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#quirky video games inspired by Earthbound
yourcrazyboyokris · 16 days
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Is it just me or are these the exact same people
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blund3r-bust3r · 2 years
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think i’ll finally try playing omori now that it’s on switch i heard it’s really good
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graph100 · 1 year
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in this day in age
how do people make regular indie rpgs? you mean youve played undertale and omori but you like make some phantasy star I type beat? ys on the beat? final fantasy 3 esque? in the day and age of "quirky earthbound inspired rpg" ppl fr are making regular ass rpgs kinda poetic actually. but like ok i played heisei pistol show how are you supposed to leave that game as a gamedev and thing "ok i will now make my new monster catching pokemon rpg" like bro i gotta get on the philisophical type beat! for why am i making a regular medieval type stuff but like i could make lsd dream emulator: the rpg i have a game idea and like bro youre telling me that i have to make a game and its regular and theres no trans subtext!!?!??!??!?!? two paths fork in the middle of the forest. you fear that as you go down one path, you will never see what meets you on the other. thankfully, you are a metaphysical being, and can read on. LITERALLY HOW ARE PEOPLE STILL CALLING SHIT Quirky Earthbound Inspired Indie RPG ANYMORE IN THE YEAR 2023?????? SAY THAT OUT LOUD LIKE BOTH PARTS SPEAK, WITH YOUR MOUTH, "Quirky Earthbound Inspired Indie RPG" AND ALSO THE WORDS TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE i feel like as a society we should have moved on and became better people, yet here i stand. its parody at this point. theres no way any article writer actually uses that phrase with full understanding of a) what they are doing and b) it is the dumbyest thing to say its so sad because now ive gotten bored of media without subtext or anything more. i watched the imitation game the other day and like its a cool movie alan turing 4 lyfe but it was like so hard to watch the flashback scenes. (HEY UM SPOILERS FOR THE IMITATION GAME, THE ONE WITH BENIDICT CUMBERBATCH YOU KNOW?) i appreciate the setup for why he called it christopher but like ugh the way they wrote those scenes felt bad. like it felt like the directors were saying "DO YOU GET IT??? HES AUTISTIC! DONT YOU SEE? HES GAY! HE LIKE LIKED HIM!" instead of like hinting at that. its all got its place in the story but it just felt like there wasnt anything that the viewer had to think. im so inraveled into meta stuff that i cant even enjoy regular shit TvT woe is me
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heartbeatbookclub · 2 months
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What do you think the dokis favorite games are.
Personally, I genuinely think yuri would be into the fear and hunger games. The horror and lore in them just seem like they'd be right up her ally.
I think it's probably easier to assign them genres? I agree that Yuri would like Fear and Hunger tho.
I don't think Monika would be big into video games, and also she sucks at them. She strikes me as a big puzzle game fan. Tetris. She's a tetris wizard. Oh, and the Sims. One day she accidentally burns someone's house down and feels incredibly guilty...but grows progressively more cavalier in her demented actions towards her Sims. The other girls like to push Monika into different games, to varying effect. She's a real sucker for games like Undertale, though.
Sayori's favorite game is Minecraft. She'd probably like games that are slower paced and easy to understand. She's the type to abandon the tutorial and say "I wanna play a game, not read a book!" then shamefully trot back to the tutorial 10 minutes later after dying 30 times in a row. She also kinda sucks at games, but can be surprisingly competitive. She'll kick your ass at Mario Kart.
Yuri is big into RPGs. Every one of those quirky Earthbound inspired RPGs, she's played, and will gush about at length if you let her. She played through a bunch of old JRPGs too, but don't let Natsuki hear that...She gets into a game for its story, typically, and she also is kinda bad at anything more gameplay oriented (Like Hades) but she will keep trying to the point of heavy frustration because she wants more of that story content (Like Hades). She probably used one of those free trial versions of RPGmaker to try and make her own RPG (or one based on a book series).
Natsuki probably has the most varied tastes. She's big into shooters, probably plays a few battle royales and is somewhat toxic (typically as a joke). She's probably the biggest gamer and the most skilled out of the lot. And, consequently, the most competitive. She probably played a bunch of fucked up flash games as a kid. And, predictably, also a bunch of visual novels & JRPGs (don't tell anyone, but I think she mightve even played a few dating sims....)
Sayori gets them all into Minecraft. Natsuki thinks the idea's kinda dumb but gets really into building a cute little house. Monika dies like 12 times on the first night and hides in a hole. Afterwards Sayori helps her learn the ropes and they build a house together. She puts her bed next to Monika's. Monika is clueless. Yuri is quietly mining the entire time and occasionally types in chat rather than using VC.
Thanks for the ask, anon!
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cavewolf · 4 months
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i need to write an essay and/or make a video on how video games are the perfect vessel for tragedy. the intimacy of it all. you are MEANT to connect with your character and experience what they experience. mother 3 lisa undertale oneshot FUCKING POKÉMON SUN AND MOON . i've been so obsessively insane over this for so long (they were only children. THEY WERE ONLY CHILDRENNN). and i'm talking niche quirky-earthbound-inspired-rpg-fan shit like buddy simulator 1984 and everhood too.
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aroflareon · 2 hours
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are we doing the thing again where everyone acts like every indie video game ever in the farmer/life sim genre is cozy pastel Ghibli & stardew valley inspired. did we learn nothing from calling every indie rpg a quirky earthbound inspired game about depression. nothing???
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blood-and-pizza · 1 year
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I have the urge to either play/create a FNAF-themed RPG
I'd previously made a post exploring the idea of a quirky, Earthbound-inspired RPG that played the themes of FNAF straight, but I can't seem to find it. I could have sworn I tagged it "fazbound" but I can't find it in my blog's search.
Anyway... returning to that idea. Previously, I'd thought of Freddy and the other protagonists being children the whole game and they have to save their world from an eldritch Glitchtrap. I might still keep that idea, but it's tempting to have the characters grow up over the course of the story. Explore what each member of the Fazbear crew is like as they age... even though the souls haunting the game will never grow up.
I guess maybe now's as good a time as any to explain why the game would be haunted in the first place. Glitchtrap haunts the code itself, while the physical game cartridge has remnant in its circuitry. So... perhaps in order to establish that, we're actually playing as a kid who bought a Fazbear Entertainment video game, and the cartridge is haunted, and getting a game over means that kid losing control of their mind to Glitchtrap.
The spirits in the game's remnant recognize the kid playing as another child, and try to help them against Glitchtrap.
Like, an actual bond forms between the characters in the game and the player character.
Also, to make this idea extra special, supposing instead of the original Missing Children haunting the characters, maybe the kids from the SECOND Missing Children's incident (the one from FNAF 2 that caused the Toys to become haunted) are haunting this game. We get the names of other five victims William Afton killed, that second incident stops being forgotten, and... the kid haunting Toy Freddy would actually be haunting a video game.
I know the Toys were dismantled and burned, but Security Breach proves fire doesn't actually destroy remnant (see: The Blob). It was only a possibility... so maybe someone found the Toys, melted down their endos, and made remnant for Fazbear Entertainment to utilize in their tech.
