#i have a lot of things to say about this video game from 1996!

[sukimas]

oh, i got a good one: i take it you're a fan of FE4's gameplay. in that case, do you have a vision of anything you'd want changed in a remake on the mechanics side?

yes!

first off: i want horses to lose the benefit from roads. their movement is good enough as it is without being able to be buffed to an insane degree. the road speedup multiplier for infantry units should also be higher (maybe 0.55-0.6x movement cost? it gets weird at points because you might end up with infantry moving faster than cavalry on roads at some points with these multipliers, but since they're stuck to the roads rather than being able to run through fields, it's more of a restriction than a bonus even still.)

of course, the timing for certain side objectives (cough cough Bargain Band) should be altered if you do this. this would also give our poor fliers more of a niche, since as it is, the fact that they can't gain road bonuses basically makes them village bandit cleanup and child rescuing bots.

you could definitely successfully implement rescue in fe4 instead, but i think this comes to the issue where cavalry units might still be too centralizing unless you give fe5-level penalties for rescuing; and giving fe5-level penalties for rescuing incentivizes just not using the mechanic and tossing cavalry at all your problems instead.

a good thing that might be done to ameliorate their centralizing forces, incidentally, is to increase enemy density and quality. fe4 original flavor had to make do with a lot of autoleveled enemy units of the exact same classes and weaponry due to memory limitations; in a remake, you could make it so every group of enemies is similar to the group you face prior to heirhein, but with twice the number of enemy units- wielding mixed weaponry, with backline support in healers and ballisticians, etc. since cavalry units have worse statlines compared to footlocked units, but in general this comes into play in exactly one instance (the weissenritter), and we want to just increase the number of instances. our enemies may be underestimating us, but they aren't that incompetent. an exception is verdane, which should still just be axes and bows. they're the tutorial guys.

i don't want to implement trading, but i think that unarmed healers (and basically only them) tend to have serious issues getting the items they want unless you focus your thief on them or know ahead of time what to do. this is despite the fact that staves are not that centralizing in this game- the only particularly busted one is rescue, and even that is nowhere near warpskipping levels of broken. i think, since the only unarmed healers in the game are religious figures, allowing the "give gold" command to work on them from anyone (with the gloss of charitable donations) would do nicely.

speaking of the "give gold" command, it would be very beneficial to allow it to not give all of your gold to an allied unit. choosing multiples of 10k, i think (or all your gold if you happen to have less than that) would be ideal for a game which no longer has the snes's memory limitations.

(...speaking of the snes's memory limitations, why not properly implement the feature to dismount promoted mounted units for cool factor?)

as for weapon balance, it's mostly pretty OK, but some weight changes should be made. fire/thunder/wind should get the differentiation they get in later games (descending might order, thunder gets a little crit and wind gets a little more accuracy). dark and light magic being fairly heavy makes sense. sorry, deirdre, but your having absolutely godawful combat is lore accurate and doesn't cause you to be a liability. axes of course need to get their weight decreased- it should be at least a fleeting possibility that you could double with them, even if it's unusual.

i would hope it is patently obvious that holy weapons should not be altered in any way.

now, to map design. chapter 4 having it impossible to go to the latter half of the chapter with your unpromoted mounted units is a huge slap in the face. change that. you already had the thickets in chapter 1 change to normal forest- speaking of which, actually, thin out the fucking chapter 1 forest, it doesn't need to be that long- so have a bit of the mountain just be normal plains for you to traverse after the Annand Experience.

another fairly unpopular opinion of mine is that the chapter 7 desert is.... fine? you're not stuck in it for that long, and you don't need to take anyone but maybe seliph and a healer across it, if that. everyone else can move down to melgen while he's otherwise occupied. now, on the other hand, the chapter 5 desert is fucking stupid and it's no wonder that most people finish the chapter by poking the gelbenritter with erinys and having lewyn annihilate everything rather than actually taking their whole army to velthomer. absolutely a new path through the desert should open up after you seize phinora (you already speak to the village elder, surely he can give you directions), kaga is a god damn lunatic for this one. chapter 1 is also an unforgivable slog that could easily be fixed by just fucking taking away some of the trees. you can alternate them tree-plain-tree-plain and still have the effect of a giant fuckoff forest. or hell, have a route around the forest to the left open up after you get the Deirdre Moment. a lot of the unpleasant terrain in this game could be avoided by convenient new characters just telling you how to avoid it, but somehow this doesn't happen.

overall, with a few movement and enemy quality tweaks, along with a few QOL updates, fe4 could go from being The Game Of All Time to The Game Of All Time, Now Ft. A Larger Fun To Walking Simulator Ratio.

now as for changes i don't think that would be particularly useful but i want to see anyway: the possibility for critical hits even when your weapon isn't at 50 kills, but make them something like skill/4. speaking of that, why aren't the holy weapons all at 50+ kills already? if the count is maintained across generations for everything else, why aren't all the shots ullr took counted on my yewfelle? put them on there, it's always a good idea to make holy weapons more busted. give more random enemy units personal (non-class) skills to ruin the player's day. go random sword general with sol. fuck you.

oh yeah speaking of enemy general skills i'm going back on my word that these changes aren't particularly useful, and very unusually for me, saying that we should implement a change that would make the game slightly more normally balanced. kill full pavise. pavise cutting damage dealt in half was the best thing awakening ever did. it's fine for it to work against every weapon, but completely nullifying damage with an activation chance based on the user's level is stupid. loptous wishes it were you.

another change i'd like to make is making the arena about half as long (3-4 enemies) but making those enemies grant more gold/exp for using it. also, changing the chapter leveling curves in general so arena use isn't required for the highest rank (though idk if they'll keep the ranking system; this is the first remake of a game that had a proper one, and IS appears to be allergic to them nowadays.) you could optionally implement a limit on how many units can use the arena each map to incentivize solely using it to train up weak units, but idk. it's fun absolutely wrecking the arena, and would be less of a huge pain in the ass if it were three units long.

i'd like build and build growths to make a return, since engage seems to want to do that. it would help with some of the earlier weapon weight issues mentioned (esp. axes) but if you tweak weights instead it isn't super necessary.

oh yeah, make warp able to target green castles rather than just blue ones. sucks to make it optimal to get nordion captured so i can send everyone back there in the middle of ch2 instead of sending them all back to evans.

this ended up being a lot longer than i expected, but it's basically all tiny nitpicks. i think fe4's gameplay is really good for telling the story that it wants to, but some of the design decisions made within the game for memory reasons (i'm not exaggerating here by bringing this up so much- the game genuinely hits near the edge of the cartridge size, and project naga doublesizing it was absolutely the only thing that they could have done to fit the patch on there) or for bad decision reasons (kaga's loving marriage to movement restriction) make it less fun than it could be. a remake tweaking those and adding some later innovations in the fire emblem series could make it a game that i'd never want to stop playing, rather than one i have to take a couple weeks break from every time i finish it.

[ranchstoryblog]

Ranch Story Community Q&A Volume 3: Igusa Matsuyama Returns!

Igusa Matsuyama, the legendary artist behind the Story of Seasons series since the original 1996 game has once again agreed to a Q&A featuring questions from fans from around the world! A big thank you to all the members of the community who helped make this possible.

Some aspects of the text have been altered to match localization people are familiar with. (Japanese names to English names, for example: Bokujou Monogatari (牧場物語) was formerly localized as Harvest Moon and is now localized as Story of Seasons, etc). Images were not part of the original text and have been added as a visual aid. Though we translated as many questions as we could, we did not include questions involving personal information or regarding unannounced releases. Please understand.

If you would like to read our original correspondence (in Japanese), that will be provided in a separate post.

Additional cosplay photo provided by Foxface from our community Discord.

Translations: @artycharmy (correspondence, outline) Editing and Clean-up: Jerome, @artycharmy, and @regularcelery

——— Anonymous asks: What is the relationship between Jamie and the Harvest Goddess?

Igusa Matsuyama: Jamie was treated as a fairy or spirit. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if there's any points that link them and the Goddess.

Editor's note: the term Matsuyama uses is "妖精."

Tomato asks: I would like to ask about what their inspiration was for the outfits designs in the original release of harvest moon another wonderful life. Since I got reminded of the girl clothing brand Mezzo Piano when looking at the I love Kuma/I love bears outfit.

Igusa Matsuyama: I remember the only thing I thought of was using Spring-like colours! (All designs were made with seasonal colours In mind) When I knew that Daachan, who was planned to be used in a lot of events, wouldn't actually play a big role in the game, I put him on the T-Shirt so he could at least get some attention as a mascot-like existence.

Pansy asks: If you were able to create your own game for the Story of Seasons franchise, with no rules or limitations whatsoever, what do you think it might look like?

Igusa Mastuyama: Since I love dogs, I'd like to try making a Story of Seasons that's set in a world just full of dogs. Though that dream of mine probably won't come true.

Anonymous asks: The look of Story of Seasons has changed a lot over the years! What would you say is more challenging to create - simple designs, where you have to work with very little space, or complicated designs, where you have to consider many little details?

Igusa Matsuyama: A long time ago there were a lot of things you weren't able to replicate in video games. There were constraints for things like the number of colours and patterns for hair styles and clothes. It was difficult to work around those constraints, but at the same time a lot of fun. Nowadays, it's the complete opposite. Now we can design anything with hardly any constraints. And unlike a long time ago, now I'm asked to make more complicated designs, like patterns and decorations. However, if it's a big request, sometimes I run into quite a lot of trouble when designing. They each have had their own difficulties.

Anonymous asks: Hello, Matsuyama! Thank you for bringing the worlds of Bokujou Monogatari to life for many years. Your art has had a huge influence on me!

One of my favorite candidates is “Rock” from “A Wonderful Life.” I’d love to know any particular influences for his character design from 21 years ago, and his new design for the remake.

Igusa Matsuyama: I was told that he was a young, wannabe playboy, so I somehow ended up with that sort of design. For the remake, I made his clothes a little looser without changing his design, so he'd look even more playful. I, too, wanted to avoid changing him as much as I could as there are other people among the staff that also like the original for his “Rockness”. So, he got that makeover after everybody shared and checked their opinions with each other.

Jerome asks: On page 130 of the "Special Comic" manga there's artwork of Super Famicom characters that have never been printed anywhere else. Do you or Marvelous still have these? It would be great to see them in more detail in the future some time.

Igusa Matsuyama: They're all characters that appeared in the SNES version of "Harvest Moon." Nina's parents, Ellen's mother, Ann's father, Maria's parents (The mayor couple). I'm sorry. My SNES illustrations have gone missing...

Raven Bloom, Ryan, and Moth ask: How did you feel when your designs for the men in A Wonderful Life were repurposed to be bachelors? What do you think of the changes made to the bachelors in the remake of A Wonderful Life? I miss the “Bruce Campbell” look Matthew used to have.

Igusa Matsuyama: Matthew (マシュー) is Masshu (マッシュ) in the Japanese A Wonderful Life (Editors note: Charmy made a careless mistake when translating the questions, sorry Matsuyama san 🫣) When I first heard this name, the first thing that came to mind was Evil Dead's protagonist, Ash. You're right. I designed him after Bruce Campbell. I still love Bruce Campbell today. When Wonderful Life was under production, I had heard they weren't going to make a girl version, so I designed him not as a love interest, but as a quirky character. Knowing that he'd appear in the remake as a marriage candidate, I redesigned him as a character that would be liked by many. I hope you can enjoy the game for its nostalgia, as well as for being a shiny, brand new release.

Salmon Axe and Anonymous ask: I personally adore Doraemon x SOS game. Are you interested in working directly with or collaborating with other franchises in the future? And is there a series outside Story of Seasons you would like to work with now as a guest artist? (Could it be Pokemon?)

Igusa Matsuyama: I've loved Doraemon manga since I was a kid! Working as a guest artist? Hmm, I'm happier being the main illustrator, so nothing in particular comes to mind. I enjoy a lot of games in my free time, such as Fallout, Far Cry and Border Lands.

Anonymous asks: Even though we never see his face, was there ever a concept of how Woofio would look without his costume?

Igusa Matsuyama: I designed Woofio as the being that is Woofio, so there's no design of him without his costume.

Idris asks: Your style has upgraded a lot over the time to match the trends. Do you think you will ever go for an old school look (early HM) for a SoS game again? What do you think is the secret to your art’s charm?

Igusa Matsuyama: What I'm particular about when designing for Story of Seasons is making characters with head/body proportions and an atmosphere that go well with that release. First, I listen to the client's request then think of a design according to that. These days, game visuals have gotten fancier and fancier, so there's not many opportunities for characters with short proportions to make an appearance. To me, what's important when designing is "playfulness." More so than "pretty" or "cool" and such, I get attached to the character, have fun making the character. I find joy in character creation itself.

MacGyver asks: Yasuhiro Wada has shared some interesting stories about how chaotic the original game's development was. Is there anything interesting you remember from around that time? 

Igusa Matsuyama: Now it's a memory I can look back on and laugh about, but I'm not sure how much I can talk about it so please forgive me. If Wada hadn't been there back then, then "Harvest Moon" wouldn't have become a thing.

Toyberb and Anonymous ask: There’s a lot of different cow designs now, which is your favorite to draw?

Igusa Matsuyama: I've loved drawing animals since I was a kid, so I love all of the cows. Although the easiest one to draw is the cow with the big nose.

