Arbiter Libera
₪ Genre: Adventure, Simulation, RPG
☑ Release date: September 2016
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme
This is the kind of game I wish I could like more and recommend to others, but with Daily Chthonicle I honestly can't do either. Let's look into why that's the case and whether I'm maybe missing something in the process.
I have to admit I like the premise. A lot. You run a newspapers agency and send your reporters to cover events across town. Now, as fate and title of the game would have it those usually happen to be oddities and other Lovecraft-inspired scenarios as you tackle them head-on and cover the news in order to get to the bottom of it all for your readers. Getting further into detail I'm talking about things where, for example, the initial mystery is “number of people have visited a certain island, some of them are now dead upon returning home” which at the end of the investigation might turn out to have been the result of a zombie plague they brought back with them or something else equally mundane. I say “mundane” because there are also mysteries which may result in dangerous outcomes such as Old Ones' spawns manifesting or trying to, which will require an extremely well-prepared individuals to deal with... and just might cause a power shortage in the entire city as your battle goes on. These are the highlights of the game and usually used sparingly.
Speaking of preparedness – you have your trusty reporters, but they're more akin to RPG-lite characters with innate classes, so to speak, and whom you also get to develop over the course of the game if they don't go crazy or too injured because you lack funds to treat them. Aside from their default gear and skill kits, you can lend them weapons, gear, potions, etc for temporary use if you deem the situation dangerous enough. This is kinda where one of my problems with the game rears its ugly head in a sense that there's little comparative value between items. Oh sure, game disables firearms as a potential choice if you're facing something intangible, but what's the difference between the Holy Bible and Tarot cards in such a case? Whiskey or trusty dog companion for general pep boost? Item classes work just fine, but there appears to be no overt mechanical differentiation between respective items within those classes so you're usually left to your own devices and that isn't always reliable. Said items can be bought from local city districts and potions brewed if you've gathered enough ingredients so it's worthwhile to invest intelligently and have someone on lab duty. I should point out you make money by releasing your regular issues at 2AM and 2PM, but these won't make you much money compared to Special Editions which follow after you solve three cases through and through. These also signify the end of chapters.
Which brings me to the story. Or what passes for story because game employs generated storylines but it really comes off as bare-bones skeleton where actual story should've been hanged upon. Don't get me wrong because I do like the systems, but once you see most of the permutations and understand how game logic works you begin to just skip through, There's also no story summary after you solve cases or publish Special Editions as much as just a listing of steps your investigators went through to get there. It's very dry and obviously intended to be taken in through game's atmosphere and dread scenarios are meant to cause in you, but for me it just didn't work. Your characters could've also benefited from some identity, but aside from maybe being affected by events on chapter changes they're just tools in your hands.
In the end it's a game you'll have fun with early on before it becomes obvious it repeats content by necessity and it all kinda blends together. Like I said, it's a shame and I hope developers get another crack at the idea.
₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure
☑ Release date: January 2011
♬ Soundtrack: Intro Theme
Drawing some parallels to Monkey Island yet still not being quite there Kaptain Brawe is an interesting adventure game. On one hand you could honestly dismiss a lot of its shortcomings and flaws based on lack of polish and overall budget limitations team obviously had to work with, but I think that would be an all easy way out when there are some things under the hood which simply didn't click for me. I will say something upfront first – this is not a bad game.
You play as the eponymous kaptain Brawe, with a deliberate K, who happens to be a Space Police officer. Brawe has a rickety ship to his name and young navigator Kralek who constantly gives him lip. It doesn't help that, well, our kaptain is sort of a moron with a heart of gold upholding space laws in his own way wherever he can. It is this bravado that lands Brawe and Kralek in a rescue mission where they really should've called for backup instead of going in solo. Little could they have guessed what said crashed ship would contained and where it would lead them to next. I'd say no character genuinely gets much development or goes beyond a flat cliche, but it works with the totally-not-space-Russia humorous setting where everyone's your comrade. Aside from one twist that doesn't really make much sense and was done just because, story also really doesn't take itself that seriously when you consider what's at stake here, but I have to say humor works for the most part even if it does peter out as story goes places and it focuses more on stating facts over joke barrages left and right.
With that in mind point & click adventures live or die by the puzzles and it is here that Kaptain Brawe falters as far as I'm concerned. Much to my surprise and except for couple of very rare standouts here-and-there it really doesn't employ “adventure game logic” style puzzles. Mainly because puzzles really are sequential and their individual steps are simple without having much interaction with other characters. Game does start to pack a punch, so to speak, with puzzles in the second half, but whatever you need to work with is still never more than couple of screens away and your biggest obstacle will be if you happen to miss an object or two because they sometimes blend too well into the backgrounds, in contrast with times when they stand out like a sore thumb. This has happened to me on one occasion because you don't really REMOVE this item as much as just take one from a painted-on pile that doesn't change. But fear not, for if you're not inclined towards brainstorming game has an extensive two-step guidance system for easy solutions – general hint system for each goal you're trying to achieve in said location and more hands-on, cooldown based guidance which points out for you on the screen where to click and what to do. Both can be safely ignored and are not pushed on you at any point in time.
Graphically speaking game employs digitized 3D character models masquerading as sprites in order to blend in with existing 2D backdrops. As long as characters stand still this illusion works just fine, but the moment they spring into motion it is lost and you can see they don't exactly fit in that well with overly static backdrops. Anything more than the most rudimentary animations also got lost somewhere along the way and I can remember one specific event where I didn't think what I had to do was possible due to my character simply not being able to do said thing from the distance he was at. Game sidestepped this conundrum by having him simply play a generic “fumbling with his hands animation” and get it done. I was not impressed. All in all, I did like the art style used in the game. Nice use of colors and big assets combined with retro pulp designs really make scenes pop out.
In the end I was entertained decently enough by the game to not dislike it. It's too short and easy once you understand how puzzles are structured and work, and I'd be lying if total absence of voice acting didn't detract somewhat from the game, but I'd still recommend Kaptain Brawe you can procure it cheaply.
₪ Genre: RPG, Strategy
☑ Release date: April 2015
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme
It's been a while since I last properly sat down and played an SRPG, and I was honestly weary to a degree with the whole Super Sentai's Powers Rangers theme Chroma Squad employed. Needless to say fact I beat it in under three days after I actually began playing should tell you I was way off that mark.
You create and assume the roles of your five-strong Super Sentai group, process done through choosing which character will assume each role (Lead, Assist, etc) and there are quite a few cameos ranging from actors to pop icons you may recognize. I had fun naming my totally-not-Weasley-Snipes “Eyes-Open”, but that's beside the point. After that's done and over with you find out they're disgruntled stunt actors on a related show who decide to create a new studio and show of their own. These are the humble beginnings game presents you with and it's customizable down to Ranger colors, studio name catchphrases team will employ. Far be it for me to say that's ALL there is to this story, and oh boy does it escalate, but it never loses that sense of “we're running a show here” which is further enforced by character's comments, episode setups and constant camera crews on the set.
This illusion is never broken because no matter what happens you're still making a show which nets you fans and money. Both are important for keeping your studio successful because it lets you craft gear from materials your enemies drop; things like tape, cardboard and glass, or straight up buy new stuff from the store. You will also want to invest in your studio for things like HD cameras which net you more audience per-episode, better health insurance for HP bonus, etc. It's definitely sensible and tongue-in-cheek with the mood of the game. As befitting a Super Sentai team you will also acquire a wise MENTOR and Mecha at your disposal, latter which also gets its own separate upgrades and is used in 1v1 fights against giant opponents.
As far as actual meat of the game goes, that being combat, you'll quickly discover your team of five is constantly outnumbered usually 3-to1 if you're lucky and keeping your gear up snuff is a good idea. As each of the five seasons go by your characters unlock another tier of skills you can choose form so you're not just brute-forcing it. In fact, I'd argue game is somewhat on the easy side unless you really want to do all of Director's Instructions aka specific set of objectives in each episode which may be on the tricky side but are also a great way to get more audience, except in the very last part when that difficulty spike becomes too real. It does make for a fitting conclusion, but also drags down what should've been a way more intense end game. I will say that send off itself is amazing and no game that plays the theme track can do wrong by me in that regard. It turns out your show is pretty radical and watched worldwide.
If there are any negatives they are very few, mostly on the side of some Unity engine shenanigans like some scripts not being timed correctly which leads to some delays, hang ups when game has to display things like a ton of audience bonus gained from healing and alike, but I would probably point out overused Mecha fights in the last episode or so as the worst offender for me. You don't have to end each episode like that and especially not because you'll notice hit percentage is still RNG-driven so it'll eventually turn on you. I also wish game was longer, but you can also have too much of the good stuff.
So, did I like Chroma Squad? I loved it. Really got me motivated to play some more SRPGs when I get the time and had me grinning like a maniac at times. You gotta accept it is, well, episodic at times because that's the source material it draws from, but stellar soundtrack really kicks in at times and does wonders for overall impression. If you're even remotely interested in these games give it a go and remember to GATTAI at your earliest convenience.