And even if I'm totally wrong about all this, I can always make this an AU.
If only I knew LITERALLY ANYTHING about making games! I can write, and I can make decent art, but that's literally all!
Plus, FazBound isn't the only idea for a FNAF RPG I have... I wanna do a comedic parody with my FNAFsona and her friends. I think that would be a blast, honestly! It would be a completely self-indulgent project, though, so... not sure how many others would enjoy it.
Another idea I have is making some sort of hybrid between Five Nights at Fuckboy's and FNAF World. It's a barebones concept at this point, no story or world in mind yet.
For now, I'm gonna play some fangames, maybe open up FNAF World again...
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You know it kinda sucks to see Omori reduced to “Quirky earthbound inspired indie game about depression uwu” because as someone who actually played the damn game, it is worth so much more than that, it is so much more than that, it made me actually feel and care for its characters and its tragedies, you can easily sum up the big twist in a couple of sentences but it’s not about what the big shock is, and the writers for Omori obviously knew this. The best experiences are ones you can’t describe and do justice.
You can spoil Omori’s ending, hell it was basically spoiled for me, I got the gist of it, but that isn’t important, that’s not what got me crying over the game a month after finishing it, it’s the presentation and the journey, or you know, the actual experience of the thing, the artistry of the game, and how the game itself, not in a meta sense, but in a practical application is actually part of the story and themes and is what’s used to immerse you into it. And while you can sum the plot up in one paragraph, no good game has ever had its story elements be best experienced by someone telling it to you, and not I nor anyone can mount a proper defense for the game because of that. It is a cute little indie earthbound inspired rpg with darker themes below the surface (uwu) but that’s not a surprise, you can look at the steam page and see all these descriptors in tags, it’s no secret it’s a psychological horror game, you know this going in, the opening cutscene makes it very clear things aren’t what they seem.
The emotional punch that makes you care isn’t the dark themes, the scary atmosphere of its very obviously Yume Nikki inspired section, or even the big bad twist itself, it’s the culmination of the experience that work to make it what it is, and it’s why the ending for the game is what hits hardest, because that’s it, the culmination of the whole experience, and the game has multiple climaxes near the end (shut up) one being the infamous duet, the hospital scene, and finally the end credits, which like the game itself is brimming with beautiful art and music, and no one is going to spoil you on the credits, no one can, it’s just a car ride scene with music playing over, there’s nothing in isolation that makes this moment impactful that made me remember it and specifically the lyrics of the song (it’s more like a sing-alonng really) so well, because it’s the perfect send off in a literal and metaphorical way for all the things you can get spoiled for, and I think the game is worth playing even if you predict the twists or were spoiled halfway through, because Omori is a better game than to rely on the twists and sudden darkness solely, it knows that’s not how you make a story, much less one told through a game lens, and this is the kind of story you can only tell through the medium of a video game, it’s the kind really worth making.
The reason this game was actually made was because Omocat couldn’t tell the story she wanted to through a comic, she needed to tell it through a game, which automatically makes it better than most games that try to cram a story down your throat that would’ve been better as a movie or a show, or even a comic, because this is the kind of game that can only exist as a game and still work.
It can be summed up as a “Quirky earthbound inspired indie jrpg with psychological horror elements” but listing the chemical composition of food won’t tell you about how it tastes or feels, or sits in your stomach, and how it digests and specifically how you would digest it. In terms of gameplay it’s not easy to get into if you’re a fan of any other genre than turn based party rpg’s, but it’s such a basic concept I think anyone could get into it easily. And it is one of those experiences worth having, a lot more than I’d say anything else I’ve had, because it sticks with you, months after the last time you even listened to the soundtrack or touched anything related to it. You don’t ever have to play this game a second time for it to make a lasting impact. You can pick it up, put it down, and digest the experience and dwell on it.
The point is, it’s redundant and stupid to simplify something to its steam tags to shit on the idea of doing something unique or daring to do the fringe thing of contrasting darker elements with cute cartoony visuals, daring I know. (I mean come on guys, South Park’s whole concept is that, “Wow, a cartoony looking thing with children doing something dark and fucked up how shocking!” it’s not a new idea and it’s not why you’ll remember something nowadays, it’s the nuisances beyond that topic (for South Park it’s less about the nu) It really shows to me how little media literacy is left in “gamers.” Sure, video games allow you to live out and play through the stories of your favorite IP’s and also play new original but simple stories that are just a vessel for mechanics to flow through, but why would anyone dare to push the concept of stories that can only really be told through games?
And furthermore, who would want to push the mainstream boundaries of art in games by using 2D pencil drawings, digital art, and pixel graphics together? Dear god what is this? An indie-game that has to stand out using its unique visual approach because it doesn’t have the brand recognition of an AAA title or the marketing of a Nintendo game? And don’t you dare dream of taking inspiration from one of the best of your genre! Lord knows games like Call Of Duty and New! Super Mario Bros. are known world wide for not taking inspiration! Jesus.
I know I’ve been throwing a lot of shade and wink-wink-nudge-nudges at other games, and I don’t mean to, honest, I respect every game like I respect every person, but Omori as a concept has been under attack, not because of the game itself but more so this idea, or the idea it presents of, well let’s just be honest, being visually comfortable and having a unique style and approach to story telling in a video game. Honestly there are a lot of factors at play for this, people recommending the game ad nauseam to their friends, the fandom who has needed therapy exactly 0 seconds after actually completing the game, (I as someone who needed therapy before playing was immune to this, but I don’t think it helped) but also, it’s an art game, and gamers hate art games. Their favorite type of game has got to be corporate show-off games actually, games that run at the best performance and have the highest specs. It’s kind of circle jerking about the most expensive equipment and animations and programmers killed for one model moving in a cutscene in a quest for dust particles on some gruff middle aged mans ear. I mean hey, I love high quality dilfs as much as the next guy, but come on, it’s kind of crazy how much they froth at the mouth for this kind of shit, and how apathetic they are to the health and well being of the actual people who make it for them.
Anyway yeah, gamers hate art games with a good story, likely due to the culture created around games that is all about flexing your skills and capabilities, specifically over other people (it’s a common human desire for competition and achievement and games are a perfect arena for that kidn of thing, but in gamer culture especially. I play TF2, I love watching gibs fly, but I also love 24 person long conga lines, I’m flexible like that) also something something a culture of colonialism, capitalism, and toxic masculinity I guess because it’s an idea woven into the very fabric of our society and there’s no way to avoid it but also it’s fairly redundant bringing it up because to anyone who’s paid more than a blink of attention to the world around them this is a given.
Gamer culture is filled with sweaty dude bros on reddit, and that is a stereotype, but I mean come on, I was one of those, I’m still kind of one of those, and they notoriously have low grades in english and creative writing (not me, I had average grades in most things and was generally unremarkable in school, at least I think I was, I spaced out through most of it, people really paid attention to me though) and they also have very low emotional intelligence, so it’s going to be hard for them to process, well, emotions, like how their low intelligence makes it hard for them to process information (generous vague plural them so everyone will be in one the joke and I can’t be sued for liable (I must admit it is a low blow though (damn these are some good dried cranberries))).
