Undertale

I've always been bad at picking my favourite out of a group of things, especially my favourite video game. I now know what my favourite video game ever is. It's not Laser Lords, not Deadly Premonition and not even my quests! No, my favourite video game has to be Undertale. I tend to be very wishy-washy when it comes to picking favorites, I care more about good or bad than better and worse. But sometimes something just stands out so much that it's clearly just my favourite, and right now it's clear Undertale is my favourite video game.

Honestly, I'd suggest anyone reading this to get the game right now, the game's extremely good and the less you know about it before playing the better, it's easily worth the 10 dollars. There's even a free demo, if you like that one you're sure to like the full game as it blows the demo completely out of the water.

At its core Undertale is a JRPG, a story about a human child who falls into a mountain and winds up in an underground world inhabited by monsters, who live segregated from humans after a great war. Though the set-up for the story sounds typical, as a video game Undertale is anything but typical. 

The combat system is like no other combat system, you don't need to fight enemies to actually win battles, rather you are given the option to FIGHT, ACT or use MERCY. While it's possible to murder everyone who gets in your way, you can also interact with the enemy, get to know them and figure them out how you can make them stop wanting to fight you, at which point you can use mercy to SPARE them and resolve the conflict peacefully. You never need to kill anyone to beat Undertale!

Ahh, so lovey! <3

Likewise, enemies do not follow traditional RPG mechanics, their attacks take the form of little bullet-dodging minigames where you have to dodge attacks with your SOUL to prevent taking damage. This means that if you play well enough, you can avoid taking any damage at all! Every enemy has different bullet patterns specifically themed to them and often also tied to their mood.

One of the harder patterns in the game.

Rather than being a numbers game, combat becomes a matter of figuring your opponents out, seeing what things they have to say and in what ways you can interact with them and then trying to successfully avoid their bullet patterns. I can't think of any RPG where I'm so happy to see battles occur!

*Slime noises*

But as mechanically solid as the game is, my favourite part of Undertale might be just how it makes me feel, how its extreme polish and care shines through and makes me totally immersed in its world.

The plot may seem simple at first, but things go much deeper than they first seem, and there's multiple layers to the plot, some of which only become clear when you play the game multiple times. The game does a great job at playing with your expectations in a video game and it's clear the developer, Toby Fox, knows exactly what Undertale's audience thinks and feels. You can play the game in several ways, choosing either to take a peaceful or a violent path, and the game will always know what you did and your actions will always come with consequences, consequences which may last even beyond the realms of your save file. I've never felt so strongly about choices and consequences as I have in this game as I did just now when I tried a violent run through the game.

Adding to the plot is the fact that the characters are all extremely lovable and the game encourages you to spend time befriending the characters and interacting with them. By the time I got to the end I felt like I knew them all and cared for them deeply. I wanted to talk to every NPC, backtrack to areas just to read new dialogue, call this person in every room twice just to see what they'd say, just because the writing is so chock-full of good-natured humour and charm, and there's just so much of it! 

I love all these people. All of them.

The graphics are not the most technically impressive, but they do an incredible job at immersing you into the game world. Walking around the world, being in combat, the graphics always just feel right and like they are being used to their fullest extent to add to the game experience. 

One of the more atmospheric moments in the game.

The soundtrack of the game is absolutely gorgeous as well, there's over 100 music tracks and just like the graphics they add immensely to the experience. Keeping the sound on while playing this game is crucial, you do not under any circumstance want to miss out on the music. I don't think I can ever tire of the soundtrack, there's just way too many good pieces on it.

I honestly can't come up with any criticisms for the game. As much as I have gushed about the game here, I've only touched on the peak of the iceberg, and the only way to really know just how GOOD this game really is would be by delving into it and playing it yourself. I've already beaten the game once, my first run lasted about 12 hours, but this is the sort of game which has so much polish, detail and care put into it that you can keep replaying and replaying and always notice something new. 

Undertale is a wonderful experience and I truly do hope that by talking about it here more people can experience it!