Anonymous asks: Were there any games where you made designs for protagonists of genders that did not end up available to play as? (Like a girl protagonist for Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley or a nonbinary protagonist for any game before A Wonderful Life)

Igusa Matsuyama: There's so many designs that got scrapped, but as far as I recall, there's not really many where that character's setting itself was scrapped. (Excluding Thumbelina, mentioned below)

Koharu asks: Were there ever any character designs made for other older SNES characters like Ellen for 64? Some magazines had Marie with blue hair, like the SNES character, so it made me wonder if she (SNES Maria) was meant to also be there at some point.

Igusa Matsuyama: I'm not in the position to make settings or scenarios where characters from other games appear, so I can't say, but I like the idea of older characters making an appearance!

Amina/k0iisu asks: Hello! I really love Hiro’s design specifically. Could you tell me a few facts about him/his design that might not be well known information? Thank you so much! I love your art :D

Igusa Matsuyama: Thank you very much! Hiro is a future doctor, so I tried to make them look as much like a doctor as I could. Also, to make him look friendlier, I designed him as your average everyday boy you'd see in the neighbourhood. He doesn't have a flashy face or hairstyle, but he's one of my favourite designs, too. I wrote this in the guidebook too, but what I like about him is the Asian flair I added to his clothes and the spot of colour around his feet.

Bunbun asks: I'm excited for the Nendoroid that was announced of Claire! I hope there will be ones of HM64 designs too. Since you have a lot of figures on your blog, how does it feel to be able to add one of your own characters to your collection? Are there any of your other characters you hope will get figures of?

Igusa Matsuyama: A nendoroid of Claire! I'm looking forward to it too, but when is it going to be released? If it's possible, I'd like one of Woofio.

Editor's note: Preorders are open for Nendoroid Claire now!

Chickee asks: A purple-haired princess character was rumored to have existed in Harvest Moon 64, but she didn't make it to the published game. Did you create a design for this character?

Igusa Matsuyama: That's probably Princess Thumbelina. Wasn't she Incredibly small? What I designed didn't end up being used. Speaking of HM64 characters, I pushed for them to include a pet turtle, but in the end it only appeared as an ornament. For A Wonderful Life, I asked for a turtle to be included again and designed a tortoise with a scarf, but it didn't make it as a pet and appeared only as a wild turtle that walks around the pond. I'm waiting for the day they finally include a pet turtle in the game.

emery flower147 asks: omg  I saw the pics where the AWL girls are in a team and Muffy has a shotgun and stuff? Do you think any other characters would work in a cool team like that?

Igusa Matsuyama: For the Friends of Mineral Town guide book, I had the five girls, Popuri, Marie, Ran, Elly and Karen work hard as Harvest Sprites. Also, for the guide books, I drew Pete (The old male protagonist), Sarah (The GB version female protagonist), and Claire doing whatever I wanted them to. I don't know if you can call it cool or not, but it was fun being in charge of that.

Ixur asks: A lot of the PoOT character designs for the regular villagers seem more popular than the marriage candidates in my region. Is that something that's been noticed by you/Marvelous in Japan? Lars, Clemens, Beth, and Misaki for example.

Igusa Matsuyama: Marvelous doesn't really talk about that sort of thing so I'm not sure if they're aware of it or not. I don't do social media so I'm also not sure which characters are popular. I'm happy as long as the characters are liked. The design on Lars’s shirt is modeled after my beloved dog, so I’d be especially happy if you like his shirt too.

Anonymous asks: What do you think about people cosplaying your designs?

Igusa Matsuyama: It makes me very happy! I'm no good at sewing, so I really admire people who can make their own clothes. It's an honour having the designs I made be made into real clothes, and I think it's great to have fun acting out the characters.

Afro Fae asks: When creating designs for characters, how do you settle on a specific color palette? Do you take color meanings into account with a character's personality or do you go purely off of feeling?

Igusa Matsuyama: I keep in mind the overall colours the client asked for while designing. Sometimes I propose a new colour when I think there's one that fits better. I'm also careful when choosing colours and everyone's traits to make sure it's easy to tell which character is which when seen from a distance. However, in the cases of families and such, I do the opposite and give them all a common colour to give them a sense of kinship.

———

From all of us at Ranch Story, we'd like to thank Matsuyama from the bottom of our hearts for answering our questions again! Whether a fan has only just discovered the series or has grown up alongside it, so many people have loved these characters and worlds that Igusa Matsuyama brings to life, so it feels truly special to be able to have this opportunity. We'll end this article with Matsuyama's own words, as well as a parting gift.

Igusa Matsuyama: I'm so glad I could answer your questions again. I'm the one that should be saying thank you. It means the world to me knowing that everyone enjoys my illustrations! I added an illustration as thanks. I'll keep up the hard work!

[bengiyo]

Hi, i'm a newish bl drama watcher from thailand that just started watching thai bls. i'm a bit ashamed to say that for a long time as a gay man living here i've been avoiding bl shows like the plague cuz of both the fandom reputation and of misconception from my yaoi era which i leave far behind. i'm just want to ask how did you got into watching thai bls and what were you preconception before you got into it.

Welcome to the Tumblr side of BL fandom. I'd actually like to also hear more of your experience with yaoi and BL as a gay person growing up in Thailand if you're willing to share.

For me, I'm a Black American from the Gulf Coast (the South). I grew up in a Catholic city and spent my entire adolescence in the closet. Despite having a sense of who I was as early as 8 years old, I kept most of that to myself. Because I didn't talk about it much with people, I found out most information about queer media and queerness from the internet.

I entered BL via queer cinema. I think the first explicitly gay character that I remember from TV was Marco from Degrassi: The Next Generation. There were probably others, and definitely more subtle expressions, but when I think about the oldest gay character I remember and connect to, it's Marco. I don't like counting things like shipping Shawn and Corey on Boy Meets World or Tai and Matt on Digimon for oldest gay characters. Sailor Moon can't even count because we got a censored version of it in America.

I got access to satellite television away from observing eyes around age 16 and started watching content on Logo back when they aired gay content regularly. I watched basically whatever I could late at night. It's how I saw movies like Get Real (1998), Beautiful Thing (1996), and Bent (1997). It's also how I saw Queer as Folk (2000-2005) Noah's Arc (2005-06).

After hitting adulthood I mostly got lost in video games and standard American TV for a while, but I did basically show up to any Gay Event in TV. I appreciate that Stef and Lena from The Fosters (2013-2018) were some of the only TV lesbians to survive the horror of 2016.

I watched a bunch of movies in this time, many of which appear on the Queer Cinema Syllabus I made for a hypothetical Westerner new to BL and queer cinema, which @wen-kexing-apologist has decided to try to complete.

I got into Thai BL in 2018 accidentally. I started seeing gifsets of Kongpob telling Arthit he'll make him his wife passing around Tumblr and was basically like, "Right, what's all this then?"

I had watched a few Thai gay films, mostly notably Love of Siam (2007), Bangkok Love Story (2007), How to Win at Checkers Every Time (2015), and The Blue Hour (2015), but this was the first time I was seeing a long series made available so easily from any Asian country.

From there I got into Make It Right (2016-17) and Love Sick the series (2014). Once I realized that yaoi had moved beyond manga and a few anime adaptations, I went looking for a lot more. I basically haven't left since I started in about 2016 with SOTUS.

There's my basic entry into the genre. I don't think I was as worried about fandom and worries at the time because so much of being a fan of queer cinema was a mostly-private experience for me for so long. I didn't realize that BL fans active in the space would predominantly be women or queers figuring themselves out. It took a while to adjust to that, and also to adjust my expectations of the kinds of queer stories BL distributors were willing to fund.

That being said, I tend to agree with @absolutebl that BL has a useful role in normalization for non-queer audiences who encounter it. I like cheering BL when it does things I think work really well, and also deriding it when I think it does things that are offensive to help nudge the genre and offer my perspective as a gay man.

I like the place we're at right now where there's way too much to watch for any person with other hobbies and responsibilities because it means that people can pick and choose what's to their tastes.

More often than not, I'm probably most-invested in something airing from Japan because of my melancholy nature, but there's so much variety these days that it's okay if you don't like everything. I certainly don't!

I'm glad you joined us on Tumblr and look forward to your thoughts!

[greatwyrmgold]

When was the first 3D video game published? Trick question, this is a post about how "3D video game" is a meaningless phrase.

In 1984, King's Quest: Quest for the Crown was published. King's Quest was marketed as a "3-D Animated Adventure," even though it looked like this:

At first glance, it looks like any other low-resolution 16-color adventure game of the pre-EGA era. But it has one revolutionary feature that sets it a step above its peers: You can walk behind things.

To be clear, that's basically it. There's not even sprite scaling or anything; King Graham is the same size whether he's close to the "camera" or not. Modern gamers would probably find it a bit ridiculous to say this game has a "camera" at all. But you can walk around in that green field, and you can go behind the tree or the castle tower, and those things would hide the part of Graham's sprite behind them—and you could also walk in front of them!

Well, if you didn't fall off the bridge. Why did Roberta Williams never put handrails on those things?

Anyways, the next game I'm going to mention is Wolfenstein 3D (1992), another game which marketed itself on cutting-edge 3-D technology.

You can see a lot of graphical improvement between these two games set in castles, and not just because Wolfenstein has thrice the resolution and 16 times the colors. The sprites can be scaled with their distance from the camera, for instance, and the backgrounds aren't static flat planes. They're dynamic flat planes, capable of warping as your angle to the wall changes.

In some ways, this is as great a leap over King's Quest as King's Quest is over Zork, or at least Mystery House. But is it really 3D? It's still just a bunch of distorted 2D sprites being drawn to the screen. There's nothing really 3D going on in the computer. It's no Super Mario 64 (1996).

SM64 is among the first popular "real 3D" games, with models and polygons and stuff. And it is, again, a great leap above Wolfenstein 3D. It doesn't distort 2D sprites to mimic 3D shapes; it shapes 2D textures around 3D models. Totally different! It has polygons and stuff!

Now, I'm not 100% sarcastic about that. There are some technical differences between how SM64 handles its textures and how Wolfenstein and other Id shooters handle their sprites. But those differences aren't so much "doing something completely different" as they are "doing the same thing with fewer limitations".

And it would be absurd to claim that Wolfenstein graphics have more in common with KQ1 than with SM64. It would be even more absurd to say that SM64 has less in common with W3D than it does with older and newer titles using what people commonly consider 3D technology.

On the left we have Battlezone (1980), an arcade title which predates KQ1 as much as W3D predates SM64. It has little in common with Wolfenstein's graphics, not needing to distort any kind of 2D image file to mimic 3D, because it's just wireframes.

From a graphical perspective, it has more in common with KQ1 than W3D; both use vector graphics. (Bitmap images would take too much storage space for KQ1.) In fact, you could probably make a compelling argument that KQ1 and Battlezone's vector graphics have more in common with each other on a technical level than they do with Wolfenstein's 3D sprites or SM64's 3D models.

And on the right...it's either leaked security cam footage from Area 52, or The Callisto Protocol (2022). I can't explain what separates it graphically from the other games in this post, because there are so many new systems—systems which require specialist graphical engineers to understand, let alone create or use. I could rattle off some technical terms like subsurface scattering and cloth simulations and soft-body deformation, but I don't understand these techniques on anything but the shallowest level, and TCP has elevated them to another level.

I know it sometimes seems like graphical technology stopped having Big Improvements some time around the seventh or eighth console generation, but it kept going. The difference, I'd argue, is that the improvements have been more spread-out, enabled less by advances in hardware technology and more by learning how to use those advances, distributed throughout a hardware generation rather than concentrated at the start.

Anyways. The point I'm trying to make is that modern games make every prior game in this post look ridiculously primitive. SM64 was impressive in its day, but Mario is rendered with less than a thousand triangles, separated into several rigid components. And his face is just a couple dozen flat polygons with a texture printed on them. Even modern indie games often animate eyeballs with more polygons than Mario's entire body, with the eyeball and eyelid and so forth all being separate models with textures and shaders bringing them to life. Giving them more depth.

Making them even more 3D.

There is not a firm line between 2D and 3D. Wolfenstein 3D is more 3D than King's Quest I, and Super Mario 64 is more 3D than either of them, and Skyrim more 3D than that, and The Callisto Protocol more 3D still. If someone dismissed Doom as not being "real 3D," they're drawing an arbitrary distinction around one of many graphical innovations that made gaming graphics incrementally more verisimilitudinous. That's all.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Are there any changes in the adaptations that you liked better than in the book?

I kinda answered this once about how I really enjoyed the Monkey Magic 1998 and how they included Sanzang sneaking out of China to get the scriptures. This actually is more aligned with Sanzang's original journey rather than being similar to Xiyouji the novel. I thought this made Sanzang far more exciting as it gave him an in-depth look at how much he is willing to put his life and reputation on the line for the sake of these scriptures. It also makes sense that Sanzang doesn't want to get in trouble with any law if he is reported to the Tang Empire and deported back. It makes the stakes even higher for me as Sanzang is trying to keep three god-powered demon hunters in line.

