1 files changed, 0 insertions, 115 deletions
diff --git a/content/brain-rot/golden-age-games/grim-fandango.md b/content/brain-rot/golden-age-games/grim-fandango.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 58bf364..0000000
--- a/content/brain-rot/golden-age-games/grim-fandango.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,115 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title = "Grim Fandango (1998, 2020)"
-author = ["Michał Sapka"]
-date = 2024-07-21T22:03:00+02:00
-categories = ["brainrot"]
-draft = false
-weight = 3002
-image_dir = "screenshots"
-image_max_width = 765
-menu_order = "name"
-primary_menu = "brain-rot-gg-games"
-abstract = "My review of the prequel"
-image = "covers/grim-fandango.jpg"
-rating = 5
-[menu]
-  [menu.brain-rot-gg-games]
-    weight = 3002
-    identifier = "grim-fandango-1998-2020"
-+++
-
-Content warning: I am extremely biased.
-Expect orgasmic sentences.
-
-There was no game company like LucasArts in their prime.
-Between shovelling Star Wars games, they were the kings of adventure gamers.
-They hired the best people, and they made the best games out there.
-And _Grim Fandango_ is the finest example.
-It is also my favourite game of all time.
-
-Manny Calavera is a salesman in a dead-end job.
-He has no chance for promotion, unless he scores big.
-And the odds are stacked up against him, as his boss despises him.
-All good clients go to Domino!
-Manny decides to play it all out and _steal_ a great client from Domino.
-The trick here is that Manny is a travel agent at the Department of Death, selling travel accommodation to recently deceased souls.
-
-{{< rating 5 "grim-fandango.jpg" >}}
-Cover
-{{< /rating >}}
-
-The list of negatives is very short: two puzzles (cat races and bone grinder) are very challenging to deduct, but they match the setting.
-A lot of adventure games fall into puzzles where the only way to solve them is by sheer luck, but it's not the case.
-It will take some time to piece things together, but after that, it all makes sense.
-
-I first played _Grim_ in 1999.
-The demo of the game, covering the first chapter, was added to a cover disc.
-I played it on a loop, and up to this day I can recite all the puzzles and their solutions in order which they need to be solved.
-
-_Grim Fandango_ is a 2,5D game, so the backgrounds are pre-rendered, but all characters are real-time 3D.
-And how glorious each of those dimensions is!
-The art style of the characters is inspired by Mexican day of the Dead puppets, called Calaveras (like the main character!).
-Since the hardware of the day was not ready for spheres, so the models are simplified.
-The backgrounds, on the other hand, are full of details.
-But above all, it is extremely atmospheric.
-Land of the Dead takes a lot from Noir cinematography, but makes all the scenes uniquely _Fandango_.
-
-And the music!
-The Mexican-jazz blend is fused with my soul.
-Often I simply listen to it, even close to 30 years after release.
-It hasn't aged a day, and it complements perfectly what we see.
-
-{{< image class="centered" alt="A skeleton looking down from a balcony at racing stadium" file="grim-fandango-1.png" >}}
-Cat Racing becomes a problem
-{{< /image >}}
-
-The voice acting is _perfect_.
-Everyone did an astonishing job - be it Tony Plana as Manny ("Glottis, are you loco?"), Alan Blumenfeld as the demon driver ("Well, actually, it's mostly stock, with a few mods here and there...") to each passing characters in the smallest roles, like Milton James as a coroner ("We may have years, we may have hours, but sooner or later, we push up flowers").
-Having a great script surely didn't make the job any more difficult, but they seem so real!
-
-It all comes the high point of the game, the second chapter.
-Here we spend some time in a port city, and oh what a city it is.
-Up to this day, I have not visited a virtual place I'd love to visit more than Rubacava.
-All the backgrounds, all the characters, all the puzzles.
-They blend perfectly in a Casablanca-esque story, like no other.
-Luckily, this is the longest chapter.
-
-After we leave the city, it never reaches the same level - but no other game did.
-Saying that "sorry, your other 3 chapters are not as good as the greatest part of a game I've ever witnesses" is something all other games can only dream off.
-They are still great, full of great locations and characters - just not _as_ great.
-
-And let's not forget the humour.
-It's a LucasArts game, after all!
-The game is hilarious, but in a way not many games tread.
-It treats the characters and the setting seriously!
-_Monkey Island_ is comical, but it never treats itself with any respect.
-_Grim_ is different, as it's full of love towards the inhabitants of Land of the Dead.
-
-{{< image class="centered" alt="A morgue with deceased covered in flowers" file="grim-fandango-2.png" >}}
-How to kill a dead person?
-Cover with flowers!
-{{< /image >}}
-
-I have yet to encounter any game that has _this_ exact combination of atmosphere, lovable and respected characters, and this much humour.
-_Syberia 1_ is close - we visit desolated places inhabited by colourful characters, but it's treated with respect.
-You learn about then, like them, and want to help them.
-But it's not quite there.
-
-What Tim Shafer achieved with _Grim Fandango_ is nothing short of a miracle.
-It is a perfect game - at least in my book.
-So, of course, it flopped.
-It was too ambitious to fit a sensible budget, and it was released when adventure games fell out of fashion.
-Sort of like _Chinatown_ perfected Noir when Noir was a thing of the past.
-
-But, after the success of _Monkey Island_ remakes, _Grim Fandango_ got a chance to shine again in 2020.
-A remastered version with better shading and 3D models (but the same backgrounds) was released on every platform.
-It **is** a better version, so if it's still supported on your platform (screw you Apple), you can simply buy it and enjoy.
-And even though I prefer the original tank controls, this version can be even played with a point&amp;click interface.
-
-Ending this review, where I simply say that _Grim Fandango_ is the greatest game I've ever played, I need to say that it's a game that does not need a sequel.
-Mind you, I'd buy anything that would allow me to spend even a minute longer with the characters, the story is finished.
-We get a _perfect_ ending when I always shed a tear.
-Adding anything to it, would only lessen it.
-Just like we don't need a _Casablanca 2_, we don't need a _Grim Fandango 2_.
-You don't reach such heights multiple times - everything needs to align.
-We are lucky to even have such a marvel, as _Grim_.