Random Thoughts III: And the legend continues!

Well. More random observations; some people seem to like them. If you don't, well, too bad: they're not for you. They won't be as weird as Twisp and Catsby, though, promise.

• Fascinatingly, nobody ever taught GameStop employees that the first question regarding any product, when assessing whether it is right for a given customer, is "What do you want it for?" Maybe they should make Aristotle required reading in employee orientation.


• Tangentially related to previous, rented Infinite Undiscovery, and thought I'd point out that, at this point in the JRPG genre, not having all the twists we've come to expect from the genre—for instance if the heroes and institutions didn't have a bunch of dark secrets—would be one hell of a twist. Players would probably construct a bunch of JFK-esque conspiracy theories about how everything was actually very dark and edgy. Hell of a thing to watch, and I wish some developer would treat me to the display. Yes, that's a roundabout way of saying, "I'd like a Japanese-style RPG, as in very pretty, dramatic, and spectacular in the literal sense, without some eighth-grader's attempt at deconstruction."


• One may sum up a few things, mainly recent ones, in terms of other things. It's an engaging pastime.
  
  • Saw the new Star Trek movie. Fair-to-middlin'; but what amused me is, go look at Nero and his Romulans, and their backstory...and then wonder, with me, how it is they managed not to mention Slanesh. Admittedly, the Dark Eldar were the Romulans to the Eldar's Vulcans.
  • Which reminds me, that "whole ecosystem is a super-organism and jointly attacks threats", thing, in Avatar, is reminiscent of the one way Tyranids vary from Xenomorphs. Only they're the good guys, because Cameron has gone mad.
  • Infinite Undiscovery is, in many, many ways, basically a Tales game, sort of a cross between Symphonia and Abyss.
  • Rozen Maiden is basically Gothed-Up Gash Bell, except, y'know, good.
  • Spirit Tracks is a Wild Arms game set in Hyrule, except for the game engine.


• People often seem confused, that I like Naruto more than Bleach. I have a number of reasons, not least of which that the anime's art is vastly superior, as is the dub. But the main reason is, Naruto promised to be a shonen action series with a lot of intrigue, everything dictated by the characters' beliefs, and that's exactly what it is. Meanwhile, Bleach started as the story of a guy filling in for a shinigami, and hunting ghosts in a town full of really funny people...and then the Soul Society Arc happened. I stopped caring when Ichigo achieved Super Saiyan...I mean Bankai. Both series have insanely over-powered fights, but the difference is, Naruto sells them better. Bleach has a lot of style—Byakuya and Kenpachi, for instance, and Renji, would fit right in with the Dai Gurren-dan—but Naruto has style too, and it also has immensely complicated action, which is a pure intellectual pleasure to watch.


• Does anyone else think GLaDOS' dialogue is distilled from things said during every messy breakup a Valve employee endured?