Real Neat Blog Award

I’ve been tagged once again for the Real Neat Blog Award! This time by AK from Everything Is Bad For You, whose in-depth posts on anime, games and movies are excellent and I recommend checking those out for anyone in our WordPress community not already following.

Here’s The Rules:

• Display the logo
• Thank the bloggers for the award
• Answer the questions from the one who nominated you
• Nominate 7 to 10 bloggers
• Ask them 7 questions

Here we go….

• Is there a game, book, or other work that you’d like to experience but that you can’t because it’s untranslated, not ported, or otherwise inaccessible?

The first thing that jumps to mind would be a couple N64 games that were only released in Japan like Sin and Punishment or a port/localization of Mother 3. The former was available for purchase in Nintendo’s Virtual Console for the Wii, but I did not download it and have regretted it since and the latter may be the among the most wished for titles by Nintendo fans(just ask Reggie…). Other games released exclusively in Japan I’ve wanted to play are reportedly being included in the TurboGrafx-16 mini which releases this coming March, so I’m looking forward to checking that out.

• What’s one work that really affected you or stuck with you in the last year and why do you think it did?

Red Dead Redemption 2 – I finally reached the conclusion of Rockstar’s western epic the beginning of this year and it has stuck with me ever since. Everything from my time with the game was memorable and seemed to be so intricately crafted. The barren landscape served not only as a backdrop but also a reflection of life within the age of outlaws in the Old West. The main storyline of Arthur, a man knowing nothing but being an outlaw since his early years and finding his place in a changing world in which he is quickly becoming a relic of the past. He is also grappling with his own mortality and what it means to be a good person, if anything at all, in such desolate surroundings where the only rule is simply to survive. I spent roughly 80 hours in my time with Red Dead Redemption 2 and I’m still amazed at just how attached I became to Arthur and my horse, Neptune.

• If you could revive one series of works that’s been abandoned or dropped by its creators for any reason, what series would it be and why?

Nearly everything developed by Rare during their time with Nintendo in the 90’s to early-2000’s. I know there’s a great number of people that would love another Banjo-Kazooie game in the same style of the N64 titles, which the Yooka-Laylee games have been the closest thing in recent years. I would also love to see another Jet Force Gemini game, particularly given how much game mechanics have advanced for 3rd person shooters such as Gears 5 and the Resident Evil 2 remake released this year. The original Jet Force Gemini is an underrated game that I always mention when discussing Rare’s impressive back catalog and what we would love to see them take another shot at.

• When it comes to music, do you prefer songs with vocals and lyrics or instrumental pieces, or do you have a preference at all? If you prefer one type over the other, why do you think that is?

I don’t have a definite preference, there are moments when a set of lyrics can focus more directly a feeling or emotion, or what seems to be the most common though within popular music in the last several decades. As I’ve grown older I have gained an even deeper appreciation for composers and musicians that can convey the complexity of human emotions purely through tone, timbre, and melodic intervals so perfectly there isn’t a need to express them through words. I’ve mentioned in the past the sometimes neglected effect a backing score can have on a movie or game in trying to even imagine Star Wars being anywhere near as impactful without the iconic sound effects or epic John Williams soundtrack.

• When was the last time you bought a magazine, newspaper, or other form of print media?

It’s been easily over a year since I purchased any form of print media, I would occasionally pick up a newspaper and read at my workplace as many people without particularly stimulating office jobs. It’s been even longer since receiving physical copies of gaming magazines like EGM or Nintendo Power.

• Is there a holiday you don’t get to celebrate/take off because of family or work reasons but you wish you could?

Nope, in fact I’m generally the person that would take advantage of the holiday pay at my previous jobs. This serves an all-too-convenient excuse of “Sorry, I can’t. I have to work”

• If you had to create a new holiday, when would it be and what would it involve?

Umm….I guess I’ve never really thought about it, though it certainly wouldn’t have anything like the Airing of Grievances or Feats of Strength….

And now for my questions, hopefully I’m better at presenting questions than answering….

1. What’s a game in which you found it difficult to connect or empathize with the characters?
2. Are you a gameplay or a story person? Would you rather play a game with little to no story, but has superb gameplay and controls or a game with an incredible story but with lackluster controls and gameplay?
3. What’s your biggest pet peeve in games? (Fetch quests, Escort missions, unstoppable cutscenes etc.)
4. If your life was made into a video game, what concept or genre would it be?
5. Who would you want to create the soundtrack to your own game? What would it sound like?
6. Have you ever played VR games? If not, have you ever had an interest in playing?
7. In an age when video games have grown exponentially not just terms of popularity, but of complexity, have you ever wished games would return to “the old days” regarding scale and structure?

I’m going to break one of the rules and simply “tag” anyone reading this or who would like to answer any or all of the questions I devised as I sat at my computer. That’s all for today, a shoutout again to AK for the tag and thank you for reading!