Played Lately: Marathon

• The Marathon Server Slam is ongoing as I type this. For those not aware, Marathon is an extraction shooter, the new game dev flavor of the season, following hard on the heels of battle royale and hero shooters. The pitch is straightforward: enter a match with whatever gear you can muster, collect new gear in the field, and get out again alive. And if you fail to do so, you lose everything you had with you. The question is, and it's one I pondered for a long time, what is the fun of that?


• I jumped into Marathon, at least somewhat convinced that if anyone can make the genre palatable, it would be Bungie. What I discovered was a highly polished, meticulously styled game that killed me three times in the tutorial. That didn't deter me. I pressed forward with my fourth attempt and finally exfiltrated successfully. I loved it. So what was the answer I found?


• Marathon is a horror game where often you are the prey, but sometimes you are the predator.


• I die far more often than I succeed. Most runs end with just a few XP to my name and a few credits if I got really lucky. But then there are the real nailbiters where I get the drop on someone and ruin their run instead. There was this one run where I'm dashing across the water in Dire Marsh and this guy blasts me out of nowhere. My shields are down and I'm hurting, but he hasn't fired again. I turn and draw down on this guy as he just stares at me and I empty my gun into him. He might have been my mirror since he was running a Vandal and free kit. But he hesitated and I didn't. It was exhilarating.


• It's the moments like that I keep coming back for. It's the leaping into a exfil beacon at the last second to get out of town. It's seeing a runner emerge from a duct in front of me and watching him back away, knowing it wasn't worth it for either of us. It was getting downed at a guarded exfil beacon only for it to lift me away one pip before my shell was compromised.


• I don't know if Marathon is special or if I've been missing out on something just because it sounded too hard. Whatever the answer, I'll be back for the official launch to see just how far I can push back on that cruel world.

Top Five: Video Games of 2024

• When I wrote about how 2023 was an interesting year, I didn't realize that I was cursing 2024. At least there were some very good games to enjoy.


• Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Any new release from RGG Studios is a contender for this list, and this game was no exception. The follow-up to Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Infinite Wealth is both a continuation of the story of Ichiban Kasuga, the Hero of Yokohama, but also a(nother) sendoff for the original protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. Like the prequel game, this is again a turn-based RPG. The four years since the prior installment have meant a number of improvements to its systems. Where is lacks is in the story's heart. Much like the different in Judgment and Lost Judgement, we have received a better game with a story that does not hit the same. Serialized fiction is just like that, I guess. Nonetheless, everything about this game plastered it to this list from the jump and I enjoyed every madcap minute of it.


• Elden Ring - Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in. The "they" in this case is my daughter who likes to hang out with me while I play video games. I had banged my head on Elden Ring before, giving up on my sorceror in frustration even though the received wisdom is that sorcery builds were the good kind of broken. Instead I felt constantly annoyed by FromSoftware's particular brand of systematic petulance. But she wanted to see me adventure (and struggle) in that fantasy world and so I answered the call. Favoring a greatsword build this time (a favorite choice of the likes of Vinny Caravella and Patrick Klepek), I found myself having a much more satisfying time of it. So much so, in fact, that I promised that if I beat the prerequiste boss, I would purchase the DLC expansion. And so I did. Much like prior FromSoft games, I love everything about them except the bosses. But I was able to persevere and became Elden Lord. I just had to promise my daughter that if I finish the game with my sorcerer, I show her the Ranni ending.


• UFO 50 - I've had my eye on this game for some time. The concept is fascinating: a collection of games hailing from a bygone time for a fictional console. As with any collection, not every game is going to hit. But it was fascinating to play through the history of this fantasy developer and see how ideas and themes would expand over time. My absolute favorites of the collection were Warptank and Chameleon, both more thinky games than action. There are some that I haven't devoted enough time to, like the strategy and RPGs. But the shear audacity of UFO 50 has me entralled for days, earning its rightful place on this list.


• Hitman: World of Assassination - In many ways, Hitman is an intimidating game. As it exists now, there are the three primary campaigns, several DLC missions, as well as the live-service missions. It is almost overwhelming to come to the game to be faced with all of that. Though I've tried a time or two before, I still haven't completed all three campaigns. Instead what brought me back to the game was addition of the run based mode, Freelancer, from back in 2023. Of course, I'm slow at discovering these things so I picked it up this year and had a blast. Now make no mistake: I am very bad at the Freelancer mode, but I love getting dropped into a mission where the target(s) could be anyone, anywhere. Adding an endless mode like this is a stroke of genius on IO Interactive's part.


• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - One of the benefits of writing this list so late is allowing end-of-the-year releases like this a proper chance to be noticed. And notice I did. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle get so many things right. On one hand, it could very well be a lost film in the franchise, slotted between Raiders and Last Crusade. On another, it is an amazing adventure around the globe. Each environment, though built around the precepts required of the game, feels unique, such as the claustrophobic warrens of the Vatican or the open desert of Egypt. Finally, it is an effective Indiana Jones simulation, letting you inhabit the well-known character so thoroughly. It is hard to be effusive enough about the decisions MachineGames made in bringing this game to life. I'm going to be thinking about my time with Great Circle for some time. And I can't wait for the forthcoming DLC to give me an excuse to put on the leather jacket and fedora again.


• Honorable Mentions: Marvel's Midnight Suns, XDefiant, Cyberpunk 2077 - I spent quite a lot of time with and each held a spot on this list until they were finally forced off. But being able to list so many almost games says a lot about how this year went.


• And that's it for 2024. I think I'll actually get this out at a resonable time. I guess 2025 is looking up already, right? Right?


• Oh, shit.

Watched Lately: Hamilton, Hollywood Pantages Theatre, September 14, 2024

• I'm not 100% sure when I fell in love with musicals, but I have a strong suspicion. Buried in my parents' record collections was an old album that my mother would occasionally play when the mood struck: the soundtrack to the film Paint Your Wagon. I had never seen the film, nor the musical upon which it was sort of based. But the songs were so evocative to my young ears that I could see those gold miners singing their hearts out. Eventually I met my wife and she introduced me to Broadway musicals in a big way. I still remember sitting with her, front row at Les Misérables, with tears welling in my eyes as the overture began. I've been hooked ever since.

• It's not really any surprise to me that I enjoyed Hamilton. The hip-hop inspired retelling of the life of Alexander Hamilton is absolutely fascinating in its construction. It should never have worked, but I find myself enthralled with its catchy tunes and clever loops the narrative runs on. And although I notoriously detest most second acts, Hamilton has enough drama and conflict to carry the story aptly to its conclusion. Of course, I've seen the filmed version of the show numerous times before we had the chance to attend ourselves. But instead of retreading points that have been written a million times over the last decade, I'd like to share the three things that enchanted me the most about seeing the show performed live. And yes, "The Ten Duel Commandments" ran through my head as I wrote out these points.


• Number One: One of the fun ways that the movie succeeds in bringing the musical to the screen is how it brings you onstage to see the performers from from intimate distance. But what the movie cannot replicate is the magic of the proscenium. From your viewpoint in the audience, you can take in the entirety of the production at once. And Hamilton is a busy show, with the bigger numbers absolutely overwhelming with things to take in. The filmmakers, in producing what is likely the best reproduction of a stage musical for the screen, still understand that they have to take advantage of the convention of movies. But that doesn't allow much time to luxuriate in the specticle. There was a huge grin on my face through the entirely of the show as I could pick out individual details that weren't important for a camera to focus on.

• Number Two: A corollary to the prior, one of the issues with flattening the show for a screen is that leaves not room for the audience. It was a little strange to see the performers playing to the audience in ways that don't come across well on film. King George is probably the most visible instance in the movie, but his antics are heightened on the stage, as are several of the other performances. That interaction is impossible to capture on film. It was so much fun to have the performers acknowledging that there was an audience in rapt attention.


• Number Three: Finally, the intensity of "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" does not come across on television. Maybe if I had a massively more capable audio system, it might approximate the live experience. But I doubt that you could reproduce those thunderous booms of cannon fire that you could feel in your chest. It is absolutely the high point of the musical, but I was not ready for just how intense the scene would be live.


• I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to, well, just about any media that I consume. So when something amazing comes along, it restores my ardour for the artform. Seeing Hamilton reminded me just how transcendent live theater can be.

Top Five: Anime of 2022

• 2022 was the year that I returned to anime in a big way. I had intended to tell you about it, but blogging isn't as easy for me as it once was. Thus, here at the end of 2024, are my top five anime for 2022. At last.

• Call of the Night - I can't remember having a series written specifically for my tastes, but that seems to be what has happened here. So thank you to Lidenfilms for this gift. Call of the Night is the story of a teenage boy who has become so unmoored from the his day-to-day life that he can only find solace after dark. Yes, it heavily trades on the ol' vampire trope, but it embraces the subtext of why that trope is so seductive. As an inveterate night owl myself, it was amazing to watch an anime that really understood the beauty of solitude in the night time.

• My Dress-Up Darling - It really was a close thing, deciding which anime would top this list. For as much as I love Call of the Night, it's My Dress-Up Darling that I can gush over endlessly. A tale of two high school kids, unable to share the things they love with anyone else, finding a way to bond over cosplay. For everything that people will tell you this show is about (like romance, cosplay, or lewdness), the thing that really draws me in is how the main characters are kids on the verge of adulthood, struggling to deal with situations that they are not quite mature enough to handle, yet find their way through together. All that and they do it with joy and a laugh. See, I could go on, but let's see what else is on the list.

• Spy x Family - This Shonen Jump megastar came with all of the fanfare one would expect of their next big hit. The shock to me was how well that was deserved. Spy x Family is so many things: an espionage story, a wacky comedy, a somber drama, and more. It shouldn't all work together, but the characters are so likeable that I would watch them do just about anything. And I'm sure they will.

• Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story - There is no reason for a golf anime to go this hard. The dichotomous main characters could not be more different except in their passion for the sport. This show has some wild swings (goddammit), but I found myself grinning from the audacity of the show from start to finish. I don't even know how to decribe it without sounding ludicrous. Just watch an episode and take in the madness of peak golf anime.

• Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic - Aka Akasaka's tale of the battle of the sexes reaches its climax here in the third season of Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The comedy is still peak, the character work is on point, and the romance is at its height. All of the laudets for this series are well earned. If you find yourself inclined to see a fun take on the romance genre, well, don't start here. But do watch that first season because you will find yourself here before you know it.


• Let's see when I get around to my 2023 list.

Top Five: Video Games of 2023

• 2023 was certainly an interesting year, with all of that connotes. It would be weird to write about all of the great video games I got to play without mentioning the thousands of people laid off by the games industry due to terribly short sighted corporations as they try to extract every last dollar of profit, even at the expense of the people who count on them. Games don't spontaneously emerge, they are the hard work of people who genuinely love them and those people deserve to be treated better. By celebrating these games, I celebrate the people behind them and hope everyone can find stability in the new year.


• Monster Hunter World - Some five years after its release, I finally saw the ending of Monster Hunter World. That it took a foray into Monster Hunter Rise to remind me that I never completed the earlier game feels a little silly, but I'm glad my appetite for fighting those gargantuan beasts brought me back. MHW let you explore the world, learn how to navigate it, and discover how the monsters act there. It was neat to get to know those environments and really explore those fantastic ecosytems.


• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - It feels a little strange to put a game on this list that I played thrugh to completion previously, but BOTW really earned its return trip to the top five. And the reason for that is that I played through the game for my daughter. It wasn't hard to convince me since I wanted to warm up for the impending Tears of the Kingdom. In a way, it reminded me of my childhood when my brother and I would game together, with one of us at the controls and the other navigating. We had a great time, laughing our way through the game. I'll never be able to say the words "spirit orb" without a funny voice again.


• The Making of Karateka - I received the Criterion Collection DVD of >Citizen Kane as a gift one year and was immediately taken with all of the extras included that help explain why the film is held in such high esteem. Without all of the work, the film might have come off as terribly boring because decades of movies have learned so heavily from it. I suspect the same would have occured if I attempted to play Karateka outside of this amazing package. More documentary and archive than game, The Making of Karateka walks you through its creation and the discusses the advances Jordan Mechnar made in bringing his vision to the computer. It is an exciting start to Digital Extreme's Gold Master Series, and I'm fascinated to see when they go in the future.


• Vampire Survivors - When Vampire Survivors first came out, I was perplexed as to why anyone find it fun. "You just run around and try not to die?" I asked myself. Thanks to Game Pass, I was able to try it for myself and discovered that there is a lot more to it. The "trying-not-to-die" part is greatly assisted by the upgrades you choose and your thoughtful positioning to get the most use out of them. It is a very strightforward game, but the simplicity of execution allows for an easy on-ramp to the layers that it adds. For a while there, it became a ritual to run a level before work every day. I don't know if there is any way to finish the game, but I quite enjoyed my time with it.


• Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name - When this game was first announced, I had trouble understanding why it was necessary. Having finished it, I still have the same thought. But it doesn't have to be necessary to have been a joyful addition to the Like A Dragon series. Just running around Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios' Sotenbori again was enough to remind me how much it is to just exist in this world. Of the two combat styles, I far preferred the Yakuza style to the new Agent style, but the game did not suffer due to that preference. If anything, the game was very welcoming to just going out and having a great time. So much so in fact that it was the first AAA game that I ever completed all Xbox achievements on. For it to grab ahold of me that thoroughly is quite the compliment.


