Speaking of Baldur's Gate. 👀

August 3rd's the full release. Are you gonna play it? What race you going to try first?

In inspiration of this game, I am making my commander in the BG3 and choosing the Dark Urge origin.

I've been playing EA ever since it came out!!! So I'm gonna play it the second the early release comes out w/ all my characters to get that first section of the game done by the time of the full release.

I plan to sort of jump and cycle between all my characters, but to start, I'll def be a tiefling bard just because that was my first DnD character ever, and I gotta do right by him. Otherwise, I'm def doing. a run through with an elven ranger, a human draconic sorcerer, and a half-orc barbarian. The rest... is to be seen 👀

I'll def have to do a Dark Urge origin play through at some point, but I always feel so bad being evil in games that I gotta warm up w/ some classically evil aligned characters first before hoping into "holy shit you just ripped Gale's arm off"

anyway... yeah <3 I am so fucking excited for this game it isn't funny.

Steven Universe Podcast: Battle of Heart and Mind

I don’t usually do this but I said I would for the server, so here we are. 

This episode included Rebecca Sugar, Kat Morris, Joe Johnston, Matt Burnett, Ben Levin, and Ian Jones-Quartey. 

·     The episode starts with the rainbow worm in Steven’s dream, who is voiced by Deedee. This is the last homage to the princess references in the arc. The worm is from the Kyanite colony and was brought to Homeworld by Pink, which Blue allowed, but then Pink released all worms in the ballroom. Rebecca mentions this links with Pink’s desire to be free by releasing animals from their colonies. 

·   This specific princess reference was to Jasmine (in Aladdin) opening the cage and allowing the birds to fly free. It was also a reference to Pink’s love of animals and wanting to set them free, which isn’t out of character for Steven either. 

·   For Diamond Days, they picked the most common princess tropes for Steven’s time on Homeworld and made this experience alienating for him. 

·   Rebecca states that the Diamonds are meant to exist as a body- the inspiration for the ship. Pink is the Id, Blue and Yellow are the Ego, and White is the Super Ego. This is represented in Change Your Mind where the collective mind experiences embarrassment when the Id demands they enjoy something. 

·   Kat admits that they came up with the new outfits by continuously emailing each other with ideas. Rebecca said they considered everything but there were some concepts that they really wanted, for example, Rainbow 2.0 would have a scarf and a jacket. It was important either way that the fusions would notably have Steven’s clothes and the gems. However, the fusions would hint at the new forms and Pearl didn’t end up having a scarf, but she did have the jacket. Later, McKenzie asked if the jacket was a throwback to Bad Pearl and Rebecca confirmed that it represented her independence. 

·   One of Garnet’s new designs included transparent glasses and Peridot’s glasses in the shape of a star. Kat came up with the idea for the shredded shorts and star pockets for Amethyst. 

·   All of the new outfits represent how the gems have changed and learned from Steven. 

·   Rebecca mentioned that Pearl has been ‘playing the field’ and ‘exploring who she is’, which started in Last One Out of Beach City.

·   Lapis has gold accents on her new outfit to match the real-life gem stone. Kat said that Rebecca really wanted the sandals for Lapis and it makes for comfortable cosplay. 

·   Joe said that he enjoyed a lot of Garnet’s new designs. Most ideas were based off superheroes and had a more ‘knightly’ aspect. 

·   They confirmed that they tried Peridot’s new design with star hair but it was too much. Rebecca said that the glasses already change her silhouette and expose her gem more. 

·   Peridot also has boots this time. Before, she had socks because she used to wear limb enhancers. 

·  Mary Poppins and Bert were the inspiration for Rainbow 2.0. These concepts were made by Joe around 2-3 years ago. Sunstone was a newer concept. 

·  Rebecca said that all Garnet fusions can break the fourth wall, but with Steven, it would break it to give advice to children. The suction cups are also a combination of Steven’s shield and Garnet’s gauntlets. When creating Sunstone, Rebecca wanted her to look like a toy that you could stick in the back window of a car with suction cups. 

·  Alistair James auditioned for Rainbow 2.0 by doing an impression of his grandmother with a British accent. Rebecca said that Shoniqua was perfect and she knew immediately that she wanted her for Sunstone. She sounded exactly like how Miki Brewster pitched her. 

·  For Obsidian, they’d had her concept from the very beginning since she was shown as the temple. It was a hidden in sight visual that would eventually pay off. 

·  Obsidian’s sword is in the ocean, which is a part of the temple. It’s first seen in Bubble Buddies and seen again in Ocean Gem when the ocean is cleared. The sword design changed over time to ensure that all the Crystal Gem’s weapons could fit into the design. 

·  The earliest inspiration for White Diamond is traced back to the beginning of the show. She was inspired by the film ‘A Story of Menstruation’, which was made in 1946. It was a film by Disney played in schools to teach children what to expect in menstruation, and the narrator’s voice was a kindly older woman. Rebecca said that she found the designs really interesting and cute. 

·  From the film, the inspiration came from a scene where a woman cried into her arms but in the reflection of her mirror, she straightens up and starts smiling before going out dancing. The narrator says: “Don’t forget that people are around you and you’ll have to be more pleasant if you want people to like you”. The scene passes by and it ignores that fact that the woman was crying earlier, because she’s now seen being ‘correct’. This is the voice and the feeling that she went for with White Diamond and Homeworld. 

·  Homeworld is inspired by Busby Berkeley, and White is inspired by Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl and Nell Brinkley drawings, all within an era where women were seen as beautiful pieces of furniture. Rebecca states: Women are like lamps, smiling and there, part of the scenery. It all originates from the idea that people thought it was lovely and seen as an escape from reality. 

·  Those early inspirations were also used for the wall gems- the idea that people are in the background as if turned to stone and function solely as architecture. These faces we see in the architecture are gems and that’s their function. 

·  White has always been associated as a mother, especially in terms of her storyline with Steven in this arc, and how gems are viewed as her children. This arc wanted to begin to explore her relationship with them. 