☉ Platform: Famicom Disk System
₪ Genre: Action, Adventure
☑ Release date: April 1986
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme and Super Smash Bros. Medley
Over 30 years following the game's original release I finally get my hands on this particular specimen. Before I say anything I should point out I did not play the GBA or 3DS port, but rather a translated version of the original. I'm not sure how much that affects things when you consider there's barely a sentence worth of text in the game and most of the information is, appropriately enough, in the manual itself but I wanted to put it out in the open. So let's get down to it.
Known in its home country as Nazo no Murasame Jo game follows exploits of a young samurai Takamaru who gets sent on a mission to explore just what's going on at the eponymous Murasame castle and its surroundings. Why would he be assigned that? Well, because a fiendish storm came upon the region recently and some golden object also came down with it. Ever since then strange things have begun to happen – four daimyo in charge of four castles haven't been seen since and their domains have become realms of terror with screams echoing from castle halls, and countryside has also become dangerous. Real mystery to consider, though, is the Murasame castle itself because whatever came down during that storm and that golden beam of light has made the castle its home and now it's now up to you to sort it out.
Well, to start with basics first – we have a top-down action game of screen clearing variety on our hands here, one where said screens form a map of the level and sometimes even have multiple entrances and exists. Simple at first these levels go up in complexity as you advance through the game. Speaking of advancing Takamaru doesn't really level up or anything, your health remains at three blocks and running out of lives fortunately only sends you to the beginning of the level, but he does collect various upgrades for his ranged weapon. What starts off as a slow-traveling throwing dagger with poor throwing rate can be replaced by either a two-sided kama or fireball, either of which can subsequently be upgraded to change how they operate through appropriate item finds; multiple direction spread, clustered for greater impact, etc. While our samurai does have a katana for close range, your ranged weapon will be your weapon of choice for 95% of the game. It also has limited ammo which is replenished by gathering what are, I think, scrolls from defeated enemies. Even when I treated the game as a shmup and kept firing I never really ran out of scrolls so that's no concern because your foes are plentiful. I should also make note of a secondary skill which is your “get out of jail” card, so to speak – it can either be invisibility that still lets you attack, but only with your katana, or lightning bolt which clears the screen of all enemies. Both of these are very rare and each has only three uses. In general, this is one of those games where you absolutely do not want to die and lose your upgraded weapon because you might as well be dead.
As far as the game itself is concerned it's pretty damn difficult in that NES way that will probably get people to snap their controllers today. Why? Because of its execution and simplicity, but also due to slight randomization. Unlike in some comparable games re-entering screens won't make enemies repeat the exact same patterns of movement and attack so you also have to account for that. This is no problem in the first two countryside/castle levels, but as you go on game starts throwing trickier and more dangerous enemies at you on regular basis. Those ninja who were content to just throw a deflectable shuriken at you get upgraded to a variety that throws fireballs you cannot deflect, then game adds suicidal ninja who explode on contact and to spice it up also makes some of them invisible. That's just the basic enemies because you also have your special types like samurai where you have to time your attack to get through their guards, mages of some kind with fire barriers throwing fireballs at you, ninja with homing wind attacks, etc. Now imagine combinations of all of those. Bosses are separate matter, but I really only had problems with one and resolved it by brute forcing it in melee with full health. Last boss was honestly too easy considering what you went through to get there, but you also have to actually get there in the first place.
Would I recommend The Mysterious Murasame Castle? That's honestly a tough one. It's not the most difficult game I've ever played, but it is frustrating because it doesn't really cheap out on you so every failure is your own until you figure out the game's rules and it did take me a while to beat with that in mind. Ending could've been better and there were some rare slowdowns when screen was full of projectiles and enemies, but that's almost par for the course considering what era this game comes from.
Yes.
☉ Platform: NES
₪ Genre: Action, Platformer
☑ Release date: May 1993
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme and Boss Battle
Something that will undoubtedly become very clear over the course of, well, however long I decide to binge on older titles, is the fact that I have very limited experiences with those really ancient ones. I was never a Nintendo kid growing up and genuinely barely touched any of their games since. I don't think I've ever finished a single game out of their first party offerings in general.
I guess it's sort of fitting that a Kirby game would be the first I tackle, even if it was purely by chance and not something I really planned to get down to. Perhaps it was for the better because its easy going difficulty, or lack thereof, balanced itself well against other escapades I went through over the course of this month. Following the eponymous Kirby – weird creature made of circles, as intro points out in a very charming manner – we catch up to him just as he's about to go to sleep, but something is amiss and there are only nightmares to torment him once he enters the Dream Land. We also see King DeDeDe, a weird bird looking creature dressed in king's garments, as he breaks something called the Star Rod and chucks the pieces all over the world. Kirby takes onto himself to restore the Star Rod and save the Dream Land as he sets out.
There's a surprising amount of effort put into storytelling in Kirby's Adventure. Way more than what most games were content to do at the time. But let's not go into how charming Kirby is, because he is really is, or how mellow and wonderful the levels look, because they do with themes like Yogurt Yard and Orange Ocean, because it's the mechanics where I see this game both triumphing and getting on my nerves, to be honest. I did not like the controls. They're not tight enough and things like momentum that carries on and on, way too touchy input registration for floating resulting in Kirby hovering about way too often than I would like, as well as really unstable framerate at times. I hear later version fixed the latter, but I had to deal with it. Much to my delight all of these negatives were easily off-set by game's Copy Ability mechanic. To put things bluntly: Kirby sucks enemies into his mouth, devours them and gains there ability until he gets hit and then loses it. You CAN recover the lost ability, which will bounce around for a while as a star, but it's best to never lose it in the first place. Depending on which enemy you devour you will get a different ability – form boss' I WIN buttons with limited uses to more regular abilities like lasers, turning into stone, materializing a sword, etc. This mechanic is not only well implemented to allow for freedom in what you want to use, but is also times cleverly employed for things like lighting a cannon and firing yourself to another section of the level.
While we're on the subject of levels – they function as hub worlds where you choose which doors you want to go through in order to gain entrance to individual levels proper. This occurs in linear fashion as you clear the previous and open the next level, etc. Some doors don't lead to levels as much as mini-games, such as collecting eggs, fast drawing a gun on enemies, etc where exceptional performance will net you lives, restore your health and/or give you points. Each world is guarded by a boss at the end and each of them has to be defeated to recover a piece of the Star Rod. They're small time, although I'd wager this is probably because almost all account for the fact you can fight them without any ability so they can all be beaten by resorting to “suck an enemy → don't devour, but instead fire AT the boss”. There are exceptions to this, but only a couple – one where game gives you a sword for an honorable duel and the final boss which... well, I think it's worth experiencing on your own.
Before I close this up, and since I've already touched on the final boss a bit, I'd like to see I was genuinely surprised by the finale. Not everything is as it appears and game pulls a fast one on you, one I certainly didn't see coming. Although looking back on it there's a clear purpose there to keep the easy going mood of the game after a somewhat darker confrontation.
☉ Platform: Sega Master System
₪ Genre: Action
☑ Release date: December 1988
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme and Boss Room
All things considered I must admit Cyborg Hunter ended up being on the easy side once you get past the initial stonewalling where game expects you to learn to play by its rules or get smacked if you refuse to. But before I dive right into all of that let's dedicate a moment or two to...
Story. You take on the role of Paladin, the most badass bounty hunter this side of Samus Aran and take on a dangerous mission to clear out to a cyborg stronghold where their leader Vipron is planning his conquest of the galaxy. As things happen Paladin is not on his own because you are backed up by Adina who contacts you regularly from your headquarters and has a hint or some story snippet ready. She is also the one who briefs you on what you need in order to advance to the next section of the base and recommends which gear you should use in levels themselves. It's almost funny how Adina herself is pretty much the only character who has any personality in the game considering both Paladin and bosses themselves have none at all. Speaking of which.
These bosses await you at the end of each five-story level you have to get through to finish the game sans the first one which is boss-less and sort of a tutorial section. I say sort of because even with above's helpful messages you are still left on your own to get the gist of things. Except for two mechanics, which took me a while to figure out, game is pretty straightforward: first one is you can't leave any entered level until you've killed a set number of greater cyborgs shown by a figure on the screen, leaving to me wonder whether exit doors were bugged or something at first, and the second more obtuse one is that game's inventory can ONLY be accessed from a second controller port. This means you either have to have a second controller, plug your first controller into the corresponding slot or simply configure secondary controls if you're emulating. Master System's lack of buttons rears its ugly head, sadly. As far as gear and all that goes – you start off with your not-so-mighty fists, but acquire more weapons quickly, of which some like Psycho Punch consume your Psycho Power aka PP, which very much like the health bar can be replenished by consumables. Consumables that reappear upon leaving and entering the screen, mind you.