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, I also think most of the fans who’ve fully played the game are still kinda grappling with their emotions and their hollow feeling now that the thing they got obsessed over has ran out of content for them, and had a particular period where they went a little rabid. And also there’s been a recent movement of anti-intellectualism, following movements of thought like “Maybe the curtains are just blue” turning from “It’s not that deep bro” to “Any attempt at depth is stupid and actually writing and stories themselves if they aren’t simple and easy to consume and challenge me in any way possible is an attack on me and is probably something political and I’ll retreat to my A-political game about war where I get to be free from any emotional consequences because I’ve slowly been emotionally regressing since I was 15, because philosophy and psychology don’t belong in video games but I’ll call it politics because I’m repeating buzz words.” And yeah, humans are the worst at not snowballing into destructive extremes.
But also it’s a good game and is the kind of game that hits the standard of what to me makes a good story game. So... yeah.
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ao3feed-undertale1 · 4 months
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Tell your tale (an odd undertale AU of sorts with many copyrighted characters in it)
read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/53057266 by Uselessearthboundfan This is an odd undertale AU of sorts my friends came up with, if you can even really call it that. Basically it was more so inspired, but I’m gonna call it an AU. Basically our 9 year old protagonist, base, and his many dolls and friend, James, go on weird quirky adventures on earth and in the tell your tale world. Which is different from earth. If you like odd humor, copyrighted characters, and 9 year old protagonists, then this is perfect for you. Maybe. And the characters listed may not be in here for a bit, probably because I’ll forget I put them in here. And also, if you firmly believe that I make a character say something that you think “they wouldn’t fucking say that!” Then well, idrc. Words: 457, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Undertale (Video Game), Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Friday Night Funkin' (Video Game), Scratchin Melodii (Video Game), Super Mario Bros. (Video Games) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Mario doll, luigi doll, jaiden doll, gingerpale doll, boyfriend doll, girlfriend doll, base - Character, ness doll, Monika doll, yuri doll, sayori Doll, natsuki doll, Sans, James read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/53057266
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keybladespirit · 8 months
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prettyangyva · 2 years
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Maybe I should introduce myself...
Hello, I’m angy, a relatively small twitch streamer who wanted to join this site for a while but didn’t have the courage to do so. I like video games (like you do) mostly roguelites, Zelda, Sonic, quirky indie earthbound inspired RPGs. I also like TTRPGs with DnD 5e being my all time favorite. 
Find me on Twitter on https://twitter.com/PrettyAngyVA and on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/angyva
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nullset2 · 2 years
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Undertale: an in-depth critique and review
You were probably expecting this one.
Undertale is a 2015 RPG created by the one-man team of Toby "Radiation" Fox from the starmen dot net forums. After release, the game acquired a ridiculous amount of acclaim and sent shockwaves through the medium, becoming an instant cult classic. It's the little indie game that could.
Undertale won its players over with its quirky and charming characters, its heart-wrenching storyline, a lore that's deeper than deep in what is probably one of the most meta games ever created (the data miners are still discovering secrets in the game to this very day, and its eclectic mix of shoot em up mechanics with RPG mechanics, a mixture that works well against all odds for some reason (some may even say that it works too well!)
Part "Mother 3 with Skeletons", part Tumblr Fanfiction, part Dating Simulator, part Shin Megami Tensei and part Touhou project, Undertale wears its heart on its sleeve and fills you down to the deepest reaches of your SOUL. Want to know why?
Part 1. Mother 3 with Skeletons
Undertale started in the starmen dot net forums after its creator published the infamous Earthbound Halloween Hack. You see, there's a small subsection in the site for people who are very passionate about ROM hacking, the ability to convert a previously released game for an old game console into a new experience. A very big and passionate community has formed over the years, as emulation has improved, that's very interested in this. Take a look sometime at the ROM hacking community to be amazed at the things that people have managed to make out of retro games.
The PK Hack tooling was created back in the day. This allows people to edit Earthbound, the USA version of MOTHER 2, to add whatever content they see fit. Out of this the Halloween Hack was created in 2008, an edgy and profanity laden version of Earthbound where you kill Dr. Andonuts, with a primitive version of Megalovania in tow.
Out of his experiences with RPG design Toby decided to create Undertale in 2013. The game was developed over 32 months and financed through Kickstarter, with an original scene of the game and a short demo released to promote the game.
The main premise of the game was "what if nobody had to die?". Toby recalls that he's always felt that RPGs are a little bit of a blood bath, in the sense that the main heroes go around killing endless prey for profit. Need to level up? Time to extinguish three more species in the game world --it's almost sadistic when you think about it, since in theory the player behind the screen is actually doing it for fun. So he wondered if it was possible to create an RPG which eschewed the need to kill people while still providing a compelling experience. Inspired by Shin Megami Tensei and how it allows you to talk and negotiate with enemy characters, he set off to the task. Its resemblance to other games is also palpable. The game world, pixel art and general non-sequitur take a page off of the Mother series, and the music --composed and performed completely by Toby on his own, by the way-- sounds right off from the Touhou series --not to mention the bullet hell stages of course.
The game massively overshot its modest kickstarter goal of $5000. It displayed tremendous innovation in RPGs, and it had a charming, meta tone which was unlike everything else in the market: the turn based battles in the game progress as a series of shmup stages, where you navigate waves of bullets shot by your enemy towards your soul, represented by a little pixelated heart inside of a black and white box. Moreover, the characters in the game world seem aware of the fact that they were inside of a video game, so the fourth wall breaks were right there from the very beginning. Could anything else be stemming from this?
The game is a beautiful accident in many ways, the crazy work of an absolute polymath, its likeliness to exist infinitesimal. It's also humble to the core. The script reads like a Tumblr post (grammar and all). The battle scenes are in monochrome. Megalovania was composed "in 20 minutes using free samples that I downloaded online" according to Toby. The graphics have clipping issues and look hastily put together. The game world is tiny but dense, the puzzles are simplistic at best, its RPG mechanics are sort of just a coat of paint that's not even fully dry, and all around you can do a single run of the game in around 8 hours. Toby was a hobbyist when he created it, not a professional game designer, and used a simple engine like Game Maker because he was, relatively, a newbie to game creation. The graphics are simple pixel art style because they were easier to draw. The enemies are drawn in a single color because "it's hard to draw graphics with multiple colors" in his own words. The animation is mostly flash-style tweening rather than keyframes.
But all of this is by design. Undertale is more than the sum of its parts --WAY more--. Goes to show that it's possible to convey strong emotions with simple pixel art, and that if you put something out there which comes from the bottom of your heart, people will embrace it.
Part 2. What if nobody had to die?
Undertale has a very simple plot: once upon a time there were two kinds of beings, humans and monsters. After an ancient war between both races, all monsters were sealed underground by the humans behind a barrier created with a magical spell. Then, one day, a child who was playing in a cave in Mt. Ebbott fell down into the underground by accident onto a bed of golden flowers, and thus they begin their return to the surface...
