Tides of the Dark Crystal because Amri just got pulled into the water, perhaps by some manner of white whale but probably not.
Last times on book: Amri and co are on a quest to unite all the Gelfling against the Skeksis. They’ve succeeded with the Sifa at Cera-Na and the Dousan of the Wellspring but while they were avoiding ever going to Ha’rar, All-Maudra Mayrin was killed by the Skeksis. Her daughter Seladon has become the new All-Maudra and spoke out in favor of loyalty to the Skeksis. In Ha’rar, the protagonists run into Tae of the Sifa and regrouped with her. While they were supposed to be sleeping on the problem, Amri instead fell off a boat because he heard a sea monster.
Chapter 22
Amri meets a new friend, unless he doesn’t, and then has an epiphany after getting friendly with a city street
So Amri is not drowning for the second time in the book despite being in some deep water. The first time it was because Naia was there sharing oxygen with him. This second time he’s just not drowning for some reason. He ponders aloud if he’s dead.
The creature he saw in the water is swimming around him, not giving him a good look, but untangling the rope that Amri tangled himself in like an idiot.
Pretty friendly sea monster.
The water filled his mouth, but he didn’t drown. He turned when he saw movement, but the creature that circled him, long and streamlined, was always just out of sight. It swooped through the thick water, giving scant glimpses of its long tail and powerful limbs that propelled it through the water as easily as a bird in flight.
The sea monsters responds to Amri pondering mortality by telling him he’s not dead.
“Um... am I going to die?”
“That is a strange question.”
Stupendous.
The sea monster’s voice (and general unhelpful way of answering questions presumably) pricks at Amri’s memory.
“Are you a Mystic?” he asked.
“Hmm... I am pretty mystical.”
Which is what Amri had said about urLii to Kylan and Naia back in the previous book!
Amri has enough of the vagueness or wondering whether he is or isn’t dead and just goes “I’m gonna go” because the whole conversation is like this. The Mystic asks Amri to wait and finally swims into sight.
Amri recognizes the multi-limbed individual as definitely a Mystic and guesses that they’re also the water spirit who is reputed to light the coast side lanterns.
But when the Mystic swims closer, Amri realizes what really seemed familiar about them. The Mystic’s eyes remind Amri of skekSa’s.
“Are you skekSa’s opposite?” Amri gasped.
“Opposition is a falsehood. Like day and night -- convenient words, but only part of the truth. For there exists such a thing as dawn, and also dusk. All phases in the turning of the spheres. I am merely a swimmer of the seas.”
!
It’s she!
They don’t name names here but its urSan the Swimmer!
Because in the game of not quite opposites between the Skeksis and the Mystics, skekSa said ‘i’m going to sail on top of the water haha’ and urSan went ‘ok i’mma swim everywhere’ and jumped into the ocean.
I can’t get over how great a concept that is. Just a urRu swimming everywhere.
Mystics are so ponderous on land but urSan is zooming around underwater. Maybe their problem is that they’re meant for the water.
She apparently also knows magic that negates the coldness of the water or the need to breath which explains why Amri is definitely not dead.
Amri asks if the Swimmer is here to help the Vapra, somehow believing “in the past, the Mystics had come to their aid when they had needed it most.”
“You already know how to help the Vapra,” the swimmer said, echoing his intonation so it was like hearing his own voice bubbling back at him.
“So you’re not going to help.”
“A compass is nothing without a ship.”
“Then point me in the right direction!”
“I already have.”
Because, yeah, that’s about the average level of helpful the urRu tend to be.
I mean, it is helpful, in the sense of you eventually figure things out. And Amri tries.
He keeps trying to puzzle through while the Swimmer keeps offering vague answers.
Amri complains that he doesn’t know anything about the Vapra or their city and that the Swimmer should be speaking to Tavra.
“I am speaking to whom I should be speaking. To the Shadowling that brought a song from deep caves to an oasis lake. Tell m, what is the difference between the waves of the sea and the waves of the sand?”
and
“What is the difference between crystals of stone and crystals of water?”
“Crystals of water?” Amri asked. Then he remembered. “You mean ice?”
“Deatea. Fire. Deratea. Air. Kidakida. Water. Arugaru. Earth. Four words with one center sound. Four elements with one central heart. Water becomes steam. Is that not air? And then it burns. Is that not fire? Dawn becomes day becomes dusk becomes evening becomes night. Becomes dawn once again. Where does one end and the other begin? Is there such a thing?”
This would be great for my fantasy setting with the elementalism magic system.
Its good stuff. I’m not sure where its leading. The solutions in these books tend to surprise me because they’re pretty magical.
Amri still doesn’t get it either and is now so confused that he’s seriously considering that he is drowning.
“But I’m a Grottan,” he called desperately. “I don’t know anything about waves except that I’m scared of the ocean. I don’t know anything about the daylighter world except that I’m clumsy at walking in it!”
You’re not clumsy at walking. You’re clumsy wearing shoes.
That’s pretty inspirational actually.
Not helping the unreality Amri feels, bubbles obscure the Swimmer and then propel Amri to the surface where he suddenly wakes up and finds himself on the deck of Onica’s ship, being shaken awake by Naia. Not wet at all from a dip in the ocean but a bit damp from snow melting on him.
Uh. Huh. Weird.
Naia is touching him to make sure he’s okay and they have a mutual blushy moment about that.
They go inside and Naia makes him a nice hot cup of... uh, water. Do people just drink hot water? There’s so many herbs in this boat.
“I had the strangest dream,” he said. It tasted like a lie. It couldn’t have been a dream, could it? He stared at the bundle of herbs in the center of the table, cold and dormant in the clay bowl. He shook his head. “Must have been a dream.”
He tells Naia what he dreamed, trying to be quiet but waking up everyone anyway. It seems more and more dreamlike the longer he’s awake and he’s pretty sure that the herbs that Onica used to try to Far-Dream earlier gave him a weird vivid dream.
Silly of him to think a Far-Dreamer would say a dream is just a dream.
“Even if it was a dream, that doesn’t mean it’s not important,” Onica replied. “Do you have any idea what it means?”
Amri blushed. “You’re the Far-Dreamer. Aren’t you supposed to be the one that knows...” Even as he spoke, he thought of what the Mystic had said. Dawn to day to dusk. Being a Far-Dreamer didn’t mean it was her responsibility to know everything there was to know about dreams. Perhaps he had been putting too much stock in titles.
You already know how to help the Vapra.
And this time he does already knows, it seems, because he suddenly darts out into the night, dismissing Tae’s concerns about the Skeksis since they can’t see very well at night.
Naia catches up with him and Amri feels comforted by having her at his side.
Shiiiiiiip tease.
They hike together into the city in silence where Amri does a thing.
Amri leaned down and pulled and pulled the straps off his sandals. Naia stood by and watched, hand on the hilt of her dagger. Ready to protect him from anything, even as he did something she didn’t totally understand. He tried not to worry what Naia would think of him, acting like a Shadowling in the middle of the Gelfling capital. He couldn’t worry about it. He had to be who he was.
He tossed the sandals aside, letting his back curve to the shape he had tried to hard to straighten. Barefoot, he crouched on the frozen stone pathways, and for the first time, his fingers and toes tasted the street of Ha’rar.
I’m of mixed feelings about this.
A revelation that Amri should just be himself does fit. His super move has been letting Tavra take over his body so she can do what she does do. But they don’t really do that enough that you have to start worrying about Amri wishing he were another person.
There was that bit where Tavra told him he couldn’t rely on Grottan tricks.... uh, and then his Grottan tricks don’t come up so much. Oh, Amri. Why won’t they let you be the weird alchemy boy?
He has had repeat things about being unfamiliar with shoes and walking without crouching but he wasn’t doing that to fit in socially. He had to wear sandal shoes because walking so much was doing a number on his feet. He had to walk not crouched because that was messing with him adapting to walking with sandals.
And in fairness, he puts the sandals back on after this so he doesn’t freeze his feets while walking back. So, the practical benefits of wearing shoes are recognized.
So I don’t know about Amri hadding to be who he was but I’m glad that he is.
Anyway. Amri has ground sense. Talking to sand and talking to rocks. Now, thanks to the Swimmer, he has realized that water is a beautiful spectrum and he can talk to ice too.
He gets a good feel for the vibrations of Ha’rar. The whole thing.
From the street to the Vapra homes to the citadel, the ocean and the cold blue mountains. It was all connected, intertwined somehow. As if some perfect, pure mineral laced the entire city in a web of crystal, originating from a source high in the mountains that looked down on Ha’rar.
Amri actually presses his ear to the ground to hear even better. And he hears how the song of Ha’rar differs from the mineral of the Dousan Wellspring or the rocks of the Caves of Grot.
This was fluid, like the sea or the lakes or rivers. Clear and pristine. Diamond-hard, carrying the thousand sounds of the city from one end to the other.
It was crystal, but not of stone.
OF COURSE ITS SO OBVIOUS NOW
No, I lie, I’m still lost.
What did you learn, Amri?
It was so simple, now that he knew. Now that he’d listened.
Dangit. Just tell me.
But he doesn’t. Cruel, cruel POV protagonist. Withholding plot.
“We have to get Tavra and Kylan to the trees of the Waystar grove,” he said. “I know how to send a message to the Vapra of Ha’rar.”
Fine, I guess I’ll read another chapter of the book I was already reading!
I’ve just finished Hearts of Stone for the first time (I got the expansion packs last birthday, thanks Ma), and cor, I’m... still a bit dazed. That was one of the best experiences I’ve had with a game for a long time. Heck, in some games that would’ve been the main campaign. It truly feels like a work of passion.
The negative, to get it over with
I had some issues with the portrayal of the Ofieri. The people we see are monsters, mages, mystics and enemy guards. The first Ofieri person you meet is... a toad monster you kill. And then the next ones are your jailers.
And you might say that Temeria and Redania are full of yokel stereotypes - I mean, the “How often should I beat my wife?” NPC line is a clear nod to that kinda thing - and plays on Slavic mythology, folk tales, and fairy tales, and Ofier is the nod to the Arabian Nights... but we don’t get many Ofieri characters, nor clear examinations of those tales. Instead we’re quietly directed back to Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast homages (which I adore, but). And one of the first introductions you get to their pseudo-Arabic language (which doesn’t feel as researched as Sapkowksi’s cod-Welsh Elven, but I don’t know about Nilfgaard’s language) is a Redanian guy calling it “gargling.” *wince* After the interesting, often nuanced takes on pseudo-Slavic culture and the fantasy non-human racism, I found that a bit frustrating.
And yet... In some ways, it feels like CDPR were aware of this. Because you don’t actually have to kill the rest of the Ofieri guards, and then the next people you meet from Ofier are scholars and thoroughly nice dudes. (And... merchants, which is another stereotype on its own, but maybe I’m reading too much into that and reading British biases into it.) And gosh, I find it interesting what little we see of Ofieri scholarship and spirituality, and runeworking/smithing as prayer. It’s like a mix of Islamic Golden Age mathematics - but with languages instead - and humanism, maybe with some Pagan influences. It’s really, really beautiful, and it’s clearly had some thought put into it. Also interesting is the interlinked duchies/city-states sort of system that the merchant nods at, which I’d love to know more about.
OK, so... maybe this is easy for me to say as an English lass who looks like a flour explosion in a snowstorm, but it feels wonky (to say the least), but... not ill-intentioned. If anything, the portrayal of the Ofieri is rather less biting than portrayals of other countries, though those portrayals also feel less.. loaded. I’m not sure what to think, to be honest.
I had some issues with how strongly the pack tries to force you into romance with Shani and makes it a bit all-or-nothing. I wish I’d been able to buy her a drink or give her a nice rowan garland (actually, seriously, I need to draw her in that flower crown, it’s lovely and she was adorable) even as a friend, as a way to say goodbye, rather than just... buggering off and leaving her there sad, and failing a side quest to boot. Framing the romance that way made it very clear that “oi, you’ve made the wrong choice,” even if you had your reasons. And when you talk to her later, it’ll still treat things like you romanced her.
The Order of the Flaming Rose didn’t do much. Yay, fancy bandits. But... thanks for the armour, guys? Made a fair bit of cash off that, nice of you.
The positive (my favourite bit)
Shani! I haven’t played the first game or the second (I’ll... get there), so I hadn’t met her before. She’s wonderful. And much as I love Yen - and stayed faithful to her, though I was sitting there thinking, “Would books Geralt do this? I’m really not sure” - I liked how in contrast, Shani often gets into the thick of it with you. I also love a) doctor characters b) characters who put their calling above all else and have such strong purpose. She’s kind and wry and I was seriously tempted to romance her. I also like her admitting that it was a “make the most of the time we have” thing, and that it probably wouldn’t work long-term. I appreciate that honesty and again, that sense of purpose. Much like Triss, she’s not dropping everything for Geralt, who has his own crazy timetable and travels to deal with. That straightforwardness is lovely.