Now that I've mentioned the game screen I honestly think it warrants its own paragraph because it's nothing short of brilliance and ahead of its time in having the foresight to understand you want all the possible vital information you can have on-screen. You have your usual game screen where you see and control Paladin doing his stuff which occupies the lower half of the screen, but the left and right sections of the upper half of the screen are reserved for a functional level map, which shows all the elevators and passages you will take, as well as a weird faux 3D tunnel display which shows incoming enemies and takes a while to get used to, but once accustomed to becomes indispensable assistance.
To bring it all around, Cyborg Hunter is a short and easy game given how many others still lived and breathed the cruel arcade mentality. It clearly facilitates a more methodical approach and picking the right weapon for the right situation over sheer response time, but endless continues and restoratives ease up the tension. My biggest obstacle was the short acclimation period in the first 15 minutes or so, but once you're done with zones A and B all the remaining ones up to and including F are only set apart by a gimmick or two. By then you're ready for them.
☉ Platform: PS3
₪ Genre: Stealth, Platformer
☑ Release date: November 2010
♬ Soundtrack: Main Theme and Operation Canada Games
Continuing from last month's foreshadowing that I might get to finally complete Sly 2 I actually deliver. Obviously, this is a sequel so there's some things I'll briefly reference or summarize to make things clear, but I won't really go beyond this installment if I can help it.
First things first – Clockwerk is done, but as it usually goes true evil never dies and in this case members of the Klaww Gang acquire his parts and proceed to employ them from manufacturing addictive spice to using other parts in order to create a perpetually running trains to further their commerce. Sly along with his friends Murray and Bentley realizes what a dangerous situation this is considering mere existence of Clockwerk's parts mean he could come back so they embark upon the journey to find said parts and destroy them for good. Just like it was the case in the original game that's not all there is to this story, which also involves Sly's sort-of arch-nemesis in form of Inspector Carmelita Fox who is hellbent on catching Sly, and the plot thickens as you go along.
With story out of the way, let's get into the game's other elements. For starters I'd like to say this is the kind of sequel I like, one that actually improves the original idea and isn't content to just sit on its laurels. I think pretty much every aspect of the game was retouched; from actual working health system in that you now have a bar instead of just one mishap and you're done unless you gathered a lucky charm and doing away with lives, which admittedly does make Sly 2 plenty easier, to an even more important change in game structure itself – gone are the days of formulaic “collect X keys to advance because we just needed something to unlock levels with”, but instead this time around each Episode has its own specific set of undertakings you have to, well, undertake and they feed into respective Operations Bentley comes up as your plan of action. In practice, this means game feels a helluva lot more varied as far as what you can do and old existing elements such as pick-pocketing have been amplified and better utilized. Now this also brings me to the above mentioned Murray and Bentley who this time go beyond just mini-games, which are still present mind you, and are fully realized characters in their own right. This is great for changing pace, but you'll also quickly realize game was built for Sly and when playing with the other two you'll mostly end up looking for workarounds and and alternate routes instead of enjoying maneuvering your way across levels and playing with enemies. Fortunately their levels make up for a minority of the game if you can't stand them so it should be tolerable in smaller doses, and with each character having purchasable upgrades, which let you put that stolen dosh and valuable to good use, you just might find something that makes them more bearable.
With the above in mind I have to add that clue bottles you use to unlock that Episode's Vault and get a new move, which were previously in levels themselves making them somewhat easier to find, are now found in the much expanded Episode hub worlds which can be really irritating when you're trying to find the last few because game area is much bigger. After all, they're optional and I didn't use even 20% of available upgrades unless the game specifically asked for in a particular mission, but it was still annoying even though I never spent more than three hours tops in any Episode. Just prepare yourself if you're a completionist.
In the end, well, you shouldn't play this before playing the original. It's not like game is story heavy or anything, but you might as well begin with a series from the beginning, especially if it's as easily available as I found Sly to be with considering it was released as remastered trilogy. Definitely an overall improvement compared to the original game, which was already rather outstanding, but I would like to give some words of advice to new game designers – don't plop a turret section as part of the final boss battle in your platformer/stealth game. Alright? Or I'll have to send “The Murray” after you.
₪ Genre: Drama, History
☑ Publication date: May 2010
⇲ Pages: 480
Unlike David Mitchell's arguably most famous work - that being Cloud Atlas - this one returns to a more traditional narrative and structure in general.
A historic novel set at turn of the 18th century it follows Dutch East India Company branch and one Jacob de Zoet who throws his lot with the company for financial reasons. Even if you don't know your history that much book establishes early on Jacob and others who join him on the ship are heading to Dejima, isolationist Japan's only foreign trade port at the time built adjacent to a port town of Nagasaki. If you do know your history though, you will realize things are not looking that good for Dutch East India Company during that period and events take a turn for the worse. This turn of fortune plays a major role later on in the novel and story actually plays it rather straight up, even if it does embellish certain events.
As befitting good stories, that's not all The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet tackles because, well, that title would probably be a misnomer if it was all about some financial number crunching or alike. Out of obvious concern for spoilers I won't go into detail, but I'll feel free to say there's a romance involved, leadership succession struggles and one despicable mystery afoot as a seemingly tangential subplot in the background. There are five parts to the book and various points of view as the story jumps from character to character and time passes over the course of twenty odd years.
Early on your are, in fact, dealing with Company's blatant corruption and how the Dutch are being handled in Japan, while in the next you're following a native Japanese woman with her own problems elsewhere. I would argue a lot of part two was largely expanded upon when it could've been easily condensed. Don't get me wrong because it paints a vivid image of what's going on and just how horrible it is, but the way it seemingly resolves, at first at least as it portrays you really have to be careful if you decide to relieve your guilty conscience, is incredibly underwhelming and forces you to wait until practically the very end for a “just desserts”sort of conclusion. And even then an honorable man does what has to be done.
Like I mentioned above I think the book's biggest asset is its ability to paint a wonderful image of the time period and you can tell author went above and beyond with his research and consultations for the sake authenticity. You absolutely feel Sakoku-period Japan come to life – from the squalor of the grimy port where Dutch live their lives in privilege yet obviously feel like outcasts, to inner halls of Japanese translators with their efforts to balance familiar traditions with all the western novelties, and remote mountain temples which seems so far removed from the lower world they might as well as not be real to commoners. As well as everything in-between as we see our characters going through daily lives and getting adjusted. I would argue this sense of time and place is much more important and better realized than actual plot was, but that's just me.
In the end I would very much recommend the novel, especially if all you know about Japan are samurai in their glory days and want something fresh.
₪ Genre: Crime, Drama, Action
☑ Original run: July 2016 – October 2016
⇲ Episodes: 12
I don't watch that much anime anymore for a variety of reasons, but mainly because I don't think a lot of it is really made for my taste these days, and because I kinda forget what's airing even when I watch the first episode only to later wonder “What was the name of that show I saw months ago?” until it slips from thoughts altogether. With that in mind 91 Days grabbed my attention early on.
You're a kid leading a happy life with your family. Everything is great until one day a band of four masked men burst into your home and kill everyone. You escape the same fate merely because you decide to run out into the forest so whoever was had his aim on you missed. Now, that seems like a horrible story, but it turns out your father was in the mafia and he did something that warranted his elimination. Did they have to kill the entire family? Why did they do it? These are the questions our protagonist Angelo Lagusa kept mulling over during the course of seven years since his unlikely escape and pitiful existence of pickpocketing... until one day he gets an anonymous letter listing, by name, the people who killed his family. With newfound knowledge he changes his name to Avilio Bruno, returns to city of Lawless and begins to enact his revenge on criminal Vanetti family responsible for taking his old life from him.
Above is more or less just setup and some of the first episode so I haven't divulged much to you. What follows is honestly a typical revenge story, but setting it during the prohibition era with your mafioso types fighting over who runs the city is what really sold it to me. It's no Baccano and 91 Days instead decides to play it straight with no supernatural elements and adhering to a clear-cut narrative structure, though. Our protagonist and his best friend from childhood spring together a scheme how to get back to mafia, but along the way the viewer becomes privy to information not everyone's a mad dog on the other side and some clearly have people and ideals they care about themselves. Relationship between Avilio and Nero, one of his targets and oldest son of the Vanetti family, makes for a lot of character dynamics in the show but it doesn't mean there's a lack of memorable characters. Problem is most of them, aside from few like Fango who stand out for their personality quirks, are really relegated to the background in favor of the former two's dynamic.
I admit it's no masterpiece to stand the test of ages, but if it suits your preferences you probably already know there aren't that many shows that compare. One thing worth pointing out is how serious all of this is played up. Sure, there are some lighthearted moments because such things exist in any story and they fit, but there are no over the top comedic gags to go against grim themes show establishes early on.
If you've seen anything involving the mafia and revenge stories you will probably see the ending from miles away, but that's ultimately not a ruinous outcome if it works.