I also really loved Bajie's backstory change in the 1996 series, where his punishment isn't that he was reborn as a pig but actually goes through 1000 heartbreaks, only to live through 501 of them and Guanyin saving him from the rest of the 499. I thought it made his vice of how easily and how deeply he falls in love shows the danger in how he can't control himself and just throws himself headfirst into any romance without forethought. The 1996 doesn't make love or romance a bad thing but rather gives a great insight into what you lose if you keep trying to chase happiness in other people when the only happiness you can attain is one that is found within yourself. Also I love the Sanzang of that series, as it was clear that he valued ALL life, yaogaui or human, making it fit much better why he wants Wukong to not kill ANYONE even if they could be a demon. Sanzang had that mindset that Wukong SHOULDN'T kill when someone hasn't hurt them... which made the audience question should WUkong punish demon for what they COULD do or must they have to wait for Sanzang to be in danger to really justify fighting them? I thought this made the Sanzang - Wukong fight with White Bone Demon far more interesting as it made the argument more realistic of two people trying to stick to what they believe is right. Wukong protecting Sanzang and Sanzang saving all life, yaoguai or human, has value.

A small detail but in the 1999 series I really enjoy the is that Wukong in the heavens destroyed the Imperial Stables not because of his low rank but because he wasn't really in charge... which is because of his low rank but he was morso made that he wasn't in charge moreso than any title thing. And in that he actually brought his fellow horse stables people to earth where I link to think they became the horn demons that gave him his Great Sage Title.

Also a classic but the 1987 series where they gave Bailong Ma his iconic backstory of his failed romance. This is where I was GASLITE in believing this was canon for YEARS but no it was just the series giving Bailong Ma more screen times where he actually burned down his father's home when he found out his now ex-fiance the Wansheng Princess was CHEATING on him with the Nine Headed Demon. I thought that it gave Bailong Ma at least ONE SCENE that he needed to be more in depth... also Wukong and Bajie being homies in that series and called Nine Heads ugly and how dare he steal their bro's girl. Fantastic arc!

Also any series that makes Wujing a silent genius, I just really like that trope where they show him being both sincere and kind but also he only speaks when he has to. It's not that he doesn't have much to say but when he does talk it always holds value. I see this a lot in actually the Saiyuki video game and Demon Strikes Back movie. It shows to his emotional intelligence and how he understands what is going on but just chooses not to meddle as that is not in his nature. I really like that as it shows his skills in reading people but also his own vices in his inactivity. I'm a big fan of the 1996 Wujing but he played as more of the emotional comfort of the group, the loyal and honest campaign between Bajie's and Wukong's stubborn pride that needed to break the group tension. I feel like there could and should be a perfect blend of these characteristics in a future series.

Honestly, some so many media and adaptions is it kinda hard to think but these are some of my favorite!

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Bowser

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Most of the time, saying a character needs no introduction is a bit of an exaggeration, because there is always the chance, however slim, that someone has not heard of that character. That’s not the case here, though; you could go to the deepest, most isolated jungle tribe on Earth, ask the villagers if they’ve heard of Mario, and they’ll all start singing out the Mario theme music. With that in mind, today’s subject absolutely needs no introduction, but out of respect for the King of Koopas I’ll give him one anyway: This is Bowser.

Bowser is not simply a video game villain. Bowser is THE video game villain. Like Mario, Peach, and Luigi, this big old turtle is pretty much a household name, loved far and wide for his iconic design, simple yet effective boss battles, and his inexplicable yet somehow still understandable sexiness. The question is, can I make it through this review without making some sort of crude comment about the raw sexuality the King of Koopas exudes? Lets find out!

Motivation/Goals: Bowser from day one has always been a pretty simple man. All he wants in life is those peaches, peaches, peaches… And I mean, really, can you blame him?

Yes, his motivations and goals are pretty simple and shallow, but he always manages to make something as trite as rescuing a damsel in distress fun and refreshing. His strict adherence to basic formula leaves a lot of room for mixing things up though, and this same adherence makes the times when he breaks tradition and does something like fight on Mario’s side all the better. And sometimes it’s clear Bowser just wants to relax and fuck around by karting, playing board games, or competing in some sort of sport.

It’s a fun little twist on that old “Knight rescues a princess from a dragon,” except the dragon is a giant turtle and the knight is an Italian plumber (a more powerful force than any knight could hope to be). Of course, the fact Bowser is incredibly obsessed with a woman despite her wanting nothing to do with him means that Bowser is—you guessed it—a

Performance: Hoo boy, are there a lot of Bowser voice actors.

The cartoons used Harvey Atkins, who delivered a fun and cartoonish take on Bowser; Marc Graue voiced him in Hotel Mario, but this isn’t shocking as he was basically every male character in that game; Peter Cullen technically voiced him from 1996 to 2006 due to archival roars he provided for the 1976 remake of King Kong being repurposed for Bowser’s own roars; Charles Martinet provided his iconic evil laughs for 64; Kenny James is his current voice actor; Jack Black turned in a very against type performance in the Illumination movie; and Dennis Hopper of all people portrayed him in the live action film from the 90s. And these are just the ones I wanted to highlight! There are a few English voice actors I skipped as well as his extensive Japanese voice cast! Here’s the complete list, just so I’m not here all day:

The point I’m trying to make is this: Bowser’s iconic status is completely a group effort, and each of these dudes helped contribute to Bowser’s status in our hearts and minds in their own unique ways.

Final Fate: It really depends on the game or movie or whatever, but he is always defeated by Mario at any rate. Sometimes he’s simply defeated and sent on his way; sometimes he’s captured and imprisoned, like in the animated movie; and sometimes he just fucking dies, like in the live action movie and New Super Mario Bros. Don’t worry, he gets better.

Best Scene: Bowser in the earlier games had rather simple boss fights, though they weren’t completely unmemorable. Still, out of his early days it’s hard to deny his epic battle against Yoshi in the finale of Yoshi’s Island, where his child self is grown to gargantuan size and ominously lumbers towards you from the background while a hardcore boss tune blasts through your speakers, is the peak of his NES/SNES days.

Then we have his early forays into 3D, and it’s inarguable that the boss fights he has against Mario in the timeless classic Super Mario 64 are some of his best, even if they are rather simplistic. I mean, this is where we got “So long, Gay Bowser!” from, can you really deny its place in Mario history? And those are just a couple! We could probably sit here all day talking about his great battles in games like Odyssey, New Super Mario Bros, Galaxy, and so on.

Bowser’s most impressive showing outside of the games is The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The initial teaser for the film, which showcased his opening fight against the penguin kingdom, really helps establish Bowser as the threat he is, and the final battle and the wedding scene in the movie are some of his greatest villain moments to date. But I’m going to be cliché and give the spotlight to his villain song, “Peaches.”

Here’s the thing, though: As a song, “Peaches” kind of sucks. It’s just Jack Black saying “Peaches” fifty times in a row and then making Jack Black noises. But that’s also what makes it so genuinely great; in the hands of a lesser actor/musician, this really would just be the dumbest shit imaginable, but in the hamtastic hands of Jack Black the song has become an instant legend. I think the visuals and the beautiful piano playing really help, not to mention the official music video where JB dresses up as Bowser and tosses peaches around. Lyrically it’s nothing to write home about, but man does the performance really sell it.

Oh yeah and there’s this too:

Final Thoughts & Score

It is near impossible to overstate how iconic, important, and downright awesome Bowser is.

Like, this guy is the final boss. He pretty much codified what that means in terms of video games, being one of the first iconic big bads of gaming and the first adversary a lot of gamers fought. It’s kind of hard to believe today, but the original Mario games were genuinely some of the most groundbreaking games of all time, and the only reason it’s hard to believe is because video games have been building off the groundwork they laid down back in the 80s. Bowser is no exception; every single video game villain, especially platformer villains, owes a debt of gratitude to the king of the Koopas.

I think part of the reason Bowser has managed to survive and thrive through console generation after console generation is because he, much like the rest of the core Mario cast, is extremely versatile as a character and can slip into any situation with relative ease. He can be an evil overlord, a bratty child, a loving father, a kart racer, an Olympic champion, a platform fighter combatant, the owner of a Coney Island disco palace, a giant skeleton, a board game player, it doesn’t matter! Bowser can do it all! He can be a goofy, bumbling comedy villain or he can be a galaxy-destroying threat that would make Thanos shit himself, he has range like you wouldn’t believe!

It helps that both times he has shown up in a movie he has managed to be a scene-stealing smorgasbord of ham and cheese. Dennis Hopper’s madcap, in-it-for-the-money-but-not-half-assing-it performance in the live action film is so delightfully over the top that he manages to make the mere act of saying “Monkey” and “Bob-Omb” memorable and meme-worthy. While he’s a bit far off from what you’d totally want from Bowser, and his saurian form gets relegated to a two second cameo before his death, it’s hard for me to really give him less than a solid 7/10. He’s just too damn fun.

Meanwhile, Jack Black delivered a performance so good that it makes it easy to overlook the many problems the movie has (like its terrible needle drops). He’s just so fun, funny, and even genuinely intimidating, perfectly mixing all of the traits that make people love Bowser into one big, juicy package. I think everyone knew this was going to be a 10/10 performance right from the moment it was announced, but still it was pretty impressive just how well Black was able to slip into Bowser to the point he was almost unrecognizable at times.

No one would argue that Bowser deserves less than an 11/10; he is genuinely one of the single most important characters of the 21st century, and has made a mark on gaming that very few villains could match. He is to final bosses what Dracula is to vampires, what the Wicked Witch is to witches, and what Fu Manchu is to racist caricatures of Asian people. Other villains have more depth and complexity than Bowser, but that doesn’t really matter when he kidnaps Peach for the thousandth time and throws an army of freaky mushroom men and crazy turtles at you, because you’re gonna be there helping Mario stomp those Goombas to get to him. Bowser is just an icon, and his place in video game history is absolutely, utterly gargantuan.

JUST LIKE HIS DICK!

[gren-arlio]

Are all of these gonna be character specialized? Maybe, not sure myself.

Welcome to Episode 6 of (Tottemo) Waku Puyo Extras. (Feat. A lot of Kikimora.)

(Yeah, this time it's not from the Waku Puyo Manga, but from the Totally Puyo Puyo Manga. Or the Tottemo Puyo Puyo Manga, either name works. I swear the Waku in the title is losing more relevance as time goes on.)

Hello, one and all, it's that guy who translates a niche video game here again, and welcome to Part 6 of (Waku) Puyo Extras, the filler section where I ramble about something Puyo related and give some old evidence to back it up. I know I'm a little late, but hey, that's high school for ya.

If you've been keeping up with this filler show of mine, you know that I typically post about a character, have a small video to translate, and...idk something wacky. And today, you'd be a little mistaken. Unfortunately, due to time restraints, I wasn't able to really...do a short video. My apologies. I did say that my schedule would be really messed up due to school, and now I'm finally feeling the effects.

To make up for it, this'll what we cover today:

Some stuff about Kikimora because why not, she's been in so many videos and episodes that she deserves it. I'll speak about things like her origin, Waku Puyo Dungeon: The Video Game, and the Waku Puyo Manga.

Talking about a Disc System Game. At least the one that has Kikimora.

Talk a bit about the Tottemo Puyo Puyo Manga. The thing itself mostly shows odd Puyo SUN characters, so people like Lagnus are there.

From now on, expect a lot more inconsistent posting. Obviously I'll post still, just...not as often. Hope you understand.

With those precautions and tales told, hope you enjoy.

-----

Ah, Kikimora Lore.

You don't exactly expect a lot from this character, and frankly, I don't blame you, but I'm here today to speak about our (probably not) favorite maid in Puyo, Kikimora. If you've seen my posts, you noticed that she appears quite often in translations and random stuff in general, even though she's usually a minor NPC. Won't be covering every game she's in, but I'll mention a couple.

So, what're her origins?

Well, it's not SUN, actually. Surprisingly, it's Madou Monogatari: Michikusa Ibun, released in 1994. Here...she's just kinda an enemy. Nothing more, nothing less. Quite a simple introduction.

Now, we reach the introduction that most people know her for, Puyo Puyo SUN, which was released in 1996. Here, you meet her in Arle's storyline, where she's just cleaning, as per usual. Why outside is anyone's guess, but after seeing Arle walk along the sidewalk, she legitimately sweeps her off the ground, and then runs around with her, who's in shock. I mean, I'd be shocked too.

So, 2 introductions in and she's put...nothing special in these, to be frank. Maybe she really isn't that gre-

Holy shit I'm actually speaking about Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon again.

As the local Waku Puyo guy, fortunately and also unfortunately, there's...actually a good bit to speak about with her, which is fairly surprising.

First, she's in every single route, and you don't exactly fight her. She's an usher who helps guide people around the area and tell them what to do and where to go. Here... she actually does have a good amount of character compared to back then.

(Image of her and the entire map of the game, featured in the games manual.)

Here, she partially retains her cleanliness personality, but she's now awfully kind about it, I'd assume it'd be for professional purposes but still, power to her. She isn't as...angry, as her past self, (I'd count Puyo-N because she did get really upset that Arle called her old.) and even in the Waku Puyo Manga, she's still very much kind to Rulue when she runs into her, merely giving directions of where she saw Satan.

And back to the game itself, she's a little more than just happy and angry, she thankfully unlocked more of the personality skill tree and got the ability to be sad as well. Throughout Schezo's storyline, there's moments in times he calls Kiki useless for not being able to help her, and as anyone would, gets really sad about hearing that, and in some situations, starts to cry, causing Schezo to apologize. It's fairly interesting how they basically gave a character with little screentime back then not only the screentime she got, but to expand on it to feel multilayered as well? Nothing short of impressive.

The final game I wish to cover is a bit of a niche one; Kikimora's Clean-Up.