And also... god, I really like her friendship with Geralt. Even if you don’t romance her, they’re so comfortable with each other, and it’s so clear how happy he is to see her. They relax around each other and she knows how to gently poke fun. Seriously, I can see why people liked her and wanted her back.
“And now I have nowt.” Bloody hell, is Olgierd von Everec actually written with Northern dialect as well as voiced with the accent? Is the dashing rogue... Yorkshire-accented? God, they must be Polish, Northerners almost never get to be upper-class or smooth in British media. (Even Sean Bean had to go posher for GoldenEye.) Nice to hear the language spoken properly. I always admire the localisation when I’m playing Wild Hunt; it’s beautifully thought-out and detailed. And yes, Von Everec was an absolute jerk in a lot of ways even before the wish, but... a well-written, nuanced one. Also, considering some of the lasses we see in Skellige: sometime, I’d really like to have seen a female character along similar lines somewhere (one Geralt couldn’t bonk), though I know that won’t happen. (No more Geralt games. ;_; )
“A man must have some moments of madness from time to time. Tells him he’s alive.”
Iris! Goodness, I hesitated for nearly ten minutes over That Decision, and I still feel sad for her typing this post up on my couch, having finished the expansion an hour ago. I think it adds even more that I’d purchased “Starry Night Over the Pontar River” by Van Rogh (I can’t believe they even did that). I played Geralt as genuinely loving her paintings. (And seriously, speaking of assets, that Iris/Olgierd marriage portrait is lovely.) She was as complicated as her husband, though she got less screentime - and some part of me would have gladly trapped Olgierd in a painting and brought her back into the world, but I also know that necromancy in The Witcher doesn’t work like that. A very romantic-fairy-tale take on the tortured artist trope.
I even found Vlodimir interesting. I was glad that Shani called him on what was basically fancy sexual harassment and told him to keep his hands to himself, and he was clearly a real shite in life, but... yeah, even I felt rather sad for him after the dressing-down he got from O’Dimm. And to be honest, he does have some bloody hilarious lines. This series excels in “likeable bastard” characters.
I get shades! And I’ve been going round with the Mastercrafted Wolven Armour and those, doing the look I fondly call Douchebag Geralt, ever since.
CDPR’s nerdery. It wasn’t particularly immersion-breaking, and it made me cackle. “Merchant With A Pearl Earring”? “Witness me”? “Geralt: The Professional”? “The Professor’s Glasses”?
All the optional NPC dialogue. You can doom yourself by not researching enough. You can never find the runewright. You can miss half the wedding party dialogue. You can miss things like the Van Rogh painting and the sad, rather interesting story of Vesemir and his lover (and the Viper Armour!). The game always rewards you for being interested in the story, and thorough (you are playing a detective, after all), but because it was smaller, they’ve also made HoS so dense and all that’s here in abundance.
“Delight in the world and all its glorious creations.”
The furious pace. It’s a rollicking, rip-roaring adventure. A frog prince! An old friend/lover! A political plot! A storm! A deal with... something not-good that may or may not be The Devil! A shirtless tied-up action-movie fight with five dudes! Dueling a reluctant immortal! Characters from distant shores! A horse race through the streets of a village! A Guy Ritchie-esque heist movie nod to Robin Hood! Getting possessed by a ghost and sitcom/rom-com hijinks while fishing for boots, herding swine, and retrieving fire-eaters! Haunted mansions and tortured artists and interesting grief and depression metaphors! A Seventh Seal-esque game of wits with something very old and very unkind! O’Dimm promised a big adventure... he wasn’t wrong. And it probably sounds like they’re throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks... and yet, it all makes sense and ties in beautifully. It’s really well-written and thought-out, and balances a touching story with CDPR clearly wanting to give you your money’s worth and take you on the best journey they can.
Gaunter O’Dimm. The one thing I did think was that they’d be more vague about who/what he actually was. I was surprised at the more overt things like the crossroads deal, and the Oxenfurt scholar. But I immensely enjoyed his character, and that trippy finale was fantastic, even if I spent everything after the first second or so muttering, “It’s a REFLECTION, oh my god Gaunter you have commitment to your theme, please let there be a mirror in the house.” (And it’s also kind of perfect that one of the main spectres who attacks you in his realm is a Hym. Punishment for misdeeds, the guilty conscience... I’m seeing a theme here.)
Treasure hunts and new armour.
“Like your new gear, Roach?” We got to see a bit more of Geralt's fondness for this Roach (not sure what number she is, to be honest) and that he treats her well.
Lots of quiet but intense, lovely Geralt moments. The kindness with which he treats Shani, and his quiet, wry joking around with her in comparison to Vlodimir’s crudeness; the fondness and understated grief with which he speaks of Vesemir, and finally getting to hear a bit more of what he thinks about his mentor; the guilt he feels over being pulled here, there and everywhere on adventures and how many people he’s left behind; more stuff on “Witchers are heartless bastards because mutations” and how untrue that actually is; his steadfastness about trying to avoid bloodshed in the heist; how he doesn’t like to see Vlodimir tortured, even if he is... Vlodimir. Course, I play Geralt as a (pragmatic, blunt) goody-two-shoes, so it might be different if you play him bloodthirstier, but there were some lovely not-blank-slate-protag moments. CDPR get that the characters are why people come to the games; I adore playing a game where “go to a wedding reception” and “have a snowball fight with your daughter to cheer her up” are missions.
I’d be interested to see anyone’s takes on this pack, because I was so busy trying to avoid spoilers when it came out (and I think I might have been knee-deep in Fallout 4? Not sure) that I missed most of the stuff on it. But it was full of fascinating characters, wonderful performances, some really sad, achey complex themes, and pulpy adventure. I spent... too many moments trying not to cackle in joy. And much as I tried to be a completionist and do base-game sidequests remaining after the main story and drag it out over several days, I spent enough time on this expansion that Geralt’s beard grew back and my backside went numb. So. Even with its imperfections, probably one of my favourite gaming experiences of all time. So.
...God, and there’s another, slightly bigger expansion to go. I’m not sure I’ll survive.
It took me a while to get over the anger of my beloved PS1 being stolen, after all when you lend someone an expensive games console you expect to get it back but time heals all wounds so they say.
Now in my second year at university and enjoying my new student house with a good bunch of friends all seemed well in the world. During the final months of 1998 I had been enjoying watching two new television shows, a sitcom called That 70’s Show and the phenomenon which was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both shows had come over from the US and were a staple part of our weekly television watching routine.
As far as video games were concerned Goldeneye was still getting plenty of attention on my N64, often dipping in and spending an hour or so shooting up the the Facility level to let off some steam. The only new game which I had purchased around this time was Mission: Impossible which had been released in September of 98. With such great titles available at the time including Mario Kart 64, F Zero X and Lylat Wars 64 I’m not sure why I opted for this particular title, I wasn’t even a big fan of the movie? Whatever the reason for this unusual purchase it helped tide me over until the December of that year when a game which I had been patiently waiting for was finally released.
It was way back in the early 90’s whilst reading an issue of Super Play Magazine that I first discovered Nintendo was working on a new Zelda game. Already a massive fan of the franchise after playing A Link to the Past on my Super Nintendo I could barely contain my excitement when I heard a new adventure was on its way. For years there had been a rumoured sequel set for the SNES but as more details of the fabled N64 console started to emerge it became obvious this would be the new platform for the next Zelda game. Accompanying the article was a small photo of the alleged game featuring a fully rendered Link fighting a silver knight. This image would later turn out to be a tech demo for the Ultra 64 as it was known back then.
If nothing else it was this article which sealed my decision to one day own a Nintendo 64 console solely to play the new Zelda game. Over the next few years Nintendo would slowly leak out information and early screenshots to entice its loyal fans, keeping us on our toes until the game would ultimately be revealed to the world. Finally on December 11th 1998 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released in the UK just in time for Christmas. Gaming magazines at the time had scored it extremely high stating it was one of the best games ever created and praising Nintendo. At last I could finally play the next Zelda instalment.
I remember the day in question very clearly. Knowing full well I would be getting Ocarina of Time that Christmas I had already packed up my N64 console along with suitcase and was waiting for my parents to take me home from university for the Christmas break. Around midday my luggage was in the car and we were ready to travel back home for three weeks of catching up with mates and plenty of festive merriment. On the way home we stopped off at Derby city centre for a spot of lunch but more importantly to pick up my copy of Ocarina of Time from HMV which would be put away until Christmas Day.
The next few weeks were spent celebrating the festive season with friends and family, hanging out at the local night club, dancing to the obligatory cheesy Christmas tunes and eating and drinking way too much. Finally Christmas Day arrived and I would get to enjoy the splendour which was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Since that initial experience with A Link to the Past my love of both action and JRPG’s had persisted to grow. Some of my past favourites included Final Fantasy 3, Secret of Mana and Breath of Fire but this was the game which had been at the top of my wish list to play.
Once again I found myself in the mystical land of Hyrule but with a big difference. Unlike my previous Zelda encounter this world was completely 3D. Just like they did with Super Mario 64 Nintendo had pushed the boundaries of gaming creating a fully immersive world where the player was free to traverse a rich landscape. Buildings and towns way off in the distance could now be explored either by foot or horseback. Main objectives and side quests could be attempted in multiple orders, so could acquiring certain items throughout the adventure giving the game a real sense of freedom.
I must have spent most of that Christmas Day lost in the world of of Hyrule. Starting off in Kokiri Gillage I soon found myself sneaking into Hyrule Castle for a secret meeting with Princess Zelda before being sent on my quest to gather the three spiritual stones.
To say Ocarina of Time blew my mind was an understatement, this game had it all. From it’s amazing 3D graphics to the beautiful music which accompanied the epic gameplay. The introduction of the Ocarina which allowed players to learn different melodies in order solve puzzles and help your progress was an ingenious touch. So was the moment I first learnt I could travel forward in time and become adult Link which opened up the game just as the Dark World had done in A Link to the Past years earlier.
Over the coming months I would slowly chip away at Ocarina of Time, progressing the main story, completing its side quests and gathering new weapons. Eventually one evening during the February of 1999 I managed to defeat Ganon. As the credits rolled I remember sitting back in the bedroom of my student house sipping a beer and feeling a little sad that this awesome adventure had finally come to a close.
The game would later be traded in for cash at a local video games store without a replay. It’s only now, twenty years later that I’ve gotten around to start a fresh game once again. So with my N64 control pad in hand it’s time to relive those nostalgic Zelda memories, let’s hope it still holds up.
sonic 1 - ur either a hedgehog who saves the flickies or the flickies who gets saved. barely anyone plays as flickies so ppl just fuck around. everyone avoids labyrinth zone. green hill zone can barely be accessed due to how many ppl are there at a time.
sonic 2 - u can play as a hedgehog or a flying fox. ppl cant figure out the carrying mechanics. a common prank is guiding newer players into mystic cave zone spikes. everyone flips their shit when they manage to unlock super form.
sonic 3 (& knuckles) - u play as a hedgehog, flying fox, and gliding echidna. everyone keeps bumping into each other in blue spheres. “*paralyzer by finger eleven in the bg* *slowly types* hi im neonhedgehoglmao and im here to teach you how to get past the barrel of doom”.
angel island zone is always laggy. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” is constantly spammed in sandopolis.
sonic cd - u can play as either a hedgehog or a robot hedgehog and can travel thru ~time~. everyone abuses the super peel out. no one understands where tf they are goin bc of the weird map layouts. “can anyone show me where the time signs are????”
sonic adventure - u can play as a hedgehog, fox, cat, robot, and echidna. most of it is just fuckin around (give the developers a break its their first 3d online game). a huge percentage of the userbase rarely plays the actual game and spends their time in chao garden. frogs in the fishing minigame are special which ofc leads to a lot of dumb rumors. roleplaying is always going on in station square. twinkle park is also laggy bc of the minigames there.
