4/2/23-4/8/23; 4/9/23-4/15/23
Combining two weeks into one this week, not that I think anyone really reads this stuff or anything. Either way, I didn’t feel like doing this last week, so here we are.
Toree 3D and Toree 2
These games are totally solid platfomers, definitely in the vein of the original PlayStation, with a bright, colorful, low-poly aesthetic. They’re short, but they offer a great deal of replayability to anyone who wants to speedrun it. Also, each one is $1 on Steam, so no real reason to not pick them up. A far word of warning, it’s not as cute as it seems, and if you wanted to sit a kid down in front of this, you may lightly traumatize them. Hey, if that’s what you’re looking for though, here it is.
Resident Evil 2
I had an odd revelation recently that I basically own every single Resident Evil game in one form or another and yet I never actually played any of them. I decided it was time to remedy that situation, so I started with what is largely considered to be the best in the series. But which Resident Evil 2 would I play?
I started out with the remake, playing as Leon. Why Leon? Because Leon is an idiot, and we love him for that. I was a little way in, not even having encountered Mr. X yet, but I wanted to see what the original was like. Luckily, I have the Dual Shock Ver. on PS3, so I booted it up. And then I went into Arrange mode, just out of curiosity. And I started out with a sub-machine gun with unlimited ammo. Let me tell you, it’s a whole lot of fun to be able to mow down whatever stands in your way. It sure would be great to use that in the remake…
Okay, so I’m a scrub, and not a real gamer. I paid Capcom five extra dollars for the end-game unlocks early. I chain-gunned basically everything that stood in my way, before picking up the unlimited ammo rocket launcher for the end section. And then I played through Claire’s A Scenario almost entirely with the rocket launcher and quickly discovered that, even at point-blank range, the rockets don’t damage the player character and the game quickly became a walk in the park. And I loved it. It was still tense whenever a boss monster or Mr. X came up, but to quickly squash them down with a rocket never stopped being fun and hilarious in its own way.
I guess I don’t really know what to say about all this. From a technical standpoint, I can see how good it is, and why it is considered such a high point in the series and the genre of survival horror. But I didn’t play it that way, and I probably never will. But I recommend that? I don’t know. I don’t have the same sort of options in RE3, so we’ll see how long that lasts.
Outlaw Star
I first encountered this anime series is in the early days of Toonami, being one of the first ones they started airing after Dragonball Z became such a monstrous success. Weirdly though, I think it came after Tenchi Muyo! Go figure. I think there’s a good chance a lot of people see it as a weird rip-off of Cowboy Bebop: they both have charismatic, often-broke protagonists trying to make it in space; both of them were made by Sunrise; and somehow both of them originally aired in 1998. But for what it’s worth, I always preferred OS. Part of this could be the fact that the few times I ever caught Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim (you know, in-between episodes of Candidate for Goddess and Blue Gender), I only ever caught the last five minutes of the last episode ever aired. This happened like, three different times somehow, and the last episode of the series is not a good jumping off point for the rest of the series. I assume. I still haven't actually watched much of it. Outlaw Star just seemed to have a lot more going on.
It had been a while since I watched it, but I still think Outlaw Star is my favorite anime series. I’m a sucker for a dashing rogue and romantic adventure. Why yes, I am a Leiji Matsumoto fan. This is still one of the only times I’ve seen a science fantasy setting incorporate the fantastic and magical elements in a way that isn’t annoying. Not only is Tao Magic distinctly Chinese, but it’s ubiquitous in a way that other series rarely treat Space Magic(TM); Gene and Jim don’t react to the Kei pirates with confusion and amazement, but more annoyed that they have to implement different tactics.
I also appreciate the way the series plays its cards close to the chest. Pretty quickly, a mystery is set up with a cybernetic woman in a box, a ship built by both the Space Pirates and the Alliance Forces, but not much other details are given out, and there’s no indication of where the series will end up going until around the halfway point. When the Galactic Leyline is first brought up, no one seems to have a clue what it could actually be, including the person who’s telling them about it. I love it, and I think that it bleeds into my storytelling tendencies for better or worse.
SOUNDTRACKS
Soft Bloom by Cleyra
Obstacle Scattering by Rian Treanor
Flush Real Pharynx 2019-2021 by Lee Gamble
A Brief Utopia by Jinjé
Open unity by Jinjé
I really liked A Brief Utopia, but I lost my damn mind to this album. The second track here is absolutely perfect.
Torus by Carlos do Complexo
Cobalt Desert Oasis by Marco Shuttle
Ritual by Arthur Hnatek and Taut
Retreate Ites EP by Jurango
Hibernation by Know V.A.
This Moment of Silence by Denis Sulta
Lost Signal by Kilometre Club
Really didn’t hit for me.
Illustrations for Those Who by Tomas Bednarczyk
KUR by Eckert & Hagen and No Bloom Now
Sunspots by Celer
Simulacrum Remixes by Aho Ssan
Concrete Desert by The Bug and Earth
Change Ringing by Robert Ames
Hall Ov Fame by Tobias
If you’re into It, I’m Out of It by Christoph De Babalon
Beautiful!
Haunt Me by Tim Hecker
Possessed (Original Score) by Laurel Halo
Ashes by Anthony Linell
Autmoatism by SaffronKeira
A Trail of Laughters by Siavash Amini
Anomi by Sonja Tofik
Ray Neighbor by Cholosus
Soundtracks: Capri-Revolution by Apparat
Eyes of Fate by Not Waving and Romance
Speechless by Resina
How Much Time It Is Between You and Me? by Perila
Collagen by Lisa Lerkendfeldt
Harmony in Ultraviolet by Tim Hecker
Nuuk by Thomas Köner
Unseen Worlds by Laurie Spiegel
132,480 Minutes by 58918012
Gnosis by Hüma Utku
No Hay Recuerdo Que No Se Apague by Edgar Mondragón
For Those of You Have Never (And Also Those Who Have) by Huerco S.
Asunción by P.Lopez
Beings of Light by For Romeau