The Witch's House: An RPG Maker game where curiosity kills the cat

The Witch's House is a free horror RPG maker game created by Fummy and translated into English by VGPerson. It was originally released last October and has recently received an update. I have decided to finish this review just in time for Halloween, which would be as good a time as any to play it in the dark with headphones.

This is one of my absolute favorite RPG Maker games and is, in fact, my second favorite. I do not want to say that it's "under appreciated" or anything like that, but I do think it is overlooked because, at its surface, it looks only like one big jumpscare game.  Not to say that the game does not rely on jumpscares to frighten the player because it does. However, there is definitely a story here, and it will slap you in the face by the end of the game. It is just that the story is not overt. 

The Witch's House is available only for PC (Windows version 2000, XP, Vista, or 7). I do not know if it works on Windows 8 as I use Windows 7 but feel free to leave a comment if you know!

A few technical things before I launch into the full review. This game is pretty gory as far as such things can be in RPG maker. Death scenes can be graphically violent (ex, you can get stabbed, lose your head, etc). For that reason, I recommend the player be maybe fourteen or so (although Fummy says twelve and up). Children should definitely not play this game.  As I already said, there are a LOT of jumpscares. If you are easily prone to being scared, or have any sort of heart condition, I do not recommend this game, as the scares can surprise you and the chase scenes can be very stressful. There is one point later in the game where the scares will keep coming and coming, and that is a definite point where, if you are faint of heart, you are going to have a bad time.

Allow me to admit that when The Witch's House was first translated (into English), I had pretty high expectations after playing through Ib. Ib was scary... sort of (the current version, which is different from the one I played a year ago, is scarier), but The Witch's House was a terrifying, heart-pounding adventure, full of jumpscares and surprises. The game also had a tendency to punish the player for following instinct and curiosity. What I've learned from the game is that if a puzzle seems simple, I have probably done it incorrectly. 

The controls are pretty straightforward, standard RPG maker fare. Arrow keys to move, escape key to access the menu (which allows you to use your items and even load from a save file, which is nice), shift to run (one of the most important controls in the game), enter to confirm or interact. Those are the basics, but there are a couple of alternate keys you can use for them as well (listed in the readme). If you have played a previous version of The Witch's House, your save files should carry over.

The story of The Witch's House… well, it is not very clear until the end and, even then, depending on how you play and which ending you get, you may not get the full effect. You awaken as a teenage girl named Viola in the middle of the forest. Viola slashes down a patch of roses and discovers herself in a strange house that tries to kill her. As you progress, you will find many diaries left by a girl named Ellen which hold some back story on the apparent owner of the house. Along the way, Viola is helped along by a black cat who will tell her very little. To escape the murderous house, Viola must find something to destroy the roses blocking her path out of the forest. She is left only with one clue, a note that reads, "Come to my room."

Let's discuss the characters of the game! The truth is, there are not many characters. There are only three main characters that are present in the game. Viola is the main and player character. She is a thirteen year old girl who gets lost in a forest on the way to see a friend. There is also The Cat who is a black cat that Viola meets in the forest. He follows her into the mysterious house and acts as a save point. He does not have a lot of dialogue. The final character is The Witch, who seems to own the mysterious house Viola unknowingly wanders into. You learn about The Witch through various diaries strewn about the house. 

The Witch's House is a puzzle based horror game, meaning that puzzles must be solved to progress (á la Ib). Every puzzle has notes on the walls that hint at what must be done to solve the puzzle. The puzzles in this game are unique and enjoyable. I love that the puzzle (and game) mechanics play with one's expectations. One of my favorite puzzles in the game is the mirror room puzzle, where you must mirror objects in two rooms (incidentally, Mad Father, another RPG maker game, ended up doing something similar). The solutions to some of the puzzles rely on cruelty and gore, which is why I put a warning at the beginning of the post. Make no mistake, these puzzles can be difficult, but a good difficult!

It is important to note that upon completing certain puzzles, the player will be chased by some type of creature, which must be evaded (usually by leaving or entering a new room). If, at any time, the creature catches Viola, it's game over. Chase scenes are usually hinted by a sound or an object changing (breaking, closing, etc.,) These chase scenes tend to be the reason why I classify the puzzles as difficult. Even if you know that they are coming, if you get stuck or something, you will have to restart from your last save point.

As I mentioned in the introduction, the game punishes the player for following instinct. The best example of this is the very first puzzle of the game. Spoilers for the first puzzle, highlight if you do not mind it being spoiled: There is a dark room with a stain in the center and a note on the north wall. During my first playthrough, I thought I could walk straight to the note and, as soon as I tried, the walls closed in and killed me. That was when I knew that I was going to love this game. I love how the puzzles are never as simple as they may seem. 

The difficulty of The Witch's House is somewhat difficult to place. I would say it is anything from average to difficult. For a first time player, it is going to be challenging because the chases can come as a surprise and cause instant death. For this reason, I recommend saving often during the first time playing. Solving a puzzle incorrectly can also sometimes be instant death. Using items incorrectly or using them period can, you guessed it, also cause instant death. There are many ways to die in this game is what I am saying, and if you do not know the triggers, then the game can be incredibly difficult. (Even if you do know the triggers, it is still pretty easy to die.)

The music used in The Witch’s House is very good, and I do like it a lot. The problem is, I think, that often the sounds fade into the background. There is a lot of good, atmospheric music, but it is not until I listen to the files separately that I realizes just how great everything is. Not to say there are no memorable songs in the game; there certainly are. The title theme, the music box song(s), and the piano music stuck with me the first time I heard them. The chase music is likewise excellent, it really gets your heart going and adds to the fear and anxiety of the situation.