“sometimes i wish the master emerald would just stop shattering.”. chaos appears and everyone loses their mind trying to beat him. perfect chaos event is filled with SO MUCH LAG.
sonic adventure 2 - u can play as a hedgehog, fox, echidna, bat, cat, and robot hedgehog (bc big’s playable in multiplayer). theres a morality system with different stats i guess???. cars keep getting flung everywhere bc everyone loves skateboarding in the city escape map but cant control it for shit. like before, everyone keeps playing chao garden.
dark players make fun of hero players and vice versa (its an iconic war). no one likes the space maps. “pls help me find the last emerald shard.” a time based mission happens and the entire playerbase loses their shit, lag is EVERYWHERE due to everyone trying to get to the shuttle on time. chao boxes are basically lootboxes. biolizard event has everyone shook.
sonic heroes - u can play as a hedgehog, fox, echidna, bat, cat, crocodile, chameleon, bee, rabbit, and robot. the whole team mechanic’s moral is missed bc everyone is always arguing with each other. “CHAO GARDEN UPDATE WHEN”. constant amount of flying requests in teams. sky chase is heavily populated. “OH SHIT GIANT HEDGEBOT”
shadow the hedgehog - u play as a hedgehog and theres gunplay. everyone keep shooting each other. it’s basically the call of duty of sonic in this case. theres a shitload of conspiracy theories abt the black arms and why they keep manipulating the player’s character.
sonic 06 - u can play as a hedgehog, fox, echidna, bat, cat, and robot. the game’s launch is glitchy as fuck and the servers keep crashing due to all of the hype, its basically the final fantasy 14 of sonic. everyone’s annoyed by the saving princess missions and is confused by the story. telekinesis class is OP as shit. lag. lag everywhere. “hey *insert username here* have u finished those errands”
unleashed - u can play as a hedgehog or a werehog. “WHERE ARE THE OTHER SPECIES”. “free sun and moon medal hax no virus”. ppl spam the howl emote. no one understands how to control boost at first so a lot of ppl just fling off the map. the chao quest is introduced and everyone’s like “CHAO GARDEN UPDATE CONFIRMED!!!”. “what is this chihuahua fairy stop following me”
sonic colors - u play as a hedgehog and wisp (its like the first game but this time wisp players get to help) the game lags heavily at first due to all of the wisp action going on. ppl slam into each other due to not charging the laser wisp correctly. some get vored by frenzy wisp. a lot of ppl fuck around with the carnival minigames and eat candy mountain. “need *insert wisp here*”
sonic generations - u play as a hedgehog and a chibified version of hedgehogs. theres just a lot of rping going on in this one since p much almost every rp map is included. it gets played for nostalgic purposes at first and then just devolves into “that one furry rp game”. wisps are added as playable characters later
sonic lost world - u play as a hedgehog, wisp, and zeti. “this is like a ripoff of those mario online games”. no one understands the parkour system. barely anyone goes to the ice maps and lava due to how much of a bitch they are. giant sandwiches are a meme.
sonic forces - u play as the custom character species choices and most of the ones beforehand (+ jackal). infinite appears sometimes and ppl are like “COME AT ME BITCH” despite being underleveled. the voice chat system is the communication thing from the levels and it gets out of hand quickly. everyone rage quits at that sidescrolling level. sunset heights is just lag central (what doesnt help is the fire)
So Prof. Mark Reidl of Georgia Tech is the best kind of geek, and used some cool scripting to extract all the things on Wikipedia with plot summaries: movies, books, tv episodes, video games, etc. That’s a lot of plot summaries: 112,936, to be exact.
With a dataset this large, a neural network can achieve impressive results. Sure enough, when I trained this open-source neural network framework on just the titles alone, it consistently came up with titles that were both varied and (usually) plausible.
Below are some of my favorites, arranged roughly by apparent genre:
Action/Adventure
Titanic Buffalo
Pirates: A Fight Dance Story
The Bad Legend
Conan the Pirate
O Bullets
Home Transformers
Shurk Hat Dies!
An Enemy of Bob (Homicide: Life on the Street)
Cannibal Spy II
American Hero: Fire of Crusty
Lego Man Hunt
Nancy Drew: The Last Day (film)
Surf Crisis
Legend of the Experience of Scarlet Freedom Damageboo
American Midnight: Swear Dragon
Problem
Scifi/fantasy
Under the Daleks
Batman and Flancles: The Fun Tree
The Legends of World Planet
Bomberman's Love
The Enchanted Feed
The Star Wars: The Santa Contact
The Long Ninja Dove in the Air (film)
The History of the Galaxy Bunny Lada
City of the Stupid (film)
Shy Castle
Hamburger (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Swords and Batman: Summer Party ?
Kids/Family
The Boordeeple (2011 film)
A Dog's Toy Friends
Boop (Adventure Time)
A Dinosaur Quest
Colonel Corn (video game)
Scooby-Drum
New Bear
Borky the Pig (film)
Excellent Very Broken Christmas
The Great Bother Cat (film)
Happy Cat in the Yaku Wonder
Fireman and Halloween Rules
Big Can Flower Home
The Green Yaurglar Pig
Scooby-Doo'Wagon Traps (video game)
Book Dog (film)
Horror
Terror Dog
Tree Screaming
Zombies of Florence
The Trunkelling
A Vampire Time for Monster
Murder's Eagle
Frozen Bat (film)
Haunted Place
The Sheep of Evil
Barney's The Devil's Treachery
Merry Scroobers: Crown of Evil
The Steel-Pounted Murder King
The Shadow of Life of Very Worgy (film)
The Mystical Booged of California
Documentary
Market that Knave
Spork at Bliss
The White Soup
An Indiana Office
The Last Fish Show
The Fish of Education
Restricted section (there were quite a few more of these)
Absilloved Lovers 2: Black Bearfly Dawn
Horse Man Academy 5-R: Cowboy Sheeper Wydex
Breed Bot 3: The Journey Kitchen
Wild Bad Party 109
Pink Moon
Indiscreet Maidman
And finally, a list of the most quintessential story titles, obtained by setting the creativity to near zero on a highly-trained network:
The Story of the Stranger (1994 film)
The Last Day of the Story
The Lost Princess (film)
The Stranger (1994 film)
The Last Star (1994 film)
The Secret of the Story of the Stranger (1996 film)
The Stranger (2014 film)
The Story of the Stars
The Story of the Stranger (1999 film)
The Last Day of the Sun
The Story of the Star Trek: The Secret of the Story of the Star Wars
Edward Willett expands the Worldshaper universe with his new novel, Master of The World
For September’s guest author we have Edward Willett, who is a writer and performer from Regina, Saskatchewan. He has authored more than 50 books of various types. He is well known for writing in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Some of his work has been published by DAW Books in New York, such as the novels Lost in Translationand 2009 Aurora Award-winning novel Marseguro. He has also been published with Bundoran Press. Let’s welcome him to the blog.
Hi Edward Willett, thank you for joining us. Can you introduce yourself to the readers?
Hi, readers! As the introduction says, I’m a multiply published author—I’ve actually lost count of exactly how many books I’ve had published. They run the gamut from non-fiction (local history, science books, biographies, and computer books) to my first love, science fiction and fantasy. There’s even one book of poetry! I’ve written for children, young adults, and adults.
I started my career as a newspaper reporter at the weekly Weyburn (Saskatchewan) Review. (Weyburn was the town where I grew up.) At the ripe old age of 24r, I became news editor there. Then, in my late 20s, I became communications officer for the then-fledgling Saskatchewan Science Centre, which is what brought me from Weyburn to Regina, where I’ve lived ever since. After five years at the science centre, I quit my job and became a fulltime freelance writer, which I’ve now been for 26 years.
In addition to writing (and some editing), I’ve done quite a bit of acting and singing, both professionally and just for fun. I’m married to a telecommunications engineer and have one daughter, who is currently enrolled at the University of Toronto. Oh, and we have a black Siberian cat, Shadowpaw—can’t forget him, since I used his name on my own little publishing company, Shadowpaw Press.
Tell us about your latest release, Master of The World.
Master of the World is the second book in the Worldshapers series, published by DAW Books, which began with Worldshaper last year. In Worldshaper, the main character, Shawna Keys, has a pleasant, low-key life: she’s just opened a pottery studio in a small city in Montana, she has a great boyfriend, she has a wonderful best friend. But then everything changes in an instant. Black-clad gunmen storm the coffee shop where she’s having lunch with her friend. Her friend is killed. She’s about to be killed. She refuses to believe it’s happening…and just like that, it isn’t. It hasn’t. The gunmen are gone. The coffeeshop is undamaged…but her friend, Aesha, isn’t there, and no one remembers that she ever existed.
A mysterious stranger, Karl Yatsar, shows up and explains to Shawna that her world, which she thought was the only world, is in fact a Shaped world—and that she Shaped it exactly the way she wanted it when she was thrust into it ten years before. Not only that, it’s only one of a plentitude of Shaped worlds in a vast extra-dimensional Labyrinth. And now, she’s about to lose control of it. The Adversary, the leader of the gunmen, who touched her forehead before threatening to kill her, has stolen her knowledge of the world and is already turning it against her. They have to flee her world entirely…not just to save her life, but because Karl believes she is a powerful enough Shaper—even though, much to his shock and bewilderment, she didn’t remember being one—to travel through all the worlds of the Labyrinth, gathering the knowledge of each, and taking it to the mysterious Ygrair, the one who gave all the Shapers, who originally came from the First World—our world—their own worlds to Shape. Ygrair has been wounded and weakened, and needs someone to bring her the knowledge of as many worlds as possible so that she can save the Labyrinth and all its myriad worlds from the depredations of The Adversary, who wants to enslave and then destroy them all.
In Worldshaper, Shawna and Karl embark on a hazardous cross-country journey, trying to stay one step ahead of The Adversary, to find the only place where a Portal can be opened into the next world, where Shawna can begin the quest she’s been saddled with
In Master of the World, Shawna finds herself in that next world over, but without her guide and mentor—Karl was left behind. In her first two hours, she’s rescued from a disintegrating island by an improbable flying machine she recognizes from Jules Verne’s Robur the Conqueror, then seized from it by raiders flying tiny personal helicopters, and finally taken to a submarine that bears a strong resemblance to Captain Nemo’s Nautilus. Oh, and accused of being both a spy and a witch.
Shawna expects—hopes!—Karl Yatsar will eventually follow her into this new steampunk realm, but exactly where and when he’ll show up, she hasn’t a clue.
In the meantime, she has to navigate a world where two factions fanatically devoted to their respective leaders are locked in perpetual combat, figure out who the Shaper of the world is, find him or her, and obtain the secret knowledge of this world’s Shaping. Then she has to somehow reconnect with Karl Yatsar, and escape to the next Shaped world in the Labyrinth…through a Portal she has no idea how to open.
Master of The World is part of the Worldshaper storyline, how many novels do you estimate to have in the series?
The series is open-ended: the concept allows me to tell any kind of story in any kind of world. Potentially, it could have any number of novels (although I know how it ends, there’s no rush getting there). I’m currently writing Book 3, which takes place in a world with werewolves and vampires!
You’ve done a lot of writing, as mentioned on your website, over 50 books. When and what did you first start writing about?
I’ve always been drawn to science fiction and fantasy. I have two older brothers, both of whom read it, so the books were around the house. My very first complete short story, written when I was eleven, was called “Kastra Glazz: Hypership Test Pilot.” My mother typed it up for me and I showed it to my Grade 7 English teacher, Tony Tunbridge, who did me the honor of taking it seriously and providing some actual criticism—criticism which, rather than prompting me to give up, instead prompted me to try to make the next thing I wrote better. (I dedicated my recent stand-alone science-fiction novel The Cityborn to Tony by way of thanking him.) I went on to write three science fiction and fantasy novels in high school, so my course was set early on.
Edward, you are a performer too. Care to elaborate more about this aspect of your life?
I’ve always sung—my father was a choral director—and I got the acting bug at age 11 when I played Petruchio in a one-act adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. I carried on acting and singing, whenever I got the chance. In Weyburn, while I was at the newspaper, I was a founding member of Crocus 80 Theatre, a new community-theatre group, and had leading roles in many plays, and also directed twice. When I moved to Regina, I immediately gravitated to Regina Lyric Light Opera (now Regina Lyric Musical Theatre), a community theatre group that did musicals (it was in a production of The Music Man that I first met my future wife.) I did a lot of shows with Lyric, Regina Little Theatre, and Regina Summer Stage.
When I went full-time freelance, in addition to writing, for three years I performed with a professional opera company, Prairie Opera, which did six-week tours of Saskatchewan schools, typically two shows a day. That made a nice addition to my fledgling freelance income. A few years later I was hired by Regina’s professional theatre company, Globe Theatre, for a production of On Golden Pond (I played the boyfriend from California). As a result of that, I became a member of Canadian Actors’ Equity. I’ve continued to perform every chance I get, both professionally and (more often) just for fun. I’ve been in dozens of plays, musicals, and operas. I’ve also sung with many choirs, including the Canadian Chamber Choir, an auditioned group made up of singers from across the country.