The Path of Puckamon 1: Crushing Captain Crunch

Ah Pokémon, the world seems to be filled with parodies of Pokémon but it seems most of them never really get very far, usually they're just small little parodies or part of a larger game, and when they do try to be more expansive they're usually very unfinished. I'm very fond of Pokémon but I can also see that the games are incredibly silly, so it only makes sense that these parodies would appeal to me. Add an all-too-familiar engine after playing some Mr. Triangle's Adventure and you get...

To be a mustard

Puckamon! Whoo! A game originally made for the "2010 OHRRPGCE Ridiculous Games Contest" by FnrrfYgmSchish, Puckamon is a mock/parody game of Pokémon borrowing both elements from the early Pokémon games and anime and starring tons of characters from other OHRRPGCE creations, including Mr. Triangle, as Puckamon in a beta that currently goes all the way up to the fourth gym!

It was by poking around a bit on a forum filled with OHRRPGCE creations that I found this game, and I knew the moment I saw it I would get it and play it eventually, and I actually started doing so two days ago as I am writing this. It certainly looks like there's actual effort put into it, and the combat system is a rather interesting mixture of Pokémon and the standard OHRRPGCE combat engine, meaning it's got an ATB bar rather than alternating turns, and Trainers act as independent characters rather than being able to use a Pokémon's turn to use an item.

But that's enough introductory talk, let's jump right in!!

Professor is his first name of course.

Any monster catching game starts with a scatterbrained professor asking you questions such as whether you are a boy or girl, what your name is, whether you prefer fish or walrus and of course whether you'd rather have Gingivitis or Athlete's Foot. You can't be a girl by the way, this isn't a parody of Pokémon Crystal or beyond after all, don't even think about it! Of course, I am a boy named Mania in the game. Because that's a name.

You never do empty that trash can. It probably has a Master Puckaball.

After oversleeping and visiting the professor, it turns out there's not actually a Puckamon left, so he hastily goes and catch one himself. And what an utterly crummy pie of garbage he does get you, a Pikachu! Bah! Terrible! It is rather strange that the game uses a few real Pokémon like that, Jigglypuff and Lucario also appear, though the latter does in the form of a nazi. Trust me it makes more sense in context. Well, no, not really, but you get my point. I begrudgingly name by Pikachu Pikachizzle and head out to route 1. Clearly this game has no rival, as he was nowhere to mock us for picking such a weak starte-

What the Duck?

It's GARY MOTHERFUCKING TREE! Who'd have thought?! This is the first battle in the game, and it already showcases a few elements, such as the ATB-style battles as well as trainers being participants in the fight. The way the combat works is that Pokémon can either use special attacks which use PP, use berries to heal themselves or other Pokémon, or use a generic attack for low damage which also restores some PP. Meanwhile, Trainers can either use a weak Slap which does 1 damage and restores some PP or they can use Medication such as Potions, status curing items and the like. Mania here can even use Puckaballs to catch wild Pokémon when they are weak enough, though obviously it fails against enemy Trainers.

Yes, you can attack enemy trainers and make them run away. Yes this is hilarious. No, this is not worth it, they run off when you beat all their Pokémon anyway and they don't give any bonus EXP or money.

Actually beating Gary is not much of a problem, though, as Pikachu's electric skills deal double damage to the poor Duck-Duck, who mostly just splashed about. Gary can use a Potion if he feels like it, but the Puckatrainers seem to use items sparingly, mostly they do weak slaps like Mania does.

What.

Arriving in the next town over, Sledge City, there's not much out of the ordinary, there is a starer dungeon which is a sewer, a place to heal and stock up on items, and of course the local Gym to earn your badge. And who is the Gym Leader? Why, Captain Crunch of course! ... I don't know why either. But we can't challenge his Gym yet, no, first we need to retrieve his spoon from "Team Sputnik". Hm. At this point I went to the sewers and got my second Puckamon, Surlaw, which seems to be a slimey sort of fellow with a cape. He can use a basic heal which restores about 15 HP for 8 PP and use a Splash attack to hit all enemies, neat. I named him "I am the Walrus" because you can have really long names like that, also neat. I also got some other foddermons, but I didn't keep on my party, bah, stupid fodder! With another Puckamon in tow, it's time to head north to retrieve the spoon!

