Tag Archives: narrative

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 37 – The Art of the Remake

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Coming at you live from the continuing lockdown situation, it’s a brand new episode of The MoeGamer Podcast, featuring my good self and Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels!

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You can subscribe to my channel on YouTube to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos (including the Atari A to Z retro gaming series); you can follow on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast; you can subscribe via RSS to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you can subscribe via iTunes and listen on Spotify. Please do at least one of these if you can; it really helps us out!

Or you can just hit the jump to watch or listen to today’s episode right here on MoeGamer.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 37 – The Art of the Remake →

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake: The Future is a Blank Page

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To say that the Final Fantasy VII Remake project was hotly anticipated is something of an understatement.

Ever since the run-up to the PlayStation 2 launch, where one of the promotional videos showed a cutscene from Final Fantasy VIII apparently being rendered in real time by the new system, fans have been wondering what would happen if one of the world’s most beloved RPGs were ever to get remade.

Well, we’re starting to get some answers now… and a whole bunch of questions, too. Let’s explore!

Spoilers for both the original FFVII and FFVII Remake (yes, there are differences) ahead.

Continue reading Final Fantasy VII Remake: The Future is a Blank Page →

Atelier, Atelier Iris

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – Narrative, Themes and Characterisation

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cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1-8868334This post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
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Although technically a “sequel” to Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana — it was even known as Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2 in Japan — Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny unfolds quite differently from its predecessor.

It’s set long before the events of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, for starters, so the world in which the action unfolds is very different. There’s a stark divide between the peaceful land of Eden, where alchemy is widespread and Mana spirits walk (or walk-equivalent) the streets alongside humans, and the “surface world” of Belkhyde, which left the practice of alchemy behind long ago.

Before we delve into all that, though, there’s an important question to address: what the fuck is an “azoth”, anyway?

Continue reading Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – Narrative, Themes and Characterisation →

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Viese Blanchimont

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With Viese having such an important role in Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny, it’s only fitting that we give her a bit of time in the spotlight.

While she may not get out and about quite as much as male protagonist Felt does, she’s the only one who can do “proper” alchemy with actual ingredients; she’s the only one who can make pacts with the Mana spirits; and, ultimately, it’s her alchemy skills that allow Felt and company to stand a fighting chance in the game’s final battle.

And, this being a Gust game, she is, of course, cute. Let’s take a closer look at this charming young alchemist.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Viese Blanchimont →

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Noin

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Gust has always been good at beautiful girls — one might argue the Atelier series has made it its primary selling point over the years. And, of course, Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny is full of them.

A personal highlight for me on my journey through the game was Noin, one of the first characters that male protagonist Felt encounters upon his arrival in the strange “other world” of Belkhyde, and pretty much a fixture in the party for the entire game’s duration.

There’s a shocking lack of fanart of her on the Internet — even Rule 34 let me down — so I feel obliged to show her some love right here, right now. Let’s do it!

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Noin →

One-Shots, Switch

SeaBed: What You Leave Behind

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I reviewed this visual novel over at Nintendo Life — please go support my work over there, then join me back here to delve into the narrative in more detail!

SeaBed from Paleontology Soft is a kinetic novel that first released in 2015. It was localised for PC two years later, much to the delight of Western yuri fans, and in early 2020, it got released on Nintendo Switch, too.

It is, not to put too fine a point on it, an absolutely masterful work of fiction. It’s peaceful and calming yet melancholy, and the evocative, descriptive writing gives the whole experience a pleasantly mature feeling that is a far cry from noisy, chaotic anime hijinks. Not that there’s anything wrong with noisy, chaotic anime hijinks, mind, but sometimes you just want a bit of quiet contemplation to mull over.

So let’s mull it over together, because there’s a lot to talk about. There are likely to be some spoilers ahead, but I’ll try and keep major ones to a minimum, because you should experience this for yourself!

Continue reading SeaBed: What You Leave Behind →

Podcast

Bonus Listening: OCP Multitap Podcast – Gun Gun Pixies

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A double whammy of listening enjoyment for your pleasure today.

A little while back, Ben “Oculin” Yoder of One Controller Port was kind enough to invite me along to talk about Shade’s Gun Gun Pixies.

That discussion went up today, so if you need more stuff to listen to, check it out here — and be sure to stop by One Controller Port to say hi to Ben, too!

Anchor.fm’s player is being a bit temperamental for me, so if the player below doesn’t work for whatever reason, click here to go listen!

Atelier

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana – Narrative, Themes and Characterisation

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cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1-8868334This post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is something of an outlier in the Atelier series as a whole, as we’ve already talked about.

Rather than adopting the established structure of “struggling alchemist works in a workshop to craft items, also there are adventures” it inverts this format to “struggling adventurer explores to discover mysteries of alchemy, also there is crafting”.

This change of structural focus gives the narrative scope to be a much more epic affair than many of the other games in the series — but at the same time it doesn’t abandon one of the series’ core principles. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana – Narrative, Themes and Characterisation →

Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: OHKO – Final Fantasy II #10

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One of the issues people have with Final Fantasy II is that its progression system can make it a little tricky to determine what “level” you are.

This means it can be quite easy to go into a new situation either woefully underpowered or vastly overpowered — though let’s be honest about this, the latter option has always been part of the fun of role-playing games, hasn’t it?

At this point, an encounter in Leviathan’s stomach on the way to track down the Ultima Tome would seem to confirm that yes, indeed, we have taken the latter option. Oh well. No turning back now!

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Veola

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One of my favourite characters in Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is Veola, the seemingly rather standoffish owner of the magic shop in Kavoc.

Veola’s sidequest is technically optional, but like most of the “shopkeeper quests” throughout Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, it’s hard not to get swept along in the soap opera of her life — and how she relates to the other people around her, including protagonist Klein, his party members, bartender Norman and numerous others.

So let’s take a closer look at this rather closed-off young woman and figure her out a bit. Some spoilers ahead!

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Veola →