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ericaxkobi · 1 year

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SPOILERS for the new Mario Bros. Movie

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Okay, so I’m not typically the type of person to share my thoughts and opinions like this on social media. Not for anything that’s brand new and just came out and there’s a chance someone will see spoilers for it if they read my post.

But I cannot stay silent on this one. I NEED to talk about the Mario Bros. Movie.

I saw it on Good Friday with my friend since we had both been looking forward to it.

I’ll start off by saying, I went into the theater with very low hopes. Not because I wasn’t impressed by the trailers and tv spots, but because I didn’t want to be let down if I didn’t see something I had hoped to see.

I wasn’t disappointed. At all.

I won’t lie, the Voice Actors were my biggest nitpick. (That and the overall pacing of the movie), but I feel like there was enough going on that I wasn’t CONSTANTLY reminded that Chris Pratt isn’t even Italian and Peach didn’t sound like Peach, etc. etc.

I liked Mario a lot more than I expected to. I like how they made him more relatable and not just this untouchable hero that he’s often depicted as. He felt like a normal guy thrown into a crazy world and just trying to find his little brother. The overall plot of the story is pretty simple. Peach and Bowser are at way and Mario and Luigi get caught in the middle of it—on opposing sides. They’re just trying to make it out alive.

I’m pretty sure I was smiling like an idiot 90% of the movie because I was just so in awe by the beautiful animation and designs. Hundreds of tiny details and Easter eggs and references from the Mario franchise EVERYWHERE. It just shows that the creators really took the time to add those details and little sounds and music bits to honor the games. I loved that.

So, we get to see Mario and Luigi’s family. That was a lovely surprise. We don’t see them for very long, but we get a sense that Mario isn’t taken very seriously in his family—which is often the complete opposite of how we’re used to seeing him. It’s a nice change that I do like. It technically is a commonly used trope where the hero is looked down at the start and praised later but it feels more refreshing in this case.

Mario’s dad comments that Mario is going down with his new plumbing business and “dragging his brother with him”.

Okay, since when was Mario the one dragging Luigi down? That was a nice change. Luigi wasn’t exactly the golden child either, since everyone at the table but their mother and Mario himself ignored him, but I was still not expecting that.

Mario hates mushrooms. I love that. He gives Luigi his mushrooms the second Lu says he likes them. (Also, “Lu” as Mario’s nickname for him. ❤️)

It’s shown straight off the bat that Mario and Luigi are close. They’re best friends. They do everything together. They’re in sync and truly twin brothers (don’t think it’s ever stated they’re legit twins but to me it seemed heavily implied and has been stated so in the games). Luigi comforts Mario and encourages him to keep going.

I think that’s the pivotal message in the movie: brotherly love. They’re a set. They’re better together and nothing bad can happen so long as they have each other.

Luigi….I could talk forever about how adorable Luigi was. The same can be said about Mario. Just too cute for words.

Toad….. I would have liked him better if not for his voice. Didn’t sound right at all. But ignoring that, I liked him. He was a bit much at times but not necessarily in a bad way.

Peach was badass. Her voice didn’t bother me…but I would have preferred it had they gotten someone who sounded MORE like Peach. I think what I don’t understand is, why didn’t Peach do anything about Bowser before the start of the movie? Clearly Bowser had been taking over lands before reaching the Ice Kingdom (penguins). I get that Bowser found the Power Star, but shouldn’t she have been trying to rally supporters before then? Maybe not, but I did wonder it.

Bowser was the perfect combination of terrifying and ridiculous. Jack Black did a fabulous job and I loved his portrayal.

The REUNION HUG!! If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m feeling just thinking about it!

Omg! That was one of the few things I was secretly demanding— an emotional hug from the brothers and I was not disappointed!

DK and Mario rivalry? Amusing and enjoyable.

Luigi. ❤️ (That’s it. I just wanted to say that amazing man’s name again).

The Mario Kart stuff was cool. They executed the whole sequence better than I thought.

I also liked the end battle. I was not expecting things to end up in Brooklyn but I feel like it helped tie in the beginning stuff so that it wasn’t left unfinished.

Overall, loved the movie. Can’t wait see it again and own it. I will definitely be buying it when it comes out!

Thanks for reading and listening to my opinion!

Lemme know what you guys thought of it too!

#the super mario bros movie spoilers #super mario bros #Luigi #Mario

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rpgmgames · 5 years

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July’s Featured Game: Melon Journey 2

DEVELOPER(S): Froach Club ENGINE: RPG Maker 2003 GENRE: Story-exploration SUMMARY: Melon Journey 2 is a story-exploration game about revisiting a town full of adorable animals with eccentric personalities. Yet under its cute and nostalgic surface lies a dark tale of crime and corruption... Play as Honeydew, an employee of a huge melon factory, and travel to Hog Town where melons are illegal. While searching for a missing friend, you'll have to explore the town and its surrounding areas, and speak with suspicious characters in dangerous situations to uncover the truth.

Download the demo from the discord server here!