I’ve combined my writing and performing sides a few times in shows I’ve written and directed. Two I’ve done for Regina Lyric Musical Theatre had fantastical elements. In 2013 I wrote and directed As Time Goes By: A Love Story with Music and Ghosts, which did indeed have ghosts in it, and this past year I wrote and directed The Music Shoppe, which might not sound fantastical, but in fact took place in a mystical music store with an ageless proprietor and a mysterious mechanical pianist with magical abilities. Both were hits with audiences.
What was your most challenging novel to write to date?
Worldshaper was challenging because it’s designed to set up an open-ended series. My editor at DAW Books, Hugo Award-winner Sheila E. Gilbert, and I spent a lot of time trying to make sure that everything that was needed to enable the series to work going forward was built into the first book. It was also a bit challenging to write because it’s an interesting mix of first-person (the main character, Shawna Keys) and third-person (her guide and mentor, Karl Yatsar, and her enemy, The Adversary) viewpoints.
Now that Master of the World is released, do you have other novels in the works?
In addition to Book 3 of the Worldshapers series, I’ve got a middle-grade fantasy, Fire Boy, in circulation to publishers; I’m finishing the editing of a young adult science fiction novel, Star Song, which I’ll be bringing out myself through Shadowpaw Press; and I’ll be writing another young-adult story, a dark fantasy called Changers (involving shapeshifters) for ChiZine Publications. I have some other books I want to bring out through Shadowpaw in the not-too-distant future, novels I’ve never found a home for that I think deserve a chance to see the light of day, but I have to fit those in around other work so they won’t be for a while yet.
And I have ideas for many more…
Is your writing and performance inspiration intertwined or are these parts of your life entirely separate?
It’s all one thing. I find there’s a great overlap between being and actor and director and being an author. Actors pretend to be other people; writers do the same. Directors move actors around on stage and guide them in their interactions with each other in order to best tell the story being presented. So do writers. I’ve always felt, when I’m acting, even though I’m bringing some other author’s characters to life, that I’m using many of the same mental muscles as I do when I’m trying to make my own characters live and breathe on the page.
Also, in Worldshapers, I’m able to make lots of musical -theatre jokes, so there’s that.
Any final thoughts you’d like to share with the readers and aspiring writers?
I urge both readers and aspiring writers to check out my podcast, The Worldshapers. It features hour-long conversations with some of the biggest names in science fiction and fantasy writing, with a focus on their creative process, from the generation of ideas to the planning process, the writing process, and the editing process. I also ask them about their philosophy of writing: why they do it, why they think anyone does it, and what impact they hope it has on readers. The interviews are all fascinating and offer great insights into the writing process. You can find it www.theworldshapers.com.
I particularly like the episode where E.C. Blake (the pseudonym under which I wrote a fantasy trilogy called The Masks of Aygrima) interviews me…
Thank you Edward Willett for joining us!
You can find Edward through the following links below.
People keep asking for the soundtracks I like or am inspired by so here are the ones I can remember. If it's not on this list I either forgot it, haven't played it, or it's too obvious (mario/zelda).
If you’re a video game music enthusiast you might enjoy looking up soundtracks you haven’t heard of before.
This list isn’t complete. Not sure if I’ll update it though.
MY FAVORITES
MOTHER Series (MOTHER, EarthBound, MOTHER 3)
Chrono Trigger
Secret of Mana
Chrono Cross
Touhou (series)
Brandish (1,2,3)
Cave Story (the original one)
Final Fantasy (series, but 6 and 7 are must listens)
Kirby (series, but Adventure, Super Star, DL3, and 64 are must listens)
Lufia 2
Intelligent Qube
Gimmick
OKAY AND THE REST
NES
Castlevania (1,2,3)
megaman idk ask me later
GAMEBOY
Final Fantasy Legend 2
Final Fantasy Legend 3
Final Fantasy Adventure
Smurf's Nightmare (i've barely listened to this but it's amazing for some inexplicable reason)
TURBOGRAFX-16
Ys Book I&II
Ys III
SNES
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Treasure of the Rudras (basically the battle themes)
Mario Paint
Illusion of Gaia
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Megaman X
Megaman X2
Super Mario RPG
Sim City
Alcahest (it’s by the kirby composer so its like kirby x fantasy-setting music)
The first level of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (City)
GENESIS
Crusader of Centy
Gunstar Heroes
Streets of Rage (1,2,3)
Alien Soldier
Sonic 3
Sparkster
Castlevania: Bloodlines
N64
Bomberman Hero
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mario Artist Talent Studio (N64DD)
Magical Tetris Challenge Starring Mickey Mouse (specifically the Wolf's theme)
the buck bumble theme song i havent even listened to the rest of the soundtrack
PLAYSTATION
Breath of Fire 3
Lunar Eternal Blue Complete
Wild ARMs 2 (MOSTLY the intro song, and also the intro song to Wild Arms)
PLAYSTATION 2
Kingdom Hearts (I, II) (Mostly the original tracks, not disney arrangements)
Katamari Damacy
Persona 4
Guilty Gear X2
Gitaroo Man
OTHER
Shovel Knight [Various]
Etrian Odyssey Series [Similar to Genesis music but better]
Mighty Switch Force [I never played this but the music is amazing]
To the Moon [PC]
Megaman 9 [Wiiware, already mentioned Megaman but it's my favorite one]
Dandy Dungeon [Mobile]
Kirite [Not a game soundtrack but similar to Chrono Cross]
MY THEME SONG
The song from noby noby boy where they sing the metro cross theme song but slowed down 50% and replace the word "noby" with "toby"
OR
Mario Artist: Communications Kit - Net Studio Browser
updated april 10th to add gitaroo man
3 Ninjas Kick Back
7th Saga, The
90 Minutes European Prime Goal
A.S.P.: Air Strike Patrol
AAAHH!!! Real Monsters
ABC Monday Night Football
ACME Animation Factory
ActRaiser
ActRaiser 2
Addams Family, The
Addams Family, The: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
Addams Family Values
Adventures of Batman & Robin, The
Adventures of Dr. Franken, The
Adventures of Kid Kleets, The Soccer Kid EU
Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends, The
Adventures of Tintin, The: Prisoners of the Sun
Adventures of Yogi Bear
Aero Fighters
Aero the Acro-Bat
Aero the Acro-Bat 2
Aerobiz
Aerobiz Supersonic
Air Cavalry
Al Unser Jr.'s Road to the Top
Alfred Chicken
Alien³
Alien vs Predator
All-American Championship Football
American Gladiators
American Tail, An: Fievel Goes West
Andre Agassi Tennis
Animaniacs
Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1
Arcana
Ardy Lightfoot
Arkanoid: Doh it Again
Art of Fighting
Asterix
Asterix & Obelix
Axelay
B.O.B.
Ballz 3D
Barbie Super Model
Barbie: Vacation Adventure
Barkley Shut Up and Jam!
Bart's Nightmare
Bass Masters Classic
Bass Masters Classic Pro Edition
Bassin's Black Bass with Hank Parker
Batman Forever
Batman Returns
Battle Blaze
Battle Cars
Battle Clash
Battle Grand Prix
Battletoads & Double Dragon
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
Bazooka Blitzkrieg
Beavis and Butt-head
Bebe's Kids January 1994
Beethoven's 2nd Beethoven: The Ultimate Canine Caper
Best of the Best: Championship Karate
Big Sky Trooper
Biker Mice From Mars
Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball
Bill Walsh College Football
Biometal
Blackthorne
BlaZeon: The Bio-Cyborg Challenge
Blues Brothers, The
Bonkers
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Brain Lord
Brainies, The
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Brandish
Brawl Brothers
BreakThru
Breath of Fire
Breath of Fire II
Brett Hull Hockey
Brett Hull Hockey '95
Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus
Brunswick World: Tournament of Champions
Brutal: Paws Of Fury
Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
Bubsy II
Bugs Bunny in Rabbit Rampage
Bulls vs Blazers and the NBA Playoffs
Bust a Move
C2: Judgment Clay
Cacoma Knight in Bizyland
Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball
California Games II
Cannon Fodder
Capcom's MVP Football
Capcom's Soccer Shootout
Captain America and the Avengers
Captain Commando
Captain Novolin
Carrier Aces
Casper
Castlevania: Dracula X
Champions World Class Soccer
Championship Pool
Championship Soccer '94 Sensible Software
Chessmaster, The
Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest
Choplifter III
Chrono Trigger
Chuck Rock
Civilization
Clay Fighter
Clay Fighter: Tournament Edition
Claymates
Cliffhanger
Clue
College Football USA '97: The Road to New Orleans
College Slam
Combatribes, The
Congo's Caper
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Cool Spot
Cool World
Cutthroat Island
Cyber Spin
Cybernator
Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
Darius Twin
David Crane's Amazing Tennis
Daze Before Christmas
Death and Return of Superman, The
Demolition Man
Demon's Crest
Dennis the Menace
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
D-Force
Dig & Spike Vollyball
DinoCity
Dino Dini's Soccer
Dirt Racer
Dirt Trax FX
Disney's Aladdin
Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Disney's Goof Troop
Disney's The Lion King
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Doom
Doom Troopers
Doomsday Warrior
Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension
Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden
Dragon Ball Z 2: La Legende Saien
Dragon Ball Z 3: Ultime Menace
Dragon View November 1994 Infogrames KEMCO NA
Dragon's Lair
Drakkhen
Dream TV
Duel, The: Test Drive II
Dungeon Master
E.V.O.: Search for Eden
EarthBound
Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim 2
Eek! The Cat
Elite Soccer World Cup Striker EU July 1994
Emmitt Smith Football
Equinox
ESPN Baseball Tonight
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN Speed World
ESPN Sunday Night NFL
Extra Innings
Eye of the Beholder
F-Zero
F1 Pole Position
F1 Pole Position 2
F1 ROC: Race Of Champions Exhaust Heat EU
F1 ROC II: Race Of Champions
F1 World Championship Edition
Faceball 2000
Family Dog
Family Feud
Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
Fatal Fury 2
Fatal Fury Special
FIFA International Soccer
FIFA Soccer '96
FIFA 97: Gold Edition
FIFA 98: Road to World Cup
Fighter's History
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Final Fight
Final Fight 2
Final Fight 3
Final Fight Guy
Firemen, The
Firepower 2000
Firestriker
First Samurai
Flashback: The Quest for Identity
Flintstones: The Movie
Flintstones, The: The Treasure of Sierra Madrock
Football Fury
Foreman For Real
Frank Thomas' Big Hurt Baseball
Frantic Flea
Frogger
Full Throttle: All-American Racing
Gemfire
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Grey Wolf
George Foreman's KO Boxing
Ghoul Patrol
Goal!
Gods
GP-1
GP-1: Part II
Gradius III
Great Circus Mystery, The: Starring Mickey and Minnie
Great Waldo Search, The
GunForce
Hagane: The Final Conflict
HammerLock Wrestling
Hardball 3
Harley's Humongous Adventure
Harvest Moon
Head-On Soccer Fever Pitch Soccer EU
Hebereke's Popoitto
Hebereke's Popoon
Hit the Ice
Hole in One Golf
Home Alone
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Home Improvement
Hook
Humans, The
Hungry Dinosaurs
Hunt for Red October, The
Hurricanes
Hyper V-Ball
HyperZone
Ignition Factor, The
Illusion of Gaia
Imperium
Incantation
Incredible Crash Dummies, The
Incredible Hulk, The
Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
Inindo: Way of the Ninja
Inspector Gadget
International Superstar Soccer
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe
International Tennis Tour
Irem Skins Game, The
Itchy & Scratchy Game, The
Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings
Jack Nicklaus Golf
James Bond Jr.
James Pond 3: Operation Starfish
Jammit
Jelly Boy
Jeopardy! Deluxe Edition
Jeopardy! Featuring Alex Trebek
Jeopardy! Sports Edition
Jetsons: The Invasion of the Planet Pirates
Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams
Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3-D
Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour
Jimmy Houston's Bass Tournament USA
Joe & Mac Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja EU
Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics
John Madden Football
John Madden Football '93
Judge Dredd
Jungle Book, The
Jungle Strike
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues
Justice League Task Force
Ka-Blooey
Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge
Kawasaki Superbike Challenge
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
Kendo Rage
Kevin Keegan's Player Manager
Kick Off
Kick Off 3: European Challenge
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase
Killer Instinct
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice
King Arthur's World
King of Dragons, The
King of the Monsters
King of the Monsters 2: The Next Thing
Kirby Super Star
Kirby's Avalanche
Kirby's Dream Course
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Knights of the Round
Krusty's Super Fun House
Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing
Lagoon
Lamborghini American Challenge
Last Action Hero
Lawnmower Man, The
Legend
Legend of the Mystical Ninja, The
Legend of Zelda, The: A Link to the Past
Lemmings
Lemmings 2: The Tribes
Lester the Unlikely
Lethal Enforcers
Lethal Weapon
Liberty or Death
Lock On
Looney Tunes B-Ball
Lord of the Rings, (J.R.R. Tolkien's) The, Vol. I
Lost Vikings, The
Lost Vikings 2, The
Lucky Luke
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
M.A.C.S. Basic Rifle Marksmanship
Madden NFL '94
Madden NFL '95
Madden NFL '96
Madden NFL 97
Madden NFL 98
Magic Boy
Magic Sword
Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, The
Manchester United Championship Soccer
Mario Is Missing!