Usually with Disc System games, there's a good bit to talk about, but unfortunately, this ain't one of the games. The game stars Kikimora, and your goal is to...clean the floors. Simple enough, while having a Pac-Man like feel to it.

There's several floors and the goal is to get all the green, icky stuff out while avoiding enemies. You can launch your broom at them, taking them out, but you won't be able to clean until you get the broom again. Getting hit makes you lose 30 seconds, lose all your time, you lose a life, and if no lives, game over. It's actually more difficult than it seems.

Finally, after a lot of floors and possibly dying, you finally face the final boss of this game: Black Kikimora, who makes the floor dirty.

After beating her, congrats, you've beaten the one game Kikimora is the protagonist in. Give yourself a pat on the back and maybe some lunch.

Unfortunately this game doesn't have much in terms of lore, but it's an enjoyable game nevertheless. Here's a link of some gameplay.

Now how about the Tottemo Puyo Puyo Manga? What is it?

I'm glad you asked. To compensate for being unable to publish a video for y'all, I decided to speak a little bit about this goofy manga. So what's it about?

Unlike the world of Waku Puyo, this doesn't have a full storyline but rather sporadic storylines that have absolutely nothing to do with each other. They're purely on the comedic side. As well, the designs that were chosen, along with the artstyle itself, are based on Puyo SUN, what with how the characters' designs are drawn most notably Arle, Schezo, and Lagnus.

Since the storylines don't connect and are all separate, characters can pop in and out like nothing ever happened, or just...randomly waltz up like Lagnus himself did. (Which I cannot show because 10 image limit.)

Here, featured is Kikimora getting an injury from making a mistake, and Arle heals her before telling to take a break for half the day, SHOCKING Kiki. She starts saying how some areas aren't clean, and Arle volunteers to help, which makes Kiki beyond happy, and leads to us getting Arle in a maid suit trying her best to clean.

Unfortunately, due to that said 10 image limit, I cannot post a lot at once. (Wish it was like 15 instead,) but honestly, I'd recommend it. While you might not understand what's properly going on, (Believe me, I'm there to a point.) the visuals themselves kinda make up for it, and hey, if you do translate them, there's a 90% chance there's an incredibly silly and funny story to go along with it, like Schezo somehow making an amusement park. (My favorite Foreshadowing; The ones in gag mangas.) I'll post a link of some of the books here.

Hopefully this'll suffice. Again, my apologies for not really posting a video, I'll have one done sooner or later (aka about 2 weeks.)

Here's the final 2 images I've been saving up.

(Minor context: Kikimora kinda lured Arle into a job before surprising her with a party.)

With this, that'll be all this time.

See you next time.

[tiny-buzz]

Regis Philbin Teaches Computers In His New Book.

"So the first time I got on the computer, my niece was showing me how to set up an e-mail, back in the 90s, this must have been 1996, 1997. And I thought, great, saves me a stamp. But she said, Uncle Regis, it's so much more than just e-mail. You can look up stock quotes. You can order flowers. You can research the rainforest. So I thought, heck, that's not bad. And I can do all this, through my phone line? She said, just you wait. One day, you won’t even need a phone. She’s always been so sharp, my niece.”

"I remember when I discovered chat rooms. I went in one under my screen name, BIG_PHRANCIS_X, totally pseudonymous, and I thought, wow, this is true freedom. The World Wide Web, at my fingertips, and no expectations, no one knows its me. I can surf anywhere. I can say anything. I had a great discussion with some folks that first time, talking about video games, which was better, the Sega or the Nintendo. I didn’t have an opinion. No idea! Then a man sent me some sexual chats, talking about his power tools and so on, and so I skedaddled.”

“My first webpage I visited was a hoot. The way it worked was, you put in your name at the top, or any name, I suppose, and it generated a fake doctor’s excuse for you. Really outrageous stuff — “acute case of Sunday hangover,” or “Got bit by a llama,” that kind of nonsense. Who comes up with this stuff? I would go to that site, every day for about a month, first thing, right with my morning coffee.”

“Eventually, I went to a second webpage, website, whatever. It was a repository of stories that this man, a European I believe, had written. Long, really detailed fiction, lots of plots, but the general recurring theme was that a woman would end up sitting on him, or rather, the main character, who always seemed to be about the same type of European male, and the woman would use the main character as a chair, of sorts. Sometimes a stool, sometimes a bench. The women varied — tall, short, mean, kind, fat, thin, all sorts of women just using this guy as a chair. Sometimes they’d be drinking wine, sometimes reading a book. I didn’t realize it at the time but I think this guy really got his jollies from it. I guess that’s one of the purposes of fiction, to let us imagine the world as it could be, and this guy, I guess, he just wished he had been born as a chair.”

“Eventually I started racking up the pages. Dozens of web pages, hundreds even. I ordered more flowers, that first year, than Joy knew what to do with. “Reg,” she’d say, “more flowers?!” hollering back to the computer room whenever the delivery guy would show up. I also learned a whole lot about the rain forest, information I still rely on to this day.”

“But then, one night, I couldn’t sleep, and I was up, surfing the web. And I found a new web page I’d never seen before. It was written in riddles, long, recursive sentences, and when I’d go back to read the opening part, I swore it was changing.”

“The topic was vague, hard to understand. It touched on many things — pain, loss, love, triumph, fear, sex, death, the ego, the id — there was embedded music, a haunting leitmotiv played on an electric keyboard — it was a winding narrative, water down an escarpment, and the water came from a machine, an automatic author, a robot of sorts, it seemed mournful, a helper looking for someone it had lost, another script, another automaton, knowing only how to describe the world through its medium, maybe it was telling me the story as I read it.”

“I scrolled, and read, and scrolled, and read, and there, at the bottom of the page, I met God. I could recognize God, as a word, of sorts. God was a series of letter forms, glyphic, immutable, conveying nothing, conveying everything. God was a cursor. God was a scroll bar. God was script that helped track my visit. God was a broken image link. God was the embedded song that played on loop. God was the banner ad, loading at the bottom. God was offering a chance for me to click here for a free iPod, years before the advent of the iPod. God was not dissuading me, God was not encouraging me. I do not know if I have free will, I do not know if I am forsaken. I did not click to try to win that iPod.”

"Do you believe that? Do you believe God is at the bottom of a website? I believed it then, and I still do.”

Regis Weekend Has Been Extended Through Saturday, September 16.

[smash-64]

2022 Game of the Year 1. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Square Enix Nintendo Switch, 2022 (orig. 1999, 1996)

The rumors were circulating for a while, and I honestly didn’t believe that there would ever be a remaster of Chrono Cross. So it was a huge shock to me when it finally, truly came to fruition. I got it on day one, and even ordered the physical version from Play-Asia for the collection. The cover for the Switch version beats the socks off the original PS1 release, imho. Not that the PS1 version is bad, I just think they really outdid themselves with the new art.

Chrono Cross is a masterpiece, and the remaster is giving tons of new people the chance to play it, while keeping true to the original. Character art has been updated, with everyone getting a glow up that stays true to their original design.

3D models also got an upgrade, while still keeping all the original animations and movements. They look clean, bright, and vivid. I was thrilled to see that they kept the original PS1 feel, but made everything clearer. It’s a hard thing to do and many developers feel the need to make something that breaks too far from the original, but Chrono Cross stayed true.

One thing I was most worried about was the background art. Chrono Cross went with an impressionist style when drawing many of the backgrounds, which gave each location a timeless feel. I never cared for impressionist art before playing this game, and I have come to really like it because it is meant to be imprecise and left up to interpretation. As such, it has a sort of timelessness that isn’t tied to the inevitable aging of graphics. However, simple upscaling can give harsh lines where perhaps none existed. There are a few backgrounds in the remaster that suffer this fate, but I find them so few and far-between that it did not affect me in the slightest. Probably the only example I can find of one that stood out was how the railings of the exterior of Fort Dragonia look a little jagged in the remaster. Everything else was very satisfying.

Other backgrounds go full-on sci-fi pulp novel and it’s honestly breathtaking. I showed this one to a coworker and he actually gasped. It sounds a bit goofy, and he’s not a video game fan, but he loves old pulp novels and he thought it was perfect.

I can’t say too much about the combat that hasn’t already been said. I like the element system with its levels and single-use spells. I like the customization. I like the tiers of attack strengths. And I love the animations. It’s a great battle system, with really the only downside being that maybe it’s a bit easy, especially in New Game+.

The cast of characters is unwieldy and some suffer because of it, with very little development for them. However, you can mostly overlook adding characters to your party, should you choose to do so. There are a few tied directly to the storyline, and you’ll have to use them, so you’ll never be short on characters. Additionally, you can seek out lots of characters just for fun. My personal favorites are Starky, Razzly, Kid, and Harle. 

The soundtrack is possibly the best in video game history. From the heart-racing punch of Time’s Scar in the opening sequence (the one single thing that originally interested me in the game), to the smooth, comforting tunes of Arni Village and the sunny, relaxing bounce of Home World, Chrono Cross sets the tone of the early game very well. Your carefree existence will inevitably change as you begin the story, and each new area has a perfectly matched song to go with it. Ghost Ship. Hydra Marshes. Chronopolis. The songs alone will clue you in to what each world looks like and feels like. Finally, the credits song, sometimes called Radical Dreamers and sometimes called Unstolen Jewel, can still bring a tear to my eye even after years of listening to it on repeat. This is a perfect soundtrack. Only one game even comes close in my mind, and composer Yasunori Mitsuda also worked on that one.

Finally, this special edition of Chrono Cross comes with the Japan only game that eventually became Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers. It’s a text-based adventure game that shares a few characters with its eventual final version, as well as a few locations and songs. I think I prefer the final versions of all of the songs, but it’s great to hear them in their Super Famicom, proto-versions. It’s hard to really rate this game because it was essentially just a DLC game available exclusively on the Satellaview, an Internet-enabled Super Famicom add-on (yes, in the mid-90s), but for what it is, it is filled with charm. Kid is at her snarky, thieving best in this game and it’s definitely a must play if you enjoy Chrono Cross. 

Chrono Cross was the game that won me over to JRPGs as a genre; I still remember @boner-taunt​ in disbelief when I told him I was playing it. Replaying it in glorious HD was the highlight of my video game experience in 2022.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT 01

Well, here we are.  I’m doing (ugh) GT. 

Some Dragon Ball fans really enjoy GT.  I want to make it clear that I am not one of them.  I really don’t like Dragon Ball GT.  At all.   I don’t want to belabor the point, but I feel like I need to make this clear up front, just in case there’s any GT likers who might get the wrong idea.

I watched it back when it first aired on Cartoon Network in 2005, and I watched it on DVD in 2013 because I had never seen the first 15 episodes (more on that later).  This will be the first time I’ve watched it in Japanese.  I have given this show plenty of chances, and I don’t think this third go-round is likely to win me over.  So I’m probably going to have a lot of unkind things to say about this show. If that bothers you, then this is your chance to scroll down or hit the back button, or whatever it is you kids do on your fancy computers.

Part of the reason I’ve held off on this for so long is that I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to hatewatch a show in this day and age.  That used to be a common thing on the internet in the mid-2000′s, what with all the Nostalgia Critics and Angry Video Game Nerds and Furious Film Guys and the Movie Stabbers and the Cinema Insulters.   Now, it’s become a sad joke.  I’d have to do a whole transformation sequence where I put on a hat and fedora and strap toy guns to my belt so I can sit down to explain why this 27 year-old cartoon fills me with rage.  I’m already using Tumblr in 2023, so I can’t afford to fall any further behind the times.

So I’ve got a few special features that I’ve come up with to help keep this experience fresh.  We’ll just have to see how it goes, but no matter what happens, I want you to remember that I really do despise GT.  It’s just wall-to-wall crap.  Let’s-a go.

GT Stands for “Goku’s Twelve.”

So let’s set the stage here.  The final chapter of the Dragon Ball manga was published on May 23, 1995.  This was adapted into the final episode of the Dragon Ball Z anime, which aired on January 31, 1996.  So I assume during that eight month period, Toei and Shueisha had to decide what to do next.  Dragon Ball had been airing on Fuji TV at 7:30PM for years, and it was a hit.  It could continue to be a hit, except there was no new manga chapters to adapt into new episodes.  Toei surely wanted to hang on to that lucrative time slot, but there was no guarentee that another series would maintain the same ratings success. 

The solution, it seems, was to just keep Dragon Ball going without the manga.  This was nothing new for Toei, since the studio had struggled to balance the pace of the manga with their need to provide new episodes of the anime for the network.   This was where all the “filler” episodes come from.  Every so often, Toei would pad things out by making entire episodes of original story to keep the series going until the manga could “catch up”.  This is why the Namek/Frieza saga was so long, when it was fairly brisk in the comics. 

Filler episodes of Dragon Ball have been a mixed bag.  Some are genuine classics, but for every Driving School episode, there’s a Garlic Junior Saga that gets reviled by the fanbase.  Personally, I’m fond of the episodes about Goku’s training journey before the 22nd World Tournament, and the Otherworld Tournament in DBZ 195-199 is awesome.  But there are a lot of stinkers.  Even so, the basic idea of an all-filler Dragon Ball anime probably didn’t seem too far-fetched in 1996.   And so Dragon Ball GT premiered on February 7, 1996, the week after the final episode of DBZ. 

Things start out promising enough.  In the final episode of DBZ, Goku takes Uub on as his student, and promises to train him for a few years until he’s strong enough to take over as the Earth’s protector.  As the episode ends, Goku admits that his ulterior motive is to make Uub strong enough that they can have an epic one-on-one battle.  GT Episode 1 starts off with Goku and Uub having that battle.  So far, so good.

For some reason, they chose to do this inside Kami’s Lookout.  Not the palace on top of the platform, but underneath the platform.  Their battle nearly wrecks the whole thing, but Dende insists that this was the only way to do it.  Apparently  he and Popo reinforced the structure for this battle, because it was safer than having them fight out in the open, which could have damaged the planet.  Okay?

But the four of them aren’t alone on the Lookout, as a mysterious intruder has arrived to rob the place.

Turns out, it’s the Pilaf Gang, last seen wayyyyy back in a filler arc near the end of the Piccolo Junior Saga.  Before that, their last manga appearance was when King Piccolo chucked them off of their own airship.  But they’re still in the game, despite looking absolutely miserable.  Pilaf doesn’t look too bad except for his teeth, and I’ll tell you what, GT Mai’s holding up pretty well from where I’m sitting.  But Shu?  Damn, Shu looks like he longs for sweet embrace of death. 

Anyway, the Goku/Uub match makes the perfect diversion to allow Pilaf to sneak into the Lookout Palace and find the treasure he’s looking for, which is a set of Dragon Balls.  Not the ones we’re used to seeing, but an older set with black stars instead of red.  According to Pilaf, this was the first set of Dragon Balls created by Kami before he became Kami.  That is to say, back when he was the Nameless Namek, before he separated into Kami and Piccolo. 

In other words, these Dragon Balls ought to be more powerful than the ones we’re more familiar with, because they were created back when the Nameless Namekian was more powerful.  Presumably, the Black Star Dragon Balls would have lost their power after Kami and Piccolo separated, but Kami must have put the inert stones in this storage room and forgot about them.  When Kami and Piccolo recombined in DBZ Episode 141, the Black Star Dragon Balls would have reactivated, but no one would have noticed, because they were stuck in this closet the whole time.   And I suppose Piccolo never remembered them either.

So that all checks out, but I still have two major questions, which we’ll talk about in my new segment:

✨”Good” “Ideas”, Poorly Executed✨

So the main defense I see of GT is that, sure, it was a flawed production, but it had some good ideas, even if they were poorly executed.  I’m going to contest that notion by picking out the “best” “idea” in each episode and questioning whether it was actually “good” or even an “idea”. This time around, it’s the Black Star Dragon Balls.  On paper, a set of defective, overpowered Dragon Balls might be worthwhile, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.  The Nameless Namekian made this set first, then boxed them up and forgot about them?  That’s a hell of an oversight.  But even setting that aside, the idea in this episode is that Pilaf, the very first Dragon Ball villain, could find these things and start the chain of events that sets GT into motion.  That’s not a good idea at all, because it’s implausible.

First of all, how in the hell did Pilaf find out about any of this?  He has a throwaway line about “research”, but what could that even mean?  You don’t just go to the library and look up a book about forgotten Dragon Balls.  The Nameless Namekian didn’t write an autobiography.  Most people on Earth don’t even know the Lookout exists.  Hell, most people don’t know anything about the regular Dragon Balls.

Maybe he consulted a fortuneteller?  Pact with Satan?  Not Mr. Satan I mean the devil.  Not Spike the Devil Man, I mean the.... never mind.  

Okay, second question: Why does Pilaf need the Black Star Dragon Balls in particular?  This scene is set up as though he can’t get the regular Dragon Balls, or he has some wish that only this more powerful set could grant.  But no, he just wants to make the same wish for world domination.   So what’s stopping him from gathering the usual Dragon Balls?  I know he hasn’t had much luck with it, but what makes him think this route will be any easier?

Also, while I’m thinking about it, why didn’t the Black Star Dragon Balls show up on the Dragon Radar before?  If they really did reactivate in DBZ #141, then they’ve been sitting here for about 22 years, giving off the same signal as the other seven.  Bulma would get out her radar and find fourteen blips, with seven on the Lookout. 

Oh, and why are they lying in a pot full of skeletons?   I guess what I’m trying to say is that this whole premise is dumb as hell.

The showrunners put zero thought into any of this.  They just thought new Dragon Balls would be cool and handwaved the various reasons why this would have come up before now.  It’s a stupid, stupid thing, and the worst part is that Toei basically admits it, because they abandoned the concept about halfway into the series.

Back outside, Goku and Uub finish their fight, and Dende heals them up.  He assumes this was Uub’s graduation from Goku’s training, but Goku isn’t that formal about it.  For him, this wasn’t a test, just a friendly contest between two peers, like he dreamed up back in DBZ #291.  Nonetheless, Uub’s training is officially complete, so he says his goodbyes and heads off to check on his brother and sister.  Goku is about to head home as well, since he hasn’t seen his wife in five years. 

Actually, yeah, that line from Goku might explain why this show has some fans confused on the chronology.  I’m pretty sure the dub has a line about this episode taking place ten years after DBZ #291.  In that case, Uub would be 20 years old.  But every source I’ve ever read says that this episode is supposed to be five years after DBZ #291, so Uub should be 15.  It’s kind of hard to tell, since everyone on this show ages so inconsistently.  Is Uub a buff teen or a babyfaced young man?

For the sake of convenience, I’m going to stick to the idea that this is five years after End of Z, so this is Age 789.  Uub is 15, Goku is 52.   Still Goku’s only saying that he hasn’t seen his wife in five years.   That assumes he last saw her in DBZ 291.  But one could argue that he popped into see her two years into Uub’s training, and then this episode takes place five years after that, so this could be Age 791.  Or any year you want after 789.  I guess that’s where Funimation was coming from, setting this in Age 794.

Anyway, before Goku can leave, he notices some funny lights outside, and it’s from Pilaf on the other side of the Lookout trying to summon the Dragon.  And when you use the Black Star Dragon Balls, you get a red version of Shenron who’s much, much bigger than the one we know.   His head is bigger than the entire Lookout. 

Goku finds them and once they each remember the other, Pilaf starts shooting missiles and Goku catches them.  

Then Pilaf gripes that Goku was easier to deal with as a child, and he says that if Goku were a kid again, they would defeat him easily.  And Black Star Shenron just takes that for a wish, apparently, so he grants it.

And then he peaces out and leaves.  Thanks for stopping by, Giant Red Shenron, you big show-ruining dick.

So now Goku is a little kid and Pilaf is completely beaten, because he just wasted his wish on something stupid.  Even if he really wanted Goku to be a little kid again, since when were they able to defeat Kid Goku? 

Anyway, King Kai contacts Goku and he’s shocked, shocked to learn that the Black Star Dragon Balls are still operational.  Apparently he knew about them all along, but he thought they had been disposed of a long time ago.  He tells Goku that the only way to reverse the effects of the wish are to gather the Black Star Dragon Balls and make another wish.  But Mister Popo points out that this won’t be easy, because when the Black Star Dragon Balls are used, they don’t just separate and scatter across the Earth.  No, these balls scatter across the four galaxies of the universe.   Goku decides it’s not worth the trouble, and he’s fine being a kid again. 

So Goku heads home like he planned, only he stops off at a restaurant in the city.   Coincidentally, this is the same town where Pan is on a date.  This boy looks like he’s way too old to be dating a nine year old, but I’ve given up trying to make sense of the character’s ages. 

But there’s a hostage crisis at the bank near the movie theater, so Pan can’t go on her date while this is happening.  Irritated, she takes matters into her own hands and beats up the crooks.   Goku also happens along and tries to intervene, but Pan doesn’t recognize him, and shoos him away.  Also, her date runs away, because I guess he can’t handle the idea of Pan being super strong?  Whatever.

✨ Positivity Page ✨

Yeah, Dragon Ball GT is terrible, but I refuse to wallow in bad vibes.  So I decided to establish this segment, where I would try to find something positive about each episode, so that I can stay positive, like Diamond Dallas Page taught me.  And for this episode, I’m gonna say that it was pretty fun watching Pan clobber these goons and tell Goku to stay back.  I wish we got to see more asskicker Pan, but at least we got this. SELF HIGH FIVE.

We spend a big chunk of this episode on this revelation, because Goku doesn’t recognize Pan either, since he’s been away for so long.   Fortunately, Master Roshi happens to show up, and he helps connect the dots.  Wait, why does Pan know who Master Roshi is?  I’m not saying she couldn’t know him, but this is just taken as a given.

So Goku returns home and fills in his family.  Pan hates the idea of her grandfather being smaller than her, and Chi-Chi really hates this situation, but while Goku and Gohan talk it out, King Kai contacts them and reveals another bullshit rule about the Black Star Dragon Balls: Once they’re used, you have one year to gather them back to the planet where the wish was made, otherwise, that planet will explode.

So, now that we’ve gone over the whole thing, let’s ask the question:

✨Is it worse than the Roaming Lake?✨

The Roaming Lake is Episode 29 of Dragon Ball, and it is my pick for the worst episode of the original series and Dragon Ball Z.  So if you consider GT to be worse than either DB or DBZ, then it stands to reason that any episode of GT is as bad or worse than Roaming Lake.   And my ruling is....

WORSE.

As nonsensical and dull as “Roaming Lake” is, at least it doesn’t drastically alter the main characters as a cheap stunt, the way this episode does.  And as dumb a concept as the Roaming Lake may be, at least we never had to deal with it again after Episode 29 ended.  And the writers weren’t stupid enough to have it blow up the Earth.

So that’s 1-0 in favor of the Roaming Lake.  Not an auspicious start for GT. 

One last segment before I close this out.   Yes, it’s time for...

✨The Blade Braxton Memorial Haiku*✨

Blade Braxton was a legend in the world of pro wrestling podcasts, and one of his signature skills was his ability to condense the myriad of wrestling news and discourse into a single, digestable poem.   I find that Dragon Ball GT is a huge timesink, and to spare others the hassle of watching every episode, I’ve decided to try to summarize each episode into a concise, soul-cleansing seventeen syllables.  I’ll never approach the sublime talent of Braxton-sensei, but I strive to grow stronger in the attempt.  Here we go.

Ahem.

Here we go.

Black Star Dragon Balls

They'll destroy the Earth next year!

Wish they’d hurry up.

[thislovintime]

Footage from Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees (edited together from the full live concert video available via YouTube). No copyright infringement intended.

“I don’t really have a lot to compare it with, since I didn’t have a normal life going on at the time to which I could refer, but at the time when the Monkees hit, the fame thing was very difficult for me. I thought that kids liked our records and that they came to the shows to hear us play the music. That’s why I go to shows. I couldn’t believe it. I had pathological self value. I really didn’t have a sense of it at all. I didn’t get why. I thought I had been picked almost at random. I didn’t have any sense of myself bringing anything except that character to the Monkees. What I thought they hired me for was that character, and I think to this day that that had a lot to do with it. I didn’t recognize how that sprung forth from whom who I really am. I thought I was faking them out. I thought I was handing them a lie and they were buying the lie — and so how could I value myself? Any time you compliment somebody and they can’t take the compliment, what they’re saying to you is, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ That’s the message that anybody with low self-esteem gives back when somebody compliments them. Which is where I was. All that played into this fame thing. 
And it plays backwards, too. The reason that I got into the fame game was because I didn’t have any sense of value. I thought, ‘Jeez, if I can get the millions to love me then I’ll be all right.’ I got the millions to love me — and it still wasn’t all right. What a surprise. Ha, ha, ha.” - Peter Tork, Toxic Fame: Celebrities Speak on Stardom (1996) (x) [screenshots from this footage have been posted on this blog in the past]

[smartgirl1970]

Digital Essay on my Technology Literacy (Class Assignment)

Digital Essay on my Technology Literacy (Class Assignment)

In 1981 the IBM Personal Computer model 5150 was released. My parents bought one for my 11th birthday, thinking it would be a great asset for school. I used it as a glorified typewriter. You had to essentially add the programs yourself, and that was not easy to do. I was too young to understand what all the bells and whistles did, and there were not many. The World Wide Web, or WWW, was not introduced until 1989, my freshman year in college (the first go-round).

My first video gaming system was Atari. This came out in 1977. However, I didn’t get one until I was about 10 years old. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t a big gamer. I skipped right over the Nintendo era. My cousins and friends had one, but other than Leapfrog and the first Mario Brothers game, it wasn’t my thing. I wasn’t good at Pac-Man either.

I bought my first cellphone in 1992. It was a Nokia. The first phone bill came in at $289. You got something for 1000 minutes free and were charged .30 cents a minute over that. I understand that in 2023, that may not sound like a lot of money, but in 1992, it took an entire paycheck to pay it. I made $7 an hour, and that was a decent salary working at Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street in New York.

My son was born in 1996, and the world of technology opened new doors for me. I bought him a LeapPad to be used as a learning tool for reading and math. He graduated to every gaming system created from an Xbox to Nintendo. I was introduced to the World Wide Web through social media when Facebook became a thing because I had to monitor his use of this platform. By 2008, my son was in the 7th grade, and I allowed him to interact with his friends on Facebook, but his time was limited, and it was conditional upon him accepting my friend request. My acquired sons (I dislike the word step) were older than him, and they kept me in the loop about how social media worked. Facebook was great for me because it was a link to communicating with my family in New York without having to call all the time. It was great for sharing pictures. Social media has taken a turn, and in some ways its great for activism, in other ways, people are very comfortable being contrary and saying things they would say publicly.

