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hazbinextgeneration · 3 years

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Down The Rabbithole Ch9

(Disclaimer: The songs sung by the Twiddle Sisters are Wonderland by Natalia Kills, Mad Hatter by Melanie Martinez, and Wonderland by Caravan Palace. I DID switch around and replace a few words, especially the Mad Hatter song, to match the storyland theme more, but I in no way own any of the songs or anything about them.)

Birds chirped along and the sky was a lovely blue as the lady in a red dress walked along the dirt road, even though this world had no visible sun that she could see it was still warm as if it was always summer here. And everything was always so bright, beautiful, and vibrant. The sweet smell of flowers was still in the air and lots of forest animals were about. Mostly birds and bunnies, but she saw some deer, a fox, and a turtle too. She wondered if they were regular animals or cursed princes or maybe they could talk like Cheshire or Marsh. They looked and acted like regular forest animals of her old home, and ran away from her as soon as she passed. Making her chuckle as she walked along. At least her feet weren't hurting anymore. Allison had shortly left the strange polka dot cottege after eating the food the kind Hatter and Hare provided her, once again reminding her of the way she needed to go in order to find these Twiddle Sisters. She certainly hoped whoever they were they would be as friendly as her previous guests were. She could only hope. Allison had followed the two crazy fellos' instructions and was already walking down her way towards the second fork in the road. So far she hadn't seen anything except for the lovely woods and creatures around her, that was until the path turned a corner to the left and as instructed she followed it. As Allison turned the corner she paused, and a big smile slowly spread across her face.

"Oh thank god! Finally!"

The second fork in the road! Finally! The second shiny GIANT silver fork stood tall and in the middle of the dirt path as she hurried towards it. Like the one before it, there was paths behind it but this time instead of two paths and two signs, there was three wooden paths and three wodden arrow signs. As soon as she got close enough she stopped and peered up at the signs that were somehow nailed to the giant metal thing. By now she stopped questioning things. I mean she just fell into a fairytale world of talking animals and storybook characters. How logical was that? As she approached, she blinked her eyes up to the three signs that pointed one each to the paths. One left, one right, and one pointing up probably symbolizing the path directly behind the giant fork. The left path apparently went somewhere called The Valley Of FarFar Away. The middle one lead somewhere called Godmother's Retirement Village. And the right which her old companions told her to go, said Enchated Vil. She smiled, before obviously turning and going down the right pathway. Everything looked the same as before as she walked along. Minute after minute passing as she continued to walk along for who know how long. The only difference was that the path began to slowly get bigger and bigger as Allison slowly walked along until it was as big and wide as a regular highway if the highway was made of dirt and smack dab in the middle of a dense and magic forest. The sweet flower scent in the air was nice as the gently breeze flowed throughout the air combined with...The smell of apple pies? She paused a little bit and sniffed the air a little more smelling the scents of foods in the air. And her stomach growled. Mini sandwhiches and cookies and tea didn't really fill one up so much. So naturally she sped up umbrella in hand as she folloed the smell down the road through the woods and-...And oh my goodness. She was now looking at the entrance of a small town the tree blocked off any buildings to the left and right, but from where she was standing she could make out the entrance to what looked like a mini town square of cobblestone and a fountain. Blinking she hurried forward. As she came closer the road slowly turned from dirt to cobblestone and she could hear her footsteps on it, and people walking around!.....WAIT! NO!! NOT JUST PEOPLE!! Walking talking animals and things! THAT THERE WAS A DEAR IN A FANCY DRESS CARRYING A BASKET!! AND THAT THERE WAS AN ELF!!....AND THAT THING WAS A TREE WITH ARMS, LEGS, AND WEARING AN OLD TIMEY SUIT!! She stopped where the forest met the town and her jaw dropped in absolute WONDER.

IT. WAS. A. VILLAGE. RIGHT. OUT. OF. A. FAIRYTALE!! Cobblestone everywhere, things out of stories walking around, and the buildings even looked like those old wooden cabins in storybooks, or cotteges with straw roofs. Either way it was fantastic. Umbrella still in hand and red eyes blinking around in wonder, she slowly stepped her way in looking at the brightly colored houses of different colors and designs and all the different people walking around. ...It really was real and so different and EXCITING AND AMAZING!! No one was the same from her first glance and she almost tripped from bumping into a giant walking spoon man holding hands with a giant plate wearing a dress and hat.

"S-Sorry," She called back before looking around again.