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! We're Froach Club! (Mario - @markeryjane, Karolina - @minipete, & Simon - @carpetbones) Our CEO is rude little roach who goes by the name of Froach. We've all been making games together and separately for a quite a while now and we're currently working on our magnum opus... To see our other games check out froachclub.itch.io & carpetbones.itch.io

What is your project about? What inspired you to create this game initially? *Froach Club: Melon Journey 2 is a story of crime and political corruption in a town where melons are outlawed. It's a sequel to our (Mario & Karolina) very first game we ever made back in 2012. Back then we had no idea what we were doing and were pretty awful at using RPG Maker 2003, so we had the idea to do kind of a remaster of the game. We accidentally expanded it so much though that it became a huge, fully-formed sequel.

How long have you been working on your project? *FC: Almost 2 years now.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *FC: Columbo, The Big Sleep, Chulip, Hamtaro Ham Ham Heartbreak, Kino's Journey, Twin Peaks, and Shenmue!

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *FC: This is our first real large-scale project, spanning multiple years of development, so staying organized was a huge challenge. At first we would just work on whatever we felt like, jumping from one part of the game to another. But once Simon became more involved in the project, he taught us his amazing organization skills and we learned how to use to-do lists efficiently and and keep our files straight. And now that we have, things go much more smoothly.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *FC: We started with a really bare-bones story, and as we built up the world by adding more characters, side-quests, and subplots to the main storyline, the game’s scope began to grow. The world of Melon Journey 2 is now much more detailed and immersive than we originally imagined.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *FC: Back in 2012, when Melon Journey 1 came out, we were just a two person team (Mario and Karolina). We continued making games together for a few years until we started calling ourselves Froach Club and added our 3rd member, Simon. We worked together on u1f439 (https://carpetbones.itch.io/u1f439) and Fish Fly Fever (https://froachclub.itch.io/fish-fly-fever) and now Melon Journey 2!

What is the best part of developing a game? *Mario: Making the music, when a scene comes together and the music fits the tone perfectly it's really satisfying. Karolina: Coming up with crazy ideas in the beginning and thinking of all the possibilities! Simon: Creating any form of a dense or rich world for people to interact with or experience.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *FC: Back when we started out, we played a lot of RPG Maker games on rpgmaker.net and it was a big source of inspiration because it helped us feel like our ideas were doable without any previous knowledge of programming or game making. Yume Nikki in particular gave us a lot of ideas on how to make the most out of RPG Maker 2003, like hacking together menus out of pictures, and creating complex animations using multiple charsets.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Mario: Bailey is my self-insert character kinda. Karolina: Lily. She has really strict Russian parents (who are actually based on mine) and she has a hard time finding a place where she feels like she truly belongs. She goes through a lot but never truly stops caring about what she believes in. Simon: I actually am Ham Ghost Jr.

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *FC: At some point the project kind of outgrew RPGMaker 2003 and we really regretted using it, but we've come to appreciate the limitations and they've helped to shape the game in some ways so we regret it less now, especially since discovering easyRPG which we're using to port the game!

Do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *FC: We like to joke about making Melon Journey 3D, but who knows, it might actually happen one day! We are leaving the ending of MJ2 a little bit open ended~

What do you most look forward to upon/after the release of a project? *Mario: Being able to start a new project. Usually by the end of one project the only thing motivating me is getting it out of the way so we can start on the next thing. Karolina: Seeing if people enjoy our game! I dream about people making fanart and silly deep lore videos. That would seriously make everything 100% worth it. Simon: I cannot wait to get started on a new (maybe even bigger) project!

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *FC: All three of us have an intense fear of something going horribly wrong on the day of the release. That's honestly the scariest part of making a game - saying that you're officially finished with it.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *FC: Try your best to get your game done and limit the scope! Even if it's not perfect or exactly like how you imagined it, the experience and growth you get from releasing a game is the most important thing.

Question from last month's featured dev @midnighttrain-project: What do you value most in a game? (story, gameplay, art,...) Is that an important aspect of your game? *Mario: I think the interplay of the elements of a game is more important than what the individual parts are like on their own. Like, a simple animation can be transformed by adding a really good sound effect to it, so it's hard to separate elements or say that I value one more than the other. Karolina: I value the story most in games. Even when the art or gameplay is great, if there are glaring plot holes I always spend too much time focusing on them and get pulled out of the experience. That's why we spent so much time making a super well thought-out world and characters for MJ2! Simon: I really enjoy gameplay over most parts of any game, especially if the gameplay is well designed and interesting.

We mods would like to thank Froach Club for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Melon Journey 2 if you haven’t already! See you next month!

- Mods Gold & Platinum

#rpgmaker #rpg maker #game dev #indie games #pixel games #rpgm #melon journey #melon journey 2 #froach club #gotm #game of the month #gotm 2019 #2019

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nodesiretogrowup · 5 years

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That episode was ADORABLE!!! spoiler-y thoughts below:

It was cute seeing Team Magic together, even if it was only for a few seconds. I’m gonna pretend that they were fighting Launchpad’s wereduck ex.

Would really love to see a Dewey-Beakley episode now.

