A Dust-Up with Dragons

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

I’m not sure how it started but ever since 2018, I’ve played one entry of the Yakuza series on an annual basis. 2020 was no different. At the turn of the new year, I began Yakuza Kiwami 2. Having played through the earlier entries, I was eager to see where Kiryu’s story would go next, especially in regards to side quests. To be honest, I was a little disappointed at the array of choices in this title. Granted, I still found plenty to scratch my head at: particularly the one where the patriarch had a baby fetish. As for whether playing Yakuza will continue as a yearly tradition, it’s hard to say. With all the delays to the games I wanted to play in March and April, I might now have the opportunity to play more Yakuza. After all, I recently purchased the remastered collection and Song of Life has sat on my PlayStation dashboard since time immemorial. Then there’s the possibility of Yakuza: Like a Dragon reaching Western shores in the near future.

But let’s turn our focus back to the game at hand. Yakuza Kiwami 2, at its essence, is about the clash between two opposing forces seeking dominance over the other. Of course, being a Yakuza title, the plot is never so simple. Kiryu, the idealistic thug that he is, soon discovers multiple conspiracies that sees him traversing from his hometown of Kamurocho to the bombastic streets of Sotenbori. After several hours of detectives threatening arrest, sudden romance and trying to figure out why a Korean mafia is involved, the title culminates in a final battle between Goda Ryuji, the Dragon of the West, and Kiryu Kazuma, the Dragon of Dojima. And as they espoused the need for a manly fight to the death, I felt the urge to roll my eyes in exasperation. Really? Even after shot and with the threat of a bomb going off in mere minutes, these two men wanted to duke it out? It seemed inane to me.

This is a sharp contrast to the opening moments of the game, which starts a year after the events of Yakuza Kiwami. Burdened by the death of his close friend, mentor and first love, Kiryu and his ward, Haruka, visit their graves. There is a solemnity to the event that is further exacerbated by a visit from Terada, the Fifth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. Before they can exchange more than a few words, however, he is seemingly killed and Kiryu is tasked with stopping an impending war between the yakuza from the Kansai and Kanto regions of Japan. 

If there is one thing that the first three Yakuza games have nailed, it’s how to draw players into the story and keep them invested. As I played through the game, I found myself enjoying many of these intricate plot threads and also came to appreciate the introduction of new character, Sayama Kaoru. The chemistry between her and Kiryu was just adorable to watch. And I wanted them to be happy together (despite their age difference). Sadly, after reading up on the reddit, I learned that she would be written out of the series in the next game and essentially forgotten by Song of Life.

Yes, yes, Yumi is supposed to have been the love of his life and he becomes basically a surrogate father to Haruka…but come on! He can date someone else! Haruka could have used a mum! 

As a random side note, I was very impressed with how mature Haruka was. There was even a main quest where Kiryu was debating on the best life for his young ward. Despite my best efforts, he was talked into signing her up for the life of an idol. Haruka, having a mind of her own, was adamant that Kiryu would be able to protect her and that she didn’t need to become an idol (at least, not yet), as she enjoyed her time living in the orphanage. 

Even if the drama of rival Yakuza gangs doesn’t interest you, there is also a vast array of mini-games. While I experimented with a few, the ones that stole much of my attention included the ever addictive claw machine and, of course, the Cabaret Club. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I found running the Cabaret Club one of the most enjoyable parts of both Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Forget Majima’s Construction or Real Estate, ensuring that my clients were pleased by the hostesses was key. Despite being more than a year since I last played it, I was instantly able to pick up the cues, picking ‘Ladies Glass’ or ‘Refill Ice’ without a second thought. Sega, if you wish, you could release just the Cabaret Club portion of the game and there would be many eager to lick it up.

Combat also makes a strong return. Unlike Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, the focus was on mostly one combat style. This made the game both easier and also a little more frustrating. I missed a little of the freedom that came from changing from beast to rush to brawler. How Kiryu gained experience also differed from previous titles. I thought it was actually quite inventive how gaining experience also tied into many of the different activities that are often overlooked. Food, in the Yakuza series has always been about replenishing one’s health. Not so in Yakuza Kiwami 2, which allowed one to also obtain very specific experience points. While I did not like that it was split into six sections, it also made one think about the food you wanted to each in order to unlock specific skills.

The sidestory featuring Majima Goro also proved an entertaining side romp for a couple of hours. It felt good to step back into his shoes though I didn’t much like the Mad Dog of Shimano’s fighting style. I also missed the ponytail and much more slick outfit he sported in Yakuza 0, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. 

Somehow or other, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is greater than the sum of its parts. Though I found some of the side quests a little underwhelming (particularly without Pocket Fighter and Kiryu’s interaction with an entire host of children), I still found myself mildly entertained with various shenanigans. Boys Love, anyone?

The combat also proved to be intuitive and there was a whole host of activities one could get lost in. Unfortunately, due to my horrendous backlog, I wasn’t able to simply keep playing Cabaret Club. In saying that, though, I could always dive right back in and rake in the millions.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a gem of a game. I’ve not played the original on PlayStation 2, but I can see that quite a lot of love was put into this title. The writing was also quite strong and I cannot wait to see the rest of Kiryu’s story (hopefully in sporadic bursts throughout this year). Forget Year of the Rat, it’s the Year of Yakuza and the Dragon of Dojima! 

2020 Lunar New Year

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

It is the Lunar New Year of 2020 and my mother has convinced me to escort her through the city on a Friday night when I could have been enjoying some much desired gaming. Netflix also had demands of my attention and for months I’ve vacillated on whether or not I should pick up Disney+. I’m sure many of my readers understand where I’m coming from. Particularly when it comes to picking up a new streaming channel.