Mario Paint
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters
Mario's Early Years: Fun with Numbers
Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun
Mario's Time Machine
Mark Davis: The Fishing Master
Marko's Magic Football
Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Mask, The
Math Blaster: Episode 1
Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow Donald in Maui Mallard EU
Mecarobot Golf
MechWarrior
MechWarrior 3050
Mega-Lo-Mania
Mega Man 7
Mega Man Soccer
Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3
Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
Metal Marines
Metal Morph
Metal Warriors
Michael Andretti's Indy Car Challenge
Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
Micro Machines
Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament
Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
Mighty Max
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fighting Edition
Miracle Piano
MLBPA Baseball
Mohawk & Headphone Jack
Monopoly
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat 3
Mountain Bike Rally
Mr. Do!
Mr. Nutz
Ms. Pac-Man
Musya: The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror
Natsume Championship Wrestling
NBA All-Star Challenge
NBA Give 'N Go
NBA Hangtime
NBA Jam
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
NBA Live '95
NBA Live '96
NBA Live '97
NBA Live '98
NBA Showdown 94
NCAA Basketball
NCAA Final Four Basketball
NCAA Football
Newman Hass Indy Car Racing
NFL Football
NFL Quarterback Club
NFL Quarterback Club '96
NHL '94
NHL '95
NHL '96
NHL '97
NHL '98
NHL Stanley Cup
NHLPA Hockey '93
Nickelodeon Guts
Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing
Ninja Gaiden Trilogy
Ninja Warriors, The
No Escape
Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition: Lords of Darkness
Nolan Ryan's Baseball
Nosferatu
Obitus
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
Olympic Summer Games
On the Ball
Operation Europe: Path to Victory
Operation Logic Bomb
Operation Thunderbolt
Oscar
Out of This World
Out to Lunch
Outlander
P.T.O.: Pacific Theater of Operations
P.T.O.: Pacific Theater of Operations II
Pac-Attack
Pac-In-Time
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures
Packy and Marlon
Pagemaster, The
Paladin's Quest
Paperboy 2
Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy
Peace Keepers, The
PGA European Tour
PGA Tour 96
PGA Tour Golf
Phalanx
Phantom 2040
Pieces
Pilotwings
Pinball Dreams
Pinball Fantasies
Pink Panther in Pink Goes to Hollywood
Pinocchio
Pirates of Dark Water
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Pit-Fighter
Plok
Pocky & Rocky
Pocky & Rocky 2
Pop'n TwinBee
Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures
Populous
Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods
Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday
Power Drive
Power Instinct
Power Moves
Power Piggs of the Dark Age
Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers
Powermonger
Prehistorik Man
Primal Rage
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
Pro Quarterback
Pro Sport Hockey
Pushover
Putty Squad
Q*bert 3
Race Drivin'
Radical Rex
Raiden Trad
Rampart
Ranma ½: Hard Battle
Rap Jam: Volume One
Realm
Redline F-1 Racer
Relief Pitcher
Ren & Stimpy Show, The: Buckaroo$
Ren & Stimpy Show, The: Time Warp
Ren & Stimpy Show, The: Veediots!
Ren & Stimpy Show Part II: Fire Dogs
Revolution X
Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon
Riddick Bowe Boxing Chavez MX
Rise of the Phoenix
Rise of the Robots
Rival Turf!
Road Riot 4WD
Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
RoboCop 3
Robocop versus The Terminator
Robotrek
Rock N' Roll Racing
Rocketeer, The
Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day
Rocky Rodent
Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
Romance of the Three Kingdoms III: Dragon of Destiny
Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire
RPM Racing
R-Type III: The Third Lightning
Run Saber
Sailor Moon
Samurai Shodown
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Scooby-Doo Mystery
SeaQuest DSV
Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana
Secret of the Stars
Sensible Soccer
Shadowrun
Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye
Shaq Fu
Shien's Revenge
Side Pocket
SimAnt
SimCity
SimCity 2000
SimEarth: The Living Planet
Sink or Swim
SkulJagger: Revolt of the Westicans
Skyblazer
Smart Ball
Smash Tennis
Smurfs, The
Smurfs, The: Travel The World
Snow White: Happily Ever After
Soldiers of Fortune
Sonic Blast Man
Sonic Blast Man II
SOS
Soul Blazer
Space Ace
Space Football: One on One
Space Invaders
Space Megaforce
Spanky's Quest
Sparkster
Spawn
Spectre
Speed Racer: In My Most Dangerous Adventures
Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
Spider-Man and Venom: Separation Anxiety
Spider-Man & the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
Spindizzy Worlds
Spirou
Sporting News, The: Power Baseball
Sports Illustrated: Championship Football & Baseball
Star Fox
Star Fox: Official Competition
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Crossroads of Time
Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future's Past
Stargate
Steel Talons
Sterling Sharpe: End 2 End
Stone Protectors
Street Combat
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Street Hockey '95
Street Racer
Strike Gunner S.T.G.
Stunt Race FX
Sunset Riders
Super 3D Noah's Ark (Unl)
Super Adventure Island
Super Adventure Island II
Super Aquatic Games Starring the Aquabats, The
Super Baseball 2020
Super Baseball Simulator 1.000
Super Bases Loaded
Super Bases Loaded 2
Super Bases Loaded 3: License to Steal
Super Batter Up
Super Battleship
Super Battletank: War in the Gulf
Super Battletank 2
Super Black Bass
Super Bomberman
Super Bomberman 2
Super Bomberman 3
Super Bonk
Super Bowling
Super Buster Bros.
Super Caesars Palace
Super Castlevania IV
Super Chase H.Q.
Super Conflict: The Mideast
Super Double Dragon
Super Dany
Super Dropzone
Super E.D.F.: Earth Defense Force
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Super Goal! 2
Super Godzilla
Super High Impact
Super Ice Hockey
Super International Cricket
Super James Pond
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Metroid
Super Morph
Super Ninja Boy
Super Nova
Super Off Road
Super Off Road: The Baja
Super Pinball: Behind the Mask
Super Play Action Football
Super Punch Out!!
Super Putty
Super RBI Baseball
Super R-Type
Super Scope 6
Super Slam Dunk
Super Slap Shot
Super Smash TV
Super Soccer
Super Soccer Champ
Super Solitaire
Super Star Wars
Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
Super Strike Eagle
Super Tennis
Super Troll Islands
Super Turrican
Super Turrican 2
Super Valis IV
Super Widget
Suzuka 8 Hours
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
Syndicate
Syvalion
T2: The Arcade Game
Taz-Mania
Tecmo Super Baseball
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition
Tecmo Super Bowl III: The Final Edition
Tecmo Super NBA Basketball
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
Terminator, The
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terranigma
Tetris & Dr. Mario
Tetris 2
Tetris Attack
Theme Park
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Thunder Spirits
Tick, The
Time Slip
Time Trax
Timecop
Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games
Tin Star
Tintin in Tibet
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge
TKO Super Championship Boxing
TNN Bass Tournament of Champions
Tom and Jerry
Tommy Moe's Winter Extreme: Skiing & Snowboarding
Tony Meola's Sidekick Soccer
Top Gear
Top Gear 2
Top Gear 3000
Total Carnage
Toys: Let the Toy Wars Begin!
Troddlers
Troy Aikman NFL Football
True Golf: Wicked 18
True Golf Classics: Pebble Beach Golf Links
True Golf Classics: Waialae Country Club
True Lies
Tuff E Nuff
Turbo Toons
Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone
Twisted Tales of Spike McFang, The
U.N. Squadron
Ultima: Runes of Virtue II
Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Ultimate Fighter
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultraman: Towards the Future
Uncharted Waters
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons
Uniracers
Untouchables
Urban Strike
Utopia: The Creation of a Nation
Vegas Stakes
Virtual Bart
Virtual Soccer
Vortex
War 2410
War 3010: The Revolution
Wario's Woods
Warlock
Warp Speed
Waterworld
Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars
Wayne's World
WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling
Weaponlord
We're Back!: A Dinosaur Story
Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White
Wheel of Fortune Deluxe!
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Whirlo
Whizz
Wild Guns
Wild Snake
Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits
Wing Commander
Wing Commander: The Secret Missions
Wings 2: Aces High
Winter Gold
Winter Olympic Games: Lillehammer '94
Wizard of Oz, The
Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom
Wolfchild
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolverine: Adamantium Rage
Wordtris
World Class Rugby
World Cup USA '94
World Heroes
World Heroes 2
World League Soccer
World Masters Golf
World Soccer '94: Road to Glory
Worms
WWF RAW
WWF Royal Rumble
WWF Super WrestleMania
WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game
Xardion
X-Kaliber 2097
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
X-Zone
Yoshi's Cookie
Yoshi's Safari
Young Merlin
Ys III: Wanderers From Ys
Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension
Zoop
This list is intended primarily as a content/trigger warning resource. I’m including fascism in general as well as the more obviously named Nazis.
Content Warnings: Mentions of concentration camps, prisoner of war camps, ethnic cleansing, the holocaust, anti-Semitism, eugenics, rape, abortion, and general fascist horrible things.
As with all lists, suggestions and corrections are encouraged,
Fantasy/Fictional Games Featuring Nazis:
'Allo 'Allo! Cartoon Fun! - Licensed game from the 1980s British TV comedy series, set in occupied France.
Another War - Polish made RPG set during WW2 in the style of Baldur’s Gate.
Bionic Commando - The Japanese NES game originally had Hitler as the final boss, but the International versions changed his name without changing his appearance.
Bloodrayne - Set in 1933 and 1935, deals almost entirely with killing Nazis and Nazi vampires. The PC and Xbox versions have had the swastikas removed and replaced with a triskelion style symbol, which is also used by other real world white suprematist groups.
Bugs vs. Tanks - The player is a tank crew of Nazi tanks who have been miniaturised.
CannonCrotch - About killing Nazis with a dick cannon, yeah.
Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice - Something about Nazi scientists trying to harness the power of eldrich abominations.
Call of Duty: Zombies - Nazi zombies
Captain America: Super Soldier - Features the Iron Cross (the Marvel super soldier, not the medal) and Agents of Hydra, who are both Nazis.
City of Heroes - This defunct MMO had a villain faction who were Nazis.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Time travel led to Russia becoming the aggressor in WW2.
Death to Spies Franchise - Hitman style games about killing German spies in the Soviet Union.
Deus Ex - Brief mentions of Nazi gold.
Dino D-Day - As you’d expect from the title, D-Day with dinosaurs.
Double Hitler - A QWOP game where Hitler is two small kids in a trench-coat.
Download 2 - The plot involves terrorist trying to bring back Hitler with digital technology.
Enemy Front - FPS about an American War Correspondent fighting with the Resistance
Epic Fantasy Battle Series - The second game features a Nazi as the final boss. He joins the party in the 3rd and 4th games. Both the Swastika and the Iron Cross symbolism show up in his outfits, though the Swastikas point in the wrong direction.
Ethnic Cleansing - I don’t think I need to explain this one.
Flight of the Amazon Queen - Features a company which is a front for a Nazi group with the names filed off.
Fists of Resistance - Game about punching Nazis
Freedom Fighters - Alternative history where Russia won WW2.
Freedom Force vs The Third Reich - It’s in the title so I’m being redundant for sake of completeness, it features alternative history and time travel but no actual swastikas.
Golgo 13: Wolf's Lair - Infiltrating a Neo-Nazi lair and killing them.
Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode - The Japanese original features a cyborg Hitler and obvious Nazis. These were apparently changed in the English language localisation, but the imagery and use of the swastika remains
The Great Escape (1986) - Based on the movie, not the real events which inspired it.
The Great Escape (2003) - Based on the movie, not the real events which inspired it.
Gran Turismo - Something about Nazi cars??!
GROM: Terror in Tibet - RPG about fighting Nazis with mystical Tibetan magical relics.
Guntu Western Front June, 1944 - FPS set in occupied France
Hans Kloss - A platforming game based on a Polish TV show about a spy stealing German plans.
Hellboy: The Science of Evil - Story involves Nazi scientists, Nazi robots and Nazi gorillas or something.
Hour of Victory - A FPS set in Europe and North Africa
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - One of the playable characters is a former Nazi scientist.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - It’s Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb - It’s Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade - It’s Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings - It’s Indiana Jones.