You control this fallen child, as they progress in the Underworld, meeting its inhabitants. Soon enough, you run into a flower friend, Flowey, who teaches you how to play the game. However, the gig is up soon enough: Flowey is shown to be a vicious, bloodthirsty killer, who is hellbent on destroying every single human who comes across his path, and he's just about to kill you.
Toriel, guardian of the ruins and archetypal mother figure (if a bit overbearing), saves you from Flowey's schemes and guides you through the ruins in what effectively is the tutorial (tu-toriel) section of the game (with the game literally hand holding you through it). Toriel teaches you that it is possible to solve conflicts in the world of Undertale by means other than violence, though the power of ACTing. ACTing allows you to satisfy monsters instead of fighting them, at which point you can spare them. You can also spare monsters if bring them close to 0 HP and you decide not to kill them --the indicator in both cases being that their name turns to yellow.
But interestingly, it seems that she's already been through this more than once --many times, even. She seems to already have a complete curriculum designed for the education of a Human child, together with a vacant, completely furnished room for a child... Once you make her face the fact that you wish to leave the ruins and not to live under her tutelage, she begrudgingly fights you in combat, asking you to prove yourself "not to have this happen again". Begrudgingly, she lets you go, warning you of the vicious king of the underground, Asgore, who she was trying to protect you from, as she failed to protect several other children before.
So depending on your actions here, the game starts to branch. It is very well known that Undertale has three routes: the True Pacifist route, the Neutral route, and the Genocide route, and your decisions when playing Undertale will impact which route you take. If you manage to truly get through the game, never killing not even one enemy, not even a grunt or a slime, and you are at least on your second run of the game (since the game keeps memory of how many runs you've made so far for reasons which I will explain more in depth soon...) you will see the Pacifist route. If you miss certain side quests in the game (like taking the game's bosses for a date to woo them) or otherwise kill at least one enemy, you will see the Neutral route. And finally, if you cave in to Flowey's demands and purposefully start killing every monster in the Underground, you will see the worst ending in the game...
From here onward the underground is yours to explore. You get to meet a very wide array of colorful characters, learn about their lives and hang out with them. The game will also reveal some interesting backstory about the Monster War and the mythology that came from it, most interestingly, the legend of the DELTA RUNE. The delta rune is the most important symbol among monsterkin, a figure of a winged creature and three triangles, which is said to represent a prophecy that the monsters have told since times immemorial about their salvation from the Human race: the advent of a powerful liberating angel who will guide the monsters to freedom from the Underground (the Angel's Heaven). This Angel is worshipped as a god among Monsterkind.
What are the three triangles underneath the winged figure, though?
The most important characters in the game are the Boss Monsters, who have a stronger soul than the regular monster grunts. If you play your cards right, they will become your friends and will join you in your adventure.
These characters are:
Toriel, the kind Mother figure who guards the ruins, who you already met. She never leaves her home, perhaps harkening a bit to the archetypal devouring mother... and she wants you locked in and educated at home eating pie (maybe against your will...).
Sans, a weird, slobby, lazy animated skeleton with no work ethic, addicted to jokes, who talks exclusively in Comic Sans for some reason, wears hoodies and likes eating fast food. He seems to not have a care in the world and to just be coasting by... however, strangely enough, he seems to have powers of teleportation and telekinesis, and he may or may not know something about the true nature of the world that every other monster in the World is oblivious to...
Papyrus, Sans' brother, a silly, queer Skeleton who is desperate for love and affection and who will do anything to capture a human to prove himself worthy of the ranks of the Royal army. And yes, he speaks in Papyrus font. Friends with...
Undyne, the legendary armor clad leader of the Monster Army who will stop at nothing to kill all humans who descend into the underworld to harvest their souls for Asgore.
Alphys, an insecure otaku dinosaur/lizard with social anxiety (who may resemble the Undertale audience a bit too much) who has a crush on Undyne. Head of the Royal scientists, in charge of the Underground energy core and with a backstory that haunts her...
Mettaton, a super powerful robot AI created by Alphys and a flamboyant superstar female ghost who now inhabits the body of a male robot (since the ghost characters in the world of Undertale need to inhabit a body --usually that of a training dummy) and who entertains the Underground as no one else can, the embodiment of glamour.
Asgore, the archetypal Wounded King, forever bearing the weight of his sins against humanity after killing six human children, seeking redemption through the liberation of the monsters to get back with his divorced wife Toriel, mother of his defunct child...
You'll also find ghosts, Napstablook, Hapstablook, and Madstablook. The ghosts are special characters because they're naturally incorporeal so they need to find a body to inhabit, otherwise living their melancholic lives in search of purpose, in what is, I believe, again, a special shout out the the game's Tumblrish audience. Napstablook is your archetypal doomer, a melancholic ghost who lurks around message boards listening to pirated music. Hapstablook decides to make the most of things by becoming friends with Alphys, who helps her transition into a male body to become Mettaton (another subtle shoutout to transexuality). Madstablook is angry with the world and decides to live his life in spite in the dump, inhabiting the body of a training dummy. Another unnamed ghost lives in the underground and is presented as the first training dummy, but their personality is not really elaborated upon.
You will also fight Miss Muffet, a spider goth-loli character with ojousama demeanor who loves money, baking and trapping people in her web to eat them. And there's also a lot of dogs! They like to do dog things!
Part 3. The Neutral Route
So now you continue playing through the game. The game is divided by sections, Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, the energy Core and the Royal Castle, which leads to the Barrier. Every section of the game will present you with a few puzzles (which are there more as meta-commentary on RPG design and for funsies than actually being puzzles) and boss encounters, in which again you can choose to either kill them or to make friends with.
Every boss battle will have a unique spin on it. Some battles will become a rhythm game, others will become a platformer, a shump, and yet others will become a game of frogger. I loved playing through each of these scenarios because they keep the game fresh and fun, since no idea ever really overstays its welcome.
Each big boss battle turns your heart a certain color. In the world of Undertale, your soul is represented by a pixel heart of a certain color depending on the strongest quality of your personality: cyan for patience, purple for persevereance, blue for integrity, green for kindness, yellow for justice, orange for bravery and red for determination. Now, it is revealed that there's been six previous children who fell to the underground, who have tried to escape through the barrier. All of them met their demise at the hands of Asgore, the menacing king of the Monsters, who needs the power of seven human SOULs to use them in a spell to break the barrier. The existence of the previous six children is never explored in depth, so we don't know who these children are... But we know their souls are one of every color.
Human and monster souls are different (monster souls are colored white), with a balance of power which is lopsided in favor of the humans. One human soul is equivalent to all of the monster souls put together, and thus only humans can cross the barrier, because the soul of a monster would collapse if they ever went through the barrier.
And why are human souls stronger than monster souls? Because humans are shown to have a trait which monsters don't have: Determination.
Determination is what allows you to SAVE in the world of Undertale. In the world of Undertale if you SAVE at a save point you can revive from Death through Determination (or De-termination, get it?). Notice the beginning of a strange correspondence between the aspects of the lore and the things that happen in the real world itself, as if the game was inexplicably connected to the fact that it's a video game itself. It is implied that, perhaps, the only monsters who have a semblance of Determination are Undyne and Flowey. But is their determination greater than the Determinaton of a human?