“I mean, this is very wrong, but it’s not this either.” Don’t be a hater, Scrooge. I’m surprised Huey hasn’t made himself a costume like Della has. More mother/son bonding in the future?

Goldie is a BOSS ASS BITCH and I LOVE HER.

Louie is already being adorable. I love my green son.

Louie has to stay on brand. He knows who he is.

Goldie is WORKING that necklace.

“Don’t let her get too close.” I wonder if that will come up in future episodes.

“HOW DID THIS GO SO WRONG SO QUICKLY?!” #youtried

“You gotta get close.” And theeeereeees the conflict of the episode.

“I’ll have you know I’m the evil triplet!” “Suuuure, you’re the scariest bunny in the pet shop.” I love their dynamic already.

I think there was some sincerity in Louie’s ploy. He does know feel like he’s not as good as the rest of his family.

“You know your cons.” I think you might be genuinely impressed there, Goldie.

“So you’ll teach me?!” The kid just wants a mentor he can relate to.

Poor Louie. The kid is legit TERRIFIED of Doofus. Was that invitation actually gold?

Della, you do need to sleep.

Of course Huey has a different version of epic. My sweet nerdy son. I wonder if Fenton plays this game too. It seems up his alley.

Love the art style of the game and cyborg Della.

Princess Username and the Heartthrob Goblin. I feel like Della had a crush on both of them. Though NOTHING can beat Princess Unattainabelle.

“The impractically giant weapons, the high stakes adventures!” I’m siding with Della on this one. Big weapons=Big fun

“The whole village won’t have turnips this season” I highly doubt that is part of the game.

YAY LAZORS!

Doofus’ party looks pretty dope, not gonna lie.

My poor baby Louie. I love that he and Goldie’s outfits kind of clash. Louie is dressed to the 9s while Goldie is super casual. Possible foreshadowing of the two not being on the same page?

“Not full of hair.” WHY IS THIS CHILD LIKE THIS?!

I love that Goldie and Louie can just look at a pile of loot and know exactly how much it’s worth. Even Goldie looked impressed.

“Guhmeemama.” That’s...upsetting.

“Can’t wait to tell my therapist about it when I’m older.” HELP THIS POOR CHILD.

“No, that’s just being a bad party guest.” Lessons in etiquette from Goldie.

“Also I don’t know yet.” Honesty, I can respect that.

Perfect widdle angel? Is Gideon around? (Two Gravity Fall references. I’m on a roll.)

SERIOUSLY, THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS KID?!

“Hellowen, Llewellyn.” BURN THE CHILD!

I like the Goldie saved Louie from falling in the pool. She’s already attached even if she won’t admit it.

“The only parent I’ve even known.” “Why does he hurt me?” “You know why.” THE FLYING FUCK IS UP WITH THIS FAMILY?!

WHY IS DOOFUS SO UPSETTING?

Wow Goldie, that was harsh.

Percival P. Peppinton. A.) that name is AMAZING B.) digging the Willy Wonka look.

“Hey, I got range!” Johnny is too cute.

The honey bin. Yikes.

Hey, the Beagle Boys are a legit family, even if their mom wasn’t actually there!

Sharkbomb. Just beautiful. I think Glomgold has some issues to work out.

“Super young aunt.”

Digging Mark’s casual outfit.

Boyd is BABY AND MUST BE PROTECTED.

I saw that Goofy Movie reference. And the Flounder hat.

I love that Mark has a phone charm of himself. Sidenote, I miss phone charms.

I wish Glomgold had covered my eyes too. CANNOT UNSEE.

Glomgold’s pics are GREAT. I feel like he’s had those for awhile, just incase.

Quick thinking Louie ftw!

That hug was TOO CUTE. Louie really NAILS affectionate gestures.

Louie is as...photogenic as his Dadnld.

“POOL TIME.” I had the same reaction as everyone else.

Impressed Goldie is impressed.

Oh Glomgold, you keep doing you.

I get you Huey.

“THE DUKE OF DESTRUCTION!” The crew really likes dukes.

A WILD LAUNCHPAD APPEARS.

“I’M THE MASTER OF THE SKY!” I love that the dragon looks like the Sunchaser/Cloudslayer. It’s the little details.

“I’M SURPRISING MYSELF, THIS IS AMAZING!” LAUNCHPAD IS BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE HIM.

“What a great life lesson!” Solid parenting. Anyone else want to see Launchpad and Della play this together. I mean, what better way to bond than playing video games together (that aren’t Mario Kart or Smash Bros)?

“WOO, JETPACKS!” SERIOUSLY, the two of them would get along SO WELL.

Doofus confirmed for masochist on top of sadist.

Did the invite say to bring bathing suits? Also, Goldie is looking FINE in that gold one piece.

Glomgold, are you...ok? Do you ALSO have daddy issues?

God I love Goldie and Louie bonding.

Notice how Boyd never touches the water? Love that he keeps the bowtie on. And again, BOYD IS BABY.

Goldie is DUMMY THICC

“The greatest adventure of all-waiting.” Oh sweetie.

Della, you should chill on the whole danger thing.

“Every journey begins with a single step.”That’s much better.