₪ Genre: Crime, Action
☑ Publication date: October 2014
⇲ Pages 112
Here's a first – comics. Well, I don't mean it's the first comic I ever read in my life or anything, just that it's my first attempt at trying to cover one in meaningful fashion. This particular Volume of Southern Bastards collects Issues #1 through #4 in one package and I really think it flows well together without obvious carryover breaks.
I don't live in the United States so I can't really comment on what this whole “the South” treatment is about or what the general sentiment in regards to it is, but I did find the exploration of said subject in Southern Bastards intriguing. What few snippets we get to see Craw County, Alabama gets painted in quite a negative light – local football coach and his team treat it as if it's their little fiefdom and even the local sheriff is powerless or refuses to do anything about it. Just for the sake of good football results.
But we learn this as the story goes on because it all opens up following Earl Tubb, a returnee to Crawford County after leaving it almost forty years ago. He comes back to settle the deal regarding his sick uncle's house and brings along his own baggage regarding his old man, previous sheriff from his days who died in the line of duty, and issues he had with him personally. This makes for a surprisingly substantial and quite important backstory to Earl which will, in fact, pan out as a big motivator for his actions setting the entire plot in motion when he sees one of his old acquaintances get assault by the above mentioned football players, seemingly acting on the coach's orders for whatever reason. This, paired with couple of other occurrences I won't really go into for spoilers, leads to Earl Tubb picking up his daddy's old wooden bat and go to town on a righteous mission to reclaim it the only way an angry old man knows how to.
At its core it is a really simple story of an angry man looking to set things right after seeing what his hometown has turned into, but it's the dreary look that art style gives to it all which really makes the entire thing come alive for me. I have a thing for limited color palettes and sharp penciling to get the jagged look across, especially when paired with exaggerated features. That and the fact main character actually has a legitimate motivation, both from current events and his own past, which gives him gravitas instead of just coming off as some random vigilante.
Bittersweet ending also promises to keep things even more complicated when we find out exactly who those messages Earl keeps leaving on his phone are really intended for.
₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery
☑ Publication date: November 1961
⇲ Pages: 143
Setting – far off future set a long time age after some sort of old Empire fell. Humanity has spread across an untold number of planets and has, whether through various genetics programs or otherwise extensive “corrective” efforts, managed to largely get rid of crime from civilized places. Unless you go to places that are decidedly uncivilized, but that's your own damn fault. It is in this state of things that we discover there are people who due to whatever reasons still managed to keep their criminal tendencies or develop them at some point during life. We hear this from the novel's protagonist nicknamed “Slippery Jim" who happens to be a bonified criminal genius in a society that has no idea what to do about people like him and where even the police force is regularly taken aback by one of his bank robberies. Mind you, he doesn't really do any of this out of malice as much as sense of being a pariah and easy living. Until one day he realizes he's been out-conned by Special Corps, an elite force sent in only when everyone else has failed. What's the catch, then? They're comprised of like-minded individuals who chose to work for the League and he's been offered an invitation becuase after all – you send a thief to catch a thief.
Ironically, all of that is just an introduction which is really meant to be a character-establishing piece for Jim's mindset and what makes him tick differently compared to everyone else. I've done a piss poor summary, but I hope it gets the point across. Real meat of the novel, which I can't really talk about, is his following escapade after joining the Corps. See, he was extended an invitation because he never killed anyone and inventive frauds/thefts/whatever are not so big time when there's so much real estate between the banks and insurance companies across settled space that what you steal is a drop in the bucket. Real reason why Special Corps exists in the first place is to battle deviants who possess keen intellect and predisposition towards crime, but also have no moral scruples about causing REAL damage like killing people remorselessly and causing great material damage. Author's bias? Perhaps, but it makes for valid reasons story-wise when you consider the scale and fact people can be rehabilitated or even have their entirely personality wiped. Then again we don't really get that much info on the setting itself aside aside from general space opera feel and name dropping things like the League which is still bringing the pieces together from old wars with varying degrees of success, etc. This was the first released book in a series so assume we find out more over the upcoming books.
Like I said I can't really go into actual plot details, but let's just say our hero makes a discovery that could seriously shake things up in a society that's still going through a recovery period and its military firepower, isn't exactly up to snuff compared to what the old system employed. This takes couple of twists and turns for a personal angle, and one that promises future development, but The Stainless Steel Rat works perfectly fine as a standalone book. I was just slightly disappointed by lack of setting building because what little hints I was show were very promising. At one point cocky Jim decides to make himself crazy for a while to get a different and more primal perspective on one particular problem his regular old self can't figure out, because modern medicine has apparently found a way to induce almost all mental states and disorders on-demand. This is the kind of future we're working with here.
Using a coal-powered robot because your world is so backwards it was forgotten by the governing body after their initial contact proved people were, in fact, there and thus civilization existed got a chuckle out of me.
Foreword (October 2016)
My second month here and I aim to keep the prologue shorter this time around. Did some format tweaks here and there, more info and screenshots where applicable, as well as collapsed all but the very first post so you’re not immediately hit with a wall of text and not to monopolize space. Added a new section to replace the old “Ongoing Journey” simply because I didn’t see much point in writing for games I may or may not finish or even continue. New section is more like my Steam reviews just…. well, not on Steam.
Do share feedback on what you think.
Completed Chronicles
Many words will be written on the wind and the sand, or end up in some obscure digital vault. But the storytelling will go on until the last human being stops listening. Then we can send the great chronicle of humanity out into the endless universe.
Somewhat slim pickings this month, but I am happy with what I managed to squeeze in all things considered. I wish I could say the same for all the games I played, though. Can’t win ‘em all. Hope to get back to RPGs proper one of these days, but they’re all just so freaking long and require me to dedicate time exclusively to them or I’ll forget where I was.
₪ Genre: Adventure, Simulation, RPG
☑ Release date: September 2016
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme
This is the kind of game I wish I could like more and recommend to others, but with Daily Chthonicle I honestly can't do either. Let's look into why that's the case and whether I'm maybe missing something in the process.
I have to admit I like the premise. A lot. You run a newspapers agency and send your reporters to cover events across town. Now, as fate and title of the game would have it those usually happen to be oddities and other Lovecraft-inspired scenarios as you tackle them head-on and cover the news in order to get to the bottom of it all for your readers. Getting further into detail I'm talking about things where, for example, the initial mystery is “number of people have visited a certain island, some of them are now dead upon returning home” which at the end of the investigation might turn out to have been the result of a zombie plague they brought back with them or something else equally mundane. I say “mundane” because there are also mysteries which may result in dangerous outcomes such as Old Ones' spawns manifesting or trying to, which will require an extremely well-prepared individuals to deal with... and just might cause a power shortage in the entire city as your battle goes on. These are the highlights of the game and usually used sparingly.
Speaking of preparedness – you have your trusty reporters, but they're more akin to RPG-lite characters with innate classes, so to speak, and whom you also get to develop over the course of the game if they don't go crazy or too injured because you lack funds to treat them. Aside from their default gear and skill kits, you can lend them weapons, gear, potions, etc for temporary use if you deem the situation dangerous enough. This is kinda where one of my problems with the game rears its ugly head in a sense that there's little comparative value between items. Oh sure, game disables firearms as a potential choice if you're facing something intangible, but what's the difference between the Holy Bible and Tarot cards in such a case? Whiskey or trusty dog companion for general pep boost? Item classes work just fine, but there appears to be no overt mechanical differentiation between respective items within those classes so you're usually left to your own devices and that isn't always reliable. Said items can be bought from local city districts and potions brewed if you've gathered enough ingredients so it's worthwhile to invest intelligently and have someone on lab duty. I should point out you make money by releasing your regular issues at 2AM and 2PM, but these won't make you much money compared to Special Editions which follow after you solve three cases through and through. These also signify the end of chapters.
Which brings me to the story. Or what passes for story because game employs generated storylines but it really comes off as bare-bones skeleton where actual story should've been hanged upon. Don't get me wrong because I do like the systems, but once you see most of the permutations and understand how game logic works you begin to just skip through, There's also no story summary after you solve cases or publish Special Editions as much as just a listing of steps your investigators went through to get there. It's very dry and obviously intended to be taken in through game's atmosphere and dread scenarios are meant to cause in you, but for me it just didn't work. Your characters could've also benefited from some identity, but aside from maybe being affected by events on chapter changes they're just tools in your hands.
In the end it's a game you'll have fun with early on before it becomes obvious it repeats content by necessity and it all kinda blends together. Like I said, it's a shame and I hope developers get another crack at the idea.
₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure
☑ Release date: January 2011
♬ Soundtrack: Intro Theme
Drawing some parallels to Monkey Island yet still not being quite there Kaptain Brawe is an interesting adventure game. On one hand you could honestly dismiss a lot of its shortcomings and flaws based on lack of polish and overall budget limitations team obviously had to work with, but I think that would be an all easy way out when there are some things under the hood which simply didn't click for me. I will say something upfront first – this is not a bad game.