The graphics in the original were not, in my opinion, too special. The original had a couple of unique animations but nothing terribly special. Fummy added a mess of new animations in 1.07 including door opening animations, object moving animations, and more. It is all subtle, but I think it adds a unique, cute factor that the game was previously lacking. The graphics have also been cleaned up a lot in 1.07, which I will go over in detail in a separate post, but the graphics are very clean looking. Some of the textures have also been switched out, for the better. One of my favorite examples:

The no-distraction hallway

Some very minor complaints I have are about the instructions, which I feel are a bit strange. In the opening of the game, the player does not find out the instructions until after walking around to get the first key item. By that point, the player would have had to figure out the controls. However, this problem is easily solved because the controls are listed in the Readme, which is important to read before playing a game anyway.  Very similar to this, the player can read a book in the library about how to open doors, which is a good idea but, by that point, the player would have had to know this already. I do admit that it could be a good thing to remember from that point onward, however. My complaints about the game, as you can see, are pretty minor. Not a lot sticks out to me as bad, and I clearly love a lot about this game.

I think this game also has a pretty high replay value. There is so much to see in this game, even just subtle changes. Things that I did not notice when I first played I found when replaying it recently. If you backtrack or explore an area after completing a puzzle, things will change and there will be different text. Be sure to explore at your own risk, however, as certain areas you return to may kill you. By backtracking after completing a puzzle, there are a lot of subtle changes, including subtle horror. One of my favorite "subtle scares" happens if you return to the mirror puzzle room later in the game and interact with the frog.

The The Witch’s House has about “four” different endings. Really, there are two real endings, a secret ending, and an "addendum."

•     The first, or the easiest ending, is achieved by escaping from the house after the final "battle."
•     The more difficult ending is the “true” ending where you must grab a secret item before escaping from the house. This changes the first ending dramatically and makes the entire game all the more horrifying in hindsight.
•     The "addendum" to the endings is the most difficult to achieve. To get this ending, you must not save or talk to the black cat throughout the entire game with one exception. Slight spoilers in how to get this: In the no distractions hallway, if you  have not spoken to the black cat, you can talk to it here and look at the books, diaries, and notes which give the player much background information about the game and your player character.  This addendum really comes into play at the end of the game, right before the “final boss.” If you talk to the cat before this room, you gain even more knowledge about the cat, the house, and the player character. I do not recommend going for this addendum during your first play through unless you are very confident as you are not allowed to save and if you get killed at any point (easy enough to accomplish), you will have to restart the entire game.
•     The newest ending that came to be in version 1.07 is such a secret that Fummy does not even acknowledge its existence. To get the ending, wait on the first screen without doing anything for an hour (the window must be your active window as well!) Ultimately, this ending is not, in my opinion, really worth it. I will be discussing it in detail in my post about the new version of the game. At its surface, it seems like a pointless ending, but once you examine the meta of it, it makes much more sense.

The Witch's House is not a long game; it takes about an hour or so to complete (of course, depending on how much you look around and not taking into account deaths and all) though Fummy estimates in the readme two to three hours, so I suppose it just depends on the player!

Over all, I would say The Witch's House is neutral on the feminist front. You do play as a female character, but you never interact with the other female character. In only one ending of the game does the game technically, in my opinion, pass the Bechdel Test. I suppose in most instances of the game, it does sort of pass the Bechdel Test, but only in one ending is it obvious. Major spoilers for the game: You actually do interact with the other female character, Ellen, in the true ending (the stuff that happens in the bedroom is not really interacting) but it is not positive, and the relationship is not a good one. Ellen taunts Viola, but... I wouldn't say this takes away from whether or not the game is feminist friendly, to be honest. It is difficult to say if there is any queer representation because there is no romantic subplot. I will not make a call on racial representation, and here is why. I try not to ever, as a white person, make calls on anime/manga character. For more reading on this subject, I recommend this article.


The game is definitely not anti-feminist, and I do love that you get to play as a female character because that feels like such a rare opportunity still in this day and age, but it does not do much that makes it feminist. However, I think it is a safe choice for any feminists or anyone who is concerned about offensive content (I mean, there is the whole cruelty and death stuff, but).

Overall, I would rate the game about a 3.5. Here's the final breakdown:
Plot: Four stars. I love the story and the characters, but most of the story is subtle and does not come into play until the end of the game.
Graphics: Three and a half, I suppose. Nothing too special. There are some unique animations.
Sound/music: Three. Not a whole lot of variety in the songs and the songs tend to sort of fade into the background in most cases.
Difficulty: Probably about a four. The game can be incredibly difficult, especially when going for the no-save "addendum" ending.
Ability to replay: Three. You probably only need to replay the game twice to achieve all of the endings. There are a lot of subtle details to witness, but those don't necessarily require replaying the game, especially if you are not interested in such things.

I do truly love and enjoy this game. It is certainly my second favorite RPG maker game for its unique (horrifying) puzzles, story, and over all gameplay mechanics. I think it is a really strong game and the "true" ending is one of the best endings I have ever seen in any video game.

You can download the English version of The Witch's House here.

The original (Japanese) website is here. If you go to this website, you'll see that Fummy is going to be releasing a book based on Ellen's story, a prequel to The Witch's House.

The Witch's House 1.07 is now out!

A week ago, VGPerson (translator of Ib, The Crooked Man, Mad Father, etc.,) announced on her tumblr that, after a year, Fummy has updated The Witch's House. 

The most notable aspect of this new version is a new, obscure ending. From VGPerson's tumblr:

Notable changes:
- Many of the area tiles and some other graphics are redone.
- Viola has little animations for just about everything now - opening doors, grabbing items, pushing things, etc.
- Some chases are allegedly easier, but it all seems about the same to me.
- The room with the woman statue was changed very slightly, but it all works out the same way.
- The poison room has the bottle and the Skull Soldier book out in the open, rather than hidden in shelves.
- Fummy removed the number lock puzzle several versions ago, but I finally complied with that change, since… I dunno, it was more annoying not to.
- I made some very minor translation fixes and changes.

Apparently, the new ending is not easy to find, to the point that even Fummy has not made note of it in the readme to make it even more obscure! I am very excited; The Witch's House is my second favorite RPG Maker game (which, I believe, I have made note of in the past) and if you have not played it before, I highly recommend playing it now.

In fact, it's a perfect game for October!

I plan to play through it tonight and write a review at some point in the next week. Stay tuned!

You can download The Witch's House here.

Final Fantasy X HD Remaster to Show a Masterful Remaster of Sound

Yesterday, the Playstation Youtube channel posted a video showcasing Final Fantasy X HD Remaster's improvements on graphics, but also sound. The video first features clips from the original Final fantasy X and then Final Fantasy X HD Remaster. The difference is quite clear, in every single way possible.

The remaster is looking to be a beautiful improvement of the already beautiful original. I absolutely cannot wait to see the finished product.

Is Naminé just another damsel in distress?

I have mentioned in the past that Naminé from the very popular Kingdom Hearts series is my favorite character. As you have no doubt noticed, I am in the habit of dissecting things, analyzing every minute detail that I can. Naturally, I have done the same with my favorite characters, especially Naminé.

Kingdom Hearts is not a series with simple characters. In fact, it is not a simple series at all. It is chock full of lore and terms used in our every day that have completely different meanings in the context of the series. Case in point, the term "Nobody" refers to a class of creatures/people who are "shells" of who they once were. A Nobody is born when a person loses their heart, but they are just a shell of that person, meaning they have no emotions and no memories. At the very least, that is true of most Nobodies, but not of the most notable ones in the game, including Naminé.

Naminé is the Nobody of the main protagonist, Sora, as well as another main character, Kairi. The "how" is a little complicated, and, as that is not what this post is about, I will save it for perhaps another time. Naminé was first introduced in the second game of the series, Chain of Memories for the Gameboy Advance. She has since reappeared in every game in the series since (even Birth by Sleep, if you can believe it). She is one of the most unique Nobodies because she has powers that allow her to manipulate the memories of Sora, his memories and those who are connected to him.

In Chain of Memories, she is absolutely, undoubtedly a damsel in distress. She is used by the main antagonist of the game, Marluxia, to mess with Sora's memories, causing him to forget things about his past and replace other things in his memory. It is both clear that she dislikes following orders but also that she is a lonely girl, only used by the others in Castle Oblivion and rarely interacting with them at all. Marluxia has her replace the most important person to Sora with herself so that he is under the illusion that they are great childhood friends and he has to rescue her.

Though still manipulating her, Axel comes to her when no one else is around and convinces her to set things right. Naminé jumps at the opportunity and meets with Sora to tell him that she has been lying to him all along and that, in doing so, he has forgotten who has most important to him, right down to the lucky charm he received in the first game. Sora looks at the star shape charm and finds that she is telling the truth when it retains its familiar shape.

At the climax of the game, Naminé is kidnapped by Marluxia, who senses an upcoming conflict between himself and Axel. He pulls her out as a trump card to either stop Axel from killing him and also to anger Sora into defeating Axel. She is not only a damsel in this case, she is literally being used as an object to up the conflict between three men. Even though he knows Naminé is not who he thought she was, Sora is still angered and fights Axel in order to get at Marluxia, who still has Naminé. Marluxia orders Naminé to erase Sora's memory completely so that she, and Marluxia, can have complete control over Sora and the Keyblade. She, of course, refuses, even though Marluxia threatens her. Even when Sora tells her to do it, she refuses. This would have been a good opportunity for her to hit Marluxia in the stomach or something (she's at the perfect height for it!) but, instead, she has to be saved again. This, at least, shows how much she has developed as a character throughout the game, no longer passively taking orders from Marluxia.

After Sora defeats Marluxia, Naminé tells Sora and the others that she can fix their memories, but they have to forget about her and the events that transpired in Castle Oblivion. Sora, of course, chooses to regain his lost memories.

"Who needs false memories, right?"

(In Re: CoM, her voice actress does a lovely job of making her voice tremble.) Chain of Memories ends with Sora and the others "going to sleep" while Naminé repairs their memories for a year. The script has flipped just a bit in that Naminé tells them that she will "take care of them" which is obviously different from the game's dynamic up until this point. And she does do just that, dutifully watching over Sora and fixing his memories.

In 358/2 Days, Naminé is having trouble actually fixing Sora's memories because of Xion, who is regaining Sora's memories instead. When Xion comes to meet her, she doesn't force Xion into giving the memories back, even though she promised to fix Sora. She talks her through what she wants to do. Naminé has evidently grown quite a bit from her experiences in Chain of Memories, and her helping Xion is the first of what she comes to do a lot for the rest of her time in the games she appears in.

In Kingdom Hearts II, Naminé meets Roxas and seems to always show up when he needs help. As I mentioned above, Naminé is completely different from how she was in her first game, saving and helping others instead of being saved herself. She saves Roxas from fading and she tells him the truth about who he really is, which gets her into a lot of trouble with DiZ. DiZ is sort of the Marluxia of Kingdom Hearts II for Naminé. DiZ orders Naminé around and, even though she is fixing Sora's memories because she wants to, the way DiZ treats her is similar to the way Marluxia treated her, only even harsher. This time, she is in no way a damsel, and she is in control of her own agency.

Naminé goes against DiZ's orders by saving Roxas and making him question who he really is. Even though no one wants her to, she tells Roxas who he truly is, which results into trouble for her. She comforts Roxas about his fate, completely sure that they will meet once again. Shortly after, Naminé is sort of put into the position of a damsel once again. After DiZ separates her from Roxas, he orders Riku to kill her but, of course, the two are friends in some sense of the word, so he frees her to go wherever she wants, and she is in control of her agency again.

Naminé is not seen from or heard from until the end of the game when Kairi is kidnapped and imprisoned. She frees Kairi, and the two escape together, running as Naminé fades in and out of existence. They are confronted, and the two prepare to fight until Riku takes care of their enemy for them. Sure that Kairi is safe, Naminé disappears again. She is seen for the last time (until the ending), summoning a portal for everyone to escape the crumbling the castle. She reunites with Kairi, no longer alone.

In my mind, by the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Naminé deserves to be called a hero. She has progressed from being a damsel in her first appearance, to helping and saving others repeatedly. She is no longer "just a damsel." She is a complete character with complete development. Not to mention, even when she is a damsel in Chain of Memories, she still shows herself to be much more. Throughout the game, she learns to put her own selfishness and fear behind her in order to be honest with Sora and undo the damage she has caused. She is no longer afraid to stand up to her oppressors, even when she is confronted with their violence. This is a theme that runs for the rest of her appearances, standing up to the people who want to control her and doing what she wants to, for the good. Truth be told, I find her to be an inspiring character. She is a character I enjoy because she serves more of a purpose than just being a damsel, used to attract a male character.

While Aqua is clearly the most independent female character in the series and is strong, she is strong in different ways from Naminé, In fact, I would argue that every major female character in the Kingdom Hearts series has some type of strength that differs from the other characters. The reason Naminé sticks with me so much is because she is a character I have enjoyed since I was relatively young, so she will always have the greatest impression on me. I am happy that she develops past her relationship with Sora, even though so much of what she does has to do with him in some way, and that she develops meaningful relationships with other characters, not to mention gaining the strength, on her own, to save others.

She is certainly not "just another damsel in distress."

Revisting Final Fantasy X

Official logo of the remasters

With Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster being released at some point this year, I thought I would take the opportunity to write about Final Fantasy X. This is somewhat of a review, and somewhat of an opinion piece.

Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played, so it stands out to me in ways that other games in the series never will. This is also a game that really revolutionized the entire Final Fantasy franchise, though it may be difficult to believe today!

This was the first game in the series to have a direct sequel, for better or for worse, setting a precedent for the series today. It was also the first game in the franchise to feature voice acting and "real-time facial expressions" (as quoted from the game's box). Of course, the expressions can look a bit laughable today, and the voice acting may seem a little uninspired, but we would not have what we do in Final Fantasy games today if it were not for Final Fantasy X.

For those of you who have never played the game, it is about Tidus, who is a famous athlete from a city called Zanarkand, who finds himself in another world where his city is nothing but ruins. He joins a summoner, Yuna, and her guardians as they go on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin, the main antagonist of the game. Sin is a gigantic creature that causes tragedy everywhere it ventures, leaving numerous causalities and damages in its wake. The goal of a summoner is to venture from temple to temple around Spira and pray, gaining creatures called aeons that can be summoned to fight, until they reach Zanarkand where they gain the Final Aeon, which is needed to defeat Sin. The thing about Sin is that it never goes away for good and always returns after ten years.

This is a game that has an overall serious atmosphere, and there are very few silly moments throughout the game, which is appropriate for a game that deals with a lot of death. Seriously, there is so much death in this game. It is also an emotional game with many emotional moments that are portrayed at least decently. As I mention below, there is one specific moment that stands out to me as the facial expressions doing a wonderful job, and every character faces one of their own personal tragedies that they need to move past. The ending of this game is one of the most bittersweet I have ever said in a game, and it is widely known as a tearjerker, which is likely why a direct sequel was created.

The method of leveling up is rather unique in that there is a sphere grid, a gigantic grid full of HP, MP, strength, etc., increases and abilities. At its heart, the sphere grid system is like any other RPG. Characters gain experience from defeating enemies and bosses, thus gaining levels. Where it differs is the way the game chooses to use the level ups. Instead of gaining more magic, health, and abilities with each level, the player must navigate the sphere grid to gain those things. It makes the game strategic and allows the player to turn the character into whatever they would like. Kimahri is an obvious example. While every other character has their own section on the sphere grid, Kimahri has maybe one area and, from there, the player can take him wherever they want. They can make him into a white or black mage, or they can prioritize strength by having him go into Auron's section. This can be done with any character, but the player must do this with Kimahri.

I would say that the difficulty of the game is relatively high, once you reach a certain point. I would argue that the game is at least challenging throughout, but once you reach Mt. Gagazet, every boss is at an insane difficulty level for the rest of the game. At least, that is the point where I used to always find myself having difficulty. The truth is that the game does not necessarily get impossibly difficult, but it truly requires the player to strategize more from there on. The boss on Mt. Gagazet is one that would always give me trouble because I never strategized correctly (also, I used to run away from many encounters, but that is a story for another time).
For the record, this post is going to contain some spoilers in my discussion of the characters, so gloss over those parts if you've not played.

Final Fantasy X is both Tidus and Yuna's story as it is about Yuna's journey as a summoner, but it also about Tidus learning about Spira, befriending others, and learning the truth about himself and his father.

I have never played or seen a Final Fantasy game that does not have memorable characters (especially in the case of Final Fantasy VII), and this is no exception. Not to mention that each and every character is completely fleshed out and has a story of their own. All of the main characters face a tragedy during the game, and it is interesting to see how they change or overcome their grief along the way.

The ladies in this game are excellent. Rikku is an Al Bhed, a despised race in Spira, and the racist of the group is unaware of this, leading to some drama later, which provides some interesting plot and character development. She is Yuna's cousin, and she is very supportive. She joins the group after attempting to kidnap Yuna, an effort to stop her from completing the pilgrimage, but ultimately decides it is better to be with her cousin and try to develop a plan to make her end the pilgrimage along the way. Even though it goes against her heart and her beliefs, she journeys with Yuna until the end, even when Yuna refuses to give up her pilgrimage. Rikku understands and backs her up, even though it makes her upset. She is a peppy, upbeat character who has her serious, thought-provoking moments.

Lulu is the oldest of the girls and grew up as an orphan with Yuna. For this reason, the two of them are very close, and very much like sisters. Lulu is one of the most serious characters of the group, and she holds immediate contempt for Tidus, suspicious of his strange actions and lack of knowledge of Spira. As time goes on, she warms up to Tidus, explaining things about the world to him, but still does not want him near Yuna, more or less because she knows both characters have feelings for each other and it would only end in sadness. It is revealed later in the game that Lulu has been on two previous pilgrimages and holds a lot of guilt over something that occurred on one of her pilgrimages. She does look out for all of the younger characters (meaning everyone in the group but Auron and Kimahri), and especially looks out for Wakka and asks Tidus to try to be understanding. She is a really wonderful character.

Yuna is a summoner who is considerate, quiet, and serious. Most of what she thinks about she does not speak of aloud. As the daughter of Braska, the last summoner to defeat Sin, she has big shoes to fill. She is a brave and determined character, knowing full well from a young age that defeating Sin means death. Later in the game, when she casts aside her religion, she continues to journey as a summoner, despite the fact that she is hated around Spira. Most of what the player knows about Yuna comes from Tidus' narration, which is a bit problematic, but she is a fantastic character who gets even more expansion in Final Fantasy X-2 (along with Rikku)!

Though some of the music is reused a little too much, most of the music used in the game is very good. "To Zanarkand," and "The Via Purifico" are two of the most memorable songs of the game. "To Zanarkand" certainly captures the entire atmosphere of the game. I have always said that if you want to show someone who has never played the game what the game is like in just a song, show them 'To Zanarkand.'

We can all laugh as much as we want about the facial expressions, but there are some moments where the expressions are particularly good. If you have not played,   will try not to spoil this too much, but the best example of character expression in the game takes place during the second portion of the final battle. In fact, I may just make this its own post, but Yuna's expressions change very clearly to show how distressed and upset she is about what she has to do. It is really touching and allows the player to connect with her even more; Yuna gets a lot of that in the endgame, which I appreciate. As I said, I will probably just expand on this more in a different post. Just know that it is a really touching, emotional thing to watch.


The game can last about as long as you want. I would estimate that just the main story would take maybe about forty-five hours or so, but there is a lot of sidequests that can be done. The sidequest to get the celestial (aka, ultimate) weapons can take a while if you want to get all of the weapons, and it may still take a while depending on which weapons you want. Many of the sidequests tend to reward you with both the celestial weapons and other items, which is convenient. The Monster Arena sidequest alone can take a while to finish, and that is including reaching high enough levels to actually fight the monsters.

Final Fantasy X has no shortage of things you can do, and it has a lot of heart.

The only thing that disappoints me about the game is the amount fan service present. This is problematic for many reasons, including that these moments often take away from these strong female characters (Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku) by turning them into objects for the audience's pleasure. The most clear cut case is when Tidus stumbles upon Rikku, who has washed up on the shore.

Image courtesy of ffshrine.org

Rikku gets up as Tidus stumbles upon her and takes off her suit. The audience is "treated" to a scene of her, dripping wet, slowly unzipping her suit and stripping it off. The FMV sequence depicted above is especially gross when you consider that Rikku is only fifteen in Final Fantasy X (for reference, Lulu is twenty-two and Yuna is seventeen).

Soapboxinggeek also describes this problem of objectification in the game. She says that, while she enjoys the game overall,  "What I didn’t like was being treated to an animation of Lulu’s jiggly boobs during the victory fanfare.  She was an intelligent, talented and levelheaded character. But her character design featured a skintight dress made of leather belts, and a fur collar which left bare shoulders and lent itself to ample cleavage. The other two female characters, Yuna and Rikku, had arguably less sexualized outfits, but I was still forced to endure FMVs of a sweaty Yuna fainting from exhaustion, and a closeup of a dripping wet Rikku unzipping her skintight waterproof body suit. I can only presume that Square-Enix (or Squaresoft as it was known then) were staffed by mature adults, and that they were aware that the Final Fantasy series has a strong female fanbase. So why were only the women given sexualized introductions (and victory poses)?"

She details a huge problem in the game (and video games in general). While the female characters are objectified (a problem in itself), the men do not suffer from this problem at all. (Note, I am not saying that male characters should be sexualized as well, but if female characters are being sexualized, then it should be "equal," and male characters should be as well. What I would really like to see is no sexualization whatsoever.) The creators made these female characters into wonderful, well-rounded characters but decided to take them down a peg by objectifying them. The purpose of Lulu's victory pose seems to be a "reward" for the player winning a battle.

I would not necessarily say these sequences ruin the game for me because I still love and enjoy it very much, but they make me dread the times when I know I am about to watch one of the girls being turned into an object for the audience's "pleasure." It detracts from the overall playing experience, which is unfair. 

Final Fantasy X is a great game over all, but it is also problematic. Nonetheless, it will always remain one of my favorite video games and I cannot wait for Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster to be released. On a final note, the remaster will be of the International version, meaning, if you lived in or played the North American version, you will now be treated to the Dark Aeon fights as well.

