03.21.07
Link Wednesday: The Links Of Adventure
…wait, wait, don’t shoot me yet! I bring an actual LW entry this week; surely I could be forgiven an irresistible pun like that, especially given this week’s subject matter.
Last week, Kotaku managed to swing a few shots of the current US localization of Eternal Sonata, though for the first truly interesting 360 RPG I prefer to still think of it as Trusty Bell. Not only does the game star the famous composer Frederic Chopin– in a rather silly concept, I should add (on his deathbed, Chopin enters a dreamworld where his fatal tuberculosis inexplicably gives him magical powers)– but, as I’d snarked months ago, the soundtrack is made up of the actual Chopin’s music, as performed by Stanislav Bunin. Nevermind that I don’t know Chopin from “Chopsticks”, and that I have absolutely no clue who Bunin is. The game is damn pretty and the battle system looks neat.
Oh yeah, then there’s this. Decisions, decisions…. decomposing contagious composer or self-abusing clockwork monstrosity? What a choice…
Many tales have been told of my affinity for all things Cupertino; it ranks right up there with my desire to make the most out of any given moment. That’s why there’s Apple and LifeHacker. But what if, and this is just hypothetical, you combined the two? My word, that would be an awesome amount of win. (And yes, I know damn well that LH is heavily Mac-centric. Suspend that for the gag, will ya?) The selections they choose are pretty much standard; most of them I already have, or have analogues for. Still, it’s an excellent reference for someone getting started with a new Mac.
Also, via LifeHacker, in case you ever wanted to know how all that caffeine should be affecting you, you can get a running total of your drinking habits and see just what you’ve imbibed. I checked out my morning routine and found it usually keeps me “In The Zone” as it were, even though my overall day-to-day habits would push me into “Jitters” if I took it all in one shot. I’ve actually seen this site before, and may have linked it at some point, but the new calculator feature made it worth mentioning again.
Those of you who have an Xbox 360 but no copy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night– I’m pretty sure there’s no connection between those two sets within my usual readership, but I’m talking hypothetically here– will be delighted to know that the game is now available on the Live Arcade for the established price of $10. Oddly enough, when I first picked up the game back in 1999, I think I paid $15 for it; that may have been the same disc I kept all the way through to Erie or Cleveland, whenever I had to sacrifice it. In any event, I’ve downloaded it and just given it the first few moments of gameplay; it’s labeled as “HD” but in reality it’s just reverse-letterboxed, as the main gameplay is in a center screen and the sides have some very nice artwork. The addition of Achievements is entirely incidental to the experience, truth be told; I just wanted to have the game back (and cross it off my list). Naturally, because of this, I’ve added another game to the “must beat” list before I can freely purchase games again.
Finally, Meteos: Disney Magic… I’ll have a review up at Netjak within the week or so. I’ve always been a sucker for adding teh di$ney to teh gud gams, so the fact that I have this one shouldn’t really surprise anyone (it won’t count towards adding to the list nor will it count as a completed game). Am I disappointed? Well… you’ll just have to wait and see.
I’ll catch you folks later. If you’re really lucky, maybe I’ll even post my sonnet tomorrow morning.
Kain said,
03.21.07 at 11:36 am
As a long term Chopin fan (I own at least one recording of nearly every piece he published during his lifetime, and am keeping my eyes open for recordings of the few missing pieces), I’m mostly curious to see which pieces are included in the soundtrack - the only one I’ve been able to dig up is, unsurprisingly (to me anyway), the Etude Op.10 No.3 in E major, generally reckoned to be one of his most emotionally potent early works but apparently not performed exceptionally well in the game. (The only other piece I’m nearly certain will show up is the Nocturne Op.9 No.2 in E-flat major. Other than that there are a bundle which might show up but might not. But who knows, perhaps they’ll go for some of the more obscure mazurkas, or the Tarantella, or my own favourite little performed Chopin pieces, the Rondo a la Krakowiak Op.14, Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22, or Bolero Op.19 (not to be confused with Ravel’s Bolero under any circumstances).) The overall concept of the game makes my head hurt, to be honest, but that’s my own foray into the field of purism, I suppose.
The classical music snob hath spoken, and will now do everyone a favour by shutting up. :P
Ismail Saeed said,
03.23.07 at 4:04 pm
I have yet to watch the video of this thing, but it sounds like it’s mixing fabulous music with really colorful art, which gets two pluses in my book. As for the plot, it’s definitely an odd plot, and perhaps ultimately bittersweet if his death is coming eventually anyway. At least, it’s an experimental plot with nice art and nice music, which sounds like the avant garde of another type of consumable media: film.
Let’s see how it works for this type of consumable media. Actually, is it even coming here? I’d be intrigued by the actual chance to inspect this without needing to go out of my way (literally) to do so.
Ismail Saeed said,
03.23.07 at 4:06 pm
Amendment to the last mail: I should reread the post about the topic and not just comment on the topic. Coming to the US? Great. Coming for the 360? I’d be able to see it at a friend’s house… which yeah would’nt be too conducive to playing it.
However, said friend is a film buff and might also enjoy the classical music, though the plot may or may not put him off. Well, I can see if he’d be interested in inspecting it with me when it comes down the wire.