The Intercept - Text Adventure about the Enigma decoders.
Into the Eagle’s Nest aka Eagle’s Nest - Gauntlet style game set during WW2
Iron Sky Invasion - NMR
Jang Pung 3 - Something about punching a Nazi Cyborg Dinosaur.
KZ Manager - A series of Concentration Camp simulators.
Kronolog: The Nazi Paradox - Alternative history where the Axis won.
La Croix Pan - Adventure game about an Allied solider.
The Last Resurrection - Some edge-lord nonsense pretending to be satire where Jesus is an anti-Semitic (yes, really) supervillain rapist and Hitler is his right-hand man or something.
Laura Bow: The Dagger Of Amon Ra - Set in 1926 but features a Germany security guard who goosesteps.
Lost Horizon - Point and click adventure game in the style of Indiana Jones with Thule Nazis, though all swastikas are replaced with the Iron Cross because it was made by a German company.
Len Deighton's Blitzkrieg: The Game - From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of England - RTS where you play as Germany in a fictional scenario where they win the war.
Marine Raider - Text adventure about Allied forces in Japan.
Metal Gear Solid 1 - Hitler is briefly mentioned in dialogue.
Mortyr: 2093-1944 & Mortyr 2 - Alternative History FPS about time travelling to stop Hitler winning WW2.
Mr. T - Something about Mr. T and Will Wright teaming up to fight Nazis,I don’t know either.
Operation Darkness - Fire Emblem style JRPG with vampires and werewolves as well as Nazis and Vampire Nazis.
Opération Teddy Bear - French Edutainment title to teach kids about WW2 history and the French Resistance.
Operation Wolfsburg - FPS about stopping Nazis from doing... something.
Outlast - Nazi scientist research is part of the game’s backstory.
Partisan - Action RPG set during WW2.
Pathways into Darkness - FPS featuring Nazi ghosts.
Pearl Harbor: Attack! Attack! - Alternative history where you shoot down the Japanese planes and prevent the Pearl Harbor bombing.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin - Features Hitler as an antagonist who is actually an eldritch horror in disguise.
Pilot Down: Behind Enemy Lines - Stealth game about a pilot trying to escape to Switzerland
Police Quest IV: Open Season - Something about interrogating a very old Nazi.
Project: Weltuntergang - Mod for Wolfenstein 3D
Raiders of the Lost Ark - It’s Indiana Jones.
The Reckoning - Mod for Mount and Blade: Warband which features a Neo-Nazi faction.
Redcon - You play as an officer in an alternative history fascist future.
Red Shark Franchise - Flight sim involving a time travelling helicopter.
Relic Of War - Strategy game where WW2 didn’t end.
Ring of Red - Alternative history with mecha in WW2.
Rescue Raiders - Helicopter game involving time travel.
Rocket Ranger - Game involving time travel and a Nazi moon base.
The Saboteur - GTA clone set in occupied France.
Secrets of the Vatican: The Holy Lance - Hidden Object Game about trying to get the Lance of Longin (the spear which pierced Jesus’ side during the crucifixion) before the Nazis find it.
Signatory: Chouinsha - I can’t find anything about this old Japanese game but it has Hitler on the front cover.
Spear Resurrection & Spear End of Destiny - Fan made sequels to a Wolfenstein game
A Stroke of Fate: Operation Valkyrie - Adventure game with a German protagonist in the SS and Gestapo who sets out to assassinate Hitler.
The Simpsons Game - Features a level set inside a WW2 shooter.
Soldier of Fortune - FPS where the enemy is a Neo-Nazi Group who have stolen nuclear weapons.,
Southpark: The Stick of Truth - Features Zombie Nazi aborted foetuses, because of course it does.
Super Mario World Dark Horizon - A Super Mario fan game featuring a Super Saiyan Hitler.
Stalag 1 - POW Camp simulator
Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set - This early RPG creation kit features a Nazi castle as part of its included settings.
Time Gentlemen, Please! - Involves time travel and alternative history with Hitler and robot dinosaurs.
Titanic: Adventure Out of Time - Point and Click about a retired spy dying in the Blitz travelling back in time to redo a failed mission on the Titanic which will stop WW2 from happening, or something.
The Train: Escape to Normandy - Train simulator about trying to prevent Nazis from getting French paintings.
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty - Alternative History where Nazis invade New York.
ÜberSoldier Franchise aka Crimes of War - About a German soldier who gets super powers and then recruited by the Resistance to fight against Nazis.
Uncharted 1 - Features a U-Boat full of dead Nazis.
Uncharted 2 - Brief references to Hitler.
Undercover: Operation Wintersun - Point and Click adventure set during WW2.
Velvet Assassin - Loosely based on a real British spy. No swastikas because it was made by a German company.
Vogelstein 2D - Top down shooter inspired by Wolfenstein
Walker - Side scrolling WW2 shooter with a walking tank.
War Front: Turning Point - Alternative history RTS where Hitler was assassinated and the Germany and Allied power joined forces to fight against Russia.
Weird Wars: The Unknown Episode of World War II aka Weird Wars: Operation Pantherauge - Polish Isometric RPG involving Nazis and a mystical weapon.
Wolfenstein Franchise -Various reboots turned the series into Alternate History, Jewish-American Protagonist.
Wolfram - Remake of Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfschanze 1 & 2 - FPS inspired by the real life attempted assassination of Hitler by Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg.
World War II: Prisoner of War - Stealth game about escaping a POW camp.
Zombie Army Trilogy aka Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army Franchise
Nazi/Fascist Imagery/Fascist Empires:
Absolute Obedience - This yaoi game is set in Germany and uses a lot of fascist militaristic imagery (also rape) but the exact historical period is unclear (it has the Berlin wall in it, for example,) and is visually all over the place.
Akatsuki Blitzkampf - Japanese Dōjin fighter which uses a lot of fascist militaristic imagery and is clearly inspired by the Axis and Allies of WW2.
Battalion Wars - The Xylvanians are based on the WW1 era German Empire rather than Nazi Germany.
Bioshock Infinite - Despite being set in 1912 Columbia is influenced directly by Nazi Germany in-game because of the time tears. Massively fascist racist society.
Bloodrayne 2 - Set in “modern times” but features a flashback with Nazi imagery and occasional triskelion imagery.
Borderlands Franchise - Handsome Jack is often referred to as a fascist in game, he kills people for no reason, has a massive ego, has huge statues build glorifying him, and wants to kill everyone on Pandora who doesn’t work for him because he has decided they are “savages”.
Bully aka Canis Canem Edit - During the Halloween section Gary’s costume is clearly a Nazi Officer uniform, but without any insignia
Civilization: Beyond Earth - The purity affinity is about glorifying humanity and destroying anything that doesn’t conform.
The Darkness - Apparently features Nazi imagery in a bonus comic which came with the game.
Einhänder - What’s left of the world is run by a German-speaking evil Empire.
Fallout 2 - The Enclave wanted to exterminate everyone who wasn’t part of them, though the later games made them a bit less extreme.
Fallout: New Vegas - Caesar’s Legion attempts to emulate the Roman Empire, complete with hating women, and crucifying all their enemies.
Fallout 4 - The Brotherhood of Steel in this instalment is obsessed with “purity” associated with not being irradiated.
Final Fantasy 2/II - The Empire of Palamecia.
Final Fantasy 6/VI - The Gestahlian Empire is definitely a fascist regime and the Emperor even uses a Nazi salute in game.
Final Fantasy 12/XII - The Archadian Empire.
Final Fantasy 15/XV - The Empire of Niflheim
Final Fantasy Type-0 - The Milites.
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Both the Thalmor and the Stormcloak factions are really into the “racial superiority” of the Altemer and Nords respectively.
Half-Life 2 - The Combine.
Killzone Fracnhise - The Hellghast are obviously based on a mixture of Nazi and Stalinist sources.
Lusternia - This MUD has a fascist empire called the Empire of Magnagora.
Maken X - Apparently the Japanese features Nazi imagery but was censored for American release (not sure if this was deliberate or not in context, given the use of the manji symbol in Japanese culture and religion, but the game also apparently features a boss fight against the Pope, so maybe it was).
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - The Movement brainwashes people and has a uniform with red arm bands and jackboots.
Resident Evil Franchise - Almost every antagonist movement in the series has some element of fascism to it, from wanting to “improve” humanity through genetic therapy, to killing off everyone who is not “worthy”, to experimenting bioweapons on African villagers.
Starcraft Franchise - The UPL & UED are into genetic “purity”and purging humanity of “undesirables”.
Star Wars - Any game which features the Sith Empire, but especially The Old Republic MMO.
Tales of Symphonia - The half-elven Desians round up humans and put them in camps for being “inferior”.
Team Fortress - The design of the Medic evokes a Nazi doctor, especially since he has a German accent and refers to himself as “ze ubermensch”.
Tropico Franchise - The Nationalist faction hates foreigners, and in Tropico 4 their leader is depicted as a skinhead.
Under Defeat - Nazi inspired uniforms.
Valkyria Chronicles - Has an evil empire which is a mashup of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Special Mentions and Exceptions:
Assassin’s Creed Franchise - In the lore Hitler was apparently a Templar with a piece of the Apple of Eden, but I’m not sure which game(s) contain Nazi imagery, if any, so needs more research.
Bazooka Bill - Is set during WW2 but all the enemies appear to be ninjas instead of German officers.
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures - Unlike the films it’s based on, and most of the licensed games, the LEGO game contains no references to Nazis or Nazi imagery. Characters who were Nazis in the originals are referred to as “Enemies” in game instead.
Mass Effect - The Cerberus group is a “humans first” organisation in their first appearance but their portrayal over the three games is inconsistent.
The Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy - Set in 1937 but omits direct references to Nazis and swastikas even though the Hindenburg is a location.
Super Donkey Kong (aka DK Country) 1 & 2, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Space Bazooka (aka Battle Clash), Sim City, Sim City Jr, Sim Earth, Sim City 2000, Super Puyo Puyo 1 & Tsuu, Street Fighter II, SF II Turbo, Super SF II, Garou Densetsu Special (aka Fatal Fury), Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 3, Dragon Quest V & VI, Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy V, Front Mission, Breath of Fire II, Bastard!!, Albert Odyssey, Astral Bout, Super Wrestlemania, Pro Mahjong Tsuwamono, Battle Soccer, Earth Light, Lethal Enforcers, Super Air Diver (aka Lock On), Ultimate Football (aka Football Fury), & Super Pinball in the first pic.
Pic #2 includes Syvalion, Super Variable Geo, and many sports/gambling/etc titles.
The Best PS2 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time
Action, suspense, thickening storylines, and newly advanced graphics.
The PS2 RPGs have them all rolled into a perfect gaming combination. What could possibly be better than experiencing your favorite vintage RPGs on the old school PS1?
Amazing new RPGs on an upgraded system with augmented graphics! Many of the RPG series and games we have come to love received sequels and additions to the new PS2 system. With their cult followings, unique stories, and newly upgraded visuals, these games are worthy of more than just one playthrough.
Here is our list of the 10 Best PlayStation 2 Role Playing games ever created!
The Best PS2 Role Playing Games (RPGs)
1. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004)
Are you looking for a creative, adventurous journey full of vibrant color and eye-catching 3D graphics? You cannot go wrong with Dragon Quest VIII! The game begins with the court jester of the kingdom of Trodain, Dhoulmagus, stealing an ancient scepter and casting a spell on Trodain castle.
The spell turns King Trode, into a troll; the princess, Medea, into a horse; and the rest of the castle’s inhabitants into plants. The only one left unaffected is the unnamed protagonist, a Trodain guard. The guard, King Trode, and Princess Medea set out on a quest to track down Dhoulmagus and break the spell.
These battle scenes have visually changed dramatically from earlier games in the series yet retain a similar text-based menu system for battles. It continues to follow the turn-based RPG combat system, but with a shifting camera view based on who is battling the enemy.
Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It was the first Dragon Quest game to receive a score of 39 out of 40 from Famitsu. It won both 1UP.com’s and GameSpy’s “Best RPG of E3 2005” award, ahead of runner-up Kingdom Hearts II.
Time to grab yourself a copy and pop this one into the PS2!
2. Final Fantasy XII (2006)
Encompassing both beautiful scenery and intriguing character, Final Fantasy XII lives up to the high expectations of the legendary series.
Final Fantasy XII takes place in the familiar world of Ivalice, hundreds of years after Dynast King Raithwall united its warring kingdoms in the Galtean Alliance. It follows the street urchin Vaan who becomes embroiled in a quest to save the occupied kingdom of his homeland, Dalmasca, from a war that seems imminent.