Her stomach growled smelling the good food again and she looked over and noticed there was a bakery opened not to far from her. Above the bakery's door it read "Muffin's and Gingerbread's Breads and Goodies." She guessed that must've been the Muffin Man's and Gingerbread man's family business. ...Too bad she didn't have any money or what was used for money down here. All this walking really worked up an appitite....What was she looking for again? OH YEAH!! Granny Cottege. She looked around and began to walk around aimlessly glancing at the many, many buildings around the place and peeking into alleyways. 'Mother Goose Library'. 'Town Hall.' 'GodMother's School House'....An actual one room school building with a bed like in ye olden days. 'Ye Olde Brave Tailor.' 'Merry Lane Doctor.' ...LOTS of fairytale puns. But no 'Granny's Cottage.' She must've been looking for what must've been an hour by now and still no signs of it. 'Can't miss it' huh? Against her better judgement she decided to stop someone and ask for directions. It looked like a wizard. The old man in a long robe and witch like hat stopped patiently and didn't seem too bothered by her question. In return to her question, he pointed down at an alleyway between two buildings and said it was just down that alleyway. She thanked him and hurried away towards where he had pointed. Darting between the mysterious people until she got there. The alleyway was dark but there was a light at the back of the tunnel, her desperation to find a way home somewhere overpowered any sketchy feeling she might've had and compelled her to walk down it. Allison was in complete shade for a few moments, but it disappeared as soon as she reached the end. The alleyway was nothing but a dead end with garbage cans and some litter laying about. But before her was a large black door and a sign above it read Granny's Cottage. FINALLY she found it! A smile came over her face as she approached the door and didn't hesitate to open it. Inside was NOT what she was expecting.

The loud sound of laughter filled the air and she catiously poked her head in and blinked at what was before her. LOTS of buff looking pirates and thieves she thought, witches and wizards wearing dark clothes, and other ruffians. ....Wow. She guessed there must've been ...'bad' people like classic story book villains and thieves but she didn't expect to stumble across a whole bunch of them. She took a few steps in and stopped wondering if maybe she shook turn around- She yelped and took a few steps aside as two buff looking men charged towards the open door with another third man in their grip she watched as they tossed him out laughing before one slammed the door shut and laughed even more and they turned and stomped back to a table of pirate looking men who held up mugs of she guessed beer towards them....She wondered if this is what Chesire meant by dangers of his world? She didn't have much chance to find out though as she sucked in a deep breath and began to walk towards the bar? This place looked like a tavern, an old version of a bar, only this one had a stage and giant old worn curtain near the far back. No one paid her any mind as she stepped around and under arms holding out mugs, dodging a few spills from the foul smelling beer. A man with an eye patch was wiping out a wooden mug at the counter and had that classic apron and small mustache like old bartenders had and looked up at her as she approached- Before yelping and ducking her head from a flying mug that landed on the floor behind the bar. The bartender didn't even flinch as it spilt at his feet and only gave Allison a bored look.

"Watcha want here girly? You seem kinda outta place in a crowd of rowdy ruffians like us." He sneered at her as she slowly looked around to make sure nothing would come back flying at her. Before blinking back up to the man.

"N-No! I d-don't want anything to drink. I-I'm just here looking for something."

"Uh huh. And just might who that be little lady? We don't usually see you're kind around here."

She looked at him and with a quiver in her voice said, "I-I'm looking f-f-for The Twiddle Sisters? I-I was told they perform here."

He huffed before going back to his cup. "Well, you're lucky then. They're about to perform now."

She didn't have time to even ask before the loud cheers of drunken laughter turned to cheers and whistles of joy and the bar tender looked past her, she looked over where he was looking and noticed everyone looking towards the stage near the very back of the whole place and she blinked.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A lady's voice sung out from somewhere as the cheers and whistles grew. "It is with great pleasure that I present to you the Twiddle Sisters!"

The old raggedy curtain rose much to the cheers and she blinked again. WHAT THE WHAT?! What was revealed was not one but TWO women sharing one body....L-LIKE CONJOINED TWINS!! The strange ladies were dressed in a dark pink burlesque outfit and a long feather boa.Like one of those old 1920's flapper girls. One lady had dark pink hair which she had in a ponytail. Her sister she guessed had MUCH longer very pale pink hair, almost light also in a ponytail. As they were presented they really hammed up themselves by fluttering their eyes, one head waved white the other blew a kiss towards the cheering crowd. Behind them was three witches. Backup singers?? Everyone quieted down as music suddenly began playing from somewhere and she-..Uh..They got into a pose as she watched.

"I'm not Snow white but I'm lost inside this forest.~ I'm not red Riding Hood but I think the wolves have got me.~" The twin with the short dark pink ponytail sang as she walked along the stage and put one hand to her forehead while the one on her sister's side remained on their hip. " Don't want your glass slippers.~ I'm not, not Cinderella.~ I don't need a knight, so baby take off all your armor.~" She stepped along the stage again and men cheered and whistled as they walked past. "Your be the beast-" They leaned down to poke a guy's nose as they past and his comrade pulled him back from the stage. "-and I'll be the beauty, beauty.~ Who needs true love, as long as you love me truly, truly.~ I want it all but I want you more.~ Will you wake me up boy if I bite your poison apple?~"

"I don't believe in fairytales~," both girls sung out this time as they stopped center stage. The three back up witch singers sang 'Oh, no, no, no.' as they said that. "I don't believe in fairytales.~ I don't believe in fairytales.~ But I believe in you and me.~ Take me to Wonderland!!" All five girls sung as one for the next few verses now as the sisters danced and swung their hips expertly in place. "Take me to, Take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Wonderland, Wonderland.~"