You play as the eponymous kaptain Brawe, with a deliberate K, who happens to be a Space Police officer. Brawe has a rickety ship to his name and young navigator Kralek who constantly gives him lip. It doesn't help that, well, our kaptain is sort of a moron with a heart of gold upholding space laws in his own way wherever he can. It is this bravado that lands Brawe and Kralek in a rescue mission where they really should've called for backup instead of going in solo. Little could they have guessed what said crashed ship would contained and where it would lead them to next. I'd say no character genuinely gets much development or goes beyond a flat cliche, but it works with the totally-not-space-Russia humorous setting where everyone's your comrade. Aside from one twist that doesn't really make much sense and was done just because, story also really doesn't take itself that seriously when you consider what's at stake here, but I have to say humor works for the most part even if it does peter out as story goes places and it focuses more on stating facts over joke barrages left and right.
With that in mind point & click adventures live or die by the puzzles and it is here that Kaptain Brawe falters as far as I'm concerned. Much to my surprise and except for couple of very rare standouts here-and-there it really doesn't employ “adventure game logic” style puzzles. Mainly because puzzles really are sequential and their individual steps are simple without having much interaction with other characters. Game does start to pack a punch, so to speak, with puzzles in the second half, but whatever you need to work with is still never more than couple of screens away and your biggest obstacle will be if you happen to miss an object or two because they sometimes blend too well into the backgrounds, in contrast with times when they stand out like a sore thumb. This has happened to me on one occasion because you don't really REMOVE this item as much as just take one from a painted-on pile that doesn't change. But fear not, for if you're not inclined towards brainstorming game has an extensive two-step guidance system for easy solutions – general hint system for each goal you're trying to achieve in said location and more hands-on, cooldown based guidance which points out for you on the screen where to click and what to do. Both can be safely ignored and are not pushed on you at any point in time.
Graphically speaking game employs digitized 3D character models masquerading as sprites in order to blend in with existing 2D backdrops. As long as characters stand still this illusion works just fine, but the moment they spring into motion it is lost and you can see they don't exactly fit in that well with overly static backdrops. Anything more than the most rudimentary animations also got lost somewhere along the way and I can remember one specific event where I didn't think what I had to do was possible due to my character simply not being able to do said thing from the distance he was at. Game sidestepped this conundrum by having him simply play a generic “fumbling with his hands animation” and get it done. I was not impressed. All in all, I did like the art style used in the game. Nice use of colors and big assets combined with retro pulp designs really make scenes pop out.
In the end I was entertained decently enough by the game to not dislike it. It's too short and easy once you understand how puzzles are structured and work, and I'd be lying if total absence of voice acting didn't detract somewhat from the game, but I'd still recommend Kaptain Brawe you can procure it cheaply.
₪ Genre: RPG, Strategy
☑ Release date: April 2015
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme
It's been a while since I last properly sat down and played an SRPG, and I was honestly weary to a degree with the whole Super Sentai's Powers Rangers theme Chroma Squad employed. Needless to say fact I beat it in under three days after I actually began playing should tell you I was way off that mark.
You create and assume the roles of your five-strong Super Sentai group, process done through choosing which character will assume each role (Lead, Assist, etc) and there are quite a few cameos ranging from actors to pop icons you may recognize. I had fun naming my totally-not-Weasley-Snipes “Eyes-Open”, but that's beside the point. After that's done and over with you find out they're disgruntled stunt actors on a related show who decide to create a new studio and show of their own. These are the humble beginnings game presents you with and it's customizable down to Ranger colors, studio name catchphrases team will employ. Far be it for me to say that's ALL there is to this story, and oh boy does it escalate, but it never loses that sense of “we're running a show here” which is further enforced by character's comments, episode setups and constant camera crews on the set.
This illusion is never broken because no matter what happens you're still making a show which nets you fans and money. Both are important for keeping your studio successful because it lets you craft gear from materials your enemies drop; things like tape, cardboard and glass, or straight up buy new stuff from the store. You will also want to invest in your studio for things like HD cameras which net you more audience per-episode, better health insurance for HP bonus, etc. It's definitely sensible and tongue-in-cheek with the mood of the game. As befitting a Super Sentai team you will also acquire a wise MENTOR and Mecha at your disposal, latter which also gets its own separate upgrades and is used in 1v1 fights against giant opponents.
As far as actual meat of the game goes, that being combat, you'll quickly discover your team of five is constantly outnumbered usually 3-to1 if you're lucky and keeping your gear up snuff is a good idea. As each of the five seasons go by your characters unlock another tier of skills you can choose form so you're not just brute-forcing it. In fact, I'd argue game is somewhat on the easy side unless you really want to do all of Director's Instructions aka specific set of objectives in each episode which may be on the tricky side but are also a great way to get more audience, except in the very last part when that difficulty spike becomes too real. It does make for a fitting conclusion, but also drags down what should've been a way more intense end game. I will say that send off itself is amazing and no game that plays the theme track can do wrong by me in that regard. It turns out your show is pretty radical and watched worldwide.
If there are any negatives they are very few, mostly on the side of some Unity engine shenanigans like some scripts not being timed correctly which leads to some delays, hang ups when game has to display things like a ton of audience bonus gained from healing and alike, but I would probably point out overused Mecha fights in the last episode or so as the worst offender for me. You don't have to end each episode like that and especially not because you'll notice hit percentage is still RNG-driven so it'll eventually turn on you. I also wish game was longer, but you can also have too much of the good stuff.
So, did I like Chroma Squad? I loved it. Really got me motivated to play some more SRPGs when I get the time and had me grinning like a maniac at times. You gotta accept it is, well, episodic at times because that's the source material it draws from, but stellar soundtrack really kicks in at times and does wonders for overall impression. If you're even remotely interested in these games give it a go and remember to GATTAI at your earliest convenience.
Outlandish Junction
Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.
New section where I aim to present games either not available on Steam or those I don’t own on Steam ranging from modern titles and going all the way back to the earliest days of the hobby. I wanted to give them their own section primarily for organizational purposes, but also for ease of console games’ coverage without thinking much about matching covers/logo dimensions due to lack of uniformity compared to simply linking Steam banners. Let’s see how it pans out.
☉ Platform: Famicom Disk System
₪ Genre: Action, Adventure
☑ Release date: April 1986
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme and Super Smash Bros. Medley
Over 30 years following the game's original release I finally get my hands on this particular specimen. Before I say anything I should point out I did not play the GBA or 3DS port, but rather a translated version of the original. I'm not sure how much that affects things when you consider there's barely a sentence worth of text in the game and most of the information is, appropriately enough, in the manual itself but I wanted to put it out in the open. So let's get down to it.
Known in its home country as Nazo no Murasame Jo game follows exploits of a young samurai Takamaru who gets sent on a mission to explore just what's going on at the eponymous Murasame castle and its surroundings. Why would he be assigned that? Well, because a fiendish storm came upon the region recently and some golden object also came down with it. Ever since then strange things have begun to happen – four daimyo in charge of four castles haven't been seen since and their domains have become realms of terror with screams echoing from castle halls, and countryside has also become dangerous. Real mystery to consider, though, is the Murasame castle itself because whatever came down during that storm and that golden beam of light has made the castle its home and now it's now up to you to sort it out.
Well, to start with basics first – we have a top-down action game of screen clearing variety on our hands here, one where said screens form a map of the level and sometimes even have multiple entrances and exists. Simple at first these levels go up in complexity as you advance through the game. Speaking of advancing Takamaru doesn't really level up or anything, your health remains at three blocks and running out of lives fortunately only sends you to the beginning of the level, but he does collect various upgrades for his ranged weapon. What starts off as a slow-traveling throwing dagger with poor throwing rate can be replaced by either a two-sided kama or fireball, either of which can subsequently be upgraded to change how they operate through appropriate item finds; multiple direction spread, clustered for greater impact, etc. While our samurai does have a katana for close range, your ranged weapon will be your weapon of choice for 95% of the game. It also has limited ammo which is replenished by gathering what are, I think, scrolls from defeated enemies. Even when I treated the game as a shmup and kept firing I never really ran out of scrolls so that's no concern because your foes are plentiful. I should also make note of a secondary skill which is your “get out of jail” card, so to speak – it can either be invisibility that still lets you attack, but only with your katana, or lightning bolt which clears the screen of all enemies. Both of these are very rare and each has only three uses. In general, this is one of those games where you absolutely do not want to die and lose your upgraded weapon because you might as well be dead.
As far as the game itself is concerned it's pretty damn difficult in that NES way that will probably get people to snap their controllers today. Why? Because of its execution and simplicity, but also due to slight randomization. Unlike in some comparable games re-entering screens won't make enemies repeat the exact same patterns of movement and attack so you also have to account for that. This is no problem in the first two countryside/castle levels, but as you go on game starts throwing trickier and more dangerous enemies at you on regular basis. Those ninja who were content to just throw a deflectable shuriken at you get upgraded to a variety that throws fireballs you cannot deflect, then game adds suicidal ninja who explode on contact and to spice it up also makes some of them invisible. That's just the basic enemies because you also have your special types like samurai where you have to time your attack to get through their guards, mages of some kind with fire barriers throwing fireballs at you, ninja with homing wind attacks, etc. Now imagine combinations of all of those. Bosses are separate matter, but I really only had problems with one and resolved it by brute forcing it in melee with full health. Last boss was honestly too easy considering what you went through to get there, but you also have to actually get there in the first place.