This is explored at the end of the Neutral route. Once you face Asgore, Flowey will take over by force and kill him. In what seems right out of Giygas' mindfuck end battle in Earthbound, he transforms into a photo-realistic full screen shump end boss sprite that completely clashes with the bitmap style that the rest of the game has, subverting the player's expectations and inciting a certain feeling of disgust and shock. In the climax of this battle, Flowey will actually start manipulating your IRL save files Emulator style, to load them once and over again to render you hopeless and in eternal torture. But lo and behold, the other six human souls decide to impose themselves against Flowey and they rebel, and they free the human by Deus-ex-machina from the clutches of Flowey's degenerate schemes.
Again: it seems that some of the actual characters inside the game are aware of the fact that there's a game system powering it all. But why? At the end of the neutral route, you can choose to kill or spare Flowey. Whichever decision you take will not matter at this point... since you can just, you know... Reset the game and run it again.
Part 4. The True Pacifist Route
This is when you should try to play the game in a fully pacifist manner.
The pacifist run is the longest one in the game and the most satisfying one (also the true, canonical ending to the game), because it involves exploring everything in the game, doing every possible side quest, and not killing a single enemy in the world, not even a grunt. The game doesn't actually make this difficult and if you're good at shmups you should be able to handle it --but it has to be your second run of the game (your first run will always be the neutral ending). In this route you will get to date Papyrus and Alphys, but in the end these experiences are less for your romantic progress and more to see their character development. You will also get to date Undyne in the most fiery cookout you could ever imagine. This is my favorite scene in the game!
Additionally, there's a complete area which is unplayable in other routes, the True Laboratory, which provides more details in regards to the plot. It is revealed that the royal scientists were tasked with studying the mortality of monsterkin in an attempt to make them immortal, and they discovered determination. Alphys found out that when old monsters are on their deathbed, they can have their determination extracted with a demonic looking machine and implanted into objects, but if the experiments go wrong, monsters fuse their bodies and souls together. So when you visit the lab, you meet hideous amalgams of monsters, made by clever recompilation of the behaviors and designs of other monsters, in what feels like a fever dream, or like playing through an unfinished section of the game, something you were not supposed to see. But by doing this, you help Alphys come to her senses and face the consequences of her actions. Personally, I love the presentation in this part of the game, and I consider it to be very bold game direction.
Once you clear the True Lab and meet Asgore, in a very emotive sequence, the monsters will reveal the true backstory of the game: before you, there was another human child (you, the fallen human who you named at the beginning) who had fallen into the underground. This human child was adopted by the royal family: Asgore, Toriel, and their as of yet unknown child, Asriel, and raised as their own. But unfortunately at some point the child fell ill of a mysterious disease which could only be cured using yellow flowers, a species of flowers that grows above ground. So, Asriel and the child crossed the barrier to look for a cure, but when the humans on the surface saw what appeared to be the murder of the fallen child, Asriel was mortally wounded by the humans and died when he returned to the underground. The royal family mourned his death by having Alphys implant his soul into a yellow flower, and Asgore swore revenge on the humans, seeking to collect six human souls to break the barrier and free the monsters from the underground they have been locked in. That flower became Flowey, which now has the wicked, corrupted soul of Asriel, hellbent on revenge and thirsty for blood, devoid of all humanity and compassion.
The climax of this route comes once you try to cross the barrier again. All the monsters you befriended along the way will come together for you to defend you against Asgore's murderous intents, since you have made friends with them. Unknowingly, though, you have played right into Flowey's schemes, who takes all of the souls of all of the monsters in the underground and fuses them into one: the reincarnation of Asriel Dreemurr (an Anagram for 'Serial Murderer', by the way). An epic fight between the human child and Asriel unfolds, where the child becomes stun-locked due to the massive power of Asriel. But since humans possess Determination, the human exercises their ability to "Save" their friends from right within Asriel's soul. At the cusp of this battle, Asriel manages to kill the human... but by sheer force of determination they don't die (your soul "refused" to die... or re-fused, get it?). The human starts remembering Asriel of his good times with the first human, the knowledge of whom they have gained now. This leads Asriel to tears and to eventually desist killing, in what is one of the most emotive moments I've ever seen in games. The human, revealed to be named "Frisk" all along, unrelated to Asriel's sibling, manages to break the barrier with the collection of all of the human souls, and leads the monsters back into the surface, where they reintegrate into the Human world.
Part 5. The Genocide Route
What if you decide to take the Dark path?
If you start killing monsters in Undertale, like Flowey incited you to at the beginning of the game, you will receive the Genocide ending. It makes you feel like shit and it's horrible to play this route, but it sheds additional light on the plot.
The key to doing this is to start killing every single monster in the game. Yes, even in the tutorial, even when you're compelled not to kill them. This literally means you have to keep wandering around in circles and keep killing creatures, mashing A mindlessly (in a way that's very reminiscent of regular RPG EXP grinding). This will increase an stat that the game keeps record of, your LOVE (spoiler: this is revealed in the end to really have meant "Level of Violence" all along). I think that, as with many other things in this game, the game is trying to unleash some meta-commentary about games themselves here. What kind of heartless monster do you need to be to actually go the way to kill every single monster, just to see "what if", just to see numbers go up?
If you do it enough times in the tutorial and kill Toriel, you will see "but nobody came" when random battles trigger. After you've seen this in the first section you will start seeing messages being conveyed to you by a mysterious voice that speaks in red when you use save points, which will tell you how many creatures are left in the current area of the game. This evil internal voice will also start interjecting with its own commentary at certain points in the game, talking about how worthless they find everything.
So, you will start seeing a stark difference in how the game plays if you take this path. Unlike the neutral route and the Pacifist route, the monsters will start fearing you and they will leave town, so you will end up exploring the same maps you previously explored, but without nobody to talk to or interact with. The game music will slow down and it will have added reverb, making it sound depressing and demoralizing. The few NPCs that you can run into will start flat out hating you because of what you've done, and the boss monsters will turn harder (still got PTSD from Genocide Undyne). And since you're a heartless monster, you will have to sit through a gut wrenching death sequence for all of them.
The highlight of this route, if you have the gall to endure it, is that Flowey will actually reveal his deepest and most intimate dark thoughts: Asriel reveals himself to have found that, after his soul was implanted into the flower, he gained Determination, and in a way he became nihilistic because of it. He discovered that he was able to endlessly reset the game like a human after he gained determination (even if the human's determination supersedes his after all), and thus he did everything he could within the game because "he had to see what would happen". Eventually he become bored of it all after taking every possible action in the game, killing, re-killing and saving other people, trying to reconnect with the feeling of satisfaction that being with the human child used to give to him. So he invites you to join him and his twisted cause, just to, of course, have the human kill him ruthlessly just as they killed every other boss monster.