My concern with the development of AI is how easily things can be manipulated. AI’s voice generator can create words that do not come out of someone’s mouth. I see the dangers in that with a political leader’s voice. Manipulating photos can be fun. However, it can also be used to lie about where someone is, what they are doing, and who they are doing it with. Technology is changing rapidly. There isn’t much a robot can’t do. From driving a car without human intervention to soon enough, flying an airplane. My question would be, will there be a time when life imitates art, and we are faced with an iRobot catastrophe.

My technical literacy is almost nonexistent beyond the day-to-day life of social media and basic content creation. As a creative writer, storyteller, and activist, I took this class with the hopes that I will be able to better understand the basics of web design and create more enticing visual content when I use TikTok and other platforms to display my work. I am a Global student, so my entire degree has been online. I graduate in May of 2024!

Over the last year, I have learned to use social media sites like LinkedIn to further my writing presence and create an outlet to network with like-minded people. I am a self-published author on Amazon, and I had to learn how to utilize Canva when creating my book "Journal and Manifest with Your Ancestors." So I consider that to be an incredible success since I created this journal completely on my own. I followed someone on YouTube to learn the ins and outs of utilizing KDP Amazon and Canva.

[godtier]

skull island: rise of kong – apparently no one remembers what games actually looked like back in the fifth gen

so if you do the Vidya Gaems, i'm sure you've already heard of the skull island: rise of kong game that came out last week.

needless to say, it's getting brutalized in reviews and by content creators/streamers, as it should be. it's a shit tier game and looks rushed and buggy as all fuck.

but one thing that i've noticed is people comparing the game to an N64, PS1, or other low-res polygonal game from the 90s/00s... observe:

so on and so-forth...

and it got me thinkin....

"do... do these people not remember what those games actually looked like?"

so out of total boredom and nothing better to, i decided to do a little bit of a "refresher course" on how games from the 90s actually looked compared to the dogwater that is skull island.

"but godtier!" you declare with marked concern, "i'm sure they were just being hyperbolic!"

and while yes, you'd be right to assume such things, i don't actually care because it gives me an excuse to look at old shit i played as a kid.

(also it's reddit and i would not be surprised if most of these weren't jokes.)

but from the informative angle, i have also noticed many, many young people who've never played a 90s/00s game thinking this is a legitimate comparison to make in general. so just think of it as a tour in a museum of graphical advancements.

what's the plan?

my goal here is to illustrate and educate about the generation of consoles that truly changed the way i viewed video games: the fifth gen. for the first time, i realized games could look real. it blew my little mind.

but in hindsight, a lot of these games can look laughable. by contrast, some people seem to misremember just how low res or outright bad the fifth gen of games look compared to now. some people seem to think games like the gollum game and the king kong game (today's specimen) are comparable to PS1 titles with how poor they look graphically.

i'm hoping to shed some light on that for those who didn't experience it themselves or never bothered to look.

how it works

i'll be using side-by-side comparisons with skull island next to whatever game in particular we decide to examine to highlight just how low res the fifth gen of gaming and CGI were compared even the wettest of farts from current gen.

note that since skull island is brand new, getting insanely high-res screens of it is not something i can do easily without buying the game myself. and i sure as shit am not buying a dog garbage game about king-goddamn-kong for 40-fuckin-dollery-dos just to illustrate graphical changes since the 90s and 00s.

instead, i've taken screenshots from YT playthroughs at 1080p. they should suffice.

in addition, i will be using cleaned up/clearer versions of the screenshots from the fifth gen games as opposed to direct rips that i'd come across back in the day. this is for the purpose of showing detail without upscaling too much and blurring everything more.

screens ripped from games in the fifth gen were primarily in 240i. therefore, the image dimensions were largely around 320x240 px on a computer screen. back then, that wasn't an issue since the maximum resolution i ever had in the 90s/00s was 800x600 px. but nowadays, that would look like a blur of mush on most people's screens. of note, i will not be using upscaled or remastered versions of these older games if they have them.

and finally, since this post intro is already really fucking huge and a lot to read through, i will be scooting the actual analysis under a "read more" for the moment. expand the link if you dare.

anyway

let's start with the N64!

part one: THE NINTENDO ULTRA 64

released in 1996, the N64 was a cartridge-based system, for those who don't know. this meant that the loading times were super-fast compared to disc-based systems, but the actual storage on the cart was abysmal.

back then, carts were still using ROM, as opposed to SD flash that you'd see used with a nintendo switch game card. this means there was hardly any room for things like FMV (full-motion video) or even voice tracks.

to compensate, developers had to choose between graphic fidelity or audio fidelity; they could not have both in most cases. textures were downscaled or removed, the resolution was as low as feasible, FMV, in-engine cutscenes, or audio (such things that might have been present in another version of the same game) was removed outright in order to make space on the cart for the game functionality itself.

one game i saw thrown around a lot in comparison to skull island was turok 3. a good lot were saying it looked about the same or worse than turok 3.

but does it really? let's take a look.

round 1: skull island (PC) vs turok 3 (N64)

welp. as we can see, there's really no comparison. skull island's environments, while drab and uninspired for a current-gen title, are wholly and objectively better-looking than turok 3's environments. even the character models are night and day. at least you can see kong's individual fingers, rather than the lumps of flesh they called hands in turok.

it is quite misleading to claim with seriousness that a game like skull island could pass for an N64 title. it could not, not even remotely close.

there's really little else to say about this. the images speak for themselves.

round 1 results: really guys. really.

next, the PS1!

part two: the sony playstation singular ballin

coming out in 1995, we got one of the best-selling consoles of all fuckin time, the playstation. compared to the N64, the PS1 blew it out of the water in every technical field aside from loading times.

graphical fidelity was higher, audio fidelity was higher (actual, literal CD audio on many games compared to the bit-crushed fare on the N64) and storage space was massive for the time. you'd think out of the two contenders so far, the PS1 would have the better shot of looking superior to skull island, right?

well, yes and no. it depends on the era. while most N64 games that were going for realism looked like varying degrees of mush, the PS1's graphical quality varies wildly depending on when during its lifespan the game came out.

since turok 3 came out in 2000 for the N64, i'll pick another game that also came out in 2000 to make sure we're on as even a playing field as possible.

round 2: skull island (PC) vs vagrant story (PS1)

here we can see just from this singular screenshot that vagrant story is absolutely gorgeous for a PS1 game. and i would say that's because it was a game released towards the end of the PS1's original lifespan. devs by 2000 were fairly familiar with working on the hardware, and vagrant story was a squaresoft (now square enix) title, who released a crapload of games on the system. they were one of the developers that really knew how to push the PS1 to the limits of its capabilities.

however, they were still pixelated and blobby when it came to actual character models.

"but godtier!" i hear you howling in despair, "the backgrounds for vagrant story look so much better than kong's crazy island!" and you'd be correct! those backgrounds are banger af.

but the argument to be made in this post isn't "which one actually looks better." the argument is "compared to another game contemporary to the fifth gen of gaming, could skull island feasibly pass for the same gen?"

the answer is no.

round 2 results: skull island could not pass for even the best-looking of PS1 games, sry2say.

part three: 90s CGI horrors

for the next segment, let's also consider the typical CGI of the era. someone mentioned beast wars in my above screenshot, so fuck it, let's use that next!

beast wars was a transformers-universe off-shoot TV show that was entirely CGI. i have very fond memories of the show, but even i know that the way it looks is ... rough. so we're gonna put that to the test: does optimus primal really look better (or at least comparable to) our good pal king kong skull island?

round 3: skull island (PC) vs beast wars (probably silicon graphics computers, idfk it was a TV show)

oof. once again, for as ugly and bad as it is, we can actually see detail on the kong model, as well as light and shadow that the technology used in beast wars couldn't produce in a convincing manner at the time. optimus looks kinda weird, really.

...come to think of it, everyone in beast wars kinda looked... weirdly... wet or otherwise gross in that show.

...anyway!

as badly rendered as kongus dongus is in skull island, i'd say he looks a fair amount better than ... pretty much anyone from beast wars. there really isn't more to it than that; even when the show was new, i knew that beast wars just looked weird.

round 3 result: kong could not blend into a beast wars episode very well or convincingly, even in beast mode.

part four: into the beyond times

so, i think i've fairly made my point about the game not looking like it's from the fifth gen... but what about other gens?

personally, if i had to place bone island: dongus kongus in a particular "vibe" of a game generation, i'd probably slot it somewhere between a wii title and a wii u title. it is definitely higher fidelity than a PS1 or N64, but it has a certain "wii shovelware" aura around it, especially when seen in motion.

let's see if that susses out!

tag-team round: skull island (PC) vs monster hunter tri (wii) & monster hunter 3 ultimate (wii u)

now THIS is interesting!

the original MH3 on the wii definitely looks washed out and faded, certainly low-res compared to skull island. not terribly shocking there, considering the wii's maximum resolution output (on the models that supported it) was 480p (aka: standard definition/DVD quality).

but MH3 ultimate?

i dare say we have a contender here. the models look so much better, the environments are actually comparable in quality to skull island, it's quite uncanny, really. hmm.

...okay, okay. i know i technically said i wouldn't be using upscaled or remastered versions of the games in my comparisons, so in the spirit of fairness, i will also add a surprise third tag-team member into the fray:

surprise match!: kong-dong island (PC) vs xenoblade chronicles x (wii u)

hoo nelly

alright so i am a Certified Wii U Enjoyer ™️ and i know full-well that the system is more than a bit underpowered compared to the other consoles from its gen. its maximum resolution output was 1080p, which was more than sufficient on its own, but it severely lacked the oomph in its components to make good, consistent use out of that. a lot of wii u titles look fine compared to other consoles, and some are even downright gorgeous, but performance was always a bottleneck.

but forgetting about all of that, xenoblade chronicles x just wrecks skull island.

however, we're not done yet. XBCX (or... however y'all abbreviate it) is definitely a better-looking game than skull island, but so was vagrant story. again, the true argument here is "could you feasibly mistake 'skele rock: kong's wild ride' as from the same gen as the game it's being compared to?"

and i think here we have our answer.

take a look at all the other keng kang screenshots from the previous rounds and place them next to the screenshots from the wii u titles. if you had no idea that skull island was released just last week, you cannot tell me in all honesty that you wouldn't think "oh a wii u shovelware game i've never heard of."

if you try to tell me that, you're a liar and should be ashamed.

the environments, the lighting effects, the graphical fidelity, the vibe... it all just looks weirdly familiar. it looks like a mid-to-low tier shovelware crap game that would have come out on the wii u and immediately sold for 20 bux in the budget releases section.

so that being said...

the final verdict: skull island: rise of kong does, in fact, look specifically like a wii u title. we have found its true home at last.

part five: is it over now? (mostly)

whew! what a ride, amirite? now that we've gone through this heinous, completely unnecessary journey, what did we learn? well...

we learned that the fifth gen of consoles was nowhere near as powerful to create the effects and fidelity as seen in skull island.

...and we also learned that just because a game is older and at a lower res than a current-gen game, that doesn't mean the older game is uglier or looks worse.

we learned that people clearly don't remember how the fifth gen varied wildly and was capped at 240i at best, meaning all the games were at low res and blurry af.

...and we also learned that having that nuance is meaningless when it comes to discussing things objectively.

we learned that games that are bad and ugly for current gen can also look better against games that you may have loved as a child.

...and we also learned that pointing out that a shitty game that's buggy af and shouldn't have existed in the first place looks better than your favorite game from your childhood doesn't mean your favorite game from your childhood is bad.

we learned that if you have enough time on your hands and are stubborn enough, you can make an entirely useless post that no one will read because it's too damn long and uninteresting.

...and we also learned that bulleted lists are only useful for text that doesn't overlap into the next line. oops.

anyway, i hope you learned something, even if you didn't ask for it! being that i'm old enough to remember all of the games above when they were announced, i tend to notice when people make dumb-ass claims that don't make sense a lot quicker. some games really did not age well (turok 3) and others still look fantastic to this day (vagrant story). but claiming that a game like skull island is comparable to or worse than something i actually grew up playing is just silly.

probably just as silly as this post, really.

it was just a very bizarre and arguably quick blip in time that i don't think many other people of younger gens really understand when looking at it from the perspective of internet being available 24/7. that simply was not a thing when i was a kid. and going from pixelated games with chiptunes to crash-goddamn-bandicoot was such an abrupt jump in quality that i could honestly write another post about how it felt to experience that all on its own.

but i won't. not yet, anyway...

so that's it! i answered a question nobody asked. do i feel satisfied? no, not really. i mean, if i'm being honest, i feel like i wasted several hours of my life just to prove a point.

so yknow, a normal weekend for me

byebye!

[centrally-unplanned]

This imagine provoked my curiosity as, it couldn't be real right? Hisashi Eguchi never really worked on any Famicon games (he did character designs for one), best I can tell, let alone a much-rarer Famicon Disk System game . And this would be an awful cover for such a game - it lacks a title! Who published it? So this must have been a DIY art project. I couldn't find its source, but I did find an instagram post quoting a seemingly lost reddit post that says outright it was a "video game that never existed". It is a real game cartridge though:

I wanted to discover where the image itself came from, but alas I failed. There is a lot of Eguchi art out there, but by no means has all of it been publically digitized; I think it is real, looks like his style, and I presume it is cut out from a magazine of some kind given the paper quality.

