Gradius 3.

One of my all-time favorite games, Gradius 3, as I mentioned in my Demon's Crest review, is fucking hard. It's difficult to think of modern parallels, because (no elitism intended) modern games are so tame by comparison, and because, well... I'm kinda outta touch with this generation. I did a lot of console gaming in the Xbox/Gamecube/PS2 era. Panzer Dragoon Orta on hard comes to mind, especially if you were gunning for S ranks. But even that allowed some room for error. If you played Mega Man Anniversary Collection a few years back, that'll give you some perspective too.

Gradius's concept is fairly simple. Go from point A to B, blow up anything in your path. Certain foes drop powerups you use to upgrade your weapons. Gradius's weapon system is awesome. Before you begin, you can choose some preloaded weapon layouts, or customize one of your own. A few preset schemes have unique missile options, but you'd be better off choosing your own.

Upgrades come in 7 flavors. (Speedup, Missile, Double, Laser, Option, ?, and !), which are arranged that way on your bar. Each powerup you pick up moves the highlight along your bar, so as you can see, you've gotta pick and choose which you gain first.

The Vic Viper (your little ship) turns quickly from a sluggish, pea-shooting thing to an agile weapons platform that melts piles of enemies on one burst. It's pretty empowering. Unfortunately, you're always fragile. Even the force field (one of your possible ? upgrades) only lets you take a measly two more shots. Beyond that, one strike will toast you. And death means losing all your upgrades. Even if you were close enough to the end to come back right at the boss. Brutal.

I must play more!

Song Analysis: Dark Tranquillity - Still-moving Sinews

Since my life is a fathomless void of unproductive-ness, I spend a lot of time thinking about music and trying to pin meaning to lyrics. My favorite band (melodeath forefathers Dark Tranquillity) is often the object, because I find their lyrics amazing! This song has been on my mind all day. You can find it at lastfm, emusic, or if all else fails, youtube. If you have a different take on the song, or disagree with me on any bit, please feel free to share! I'd love another perspective.

I.
"No one survives such an attack,
and we all stood like monuments,
bearing the nails in her back.
Still-moving sinews in a graceful impression of life.
Shyly the arms, shyly the breasts,
fold, fear and die."

This snippet, to me, describes a brutal murder, which "we" all took part in, and didn't flinch at, even as we watched "her" slowly die. That's quite something. To any civilized folk, the abhorrence of that is not lost.

II.
"Ten fingers driven,
through the heart, through the core.
As I stare into those strange magnetic eyes,
and wonder, wonder for you, wonder for me,
are there demons there?"

To me, the fingers driven are that of the murdered girl, into our "narrator." Not his heart in the physical sense. The impact of what they've done to another human being is sinking into him. The look in her eyes suggests the condemnation that might await them on the other side.

III.
"I knew it all the time. The misanthropes
were right to crucify themselves in the
need of a saviour. Still-moving sinews
struggle fearsome with a lifeline forlorn,
caught in the nest of the impending dark fate."

Presumably "the misanthropes" are outcasts from this religious group. "Cruifying themselves" could either mean physical self-abuse as penance, or simply removing themselves from the rest. Misanthrope isn't exactly a term with pleasant connotation. Makes it clear how renouncing of the majority's beliefs is viewed. "Still moving sinews... forlorn," even more emphasis on life slowly ebbing from our victim, paving the way to the "dark fate" destined for her murderers.

IV.
"Semi-worlds, lifetight lodges
where faces stiffen,
plagued with the frost of disease
Our capsules barely meet."

In this segment, the narrator remarks on people (the people of his community) living in not-quite-complete worlds, where life cannot escape. The "capsules" (secluded, insular bubbles in which each individual dwells) rarely even come near the others'. Capsules are mentioned in another song, Auctioned, which I'm liable to pick apart soon.

V.
"The worms of disorder,
like living black numbers
that drip from her purgament skin
Joined in sweet fury
to anoint the decay,
fragile and reddened in lifelost array."

Man! I hope I'm not the only one blown away by that ending. It seems to me our doubtful narrator is seeing the victim's decay, and views the process as symbolic of the impending chaos in his community, or within himself. "Living black numbers," indicative of what? A countdown? Page numbers? "Anoint the decay..." He sees her demise as a grand thing now, perhaps because of what it means for him.

The narrator's journey...
I. Partaking in the auto de fe. (Huzzah, a chance to use that phrase!)
II. Stricken by the gravity of the act.
III. Growing doubt as he ponders those that have separated themselves.
IV. Realization of the inhumanity of his community.
V. Enlightenment.

Demon's Crest!

It's funny how certain great games fly completely under the radar. Capcom's Demon's Crest is one such game. I'm not really sure why this one was never bigger, though! It had great, challenging gameplay, lots of secrets to delve into, and a fairly interesting story. But yet, it was never a huge hit. And that's why we're playing horribly dialogued girly men instead of shape-shifting gargoyles(!). Alas!

Gameplay: 9
Demon's Crest is an action platformer somewhere between the bouncy exploring of Donkey Kong Country, and the shooty killfest of Contra. Fans of Metroid will be familiar with the concept of going back over your previously beaten levels with new upgrades to reach new areas. Firebrand's different forms function quite differently, and figuring out when to use earthbound, charging speedy Ground Gargoyle as opposed to pterodactyl-esque Aerial Gargoyle is fun. Level hazards demand frequent switching, and while some bosses can be trumped with just one form, a good number require that you switch at the right time. The game's pseudo-final boss (confession: I STILL HAVEN'T BEATEN HIM) demands several transformations. The game also leaves plenty of opportunity to use your default form, which I think is great. My only prominent issue is that swapping forms requires you to pause the game. Why not add that functionality to L or R? It's a bit flow-breaking, but in no way crippling. Be aware, the game is hard. If you're a big enough nerd for this comparison to mean anything, it's harder than Panzer Dragoon Orta on hard, but easier than Gradius 3. Firebrand is one slow mofo (this is especially vexing on the wolf in stage 6. Expect to yell at your screen a lot of you go at him without the Crest of time), and enemies aren't very forgiving.




Presentation: 7
Graphically, Demon's Crest is great. Characters and enemies are good-looking and clear, and animations are very smooth. The level backgrounds in particular are very detailed. The overworld map (which has you flying above the landscape and swooping down to enter levels) will look kinda iffy to today's eyes, I think... But really, look at other 3D offerings on the SNES, like Vortex, and the original Starfox. Yeah. It's not bad. Sound is good, but not amazing. I enjoyed the very moody music a lot, but sound effects quickly grow repetitive.

Hi!

Welcome to my parlor. If you're expecting deep thought, political commentary, or anything resembling cohesion, you're in the wrong place. Here you'll find my thoughts on video games, interpretations of songs, anecdotes about my, uh... "life," snippets of conversation I find interesting enough to share with people, and bitching about who-knows-what. Hence the name! (I also considered "Thought Toilet.")