A Psychotic Little Christmas, Day 6: Chrysanthemum in Winter

A DAY LATE BUT LETS PRETEND IT ISNT

Reaching the halfway point in the holiday VGM list, we have Chrysanthemum in Winter from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time; a game not as popular as your Marios and Zeldas, but deserving on this list nonetheless.

Fayt Leingod, just a normal guy on vacation with his friend and parents on the resort planet Hyda, faces a scary situation as the planet comes under attack. The citizens are evacuated onto a military ship in relatively quick fashion and everything seemed well, but the tragedy wasn't over, as even the ship comes under attack! His parents now missing, Fayt and his friend file into seperate escape pods and eject into the unknown.

Landing on the first planet he can, Fayt is perceived by the locals as a kind of higher being, possessing technology of a time far more advanced than theirs. After getting caught up in a string of circumstances with the residents of the town, he is located by a mysterious man named Cliff Fittir, who apparently had business with Fayt and had been following him since the Hyda incident. The two hop into Cliff's ship and leave the underdeveloped planet.

All is not well in space, as Cliff's ship comes under attack by the same people who attacked Hyda and the military ship! They crash-land on the planet Elicoor, and give themselves up to the local authorities, who presume they are enemy spies. After being busted out of prison by a mysterious woman from the opposing country, they leave the city through the sewers.

That is when this song starts playing; on some backwater planet a million miles from home, unsure of whether he'll ever see his parents again, and in the freezing cold of enemy territory, the song is both grim and atmospheric. It's a sad piece, but at the same time it manages to capture the essence of its setting and paint an audible picture, something I can commend in music.

A Psychotic Little Christmas, Day 5: Ice Cap Zone (Act 1)

Aaaaand coming up next in the holiday VGM list, there's Ice Cap Zone from good ol' Sonic 3, Sega Genesis. One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite stages in one of my favorite games. While many can question the quality of the blue blur's escapades in and out of 3D, you simply cannot hold a candle to Sonic music, then and now; a feat that is doubly impressive considering the Genesis' sound library was kind of muddy and unattractive.

In any event, Ice Cap Zone. As Sonic iconically snowboards down the frosty mountain, it's as if the entire song starts at once; no beating around the bush here, Sonic games ain't about that shit. It's a fast-paced piece of music clearly meant to compliment the speed onscreen. And it clearly worked, too, because Sega's used the same musical formula for years without fail. Can't say the same about the actual GAMES, however.

With the mostly positive reception of Sonic Colors and more recently Sonic Generations, it's good to see that the little guy's back on track, though, and the music is better than ever. Does it capture the majesty of the classics like Ice Cap Zone music-wise, or the actual gameplay of the older games? No. But they're a hell of a lot better than '06.

A Psychotic Little Christmas, Day 4: People of the North Pole

Coming up next in the holiday tracklist is perhaps my favorite of the bunch, albeit from a game I didn't care for all that much. It's People of the North Pole, the theme of Mt. Gagazet in Final Fantasy X, and much like the other tracks in the game, it tells its own story and accompanies the gameplay perfectly. It's one of those things that Nobuo Uematsu got better at with time, and this game's soundtrack is very telling of that fact.

(0:01 - 0:30) Tidus, Yuna and the gang are nearing the end of their pilgrimage. The only thing lying between them and the (alleged) final destination is Mt. Gagazet, a behemoth of a mountain teeming with fiends and blistering cold. The violin sounds sad almost, as if to signal the finality of their situation; this is it, just one final stretch and it can all be over...

(0:31 - 1:01) ...but the journey to the summit is a rough one. Fiends tougher than the likes of which they'd previously encountered are around every turn, and the freezing temperatures are nearly unbearable. The backup violin kicks in here, a really slight touch that intensifies the song.

(1:02 - 1:32) The gang can't give up now, they're in too deep at this point! After so many people have given their lives, and all the hardships they've faced, it's far too late to turn back! The backup drums and violin stop, and the violin changes its melody to one almost urging the party not to give up, to keep going.

(1:33 - 2:02) They get back up, their second wind afoot, and continue their race to the proverbial finish line. Yeah...yeah, they can do this! The drums come back, once again serving to drive the point home that the song is aiming to make.

and then the songs loops but whatever

A Psychotic Little Christmas - Alec's Seasonal Shopping Guide - #10: Minecraft

Time for #10! It’s 10 days until Christmas Eve, 11 days until Christmas Day...it’s so close, yet there’s almost two weeks left! So if you need a cheap present to ask for, or if you need a cheap thing to get someone, this indie game is perfect for them. If you didn’t find my clue yesterday INSANELY obvious, I’m ashamed of you. Because today, you should buy one of the most creative indie games ever: Minecraft.

 

 

Now, now, for the people who actually know about Minecraft, you’re asking: why would I pick this game? Because there’s so many things you can do! For people who don’t know about this game (what’s wrong with you?), the basic premise of Minecraft is to dig a hole, mine ore, and build stuff.
Sounds really simple, right? Wrong. While you’re trying to build things and keep a society going, you have many enemies (called mobs) trying to murder you in your sleep. This is called survival mode. I’m personally not a fan of this mode, because I don’t like my hard work being destroyed at night by Creepers, but if you’re into that sort of thing, go ahead.

But wait, Alec, didn’t this game come out last year? Not in my opinion. Version 1.0 came out in November, so that’s what I call the official release. (If you remember, this list only contains games from 2011.) But that raises a good point. Before release, Minecraft was in beta for a good year or so. As it slowly developed up from a simple game with no dying or any challenge, it grew to have a huge fanbase. People love this game. They had a convention for it in November. That’s how much people love it.

So you say you don’t like mining and dying? Well, there’s an alternative for you! While still in beta (only about two or three months ago), they added a Creative mode, where you have access to every block and can build whatever you want without the fear of dying. And you can fly. And as all people know, flying is what makes this incredible game turn into a must-buy game.

 

The PG Crew themselves made this display!

 

Better yet is the price. Literally days of gameplay await you in multiplayer mode, building cities and having fun exploring your Minecraft world with your buddies. All for only $20. Yes, you heard me. Days of gameplay for $20. Isn’t that amazing? That’s what this game is. Amazing.

So if you ever have a spare $20 lying around, and you don’t feel like spending it on something productive, why not invest it in this fun timewaster? I’m absolutely sure you won’t regret it. Unless you’re having so much fun you forget to eat. That might be a problem, and you might regret it. Maybe not, though.

Coming tomorrow, we have some very skinny games. See? This is a harder hint. Try and guess, I dare you.

A Psychotic Little Christmas, Day 3: In A Snow-Bound Land

Keeping the ball rolling here, number 3 on the winter VGM list is In a Snow-Bound Land from Donkey Kong Country 2, a game that would have dodged this list entirely were it not for me playing it for the first time a few weeks back. David Wise is quickly climbing up the ranks of my list of favorite composers because of games like this one, and he doesn't disappoint on this track. In Diddy and Dixie Kong's quest to rescue Donkey Kong from the evil klutches (hah) of King K. Rool, they find themselves in various locales around the world; be it underground in a mine, lush green forests, or In a Snow-Bound Land (HAH), the music accompanies the gameplay well, and that's one of the most important things you want in a soundtrack.

This track, like many others in the game, is laid-back, slow and ambient. It makes you want to stop and enjoy the amazing scenery the game is pumping out of the SNES. Sure, the dynamic monkey duo has a job to do, but they should soak in the journey while they're at it, and how beautiful the sights are around them. It's one of those songs that go as far as to make you look back at what you've done in your life, and look ahead at what your goals are in the future.

In ways such as this music has proven to be emotional and thought-provoking, which is something other forms of media can have trouble successfully manifesting. It's a beautiful thing.