"When I lay down to go to sleep at night.~," the dark pinked haired twin sang again as her twin and the back ground dancers stayed silent now, but the backup singers bouncing to the beat. "My dreams consist of things that'd make you wanna hide.~ Don't let me in your tower.~ Show me your magic powers.~ I'm not afraid to face a little bit of danger, danger.~ " At the last 'danger' they reached one of their legs out to kicked back a burly one eyed man back from the stage with the sweetest smiles. "I want the love, the money, and the perfect ending.~ You want the same as I, I.~ So stop pretending.~ I wanna show you how good we could be together.~ I wanna love you through the night.~ We'll be a sweet disaster.~"

"I don't believe in fairytales.~" Again both heads sung as another 'Oh, no, no, no.' came from the witches. "I don't believe in fairytales.~ I don't believe in fairytales.~ But I believe in you and me.~" Again as they repeated the next verses they all sung as one and Allison had to admit that they all had good voices, especially the one sister who was singing. "Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, Take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~" That same expert swing dance in one place. Allison briefly wondered how long it took two sisters to agree and practice it? "Take me to, Take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Wonderland, Wonderland.~"

"Wonderlaaaaaand!!~ Oh!! Woah oh, oh!!" The dark pink haired twin sang loud and echoed throughtout the place. "Woah oh, oh!!~ Woah oh, oh!~ I believe in you and me!~ "

"I don't believe in fairytales!!~" Both heads sung together again only a little louder. "I don't believe in fairytales.~ I don't believe in fairytales.~ "

"But I believe in you and me!!~," The original sung out by herself.

"Take me to Wonderland.~," All five ladies on stage sung as one again, "Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~" "I BELEIVE IN YOU IN ME!!~" The original singer sung out as the other four ladies continued to finish up the song. "Wonderland!!~ Take me to, take me to!~ Take me to Wonderland!!~ Take me to, take me to!~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to, take me to.~ Take me to Wonderland.~ Take me to WOnderland!!~ TAKE ME TO WONDERLAND!!~"

The cheers and roars of the rowdy crowed was inevitable as all five ladies on stage took a bow, but that wasn't the end of the performance as Allison discovered when a different song began to play again from somewhere. The twins stood back up and took a stance as if to start another part of their performance. Allison blinked and found herself walking towards the front of the stage as the crowd began to die down from the first performance. This time a much deeper beat and music box sounding piano played from somewhere she couldn't see. Not that she was paying attention to anyone else but the two on stage.

"My friends don't walk they run.~ Skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun.~," this time the other sister with the longer very light pink haired ponytail sang out by herself as they slowly sashayed across the stage. "Poppin, poppin ballons with pins.~ Getting wild with barbarians.~ We paint white roses red.~ Each shade a different version of red.~ This dream, dream is a thriller.~ Getting wild with a small caterpillar.~" The paler haired twin suddenly reached up to run her gloved hand down her face. "Now I'm feeling the rush to my face.~ Cause I hate being so plaaa-a-ain.~ What's normal?~ They make me addled.~ The wilds.~ They make me feel safe.~" She suddenly sang in a louder tone when the next few versus came. "I'm nuts, baby.~ I'm mad.~ The craziest friend you've ever had.~ You think I'm Psycho, you think I'm gone.~ Tell our friends to follow along.~ Over the bend.~ Entirely bonkers.~ You like me best when I'm leading along.~ Tell you a secret.~" She made a motion as if to beckon the audience closer. " Im not alarmed.~ So what if I'm mad?~ The best people are.~ All the best people are mad, yeah.~ All the best people are.~''

Her voice like her sister's was very pretty, and sounded very different from her sisters. The light haired pink twin's voice was higher pitched but not enough to sound annoying. It sounded quite lovely and smooth.

"Where is my shrink potion?~" Allison was pulled back out of her thoughts as she began singing again. She now noticed the witch back up singers were gone and the dark haired twin who sung before was being very quiet smiling as her sister sang. "Witches, witches please listen.~ My forgetfulness is rattled.~ You can Alice, I'll be the Mad Hatter.~" She pointed out at the audience when she said Alice before pointing back to herself. "Now I'm feeling the rush to my face.~ Cause I hate feeling so Plaaa-a-ain.~ What's normal?~ They make me addled.~ The wilds.~ The make me feel safe.~" She once again spoke in a louder tone as she repeated the last verses from before. "I'm nuts.~ Baby, I'm mad.~ The craziest friend you've ever had.~ You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone.~ Tell our friends to follow along.~ Over the bend.~ Entirely bonkers.~ You like me best when I'm leading along.~ Tell you a secret.~" Again the motion to beckon the audience but they stepped back when another man with a giant mustache was yanked back by his pal. "I'm not alarmed.~ So what if I'm mad?~ The best people are.~ You think I'm really?~" They slowly started to step around stage as they sang. "You think I'm mad.~ So what if I'm really?~ All the best people are.~ And I think your funny too.~ I know you're mad.~ That's probably the reason that we get along.~" They turned around and started walking back towards the center of the stage. "I'm nuts, baby.~ I'm mad.~ The craziest friend you've ever had.~ You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone.~ Tell our friends to follow along.~ Over the bend.~ Entirely bonkers.~ You like me best when I'm leading along.~ Tell you a secret.~" They stopped back at middle stage and the twin currently singing held her hand up. "I'm not alarmed.~ So what if I'm really?~ The best people are.~" They stayed in one place and bounced to the beat as she sang. "All the best people are really.~ All the best people are.~ All the best people are mad, yeah.~ All the best people are.~"

