow Knight

One of the most recent trends in most entertainment and media (for better or for worse) is how everything is usually a remake, sequel, or reboot. Usually this is done as a result of wanting to appeal to people’s inner nostalgia; to a time when their lives were less difficult and money was more valuable than time. That’s not to say originality is dead (because that would be an incredibly ignorant statement to make), but among big-name companies and long-running franchises, we see constant attempts to appeal to one’s inner nostalgia. The game I’ve recently played over this last weekend however, is a bit different in this regard…at least in the entertainment world at large. It’s supposed to invoke nostalgia, yet has no previously existing IP to fall back on, instead relying on people’s nostalgia for a genre that’s been dead for years now. Like I hinted at earlier however, this is a phenomenon that seems to be exclusive to video games, rather than industries such as the TV industry or film industry. I bring this up because the game I played this weekend manages to not only faithfully recreate and innovate the genre of old 3D collect-a-thon platformers, but is also potentially better than those older games (though the older games I will always consider to be more important due to the impact and general important that those games still have).

This game is known as “A Hat in Time” developed by the indie developer known as “Gears for Breakfast”; and I consider it to be one of the greatest success stories to come out of Kickstarter. The game works on so many levels, however I feel as though the presentation and gameplay are the best aspects of the game.

For me, the most important thing in any platformer is that the jumping and movement mechanics need to feel fluid and keep your momentum, or at least give you multiple options for how to initiate a jump and try to stay in the air as well. This is why I enjoy games such as the 3D Mario platformers (Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, etc.) and the latest 2D Rayman platformers (such as Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends). If the jumping and movement mechanics aren’t about constantly keeping momentum and flow, then it needs to be about patience and precise jumps, and being meticulous and careful, while also being reactive much like in the original NES Super Mario Bros or Banjo-Kazooie.

This constant flow and motion while jumping and maintaining momentum is something that “A Hat in Time” does expertly. When you jump in the air, you have the option to then double jump, and then you have the option of doing a dive mid-air to get extra distance of the jump. Out of this dive, you can then press the jump button again to cancel it mid-air and be given more control over where you’ll land. This allows for precise platforming while also maintaining momentum. Furthermore, if you land on the ground after doing a dive, you can press the jump button almost immediately after you touch the ground in order to get a small hop forward that increases your speed for a moment. This is another layer to the platforming that makes the movement and jumping mechanics maintain momentum and make you constantly moving. This is brilliant, as the game rewards you for going the extra mile and timing your button presses by letting you maintain movement and momentum, and by doing so letting you complete objectives more smoothly.

Since “A Hat in Time” is meant to callback to classic 3D platformers such as Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, the main goal of the game is similar to that of these older games; that being to collect and collect and collect. The main form of progression in these sort of games and in “A Hat in Time” is to usually go into some sort of world and then complete some sort of unique mission. Upon completion of said mission, you will be granted one of the main collectables in the game that you need to get in order to progress (which in this game is known as Time Pieces). However, in my opinion, one of the reasons why the genre began to die out and became boring in the first place was because the missions that were done in order to obtain the main collectables became increasingly less interesting and more boring with each subsequent game. They were usually “Collect X number of collectible item”, “Get to the end of this platforming section”, “Complete a minigame” or “Do a quick fetch quest.” One of the games that I felt suffered heavily from this problem was Jak and Daxter, which while mechanically was a fun game, the missions to obtain the main collectable were just uninteresting and boring. The only games that managed to keep it fresh was the Mario Galaxy games, and even then at times it felt like those games were being lazy.

I say all this because “A Hat in Time” manages to not only avoid this problem completely, but in fact I think that it’s creativity of the missions you complete is one its strongest aspects. There are two reasons for this, so let me go through both of them.

First and foremost, the game is short. At first, this seemed to be a criticism I had for the game, as I managed to obtain one hundred percent completion after only 13 hours and three days or playing. But after doing some thinking I realized that that the short length of the game helped with the creativity. Because there was less game to make, they could spend more time on each and every individual mission and Time Piece all in part of an effort to make the missions memorable and fun. Furthermore, because the game is short, each Time Piece sticks out in my mind. After only one playthrough, I can recite to you nearly every single mission I did in order to obtain one hundred percent completion.

This leads me into my second point about the creativity of the missions; the variety. There are four worlds in the game, and each world feels distinct from one another in terms of themes and overall aesthetic. One moment, you could be taking down the mafia, another you’re exploring a haunted mansion with a restless ghost haunting it and the game becomes something more akin to a horror game. Another moment you can be shooting a murder mystery movie and trying to solve a crime, and in another you can be exploring a city above the clouds. It’s the creativity and variety of each situation that helps to make each and every mission stand out in my mind.

Furthermore, the game has an excellent presentation. While the graphically fidelity isn’t all that high (it IS an indie game after all), I would still say the game is beautiful thanks to a very strong and colorful art style. Every stage’s colors pop vibrantly and each of them are designed with enough flavor and difference between each other to make them all feel distinct. This is something that is once again, helped by the short length of the game. The main protagonist, named Hat Girl, is one of the best protagonists in a 3D platformer. While she is a mostly silent protagonist, she still has a strong personality simply through her facial expression and the small amount of dialogue she has. In fact, most of the characters in the game have memorable designs and hilarious dialogue that adds to the charm and memorability of everything within the game.

“A Hat in Time” is one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time, and I really highly recommend it. Along with it, we’ve been seeing a resurgence in this genre with games such as Yooka-Laylee and Super Mario Odyssey, and I’m happy to see what I once thought was a dead genre have a revival. I also look forward to future games from Gears for Breakfast.

Now then, as for games I’m currently playing through; I went from one throwback indie platformer…to another throwback indie platformer, though of a different ilk then that of “A Hat in Time”. This other game is a Metroidvania 2D platformer known as Hollow Knight. This is a game that my brother had actually played quite a bit of and recommended to me due to his knowledge of my love for games such as Metroid and Dark Souls.

As of right now, I’m enjoying Hollow Knight. It has the difficulty and recovering lost items mechanic from Dark Souls, with the exploration and progression of a Metroid game, and RPG mechanics similar to that of Paper Mario; all three of which are games that I enjoy greatly.

One of the things that stands out to me most about Hollow Knight is how great the presentation is. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the game was completely hand-drawn, and while I haven’t really noticed the music much as it’s mostly ambient, the sound design is fantastic. The various different grunts that NPCs make give off a lot of personality, and even if they didn’t have any dialogue I could probably still tell you what they’d probably be thinking based on their animation and noises that they make. The sound design is also great when exploring as well, as each enemy has distinct sounds they make as they patrol around, letting you know what’s in store for you.

One thing I’m still trying to get used to however is platforming and combat. That’s not to say that the combat and platforming is bad, or that it’s even difficult to get the hang of, but rather after finishing A Hat In Time, wires are getting crossed in brain, as I keep attempting to double jump or do some sort of homing attack. Furthermore, the combat has this thing where every time you attack an enemy, there’s a little bit of pushback from attacking the enemy, and if you want to hit an enemy multiple times, you need to time your swings and move forward a little bit each time. This was something that threw me off initially, but it’s also something that I very quickly adapted to.

Something else that Hollow Knight is doing well, at least based on my first impressions anyways, is the Metroidvania aspects of it. There are multiple paths to explore, usually that have something at the end of them and many of the paths also wind around, all maze-like and eventually lead back into itself. However I need more time with the game before I can definitively say how well it handles this aspect.

I also unfortunately don’t have much to say about the Dark Souls and Paper Mario influences yet, as I haven’t played the game enough yet to make a decision about either of those yet.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I’ll be back next week with another post.

PS: If this post felt a little bit, Video Game Review-ish, that’s because this is the first post of the blog, and I needed something more to talk about than just Hollow Knight, which I didn’t have much to talk about yet. So I talked about the last game I finished, which was A Hat In Time, which I had so much to say that it basically became a review. Future blog posts will be more about my experiences with the game and my general impressions.

Also, a question. I play Street Fighter V a lot. Would anybody be curious about reading my experiences with my weekly Street Fighter V session as well? Let me know!

[dannyosu97]

Genndy Tartakovsky Essay

Introduction

Genndy Tartakovsky born in Russia 17th January 1970 is a Russian/American animator, director, storyboard artist, producer, and screenwriter, and has worked with Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Sony Pictures Animated, Marvel and Hanna-Barbera. He is responsible for many works such as Samurai Jack, Sym-bionic Titan, Dexter’s Laboratory and Star Wars the Clone Wars (2003 mini-series). Genndy has also contributed to other TV and films shows such as Powerpuff Girls, Cow and chicken, The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy, Steven Universe, Iron Man 2, and the Hotel Transylvania series of films.

Background

Genndy was originally born in Moscow, Russia. He briefly moved to Italy with his family before finally Emigrating to America, it was here where he lived in Ohio before moving once again to Chicago. As soon as he came to Chicago he was highly influenced by comic books which he read which led him to be interested in art. Prior to this he spent his time drawing a neighbour’s daughter back in Italy this is where he first became inspired in art. Genndy later remarked about his artistic "I remember in the life in me, I couldn't even draw a circle.” (Tartakovsky. G (2007). Genndy's Scrapbook: The Story of Genndy Tartakovsky - Samurai Jack DVD Extras.) He later attended high school where he was highly recommended for doing business but had issues with applying for the class and ended up doing an animation class instead which made him apply later to the Columbia College Chicago, where he studied film.  

After studying at Columbia College Chicago, he moved to Los Angeles with his friend Rob Renzetti and enrolled at the California Institution of arts this is where he met Craig McCracken (Powerpuff Girls) and began working on 2 student films, one of the films he produced was Dexter’s Laboratory.

Career

Tartakovsky’s career came to a pivotal moment when he was asked by good friend Craig McCracken to work at Hanna-Barbera, his work began to help him develop more on his student film which was Dexter’s Laboratory. Further to this he helped produce The Powerpuff Girls and worked as the animation director on many episodes as well as being the animation director for his primary role.

Genndy later went on to create Samurai Jack another TV series that was a huge success, and lasted from 2001-2017, this ran for 5 seasons. 1-4 ran on cartoon network from 2001-2004 before its cancellation and was then later revived on Adult Swim in 2017 and brought back for its continuation and ending for its final season. Samurai Jack received a high amount of critical acclaim and led to a huge success for Genndy, this was mainly down to the art direction and visuals that the TV series provided to its viewers and received numerous awards over the years.

Genndy then moved to producing a mini-series after being approached by LucasArts, which was Star Wars: Clone Wars this was made in 2003 and run until 2005, the episodes lasted around 3-5 minutes the success that this provided Genndy with meant that out of the cult following of this TV show provided Lucasfilm with the CGI-animated Clone wars series to be created, but this was not in any way led or influenced by Genndy in anyway. Star Wars: Clone wars was again nominated for a variety of awards and won a well-deserved amount of its nominations. one of the last works that Genndy worked on at cartoon network was Sym-bionic titan which was another animated series created by Genndy as well as a few people that he had previously worked with at cartoon network this lasted just 1 season and received a few nominations for awards.

After Genndy moved away from Cartoon Network he began to work on more serious projects like the storyboarding for Ironman 2 which was done by him, and from here he then moved on to Sony Pictures animation where he directed the Hotel Transylvania series of films. Around the time that he began work on Hotel Transylvania 2 began Genndy went back to Adult Swim where he began to work on Samurai Jack: Season 5 and after this he once again returned to Sony Animation Pictures where he still currently works.

Dexter’s Laboratory

Dexter’s Laboratory was an Emmy award winning animated series, which was originally created by Genndy Tartakovsky; it began as a short and was later made into a series and shown on Cartoon Network. Genndy found the inspiration to this after drawing various pictures of a ballerina who was tall and thin, and after drawing, this added the idea that she needed a physical opposite, which would appear as small and blocky, and this meant Dexter was created along with his sister DeeDee.

The show is a typical Brother vs. Sister Conflict as Dexter constantly fights with his sister in a classic case of sibling rivalry this is where the show gets most of its humour. Dexter’s laboratory was also a success due to all the different aspects of the show like the obstacles Dexter would face in each episode.

The show was usually 22 minutes long for each episode, Dexter’s laboratory was cancelled in 1998 and was then revived for another 4 seasons, but made by a different production team as Genndy at the time was busy working on Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars, the show was changed drastically and used new background and character designs, changed certain parts about certain characters backstories, the animation technique was also changed from cel-animation to digital ink and paint. As well as a few minor changes like voice actors being replaced.

Dexter’s laboratory showed how such a simple emphasis of brother sister rivalry and a small boy with super intellect and a secret room that he hides from his family can work so well, it was simple, the humour of the show was easily understandable, and the animations were very smooth and well-drawn.  I think the show deserved to win the awards it did because the plots and every episode were well thought out and the overall product shows that the show was not rushed and had been clearly well thought out.

Samurai Jack

Samurai Jack is an animated series created by Genndy, it aired on Cartoon network from 2001-2004, it is recognised most because of its art direction and amazing visuals. After 2004 Samurai jack was cancelled by cartoon network, and was then shown on Boomerang, in 2012 Genndy mentioned that a film of Samurai Jack was in the works, but the idea never cemented and instead, adult swim bought it and in 2017 came back for a final season to end Jack’s story.

Genndy created Samurai Jack shortly after Dexter’s laboratory, he felt like he needed to do something different with the style of a TV show, he explained in a recent interview that he created samurai jack because he didn’t like having to write dialogue ‘'It's a samurai, who gets transplanted into the future, he walks around and fights robots with his sword, and there's not a lot of dialogue and it's super stylized,' and then we went for it." (Tartakovsky, G. 2017)

One of the best qualities of Samurai Jack as a series is how it can entertain the audience without much speaking, the series can make the audience enjoy it and always keep a serious mood with whatever is adding, the factor that a lot of humour is also put in place that the audience can easily understand makes the show more entertaining.

For its time I would have to say that the best aspect of Genndy’s work within samurai jack are the visuals, every single episode has amazing scenery, character designs, and action scenes, every swipe of jack’s blade, gunshots, sword clash and the timing of sound effects and visuals is perfectly executed. And this is what makes samurai jack succeed so well in a variety of different areas.  

Genndy inspired me by his work on Samurai Jack, especially in areas like the voice acting and visuals. The show was also very easy to follow, and every single episode had a different adventure and meant that you didn’t have to see every episode to know what was going on, everything on this show was well executed and made it very successful and gave the show a high cult following which led to its revival.

Hotel Transylvania 1, 2, 3

Hotel Transylvania is a 3D animated film series that is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky this was the first time that Genndy had become a director for a full-length film, it was quite different for Genndy as he had previously only worked on 2D animated shows for cartoon network. Genndy said "I took all the aesthetics I like from 2-D and applied them here," Tartakovsky said. "I don't want to do animation to mimic reality. I want to push reality." (Keegan, Rebecca (August 25, 2012). "Genndy Tartakovsky gets 'Hotel Transylvania' open for business". Los Angeles Times.)

Genndy signed for Sony Animation Pictures in a long-term deal this was done so he could work on the Hotel Transylvania Franchise, as well as make his own projects. After hotel Transylvania 2 was made Genndy said that he would not return for the 3rd instalment as he was working elsewhere on other projects however he changed his mind and decided to return to direct the 4rd film which will be released in 2018.

Hotel Transylvania is a good example that Genndy can adapt his abilities into a different amount of areas, and this is a good example because Genndy had to take what he knew from working on 2D animation and adapt that to fit the style of 3D and still give the audience the humour and enjoyment in the way of which he imagined it to be.

The film series is comedic and has a lot of different aspects that can make the audience become engaged in it, the voice acting is clearly very well executed, and the right people were chosen, and this makes it work well, also all the animation is very well orchestrated. This film series has helped Genndy become more recognised for his work and has given him a better reputation as an animator/director especially in 3D which is where he isn’t at his most comfortable.

Conclusion

Genndy has proven that he can do so much after coming from so little, the fact that he has worked for so long at cartoon network and built up his reputation as an animator, producer, writer, director etc. shows that he can work well in a team and really help as much as he needs, after not coming from a background of a family of animators and taking the leap into something new at a young age showed how well he can adapt and change to his needs.

Even through all the hardships he faced like losing his mother and his father from a young age, and still have the determination to carry on no matter what shows that he is hard-working, motivated and loves what he does, consider what he came from to now you can really see the change in his work, how he has progressed, and even how his ability as an artist/animator has improved over his 20+ years of animating.

Genndy really inspires me as an animator/director as he always battles his way and tries his hardest at whatever he does, his works reflect this as you can see this as some of his works like Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Hotel Transylvania have won awards which show that his commitment, and hard work has made him achieve a very reputable achievement. Another reason for inspiring me is because of his art direction and ideas, as Genndy’s ideas where very bold and different and were always something that you could recognise and be inspired by, most of Genndy’s works have inspired me because of the action, humour, and even the art direction that he has decided to go with.

Bibliography

Tartakovsky, G. (2007). Genndy's Scrapbook: The Story of Genndy Tartakovsky - Samurai Jack DVD Extras. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5q6hwK13t4 [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

Tartakovsky, G. (2017). Genndy Tartakovsky on Why He Really Created 'Samurai Jack'. [online] Anime. Available at: http://comicbook.com/anime/2017/09/19/samurai-jack-genndy-tartakovsky-powerpuff-girls/#2 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2017].

Keegan, Rebecca (August 25, 2012). "Genndy Tartakovsky gets 'Hotel Transylvania' open for business". Los Angeles Times. [Accessed 27 Nov. 2017].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMCgp4OjUQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genndy_Tartakovsky

www.imdb.com/name/nm0850733/

www.samuraijack.wikia.com/wiki/Genndy_Tartakovsky

www.starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Genndy_Tartakovsky

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/interviews/a-conversation-with-genndy-tartakovsky-about-hotel-transylvhttps://io9.gizmodo.com/genndy-tartakovsky-created-samurai-jack-because-he-got-1818509853

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Jack

Images

https://i0.wp.com/media2.slashfilm.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/genndytartakovsky-drawing-700x449.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWFiMTBlZDgtNDE5Zi00M2M2LTliZGItZTVmMmJmODBjOTIxL2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTAyODkwOQ@@._V1_.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Dexter%27s_Laboratory_poster.jpg

http://www.fanboynewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hotel_transylvania.jpg

[retrocollect]

Before I actually delve into the main meat and potatoes of Cowardly Creations’ recent PS4 and Vita release, I want to discuss the title. Uncanny Valley is named after the notion that the more accurate simulations of human faces and expressions get, the more we (as in, us real humans) become aware that they might not be authentic. A great example of this are the characters seen in the Tom Hanks computer generated movie The Polar Express. The facial animations of the characters are eerily lifelike…but there’s something decidedly soulless about them and the human eye has an unnerving ability to detect the fabrication. The same can be said of the young Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy or the recreation of Peter Cushing depicted in Star Wars Rogue One. Like The Thing from John Carpenter’s eponymous 1980s masterpiece, it looks like a human…but it isn’t. And so ends the pseudo-science lesson. I simply find the notion of the uncanny valley theory totally fascinating and this in part might be one of the reasons that I was drawn to this retro-inspired psychological horror in the first place.

Uncanny Valley is actually a fairly old game, having originally been released on Steam way back in 2015. I only discovered this after searching for information about the game prior to its release on the PlayStation Store earlier this week, and I unearthed a bunch of rather unfavourable reviews, too. Not wanting to be influenced by the actual reasons behind the various two-star ratings Google threw at me amongst the search results, I decided not to read them and instead wait for the game to arrive and play through it with no prior knowledge or information about the storyline or the gameplay mechanics. The only things I cared about at the point of purchase were that I was enamoured with the 2D, pixel art trappings and the promise of playing what looked like a retro-themed take on Silent Hill. Having experienced and enjoyed aesthetically similar games on my Vita, such as Lone Survivor and Slain (both of which have a definite horror theme), I wanted to give Uncanny Valley my full, undivided and uninfluenced attention.

The game starts with you playing as a guy called Tom (which was disconcerting at first, as I though the game somehow knew my actual name), who has just taken a job as a security guard at an isolated facility surrounded for miles around by nothing but snow-covered forests. The facility was once the home to an organisation called Melior, but now stands unused yet is eerily still full of office equipment and machinery. So far, so The Shining; and I think it’s important to reference Stanley Kubrick’s seminal horror flick at this point because Uncanny Valley draws much of its uneasy atmosphere from the 1980 movie. The feeling that everything appears to be normal, but there’s something not quite right. Where are all the workers from the facility? Why does the massive building stand empty apart from you and another security guard with who you share a shift pattern? Who is the mysterious house keeper you occasionally run into at the now deserted staff accommodation block? There are so many unnerving elements to the game’s story that you can’t help but be drawn in, driven by a desire to know more. It’s like The Shining mixed with the desolation of Pripyat and the mysterious, unnameable weirdness of HP Lovecraft’s novella Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Once you settle in, Uncanny Valley sets you the task of doing the rounds in the Melior building after dark, where Buck (the other security guard) gives you instructions on which floors to patrol and barks at you over the radio to fix the generator if the power goes down. During these shifts (which actually only last for 7 minutes each) you are generally free to roam around the deserted building and the limited outside areas by torchlight, picking up audio tapes and reading emails on the various computer terminals you find. Both of these activities will yield further information about what went down at Melior before the firm went to the wall, and also reveal the unease felt by staff at working in such a remote location, with the company dabbling in unethical and slightly disturbing research. It is once these night shifts end and Tom finds himself needing the warm embrace of sleep that Uncanny Valley truly takes a trip into the macabre and surreal.

The dream sequences place Tom in a host of unconnected scenes and locations – police stations full of corrupt cops, alleyways populated by mutilated corpses and tenements full of what can only be described massive green faces bursting through walls…because that’s what they are. The desolate reality merged with the horrific dream sequences, both in turn coupled with no real idea of what is going on (initially at least) do make Uncanny Valley a truly unique and genuinely unsettling experience. For this, I cannot fault it. The game does start a bit slowly, and is a little bit more of a walking simulator than you would expect, but after a while the creepiness ramps up and the action starts…and then it goes fully Silent Hill and you find yourself running down shadowy corridors, shooting zombies in the head and being chased by crowds of invincible silhouettes. What does it all mean? What was Melior doing out there in the place beyond the pines? Well…I won’t spoil it for you, but rest assured it’s pretty creepy and makes Uncanny Valley stand out on the Vita especially as a game well worth investigating.

Another, not so positive aspect of Uncanny Valley, is just how full of glitches it is. At first, I wondered if what I was encountering was a play on Eternal Darkness’s way of messing with the player. Remember the ‘corrupt memory card’ prank and the other ways in which the Gamecube classic tried to freak you out by breaking the fourth wall? Well, Uncanny Valley has plenty of these moments…but they aren’t intentional. A major bug I found was that if you are in the middle of attempting a puzzle when the game forces Tom back to his bedroom to get some sleep (it’s a bit like the mechanic used in Shenmue where Ryo Hazuki has to keep popping off to bed when it gets late), then the game will not load the following screens. It’s hard to explain, but essentially you can still move around and interact with items and other characters…but you cannot see anything on the screen. Pressing pause will make the black mask flash for a split second, revealing the game as it should be before going back to a black screen. In this case, the game had auto saved and no matter how many times I reloaded my save, the black screen glitch was replicated. Annoyed, I restarted the adventure resigned to the fact that I’d just wasted two hours of my life.

Interestingly though – and as a testament to the message you get upon starting Uncanny Valley for the first time – on my second play through I got a slightly different experience. Different conversations with the same characters, different items in the game world to collect and slightly different dream sequences. Uncanny Valley boasts several different endings and you are encouraged to play through the whole adventure multiple times to see everything the adventure has to offer, and the fact that this annoying glitch forced me to restart after just two hours allowed me to get a look at what the developers intended. There are some other clever aspects to Uncanny Valley, such as the ability to heal certain parts of Tom’s body with bandages, and the damage model will hinder progress (such as making Tom walk slower or not allowing him to move boxes at all if his arms are injured). There are standard puzzle elements too, such as finding key codes and unlocking doors and there are also some nice little touches like being able to interact with the vast majority of background items. However, the muddled way in which the story is revealed to the player, and the general air of not knowing what to do next does detract from the overall experience.