The other reason I couldn't find the source is that this image itself is now its own source - it has been copied dozens of times for primarily lo fi and citypop music groups all over Bandcamp, Soundcloud, etc. Which you can tell because they all have the little plastic dimple from the famicon case, even if the case itself has been edited out. Love this guy who just committed to the entire bit

Though for a fun tangent, while searching for games it might possibly be related to I did discover the Eguchi Hisashi CD Museum, made in 1996, with the most incredible "we now have 3D computer graphics and there is literally no excuse we will not use to play with them" energy you can imagine:

You walk around a museum of his works, there is a secretary who gives you hints about "hidden art" who you also grope thanks for that Japan, there is a paired art-music jukebox machine, and more. It is pretty trippy, you can play it via the link above if this kind of grunge is your thing.

No, the two swimsuit girls aren't in the museum. I looked. I am as disappointed as you are.

Famicom Disk System

Artist - Hisashi Eguchi  江口 寿史

[bellmo15-blog]

The Rise and Fall of BellmoTheGreat

Bellmo The Great. Once a well loved and respected figure online, now one of the most notorious criminals on this platform with very few still watching him. But how did this simple man go from normal content to most notorious man on the internet? Let us dive in as we analyse the rise and fall of BellmoTheGreat.

BUT before we do, I’d like to thank todays sponsor of this video AFK Journey. The newest hit game you have probably seen tons of adds on Youtube before a video starts anyway have been kind enough to sponsor this video. I mean I’ve never played the game myself, probably never will, but they are paying me a lot of money to get you all to go try it. And if you use my creator code RoodakaInBionicle3DidNothingWrong you will get… something, again I’m only being paid to promote this game and will probably never actually play it for myself but still, I need this ad revenue so protect your internet privacy today… Wait that’s not what AFK Journey is?

Born in 1996 in a hospital in some city in Victoria Australia BellmoTheGreat spend much of his childhood going to school and playing video games and school and more games and family stuff and just in general a lot of un-interesting stuff I’m obligated to talk about anyway. He was a pretty un-known person on the internet for a long time. Until that fateful year of 2014 when he decided to create a DeviantArt account.

He began life on this account uploading pics he drew using premade bases of his Brony Persona. These works garnered relative popularity especially due to Bellmo being pretty involved in the brony community. And he would continue to do this for several years. However, after a while he stopped! At some point in 2018 he quit doing stuff with premade bases and his last pony sona related pic was uploaded on February 12th, 2018. When asked about why in interviews he responded with…

“Wait, you set up this whole interview just for that? When you could of just DMed me? Dude, there’s no deeper reason as to why I stopped, I just fell out of wanting to do stuff premade bases. I never fell out of the show, I just fell out of wanting to continue making this particular stuff… Oh my God, are you really writing down everything I’m saying?”

This end of his pony era would then mark the beginning of a new era. Before this final pic he would get his first ever commission in 2017 of his new human OC Mikaela in the coils of the Pokemon Milotic. And then, the snowball of paying other people to draw for him continued. With more OC’s and more pics coupled with pics of non-OC characters and all were of human looking character compared to the ponies he was doing stuff with before hand. Despite this, his reputation would not faulter. In fact, he gained even more of a following than he did in the past with these comms. And he would enjoy relative success for a few years longer with his content ranging from stuff involving hypnosis, coils, latex and all other strange interests he has.

However, it wasn’t until one day his true downfall would come! As one day, while he was out with a personal friend of his for lunch a once follower of Bellmo’s was  tailing him with a recording device and recorded THIS chilling conversation! Viewer discretion is advised, some might find this disturbing!

Bellmo: “… So, would it be a hot take if I said that I thought the Gamecube wasn’t as perfect as everyone makes it out to be?”

Friend: “Umm, yeah! That is like the hottest take you could ever say right now when everyone freaking loves that thing!”

Bellmo: “Not surprised. I mean like obviously I’m not calling it overrated because I DON’T think that and I absolutely hate that phrase to begin with but I still feel like people REALLY love over selling this thing and it’s games.”

Friend: “I mean to be fair the games are actually pretty good thought.”

Bellmo: “Yeah I am not denying that at all and they are great games but I’d hardly call them perfect either. Nothing is really. Super Mario Sunshine has physics so awful I’m actually amazed anyone was able to beat this game as a child, sailing the Great Sea in Zelda Wind Waker is nowhere near as fun as exploring Hyrule Field for me personally, Super Smash Bros Melee is considered the best in the series yet only two characters in the whole thing are ever played and they are only the best because of broken mechanics, F-Zero GX goes WAY to overboard with the difficulty, Pikmin’s product placement in the original release was so awkward it made me question if this whole thing was originally intended as an advertisement, in fact the only Gamecube era game I can say I really love is Zelda Twilight Princess but even then that’s more from me growing up with the Wii version and not the Gamecube one. Oh, and there’s also the fact that the Gamecube houses the worst version of Metal Gear Solid 1 which doesn’t help it’s case.”

Friend: “Doesn’t the Playstation 2 also house a weaker version of Resident Evil 4?”

Bellmo: “Yeah but at least that version was just a port and wasn’t a from the ground up remake that went to far in a few places.”

Friend: “Heh, true. Hey, let’s just be grateful were not having this conversation online because people would have a melt down over this!”

Bellmo: “Hey, if they got upset at me for a simple opinion then that says a lot more about them than it does me!”

Once this conversation was recorded the once fan of Bellmo’s got home and uploaded it for all to hear. And only a second after it did it went viral. Bellmo would soon become the target for many news outlets and social media backlash. Including none other than Pyrocynical making a video about it.

“Now, you all know I don’t really care about this petty small dick energy level drama BUT FUCK IT! THAT’S ALL ANYONE CARES ABOUT ANYWAY SO I’M GONNA TALK ABOUT IT!”

Some even looked into his past and saw some stuff truly disturbing. His first ever video game console was a PlayStation 2. And since then, he was gone on to own a PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and even a PlayStation 5. When these details went public, he was then outed as a PlayStation fanboy and soon his follower count dropped even lower than ever before. Eventually Bellmo would come out about the incident a few days later on his socials. And what he said in response was…

“Okay first of, please don’t stalk me like that out in public! It’s creepy and I have a life outside this account people. That is a good way to make someone scared to leave their house. Second, I grew up with a Gameboy Advanced alongside my PlayStation 2 in the early 2000’s, many of my favourite games from the late 2000’s were Wii exclusives, I have both a DS Lite AND a DSi on top of the 3DS being one of my favourite handhelds, I got a Wii U only a few days after its launch and also a Nintendo Switch a few days after its launch. In fact, for a while I would often buy the Switch versions of games I already had anyway just because “Portability.” Not to mention one of my favourite franchises ever began life on the Gameboy Colour. How in God’s name am I a ‘PlayStation fanboy?’”

Despite his words, Bellmo’s attempt to correct the situation fell on deff ears and it was instead seen as nothing more than damage control to gain followers back. But the general public was  not having it. He lost ALL his followers and respect with his watcher count being dropped to -1 and it was mainly dropped to that number specifically because of a glitch. Not even the general public was having it as seen by this clip of him trying to buy a used game as a used game store.

Bellmo: “Yeah hi, I’m looking for a copy of Grand Theft Auto Vice City please? The copy I’ve had since childhood barley works and is damaged beyond repair and I REALLY need a replacement thanks.”

Store Clerck: “Hmm, yes. And I’m guessing that will be for PlayStation 2 right?”

Bellmo: “Umm, yeah thanks. My original copy was the PS2 version, the PlayStation 2 is one of my favourite systems of all time and…”

Store Clerck: “Not even willing to give the Gamecube version a chance?”

Bellmo: “Excuse me? Vice City was never even released on Gamecube.”

Store Clerck: “Oh but then again you probably won’t want to buy ANY Gamecube game anyway!”

Bellmo: “I mean, have you seen how expensive some of those games are? Honestly, even as someone who loves collecting physical media those games it’s honestly just easier to emulate them than blow over $100 or more on a 20+ year old game.”

Store Clerck: “So you’re a pirate as well!?”

Bellmo: “I’d hardly call it piracy if most of those games aren’t even being officially sold anymore.”

Store Clerck: “I’M SELLING THEM!”

Bellmo: “Yeah, and none of that money is going to the original creators anyway.”

Store Clerck: “Oh but you WILL buy used PS2 games though won’t you!?”

Bellmo: “Yeah, because they (most of the time) are way more affordable.”

Store Clerck: “Just say you hate the Gamecube mate, it’s not that hard!”

Bellmo: “Dude, I just want to buy a copy Vice City to replace my old broken one and go home please.”

Store Clerck: “Say it!”

Bellmo: “Oh fuck this, I’m going home and playing the PC version.”

Truly a terrible display.

So where is BellmoTheGreat now? Well, he has a stable job and good friends and is going by his day-to-day life drama free… Wait, that’s not how these things usually end! Who wrote this!? Isn’t he meant to be in jail or homeless or something!?!? Guys, seriously! This isn’t meant to have a happy ending! He needs to be down on his luck! There is no happy ending for those on the receiving end of drama!!!

[dangeroustimemachinehologram]

Resident Evil 7:Biohazard and Resident Evil Village reviews

 Resident Evil 7:Biohazard

The sixth installment of Resident Evil, although it earned Capcom a lot of money, showed that the formula invented on the occasion of the revolutionary "four" has burned out and the series needs changes.

For twenty years, Resident Evil remains the strongest brand in the yellow-blue portfolio, but its history can be reduced to three specific titles. Released in 1996, the original set the standard for console survival horror for years, the "four" released eight years later popularized the view over the shoulder and turned the series into - as the creators themselves described it - an action horror movie. The final collapse of the series came in 2012, when Resident Evil 6 was released, which, although sold very well, rejected the lion's share of fans. The incredible scale of the events, powerful melee attacks, the gameplay focused on pure destruction, a huge amount of QTE sequences, a terrible script or terrible cutscenes staggering between the convention of romantic realism and anime poetics, left an unequivocally negative impression. Correct interquels in the form of the handheld Revelations and its solid continuation still drew more from the newer installments of the series than the classics, which fortunately the publisher decided to remind us of, spitting out reissues of the excellent REmake and RE 0, available only for Nintendo consoles for years. Putting the "six" and the remake of the original side by side, you can clearly see how much the authors have deviated from the original assumptions of the cycle. Here a revolution was needed, which had to be accomplished, even at the cost of worse financial results. Capcom had the courage to do so.

Richard Pearsey, the creator of the script for the memorable Spec Ops: The Line, is responsible for the script of Resident Evil 7. For the first time in the history of the series, the storyline for the canonical version of the saga is not the responsibility of the Japanese, which - bearing in mind the last few episodes full of kitsch and trash - was a great move already in the initial development phase. After watching the end credits, I can say that it was a bull's eye. The action of the game takes place four years after the events of the "six", although the knowledge of the series is irrelevant, because in the field of scenario the newest part almost completely separates from its heritage. As an ordinary middle-aged guy, Ethan Winters, we receive a video message from Mia, the main character's wife, who has been dead for over three years. The woman informs her husband that she is at the Baker's plantation in Dulvey, Louisiana, but also asks him not to come for her. The protagonist, wanting to find out the truth about the disappearance of his spouse, moves to the address indicated. On the spot, it turns out that the Bakers are completely crazy, but inexplicable things are happening in their ruined household.

Capcom made the game at a cost, and the entire experience was developed with virtual reality in mind, resulting in shallower gameplay. It's not true. The latest episode is an intelligent, classic survival horror, which is what every iteration of Resident Evil should be. We have here most of the elements for which we fell in love with the cycle years ago. The need for wise inventory management, saving ammunition, a manual save system, puzzles that require perceptiveness, the ability to "play" opponents, memorable battles with bosses, various endings or an additional challenge level, and fresh poppers unlock after completing the adventure.

Despite the change to the first-person perspective or the resignation from many stationary points of view, the "seven" is played similarly to the classic versions of the PSone and GameCube era. We traverse a huge plantation, including a mansion resembling Spencer's house, exploring the environment in search of the items necessary to push the action forward. Importantly, the authors managed to differentiate the "problems" encountered by the protagonist so much that the scheme "find the key/card to the next door", which he could wear out even in the excellent Alien: Isolation, does not apply here. It is worth looking into every nook and cranny, as it may turn out that we have just discovered a shortcut to an important location. Level-design, as in the classic trilogy, Code: Veronica X or Zero, is the highest shelf. However, what you will be looking for with the most persistence will be weapons, ammunition and green plants.

In the game, you will not meet zombies or other mutated mammals. The standard adversary we see most often is the mold-covered creature, which comes in several varieties and looks a bit like the Ooze mutants from the first REvelations. Clashes with them raise adrenaline both in the first part of the game, when we only have a gun, and later, when they attack in groups. Unfortunately, they are not able to overcome ordinary doors, as long as we close them behind us, so it is relatively easy to outmaneuver them. With time, they make up for the lack of forceful arguments in numbers, but then we already have a shotgun, magnum, flamethrower or grenade launcher.

The authors consistently stick to the goal once chosen, so that survival will accompany us all the time, only occasionally proposing sections on slightly different principles, but even then survival is the number one goal. Then you can see which titles the developers drew their inspiration from, and there are some of them. Several times we are forced to play a game of cat and mouse with an indestructible stalker, which raises the tension in the same way as in the aforementioned Alien: Isolation or horrors from the hide-and-seek subspecies, such as Outlast. In some parts of the game, the game tries to build an atmosphere of fear with the same means as the popular walking simulators like Layers of Fear or the unforgettable P.T., which turns out pretty well. There was also something from The Evil Within, namely traps that one of the characters sets for Ethan. As in the production of Shiji Mikami - the father of Resident Evil - we can save some ammunition by giving the opponent an explosive surprise. There is nothing wrong with peeking at the best, after all the authors were extremely sparing in adding something from themselves.