... Let's not go in there.

Our first regular trainer, Little Girl!!

After beating up the Little Girl and her Jigglypuff, I had to confirm whether I could assault trainers after all, it was time to head into the forest to expand my party. What Puckamon could roam inside?!

Oh.

As you can see I got rid of Pikachizzle at this point and added Dr. Pepper the Mr. Pepper as well as Jojo the Gohrilla. Sadly this Jojo can't toss healing bananas, but she can draw attention to herself to redirect enemy attacks and for a steep PP cost restore her HP, quite a tactical and tenacious Puckamon. Meanwhile, Dr. Pepper can use a chained attack that does low damage 2-5 times in a row and can emit pepper spray to poison enemies, which will come in very handy against Captain Crunch.

And make it double!

After clearing out the forest, I finally approached Team Sputnik and the scene that follows is best presented in video form. Cute, the timing's surprisingly accurate. And of course Communism/Russian memes. As you can hear, the music tracks are remixed versions of music from the games and anime, though only from the first two generations to preserve the nostalgic theme of the feel.

If Gnome is Meowth, then what is Robot meant to be?

Team Sputnik's understandably not much of a threat, I could beat them just with Pikachizzle, so it didn't take very long to send them blasting off at the speed of Lenin.

I couldn't think of a better pun, okay?

Now that we have beaten Team Sputnik, though, we have the Spoon meaning we can now fight Captain Crunch in a Puckamon Battle. Never thought I'd say that.

Ah Muscle Man, all Pokémon spoofs need their manly shirtless men.

I don't suppose I could ask Gary to let me bench-press him? That is Gary from Mr. Triangle's Adventure, not Gary Tree. I don't think Gary Tree would let me.

Anyway, now it's time to REALLY face Captain Crunch, who has some typical words you'd expect from a first gym leader.

3 on 1? Don't underestimate the guy. 

This is easily the hardest fight so far, which isn't saying much given the competition, but this guy does NOT mess around. You can't actually target Captain Crunch, Gym rules and all that, and his Franknfurter's defenses are nigh impenetrable. Captain Crunch doesn't do much aside from sometimes giving Franknfurter a PP boost, but that means it can use its Aqua Spoon attack which does up to 30 damage if you don't resist it, which half my party luckily does. Aside from that it can use Splash to hit my whole party which luckily doesn't do too much damage, and it has a basic attach which does around 10~12 damage, yikes.

Poor Jojo, if only I had a Rehab.

Things aren't going very well, clearly, and while I used Dr. Pepper to Poison Franknfurther while Jojo draws attacks and I am the Walrus does his best to heal Jojo, in the end I couldn't keep up with Franknfurthers offense, and the match became mostly a matter of endurance. On a side note, every Puckamon you can use has sprites for attacking, using a skill, getting hurt, being close to getting KOed and a KOed sprite. It's a neat detail which games in this engine have, just like the FF games it seems to be based on.

And a victory pose sprite too, of course!

Hurrah, victory! Sadly I am the Walrus and Jojo couldn't share in the experience. Not only do we get 500 cash and get to access new areas now we have our first badge, but we also get a TM for Aqua Spoon which I am the Walrus will be able to make good use of. Though it does have a steep PP cost.


Puckamon's a pretty fun game so far, I do intend to play the beta through to the end and then see if there's any chance it'll get worked on further. There's still 3 gyms to go through, so it's going to be a wild ride! And of course, we may have a Mr. Pepper in our party now, there's another Mr. I am keeping my eyes peeled for...  Until then these little teasers should surely keep you entertained for the next part, once I get the second badge and write the blog for it.

Can't argue with that logic.

Can't argue with that logic either.

This game has some magical dialogue.