A Psychotic Little Christmas - Alec's Seasonal Shopping Guide - #11: Batman: Arkham City

It’s now December 13th. Today, we have a treat for you. A couple of jokes, you might say. Some riddling riddles for you, too. Some penguining penguins, too. Wait, what? Penguining isn’t even a word! Well, it should be. Any word I invent shall be added to the dictionary. PENGUINING - Verb. The act of acting like a penguin. ‘My best friend Mark went penguining today. He loves penguins!’

 

Anyway, from the title, you can probably see where I’m going with this. So let’s jump straight in now. Today I’m going to be talking about Batman: Arkham City! This game follows Batman...in a city...and the Joker...doing stuff...with Batarangs? Yeah...I honestly know hardly anything about this game offhand. I know that it’s a sequel to Arkham Asylum, which is excellent. I liked Arkham Asylum, it’s a really fun game. Now imagine this fun game, but instead of traversing a prison and the surrounding island, now you’re exploring the vast and expansive Arkham City, which is five times bigger than Arkham Asylum. Judging by how large the map was in Arkham City, this area is just gigantic.

So why am I recommending a game I’ve never played before? Simply because it’s friggin’ Batman! Ask Pssych if you doubt me, he owns the game. This game was the Game of the Year for a whole lot of people. If it’s not good, then darn it, why do you people buy bad games? Why else should you buy this game? Because if for some reason you don’t like Batman, there’s still a wonderful story, and a wonderful combat system packed into this game. Oh, and did I mention  that if you get the PS3 version you get to play as the Joker with added DLC? I would pay $60 just to play as the Joker!

 

Even though I don't know exactly what's going on here, I know it's amazing. Because it's Batman.

So I apologize for not knowing a whole lot about this game. I’m a big boy, I admit my mistakes. Never playing this game was a mistake. I would still like to pick it up in the future, so that’s how good it is, in my opinion. I can tell you now, this is the only game on my list I have never even watched somebody play. I know I did not do this game justice. I hardly scratched the surface about why this game is awesome, and I’m sorry. I know this game is amazing. Batman is amazing.

Even though I don’t know a ton about this game, I know that it is brilliant. I’ve sadly only played the first game, Arkham Asylum, so I’m missing out. But just because I’ve never played something, doesn’t mean I can’t recommend it, because I KNOW for a FACT it is amazing. If you want a good time, with beating up baddies, and solving Bat-puzzles, you need to pick up this game. Hell, I need to pick up this game.

tl;dr Batman. Buy this.

PS. Get your pickaxes ready for tomorrow’s blocky game!

A Psychotic Little Christmas, Day 2: Buried in the Snow

The second track in our holiday playlist comes from Final Fantasy VII, certainly a game that needs no introduction. What MAY need introducing are some of Mr. Uematsu's works in the game, many of which are overlooked and just not as recognized as One Winged Angel; in this case, Buried in the Snow.

Much as the title indicates, Cloud Strife and the gang, in an attempt to flee from Shinra troops, hop onto a snowboard and hurl themselves into the cold unknown. Where you actually end up is dependent on how well you did, but one thing is for certain; you're lost. Given only a map and no clue as to your location on it, it's your job to figure out where you are and where you're going.

For the most part, it's a very minimalistic piece of music, but such is where Uematsu shows the mastery of his craft. The slow and constant melody, one note at a time, is like a metaphor for the situation Cloud and the party are in; gotta get out of the cold, gotta get away from Shinra. Beaten and battered by the elements, the melody shows that the gang is hanging on by a thread, but refuses to give up. Winter bells and little bass touches here and there round out the track, but the focus is definitely centered around the melody.

Tracks like this really showcase how music can set and even take the form of the tone expressed through gameplay, even through a simple minimalistic melody. It's open to interpretation and can tell a story all on its own. It's what music is all about, and I find that impressive.