THAT IS WHY I NEVER LET MY GUARD DOWN!

“I SHOULD NEVER TRY ANYTHING NEW!” I feel ya.

HE’S A PINBALL WIZARD!

DO NOT TOUCH MY BABY BOYD!

“Beaks would NEVER miss out on that sweet clickbait.” “Click-what now?”

Aren’t acronyms fun?

“Do you know how many evil robots I’ve face? *nervous laughter* Too many.” OH MY SWEET CHILD!”

POOR BOYD! That legit made me sad. LET HIM BE A REAL BOY!

BUTLER DAD OUT!

“DO NOT PEER behind the curtain of reality, bud.” That’s a great line.

THIS POOR KID IS HAVING AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! HELP HIM!

Butler Dad, noping out again.

Louie looked legit sad about what happened. He’s a good boi.

“I’m gonna need a really big bag of rice.” YOU DON’T DESERVE BOYD.

Money, Money, Money. I’d like to play that game.

LOUIE JUST WANTS SOMEONE HE CAN CONNECT WITH! I’m kind of hoping it ends up being Donald or Della that fills that role for him.

“I swore after last year no one’s EYES WOULD MELT OUT OF THERE HEADS.” WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

Et tu, Goldie?

They really are two peas in a pod. I bet she would have ended up giving Louie a cut.

“Hi, I’m BOYD a DEFINITELY real boy, and I’m going to DESTROY YOU.”

“YOU’RE A REAL, SWEET, KIND BOY, I SWEAR!” No arguments here.

Someone is concerned for Louie’s well-being.

THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS CHILD!

I legit want Louie and Boyd to become friends.

Aw Goldie, you DO CARE!

NOT RIGHT.

DELLA LOVES HER BABIES!

“IT’S OVER 9000!” You can NEVER go wrong with a Dragon Ball reference.

SUPER SAIYAN HUEY!

“Well, at least he’s out of his comfort zone.” You might have created a monster there, Della. At least he’s getting out his aggression in a safe and health manner.

Louie could never truly be a conman, he cares about others too much to let them take the fall. And that is noble of him.

Goldie is BRUTAL.

SUPERHERO LANDING!

Louie understands the power of family.

“YOU SENTIMENTAL TOASTER.” Burn?

Yay for Doofus’ parents standing up to him! THAT’S THE POWER OF BOYD!

“I’m...free.” THIS MAN NEEDS THERAPY, STAT.

“YOU’RE IN TOO DEEP.” It’s ALWAYS the quiet ones.

“I’d say you get used to it, but that would be a lie.” The words of a man who has had his heart broken.

LET LOUIE FIND A FRIEND/MENTOR!

THE PHOTOS! GOLDIE DOES HAVE A HEART!

#ducktales #dt spoilers

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medea10 · 5 years

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My Review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

#anime review #wotakoi #wotaku ni koi wa muzukashii #narumi momose #hirotaka nifuji #tarou kabakura #hanako koyanagi #naoya nifuji #kou sakuragi

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italicwatches · 6 years

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GAMERS! Episode 01

Nobody participated in the game! Jerks.

I kid, I kid. I love you all.

So now that we’ve hit some of the big shows I’ve wanted to do for a while, it’s time to get at some of the lighter things! And mostly, I mean lighter workload. One-cour specials that I can burn through in a fortnight. Is that how you spell the actual word? The game has been so massively omnipresent over everything I look at that I can’t tell anymore.

…Anyways it’s GAMERS!, episode 01! Here we GO!

-We begin, with a blue sky, a flying plane, and a title pop! Then we scroll down from a school roof, down into a classroom. Everyone’s staring. It’s nearly 4 PM. Two figures stand against each other. Some folks have some pretty amazing faces on. Time is still. Like, full-on ZA WARUDO level time is still.

-And then…The clock finally clicks over. The cicadas start to buzz…And then die. Alas, poor cicada.

-SPRING!

-Hard cut to a game store advertising some naughty materials, as a narrator explains how some people are ‘above the clouds’. All the hottest titles for the PZ4 are out in force, and I’m pretty sure I recognize at least one cover. A young man gathers up some older, cheaper games on sale, as the narrator explains how these people might be an idol, a world-stage athlete, someone you truly adore…And for some, it might be a 2D character. As he picks up the game Golden Memories and I swear to god that girl in the center of the cover looks like she was in New Game. Is this from the same studio?

-Most can only watch these figures from afar, a source of distant admiration…So, when the cutest girl in school walked into the game store at the same time as this young man narrating, and suddenly spoke to him, one Amano Keita lost all capacity to get his body and brain to communicate. The entire stack of games (including titles like LEGION OF THE FANTASY, BASE COMBAT, and a baseball game I can’t read but I know I’ve seen that art style in a Japanese baseball game before) falls from his hands, and his eyes turn cartoony as his thought process just breaks.

-And Tendou Karen introduces herself properly…As Keita’s brain hooks together what he knows of her. The rich, call, curvy, flawless young lady of the school, the sort that draws admiration from her fellow girls and adoration from the boys. She’s smart, she’s beautiful, and she’s got amazing athletic results too. She seems almost too perfect to be real.

-The visuals make it clear that all this is going to fall apart. And our sloppy goofy hero is the reason why.

-She’s not famous, but she IS the kind of girl who has to hold a bag under her locker because of how many love notes are gonna fall out when she opens it every day. The idol of the school. Meanwhile, Keita’s a goofy loner dork who’d rather play vidjagames and is firmly in the middle of every metric the school tests him on. Average height, B- grades, damn near perfectly in the middle of all his athletic tests. Like, it’s almost impressive how nondescript he is by the on-paper metrics.

-And his brain is snapping and oh god he’s freaking out HE’S FREAKING OUT OKAY DEEP BREATH CALM DOWN CALM DOWN. She ends up helping him pick up the games, as he begins to wonder if this is going to lead to extortion or something. (The X makes it sound cool) Because he just cannot ponder why Tendou Karen of all girls would be talking to him, in a game store, and not the kind of family-friendly super mainstream one that only sells E rated games your little brother’s heard of, either. There’s an eroge poster right outside.

-As they pick up such games as STOIC BATTLE 2, and Evil ElEmEnt. But then she asks him if he likes these games, and he freaks out so bad he drops them, and now she’s gotta pick them back up because his hands don’t work. And OKAY DEEP BREATH CALM DOWN SHE’S JUST A NORMAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT LIKE YOU NO NEED TO FREAK O—

-She picked up Golden Memories.

-…OookAY IT IS TIME TO FREAK THE FUCK OUT MAXIMUM PANIC ENGAGED

-Oh god it’s even worse.

-The game advertises itself as specifically selling blonde-girl fantasies, and includes wardrobe malfunctions.

-You get three guesses as to what color hair Karen has and the first three don’t count.

-And thus now SHE’S having a bit of a freakout and both try to play it off and woooooo boy this somehow managed to get even more awkward. Could a spout of flame please consume him now to end this torment thank you Satan. He has to try and play off why he had a blonde-gals dating sim in his hands and he insists he just was reading it to see what it was about and of couuuurse, she totally understands, yes let us both just lean on this easy explanation that lets everyone walk away…

-But of course Keita is actually kind of a total dork for the design process of them and how tightly they managed to sell a game which is when he realizes he miiiight have oversold it OH GOD TOO FAR PULL OUT PULL OUT

-Yep she’s staring.

-PANIC.

-But she breaks out into the giggles, because she’s amazed with his passion about it…And she’s…She’s like him to…To join her…

-In the game club!

-The what now?

-Hard cut to an arcade, with a small group of folks from the same school playing a flashy mahjong arcade game, when a pink-haired young lady needs the help of one guy, Tasuku! There’s an amazing(ridiculous) looking stuffed cat in the claw machine, and he’s got the magic touch…And of course, having a desperate young lady needing his help would turn the eyes of any straight young man.

-But you’re paying for the play. You’re not cutting into his game budget with this thing.

-EVEN BIGGER EYES. Why you little…

-But, okay. Deep breath. In goes 100 yen, and okay, focus, watch the toy…And Tasuku pulls the magic trick, hooking the stuffed cat’s tag with the claw! One play, and it’s in this young lady’s hands! He tries to play it cool, but inside he feels like a total badass having pulled this off for his cute, if slightly ditzy, girlfriend. The visual cue would like to let you know that his pride will soon fall.

-That night, the whole gang finally leaves the arcade…When Tasuku spots Keita over by a bench, just kinda staring down onto the bench? What’s going on with him? …Well, it doesn’t matter. He’s just some dork without a hot girlfriend.

-The visual cues want to let you know that soon this dork and Task’s hot girlfriend will be meeting in secret and Tasuku will fail.

-So Keita is staring, because Karen is explaining. She just started the gaming club, since, well, there isn’t one. It doesn’t even entirely exist yet since she hasn’t done the initial round of recruitment to get the school to accept their existence, and youuuu are her first recruit! And wow, you’re polite. …Chill, Keita. Even her classmates are all super polite. Her teacher is polite to her! Hell, when she plays Mario, Bowser himself is polite! Okay that one has to be bullshit. Maybe it was a bug?

-It did happen after three straight days of trying to beat the speed running world record for the game… You were unconscious and dreaming! Your body collapsed from lack of capacity! The only bug is the one in your damn head that led to you thinking that was a smart thing to do!

-And Karen breaks out into the giggles, having finally gotten through Keita’s shell…As she admits that the gaming thing is a bit of a secret. Her friends don’t really know about it…She even picked this school because it once had a famous gaming club. But…It collapsed, in the time between her testing in and her first day at the school…She spent her whole first year politicking behind the scenes to get the school to let her revive it, and now she’s ready to make it stronger than it ever was! That’s actually impressive.

-But what will it be, exactly…? Well, playing games, of course. But not just that. They’ll be playing them seriously. Competitively. This isn’t just about the love of games. This is about games as self betterment. And for that, she needs the kind of souls who can slam themselves against the wall again and again until they finally, finally break through. And she found one, in you! The wind picks up, the springtime cherry blossoms swirl around them, and Keita is in awe, as he finds himself…

-Finds himself…Unsure what to say…When her mother texts her! She has to get going she’s already breaking curfew wait for her after school tomorrow BYE! Ohgodrunrunrunrunmom’sgonnabesomad

-That night in his tiny little apartment, Keita slacks upon his bed, playing his totally-not-a-PS-Vita. I think I will call it a PZ Vivio, because stupid references are the best references. So anyways he’s playing it, and he can’t help but feel like this game club thing…This could be huge! The event in his youth that he’s been waiting for! Is this a dream? A magical wonderful dream—He just got a text.

-Okay. Deep breath. Pick up the phone. See what it says.

-Oh, it’s just an alert. A game friend, Mono-san, is requesting help in a mobile MMO type deal. Sure. Sure thing. PZ Vivio go down, phone goes up…

-And then we fade over to the cutesy, curly-haired girl who is Mono-san…Just to make it clear what we’re dealing with here.

-Cut to the next day! Class just wrapped, and Keita takes a deep breath, as he has to decide what to do…And Mono-san needs help again? Well, he can take a couple minutes to dive into a boss battle, besides Karen was probably just fucking with hi—

-HEY KEITA

-Yipe!

-Yep she went and found him because waiting for him to find her sounded boring. And dang, you play mobile games too, huh? And everyone’s starting to stare. Okay. Okay deep breath they should go to the club room right now! He races out after Karen, having just declined the help request and please forgive him Mono-san…As Tasuku and his group watch this hapless dork walk off with the hottest girl in school.

-To the stairwell! Where we meet Misumi Eiichi! Keith is confused. He’s her other first recruit! She found him at the arcade playing vintage puzzlers! And he’s all kind of embarrassed, as Keita quietly realizes how much of a fucking idiot he was thinking he had a chance at this…

-But then Eiichi extends a hand, and admits he’s not a super sociable guy. But he’d love to be friends with Keita. And…You know what? There’s not a damn thing wrong with ‘just’ making some good friends who he shares a passion with. Keita shakes that hand with both of his own, and it might not be the dating sim fantasy he had in his head, but this still could work out just fine…

-As all three head for the clubroom, where Karen admits she had to do some very cunning work to get them to approve the club…But they get there, and she flips the door sign to reveal it is now OPEN! She even did a custom club sign with cute pixel art on it!

-The place is already kitted out with tons of games and setups, fight sticks and spare pads…And the other recruits. Kase Gakuto, who Karen has to introduce because he’s busy playing. Then, over there playing Guilty Gear is Oohiso Niina. Both of these two are the senpais of the group, and Niina is not listening because all that matters is the Guilty Gear.

-And Gakuto here is one of the top FPS players in the world, as he wrecks face at CSGo. Or as Keita calls it, COS. And Eiichi admits that he really only knows vintage puzzlers. Well they’ll have to teach you!

-And the best part? Everything here was bought over the last year by entering in local tournaments! The school may not be super into games, but they damn well like having trophies to display and students bringing in their own club funds! But what good is a game club if there’s no game playing? Come on, guys, pick something and play~!

-And Gakuto wants to see what these guys can do…

-Straight up first round, team deathmatches in Battlefield. Gakuto wrecks face, with Karen close behind, and the rookie guys do…Poorly. Next round! By the fifth match, Keita is better than two of the bots on his and Gakuto’s team, while Eiichi is slowly but surely improving a little. MORE ROUNDS. 30 rounds in, Keita is actually slipping from sheer exhaustion and Eiichi is getting intense too…

-A full two hours later, and Keita collapses. Karen even has to ask Gakuto to go a little easier on the new recruits, but no. He’s not running a damn training school. You learn or you fall behind. Do you want to be stuck here all on your own again, jerk?

-Also as an aside, they have a legit straight-up Guilty Gear XRD Rev2 poster up on the wall. No BASE COMBAT for that franchise.

-Also Gakuto strongly questions whether Eiichi has really never played one of these before. You got the hang of twin-sticking it really quickly for someone new…And you got three kills on him. Eiichi insists he just got lucky, but at this point I’m pretty fuckin’ sure he’s lying. But whether he’s secretly got practice or just is a fast learner…

-But as for Keita, why the hell did you just stand in that corner jumping up and down on that car in the last round?! He, he wanted to see the scenery past the wall…Well you’re making everyone else on your team’s life harder, you jackass!

-And soon Karen has to calm everyone down and call for a break, as she and Eiichi step out onto the balcony…And Keita just stares, as Gakuto goes right back to CSGO on the PC and I’m not entirely sure Niina even realizes the two newcomers are here. Karen ends up asking what got the two into games…And Keita realizes he doesn’t, really, have one…

-Contrast, say, Gakuto, whose father is in a PMC and so he came into the FPS genre with tons of core practices already in his head that got translated into game mechanics. Or Niina who is trying to pull her best friend back from the dark side. (Your friend turned out to be a Gator, huh? I’ve been there, lass. May your trials serve to bring them back to sanity.)

-And Keita suddenly feels very, very awkward…At least Eiiichi doesn’t have any good reason either, so Keita can just relax, and take a deep thorough drink from his coke can…

-He just lost his memoirs and when he came to, the only thing he was good at was vintage puzzlers.

-SPITTAKE

-Keita suddenly feels like the only sane man in a world gone mad. And Karen tries to lighten the mood and encourage them to stick around. This isn’t about being some world-class gamer. It’s just about the core idea of self-betterment through games, and anyone can do that, no matter where they’re starting off! Eiichi is sold. Give him the form, he’ll be joining!

-And Keita? Well…Keita…

-As he steps out of the room, Gakuto promises to teach him proper team play, and Niina silently shoves an old fight stick into his hands. They might be weird, they might be a bit intimidating, but there’s a kind and genuine heart in their core. This might just work. He can make this work! So he can most definitely say that he’ll—

-Pass! You guys are all super competitive and he’s into single player stuff and RPGs.

-Pardon?

-New day! Class! Keita has realized by now how much of a FUCKING IDIOT he was, when his phone buzzes! Mono-san needs his help…Sure, sure thing, that’ll clear his mi—

-Karen appears! And she’s not giving up. Join. Her. Club. She’s interested in you! And that gets everyone to go silent, as she holds out her hand…And the timer on Mono-san’s request ticks down, lower, lower…Keita reaches out, and…Taps it at the last second! What were you saying, Karen?

-…He…Look. He can’t join the game club.

-Why? Is it because you don’t think you’re good enough? They’ll take care of you, rookie or otherwise!

-…No. He’s…He’s not into competition. He likes the love of games. He’s not a competitive guy at all. Your focus is fantastic, but it’s just not for him, so…

-So Karen suddenly feels like she just got dumped. And everyone’s staring. She goes tsuntsun to try and save face but god dammit quit trying to be nice to her! She walks out in tears…Only to slip on a banana peel and faceplate so hard that she’s got to flee at top speed in a panicked sob…

-As Mono-san sends Keita a thank-you note for the save.

-Episode 01: Amano Keita and Chapters of the Chosen

-TO BE CONTINUED…

…You fucking stupid idiot.

#where I watch #recap #anime #gamers!

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dillatont · 7 years

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Soundtrack Review: Rakuen

Welcome back! Another month means another review, so here it is. The original intent of these reviews was to focus on new releases, and for the first time, I can happily say that I've done that this month. The indie RPG Rakuen came out on May 10 after a years-long development that was created predominantly by just one person, Laura Shigihara. (Yes, that story should sound familiar: See Stardew Valley, Undertale, etc.) Shigihara already has experience in the video game industry, but not as a programmer. Rather, she has composed the music for a number of games, most notably the cute/dark soundtrack for the original Plants vs. Zombies game. She's decided since then to branch out, and has created and released her first game, Rakuen.

So, what does a game created by a composer actually play like? Well, I don't know, actually. I haven't played it yet. But...I want to. And the reason that I want to is that Shigihara's soundtrack is stellar. It is so good, in fact, that I am intrigued to play the game specifically because of the music. (Also, it has good review scores so far, but I'm about the music first and foremost)

I don't say that lightly. For me, that kind of soundtrack doesn't come around very often. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

What I do know of Rakuen's gameplay is this: it's story and puzzle-driven, with the setting of the game taking place both inside a hospital (where a young boy stays with his mother) and a fantasy dream world where the boy, with his mother by his side, grows to know the local creatures as he helps them solve their issues. The issues and characters in the fantasy world mirror the real-world inhabitants of the hospital, so the boy is in fact using the fantasy world to impact the real-world hospital.

That information is relevant to the soundtrack, because it's important to note that this game is driven by the story. The music here functions as a means to tell that story, rather than just simply acting as catchy background music. There's nothing wrong with catchy background music, mind you. I love a lot of game soundtracks for their catchiness (New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario Kart come to mind), but this is not one of those soundtracks. And that's okay, honestly. There's a place for that kind of video game and that kind of soundtrack in this world.

So, how is the story told? First and foremost, it should be noted that there are quite a few vocal tracks in the game (somewhere on the order of 10 occur during the 75-minute soundtrack). Each of these tracks advances a specific piece of the story, and they interlock in some very interesting ways (more on that later). Beyond that, though, the tone quality of the music is partially responsible for evoking the sense of interest that builds the more you listen. Each track is crisply orchestrated, with melodies standing out prominently in each piece of music, and with a quality of sound that indicates to the listener where their attentions should be. Further, there is just something about Shigihara's music that is different from much of the rest of the video game industry. She lets the instruments (and voices) speak clearly and with minimal percussion backing, so you spend so much more time listening to the melodies and harmonies present than the "beat", or any of the electronic fuzziness that you get with, say, an old-school NES soundtrack or even a newer Game Boy Advance soundtrack.

