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[bandyisdandy]

Pokémon Diamond/Pearl -  Self Discovery in the Region of Sinnoh  (2/22/21)

With Pokémon Day happening this week & the potential of Diamond/Pearl/Platinum remakes being announced, I think it’s time I delve deep into one of my all time favorite gaming worlds not just in Pokémon as a series, but maybe gaming as a whole - the region of Sinnoh! While doing this, I hope to weave a story about my history with the game as well as the impact it has had on me even now, 15 years after its launch back in 2006. 

Back then, I was chubby little 12 year old Brian - still in middle school with a very small, albeit close knit, group of friends. I was awkward, a little weird, and did not understand some of the things going on around me - my sudden attraction to people, sudden growth & changes in my body, it was a weird time as I’m sure it was for many people out there. Sometimes, I just wanted to go home and be alone - not do anything, just play games and relax. Around the time I started 7th grade in September, the newest Pokémon game had been released, Diamond & Pearl. Now, anyone who knew me as a kid knew I was obsessed with Pokémon - I had tons of toys, all the games, watched the anime, and even read the Pokémon Adventures manga! The series meant the world to me and each generation brought me more to love in the series as it went on. However, something about Diamond and Pearl felt so special to me at the time. I got the game one night as an early birthday present (my birthday would come two weeks later on 10/12) and I remembered booting it up for the first time while waiting to have a pizza dinner with my family at a local restaurant in my hometown. While we waited, I turned on the DS and saw that glorious opening screen for the first time with Palkia proudly shown in the background, letting out its roar as you chose to start your adventure. I set up my character and entered into the game, not knowing what to expect, and right away I was blown away - the graphics looked like a huge step up from Ruby & Sapphire and that music just popped. Even to this day, the DPPt soundtrack lives rent free inside my head at all times of the day, it is that damn good. Then, you meet Barry, who I still consider to be the best rival of all time. Yeah, he’s goofy and friendly, but he’s still a tough trainer and was an actual challenge as a kid, especially the further into the story you get. After some exposition, we finally got to pick our starters, and man - if you thought the original three starters was a hard choice, this one is even tougher. For my first ever playthrough, I chose Piplup and was I ever so happy about this pick. Mind you, before we had the mega leaks we do to this day through means such as Twitter and Reddit, I had no idea how to find or where to go to see new Pokémon before games released, so when I finally evolved Piplup all the way up to Empoleon, this blew 12 year old Brian’s mind - I loved this little guy so much, and to this day that line as well as the other two starter lines who I have used in subsequent playthroughs are without a doubt my favorite set of starters in the entire series. So many amazing moments and memories came to me through the course of my adventure that have stuck with me as some of the best in the series - the summoning of the legendary Pokémon at the top of Mt. Coronet, catching my first ever shiny (a Medicham!), battling Cynthia for the first time, the Old Chateau... How did Pokémon achieve such greatness all those years ago and have, for the most part, not met that level of quality in most of their games? Don’t get me wrong, I still love Pokémon and always will, but Gen 4 just had something amazing in it like it caught lightning in a bottle but Game Freak was never able to perfectly replicate the process in the next few generations. 

As I continued to play through the game, the central themes of change, creation, and destruction were demonstrated throughout and with many of it’s themes, in my opinion, relating to my situation as a growing young man. Why was I getting bigger all of a sudden? Why did I feel funny whenever girls talked to me? Why was I so worried about how I looked or what other people thought of me? Because of this, life was strange and it only felt like it got stranger. However, through my adventures in Sinnoh, I came to understand that these feelings were a natural part of growing up and discovering who I was as a person. These things would pass and, eventually, I would outgrow them to become the person I am meant to be, much in the way that Piplup became an Empoleon or how someone like Barry became the trainer he ended up becoming by the end of the game. The game made me feel at peace with myself, and through it, I was able to finally open up more and made even more friends. My circle expanded and I felt better about myself as a person. Life became better and I started feeling less sad about my circumstances and going-ons within my life, and for me, I had to thank Pokémon Pearl and the things it taught me along the way.

To say that Pokémon has had a profound impact upon my life sounds like a weird statement, but in reality, it’s not - if anything, it is an understatement. Of course, I learned a lot from my folks and other family members, but Pokémon has given me a lot over the years. Many of my friends I have to this day I made because of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl. We would talk about it constantly in middle school and even discuss the anime as it was airing. We would battle at lunch or in free period, hang out and play on the weekends, even online after school - it was a great experience. We still talk fondly of our time with the game as well as all the others within the franchise, but none compare to the joy that the 4th generation of Pokémon gave to us. If the rumors are true and we do get a remake, I sincerely hope it lives up to the original or, better yet, exceeds it in the way HeartGold/SoulSilver did for Gold/Silver/Crystal back in 2009. Regardless however, I am excited at the prospect of picking Piplup again and seeing the world of Sinnoh one more time from anew perspective - on that, hopefully, I can appreciate and love the way I did those 15 years ago with the greatest Pokémon games ever released. 

[bandyisdandy]

Persona 4 Golden - The Rainbow Connection (2/10/21)

Anyone who knows me within the space of gaming knows that my favorite game of all time is arguably Persona 5 Royal. The game just oozes personality and fun from the get-go. It is easy enough to pick up and check out, but also deep enough to keep you engaged for hours upon hours, hungering for more even after the credits roll on your 80 to 120 hour experience. Saying this, I also have to admit that, while it is the fifth entry in the franchise, I had never played another Persona before vanilla 5. Whenever hardcore players of the series I met over the years heard this, they insisted I play 3 and/or 4 before I go on saying that 5/Royal is my favorite in the franchise. This past January, I decided to finally pull the trigger and check out Persona 4 Golden on Steam. After playing the game for about 70 hours, I defeated the true final boss and finally put the controller down for a bit. All I can say is... what a god damn magical experience this was.

Persona 4 is a JRPG (Japanese Role-playing Game) that puts you in control of Yu, a high schooler living in the middle of Tokyo who is moving in to the country with his police officer uncle and young cousin while his parents go away for a year on business. While there, you meet a young man named Yosuke and a girl named Chie who tell you about a mysterious phenomenon known as the Midnight Channel that shows up when a heavy fog rolls into town and the clock strikes midnight. One night, while viewing this phenomenon, a girl appears in the screen who looks an awful lot like a senior to the students at their school. The next day, her corpse is found strung up on a telephone pole, baffling the police due to the fact that a similar death took place around the time of Yu’s arrival. While investigating the murder of their senior, Yu and Yosuke discover they can enter a special television at a department store, where they meet Teddie, a living teddy bear who can lead them through the fog-dense world within the TV. Upon finding a space where their senior once was, they fight beings known as Shadows and awaken Persona, living embodiments of their fighting spirit as well as their own belief and acceptance of themselves in order to do combat with the Shadows. After their victory, they figure out that someone pushed the upperclassman into the world within the television and the Midnight Channel prophesizes the deaths of those who appear on it. Using this knowledge, Yu and Yosuke continue to make friends, investigate the case, and do their best to uncover the culprit before a year is up and Yu must return home.

... That seems like a lot, right? Well, crazily enough, that is probably the first 5 hours or so at most, and there is another 65+ to go in your first playthrough. Now, this game, at first, is a tough sell especially if you are like me and played 5/Royal first as those games have spoiled our perceptions of what the franchise is and can be. Persona 4 Golden is definitely a step down visually as well as design and music-wise in comparison to 5. It just does not have the same substance that game does and the gameplay, in comparison, feels a bit dated here. The Shadows you encounter in 5′s dungeons are also the enemies you actually fight this time around and the Tarot Card system makes collecting and recruiting Persona much more annoying than the way 5 handles it in combat. However, while it sounds like I am being quite harsh on the game, in reality, this is by and far one of the best JRPGs I have ever played and cannot be recommended by me more. Since I got all the negatives out of the way, let’s look at the heaps of praise I have for this triumph of a game.

First and foremost, what really sets this game above and beyond a lot of others, maybe even doing this better in many respects than Persona 5/Royal, is the characters. Every character is just so damn interesting, and really adds so much charm to what is already a rather charming game. They bring the story as well as the countryside town you now find yourself in that much brighter and bigger. Each one has goals, values, idealizations, and realizations that flesh them out more than most games I have played, all of them having incredibly satisfying conclusions to their stories. Some stand outs for me are your young cousin Nanako, who is lonely due to her father always working as a police officer and her mother passing away in a car accident a few years prior to the start of the game, Kanji Tatsumi, a punk who uses violence and fear to mask his incredibly soft, caring side that enjoys arts and crafting more than he would care to admit, and Naoto Shirogane, a young detective hiding her femininity in order to find power and prestige in the world of private investigation which, in Japan especially, is a male dominated field - these are just some of the memorable characters you will meet. I am currently doing a second playthrough and have already met two characters I never encountered in my first playthrough that are honestly becoming some of my favorites in the series! Building relationships (yes, even romantic ones with your female classmates) is key to not only finding out more about them, but also key to getting stronger, unlocking abilities and weapons for you to use in your playthrough that will seriously make the game not only easier but I would go as far as to say more fun in regards to what possibilities open up to you in combat. Growing the bond between you and your friends within your party is also the only way to strengthen and evolve their Persona to bigger and better forms, making combat flow easier but also giving one a true sense of power, purpose and meaning in the memories you create with Yosuke and the gang.

The other thing that really made me fall in love with Persona 4 Golden is its story and location. While the bustling cityscape of Tokyo and Shibuya really makes Persona 5 and Royal feel big and grandiose in its vision of what a modern JRPG can be, Persona 4 Golden, while feeling smaller in comparison, feels much more unique and, weirdly enough, nostalgic - at least for me. The town of Inaba is small with little to do at first, but it still has some beautiful and honestly quite intriguing sights to see (I’m looking at you, Greedy Shrine Fox). As you become more accustomed to the town and what it offers, it surprises you and opens up even more based on your time within the game, the weather outside, and even the time of the day you are out and about exploring. I grew up in a small town outside of Boston and while it’s not exactly like Inaba, the parts I spent most of my days remind me of it - areas covered in trees near streams with small restaurants and bars nearby, nature trails to walk, seeing mostly the same people each and every day - it really sent me back to life growing up when I was the age of the characters and truly made the game something memorable and instantly connected me to what was happening. As for the plot, I am a sucker for a murder mystery - I love true crime and have always loved police or detective shows growing up. Being able to work towards a case and have your decisions, investigations, and choices up to certain points have merit and weight behind them in regards to what ending you get is absolutely amazing and really sets the tone for a game that shrouds you in mystery and keeps you at the edge of your seat at all times, all the while still finding the time to help you enjoy the ride with laughter, tears, and dialogue that just really gets to you from beginning to end, sticking with you even after you’ve beaten it. Throw in some seriously fantastic boss fights, great music, and top notch voice acting for the time and it all adds up to a package with so much content and so much to tell you along the way that you just can’t help but keep playing until you absolutely have to put it down, only to continue for hours and hours later on.

All in all, Persona 4 Golden is a seriously fun game. While I still think Persona 5 Royal is a better game than it, I cannot stop thinking about the journey it took me on. The places I saw, the people I met and became friends with along the way - it’s a surreal, dream-like game that really gets you thinking right from the beginning and keeps you on your toes until the bitter end. I found myself engrossed in the lives of these characters, worried for them anytime something happened to them within the context of the game’s narrative and only hopes to see them come out on top, and thankfully this was usually the case in my playthrough thanks to the choices I made. I can only wonder what would have happened if I chose things differently - where would my characters have ended up at the end of all this? Would things have gotten worse for them? Who knows - all I know is that once the game was over, I had nothing but smiles and happiness going through my head as I saw my friends say goodbye and I loaded up my stuff onto the train. All those precious moments, etched into my mind forever; the hardships of the dungeons, the toughness of the Shadows, the mystery of the killer - that’s how you create a great game narrative, and finish it with an even greater, satisfying ending. Check out Persona 4 Golden on Steam TODAY if you liked this review! https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1113000/