Excluding the massively multiplayer online role-playing game FF XI, FF XII is the first entry in the main Final Fantasy series not to include random encounters. Another new feature is the “gambit” system, which allows the player to program each character to perform certain commands in battle in response to specified conditions.
Final Fantasy XII does a superb job of blending a Star Wars-esque spirit with an Anime presentation. The game has it all, political intrigue and rebellion, aerial dogfighting, sleek spacecraft, and an eclectic cast of characters.
Add this one to your list! You will not be disappointed.
3. Kingdom Hearts I (2002)
What happens when you combine the magic of Disney with the unparalleled storytelling of Final Fantasy? You get something Epic, and they named it Kingdom Hearts.
The series begins with a 14-year-old boy named Sora is separated from his friends Riku and Kairi when their home Destiny Islands is consumed in darkness. Sora obtained a weapon called the Keyblade that allows him to fight the Heartless, creatures that originate from the Realm of Darkness. Sora is then transported to the infamous Traverse Town, where he teams up with Donald and Goofy.
They are two emissaries from Disney Castle sent to find the Keyblade wielder under orders from their missing king, Mickey Mouse. The three band together to travel through different worlds and battle some very familiar villains.
The games are influenced by their parent franchise, Final Fantasy, and carry its gameplay elements over into their action-based system.
Like many others, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system that determines character development. Fans of Square’s other RPG entries will recognize some gameplay staples, such as the magic spells and summoning spells, and the whole thing truly plays like an action-adventure title.
The characters truly pull at your heartstrings as you fall in love with their good-hearted nature and perseverance. The world in which you play feels lighthearted and magical amidst the darkness.
It is impossible to put your controller down once you wield your first key blade. It is no surprise that Kingdom Hearts would become a ps2 RPG top seller that is worthy of multiple sequels.
4. Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
Grab your key blade and get back in your Gummi Ship! It’s time to experience more amazing character-filled worlds!
The first Kingdom Hearts was such a success that it is no surprise that there would be a Kingdom Hearts II. Full of a double dose of magic, the second story adds even more combinations of both Disney and Final Fantasy characters.
Where this game really shines is in the presentation. Even by today’s standards, it’s a great looking game, and the lush coloring and animations in the world all but beg you to adventure through it.
In Kingdom Hearts II, you reprise the role of Sora, wielder of the keyblade. The crux of the game has you, Sora, traveling from one land to another with companions Donald Duck and Goofy to dispel the heartless and to rescue friends of yours that are missing. Along the way, you’ll join forces with the heroes and heroines of Square, Disney, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
While still an action RPG, Kingdom Hearts II gives you some freedoms, both in determining your characters’ attributes and in resigning yourself to standard combat. You can do a little bit of both or a lot of one or the other, depending on your preferences. Seasoned role-playing gamers will be able to spend time perfecting the allocation of their abilities, synthesizing new items, and grinding to level up.
For those less interested in the role-playing aspects, you can breeze through the main gameplay without paying much attention to statistics.
Kingdom Hearts II is a wonderful experience in which every character interaction allows you to live through some of the magic moments of these movies and games.
5. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (2004)
If you are looking for some realistic intrigue with a strong hint of mystical, you have come to the right place! Covenant, the sequel to Shadow Hearts, brings the reality of war mixed with the intrigue of fantasy.
The game takes place in an alternate WWI-era setting that is rife with supernatural elements, and it has a rich cast of characters, including vampires, wolves, military officers, and even a puppeteer.
The story follows six months after the events of Shadow Hearts during the time of World War I. The heroes are drawn into an intriguing plot involving the demons of demonolatry, the chief advisor of the tsar of Russia, and a man from the main character Yuri Hyuga’s past.
The battle system is unique in that it features a “judgment ring,” which acts as a timer to deliver crucial hits
Overall, this a roleplaying game that will leave a lasting legacy.
6. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (2008)
The intrigue of mystery, Suspense, and unsolved murder lands Persona 4 next on our list. The intriguing storyline is based on the work of mystery novelists owing to its murder mystery premise.
The plot centers on another high-school protagonist who must overcome spirits, murders, and killer fog. The rural setting was based on a town on the outskirts of Mount Fuji in the fictional town of Inaba.
We follow high school student, Yu Narukami in later media, who has recently moved from the city to attend school at Inaba. Unexplained murders have taken place in the small town, where bodies are found dangling from television antennas and their cause of death being unknown.
The main focus of the game revolves around Personas, avatars projected from one’s inner self that resembles mythological figures and represents the façades worn by individuals to face life’s hardships.
The “Shin Megami Tensei” series earned rave reviews for its willingness to break with the RPG convention. It blends traditional RPG gameplay with simulation elements. You will travel through dungeons, all based upon a victim that has been kidnapped. The player enters battle upon coming into contact with a Shadow. You engage in combat using the elements Physical, Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, Light, Dark, and Almighty.
“Persona 4” improves on the previous entries by delivering better animation and mechanics. It is critically acclaimed being one of the greatest games of all time.
7. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (2003)
This installment of Star Ocean is a bit of a wildcard. While some absolutely love the game, others were not as thrilled. While having many similarities to its predecessor, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time includes many elements that make it unique among the majority of role-playing video games.
The game begins on the resort planet of Hyda IV. Fayt Leingod is on a family vacation with his parents Robert and Ryoko Leingod and his childhood friend Sophia Esteed.
Everything appears fairly normal until the galactic faction known as the Vendeeni invades the planet. Fayt and his family are forced to flee, but he is separated from them. His escape pod ends up crash-landing on the planet Vanguard III. His journey thereafter will not only reveal a few truths about himself but about the origin of their very universe.
The game inherits the recurring real-time interactive combat system from the series while presenting many new elements. Instead of random encounters, battles now occur when running into enemies on the main travel field or when certain pre-scripted events occur.
Enemy attacks can target either a player’s hit points (HP) or mental points (MP). Players will also lose HP from using special attacks or lose MP from using symbology or runeology, which is functionally equivalent to magic in other games.
Whether you love the game will truly depend on your preferences. Will you find the story to be solid or unbalanced? Will the large midway plot twist enhance or hinder your journey?
You will have t pick up a copy and find out!
8. Rogue Galaxy (2005)
Ever had the urge to become a pirate, board an airship, and fly around to save the galaxy? Who hasn’t?
Rogue Galaxy is exactly how it sounds, a vibrant story where you become a space pirate board an airship on a quest to defend the universe.
You play as Jaster Rogue, a young man with avid dreams of exploring the galaxy. The story begins on the planet Rosa, where its citizens live under their oppressive control and are forbidden from leaving the planet. Due to a series of fortunate events, Jaster is recruited by a gang of space pirates who mistake him for the legendary hunter, Desert Claw, and can leave Rosa. Jaster finds himself taking part in a galaxy-wide search with the crew for a legendary planet said to hold the secrets of a highly advanced civilization along with the immense treasure.
Rogue Galaxy is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective in which the player moves through a continuous environment, with no load time between overworld exploration and combat. Battles occur as random encounters like traditional role-playing video games. Unlike the traditional turn-based combat, Rogue uses a real-time hack and slash combat system in which the player fights with a party of three characters.
With its advanced graphics, range of side quests, and game scope Rogue Galaxy is worthy of a playthrough!
9. Suikoden III (2002)
With its impressive cult following, it is no surprise that Suikoden III has landed on our list.
Like other games in the series, Suikoden III features an intricate, detailed setting. However, it differs from Suikoden II in that in Suikoden III, the story is told through three different protagonists. That means gamers will play as a mercenary, a knight, and the son of a chieftain. The plot is explored through three different viewpoints, allowing events to be seen from multiple sides.
This is an excellent game for those who look to switch things up if they lose interest easily in a storyline.
The gameplay is along the lines of the traditional turn-based system we see in most RPG’s. Characters can also character can also learn specific skills; for instance, the “Parry” skill allows a character to defend against attacks more often, while other skills may increase damage output or hasten the casting of spells. Each character has their affinity for what works best for them.
Make sure to grab a copy of this one to add to your quickly growing Suikoden collection!
10. Final Fantasy X (2001)
“Listen to my story. This…may be our last chance.” -Tidus’s narrative
Last but definitely not least, we come to the beautiful, imaginative story that is Final Fantasy X.
The story of Final Fantasy X is told by Tidus, a sports star from the futuristic metropolis called Zanarkand. During a match, Tidus gets swept up to another world and joins summoner Yuna and her friends on her journey to save the world of Spira from a rampaging monster known as Sin. From here, it unfolds a wonderful story you will experience with beautiful graphics and unique characters.
Final Fantasy X introduces the Conditional Turn-Based Battle system in place of the series’ traditional Active Time Battle system first used in Final Fantasy IV. Whereas the ATB concept features real-time elements, the CTB system is a turn-based format that pauses the battle during each of the player’s turns.
The game added in the intricate sphere grid system, which is utilized for leveling up your characters. Additionally, the concept of “Limit Breaks,” highly damaging special attacks, reappear in Final Fantasy X as “Overdrives.”
Final Fantasy X is beloved for its solid story, richly layered characters, and ahead-of-its-time animation. If you haven’t played it, you need to.
Wrap Up
The best ps2 RPG video games became staples as our daily adventures. We would spend hours of our day exploring different fantasy words envisioning what life would be like on these imaginary planets. Not only were these games fully immersive, but they also became home.
These games would make you forget the real world, even if only for a moment. These are the RPG games that deserve a chance. Deserve a second playthrough. Deserve recognition from us as the ones that side quested their way into our hearts.
Where can I get these video games?
Can’t find a ps2 RPG on the list? Here are some primary locations to obtain these classics:
Playstation Store Classics – Store.Playstation.com
LukieGames – LukieGames.com
DKOldies – DKOldies.com
GameStop – Gamestop.com or In-Store Locations
Best Buy – Bestbuy.com
Want to check out the origins of some of these epic video games? Check out our list of Top PS1 RPG’s!
The post The Best PS2 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time appeared first on Your Money Geek.
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Finales and debuts, steampunk and litRPG gamerpunk, dungeon lords and adventurous raiders, and the return of the Destroyermen feature in this week’s fantasy new releases.
Bloodwood Forest – Jeremy Fabiano and Cadeen Fabiano
A deadly curse. A life hanging in the balance. One girl holds the key.
Catherine knows one thing: She needs to get stronger. Much stronger.
But is the adventurer’s guild training enough?
When a deadly curse leaves her mother’s life hanging in the balance, Catherine makes a vow to save her.
To keep her promise, she must journey through a mysterious and deadly forest full of hostile spirits and many other dangers.
She has her father’s former adventuring party by her side. But can they teach her to defeat the evil sorcerer sapping her mother’s life force away?
Chainworld (Quantum Assassin #1) – Matt Langley and Paul Ebbs
How do you escape an enemy who can follow you everywhere and everywhen?
Shryke knows you can’t, yet still he runs for his life. There are horrors buried deep in his memory that have been locked away from him by some secret magic. All he knows is that he is the Quantum Assassin, and he stands alone against the end of everything – the lone warrior in a war he can’t hope to win.
The God-Queen’s hunger for destruction will only be sated by the end of Chainworld, a series of impossible constructs held together by science so advanced the inhabitants mistake it for magic. Shryke and those he meets along the way must complete his memory so he can stand against her; otherwise, the Chainworld will be shattered and life as they know it will cease to be.
Everflame: Mystic Wind – Dylan Lee Peters
My name is ARTHUR KAGE and I have a secret: I spent a month in the forbidden forest the other survivors call the NULLWOOD.
ANNA says the Nullwood appeared the night the skies fell, the night we call the Demise. Anna uses a wheelchair, but she’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. She has a secret, too; a friend who is a fox but… is so much more. I help her keep her secret, and she helps me keep mine. The other survivors would kill me if they knew I had been in the Nullwood. Monsters come out of there. Everyone is afraid of that black forest, and fear makes people dangerous
I don’t have many memories of the Demise, except it’s the last I saw my mother. I can’t remember being in the Nullwood either, except for what I see when I dream. In dreams, I see a shadow bear amid the gnarled black trees, and I see a mysterious flame. I don’t know what any of it means but…
I have to find my mother.
I have to go back into the Nullwood.
Evolution (Djinn-Tamer: Bronze League #3) – Derek Alan Siddoway and A. J. Cerna
It’s time to crown a champion. It’s time to evolve.
Jackson Hunt has spent countless hours training his team of monsters and battling rivals as an up and coming Djinn Tamer. All his hard work, the stunning wins, and heartbreaking losses lead to one place: the league playoffs.
But what got Jackson where he is won’t be enough to take him to the top.
As the season draws to a close, Jackson and his friends find themselves far away from the stadiums and crowds, searching for a means to take his Djinn to the next level. The strength he seeks lies in a remote, untamed corner of the world, where myth and legend walk hand in hand.