·  Rebecca says that White’s way of thinking is that she is everyone and everyone is her. She considers herself the default white light that passes through other gems, so when she sees gems absorb other colours from that light, she considers it a variation of her but lesser. In that way, she has no identity at all because she considers herself just light. She feels that people can be turned into her because they are all the same. 

·  Rebecca also stated that White is wrong about how she views the world and herself. It’s an antithesis to Rose’s journey- expression and repression. She lives in a delusion that everything is fine but it isn’t. 

·  Matt and Ben said that the whole episode was balanced by ensuring that every single character got their moment. It was an accumulation of ideas from over the years that they tried to fit into one episode, such as Amethyst greeting Jasper after she was uncorrupted. They felt they did everything they wanted to do before they left. 

·  All past episodes, especially for Diamond Days, were made to build up to the scene with White and Steven where she pulled out his gem. Mirror Gem is the first time they introduce the concept that a sentient gem can be trapped inside an object and that object is Steven. They’ve been planting hints that Pink may be trapped inside him ever since. 

·  From the beginning, they’ve wanted there to be doubt that Steven was his own person and have the audience question if Pink/Rose could still be alive. Even when the gem was pulled out, they still wanted the viewer to doubt if he was Steven. They planted enough hints that the viewer would think it could go either way. 

·  Between the crew, the hottest debates were about the storyline between Steven and Rose/Pink, about who Steven would be if they were separated. One of the most recent arguments was about Steven’s gem self and the fact he was devoid of any feeling, that there was none at all. That emotion came from Steven. 

·  Rebecca had planned the split perspective scene since the start of development and storyboarded it early in the process. It’s still from Steven’s point of view. Ian noted that if the show wasn’t completely from his perspective, it wouldn’t work. The split perspective was to also represent how torn and disoriented Steven was in that moment. 

·  Pink Steven is him as a default. If you take away his personality and emotion, he is empty. He’s been separated from his humanity and all that’s left is power. There have been nods to this in the past by showing how his power is greater because of his humanity and his capacity to love. 

·  Ian said that Rebecca has always had the idea of the final confrontation being about Steven’s relationship with his powers and that connection showing who he really is. Steven wants that human side of him, even if it slows him down, because it’s what makes him who he is.  

·  The scene of Steven returning to himself was originally written for episode 10. It was going to be a part of Giant Woman where they establish fusion. 

·  Rebecca confirms that James Baxter animated the scene where Steven reunites with Pink Steven. She met him by doing a drawing for his daughter’s birthday. 

·  The fusion sequence with the two Stevens was the ultimate princess trope- a rotating dancing scene specifically boarded by James Baxter. He completed the whole sequence himself apart from the inking. 

·  Ian mentioned that he wanted the uncorrupted gems scene for a long time. He said they always knew the arc would come back to the corrupted gems as that was the original conflict of the series, but now they finally get to see it through. 

·  On top of that, Ian went through every single episode that had a corrupted gem and designed their healed versions, while Rebecca added some of the quartz designs. He mentioned that the longer they were in their ‘monster’ form, the more they will look like that form, even when they’re healed. That’s why several of the healed gems look more like their original designs.

·  Rebecca added that Ian helped with the fusion designs and their sequence, as that was a wishlist moment for him. He wanted Steven to fuse with all the gems in a row. 

·  Ian said that he had been most excited about Rainbow 2.0 and that Colin Howard had done most of the groundwork already. 

·  Rainbow is they/them and he/him, and Sunstone is they/them and she/her. 

·  Rainbow 2.0 is mixed with Pearl’s properness and Steven’s penchant for making jokes. Rainbow 2.0 loves to make puns and is a throwback to Steven’s puns in the earlier series. In the episode, Ian also came up with the idea that RQ 2.0 could ride their umbrella and have a rainbow shoot out of the end- a reference to Pearl being able to shoot lasers out of her spear. 

·  With Sunstone and Rainbow 2.0, they wanted to be able to show common traits in Sardonyx. The break in the fourth wall comes from Garnet, but loving to hear themselves talk comes from Pearl. Steven enables the both of them to embrace their silly sides. 

·  The ship foot falling on them was a slight reference to Monty Python but also a reference to the giant foot mentioned in Arcade Mania. 

·  Rebecca stated that the song Change Your Mind was not written for the show, but a personal song she wrote while fighting for the wedding arc. She was hesitant at first to include it. 

·  Change Your Mind isn’t for the end of the Steven Universe franchise but for this arc, Ian mentions. He adds that even though it was written for the process of including the wedding, it perfectly captures the theme of the show. As a coming of age story, Rebecca notes that this is something that had to happen for Steven to start making decisions for himself. 

·  Rebecca also admits it has been hard to write for Steven because he always puts others before himself. It’s always about what others want and what he thinks they want. However, he finally comes to a realisation in this arc that he doesn’t have to be anyone else other than himself or pamper to other’s expectations. 

·  Ian states that this arc was incredibly important for Steven’s development, in terms of who he is, who he thinks he is, and who others believe him to be. Moving forward, everything will be different from Steven’s perspective. There’s going to be more but it will have changed, because Steven has changed. 

If I’ve missed anything out, let me know. Hope you guys enjoy!

Video Game Review: Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft, 2007)

Genres: action-adventure, third person, open world

Premise: Players assume the role of master assassin Altair as he completes missions in the conflict between the Assassins and Knights Templar during the Third Crusade. In the present day, Desmond Miles is pressured to help a mysterious corporation find a “treasure” by reliving his ancestor’s memories.

Platform Played On: PC (Windows)

Rating: 3/5 stars

***Full review under the cut.***

I’m late to the party. I haven’t played any Assassin’s Creed games, so I’m starting now. I am evaluating this game based on four key aspects: story, characters, gameplay, and visuals.

