diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'content/reviews/games/grim-fandango.md')
| -rw-r--r-- | content/reviews/games/grim-fandango.md | 160 |
1 files changed, 160 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/content/reviews/games/grim-fandango.md b/content/reviews/games/grim-fandango.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..65c7bc5 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/games/grim-fandango.md @@ -0,0 +1,160 @@ ++++ +title = "Grim Fandango (1998, 2020)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-07-21T22:03:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2004 +reviewSection = ["Games"] +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "My review of the prequel" +image = "reviews/covers/grim-fandango.jpg" +rating = 5 +aliases = ["brain-rot/golden-age-games/grim-fandango/"] ++++ + +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. + +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&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_. + + +## <span class="org-todo done DONE">DONE</span> Persona 5: Strikers (2020) {#persona-5-strikers} + +_Persona 5_ took me close to a year... I think. +It was a gigantic game with unbelievable amount of dialogue. +It was also game I deeply enjoyed, despite not particularly liking anything about. +The story was ok, the gameplay was ok, the RPG element was ok, the dating was ok. +But, somehow, authors managed to join that into one freaking nice experience. + +_Persona 5: Strikers_ is none of those things. +It's a linear button masher with characters I like. +But it has _none_ of the good elements of _P5_. + +First, it's not an jRPG anymore. +When fight starts, you are presented with dozens of enemies you need to fight in real time. +Half of the time, I had no idea what was going on. +Fights, for me, are terrible. +Enemies were everywhere, and I had no _chance_ to control the battlefield. +Lots of annoyances and finger pain, but no enjoyment. +Just running into random spots, bashing melee attacks and checking for weakness from time to time. +I play on easy and was tired of that very quickly, I can't imagine having any actual problems with this system you have no enjoyment with. + +<div class="img-c"> + +Guess the only way here is to shut my brain down, as it's useless in all this chaos. + +</div> + +The real-world activities are almost none-existent. +I loved how the Phantom Thieves bonded and became friends. +None of this here. +You've got some dialogue, but no payoff. +There is some stat related to bonding, but we all know each other. +In P5 the single best part was learning about each other and seeing how their lives improve. +None of that is here. + +Dating? +None. +And my chosen love interest from _P5_ doesn't even show up! + +Extracurricular activities are limited to finding stuff on maps. + +Getting to know Tokyo? +Nope. Every few hours we move to a new city. + +Story? Well, I gave up before it started. +After 10 hours, midway through the third jail I gave up. +I had to guard Futaba _again_ and after a moment became so frustrated and bored, that I stopped playing. + +I give 2/5 for those 10 hours. +Maybe it gets better later on, but I don't care enough. +I dropped the game and will never return. |