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 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.

Ib, an RPG Maker masterpiece

A screen shot from the beginning of the game.

Before I created this blog and was only sitting on the idea, I knew that I had to write about Ib. I fell in so much love with the game that I had to share its existence with other gaming friends; it's that kind of game. I wasn't sure how long I should hold off on posting about it, but this game is fantastic, and everyone ought to know about it.

Ib is a free (yes, free!) RPG maker horror game by Kouri that was released February of this year. I think it would be fair to categorize it as a puzzle game as well since puzzles are a necessary component to progressing in the game. If you're not a puzzle person, don't allow that to deter you. The puzzles aren't too difficult, and the game itself is a lot of fun.

Ib is about a young girl, named Ib (pronounced "Eve"), who visits an art museum that is holding a special exhibit for a lesser known artist, Guertena. After looking at a particular, large painting, Ib finds herself alone in the museum and soon finds herself in another world after descending into a painting. When she goes to turn back, the exit has disappeared, and Ib traverses the new world in hopes of escape, along the way meeting allies and enemies.

As I mentioned, the game isn't that difficult. Most of the puzzles can be figured out with logic, or, even, trial and error. There was only one puzzle in the entire game that I had trouble with. I felt so embarrassed afterwards because the solution was so simple and logical. The puzzles are unique and interesting, and often require interacting with the paintings of the "fabricated" world. One of my favorite puzzles was "The Liar's Room" which requires Ib to find out which portrait is lying to her. Once you pick the right one, something decidedly eerie happens...

With regard to gameplay, it's pretty straight forward. You play primarily as Ib. The arrow keys allow the player to navigate, pressing enter/space allows the player to examine things or speak to other characters. Ib's health is represented by the red rose found in the fabricated world. She has 5 HP, then it's game over. As the game says: "When the rose wilts, so too will you wilt away." While there is no fighting in the game, which may make you curious about the need for HP, there are many enemies. Much in the vein of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you'll need to run away from enemies since there is no way to fight them.

The graphics of Ib are interesting. Perhaps not groundbreaking, but good all the same. The designs of the enemies are cool, the portraits (while artwork sometimes repeats itself, there are many different paintings to look at) are lovely, and the design of certain rooms is just plain awesome, especially if you revisit the same room as a different character. The graphics change dramatically at the end of the game, when Ib proceeds from the alternate museum to a new area called the Sketchbook which, as you might guess, looks like a child's sketchbook. The dramatic shift in graphics compliments the change in atmosphere by that point in the game.

The music is wonderfully and artfully done. The theme for the Sketchbook suits the game's change in atmospheres. Hide and Seek is arguably the game's most beautiful and saddest-sounding song. Another claim to fame for this game is the characters. While Ib herself is more a silent protagonist (think Link from The Legend of Zelda series, though you can sometimes choose Ib's responses during cut scenes) and most of her emotions are shown through the other characters, Garry and Mary are three-dimensional characters. They are interesting, and they both have very clear personalities. An all important factor in the game is Ib's relationships with other characters. It is especially vital to the plot.

A fun mechanic of the game is seeing how the player's actions cause things to happen. As I mentioned, choosing the correct portrait in "The Liars Room" puzzle causes things to change. You'll find this often happens as you work on puzzles and progress through the game. It's very interactive in that way.

This game can be replayed again and again because of it's sheer number of endings; there are six in all. In order to get certain ones, you have to do certain things (things one might not consider while playing the game), not do certain things, or, even, do nothing specific at all. There are also unique events that you may miss out on the first time playing. (For example, I played at the same time as a friend, I got an extra scene that she did not, likely because I spoke to a particular character more, or what have you.)

Ib isn't so short that it leaves the player longing for more (though, depending on how invested you are in the characters, you may feel this way nonetheless), nor is it so long that it just seems to drag. It has a nice, solid length that will keep you interested while playing.

Don't forget that this game is a horror game. There are some very dark moments (e.g. "The Liars Room" puzzle), some very violent (albeit cartoon violence) moments, and there can also be some genuinely frightening moments (though it depends on the player) during chases and more.

I could go on and on about my views of Ib and how much I adore it. For a free game made on RPG Maker, it's breath-taking, and it has spurred quite a following. As clichéd as it sounds, Ib is an experience, one I would almost definitely pay an obscene amount of money for.

Over all, I would probably rate Ib a four, broken down as such:
Plot: Easily five stars. Great characters, great endings, great story.
Graphics: Four. Nothing to get too excited about, but still great.
Sound/music: Four. Again, nothing amazing, though there are some very great themes.
Difficulty: It's not that difficult, so I would rate it a three in terms of difficult. Don't let that turn you away. The game's mediocre difficulty level means that gamers (and non-gamers) of all walks of life can play it.
Ability to replay: 4 for the number of endings alone.

Here is the original website. It's in Japanese, so I doubt most of my readers can read it, but I feel that the creator should get credit. There's also an image gallery on here, which is pretty cool.

Here is the translated website. It has the download link for Ib, so you should definitely play it. There's no reason not to, as I already mentioned, it's free! The translator was kind enough to include a guide for the endings.

If you have a PC, go ahead and download the game! It's a great experience, no matter what and, most of all, it's free, so if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it. If you don't have a PC, there are plenty of Let's Plays on Youtube. Certainly, if you do play it or have already played it, be sure to let me know in the comments.