The music cut out just as they finished singing and another loud roar of laughter louder than before came from the crowd as the girls bowed and blew kisses at their adoring fans and Allison reached up her own hands to cover her ears from the loud clapping and cheers. YOWCH!! THAT HURT!! Gripping the umbrella in one hand and stepping back, not noticing she stepped on one touch looking wizard's long robe. The music started up for a third time and Allison watched as they put their hands on their hips and just simply bounced along to the music this time, as the pale pink haired twin spoke.

"Just imagine a trip to a wonderous land.~ Of candy, and Jam.~ And ice cream.~"

"I gotta hit the road, you better watch it.~ With a little bag full of big tricks.~", The pink haired twin took over singing as her sister once again fell silent to her lead. "I got the voice, got the pitch, got to keep it undercover.~ All in the air, just to sing it out.~ See the stone cold face, try to knock it.~ I can't be stopped.~ Never walked.~ Gotta run it.~ I gotta be wit it, I gotta be with it.~ I gotta beda-"

A loud yell made everyone stop and look down into middle stage, Allison tripped and fell back on her bum just as the bartender was walking by with drinks. The wizard's cloak that Allison had accidentally been standing on had snagged on the wizard's neck when he tried to stand and choked him, he turned around furious not looking at Allison on the ground. Only seeing the baretender standing in her place. Angered he pushed the bartender without another word sending him flying back and spilling the beer all over the men behind him. The pirates yelled in anger as beer was poured all over them and in retaliation one threw his mug at the wizard who quickly ducked. The cup flew across the bar and hit another VERY large man sitting at a table of seven other beefy men and they immediately stood after their leader was hit in the head by a mug and covered in beer. Which lead to more beer and cups anf chairs being thrown, to people becoming more angry, to starting to throw punches, and TURNING INTO AN ALL OUT BAR FIGHT!! The women on stage covered their heads with their arms, before darting to the left of the stage as the curtains closed.

"HEY!! Wait!" Allison quickly scrambled to her feet and quickly made a beeline for the stage as the curtains closed. Lifting up her dress a little allowing her to jump over fallen men or chairs easier or move when ducking under something flying over her head. THIS IS WHY SHE HATED DRESSES!! Her heart beats picked up as she moved and once she got to the stage, she jumped onto the thing and pulled herself up onto it. Crawling umbrella in one hand fast to the curtain as it just touched the bottom of the stage. She took one last look behind her, winced at a glass breaking sound, and quickly pushed up the bottom of the old curtain to crawl underneath it. But she didn't stop there, quickly standing she looked left to where the twins ran and saw a brown door. She bolted towards it, ignoring the curtain moving or the noises of the stage as something hit them. The door burst opened and slammed when Allison pressed her back to it breathing heavily....before sighing and closing those red eyes, leaning her head onto the door. "Well, that went well." She looked back around and noticed she was in what looked like a hallway, blinking she pushed away from the door. The faint sounds of the bar fight still going on but fading as she walked along. It was barely lit and hard to see. But there was a few doors to the right, she looked at them pondering which ones the twins took.

"Well tonight was a disaster." She stopped and blinked at the sudden voice as it came threw the walls. "At least we won't get blamed for it. It's not our fault the guy made another person mad." "Ha! Yeah right. Did you see him tonight?" What sounded like two women laughing together was enough to encourage Allison to walk faster and followed the muffled sounds of talking and laughing until she found the source coming from the back of one of the very last few doors. She stopped in front of it. Should she knock? Taking in a deep breath, Allison shakily reached a hand over. And knocked on the door. The sounds of happy chatter on the other side disappeared immediately and Allison froze. .....A long silence passed until a voice spoke. "Who is it?"

She opened her throat to speak but her answer came out a nervous stutter, "I-I-I...I-I c-came to talk to you two...I n-n-need to ask you something."

Another long pause-.....

"You may enter." Allison's hand shakily grasped the doorknob as she took a big inhale. Pausing for a moment before letting it out and slowly....SLOWLY pushing the door open and letting it open by itself fully revealing the three women to each other. The room was filled with classic 'star' items such as a well furnished bed, a giant wardrobe, and a fancy vanity which the two were sitting in front of right now. The three of the held a small staring contest, before the sisters looked at each other then back at Allison. "Who are you?," The light pink haired one asked.

"A-A-Allison. ..*ahem* My name's Allison. I need your help...please."

...They blinked and looked suspicious. "And how can exactly can WE help YOU?"

"I-I need to know where to find the Fortune Teller." Both blinked in surprise as she frowned and looked at them. "PLEASE!! He's my only chance of getting home and...A-And I heard you two would know where to find him."