Competition for the championship will be fierce and the dangers of the wild are only the beginning. Is Jackson ready for the biggest battle of his young career?
Skills will be tested, new powers unleashed. Victory won’t come without a cost.
Forger of Worlds – Simon Archer
Craft your own World. Trade with neighboring Empires. Become a God.
Garrett thought Terra Forma was just a game, but in reality, it was a test created by a devastatingly beautiful ancient goddess to find the most creative man in the universe.
Now, in order to help her defeat an ancient primordial deity, Garrett will have to take a dirt rock and transform it into the heart of the most powerful empire the universe has ever seen.
And to do that, he’ll have to unlock portals to other worlds, harvest their resources, and bring back settlers to his world.
Sure, it’s a nearly impossible task, but at the same time, how often do you get the chance to play god?
The King’s Regret (The Falconbone Chronicles #1) – Philip Ligon
Jason is not a child anymore.
He hasn’t been a child since the King betrayed his family, killing his mother and all his friends in a terrible surprise attack against his home.
He is not a child anymore, but everyone still treats him like he is. His father, his uncle, his sister. And especially Nanny Grace. Jason knows he can help. But he’s stuck washing dishes, tucked away and protected as the heir to the Falconbone family. All he can do is dream of the day when he finishes his ship, The King’s Regret, and flies it to the capital to avenge his family.
When Father flies away to search for allies, a saboteur wrecks havoc on their refuge. Jason is determined to find the traitor, to prove that he can be useful. The last thing he expects is to find his family’s oldest enemy lurking in the shadows of their mountain hideaway.
And for that man to be his only hope for bringing his Father home alive.
Pass of Fire (Destroyermen #14) – Taylor Anderson
After being transported to a strange alternate Earth, Matt Reddy and the crew of the USS Walker have learned desperate times call for desperate measures, in the return to the New York Times bestselling Destroyermen series.
Time is running out for the Grand Human and Lemurian Alliance. The longer they take to prepare for their confrontations with the reptilian Grik, the Holy Dominion, and the League of Tripoli, the stronger their enemies become. Ready or not, they have to move–or the price in blood will break them.
Matt Reddy and his battered old destroyer USS Walker lead the greatest army the humans and their Lemurian allies have ever assembled up the Zambezi toward the ancient Grik capital city. Standing against them is the largest, most dangerous force of Grik yet gathered.
On the far side of the world, General Shinya and his Army of the Sisters are finally prepared for their long-expected assault on the mysterious El Paso del Fuego. Not only is the dreaded Dominion ready and waiting for them; they’ve formed closer, more sinister ties with the fascist League of Tripoli.
Everything is on the line in both complex, grueling campaigns, and the Grand Alliance is stretched to its breaking point. Victory is the only option, whatever the cost, because there can be no second chances.
A Sellsword’s Hope (Seven Virtues #7) – Jacob Peppers
Grinner and his conspiracy to overthrow Perennia have been defeated, but victory came at a high cost. The alliance suffered losses it could ill afford, for the true enemy still lies in Baresh, growing stronger with each day that passes.
Leading the combined armies of three kingdoms, Aaron and his companions march to the city, but even with such a force, even with the power of the Virtues, victory is anything but assured.
For when blades are drawn, when battle begins, the only certainty is blood.
Aaron knows this, just as he knows the terrible odds he faces. Yet, he is not alone. His allies march with him—creatures out of myth and legend, cut-throats and thieves, sailors and smugglers, and the mysterious Akalians who have finally chosen to step out of the shadows and into the light.
But the ancient mage has allies of his own, creatures endowed with speed and strength greater than any man, bereft of any human feeling, including pain. But there is strength in emotion, a power that even the thousand-year-old mage, even creatures out of legend, cannot stand against.
For with emotion comes valor and courage, honor and duty.
With emotion comes hope.
Troll Nation (Rogue Dungeon #3) – James Hunter and eden Hudson
Build. Evolve. Conquer. The dawn of the Troll Nation has begun …
Roark von Graf—former noble and hedge-mage, current mid-level mob in a MMORPG—has taken down the Dungeon Lord of the Cruel Citadel, but the battle has only started.
Lowen, right hand to the Tyrant King, has come to Hearthworld, and he is building an army of his own. Worse, Lowen and company have taken over one of the most powerful dungeons in the game, The Vault of the Radiant Shield. Even as a Jotnar and a newly minted Dungeon Lord, Roark is supremely outclassed and he bloody well knows it. If he’s going to weather what’s to come and topple the Tyrant King, he’ll have to unlock the secrets of the stolen World Stone Pendant, master his new Hexorcist class, form some very unlikely allies, and most important … Grief some heroes. Let the games begin!
Seven Fold Sword: Sovereign (Seven Fold Sword #12) – Jonathan Moeller
The quest of the Seven Swords has been a trap all along.
For the dark elven tyrant known as the Sovereign will use the power of the Swords to ascend to godhood and enslave the world for all time.
And only Ridmark Arban stands in his way…
Fantasy New Releases: 22 June, 2019 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/
The Man Who Killed His Brother by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Man Who #1)
Author Stephen R. Donaldson is best known for his fantasy sagas like The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, but his character work and intense internal struggles resonate more than the epic quests and magical worldbuilding, and that's what shines in his The Man Who detective novels. Originally a trilogy that Donaldson wrote under a pseudonym in the 1980s, the series was later reissued with the author's real name attached to accompany the publication of the fourth (and so far, final) book in 2001.
This first story is probably the weakest of the lot, but it still has distinctive flourishes that raise it above the genre standard. The language is deliciously hardboiled, and although the setting lacks any giants or wizards, it's painted as such a torturous purgatory for the titular detective that I hesitate to call it entirely earthbound. I've read plenty of other stories about alcoholics, but no series has ever made addiction seem as starkly horrifying as it does here. The narrator's dependence on alcohol colors every corner of his investigations, with drinking presented as this awful, ugly thing that Axbrewder is nevertheless compelled to do. I'm honestly half-convinced that reading this series in high school may have been the catalyst that sparked my own lifelong decision not to drink.
It's not a perfect book. Donaldson is still clearly figuring out the rules of detective fiction at this stage in his career, and careful readers will likely run a few steps ahead of Axbrewder and his partner in unraveling the case. There's a lot of oblique subtext that would have been stronger if spelled out explicitly, especially concerning the backstory in the title of the time the private investigator fired at a suspect while drunk and gunned down his brother by mistake. It's clear that even on the wagon the protagonist no longer believes in the possibility of his own redemption, but Donaldson focuses narrowly on that effect at the expense of really exploring its root cause.
There's also a somewhat strained racial dynamic between what the text calls Anglos and Chicanos in the fictional southwestern city of Puerta del Sol. Axbrewder is the rare member of the former group who doesn't discriminate against the latter, but the minority characters do come across as just a little more stereotypical and mysticized than their white counterparts. I remember this being less of an issue in the sequels, so perhaps it's yet another mark of a talented but clumsy early writer. Luckily, there's still a lot to recommend this first volume, and the books only get better from here.
[Content warning for child prostitution and rape, off-screen but regularly discussed throughout the novel.]
Fantasy and Adventure New Release Roundup: 9 November 2017
This collection of the past two weeks’ new releases features litRPGs, the weird occult, pulp flash fiction, and the conclusion to an epic saga of family, war, and betrayal.
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Black Hat (Afterlife Online #2) – Domino Finn
Life’s a Grind
Living in a virtual game world sounds like the ultimate dream. Plenty of action, intrigue, and guess who gets to be the big hero?
But what happens when that digital reality gets flipped on its head? Bad guys are after your sweet loot, your fancy title is loaded with unrealistic expectations, and achieving such a high level comes with a big fat target on your back.
It isn’t long before Talon and company learn that, in an MMO, the daily grind is a literal fact of life.
Something has to give, so when a new crusader faction rolls into town, Talon senses an opportunity. Not just to get out of Dodge, but to navigate unforgiving terrain to the edge of the world where he can make a difference. Have a real impact. Be a real hero.
The catch? An awakened dragon, a city of cutthroats, and a mystical executioner with a sharpened axe to grind. Welcome to the first of a few very long days.
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Clock’s Watch – Micheal Reyes
Clock the Chaos Mage. A stranger out of time, hidden in the folds of shadow. He is the guardian of Coney Island’s supernatural borderlands, and the only thing standing between our reality and the demons that thirst to destroy it.
“I think if you like Weird Occult pulp, this sort of thing would be right up your alley—I think that one thing that is strongly to Clock’s benefit is that rather than being a throwback in time, setting stories in the pulp era, Reyes takes the classic weird occult format and places it in the modern day. So rather than pastiche or homage, Clock feels more like a contemporary, new weird* (but not New Weird) occult adventure series.” – P. Alexander of Cirsova Magazine
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Echoes of Light (Kingdoms of Sand #6) – Daniel Arenson
Zohar, an ancient land of sand and splendor, rallies for its last stand. The genocidal Aelarian Empire sends its legions to destroy the small desert kingdom. King Epher and his band of rebels stand against a fire they cannot extinguish. And it is Claudia herself, once Epher’s paramour, who leads the legions tasked with killing him.
Across the sea, in the Empire’s capital, a cruel new emperor has seized power. Atalia Sela, once the leader of a barbarian horde, now fights in the arena as a gladiator. Ofeer Sela, once a concubine and now a rebel, seeks to free her sister. Meanwhile, Seneca and Valentina, the children of fallen dynasties, still battle for the city, and their inevitable clash draws near.
Around the Encircled Sea, warlords, rebels, and legionaries battle for dominance. Sometimes it seems like the fire will always burn. Yet heroes still rise, fighting for a dream of peace, for memories of solace, and for lingering echoes of light.
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First Login (Chronicle #1) – Kevin Murphy
Time in a capsule.
People seek out escapes through countless avenues, but when the product is extra time to live—within an emerging digital world—everyone’s a customer. Game capsules transport players to a new world where time is perceived far more slowly. Why study for eight hours in the real world when you could get it all done in a single hour? Why work slowly? Why relax that way? Following this mentality, Chronicle has become more than a game for governments, businesses, and players alike.
When Corbin Landrick, an unlucky but hardworking guy, finally gets his hands on a ChronPod, he jumps headfirst into his second life. While he struggles to plant both feet firmly on the ground in a world of magic and monsters, he finds out that virtual reality is what you make of it.
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MAGA 2020 & Beyond – edited by Jason Rennie
Generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.
This was the moment we came together to elect Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America.
MAGA 2020 & Beyond tells the tales of a prosperous future where evil is defeated, the border wall is built, society has righted itself, space exploration is common and world peace has been attained. These aren’t just fantastical stories of a farfetched future, they are stories of a future that can be obtained.
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PulpRev Sampler – presented by PulpRev.com
This is a collection of short stories and novel excerpts from writers associated with the PulpRev movement in the latter half of 2017. PulpRev is a literary movement aimed at restoring the spirit of the old pulp adventures, not just the aesthetic, and has roots in the Appendix N and OSR movements.
“I believe that this phenomenon is a very big deal. Because if you change what people read, you change what they can imagine. And if you change what they can imagine, you change what they write. And if you change what is written, you can actually change who is reading.
“In this case, it will be the very large group of people that quietly walked away from fantasy and science fiction because they assumed that for whatever reason, no one would ever write like Robert E. Howard or C. L. Moore did ever again. Slowly but surely, they’re getting the very pleasant surprise that they were mistaken.” – Jeffro Johnson, CastaliaHouse.com
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Rhune Shadow – Vaughn Heppner
One dark day Elissa’s world collapsed as killers murdered her father the king and opened the city gates to an invading horde serving a mysterious power from the dawn of time.
Elissa was alone, trapped, with a price on her head.
But she had the blood of her mother, a Rhune princess from the Land of Shadows, and she knew the assassin arts of that unique land.
Now it’s time for Elissa to learn a new normal, the way of shadows, as the hunted becomes the hunter and takes matters into her own hands. This time the powers of Darkness have picked the wrong woman.
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Sevenfold Sword: Warlord (Sevenfold Sword #3) – Jonathan Moeller
The quest of the Seven Swords has unleashed catastrophic war.
Ridmark Arban is the Shield Knight, the only Swordbearer in the realm of Owyllain. He is allied with the noble King Hektor Pendragon, who fights to reunify the Seven Swords and to end the destructive war they have unleashed.
But the tyrannical King Justin Cyros is marching to war against Hektor, and King Justin knows the secret of the malevolent New God, a secret that will kill everyone in Owyllain.
Starting with Ridmark and his family…
Fantasy and Adventure New Release Roundup: 9 November 2017 published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi