Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Contest Winners, WoFF Sequel Chances, and Deltarune

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Nov 022018
 

November is here, which means our Celebrating All Things Spooky contest is over. We had four winners this year: Moombit in first place with 33 points, Tord Laudal in second place with 28 points, and Jonathan and Ludwig Von Koopa tied for third place with 10 points each. The winners have been contacted about choosing their prizes.

When I reviewed Costume Quest 2 on Halloween, two other topics could easily have made for a blog post instead, so let’s cover those now.

World of Final Fantasy 2??

I loved World of Final Fantasy, and the amount of optional lore made me hope they had a sequel or prequel planned.

When World of Final Fantasy Maxima was announced, I was a little disappointed it wasn’t a sequel (and that I can’t update my Vita version to get the new content), but thought it might increase our chances of getting another game.

In a recent interview, World of Final Fantasy director Hiroki Chiba spoke about the possibility of a sequel, as reported here by Gematsu.

First, the new content in Maxima “tells a bit of the afterstory of Lann and Reynn.” More importantly, however, he wants to make a sequel:

While there are no plans for a sequel, I have fully written the story. If Square Enix gives us its approval, we can start development right away.”

The story for a theoretical World of Final Fantasy 2 has already been written, and all they’re waiting on is for Square Enix to decide a sequel should be made. This makes sense, especially given the lore I mentioned earlier. With all those background details, I’m not surprised they had sequel ideas… although it being fully written already is more than I expected.

I’d buy a World of Final Fantasy sequel in a heartbeat. Say the word, Square Enix, and my preorder is yours.

And amidst my hopes for a World of Final Fantasy sequel, a different not-quite-sequel made an appearance.

Deltarune

Basically, the Undertale Twitter account told players who had finished the game to be ready for something on Wednesday, and it turned out to be a link to Deltarune.

Being a huge Undertale fan, I downloaded it right away with the hope that it would be some sort of demo for a new game from Toby Fox.

And then it just kept going.

You can either view Deltarune (or more properly, Deltarune: Chapter 1) as a long demo for Toby Fox’s next game or a short game that will eventually be continued. As for its connection to Undertale, that’s still a bit unclear.

Click for Deltarune spoilers
When I started Deltarune, at first I thought it was a sequel to Undertale’s pacifist ending, but too many things didn’t add up.

Then I thought it might be a prequel, with Kris being the first fallen human’s actual name… but again, too many things didn’t add up.

It seems like it’s an alternate universe, possibly due to Gaster’s experiments. There are signs that Gaster is linked to Deltarune, and Gaster being alive in this universe would explain at least a few of the differences.

Anyway, Deltarune: Chapter 1 is a nice little game in its own right. It feels a lot like a fresh take on the Undertale format, especially where combat is concerned. In Deltarune, you have new options, such as the ability to defend, use magic, or ask one of your party members to perform an action.

Undertale is one of the funniest games I’ve played, and while Deltarune didn’t have the same effect on me, it was still enjoyable. It had funny moments (especially thanks to Susie and Lancer), heartwarming moments, and a few surprises.

Click for major Deltarune spoilers
And then the ending happened. What was that? What was that?!

Right now, the most prominent fan theory is that Kris was rejecting the player’s control, since characters in the epilogue comment on how different you’ve been acting and you still have control over the heart at the end.

It was a pretty unsettling scene, and it left me wanting to know what will happen next.

If you haven’t played Undertale, I think you could play Deltarune and still enjoy it. You just won’t get as much out of the references… and theories from fans about what’s going on in Deltarune are a minefield of Undertale spoilers.

Since the release of Deltarune: Chapter 1, Toby Fox finally released some information about it.

First, he describes it as “not the world of Undertale.” This has led some fans to believe he’s saying the two are completely unrelated, but if you go on to read his full answer, I think he’s mainly reassuring fans that this hasn’t undone the game’s ending or anything like that. Alternate universe theories still feel applicable.

(Especially since there are too many connections for it to be completely separate.)

Next, he says that creating the full game might be impossible.

……

To be more precise, he says it took him a few years to make this demo, and given how long the rest will be, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to make it without a team. He has no idea when it will be finished, although he mentions 7 years as the maximum amount of time he’d want to put into a project.

Deltarune will be released once all the chapters are completed. This is good news to me, because I was concerned it might be an episodic release. Chapter 1 serving as a demo for a longer, full game is much better.

He also say there won’t be multiple endings, which is a little disappointing, but one of the big takeaways here is that he isn’t trying to make Undertale 2. He just wants to make a new game.

Anyway, Deltarune: Chapter 1 was a lot of fun, and it pretty much stands on its own even though it’s obviously hinting at more to come. I just hope we don’t have to wait until 2025 to see how the rest of the story works out.

Undertale Comes Out Tomorrow for PS4 and Vita

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Aug 142017
 

Undertale was quietly announced for the PS4 and PS Vita during E3, although not during one of the press conferences. Now the time is almost here!

Undertale will be out tomorrow, August 15, on PSN. Not only that, but it’s cross-buy, so if you buy it once, you’ll have it for both the PS4 and the Vita.

If you pre-order it before then, you’ll also get a special PS4 theme.

Now, I love having physical copies of games, so I actually ordered mine from Fangamer. Physical copies, both standard and Collector’s Editions, are available for the PC, PS4, or Vita.

I went for the Collector’s Edition, and I can’t wait.

According to the site, standard edition orders and CE orders placed before the end of July 20 will ship in late September. All late CE orders will ship in December. I made my order in time, so I should get a physical Collector’s Edition of Undertale next month.

Are you interested in Undertale on the PS4 or Vita? If you’re undecided, maybe my review of Undertale will help you make up your mind.

Undertale: A Strange, Amazing Game

 Reviews, Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 212015
 

Undertale-coverIt’s finally time to talk about Undertale. Undertale is best experienced with as few spoilers as possible, so I’ll try to keep this review spoiler-free.

(I may eventually write a second article with spoilers, since there’s so much to discuss there, but this one is safe.)

When I started Undertale, I had no idea what to expect. None. This is the main reason I got the “neutral” ending my first time through, and you know what? I’m glad I did.

On that first playthrough, Undertale captured my heart with its charming characters and humor. I didn’t know it was a funny game. In fact, from the way people talked about it, I expected it to not be a funny game.

The wacky cast of characters was a pleasant surprise. From a spaghetti-obsessed skeleton who thinks he’s a lot cooler than he is, to a killer robot with a hilarious Final Fantasy VI shout-out, I loved them all.

Even Muffet.

(And yes, even Alphys, who seems to be one of the most-hated characters in the game. How could I hate a mad scientist?!)

The characters were, at times, so ridiculous I laughed out loud. Optional conversations made it even better, such as an absurd debate between two characters about whether the elevators at opposite sides of the area were labeled “R” and “L” for “Red” and “Light Green.”

For a long time, I didn’t have much to say about the story. It had a simple concept, and the characters were what really made Undertale great. After my second playthrough, however, my opinion changed. Undertale’s story is simpler than what you’ll find in a big JRPG, for example, but…

  1. All the pieces of the story work together really well.
  2. It could only be told through a video game.

I noticed things during my second playthrough. Pieces of foreshadowing that really helped demonstrate how well the story works. Undertale’s story is made up of several different pieces, which all fit together in just the right ways.

And it had to be a game. Undertale told as a book or movie wouldn’t work. The same basic story would be there, but then it would become just that: basic. The player’s agency, the breaking of the fourth wall, and other aspects I can’t mention because of spoilers all transform it into something more impressive than its core plot.

Not to mention little goofy things, like when I used noodles to heal myself in battle.

Not to mention little goofy things, like when I used noodles to heal myself in battle.

The characters are fantastic, the humor is great, and the story is perfect for its format. What about the gameplay?

Undertale’s gameplay is odd. I don’t know exactly how to describe it. It’s sort of a turn-based RPG (what? combat handled through menus?? no modern gamer will enjoy– oh wait…) but not quite.

Attacks are timing-based, and defending involves evading attacks in a format best compared to a very mild bullet hell. You can Act during battle instead of attacking, which lets you pick from a variety of non-combat actions. With the right actions, you will be able to Spare an enemy.

Finding the right actions to spare enemies added a puzzle element to battles, which I enjoyed. There are also a few puzzles on the field, though most of it is structured like an RPG. And as you progress, you find plenty of shortcuts, so backtracking isn’t an issue.

The music is also glorious.

After my first playthrough, I bought the soundtrack, because there are so many great songs I can’t stop listening to!

Undertale is filled with references and little brilliant moments. It even referenced Ace Attorney! (Compare Turnabout Sisters to Dating Start. If you think it’s a coincidence, you eventually have to find a specific piece of “evidence,” and the character in question has a breakdown.)

After the neutral ending, I already recommended Undertale to everyone I talked to. Then my second playthrough showed me it was even better than I thought it was.

Minor Undertale spoilers
I wanted to play the genocide/no mercy run, but I’m not sure I have the heart. I might watch someone else play it, instead.

For some reason, Undertale is often compared to EarthBound. They… aren’t alike. They have similar graphics and worlds I might describe as “quirky,” and some of the battle text could be compared, but that’s where the similarities end.

Undertale is really a special game. I loved it, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes RPGs and humor.

If you’ve played Undertale, what was your favorite thing about it? And if you haven’t, does my review make you more inclined to?

Buy Undertale from Steam