Of course, there are thematic elements to the music, too. Nearly all of the vocal tracks makes another appearance (or multiple apperances) elsewhere in the soundtrack in instrumental form. While this is a fairly common compositional device both in and out of video game soundtracks, it cannot be overstated how effective it is here. When you hear familiar themes popping up again and again, it constantly brings you back to the story, and that heightens the listening experience. While I think that many game composers do this, I do think that some are guilty of bringing back the themes a little bit too subtly, or transformed in such ways that make them completely unrecognizable to everybody except the composer. The balance of that is just right here, in my opinion. You know when a theme has popped back up, but you never feel like you're being hit over the head with it.

Which, to be quite frank, could be said for a lot of the game's music. This soundtrack is something that I don't see a lot in video game soundtracks: subtle. The more I listen, I hear little touches that were clearly carefully and painstakingly crafted, but that are not obvious on the first or second listening of the soundtrack. An example of that occurs with the vocal themes I mentioned earlier. My understanding of the story is that there are five portions of the game, each of which is tied to the young boy's interactions with another character in the hospital. At the end of each segment is a vocal piece that tells more of the game's story. At the end of the soundtrack, a particular track (Mori no Kokoro) takes all five of these vocals and places them on top of each other. My jaw dropped the first time I heard it, both because of the audacious simplicity of the connection, and, perhaps more importantly, how well they interspersed on top of each other. I listened to it a few more times, trying to figure out why it worked so well. My jaw dropped a second time when I realized it: all five melodies ended on the same note, in perfect unison, at the same time. I went back and listened to each piece individually to make sure it hadn't been some sort of editing trick. It had not. The five compositions, performed by three different singers, had been in the same key signature the entire time, with all ending on the same note, as had become clear in Mori no Kokoro. It's this kind of craftmanship that I'm referring to when I say that this soundtrack is excellent. To plan that out so carefully while still making sure that the pieces don't sound ALIKE shows just much attention to detail is present here.

Compositional devices such as those aren't technically anything revolutionary here, but they feel fresh because of how carefully crafted each piece of music is within this soundtrack. To be frank, that's an incredibly rewarding experience from a listening standpoint, because you realize with each listening of the soundtrack that there is just so much more to it than you possibly could have realized. It also leaves you more invested emotionally in the music.

That's yet another strength of this soundtrack. It holds some genuine emotion within it. Even without understanding the full story....you get it. I was surprisingly and absolutely wrecked my first time through the soundtrack when I got to a track near the end titled "Mom Broken". It somehow managed to pack more sadness and pathos into a 24-second track than most RPGs can manage in an entire story. Moments like that, even though they are hard, are what help make this soundtrack so enjoyable to listen to. You realize that each track is leading you through an emotional journey, and that you aren't really sure how that emotional journey will resolve...and more importantly, you realize that you shouldn't care, because it's a journey worth being on.

******************* Top Tracks in the Game:

Mori no Kokoro + all 5 component pieces My Home is Underwater (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQV5eG-HtMw) The Monsieur's Tea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-eP0d7fFLc) Flowers Forever (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30fWsI1X5o) These Gray Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgUNZV6nqWs)

The game has a wonderful mix of tracks, and one of the faster ones, Morizora's Cave, is notable for having a darker sound, despite the quick tempo. It's a neat effect that Shigihara has previously used in Plants vs. Zombies (if you haven't listened to "Loonboon", you are seriously missing out!), and it's great to see it make a re-appearance here. The Monsieur's Tea is just fun, and a nice (rare) use of low brass in a soundtrack. I'm sure I could spend a long time listening to this one without complaint, and I hope it was used in a major area within the game. Meanwhile, Flowers Forever, to me, stands out because it's a delicate minor key instrumental representation of a later love song, "Yours", that is one of the game's main vocal themes. Hearing it done in this way....well, I just have to know what happens in the story. It's got too much care put into it to not have something to say. Meanwhile, These Gray Walls is illustrative of another point: how do you showcase the complex set of emotions that come with time spent in a a hospital? I'm not exactly sure how to process it, but something like this is a good place to start. You hear pieces of the various emotions and moods (sadness, happiness, boredom, and some many others) that surely pervade such places.

Weakest Tracks in the Game: I shouldn't have put this feature into my reviews. I can't do it here. I just can't. Everything here feels like it's there for a specific purpose or reason, and it doesn't seem like any filler is present. Nor do I hear any obvious compositional mistakes. There's nothing that I skip as I listen through the soundtrack. You know the saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link? This here is a REALLY strong chain.

OVERALL: 9.5/10

I can find few faults within the music for Rakuen, in short. It's very well constructed technically speaking, it holds an emotional connection with the audience (even those like me who haven't played the game yet), it's a reasonable length, and [?????] . If there's any critique, it might just be that there aren't any "earworms" along the lines of what Shigihara has previously done with "There's a Zombie on Your Lawn" from Plants vs. Zombie. But, boy, is that a small critique. If you are looking for a pure, genuine, emotional video game music listening experience that incorporates a lot of vocals, piano, and strings.....this is absolutely the place to start. It is a delightful breath of fresh air, and you will surely appreciate the sort of thought and care that was put into creating this project. It is absolutely, without question, worth your time to check out, and I would highly recommend it.

#VideogameMusic #review #rakuen

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