In a nutshell, Uncanny Valley is an intriguing and refreshing experience – certainly on the Vita, anyway. It looks pretty great and the animation is brilliant, while the sound design perfectly builds suspense and a feeling of uncertain and otherworldly horror. Sadly, there is a distinct air of style over substance. The somewhat aimless wandering around and slow pacing of the opening sections will probably leave many gamers cold, and the occasional game-breaking glitch means that many will likely never get to see the further recesses of either the Melior facility or Tom’s subconscious. Indeed, if I hadn’t decided I was going to review Uncanny Valley here for RetroCollect, I probably wouldn’t have restarted the game at all. Ultimately though, if you’re hankering for a new approach to horror on your Vita (or PS4, as cross-buy is included in the price), then by all means give Uncanny Valley a few of hours of your time. It looks good and the general weirdness peaks the interest just enough to make you want to see just how bizarre the game can get, and with multiple endings there’s a decent level of replay value.

Since playing Uncanny Valley, I’ve been back and looked at those reviews I mentioned in the opening section of this review and for the most part I agree with the criticisms levelled at the original Steam release. Not much seems to have changed since the jump from PC to console, and even the same glitches appear to have been dragged along for the ride. That said, as a Vita game there’s not really a lot of competition for Uncanny Valley and it’s really quite an interesting take on survival/psychological horror. Head into this expecting a Super Nintendo version of Silent Hill and you’ll be disappointed. Head into it expecting an intriguing new slant on the genre and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Just remember not to attempt any puzzles before Tom’s bedtime.

Link: Uncanny Valley at PlayStation Store

via RetroCollect - Retro Gaming Collectors Community

[terryblount]

Catherine Full Body – Review

Before Persona 5, the development team took a side tour and made Catherine, an adult tale of relationships and the horror of infidelity. That’s also a pretty darn good puzzler.

With Catherine Full Body, it serves as both a PS4 release of the game, plus newly added content in the style of Persona 4 Golden or the upcoming Persona 5 Royal. Not a straight port, not a straight remaster.

On its own, Catherine is still an evergreen experience, but the Full Body treatment also gives strong reasons for veterans to revisit it. Especially if you like puzzlers.

Presentation

Catherine is stylised as heck. Game menus are flourished more than you’d expect, the character models looking crisp and the usage of 2D anime cutscenes by Studio 4°C makes really adds to the presentation. Catherine is not about realistic graphics. Though there are significant upgrades if you compare the original and Full Body side-by-side. The lighting is improved, for example.

The soundtrack is as expected, amazing. The default jazz tunes in the Stray Sheep bar is as comforting as it is melancholic. It’s a stark contrast to the bodacious, horrific mixes of familiar classical tunes that play during the nightmare segments.

You can play other songs from the bar’s jukebox, featuring various tracks from the game’s soundtrack and some selection from the Persona games. There are new songs too added for Full Body- the Persona 5 ones are the most fitting compared to the more chirpier tunes.

Gameplay

In Catherine Full Body, you play as 32-year-old Vincent Brooks, who can’t make up his mind if he wants to commit to marriage with his long-time girlfriend Katherine. One day, a mysterious girl name Catherine comes to the bar he frequents and they ended up in bed together.

And now he’s experiencing nightmares, where rumour has it, that it only affects cheating men and it could lead to death.

These nightmares are where the core gameplay of Catherine resides- the puzzles. It’s a block puzzle where the rules are rigidly followed rather than intuitive. It will take a few tries for you to really grasp how to move the blocks correctly to allow Vincent to climb upwards to the goal.

EDGE, EDGE, EDGE

What makes Catherine’s puzzle sections stick out is that you have to work under pressure. The lower levels will slowly collapse into the unknown and you have to keep climbing up. It makes for some tense mind-benders, though it can be frustrating if you can’t grasp the fundamental techniques.

I was stuck on the first level- the tutorial one- for about 30 minutes on normal difficulty before I can wrap around what Vincent can climb and cannot climb. From there, it was smooth sailing… until the gimmick blocks appeared.

That said, if you have no interest in the challenging but rewarding puzzles, there’s no harm with playing on the lower difficulty. Playing on the lowest Safety mode has tons of assists for you. This includes auto-complete where the game plays for you and an option to just skip the puzzles. It offers no effect on the story, so it’s totally fine if you have no interest in the puzzles.

Wine, Sake, Cocktail or Beer?

In the down times when he’s not trapped in a hellish nightmare where everyone is a sheep and a baby wants to kill him, Vincent spends his evening in the bar. You get to hang out with your buddies, or share stories with other patrons or reply text messages on your phone.

As you spend time talking, time progresses and different patrons will enter or leave the bar. Think of it as Persona’s leisure time and while there’s no specific Social Links system.

Interacting with the folks there, and your choice of Catherine, will affect your morality meter and the story outcome. It’s a story about adults being in love and dealing with relationships, with some risqué scenes peppered in.

Nothing too explicit though.

Content

The main story should be around 10-12 hours, give or take, depending on how much time is spent on the puzzles.  It has a good pace. But near the end of the story where when you thought the story is wrapping, but it kept dragging on with bigger and bigger stakes at play. Like those Persona games.

New to Catherine Full Body is the addition of another Catherine: Rin. Her inclusion is, for the most part, seamless. You won’t notice that she was never even appeared in the original game, though scenes and dialogue line that addresses Rin do stick out when they are front-loaded.

Rin also adds a new safety net to the nightmare puzzles. In some stages, she will help slow the rate of the collapsing blocks if you are too close to the edge.

There are 13 endings to discover- 5 of them are new and tied with Rin. Though if you want to see the new routes with Rin, go look up a spoiler-free guide. Unlike Catherine and Katherine, getting to her is less obvious. There are in-game vague hints, and the requirements are very specific.

If you’re an avid fan of Catherine’s puzzle sections, boy you’re in luck. In Catherine Full Body, you can play a remix of all the nightmare stages, featuring new blocks with unique properties. The in-game arcade Rapunzel, now dubbed Super Rapunzel, also has more new stages of block puzzles.

And for you competitive lots- of there’s a competitive Catherine scene– there’s online multiplayer as well as the regular two-player split-screen battle.

Other than that, there’s the Babel mode from the original game where it’s all about climbing to the top of a procedural-made tower of blocks the quickest. A test of pure block-pushing and pulling skills.

