Am I missing something or is he really says that a cartoon style can be racist? Fucking seriously?
He’s saying that you should be aware of the origins and inspirations of a thing. That cartoon style, the slapstick physicality of it, WAS developed from vaudeville and minstrel comedy. The depictions of Jazz, casinos, booze, etc as the literal hand of the devil does have roots in racism.
Nothing exists in a vacuum.
I disagree . This just seems like an extreme reach , like saying something is pro nazi just because it’s German . Whatever I doubt we will change each other’s mind.
With the article or with what Taramoor said? Because what Taramoor said is a fact; you can't really disagree with it.
I don't think it really comes to any conclusions. Unless "remain aware of and feel vaguely bad about the history of this art style" is a conclusion. But a distant sense of guilt has never been very useful to me, personally, and the article doesn't seem to expect much in terms of action, so... sure? History noted.
Here's some salient quotes that I feel carry the article's thesis:
When asked in a Rolling Stone interview about the unfortunate associations of Cuphead‘s 1930s aesthetic, lead inking artist for the game, Maja Moldenhauer replies: “It’s just visuals and that’s about it. Anything else happening in that era we’re not versed in it.” But these visuals are weighed down by the history that brought them into being, despite the developers best efforts at stripping them of the more overt caricatures that are rife in cartoons for most of the first half of the 20th century. By sanitizing its source material and presenting only the ostensibly inoffensive bits, Studio MDHR ignores the context and history of the aesthetic it so faithfully replicates. Playing as a black person, ever aware of the way we have historically been, and continue to be, depicted in all kinds of media, I don’t quite have that luxury. Instead, I see a game that’s haunted by ghosts; not those confined to its macabre boss fights, but the specter of black culture, appropriated first by the minstrel set then by the Fleischers, Disney and others -twisted into the caricatures that have helped define American cartoons for the better part of a century.
This is essentially whitewashing: erasing the embarrassing parts of our past so that we can enjoy the good – the drums; the horns; the tap dancing; the big bands and their recognizable performers, along with the broad creative freedom of this style of animation – without having to ever think about the culture that generated this music in the first place; that was never allowed to own its own image.
The answer isn’t to flatten and purify the past, whose lessons many clearly still need. Instead of stripping the burnt black cork from the minstrel and presenting a clean white face, while still singing like Calloway or Armstrong or Waller, modern media that seeks to borrow from America’s conflicted past should do so in a way that reckons with what that past tells us about ourselves.
It’s a mistake to whitewash history, not if we hope to improve upon the present. After all, the animation industry is still so white that a roundtable about diversity last year had only white men on it. The videogame industry is no better. It’s difficult to argue against the idea that this lack of diversity winds up having a strong effect on the kinds of stories that get told, and the sort of aesthetics and time periods studios feel comfortable borrowing from in the first place.
It's never said in so few words, but I very strongly get the sense that the author's point here is that the 1930s animation style is inextricably associated with racist imagery, and the fact that Cuphead has nothing to say about racism, and indeed that the creators of Cuphead went out of their way to avoid making reference to the racist imagery of the animation of the era, is itself problematic.
Kupi on
My favorite musical instrument is the air-raid siren.
They shouldn’t have to . Why would they spend some much time and effort on the animation and then tell everyone that they should feel bad about liking it ? They are making a video game , if they feel the need to have a message in the game about racism they should be allowed to just like if they just like the drawing style and want to use it they shouldn’t be forced to include anything in their game they don’t feel the need to.
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BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
I think the author raises some valid points coming from their perspective, but I think it's MDHR's choice as to whether or not to engage with those quandaries and I don't think avoidance is in of itself necessarily problematic in every situation.
Here's some salient quotes that I feel carry the article's thesis:
When asked in a Rolling Stone interview about the unfortunate associations of Cuphead‘s 1930s aesthetic, lead inking artist for the game, Maja Moldenhauer replies: “It’s just visuals and that’s about it. Anything else happening in that era we’re not versed in it.” But these visuals are weighed down by the history that brought them into being, despite the developers best efforts at stripping them of the more overt caricatures that are rife in cartoons for most of the first half of the 20th century. By sanitizing its source material and presenting only the ostensibly inoffensive bits, Studio MDHR ignores the context and history of the aesthetic it so faithfully replicates. Playing as a black person, ever aware of the way we have historically been, and continue to be, depicted in all kinds of media, I don’t quite have that luxury. Instead, I see a game that’s haunted by ghosts; not those confined to its macabre boss fights, but the specter of black culture, appropriated first by the minstrel set then by the Fleischers, Disney and others -twisted into the caricatures that have helped define American cartoons for the better part of a century.