Even worse is the fact that I will be forced to attend a dinner with many of her table tennis friends wile trying to keep myself entertained. There’s a million things I could be doing but I’ve been trapped by the promise that I’ll participate in these social events just to appease the people around me. It’s a dance many suffer through, but I would have hoped I could have escaped it considering how close I am now to my third decade.

[Quick edit: I managed to leave after an hour and bit of torturous set-up. After dithering on computers, listening to a terrible rendition of an ensemble piece and being fed excess smoked salmon, I finally managed to beg off by claiming I had a headache. Then it was an hour long drive back home where I enjoyed a very simple dinner for one.]

The Lunar New Year is always an important tradition in my household. This is because my ethnic background is Chinese. Though this year belonged to the Rat, my grandmother (she’s a tiger) saw fit to take a trip to Shenzhen, China. This was despite fears of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and the quarantine that was set on many of the cities in the Hubei province. When this post is finally published on my blog, who knows what the death toll might be or whether this new strand of coronavirus will have spread across the globe – with many falling prey to it.

In any case, my mother is particularly superstitious. She even bought me some red underwear a few years back so that I could ward off any bad luck. It didn’t stop me from having an incredibly traumatic accident, but I also enjoyed a trip to the United States and Canada. Of course, I didn’t always wear it, so perhaps that was the reason why. If I had listened to her more I might not be living with a terrible regret hanging around my neck.

Of course, I’m falling once again into the traps I often set myself. Digressing from the main point of my blog post. Now, where was I?

Ah, yes. The Lunar New Year.

Sharp-eyed readers will notice that I use the word ‘Lunar’ rather than ‘Chinese’ and this is simply due to the fact that it is not only the Chinese that celebrate the event. Many East Asian cultures partake in the celebrations, ranging from Japan, Korea and Vietnam. And while some of the zodiac animals may differ, there is a lot that is shared.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve also come to appreciate the traditions of my culture and enjoy many of the family events that surround it. Usually it comes with quite a bit of cooking on New Year’s Eve, with one of the dishes being fish. Dumplings are another great staple as are noodles – which promote wealth and long life, respectively. Even better is to have so much food that you have leftovers.

In Sydney, there’s also quite a few events to see. This year, they had lanterns of each of the twelve animals (although, in the case of my mother and I, we arrived a day too early and none of this had been set up). Lion dances and stickers with the word ‘Fu’ meaning Good Fortune turned upside down plastered on doors are some of the more common sights that people usually see. But most important are the red envelopes that are given to young children.

I remember that I always looked forward to the Spring Festival because it meant I would be flush with cash. Mostly because my grandmother was quite liberal with her giving. My mother, on the other hand, was a little tighter when it came to showering me with notes and I’d only snag $10 or $20 at most. Of course, the amount doesn’t really matter (at least, now that I’m older). Just like Christmas, it’s the thought that counts when it comes to such things.

Here’s hoping the New of the Rat will bring many prosperity and fortune. Just like 2020 is the dawn of a new decade, so the cycle of the zodiac animals begins anew this year as well.

As such, I propose a toast to new beginnings – particularly in terms of my story writing.

My Enano’s Keeper

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Though the first episode came out in 2018, it was not until a full year later that I purchased Life is Strange 2 on Steam. Only for the game to not even properly load or be remotely playable. Dismayed, I applied for a refund and then purchased the title on PlayStation Store when it was on sale. After knocking out a few more of the blockbuster game titles that came out near the end of 2019, I finally started up the journey of the two wolf brothers: Sean and Daniel Diaz. After having played the first Life is Strange, I was eager to see the direction Dontnod would be taking with the latest title. They did not disappoint. Unlike the previous game, players were not the one blessed with a supernatural power. Instead, we had to protect and look after our own brother that could move things with their mind. With that serving as the core premise, I dived down deep into Dontnod’s latest entry with relish.

The game began with the trailer that sparked a thousand and more questions: a police cruiser driving down a suburban before stopping near a house. The officer, seeing something suspicious, gets out to investigate a disturbance. Within moments, an invisible explosive force knocks the cruiser to the side and a call is made for back-up.

It’s a strong and powerful opening that contrasts sharply when Life is Strange 2 pivots to the perspective of Sean a few hours earlier. Walking home with his friend, Lyla, it is the height of normalcy. They chat amicably outside the house, the dialogue a much more accurate depiction of how teenagers interact than its predecessor. And it was fun to be consumed with Sean’s key concern of asking out Jen even as he prepared for a booze-filled party. 

Yet within the hour, the life he has known is brutally destroyed by the sudden death of patriarch Diaz and the manifestation of Daniel’s telekinesis. In order to protect his younger brother, Sean makes the impulsive decision to go on the run. The second scene opens up on the brothers trudging down a highway. Their destination: Mexico. Why Sean never considered the much closer border with Canada is a mystery. But perhaps their familial roots were much stronger sense.

In any case, it pushed into perspective how little prepared Sean was for this sudden quest south. Though I had debated on picking the soda right before the party, I tried to properly role-play the choices a horny teenager would have made for a night of debauchery. As such, Sean was saddled with a six-pack of beer that he could not rightly give to his nine year old brother.

These choices, however, became very important as the Chapters went on. Almost always, I placed Daniel’s well-being at the forefront of my interactions with him. By the end of Chapter Five: Wolves, I had instilled a proper respect for the law as well as understanding of good and bad. Despite several traumatic experiences, Daniel proved to be a sensitive boy that ached for a home and friends like Chris. When he freed Sean from the facility, he worried about the police officer that had been knocked out by his power.

By game’s end, I felt proud that I had raised Daniel to be empathetic and kind. To be honest and use his powers for the betterment of others. In other ways, though, it felt as if Sean had been short changed by my choices. And though the ending was labelled Redemption, I was saddened at how much my Sean had to sacrifice in order to protect Daniel’s future. Perhaps I should have played Sean a little more selfish and had him drive across the border to Mexico. Who can say. I made my decision and it was not as easy as I would have liked.

Speaking of Chris, it was nice to see him again after playing through The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. What warmed my heart was how quickly he and Daniel bonded. Their youthful exuberance reminded me of my own childhood and how I often created narratives in my head based on the shows I watched. This was particularly moving as it happened shortly after poor Mushroom was cougared out of the blue. I mean, really, Dontnod? Mushroom was only just introduced and you took her away just as quick. HAVE YOU NO SHAME?

Episode Three was also a little problematic with Daniel’s anger. While it was understandable, I felt it a little jarring after my previous interactions in Chapter One and Two. In saying that, it was the one episode that provided a proper explosive cliffhanger ending that truly had me worried for the other characters.

In fact, now that I give it additional thought, Life is Strange 2 seemed much more focused on character interactions. I loved the conversations that Sean had with the people that reached out. From his mother Karen to Brody. Even David Madsen’s appearance helped provide an adequate ending to his character arc from the first game.

As for gameplay, Life is Strange 2 plays it safe. For anyone that has played an adventure game in the vein of Telltale, they will find themselves in familiar waters. Sean can look at things around the world and occasionally interact with them, if required. He can also ask Daniel for assistance, but many of these are more scripted.

Life is Strange 2 never felt as if it escalated to the scale of the first title. I never truly grasped with my decisions as I tried to raise Daniel out in the American wilderness – even when the brothers Diaz were working at a pot farm. The only times I grappled with a choice were the ones that involved rising to confront racism. Though people often claim video games aren’t political, Life is Strange 2 is set in 2016, and as such it comes with the many caveats of the election year.

Most of the time, I picked options that I hoped would de-escalate a situation. Rather than fight fire with fire, I tried to defuse by offering only a meek resistance. Usually by ignoring it. There was one part, though, in Chapter Four, when it felt particularly degrading as several rednecks tried to force Sean to speak Spanish. I tried to refuse. For my efforts, I was forced to either sing or suffer a terrible beating. I chose sing, not knowing that Sean was going to actually sing in Spanish. It was horrifying and humiliating in equal measure.

Still, Life is Strange 2 was never shy about these experiences. And while it was never as cataclysmic as the ending to Life is Strange, the choices I made felt very personal and important. Should a Life is Strange 3 be announced, I know that I, for one, would be eager to see where Dontnod take us next.

These are a Few of my Least Favourite Things

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

There have been numerous moments in my life when it has felt that my very sense of self worth has been sabotaged by my own mother. The new year had barely started before my mother was, once again, haranguing me for my single status. And then, as soon as she said that I was not all that bad to look at, she swiftly blindsided me with the fact that I should practice self care by putting on make-up. ‘It didn’t have to be for a man,’ she told me. ‘But it would be a boost to your confidence if you saw them turning their heads when you walk past.’ As if it should matter in some small infinitesimal way that I had the animal magnetism to attract someone of the opposite sex. 

And of course she would raise this after we had attended an engagement party for a family friend. One, I would like to note, where I refused to wear a dress. Because it has never been who I am as a person. Nor will it ever be.

I’m sure long time readers already know that much of my interests range from video games to books to musicals to popular culture television shows. One of the great things about the Witcher having been adapted to a series on Netflix, is that I already have the drop on any new fans to the franchise. And it has combined three of my favourite things as a homebody that barely ventures outside the four walls of the house. 

Is it any wonder, then that I’ve almost never dressed like a ‘girl?’ With sunflower dresses or short skirts that bordered on indecent?

Ever since I was young, my interests have never fallen into line with how society has defined as feminine. That isn’t to say that I didn’t have a barbie doll or two. But from a young age, I was always drawn to the fantastical. Of being the knight in shining armour rather than the damsel. In particular, I’d like to attribute this to authors such as Emily Rodda (the pseudonym used by Jennifer Rowe) and J.K. Rowling, and video games such as Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Coupled with anime featuring on Australian television screens, it set my mind ablaze with the possibilities of who I could and wanted to be.

It didn’t matter if it was at school, the playground just a few minutes from the house that I lived in, or even atop my mother’s bed – I’d be playacting the things that I had seen or read. In fact, for a good long while, I was convinced that with enough concentration, I could channel my own chi just like in Dragon Ball Z and be flying around in the sky. 

The same thing went with my sense of fashion. While I can appreciate a good dress or skirt (in particular, I liked Saoirse’s Ronan wardrobe in the 2019 adaption of Little Women) I’ve often been more comfortable in shirts (usually collared or video-game related) and jeans. But the problem with woman’s clothing, I find, is often the material and the large dip when it comes to the cleavage area. I’ve never been big. And for a good long while, I would have preferred if I was as flat as a washboard. Even if I was, somehow, a double D, I wouldn’t have liked anyone peeking down my shirt.

In a way, my dress style borders a little on the conservative side. Button up shirts is my usual go-to when it comes to work. Since I don’t like heels, I’ve opted for boots. While flats would have been all right, at least in my estimate of acceptable footwear, I also like wearing socks. Unfortunately, my pants are not long enough to cover the garish sight of my multi-coloured socks (if they were, i wouldn’t be able to walk) from judgement. Besides, I’m already short and flats would have only emphasised that fact.

I suppose the other reason why I don’t often like dresses or skirts is the fact that our current modern society has also put a great emphasis on ensuring that what little body hair women might have, is shaved off. My armpits are covered in hair. Along my legs, I have a few thick black strands after the first (and presumably last time) I shaved them for my friend’s wedding. 

Caught in the conundrum that is modern society, I find myself shackled to the idea that I’ll remain single for the rest of my life. Not that being a crazy gaming/ reading/ Netflix-watching lady is a bad thing. But I hate the fact that even my own mother  thinks I’m not salvageable if I don’t try to conform to her perceptions of femininity. 

Why should girls only like pink and flowers and Barbie Dolls and the arts? The colour pink used to be associated with baby boys until it changed after the end of the Second World War. Why should I be treated as lesser because the things that interest me are often considered more masculine?

That’s not to say that I don’t identify as female. I may not be transgender or non-binary, but that shouldn’t preclude me from enjoying what might be considered traditionally masculine interests.

In any case,  I’ve almost neared my third decade and still don’t see the appeal of make-up or dresses. And I highly doubt that my tastes will miraculously change in the foreseeable future. This isn’t a phase. I won’t grow out of my distaste for restrictive pencil skirts or toe-pinching heels. 

And as I’ve often said, should I ever get married, I’ll most likely do so in a tuxedo. Should my future significant other prefer a dress, no matter their gender, then all the more power to them. 

                                                                  ~

On a side note, I would like to say that one of my proudest possessions was a Lego recreation of Slave 1 from the Star Wars franchise. I’m not sure where it is now, but I had very fond memories of it. 

When my friend purchased her then-fiance, now husband, a Millennium Falcon Lego set, I helped assist him build it from scratch –  enjoying every moment of returning to a time when everything was much simpler and I could be whatever I wanted to be.

A Disturbance in the Force

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

I would like to preface this with the fact that I have never played one of the Soulsborne games. Mostly because I have never enjoyed the idea of constantly dying and losing almost most of my progress. As such, I was a little sceptical about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order when so many reviews often drew comparisons with From Software’s stable of very challenging and nigh torturous forms of entertainment. Still, this was the first time in a long time that I would be able to enjoy a single player Star Wars game after the cancellation of Star Wars 1313 and the other one that was being developed by Visceral Games with Amy Hennig at the helm of the narrative. Despite Electronic Arts mishandling the licence, I was still ready to risk it on Respawn Entertainment’s attempt at carving their own single-player story in the dense Star Wars universe.

Players are cast as Cal Kestis. A young Jedi Padawan that barely survived Order 66 when he fled to the planet Bracca. For five years, he scrapped ships for a living. The only remnant of his time being a member of the ancient order is his master Jaro Tapal’s lightsaber. It isn’t long before he is pushed into a situation where he uses the Force to save his friend. Within moments, the Inquisition arrives, looking for the Force sensitive hiding among the workers and Cal is forced to run. He is soon joined by Ceres and Greez. With Cal in tow, they hope to restore the Jedi Order by finding a holocron that contained a list of Force sensitive children. Their first stop? Bogano.

The initial set-up maintained my interest throughout most of my playthrough. While there were moments that frustrated me as I played through Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I managed to push myself to each story beat. Unlike say Dark Souls, much of the story is told through cutscenes and events happening around the characters. As such, it is more similar to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice than the other games in From Software’s repertoire. The similarities, however, are still incredibly prevalent: meditation points serving as bonfires, enemies returning to the fight after you have rested, and experience points being depleted when Cal falls in battle.

It makes sense, as well, that Jedi: Fallen Order is not a power fantasy. Cal is still learning in ways of the Force. His connection cut-off, much of the game is involved with unlocking abilities that any fan of Star Wars would know: Force Push and Force Pull to name a few. In this entry, Cal also had access to Force Slow, Wall Running and the terribly named: Jedi Flip (should have just stuck with Double Jump). 

Yet, despite the exciting premise, I found myself fighting the controls in combat as well as exploration. It didn’t help that there was barely any ledge detection or correction when Cal flew off his swinging vine, though I had the other vine centred just so, and into the abyss. The slides down ice or mud also proved tedious after the first two times. Is it any wonder that I prefer the exploration in Uncharted and Tomb Raider?

Perhaps I should have bumped the difficulty to Jedi Master, but on Jedi Knight, it felt difficult to lower the stamina bar of the humanoid enemies since they simply weren’t aggressive enough for me to parry it all down. Instead, I had to be on the offensive in a game that favoured more defensive play. In saying that, however, humanoid enemies were much easier to read than the wild fauna on the various planets. I hated the spiders, rats and alien goats. Particularly when they swarmed poor Cal. 

Somehow or other, I muddled my way through. But not without lowering the difficulty when I fought against Gorgara on Dathomir and the Second Sister in the finale. It did not help that the last stage made it difficult to see if the Second Sister was using normal parry-able attacks or if it was an unblockable one. Nor did I like the fact that Cal’s lightsaber attacks were so weak. Even after unlocking additional damage to be dealt, it was still almost negligible in the grand scheme of things. Worse was the fact that the healing stim canisters barely seemed to recover any of Cal’s health. I would have much preferred that they healed Cal to maximum. Instead, I was flailing even when I asked BD-1 for help. 

But perhaps others would like such a challenge. As I said before, Soulsbourne combat has never been something I like in a game. Always, I have liked the sense of power and escapism video games have presented. Jedi: Fallen Order was not it. In any case, half of the time, it felt like my deaths weren’t actually my fault but a result of poor input or lag. There were times when I swear I had blocked an attack but it did not register.

As for the rest of the story, it was an enjoyable adventure around the galaxy. The narrative, however, kept it simple with a few cameos. The big one here being Saw Gerrera. I was a little disappointed, though, to recruit one of the more interesting characters near the end of the game. Before we had unpacked more of her personality and where her arc might go, Jedi: Fallen Order came to an end – much like the first season of a bingeable television series. Nightsister Merrin, we barely knew you.

I also liked uncovering the backstory of Ceres and the Second Sister, though much of it was fairly predictable. Cal, too, proved a little too trusting of the various people he met. Some that had even tried to kill him previously. It would have been better if he had been more guarded and cynical – like, say, a bounty hunter exploring the underbelly of Coruscant.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order proved to be a good first step back towards narrative-focused games for the Star Wars franchise. While it was not the best title for this awkward blogging gamer, I still enjoyed my time exploring every nook and cranny. Finding secrets and Force Echos became my main focus as I navigated my way through the Metroidvania-esque levels. Combat aside, I would not mind delving into a follow-up title as the ending left the future of Cal very much open. And while it takes a while to adjust to how the game expects you to play with its janky controls, perhaps there is something to this supposedly Soulsborne formula. 

I’m still not going to play the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne or Sekiro, though. 

Chasing Numbers

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

If there is one thing I’ve always dreaded about as one of the many active participants in the workforce, it’s the corporate focus on KPIs. So many businesses are intent on meeting impossible target numbers at the expense of worker morale or work/life dynamics. Even governments are not immune to this, as directors and assistant secretaries are pressured by ministers to crank out statistics that sound impressive. All in the hope that they can use it in the next bout of elections, so that they can remain in office. It is one of the many issues of living in a capitalist society – where goods and services are considered paramount to maintaining the bottom line (hence why I wanted this blog post to come right after I finished The Outer Worlds. Alas, that did not happen and the connection is a little strained).

I can’t be sure where I read or heard it, but it has been my view that if you require your employees to consistently work overtime in order to deal with the amount of work, you either have set your targets much too high or you need to hire more workers. It’s a simple matter of mathematics. And yet, so many big companies are intent to ensure maximum output with the minimum number of staff to ensure that profits are in the black.

In the long run, such a business model is unfeasible. Something will give. And it will all come tumbling down. Perhaps, yes, if you use robots to replace human workers, you will be able to pump out more product for sale. But if one hopes to have their goods sold, you need to ensure that consumers are able to buy it. Price it too high and only the very rich will be able to afford it. If this is something essential to survival, then you’ll have revolts. 

Despite interest rates plummeting, people have still been reluctant to spend what little money they have on things they do not need. With wage stagnation and inflation, the cost of living has risen. And if it isn’t necessary for survival, then it is often left on the wayside. Is it any wonder that it feels like Australia is finally reaching the point of no return when it comes to a possible recession?

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World dystopia managed to maintain society by mixing eugenics into the creation of humans while also giving roles to the Alphas, Betas, Deltas, Gammas and Epsilons. What then, was the need for AI, if there is a rigid caste system and people were satisfied with their lot in life, despite the conditions? The conditioning that was also central to civilisation also ensured people were able to constantly consume. Tailor-made humans for tailor-made jobs that they were well-suited for. Of course, to live in such a world also sounds terrifying to our current sensibilities. Where is the self-determinism that underpins our perception of what it means to be human?

Humans, however, have always found it difficult to look towards the long-term. It is why we have climate crisis is so severe. We only tend to solve the problems on our immediate doorstep. As such, current societies find it difficult to balance the demands of the business with the requirements of a fulfilling life. Often, it feels like CEOs are merely trying to increase their immediate bonuses rather than ensuring the livelihood of their employees. If some of them were willing to sacrifice just a little of their livelihood, or if the Board of Directors 

Chasing numbers in the workforce only serves to churn out sub-par performances. In fact, it wastes even more money to go back and fix the mistakes made by the demands of meeting KPIs. This is particularly true for business that cannot afford mistakes such as in shipping and freight forwarding. A delay in goods being delivered could mean thousands in lost sales. It could mean additional detention fees. In other areas, it means managers and supervisors are forced to step in. This means labour is lost for clean-up duty.

That is not to say that having set goals is a bad thing. They can motivate workers by providing a target to reach. But pouring too much focus on numbers rather than the well-being of your employees means that they burn-out quicker and negatively impacts output. Things such as crunch in the gaming industry are never truly positive. Rather, they are detrimental both to the quality of the game, and the people that are pouring their hearts and souls into these mediums of entertainment.

Statistics have their place in the workplace, true, but it should not be central to how the workplace is run. Here’s hoping that we can finally see quality of life improvements with companies recognising that workers all have their strengths and weakness. One slight dip in the first quarter might equate to bigger profits later down the track. Happy workers, rather than sad, desolate workers are the best means of ensuring quality and efficiency. 

Saving the World: Pop Idol Skin

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

In order to celebrate the release of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore on Nintendo Switch, I thought why not dig up my old impression of the game when it first released on the Nintendo Wii U. It’s been a couple of years but hopefully it holds up still.

Image result for Tokyo Mirage Sessions
Image stolen from Google Images. Because this was before I took screenshots of my games.

With the advent of November, and its deluge of games, I was actually quite happy to play through Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. True, I might have been able to do so in the early parts of the year but it was not advisable to bring anything larger than my Playstation Vita or 3DS into my adventures in the States and Canada.

The first order of business with the incoming barrage is Tyranny, followed shortly by Dishonored 2 before capping it all off with Pokemon Sun and Moon, and Gravity Rush 2.

But let us return to the topic at hand. Tokyo Mirage Sessions. If you have played any of the Shin Megami Tensei or Persona games, the combat system should be quite similar. The Fire Emblem elements are a little more sparse, adding in features of the weapon triangle that we have all come to love. They also sprinkle throughout much of the plot and serve as a form of conceit for each character’s special abilities and weapon.

You will see familiar names but many do not look exactly as they did in the original. Tharja, for example, is harder to pick out with the visor on her head though her laugh remains intact.

The game begins with Aoi Itsuki heading to a meeting with his friend, Touma, only to bump into another, Tsubasa. Like any other cliched anime plot, Tsubasa is kidnapped and Itsuki dives into an unknown world to save her – eventually discovering the power of being a Mirage Master.

It is here that the game shines. The combat is turn-based and serves as a performance for a vast audience of Mirages. Rather than use ‘attack,’ however, the game encourages players to use skills that can chain together into a session once a weakness has been discovered. These are enjoyable as they deal far more damage than a normal attack and provide more looting options for the party.

What is more, the game is peppered with settling into the idol scene. The songs are catchy and it was not long before I was yet again on YouTube, trying to find the full song to bop my head to. 

And though several of the characters could be likened to ones more often seen in anime and traditional Japanese RPGs, it was fun to see how each grew. Kiria, initially playing the cool but stand-offish character to Ellie as the resident tsundere. And who could forget Yashiro. 

There was a point where I worried that Itsuki would play a more supportive role to his friend, Tsubasa, the ending brought him back to the spotlight. Is it weird that they also crafted a song out of the Fire Emblem theme? 

Still, Tokyo Mirage Sessions was a vastly enjoyable game (would like to shout out that it was completely subbed, an additional bonus in my books) with great performances and brought, at least to me, further understanding of the pop and idol scene. If you’ve always enjoyed the trope of saving the world in almost every single RPG ever, along with a colourful cast and delightful pop music that does not have Work x 7 in their lyrics, take a gander at this hidden gem of a game.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be listening to another round of ‘Dream Catcher’, ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘Give Me.’ 

Pokemon In the United Kingdom

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One of my first memories related to gaming began with a series about catching monsters and watching the associated anime on the television (unfortunately dubbed). Pokemon took my imagination by storm in those early days with its simple mechanics and addictive gameplay. And on my Gameboy Colour, I explored the entirety of the Kanto region with my trusty Squirtle at my side as I tried to “catch ‘em all.” Fast forward twenty or so years, and I had purchased Pokemon Sword and was waiting to play it on my Nintendo Switch. While I did skip Black and White, and struggled to finish a few others, this was the first time a mainline Pokemon would grace our television screens. Bursting with excitement, I settled down to explore the Galar region for a good long while.

Unlike previous entries, this time I chose the Grass starter. Though Sobble stole my heart and Scorbunny seemed like an excellent addition to the team, there was something about the monkey that drew me to it. But I was so torn between which one to choose that it was not until I had to choose that I settled on Grookey. In fact, I had already chosen names for each starter. If I had picked Sobble and it had turned out to be male, I would have named it Fleming. Female: Vesper. A male Scorbunny would have been Beckham. Whereas a female Scorbunny would have received the name of a female footballer.

As for Grookey, though, I was a little stumped. If it had been male, I would have called it Silverback. Why? Because Rillaboom was a drum-beating gorilla. Yes, Donkey was an option, but I thought I would take the more sophisticated route. Instead, though, I was saddled with a female Grookey. Scrambling, I simply chose Weaver – after Sigourney Weaver for her excellent portrayal in the film Gorillas in the Mist. 

Names aside, the first few hours of Pokemon Sword provided enough breadcrumbs to whet my appetite for more. What were these mysterious creatures in the Slumbering Weald? Who would serve as the primary antagonist? Would Hop please calm down? How did these Wild Areas work and why couldn’t I catch that level 26 Onix right from the start? Nor did it seem right that my playable character was only ten years old. They had to be at least in their teens, right? If they were ten, how did any of these parents allow their children to go out into the wider world? 

Yet, as the game continued, much of the story developments were simply swept aside with comments like: let the adults deal with this even as we provided insights into the legend of Galar that Sonia, the granddaughter of Professor Magnolia, was tasked with uncovering. How anyone never connected the dots before remains a mystery, but please don’t be so condescending as to tell me to just focus on the Gym Challenge. This was made all the worse with the lack of voice acting. After so many years, it would have made sense for the human characters to have voices. Instead, I supplied terrible accents for the first hour or so before I grew bored. 

Still, Pokemon has never been about deep story lines. Nor should one question why a ten year old was the one that had caught the cause of the Darkest Day and could very easily destroy the world if they so chose.

As for the gameplay, not much has changed. While they introduced Dynamax-ing, much like Z-moves and Mega-evolutions from the past, it felt very much of a gimmick to differentiate the current generation of Pokemon with the handheld titles. Pokemon Sword also had several quality of life changes. From the very start, all Pokemon in your party were able to receive experience points. In addition, experience points were also bequeathed to your Pokemon when they were caught. Consequently, it made it much easier for me to level up all the Pokemon I wanted to experiment with in a more timely manner. Gone were the days of grinding each and every Pokemon to ensure that they all evolved. This was further aided by the Dynamax raids and the exp candy that could be acquired. 

While I managed to catch a hefty amount of Pokemon, I was able to also watch all of them evolve from the very beginning. The abundance of stones also made it easier to obtain a Ninetales, Heliolisk and Froslass in short order. Other Pokemon proved much more difficult to evolve and it took a while for me to obtain Sir Fetch’d, the Galar region exclusive evolution to one of our favourite ducks with a leek: Farfetch’d. 

The music in Pokemon Sword was also a delight. Though I didn’t like the spectator sport that were the gym battles, the cheering in the background still had my heart pumping as I utterly destroyed my opponents by being clever with my type choices. The remixes of several iconic themes as well as the introduction of new themes made it a joy to listen to as I hunted for all the 1% possible Pokemon along the 10 major routes of the Galar region (as well as the Wild Area).

Pokemon Sword and Shield does not change much of what a veteran player of the franchise would be familiar with. There are a few additional gimmicks that serve as worthwhile distractions, but overall, the experience stuck true to the formula many people knew. The story, as well, as a little underwhelming and Chairman Rose’s motivations felt a little muddled in the grand scheme of things. Why was he so insistent that there be a perpetual source of energy right now when they did not need to worry about the supply and demand of keeping Galar alive for basically another millennium? Surely, people could find an alternative source in those years. It seemed a little heavy handed in creating unnecessary conflict.

And, if there was one other plus to playing through Pokemon Sword, it was that the lack of voice acting made it incredibly easy for me to catch up on quite a few Critical Role episodes, along with UnDeadwood. 

2019: The Hits and Misses

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Happy New Year, one and all. 2020 has finally arrived! And the Earth enters another decade. With 2019 solidly in the rear-view mirror, I thought it was apt to look back on the end of a decade. If I’m being frank, though, it seemed like only yesterday when I graduated high school and headed to university. Yet, so many things have happened since then. Some of it good and rewarding. Others have rung alarm bells for the state of the world. Say what you will of 2019, but it felt like for the first time in a long while when people became fed-up with their respective government and finally began standing up for what they believed in. Whether that was climate change or democracy.

Let us begin with the month of March – wherein the entire world was shaken by a callous mass shooting in New Zealand. Unlike previous attacks reported in the media, this vile act was committed by a right wing extremist against Muslims attending Friday prayer at their local mosque. What stood out the most during this terrifying event was how New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, handled the fallout. Wearing a headscarf, she reached out to the Muslim community and encouraged others to do the same.

Yet, only a month later, three churches and luxury hotels were bombed in Sri Lanka as a supposed retaliatory attack. It was yet another heart wrenching event that shook the world. For as everyone knows: an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

And though Western forces dealt a severe blow to the ISIS caliphate, which saw them ousted from the territory that they had seized from Syria and Iraq, many nations struggled with accepting the women and children of jihadists. Yes, the men might have fallen in the fighting, but they had left behind broken families that only wished to find a place to return. As conditions worsened in refugee camps, there were many that questioned why governments did not take responsibility for their citizens and mount rescue attempts for the innocents that had been dragged into a fight they had not asked for.

In other areas of the world, the climate crisis became a major tipping point in politics. With tightened water restrictions and drought impacting many parts of the world – people took to the streets to protest what they saw as a race towards extinction. Climate change was here and governments had done little to curb its effects on the world. In Australia, demonstrators stopped traffic and buried their heads in the sands. This was further exacerbated by news of the shocking state of the Murray-Darling basin as well as the catastrophic bushfires that had Sydney in a severe smoke-haze for several months.

On the other side of the world, impeachment proceedings began for President Donald Trump of the United States of America. Whether or not he is removed from office remains to be seen. Although, let’s be honest, the 2020 elections might have also seen the businessman turned politician pushed out into the cold (at least judging from some of his more vocal critics).

The United States was also no stranger to mass shootings. And in August, there were attacks in both Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas. These, at least, were the ones that took international headlines by storm. A quick search on Wikipedia quickly revealed that up to the fourteenth of December, there were a total of 409. And if people thought this was due to only violent video games or mentally ill people, then they have another thing coming. 

Wake up America! It’s outrageous that your  schools have metal detectors at their entrance. And that so many of them are designed to stop lone gunmen from infiltrating places of learning: https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/09/how-schools-are-being-designed-to-minimize-the-number-of-deaths-during-a-mass-shooting/

This isn’t right! Just look at New Zealand. One mass shooting in a place of worship was enough to have Jacinda Arden ban the use of military style semi-automatics and assault rifles.

Just across the Atlantic Ocean, the United Kingdom struggled to ensure a smooth departure from the European Union. Theresa May, defeated once again with her proposals for Brexit, stepped down. In her place rose a dishevelled blond man that many people saw as the Donald Trump of Britain: Boris Johnson. And while his Brexit deal for October was thrown out, his party managed to secure victory at the very recent general elections. And considering how Australian politics went last year, it came as no surprise that once again a Conservative government managed a snatch victory away from what should have been a win from more liberal parties.

Hong Kong also suffered through several months of civil disobedience that erupted into violence. What first had been demonstrations against a controversial extradition bill turned into, what many believed, for a fight for the people’s very democratic freedom.

And while Hong Kong was the more prolific of these protests, they were not the only ones. Chile, Lebanon, Catalonia, Iraq and Pakistan also saw people rising up to make their feelings known. 

Online, many YouTube channels were shackled again by archaic legislation that threatened to have their entire livelihoods stripped away. At the moment of writing, it is difficult to say exactly how the myriad of channels I follow will be impacted, but I do know it won’t be good. For so long, advertisers pulled the puppet strings of many a YouTube celebrity, ensuring that they conformed to certain standards. But if such standards make them too family-friendly, it may also mean a hit in revenue that isn’t affordable.

And finally, again to New Zealand. On the 9th of December, 2019, a tour group from the Ovation of the Seas stepped foot on White Island. What they did not know was that the volcano would erupt so suddenly and cause such devastation. As of the time of writing, there are still many families missing and unaccounted for. 

2019 has been a roller coaster of a year with many ups and downs. But even though the year has come to a close, I can’t believe how quickly it has gone by. Hopefully 2020 and the new decade that it promises will see resolve some of the major issues plaguing humanity. Or maybe it won’t. The world is on the cusp and if we want to maintain our current standards of living, there are many things that need to be changed. Let’s just hope it’s not too late.

Stick it to the Man!

On By kyndaris1 Comment

Confession time: I have always been a bit of a perfectionist. This could not be truer when I play video games. So, when I started The Outer Worlds, I had to restart my first hour twice because I was unhappy with my choices and lack of efficiency when it came to taking down the first few marauders. Just like the corporations that ruled the Halycon region with a velvet fist, I wanted to be economical in my actions while also receiving maximum reward. Or perhaps, the reason why I found my first session with the game so unsatisfying was due to the constant disruptions from my mother as she heavily sighed mere metres away as she struggled to navigate, what felt to me, as a very simple website.

Most reviews of The Outer Worlds that I’ve read paint it as a Fallout game set in space. It’s an easy way to describe much of the game mechanics, but it doesn’t encapsulate the entirety of what Obsidian has created. True, much of the advertising also highlighted the fact that this new IP was spawned from the original creators of the Fallout series. And if we’re going to stick to such comparisons, it also didn’t hurt that Fallout 76′s rough launch last year, summarily made worse by introducing premium features, served as the perfect counterpoint on how not to make a game.

As for me, I knew from the very moment that The Outer Worlds was announced that I would be picking the game up on day one. The colourful worlds and the familiar gameplay had me immediately sold. By the time I had created my character, defrosted from hibernation and crash landed near the outskirts of Edgewater, I was eager to see what I could to better the colony. I will admit, that I did this with great vigour, swiftly dethroning the capitalist overlords and ensuring that the people working the Saltuna cannery could enjoy their lives. In order to do this, I negotiated with both factions, allowing them to come to a compromise that involved Reed voluntarily stepping down and Adelaide taking command. Yet, as I reflect on my actions, it was not a very black or white choice to make. Rather than leaning on more villainous tropes, both leaders were very human. I, personally, quite liked Reed, even though I could not agree with his company policies.Whereas Adelaide was a little rough and unbending in her demands.

Things did not become any easier on Monarch, though I like to think that I chose the lesser of two evils by assisting Zora take over the Iconoclasts and subtly nudging her into an alliance with Monarch Stellar Industries. Sanjar, in particular was a man full of dreams of reform. Though they did not rock the proverbial boat as much as Graham’s more radical ideals, I hoped that they would serve as the foundation for a better relationship between employer and employee.

While The Outer Worlds was able to provide a little more critical thinking into the choices we made and breathe life into the characters, it was clear from the very start that the game was focused on spreading an anti-capitalist, anti-corporate message. That is not to say, though, that civilisation ought to descend into anarchy. As with all good things, the colony of Halycon needs balance if it wishes to survive. This was best achieved, I found with many of my party members that tempered some of my initial impressions of each faction – providing their own personal stories. Parvati, in particular, was instrumental in talking me down from swallowing Adelaide’s side of things. She made me think about the lives of the people living in the corporate town of Edgewater as well as the ensuing disaster that would happen if I routed their power away.

And when I had Nyoka and Felix in my party, the hunter was quick to point out that living without security or rules would be difficult if not downright dangerous to the freedom fighter. Chaos would not have solved the myriad of issues bogging down the colony, but the large wealth gap also meant a disparity in the quality of people’s lives. Even members of the Board chafed at the restrictions that were imposed by the unnecessary bureaucratic red tape that stopped them from taking action.

In saying that, The Outer Worlds did remain fairly tame in some of its characterisations. The first character we meet: Phineas Welles, while wanted by the Board, is a guilt-ridden man that wishes to atone for his actions. Throughout my first ten hours or so with the game, I kept hoping that he unveil himself as a secret villain – unfreezing us in order to dismantle the order of the colony. This, to my dismay, never eventuated and he proved to be the good friendly scientist fellow in most such stories, if a little paranoid.

And while the last mission of the game titled Brave New World felt like an allusion to Aldous Huxley’s novel (which I recently read this year), there were clear differences. Halycon had yet to condition their citizens into different ranks such as Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. And while those that were rich lived in the lap of luxury, the poor were still in potential danger of disease and malnutrition. This was not so in the novel where most citizens were immunised from most diseases and only the wild savages – the last remnants of society – would fall prey.

Still, The Outer Worlds and Huxley’s novel were able to paint a bleak picture of consumerism gone wrong. Of the meek being oppressed or, in the actual novel, being conditioned to accept their lot in life.

The Outer Worlds while pushing some boundaries and providing some much needed social commentary also plays it a little safe with its depiction of the colony. Despite being set in the twenty-third century, many of the things that the people of Halycon are enduring are reminiscent of our own lives on Earth. And while I couldn’t romance my crew members, I still thought it oddly precious that I could cheer so many of the other characters on, particularly Parvati, in their own lives. Vicar Max and his quest for answers. Ellie and her rigid belief to not trust anyone. SAM with its desire to cleanse the world with acid. Nyoka accepting the death of her friends and looking forward to the future instead of dwelling in the past. And Parvati’s love for Captain Junlei of the Groundbreaker.

I very much enjoyed the time I spent with The Outer Worlds (after the first rocky hour or two). But what gave it so much life and energy were the characters and friends I made (as well as helped) along the way. It was touching to see everyone pulling together to aid in my prison break of Doctor Phineas Welles and should Obsidian ever make a sequel, I, for one, would gladly dive right back in.

For now, though, I wish any and all readers a Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays.