What If BioShock Was Released In 2017?

So I recently started thinking about games, which is something I do quite a lot, but specifically about the current state of the games industry. It was a video by Jim Sterling - this video, to be exact - which really got me going. In the clip, Jim discusses the current divide that exists in the industry. At one end of the spectrum, we have the big-budget AAA titles with their season passes, Limited Ultra Hyper Deluxe Editions and "We need this to sell at least 5 million copies or we're doomed" marketing philosophy, resulting in games that often resemble one another and hit the same, tired beats, and, at the other end, we have the independently-produced games that often ooze with creativity but don't have the support or budget necessary to really challenge their high-profile counterparts. Jim goes on to discuss how Hellbalde: Senua's Sacrifice has made a fine attempt of bridging the gap between those two extremes and reveals his hopes that more games will follow Ninja Theory's example.

But that's not exactly what I wanted to talk about today. What I wanted to talk about is related to Jim's idea, but not quite the same. His video got me thinking about modern games and, as a brief test, I went and looked at the "Upcoming Releases" on Steam and the PlayStation store. As expected, pretty much every single high profile game coming out in the next few months is being released in multiple editions with adverts for pre-order bonuses and season passes being flung at you from every direction, like some great hailstorm of BS. In fact, it seems impossible to find a game from any of the big publishers like Activision, EA, 2K, Ubisoft, etc. which isn't set to release with its own 'Digital Deluxe' nonsense or pre-order incentives like day-one costumes and bonus weapons. Go ahead, try and find one, I doubt you'll succeed. Sadly, this is just the way the industry is now and, even if most of us who grew up with games hate it, we pretty much have to shrug our shoulders and deal with it the best we can.

This is what I'm talking about...

Personally, I've never bought a season pass and have no plans to. I've loved many games that have been released over the last few years and bought individual pieces of DLC that interested me now and then, but the very thought of spending nearly £100 in total on a single game just appals me. I'm not even sure how young gamers manage to get by these days, aside from having incredibly indulgent and wealthy parents. Either way, it's clear that the industry is in a bit of a mess and, at least on the AAA side of things, it doesn't show too many signs of getting better. If a big game comes out these days, it seemingly cannot exist without a slew of DLC, microtransactions and marketing gimmicks, as well as having a story and characters that are very purposefully designed to fit the "Hollywood blockbuster" model and appeal to the widest audience possible to ensure high sales figures. And let's not even mention how many of these games are forced to launch with bugs and require countless patches down the line (Destiny 2's PS4 Pro game-breaking bug is a recent example).

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed plenty of these sorts of games. Just this year, for example, Horizon: Zero Dawn has easily been one of my favourite gaming experiences, and I'm hardly going to start complaining about games finally reaching a point where they can emulate movies and boast of big budgets and lifelike graphics. However, I'm left wondering about certain games from the past and what might have happened if they'd been released in the last couple of years. For the sake of an example, let's look at BioShock, one of my favourite games of all time and a prime example of the point I'm trying to make.

A masterpiece

BioShock was released in 2007 (side note: 2007 was one of the best ever years for gaming, in my opinion, with releases like Portal, Modern Warfare, Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, and Team Fortress 2), a time when microtransactions and oodles of DLC accompanying every single release weren't yet set into the minds of the world's publishers. The game was released in physical form for a standard price. There was a steelbook edition sold in certain stories, but it was the same price as the regular box and didn't come along with any bonus DLC codes or useless paraphernalia.

There was a special edition, but the company originally had no plans to release one and was actually pressured into it by fans! As hype for the game built up, more and more folks demanded to see a special edition and Take-Two actually organised an online petition to see if enough people were interested, and then, when the poll was a major success, they organised another poll to ask people what they wanted to see in the special edition! In the end, the Limited Collector's Edition of BioShock came with a cool Big Daddy statue and two discs filled with extra content. No exclusive in-game items, no special prize for buying on day one, no pointless bonuses that didn't actually do anything. 

BioShock was a video game, carefully and loving created, put in a box and left for people to enjoy. There was no tacked-on multiplayer, no DLC down the line, no season pass, no costume packs, no in-game currency for you to buy with real-world cash, nothing. Oh and the story? Taking inspiration from Atlas Shrugged and other dystopian fiction, it dealt with some pretty deep themes in some special ways, but Ken Levine and his team were granted full freedom to bring their vision to life without any pressure to tick boxes or fulfil some kind of pre-existing "blockbuster" framework.

This only existed because the fans demanded it

The result of all this? One of the most critically-acclaimed video games ever made, held up as a shining example of what this medium is capable of and perhaps one of the strongest arguments for "games are art" advocates. The world is a better place with BioShock in it and the game went on to spawn two excellent sequels (yes, I think BioShock 2 is a great game even if it's guilty of a lot of dumb stuff). But let's say that a studio like Take-Two wanted to put out that game today, would they really be able to? Certainly not in the way it originally came out.

Let's be honest, if BioShock was coming out today, not only would a season pass be an absolute guarantee, with needless tacked-on story sections and survival rooms thrown in for an extra $40 fee, but we can easily imagine the quality of the game itself being affected by modern times. When you actually look at some of the themes and scenarios in BioShock, it's hardly the sort of fare that anyone would say screams of "mass appeal" to a "casual audience". It's easy to see how the base idea of "A city underwater filled with mutants" could have been handheld along every step of the "How to make a blockbuster game for dummies" guide.

*Spoilers*

Now, this is where our example gets a little tricky, because Ken Levine is one of the most respected men in the business and I sincerely doubt he'd stand for any nosy publishers telling him how to make his game, but, for the sake of argument, let's just run with this. It might be a little cynical or far-fetched, but it's not that hard to imagine how this game could've turned out if the big boys at EA or Activision got their hands on it. 

The first thing you see in BioShock? A beautiful menu that somehow manages to set the tone for the whole experience to follow with some simple art deco-infused boxes and piano key sound effects. In a 2017 game, it's not hard to imagine that screen being pushed back to make way for a "Give us your email address and tick these boxes to join our club and receive our newsletter!" page, along with a couple of adverts encouraging you to download your day-one outfits and don't forget to redeem your season pass code.

Gee... thanks

The subtly spooky and memorable Sander Cohen sequence? Too complicated, replace it with a boss fight. Gene-splicing addicts as enemies? Too weird, replace them with monsters. No multiplayer? Are you serious? This is an FPS, right? It's got to have multiplayer! The moral dilemma of either saving or killing Little Sisters to earn ADAM for your upgrades? No worries, give us $5 and you'll load in with 500 bonus ADAM and an exclusive plasmid! Finished the story and reflecting on what a well-crafted and perfect experience it was? Well get ready to open up your wallet because we've got some DLC time trials and 2 hours of bonus story to sell you next month, and we'll be announcing our annual release program for this hot new cash cow franchise at E3! Be sure to make an account on our site to get access to the live stream. We can also imagine the RPG aspects of the game being massively played up as it seems like pretty much everything (even sports games nowadays!) has to have some kind of levelling system.

Hey, I admitted I was being excessively cynical, so don't judge me here. I know that might not be exactly what would happen, but it's not too hard to imagine, either. The truth is that the modern games industry has transmogrified into this hideous factory farm of shady practices and immoral marketing. Plenty of modern games are excellent, but they all inevitably come with this gross money-making baggage that is turning many long-time gamers away and pushing them deeper and deeper into the independent market, where developers, small and large, are getting better at making good-looking, well-designed games that actually have the quality to stay standing in a fight against some of the big boys. And this is good news. Out of darkness, light always emerges and now, at a time when the AAA industry is so deeply and darkly infested, it's good to see such a positive response from the indie world.

More games like this please

Am I going too far with this? I don't think so. I love that the games industry has reached a point where titles like Horizon and Destiny 2 can exist; these are the sorts of titles we never even dreamt of in our youth, but, to quote Uncle Ben, with great power comes great responsibility. Sadly, this industry is a business like any other and money needs to be made, and when unscrupulous businesses find new methods to exploit their audience as much as possible, well, they use them! DLC, season passes and Digital Deluxe Editions aren't going away any time soon, and I know many people would counter this argument by saying "Nobody is forcing you to buy them!" and that's true. It's perfectly possible to ignore all this stuff, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a problem here.