This is essentially whitewashing: erasing the embarrassing parts of our past so that we can enjoy the good – the drums; the horns; the tap dancing; the big bands and their recognizable performers, along with the broad creative freedom of this style of animation – without having to ever think about the culture that generated this music in the first place; that was never allowed to own its own image.
The answer isn’t to flatten and purify the past, whose lessons many clearly still need. Instead of stripping the burnt black cork from the minstrel and presenting a clean white face, while still singing like Calloway or Armstrong or Waller, modern media that seeks to borrow from America’s conflicted past should do so in a way that reckons with what that past tells us about ourselves.
It’s a mistake to whitewash history, not if we hope to improve upon the present. After all, the animation industry is still so white that a roundtable about diversity last year had only white men on it. The videogame industry is no better. It’s difficult to argue against the idea that this lack of diversity winds up having a strong effect on the kinds of stories that get told, and the sort of aesthetics and time periods studios feel comfortable borrowing from in the first place.
It's never said in so few words, but I very strongly get the sense that the author's point here is that the 1930s animation style is inextricably associated with racist imagery, and the fact that Cuphead has nothing to say about racism, and indeed that the creators of Cuphead went out of their way to avoid making reference to the racist imagery of the animation of the era, is itself problematic.
Taking this line of thought further would mean people can't make new Rock and Roll music because of the not so nice way that genre started. It's anathema to culture and wouldn't improve anything if followed because it would simply result in less art.
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MachwingIt looks like a harmless old computer, doesn't it?Left in this cave to rot ... or to flower!Registered Userregular
Taking this line of thought further would mean people can't make new Rock and Roll music because of the not so nice way that genre started.
Nope! Nobody is saying Cuphead shouldn't have been made, or that the art style should never be reproduced--only that the problematic context of the style should be acknowledged. The history doesn't go away just because you say "It’s just visuals and that’s about it."
"You're not playing existing enemy force, not the Nazis, not the Japanese, not the Soviets, not any force that existed," Ismail said, explaining that Luftrausers "takes place during a fictional and/or alternative reality conflict between the 'good guys' and an undefined foe that we were spying on."
However, Ismail acknowledged the concerns raised earlier this week have some validity. "The fact is that no interpretation of a game is 'wrong,'" he said. "When you create something you leave certain implications of what you're making.
"But even more so in an interactive medium, we do have to accept that no way of reading those implications is 'false' - that if someone reads between the lines where we weren't writing, those voids can be filled by the player, or someone else."
The intent of Vlambeer may not have been to glorify the Nazis, but the implication remains and is perfectly valid to see in an interpretation of the game. Recognizing that, rather than dismissing a reasonable interpretation you don't like, makes for a "fuller" discussion around a piece of art.
Taking this line of thought further would mean people can't make new Rock and Roll music because of the not so nice way that genre started.
Nope! Nobody is saying Cuphead shouldn't have been made, or that the art style should never be reproduced--only that the problematic context of the style should be acknowledged. The history doesn't go away just because you say "It’s just visuals and that’s about it."
"You're not playing existing enemy force, not the Nazis, not the Japanese, not the Soviets, not any force that existed," Ismail said, explaining that Luftrausers "takes place during a fictional and/or alternative reality conflict between the 'good guys' and an undefined foe that we were spying on."
However, Ismail acknowledged the concerns raised earlier this week have some validity. "The fact is that no interpretation of a game is 'wrong,'" he said. "When you create something you leave certain implications of what you're making.
"But even more so in an interactive medium, we do have to accept that no way of reading those implications is 'false' - that if someone reads between the lines where we weren't writing, those voids can be filled by the player, or someone else."
The intent of Vlambeer may not have been to glorify the Nazis, but the implication remains and is perfectly valid to see in an interpretation of the game. Recognizing that, rather than dismissing a reasonable interpretation you don't like, makes for a "fuller" discussion around a piece of art.
Okay, the article guy is allowed to make any argument he wants. That's valid. Fine. But why should the developer "acknowledge" that their non-racist game that they made sure to NOT have any racially biased imagery in is secretly racist because they... did that? This is why people hate think pieces, it's argument judo where you win by just saying something that's impossible to disprove.
Cuphead is one of the best games of the year in a year that averaged at least one solid GOTY candidate per week, and they did a remarkable job replicating that 30s aesthetic without copying the overtly racist stuff (Djimmi comes close but is still pretty tastefully done) but it still needs to be acknowledged that the art style and the way it represents certain things like gambling, drinking, music, the Devil, etc. have incredibly racist roots in America.
I don’t know that I would call it whitewashing, but I understand where the author is coming from. It’s like a game set in WW2 that never explicitly refers to the Nazis or what they’re doing but just uses a nameless, leaderless “enemy”. It can feel somewhat sterile particularly if that’s something you’re already sensitive to or acutely aware of..
It's an interesting article even if you disagree with elements of its premise and certainly not something that anyone needs to get upset about in either direction.
It is absolutely a good thing to educate people on history that we do not want to repeat (or, arguably, that we are repeating/perpetuating and should stop). But is this art inherently problematic? Does the art itself need to be a commentary on racism? Or should the developers have produced a statement about the racism in other pieces using the aesthetic? Or is it enough that we are talking about it and that people get informed?
I argue that it is not the responsibility of the developers to carry this message themselves. Or rather, it's not their responsibility any more than it's everyone's responsibility to be aware and make others aware.
Yeah, I'm not sure what the call to action is. If this is the primary point of the article:
By sanitizing its source material and presenting only the ostensibly inoffensive bits, Studio MDHR ignores the context and history of the aesthetic it so faithfully replicates.
What would have been a better move, in Cuphead's case? If sanitizing was wrong, should they have presented it completely unsanitized, a period piece reveling in its roots, lest we forget?
It is absolutely a good thing to educate people on history that we do not want to repeat (or, arguably, that we are repeating/perpetuating and should stop). But is this art inherently problematic? Does the art itself need to be a commentary on racism? Or should the developers have produced a statement about the racism in other pieces using the aesthetic? Or is it enough that we are talking about it and that people get informed?
I argue that it is not the responsibility of the developers to carry this message themselves. Or rather, it's not their responsibility any more than it's everyone's responsibility to be aware and make others aware.
I still don't think they did did a good job of "whitewashing" the art of that period with those those flaming lightning bugs on that frog boss stage...
Anyway, I think it's a very difficult balance to strike in the area of entertainment that leans on the past. Most of the media of that era has racist ideologies threaded deeply within it because of how pervasive it was back then. Ideally, you want to acknowledge that things back then were wrong, but to do so is to, as they say 'politicize' or "make people feel bad for liking things" or whatever. But the art and the ideology are kind of inseparable. That said, an open statement or disclaimer can be seen as something of a cop-out to including potentially offensive things in your game (see the Assassin's Creed franchise disclaimer). You're also trying to sell this thing so... what do you do?
To some extent everything can be interpreted to be social commentary of a sort, even if that's not one's intent. But in choosing not to get ahead of it in some way, you do open yourself to your intent being subject to interpretation. Another example of this would be the Cthlulu mythos, which is deeply founded on Lovecraft's insane levels of xenophobia (some of his racism too, but not so much). Yet, would one think to have a disclaimer saying that "xenophobia is bad" on any work that references it? Probably not.
On the subject of sanitizing WW2 games, I recently played a game Iron Wings which was set in WW2, whose protagonists were a black pilot (former Tuskegee airman) and a female pilot (former WASP) as the main characters. Throughout the game, they never directly mentioned Nazis—they were referred to as the Facists. It also made the distinction between German forces and the "Fascists." It even had concentration camps, which weren't called concentration camps but the context and weight suggested as much. You chased after a person that was not Hitler but a "bad person." But in their sanitizing while actively acknowledging lesser known historic fact, it kind of comes off as an uneven presentation.
But, as a game, what would including the "whole story" have added? You wouldn't play a game like that to learn about WW2, nor would you play Cuphead to muse on how much the 20's-30s era art leaned upon racist caricatures. I guess what I'm saying is I understand why MDHR didn't go out of their way to include a disclaimer or something to acknowledge the issues at the heart of the art style, but at the same time in doing so they accepted the risks of being called out like this? IDK.
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
So is everyone using the default controls? I saw a lot of fussing about when Giant Bomb did their video on the game, but I don't know what control scheme works best for me....I just feel like it's not the default one. But I don't know what's better.
TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
I've used default, consider it a byproduct of playing in the old cartridge era but it feels fine to me, if anything hitting the bumper to switch weapons feels off.
Just beat this last night. The Devil wasn't really as tough as I expected, it was more about his attacks comboing in really awful/unfair ways that made things rough. There's also a major glitch in the fight where if Player 1 or Player 2 dies before you transition down the hole, you will not be able to proceed. Feels very Battletoads old school but uh... that's really unacceptable that they haven't gotten anywhere in squashing game breaking bugs yet? A million sold doesn't buy them a patch?
Meanwhile, King Dice was interesting in that it's WAY more about rolling the dice properly (I... guess that tracks) than being masterful about fighting all the bosses in a row. Most of them are basically one "middle phase" level of toughness and some like the poker chips are pathetic. The whiskey trio can fuck off though.
Loved the game, I hope it gets a dash more polish now to compliment its deserved success.
Dude if I ever got the those drinks I would reset . Fuck those cocktails
Yeah compared to the other potential first fights it's just not worth doing. Ended up resetting if the heart was on that square (or I stuffed up and rolled a 1)
The other one people seem to really dislike (The Rabbit) can be done easily if you use the smoke bomb. But I can see why people using different items would have trouble with it.
Dude if I ever got the those drinks I would reset . Fuck those cocktails
Yeah compared to the other potential first fights it's just not worth doing. Ended up resetting if the heart was on that square (or I stuffed up and rolled a 1)
The other one people seem to really dislike (The Rabbit) can be done easily if you use the smoke bomb. But I can see why people using different items would have trouble with it.
Chips, Dominos, 8-Ball.
I will not fight anything else if I can help it.
It really feels like there should be an achievement for clearing all nine + King Dice, though.
I think Chips, Dominoes, and 8-ball were very easy to complete with no hits taken. Cigarette is very doable, but it's easy to screw up the fireball dodge and he seems to have a surprising amount of health. Rabbit and Roulette are stupid easy if you're using Smoke Bomb (you should be using Smoke Bomb). The Horse Bookie guy is an honest, straight up boss fight. The key is watching for the Grim Reaper horses first and foremost, dodging the circular attacks from the boss should be old hat from all the other airplane stages. Monkey seems like it would be easier the better your memory is, but he's not that bad, despite being VERY quick on the turns sometimes. Whiskey, as discussed, is a punch in the gut. I found it near impossible to no hit clear the trio, there's too much flying at you when it gets started. King Dice himself is mainly a test of how well you did before. Low health, but the parry system is picky enough you're basically GONNA take hits here... unless you brought auto parry maybe? But... don't do that, that's dumb.
My rating (carrying Smoke Bomb) easiest to hardest:
1. Chips
2. 8-ball
3. Dominoes
4. Roulette
5. Rabbit
6. Cigarette
7. Bookie Horse
8. Monkey
9. King Dice
10. Whiskey
The hardest boss for me in the game was maybe Rumor Honeybottoms. The triangle shots and visual busyness in the stage really bothered me. Also no love lost for Werner Werman. The area is very small and he takes up too much of it, the timing on his first stage bombs made me increasingly upset. Favorite boss... I liked a lot of the plane levels. The Dr. Wily inspired robot was boss hog, as was the mermaid/Medusa. For on foot, the dragon animation was outstanding, and I LOVED the stupid storytelling of Sally Stageplay. Phantom Express was neat as a reason to use auto-parry for once.
Honorable mentions: Beppy the Clown gave me PTSD flashbacks of fighting the Joker in one of the TERRIBLY balanced Batman games for Sega Genesis (Adventures of Batman and Robin?). Wally Warbles was the purest expression of the airplane gameplay, the "suddenly child bird" phase is very, very odd though, considering the next phase is the large bird again. And I like how Island 1 has some of the scariest, most horrific bosses (one is basically Flowey!) whereas Island 3 has a lot of cute ones. It's a weird mixup you don't often get in games like this.
So I'm on the first plane level and it's the only one I have left in world 1.
I think I'm going to need to switch controls now, because I don't know how they expect you to stay small and shoot at the same time when they're both face buttons.
Also I am terrible at this game. I will probably never beat it.
Wait I thought left trigger was for shrinking? Or am I crazy ? Either way when you go small just focus on evasion , your reduced range prevents you from doing much of anything anyway. Also I can’t wait for you to try some of the later plane bosses , Medusa and robot will be especially fun. 8-)
World two is where I feel the game takes the training wheels off and let’s you start to really have fun. You now have several tools and weapons and can start to experiment and develop your movement and practice your defense.
Edit - to be helpful we will need to know what you are trying first. I imagine it’s beppo if so I would recommend the candy level first . It’s a nice easy level and it has minimal rng . As far as beppo goes , he is actually good preparation for bosses with more vertical elements like honey bottom. He isn’t that bad in retrospect, it just seems like it.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
once I got charge and spread I never used other weapons, they make things simple.
Man, don't know why I took so long to get the game. I remember seeing the game when it came out and really dug the animation style but I think I just thought "oh it's just another platformer" and then didn't really give it a second glance.
Bought it on Friday and beat it on Saturday. Then got Pacifist and enough ranking to unlock all the filters. Aside from maybe trying to beat everything in Expert and A ranking all levels for all the achievements and a few extra ones, I think I'm for the most part done with this game. But this may have become one of my favorite games of the year.
I was talking with my friend as we were in his car listening to Touhou music today, and I think the reason why I loved the game is I love difficult boss rushes. I played Touhou a lot back in the day and I realized that I hated playing the actual stages and just wanted to only fight the bosses. It's why one of my favorite games from that series was an in-between main numbers game because it was basically all bosses. Similarly I didn't enjoy the run and gun levels in Cuphead nearly as much as the actual bosses here.
Also, the singer (Alana Bridgewater) of the Die House (King Dice theme) did a live version of her song because a lot of people couldn't believe it was actually a woman singing the song.
Posts
With the article.
It's never said in so few words, but I very strongly get the sense that the author's point here is that the 1930s animation style is inextricably associated with racist imagery, and the fact that Cuphead has nothing to say about racism, and indeed that the creators of Cuphead went out of their way to avoid making reference to the racist imagery of the animation of the era, is itself problematic.
Taking this line of thought further would mean people can't make new Rock and Roll music because of the not so nice way that genre started. It's anathema to culture and wouldn't improve anything if followed because it would simply result in less art.
Nope! Nobody is saying Cuphead shouldn't have been made, or that the art style should never be reproduced--only that the problematic context of the style should be acknowledged. The history doesn't go away just because you say "It’s just visuals and that’s about it."
Consider Rami Ismail's response to the concern that the style of Luftrausers glorified Nazi imagery: https://www.polygon.com/2014/4/6/5587040/luftrausers-nazis-vlambeer-response
The intent of Vlambeer may not have been to glorify the Nazis, but the implication remains and is perfectly valid to see in an interpretation of the game. Recognizing that, rather than dismissing a reasonable interpretation you don't like, makes for a "fuller" discussion around a piece of art.
Okay, the article guy is allowed to make any argument he wants. That's valid. Fine. But why should the developer "acknowledge" that their non-racist game that they made sure to NOT have any racially biased imagery in is secretly racist because they... did that? This is why people hate think pieces, it's argument judo where you win by just saying something that's impossible to disprove.
I don’t know that I would call it whitewashing, but I understand where the author is coming from. It’s like a game set in WW2 that never explicitly refers to the Nazis or what they’re doing but just uses a nameless, leaderless “enemy”. It can feel somewhat sterile particularly if that’s something you’re already sensitive to or acutely aware of..
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
It is absolutely a good thing to educate people on history that we do not want to repeat (or, arguably, that we are repeating/perpetuating and should stop). But is this art inherently problematic? Does the art itself need to be a commentary on racism? Or should the developers have produced a statement about the racism in other pieces using the aesthetic? Or is it enough that we are talking about it and that people get informed?
I argue that it is not the responsibility of the developers to carry this message themselves. Or rather, it's not their responsibility any more than it's everyone's responsibility to be aware and make others aware.
What would have been a better move, in Cuphead's case? If sanitizing was wrong, should they have presented it completely unsanitized, a period piece reveling in its roots, lest we forget?
I still don't think they did did a good job of "whitewashing" the art of that period with those those flaming lightning bugs on that frog boss stage...
Anyway, I think it's a very difficult balance to strike in the area of entertainment that leans on the past. Most of the media of that era has racist ideologies threaded deeply within it because of how pervasive it was back then. Ideally, you want to acknowledge that things back then were wrong, but to do so is to, as they say 'politicize' or "make people feel bad for liking things" or whatever. But the art and the ideology are kind of inseparable. That said, an open statement or disclaimer can be seen as something of a cop-out to including potentially offensive things in your game (see the Assassin's Creed franchise disclaimer). You're also trying to sell this thing so... what do you do?
To some extent everything can be interpreted to be social commentary of a sort, even if that's not one's intent. But in choosing not to get ahead of it in some way, you do open yourself to your intent being subject to interpretation. Another example of this would be the Cthlulu mythos, which is deeply founded on Lovecraft's insane levels of xenophobia (some of his racism too, but not so much). Yet, would one think to have a disclaimer saying that "xenophobia is bad" on any work that references it? Probably not.
On the subject of sanitizing WW2 games, I recently played a game Iron Wings which was set in WW2, whose protagonists were a black pilot (former Tuskegee airman) and a female pilot (former WASP) as the main characters. Throughout the game, they never directly mentioned Nazis—they were referred to as the Facists. It also made the distinction between German forces and the "Fascists." It even had concentration camps, which weren't called concentration camps but the context and weight suggested as much. You chased after a person that was not Hitler but a "bad person." But in their sanitizing while actively acknowledging lesser known historic fact, it kind of comes off as an uneven presentation.
But, as a game, what would including the "whole story" have added? You wouldn't play a game like that to learn about WW2, nor would you play Cuphead to muse on how much the 20's-30s era art leaned upon racist caricatures. I guess what I'm saying is I understand why MDHR didn't go out of their way to include a disclaimer or something to acknowledge the issues at the heart of the art style, but at the same time in doing so they accepted the risks of being called out like this? IDK.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Meanwhile, King Dice was interesting in that it's WAY more about rolling the dice properly (I... guess that tracks) than being masterful about fighting all the bosses in a row. Most of them are basically one "middle phase" level of toughness and some like the poker chips are pathetic. The whiskey trio can fuck off though.
Loved the game, I hope it gets a dash more polish now to compliment its deserved success.
Yeah compared to the other potential first fights it's just not worth doing. Ended up resetting if the heart was on that square (or I stuffed up and rolled a 1)
The other one people seem to really dislike (The Rabbit) can be done easily if you use the smoke bomb. But I can see why people using different items would have trouble with it.
Chips, Dominos, 8-Ball.
I will not fight anything else if I can help it.
It really feels like there should be an achievement for clearing all nine + King Dice, though.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
My rating (carrying Smoke Bomb) easiest to hardest:
1. Chips
2. 8-ball
3. Dominoes
4. Roulette
5. Rabbit
6. Cigarette
7. Bookie Horse
8. Monkey
9. King Dice
10. Whiskey
The hardest boss for me in the game was maybe Rumor Honeybottoms. The triangle shots and visual busyness in the stage really bothered me. Also no love lost for Werner Werman. The area is very small and he takes up too much of it, the timing on his first stage bombs made me increasingly upset. Favorite boss... I liked a lot of the plane levels. The Dr. Wily inspired robot was boss hog, as was the mermaid/Medusa. For on foot, the dragon animation was outstanding, and I LOVED the stupid storytelling of Sally Stageplay. Phantom Express was neat as a reason to use auto-parry for once.
Honorable mentions: Beppy the Clown gave me PTSD flashbacks of fighting the Joker in one of the TERRIBLY balanced Batman games for Sega Genesis (Adventures of Batman and Robin?). Wally Warbles was the purest expression of the airplane gameplay, the "suddenly child bird" phase is very, very odd though, considering the next phase is the large bird again. And I like how Island 1 has some of the scariest, most horrific bosses (one is basically Flowey!) whereas Island 3 has a lot of cute ones. It's a weird mixup you don't often get in games like this.
I think I'm going to need to switch controls now, because I don't know how they expect you to stay small and shoot at the same time when they're both face buttons.
Also I am terrible at this game. I will probably never beat it.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
Fuck World 2
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
Edit - to be helpful we will need to know what you are trying first. I imagine it’s beppo if so I would recommend the candy level first . It’s a nice easy level and it has minimal rng . As far as beppo goes , he is actually good preparation for bosses with more vertical elements like honey bottom. He isn’t that bad in retrospect, it just seems like it.
I love it, it's amazing and super fun, but fuck if I know which things are supposed to be parried and which are supposed to be dodged
Bought it on Friday and beat it on Saturday. Then got Pacifist and enough ranking to unlock all the filters. Aside from maybe trying to beat everything in Expert and A ranking all levels for all the achievements and a few extra ones, I think I'm for the most part done with this game. But this may have become one of my favorite games of the year.
I was talking with my friend as we were in his car listening to Touhou music today, and I think the reason why I loved the game is I love difficult boss rushes. I played Touhou a lot back in the day and I realized that I hated playing the actual stages and just wanted to only fight the bosses. It's why one of my favorite games from that series was an in-between main numbers game because it was basically all bosses. Similarly I didn't enjoy the run and gun levels in Cuphead nearly as much as the actual bosses here.
Also, the singer (Alana Bridgewater) of the Die House (King Dice theme) did a live version of her song because a lot of people couldn't believe it was actually a woman singing the song.
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