In-Game Triggers: violence; blood; mentions of: slavery, medical experimentation

Story: While the majority of the game is spent in Altair’s world, Assassin’s Creed isn’t a straightforward historical fiction game. The frame narrative is that Desmond Miles, one of Altair’s descendants in the present day, has been recruited by a mysterious organization to help find a “treasure” by accessing his ancestor’s memories through something called the Animus. At first, I found the frame narrative something of a nuisance; I spent to much time in Altair’s world that I didn’t quite see the purpose of the Animus plotline. As the game continues, however, the Animus plot gets more and more involved, and it eventually becomes the kind of science fiction that I find simultaneously ridiculous and enjoyable. Would I have preferred something more straightforwardly historical? Probably. But that’s personal taste.

As for Altair’s storyline, I found his personal growth interesting, and the plot twist a good one, but I think more could have been done to make them more compelling. Altair is made to seem like a “special case” by the end, and I think more effort could have been put into unfolding how Altair became special/how he was able to see through the plans of the antagonist.

Having read the book that inspired this game and being a medievalist, I was pleasantly surprised that Assassin’s Creed didn’t try to redeem the Templars or cast the Crusades in a positive light. I’m also pleased that they didn’t lean into the exoticism of the assassin’s order and put a lot of stock into religious fervor, as that has the potential to get really offensive. As a piece of popular media, I think Assassin’s Creed balances the appeal of the assassin figure and the historical time period. Is it perfect? No. But it’s a video game, and I was delighted that it made the effort to create a compelling story without reveling in a European historical outlook.

Characters: There aren’t too many named characters in this game, so I’ll mainly focus on the major ones. Altair, the PC character, is initially an arrogant bastard, not caring much for the “creed” which regulates the Assassin’s order. While it did make him instantly unlikable, the plot of the story as a whole allows him to grow and become a bit more wiser and noble, rather than just following orders without question. I really liked that the NPCs didn’t coddle his ego - I think that made it easier to begin liking him over time.

Miles, the PC character in the “present day,” didn’t have enough personality for me to feel one way or the other about him. I wish he had some agency to make me care more about his well-being.

Al Mualim was a pretty compelling figure towards the end, with motivations that were kind of understandable, even though they turned out horrifying.

I do wish there were more named NPCs with bigger roles in the story. Too often, Altair was on his own, and though that makes sense for an assassin, I would have liked to see more interactions with others to bring out his personality more. I also would have liked to see more direction in the voice acting; several names were pronounced in multiple ways, and some regulation would have helped sell the idea that everyone exists in the same world.

Gameplay: At least on PC, the controls for Assassin’s Creed are a bit wonky. The keybindings are not very intuitive, so I ended up having to customize my own, and combat is sluggish and frustrating. Even with customization, I found that there were a lot of confusing keybindings, and it took me a while to get comfortable with gameplay in that regard. The camera also would whip around in ways I didn’t like, which cost me an assassination or left me open to getting hit more than once. It was a bit unwieldy, and I found it irritating.

This game is also marketed as partially a stealth game, and while players do have the option to do “stealth kills,” the stealth system is not nearly as well-developed as something such as Dishonored. You can’t duck or sneak so much as you can just walk slowly behind someone and hope you’re out of sight of guards at any given time. As someone who enjoys stealth games, I do wish the stealth system was more developed than the combat system - it seems like stealth would be more on par with a game about assassins.

I also found the gameplay a little repetitive as time went on. I got into a rhythm of finding collectibles, saving citizens, climbing towers, and eliminating targets without much variation. Players are given new equipment or abilities after each “level,” and while they did help in that they “leveled up” Altair, I didn’t find them to drastically change gameplay.

Visuals: For a game released in 2007 the visuals are quite stunning. I loved the look of the major cities, especially when viewed from vertical high points. I did feel like each city had their own mood and look, so even when some architecture was repeated, it wasn’t enough to be distracting.

The design of the assassins is also quite iconic, and I liked the combination of Altair’s white robes and red sash, as well as the hidden forearm blade. The animations on the assassins was also quite pleasing, as there was a kind of slow and grace to them that was charming to look at.

Recommendations: I would recommend this game if you’re interested in the non-European Middle Ages, history of assassins, scenery of the Middle East, history of the Templar and Crusades, stealth, action-adventure games, and parkour.

Final Verdict: Assassin’t Creed is iconic and innovative for its time, but will probably frustrate players who are heavily involved with stealth or combat-based games.

Frankly-Art’s Top 10 Video Games of 2018

Also available to read on my deviantArt!

With every New Year comes another year’s worth of video games to look forward to, and 2019 promise to be a good one in that regard: the release of Kingdom Hearts III is only days away, Piranha Plant and Joker are certain to be innovative and entertaining additions to the Smash Ultimate roster, Animal Crossing is coming to the Switch… and those mark only a small fraction of the many things 2019 has in store for us in terms of gaming. Amid all of this hype, I got to thinking about the varied gameplay experiences I had over the past year; so, I figured this would be as good an opportunity as any for me to reflect on them with a bit of a critical eye and definitively rank each of the video games I managed to get to during 2018!

Keep in mind while reading that, even though this is a list featuring games I played in 2018, many of these games were ones released in years past that I never got around to until last year—so, if you were expecting a list of the top 10 games that were released in 2018, I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere (but not until after you read my oh-so-important list first! I crave validation!); expect a healthy mix of new and old titles in the list below. Additionally, this list will rank downloadable content (DLC) separately from standalone titles, as I don’t find it fair to compare a DLC add-on to a fully-fledged game. I’ll be weighing the score of each DLC depending on how well it improves and expands upon the narrative and gameplay of its original game.

Without further ado (and with no better means of transitioning from this introduction to the list itself than to use a somewhat tired expression in the realm of video games), let’s-a go! (Please forgive me.)

-SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT-

Favorite Characters: Revali, Urbosa, Kass Favorite Tracks: Monk Maz Koshia (all phases)

It might come as somewhat of a shock that a game with “Breath of the Wild” in its title would rank lowest on my list, but hear me out: no matter how much fun it was to be able to return to Hyrule in this DLC expansion, in my opinion, Champions’ Ballad just felt like more of the same of what we got in the main game.

Despite the nigh perfection that was Breath of the Wild, I have to agree with critics who said that the lack of aesthetic variation between segments of dungeon crawling and puzzle solving was a monotonous bore when compared to the varied themes and aesthetics of the dungeons in Zelda games past, and Champions’ Ballad did nothing to vary the atmosphere in its new shrines and dungeon from those of the main game. This disappointment was compounded with the fact that Champions’ Ballad added no new weapons to your arsenal (aside from a risky-to-use fork that functioned virtually like every other sword in the game) to allow for new types of puzzle solving or exploration. The unicorn motorcycle was certainly a cool reward for completing the DLC (the fact that I got to write the words “unicorn” and “motorcycle” next to each other is reward enough), but I had very little use for it since I’d already combed through the entirety of Hyrule during my first playthrough of the game. I simply believe it would have been nice for Champions’ Ballad to have given players something a little fresher to explore, even if it were just an aesthetic change of scenery.

I had also hoped that Champions’ Ballad might have expanded on the lore sprinkled throughout Hyrule and, even though we learned more about the four champions, I was a little let down that they didn’t really expand on anything else (Why can’t I climb to the top of Mount Agaat? Why does the entirety of the Akkala region fill me with a confusing sense of serene dread?? What the hell happened at the Typhlo Ruins???) I appreciate that, by not explaining everything, Nintendo give players the chance to interpret these things for themselves, but, when compared to the lore provided in previous Zelda games, I feel as though Champions’ Ballad fell short in fleshing out the history of this ruined Hyrule.

Favorite Characters: Prompto, Ignis Favorite Tracks: A Retainer’s Resolve, Apocalypsis Magnatus

Given how much of a beautiful mess Final Fantasy XV was upon its initial release, it’s certainly a consolation to the main game to see how well Square Enix supplemented its (rather disjointed) story and expanded upon its (frankly, lacking) gameplay through its various DLC expansion chapters featuring Noctis’ loyal Chocobros. And while I may not love Ignis quite as much as other chocobros like Prompto or Noctis, Episode Ignis was definitely an engaging and welcome addition to the enigma that is the Final Fantasy XV.

Particular highlights of Episode Ignis include its soundtrack, which features a heroic leitmotif for Ignis that really underscores the dire circumstances he and his teammates find themselves in during this segment of the story, and its addition of gameplay modes (Motorboat Simulator 2018 being one of them) are a welcome change of pace to the somewhat rudimentary battle and exploration systems found in the main game. However, a point of contention I have with Episode Ignis is with its narrative: while I appreciate that this DLC chapter finally explains how Ignis becomes blind, its multiple endings completely undermine the storyline of the main game itself. Does Ignis’ sacrifice save Noctis from having to make a sacrifice of his own in order to save the world? Does Ignis regain his sight after Noctis defeats Ardyn? Do Noctis and Luna finally realize that they’d be better off with other people (as it’s obvious that Noctis is already too preoccupied with his three boyfriends to make room for anyone else)? I need answers, Square!

Favorite Characters: Elizabeth, Atlas/Frank Fontaine Favorite Tracks: Patsy Cline – She’s Got You, Johnny Mathis – Wonderful! Wonderful!

I claimed to be a fan of the BioShock series for so long, even though I’d only ever played the first game in the series until the summer of 2017 when I finally bought a PS4 and, with it, the BioShock Collection. Now, I can call myself a fan of the series without reservation, having explored and discovered all that Rapture and Columbia have to offer. To me, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episodes 1 & 2 are a love letter to the entire series itself, featuring elements from the three main-series games and tying together each of their narratives (save for maybe BioShock 2, which is absolutely criminal, considering 2 is my favorite game in the series) in a way that, while forced in some aspects, felt like Ken Levine actually cared about clearing up some of the more confusing questions that remained at the end of BioShock: Infinite.

Burial at Sea really came into itself during Episode 2, where gameplay was switched up to feature more fleshed-out stealth mechanics that made sneaking around Rapture and Columbia both exhilarating and terrifying. It was also refreshing to be able to finally take control of Elizabeth, one of the most iconic characters of the series after the Big Daddies of BioShocks 1 and 2, and learn more of her own personal motivations and desires as she maneuvers through hostile environments. As I already mentioned briefly, I know some took issue with the way Burial at Sea wove the first two BioShock games together with the third, but, considering the mess that was made when BioShock Infinite introduced multiverse science into its mythos (and the narrative mess that Infinite was in general—I took great issue with the way they framed the oppressed populations of Columbia as “just as bad” as the ruling populations simply because they used violence to, you know, try and liberate themselves from their oppression), I feel that Burial at Sea did the best job it could considering that the setting of Infinite differed so greatly from that of the first two games.

Also, fun fact: I studied this game as a part of my Master’s Project and played it through a total of three times: once in English and twice in French! Isn’t academia weird?

Favorite Characters: Rando, Buddy, Vega Van Dam Favorite Tracks: 666 Kill Chop Deluxe, He’s My Dad, Brokentooth March

Anyone who reads TV Tropes is likely familiar with the trope “Gameplay and Story Segregation” and its less-frequent counterpart, “Gameplay and Story Integration”. In the case of LISA: The Joyful, this DLC game (which could practically be its own standalone title if it weren’t for the fact Steam labels it as “DLC” and won’t let you play it without first purchasing LISA: The Painful) absolutely excels in the latter and completely subverts the gameplay mechanics and narrative structure of the base game, and this can all be attributed to the way both games focus on your use of the cure-all drug that makes you feel nothing: Joy.

Indeed, where LISA: The Painful makes you question your use of the drug Joy, LISA: The Joyful (Joyful) is nigh impossible to complete without taking it in nearly every battle after you’re left to your own devices when the muscle of your party abandons you. As anyone who’s played the LISA trilogy will know, Joy is a dangerous substance, mutating its addicts and twisting the minds of anyone who uses it, and that Joy is an integral piece of the trilogy’s social and philosophical commentary on the freedom and restriction of choice, the commitment and devotion one carries for a person or cause, and the inherent, inevitable grey area of any and all actions one may take. Despite these themes, LISA: The Joyful is far from a demoralizing experience: if anything, the way the game simulates the feeling of being backed into a corner and the refusal to give up despite the odds only affirms whatever moral code by which you may already live, or is at least an opportunity to feel relief that you yourself aren’t forced to make such drastic decisions for your own survivability and freedom.

That’s it for the DLC games I played in 2018; now, the real fun begins! Brace yourself for my list of the top standalone titles I played last year!

Favorite Characters: Katie

This game was recommended to me by a friend, and, as much as I wanted to enjoy it, this game wound up being my lowlight of 2018, with its simplistic, seemingly rudimentary gameplay and conspicuous lack of any compelling narrative. Put bluntly, this game was like a forgettable rendition of Animal Crossing, only without any cute animal neighbors to run errands for. The game’s environment threatened absolutely no danger to your player character, yet still didn’t offer any engaging or challenging puzzles to solve to make up for this lack of danger (most “puzzles” involved figuring out how to get to a particular point on the map… and that was it). Despite this being an open-world game that offered endless opportunities for customization, I found myself hurrying to complete the game’s main (5-hour) campaign so I could feel justified to move on to other gaming experiences. The most unfortunate part of this to me is that I know there’s still more to the game’s world for me to explore, but I’m in no way compelled to do so.

In all fairness, though, I think that I’m a little older than the target demographic this game was aiming for. This game was never meant to be challenging or stressful, it was made to be a relaxing escape for anyone looking to pass the time exploring and discovering a beautifully modeled and brightly colored world. This game also wins serious points for inclusivity, especially considering the age group this game was most likely made for; my fondest memory of this game is of a quest where a woman requests that you find her the ingredients to make a potion that stimulates beard growth because she wants to grow a beard of her own, and not once during this campaign is she ridiculed or belittled for wanting one. Since Yonder seems to be a game for kids, I believe quests such as this are an excellent step to socializing them into a world that’s less judgmental and more receptive to other people. So, despite  my earlier critiques of this game, Yonder would be a great game to consider if you’re looking for a low-key and off-beat (and all-human) alternative to Animal Crossing.

Favorite Veteran Fighters: Peach, Zelda, Zero Suit Samus Favorite Newcomers: Daisy, Ridley, Richter Favorite Stages: Fountain of Dreams, Fourside, Hyrule Temple Favorite Tracks: All-Star Rest Area (Melee), Destroyed Skyworld, Athletic (Yoshi’s Island)

We all knew another installment in the Smash series was coming ever since the Switch was first announced back in March of 2017. In fact, you might even say that the quality of each console’s iteration of Smash reflects the quality of the console itself, with Melee demonstrating the power and potential of the GameCube, Brawl being a gimmicky romp on an equally gimmicky console, and Wii U/3DS (what a title, right?) completely failing to capture player interest for longer than a few rounds of Smash (the Wii U era feels like a fever dream to me at this point). It’s a letdown, then, that with the Switch being such a commercial and technical success, Smash Ultimate seems somewhat of a disappointment when weighed against the hype that surrounded it up until its release back in early December.

It’s true that Smash Ultimate really delivers in regard to the character roster (everyone is here!) and stage selection (almost everything is here!), but the cuts that were made to series staples like trophies, event matches, and the like, detract from Smash Ultimate becoming the be-all end-all title in the series that it could have been. Trophy mode was where I learned much about video game history and was introduced to obscure series I would have never discovered otherwise, and their replacement with spirits feels a bit cheap, especially since spirits don’t come with any kind of information to contextualize them. Event Matches were hybridized with Melee’s Adventure mode and Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, creating the “World of Light”; while the World of Light has grown on me the more that I play it, it’s somewhat discouraging to me that, by combining so many modes of Smash games past into one, there will be nothing left for me to do with the game once I reach its end.

Still, Smash Ultimate offers plenty to look forward to. I’m more-than-hyped about the additions of Piranha Plant and Joker from Persona 5 to the character roster, and I can’t wait to see who might be announced next (unless it’s another Fire Emblem character… please God [Sakurai] don’t let it be another Fire Emblem character).

Favorite Tracks: The Bridge, Touching the Stars, Up to the Nest

I could never have prepared myself for the beautiful-yet-heart-wrenching experience this game would put me through, but I’m oh-so-glad that it did. On the surface, RiME is a relaxing exploration and puzzle game that takes place in a beautifully rendered in-game world, with a brilliantly orchestrated soundtrack and a plethora of diverse landscapes to get lost in. And yet, every moment of your adventure is permeated by an inescapable sense of isolation and dread, making you ask questions like “Where is everyone?”, “Just who is that man in the red cloak?,” and, “Is he stalking me, or are I stalking him?”.

Indeed, RiME’s narrative unfolds wordlessly as you explore and leaves you to discover and interpret on your own exactly what tragedies transpired before the events of the game, tragedies of which are far more poignant and moving if you were to discover them yourself. I know I’ve put a spoiler warning in effect, but I highly recommend you play this game on your own (or at least watch a decent Let’s Play of it) if you’re curious to know what unfolds during the game’s narrative. RiME is a relatively short game, too, lasting only between 5-10 hours, so it would be an easy one to fit into your queue if you’re looking for a fun gameplay experience with a story that will haunt you for weeks and months on end after completing it.

Favorite Characters: Terry Hintz, Buzzo, Wally Favorite Tracks: Men’s Hair Club, The End is Nigh, Summer Love

Having already talked about this game’s DLC expansion of LISA: The Joyful, you’re already aware that I hold the LISA trilogy in high regard—it also means I can make this entry somewhat brief, since a lot of what I said about Joyful can also be applied to its parent title, LISA: The Painful. You see, it’s in LISA: The Painful where the conflict in Joyful begins, and where we learn more of how the world came to be so depraved after the White Flash, an extinction event that inexplicably killed all women on the planet (at least, as far as the characters in the game know). The game considers what the repercussions of such an event would be on our society (aside from dooming humanity to die off within a generation) and really explores the darkest depths of toxic masculinity to call into question the detrimental effects it has on our self-esteem, our relationships, and our will to survive. Gameplay-wise, it’s a fairly traditional JRPG, though as I mentioned with Joyful, LISA: The Painful integrates its story with its gameplay by permanently increasing (but mainly decreasing) your stats depending on whatever injuries you escape or sustain throughout your journey. All in all, LISA: The Painful is a truly harrowing experience from beginning to end, but a must-play for anyone with an interest in the more macabre aspects of human nature.

Favorite Characters: Aloy, Erend, Vanasha Favorite Tracks: Louder

You know a game’s going to be good when its title screen holds you in awe before even pressing start. Imagine a sunlit vignette over purple mountains and a glistening river, a haunting and triumphant melody underscoring it all, as the title slowly fades into view in white in the center of the screen: Horizon Zero Dawn. O.K., I’m in. This game just did so many things right as an open-world game during an era where the genre was oversaturated by mediocre games that rehashed the same tired tropes and mechanics in its gameplay and world building. Horizon Zero Dawn truly set itself apart from the crowd for a variety of reasons: its beautifully detailed setting (being a microcosmic interpretation of Western North America), its intricate combat system with a graciously forgiving learning curve, and its compelling and socially-conscious narrative all worked together to distinguish this game within the open-world genre.

What really sets this game apart most of all, though, is the game’s protagonist, Aloy: a rare female protagonist who is a breath of fresh air in a sea of male heroes, whose capabilities and intellect don’t come at the cost of her physical appearance and femininity. Aloy set an example for other game developers that female protagonists are more than viable (and are in fact, overdue) in the video games of today, and her status as a female character never felt gratuitous or shoehorned (e.g. Battlefield V’s inclusion of a female protagonist as an enlisted soldier in the British Army and serving in the line of duty during World War II). It’s difficult (read: impossible) to play Horizon Zero Dawn and not fall in love with Aloy for her wit, her strength, and her general stick-to-itiveness in the face of adversity (not to mention, she’s just really cute and knows how to work a belly shirt). With Aloy as the protagonist, you’ll never tire of adventuring through Horizon Zero Dawn’s 70-hours+ worth of gameplay as you explore the in-game world to learn just what happened to “The Old Ones” and their society all those millennia ago.

Favorite Party Members: Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Makoto Niijima Favorite Confidants: Hifumi Togo, Sadayo Kawakami, Sae Niijima, Toranosuke Yoshida, Chihaya Mifune Favorite Targets/Boss Battles: Ichiryusai Madarame, Kunikazu Okumura, Leviathan, Yaldabaoth Favorite Tracks: Blooming Villain, Rivers in the Desert, A Woman, Aria of the Soul

I’ll bet no one saw this one coming! Just kidding—anyone who’s exchanged more than a few words with me since the fall of 2018 knows how much this game absolutely consumed my life over the span of, I don’t know, I think it was four months? Indeed, I wound up sinking a total of 123 hours into this game, and there’s still a loud part of me that wants to return to it to begin a New Game+ (you’ll even notice that it was too difficult for me to contain my favorite characters into one category, instead having to split them up in order to represent all of my favorites because of how much I love them all). I’m already a fan of JRPGs, so it didn’t take much for Persona 5 to win me over with its turn-based combat, but the addition of certain gameplay mechanics—like earning an extra turn for exploiting enemy weaknesses or improving your relationship with your friends outside of battle to unlock gameplay bonuses—prevent battles and exploration in Persona 5 from ever becoming stale. Indeed, Persona 5 was truly a masterpiece from start to finish and an experience that I never wanted to end.

Frankly, any drawbacks I could mention about this game feel almost nitpicky, like the way the status ailment “Envy” is represented during the final boss fight by the color indigo instead of green, or how Kawakami can only manage to make me one cup of very useful, SP-restoring coffee over the course of an entire evening. Still, Persona 5 isn’t without its faults: for one, Persona 5 loses significant points for its questionable representation of LGBT groups (the camp gay men who openly harass Ryuji on multiple occasions being the most glaring example), and this isn’t helped by the queerbaiting that’s prevalent in a lot of character dialogue and relationships. Additionally, the fact that you can’t romance any of your male confidants comes across as erasive at best and homophobic at worst, especially considering that 1) all but one of your female confidants are eligible girlfriends, 2) you can two-time all of them at once if you so desire (which isn’t just disrespectful, it’s also flippantly misogynistic), and, most importantly, 3) one of this game’s main themes includes rebelling against oppressive societal norms (a theme that will resonate deeply with any LGBT+ player). Female representation in Persona 5 is also somewhat of a mixed bag: while the game features a large cast of diverse female characters, its constant and blatant objectification of Ann is not only creepy, it’s incredibly obtuse considering the sexual harassment and abuse she suffers by one of her teachers during the game’s first story arc. Fortunately, each of these drawbacks is easy enough to ignore when discussing the game as a whole, but I hope Atlus improves upon them in future installments: considering how incredible an experience Persona 5 was, imagine how much more incredible Persona 6 could be if these issues were fixed!

So that’s it for my top 10 games of 2018. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with any of my commentary? What were some favorite games you played during 2018? I’d love to hear your responses and start a discussion, so please, leave your comments in the notes!

"Glass" Review: A Disappointing End to An Entertaining Trilogy

Almost two decades in the making, Glass (the final piece to the Unbreakable trilogy) written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan is creatively shocking. It could be easy to lose focus in the storyline when making a trilogy over such a long period of time, however Shyamalan certainly connects these films seamlessly. Unbreakable, Split and Glass are three stories that correlate within a semi-realistic world that Shyamalan has created, which is unique and noteworthy in itself. However, while the plot of this final installment is interesting, it’s also where the film falters. With all of the wonderful elements put into the making of this film, it certainly isn’t perfect; Shyamalan’s strengths and weaknesses are displayed in various ways throughout Glass.

The film picks up with David Dunn (Bruce Willis) on the hunt for Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy). Dunn can see into people’s lives by brushing up against them and is seemingly unbreakable, while Crumb’s split personalities hold the key to The Beast, an animal like persona out for blood. Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass is the final piece to the trio; he’s the evil genius whose bones are so brittle that they shatter to pieces when hit. They all wind up being tossed into Dr. Ellie Staple’s (Sarah Paulson) psych hospital to be analyzed as humans who believe they are superheroes.

The casting of this film couldn’t be more perfect and I would be remissed not to talk about the performance of James McAvoy (Kevin Wendell Crumb), the villain with 24 split personalities (good and bad) in one body. His performance is truly amazing to say the least, as he is able to stay in each character authentically, yet split into a new character instantly; I have never seen a performance like this one and his talent should be noted. Alongside James McAvoy, Sarah Paulson is notable. She grabs your attention almost hypnotically throughout the film. Sarah Paulson is well known for her roles in the hit series American Horror Story and her skills as a horror film actress do not go unnoticed in this film. Her character is eerie and engaging at the same time; she is an interesting addition to Shyamalan’s universe. Finally, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson- they certainly make this film and are the reason why the trilogy is as great as it is. Bruce Willis has aged but is the same action hero we all know and love. Samuel L. Jackson is a badass not to be messed with and his character Mr. Glass is exactly the same. All together the acting is great; the cast is strong- especially with previously supporting characters making a come back as well. 

Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (known for: It Follows, Split and Under the Silver Lake) uses the different characters to display camera angles from their perspective. Gioulakis is brilliant when it comes to filming the multiple personalities of Kevin Wendell Crumb, he uses the camera to note the change of personality and emphasizes the new personality with camera framing. Gioulakis is the cinematographer for ⅔ of the Unbreakable trilogy so it is understandable why the cinematography is strong in Glass!

Glass is entertaining but it is also disappointing. One positive thing about the plot is the seamless connection between all three films within the trilogy, which is certainly well done. However, the storyline is limiting and doesn’t allow space for much excitement in its climax. There is not much variation in scenery which becomes boring. At times there are nods towards other possible plotlines but the film decides to follow the most anticlimactic path. To say the least, the film is enjoyable because of the other strong elements but the storyline does not live up to the potential it could have. It is unfortunate that the trilogy is finalized with a film that doesn’t entirely satisfy the Unbreakable series, especially since it started off strong. Glass is not the best film, but it is not the worst. With some praiseworthy elements of in it, I highly doubt it will win any awards or turn too many heads. With that being said, I do recommend seeing the film in theaters because the visuals are incredibly well done and the actors are extremely entertaining to watch. You should especially see this film in theaters if you are a fan of the trilogy, it does answer questions but since it is an M. Night Shyamalan film, it sparks more questions as well. As a fan of the trilogy, overall the film is entertaining and it isn’t all bad, but I am definitely disappointed with the anticlimactic storyline and wish Shyamalan put more effort into the climax of the iconic trilogy.

Rating: B-

The Vitality in Visuals & Tone in Anime

Ryan Cook May 24th, 2018 JAPN-3170

How Visual Aesthetics and Tonal Differences Matter in Anime

Art and animation are interconnected with one another, so much so that animation can serve akin to a “series of artworks,” but there's much more to it than that, including character movement frames and differences on the overall aesthetic on a presentation per frame. In anime, the diversity and variety of visual design choices are crucial to what a show or film is about, what goals it has, and what kind of tone it wants to follow in tandem with the storyline and mindset of the situation expected. From here, techniques, trends, timeline, and technology are essential to providing these differences and how it affects the feature itself as a whole. Within the fields of Japanese and Asian animation, art styles can range as wide as the imagination allows the production to be, as long as there is always movement. Over the decades, Japanese animation has also had its visuals changed gradually due to the technology and methods of using resources to render the graphics in terms of their fidelity, sharpness, lighting, and display design. The works between other shows and films do not just vary based on that factor, but among many other reasons including, but not limited to: Color palette, style, tonal arrangements, juxtaposition, atmosphere, use of gradients, content, lighting, trends, proportions, shapes, and other aspects that help set the mood for a show or film. This also leaves a lasting impression on the viewer for those moments and after the fact, whether or not the designers, directors, and producers intended for it or not. Those techniques and decisions would help encapsulate how the story is told, presented, and create its own sense of identity as to what exemplifies a show or film for a subgenre, primarily based on their contents, subject matter, storytelling mechanism, and themes. While most of aesthetic direction and execution in presence can be synonymous with a soundtrack, music direction, and sound design, the use of animation opens up much more possibility for a transition between color changes, fluidity, shifting shapes, and other technical aspects present in that type of medium. With today's abundance of digital animation, there are many more ways that animation can flow in motion, detail, and the lighting effects projected to the viewer, often giving a flashy spectacle with “overly polished” character skins and intense colors radiating in some areas for each scenario during a show or film. Because of how cheaper and more efficient digital animation is, more people can commit to doing animation thanks to its accessibility via software on a computer, rendering things by high-end art and animation software, tablet hardware devices, and rendering techniques that can also mimic traditional animations and artworks if done right. Back then, it was much more expensive to produce animation and had to be done physically in an office for efficiency, with all materials localized in a building and where all the busy works are operated. A viewer will notice the more “earthy” look to an older show or film, and since the digital age was not around, it could not really be helped anywhere as much with whatever computer support was made with traditional animation. This is true for many animes before the 21st century, especially predating the 1990s. However, anime can still provide that kind of look on a more deliberate scale if a studio chooses to; a.l.a color palette and intensity controlled, still using analog tools to render the characters and backgrounds, and use of other machinery as well. Chances are, those productions nowadays would have a much more updated, smoother, and more consistent look to them thanks to the vast amount of options and software editing that can be utilized through a more advanced operation while retaining the true and known form of how animation was usually made. On the inverse approach, a fully digitally animated piece can mimic traditional animation with very careful use of color schemes, tone, lighting, “roughness” of any rendering, texture, fluidity, and atmosphere, often requiring selective results and reevaluation. The anime industry often tends to take approaches that both explore quirkier concepts and art styles and differs from Western animation in terms of cultural expectations, recognizable design trends, and common visual techniques implored in context to the time period an anime show, film, original video, short, or file otherwise was actually produced. This brings the subject of “trends” along, but through the use of common anime character designs within each decade as well as how certain studios and companies tend to design the characters that become part of their identity for however long they would utilize their styles. It's not static however, as studios would change their common design habits and techniques in animation over time, whether it means conforming to a show or film's genre and setting to give tone to, or to appeal to an audience widely infatuated with a certain “trope” of eyes, facial features, color schemes, hairstyle, and body types at a given time. With a text purposed for a certain demographic, the age groups would also include gender roles with their age groups, trends, tropes, and many more different character designs fit for those purposes and within the scenarios of a given episode or feature. This helps represent the tone and what is to be expected of their content, such as a more tame scene that has either lighthearted exciting moments, appropriate dialogue, and also gentler moments that are punctuated by their visual designs as well, with less offensive content. This is a spectrum that can be acceptable for younger viewers to watch, or can be meant for kids whether or not these moments have mature elements and underpinnings or not, but is subtle and contained. On the other hand, a show or film with very coarse dialogue, nudity, sexual content, violence/gore, horror, idealogically sensitive motifs, and disturbing moments as well as the addition of drug use, can become further amplified based on how they are rendered and not just for what an anime has (e.g. naked women, but how it's animated, what it exposes, what theyre doing, how its viewed in perspective and detail, and what tone it settles, constitutes the “taste” of impression it leaves on the viewer, not just how effective the offensive scene might be). Back in the 1960s, the color of a show or film was notably absent and did not come with more shows that have some form of color or visible spectrum to their presentation until later in the decade as technology grew both more advanced and accessible. However, the approach to making anime was widely and deliberately for children, and to appeal to them, a cartoony design direction would be created onto the characters with simplistic eyes and curvy body parts. Not all anime back in that decade had to be designed like that though, as this was only driven by the mindset purpose of designing kid-friendly cartoons. In the 1970s, shows and films were fully adapted for color, as it was the first full decade throughout to have such a universal visual feature. More features were starting to become seen, that have grown character design and themes, meant for more mature audiences or any demographic past the young child. The 1980s pushed this further, along with much more diverse character design techniques and settings for more creative visual storytelling, but it was also the result of a lot of genres, demographic targetings, and mixtures becoming present as there were now many shows, films, and original video animations aimed towards kids, adolescents, young adults, and more.  The 1990s continued this and evolved, and while the spectacles of famous films and franchises have already revolutionized the industry and how people look at anime as a whole and in more specific zones, the Western audiences were seeing more of anime in accessibility and exposure thanks to the growing distribution of imports. Generally, more works were made to exist, and more advanced techniques were being explored to offer more different ways of how it's displayed combined with the improving fidelity as a result as technology continues to evolve and enhance what an anime is rendered, to begin with. Within the visual department itself, more studios have taken advantage of computerized devices and whatever machinery or tools they can get their hands on to produce better quality features. However, it's also worth noting that the design principles and skills of the artists and animators would affect how well the animation on-screen resonates with the eyes and mind of a viewer. This includes how characters are designed, how well the anatomy is, and even in more stylized shows and films, the “logical consistency” to the visual rendering is important to that as well. The background also matters in conjunction to how well the characters fit the scene, so it does not look very off, and also affects the vibe to some extent as well as how grounded in reality the assets are. This would include the amount of detail, texture, and effort is put onto objects and scenery but is also governed by an intended style of design, line weight, lighting, and color management. For characters, this is true but because they are usually rendered in cel, much of these principles mentioned above would also have to do more with what works well with who they are and what they signify, and not just the overall style. This is essentially like a language; a form of what features is shown to communicate to the viewer, and not just any tonal variations. Characters that are not human or are cosmetically not human-like but retain an anthropomorphic shape, are also to be considered as to how artists and animators would design them in their own ways in comparison (and even sometimes in contrast) to rendering people, not just animals, and other fictional entities. Once that is seen, those aspects of visual animation can be compared to other studios with their productions, and also the time period considered as well, even influencing other studios like a web effect regardless of how subtle, indirect, or unspoken it may be. The way these characters would look on-screen also depends on how they were executed through the use of tools and techniques at their disposal (e.g. traditional vs. digital animation, or traditional animation with at least some digital support, often coming hand-to-hand with CGI). The camera and choreography also come into play as to how these scenes would be represented to suit the tone or moment, and how well-fit or not it actually is. Altogether, both the purpose of direction and productive execution of an anime not only are vital, having come hand-to-hand with each other, but can be seen for what the contents and nuanced details are present within a given feature to allow the viewer to speculate concrete answers or theories as to why the developers made a show or film the way it is and what for, and altogether how well it was done and how fitting it really was in their purpose or not. The rendering and decision-making aspects are skill sets to be trained upon, and viewers will notice the levels, despite having a subjective and objective factor dependant on what each person thinks. That being said, anime cannot actually exist as a form if there is no visual to be made and if there is no movement present, to begin with. Visual art is as universal as it is, so there would be much contents and possibilities to explore, which also means it requires a lot of skill, dedication, time, patience, effort, and methodology to make something effective, which echoes the quality of a film or show, hence why it's incredibly important upon presentation and lasting impression.