Personal Enjoyment

I didn’t play the original Catherine. I felt that the puzzles were daunting and I could just watch the story unfold on YouTube. So it took me by surprise how good the block-pushing puzzles are.

It did not immediately grab me though. The controls were a bit fiddly, I wished your character move one square at a time rather than strolling through each block. But that first 30 minutes of trial-and-error in the tutorial it finally clicked for me and it was great from there.

It’s definitely difficult, but it didn’t bother me. The story itself is full with some loaded questions someone in the late 20s will start pondering about. And for that, it’s great at presenting questions on how one should view love and relationships.

I don’t think Catherine Full Body adds that much to those who want to play it for the story, unless you haven’t done so before or just curious about how they handled Rin. Some of the cooler content that might sound desirable for another playthrough is reserved for DLC or the Special Edition. Such contents include a costume to play as Persona 5’s Joker, X-Ray glasses to see people in their swimsuits (even the men) and different voices for Catherine, which is a shame.

It’s a good thing I enjoyed the puzzles though. And for that, I can see myself to have the game still installed now that I’ve done with the story.

Verdict

Like a fine wine, Catherine Full Body aged pretty well. The story of adult relationships is still relevant. The puzzle sections are as great as it was before with cool new additions to get veterans to dip again.

Catherine Full Body is an acquired taste, but it tastes even better now.

Review based on the PS4 version played on the normal PS4

Review copy provided by Epicsoft Asia, the distributor for Southeast Asia. Find out where you can grab a physical copy of Catherine Full Body in your region here

Catherine Full Body – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[kaiserdingus]

The Return of Classic Sonic - Part 4 - Sonic Mania/Sonic Forces

Over the past couple of years, and especially recently with the release of Sonic Mania, we’ve seen a resurgence in media depicting the classic version of Sonic the Hedgehog from the 1990’s. He’s shorter, he’s voiceless, and he represents a simpler time in video games from before voice acting and cinematic cutscenes.

In recent games he’s been offered as an alternative to the modern aesthetic and play-style that’s been the standard since Sonic Adventure. How did we get to this point? How has Sonic changed over the years, and why are there now two Sonics?

In this series I plan to observe the time period in Sonic history where SEGA decided to shake things up and make what was once old new again. This is The Return of Classic Sonic.

Sonic Mania

After the release of Sonic Generations, things seemed to be going well for Sonic Team. In 2013 they announced an exclusivity deal with Nintendo for their recently released Wii U. The deal was that the next three Sonic the Hedgehog titles would be exclusive to the Wii U. Sonic Lost World, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, and Sonic Boom were the three Nintendo exclusive titles as part of the deal. After how good Generations was, things were not looking good for Sonic the Hedgehog fans who weren’t fond of Lost World or Boom.

Things felt dark at the time, but then in July 2016 Sega held a big Sonic-themed fan event where they announced two new titles. The first was a new collaboration with Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games called “Sonic Mania”, a true return to the classic 2D gameplay that Sega and Sonic Team tried to achieve with Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

The second game was an untitled 3D game introduced with a pre-rendered trailer showing Sonic in a dystopian wasteland, and joining him yet again would be Classic Sonic. The trailer looked drove home the idea that this was a new modern-style Sonic game that followed the style of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, except now with a darker, more serious story. Even though the trailer featured Classic Sonic, the producers were quick to express that this wasn’t a sequel to Sonic Generations. Eventually, the title would be revealed as Sonic Forces, and we’ll talk about that a little later.

Despite Sonic Forces raising a ton of questions, the real show-stealer that night was Sonic Mania. An officially sanctioned new title in the classic Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, one that compiled new, original stages with stages from older titles that were remixed for a new generation of fans.

The game launched in August 2017 and was a smash hit, having the highest score for a Sonic the Hedgehog title on review sites in years. Previous Whitehead produced Sonic titles include Sonic CD, Sonic 1, and Sonic 2 which were remakes of classic titles with some enhancements. Now, his team were able to fill it with not just new enhancements, but completely new features. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are all playable with their own moves and character-specific paths, but now Sonic has a new “Drop Dash” that allows him to charge a spindash while in mid-air.

Similarly to Sonic CD, Sonic Mania opens with an animated full-motion video. Animated by Tyson Hesse, a comic book illustrator who previously worked on Archie’s Sonic comics as well as having done Sonic fan comics online, it’s the perfect cherry on top to complete a wonderful game. Hesse’s art has been celebrated in the Sonic fan community, from his parody comic “Sonic’s Big Fat Adventure”, to his Sonic CD/Sonic OVA style designs in the Archie mini-series Sonic Mega Drive.

Something that’s usually considered taboo when adapting another’s work is adding new elements, but that taboo has been successfully broken with the addition of the Hard Boiled Heavies as antagonists assisting Dr. Eggman this time around.

Originally Egg-Robos from Sonic & Knuckles, they’ve been corrupted by the Phantom Ruby which is given each of them individual personalities. The boss fights against the Hard Boiled Heavies are some of the best in the entire game, and I would not be opposed to seeing more of them in future titles.

The marketing for Sonic Mania disguised one of the bigger plot points to the game, and the game itself doesn’t make it clear, but Sonic Mania cleverly ties into Sonic Forces which was released 3 months later. The Phantom Ruby, Eggman’s world-altering MacGuffin, appears in Sonic Mania and is the force that transports Sonic to Modern Sonic’s world in Forces. They even snuck Sonic Forces’ theme song “Fist Bump” into the final boss battle.

When Mania came out I played the hell out of it and cleared each of the 8 save files. The special stages from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles return, but now they replace the pinball bonus stages. They quickly become irritating as you find yourself entering nearly 3 special stages per level. It’s not that they’re not fun to play, but rather that they take longer than standard bonus stages so they break up the pace of the game.

I loved Sonic Mania, I thought it filled a much needed desire in me to play a game that really understood what makes Sonic great. The way Sega released Sonic Forces following Mania made Mania seem like an appetizer, but one that’s infinitely better than the perfectly acceptable main course.