• Honorable Mentions: Hi-Fi Rush, Saints Row, Starfield, and Borderlands all flirted with space on this list, but didn't end up making the cut. I still liked them all for various reasons.


• Um, I'd better get started on the 2024 list if I want any chance of releasing it before the end of 2025.

Top Five: Video Games of 2022

• 2022 was an interesting year for video games. I found myself with less time and less drive to play games. But also found that Xbox Cloud Gaming works really well, so I played more than I expected. Here are the five games that ended up occupying my time and headspace the most in 2022.


• Elden Ring - An understandable game of the year. It really deserves all of the rewards it received. That said, I mostly ended up playing this for my daughter. If I were writing this from a 2023 perspective, I'd have pulled it from the running because I'm kinda exhausted with it. (Look forward to my forthcoming post on why I need to stop hatefucking Fromsoft games.) As it stands in 2022, I can't deny that this game started out fun and gave me something to do with my daughter.


• Conan Exiles - One of the themes of my gaming this year was finding world live in rather than conquer. Conan Exiles, for all of its hardcore tendencies, is also a game that you can just nest in. I made a nice little house, outgrew it and started a bigger house, made some "friends", and generally had a good time. I eventually drifted away, but there was a lot to just enjoy about being in a world that was only as savage as you wanted it to be.


• Arcade Paradise - I love a good "out of nowhere" game, the kind that blindsides you and reminds you that you don't need follow every marketing post for a year just to enjoy a game. Arcade Paradise's tale of a teenage parental disappointment who slowly transforms a laundromat into an '80s arcade is both sad and heartwarming. But under the story is just a fun collection of throwback arcade games and the compulsion to just put in one more quarter. Not every machine is a hit, much like at any arcade. But I was a lot of fun to play and work and see the arcade slowly grow.


• Disney Dreamlight Valley - Heh, this is like Disney's Anti-Conan. In many ways, this game scratched the same itch as Conan Exiles. There is the same exploration, playing dress up, and homemaking, but with a lot (A LOT) less bloodshed. If you have a fondness for Disney characters and just want to hang out with them, this is a fun way to do it.


• Cyberpunk 2077 - The launch of Patch 1.5 did a lot to revitalize interest in Cyberpunk, with many taking the opportunity to finally venture into Night City, myself included. The game, well, is still the game. Many of the roughest edges have been filed down, and there is great fun to be had. In many ways, it feels like a much prettier Borderlands to me. But I'm not sure if I'll ever finish the game. And that's okay. I had a good run with it.


• One game that I wish I could have placed on this list is Tunic. Tunic's entire Zelda-like, meta-examination of the joys of discovering a new game hit me right in the nostalgia center of the brain. But then the all-to-frequent difficuly spikes pushed me further and further from that joy until I could not bring myself to even try to headbash my way through the next brick wall in front of me. /sigh


• What's this? We're halfway through 2023 already? I can't wait to see what ends up on this year's list. (Or when I'll actually post it.)

Watched Lately: Skeleton Knight in Another World

• I didn't mean for this to become the anime blog, but I guess we play with the hand we're dealt. And my hand includes the most aggressively mediocre show that I have watched in I do not know how long.


• Like, I don't even know why I did it. I bounced off of Aharen-san wa Hakarenai after just one interminable episode. I gave up on The Executioner and Her Way of Life and Trapped in a Dating Sim after just a few episodes each, once I realized I didn't actually care what happened to the characters. But for some reason, I just kept watching Skeleton Knight in Another World even though it's not a very good show. It's barely a passable show, but I kept watching.


• Skeleton Knight stars your standard overpowered isekai protagonist, Arc, who wakes up one day as his character in his favorite MMO. Only, his character was using a transmog to appear as a skeleton, which has carried over to this new world! Of course, none of that matters outside of a few gags. If you removed the skeleton conceit, it would have no effect on the story.


• Not that the plot is any better. Arc quickly discovers that slavery is common in this new world and finds himself helping those in need of protection. He ends up assisting an elf warrior and a beast girl ninja in freeing various captives and striking down their captors, not out of any sense of justice, but because it's the cool thing to do. As I type this, I come to realize that this my largest issue with the series. It presents this world as full of injustice, but the protagonist could not care less. His companions may provide direction, but he's just a tool, in every sense of the word.


• Don't be a tool. Don't watch this anime.


• Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Random Shots: My Predictions for Season 2 of My Dress-Up Darling

• SPOILER WARNING! This post is for a very small subset of people who have both watched the first season of My Dress-Up Darling as well as (somehow, mysteriously) caught up with the current chapters of the manga, Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (referred to as such because none of this is officially available in English yet). Which means I'm pretty much just writing this for me and several people who will never find this post anyway. Enjoy!


• With the end of the first season of My Dress-Up Darling, we look ahead to what I'm sure everyone hopes will be a Season 2. Considering how closely the anime hewed to the manga, it's a safe bet that they will do the same with a new season. The first season covered Chapters 1 through 39. With the manga up to Chapter 74, let's break down how the next season could look.


• These first three episodes seem pretty straightforward.
• Episode 1 - Chapters 40 through 43 - The first episode will likely cover Amane's introduction to the series. He is one of my favorite new characters and I'm excited to see him show up. Though I suspect they will have to compress the chapters a little to fit it all in one episode.


• Episode 2 - Chapters 44 through 46 - The next episode would then cover Bunny Suit Arisa. It's a tight three chapter arc that would be perfect for the next episode.


• Episode 3 - Chapters 47 through 49 - Then we get to Halloween, another three chapter arc that fits perfectly with how season one was plotted.


• Here is where it gets a little harder to guess. The School Festival runs for thirteen chapters. In addition, Chapter 50 kind of stands alone, so you could push it into the end of episode 3. If not, you have fourteen chapters to deal with. I can't see forcing the arc into three episodes or stretching to five, though the pros could figure it out. Considering how important this arc is to opening Gojo and Kitagawa's passion for cosplay to their classmates, it deserves quite a lot of time. If I was doing it, the Rei episodes would be:
• Episode 4 - Chapters 50 through 53 - Rei (part I) would start with Shizuku's birthday party precredits, then cover the choice of festival entries, Gojo's introduction to Council Host, and the reassurance that he needs to dedicate himself to making the costume.


• Episode 5 - Chapters 54 through 56 - Rei (part II) would cover making the costume, the wig, and trying to make Kitagawa look like a man.


• Episode 6 - Chapters 57 through 59 - Rei (part III) would cover costume try on (watch out for fan service!), manliness lessons, and making the rainbow rose.


• Episode 7 - Chapters 60 through 63 - Rei (part IV) finishes with the makeup demonstration, the festival itself, and the karaoke party.


• This next one is a gimme, no matter how the Rei arc is paced.
• Episode 8 - Chapters 64 through 67 - This episode covers the "Marin got Fat" chapter as well as trying out her new camera. Poor Kitagawa. The girl doesn't deserve to be body shamed, but it's unfortunately something real teens have to deal with.


• And now, my confidence in the exercise comes completely off the rails since there are just not enough chapters to fill out the season.
• Episode 9 - Chapters 68 through 71 - This episode will introduce Akira and lead into the afterparty. If I were breaking this season for real, I'd absolutely want to end an episode on Juju picking up the phone.


• Episode 10 - Chapters 72 through 74? - Here we have the ending of the afterparty with Akira's declaration about Marin and leading into the sleepover, because...


• Episode 11 & 12 - Chapters 75? through ?? - ... because now we've run out of chapters.


• By my count, that leaves the creator, Shinichi Fukuda, very little room to tie up the sleepover and the Coffin event or whatever else they want to do. Maybe I'm wrong and the studio will speedrun the School Festival or maybe cut something. Or maybe the show will get a 13 episode order and enough room for everything to breathe. All I can say is that I'm glad I can armchair theorize the breakdown because I would be sweating if I was in their shoes.

Watched Lately: My Dress-Up Darling

• Have you ever felt that you had to hide something that you're passionate about out of fear that other people would not understand you? For me it was comics books, anime, manga, role-playing games, video games, miniatures.... I've certainly had my fair share of hobbies that I didn't feel confident discussing with others until I could find like-minded people to share with. And lucky for me that I did. Not everyone is. That's where we find our protagonists at the start of My Dress-Up Darling.


• Wakana Gojo is a high school student with a true passion for traditional Japanese hina dolls. Ever since he was young, he's been enamoured with the porcelin beauties. But he has also carried the memory of his young friend berating him for showing interest something girly things. And up until high school, he has kept mainly to himself, bemoaning his loneliness, but afraid that someone might discover his secret.


• Marin Kitagawa is, in many ways, Gojo's opposite. Outgoing and confident, Kitagawa is an otaku through and through. And she completely owns her passions, unafraid to stand up to anyone who might belittle the things she loves. The only thing she can't do is make her own cosplay, try as she might.


• When the two finally meet and reveal their passions to one another, it is like two complimentary pieces coming together. Marin, instead of ridiculing him for his fascination with hina dolls, identifies with his passion. Wakana finds himself lowering his defenses, promising to use his talent for making doll clothing to help her achieve her cosplay dream.


• Over the course of the series, the pair contend with the challenges of making cosplay and coming to terms with their emotions. Wakana barely believes that this girl could even have the time of day for him, much less enjoy his company. Marin, for her part, finds that her unexpected emotions have built to a point that she has trouble keeping her cool around him. But they face their challenges as we explore the world of fandom together.


• According to her creator, Shinichi Fukuda, Marin is meant to be an ideal girl for fans to fall for. At the same time, she has some faults that test Wakana in ways he is not prepared for. One of which is her predilication to providing copious fan service for Gojo and the audience. There is a whole other blog post coming about that, but I have to temper my high praise for the show to set proper expectations.


• And my praise for the show is high, indeed. My Dress-Up Darling is one of the best anime I have seen in years. From the lovingly rendered characters, to the perfectly cast voice actors, to the highs and lows of the story, and more. I didn't fall in love with Marin, as her mangaka hoped. I fell for this cute couple helping each other learn and grow together. And they reminded me that I could be fearless about my passions as well.


• Also, I'm this close to asking my mother-in-law to teach me how to use a sewing machine, because how cool would that be?


• Rating: 4 stars

Top Five: Video Games of 2021

• Thought I would get this out in January. It's like I don't even know me. Anyway, here are my top five games of 2021, in roughly the order I encountered them. They're all even video games this time!


• Tokimeki Memorial - Is it weird to name a game that I have never played as a top five game of the year? Absolutely yes, but it is the right choice. On January 1st, Tim Rogers released his review of Tokimeki Memorial, the game the jump started the dating sim genre in Japan, and then streamed the game to fans eager to see more of the game. To say that I've become enamored by the game might be an understatement, considering I went out of the way to import a copy for my collection. Tokimeki Memorial is simply a game about attending high school, juggling the attention of multiple girl, and, hopefully, finding the love of your life. It's not just a visual novel with a few routes to persue. Instead, Tokimeki Memorial is positively stuffed with possibilities. I've never followed through on my plan to learn Japanese to watch anime or read manga untranslated, but discovering this game got me closer than ever before.


• Yakuza: Like A Dragon - Anyone who has read more than one of these Top Five lists must have noticed a pattern by now: there is going to be a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios game on it. As long as they keep putting out games this good, I'll be happy to reserve the space for them. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a departure for the series, leaving behind the traditional brawler combat for an RPG system. In all other ways, this is every bit the Yakuza game, if not even better than before. Moving from a solo brawler to a party-based RPG also has story ramifications, ensuring there is a reason to have friends around wherever you go. That, I think, is what make this game so special. Instead of playing as a lone hero against the world, Like A Dragon puts you in a community and makes you care for it. When the game was over, I was excited for the future of the series. Not because I wanted to see what the next fight or next challenge would be, but because I am looking forward to hanging out with my friends again.


• Control - I've never spent much time with Remedy's games. A couple hours in Alan Wake aside, I just haven't been interested. That was at least until the folks at Giant Bomb got me very interested in trying it out. Control's Oldest House is a fascinating environment to explore, though it was easy to get confused as to how everything fit together. I suspect some of that is by design, but confusion is a wily target to hit. I did eventually fall off the game, but I had enjoyed my time with it quite a bit.


• Lost Judgment - After playing Judgment, easily a top three Ryu Ga Gotoku Extended Universe game, my anticipation for a sequel shot through the roof. Lost Judgment did not disappoint. As with the earlier game, Lost Judgment tackles an important issue, this time the horrors of childhood bullying. This main story was a great driver for the game, with newer and greater stakes appearing over time. Some of the leaps felt a little disjointed, as though there was some uncertainty as to how to mess the escalating mysteries together. What save the overall game, though, is the School Stories. This massive overarching mystery encompasses nearly all of the sidestories and new minigames in a wonderfully satisfying second plot to follow throughout the game. All this might be for naught if the gameplay did not hold up, but Lost Judgment's brawler combat is the pinnacle of their Dragon Engine games. Where in prior games I avoided combat once if because too tedious, here I sought out street fights just to test my fighting prowess. Once again, this side series faces an uncertain future, but I'm am eager to follow Yagami and his companions on their further adventures.


• Cyberpunk 2077 - I waited nearly a year after launch to finally try Cyberpunk 2077, a game that I received as a Christmas gift in 2020. Patch 1.31 seemed like a significant enough number to dive in, and I'm glad I waited. Cyberpunk protrays a fascinating world to explore, its Night City a bleak projection of unrestrained capitalism and structural inequality writ large on the alluring and offputting sites of the future. Combat-wise, the game reminded me of Borderlands shoot-and-loot style. (I actually like that game, so the comparison is positive.) Unfortunately, I got distracted and moved on to other games, but I absolutely will be back to try again.


• And that was my 2021. There are already a couple games that are sure to make my 2022 list, so I'm better get that started.

Random Shots: I Bought A Game I Can't Play

• Back on the first day of 2021, I discovered a video game that (spoilers) is going to land on my Top Five list for the year. Only the game came out in 1994. And it has never been translated to English. And I haven't actually played it.


• Maybe this will explain:

• Probably should have warned you that the video was six hours long. Sorry.


• After watching the video a few times (I'm up to seven times by now), I knew that I had to own this game. So off to Amazon I went. For an astoundingly low amount of $40, this copy was making its way to me from Japan.

• I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the box. One corner was a little crushed, but the quality was still impressive for a 27 year old game.

• Opening the box, I was happy to see that the contents are in great shape as well. That popout on the lid was at one time a music box. Of course a quarter century has killed the battery dead. If I was the adventurous sort, I'd try to restore it, but I'm too much of a coward.

• The box comes with the game itself, a pair of mousepads, and a PS1 compatible mouse (that's it in the white cardboard box).

• Opening the game case, I felt an immediate kinship with the prior owner. I found the various cards, stickers, and obi strip tucked into the manual just like I have done with my own games.


• The box current sits atop my game cabinet, Shiori Fujisaki watching over me even now as I type this. It is a nice totem for a game that, although I can't play it, has meant a lot to me this year.

Theme Parking: Disneyland Part II

• Looking at this blog, you wouldn't know that COVID had happened. You wouldn't know that anything happened, honestly. But I passed the time in a number of ways, watching for the markers that life was returning to normal again. If there was ground for optimism, this set of annoucements is a company with hope for the future.


• Disneyland is reopening April 30, 2021 - It may not be the biggest news, but I think it's the most iconic: Disneyland announced that they are opening April 30. Although California Guideline allowed for reopening as of April 1 (and Magic Mountain was right there waiting), Disneyland set a date that gives them time to: 1) wind down the Taste of Disney event, 2) recall Cast Members and retrain them, and 3) give the county time to reach a better tier. That last part worked out because Orange County has already reached the Orange tier and is swiftly moving toward Yellow at the end of the month. I was never one of the doomsayers who thought that Disney would pull up stakes because of onerous state guildlines (hah!). But it is nice to the the light at the end of the tunnel may be Tinkerbell.


• DisneylandForward - For as important as reopening is, this was the news that got every Disneyland fan in a tizzy. On March 25, Disney announced... something. The most extreme fans immediately declared that Disneyland had annouced the mythical third gate and started trying to parse what rides and lands that the concept art was portraying. Thankfully it did not take long for more rational heads prevailed and the real story came out: DisneylandForward is Disney's public relations campaign to lobby the City of Anaheim to change the zoning of the Disneyland resort. Exciting, huh?

  As it is, the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan was drawn up when Disney was planning California Adventure and pretty clearly lays out how each part of the resort can be developed. Although it ushered in a massive upgrade to the resort, Disney now find themselves too constrained by that same agreement. There are only so many backstage areas they can demolish while pushing out the margins before they finally run out of all available run. (Though Tomorrowland continues to be wildly underutilized.) So now Disney is asking for more freedom to develop what they have left however they see fit. It is an exciting development in that it shows that Disney wants to continue investing in their original park. But don't get hung up on a bunch of artwork in a zoning proposal.



• Alcohol in the Blue Bayou - Not nearly as big of news, but I'm still fascinated to see this headline. Disneyland announced that they will start selling alcohol at the Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square. When Oga's Cantina opened with Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019, the alcohol ban was already done, but it stayed limited to a highly-thematic location. The Blue Bayou is the best place to expand the practice. And if following the example of WDW's Magic Kingdom, alcohol will stay limited to table service restaurants. Though considering how few of those there are in the park, maybe Disneyland will expand their dining options in order to expand their alcohol sales.


• Annual Passholder Tears - I was an annual passholder once upon a time, and I loved having that kind of freedom to go to the parks at a whim. But when Disney announced that they were cancelling the program, there was a part of me that was fascinated by the implications for the park. Not everyone was so thrilled and many have been very vocal online about their displeasure. I know I shouldn't be mean about this, but I was struck with the thought of buying a mug with the phrase "Annual Passholder Tears" if such a thing existed. Failing to find one on Etsy, I may have to source one myself...


• April 30 is just around the corner and I'm excited to see what's coming in Part II of this grand Disneyland story.

Top Five: Video Games of 2020

• Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has owned my gaming time for the last few years and will own 2021 as well when I finally get to play Yakuza: Like A Dragon. (I'll have an Xbox Series X someday. Hopefully.) So I'm not surprised to find them on this year's list. But that's not all I played. What a year.


• Judgment - After playing through a number of Yakuza games over the last few years, Judgment was both familiar and a breath of fresh air. The game leans more toward a dramatic tone where Yakuza can weave wildly between extremes, but that focus gives Judgment enough distiction to stand apart from its predecessor. The main chararacter, lawyer-turned-hard-boiled-detective Takayuki Yagami, and his companions are much more grounded, but the story is as big as ever. I loved playing this game from start to finish and I hope RGG Studio keeps making side games like this.


• The Yakuza Remastered Collection - Yes, I'm cheating by combining three games into one slot so that they don't dominate the entire list. I have been infatuated with the Yakuza series since Zero. I knew that, once I finished that game, I would have to play all the rest. Since 3-5 were all Playstation 3 exclusive, I knew that might be difficult, but Sega seems to have anticipated my needs. I have now played to 3, 4, and I'm working on 5 as the year draws to an end. The series continues to be a delight in drama and creativity.


• Fantasy Life - There is a good chance that I bought this game on the recommendation of Austin Walker (formerly of Giant Bomb and Waypoint). There is so much to it, though, that I quickly ran into a "too-much-to-do" mental block and dropped the game. It wasn't until the pandemic hit that I had the time and desire to lose myself in a fantasy world. Fantasy Life's simple gameplay, colorful characters, and inviting world was a welcome escape in the early days of the lockdown.


• Hades - I've never done the whole "follow a game through early access" thing before, but Hades was the exact right game to try it on. A lot of credit has to go to the team at Supergiant who had the game nailed from the start. All of the time after I started playing was just adding more and polishing the gem-like core that was already there. It was fun to watch the game grow over time, and it was amazing to play from day one.


• Kingdoms Of Amalur - Reckoning - It certainly is big game, which is why previous attempts at the game eventually faltered. (The studio name Big Huge Games should have been a giveaway here.) It is easy to fall into the completionism trap when the quests are so diverse and the stories so interesting. But there is so much of it and there is enough sameyness to the dungeons it can feel monotonous. But it's hard not to be drawn to the combat and, maybe, see a glimpse of the MMO that might have come.


• Since this is going up in April, I'll totally admit that I have a Series X now. Also, I've already beat Like A Dragon. I really need to try harder on these posts.

Top Five: Video Games of 2019

• It may have been a slow gaming year again, but some big titles found a way to overcome my inertia. Here are the games that refused to let me ignore them.


• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - When I first received my Nintendo Switch as a Christmas present, Breath of the Wild was the game I was most looking forward to playing. And... I didn't like it very much. I ran around a bit, followed the story line, but it just wasn't clicking for me. I thought it would go back on the shelf, unfinished.

  But then my brother played and finished the game himself and encouraged me to try again. I don't know what changed. Whether I was in the right headspace or I just figured out what the game wanted of me, it finally clicked in a big way. Breath of the Wild is an explorer's dream. The world encourages you to wander around and check everything to see what is hidden there. In a way, this is the closest a Zelda game has come to replicating the feeling of the NES The Legend of Zelda.



• Hades - I have been a fan of Supergiant Games since their inception. Their first game, Bastion captivated me entirely with its riff on the action-RPG and the studio's now-signature narrative and musical excellence. Unfortunately, although their next two games didn't hit me the same way, Hades has hit me just right. Its combat feels right out of Bastion, but with a run-based, Rogue-lite underpinning that has me always eager for "one more run." Even though Hades is in early access, it is stuffed with systems and content that, bar an ending they haven't completed, would be a release game for any other developer. It seems that Supergiant is not satisfied with "good enough" and Hades is all the better for it.


• Zen of Sudoku - I purchased Zen of Sudoku in 2007 and have played it for over 279 hours. When I need to unwind and let my brain take a rest, this is my go to game. It comes up on my list this year because 2019 just demanded it. (In looking up these stats, I see that I also purchased Bookworm Adventures around that time for three times the price and only played for four hours. Woof.)


• Marvel's Spider-Man - I'm a little surprised that I've never played a Spider-Man game before. Spidey is hands-down my favorite superhero. But a combination of platform issues and reticence to try something different has always kept me away. Thankfully, the praise for Marvel's Spider-Man overcame all of that and I was treated to a distillation of everything I love about the character. And although I am awful at the combat (even on the lowest difficulty), the joy of swinging through the city is enough to earn a spot on the list.


• alphacross - My affinity for crossword puzzles assuredly can be traced to my grandmother. She did the crossword every day, in pen as is proper. Just recently, I was looking for something to keep me occupied and discovered alphacross on the Google Play Store. It is everything I need from a crossword puzzler without a bunch of the crap you usually get from one of these apps. It's just a subscription to as many puzzles as you can manage and the tools to complete them. I have been rediscovering the special language of crosswords that comes from seeing certain clues repeat over time. I have also been cursing the puzzle designers who are always too clever by half. But from time to time when I work on another puzzle, I remember what it was like to sit at the kitchen counter and do the crossword with my grandma.


• An honorary mention goes to the board game The 7th Continent which would have taken a spot had I need to fill out the top five. A survival adventure game about ridding yourself of a terrible curse, I spent countless evenings with my daughter learning the continent and dying horribly again and again. We're sure to win one day.

Theme Parking: D23 2019 Parks & Resorts Presentation Wrap-Up

• I woke up Sunday morning, made breakfast for the family, and tuned into whoever could get a stream up of the D23 Parks & Resorts Presentation. The biggest Disneyland rumors leading up to today revolved around a refresh of Tomorrowland. That did not happen, but there was still several things to announce.


• Chairman Bob Chepak officially announced the new daytime parade, Magic Happens, a name that has been posted all over the message boards because of an amazingly dishy leak over on MiceChat.

All images gleefully stolen from Disney Parks Blog and Twitter

• He also showed the new entrance to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad in Mickey's Toontown. Called The El Capitoon Theater, the queue will feature an historical (hysterical) exhibit of costumes and props from film history. This seems to be located where Toontown City Hall sits now. Since that part of the land is just a large outdoor seating area for a set of food vendors that I never remember exist. (Heck, the most recent park map just lists the three windows as Toontown Dining.)

• We also got so see a little more of Rise of the Resistance, the ride the Galaxy's Edge really needs to open right now to keep the nerds happy. All of the new footage looks a little too much like CGI trickery, but we'll know for certain in about four months. Maybe.

• Over in Disney California Adventure, all talk was about the coming Avengers Campus. The primary new attraction in the land (not the first though because Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout will be moved to Avengers Campus when the land opens, Matterhorn-style), will be the currently unnamed Spider-Man ride. Rumors of it being yet another shooter ride seem to be founded.

• Chapek also officially announced the long-rumored Avengers ride. It's described as a QuinJet ride to Wakanda that (say it with me) goes terribly wrong. The rumors have been that TDA (Team Disney Anaheim) sent the Imagineers back to the drawing board for this ride due to capacity issues, thus causing it to fall into Phase II of the expansion. Considering WDI's track record, this is the easier rumor to believe.

• And that was it for Disneyland. Considering that we just came off the Galaxy's Edge launch and with Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad and Marvel Land already to announced, it really was too much to expect a new-new-new Tomorrowland. And since all of the most exciting expansions are taking place elsewhere, Disneyland still has plenty to finish before needing something new.


• The rest of presentation focused on the other parks. We heard about Hong Kong's two Frozen rides, as well as the name of their redesigned castle. We got more info about Shanghai's new Zootopia land. They also announced what should be a pretty cool new Cirque du Soleil show opening at WDW's Disney Springs. And we heard more about the Star Wars hotel.


• While they were at it, Chapek announced the name of the new Disney Cruise ship, Disney Wish. And it what was the most excruciating announcement of the day, they announced a new collaboration with Target.


• But the best announcements were saved for Epcot, a park that has lost its way in recent years. The all-but-forgotten Future World will now be divided into three lands, World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature, seemingly to compliment the already strong World Showcase. They announced the names of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Space 220 Restaurant. They announced a refresh of Spaceship Earth as well as the release of new shows, Awesome Planet, Canada Far and Wide, a Beauty and the Beast sing-along, and Wondrous China. They discussed the upcoming opening of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and announced a new Mary Poppins ride. We also got a very nice new logo treatment for the park.

• D23 might not have been everything that us Disneyland fans might have wanted, but there is a lot for others to be excited about. Now we wait for 2021.

Theme Parking: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum War

• About a year ago, I started casting around for a place to discuss all things Disneyland. Somewhere, I hoped, that I could find like-minded individuals who enjoyed the parks and would debate, theorize, and share gossip. I landed on the WDWMagic forums, specifically the Disneyland Resort sub-forum. It has its fair share of kooks, supposed insiders, and all around nice people. It felt like an internet home I had been searching for since the implosion of NeoGAF.


• Fast forward to Sunday morning when someone has detonated a dirty bomb in the community in the form of a Medium post. The gist of author Gary Snyder's claims is that Al Lutz, one of the earliest online critic of Disney and one of the founders of MiceAge, was posting articles provided by a Disney corporate writer starting in the early 2000's. The goal of all of this seems to be poisoning the community against Michael Eisner to help affect his ouster. (I see that I've never posted a review of James B. Stewart's Disney War. I should get on that.) The author further fingers WDWMagic forum member TP2000 as the Disney writer. This all seems to have been provoked by the recent MiceChat article by Lutz which this time portray Disney Chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products, Bob Chapek, as the current architect of Disneyland's woes.


• MiceChat eventually punched back with a number of frequently re-edited statements, eventually landing on:

Folks, as we digest what was alleged in this nearly unreadable hit piece by Dusty's ex-husband and his friend (and banned MiceChat user), we can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the entire gist of the article is wrong. In fact, it's slander. Anyone that has ever read the Al Articles knows the truth.

At this point, we ask that you please support us by not further spreading the falsehoods in this ridiculous article. Our thoughts and prayers are with Al Lutz, who has been so brutally and untruthfully maligned.

Al may now come to the Expo just to tell you in his own words. Please stop by the MiceChat booth to say hello.



• It comes out that Gary Snyder has made a career writing hit pieces about Disney, casting doubt on the veracity of this claims. MiceAge co-founder Kevin Yee eventually reveals that Snyder is forum poster Spirit of 76, a long time antagonist of Lutz's. Along with the MiceChat post, it seems that Snyder and the ex of MiceChat's founder (the successor to MiceAge) concocted a revenge plot to bring down MiceChat.


• (An alternate summary of everything up to here can be found in this Twitter thread from Matthew Panzarino, Editor-In-Chief of Techcrunch.)


• On the WDWMagic forums, TP2000 finally arrived to throw water on all of Snyder's claims. This everyone took in stride as the post had mostly been discredited. At least until MiceChat admin PhotoMatt showed up to accuse TP2000 of lying about all of this (in a now deleted forum post).

This statement is not accurate. I have access to one of the emails you would have used and I have not received any emails. I also contacted Dustysage, and he has not received any emails from you. The claim you are conversing with him is not based on any facts.

Wrong. You registered on the forum I am an admin on with an email that belongs to Troy Porter. You did this in 2005, and you had no idea it would come back to haunt you. Your address matches what was posted previously by another member. Public records indicate your real age, so it's odd that you would enter a birthday on Micechat using the year 1974.

1974.

74.

Does that number ring a bell? WDW1974? Spirit of '74?

Troy, you and your buddies hurt my friends. Why? What did you have to gain from this? You are clearly lying. Stop lying. Tell the truth. Why are you doing this?



• PhotoMatt quickly apologized after all of this, that post was deleted, and TP2000 accepted the apology.


• This, of course, leaves us with a lot of drama, but no actual substance. There is no way to trust any of Snyder's claims. And whether or not we do, we must come away with the same conclusion: we must always interrogate the agenda of any information with which we are presented. The reason why information is shared can be as illuminating as the information itself.

Top Five: Video Games of 2018

• Whenever I fall away from gaming, it's because I have become entranced with some other form of media. Whether it's comics or books or web forums, I usually have an excuse to not fire up a new game. This year is was streaming video, namely YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu. Ironically, my addiction to streaming happened soon after we finally decided to cord cut and go internet only. Nonetheless, I found the time to play a few games.


• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - After my enthusiasm for last year's pair of games, I was ready to jump into another Yakuza game. Of course, the next available is the final Kazuma Kiryu story, but I did not find jumping so far ahead to be such a detriment. Kamurocho looks better than ever before. And with their Dragon engine allowing you to enter locations without load screens, it is more seamless and alive than before. Once again, Ryo Ga Gotoku Studio finds the right balance of drama, action, and comedy that fits my tastes to a tee.


• West of Loathing - I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud at a video game. West of Loathing is a genuinely funny game. Its light RPG and adventure mechanics are just the catalyst for its absurd take on the Old West. Players of the online Kingdom of Loathing will find a lot of similarities here. But as much as I enjoyed the game, what I will remember is its humor.


• Monster Hunter World - I never once imagined that I would enjoy a Monster Hunter. All of the preparation, the grinding, the arcane systems... None of it sounded like actual fun. Then Capcom filed off (most of) the jagged edges and left a game that was downright inviting. I'll never pick up a mainline game in the series. But World let me have a glimpse of what all the diehard fans love.


• Diablo III: Eternal Collection - All I remember of Diablo III on the PC was Error 37. The zeitgeist was enthralling, but I haven't enjoyed an Diablo-like ARPG since Torchlight. Then they put it out on Switch and it was finally the right place, right time game for me. I much prefer the Dark Alliance style controls for these games that PC versions don't offer for some reason. So eight years (and two purchases later), I finally saw the game to its end and I had a blast doing it.


• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Having another person in the house who is interested in video games has been a change for me. My daughter will likely never be a "gamer" like myself, but she enjoys watching me play from time to time and has a few she likes to play herself. One of those that we overlap on is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Purchased in the waning days of 2018, I thought it might be the kind of thing she would enjoy, and oh she did. We often play split-screen together, me charging ahead while she fights in the mid-field. It might not have been the game for me, but it is the perfect game for us. And those few days at the end of December playing together was enough to propel it onto my Top Five for the year.


• This is usually the part where I list honorable mentions, but it really was that slow of a gaming year. Here's to a more fruitful 2019. (Spoilers: it's pretty good so far.)