Would I recommend The Mysterious Murasame Castle? That's honestly a tough one. It's not the most difficult game I've ever played, but it is frustrating because it doesn't really cheap out on you so every failure is your own until you figure out the game's rules and it did take me a while to beat with that in mind. Ending could've been better and there were some rare slowdowns when screen was full of projectiles and enemies, but that's almost par for the course considering what era this game comes from.
Yes.
☉ Platform: NES
₪ Genre: Action, Platformer
☑ Release date: May 1993
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme and Boss Battle
Something that will undoubtedly become very clear over the course of, well, however long I decide to binge on older titles, is the fact that I have very limited experiences with those really ancient ones. I was never a Nintendo kid growing up and genuinely barely touched any of their games since. I don't think I've ever finished a single game out of their first party offerings in general.
I guess it's sort of fitting that a Kirby game would be the first I tackle, even if it was purely by chance and not something I really planned to get down to. Perhaps it was for the better because its easy going difficulty, or lack thereof, balanced itself well against other escapades I went through over the course of this month. Following the eponymous Kirby – weird creature made of circles, as intro points out in a very charming manner – we catch up to him just as he's about to go to sleep, but something is amiss and there are only nightmares to torment him once he enters the Dream Land. We also see King DeDeDe, a weird bird looking creature dressed in king's garments, as he breaks something called the Star Rod and chucks the pieces all over the world. Kirby takes onto himself to restore the Star Rod and save the Dream Land as he sets out.
There's a surprising amount of effort put into storytelling in Kirby's Adventure. Way more than what most games were content to do at the time. But let's not go into how charming Kirby is, because he is really is, or how mellow and wonderful the levels look, because they do with themes like Yogurt Yard and Orange Ocean, because it's the mechanics where I see this game both triumphing and getting on my nerves, to be honest. I did not like the controls. They're not tight enough and things like momentum that carries on and on, way too touchy input registration for floating resulting in Kirby hovering about way too often than I would like, as well as really unstable framerate at times. I hear later version fixed the latter, but I had to deal with it. Much to my delight all of these negatives were easily off-set by game's Copy Ability mechanic. To put things bluntly: Kirby sucks enemies into his mouth, devours them and gains there ability until he gets hit and then loses it. You CAN recover the lost ability, which will bounce around for a while as a star, but it's best to never lose it in the first place. Depending on which enemy you devour you will get a different ability – form boss' I WIN buttons with limited uses to more regular abilities like lasers, turning into stone, materializing a sword, etc. This mechanic is not only well implemented to allow for freedom in what you want to use, but is also times cleverly employed for things like lighting a cannon and firing yourself to another section of the level.
While we're on the subject of levels – they function as hub worlds where you choose which doors you want to go through in order to gain entrance to individual levels proper. This occurs in linear fashion as you clear the previous and open the next level, etc. Some doors don't lead to levels as much as mini-games, such as collecting eggs, fast drawing a gun on enemies, etc where exceptional performance will net you lives, restore your health and/or give you points. Each world is guarded by a boss at the end and each of them has to be defeated to recover a piece of the Star Rod. They're small time, although I'd wager this is probably because almost all account for the fact you can fight them without any ability so they can all be beaten by resorting to “suck an enemy → don't devour, but instead fire AT the boss”. There are exceptions to this, but only a couple – one where game gives you a sword for an honorable duel and the final boss which... well, I think it's worth experiencing on your own.
Before I close this up, and since I've already touched on the final boss a bit, I'd like to see I was genuinely surprised by the finale. Not everything is as it appears and game pulls a fast one on you, one I certainly didn't see coming. Although looking back on it there's a clear purpose there to keep the easy going mood of the game after a somewhat darker confrontation.
☉ Platform: Sega Master System
₪ Genre: Action
☑ Release date: December 1988
♬ Soundtrack: Title Theme and Boss Room
All things considered I must admit Cyborg Hunter ended up being on the easy side once you get past the initial stonewalling where game expects you to learn to play by its rules or get smacked if you refuse to. But before I dive right into all of that let's dedicate a moment or two to...
Story. You take on the role of Paladin, the most badass bounty hunter this side of Samus Aran and take on a dangerous mission to clear out to a cyborg stronghold where their leader Vipron is planning his conquest of the galaxy. As things happen Paladin is not on his own because you are backed up by Adina who contacts you regularly from your headquarters and has a hint or some story snippet ready. She is also the one who briefs you on what you need in order to advance to the next section of the base and recommends which gear you should use in levels themselves. It's almost funny how Adina herself is pretty much the only character who has any personality in the game considering both Paladin and bosses themselves have none at all. Speaking of which.
These bosses await you at the end of each five-story level you have to get through to finish the game sans the first one which is boss-less and sort of a tutorial section. I say sort of because even with above's helpful messages you are still left on your own to get the gist of things. Except for two mechanics, which took me a while to figure out, game is pretty straightforward: first one is you can't leave any entered level until you've killed a set number of greater cyborgs shown by a figure on the screen, leaving to me wonder whether exit doors were bugged or something at first, and the second more obtuse one is that game's inventory can ONLY be accessed from a second controller port. This means you either have to have a second controller, plug your first controller into the corresponding slot or simply configure secondary controls if you're emulating. Master System's lack of buttons rears its ugly head, sadly. As far as gear and all that goes – you start off with your not-so-mighty fists, but acquire more weapons quickly, of which some like Psycho Punch consume your Psycho Power aka PP, which very much like the health bar can be replenished by consumables. Consumables that reappear upon leaving and entering the screen, mind you.
Now that I've mentioned the game screen I honestly think it warrants its own paragraph because it's nothing short of brilliance and ahead of its time in having the foresight to understand you want all the possible vital information you can have on-screen. You have your usual game screen where you see and control Paladin doing his stuff which occupies the lower half of the screen, but the left and right sections of the upper half of the screen are reserved for a functional level map, which shows all the elevators and passages you will take, as well as a weird faux 3D tunnel display which shows incoming enemies and takes a while to get used to, but once accustomed to becomes indispensable assistance.
To bring it all around, Cyborg Hunter is a short and easy game given how many others still lived and breathed the cruel arcade mentality. It clearly facilitates a more methodical approach and picking the right weapon for the right situation over sheer response time, but endless continues and restoratives ease up the tension. My biggest obstacle was the short acclimation period in the first 15 minutes or so, but once you're done with zones A and B all the remaining ones up to and including F are only set apart by a gimmick or two. By then you're ready for them.
☉ Platform: PS3
₪ Genre: Stealth, Platformer
☑ Release date: November 2010
♬ Soundtrack: Main Theme and Operation Canada Games
Continuing from last month's foreshadowing that I might get to finally complete Sly 2 I actually deliver. Obviously, this is a sequel so there's some things I'll briefly reference or summarize to make things clear, but I won't really go beyond this installment if I can help it.
First things first – Clockwerk is done, but as it usually goes true evil never dies and in this case members of the Klaww Gang acquire his parts and proceed to employ them from manufacturing addictive spice to using other parts in order to create a perpetually running trains to further their commerce. Sly along with his friends Murray and Bentley realizes what a dangerous situation this is considering mere existence of Clockwerk's parts mean he could come back so they embark upon the journey to find said parts and destroy them for good. Just like it was the case in the original game that's not all there is to this story, which also involves Sly's sort-of arch-nemesis in form of Inspector Carmelita Fox who is hellbent on catching Sly, and the plot thickens as you go along.
With story out of the way, let's get into the game's other elements. For starters I'd like to say this is the kind of sequel I like, one that actually improves the original idea and isn't content to just sit on its laurels. I think pretty much every aspect of the game was retouched; from actual working health system in that you now have a bar instead of just one mishap and you're done unless you gathered a lucky charm and doing away with lives, which admittedly does make Sly 2 plenty easier, to an even more important change in game structure itself – gone are the days of formulaic “collect X keys to advance because we just needed something to unlock levels with”, but instead this time around each Episode has its own specific set of undertakings you have to, well, undertake and they feed into respective Operations Bentley comes up as your plan of action. In practice, this means game feels a helluva lot more varied as far as what you can do and old existing elements such as pick-pocketing have been amplified and better utilized. Now this also brings me to the above mentioned Murray and Bentley who this time go beyond just mini-games, which are still present mind you, and are fully realized characters in their own right. This is great for changing pace, but you'll also quickly realize game was built for Sly and when playing with the other two you'll mostly end up looking for workarounds and and alternate routes instead of enjoying maneuvering your way across levels and playing with enemies. Fortunately their levels make up for a minority of the game if you can't stand them so it should be tolerable in smaller doses, and with each character having purchasable upgrades, which let you put that stolen dosh and valuable to good use, you just might find something that makes them more bearable.