They must've heard the desperation in their voice because the dark haired one reached her hand out to come in. "Close the door." Allison quickly did so and the two relaxed back. Well the dark pink haired one was looking at her with a studying gaze as her sister still looked confused. "....Come in and sit down. I'm Deedee." The twin with the short ponytail pointed to herself as Allison slowly shuffled over to the bed to sit down. And then she gestured to her sister, the one with longer hair. "And this is my sister, Dumea. ...Why do you want to know where the Fortune Teller is?"

Allison swallowed under their hard gazes. "I-I...I'm really lost. I-I need a por-....Rabbit-thole to get back to there." Both looked surprised again before looking at each other. "PLEASE!! Please. I have a friend who might be hurt waiting for me and I was told you two might know where to find him!"

....."So the rumors were true." They looked back to her. "A human really did fall down here." They leaned forward and gave her a concerned look. "It's not safe for you here." "If the Queen or her guards find you," Dumea cut in tone worried, "You'll be forced to perform in one of her fights. And she never loses. Her magic's too powerful." Allison's eyes shrank and her eyes dropped.

"....W-W-What?"

"The Hearts are jealous and fearful tyrant family that's ruled for generations. They're a very old family with strong magic that gets stronger with each generation," They continued, "The worst was Queen Velvet Hearts' parents. They wiped out nearly all the Chesires and destroyed most of the rabbitholes almost fourteen years ago."

Allison's mind wretched back to Chesire...remember how he proclaimed himself last of the Chesires-....And leaned back with a disgusted look on her face. "...That's why he was against me coming here...That's aweful!" She looked back to them. "Why would they do that?!"

Deedee shook her head. "The family was always crazy. They blamed outsiders of treason for the history the Brothers Grim shared with your world. Since then all outsiders are viewed as enemies and if any of them were to come into the Hearts kingdom they would spend the rest of their lives in the dungeon...or worse." "Queen Velvet is MUCH better than her parents or other ancestors were, but she'll still see you as a threat and lock you away. But not before making you fight to earn your freedom back before she locks you up like she does with anyone else who upsets her."...."Like us."

Allison blinked and an even more annoyed look appeared on her face. "Make you fight her? What did you guys do to hurt her and What kind of punishment is that?!"

"A much fairer one than her anscestors would've given us." "The Queen...still has traits of jealousy and vanity in her heart as all Hearts do. We used to perform for the royal court, but the Queen proclaimed we were trying to ruin her performances. So she challenged us and...." "W-We lost and she banned us from ever stepping foot in the castle again. Now we have to sing and live her to get by." "It's not a bad punishment. I'd rather get banned than thrown in the dungeon-" "But that's why you must leave." Deedee gave her a frightened look. "She's too powerful for you to take on and already there's rumor's of the queen sending guards to capture you. If you look you'll be trapped here forever."

Allison face became wide in fear and she looked at them in desperation. "T-That's why I gotta find him! He's the only one who could know how to get me back! PLEASE!! PLEASE TELL ME ANYTHING!!"

...The two sighed. "It's true we heard rumors about where he lives, but we've never seen him. Only heard of where he might live and even we aren't sure."

"PLEASE!! I'll take anything! If it means I can go home!"

....."We do not wish you to end up in our situation." "So we will tell you what we know."

Allison thanked whatever deities were listening to her prayers and gave a shuddering exhale hanging her head and looking at them. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you so much!"

"No need to thank us. You might not even find the results you want." "We heard from whispers from the courtroom's nobles that he may live in the Giant mushroom Field east of the castle, but that's all we heard and it's not gaurenteed because no one's ever seen him and told the location of his hide away."

"H-How do I get there?"

"The mushrooms. Follow the glowing pink mushrooms, they always lead right to it.".....Another pause before one Twiddle sister pointed in the direction behind them. "There's a trail that just starts on the south edge of town. The farmers use them to go collect mushrooms on the edge of the misty field before coming home to not get lost." "You should leave now. While you still have time." They stood up as they ushered her off the bed. "We'll sneak you out the back way, but you MUST leave right away. Rumors travel faster than you think and if you can't find the Fortune Teller then you'll need the head start to escape the Queen."

Allison's heart picked up pace slightly as the sisters quickly ushered her towards the door and what would eventually be her back exit. ...Getting back home just got a whole lot harder.

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ntslttrspxls · 7 years

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Games I finished in 2016

(not necessarily from that year) Sooo, I’m a bit late when it comes to my personal gaming retrospective of 2016. BUT here goes. It has been a successful year when it comes to gaming for me. I completed a few titles that have been really fun, long overdue or just surprisingly surprising because I hadn’t heard of them ever before. I completed 16 games, which not necessarily came out in 2016 but were still on my list. So here’s what I played last year and below you’ll find detailed opinions on them.