You can find soapboxinggeek's post about being a female gamer here.
I definitely suggest reading it. It is very eye opening and informative, particularly if you do not identify as female or are not aware of the problems afflicting female gamers in the video game industry.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3) is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Pokémon: The New Fairy Type

I am a Pokémon enthusiast. I jumped into the series as a young child with Pokémon Red Version and never looked back. So far, there is not a single generation of the games I have skipped, even though I had my doubts about Pokémon Black & White.

If you're not a fan of the Pokémon series, then you may not have heard about the newest type to be introduced to the games. It is a type that, in my opinion, should have been present by the second generation (Gold/Silver/Crystal). with the emergence of the fairy egg group. This second generation of games was also the last time new types were added to the games with the addition of Steel and Dark.

So far, the three Pokémon to have fairy added to their type are Jigglypuff, Marill, and Gardevoir (which seems like less of an obvious choice to me). I would imagine that the entire Jigglypuff family are going to be Fairy as well, perhaps the same for Marill. If any Pokémon would absolutely be a fairy type, however, it would be Clefairy and Clefable, so I am sure those are next.

Sylveon defeating Salamence, a dragon type

For the first time since Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, a new Eevee evolution has been released, Sylveon, a fairy type.

Amazingly enough, it is looking like Dragon is going to be weak to Fairy. According to the official Pokemon X and Y website, "Until Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, Dragon-type Pokémon had only two weaknesses: Ice-type moves and Dragon-type moves. The new Fairy type changes the balance in a big way!" So it seems that the intent was to make Dragons a little less overpowered. This was also the case back in generation two, when the Dark type was added to make Psychic more balanced.

It should be interesting to see what type of news unfolds between now and the release.

Pokémon X and Y is set to be released on October 12, 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS.

Official Pokemon X and Y website containing all of the news, images, and updates you could want for the newest generation.

Bulbapedia article on Fairy Pokemon which lists the confirmed Pokémon thus far.

Background Characters in The Last of Us

There are quite a few things The Last of Us for the Playstation 3 do particularly well, but something I am exceedingly impressed with is the way it builds up background characters. We're talking characters the player will probably never meet, who have likely died long before Joel and Ellie arrive in the area.

These relationships, if you will, are built entirely through notes. I think one of the best examples is of a background character the player first meets through a note outside of the sewers. From there, from finding a series of notes, the player watches his story unfolds and becomes excited. It makes the player wonder if they will meet the character. Or if they will be able to read to the end of his story. Of course, this depends on how thorough you are while exploring.

I don't think that any video game has ever made me quite so interested in, not only a background character, but a character that is essentially a "ghost" since he is not a main character and, if you do meet him, it is never stated outright. But with every bit of exploring, and every Infected I found, I had to wonder, "Is this him? Did he die?"

That very small story arc was extremely interesting, I was so amazed by the game's ability to do this.

So, do you get the opportunity to meet this character, or will you read the end to find out? I am unsure, so you'll need to play for yourself and found out.

Why Garry?

Today, I pose a quick question to you all, and it surprises me a little that I never asked this question sooner.

Why, in Ib, does Garry also end up in the fabricated museum? My thoughts were always that Ib was picked out special by Mary, though I could not tell you why I believed such. It just seemed that such a lonely little girl would seek out another. Also, the fact that the messages to Ib in the museum are friendly and maybe a little playful in the beginning of the game always made me assume it was her (though, I suppose it is possible it was another painting, or even the dolls).

However, while Ib purposely ends up in the painting world, it seems obvious that Garry was not someone to be desired. There are messages strewn throughout the fabricated museum that talk about being away from adults, and Garry is certainly an adult (in comparison to the girls if nothing else). Mary, of course, also talks about how Garry is a "grown up" in a negative way. Though she may or may not have minded him being around in the beginning, it still seems that she wanted Ib to visit her most of all (because, once again, they are of the same age).

So why does Garry end up in a world where adults are unwanted? I have heard many fan theories that Garry is in some way related to Guertena, but I do not believe that for a few reasons including that Guertena is clearly long dead by the beginning of the game, Garry does not recognize his name, Garry does not say he is related (and if he were related to an artist, it seems likely he would know and be proud), and it just seems to coincidental. Though, if he were related, he would certainly be drawn into the painting world.

But if he is not, then why him? Why does Garry get summoned there, too? There was at least one more child in the museum, though she appeared to be much younger than Ib. Perhaps that is the reason why she did not get pulled into the fabricated world. On the other hand, was Garry really the next youngest person out of everyone in the museum? 

I have no ideas, theories, or any background information that might make the answer even somewhat clear. All I have is this question: Why Garry?

It just seems strange that out of a museum full of people, Garry was the other person to be dragged into the painting world. Some food for thought.

...Though, coming back to the question, there is this:

In Mary's room, you find a diary where she remarks about the above. Perhaps Garry was chosen because Mary only wanted to take his place, something she did not want to do to Ib, who she wanted to be friends/sisters with. Still, that does beg the question of why Garry? Why peg him as her victim when there were so many others?

The more I think on it, the more I wonder if it really was Mary who got Ib and Garry to come into the painting world. Perhaps it was one of the paintings or dolls, but that still does not make sense since none of the paintings wanted Mary to try and leave in the first place.

The Last of Us: A game of survival in an apocalyptic world

The Last of Us is a survival horror game released only for the Playstation 3 as of June 14, 2013. This is a cool game, which is why I'm writing about it, but I'm not writing a review; I just want to make a small post about it.

The game features a character named Joel, a man who lives in a world teeming with infected and dangerous bandits, who is on an escort mission to take a foul-mouthed teenager named Ellie across the United States to a resistance group called the Fireflies. The game features Joel surviving in an apocalyptic world, fighting against the "Infected," people who have been turned to monsters by a disease, as well as humans who have turned violent to survive in the upside down world.