Sonic Forces

Originally announced alongside Sonic Mania in June of 2016, Sonic Forces was released in November 2017 and landed with an unfortunate thud. Dr. Eggman has taken over the world and now it’s up to Sonic to save the day, only this time he’s joined by a new friend - YOU. Oh, and also Classic Sonic returns from Sonic Generations for no clear reason. This game isn’t bad by any means, but it certainly isn’t seen very positively within some parts of the fan community? The fans celebrated Sonic Generations, how did Forces go so wrong?

When planning this game simultaneously with Sonic Mania, it’s assumed that the producers wanted to cater to two very specific audiences: people who grew up with and prefer the style of the classic Sonic games, or people who prefer the more story driven modern titles. Mania was meant to be for the fans of the classic games, while Forces would be aimed at those who liked Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.

The only problem with basing this game off of Generations is that by the time this game would come out, that game would already be 6 years old. For some perspective, that’s the same amount of time between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic Adventure. With that big of a time gap, it was assumed Sonic Team would be able to make a game that would surpass the quality of the ones that came before it. Instead, we got a game that feels more or less like Generations 2 (more like Generations 2 Late).

This isn’t to say the game is bad, it just feels dated, ironically its biggest competition is a game that’s entire gimmick is how dated it is. The game follows an edgy storyline about Dr. Eggman capturing Sonic and taking over the world, and the resistance group that forms to stop Dr. Eggman and liberate the world. Typical for a Sonic game post-1992, Dr. Eggman has a new friend with him, a jackal named Infinite who’s been made incredibly powerful with the strength of a magical MacGuffin known as the Phantom Ruby.

The story wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for the fact that none of the characters develop or grow, aside from the player’s Avatar character. The avatar is the last of their people after Infinite showed up and killed them all for no apparent reason, and now they’ve teamed up with Sonic and the resistance to stop Eggman from… keeping control of the world.

That’s right, besides the lack of character development or growth there’s also a lack of motivation for the villains. Dr. Eggman beats Sonic with the help of Infinite at the beginning of the game, Sonic gets captured and taken to the Death Egg, and his friends break him out.

Sonic Adventure 2’s edgy storyline worked because characters had motivation and they grew as the story went. Shadow wanted to avenge the death of his friend, but eventually discovered that vengeance wouldn’t be what she wanted. Rouge offers her skills as a jewel thief to help Dr. Eggman, only to double cross him when it’s revealed she’s a spy working for the President. Tails, having overcome his fears in the previous Sonic Adventure games, asserts himself as a competent mechanic and hero. Even Eggman realizes the error of his ways near the end of the game and helps the heroes stop the destruction he caused.

Gameplay wise, the game plays just as good as Sonic Generations did, and it even looks better. Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom, the two titles to come out in the years between Generations and Forces, were too radically different and didn’t work. Sonic Forces might feel like too little too late, it its very playable. The levels are more cinematic this time around, but they’re also a lot shorter. While Generations had 9 different areas with two stages each, Forces only has 6 areas with a combined 24 action stages. A casual Sonic player can easily clear the game in under 4 hours.

The game has a lot of replay value, though. Especially in regards to the Avatar, who can equip clothing and accessories that you gain by clearing stages and missions. The Wispons act as different equippables for your character’s grappling hook, giving them new abilities that can help them reach different pathways.

Classic Sonic, honestly, feels a little tacked on in this game. Like I said previously, Classic Sonic felt integral to Generations, but this time he feels like Werehog-esque filler. I love the gameplay and the dedicated 2D levels, but you they didn’t need to shoe-horn Classic Sonic into the game. It feels like a cheap gimmick to bring in people coming down from the high of Sonic Mania, rather than something that’s important to the story.

Sonic Forces really isn’t a bad game, it feels like a love letter to the fans of the 2000’s era Sonic games. It’s cheesy, with the grim-dark story, the DeviantArt-esque character creator, the butt rock theme song featuring Hoobastank singer Doug Robb, and the incredibly edgy Infinite who automatically replaces Shadow as “most cringey Sonic character”. It probably won’t ever be seen in the same light as it’s companion game, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

After 9 years of attempts by Sega, prompted by the passion and dedication of the Sonic the Hedgehog fan base, we’re finally seeing a resurgence of classic Sonic. Sonic 4 was a shallow attempt, Sonic Generations was an honest try, but Sonic Mania nailed it completely. A team of fans have done the impossible and have used their skills from making fan games to make a perfect Sonic game. Something any Nintendo fans would’ve been shut down for, Sega allowed to happen and are now benefiting from it.

It’s an exciting time for fans of Classic Sonic, as this July Sega are releasing a definitive edition of Sonic Mania called Sonic Mania Plus. The new content will be available as DLC for players who already own Mania. Alongside Sonic Mania Plus is a new animated series directed by Tyson Hesse. Five short episodes released in the weeks leading up to the release of Sonic Mania Plus.

What’s next for Sonic fans? Beyond Sonic Mania Plus, not much. If fans respond to Sonic Mania Plus well and it sells enough copies, I’m sure Sega will produce more games in the classic style. Hopefully using Christian Whitehead’s Retro Engine and with the same love the team put into Sonic Mania.

Where to Buy

Sonic Mania  (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Sonic Mania Plus  (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)

Sonic Forces (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Click Here To Support Y2K Fun Zone on Patreon

[nickzimmermandesign]

Creative Output Project

For my Creative Output project, I decided to make concept art for a game that I’m working on. The game is a fast-paced 2D fighting game that I want to hand-animate with art inspired by classic 80s and 90s mecha anime and cartoons, like Gundam, Voltron, etc. ---

Month One: Research, Learning, Initial Ideation

In order to start making concept art for my game, I had to figure out what I wanted to create and how to actually draw it in that style.

To figure out what shows I wanted to have influence the concept art, I started rewatching a few episodes from each of the memorable mecha series  I watched when I was a kid. Over the course of the month, I ended up watching several episodes from the various shows in the Gundam series, Evangelion, Robotech, and Voltron. Additionally, I watched the ‘2017 Giant Robot Duel’ between the US and Japan for further influence. While watching all of these, I took note of which mechs I liked certain design aspects of, and later printed out pictures of them and put them on the wall near my desk.

I figured that having them on the wall near my desk would allow me to visually recall the mech easily, as well as serve as inspiration while ideating for my own robots.

