![]() This month's Switch Online update also brought along one new NES game for me to check out. How have they not run out at this point? BACKGROUND:
Never heard of this game, which I suppose is par for the course with NES Online additions at this point. SUMMARY: The Immortal is a dungeon crawler where you navigate several levels of a labyrinth. You are an unnamed wizard tasked with rescuing Mordamir, who is apparently the protagonist's mentor. The story is pretty basic overall, but it does have some fun meta moments and a neat twist near the end. Other than that, there's not much to say about it. The game has an isometric perspective, and you move your character around from room to room in order to proceed. It controls just fine, but sections that require precise movement or positioning can be a bit of a pain to navigate. Although there is no map to guide you through the labyrinth, I didn't really get lost, as the game is pretty linear despite having rooms with multiple doors and such. You'll be doing a fair bit of backtracking to solve puzzles and progress the game, so while I would enjoy a more expansive area to explore, the more straightforward layout of the game is certainly convenient. Throughout the dungeon, you'll be collecting items you see in the area. Like other games of its time, a lot of these items you acquire are required to solve puzzles. In some instances, it is not immediately clear what the items will be used for, while in other situations, it's unclear what a peculiar element in the environment is for. Hell, some of the items you find can even kill you if you're not careful. I didn't really find any puzzle to be particularly obtuse (the game is usually informative when it comes to items and such), but some of them can take a while to figure out. It may be wise to play through this game with a walkthrough handy. The most charming/infuriating thing about this game is the plethora of ways you can die. The labyrinth is filled with hazards, such as deadly green blobs, traps that shoot fire, giant death worms, and all sorts of assorted bullshit. Many of these things will kill you instantly, most of the time with no warning. If it's any consolation, progress is retained, and a lot of the death animations are unique and amusing. You will also be fighting enemies such as goblins as you make your way through the labyrinth. You can either try and damage them from afar with your fireballs, or you can enter into combat mode, which plays out like an RPG random encounter and takes you to a battle screen. The real-time combat itself is pretty basic (swing your sword until one of you dies), but there is a bit of depth with regards to the ability to dodge. Both you and the enemy can avoid attacks coming in from a certain direction by holding the appropriate button, so it's a matter of catching your opponent off guard with an attack coming in from a different direction. Combat unfortunately doesn't feel fluid, and there were some instances where there would be some sort of input delay and the enemy would just beat my ass in response. From a graphical standpoint, it looks OK, but I don't feel like the game aged well with its muted colors and rough-looking overworld. The UI is a bit weird at times too, as you have to hold a direction and then press A to select menu options. There's also a password system so that you can start at the beginning of any level, which would be helpful if the NES Online emulator didn't already have a save state function and a rewind feature. You might as well just use those if you die (which you most likely will). VERDICT: The Immortal is a passable dungeon crawler that presents a respectable challenge with its many instant-kill hazards, occasionally baffling puzzles, and simple but tricky combat. Though the story is your standard RPG fare (with a bit of variation from the norm, to be fair), the controls take some getting used to, and the graphics weren't my style, I can still appreciate this game for what it is. That said, I think I'd be fine if I never played this again. I think it's worth at least trying even if you don't like the visuals or the gameplay doesn't appeal to you, if only to experience the variety of ways you can get yourself killed. It's also not a particularly long game, either, so there's that. - end -
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After weeks of restraint, I give in and read another Marvel book for this week. I've been doing my best to space them out, but I'm running out of graphic novels from other publishers. Expect a Marvel binge sometime in the coming weeks. BACKGROUND:
I've looked up parts of this series in preparation for the Black Panther movie a couple of years back, but this is my first time reading it in full. THE WRITING: T'Challa has come to America in order to personally investigate a scandal regarding a charity he was involved in. This case was particularly personal to him, as he felt the need to take it on despite the fact that Wakanda was currently dealing with a violent refugee crisis. As expected, T'Challa's absence leads to an usurper making a claim for Wakanda's throne, and he must now carry on with his task with this at the back of his mind. These two seemingly disparate story elements are surprisingly intertwined, and it is later revealed that both incidents were the machinations of a certain supernatural villain. I loved this reveal a lot, not just because I am a fan of said villain, but it changed the dynamic of the conflict drastically, as the villain was after T'Challa himself (as opposed to most of T'Challa's adversaries, who are more focused on taking over Wakanda itself or taking its vibranium). It's also just awesome to see the Black Panther fight a more mystical villain (which is something that's happened a bunch before, but I haven't seen too often). There are a good amount of flashbacks to T'Challa's early life, and they play into the story rather well beyond plain exposition. If you're not familiar with the comics version of T'Challa's origins, some of these flashbacks may be of interest to you. Tagging along with T'Challa is none other than Everett K. Ross, who is a State Department envoy of sorts tasked with keeping an eye on the Wakandan king (who is the eponymous "client" of the story). He has no fucking idea what's going on, and is kind of the comic relief in some instances. Primarily, he serves as sort of the reader's character insert, as you learn what's happening through his perspective. He also learns about certain aspects of Wakandan culture and describes it in his own terms, which serves as a great way to introduce unfamiliar readers to stuff like the Dora Milaje and the Hatut Zeraze. There are other characters in the story, but they mostly serve minor roles. Nikki, who is Ross's boss, is simply the character through which most of the story is told, as Ross recounts the events to her throughout the book. T'Challa also brought along two Dora Milaje warriors with him: Okoye and Nakia, and as you would expect, they're there to kick ass. Also present is Zuri, one of T'Chaka's (T'Challa's dad) trusted friends, but he is mostly comic relief in this book. THE ART: Right off the bat, the art style was striking. It leans heavily towards a realistic look, but still leaves room for exaggeration (T'Challa as the Black Panther looks absolutely jacked, for example). Everything has this painterly (almost photorealistic at times) appearance to it as well; I didn't encounter a lot of outlines, and the well-defined shading/textures were achieved mostly with the use of colors as opposed to the use of lines. Speaking of colors, they leaned mostly to the darker, more muted shades as opposed to anything vibrant. The style really shines in larger panels, in action sequences, and in panels where there's a lot of focus on characters' faces. VERDICT: The Client is an unorthodox Black Panther story; it focuses less on T'Challa's duties as king and sees him on a strictly personal mission, has him face off against a different kind of threat, and features a third party (Everett Ross) telling his story. It's different from what I'm used to of Black Panther, and I enjoyed it for that. Highly recommended for anybody who likes the Black Panther character, especially considering this is one of his most renowned stories. Go check out The Client over at Comixology: https://m.comixology.com/Marvel-Knights-Black-Panther-by-Priest-Texeira-The-Client/digital-comic/694416?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L21vYmlsZS9zbGlkZXJMaXN0L2l0ZW1TbGlkZXI - end - The power of eShop sales has allowed me to buy a game I've wanted to play for quite a while now. Let's talk about it. BACKGROUND:
I learned about this game through a friend of mine, and I was able to watch them play a little bit of it. That brief experience left me wanting to check out the game for myself, but it wasn't high on my priority list, so I never got around to getting it. Thankfully, the game was ported to Switch, so here we are. PLOT: Each campaign has its own little premise based on the prison. A lot of these are just "you were incarcerated for some reason", with minor variations depending on the scenario or setting. Other than that, there is no actual plot and the experience is mostly gameplay. I will say that the bonus campaigns have a bit more fun with their stories thanks to their outlandish settings. There's one where you have to break out of Santa's Workshop, which implies ol' St. Nick isn't exactly the gold standard for workers' rights. If you're looking for compelling characters or dialogue, this is not the game for you, either. All the NPCs cycle through the same few dozen lines of dialogue, so you definitely won't get anything interesting on that front, either. Some of the lines are funny, but since the dialogue is repeating, it'll get old eventually. The character sprites themselves are generic as hell, so you can't tell them apart by appearance anyway. A fun thing you can do before playing is customizing the names of every NPC. You can name each and every one of your fellow prisoners, as well as all the guards. It doesn't really add anything (apart from an easy way to identify guards for gameplay purposes), but I found it amusing that I could create my little version of Belle Reve Penitentiary by naming all the prisoners after Suicide Squad members. PRESENTATION: The game takes on a retro-feeling pixel art style. The sprites are rather simplistic, looking like blocky NES-era characters with only two frames of animation to them. Background elements are more detailed, leaning more towards a 16-bit aesthetic. Overall, it's nothing to write home about; it looks fine, but there's nothing remarkable about it, either. The music is a little more modern than the visuals, and it's pretty good. It's not really a focal point of the game (it is purely background music), but the tracks are enjoyable to listen to as you play. They fit well with whatever is currently happening in the prison (tense roll calls, idle time, etc.) or what the time of day it is. On the other hand, the sound effects sound more chiptune-y, fitting well with the retro visuals. GAMEPLAY: As one might guess, The Escapists is a game about escaping a prison. You control your character in a top-down perspective, and you move around the prison, interact with NPCs, and mess around with items. The big question is: how do you escape? Naturally, you can't just walk out the front door (not normally, anyway). The guards will beat the shit out of you. Breaking out requires a more methodical approach, so you will have to spend some time scouting the area, finding a good place to set up an escape, and collecting what you need to set your plan in motion. And you have to do all of this without alerting anybody. Every prison has a routine for its prisoners: there's usually a roll call at least twice a day, there's time allotted for meals and exercise, time spent doing prison jobs, and free time when you can do whatever you want. You have to follow these routines somewhat diligently, as skipping out raises the suspicion of the guards. In order to get out as quickly as possible, you will have to manage your time wisely, and pick your moments to break routine (if need be). Following the routine isn't just important because it keeps the guards off your ass; it helps you learn about the prison. As you go through each day, you'll be moving through several sections of the prison. Over time, you'll have memorized the layout, and if you're particularly observant, you may have even learned something that could be the key to your escape. Being observant is instrumental in success, as you can find things like potential places to create openings, learn guard patrol patterns (including blind spots), or even discover points of interest worth breaking into. When you're not otherwise busy playing along with the routine, you'll want to start collecting items. Items are incredibly important, as you will need them one way or another to escape. Some items are tools that you can use to interact with certain spots (e.g. dig a hole with a shovel), others are weapons that help you kick the shit out of other NPCs, and many more are components for crafting. Crafting is not as simple as it seems in this game. For one, the game doesn't tell you a lot of the recipes; you have to figure them out on your own or pay money for tips through the payphones in the prison (I strongly suggest just looking the recipes up). For another, many recipes require your Intelligence stat to be at a certain level, so you can't craft everything you need at once. That can be remedied by interacting with libraries or computers in the prison, as doing so increases intelligence. Of course, many of the items you'll be crafting or acquiring will be things the guards would not like you to have. Hiding these contraband items well is essential, as the guards have a random chance of checking your cell's desk (your primary item storage area), and there are contraband detectors throughout many areas of the prison. If you get caught with any of these in your possession (or they're found some other way), say goodbye to them. There are various ways you can acquire the items you need. Some of them are freely available in certain areas (like the plastic utensils in the mess hall), while others can be found by rummaging through the desks of your fellow inmates (getting caught doing this is a bad idea). You can also buy some items from certain inmates, which is usually the best option for a lot of the contraband crafting materials, as well as certain hard-to-obtain items (like screwdrivers). If you're particularly deranged, you can beat the shit out of NPCs and loot their items and get stuff that way. This is a surefire way to get in trouble if you are spotted, but thankfully, scuffles between NPC inmates happen often enough that you can scavenge for items without having to fight yourself. On the subject of money, there are two ways to earn cash: performing prison duties, or doing favors for fellow inmates. The former is a more stable form of income, and involves performing relatively simple tasks around the prison (mop the floor, cook the food, etc.). Additionally, certain jobs grant you access to otherwise locked areas of the prison and acquire good items; for example, having a laundry job lets you go to the laundry room, and that'll allow you to smuggle out guard outfits to use as a disguise. You can apply for any of the various jobs and quit at any time, so it might be a good idea to swap out from time to time and see what you can get your hands on. The alternative of doing favors is a little more risky, as fellow inmates will ask you to do shit that will get you in trouble (beat the shit out of this other guy, steal this guy's item, distract the guards, etc.). You earn a little more this way, though, and if you succeed, the inmate will like you more. Getting other inmates to like you (whether by honoring requests or giving them good items/money) is generally a good idea, as that allows you to buy items from them, and they can even help you do stuff like beat up guards. On the flip side, making the other inmates hate you (easily accomplished with physical violence) is a terrible idea, as if they hate you enough, they will attack you unprovoked on a regular basis. Aside from Intelligence, you also have Strength and Speed stats, which affect your health + damage and movement speed respectively. You can train these by going to the gym. Training these stats (including Intelligence) costs stamina, and you can only train so many times until you get fatigued. Thankfully, replenishing stamina is easy, as activities eating in the mess hall, consuming certain items, sleeping, and taking a shower all restore stamina. Once you've studied the layout, figured out patrol patterns, and gathered some good items, it's time to plan your escape! Barring insanely good luck with items and nutty strategies, it's unlikely that you can escape in a day, so you'll have to execute your plan in stages across multiple days. Though some of these steps can be done during the day, a lot of the serious shit (like digging a tunnel) will have to be done at night. Doing something like that during the day can get you in really hot water, as not only are there guards walking around, any other prisoners who spot you can sell you out. If you do certain things outside (like attempt to cut a fence), snipers atop the towers will shoot you. Unless you're a real daredevil, you're better off doing such tasks at night. In addition, some of these tasks expend stamina, so you better be well rested (or have stamina-restoring items handy) before you start doing anything drastic. You don't want to be one dig away from making an escape tunnel but suddenly not have enough stamina to finish the job. The cover of night will not be enough to hide any suspicious activities. Certain actions (like cutting through a fence) leave obvious evidence, and it can be spotted by patrolling guards. When (not if) they do, you're going straight to solitary confinement for three days. If that happens, any progress you made is gone. If you've hidden any contraband, or you've created openings elsewhere, all of that is erased, and you'll have to start basically from scratch. It's incredibly frustrating to deal with if you've made significant progress; as such, it's very important to obfuscate anything you're doing. Crafting shit that will hide illegal activity (like a poster that goes over holes in the wall, or fake fences) is equally important as making things like shovels and wire cutters, and ensuring that no guards will show up as you're sneaking about is vital to success. Although most prisons have set requirements in order to fully escape, the way you go about getting to that point is entirely up to the player. You can try climbing up to the vents and create an opening via the rooftops, you can go underground, or you can create multiple openings in various walls and fences to make moving around easy. You can even be a sneaky bastard and walk around at night with a guard disguise, then beat up a guard and make a copy of their key for use on special doors. Hell, there's even a way to escape that involves a lot of combat. Even your approach to preparations is open-ended. You can be a full-on scavenger and rely on stealing shit from other prisoners to get what you need, or you can get busy with favors and earn quick cash to buy good items immediately. You could spend the early game jacking up all your stats, or you can do it in short bursts throughout your time. You can stick to the prison job you're given at the beginning or swap out to get something you need quicker. There are more examples, but I think you get the idea. There isn't a correct answer as long as you escape in the end; it matters little whether you go for maximum efficiency, or take your sweet-ass time and try different methods. I enjoy games that give you plenty of options when it comes to beating it, and this game has that freedom of choice in spades. Plus, it's extra satisfying when a solution you came up with on the fly ends up working, because the game didn't force a singular solution onto you; you yourself thought of an idea and put it into action. Speaking of different prisons, each campaign features a unique prison layout. Though all the prisons will share most of the important locations (mess hall, gym, etc.), their locations on the map will vary. Even routines will be different per prison, with some being more demanding than others. Some prisons even have unique mechanics to them; for example, one prison has an electric fence, and you have to disable the generator before you can escape. The overall game difficulty also differs, and that adjusts things like the number of guards or how many hits NPCs can take in a fight. Each and every campaign is a unique experience where your approach can differ greatly, and slowly figuring out how to conquer each one is satisfying. Since this is the Complete Edition, all of the DLC campaigns are available. As mentioned before, these have more fantastical scenarios, and a lot of them have mechanics you won't see in the other campaigns that really spice things up. If the base game somehow isn't enough for you, there's a good number of these bonus campaigns for you to sink your teeth into. After successfully escaping any prison, you're given a score tally at the end. Stuff like how quickly you escaped (in terms of in-game days) and how well you did avoiding the guards' suspicions is taken into account. Seeing how much better you can do based on your score is a decent incentive to play through a campaign again by itself, but this game has excellent replay value outside of that. You can start over from scratch, try a completely different strategy from before, and have a unique experience by the end. The only real issue I see about the game is how little it teaches you. The tutorial doesn't actually teach you much, and I had to look up how to do certain things and other shit like that. I suppose it makes the experimentation and discovery process fun, but this could easily frustrate some players. VERDICT: The Escapists may look like some low-effort retro nostalgia cash grab based on its appearance, but there is plenty of depth to it beneath the surface. Each prison is one gigantic puzzle that you have to solve, and the game gives you a plethora of ways to go about the solution. Planning each escape tests your resourcefulness, time management, stealth, and even your creativity. Every playthrough is an engaging experience, with even the easiest campaigns pose a respectable challenge. It also has great replay value; while there are also many prisons to try and escape from that each provide a unique challenge and experience, playing through the same campaign more than once never feels repetitive thanks to the freedom to switch up your strategy. I had a blast playing through some of the campaigns (as of this writing, I've already clocked in around 20 hours across just three campaigns), and I'm only just getting started. This is highly recommended for people who want to play a challenging game where careful planning and observation is required, and clever/creative thinking is encouraged. Fair warning: it takes quite a bit of trial-and-error to learn the ropes, and a some things aren't taught to you, so you might want to look stuff up if you don't know what to do. Here are links to The Escapists on the following platforms: - end - There's one other Super Nintendo game from the recent Switch Online update. I shall talk about it today. BACKGROUND:
I'm a fan of pro wrestling, and I've played a good number of wrestling games, but I have not heard of this one. According to what I've read, this is apparently a localized version of a licensed All Japan Pro Wrestling game, so this should be interesting. SUMMARY: As one would expect, Natsume Championship Wrestling is a wrestling game. The goal is simple: beat the shit out of your opponent and get the pin. The controls aren't complicated. You have your standard strikes, running attacks (like dropkicks and shoulder tackles), basic grapple moves (like hip tosses and Irish whips), and the ability to bust out a top rope maneuver. The idea is to deplete the opponent's stamina bar by landing these moves, and going for the pin when their stamina is as low as possible. You can also do a bunch of other things, such as counter a running opponent (e.g. bust out a clothesline), punish a prone opponent with stomps or a submission hold, and pick up or drag a stunned opponent. Again, it's not a lot, but the small variety of ways you can kick your opponent's ass in this game is appreciated. The most fun stuff happens when two wrestlers lock up in a collar-elbow tie-up. This happens automatically when two wrestlers approach, and the first one to make an input hits a high impact move. This is where all the fun moves are, like suplexes, DDTs, powerbombs, and even piledrivers. It's a shame you can't manually go into this mode, though, because spamming piledrivers is easily the most fun thing you can do in this game. Unfortunately, the game doesn't teach you how to do any of this, and I spent several minutes getting my ass handed to me as I struggled with the controls. I eventually relented and looked up the controls online, and after doing so, I found myself able to do stuff and actually enjoy the game. I advise doing the same to save yourself frustration. If you're looking to do some ECW shit and bust out some steel chairs, this is not the game for you. While you can go outside the ring, the most you can do is kick your opponent's ass on the outside and hope they get counted out. There are twelve characters, all of whom are fictional, but it's clear many of them are based on existing wrestlers at the time. Each wrestler has special moves that are exclusive to them, so there's reason to try them all out. One of the characters had a moonsault as a special move, for example, and I used him a lot in my playthroughs because moonsaults are awesome. For the tag team modes, all the teams are preset, so you unfortunately can't mix and match wrestlers. Kind of a shame, but this may have been done due to hardware limitations at the time. Even with this caveat, tag team wrestling is still enjoyable, especially since the tag partner can interrupt the action in the ring and cause chaos. There are five modes in the game. Championship Singles is the arcade campaign, where you go against every other member of the roster in order to become champion. Championship Tag Team is the same, except you have a tag partner that you can tag in. There are also Round Robin modes for both singles and tag teams, where you face off against a number of opponents and try to score the most wins. Lastly, there's the Exhibition Match, which is your regular versus mode. Unfortunately, it seems it can only be played in two-player mode (i.e. no vs. CPU option), which is a missed opportunity. Each of the modes have various settings, like CPU difficulty or time limit. I didn't mess around with these, but it's nice to know that there are options. VERDICT: Though you may be better served playing modern pro wrestling games if you want a more robust experience, I still thought Natsume Championship Wrestling was fun despite being much simpler than the games that came after. There wasn't much in the form of modes, and the combat isn't deep at all, but I still had a blast taking motherfuckers to Suplex City and hitting moonsaults from the top rope. I think it's worth playing at least once (especially if you like pro wrestling), but I must warn those interested that the controls take some getting used to. - end - This week, I read another comic that I've been wanting to check out for a long time. It's the least I can do to calm my frayed nerves. BACKGROUND:
The Mask is more well-known to most people as that wacky movie starring Jim Carrey, but it's actually based on this comic! I grew up watching the cartoon adaptation of The Mask myself, but didn't know about its source material until I was much older. I've done some light reading of the comics here and there, but this is my first time reading the first three books in full. THE WRITING: The story begins when the unassuming Stanley Ipkiss buys a mysterious mask from an antique store. Stanley is inexplicably compelled to wear the mask, and when he does, he is transformed into a cartoonish freak with a big green head who is completely invulnerable, has the ability to manifest practically any object, can transform his appearance at will, and has a penchant for ridiculous violence. Emboldened by this power, Stanley goes on a rampage that results in multiple murders, encounters with the police, run-ins with the mob, and all sorts of chaos. The Mask is obviously the star of the show, and anything that involves him is a wild ride in many different respects. He says all sorts of ridiculous shit and makes weird jokes (often preceding an act of violence), has a lot of absurd and over-the-top reactions and facial expressions, and does all manner of insane shenanigans (including, but not limited to: making balloon animals, becoming a football player, and pretending to be a matador). You never know what's gonna happen next with this zany motherfucker at the wheel. Whereas the adaptations kept the slapstick silliness of the premise more PG, the original comics leaned more into the gruesome, dark side of it. Though The Mask is still the over-the-top character who most people would recognize from the movie, a lot of the things he does (especially in the first two books) is anything but family-friendly. There is no shortage of blood, guts, and gory dismemberment in this comic, so consider yourself warned. I will say that the third book isn't as violent as the first two, and feels more in line with The Mask cartoon that I watched with its hijinks. What's interesting about the comic is that it explores other people wearing the mask. As the story progresses, circumstances lead to other people acquiring the mask, wearing it, and acting under its influence. Though the constant seems to be that the wearer is turned into an unhinged lunatic with outlandish abilities, it's interesting to see how each person uses those abilities, and how the insanity manifests. The mask goes quite a number of places across the three books, sometimes switching owners in an abrupt fashion. By the end, there's an insane sequence of events that's all tied together by all the mayhem every mask's wearer left in their wake. It's almost fun in a morbid way to see what kind of fucked up shit happens next as a new person gets a hold of the mask. You don't get a lot of backstory for the mask itself, but it is briefly hinted at in a couple of pages. I'll have to read the later volumes to see if anything came of it. There are a whole bunch of characters in the book other than The Mask, like Stanley himself, to his girlfriend Kathy, to Detective Kellaway, and more. Many of them are rather average characters on their own, but they become infinitely more interesting once they come across the mask (whether by wearing it or otherwise). The other characters are kinda just there to serve one plot purpose or another, so there isn't much to say about them. I would say the only one who left me intrigued is Walter, the silent bodyguard who has freakish strength and is seemingly as unkillable as The Mask himself. His character doesn't speak, and his backstory is never explained, so he has this mystique that makes me think there's more to him. I hope I'm right. THE ART: Overall, the art style leans more into the gritty, realistic side. There's a good amount of detail to everything (especially in larger panels), the shading has this "rough" texture to it, the colors are toned down (but not excessively so) and the people look like people. That all contrasts well with how The Mask is presented: he has absurd proportions, can contort his body in ways that make absolutely no sense in the real world, transforms his appearance and outfit out of thin air constantly, and makes the cartooniest facial expressions I've ever seen in my life. Though how The Mask is drawn still conforms somewhat to the style of the entire comic, his cartoon character nature is not lost thanks to all this exaggeration, and seeing that juxtaposed with everything else gives the comic a distinct visual identity. VERDICT: With a main character whose actions strike an unnerving balance between slapstick hilarity and really, really disturbing, The Mask is a twisted blend of graphic violence and cartoon wackiness that entertained me all the way through. Though one can argue that the adaptations are more fun (and not at all gory), I still very much enjoyed the darker tone of the originals, and can appreciate how it contrasts with The Mask's inherent absurdity as a character. As I have made clear, this book has a lot of graphic violence in it, so if you're not into that, you may want to avoid reading this one. Otherwise, I think this is worth checking out, especially if you enjoyed the movie and are curious about its source material. Check out The Mask Omnibus Vol. 1 on Comixology: https://m.comixology.com/The-Mask-Omnibus-Second-Edition-Vol-1/digital-comic/762743?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L21vYmlsZS90cmFkZUl0ZW0 - end - Once again, Nintendo has given Switch Online members new NES and SNES games to play! Today, I'll be talking about the first of the three games that were added, and it's easily the highlight of the bunch. BACKGROUND:
Donkey Kong is as classic a Nintendo character as they come, having been around since 1981. As such, I am plenty familiar with the character, since he's been in a lot of games since then. I've played all of DK's classic arcade games (some via NES Online), encountered him in many a spinoff (Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc.), and even play as him occasionally in Smash Bros. Despite all this, however... I've never played a single Donkey Kong Country game. That might be a shock to hear given how long I've enjoyed Nintendo franchises, but it is true. DKC is a beloved series, so I have seen and heard plenty about it online, and am familiar with some of the characters that came from the series. But for whatever reason, I just never got around to playing them (not even via emulation). Now, I get to right that wrong thanks to SNES Online. SUMMARY: Donkey Kong Country is a 2D side-scrolling platformer. The gameplay, boiled down to its bare essentials, is pretty straightforward: run and jump to get to the end of the level. The story is equally simple: some asshole stole Donkey Kong's bananas, and now he's out for blood (well, he's out for bananas, but you get the idea). It's nothing complex, but it's funny how it both makes sense and doesn't make sense. On one hand, of course DK (a gorilla) would be pissed that someone stole his food. On the other, King K. Rool is a crocodile... the fuck does a crocodile want with bananas? You play as the titular character himself, and aside from basic movements, he can do a forward roll that takes out enemies, slap the ground to deal some damage, and pick up barrels to throw. Alternatively, you can dispatch enemies simply by jumping on them. Certain enemies can only be killed in specific ways, however, so try not to stick to one strategy. Though any sort of contact with an enemy or a hazard will kill you outright, the game is not as punishing as it seems. On occasion, you can find a DK barrel which, when broken, lets Diddy Kong join in on the fun. In single player, he'll just follow you around (and not really do anything), but if Donkey Kong is taken out at any point, you will switch to Diddy instead. You can also tag in and out manually if you prefer Diddy. In terms of gameplay, there is little difference between Donkey and Diddy, so play as whoever you want. There are dozens of levels in the game, each in a wide variety of locales, and each featuring all sorts of mechanics, hazards, and enemies. You've got barrels that shoot you across the level, underwater areas, auto-scrollers, mine cart levels, levels where the lights occasionally go out, and so much more. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the variety in terms of both platforming action and in terms of aesthetic. The difficulty is also no pushover (with some tricky timing-based mechanics and some devious enemy placement), but it's nothing batshit insane. Each level has secret bonus areas that let you collect extra bananas, contain collectibles, and even let you earn extra lives through simple minigames. Some of these areas are pretty well-hidden (even requiring a wee bit of puzzle-solving in some instances), and I found it enjoyable to actually take the time to explore a level to find them. And while the only rewards are bananas or extra lives, these bonus areas are still worth finding, as they count towards the completion percentage. Also in each level are the letters K, O, N, and G (guess what it spells). These are also strewn about the level, with some more cleverly hidden than others. Collecting them all gives you an extra life, but strangely, they don't count towards completion. I'm kinda bummed about that, but I still did my best to find all of them, and I still found it pretty satisfying to do even without the incentive. In some levels, you can encounter one of four animal friends. DK can ride these animals, and they grant you special abilities. Enguarde the swordfish allows you to attack in underwater levels, Rambi the rhino demolishes everything in your path (including revealing secret areas), Expresso the ostrich lets you fly for a short period (ironic, I know), and Winky the frog lets you jump up high. While they aren't required to beat levels, these guys helped keep things interesting throughout my playthrough, and having them in certain places actually allowed you to reach bonus areas, or even make entire levels a breeze to clear. Lastly, there are animal tokens that you can collect. Each of these tokens represents one of the four animal pals, and collecting three of each takes you to their respective bonus level. Each animal has their own unique level where you play as them and try to collect as many mini-tokens within a minute. You get extra lives for every 100 of these mini-tokens you collect. Boss fights are as simple as dealing with most regular enemies; figure out the patterns, then jump on them when there's an opening. Though far from challenging, I still thought there was a charm to the fights and the bosses themselves. In particular, the final boss fight with King K. Rool, though quite simple to beat, has a really fun moment that I won't spoil. Visually, this game is unlike any other Super Nintendo game that existed at the time. Instead of the pixel art you usually see in games from this era, DKC was among the first to use pre-rendered 3D graphics. This gives the game a somewhat realistic art style, with impressively detailed background and foreground elements, and sprites that feel like 3D models. It looks compressed as fuck now, but I can certainly appreciate how difficult it must have been to pull off these graphics with the hardware that was available at the time. Even with a stylistic approach that is more on the realistic side, the game is still able to show some personality by giving characters super exaggerated and silly expressions. DK himself has some incredibly wacky facial expressions, such as his eyes bugging out when you're on the edge of a platform. The music is fantastic, with each track leaning more on the atmospheric side and evoking the areas you were in, such as the jungle, icy mountains, dark mine shafts, and even creepy industrial factories. A lot of memorable and iconic DK tracks come from this game, including the amazing Gangplank Galleon. This game is also significant in the sense that it's the first game to feature the Donkey Kong modern fans recognize. This is the first time you see DK with a tie, and this game marks the debut of now-beloved characters such as Diddy Kong, Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, and Candy Kong. Though the other three aren't as prominent as Diddy, they still get their moments to show off some personality. Although I didn't get to try this out myself, you can absolutely play this game with a second player. One player plays as Donkey Kong while the other plays as Diddy. I'm not sure how much it changes the game, but I'm sure it's fun. I should try and play this with a friend. VERDICT: It's easy to see how Donkey Kong Country has stood the test of time as one of the most beloved games of the SNES era. It had visuals that were revolutionary at the time, enjoyable platforming that encouraged exploration, had a ton of variety, and posed a decent challenge, great music, and memorable characters with personality. It took a long while for me to play this game, but I'm here now, and I'm glad I did. This was fantastic, and I'm now raring (heh) to play the other games in the series. Although this is not on the level of groundbreaking that some Nintendo games are, this is a game that I would argue is an "essential" that must be played at least once, especially if you're a Nintendo fan. You may find the visuals rough to look at in 2020, but I promise there's a worthwhile experience underneath. - end - Animal Crossing is still going strong four months in, as a new update recently rolled out. Let's talk about that, shall we? BACKGROUND:
The last update (which I talked about here) brought a ton of content into the game, but once June rolled around, players had experienced pretty much all of what 1.2 had to offer. Then on the last week of June, Nintendo blindsided everybody with news on this latest update. As this update didn't have an entire season's worth of content to talk about (and I got to all the new shit in a week), I'm able to discuss it significantly earlier than I could for the 1.2 patch. WHAT'S NEW: Swimming This is the big hook of the 1.3 update. You can now swim the perimeter of ocean that surrounds your island if you are wearing a wetsuit, which is a completely new type of clothing. These wetsuits are readily available in the shop, and do come in various colors and styles if you're particular about appearances. In terms of exploration, there isn't a whole lot to look at visually. You can swim a rather large area of the sea (up to a net boundary bordering each side), but it's mostly just water. There are hints of surfaces underwater, but they're not that well-defined. That said, it's still just fun to be able to swim around your island's coastline, even if it's not visually interesting. Being able to swim fits the whole island gimmick of the game, and makes it feel a little more open than it was before. The main thing you can do in the water is dive. Diving allows you to interact with shadows underwater (which give off air bubbles that you can see on the surface). These shadows are none other than the sea creatures, an entirely new class of critters in your Critterpedia to collect. There are 40 sea creatures total, and they are pretty diverse in terms of type. You can catch mollusks like octopuses and clams, crustaceans, sponges, echinoderms like sea stars, and even seaweed. While the regular fish and bugs have an impressive amount of variety, seeing animals (and even plants) outside of those general groups is exciting to me personally. I love learning about animals, and adding sea creatues to the game gives me more animals to read about. Like the fish and bugs, these sea creatures can be donated to the museum. Instead of having their own exhibit, they are seamlessly integrated into the fish exhibit. I loved this approach, as it made the already-populated aquariums feel even more alive. Some sections that previously had empty space now have stuff in it as well. The museum remains one of my favorite parts of this entire game, and I'm always excited for a meaningful expansion to it such as this. New NPCs Two new NPCs come along with the update, and they tie in with the new swimming mechanic. Pascal is an easygoing otter who you will occasionally encounter when you're swimming. He appears whenever you find a scallop underwater, and he politely asks you to give it to him. If you accept, he will give you an item as a token of gratitude, and impart some... wise words before swimming away and eating the scallop. The items Pascal gives you are mermaid-themed. Some of them are clothing items, while others are DIY recipes that allow you to craft furniture or wallpapers. These DIYs require a brand new crafting item: pearls. These can be found while diving, or Pascal can give them to you on occasion instead of a mermaid-themed item. Overall, Pascal is a cool addition, as he adds further incentive to diving apart from filling out your Critterpedia. More items to use for decoration is always nice, and the fact that he can appear everyday makes collecting everything relatively easy. Plus, his philosophical musings at the end of every interaction are always hilarious (and are sometimes profound). The other NPC added to the update is Gullivarrr. Yes, you read that right. It's literally Gulliver as a pirate. Are they the same person? Who knows? Gullivarr functions similarly to his normal counterpart: you'll see him unconscious on the beach, and you'll have to wake him up. Once you do, he'll try and contact his crew in order to get back to his ship, but alas — his phone is missing! Whereas normal Gulliver had you dig up five communicator parts on the beach in order to fix his phone, Gullivarrr simply misplaces his phone in the ocean, and you have to dive for it. It's pretty much the same thing, except you only have to do it once, and it's underwater. I kinda wish they did something different from another fetch quest, but it's not a big deal. Once you return the phone, Gullivarrr thanks you and promises to mail you something in return. On the next day, you will receive a pirate-themed item in your mail. Like I said before, additional clothes and furniture is always a good thing, and I quite enjoy the pirate theme (even if I do like regular Gulliver's international items more). Despite the existence of Gullivarrr, regular Gulliver has not been erased from the timeline, so you can still get normal Gulliver's unique items on top of Gullivarrr's pirate items. Don't worry about missing out! Other changes This patch likely has some under-the-hood changes that I don't know about, but I would like to address one that I have actually observed: an adjustment of the NPC spawns. In my blog entry on the last update, I talked about how the NPC spawns felt inconsistent. Encountering certain NPCs felt unreasonably rare, while others were guaranteed no matter what. A lot of these things were adjusted in this update. The exact changes were detailed by dataminers, but I will strictly be talking about what I observed for myself in-game. Unique NPC spawns are still restricted to weekdays, but their frequency has been adjusted such that you are guaranteed to meet all of them every two weeks at minimum. Whoever you didn't see that week is guaranteed to show up next week, which adds a degree of certainty to the game. This is a very welcome change, as there's now a guarantee that you will encounter coveted NPCs like Redd or Gulliver eventually. No more waiting a million years to see Redd's ship! In addition, every NPC now has an equal chance of showing up on any given day. Before this, three NPCs (Leif, Saharah, and Kicks) were guaranteed to show up every week, leaving only two days for the other NPCs to fight over. That has been removed, so all five days are fair game for everybody. I'm really glad they changed this, because knowing that those three NPCs were guaranteed every week made the game kind of boring, because I could predict who was gonna show up the following day. I'm also just sick of seeing these same characters every single week, so the fact that weekday NPCs are now more diverse makes logging in each day more exciting. They've also adjusted K.K. Slider's appearance when there are Saturday events. Instead of appearing on Friday (effectively overriding any random NPC), he will appear on Sunday instead when there's an event on that week's Saturday (like the Fishing Tourney or the Bug-Off). Saturday events aren't frequent enough that the previous status quo was a huge issue, but this change is still appreciated. Special NPCs (Celeste, Wisp, Daisy Mae) don't appear to be affected by the changes, at least not from what I've observed. I don't know what else was changed in the 1.3 patch in terms of quality-of-life, but the devs addressed the biggest issue in my mind, which is this whole NPC debacle. Overall, the more consistent and fairer handling of weekly NPCs made the game more enjoyable. It actually feels exciting to check who's visiting the island again (as opposed to the predictable status quo of before). Though part of me would still prefer there to be NPCs on weekends as well, I'm satisfied with the changes we got. VERDICT: ACNH's 1.3 update may pale in comparison to the patch before it in terms of content, but in this case, quality wins over quality, as the few additions completely open up a new way to play. Swimming does more than just allow you to explore the seas around your island, as it gives you yet another roster of critters to collect, and allows you to acquire fun rewards from new NPCs. It's amazing how that one addition breathed new life into what I felt was a game that already had plenty to do. In addition, the changes to NPC spawns did so much to make the game more fun, and I can only hope that more quality-of-life changes like that will come in the future. Speaking of future updates, the next update has been confirmed to be at least revealed next month. I much prefer this monthly approach compared to 1.2's "here it all is" content extravaganza. I feel the former is more effective in maintaining interest in the game. - end - Another weekly read to distract myself from my own destructive thoughts. Here we go! BACKGROUND:
I've never heard of this comic, so chalk this one up as another of my blind reads. THE WRITING: Fuzzy Baseball follows the rivalry of two baseball teams: the Fernwood Valley Fuzzies and the Rocky Ridge Red Claws. The Fuzzies have never been able to beat the Red Claws, and this latest game doesn't seem like it will be any different. What's different this time for the Fuzzies is that they have a new player on the team. Blossom Honey Possum was a longtime fan of the team who got good enough to get signed, and she was frustrated to see that her team seemed resigned to lose yet another game. It seems Blossom's never-say-die attitude was just what the team needed, as the Fuzzies gradually evened the odds during the ninth inning. This was a surprisingly short graphic novel, so the bulk of the story focuses on the last inning of the game. The rest is exposition, so overall, it's a rather self-contained story with not much world-building or character development. Other than Blossom, who is given a bit of backstory, you don't really get to learn a lot about the other characters. Despite this, the story still has some heart to it thanks to Blossom herself, as her push for team spirit is a big focal point. Being a non-American, I don't know a lot about the nitty-gritty of the rules of baseball, but the comic describes the action in a way that sounds fairly technical but still makes sense to me. The writer appears to be a huge baseball fan (to the point that this particular story appears to be inspired by a real-life baseball team they were a fan of), and their passion for the sport is evident through this aspect of the writing. THE ART: As the cover art may have given away, the characters are all anthropomorphic animals. Unlike most characters of this nature, which tends to give the animals more human-like features, the animals here feel closer to the actual animals they're based on. Instead of giving the characters features like hands or more human-like faces, all the animals still more or less look like how they would in real life, except they're now standing on their hind legs, wearing baseball uniforms, and making facial expressions. Overall, the art style is pretty amazing. There's a lot of impressive shading and textures that add a lot of detail and make the animals' appearances lean closer to the realistic side, but they still have a bit of a cartoony side thanks to their animated expressions. In some ways, the style reminds me of editorial cartoons; the animals have exaggerated features that make them caricatures, but they're still drawn in a style that evokes how they actually look in reality. VERDICT: Though it's far from the longest graphic novel I've ever read, Fuzzy Baseball was still a short but sweet read. The story isn't really fleshed out or original (how many times have you heard the "underdog sports team wins game because team spirit or whatever" story?), but it still has its charm despite not having too much to work with. I also really love how the animals are drawn here. I don't think it's gonna blow any minds, but I think it's still worth checking out if you want a feel-good all-ages story that you can finish in one sitting. Read Fuzzy Baseball Vol. 1 on Comixology: https://m.comixology.com/Fuzzy-Baseball-Vol-1/digital-comic/337761?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L21vYmlsZS90cmFkZUl0ZW0 - end - I have a super interesting one for you today: I went and read a Filipino book! This is one I really enjoyed, so I hope this blog entry piques your interest. BACKGROUND:
My younger brother had to read this book for a report in one of his classes, so my mom had bought a copy. I figured that since a) he's done with that report and b) he doesn't like to read, he wouldn't mind if I borrowed it. SUMMARY: This book follows the story of Anina, a young Badjao girl who lives her life by the sea with her parents and two siblings. She narrates everything that she goes through, shares her thoughts, and proclaims her love for the waters she calls home. In the early chapters, Anina talks about the ins and outs of Badjao life and culture. For those who are unfamiliar, the Badjao is one name referring to an ethnic group who live in the southernmost islands of the Philippines (primarily Tawi-Tawi) and other neighboring areas (like Borneo or a number of Indonesian islands). Some people may know them by the moniker "sea nomads", which refers to their seaborne lifestyle. Though Anina does not provide an exhaustive account of everything there is to know about Badjao culture, she manages to talk about a number of topics, such as their reverence for the sea (extending to a belief that there are deities who govern them), gender roles (men being primarily fishermen and women focusing more on taking care of children, preparing food, and collecting crabs or seashells), various boats and their purposes (like the lepa, which is like a house-boat), and even rituals for mourning the dead. The Social Studies curriculum in my school (can't speak for other schools) didn't really do a lot to teach us about the Badjao (or any other Filipino indigenous group, for that matter), and this short book was able to do what ten years of formal education apparently couldn't. There really needs to be a discussion on how we educate children about other indigenous groups... Many aspects of the Badjao's culture fascinated me, such as their innate skill for swimming, diving, and navigating the seas, the prevalence of indigenous instruments such as the kulintang (which, fun fact: I actually knew how to play at some point in my life), and the fact that dream weavers (women who weave cloth with designs inspired by their dreams) also existed in this culture. What stands out to me the most is their clear respect for nature, as not only do they deify it, but they take care not to be destructive in their practices (e.g. no harming sea turtles). Anina herself expresses this love well, as she is often waxing poetic about the seas and how essential it is to her identity. It's not all calm waters for Anina, however, as events transpire that show her that life isn't as idllyic as she thinks it is. Early on, she goes to school (something she expressed interest in doing) and was met with discrimination from her classmates. Anina realizes how completely different everyone else is from the Badjao, and she finds herself wishing that those others could understand what the sea has to offer. Later on, outsiders in modern fishing vessels arrive in Badjao waters, threatening the livelihood of the Badjao fishermen as they take away fish and destroy the reef in the process. In desperation, the Badjao fishermen are forced to use dynamite themselves just so that they can get enough to survive. The whole "capitalism and nature do not mix" themes are clear, and describing it in terms of the Badjao (who rely on nature being the way it is to survive) conveys that point well. The situation escalates further as the turmoil in Mindanao (a serious issue that's persisted since before I was alive) reaches Badjao waters, and they are caught between a war between terrorists and the military. A combination of the increasingly unsafe conditions and a personal tragedy forces Anina's family to escape to Manila, where, like many people from the province who make their way here, they struggle to survive in poverty. This is all stuff I'm already somewhat aware of, but it is completely sobering to hear all of this from the perspective of a little girl. It really makes one realize how poorly these indigenous groups are treated: they're forced out of their homes (either by military occupation or capitalistic ventures), only to move to the cities where no one gives a shit about them and they're left to fend for themselves in the streets. Anina's perspective on Manila is also cause for reflection, especially for someone like me, who has lived most of their life in the region. She remarks on how completely removed the place is from nature, and how the seas here (I assume she means Manila Bay) feel dead compared to the waters she called home (which is not completely wrong). I already like the outdoors, and I'm already trying to be more environmentally-conscious because of climate change, but seeing the place I live in through the eyes of someone who made her home in nature was quite effective in showing me that there's something amiss with this overly urban jungle. In terms of characters, Anina is obviously the most prominent one. It's through her that the reader learns about the Badjao, and we see the events that transpire through her lens. None of the other characters get as much to say and do, but how Anina views those characters in relation to herself is just as insightful. For example, Anina's father is mostly focused on being a fisherman and not much else, but you can tell that Anina holds him in high regard with how enthusiastic she talks about fishing. The book is pretty short, but it moves pretty quickly. Every chapter is a somewhat significant jump in time, but it doesn't feel too jarring, and although the span of time is rarely stated explicitly (if at all), I could still infer how long it was between events. Interspersed in some chapters are poems, many of which are implied to be the songs Anina sings to herself as events transpire. These songs describe what Anina is feeling or thinking in truly poetic fashion, and I occasionally found them to be more effective at revealing Anina's thoughts and emotions than the regular narration. The ones where she describes the seas she calls home are patrticularly impressive to me, as the language evokes a vivid mental image of scenic waters, reefs teeming with life, and even starry skies. VERDICT: Anina ng mga Alon is a short, but potent book that gives readers an extensive look at the life of the Badjao. Through Anina's words and songs, I learned a whole lot about Badjao culture, further understood the effects of outside intervention on indigenous people, and acquired a rekindled apprecation for the sea and marine life. This book is less than 100 pages long and it managed to get all that out of me. I'm quite impressed. I highly recommend this book for any Filipino reader, especially ones like me who spent most of their life in Manila. It's a great way to learn about a group of people that you may not fully understand, and perhaps learning about them will help you empathize with their plight. The only barrier I really see is that the book is entirely in Filipino, and this may pose a challenge to people whose bilingual nature leans more towards English (I know lots of people like that, and to an extent, I'm one of them). Other than that, you should absolutely read this. - end - Another potentially miserable week awaits me once more, but at least I get to start it on a good note with yet another comic read. This time, I'll be checking out a manga! BACKGROUND:
Yet another one of my blind reads. Feels exciting to constantly find shit that I've never even heard of. THE WRITING: Nine-year-old Lucy Snow is off to spend her first day in school, but a detour gone wrong takes her to Hollow Fields, which is also a school, but not the one she was looking for. Instead of the usual math and English, Hollow Fields is a training ground for aspiring mad scientists, with subjects ranging from cross-species transplantation and engineering of killer robots. Not only that, but the rules on academic standings are unforgiving; the student with the lowest grade at the end of the week is sent to detention. What's worse, no student who's been sent to detention has ever returned. Right off the bat, I was super intrigued by the setting. A secret academy teaching kids to become evil masterminds? Faculty and staff that look like unholy fusions of steampunk machines and stitched-together monstrosities? An immediate mystery involving disappearing students? There were a lot of interesting elements to the story that made me want to read more beyond this first volume. We see Hollow Fields through the eyes of Lucy, who is understandably frightened by all the strange goings-on at the school. Unfortunately, escape is not an option, as the staff are incredibly ruthless when it comes to keeping the kids in line. Lucy is understandably baffled by all this weirdness, and we get to see her slowly figure things out and try to fit into (and survive in) the school. Lucy herself is a happy-go-lucky kid, and though her circumstances usually put her in a scared state, she generally tries to be positive when interacting with other people. Though a shady-ass mad scientist school sounds awesome to me personally, I can sympathize with Lucy's fear of the whole place, and am charmed by her earnest demeanor despite the fact. Since the focus of the story is primarily on Lucy, the other characters don't really get a lot of time in the limelight. That said, many of them have distinct personalities off the bat, making them immediately stand out. For example, Summer is your classic "overachiever girl", Miss Weaver is the terrifying principal, and Claude has a hidden motive behind his abrasive exterior. It's enough character stuff to keep me curious as to how they move forward in the next volumes. The first volume focuses more on Lucy getting her bearings and establishing Hollow Fields as a setting, but there are already mysteries and plotlines being set up early into the story. There's the aforementioned detention situation (which involved a windmill), Lucy finding an unexpected ally, and reports of a group of students sneaking out at night for unknown reasons. That's not taking into account the overall mystique around Hollow Fields itself: who built this weird place, who are all these teachers, and where did they come from? THE ART: If you're going purely by my text-based description of the story, I'd understand you thinking that this manga boasts a gothic, creepy art style (something like Hellboy, perhaps). Surprisingly, you're incorrect; the style is actually not creepy at all! The characters (even the supposedly scary ones) have a very cute anime look to them, with big eyes, simple faces, and lively expressions. If you were looking mostly at the designs of Lucy and the other kid characters, you'd probably mistake them to be part of some children's cartoon. Overall, the art uses a good amount of bright colors, varied shading, and strong outlines, but it's not afraid to get a little spooky (or even macabre) at certain points. Stuff like the grotesque animal hybrids look fairly disturbing (but not disgustingly so), and the Hollow Fields castle itself feels like Castlevania Dracula's castle with its eerie architecture and penchant for gears and clockwork. The book as a whole doesn't stray too far from the cartoony look, but it doesn't hesitate to use toned down colors and such when the situation calls for it. VERDICT: I didn't really have any expectations going into Hollow Fields, but I have to say that I'm blown away. The mystery surrounding the setting and world was intruiging almost immediately, and its frightening vibe is contrasted quite well by the cutesy art and protagonist's sprightly personality. If I had to compare it to anything, it reminds me a bit of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: it's aimed at and can be enjoyed by kids, but its story and setting has some darker elements to it that could unsettle said kids. I enjoyed reading this a lot, and I'm interested in reading the later volumes. Read Hollow Fields Vol. 1 on Comixology: https://m.comixology.com/Hollow-Fields-color-Vol-1/digital-comic/485686?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L21vYmlsZS9zbGlkZXJMaXN0L2l0ZW1TbGlkZXI - end - |
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