With the above in mind I have to add that clue bottles you use to unlock that Episode's Vault and get a new move, which were previously in levels themselves making them somewhat easier to find, are now found in the much expanded Episode hub worlds which can be really irritating when you're trying to find the last few because game area is much bigger. After all, they're optional and I didn't use even 20% of available upgrades unless the game specifically asked for in a particular mission, but it was still annoying even though I never spent more than three hours tops in any Episode. Just prepare yourself if you're a completionist.
In the end, well, you shouldn't play this before playing the original. It's not like game is story heavy or anything, but you might as well begin with a series from the beginning, especially if it's as easily available as I found Sly to be with considering it was released as remastered trilogy. Definitely an overall improvement compared to the original game, which was already rather outstanding, but I would like to give some words of advice to new game designers – don't plop a turret section as part of the final boss battle in your platformer/stealth game. Alright? Or I'll have to send “The Murray” after you.
Beyond the Rim
Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.
No movies worth talking about this month that I saw, but I did see some anime for a change. Sadly no Legend of the Five Rings books either, mainly because I’m kinda in a slump over our group’s game being on hiatus for a while so my hunger for more info went down accordingly. Might get back to it when game picks up again which should be soon enough.
₪ Genre: Drama, History
☑ Publication date: May 2010
⇲ Pages: 480
Unlike David Mitchell's arguably most famous work - that being Cloud Atlas - this one returns to a more traditional narrative and structure in general.
A historic novel set at turn of the 18th century it follows Dutch East India Company branch and one Jacob de Zoet who throws his lot with the company for financial reasons. Even if you don't know your history that much book establishes early on Jacob and others who join him on the ship are heading to Dejima, isolationist Japan's only foreign trade port at the time built adjacent to a port town of Nagasaki. If you do know your history though, you will realize things are not looking that good for Dutch East India Company during that period and events take a turn for the worse. This turn of fortune plays a major role later on in the novel and story actually plays it rather straight up, even if it does embellish certain events.
As befitting good stories, that's not all The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet tackles because, well, that title would probably be a misnomer if it was all about some financial number crunching or alike. Out of obvious concern for spoilers I won't go into detail, but I'll feel free to say there's a romance involved, leadership succession struggles and one despicable mystery afoot as a seemingly tangential subplot in the background. There are five parts to the book and various points of view as the story jumps from character to character and time passes over the course of twenty odd years.
Early on your are, in fact, dealing with Company's blatant corruption and how the Dutch are being handled in Japan, while in the next you're following a native Japanese woman with her own problems elsewhere. I would argue a lot of part two was largely expanded upon when it could've been easily condensed. Don't get me wrong because it paints a vivid image of what's going on and just how horrible it is, but the way it seemingly resolves, at first at least as it portrays you really have to be careful if you decide to relieve your guilty conscience, is incredibly underwhelming and forces you to wait until practically the very end for a “just desserts”sort of conclusion. And even then an honorable man does what has to be done.
Like I mentioned above I think the book's biggest asset is its ability to paint a wonderful image of the time period and you can tell author went above and beyond with his research and consultations for the sake authenticity. You absolutely feel Sakoku-period Japan come to life – from the squalor of the grimy port where Dutch live their lives in privilege yet obviously feel like outcasts, to inner halls of Japanese translators with their efforts to balance familiar traditions with all the western novelties, and remote mountain temples which seems so far removed from the lower world they might as well as not be real to commoners. As well as everything in-between as we see our characters going through daily lives and getting adjusted. I would argue this sense of time and place is much more important and better realized than actual plot was, but that's just me.
In the end I would very much recommend the novel, especially if all you know about Japan are samurai in their glory days and want something fresh.
₪ Genre: Crime, Drama, Action
☑ Original run: July 2016 – October 2016
⇲ Episodes: 12
I don't watch that much anime anymore for a variety of reasons, but mainly because I don't think a lot of it is really made for my taste these days, and because I kinda forget what's airing even when I watch the first episode only to later wonder “What was the name of that show I saw months ago?” until it slips from thoughts altogether. With that in mind 91 Days grabbed my attention early on.
You're a kid leading a happy life with your family. Everything is great until one day a band of four masked men burst into your home and kill everyone. You escape the same fate merely because you decide to run out into the forest so whoever was had his aim on you missed. Now, that seems like a horrible story, but it turns out your father was in the mafia and he did something that warranted his elimination. Did they have to kill the entire family? Why did they do it? These are the questions our protagonist Angelo Lagusa kept mulling over during the course of seven years since his unlikely escape and pitiful existence of pickpocketing... until one day he gets an anonymous letter listing, by name, the people who killed his family. With newfound knowledge he changes his name to Avilio Bruno, returns to city of Lawless and begins to enact his revenge on criminal Vanetti family responsible for taking his old life from him.
Above is more or less just setup and some of the first episode so I haven't divulged much to you. What follows is honestly a typical revenge story, but setting it during the prohibition era with your mafioso types fighting over who runs the city is what really sold it to me. It's no Baccano and 91 Days instead decides to play it straight with no supernatural elements and adhering to a clear-cut narrative structure, though. Our protagonist and his best friend from childhood spring together a scheme how to get back to mafia, but along the way the viewer becomes privy to information not everyone's a mad dog on the other side and some clearly have people and ideals they care about themselves. Relationship between Avilio and Nero, one of his targets and oldest son of the Vanetti family, makes for a lot of character dynamics in the show but it doesn't mean there's a lack of memorable characters. Problem is most of them, aside from few like Fango who stand out for their personality quirks, are really relegated to the background in favor of the former two's dynamic.
I admit it's no masterpiece to stand the test of ages, but if it suits your preferences you probably already know there aren't that many shows that compare. One thing worth pointing out is how serious all of this is played up. Sure, there are some lighthearted moments because such things exist in any story and they fit, but there are no over the top comedic gags to go against grim themes show establishes early on.
If you've seen anything involving the mafia and revenge stories you will probably see the ending from miles away, but that's ultimately not a ruinous outcome if it works.
₪ Genre: Crime, Action
☑ Publication date: October 2014
⇲ Pages 112
Here's a first – comics. Well, I don't mean it's the first comic I ever read in my life or anything, just that it's my first attempt at trying to cover one in meaningful fashion. This particular Volume of Southern Bastards collects Issues #1 through #4 in one package and I really think it flows well together without obvious carryover breaks.
I don't live in the United States so I can't really comment on what this whole “the South” treatment is about or what the general sentiment in regards to it is, but I did find the exploration of said subject in Southern Bastards intriguing. What few snippets we get to see Craw County, Alabama gets painted in quite a negative light – local football coach and his team treat it as if it's their little fiefdom and even the local sheriff is powerless or refuses to do anything about it. Just for the sake of good football results.
But we learn this as the story goes on because it all opens up following Earl Tubb, a returnee to Crawford County after leaving it almost forty years ago. He comes back to settle the deal regarding his sick uncle's house and brings along his own baggage regarding his old man, previous sheriff from his days who died in the line of duty, and issues he had with him personally. This makes for a surprisingly substantial and quite important backstory to Earl which will, in fact, pan out as a big motivator for his actions setting the entire plot in motion when he sees one of his old acquaintances get assault by the above mentioned football players, seemingly acting on the coach's orders for whatever reason. This, paired with couple of other occurrences I won't really go into for spoilers, leads to Earl Tubb picking up his daddy's old wooden bat and go to town on a righteous mission to reclaim it the only way an angry old man knows how to.
At its core it is a really simple story of an angry man looking to set things right after seeing what his hometown has turned into, but it's the dreary look that art style gives to it all which really makes the entire thing come alive for me. I have a thing for limited color palettes and sharp penciling to get the jagged look across, especially when paired with exaggerated features. That and the fact main character actually has a legitimate motivation, both from current events and his own past, which gives him gravitas instead of just coming off as some random vigilante.
Bittersweet ending also promises to keep things even more complicated when we find out exactly who those messages Earl keeps leaving on his phone are really intended for.
₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery
☑ Publication date: November 1961
⇲ Pages: 143
Setting – far off future set a long time age after some sort of old Empire fell. Humanity has spread across an untold number of planets and has, whether through various genetics programs or otherwise extensive “corrective” efforts, managed to largely get rid of crime from civilized places. Unless you go to places that are decidedly uncivilized, but that's your own damn fault. It is in this state of things that we discover there are people who due to whatever reasons still managed to keep their criminal tendencies or develop them at some point during life. We hear this from the novel's protagonist nicknamed “Slippery Jim" who happens to be a bonified criminal genius in a society that has no idea what to do about people like him and where even the police force is regularly taken aback by one of his bank robberies. Mind you, he doesn't really do any of this out of malice as much as sense of being a pariah and easy living. Until one day he realizes he's been out-conned by Special Corps, an elite force sent in only when everyone else has failed. What's the catch, then? They're comprised of like-minded individuals who chose to work for the League and he's been offered an invitation becuase after all – you send a thief to catch a thief.