Then, surprisingly, resident slob Sans will decide to spring into action to stop you. This is what I like the most about this route, the revelation that this seemingly unimportant and useless character, which the game itself dubs to be "the easiest enemy, with only 1 HP" all of a sudden reveals his deepest feelings while showing themselves to be a powerhouse. He denounces that the player's actions (arguably actually talking to the person who's behind the screen, rather than talking to the playable character) is causing rifts in time space due to the starting and collapsing of infinite in-game "timelines", something which happens with every game reset. Sans claims that this is leading to the ultimate destruction of the world, and that if he doesn't stop you for good by providing one of the hardest matches in the whole game, you will proceed to total annihilation. He also claims to be incredibly depressed because of the whole affair, since it renders every action he takes in the game world worthless given how everything could be reset at any given point...
The implication of additional timelines and time/space paradoxes existing in the world of Undertale is important, because I think it ties into Deltarune, the game's sequel --but that game is still in development, so as I said before, see you in three years when it fully releases :) so we can finally unravel all of the mysteries.
And if you're that determined to use your will to power to withstand Sans, you will meet "Chara", Asriel's sibling. And Chara is shown to have been... You, all along, a corrupted, evil murderous child fallen into the chthonic world of the Online, of fictions, that Undertale is, in the ultimate consummation of the premise of the game.
You see, "Chara" is just a template and not the actual name of the Child, but rather they're revealed to share your name, or whatever name you input at the beginning. Frisk is a completely independent character, unrelated to you and your soul. When you start the game, Undertale asks to "Name the fallen child". Predictably, most gamers will enter their real life name in this box, as they do in most other RPGs where you can name your player character. You will play throughout the whole game assuming that this is the name of the character you control. But lo and behold, this was the name of one of the previously fallen children after all, a puppet master who has been pulling the strings all along with their murderous intent. And in the Genocide route, this child is shown to be a corrupt figure made manifest, and then it develops into one of the eeriest game endings ever, telling you how much they want to "discard and move on from" this game (an action which may scarily reflect what happens to a game after it is put back on the shelf). So an offer is made (or rather, the illusion of choice is presented). You can destroy your save file in exchange of the final destruction of the world of Undertale... and when that eventually happens (because at this point it will happen whether you want it or not), Chara will jump scare you and shutdown the game by force (the actual game program will literally shut down IRL).
And if you try to boot it up again... silence. Nothingness. The game will be rendered unusable and impossible to play again (well, turns out you can wait for 10 minutes while in nothingness and Chara will offer to bring it all back... but this is one of the weirdest, more nihilistic game endings I've ever seen).
Part 6. Undertale as an ARG
Undertale has an incredibly deep lore, which has not been unfolded in full even to this day, six years after its original release. In what is one of the most clever approaches to game design, Toby actually left clues around in the game's files, because he expected it to be hacked and dissected for unused data or content post release, as it happens with every other game that has ever existed. If you datamine the game, the game, incredibly, will actually reward your dedication with a plethora of unused content, notes from the developer, and nuggets of information pointing towards possible developments in the Undertale world (yes, even pointing to the sequel, Deltarune).
Of these, one of the most important things I can mention is the presence of some incredibly mysterious dialogue from a character apparently named "WD Gaster", who can be made to spawn randomly in your copy of the game depending on random events (the "fun" variable in memory, of which there are plenty of technical analyses around which I suggest you consult ipso facto, since explaining it all here would definitely overrun the scope of what I want this review to contain). A skull-like character that speaks in Windings (presumably what "WD" stands for, WingDings), harkening to both Sans and Papyrus (the former of which I should remind you has special meta-knowledge about what's going on with the World of Undertale) leaving cryptic notes behind which suggest that at some point he was involved with the Determination Laboratory.
This launched a bit of an actual ARG within the Undertale community, who are still making discoveries to this day. With the announcement of Deltarune and the presence of some interesting developments within it which seem to point at this part of the game, we can remain excited about what is to come with the eventual undoing of this plot knot.
Part 7. Determination
My final interpretation is that Undertale, the actual game itself, is the manifestation of Asriel and his relationship with you as a player, masterfully crafted by Toby Fox as a colorful, vivid, amazing sounding tour de force, a testament to what great indie games can be like, full of secrets and wonders to discover. This game wishes to be your best friend. It may be, right now, just lying on a shelf or installed in your machine somewhere; yet if you listen closely, the game is trying to call you back into it.
But what kind of soul, or "will" if you would, are you bringing into it? Your Will is all that you have. This is one of the biggest dilemmas that the game actually presents to you: will you kill such beautiful creatures, if your determination dictates so? Or will you choose the more peaceful alternative? The decision is up to you... Makes me think of the Nietzchean will to power. Nietzsche argues that the main driving force in humanity is the Will to Power, an ability that each one of us can exercise. Will you use your Will to power to cause pain and backstab and kill your friends, or will you use it to cherish your friends and gain freedom? What is the nature of your SOUL?
What kind of decisions will you take? Actions have consequences, and in this game's case, incredibly real consequences too. Your will can effectively override Flowey's at any point... again, making me think about the Will to Power, but this is a gift too precious to waste. Or will you waste it?
What kind of world will your soul create within it? A pure soul that wishes to make friends? Or a dark, dirty, twisted, sick soul that wishes to just end it all, a sadist who only takes pleasure in numbingly playing and re-playing a game to kill its characters?
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gaming · 5 years
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Indie Game Spotlight: Frontier Story
Ready to fulfill your farming dreams? This week’s Indie Game Spotlight, Frontier Story, created by @jmw327, has captured our hearts this week with their latest farming sim. Frontier Story is about exploring a new world and its mysteries, while befriending the townsfolk, building your farm, and raising some adorable animals!
@jmw327, the solo developer handling the code, art, and game design of Frontier Story, took a moment to speak about the indie game scene and how to start getting into it!
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What are some major influences to the game?
Harvest Moon 64 (my first Harvest Moon game) is an obvious one, but also the many worlds of the Legend of Zelda series, and the quirkiness of Earthbound, amongst other things. But not just video games! I read a lot as a child, so I think that had a huge influence on my preference for storytelling in games! And of course there are a lot of amazing people in my life who inspired me creatively and in other ways!
How do the farming mechanics work in Frontier Story?
The mechanics will have a lot of similarities of course to the Harvest Moon series, but with some twists of my own! I especially want animals to play a large role in the game, aside from just being tools to make money. So in addition to having them feeling more alive, hopefully almost like a virtual pet, some of them will have unique abilities which will help you in managing your farm if you treat them well! An example of this is a slime-like creature called a Droplet, which produces water!
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How did you get into developing games?
It was something I had a desire to do for a while, and then last year I guess I just figured it was time to stop just thinking about doing it, and do it! I already had some programming experience, so I started learning art and trying to pick up the basics of game development just through trial and error.
What does your day-to-day look like for creating Frontier Story?
After all other life obligations are taken care of, I generally put most of my free time towards working on some aspect of the game. A nice part about doing both art and coding is I can create a more relaxing pace I think by switching between the two roles often.
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What's some advice you could give to anyone looking to get into the indie game scene?
Just start creating whatever it is that you want to create! There is a lot of advice on the internet on how to go about creating a game, but I think experimenting is essential when starting anything new. There are a lot of ways to do things, but I think it's most important to find the one that works for you and your goals. Understanding what you want to get out of making your game is essential!