The game is interesting and good for many reasons. It has certainly subverted my expectations a few times where I expected one thing to be the norm only to have the game destroy whatever I expected. The beginning of the game (i.e. everything before opening credits) is a pretty good representation of this.

There is literally an armory of weapons to choose from. I was amazed by the sheer amount of weapons that can be used. One of the coolest ones that I did not expect to see is a normal bow. The large amount of weapons really helps because supplies are generally sparse, so it is not unlikely to have little to no ammo on one weapon, and a bit more on another. Having so much to choose from means that there will always be something to fight with.

The game, however, does require a lot of stealth, which has to be one of my least favorite parts of any video game. Stealth is a big part of the game. For that reason, I will be watching at least one playthrough for the game on Youtube because I'd like to see how it plays out. I just happen to be poor at stealth and dislike it a lot. Nonetheless, I like that stealth is in the game. It seems only to make sense given that the setting is in a post-apocalyptic world and, if that were a realistic situation, it would be necessary to sneak around humans and zombie-like creatures, if one could get away with it.

On the whole, I think the game is realistic to what a post-apocalyptic world would be, and that is why I like it quite a bit (also why I am still going back and forth on whether or not I should play it completely). The characters are all fleshed out at least a bit, which is always a nice thing to see in games. The plot in general is also just plain interesting.

As I mentioned, Ellie is a foulmouthed character and, again, this is a survival horror taking place in the post-apocalyptic world. As such, this game is rated M for Mature, for the language and, of course, the violence. Do not play this game if you are sensitive to violence.

 I would highly recommend this game because it is one of the better examples of a post-apocalyptic setting, in my opinion. If you are not a stealth person, this one may not be for you, just keep in mind that the more weapons you have, the more you may be able to get away with fighting more than sneaking (though, I think playing much of the game that way would be impossible given scarcity of items and whatnot).

Special side note: Joel is voiced by Troy Baker, whose voice you may recognize immediately as Booker DeWitt's from Bioshock Infinite. Ellie is voiced by Ashley Johnson, who played one of my favorite characters, Terra, from Teen Titans. 

You can find the game's website here: http://www.thelastofus.com/

You should be able to purchase it wherever games are sold. In fact, the website has a list of where you can buy the game. Just remember that it is exclusively for the PS3!

*On another note, I have not yet seen enough of the game to determine if it is "female friendly," so to speak, though there have been a few female characters so far, including the leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, Tess, and, of course, Ellie. I would say it is doing at least somewhat well on the friendly front so far.

Something so obvious that I cannot believe I forgot to add it, yet I did. The graphics in this game are absolutely beautiful. Some shots are so breathtaking. Many of the city shots look wonderful. Really, so far, there is nothing to complain about in the graphics department. This game is extremely polished.

Baptism in Bioshock Infinite

While Bioshock Infinite came out a few months ago, I recently rewatched the ending, which prompted me to think about the subject of this post. Of course, there are going to be devastating spoilers in this post, so do not read on if you've not finished the game!

If you could not tell, baptism is a big deal in Bioshock Infinite and a recurring theme throughout the game. In order to enter Columbia, Booker Dewitt must be baptized, leading him to remark that the priest needed to learn the difference between baptizing and drowning, foreshadowing for the end of the game.

But that is not what this post is about, not really. I wanted to discuss the interesting idea that a baptism can create two different selves, even though the idea of a baptism (at least, later in life) is to erase sins and, in the game, to erase Booker's past.

After Wounded Knee, Booker feels as though he has sinned so much that he may never be forgiven for what he did, so he decides to get baptized. The Booker that agrees to the baptism becomes Comstock, who makes it his life mission to create a "sinless" city above the clouds, as close to heaven as one could get, where he teaches people the alleged "word of the Lord" and punishes those who sin.

The Booker that does not agree to a baptism remains feeling sinful for his entire life but has a daughter.

Right up to the point of the baptism, there is one Booker. Once he goes through with it, he creates two identities and many different men in many different worlds, as seen by the multiple Elizabeths at the end of the game. At the end of the game, it seems like Booker is about to be baptized again, instead he finds out two identities resulted from his original baptism. In order to destroy the evil Comstock, Booker has to be smothered in the cradle, as it were. It seems like he is going to be baptized but, instead, three Elizabeths hold him down until he drowns, effectively "smothering" him. All other Bookers disappear, as is apparent by all of the Elizabeths, aside from one, the one we see after the credits.

A side note: The only thing I'm still not able to make sense of is what happens to the final Elizabeth. With one Booker left, it seems like she should not exist, especially since we hear baby Anna crying in the epilogue.

I think it was an interesting take on baptism, certainly a unique one, which is fitting for a pretty unique game. I would highly recommend it. I may eventually do a write up on it. Very, very fascinating stuff.

Afterthought: I rewatched the scene one more time and it's interesting to know that the Elizabeth who comes to the baptism with Booker is not the same Elizabeth. Booker's dialogue hints as much. It still does not answer why she remains there after the others disappear, but it is interesting to know that Booker's Elizabeth is gone when he enters the area.

Why Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories deserves a chance

As you may or may not now, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is the second game in the Kingdom Hearts series. I say "may or may not know" because Chain of Memories is sort of the black sheep of the series. I, for one, know I went straight from Kingdom Hearts to Kingdom Hearts II, so I was a little confused about the opening of the second game, and the mysterious blonde girl. This post is several years late in the making, so it's a more widely known game now (and the story is easy to find simply by going to Youtube and watching a walkthrough)

Not that you need to play Chain of Memories (hereon referred to as CoM) before Kingdom Hearts II by any means. It's still easy enough to understand the main plot of KH II, though you may be confused about the underlying subplots. However, you miss out on such a great plot and cast of characters by not playing CoM.