Is Resident Evil 7 a scare? In a few moments, definitely yes, and in addition, we feel anxious all the time - the greater the less careful we are when using firearms. However, I must admit that something was missing. Do you remember Crimson Heads from the remake of "one" or hard-to-beat Leechman from RE 0? Here, a similar, stressful and unpredictable factor is not implemented. This flaw is partially compensated by the ghostly Bakers, but the encounters with them are scripted, so the tension after such sections evaporates for a long time. The checkpoint system is also a bad idea. Although the game can be saved only with tape recorders, the death of a character does not mean going back to the last save. It is a pity, because the penalty for death is lower, and therefore the player is more willing to risk. After all, this is probably the only element that shows that the producer would like to reach as many players as possible. The lack of components of the last two numbered RE episodes, i.e. cheap gimmicky, Quick Time Events sequences, moments straight from the shooter on rails, or rendered film inserts, makes me very happy.

The plot is at least ten hours of intense survival in the old Japanese style, so it turns out that the authors did not lie, telling in interviews that they are going back to their roots. The manufacturer has definitely abandoned the MT Framework multi-platform engine, developing new technology for Resident Evil 7 - RE Engine. This engine provided the game with high-quality, photorealistic graphics, and some compromises, such as less accurate models of individual elements of the environment or average-quality shadows, compensate for the tricks with lighting and sixty frames per second on all platforms. The creators did not express interest in creating a version for the Switch, although it seems to me that the Nintendo console would bear this title. I have already mentioned great voice-acting, a strong point of the game is also the sound, so important for survival horror. I was impressed by the soundtrack prepared by Akiyuki Morimoto (Lost Planet 2, Resident Evil 6). The musical setting sounds completely different than in the riotous "five" or "six" - here it is very economical, the guitar dominates, and the whole thing perfectly corresponds to the atmosphere of the American province. PlayStation VR owners can play the whole adventure with goggles on their heads, although I did not have and will not have the opportunity to test the reviewed position in virtual reality.

I have respect for Capcom for the fact that in the case of Resident Evil 7 he took up such a project. The "Seven" is less affordable and effective than the latest achievements of the series, so the publisher probably expects worse sales, but sometimes it is worth taking a step back to take two forward. Resident Evil 7 is a successful return of the series to its roots, reconciling the classics with modern solutions. Not everything sounded right, the checkpoint system and scripted clashes with the pursuers dilute the dense atmosphere of terror and hate, and the adventure could take a little longer, but the seventh episode of the famous series should satisfy all fans of survival horror, especially RE fans, who will find a lot of flavors here. or references to old, iconic parts.

Resident Evil Village

"Success is only rented, and the rent has to be paid every day" - this is the maxim repeated by the outstanding football coach Hansi Flick. After completing the latest installment of Resident Evil, I have no doubt that they also adhere to this principle at Capcom.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica X from 2000 has one particular scene within it. Trapped on the island, Claire Redfield discovers a secret passageway leading to the Ashford Mansion. At some point, the camera moves away from the character, and in the background, the player can admire the spooky castle illuminated by lightning. The father of the series, Shinji Mikami, admitted in one of the interviews that the above scene is one of his favorites and best defines what Resident Evil means to him. The creators of the mentioned title from Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 partially abandoned the poetics of American zombie films, instead drawing inspiration from the achievements of European artists.

The authors of the series actually experimented with various sub-genres of horror from the very beginning, although for most players the series was defined by views referring to Hollywood images about the living dead. However, Capcom's games have evolved like a virus over the years, and therefore we received titles maintained in different conventions. European influences were visible to the naked eye in Code: Veronica X or Resident Evil Zero, while the very successful "seven" took full advantage of the achievements of American slashers. Meanwhile, thanks to the reviewed Resident Evil Village, Mikami's dream came true, who wanted to see a game in the poetics of gothic horror.

Although the version in question functions without a number, in fact, Village, is an "eight" cleverly hidden in the game's subtitle. The story is a direct continuation of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, focusing on the fate of Ethan Winters and his family. Three years after the dramatic events in the Baker's household, Ethan and his wife Mia are living a quiet life in Europe. They are happier than ever because their daughter Rosemary was born six months earlier. However, one evening it all ends. Chris Redfield, a former member of the elite S.T.A.R.S. and the legendary BSAA agent, along with his team attacks the Winters family. He kills Mia in front of her husband, kidnaps Rose, and orders Ethan to be imprisoned. A few hours later, the hero wakes up on the road leading to the mountain village ...

An extremely strong and intriguing beginning heralds a ride without handlebars, and it is also true. For obvious reasons, I will not reveal even the smallest script secret, but I will write one thing for sure - the reviewed Resident Evil Village offers the most interesting and simply the best story I have experienced in the series! Virtually everything played here, i.e. a shocking opening, an atmosphere of great mystery, shocking twists, well-written characters, numerous references, and consistency with the Resident Evil universe, there were also surprisingly emotional moments. It is worth noting that although you can watch a short summary of the events from the "seven" before the start of the game, I strongly encourage you to read the title before Village because both items are closely related to each other. More than anyone could imagine.

As in the case of RE7, an English-speaking writer was hired to work on the Resident Evil Village script, which only confirmed my belief that the games in this series are best interpreted by people from the Western cultural circle. It does not change the fact that the Japanese developer has done a fantastic job styling his work into a gothic horror movie. From a spooky atmosphere and a sense of threat, through medieval architecture, the themes of death, madness, or disease, to the creations of antagonists and parenthood as the leitmotif, we will find here everything that an eighteenth-century horror novel should contain. The authors have already proved that they can deftly redefine the well-known horror convention for Resident Evil, but in this case, they went a step further. Anyone who thinks that Village is "from a different story" should definitely finish it first.

The reviewed Resident Evil Village is not only the result of the developer's 25 years of experience but also the result of numerous inspirations from such titles as Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, and The Evil Within. The core of the game is a classic survival horror in a nutshell, i.e. combat and exploration of terrifying scenery, limited range of player avatar movements, the need for wise inventory management, shortage of ammunition or a manual save system. However - due to the development of most known systems and the implementation of themes from other games - the "eight" has its own identity.

Excluding pageviews with numbers 4, 5, and 6, each canonical part of Resident Evil usually offered one main location where the player spent most of the time playing, possibly a few more minor ones. Resident Evil Village is much larger than any episode of the series, offering a partially open field of action. The eponymous village can be safely described as another heroine of the story - dangerous, mysterious, unpredictable, and hiding many secrets. At the very beginning, we only gain access to its central part, where people used to live, but as the game progresses, we visit new locations. The main plot is completely linear, but the Village offers the freedom to perform optional activities and exploration on a scale that we could have previously dreamed of. At the same time, the creators managed to avoid typical side quests such as orders from survivors or courier missions - there is nothing here that would knock you out of the main story.

However, the biggest impression is still made by huge, closed locations. In order not to spoil your fun, I will mention only one, well-known from the promotional materials of the castle, Lady Dimitrescu. The multi-story building is full of hidden rooms, shortcuts, secret passages, and valuable treasures to find. Exploration is then the same as in Spencer's villa from the original or at the police station of the "two", so we are looking for ways to get to the next places and we move forward methodically. The reviewed Resident Evil Village follows the same principle as in every main installment of the series - the more places we visit thoroughly, the better the rewards we get. The Vampire House is just an example of how well the site designers, whose designs are reminiscent of Bloodborne, have done their job well.

In the Resident Evil Village review, I can't help but mention the recurring theme of the indestructible stalker. During the last few parts, we ran away, among others before Jack Baker, Tyrant, or Nemesis, so these mechanics could not be missing also in the "eight". I know that there are people in the room who do not like such a procedure, but my reaction to similar complaints can be reduced to two words - survival horror. The most important feature of this genre is to exert pressure and stress on the player. The stronger the better, hence the popularity of invincible torturers since the times of Nemesis and Pyramid head. In the Village, we will meet several of them - some move freely within a given location, while others attack only in scripted sequences. Traditionally, I will not reveal much, I will only mention one such antagonist, whom everyone who follows the materials from the game has already met.

Alcina Dimitrescu became the face of the promotional campaign of the peer-reviewed Resident Evil Village a little by accident. Internet deviants aside, he is a character as interesting as he is dangerous. A nearly three-meter-tall vampire trapped in the body of a 44-year-old aristocrat will not rest until she interrupts Ethan's search for her daughter. Over time, the death of the hero becomes a personal matter for her, so it is not the epitome of pure antagonism like a dispassionate Tyrant, but it cannot be taken lightly. However, if - like the proud Indian Billy in the Predator movie - you have enough of escaping and decide to face an unequal duel, beware. To sum up, in the subject of adversary-persecutor Village does not add much from itself, rather using the patterns developed in the "seven" and the remake of Resident Evil 2, nevertheless, as a fan of this type of attraction I feel satisfied.

I mentioned numerous inspirations of the creators of the "eight", both with the older installments of the series and other survival horror films. The partially open world reminds me of the great The Evil Within 2, a sensational fragment of the game that could easily play out in the title of the Fatal Frame series, a confrontation with one opponent reminded me of the unforgettable Silent Hills, there was even a pinch of hide-and-seek horror. However, the reviewed Resident Evil Village draws the most from its own heritage, including the iconic "four". As you have already noticed, the discussed item on the one hand expands all the successful elements of the first-person RE7: Biohazard, while borrowing interesting mechanics from other games. The spirit of the controversial Resident Evil 4 also hovers over all of this, which this time does not shift the emphasis towards pure action, but diversifies the Village formula.

Capcom managed to balance all the components of the game, which include exploration, combat and puzzles. I have already written a lot about the first one, and then it is no less interesting. We have an extensive arsenal, which over time includes pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, several types of grenades and other surprises. The combat in Resident Evil Village is fast, intense and rewarding, requiring the player to skillfully use weapons, use the environment and a bit of tactics. Headshots look lush like in RE4, which also borrowed the possibility of barricading in besieged buildings, a system for organizing items in a backpack, and above all, the figure of a trader. Duke shows up in strategic places selling useful items, weapon modifications, lockpicks, and other goods. It also strengthens our character by serving meals, as long as we hunt game beforehand (simple, optional activity). It is especially worth buying schematics that allow you to create first aid kits and shells.

The element in which Resident Evil Village definitely dominates the "four" are puzzles, almost absent in the classic from 2005. Compared to other aspects of the game, this one is the worst, but still at least decent. Simple puzzles appear in the main plot, once even while escaping from a boss, and a few optional ones will test your patience and dexterity. There aren't as many puzzles as in the classic installments of the PlayStation or GameCube era, as it would certainly have a negative impact on the pace of the game. Completing the game on the standard challenge level is about 13-15 hours, depending on how thoroughly we explore the village. There are a total of four difficulty levels, and during the game we unlock internal achievements, for which we get CP points needed for purchases in the main menu. Weapons acquired in this way can be used during subsequent playthroughs, just like in Resident Evil 3.

After completing the adventure, we get access to interesting bonuses. Hundreds of character models and concept sketches are standard for modern installments of the series, but this time the illustrations have been decorated with comments from the creators, which allows you to broaden your knowledge about the events in the game. There are also some behind-the-scenes videos on how the game was made, but I left the best dessert after the campaign main course for last. The Mercenaries mode returns in the reviewed Resident Evil Village! The rules have not changed much since the times of the "four", so our task is to clean the selected set of locations with the best possible score. By collecting yellow crystals, we extend the time limit, and by smashing the blue crystals, we gain a selected gameplay modifier to eliminate enemies even more effectively. A successful mode that effectively extends the life of the product and proves that the "eight" gameplay fits even short, arcade sessions.

The graphic design is a high level of "seven" and other productions on the RE Engine. Although there were some compromises - mainly in terms of the quality of environmental textures, shadows, and dematerializing corpses - given the size of the game world, rich geometry of objects, detailed character models, trace aliasing, and almost no loading screens, the developers working on the Village deserve praise. The animation works in the range between 45 and 60fps, slowing down slightly during spectacular cutscenes, and I did not encounter any major errors while playing. PS5 and Xbox Series X / S owners can count on higher resolution, smoother animation, ray tracing, and - similar to PS4 - HDR.

The sound layer is also a strong point. Putting on the headphones, you can feel like prey in the frosty world of werewolves and vampires, scary howls that can throw shivers down your back. The music track was composed by the veteran of the Shusaku Uchiyama series, who recently signed the 2019 RE2. As the atmosphere in the title is different, the soundtrack for Resident Evil Village is not as bombastic as in the remake of the "two". It seems to me that the composer managed to find a golden mean between minimalist music from RE7 and lofty songs associated with gothic scenery. The voice actors also presented a high level.

I consider the reviewed Resident Evil Village a pearl in the crown of the series, an almost perfect summary of Capcom's activities in the entire previous generation. "Eight" is delightful on so many levels - from a sensational story, through a satisfying fight, extensive exploration, a fantastic world, esoteric atmosphere or enemy designs, to technical performance and rich content - that I can do nothing but warmly recommend it. A wonderful survival horror game, and one of the best Resident Evil parts ever.