1. Transformers Devastation (PS3)

First game I finished in 2016 ‘cause I got it for Christmas in 2015. First things first: I love Platinum Games, although I don’t love all their games alike. But the company itself I appreciate a lot, especially for the Bayonetta series. And they made a Transformers game that looks like the old 80s cartoon and not the dark, modern Michael Bay crap the Transformers have become these days? ‘Awesome’, I thought and I wasn’t disappointed. Yes, the level design is very repetitive and has a lot of, well not back tracking but let’s say they recycle the setting a lot: there’s a city, one part is active for one mission, then you proceed to a different part for another mission and eventually come back to the first part for the third mission. Not exactly refreshing but you still get to shoot or punch Decepticons in the face with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Sideswipe or Wheeljack. Plus later in the game the settings vary a little more. The gameplay is classical Platinum games style: run around, beat shit up, collect stuff mainly to get stronger, proceed, repeat. Exactly what a proper Transformers videogame needs. It has the typical Bayonetta-style “witch time” effect where you evade an attack at the right moment just to enter a slow-motion mode for a few seconds where your enemies are slow and you keep on banging. All is well. It looks totally like the TV series which kiddo-me loved to death, the soundtrack is a mixture of badass metal, dubstep (ugh, I used the word) and neo-/modern metal. RAD! So: nothing to complain here. Sure, it could be more diverse and stuff, but it gave me exactly what I wanted and expected from the game. I had a hell of a time with this one. And you could even get more out of it because there is a looting and crafting concept where enemies drop parts and weapons which you then can combine into more powerful or more diverse weapons (take a strong machine gun and combine it with an ice-effect machine gun and you get a strong ice-effect MG; you get the point). It’s fun to experiment with different weapons and combine so many until you find the perfect weapon for every Autobot. So if you’re a fan of the 80s cartoon series: pick it up! Now! It’s become dirt cheap pretty quickly. No excuses. (picture credit: Steam)

2. Yoshi��s Woolly World (WiiU)

Got this as a present, too. For my birthday in 2015 by my good friend and gaming buddy Christian. Not much to say here, either. It’s a Nintendo game. So naturally it looks gorgeous, the gameplay will work just fine and it will be a lot of fun. To be precise: yes, it did exactly this. But in a really great way. The graphics are extremely unique and innovative. The wool&yarn setting provides so many new takes on level design, art direction and gameplay ideas that the Nintendo team could just go nuts with it. With Yoshis tongue as a tool you can for example untie parts of the level to “unravel” (sic!) hidden passages it’s just adorable how you go “Aaahh”, each time you find something. Everything looks like good ol’ grandma knitted it herself with all the love she can put into a woolly stuffed animal or pillow. Everything looks organic and handmade which sets the game into a very graspable and physical world. Plus, typical for Nintendo: it’s not only for kids. Sure, it’s cute and all but the levels are actually pretty challenging. Especially if you want to collect all the thingamabobs and collectibles you can get in each level: collect five balls of yarn in each level to unlock a new colored Yoshi you can pick to play with. So the completionist really gets something out of this. Long story short: it’s a wonderful title and not just another Nintendo game but really creative, especially in game design and level design. (picture credit: Amazon)

3. Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture (PS4)

I heard about it shortly before I got a PS4 and I simply don’t play games on my PC or Mac that often. So I bought it right away because the idea and art style stoked me. The art style is not very, unique, since it’s basically pretty realistic. But the town they created is selling it. It’s authentic. You can visit the houses, they look as if people lived here a short time ago. Which is what actually happened. It’s one of the slightly patronizingly named “Walking Simulators”. I don’t think that this genre specification is derogatory because it just says what it is: you walk around a setting and explore things without too much interaction. In the end the voice acting and the mystical story behind the game took me by the hand and led me through the experience and left me thinking. I love it when games make me think about what I’ve just witnessed. So here’s to a great Walking Simulator with wonderful sound, story and voice acting. (picture credit: Polygon)

4. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of The Moon (Wii)

This was recommended to me by a friend who told me that I’d love it because he knew my preferences in videogames, which he does. Farewell Ruins of the Moon is some kind of, well, it feels like a survival horror adventure at the beginning of the survival horror genre. Think early PS2 or Dreamcast era. The battle mechanics are dusty and wodden, the item management is tedious and a little annoying, the graphics are one step behind what was standard on the Wii. But still I grew to enjoy the game because of the beautiful setting, characters and story. Your main character is kind of left in a world where there’s not much left at all. He has to find out what happened and if there are others left, too. You find a girl which then runs away. From then on you try to find her. And after accepting that it’s like playing a good PS2 game instead of a polished Wii game I started loving everything about it (apart from the things I just criticised). I played it with original japanese voice and subtitles which made me enjoy the game a helluva lot more. I love japanese culture and it made the game better! Now it felt like an early take on what later became NIER, which I totally adore. The battle system is not really similar, but in a small scope I guess does have comparisons. But setting and look feel a little bit like Caviars masterpiece on Xbox360 and PS3 NIER. Over the course of the game you meet different characters and their respective background stories, which is really similar to NIER. All in all I recommend this game to anyone who can overlook the obvious flaws and who still enjoys PS2-era action-adventure games in an anime setting with a great story. (picture credit: Romulation.net)