So, if you've never played nor heard of CoM, you may be wondering why the game is unpopular. The answer is relatively simple. It's the battle system, which differs widely from the rest of the series. Instead of using hack and slash techniques, the player uses cards to fight. Cards? What? You're crazy! No, really, you use cards, and the reason is as follows:

In the very beginning of the game, Sora wanders into a strange castle known as Castle Oblivion and immediately finds that he has forgotten all of his abilities. He must use cards containing his abilities to fight. It's different, definitely. How it works is that Sora has a deck of cards he uses to fight, each containing different techniques. Some are simple Keyblade slashing cards, some are magic spells, some are party members.

The party system, unsurprisingly enough, differs as well. Instead of having someone fighting by your side, they turn into a card, which will use different abilities. (Donald can heal, or cast spells, for example). The cool thing about this is once you clear a world, you have a card containing a member from that world. For example, you get Cloud after completing the Coliseum. Now you can use Cloud whenever you want! It's great. A drawback is that Donald, Goofy, and regular party members like Jack from Halloween Town or Aladdin from Agrabah, are not always in your deck. They'll appear throughout battles.

I am hardly an unbiased party. My favorite character, Naminé, appears for the first time in this game. As I mentioned, you miss out on many characters. Naminé and Axel, you will see throughout the series, but other Organization XIII members only appear in this game. You won't see them anywhere else, and there are some winners, such as Larxene and Marluxia. This is the first game that introduces Nobodies, and, if you've played any of the more recent games like 358/2 Days or Kingdom Hearts II, you've no doubt heard of them. In the GBA version, the word "Nobody" is never spoken; the Organization members certainly allude to it, though. I am not yet sure about Re: CoM,  as I have not gotten far enough yet.

All in all, this is a game I would recommend. I am planning on doing a review for Re: Chain of Memories once I've finished Sora's story. I may do a separate post for the GBA version whenever I beat it.

On a final note, don't be intimidated by the game or what you've heard. In my opinion, it is more difficult than most of the other games in the series, mostly because you require legitimate strategy, but it is a good game that deserves a chance. If you want to give it a try, I recommend playing the Playstation 2 version, Re: CoM, because there are many benefits to the 3D version, such as it being easier to run around bosses in battle.

The final Ib version 1.05 is out!

As the title says, Kouri has updated Ib for what he says is the final time.

I haven't downloaded it quite yet, but here is what VG, the English translator of Ib, had to say about the changes:

It’s really just a bunch of bugfixes, though. Nothing to get excited about. Also, saves from 1.04 will work.
Changes:
- Garry won’t comment on the Liars’ Room unless you actually do it.
- You can no longer save as solo Mary, since you’re locked onto an ending you can’t continue from.
- When on a second playthrough, the portraits for the save files have a + in the corner. For old saves, this will only take effect when Ib, Garry, and Mary first join (Ib “joining” when you get an ending).
- The new dungeon is a little easier; there are more vases (one at the start, and a second in Abyssal Park… if Garry’s dead), and the croquis room has one less red guy and no stools to get in the way.
- There are pamphlets in the true exhibition explaining New Game Plus and stuff.
- The music list in the true gallery is fancier-looking now.
- Some things that got left out of the true gallery were added, including a very special guest.
Lastly, kouri confirmed he has no plans for any further updates.

On a final note, sorry I have yet to update this blog, folks! I recently injured my wrist, so I have not been able to completely check out Ib 1.04. I've done quite a bit, though, and I like what I see! I only have two more endings to go until I feel confident in my ability to discuss it completely.

Once again, the game can be downloaded from here.

Ib is also now available to download for the Mac! If you have a Mac and would like to play the game, visit the link I posted and go down to where it says "Mac."

Other things to look forward to, I'll probably be doing a series of playthroughs for a few more horror RPG games, like The Witch's House, Mad Father, The Crooked Man (all of these have been translated by VG as well), but I won't be doing so for another month, probably, but look out for my reviews on them nonetheless!

Ib Version 1.04 is out now!

As you all know, I am hopelessly obsessed with the freeware game Ib for RPG Maker.

Since the end of last year, Kouri (creator of Ib) has been promising a significant update to the game, and he finally finished it!

VG has it all translated and ready to go if you want to download it from here.

Why would you want to download the game, you ask? A few reasons, detailed from VG's tumblr:

"I may post a complete list of changes later, but here are the big ones:
- The music is compressed, so the filesize is smaller. (About time.)
- There are new paintings and conversations to find in old areas.
- A new branch is available that leads to two new endings.
- After any good ending (read: Ib escapes), you can start the game over, keeping track of your endings and such.
- After you beat the game once and continue as mentioned above, a new dungeon becomes accessible in the final area."

I'll write an updated post once I've played the new version to its depths, but it is quite safe to say that Ib's replaying ability has just gone up even more.

Happy New Year!

Hey guys! I know it's been quite a while since I last posted... Unfortunately odds and ends got in my way.

However, I want to get back to writing, and I already have a few plans. I know I said I would make a post about Kya: Dark Lineage as a game, but I haven't gotten around to replaying, so that may take a while.

In the meantime, here's some stuff to look forward to:

• I'm going to do a write up of Metroid: Other M's story. I just purchased the game today, so I'm going to take a bit in finishing it.
• Once I actually finish the game, I can't wait to write an extensive review on Metroid: Other M, which is infamous in the franchise's fandom.
• Maybe now that I've finished, I'll do some type of post on Skyward Sword. We'll see.

Another thing I'd like to do is a countdown post of sorts. I'm not sure if it'll be a countdown of heroes, villains, games, bosses in a particular series, etc., but I've subscribed to a lot of youtubers who do video countdowns (note: mine will not be a video), so I'd like to try it out.

Hopefully everyone had a nice new year, and I can't wait to getting back to this blog!