As for how to actually create the concept art, one way I taught myself was that I managed to get a hold of a few books on how to draw in the style of anime/manga.

I used these books for references and tutorials towards the beginning of teaching myself the art style. Most of the tutorials were relatively easy and short, so I think a couple of the books may have been targeted more towards very-beginner artists. Once I felt I had a decent grip on the anime-style art that underlies the mecha genre, I went to Google and found some tutorials online on how to draw mecha. Unfortunately, not all of them were helpful, as many of them involved mostly just the artist drawing at an inhuman pace with little-to-no commentary or instruction. I did manage to find some helpful guides though, which are linked below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXWdzbC_46Ahttps://www.sketchbook.com/blog/how-to-draw-mechs-basics/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoP15ZfN1uwhttps://khallandra.deviantart.com/journal/Tips-and-Tricks-Mecha-Basics-564576627

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Month Two: Mech #1’s Ideation and Creation

Now it was time to make the concept art for the first mech in my game! I started off the process by sketching ideas for the mech’s head. 

After sketching those, I spent the next couple weeks brainstorming, and the ideas on these pieces of paper inevitably made the Wall of Inspiration.

Finally, I sketched out the first character in full. Although it looked rather simple, since it was one of the first times I’d ever really made a character this complex before from my own imagination, I had a lot of trouble with it. In addition to the overall difficulty of drawing something as complex as mecha, I kept erasing after I drew things, attempting to either redraw what I just drew to make it perfect, or to add something else I had just thought of while drawing the initial lines. In total, drawing that out took me roughly five hours, and I was really happy with what came out of that session. 

Pretty cool drawing right? I though so too. 

However, when I put the drawing into Illustrator during my next session, I became significantly less happy with it. Image Trace didn’t do it justice and wasn’t even workable, so I had to hand-trace it with the Pen tool, which took hours. As I was tracing over it with the Pen tool, it started to look cheesier and cheesier, which was worrying me. I felt like I was some teenager passing time making MS Paint art during computer class. 

About halfway through, I kept minorly tweaking small lines and the placement of small shapes in attempts to make it better. Despite these attempts, I couldn’t manage to make the mech look any better. I even gave it a couple of days and went back to it, still couldn’t do much with it, so I hoped for the best and colored it in. 

Overall, I think Mech #1 came out a lot better than I expected it to after giving it some color. I still am not super happy with it, and I like how the head looked in the second draft much better compared to how it turned out here. I think it came out okay, but something about it feels forced to me, like you could tell I was trying to use an art style that wasn’t really my own. I still can’t shake that ‘kid messing around in MS Paint due to boredom’ feeling every time I look at it, which actually really upsets me because of how much effort and time I put into it to make it specifically not come off like that. Finishing this mech taught me the most important lesson in art I’ve learned to date: imitating the style of others will only lead to output that doesn’t meet your expectations. I thought I learned this a long time ago with music, but I guess I needed a reminder session. 

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Month Three: Mech #2′s Ideation and Creation

My original plan for the last month of my constant output project was to animate the first mech I made, and put that robot into the game I was working on. I had been learning how to use Spine, a rigging animation software, for a couple weeks beforehand, and had even begun to work on animating Mech #1. However, shortly after, my team and I decided to sideline the fighting game in order to build on a separate prototype for a game we didn’t initially think of or expect to make. So, I decided that in order to continue working on the game in a productive manner, I should make more concept art, and animate both according to their finalized character move-sets when the project gets to that point. Also, I really wanted to give creating a mech another try, and I had an idea for a robot that I thought would be kind of cool. I felt like I tried too hard to imitate my influencers while making it, and that the resultant output was lacking because of it. 

For the second mech, I decided to design it mainly using my art style, while still taking minor design notes from the creators who influenced me to pursue this project in the first place. This time around, I had actually came up with the majority of the mech I wanted to make on the subway, so instead of repeatedly iterating on the various ways I could go with it like I did with the first design, I just went in and started drawing a draft of it. 

I wanted the next character I designed to be a tank-y powerful-yet-slow character, so I decided to go for a more sturdy-looking mech design. I also wanted to give the character powerful projectiles to make up for its slow movement speed, so I took note of Heavyarms from Gundam Wing and made one of the mech’s arms a gun, except instead of a gatling machine gun like Heavyarms, this character has a three-barrel laser cannon. I consciously decided to stop trying to overcomplicate the mech. The circle in the chest was meant as a way to shoot a ‘super-attack’ in the form of a massive laser beam.

This was the final sketch before I scanned it into Illustrator to edit next session. I decided against throwing in the chest-hole ultimately to both keep the semi-minimalistic aesthetic I was going for, and keep the design from being a bit too Pacific-Rim-y for my taste. (Side note: while the drawing was still in sketch form like this, one of my friends said that the laser cannon arm reminded him of three pieces of bundled chalk, and I still can’t unsee it.)

This was how Mech #2 looked after I finished tracing it with the Pen tool (Image Trace couldn’t get it close enough to right so I just went at it manually again). I didn’t change much on this design from the last step other than that I shortened the laser cannons (and reshaped them to look slightly less like chalk) and slightly changed the shape of the mech’s head. 

This is the final version of Mech #2. I really liked how this came out after being colored. It felt much more ‘me’ than Mech #1, and I felt like that shows through the design quality upon comparison. Only change to it other than the coloring (which was changed at least ten times before this image was exported) was that I added circles in the laser cannon so the cannons didn’t look like grey chalk (I couldn’t shake it). I can’t say enough about how much happier I am with this mech design than the first one. I hope that when I get around to doing the concept art for Mech #3 I like it as much as I like this one. 

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Conclusion:

So that’s what I did for my Monthly Output this semester! I really enjoyed learning to draw mechs, even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of my first design. I’ve always wanted to learn how to draw them, so this was a lot of fun for me to do. Learning a new art style is very difficult, and honestly I definitely have yet to master it. I guess that’s why the same studio has been making Gundam for 40+ years. I still feel like I have a long way to go until I get to the point of feeling comfortable putting my own designs in games I make, so these will probably stay as concept art to hand off to an illustrator for now. I’m really excited to keep at this. I may not be the Gundam animators yet, but I feel like I can hold my own a little bit now, which is way more than I could say at the beginning of the semester!