Nowadays, games are being developed with all of this stuff in mind. DLC is planned out months ahead of release, studios spend valuable time working on stupid add-ons and packs when they could be focusing on the game itself, and even the special editions are prepared in the most insidious way and given ludicrous price tags. Similarly, games with original and perhaps a little controversial ideas (like the way mental health issues are approached in Hellblade, for example) are controlled and moulded to fit a pre-defined formula, suffocating creativity and resulting in a AAA market utterly littered with games that basically consist of saving the world over and over.

It's pretty safe to say that if a game like BioShock was coming out this year, it would not be the masterpiece we saw back in 2007. It'd have some of the elements of that game, sure, and it might even become a critical darling and go down as one of the best games of all time regardless, but it would undoubtedly be released with a watered-down story, a slew of DLC and a whole bunch of extra nonsense that the original game never needed. And that would be a tragedy. A little tragedy in the grand scheme of things, but a tragedy nonetheless.

Overwatch Underwatch: The Ingredients Of The Ultimate Hero

Who should you choose?

Let's talk about Overwatch. Specifically, let's talk about Overwatch heroes. More specifically, let's talk about what I think constitutes the ideal Overwatch hero. The more I play of this game, the more I find myself thinking about my hero choices, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Overwatch has a rich cast of characters, each of which can be highly effective when played well, but if we take an 'objective' look at the cast of heroes, can we try and somehow identify the best? Every player from the MLG professional to the casual Hanzo main will have his or her view on the matter, and experts on the game fervently do their best to create tier lists, using tables of data and pages of stats to painstakingly calculate the most effective heroes in the game and rank them accordingly.

What I'm going to do is take a much less scientific (and therefore far less reliable and accurate) approach, but one that I think a lot of players will still be able to relate to. Comparing Overwatch is such a complicated subject and the meta is constantly changing thanks to Blizzard's regular updates, meaning that one hero's influence and potential can fluctuate massively from one month to the next. Take Roadhog, for example. Before the latest patch, stats showed Roadhog was one of the most effective heroes in the game and almost a must-pick in many cases. From a personal point of view, he was one of my most-used heroes and by far my favourite tank. But then Blizzard decided to switch things up a little, giving him a larger clip and faster rate of fire, but reducing the damage of his weapon to make the "hook/one shot kill" combo no longer possible. Result: Win rates for Roadhog players have dropped on average around 6%.

Anyway, I said I wasn't going to talk stats, so we'll leave the numbers there, but you get the idea? The point I'm trying to make is that tier lists and 'best heroes' will never be set in stone in this game, and that's part of the fun of it. Back in the beta, Torbjorn and Bastion were ubiquitous, no team was complete without at least one of them; now, these heroes are regarded as far less effective. The game evolves and players evolve with it, and that's definitely a large part of why, over a year after release, Overwatch hasn't gotten stale despite a relatively small amount of new content. That said, I feel that there are certain criteria that will always be relevant when it comes to defining what makes a good Overwatch character, and I'll be highlighting those criteria here today.

Shock!

Again, there are so many different ways to judge each hero and I make no claims whatsoever that my criteria are the be-all and end-all of the discussion. They're also, quite honestly, pretty vague, so at this point I'm starting to even wonder myself why I'm bothering to write them down, but I still think there's some kind of merit to them. Nowadays, when I'm trying to pick my heroes, as well as considering the usual factors that go into hero selection (map, individual skill, mode, attack or defense, team composition), I'm also trying to include these criteria in my choices, and I'm seeing some reasonable results. My win rate is a little higher than 50%, and that'll do for me.

Okay, without further ado, let's talk about the four key factors that I think go into making the ultimate Overwatch hero:

1) Offense
2) Defense
3) Agility
4) Ultimate

For me, the best heroes will be able to tick all four of these boxes, and what I mean by that is that they'll be able to offer reasonable DPS potential, some form of defensive/healing ability, some form of unique movement ability and an ultimate that could be (subjectively, of course) classed as one of the most effective in the game.

It's almost like the old card game Top Trumps. Remember that? For those who don't, Top Trumps cards basically featured individual subjects, ranging from the likes of animals and cars to Lord of the Rings and Marvel characters. Each card would have the same list of categories on it and each category would be assigned a value, relative to the subject of the card.

Aragorn was always a good card to have in your hand.

Here's an example, just to illustrate my rather feeble description. Anyway, let's imagine that Overwatch heroes got their own Top Trumps cards, I feel like the categories would surely include (but perhaps not be limited to) Offense, Defense, Agility, and Ultimate. Again, we're talking vague stuff here, but when you actually start to break down those categories and think about how certain heroes work, you realise that they're actually not bad for giving you a broad overview of how well-rounded each character in the game actually is.

Let's look at D.Va as an example. Offense would probably be her lowest rating, but it still wouldn't be too bad. Particularly at close range, her Fusion Cannons can dish out a decent amount of damage. And even at mid to long range, she can rain down fire continuously on any target within her line of sight. She ticks the 'Defense' box with ease thanks to her 'Defense Matrix' ability, allowing her to completely nullify any damage for her and her team.

We could also add in the fact that she technically has "two lives" due to the fact that she continues to survive when her mech gets destroyed as a decent 'Defense' ability. She locks down the 'Agility' rating with her Boosters, and her Self-Destruct is generally regarded as one of the better Ultimates in the game, as well as being the most damaging single-hit move of any character on the roster. 

So we can effectively say that D.Va is perhaps one of the best all-round heroes in the entire game as she manages to fulfil all of our criteria. Let's look at an example of a hero that doesn't quite reach the same standards: McCree. Offensively, of course, McCree can be a beast. His Peacekeeper does a decent amount of damage, especially with headshots, and the Fan The Hammer ability can be used to melt enemies in a flash. Defensively, however, he fails to check the box.

The only ability in McCree's repertoire we can really class as 'defensive' in any possible way is his Flashbang, but this ability simply stuns an enemy and that stun lasts for less than a second, so it's not going to save you or your team that often. Agility-wise, McCree has no ability to get around the map faster or reach high ground (no, his roll doesn't count). His Ultimate, however, especially after the most recent patch, is particularly deadly and can wipe out low-health characters in the blink of an eye.

It's high noon...

From this, we could say that McCree adequately fulfils two of our four vital criteria: 'Offense' and 'Ultimate'. As an Offense hero, it seems only natural that he'd excel in these categories and struggle in the others, and you might even assume that we could establish a general pattern in which Offense heroes have great Offense ratings, Defense heroes do well in the defensive stakes, Tanks tend to be decent all-rounders and Supports generally tick the 'Defense' and 'Ultimate' boxes, but this isn't really true.

Some heroes do fit that mould, but others completely break out of it. Look at Genji, as an example. Just like D.Va, I would say he is one of the few heroes in the game who manages to tick every single box. Strong offensively with Swift Strike and his Shuriken, his Reflect ability is a superb defensive tool, Cyber-Agility allows him to run up walls and double jump, giving him one of the best 'Agility' ratings in the game, and his Ultimate can be devastating. He find himself in the 'Offense' category, but he's a real all-rounder, just like Soldier: 76.

We could go through the entire roster (and perhaps someday I will) in order to discern each character's general all-round ability ratings, but let's leave that for a later time. The point of all this (if indeed, there is a point) would be that if we really do want to try and break down the roster and analyse the greatest heroes, these would perhaps be the categories to use. The "Ultimate Overwatch Hero" will almost definitely never exist, but those that come closest will be the heroes who manage to tick all of these boxes. The best heroes need to be strong, solid, mobile and have an excellent ultimate ability; these are the factors that will give them the edge in almost any 1v1 battle.

So the next time you find yourself on the select screen and aren't sure who to choose, take these factors into consideration. Look at the map, look at the mode, look at whether you need to be attacking or defending and look at the rest of your team. Consider the stats of each hero and use all of this information to help yourself make the right choice.

Review: Outlast 2

Welcome to die.

A few years ago, Outlast burst onto the scene and almost single-handedly revived the ailing horror genre. The independently-produced scarefest did an incredible job of terrifying anyone who played it, as well as giving us all a few more reasons to steer clear of any abandoned asylums we happen to come across. The first game rightfully earned developer Red Barrels legions of followers and became an instant classic in the genre, much like Amnesia: The Dark Descent before it.

Now, the much-anticipated sequel has arrived on the scene with a lot of hype and some big shoes to fill. Sadly, while the first game’s relatively simplistic mechanics and harrowing chase sequences helped to cement it as a classic, the same ideas actually manage to hinder Outlast 2, which isn’t a bad game, but fails to topple the lofty bar set by its predecessor.

Let’s start off on a positive note by talking about what’s new, and there’s actually quite a lot to talk about. The setting, for instance, is totally different this time around. Delving into the big bad book of horror clichés, Red Barrels landed on the page marked ‘backwards religious cults in the middle of nowhere’ and ran with it. Where Outlast confined us to the tight halls, grey cells and grimy sewers of the Mount Massive Asylum, Outlast 2 shakes things up, transporting our new hero, cameraman Blake Langermann, to the Arizona desert.

Meet Marta.

Blake will spend the 6-8 hours of the game’s duration sprinting, climbing and tiptoeing his way through villages, mines, and cornfields. Without giving too much away, the plot involves a pair of rival cults, each boasting its own psychotic leader and monstrous lieutenants. Blake and his wife Lynn are thrust into the middle of this conflict and separated, and like any good hubby, Blake will do whatever it takes to save his love.

The plot gets a little convoluted and bizarre towards the latter stages of the game, with an ending that will surely prove to be very divisive, but it does a good enough job of funnelling the action along and providing you with some motivation to keep on trucking. And motivation is something you’ll need to cancel out the frustration that comes along with large sections of Outlast 2’s gameplay.

A big selling point of the game prior to release was the introduction of huge, open areas, with many fans eagerly awaiting the thrill and fear that seemingly go hand-in-hand with the idea of blindly charging through a cornfield and wishing with all your might not to bump into anything spooky. Unfortunately, in practice, these large environments aren’t a whole lot of fun to navigate. For the most part, you’re left blindly running in circles until you happen to come across the exit or the one object you need to use to proceed.

Cornflakes - Lovely. Corn on the cob - Awesome. Cornfields filled with murderous villagers - Not so cool.

Why don’t these open areas work as well? The simple answer is design. The first game’s narrow, compact environments facilitated a seamless gameplay experience with guaranteed frights and minimal frustration. The developers could introduce an enemy at one end of a long hallway, safe in the knowledge that the player would have no option but to turn around and run the other way. They could then plan out the player’s route, introducing additional obstacles and enemies along the way to create a linear, but harrowing experience. In Outlast 2, you have a bigger sandbox to run around, but there’s still only one door that will lead you to the next passage or one item that will open up the next scene, so it becomes much more about luck and repetition than anything else.

In principle, the idea of frantically searching around for your way out of this nightmare is both terrifying and realistic, and could have resulted in some highly exciting, dynamic chases, but it just isn’t a whole lot of fun to play. With a few one-hit kill enemies thrown in for good measure, too often you’ll be forced to replay sections again and again, running a slightly different way each and every time until you ‘trial and error’ your way into the solution. Speaking of the enemies, none of them manage to be quite as memorable as Whistleblower’s Eddie Gluskin (also known as The Groom), but Marta, a gigantic, pickaxe-wielding, witch-like figure, sure will scare your pants off every time she bursts onto the screen, and the game features a pretty interesting cast of villains in general.

Every now and then, Blake will enter a dreamlike state in which he’ll return to the school of his childhood, navigating abandoned classrooms and creepy hallways. These sections of the game are much more reminiscent of the original Outlast and I found them to be generally much scarier and more enjoyable to play, perhaps reinforcing the idea that this sort of game works better in a confined space. One cool new mechanic is also the addition of a directional microphone on your video camera, allowing you to listen through walls and doors to locate enemies. It drains the camera battery extra fast, but it certainly saved my life more than once and added a little bit of extra depth to the stealthy gameplay.

The school sequences break up the frantic action with some slow-burning scares.

Just like in the original game, Outlast 2 presents you with limited options: run, hide, or die. The last one isn’t too appealing and the second isn’t particularly useful this time around, so you’ll basically be doing a whole lot of running. There are still plenty of beds to crawl under and blood-filled barrels to jump into, but with the sheer quantity of enemies and scope of the environments, hiding just doesn’t feel particularly useful. Again, the first game presented us with such tiny spaces that hiding in lockers was often the only way to escape certain enemies, but here it’s easier to just sprint in random directions for 10 seconds until your pursuers simply give up the chase.

Despite the negative aspects mentioned above, Outlast 2 remains a fun horror experience. There are plenty of gruesome scenes to uncover and creepy sequences to endure. The developers sure know how to create an atmosphere, using lighting, sound and scenery to great effect. Some parts of the game are particularly strong; one latter section down in the mines is incredibly tense, the school sequences are terrifically terrifying, and I won’t be forgetting my encounters with Marta for quite some time. The opening thirty minutes also does a wonderful job of building the tension with creepy sound effects, glowing eyes in the darkness and “did I just see that?” moments that will have you freaking out and gleefully awaiting the horrors to come.

Spooky spooky spooky!

Is it the lack of innovation and slightly subpar level design that makes Outlast 2 a less satisfying experience? Is it the fact that I couldn’t help comparing it to another recently released horror game that brought so much more to the table (Resident Evil 7)? Is it the fact that the first game set such lofty expectations? Is it just a case of ‘second album syndrome’? Maybe it’s a little of all of these things. By the end of Outlast, I felt like I’d ridden a rollercoaster of terrors and could still feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins. The first game’s Whistleblower DLC left me even more terrified. When Outlast 2’s credits rolled, I found myself doing little more than shrugging my shoulders.

The folks at Red Barrels deserve credit for trying some different ideas. Creativity is a virtue and, had the developers taken the ‘safer’ route of sending us back to Mount Massive for another 8 hours of cell blocks and offices, I think we’d all have been a little let down. The trouble is, they didn’t go far enough. They kept the same gameplay and stuck it in new surroundings, but more tinkering was needed to make the whole package gel together. As it is, Outlast 2 is a satisfying experience, but it’s very much a horror game-by-numbers. It follows beats we’ve heard before, uses tricks we’ve seen before, and ultimately feels like a game we’ve played before. I wasn’t expecting this sequel to revolutionise the genre in the same way the original did, but I still hoped for more than this.

GameCenter CX, Kacho ON

Hello everyone, today I wanted to share with you one of my favourite shows of all time, and certainly my favourite show associated with video games. It's called GameCenter CX (or Retro Game Master) and hopefully, many readers will have heard of it, but for those who haven't, let's do a little introduction.

The show features this fellow here, a hilarious Japanese comedian by the name of Shinya Arino, also known as the "Kacho" (Chief). Essentially, GameCenter CX consists of his attempts to complete (mostly) difficult and (mostly) retro games within the space of a day. Each episode is essentially a montage of his progression, highlighting the funniest moments, the most brutal challenges, and ultimately, his triumphant success or miserable failure. 

Arino's amusing commentary as he plays is one of the show's main draws

He is assisted by the shows "ADs" (Assistant Directors) in a variety of ways, and episodes will also contain bonus "corners" or segments in which Arino will, for instance, visit an arcade, interview a famous developer, narrate a manga, or investigate classic pieces of gaming hardware.

If any of that sounds interesting to you, then you should already be scrolling down and clicking on the related links to download/watch some episodes, but if you'd like to know more, then let's continue.

The show even has its own official DS game series

GameCenter CX is pretty huge in Japan, as is Arino, but unfortunately attempts to sell the license overseas have been rather disappointing. In the US, the show has been retitled Retro Game Master with an English narration and professional subtitles, however the future of this version is very sketchy for the time being. 

The website Kotaku was allowed to stream episodes in English for a brief period a few years ago but that agreement ended and the rights for Retro Game Master are being passed around all over the place. I don't know the details but trust me, it's probably going to be quite a while before you can walk into a random media shop and pick up the DVDs outside of Japan.

The sight you look forward to at the end of each episode

Anyway, luckily for us, the internet exists and so do hardcore fans who can speak Japanese. Thus, a decent majority of the episodes have been given English subtitles and can be found online (again, scroll down for links). 

So why should you watch? Well, I suppose the major draw of the show (aside the obvious fact that it's all about games) is the humour. Arino himself is a one-liner machine, with his reactions a never-ending source of chuckles. He's not a bad player, but he's by no means a pro either, and every episode is riddled with comedy as he struggles again and again with tricky controls and troublesome enemies.

Action replays are yet another amusing feature

Recurring comedic elements will make their mark on you as you progress through the seasons. Arino's terrible habits of raising his fists in celebration before the game is actually finished (and thus dying) or forgetting to input the secret code to continue (and thus having to restart entire games over) are just some of the reasons you'll finish in hysterics.

The ADs and staff similarly provide a ton of laughs. New ADs are introduced regularly, each with their own amusing personalities, from the wrestling warrior Inoue (humorously nicknamed Inoko MAX by Arino) who says he likes games "a normal amount" to the desperately shy Nakayama, who has an accompanying sound effect every time he bows (which is rather often).

Multiple ADs will often arrive to help Arino, and his huge stock of snacks is always funny to see

As Arino struggles, the staff will often chime in with their own amusing remarks and criticisms, and there's a real family atmosphere throughout each episode. I suppose that's another of its draws: it really feels as though you're right there with these guys, all sitting together and enjoying a game like when you were young. It's a simple pleasure, but a powerful one.

Despite such a relatively basic premise (heck, half of YouTube is filled with guys playing games and commentating on them), the way the show, in perhaps that typically Japanese way, loves to make everything sound far more serious than it actually is, is another wonderful attraction, particularly for us Westerners. "His ultimate nemesis has returned!", "Choosing the right character is the true secret to completing this game!", "The real Super Mario Bros. begins now!" are just a few examples of the sort of phrase you'll hear time and again from the show's deep-voiced narrator.

I can't be the only one who adores phrases like this

Watching someone play a game for an extended period of time can become a little grating, as perhaps many who have watched "Let's Plays" online can attest to. Thus, the "corners" of GameCenter CX provide welcome moments of respite to balance out each episode. My personal favourite is the 'TamaGe' or 'You Should Visit this Game Center Sometime' section. It not only offers a fascinating look at the arcade scene in Japan, but is often wonderfully touching as Arino shares his prizes with local children, makes store-owners laugh, and gathers a small crowd of new friends as he challenges various machines

As with the humour, the more emotional side of the show can be found throughout. It's a simple thing to finish a game, but the show often adds a sentimental slant to things as young fans send letters and pictures of encouragement to Arino, their hero, and he vows not to let them down. Special episodes feature the comedian going to events or foreign countries and exchanging gifts with strangers. It's the sort of thing you have to watch to appreciate but make no mistake, Gamecenter CX can make you feel very fuzzy inside.

And in that classic Japanese way, there's nearly always some text plastered across the screen

So, have I sold it enough yet? If not, know that I'm barely scratching the surface. The show can make you laugh and cry, can open your eyes to the incredibly rich world of what is now "retro" gaming, gives a fantastic insight into Japanese culture and gaming traditions, and is full to the brim with wonderful, hilarious people. It's a real treat and I would implore anyone, even those who have but a passing interest in video games, to give it a watch.

Et voilà, the links you've been waiting for:

To download individual episodes, I recommend this forum thread:
http://www.gaki-no-tsukai.com/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=2653
Of course I wouldn't normally condone this sort of downloading, but most people outside of Japan literally cannot see this show any other way. If it comes out on DVD in Europe, I'll certainly be making my purchase and I encourage other fans to do the same.

To simply watch episodes, there's no better place:
http://www.gamingcx.com/p/gccx-videos.html
This is a fantastic site run by some very good people who do their best to host every episode of the show they can get their hands on. Now and then you'll see blanks in their list, but there's close to two hundred fantastic episodes to get you started.

Don't miss the Kacho!

Let's Blog Suikoden - Epilogue

Well, now that I've finished playing and chronicling the game, it's time to have a little chat about Suikoden. What did I think of the game overall? What will stick with me? Am I eager to continue the series and jump right in with Suikoden II? What have I learnt about the game in research since its completion? 

Well, the last question is perhaps the most interesting, so let's get right to it. After finishing the game, I went online to have a look at people's interpretations of the ending. I soon discovered that, in fact, what I obtained was, relatively speaking, the bad ending. Yes dear friends, there is indeed another ending to the game, and I'm sure it'll shock you. 

Gremio can be resurrected. I'll repeat that: Gremio can be resurrected. Oh and Pahn? He doesn't have to die at all, he can defeat Teo if you level him sufficiently. It goes without saying that I was astonished and a little disappointed with my own efforts upon discovering this information. It turns out that if you recruit all of the stars before the final battle, and Pahn lives, then Leknaat will utilise the magical power created by this union of stars in order to revive our fallen servant. Yeah! 

There I was, thinking Pahn's death was an inevitability, that I'd found all the stars properly, and never giving a second thought to the notion of resurrection. But hey, that's the game and that's the sacrifice you make when you play without consulting guides, I'm still pretty proud of what I managed. In spite of this pride, I can't help wanting to go back already and earn the true ending for myself, but am eager to commence Suikoden II. We'll see what happens. 

So, after all my depressive talk in the final post, it turns out that the game can finish far more cheerily than I originally imagined; a fact that has certainly put my mind to ease. To fill you in, the good ending shows a similar seen, Akami leaves the castle in the middle of the night and sets out into the world, but this time the familiar face of Gremio is by his side. Isn't it amazing how the presence of a companion can completely change the dynamic of that ending? 

Fancy a bit more good news? Viktor and Flik survive! It's not shown in the game but I stumbled onto the knowledge that they appear in Suikoden II where we learn they made it out of the castle alive. Lovely stuff! I feel like my decision to begin Suikoden II has already been made for me, I can't wait to see Vik again.

On top of all this, there was plenty more I missed. I certainly obtained all the stars but I barely used any when you look at it; since completing the game I have read of the many abilities of the characters I chose to ignore, their special unite moves, and found plenty of surprises. Some of the strongest stats and abilities are to be found in characters you'd least expect. There's even an entire combo magic system I missed out on entirely; when certain spells are cast in tandem they can create wonderful special effects, adding yet another consideration to party creation.

Anyway, all-in-all I found Suikoden to be a fantastic experience. The criticisms I could throw at the game are too minor and few to even discuss, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Its unique feature of so many playable characters was intimidating at first, but I grew to adore the system, savouring the almost Pokémon-esque "Gotta catch 'em all" nature of recruitment, and relishing the prospect of trying out new characters and combinations whenever I could.

The game is nearly two decades old, and I'd be lucky if this blog had even a dozen followers in two decades (har-har), so it doesn't mean all that much coming from me, but I have to thank the team behind it. Suikoden is adored the world over by a community of fans, and their number just grew by one. The game took me on a wonderful journey and I grew attached to a band of characters that will remain with me for a long time. If you're a fan of older games, JRPGs, fine stories... hell, if you enjoy video games then I can certainly recommend this one. It's like a book you can't put down, and I'm eager to begin the sequel.

Let's Blog Suikoden - Part 24: The End

Foreword: Huge apologies for the tardiness of this post, ladies and gents. A ludicrous assortment of factors that I won't delve into contributed to this, but quite simply I'm sorry. To make it up to you, this is indeed the end of the game, and is indeed, by far the longest post I have written during the playthrough. You want to know how it all ends? Read on.

Here we go!... but first, just a few paragraphs of recruitment

Before chatting to Mathiu and undoubtedly initiating the final push, I take a gander at the dozen or so blank spaces on my Stone Tablet of Promise and decide to go on one last big recruitment drive. Remember those bloody pirates? The guys I went to see by my own, then with Tai Ho, with Yam Koo, with the pair of them, and always a new line of dialogue but no option to recruit? Well, I decide to try them again, this time with Tai Ho, Yam Koo, and Kimberley who associates with the fishermen brothers and seems to count as one of their group.

Ho-ho! My plan is successful. The pirates want a fight, and we dutifully oblige, wiping the floor with them rather easily. Not a good sales pitch if they want to be part of my team for the upcoming battle. Regardless, after being bested, the three pirates Anji, Leonardo, and Kanak join our forces. 3 Stars of Destiny down, still a fair few to nab.

Oh well, we'd best let you by!

I'd like that Zeus look-a-like to join up but I visit him once more and he says we're still not big enough for his talents. Maybe I should visit with his friends Maas and Meese, but we'll try that later on. I begin to go through the list of locations, teleporting to each and collecting anyone I find. There's a hunter named Quincy at Garan who joins up. At the Northern Checkpoint, the humorous duo of Max and his servant Sancho come charging through, spouting some battle cry in support of the Liberation Army. The funny part is when they then bump into Akami and Max doesn't even recognise him. When Sancho eventually reveals our identity to his master, the pair leap at the chance to join our team.

Over at the Warriors Village I chat to the fellow named Window again but he's still not interested in me, however a guy named Moose (yep, another one of the blacksmiths) is very interested if we bring Mose to chat to him. I do just that and now I have Maas, Meese, Moose, and Mose in my squad. I take all four of them to see Mace and it works; the four are former students of Master Mace and persuade their old sensei to join up. Back at The Castle, Mace can upgrade our weapons to level 16 which is very nice (and expensive) indeed.

I'm very glad to see this screen

I go to consult the Stone Tablet of Promise to have a gander at how many recruits I'm yet to find: 13 blank spaces remain. I know one of them must be Window, another must be that appraiser in Rikon, and there's that Melodye at Kirov who needs a special rune to join. We continue our random searching and find a rather tough-looking dude named Kirke at Lorimar, he's standing aside the graveyard and is a self-professed "head-chopper". He tells us that head-chopping is all he's good at, but that'll do nicely, sir. 12 to go.

Back at HQ, I go and talk to Rock and take a look through my inventories, spying a Window Crystal! I'd forgotten all about it, it must be for Window! I also have a Sound Crystal that nobody in my party can equip so wonder if perhaps it's the key for Melodye! Both of my suspicions are accurate and the two new recruits are added to our ranks. 10 left.

I refuse! No, just kidding, here you go

All of this took far longer than it might appear in writing, by the way. I don't want to give the impression that I'm either a genius or a buffoon but I have to be honest, it took a lot of random searching and flashes of common sense for me to reach the conclusions that led to some of these recruits. For instance, I eventually then decided to go and read my old books in the library in search of info on potential recruits. I read of a cook named Lester who works in Moravia, Clive at the inn in Rikon, a stray elf named Rubi, a fellow in a tiger mask called Fu Su Lu, and finally Pesmerga who is apparently on the hunt for Yuber.

I head to Moravia first to find this cook, but also remember that Vincent de Boule was trapped here too and I never got a chance to free him, he must surely be another Star of Destiny! I make my way through the castle, always on the lookout for a kitchen or servant quarters but encounter no such luck. Lester is nowhere to be found but on the top floor, still behind bars, awaits our humorous bourgeois chum Vincent de Boule.

I could never leave you behind, Vince

I continue looking here and there, eventually realising I've never recruited anybody at Neclord's castle so perhaps that's worth another look. Right at the top, in the very room the vampire prepared to wed Tengaar and was slain by Viktor, awaits a ridiculously tough-looking knight. It's Pesmerga, he came here hoping Yuber would be close by.

Soon after this, I stumble onto Lester but nowhere near Moravia. He's at the inn in Rikon, and seems pleased that I've gone around "tasting his stews". I don't really remember doing anything of the sort but there you go. I then pause for a moment and wonder if, like Pesmerga, certain recruits are waiting at the end of previously-cleared dungeons. So I then spend (/waste) quite a lot of time walking all the way through the Dwarven Vault, Soniere prison, Scarleticia, and a couple of other places, but find absolutely nobody. So much for that theory.

Suikoden - Rated R for Dark Humour

One place I haven't visited at all springs to mind; the Kobold village! I've literally only been there once so it might be worth a shot. I stick Kirkis in the party in order to traverse the Great Forest (without him in the team, I realise it's impossible to get through) and add Kuromimi too, in case we bump into any of his Kobold friends. The village turns out to be a gold mine for recruiting. First of all we meet Gon, Kuromimi's little brother, who joins up instantly at the sight of his bro. Afterwards the mega-muscled Fu Su Lu with his tiger head is recruited for the price of 10,000 bits. 

We also discover Rubi, a rather gothic-looking elf who chats to Kirkis, but says he's too much of a weakling for her to fight alongside. I've been in this situation before with Lorelai and Eikei. Guess it's time to level up Kirkis. Luckily the game is very kind with levelling. Kirkis begins at only level 23 but swiftly attains level 50 after just a few battles. Surely that must be enough? Back to the village we go to find out and Rubi is indeed satisfied.

Have I? ... oh yeah... yeah, I remember... stews, yeah

There are only 4 spots left on the tablet. The appraiser Jabba must be one, this mysterious Clive fellow is another. I wonder if one might be Ain Gide, the Imperial commander we met once before. Another could be Leon Silverberg perhaps, I'll have to go and chat to him. In the meantime, Clive is the only guy who I've got a real lead on. They say he hangs around the inn in Rikon from time to time, and I've already looked there but try teleporting in and out again a few times and eventually he appears. He looks pretty tough and I'm already imagining a dream team of my most recent acquisitions involving Clive, Pesmerga, Rubi, and Fu Su Lu.

Further investigation of the table reveals I'm looking for a Chikai star, a Chisei star and a Chimei star. I look at these names and compare them to others, I check the order of people on the tablet to see if that's any help, but all-in-all I'm left rather clueless. I know the appraiser Jabba needs a nameless urn but I just don't know what that is or where to get it. It could've been in some chest I missed or just a random drop, maybe I accidentally sold it. 

Well, you look it, Sir! Join me!

I remember Leon Silverberg at Kalekka and decide to go chat to him, see if there's any chance he's a last-minute acquisition. He wants me to tell Mathiu how impressive our army is, but if I go and chat to Mathiu it just instigates the next battle and I'm forced to quit and load my game.

I decide to go around all over the place again and ludicrously I managed to miss someone in the very first place on the list! At the inn in Seika I spot a guy I hadn't seen before, a dude by the name of Sheena. He's trying to chat up a girl by saying his family is rich before revealing he's the son of Lepant! I then decide the natural course of action is to bring the lad's parents to see him. Lepant gives the boy a good talking-to and he joins us.

If you want to pick up girls, I'd lose that earring, Sheena

Now we have only 2 spots on the tablet to fill and it'll be immensely frustrating not to get them all. I feel like Leon might be one, and the other is the appraiser Jabba. There is still Ain Gide too but I can't find him, I go to Kwaba but there's nothing going on there. I go around a bunch of other places one more time to see if there's some random star who just appears now and then like Clive did, and I re-read the books for any info I hadn't previously uncovered, all to no avail. I wish I could find a nameless urn. I'm tempted to look online but so far I've got all but two of these stars on my own and am super proud so I don't think I want to tarnish that feat now. 

Then follows a typically embarrassing and stupid revelation. I'd got a bloody Nameless Urn all along. I go and look through everyone's inventories just to be sure I don't have any special items. Juppo, of all people, has got a nameless urn just sitting there! I don't know when or how or why he has that but he does. Since I rarely bother checking everyone's inventory with Rock and I barely ever bothered using Juppo, I must have just cast him from my party and never looked back. Oh my days. Jabba is mine.

Behold my uber team

I've got all but one of these stars.It's taken a LONG time and I know every location in this game off by heart now but I've got all but one. My money has to be on either Ain Gide or Leon. Maybe there's someone still to meet but those are tall odds. Unfortunately, the only thing I can do for Leon is talk to Mathiu, but that doesn't work because he's in "I want to fight!" mode and won't listen. And I've searched everywhere else too darn thoroughly now to really want to spend any more time on this.

I'm going for it. The final battle. Let's do this. First I go through the character list and make myself an uber party. I'm sure super pro Suikoden players would disagree and know far better combos and maybe I'm making some rookie mistakes with this team but I like them, I love how cool they appear in battle and I think they have a fantastic balance of magic and offensive power. I have a front-line of what have got to be three of the heaviest hitters in the game: Viktor, Fu Su Lu and Pesmerga. Vik is equipped with a killer rune, adding to his already great luck stat giving him a big chance of critical hits, Fu Su Lu and Pesmerga have been given hazy runes to boost their evasion. 

Wouldn't want to run into these guys down a dark alley

Riding in the back I've got Akami obviously with his level 4 Soul Eater, then there's Rubi, who it turns out is way higher level than the rest of us at 60 and has ridiculously good stats in every category. All of my other characters have at least one obvious weakness but she's strong, defensive, skilled and a great magic user! By the way, it's worth mentioning that now, at the end of the game, I finally figured out the rune system. The magic stat, it's all about that. It's very simple in fact. People with high magic stats have more spells available. 

Anyway, I've got Rubi equipped with a Mother Earth rune (the same thing Hellion uses, I found another one), then Crowley who I wish I'd been using before because he seems to be the best magic-user I've got. He has a cyclone rune which gives him some healing as well as offensive spells. So we've got muscle up front and plenty of magic for support, defence, and big damage at the back. I think it's a great team but you could really play this game again and again and use all sorts of combos. I imagine there's tons of cool little challenges one could invent; try and finish the game with Antoine the chef for instance, or using a wholly female/male party, or using only the blacksmiths, etc. 

Then I imagine it's time to roll out

I feel a bit bad just sticking in all the super strong dudes who I've only just met as opposed to bringing people like old Cleo, Camille, Luc, or even the likes of Flik along for the ride, but I do enjoy having a team that looks so darn destructive. Maybe I'll end up with some forced party members anyway. We'll see.

Right, it's time to chat to Mat, he says now we have to march on the capital. He asks for the order to attack, but before we can grant his wish, Liukan interrupts with his doctor's opinion that Mathiu should not go to battle. Our valiant strategist says he must; he gave Odessa his word and will stop at nothing after all. I'm instantly wary that this is a bloody prophecy of his death, it'll be torturous if Mathiu dies. Unfortunately, I can't stop him. This is as much his fight as my own.

Unfortunately, as a general, I won't let you not let Mathiu go to battle

A force of 20k awaits us. We assemble a huge assortment of commanders in the meeting room, and the troops are readied. Mathiu gives a rousing speech; the time is now to end this cruel regime! Lepant adds his own words for good measure: think of your friends and families, do it for them! Warren echoes his sentiments and Leknaat appears saying it's now time to tell us everything. Windy is apparently looking for vengeance against the whole world. Centuries ago, the "Clan of the Gate" to which Windy and Leknaat belonged were massacred. The two sisters escaped using the Rune of the Gate which is in fact two runes, a 'front' and a 'back'. Or an entrance and exit, if you like. 

Windy has the entrance and Leknaat the exit. Windy evidently became filled with rage at the slaughter of her village and began a power-hungry quest to seek her revenge. Her sister held more forgiveness than hatred in her heart, and for this, Leknaat nearly paid the price. Windy attempted to forcefully take the exit rune from her sibling, who fled and isolated herself on that island we visited at the beginning of the game. All the while she was waiting for someone like Akami to appear. 

Bit of a trippy speech, but if it gets the troops motivated then I don't mind

She then addresses everyone, saying we are stars who have assembled together for a reason, for victory. Mat then jumps in with another speech, for our fallen comrades, for the future, for Akami. We cheer for victory and are ready to fight. I'm then treated to another of those sequences of scenes from around the castle. Our brave men and women are preparing for battle. Varkas and Sydonia are with their bandit regiment, imploring them to fight hard, Gen orders his marine friends to fix whatever they can while there's time, Kuromimi rallies the mighty kobolds. 

With that, I order the attack and we roll out. The scene switches to the Imperials; countless soldiers and monsters await us, with Yuber at the head and sneaky Kanaan from way back when cowering behind him. Yuber scoffs at our army, saying it'll be no match for their 100,000 men. Oh deary me. We thought they'd only got 20k. The scene returns to our side, where Kirkis reports the enemy has indeed got a force numbering around 100k. Leknaat tells us that the majority of that colossal figure must be monsters that Windy has conjured up to fight for her. Lovely Leknaat then plans to use her own rune to send the monsters away.

It is funny, Yuber, but maybe not that funny

Once again we see Yuber and the Imperials and watch with glee as their monsters begin disappearing. Leknaat's power unfortunately does not amount to enough to rid us of all these beasts however, and Akami wonders if the Soul Eater might be of aid. No sooner has the suggestion been floated than Leknaat forbids it, saying that we must never use the Soul Eater in that way. Luckily, a saviour arrives in the form of Joshua who lends the power of his own true rune. Together, they wipe out every single one of the enemy monsters.

Yuber remains defiant, believing that the Imperials still hold the advantage, and orders the attack. It's time to begin the last battle! A force of 20k against our respectable 18k.
20k against our just over 18k. As is customary, I make full use of my three ninjas to begin the battle in destructive fashion. Within a few turns, Yuber's mighty force has been halved. The thieves then take up the mantle and land us some final crushing blows and before we know it, the fight is over. Fourteen thousand brave soldiers of the Liberation Army remain standing to see our brighter future born.

Heh. Heh heh heh heh. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! See, not so nice is it Yuber?

With that, Yuber admits defeat, saying he doesn't care as he won't miss this world much anyway. Back on our side, the leader of the dwarves has arrived, along with Zorak and even Hanzo, the mysterious ninja master. Zorak's about to begin one of his long-winded speeches before Viktor interrupts; it's time to charge to Gregminster!

This is it, we're back where it all began and ready to take Barbarosa's head. At least, that's what everyone seems to be concerned with. Personally, I think Windy is the more important target. Oh no! Oh no no no no! What fresh hell is this?! Like a poisoned blade being thrust into my bowels I hear the news that Flik wants to come with us. I just carefully selected and equipped this party and now a guy that I don't even like with poor armour, no healing items, and a low-level weapon is going to take the place of one of my warriors.

We'll do what we can Mat, don't die now

Oh well, we have to cope. Flik is at least a mixture of decent magic and a good physical offense, and since Pesmerga and Fu Su Lu fill similar roles in my team I decide he'll fill in for one of them. Examination of their stats proves Pesmerga my preference, and Fu makes way. I'm tempted to make another change and bring in Lepant's boy Sheena who seems to have some of, if not the best stats of any of my fighters, along with a lightning rune. Essentially, he's a better Flik than Flik, but I've already got one Flik so I'll stick with the team I've chosen.

Before we head inside, we're treated to a little bit more despair as Mathiu, through fits of coughing, tells us to be careful and Liukan announces his concerns over our strategist's health. All Mathiu wants is revenge for his sister. If that is to be your final wish, old friend, we'll do whatever it takes to grant it. Although I do hope and pray he pulls through, it's not looking good. 

I know, the party looks a lot less classy without Fu Su Lu's tiger head

Flik has got literally no armour on. There you go, if there's one criticism I could throw at the game, it's these forced unannounced changes right after you just spent all the time at the castle sorting out everyone's inventories and equipment. If they're going to stick someone in your party, it should at least pop up "Do you want to swap armour with the unfortunate sod you just spent half hour sorting out back at The Castle and who is now being booted home without a chance to fight?". 

Actually though, it turns out I can give Flik some stuff by simply warping back to HQ. It seems a bit daft and not quite in keeping with the beat of the story to cry "Victory!" at the castle gates and then tell everyone to hang on half an hour while I just pop back to the castle to fetch Flik some trousers, but I'm thankful for the option nonetheless. 

Then this happened...

Back at the castle, things become even more detached from the story as every member of our army is just sitting around in their typical poses with their usual 'between mission' dialogue. Even Mathiu is there, no longer coughing his guts up, instead offering me a letter to take to Leon Silverberg. I guess he was the final recruit after all and I'm going to delay the climax of this game even further by going to get him. Sue me.

At Kalekka, Mathiu himself turns up at Leon's house to reluctantly ask his father for aid. Just forget the context, if you can. Suspend disbelief for a moment and imagine this all happened before the battle. It's a flashback, if you like. Anyway, there's bad blood between papa and son but old man Silverberg lends his blade. There you go, the tablet is complete and I feel mightily proud indeed.

We're home

Diversion out of the way, back to Gregminster we go where the action resumes. Ain Gide awaits us at the entrance to the castle, reminding us of our previous encounter with him where Viktor invented those amusing "Schtolteheim Reinbach III" pseudonyms to sneak through the gate. Viktor himself pleads with Ain to just let us by; his blood need not be spilt and the Empire is already crushed. Ain, however, retains his admirable loyalty. If he betrays the Emperor now then poor old Barbarosa will have nobody left. You can tell he knows this is only going to end one way, and perhaps he even agrees with our cause, but he's served his master too long to wave the white flag now.

Into battle we go where Ain is frankly beaten quite quickly and without particular incident. He dies before us and Flik curses the situation. Viktor offers condolence in the form of a sensible proverb "Things can be right and useless, but also wrong and priceless". I believe he's saying that, perhaps for Flik Ain Gide's death was pointless and wasteful, but for Ain there could be no greater honour than to die for what he had his life believing and serving. From our perspective, the guy's death was a waste, but surely for him, his whole life would feel like a waste if he suddenly decided to switch sides at the last minute. What would have been the point of his serving Barbarosa for decades if he would abandon him so cheaply?

Exactly. You die with honour Ain Gide

It was a shame to see Ain fall, I would've preferred him to follow in the footsteps of the Imperial generals, but my interpretation of what Viktor said at least makes his death appear to have been worth something. We leave him be and head inside the castle, which is, of course, a dungeon replete with enemies and treasure chests. Good old Suikoden, good old JRPGs.

We soon make it to the throne room, but it's empty. A secret passage has been opened, through which the Emperor and Windy have surely made their escape. We follow with haste, where a sequence of forced battles with guards rapidly deplete my medicine stocks. I begin to worry about our prospects for the imminent boss fight, but there's not much we can do about it now. 

That'll be my chair soon!

Faster than I expected, we arrive at the big fellow himself, Barbarosa. He thanks us for coming this far. What a polite fellow, you're very welcome Mr Barbarosa, Sir. We're in his gardens, what he calls the remnants of his realm. He doesn't have much left, he says, but he'll protect it with everything he's got. He then draws his mighty dragon king sword. I hope you were paying close attention to the name of that sword, by the way, so you'll be ready for the fact that he then turns into a giant, golden, three-headed dragon.

As you might imagine, that's our cue to start hitting him with our blades, sticks, feet, anything we can get our hands on really. The battle involves attacking the heads one at a time. I'd like to now write a few paragraphs about the epic battle that unfolded, replete with thrills, spills, danger, and excitement. Unfortunately, the fight isn't particularly much of a challenge. Big Barb doesn't hit too hard, in fact, or maybe I've just really well-chosen and prepared my team. Either way, we take out a head quite rapidly thanks to our big damage-dealing spells. He retaliates with a pretty nasty attack that wipes our Crowley, so I've lost my healer, which obviously ratchets up the pressure a little. However, the remaining two heads don't put up enough of a fight to really trouble us and the great dragon is felled surprisingly quickly.

He looks pretty tough huh? Well, the barks of his three, golden, armour-plated, massive heads are worse than their bites.

Was that it though? Does he now unveil his "true form"? Is Windy about to burst in and say "Ha! I'm the real final boss!"? Well, no, not quite. The former generals (Sonya, Kasim, Kwanda, and Milich) arrive. They tell their former master that he's changed, he's been deceived by the evil Windy. Speak of the devil, here she is. Kasim attempts to defend his Emperor but Windy brings him to his knees without breaking a sweat. Oh dear, I won't be too chuffed if we have to tangle with her.

She's angry, and she wants the Soul Eater. She walks up to Akami and the rune bursts into life yet again, transporting Windy alone into the dark abyss where suddenly our fallen friends appear! Gremio, Ted, Teo, and Odessa stand around Windy! Their power, the true power of the Soul Eater, rejects the evil sorceress. 

The power of the fallen!

We're back to the real world where Windy curses the rune and cannot understand why she cannot take it. Barbarosa tells her it's over now. She then turns on him, threatening to kill him, but he calmly reminds her that his own true rune protects him from all magic. This comes as a shock to Windy who says she'd believed him to be under the control of her Black Rune. Barbarosa then drops the biggest bombshell of the game by saying that no, he was just pretending. He reveals he loves her, not for her likeness to his late wife, but for her own merits and character, and he wanted so dearly to erase the sadness he sees in her eyes. With a glance to Akami, Barbarosa asks what sort of land we'll make with him gone. Without waiting for an answer, he grabs Windy and leaps from the balcony to their collective doom.

Wow. So, all along, Barbarosa was just a fool in love and wanted Windy to be happy. We'd certainly seen a hint of this before when Futch met him briefly and the Emperor showed mercy. It remains quite a revelation, however. Along with the fact that we don't actually have to fight Windy! All game long I'd been anticipating the ultimate battle against her, but as it turns out it was our old comrades who stopped her for us.

At least he granted her final wish

The palace then begins to shake, and we need to get the hell out of here! The generals wait on the balcony, all fixed in a trance-like state of what I can only assume to be disbelief, sadness, and perhaps a little relief. They say they'll be right behind us, I only hope that's true. The party begins to head down through the castle. Some soldiers block our path and Viktor offers to stall them. I call him an idiot and say no way, but he urges that he's useless now the battle is over, while Akami needs to survive in order for a brighter future. 

Worst moment of the game, this one. We have to leave Viktor behind. Nothing I can do to stop it. We have to leave my most beloved companion to what might be certain death. Gut-wrenching. He says he'll be right behind us, and once more I can only pray he's telling the truth. To add to the misery, Flik then goes and does the same! We run into more soldiers and he offers a similar self-sacrifice in order that Akami might live. I've not enjoyed Flik's company a great deal but damn! 

No. No, no, no, no, no! Fight for another fifty or sixty years then Viktor, please

Akami and the others then run on, and the camera remains behind as Flik and Viktor catch up to one another. Flik tells Viktor that Akami has made it out, and Viktor grins. "We can fight to our heart's content!" he cries, unleashing his star dragon sword, as Flik nobly unveils his own blade Odessa and they commence their stand against a huge amount of imperial soldiers who don't even have an Emperor to fight for any longer. What a waste!

I have to say this is a painful ending indeed. If Viktor was going to go out, then swinging a sword with a buddy by his side is certainly the way for it, but I hoped so much that he'd make it through. The only thing I can do to dispel my fears is grip stubbornly to a sacred principle that I apply to games, tv shows, films, and books on a regular basis: if you don't see them die, they're probably not dead. It works for AMC's The Walking Dead, why not here?

If they do die, they do it in style

Outside, many friends await in a state of celebration. Hix and Tengaar share an amusing embrace, Futch finds his solace in the avenging of Black, Gen and Kamandol enjoy a typical exchange of banter. Happy scenes. Well, prepare to have that happiness shattered like the fragile bowling pin it is as the boulder of death comes rolling towards it once again! The scene shifts to Mathiu in bed, breathing his last. He asks Liukan if we won, and then wonders aloud if he chose the right path by becoming a strategist and being responsible for so much loss of life. Liukan begins to answer him, and I watch, naturally expecting our old philosopher to talk some optimistic sense into the poor guy, so that he can at least die with a peaceful mind. But no. No, no, no. The writers must've been having a bad day or something because Mat dies before Liukan has barely said a word. The old-timer only wishes that our loyal strategist rest in peace. Roll credits.

And the misery continues...

Yep. That's it. The story ends with Mathiu's death. Well, not quite. We're in fact treated to a sort of "Epilogue Credits" sequence where every single one of the 108 stars of destiny appears, along with a brief message about what happened to them. I painstakingly scribed them all, and present the list in full, for your pleasure:

1. Mathiu rested in peace.
2. Akami became president.
3. Lepant lived in peace with his family.
4. Luc went back to Leknaat.
5. Humphrey left the republic with Futch. (I wonder why)
6. Kasim became commander-in-chief and protected the border. 
7. Kwanda too.
8. Pesmerga continued to search for Yuber beyond the borders. (that's some grudge)
9. Gremio, of course, died. (thanks for the miserable reminder)
10. Warren became a chairman of congress.
11. Kun To became the head of the merchant's guild.
12. Cleo grew tired of fighting and began living in, and protecting, Teo's old house.
13. Viktor is MIA. (knife in the heart)
14. Valeria becomes a mediator between humans and elves. 
15. Griffith starts a business.
16. Clive disappears instantly.
17. Flik is MIA. (much smaller knife in the heart)
18. Camille becomes the lancing instructor of the army.
19. Kreutz leaves the country.
20. Kage disappears. (obviously)
21. Stallion leaves to become fastest man in the world. (he already is, I'm sure)
22. Fu Su Lu left on a journey.
23. Kirkis rebuilds the elf village.
24. Milich protects the grave of Barbarosa.
25. Pahn died. (medium-sized knife)
26. Sonya is the admiral of the navy. 
27. Anji plans to go into the shipping business and make a bundle.
28. Tai Ho returns to Kaku to chill. (classic Tai Ho)
29. Kanak joins Anji.
30. Yam Koo fishes. 
31. Leonardo joins Anji. 
32. Hix is accepted as a true warrior and departs on a journey. 
33. Tengaar follows him. (that's nice)
34. Varkas is captain of the border guard.
35. Sydonia disappears.
36. Eileen stays by Lepant's side.
37. Leon lives out his life in his hometown. 
38. Georges disappears north.
39. Ivanov goes searching for the colour of freedom. (good luck)
40. Jeane returns as runemaster at Antei.
41. Max retires.
42. Eikei departs to find worthy opponents. (I don't envy anyone who gets in his way)
43. Sancho continues to serve his master.
44. Alen is a co-commander of the republican guard.
45. Grenseal is the other co-commander. 
46. Tesla becomes secretary general of republic.
47. Jabba in charge of finances.
48. Lorelai leaves to find adventure. 
49. Blackman returns to his fields.
50. Joshua returns to coach future knights.
51. Morgan continues his studies at temple.
52. Mose works rebuilding Gregminster. 
53. Esmeralda lives a comfortable life.
54. Melodye departs looking for all the world's sounds. (ambitious)
55. Chapman opens a theatre.
56. Liukan opens a clinic.
57. Fukien returns to temple.
58. Futch departs with Humphrey. (what are they up to!?)
59. Kasumi returns to Rokkaku. 
60. Maas resumes his studies.
61. Crowley returns to the caves as he despises the world. (charming)
62. Moose becomes a master blacksmith. 
63. Fuma is invited to Rokkaku.
64. Sergei becomes rich from his inventions. 
65. Meese visits the dwarves to improve his skills.
66. Sheena has a good time wandering around. 
67. Kimberley forces her way into Tai Ho's house. (ha ha!)
68. Kessler becomes captain of the republic patrol corps.
69. Gen returns to Teien to build ships.
70. Marco leads a vigorous life. (I'll bet she does)
71. Hugo is the republic's chief justice.
72. Hellion succeeds Leknaat as the new seer. 
73. Milia resumes her duties at the Dragon's Den.
74. Mina becomes popular dancer.
75. Kamandol continues his alchemy. 
76. Juppo departs to search for a bigger trick. (I think his "Magically-Appearing Nameless Urn" trick isn't too bad)
77. Kasios departs to spread liberation army songs.
78. Viki disappears.
79. Rubi is welcomed into the new Village of Elves.
80. Vincent goes home and claims his inheritance. (ha ha! x2) 
81. Meg leaves home.
82. Taggart becomes an assistant to Warren.
83. Quincy goes back to the forest.
84. Giovanni starts a business. 
85. Apple begins a biography of Mathiu. (may it become a best-seller)
86. Kai becomes a martial arts instructor.
87. Lotte lives with her cat. 
88. Mace lets Moose succeed him and retires. 
89. Onil still loves to gossip. 
90. Kuromimi becomes village chief of the Kobolds. 
91. Gon works hard to become the no.1 Kobold warrior. 
92. Antonio is the cook at Marie's inn.
93. Lester opens a stew place. 
94. Kirke becomes a farmer.
95. Rock builds a vault for the dwarves. 
96. Ledon opens an honest inn. (ha ha! x3) 
97. Sylvina marries Kirkis. (lovely news!)
98. Ronnie trains to be a homemaker.
99. Gaspar throws his dice at the inn. 
100. Marie reopens her Gregminster inn.
101. Window designs stained-glass windows. (rather fitting)
102. Sarah works as a maid at Marie's.
103. Sansuke designs new baths. (an important role in the new republic)
104. Zen tends to his flowers at castle. 
105. Qlon becomes the keeper of The Castle. 
106. Templeton departs in search of the edge of the world. 
107. Krin steals the Gregminster palace treasure and disappears. (typical) 
108. Chandler opens his own store. 

At least Gen's still around to raise our spirits

That's it, my dear friends. The credits then finally do begin their march and I'm left gaping at the screen with all manner of emotions wriggling about my mind. But wait, it's not quite over yet. The briefest post-credits scene of all time shows Akami leaving the town in the night. He looks left and right, as if to check he's not being followed or observed, and then walks off. We're then treated to a still picture of him walking out alone into the world. That's it. That's really it this time.

What does it mean? Well, I'm going to have to do a little research and I'll get back to you in another post where I'll discuss the game and it's ending a little more, but if you'd like my own hypothesis then I suppose, since Akami is left with the curse of the Soul Eater until he passes the thing on, he'll live on forever. Forced to see his friends die. Perhaps he's leaving the city as part of some plan to remove the rune once and for all, or perhaps he believes his work to be done and hopes to find a new life or further adventures elsewhere. It's left rather open, as I think you can see. Of course, Mathiu is dead, the generals survived, and the Vik/Flik combination remain missing in action. I'm going to say they survived though.

In fact, I'm going to say they were both fine. Logically, if the generals made it out of that place, then Viktor and Flik, two of the mightiest warriors in my whole army, should have survived. Similarly I'm glad to see the rest of our forces make it through, I feared that many more characters would risk losing their lives before the day was done, but we fought bravely, we saved the country from certain catastrophe, and a brighter future awaits the republic. I'll certainly play Suikoden 2 and see how much, if any, continuation there is between the games, but I greatly enjoyed reading each of our companion's brief epilogues and pondering what adventures still remained for them all. The game may be over, but the story continues.

What a game