Want to know when Frontier Story is ready for release? Make sure to follow @jmw327 for game dev updates and more BTS content!
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mrkanman · 4 years
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The Top Five Games in my Steam Library: A 2020 Retrospective
i must unfortunately announce that video games are important to me, and have been important for me for about 2/3 of my approximately 21 years of life. and over the years i have...formed....opinions of games, and had favorites. games i’ll play over n over. i like to talk and read my own blurbs so HERE WE GO--
1. Hollow Knight
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over 250 hours on a story-driven single-player metroidvania’s is a goddamn STATEMENT to the replayability hollow knight has. my initial blind playthrough of hollow knight took me up to 60-70 hours to complete at 100%, and it was possibly the most breathtaking gaming experience i ever had. the music, the setting, the 2d animation, the artwork, the smoothness of the gameplay and how the game lends itself so easily to just getting lost in the world, it is: amazing. i cannot gush enough about how this game has been definitive to my 2010s gaming experience. it’s a game that you can play again and again like your favorite childhood movie. the one game deserving of the “like dark souls” title in more ways than one. it’s PERFECT. 
2. Don’t Starve Together
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my long-term followers might remember this: but this blog was initially a don’t starve fandom blog. it’s a franchise that has a lot of personal importance to me and honestly, it’s a game that i feel a lot of nostalgia for. klei entertainment’s don’t starve together is practically the “sequel” to don’t starve, complete with a whole lotta lore, new patches and characters being introduced all the time, AND committed to giving each character their own unique cinematic and love. don’t starve’s old-timey sketchy aesthetic really carries it as a unique survival adventure. along with its charming and quirky cast of playable characters, each with their own special mechanics, the game has super creative mob design that you can just fall in love with. don’t starve? pretty good game. don’t starve TOGETHER? REALLY. good. game. 
3. Stardew Valley
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what can i say about stardew valley that hasn’t already been said? charming pixel art style, intuitive controls, a game that almost always gives you something to work for in the endgame, nearly unlimited customization of your farm, and you can be gay. it’s DAMN good game. with every FREE patch, the game improves on itself more and more to give you more stuff to do and more fun to play with, it’s genuinely just such a feel-good game that gives you that warm feeling in your tummy of coming home after a long day. 
4. Darkest Dungeon 
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darkest dungeon is like stardew valley if your home was full of blood and skeletons and everyone you wanna date is fucked up and depressed. the grim art style of darkest dungeon and the positively HORRIFYING atmosphere it creates is one of darkest dungeon’s greatest strengths. i like to think that not every good game has to be FUN to be good, and darkest dungeon is one of my favorite examples to talk about. because this game is designed to just STRESS YOU OUT. it wants you to make calculated, or in my case impulsive, risks and approach every battle in this turn-based rpg as if it could be your last. the quirk system adds such an interesting layer of depth to your roster of heroes, and it makes every romp across your ancestor’s land exciting and stressful. 
5. Undertale
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if there was any game i could forget all memory of just so i can re-experience the absolute JOY i had playing it for the first time blind...it would be undertale. and i know i’m not the only person to feel the same. it took the internet by storm when it was first released and this simple little ole rpg that advertised itself as “an rpg where nobody has to die” is still just. amazing. the characters feel so lively, the story has so many hidden layers while giving its players enough information to effectively theorize, and it’s just: FUNNY. it’s fun and its sense of humor is what sets it apart like its inspiration: earthbound. i made a lot of friends through undertale and it inspired me a lot when it was released, and on some level, continues to inspire me to this day. despite everything, it’s still a beautiful story about staying strong in the face of what feels like insurmountable odds and keeping that certain tenderness in your heart to share with the people you meet. it’s probably the shortest game on this whole list, but i think its place was well-earned. 
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mendelpalace · 4 years
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GamePro’s SNES Criterion Collection
Back in 2011, the now-defunct GamePro published a piece including Criterion Collection-style covers for a handful of SNES titles, along with descriptions of the hypothetical bonus materials that would come with such deluxe rereleases. Though the cover images are still floating around online, a bunch of the descriptions are probably lost, including those for games like Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong Country, U.N. Squadron, Desert Strike, and Chrono Trigger. 
A few can still be accessed via the Wayback Machine though, so I decided to repost the ones I can still get to:
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An old enemy brings bounty hunter Samus Aran back to Zebes, where she discovers that the Space Pirate threat is greater than ever -- and thus begins one of the most evocative games ever made. Thanks to its simple but powerful storytelling; outstanding soundtrack; and massive, lonely world, Super Metroid, created by Nintendo's well-known R&D1; team, is a masterpiece of design that has come to represent the Super Nintendo at its pinnacle.
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
DISC ONE
All-new 16:9 transfer optimized for high-definition televisions
Video introduction by writer/director Yoshio Sakamoto
Two Interactive Audio Commentaries: one by Yoshio Sakamoto, Satoru Iwata, and Shigeru Miyamoto; and one by producer Makoto Kano
New Leaderboards: Test your sequence-breaking skills against the best speedrunners in the world
DISC TWO
Return to Zebes (2011): A 90-minute feature documentary on the making of the game
From Zebes to the Bottle Ship (2011): A 30 minute documentary about the history of the Metroid franchise
Deep Red: Scenes from the film that helped to inspire Super Metroid
Sequence Breaking: Noted speedrunners offer a guided tour of sequence breaking in Super Metroid
Into Tourian Base: An interactive map of Zebes with developer commentary and notes
Play the complete, original Metroid for the NES
Illustrated production history with rare behind-the-scenes photos, original press kit, and the U.S., European, and Japanese trailers
PLUS: Complete OST featuring original and remastered tracks from Super Metroid
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A party of four child prodigies must band together to fend off a mysterious, malevolent alien force in this cult-classic role-playing game, scripted by influential Japanese copywriter and author, Shigesato Itoi. Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo embark on a fantastic adventure that spans a quirky, contemporary world, with a charming sense of lighthearted humor that shines through to the engrossing story’s awe-inspiring ending.
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
DISC ONE
Fully animated opening and ending cinematics from Studio Ghibli.
In-game commentary from director/producer/writer Shigesato Itoi, designer Akihiko Miura, and composers Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka.
Live recording of the “Earthbound Orchestral Experience.”
Excerpts from the new translation of Saori Kumi’s Earthbound novelization, read by the author.
DISC TWO
The Man that Fell to Earthbound – Retrospective Q&A; with Shigesato Itoi about Earthbound’s critical and commercial reception.
It Hurts -- documentary feature chronicling the troubled production of Earthbound 64.
Outgrowing Onett - A short film from director Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars) that bridges the gap between Earthbound and Mother 3.
Brand new trailer of “Mother 3DS,” the highly anticipated, “definitive” edition of Mother 3.
All-new localization effort overseen by acclaimed director and screenwriter Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant).
Complete HD reimagining of the original Mother.
PLUS: Concept art gallery, and interviews with the game’s development staff.