Ironically, all of that is just an introduction which is really meant to be a character-establishing piece for Jim's mindset and what makes him tick differently compared to everyone else. I've done a piss poor summary, but I hope it gets the point across. Real meat of the novel, which I can't really talk about, is his following escapade after joining the Corps. See, he was extended an invitation because he never killed anyone and inventive frauds/thefts/whatever are not so big time when there's so much real estate between the banks and insurance companies across settled space that what you steal is a drop in the bucket. Real reason why Special Corps exists in the first place is to battle deviants who possess keen intellect and predisposition towards crime, but also have no moral scruples about causing REAL damage like killing people remorselessly and causing great material damage. Author's bias? Perhaps, but it makes for valid reasons story-wise when you consider the scale and fact people can be rehabilitated or even have their entirely personality wiped. Then again we don't really get that much info on the setting itself aside aside from general space opera feel and name dropping things like the League which is still bringing the pieces together from old wars with varying degrees of success, etc. This was the first released book in a series so assume we find out more over the upcoming books.
Like I said I can't really go into actual plot details, but let's just say our hero makes a discovery that could seriously shake things up in a society that's still going through a recovery period and its military firepower, isn't exactly up to snuff compared to what the old system employed. This takes couple of twists and turns for a personal angle, and one that promises future development, but The Stainless Steel Rat works perfectly fine as a standalone book. I was just slightly disappointed by lack of setting building because what little hints I was show were very promising. At one point cocky Jim decides to make himself crazy for a while to get a different and more primal perspective on one particular problem his regular old self can't figure out, because modern medicine has apparently found a way to induce almost all mental states and disorders on-demand. This is the kind of future we're working with here.
Using a coal-powered robot because your world is so backwards it was forgotten by the governing body after their initial contact proved people were, in fact, there and thus civilization existed got a chuckle out of me.
CaerBannog
I really like the presentation of your post :) Unfortunately, I haven’t play any of those game :P I just won Chroma Squad and you made a good point for me to play it :) Daily Chthonicle would have been interesting too as I’m just reading a book of HP Lovercraft :) Anyway, cool post and good continuation :)
Arbiter Libera
Yeah, definitely. Chroma Squad was great. It could’ve used more depth but I think most games can and what it is works fine within the framework it establishes. Really good. Hope I keep up with updates.
uguleley
Great read once again! I’ve got to ask out of curiosity, how many consoles do you own? :)
Arbiter Libera
Way too many, although I do emulate some of them purely out of convenience. Never owned a single XBox console in my life though, and there ARE some games I’d like to check out like Kingdom Under Fire sequels, etc. Glad you enjoyed it.
miroe250
Oh god the formating of your post is gorgeous, I love it. I want to tell you that you have great vocabulary I’m always astonished when I see one. I even learn couple of new words, which I don’t know.
I don’t know why but I have huge problem with long texts, in this case wall of text. I just lose patience, it’s not that I lose interest but at one I point I’m asking myself where is the fucking end. Part of the reason why I don’t like long topics might be because I read kind of slow. If I decided to be normal me you would not see this comment right now.
So I decided to tackle this one. Gonna bookmark your post’s link and will read one “chapter” per day and if you have interest how long doest it took me to read it I will even post the results.
- Daily Chthonicle: Editor’s Edition : 6 minutes
Arbiter Libera
Thanks, and I know what you mean. I would go crazy if I was writing it all up in a single go so I usually put together a review after finishing each game to space them out naturally. No need to rush it at all. I honestly think that’s why I included the music tracks in the first place - so I had something to listen to while I was writing the reviews. :)
Sure, post how long it took you because it might help me understand flow better. I’ve been trying to break walls of text as best as a I can.
miroe250
2.Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World: 8 minutes
miroe250
3 . Chroma Squad: 5 minutes
miroe250
4 . The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: 4 minutes I will check this out for sure
Arbiter Libera
Well I’ll be damned, it’s the first time I got someone interested in a book.
miroe250
I love reading books and since you’ve mention cloud atlas how on earth I should not check it out. (I watched the movie :( tho don’t get hyped that I’ve red the book xD)
miroe250
The Stainless Steel Rat: 5 minutes.
Added to must read list xD
Arbiter Libera
Glad to hear it. I should probably track down other books in the series at some point and give them a read.
miroe250
\o/ yay I’ve just red the book last night, now when I finished and re-read your review about it it makes way more sense now. It’s fantastic book and I loved it and all the credit for me finding the book goes to you. Now to go a little in depth I loved the character of Jacob, the docotor was funny and peculiar character, that interpreter Ogawa Uzaemon grew so much in my eyes while the story progress. Now I found the second part of the book which is related to Abigawa very very boring, the only exciting part which put me on edge was her journey of trying to escape(I straight up go with the spoilers because this topic is 3 months old, I doubt someone is going to read it now.) I was so dissappointed that after her escape she got back and I know it was for a good cause but still. The whole message of the book is great too, that if you want people to respect you and to be loyal to you need to stand your ground, be honest and have a good heart. Just like that part of the book when an body fall from the Englishman ship and the Japanisee people found it they asked Jacob is he Englishman or not and the fact that Jacob kinda lied in order that poor bastard to receive proper burial made me so happy.
I know I repeat myself but the book is fantastic.
Side note: Well since english is not my native language this book definitely gave me a proper fight. I’ve recently bought Amazone Kindle and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet was the first book I’ve red on it. The kindle has an awesome feature which if you hold your finger on a word a dicternary pop up and gives you detailed meaning for the word, this pretty much save me durring my reading. The Kindle also stores every word you’ve searched for and the total count for this book is 1,027 words +/- 20 words which were mistakes while I wast trying to hold my finger on the right word. I will put some time and try to learn the words which was not familliar to me and hope that this will inprove my english.
Again thank you so much for your review of this book.
Sorry for the wall of text hope you will read it all :D
Arbiter Libera
I still can’t believe someone picked up a book on my recommendation so I’m happy you enjoyed it first hand. There was always a chance I misrepresented the book or something. Ending was also kinda bittersweet in a sense that Jacob never got the girl and was basically left a broken man wondering who he really was, yeah.
Also glad to hear you got yourself a Kindle. I didn’t even realize how much of a worthwhile investment it was until about a year or so after the purchase because I could stop relying on my somewhat poorly supplied local library, and getting all the books I want physically is definitely off the table for number of reasons. Yeah, it has some great functionality. You can even natively link your Goodreads account and keep track of books read that way.
Never skip a good wall of text. :)
miroe250
I alredy found The Stainless Steel Rat so after a couple of book I will start reading it too.
Will let you know of course :)
miroe250
Hello again I’m about to start The stainless Steel Rat and I did some reasearch about the series. Is it worth it to start from the 1st book. In-series chronology this one is listed as 4th book. Have you read all the rest? Or it’s fine just to read this one alone?
Arbiter Libera
Honestly I have no idea. I just picked up the book at random, but it felt pretty standalone to me. Nothing really screamed I missed any plot points.
miroe250
wow thanks for the ultra fast response. I will read only this one because I have many more things to read and I don’t feel like doing a series right now
Arbiter Libera
No problem, I happened to be online. Let me know if you liked it.
miroe250
Hello again,
Yesterday I’ve finished The Stainless Steel Rat and I really liked it. I enjoyed how sophisticated Jim was in his crimes, thinking of everything. I like how confused he realized that someone might actually outsmart him. Angelina was good character as well, I enjoyed Jim’s struggling if he should capture her or keep working with her. I think I didn’t understood what happend at the end, so she is joining the Special Corps?
Again thanks for the recommendation, I will check out the rest of your “Beyond the Rim” section and will pick something new, before that I will read “Neuromancer” by William Gibson
Arbiter Libera
Hey hey, glad you liked it. So are you a SF-inclined guy in general?
I think I didn’t understood what happend at the end, so she is joining the Special Corps?
Well, I imagine that would be spoiling, but we can assume it’s a safe bet.
I’m content my scribblings introduced someone to new works so go right ahead. :) Neuromancer gets even stranger when you realize Gibson admitted he knew nothing about technology when he wrote it. Maybe that let him work beyond the framework someone familiar with computers would’ve been constrained by? Who knows.
miroe250
Well I’m not sure if I’m a SF guy but I enjoy the genre. This side info for Gibson really intrigues me.
Such a shame Daily Chthonicle doesn’t deliver because the premises sounded great (how can it not when it involves Lovecraftian stuff). Thanks for the review though, I’ll probably give it a shot if it gets bundled at some point.
Kirby’s Adventure <3 . The memories.
I’ve read good stuff about Southern Bastards but hadn’t got my hands on it yet.
Yeah, Chthonicle is a bit too repetitive and really lacks proper story to keep it going for me. I wonder if Southern Bastards will go where I expect it go with that cliffhanger ending, though.