Top Five: Video Games of 2017

• As we come upon the end of the year, we take time to reflect on what made the year meaningful for us. And for gamers, that often means taking stock of the games we played throughout the year, preferably in some form of list. So without further ado... Wait, did I not put up a list for 2017. Uh oh.


• Yakuza 0 & Yazuka Kiwami - My absolute favorite games of 2017. If I had any lingering doubts about choosing to go Playstation this generation, the new revitalized Yakuza series has affirmed I made the right call. The games' combination of crime melodrama, action brawler, and a densely packed explorable world are a perfect combination to keep me playing. And one of the neatest outcomes from setting each game in the fictional Kamurocho district is seeing out the neighborhood changes while maintaining its underlying familiarity. Yakuza 0 is the decidedly better of the two, with Kiwami feeling more like an expansion pack. But I was excited to play both, and look forward to more in 2018.


• Titan Quest Anniversary Edition - Late in the year, I found myself returning to Titan Quest, this time the Anniversary Edition. The game is one of the few Diablo-style ARPGs that I actually enjoy. I didn't end up finishing it, but it was a nice respite in an otherwise odd gaming year.


• Heroes of the Storm - If you asked me at the beginning of 2017 what the chances were of me including a MOBA on my top I would have laughed. And yet, I found myself logging in to beat up on bots with some regularity throughout the year. I never wanted to play against other players, but I enjoyed the old comp-stomp a lot more than I ever expected.


• Destiny 2 - The sequel to Destiny make it on to this list almost by default. It both is and isn't like the first game, which made my Top Five list in both 2014 and 2015. What it did wrong was its lack of stickiness. But I can't knock if for not being my new forever game. I was happy to have played it even if I may never play it again. (Spoilers: I didn't.)


• Honorable Mentions: Horizon: Zero Dawn, Persona 5, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Each failed to connect with me in vary different ways.


• I guess this means my blogging hiatus is officially over. Maybe I'll even get 2018's list up on time. Maybe.

Theme Parking: The More Things Change - Disney Further Tinkers With Pirates

• When I opened Twitter after work Thursday, my first reaction was a deep sigh. Disney announced changes coming to its Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland Paris, some of which would be making their way to the rides in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. At first, I only noted the title referring to the Paris park. It wasn't until I reread the article that I fully comprehended their intentions for the American parks.

• It's hard not to feel jaded about more changes to Pirates. I have a draft post about my feelings on the ride that I'll get around to finishing some day. But to summarize, Disney has found it necessary to tinker with the ride with some regularity ever since 1996, starting with the chase scene. Then after the release of the Pirates movie, they could not move fast enough to jam Captain Jack Sparrow into a ride that didn't need him. At every turn, Disney damages Pirates in the attempt to improve it.


• The auction scene is one of the most iconic in the ride. The Auctioneer is probably the best animatronic in the the park. And let's not forget mystique of the Redhead. (Another draft post I really need to get to.) Like the change with the chase scene that follows, Disney wants to purge the scene of its regressive themes. But based on their track record, it's hard to trust them to get it right, no matter how many times they trot out the hoary old "Disneyland will never be completed" quote.

• In reality, it is the movie related changes that committed the most violence to the ride. The story of the ride is all but incoherent now. Not that the original ride was perfect with the discordance between the villainy of the pirates against their happy-go-lucky "A Pirate's Life For Me". But whatever themes existed before have been entirely contracted by focusing on the treasure seeking adventure of Captain Jack Sparrow instead of the doomed pirates singing their way to the grave. To be fair, it was around this time that the music was added to the grotto, dramatically improving the atmosphere. So not all is lost.


• Although I was initially hesitant, I will always second-guess my opinions when I find myself on the same side as the reactionaries. But my nostalgia for the auction was mostly challenged when my wife admitted that she never cared for the scene. Maybe some good can come of this change. Disney may not have my trust, but they have my best wishes for their success.

Top Five: Video Games of 2016

• It's way too late for this, but let's do it anyway.


• 2016 has gone and it is once again time to look back on the games I enjoyed last year. In truth, I played very few. Time and priority shifted such that I couldn't dedicate many hours to gaming. But what I did play were some of my favorite of all time.


• Persona 4 The Golden - As a fan of Giant Bomb, Persona 4 looms large as one of the defining games of the site. When the chance game up for me to get a PlayStation Vita and the game, I knew I had to experience it for myself. It is without any hyperbole that I say P4G is the best JRPG I have even played. It's funny that the actual dungeons, the mechanical RPG sections themselves, were my least favorite parts of the game. They never felt as grindy as I was led to believe. And the battle system with its use of weakness exploits was a lot of fun to manage. But the best part was clearly the visual novel side, where making friends and learning more about them turned the experience from a good dungeon crawler to a truly great game. Persona 4 The Golden lives up to its hype.


• Firewatch - I don't go out of my way to try "walking simulator" games. 2013's Gone Home, while amazing, was not some gateway to a new style of game for me. However, when the team at Campo Santo announced their first game, I was immediately interested. Firewatch is very much a first person adventure game, combining the best of environmental storytelling techniques with point-and-click adventure structure. It may not stick the landing on the big mystery, but the emotional arc is perfect. This is easily a game I would share with non-gamers to show what video games can do.


• Pathfinder Adventures - I'm a sucker for all kinds of tabletop games: board, card, RPGs. Even if I may never play them, I like reading about them. Occasionally, against my better judgment, I'll even buy one. I got lucky, then, with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords. I could play solo, with my brother, and even convinced my family to try it. So when the game made the transition to a mobile app, I jumped on it. Pathfinder Adventures does everything I want out of an video game port: making it easier to play the physical game while also taking advantage of the electronic medium. I have now played more on the app than I've ever played of the card game. And I got to play with my daughter which made it even better.


• Hitman - I never imagined myself playing a Hitman. They always seemed like too much work for too grisly a topic. Sure, there was fun stories to come out of the games (hat tip to Rebel FM for piquing my curiosity about the series years ago. But I never actually tried one. That was until videos of the new game started coming out, showing off just how crazy things could go. Hitman lives up to the hype. If you want to see just how good it can be, check out this video.


• Let It Die - I did not expect to find myself enjoying a free-to-play game. Too often, the monetization strategy leads to degenerate design. And although it is said to be worse in the end game, I didn't see any free-to-play shenanigans in Let It Die. Instead I found an alternately morose or farcical dungeon crawler, resembling the Souls and Rogue games. It was simple fun to explore a ruined world, collect gear, and fight various psychos. I didn't make it all that far up the tower, but I enjoyed learning my way through new encounters and doing my best to survive just a bit longer. Also, Uncle Death is a great character, underused in the game.


• Ironically, I've already started 2017's Top Five list with a great game I just finished. Hopefully you won't have to wait quite so long to read about it.