5. Until Dawn (PS4)

Well, this is interesting. I heard a (german) podcast (Insert Moin) about Until Dawn before I owned a PS4 and heard them speak about this horror game with stereotype story, stereotype characters and overall very flat features. But they still said that the looks and the execution of these uninspired basic ideas totally hooked them. So I tried it and MAN was this a good horror game. And not only because they hired so many good actors to play the parts of the characters (like Rami Malek from Mr. Robot) but because the horror just kept up with the pace of the game. Each time I thought, “All right, brace yourself for the next expectable jump-scare” - it didn’t happen. The setting was just about right, the sound, the camera angle, the tension and then… nothing. “Whoops, okay. Maybe lat— BOOM”, and there it was. Shocked me to the core. Every_flippin’_time! I love myself a good horror game. But I’ve played so many that most of the “scary effects” just don’t touch me anymore. So here’s Until Dawn which actually has an intriguing storyline that makes you want to find out what’s behind all of it, with it’s stereotypical characters who actually react pretty well to each other depending on how you decide to play each and everyone of them. It’s a little like Heavy Rain with more characters that you can all play and a more horror setting (and with less shitty controls and a less shitty ending). Any horror game or -movie fan should play this! (picture credit: Until Dawn Wikia) 6. Uncharted 4 (PS4)

Well, it’s Uncharted. It’s like Indiana Jones but without Nazis and, well, that’s about it. I loved Uncharted 2, didn’t care for part 1 too much and haven’t played 3 because everybody said it’s boring and focused too much on the failed 3D-TV feature. But part 4 really got me again. I think it’s the best Uncharted after 2, as far as I can compare them all. Pirates, wonderful graphics, good ol’friends and foes, nice acting… A very good game. (picture credit: Playstation.com)

7. ABZÛ (PC)

I already posted something about this game right after I played it. Short: It’s JOURNEY underwater. But it’s not just that. It’s very beautiful, a lot of fun to just swim around and for every diving-fan a must play. The more you play it the more gorgeous it gets. Wonderful game. A story told without words. Always totally gets me. Plus like its spiritual predecessor Journey the soundtrack was written by the amazing Austin Wintory (link in the next bit). (picture credit: abzugame.com) 8. Journey (PS4)

There’s not much to say about JOURNEY these days. Anyone who hasn’t played it yet misses out on one of the best and most artistic approaches to videogames in the entire history of the medium. It is the first video game that was ever nominated for a Grammy for its marvellous soundtrack by amazing composer Austin Wintory (it didn’t win, but it was nominated!). It has one of the best online-multiplayer experiences ever where you meet other players along the way through the game who are in the same level as you and you then simply meet. Since there is no teamspeak, nor can you see the gamertag of that person, you have to communicate (if you want to approach the other player) through jumping, making a noise and walking and waiting if the other player follows you. Play it. Please play Journey. I finished it about 4 times now since release and in 2016 for the first time on PS4. It’s always a unique experience. Here the story is also told without any words, spoken or written. Absolutely my joint. (picture credit: thatgamecompany.com)

9. Love You To Bits (iOS)

This little 2D-puzzle adventure on iOS comes from a few artists behind Tiny Thief (which is very visible, but not in a negative way). You are are guy who’s in love with a robot girl. She gets destroyed and you have to search the whole universe to collect her bits and reassemble her. It’s incredibly detailed and shows a great deal of thought they put into the level design, little anecdotes and reminiscenses to other games. For example in one level there you go to an arcade and have to collect tokens from the arcade machines in order to exchange them for a prize that you need. These arcade machines are all teeny tiny games on their own. One Zelda-style, one Metroid-style and one other classic I just forgot about (I think it wasn’t Mario but something similar). Also it has the classic point-and-click humor to it that you want to click on a person or an item more than once because it’s just funny to watch what happens each time. There’s not only one single reaction. Each level has so many different layers of obvious beauty, deeper design of the puzzles and incredible re-defining ideas of how the level design and game design can be altered in order to keep up the playing experience. Very well done and it has a lot of levels that kept me playing for a long long time for a mobile game. Plus there are some collectibles that are actually fun to discover because they mostly are incorporated in little extra puzzles that you don’t have to solve to complete the level but if you like the challenge it’s great. Again: story without words. I LOVE it to bits. (picture credit: loveyoutobits.com)

10. The Bug Butcher (PS4)

Buddies of a buddie of mine made this Super Putty-like game. It kinda looks like some sort of Super Meat Boy in space with the Super Putty game mechanics. It’s good, short fun with very well animated enemies, a good weapons and upgrades system and a nice fast paced gameplay. Definitely a recommendation for all of you old school gamers out there. There’s really not much more to say about it. You play some sort of pest-control bug smasher and have to rid a lab from alien bugs and other creatures. Level by level you eliminate waves of bugs, trying to keep up your combo and collecting nice temporary weapon updates. It’s good fun and also a great co-op title, I suppose (haven’t played in two player mode yet). (picture credit: awfullynicestudios.com) 11. Shovel Knight (WiiU)

