(no subject)

[chierii]

As I'm getting ready for class this morning, I hear my brother suddenly burst into the most raucous laughter I've ever heard from him.

"Screen invasion?" I call from the living room.

I'm answered with more laughter, which may or may not have included a "yes". Getting closer, I do indeed hear the strains of You Are Mine. Oh, Armaros, never change. <3

Sadly, I think chapter 8 is turning him off from the entire game. I know it's annoying, but I don't think it drags the whole game down. (Hell, I'm even starting to enjoy playing it!)


Speaking of El Shaddai, nyxmidnight made a fan comm, commofenoch. Join up and let's discuss and do fannish things!

Comments

[freebacon.livejournal.com]

i've chosen well :smug:

[freebacon.livejournal.com]

also

"wtf angels"

truest tag

[chierii]

Hey now, who chose who?

[freebacon.livejournal.com]

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffair point :B

[chierii]

That was originally my "DAMN ANGEL MUSES" tag but now it's my all-purpose El Shaddai tag as well. Because yeah.

[fluted.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, yessss that was my reaction to that part too.

Armaros was, like, the best reward for all the dying I had to endure earlier. And later.

[chierii]

Sadly, I don't think my brother agrees.

But screw that, I'm a Megaten player. I love and welcome infuriating and sometimes unfair gaming! And plot that sometimes rewards you for your hardest work with an emotional punch to the gut. So chapter 8 wasn't a big deal for me.

Meaning I have the advantage of being able to enjoy all of Armaros's awesomeness without fail!

[fluted.livejournal.com]

Megaten is awesome! I really enjoyed Nocturne in particular.

But, yeah, I died plenty. Luckily I played Demon's Souls before jumping into this game, so I was a little used to dying a lot and relishing small accomplishments. (That game destroyed me, sob.) I think it was just the platforming that killed me off the most anyway.

[chierii]

Fan of classic SMT here! English-patched 1 and 2 all the way for me.

Which made playing El Shaddai full of mood whiplash. Suddenly, it's a game where God is actually kind of competent. And a decent guy, if not an insufferable worrywart. XD

The Council seems to have its share of jerks, though, so that kind of makes up for it. We are in the Old Testament here, after all.

[fluted.livejournal.com]

Nice! I haven't played those, but considered it. Maybe someday, when I have more time. ;;

Yeah, El Shaddai is more lighthearted compared to SMT. The SMT world has so much stuff going on regarding God and everything. I stayed up one night reading the SMT Wiki like an idiot, lol. Sooo interesting.

[chierii]

Ahaha. You know, it's funny you say that.

When I picked up El Shaddai, I was thinking "oh, it'll be like SMT in its mythological bent, but with less angst!"

And then the more I dissect the plot the angstier it gets. I'd say just by Enoch alone it's almost on par.

[fluted.livejournal.com]

I think Enoch has quite a bit too, yeah. Particularly because of all his trials and struggles.

But the game passes over that backstory fairly quickly, and I think it can be easy to miss. (Goodness knows I didn't get most of it the first time around.) SMT focuses on angst and apocalyptic themes specifically and very atmospherically. On the other hand, El Shaddai seemed to focus more on creating an 'otherworldly' environment. It's an interesting design choice, and I feel like it kinda plays down the crap Enoch had to go through to get this far. You have to dig for it.

[chierii]

El Shaddai is a game you have to apply your mind to no matter what.

And I think that even if it seems to downplay it at first glance, the very fact that you have to dig for it makes its impact harder when you do find it.

Because it isn't just handed to you. It's...it's like how Fridge Horror can be more terrifying than straight up horror handed to you by the plot. Except this is Fridge Sorrow.

[fluted.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't deny the impact. Definitely not. I felt it when I played it again and realized he was going through some extremely rough weather. Like we mentioned before, Lucifel reassuring him and so on. Imagining how freaked out he was after realizing all that... that's pretty heartbreaking.

But again, Devil's Advocate here, this might be why this game seems to be falling into the 'obscure' category. There's only so much a person is willing to dig into. The first impression to a game has to catch a person; if it loses them, you lose fan support.

I do hope they'll think of making a sequel based on other Enoch-y travels, though. I don't know if the revenue made from this game was enough to pull Ignition into a safer zone, but I hope it did. ;;

[chierii]

Goes to show how little people appreciate "show, don't tell" these days.

And it's a damn shame. For me, having to dig so much is a breath of fresh air. I didn't even realize how used to getting straight exposition I was until I played this game.

...Sadly, my brother says he heard they went under. ;-; At least El Shaddai is a damn good way to go out.

[fluted.livejournal.com]

Yeeeaaaaah, that's similar to complaint I've heard about some people who play the latest mainstream RPGs. They expect to be able to rush into a hoarde of monsters and survive by hacking and slashing. When you tell them to use their head and give them consequences like dying when rushing into a gaggle of beasts, they think it's a unplayable game.

From what I last heard, Ignition's U.S. (and European?) branches have declared bankruptcy and closed down. However, I believe their Japanese base is still operating. According to Wikipedia, they have plans to re-release El Shaddai for the WiiU and PSP Vita.

[chierii]

Ah, yeah. Same problem, not wanting to work for anything.

And glad to hear it about their Japanese base. Third party localizations aren't always reliable, but they're doable. I hope they'll be able to hang on, too.

I'd like to see more of Heaven, myself. XD I get the feeling that the reason it looked like it did in chapter 9 when it was solid in the intro is because Enoch wasn't physically there.

So I'd like to see more of it in its solid state.

[freebacon.livejournal.com]

i want Armaros to be in the sequel goddammit :U