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In a galaxy far, far away, join Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and even Wicket the Ewok as they wage intergalactic war against the evil Empire and the sinister Sith lord, Darth Vader. In this ultimate HD edition of Super Star Wars trilogy, you’ll experience the entire saga, including racing a landspeeder through Tatooine’s wastelands in A New Hope, battling colossal AT-ATs storming Hoth’s rebel base in The Empire Strikes Back, flying the Millennium Falcon through the Death Star’s core in Return of the Jedi, and many more memorable adventures from the classic sci-fi trilogy.
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES DISC ONE
All three Super Nintendo classics in their original form: Super Star Wars, Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
Remastered 16-bit visuals and crystal clear audio optimized for high-definition televisions.
New inventory management menu allows you to hang on to your weapons and powerups through all three games.
Save system lets you save your progress at any time.
New beginner-friendly “Apprentice Mode” eases newcomers into some of the most challenging Super NES games ever mad
DISC TWO
Deleted Levels: Two new playable missions previously cut from the games including R2-D2’s battle through Jabba’s palace.
A History of Sculpted Software: A 15-minute documentary chronicling the developer’s daunting task of reenvisioning George Lucas’ epic science-fiction series for the Super Nintendo.
From Giant Scorpions to Frog Dogs: An all-new 10 minute documentary examining the genesis of Super Star Wars trilogy’s most bizarre enemies.
Digital Strategy Guides: Digital versions of the original strategy guides to help you master what are considered some of the toughest video games on the Super NES.
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Ladies and gentlemen: Start your engines, and prepare to challenge some of Nintendo’s most famous gaming characters in a high-speed battle of skill, wits...and luck! A huge critical and commercial success, Super Mario Kart is a seminal race-combat game from the 16-bit heyday of the early 90s that is so well loved, it continues to rank highly on “Best Game Ever” lists almost 20 years since its first release. Its key to success is its finely tuned, beautifully balanced multiplayer battle system that feels as fresh and fun as it did nearly two decades ago. Now’s your chance to rediscover the multiplayer magic of one of the best Super Nintendo games in three different forms, including an all-new Director's Cut!
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
DISC ONE
Director’s Cut: Featuring all-new polygonal graphics, the characters and courses are completely reimagined for a stunning, cutting-edge visual experience.
Enhanced Edition: A digitally remastered 16-bit version, with 1080p sprite-graphics taken from the original release, and authentic original gameplay
The First Cut: The completely untouched original version of the 1992 Super Nintendo release
Battle On!: Watch as the game’s original creators challenge one another in multiplayer combat and talk about their favorite weapons and characters
The Kart Legacy: A documentary on the legacy of Super Mario Kart, its numerous sequels and ports through the generations, and how it spawned an entirely new genre of racing games.
DISC TWO
Beyond F-Zero. The Making of a Two-player Racer: An in-depth interview with creator Shigeru Miyamoto about Super Mario Kart’s multiplayer design philosophies.
Unlocking Mode 7: Tadashi Sugiyama and Hideki Konno talk about the technical aspects of using Super Nintendo’s Mode 7 to deliver a great gaming experience.
Digitally remastered music by composer Soyo Oka
Bios and gameography of each Super Mario Kart character: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr., Koopa Troopa, and Toad.
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Cities are living, breathing things -- just as much as the inhabitants that walk their streets -- and nowhere is this more apparent than in Will Wright's masterpiece. Providing one of the earliest examples of free-form emergent gameplay, Sim City for the Super Nintendo is a seminal work, grounded in reality but limited only by the player's imagination.
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
DISC ONE
Two editions of the game: The original Super NES classic and SimCity+, a specially optimized widescreen edition for modern high-definition televisions.
Social Play: Connect your cities to those of your friends around the world.
Video introduction by Will Wright and Jeff Braun.
Fully voiced tutorial and advice featuring Nolan North as the voice of Dr. Wright.
DISC TWO
Af Wubbas Do (2011): A 60-minute feature documentary chronicling the history of the entire Sim series, from City through Copter to The Sims.
Urban Canvas (2011): A 30-minute exposé of the radical computer artists who use the SimCity series' landscaping and planning tools to produce works of visual art.
The Full, Uncut Raid on Bungeling Bay for Commodore 64: The game that inspired SimCity's creation.
Interactive gallery of real-life cities modeled in the game.
Original press materials and trailers.
Digital copy of "Street Music," an album featuring music from and inspired by the series.
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Years ahead of its time, Actraiser was one of the most loved games released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Genre-bending civilization-building simulation with side-scrolling action, the game didn’t continue as a decades-long franchise like some of its other contemporaries, but it was never forgotten. Stepping into the omnipotent shoes of “The Master” to save the land and its people from the evil Tanzra and his six lieutenants is not only many gamers’ first memory of playing a “god game,” for some it is also their fondest memory from the entire 16-bit era.
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
DISC ONE
All-new 16:9 remastered transfer optimized for high-definition televisions
Switch between the original 2D art assets and the all-new polygonal art with the push of a button.
Video introduction by director Masaya Hashimoto and writer Tomoyoshi Miyazaki.
Audio commentary track with the game’s designers.
DISC TWO
“The Creation Story” (2011), a forty-minute short documentary on the development of the game.
“Lightning in a Bottle” (2011), a roundtable discussion with Masaya Hashimoto, Tomoyoshi Miyazaki and Peter Molyneux about ActRaiser’s influence on game development and the “god games” genre.
The complete Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
An interactive gallery of over 100 never before seen sketches, concept art, and other design documents.
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All that stands between a world’s freedom and its conquest by a ruthless tyrant is the intrepid pilot Fox McCloud and his dauntless friends of the Star Fox Team. Featuring the groundbreaking technology of the Super FX chip, Star Fox brought Nintendo into the world of 3D computer graphics. And flying through the sky and in space in the Arwing starship is perhaps the best way for Nintendo to bring polygons to its consoles.
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES DISC ONE
Remastered audio and visuals, featuring Dolby Digital EX surround sound and a 16:7, HD presentation. Game’s original 1992 audio and visuals are also on the disc.
Two audio commentaries: One from the game’s executive producer, Hiroshi Yamauchi, and producer, Shigeru Miyamoto, and another with commentary from the point of view of Andross, the game’s villain.
Updated motion-comic version of the original Star Fox comic that ran in Nintendo Power from February 1993 to December 1993.
DISC TWO
“Defenders of Corneria”: a 90-minute documentary on the making of the original Star Fox.
“Fox Through the Ages”: A look at how Fox McCloud and the series has changed since their 1992 inception.
“Arwing Declassified”: A collection of other designs considered and rejected for the iconic Arwing starship.
“The Art of Star Fox”: Images of Fox McCloud, the Star Fox Team, and the memorable worlds from the franchise.
Original promotional ads from Japan, Europe, and North America.
PLUS: The Complete Original soundtrack.
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skarchomp · 5 years
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they're cringy fucking nerdbros, the very picture of white geek boy. most of them haven't even fucking played the game they oh-so-love but just worship the idea of it as some kind of nerdbro shibboleth, and the indie market is oversaturated with their "earthbound-inspired" tryhard-quirky shite.
so earthbound is a video game right?
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