Wuahahaha, Shovel Knight is SO MUCH of everything I loved about the NES. It’s Mega Man, Castlevania, Metroid, Contra, Faxanadu and Zelda II in ONE GAME COMBINED. I love it a lot. The gameplay surely is inspired by all the aforementioned games but Yacht Games made it clear that they simply took everything they loved about these kinds of games and forged something beautiful out of it instead of just copying the good. It’s highly detailed in art style, music, game design and feel of the game that I couldn’t leave my hands off of it until I finished it. Some levels were actually too challenging so I left them out (well, the optional ones, naturally; otherwise I couldn’t have finished it) but overall it’s never too frustrating. Like in Super Meat Boy (my go-to example of perfect game design) Shovel Knight lets you know where you went wrong when you die and gives you a chance to make things right in collecting the loot that you lost dying. All in all it’s a great game for all the NES-lovers out there. Play it! No matter the system (Wii, Vita, PS4, 3DS) - it’s awesome! Oh, and check out the soundtrack by Jake Kaufman who also did some wonderful soundtracks for my beloved Shantae series, Double Dragon Neon and Mighty Switch Force. Get it here on Bandcamp for name-your-price (and please pay a buck or two for it; it’s totally worth it). (picture credit: yachtclubgames.com)

12. Pony Island

Yeah… one of the weirdest and still most intriguing games I’ve ever played, I’d say. It makes you think that the game actually f*cks with your computer. It’s fascinating how for example it tricks you into thinking that your computer does something regularly only for you to realize that it was a decoy. Overall the coding sequences, the weird jump’n’run passages and the general “genre”… it’s one of a kind. I also wrote a seperate review on this one. For that check this older post. (picture credit: giga.de) 13. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4)

Yet another “walking simulator”, but with a twist. We have some strange meta-puzzles going on here, some David Lynchian shenanigans going on and overall a sad but interesting story to unravel. You’re a detective or PI of some sort who tries to find out what happened with Ethan Carter. The story is told via ghostly visualizations of past events of the former townspeople. Setting/graphics is good and the whole game is always good for a surprise. Check it out. (picture credit: theastronauts.com)

14. Adventure Time: Finn&Jake Investigations (PS4)

“Who wants to play videogames?” I love Adventure Time and this game feels basically like playing Adventure Time. It’s an adventure (duh!) and this genre suits the TV show very well. The dialogues are funny, the voices are real (except, I’m not sure and too lazy to google but Lumpy Space Princess didn’t sound quite right; she might have been voiced by someone else) and the graphics are beautifully detailed. Just as in the show. And you have Marceline, Ice King, Tree Trunks, Finn and Jake of course, Beamo, LSP, Cinnamon Butler, Starchy, Bubblegum Princess, Flame Princess… everyone you love. The puzzles are rather simple and overall it’s a game for kids, I’d say. Still I had a lot of fun with it. (picture credit: Steam)

15. Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse (3DS)

Now here’s my discovery of the year! I actually downloaded the Game Boy Color game on my 3DS before after a buddy of mine recommended it to me. But I haven’t spent much time with it. Then Humble released a 3DS bundle, so I got Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse, too. And this is one of the best (even if it’s not the deepests but still good) Metroidvania games I have played in a long long time. The setting is utterly fresh and unique with Shantae being a half-genie who protects an island from pirates and such. The graphics are like a mixture of anime and Disney and the characters are adorable, even the bad ones. The level design is beautiful and very diverse. There’s Metroidvania-typical back tracking which is still fun because of the great level design and art style: you can remember where there was that one particular item you could only get if you are able to jump higher, if you know what I mean. The boss fights are great, the items are good, the only thing I would have wished for is more character development as in Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night. There are some permanent improvements of Shantae but some of them I didn’t use that much. But I guess that’s true also for Metroid and Castlevania. I fell in love with the franchise, bought XSEEDs boxed version of the new “1/2 Genie Hero” for PS4 (finally HD sprites) and the older versions from Limited Run Games. I’m happy that Shantae is in my life now. :) Awesome Soundtrack by Jake Kaufman again. (picture credit: Playstation Store)

16. Dragon’s Crown (PS3)

And finally I completed Dragon’s Crown. I simply adore Vanilla Ware’s art style. It’s perfect. It’s manga style with a traditional japanese AND a traditional medieval touch. It’s so unique. Although the overly lascivious looks of some female characters in the game stirred up quite the discussion. I myself think that it’s beautiful and not sexist. The women characters are just as overly exaggerated as the male ones and just so they are equally strong. But it’s not just the looks of Vanilla Ware. They make astonishing games, too. The gameplay of Dragon’s Crown is basically a simple side scroll hack’n’slash like Castle Crashers or Golden Axe. There’s much more character development though, like in Diablo. With the use of Runes you can use magic, you grind for nice weapon drops and stats increase and you constantly mix up your party with the revived warriors whose bones you brought back from your battles. The story is told well without cinematics but with great slightly animated still pictures of the characters, each of which you could print and hang on your wall easily. So well made. Plus after one complete run (it took me 18 hours) there’s the new game + with new tasks, side quests, harder enemies and basically the same levels in more difficult if you want to get the most out of the game. I highly recommend this to any fan of the aforementioned games or any real time RPGs.

(picture credit: dealspwn.com)

P.S.: all pictures I took from teh internets. I credited each page where I got the pics from. If any owner of these pictures wants me to take them down, just let me know and I’ll follow accordingly.

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